Act 1: Scene 1

Zzz.....

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...Zzzzz....

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...Beep!

Thanks to his senses that could detect even the slightest hint of sound while asleep, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka immediately sat up from his bed and looked around to see where that beeping came from. It couldn't have come from an alarm clock, he didn't set one before going to bed. It couldn't have been the doorbell, that would be ridiculous.

A crazy idea popped up in his mind, which involved that man sending armed troops to the place where he was temporarily staying at in an attempt to bring him back. Something like that can be expected from his father because it was just like him to go to drastic measures when it involved him.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case either.

[Congratulations, you have become 'the Protagonist'! Raise flags, form relationships, and build your very own harem of beautiful heroines to love! Enjoy!]

Kiyotaka blinked in confusion, before staring at the floating pink screen with white text that was floating before his face.

Today was supposedly his first day in high school and he had been preparing for it ever since a week ago. He made sure that nothing would prevent him from going to Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School and starting a new life, not even some lousy sickness.

After checking his body temperature to see if he was sick (he wasn't), Kiyotaka concluded that there was no reason for him to be having hallucinations this early in the morning. However, even after blinking and rubbing his eyes several times, it didn't disappear.

Deciding he would think about this when he gets out of bed properly, Kiyotaka moved to the edge but was surprised when the pink screen moved with him, staying at a fixed distance in front of his face that he could still read the text no matter which direction he looked.

He thought of a way to make this strange image disappear because it would definitely be a distraction and after a bit of thinking, he reached out with his hand towards the screen and touched it. The screen then made a beeping sound that one would normally hear in video games before it finally disappeared, confusing him to no end.

"...what was that?" he mumbled to no one in particular, before the sound of the door opening got his attention.

"Kiyotaka-senpai? Breakfast is ready downstairs. You don't want to be late for your first day in high school!"

Nanase Tsubasa, a 15-year old blonde girl who was a close friend of the people whom he was staying with, entered his room with a bright smile on her face.

Kiyotaka almost forgot that this girl was here. She had stayed over for the night (sleepovers were a regular occurrence in this household) under the excuse of it being the last time she would see him before he leaves to attend high school. While he didn't really care about her reasons, he found it interesting that she can sleep here without any repercussions. Are sleepovers just that normal?

Anyway, the young man couldn't even respond to her words properly when the world around him suddenly stopped.

As in, literally stopped.

The strange 'beeping' sound filled his ears again and everything around him lost color and froze, as if someone had frozen time itself. Tsubasa stayed where she was, completely frozen, and even the digital clock near his bed had stopped.

It wasn't this that got him to widen his eyes in shock, though.

What took that achievement were the three new 'screens' that suddenly showed before him, in the same color scheme as the one earlier, neatly placed one over the other.

A. [I heard you, and I'm going. Now get out. I have to change clothes.]

B. [Nanase, you don't just barge into someone else's room without knocking. Would you mind it if I did the same?]

C. [You know, I never realized how cute and adorable you are, Tsubasa-chan. Why don't you join me in bed for a few more minutes before we go down?]

"What's going on here..." Kiyotaka stated while staring at the three screens, especially the last one.

Thanks to his past, Kiyotaka couldn't show any kind of emotion on his face even though he was capable of feeling them, but this was the closest he had come to breaking that.

Kiyotaka had seen his fair share of shocking things, like people being killed and burned to oblivion but if he had to be honest, none of those could compare to this.

The sudden stop of time itself was already enough to break his usual apathetic expression, but it was the three 'choices' before him (especially the last one) that got his jaw to slightly drop out of disbelief. If that wasn't enough, he could also see Nanase's 'Breakfast is ready downstairs. You don't want to be late for your first day in high school!' on top of them in a separate screen.

Despite his true nature and what he was really like under that mask of indifference that he normally had, Kiyotaka was still a teenager and thus, shared a similar interest to things that other teens liked.

It didn't help that for the past month that he had been living here, Eiichiro Matsuo, the son of the butler who helped him escape from that place, introduced him to the world of video games when they met. After only a week, Kiyotaka was able to build his own computer and even program it to give him regular updates about that man and the White Room.

Even though he has never had a keen interest in games like this (he preferred strategy and FPS games where he can truly be in his element), he still knew what this whole scenario was like.

Namely, Visual Novels. They were a type of game wherein the player would have to assume the role of the protagonist and make his own choices that will affect the game in many ways. In the novels that were also considered 'dating simulators', the player may choose between different 'routes', or girls whom he would end up with when the game is finished.

In his case, though, Kiyotaka had never played any cute/romantic ones, because there wasn't anything like that in this household. Eiichiro liked the 'explicit' genre of visual novels more, which were the eroges. He even had a collection of them which Kiyotaka decided to ignore the first time he saw it. How would his father react to that when he sees it...

