Chapter 8: The Third Simulation Begins
Home Economics class ended.
Everyone returned to the classroom.
Shoko Nishimiya looked like a different person now, constantly using her fingers to gesture how she had cooked just moments ago.
Her eyes curved into happy crescents.
Haruka sat beside her, listening quietly. He showed no impatience, occasionally giving a small response.
The scene felt both strange and harmonious.
Behind them.
A gaze was watching.
Haruka frowned slightly and turned his head, but the gaze seemed to vanish instantly.
However, only Yukino Yukinoshita was walking at the very back of the group behind them.
So... was it her?
Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at them plainly. Her slender fingers gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she calmly walked into the classroom.
They brushed past each other.
Shoko Nishimiya looked at Haruka and Yukino in confusion. She tugged lightly on the hem of Haruka's shirt and pointed at Yukino's retreating figure.
"It's nothing. Let's go. Listen to the lecture properly," Haruka responded.
Shoko Nishimiya didn't ask why; she simply nodded obediently.
After they had all gone inside, a shrinking pink figure finally poked her head out from behind the green trash can in the hallway.
She looked at herself, then at Haruka's retreating back. "Phew~ I was almost discovered. That was close, that was close... Eh! Wait, no! Wait, why do I feel like a stalker? Ugh… I just want to be noticed..."
For a moment, her entire body seemed to emit a gloomy, grey aura.
However, she seemed to be an expert at self-consolation. Soon, she began to whisper words of encouragement to herself.
"Do your best, Guitar Hero! After posting the new song, go form a band! You can definitely succeed this time! Mm-hmm! Do your best!"
Behind the trash can, she muttered to herself in a low voice.
She didn't notice.
At the classroom door, Haruka had poked his head back out, calmly watching her talking to herself behind the trash can.
"Is she... is she in our class? Why don't I remember her?"
***
The school day came to an end.
Haruka and Shoko Nishimiya had officially become friends.
As they were leaving.
Shoko Nishimiya suddenly took out her communication notebook with a timid expression. She hesitated for a long time before flipping to a page.
That page looked brand new. It was obvious that it had rarely been opened.
"Can you be my friend?"
Shoko Nishimiya had always struggled with deep insecurity. It had been a part of her life since childhood.
This was a fact of her life from childhood to adulthood.
She had no friends.
This was also a fact.
Therefore, under this unexpected warmth, she was walking on eggshells. She cherished it deeply, yet she also... felt terrified that she would lose it. She couldn't believe it. Even now, she felt like she was in a dream.
This was understandable.
Facing this question, Haruka didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Shoko Nishimiya in silence.
"..."
Time slowly passed.
Shoko Nishimiya looked dejected at first, but then she seemed to realize something. She faintly felt that perhaps Haruka was teasing her again.
Meanwhile, Haruka looked at her, his heart trembling.
How did he end up becoming friends with her?
Why did he unknowingly get so close to her?
Was this the side effect of those memory fragments?
Despite the myriad of inexplicable thoughts in his mind, Haruka chose to smile and nod.
He acknowledged their friendship.
A massive smile bloomed on Shoko Nishimiya's face. Facing the sunlight, it looked like the arrival of dawn.
She had a friend.
She finally had a friend!
Shoko Nishimiya spun around in a circle right there, completely disregarding any ladylike elegance.
Perhaps this was the utmost way she could express her joy.
Afterward.
The two parted ways.
Shoko Nishimiya and Haruka did not walk the same path home.
Although Shoko Nishimiya was reluctant to part, she waved goodbye.
Haruka nodded expressionlessly in return.
The moment he turned his head away.
The muscles on Haruka's face twitched involuntarily.
He had suddenly realized what he had done today.
Did this look anything like the "him" who had been hardened by a cold society, the "him" who believed in staying out of other people's business?
The side effects of the memory fragments were more severe than he had imagined.
Haruka rubbed his chin, thinking constantly.
But... forget it. Fame, profit, and the future were the most important things.
Mere feelings didn't amount to anything!
Anyway, they were just some memory fragments. He would just treat it like he had dreamed too much. He just needed to spend some time forgetting them later!
You don't give up just because you make one mistake.
Walking down the street, Haruka's figure was half-shrouded in shadow, while the sunlight illuminated the other half.
Drifting further and further away.
***
After returning home, Haruka ate the dinner Sora had prepared. While washing the dishes, he pondered how to handle the next simulation.
First, during the simulation, he could only change his current mindset. As for the developments that followed, he couldn't control them. After all, the "him" in the simulation was essentially in another timeline, a version of him in another possibility.
He couldn't predict exactly what his other self would do. Different realities and different experiences led to different choices.
However, he could influence immediate events and his short-term thoughts.
For example, tomorrow, behind the school building, delinquents would bully Shoko Nishimiya.
For example, later on, his learning ability had already improved, so perhaps he could find a different path.
Once he held this thought, the "him" in the simulation might try to move in that direction.
Therefore.
Tomorrow, he would cleanly and efficiently take down those delinquents. Then, he would ensure Shoko Nishimiya received help from the Service Club and foster her friendship with Yumiko Miura. On the other hand, he would also increase the intensity of his studies and establish exactly which path he wanted to take in the future.
Medicine?
Law?
Police force?
Economics?
Wait.
That was also a question.
Haruka, with many thoughts weighing on his mind, formed a rough idea.
The time had reached past nine o'clock.
"Sora, don't play computer games too late, or I'll confiscate it!"
"I know!" An impatient voice came from her room.
Haruka shook his head helplessly and returned to his own room.
During this waiting period.
Haruka had no intention of wasting time.
Instead, he recited vocabulary and the mathematical formulas he had listed out, one by one.
From time to time, he would write them out from memory.
Since he wasn't a genius, he could only put in more effort. This was the necessary path to becoming a social elite.
Time passed little by little.
When there was only half an hour left, Haruka stopped studying.
Because his heart was in turmoil; he could no longer wait calmly.
He decided to just stop.
Soon.
The clock struck twelve.
The simulation panel appeared before Haruka's eyes.
[Simulation Target: Shoko Nishimiya]
[Simulation Start]
[With a new plan made, your mindset has quietly shifted.]
[In the afternoon, Shoko Nishimiya told you she was going out. You also arrived at the deserted place behind the school building. You watched her communicate with Yumiko Miura. Subsequently, when the three delinquents appeared, you suddenly emerged, rushing in like a hero, and resolved the situation with fists even stronger than before.]
[Afterward, you did not leave, nor did you let the delinquents leave. Instead, you waited until Yumiko Miura returned.]
[When she came back and saw this scene, she was both shocked and furious. She couldn't imagine that, because of her, Shoko Nishimiya had been bullied by this trash.]
[Yumiko Miura felt guilt toward Shoko Nishimiya.]
----
If you want extra visuals or want to read ahead, you can find my p 4trƐon link in the synopsis or on my profile.
For every 100 Power Stones you throw at me, I'll drop an extra chapter.
Now hand over your GODDAMN INFINITY STONES and support the story!!!