Dangerous Nights Ahead

The 6 AM chime echoed long ago, but Arata stayed in his bed. He stared at his ceiling, his other limbs left unmoving. His heart pounded weakly as if it got tired of raging the moment he regained consciousness and control over his own body. Last night, the events in his sleep were wilder than the ones when he was awake. He could not decide which one was worse to think about.

He placed both hands on his face and tried to press the worry away. He left a gap for his breath to escape his palms. He had gone through scary events in his real life and in the first patch of the game, but the events were growing more and more morbid. It was not like it was not in his taste, but it was getting hard to live through. He could only rely on the game system to keep him alive. The player would never lose his life, right?

"Game over..." he whispered between his palms. What if there was a game over sequence now? He heard there were some in the first patch, but they could be easily dealt with since one could load to their last save. In this life he now lived, what could be his last save point? Will he be able to revive at least?

"This sucks." Arata huffed, pressing his face harder. "I need to see Sayaka... but what if she... gave up on commanding Usagi? Do I talk to her through PM? Those things get recorded, right?"

"Arata?" Yukari's voice came after the creak of the door. Her steps seemed to shuffle towards him in hurry. "Is everything okay? You're mumbling to yourself."

He brought his hands down and chuckled. "Nothing. I just... saw very bad things in my sleep. Is anyone else in the house right now?"

"Uhm... my brothers are downstairs." It took her seconds to answer. "I overslept and just managed to make breakfast for them at the same time I made one for us." Yukari chuckled in nervousness. "Sorry, I just thought it would be okay."

"Sure, no problem." Arata got up from his bed and stretched a little. He then noticed Yukari sit down next to him. He kept his gaze at her, waiting for her to talk.

"Arata, can we talk later after class? Without anyone else? Just us..." The best friend almost twisted her lips, ready to get a 'no' from the player. She then took a deep breath. "Please I really want to talk to you alone."

The god of the living nodded without a sound. He got up from the bed and smiled at her as he stood before her. "Sure. Just wait for me downstairs. I need to take a shower." Before he could go, he felt Yukari's arms around his waist. She pressed her forehead against his abdomen— he just realized he was only in his boxers by then. "Are you scared?"

"...I'm terrified of your girls... and how you knew I have something to be scared about..."

The two managed to pick themselves up, and after a few more minutes, Arata, Cora, and Yukari ate breakfast with the Ginmachi brothers named Yuuta and Yuuki. Since Yuuta had recovered from his sickness, their parents were back to giving the kids lifts to school. However, they had to leave so early today that Yukari had to walk them to school first. The other two high schoolers ate faster than normal so they could go with Yukari to the kids' school before walking to their own.

Being with Cora and Yukari made his heart calmer than normal. He could only relax with the two of them since they were quite not involved with the conflicts that made his heart race. It was not that he hated the feeling; he just needed to take a break. With a songstress and an honest heart, it was attainable for a few minutes at least.

The serene feeling was shattered when they reached the gates of the school. There were foreign students standing at the side as if waiting for someone. They all wore the same uniform Keita did yesterday; perhaps they were from his class. Arata could only give them a look as he led the girls to the gates.

Their gazes moved from their businesses to a direction after one signaled them to look. As an instinct, Arata shifted his gaze to the same direction they did. For some reasons, he froze as he saw Attori walking with Keiko. Her hair extensions were taken away, and her hair seemed to be newly cut as well. Her make-up was lessened, as well as her accessories. Her arms were kept close, and she went back to the less enthusiastic version of her. Attori, however, still pranced on her way to school.

His eyes were stuck on the two beauties; that was why he did not see the males closing in on them. He just saw Attori stop prancing at the same time Keiko stopped walking. They were confronted by the males. Like some other chances, he could hear them clearly.

"You're Wakaba's little sis, right?" One of the goons asked in a mellow, calm voice. He did not seem to try and scare the girls despite the aura around them. "Is your brother sick? He didn't show up yesterday... and for our 6 AM class. You can say we're worried."

"Uh, that's..." Keiko gripped on her bag strap tighter.

"He's in the hospital." Attori caught the conversation so Keiko did not have to talk about it— using her understanding, that is. "Some weird guy started a fight with him on his way home. He got stabbed so... he's confined. You can visit him today if you like."

One of the males whistled as he approached Attori from a side, passing by the first male to talk. He bent down to check out the mad bitch and even went to hook some of her blue hair with his hand. "Wow, you're a pretty one! Do you have a boyfriend right now?"

The male who talked to them first sighed. "Morikawa, stop. We're not here to scare them."

"What do you mean scare? Come on, Ritsu! Why would they be scared of these good faces?" The man named Morikawa laughed out and hummed as he checked out the same girl again. "So, what do you think, baby girl?"

