The system pulled aside the curtains on the window above Kagura's head to force her awake. Then, her alarm went off.
"Rise and shine, sleepy head." The system's animated voice sounded from the alarm.
"Just five more minutes." Kagura groaned and flipped the pillow to shield her eyes against the harsh sunlight.
The system chose a more aggressive method. It raised its own text box at max brightness and appeared directly on Kagura's pillow.
「 No, can do. I'm here to make sure you attend class. 」
"AH! My eyes!" Kagura threw the pillow away. Her eyes were watering from the sudden flash of light.
「 Don't you want to see your beloved Hidaka-chan?」
Kagura bolted up straight in her bed. "Is today April third?"
「 Ding. Ding. Ding. Jackpot! 」
"Why didn't you wake me up sooner, system?" Kagura jumped out of bed. "In the original game, today is the day that the heroine encounters Hidaka for the first time and their relationship starts to blossom. I can't miss this opportunity!"
「 I tried. T-T But, you wouldn't budge. 」
She rushed to the closet, but was in for a surprise. "An XXL gray hoodie with coffee stains and a tattered pair of skinny jeans! Why don't you just give me a carboard box to wear?!"
「 If you'd like, I can downgrade you to the full 'MADAO' cardboard suit. 」
"I was clearly joking!"
「 Need I remind you that your current character stats are at base level? 」
"Wait. How do I view my stats?"
「 Put your hands in front of you. 」
Kagura complied and set her hands in front of her.
「 Lay flat on the ground. 」
She thought it was an odd suggestion, but laid down on her belly, making sure that her hands were still directly in front of her.
「 Raise your legs up so your toes are stretched forward. 」
Kagura had great inner core strength so she could easily bend her legs into a half 'C' formation.
「 Now, sit up and raise your hands. 」
She instinctively raised her hands to touch her toes in an 'O' formation.
「 That's great, oujo-san. You're super flexible. :D 」
"What does that have to do with anything?"
「 If you touch your toes, you can see a blue window with your stats pop up. 」
"You mean I didn't have to get down on the ground like this?!"
「 I wanted you to pose like a seal. I didn't realize you were capable of being a donut. 」
"Enough of this! I have to be standing in front of Hidaka's class at eight-thirty sharp." She pulled herself up and quickly scanned her stats.
※ Charm: -5
※ Health: +15
※Intelligence: 0
"..." Kagura glared at her stats. She could let the '-5' Charm go, but something about that '0' Intelligence rubbed her the wrong way. The cheeky system was clearly looking down on her.
Don't underestimate me, system. You'll rue the day you look down on the Queen of Kabuki-cho!
Contrary to the system's expectations, Kagura prioritized saving time and refused to comment further. She quickly pulled the hoodie over her upper body and shimmied into her tattered jeans. She skipped over to the table, grabbing four slices of bread and inserting them into the toaster. After laying the garlic butter thick between each toasted layer, she bit into her sandwich and rushed out the door.
「 Don't forget your phone, Kagura-chan! 」
「 It comes with GPS and all sorts of handy features to help you track your progress. 」
"Wow. That was the nicest thing you've said all morning." Kagura was in awe. "You're not gonna take it away all of a sudden, are you?"
[ No. No. You'll need all the help you can get. ]
She didn't fully trust the system, but she wasn't going to reject such a useful tool. She hastily opened her class schedule on the phone and clicked on her first class 'Intro to Business Management' and tapped on the 'Location' button.
【Would you like to optimize the best route to your class?】
She tapped on the green 'YES' button.
【Route calculation complete. ETA is 5 minutes.】
【Follow the red arrows to your destination.】
Sougo looked at himself in the full-length mirror by the entrance one last time. Shimaru had personally chosen his outfit. He wore a textured watermelon pink long sleeve with a loose turtle-neck, black suspenders, dark green striped trousers and a pair of genuine leather shoes. Even Sougo's left ear had been pierced and held a white cross earring.
[ Hurry up! Our Ethics class starts in fifteen minutes. ]
"Hold on." Sougo looked closely at the image of the balcony in the mirror. He spotted a pink cloth that didn't seem to belong there. He went to the balcony and picked up the cloth. Isn't this Kagura's?
Sougo heard footsteps behind him. [ What's that? ]
"It's nothing." He hid the cloth behind his back. "Does the name Kagura ring a bell?"
[ No. ]
"No vermillion-haired blue-eyed girl in her twenties?"
Shimaru shook his head.
[ That's not a very common hair color. She would stick out like a sore thumb. There's no way Soichi would miss flirting with her. ]
"Never mind." Sougo didn't like the sound of that. He hid the pajama top in the back of Soichi's closet. "Let's go."
The duo arrived on time for their fourth-year Ethics class. The professor proceeded to take roll call and never suspected Sougo at all. Even though things were going smoothly, Sougo wanted to leave. He had never attended a prestigious university and hated every minute of enduring such a boring lecture. It was more painful that sitting through another one of Hijibaka's lecture. He kept glancing over to the exit.
"Sensei, I have to go the bathroom." Sougo raised a hand.
"No need to say anything next time, Okita-san. You can just go." The professor yielded. "Come back before class ends. We'll be discussing the topic of the class' graduation projects next."
Sougo nodded, glad to be freed from the confines of theory. He decided to kill some time by wandering around the nearby area. To his surprise, he spotted a familiar head of vermillion hair from afar.
So she has a doppelganger here too?
He unknowingly found himself intrigued at her actions. She was fidgeting in the same spot while staring across the hallway in anticipation. For what exactly? Sougo wanted to know.
Kagura reached her classroom at 8:29 a.m. One minute earlier than the event time. She was currently hiding around the corner across the classroom entrance, waiting for her target to appear. She mentally checked off the necessary items for the encounter.
Tower of textbooks? Check!
Pitiful heroine aura? Check!
Sandwich dangling in the mouth? Check!
The only thing missing is Hidaka.
She counted the seconds on her phone's clock app.
"Three…two…one…" Kagura rushed head first towards the hallway.
Her forehead collided with a strong chest and her textbooks spilled out of her hands. The momentum had caused her to fall back and she landed on the ground with her butt.
"Ouch." She rubbed her backside.
"Are you okay?" Hidaka raised a slender hand toward her.
When they both locked eyes, the system window appeared.
「 The target lends his hand to you. What do you do next? 」
「 Propose to him. 」
「 Scold him. 」
▷「 Introduce yourself. 」
Kagura was relieved to see that the story was proceeding like the original route and quickly chose the last option.
Working on auto-pilot, her hand reached out to Hidaka and the next few words that left her mouth was, "I'm Kagura, a first-year student here. Nice to meet you, long lost onii-chan. "
Eeeeeeeeeeeh?
Hold on.
Hold on.
That last bit wasn't a part of the original game?
A/N: Sometimes, I'm amazed at my ability to write absolute nonsense. Also, Happy Valentine's Day! Or in my case, Happy Galentine's Day :D