Act 2: Scene 4

Suzune clenched her fist in frustration upon hearing someone interrupt her. This was the second time she got interrupted before she could even ask him! Was the universe playing with her or something?!

It wasn't Kiyotaka who interrupted her this time, though.

Both teenagers turned their heads to the source of that voice, as they saw a familiar face approach them, a girl with short beige hair and crimson eyes who happened to be their classmate.

"What are you doing here, Kushida?" asked Kiyotaka, raising an eyebrow curiously.

Kikyo clapped her hands together and smiled cutely. "I wanted to head back to the dorms with you. You're going there, right?"

"I am. Is that all?"

"Oh, I have another reason!" she walked closer towards him as her smile widened. "Since you said that you're not good at making friends, then I'll be your friend!"

"You didn't have to say it out loud like that... although I wonder if she's being genuine. She can fake her emotions easily, so I shouldn't be surprised if she's just making this up. But then again, she's supposedly one of my 'Heroines', and I can't deny that she's cute..." Kiyotaka had a mental war in his mind between being cautious and accepting for a few moments, before letting out a sigh."You can come along with us, I guess..."

Kiyotaka failed to notice the frown that Suzune was sending him after uttering his answer, because he was more focused on the notification that appeared in front of him.

[You gained 5 Affection Points with Kushida Kikyo!]

"I've been gaining 'Affection Points' faster with her than with Horikita..." he thought. "I believe Nanase is still higher than her, but I suppose that's because we've already known each other even before I got this weird power, while I've only met Kushida today."

"Really?!" Kikyo smiled brightly, which only made her even cuter than before. "Come on, let's go! We can talk about a lot of things on the way there." She then grabbed Kiyotaka's wrist and was about to pull him along with her, when Suzune's voice immediately stopped her in her tracks.

"Kushida-san, would you please calm down? I was having a perfectly normal conversation with Ayanokouji-kun before you happened to interrupt us."

"What are you talking about? We weren't—" the young man tried to speak, but was quickly silenced by the scowl that Suzune sent him. "What is she angry about?" he asked himself in confusion.

Kikyo turned to Suzune and bore a confused look. "But Horikita-san, I was just trying to be a good friend to Ayanokouji-kun. There's nothing wrong with that, right? I'm sorry if I interrupted you two, but we could talk about it together on the way to the dorms!"

Suzune would never say these next words in front of other people but right now, she was too frustrated to even care. "As far as I'm concerned, he only allowed you to accompany us on the way to the dorms. I don't think he said anything about accepting you as a friend."

Ouch.

Even Kiyotaka winced as Suzune said those words. He even felt bad for Kikyo, despite knowing what she was like under that mask she was putting up.

"E-Eh? W-Why are you speaking for Ayanokouji-kun as if you know what he's thinking? Are you perhaps his girlfriend or something, Horikita-san?" Kikyo replied, the smile on her face straining a little as the girl struggled to keep her inner emotions in check. "That bitch! How dare she say that to me?! I'll show her!"

"I am not," she said firmly. "I am only basing my words on what I see and hear, and I don't believe he acknowledged you as his friend."

"Oh, and are you saying that you can make Ayanokouji-kun's decisions for him?" Kikyo giggled.

Kiyotaka was beginning to sweat out of nervousness from what he was witnessing between the two. "This is bad... Kushida supposedly hates Horikita for knowing something about her, and she's using this argument to relay what she really feels. On the other hand, I think Horikita's getting jealous because Kushida just showed up out of nowhere. She's jealous, right? She wouldn't say those things if she wasn't."

Okay, he obviously has to stop these two from arguing any further, but how exactly? Okay, he could stop Sudo from being an idiot and picking a fight with other students, but this was completely different. He couldn't take advantage of anything here and to make matters worse, these two were both 'heroines'. One wrong word and he could screw things up.

Darn it, what was he supposed to do?!

[TOKI WO TOMARE!]

"What the hell...?"

Fortunately for him, the young man was saved from having to think about what to say to them because the 'time freeze' mechanic of the system kicked in, and the world around the young man lost its color. The

A. [Would you both keep it down? Otherwise, I'll just walk on my own and leave the both of you here.]

B. [Why don't we all just get along and walk together to the dorms? We all have the same destination, anyway.]

C. [Girls, please, please. There's no need to fight over me because I belong to everyone. You are even free to share me if you are willing to.]

"I don't know what that earlier notification was about but anyway, how nice of the system to lend me a hand for this problem," Kiyotaka thought, feeling confused with that 'toki wo tomare' notification before shrugging it off and focusing on his choices. Must be a reference or it's just the system messing with him again.

Alright, the first choice was obviously out of the question because it was plain rude and would likely end up doing more harm than good. The second choice was a plausible one to calm the two girls down, but Kiyotaka had a feeling that even if he says it, the two won't stop and will continue to argue... which leaves the third option... again.

