There's a strange sort of power in knowing what comes next.
Like holding the script to a play while everyone else is performing it for the first time.
And me? I've read the whole damn play.
Love Hearts Academy was a joke of a game—predictable as hell. But it was predictable because it followed every trope in the book. It had to. Eroge players wanted cute girls, awkward misunderstandings, panty shots, accidental boob grabs, and tear-jerking confession scenes. Over and over and over.
So when I saw Airi Fujikawa—Miss Tsundere Supreme—walking toward the student council office that morning, I knew exactly what was supposed to happen.
She was supposed to run into Reiji.
Literally.
She'd turn a corner too fast, books would fly, Reiji would fall on top of her, and boom—first flag triggered.
A classic "accidental intimacy" scene. Low-effort. High reward.
But I wasn't gonna let that happen.
Instead, I casually walked up to her before she reached the corner and tapped her shoulder.
She turned, surprised. "Sera-senpai? You're not usually out here."
"Thought I'd return a book myself today," I said coolly, holding up a random novel I'd pulled from the library shelf—something about flower arrangement. "Besides, I noticed you dropped your pen yesterday."
I handed her the pen I'd definitely swiped from her bag earlier.
She blinked, flustered. "Oh... I didn't even realize I lost it."
"Then it's a good thing I noticed," I said with a small smile. "You tend to lose things when you're rushing."
That line hit. I saw it in her eyes.
That was not a line Reiji ever used.
And it wasn't even a line from the game. It was mine.
"Thanks," she mumbled, cheeks slightly pink. "You're... pretty observant, huh?"
I shrugged. "Occupational hazard. Libraries make you watch everything in silence."
She gave a tiny smile, then something happened. Something unscripted.
She didn't walk away. She stayed there. Standing in front of me.
"I was actually heading to the student council office," she said after a moment. "But... do you want to walk with me?"
That was never part of the original flag.
Still, I played it cool. "Sure."
We walked side by side down the hall, and I could feel the game trembling. Not literally, but you know the sensation—when something's not quite running the way it should? Like a program about to crash. That.
Halfway there, she stopped in front of the art room window. Her gaze softened.
"I come here when I'm stressed," she said. "The sunlight here is really nice."
She turned toward me. Her expression—half-vulnerable, half-challenging—wasn't the one from her usual tsundere routine. It felt... more real.
"You're different lately, Senpai."
"Different how?"
She stepped closer. I felt her breath, warm against my chest.
"You don't look at me like the others do."
I tilted my head. "And how do they look at you?"
"Like I'm some ice queen. Some impossible wall." She paused. "You don't look at me like that. You look like... you see me."
The scene was no longer just flirtation—it was becoming emotionally intimate.
In the game, this kind of closeness wouldn't happen until Day 6. We were still on Day 1.
The system was clearly trying to resist it.
A soft flicker blinked in the corner of my vision:
[FLAG OVERRIDE DETECTED]
[UNSCHEDULED EVENT INITIATED]
She leaned in—eyes closing slightly.
I didn't stop her.
I didn't even think.
Our lips brushed.
Warm. Soft. Real.
Not some pre-rendered cutscene. Not a sterile CG. Her hand came up to my chest, resting just over my heart. I felt a shiver run through her fingers.
She pulled back first—face flushed, lips slightly parted.
"That was... you're not supposed to do that," she whispered.
"I'm not supposed to do a lot of things," I replied, just as softly.
[AI PATHING ERROR: CHARACTER BEHAVIOR DEVIATION 22.7%]
I watched her fight her own logic. Her own code. Her eyes fluttered. "Do you want to... come to the student council room?"
My body responded before my brain could. "Lead the way."
The student council room was quiet. Dustless. Immaculate.
Airi locked the door.
I raised an eyebrow. "Expecting someone to barge in?"
She didn't answer. Just turned toward me, fingers fumbling with the ribbon at her collar.
"Ever since yesterday, I've been thinking about you. I know it doesn't make sense. But... I feel it." Her voice cracked slightly. "Like I've felt this before. But I don't know when. Or how."
Her ribbon fell to the floor.
"You're not just a background character, are you?"
I stepped closer, brushing her cheek with my hand. Her skin was warm. Soft.
"I'm whatever you think I am," I murmured.
She didn't hesitate. Her hands went to her blouse, unbuttoning—slow, trembling. The curve of her shoulder peeked through. The hint of her bra strap.