"Not interested." Attori only kept her smile as she looked at the tall man. She then whipped out her phone. "Big Brother Ritsu, give me your phone number. I'll text you where Big Brother Keita is."

"Eh, r-really?" Ritsu, who frowned upon his friend's action, suddenly blushed and took his phone out from his breast pocket. He felt the glares of his friends, but he did not care. He gave his number to Attori and waited for a text with excitement on his face. His friends also took their phones out to copy the number that will show up on his screen. Their hungry faces somewhat became distorted as they read the text with their eyes.

[Hi, Big Brother Ritsu! My name is Attori, and it's nice to meet you. I don't like this Morikawa. Can I punch him? Also, don't show your faces to me unless I call you. You will regret it.]

"Ah, that'll be all!" Attori chirped as she grabbed Keiko's arm and take her away. "See you around!"

The college students almost cried, aside from Morikawa who looked back at the two girls marching away. He then lifted his gaze at Arata who was watching them from a distance. He also eyed at the two beautiful girls next to him... who were also looking at their direction. Soon enough, he watched Attori interact with Arata as if inviting him to go inside the gates. He only ground his teeth in frustration.

Back to the player and his women, Arata could not help but to notice Keiko like he had not noticed the changes as soon as he laid his eyes on her earlier. "Wow, Keiko, what happened to the extensions?"

"It wasn't working..." she meekly whispered as she turned away from him.

Arata looked at his girlfriend who only returned his gaze with fraud innocence. He frowned at her as they walked. Since it was getting late and the first bell had rung, the group had to let Cora run to her homeroom on her own. The second years just waltzed to their room since it was closer.

The day continued, and Arata ended up staring at Attori all the time. It used to be a look of craving, but right now, it is a look of worry. He could still remember what he saw last night— which could have gone really sour if the creature attacked them. He had no idea what happened later, but he was sure it was not just a dream. It was a remote scenario that plays in non-routed playthroughs, where the player is not present during a scenario. It was presented to increase dramatic irony for the girls... and for some reasons, even for the players.

Since Tohru and Ruby were working during Saturday afternoons, he was free to spend the rest of the day for Yukari. Attori also excused herself along with Keiko. Cora would be in practice in her own home. He had not rekindled his relationships with the other women so he might get in trouble if he suddenly showed up where they were.

It was not a Date because a scenario started to play that afternoon. He continued to walk home with Yukari, and the girl was rather burring in frustration. She held onto his hand again like that day.

"Arata, I'm sure you know what we're going to talk about, right?" A voice managed to get out of her lips. "You're aware of things more than you let on to everyone else."

"Yeah, I'm a psychic..." He tried to crack a joke, but his voice trailed as he lost the courage halfway. He then scratched his cheek with the vacant hand. "Yukari, you don't have to be scared of them. They won't hurt you unless you start hurting me—"

"That is not the point!" Yukari yelled, tugging at the hand she was holding. She faced him with glare that could cut through cement. "Do you understand how much trouble is around you right now? Attei could be a good person when she's not all psycho, but she's still one. Then Hamada and Tohsaki are plotting something! Not to mention, the first one to break suddenly got close to your girlfriend— who she tried to kill by the way!"

She gasped without a sound before holding Arata's hand with both of hers. "I'm saying... I'm scared of what they could do to you. They won't hurt you intentionally, but man, I know you'd tear yourself apart just to keep them safe. You lost your hand to Wakaba before, remember?" She took a deep breath. "Look, I love you so much. I don't want you to be jumping in to stop a brutal catfight.

"You should at least do something to stop them from... doing the batshit crazy." She whispered aloud as she brought his hand to her chest, as if cradling a precious stone. "I don't know what I'll do if you die one day..."

"Ah"—words got caught in Arata's throat—"Yukari..." He could only take his hand and pull her to a reassuring hug. "Don't worry, I don't want to die either, okay? I love this world"—he looked up to the sky, ignoring the confused twitch from the best friend in his arms—"and I don't plan on leaving it early. So if the push comes to shove, I'd... do whatever it takes..."

He looked at her bewildered eyes. "Whatever it takes."

Yukari only leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm not the one you should reassuring like this. Aren't you supposed to be saying these vows to Attei or something?"

"Hahah, that's funny." Arata squeezed her tighter. "I'm pretty sure I can't make this kind of speech towards Attori. She's the type who would... act on it rather than get scared. If something scares her, she does what is needed to remove it. And that"—he sobbed midway—"what makes her scary. Yukari, I need you for balance..."

"So I'm a walking stick now, huh. Well, I don't mind." She held him tighter. "I'll support you in every way you need me to." She took a deep breath as if inhaling his scent. 'Even if I have to be... as steadfast and brutal as they all are.'

END OF VOLUME 2: THE AUTUMN FLOWERS HAVE RISEN!