"Why can't there be four options instead...? One that doesn't involve an embarrassing answer, preferably..." he sighed and covered his face with his hand. "I'm going to regret this, but if it means getting to the dorms as soon as possible so I could sleep already, then whatever."

With a clear frown on his face, the young man picked Option C as the world returned to normal, especially the two girls.

"Horikita-san, if you have a problem with me, then you could just say it. How will we resolve this if you don't tell me what's wrong?" Kikyo asked, continuing to put up a fake smile that was about to shatter at any second.

"I have no problem with you. All I'm saying is that you should be mindful of your limits and to be careful not to overstop your boundaries. Ayanokouji-kun said that you can come with us, that doesn't give you the power to drag him wherever you wish," Suzune shot back while hiding the real reason why she was pissed.

The sound of Kiyotaka clearing his throat made both girls stop in their seemingly endless argument as they turned to him.

"Girls, please, please. There's no need to fight over me because I belong to everyone. You are even free to share me if you are willing to," he spoke while flashing them an alluring smirk.

It proved to be very effective in shutting them up, as well as making their faces turn red in the process.

[You gained 5 Affection Points with Kushida Kikyo!]

[You gained 2 Affection Points with Horikita Suzune!]

[You silenced two arguing Heroines by smooth-talking them! You gained +1 in Charm!]

"I expected that to happen," Kiyotaka shook his head and sighed. "But it still makes me wonder why I've been gaining 'Affection Points' with Kushida so quickly. Does she actually like me or something?"

The two continued to stare at him dumbfoundedly even after Kiyotaka regained control of his body, to the point that he was starting to think that he actually made the wrong choice instead.

"Uh... I was just kidding?" he tried to say in an attempt to fix things before it's too late.

...and it was.

~XoX~

"Will it still be freedom if I kill myself? Seriously," the young man deadpanned in his mind, the apathetic look on his face gone and replaced by an annoyed expression instead.

Never in his life had he felt this frustrated and angry before, and he hated that man above everything else. In fact, if there was a gun somewhere around here, he was tempted to put a bullet in his own head if it meant putting a stop to this mess.

The reason why Kiyotaka was feeling angry was the two girls who were holding each of his arms like it belonged to them. No, no, it's not because of the girls themselves. It's because the stupid superpower he had led them to be like this.

On the brighter side of things, it did manage to quell the girls' anger and got them to stop arguing, only at the cost of them grabbing his arm like they were his girlfriends...

As they walked, Kushida began asking Ayanokouji a multitude of questions, ranging from 'which school did you come from' to more personal ones like 'do you have any siblings'. The young man answered her questions to the best that he could, but left some as vague because there are things about him that she must not know about.

Even though she was annoyed by Kushida's loud voice taking over the whole time, Horikita still listened with great interest to the questions that he answered, as it was also a way for her to get to know him better.

As they neared the dorm buildings, Kikyo let out an audible sigh. "I wonder why we can't be neighbors in dorm rooms... that way, we'd see each other more often and we can even walk to class together!"

Kiyotaka only shook his head. "Kushida, that should be obvious. I'm a guy, and you're a girl. We aren't supposed to live in the same dorm building."

"I know... but, it's not like other boys will think of going into a girl's dorm room, right? Plus, I'm sure there will be cameras that can record what happens in the hallways. Boys wouldn't even think of sneaking into a girl's room because it would be bad if they get caught!" Kikyo argued, which surprised even herself.

"I don't know why, but I want to be closer to Ayanokouji-kun..." the girl thought as she realized something. "Wait, if I can get him on my side, then I can expel Horikita for good! It's totally obvious that she likes him, which is mind-blowing to think about, but it will only make expelling her more satisfying! I can only imagine the look on her face when she sees that Ayanokouji helped in her expulsion!"

The more Kikyo thought about it, the more she liked it.

"Kushida-san, can you please give it a rest? Ayanokouji-kun said it himself. Boys and girls aren't allowed to live in the same building. Perhaps there are dormitories that offer a co-ed arrangement for its inhabitants, but our school does no such thing."

Kikyo resisted the urge to growl at her in anger. "Fine..." she sighed as she thought of a way to get closer to the young man with her.

Kiyotaka sighed in relief.

Finally, some peace and quiet. They were getting close to the dorms as well. Just a bit more, and he'll be able to take a rest from this day that served to tire him out to the absolute limit!

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

...what?

For a moment, Kiyotaka's apathetic expression fell apart completely and was replaced with a look of shock.

"What the—" Kiyotaka's eyes went wide as he read the notification, because he knew what this skill was capable of doing and it wasn't good. "How the hell did it activate? These girls couldn't have been feeling sad."

The sound of a nearby megaphone pole turning on caught the three students' attention, making them stop in their tracks so they could listen to what was about to be announced.

"Attention, all students. Please check your phones for a very important message. I repeat, all students, please check your phones for a very important message."