Act 11: Scene 7

After feeling relieved at the system's timely intervention, Kiyotaka quickly observed his possible choices. The first two options were completely normal responses, so Kiyotaka ignored them right away. What caught his attention was the third option which, for the first time ever since he's lived with this eroge power, wasn't a perverted choice.

He tried to think of what the third option meant, but all he could think of is that he would show empathy towards her by sharing his own experiences that were similar to hers. It was the only fitting context that he could think of, because it was about relating what she went through to what he experienced...

...which also means that he would be telling this girl about his own past.

"No way."

...that would be his response if this was any other time. If they weren't in his room right now and Kei wasn't feeling depressed, Kiyotaka would have flat-out rejected this option and go for either of the first two instead. It's not out of anger or anything, though. He simply didn't want to disclose any information about his past to anyone, not even his heroines.

Right now, though? There's no doubt that this was the right choice to make.

['To Protect Her Smile' has been Activated!]

Yep. Curse this broken superpower for influencing him enough to make him willing to go through such lengths to keep his heroines happy.

And so, despite having this feeling in his gut that's telling him that this would come to bite him in the ass eventually, he pushed Option C.

"...I know what it feels like," he said as the world around him started to move again.

"What...?" Kei sniffled, as she turned her head to look at him.

"I know what it feels like to get pushed around and be unable to do anything. That feeling of helplessness... when you think that the whole world is against you? I know how it feels. Like you, I also want a normal high school life that's free from those feelings."

Kei blinked a few times as his words started to click in her mind. He... understood her? Kiyotaka knew how she felt?

"You do...?"

"It wasn't anyone from my school who did it to me, though. Someone else made me feel that way."

"W-Who?" she asked, now filled with curiosity regarding her friend.

Kiyotaka took a deep breath, bracing himself for what he was going to say.

There's no going back now.

"My father," he revealed.

The girl needed a few moments to let his words sink into her mind, and all that she could feel was confusion afterwards.

"Your... father?"

"Well, I wouldn't really call him that since he never acted like one. It was just to tell you who he was," he shrugged.

Kei raised an eyebrow. If she was curious before, she was filled with a ton of questions now. How could Kiyotaka's own father be the cause of his suffering?

"What exactly did he do to you?"

"I can't really describe it, but let's just say that I wasn't raised like other kids. While others normally have a good childhood, playing with others, making friends, and being taken care of by their parents, I didn't get any of that. I had to survive on my own."

Those last words rang in her ears like they were the tolling bells of a church. Kei couldn't believe what she was hearing. She thought she had it bad in her old school? Well, Kiyotaka went through worse and it affected her more than she thought.

"But... no one deserves that! How could your father do something like that to you?" she exclaimed, before a sudden idea struck her mind. "W-Wait, is this... is this the reason why you always look like that?"

"Perhaps... but I don't really remember when exactly. All I know is that I've been like this for as long as I can remember," he told her honestly. "I should be thankful for this superpower, though. If I didn't have this, I might have never felt what it's like to smile and laugh again..."

For all the trouble and stress that the system had given him, one thing that he would never be pissed about is the fact that his strange power helped him get in touch with his emotions again to the point that he could show it on his face through his expressions.

"But why would he do that to his own son...?" Kei asked after getting over her shock at his last answer.

He shook his head in amusement. That man seeing him as a son? He'd rather seduce every single one of his heroines than believe that bullshit.

"I don't believe he ever saw me as a son. In his eyes, I'm only a means to an end."

"What do you mean?"

"That's something I can't tell you," he shook his head. He had already revealed enough of his past to her, there was no need to go further. The White Room was a subject that he would never bring up to anyone who was completely innocent to its horrors. "Maybe someday in the future, I will... but not now."

Kei frowned and pouted at him upon hearing that. She still had a lot of questions about him, and he's going to leave her hanging like this?

"Now you're the one who's being unfair. Come on, I told you about myself. Why can't you do the same?"

Kiyotaka sent her a serious look. "It's not just that. It's more complicated than you think, and it's better if you just leave it alone."

"Fine," she relented after a few moments. As much as she wanted to argue that she wanted to know more about him, it was Kiyotaka's choice if he wished to tell her or not. "I still want to hear the end of this story, though. Someday when you're not so secretive."

"Regarding your original question..." he said, shifting the conversation elsewhere. "I apologize, but I can't give you a relationship that's fake. That wouldn't be fair to you. Everything that you wanted to avoid in your old school? It would only come back if I pretend to be in a relationship with you."

Kei sighed. She wasn't even surprised at his answer. "Yeah, I expected as much."

"Really? You expected it yet you went on ahead and asked me anyway," he raised an eyebrow at her out of interest.