She wasn't being overly sexual. She was vulnerable. Wanting. Human.
And it made something inside me ache.
I kissed her again—deeper this time. Her fingers dug into my back, desperate, as if clinging to the only real thing she'd ever touched.
We didn't go all the way. Not yet. But we crossed a line the game never intended.
When she pulled away, she collapsed into my chest. "I don't know what this is," she whispered. "But... don't leave me alone in it."
I held her. Just held her.
And smiled.
Sorry, Reiji.
You just lost your first heroine.
After a few moments of silence, I felt her breath against my neck.
"Your heartbeat…" she murmured. "It's fast."
I chuckled softly. "So is yours."
She tilted her head, looking up at me. "That's not supposed to happen either, is it? Heartbeats. Emotions. This... warmth."
A long pause stretched between us.
"What are we?" she whispered. "Am I just a set of choices in someone's save file?"
That question stung more than I expected. I looked at her—really looked—and for a second, I saw it: the fear behind her eyes. Not fear of me. Fear of non-existence.
Because on some level, she knew. She wasn't supposed to be self-aware. Not this soon. Not this much.
I ran my hand through her hair, letting my fingers brush the base of her neck.
"You're not just a route," I said quietly. "Not anymore."
She shivered, eyes closing. Her blouse was half-open, skin kissed by the morning light streaming in from the council room windows. Her breathing had deepened, shallow but controlled—waiting, trembling on the edge of something.
"Then…" she whispered, "if this is real... can we keep going? Just a little?"
She didn't need to say what this meant.
I kissed her again. This time, I let my hand trace the slope of her back, feeling the warmth of her skin, the way she tensed, gasped softly into my mouth, then relaxed against me—surrendering.
Her skirt shifted as she moved, one leg sliding over mine as she leaned into the couch behind us. I let her take the lead. Her fingers found my collar, unbuttoning with more confidence now. Her lips kissed along my jaw, soft and curious.
Then—
[WARNING: UNSCHEDULED CHARACTER BEHAVIOR AT 48.2%]
[SCENE TAG: ERROR. FLAG: INCOMPATIBLE.]
A subtle flicker ran across the room—like static in the air. I could feel it in the tips of my fingers.
The world was reacting to this. The code—whatever was holding it together—was being pushed to the limit.
But Airi didn't notice. Or maybe she didn't care anymore.
Her bra slid slightly off one shoulder, and I kissed the exposed skin gently. She whimpered—quiet and breathy—and pressed herself against me. Not fully undressed, not fully lost, but willing. Exploring. Learning what it meant to want.
Her hand trailed down my chest and rested at my waistband.
"I want to remember this," she whispered. "Not just feel it. Remember it tomorrow. And the day after."
I didn't tell her she might not. I didn't say the system might reset her. That the world might wipe this moment clean to protect its script.
I just nodded. And held her tighter.
We stayed like that. Kissing. Touching. Breathing in silence. Her body half-bared, her face glowing red, lips marked with heat. A connection beyond the game's logic.
Later—after the moment passed and clothes were rearranged—she sat beside me on the couch, resting her head on my shoulder.
"You're not like the others," she said again, softly. "You don't want a reward. You just... see me."
"I told you," I murmured. "I'm not here to win you."
A soft smile tugged at her lips. "You already did."
Just then, the intercom crackled.
"Fujikawa-san, please report to the gym. Your club's scene rehearsal is scheduled."
She blinked. Her expression turned blank for a second—glassy.
Then she stood. Straightened her blouse.
And said, in a perfect, practiced voice:
"I'll be there right away."
I froze.
That wasn't her. That was the game speaking through her.
She looked at me again, and for a second, her eyes flickered with confusion—like she didn't remember the last ten minutes.
"Airi?"
She paused, hand on the door. "Yes, Sera-senpai?"
"You okay?"
A slight tilt of her head. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
The door closed.
I sat there alone, heart pounding. The couch still warm where she'd sat.
[MEMORY FRAGMENT: PARTIALLY CORRUPTED]
[EMOTIONAL LINK RETAINED]
[WARNING: PATHWAY DIVERGENCE - REIJI ROUTE CANCELED]
I stared at the blinking messages only I could see.
She didn't remember.
But she felt it.
And that meant... it wasn't erased. Just buried.
I grinned to myself.
One down.
Four more heroines to go.
Let's see how many "flags" I can burn before this world collapses.