"10/100 – slight liking."

…It's… A strange feeling to find out that, not 1, but 2 girls actually like me. Me.

The child that was despised by society for things beyond his control. The child that never wanted these dead-fish eyes. The child that was abandoned by his parents and had to take care of his little sister while doing everything to keep her safe and happy.

The child that had his childhood killed before it even began.

"Um, like, Hikki? Why are you crying?"

H-huh? Me? Crying? Impossible. I had already dried up my tears when they left… But…

How come I can feel the tears again?

"It's… Nothing, Yuigahama-san."

I glance at her and try to smile at her like those characters I watched, but I guess I messed up since I can see her flinching and taking a step back.

…Why did I expect her reaction to be different from the others?

"U-um, like, your smile looks kinda gr-gross, Hikki…"

Shut up.

She flinched. I guess I said my thoughts out loud but I don't care. I don't care.

"Hi-Hikki!"

I vaguely hear her shouting my name but I don't care. I just want to find a place where I can be alone. Yeah back to loneliness where I, everything will be the same! No system to worry about! No Heroines to worry! Just like my usual everyday life when I am away from Komachi!

Why should I care about the Heroines?! They are just the same as the people back then! Never understanding that their words can kill somebody! Never taking the time to stop!

JUST FUCKING STOP ALREADY!

I just lean against a wall or something while my legs slowly give out on me then lift my knees up to cross my arms over it and press my forehead against my arms. The fucking signature and pathetic form when I –

"Oi, if you're just going to cry, can't you at least do it at a corner or something? Not at the ladder at least."

I look up, only to see black lace underwear above me along with a pair of legs holding – oh. I scramble to get up and get out of the way. The owner of the underwear calmly climbs down and pats her skirt.

"Thank you. Oh, Hikigaya."

Um… How does she know me? Oh wait, she's… One of the Main Heroines… Saki Kawasaki… Fucking hell, I have to deal with another Heroine…

"…Anyway, the rooftop is yours now. I'm done here and there is no one else besides us."

Ah… She's walking away… A Main Heroine… Why… Am I feeling this complicated feeling? My emotions are a mess right now, so I should take this chance to fix it…

But why do I want her to stay?!

Then I see the world slowing down, making me almost let out a sigh that I don't know how to classify it, then 3 boxes appear before me but the contents of the box are different than usual.

"Branching Point Reached!"

"A – Let Her Go."

"B – Stop Her."

"What…? Branching point?"

Immediately, another box appears above the first 3.

"Branching Point – The options presented to the User will decide whether User will be on the True Route or the Bad Ending Route! Please stay true to yourself to be on the True Route!"

…Ok. There is now True Route and Bad Ending. Alright. Makes sense.

…Since the world is frozen, I can take this chance to calm down.

"FUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK YOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUU SSYYYYYYSSSTEEEEEEEEEEM!"

*KTLKTLKTL*

"Ok. Ok. I'm good now." I let out a long sigh to get rid of the remaining stress, then turn my attention back to Kawasaki, who is still frozen at the stairwell.

Alright, so now I need to deal with Bad Ends. I was expecting that I would lose if I made a Main Heroine to -100 or some kind of accident would kill me. But I never expected that I would need to deal with Bad Ends like those VN games.

Although, in hindsight, I should have seen it coming. The cringe system title, the options, the coins, the map, all of them should have clued me in that I am basically in those kinds of VN games.

…Wait, that means that there is an ending where I succeeded in clearing the game…

How?!

I might be lucky in getting 1 or 2 Heroines but all 7? That is impossible. Beyond insane. Beyond fucking whatever! Yet the truth is right there facing me. That I had cleared this game.

Wait, maybe it doesn't mean that I cleared the game. Maybe the system ran some simulations and decided that this moment is important enough to be classified as a Branching Point.

…Ow, really feeling that migraine coming…

"I'll just ignore the possible implication of this… Since it doesn't matter," I mumble out then sigh as I squint my eyes at Kawasaki, "But now, let me just see your history."

"Saki Kawasaki grew up in a ***** household. She has *****. She grew up to be ***** but secretly *****. She has developed a sense of ***** to the point of *****. Now as a student at Sobu High *****. She loves ***** and her hobbies include *****, *****, *****, *****. She dislikes *****, *****, *****."

Ok, no revealed information. That means she either dislikes me or is neutral. Ok good. I don't think I can handle it if she actually likes me.

Anyway, moving back to the Branching Point… Option A is what I would have done. And since the system loves screwing my normal reactions over, this option would instantly lead me to a Bad End. And I have this strange feeling that I would regret letting her go. Although, that last line is concerning... What the fuck do you mean stay true to myself? That always got me into trouble! And it's because of you!

But… Option B is… What kind of reason would the system force me to say…? There are a lot of possibilities, most of them would make me die of shame, so I can't figure it out.

But what other option is there? It's either I go into a Bad End and fail or I stay on the True Route but endure shame, possibly beyond my imagination.

If I had a regression skill or those save points, I would have more options to choose. Seeing the result, planning ahead, and more. Hopefully I will have something like that in the future but… For now.

I can't risk losing my life. Not with Komachi still here.

I let out a long sigh then press option B box and watch as the world resumes. I brace myself for the incoming embarrassment that the system will obviously put me through… And I hate that I am right.

"Hold on, Kawasaki-san! Please let me see your panties again!"

*KTLKTLKTL*

A/N

Welp, another mental breakdown for 8man. Guess the thought that 2 people actually like him was too much for him... Which is something I can actually see happening in canon if this happened before his growth. Anyway, on to the comments!

Hugo0974 - *pleased Yumiko face*

CrazyxEnigma - yep. Yes. Lmao, you should, even though I kinda completely forgot the LN even though I read it years ago

Deathenglegamers1144 - yep, he used her as a love shield from the others. Also, I would need to make a reason for 8man here to go after Hayama... Which isn't actually hard to do actually. Wow, I can see a lot of options right there

Sebas602 - *dryly says* you got my brain to thank for. Ahem, yep and yeah, there is a background right there since I try to have my stories make sense, even if it's twisted as hell and lol. *pleased Komachi face*