Regardless, he had played a few eroges in the past month and it only left him curious and interested on how games like those were made, despite the mature content that were included in them.

The words from the first screen earlier then came back to his mind, making him shake his head.

"This is ridiculous. I must be dreaming. Eiichiro's games have simply got into my head."

No. Kiyotaka refused to believe that he was experiencing the life of a dating sim protagonist. It sounded like a lame plot for a cheap manga and this was no doubt just a weird dream. Maybe seeing that eroge collection of Eiichiro got to his brain.....

It also sounded like some god up there took pity on him for essentially missing out on his entire childhood and made things this way to make it up to him.

Deciding that this was only a dream without a doubt, Kiyotaka threw himself back to his bed, ignoring the choices and closing his eyes.

An undetermined amount of time later (because his clock was still frozen) and things remained the same. Kiyotaka tried a number of things in an attempt to wake himself up from this 'dream'. From punching himself in the face (which hurt a lot) and trying to step past the frozen and colorless form of Tsubasa (which magically teleported him back to his bed, Kiyotaka started coming to the realization that maybe this wasn't a dream....

....which was insane. Thanks to Eiichiro's influence and his own curiosity, Kiyotaka had read his fair share of stories and manga where something similar to this happened..... as in, the protagonists' life turning into a video game, but he never asked for this to happen to him!

Plus, did it really have to be a dating sim? Couldn't it have been an RPG or even being sent to another world where he can have a new life? That would have been better!

Finally coming to the realization that he was basically 'trapped' here until he does something, Kiyotaka sighed and walked over towards Tsubasa, standing just before her before looking at the three choices he had.

Obviously, the option that caught his attention was the first one. It was simple, direct, and can get rid of Tsubasa in a snap. However, he quickly had second thoughts about it. He had no idea how his answer would affect Tsubasa and from his experience in playing these games, choosing the wrong option would lead to something bad. As much as he wanted Tsubasa to leave, he didn't want to be rude to the girl who was only trying to tell him that food was on the table.

The second choice was also plausible, but Kiyotaka could tell that it contained a passive-aggressive tone from the words alone. Plus, it also had an inappropriate comment about going into a girl's room that wasn't needed at all. Again, he didn't want to be rude to Nanase who has done nothing wrong as far as he was concerned.

And so, by process of elimination, Kiyotaka's eyes fell on the last option, the one that would have been discarded first out of logic if he was in a normal conversation.

Unfortunately, this was anything but normal. It was also remotely obvious that it was the 'right' option, considering his current predicament. As much as he wanted to deny it, he was now curious about what would happen if he chooses this option.

With his mind made up, Kiyotaka sighed to himself and pushed 'Option C'.

Almost immediately, the young man had the weirdest feeling overcome him, feeling as if the world became 'blurred' until he found himself back on his bed, in the exact same position he had been when the 'choices' first appeared.

The sensation caused him to feel dizzy and unable to notice that the world around him was regaining its color and going back to the way it was. Kiyotaka then felt his mouth and body were moving by a will not his own, as if some kind of greater power had suddenly overriden his own mind.

If Kiyotaka had to be honest, he was getting nervous about this. He was trained to fight against human threats, not divine ones. Divine because what he's going through at the moment can't be the work of a normal human at all.

"You know, I never realized how cute you are, Tsubasa-chan," Kiyotaka spoke with a smile that took the blonde girl completely off guard, because she had never seen him make any kind of emotion before. "Why don't you join me in bed for a few more minutes before going down?"

Silence was what followed even after the shocked Kiyotaka regained control over his body. He was already thinking of what to say as an apology, when he saw Tsubasa blushing furiously as she took a few steps back, unable to look at him in the eyes.

"U-Uhm..... I-I-I-I'll leave you alone for now, Senpai.... D-Don't forget to come down for breakfast alright....?!" The poor Tsubasa squeaked in embarrassment before running away, leaving the dumbfounded Kiyotaka behind.

He didn't even have time to open his mouth and voice his shock at how this thing worked as well as the fact that he actually smiled, because several 'Notifications suddenly popped before him with some weird chiming that came from who-knows-were.

[Congratulations! You have unlocked the achievent: 'Smooth Like Butter'! You gained +1 in Charm!]

[Tsubasa Route has been Unlocked! You can now see 'Heroine Status' with Nanase Tsubasa!]

[Your current status with Tsubasa has changed to 'Loyal Follower'!]

[Congratulations! You have unlocked the achievement: 'The First of Many'! You gain +1 in Aura!]

"I can't believe it. This may actually be real," mumbled Kiyotaka, who was slowly getting over his shock and was now growing curious about this strange 'power' instead.

This was a completely different experience compared to playing video games, and he now wanted to know more about how this worked.