"Well, I still wanted to give it a try! I had no idea what would be your answer, and if there was the slightest chance that you'd say yes, there was still a chance."

"Why me, though? You could have approached anyone else about this who would agree to be a fake boyfriend in a heartbeat."

"You were the only one I had in mind," she muttered, her cheeks turning red again for the first time in minutes. "I don't have any other guy friends in the classroom, and it's not like I'm popular outside of the class. You're right, though. I could have asked someone like Hirata-kun and he might have agreed, but I trust you more."

"I see..."

The two sat there in silence afterwards, with neither one of them knowing what to say next.

What now? Kiyotaka had given his answer to her original question, so does that mean that they were done? Should she leave now? Should she just stand up and say goodbye? This turned out to be a pretty eventful and emotional conversation between them, but was this now the point where they would have to bid farewell to each other?

"I guess that's something we both have in common, huh?" asked Kei, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the silent atmosphere between them, yet there was something in her mind that was telling her not to leave yet.

"I suppose," he replied while rubbing the back of his head, sharing the same uncomfortable feeling as her. Damn his socially awkward nature for not knowing what to do now.

"Do you... do you want to hug?"

Upon hearing that question, Kiyotaka quickly turned around to face her, and he wasn't surprised to see the girl blushing furiously. Did she just say what he thought she said?

"...do I want to hug?" he repeated her question, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Yeah, a hug. What, you've never gotten a hug before?" she smirked despite the burning feeling in her cheeks.

He actually thought about that question for a good moment. "I... don't believe so," he told her honestly, unable to recall a moment where he had been hugged by someone.

Remembering what he said about his father just a while ago, Kei immediately regretted her words. "O-Oh. I'm... sorry, I didn't know."

"It's fine."

The girl cleared her throat. "W-Well, do you want to hug, then? Friends do it all the time and it feels really good to do it," she asked, changing her position so that she was kneeling on the bed while facing him.

He blinked in surprise. He had expected something like this from either Suzune or Kikyo, but not Kei. Although, he shouldn't really be taken aback by this. After that deep and heartfelt conversation that they had about their somewhat similar pasts, it totally makes sense why Kei would do this.

"Are you sure? I thought you hated boys."

"Oh come on, are you still worried about that? I already told you that you're different from any other guy out there! Why do you think I asked you to be my fake boyfriend?!" she snapped at him, before raising her arms and spreading them wide, an invitation for him to do the same. "A-And, I thought... I thought that since we kinda went through something similar when we were younger... it would feel better than any normal hug..."

"If it's fine with you, then I wouldn't mind."

He assumed the same position as her, kneeling on his bed and facing the girl with his arms spread apart. The two stared at each other for a few moments, before Kei surprised him by lunging first, wrapping her arms around his back. Kiyotaka stared at her for a moment before doing the same, as he felt her hugging him tighter.

Kiyotaka's eyes widened slightly at her action. He didn't dislike it, though. As a matter of fact, he was compelled to do the same and after he did, the young man felt a sense of comfort filling his entire body, as though it was telling him that everything's going to be alright.

It was a completely foreign feeling to him, and yet he didn't mind it. In fact, he wanted more of it and let himself surrender to the sensation.

"This feels... nice," he commented while letting his head rest on her shoulder.

"It does, doesn't it?" A sigh of contentment escaped the girl's mouth as she leaned her head against him. Kei smiled to herself as a few more tears escaped her eyes but this time, she didn't feel like wiping them away. "It's funny, I wanted to talk to you because I wanted you to pretend to be my boyfriend... but maybe a hug from a friend is all I needed."

Kiyotaka found himself agreeing with that statement wholeheartedly.

"Perhaps."

[Special Event 'Kei's Salvation' has been cleared! You gained 50 Affection Points with Karuizawa Kei!]

[Relationship Status 'Out of Darkness' has been maxed! Relationship Status with Karuizawa Kei has been upgraded to 'Best Friends'!]

[Congratulations! The Skill 'Hug Monster' has been Created!]

[Hug Monster] (Passive Skill): Grants your heroine a warm sense of comfort when you wrap your arms around them and makes them feel safe from everything else. The hugs you give are extremely addicting and will result in you being glomped by your heroines at the most unexpected of times.

Kiyotaka stared at the notifications that showed up and quickly read through their contents. Normally, he would have felt annoyed or frustrated with this scenario but to his own surprise, he found himself reacting by shaking his head in amusement, as if he was completely used to this already and didn't feel like the system was destroying his sanity.

"What even is my life at this point...?" he asked himself before turning his attention back to the girl who was hugging him and the warmth he felt from it.

In the midst of his chaotic life in this school, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka found a few minutes of peace in this hug that he shared with Karuizawa Kei.

And it was something that he would cherish for the rest of his life.