"Taki, please don't be like this."
Tomori's eyes were filled with panic as she spread her arms in front of Taki, clearly afraid that her friend might do something irreversible in the heat of the moment.
She'd always been timid, unsure, and sensitive to the dynamics of relationships.
Even Taki, who had believed she understood Tomori better than anyone, had never seen her like this.
Haru covered his face in secondhand embarrassment. Things had escalated so fast he hadn't even had time to react before Tomori beat him to it.
Wanting to prevent things from spiraling further, he stepped up to explain.
But before he could say a word, a pink head popped out from behind him. Anon, flashing her tiny fang-like tooth, pouted:
"Who are you, anyway? You know Tomori?"
Taki's fire had dwindled a bit thanks to Tomori, but Anon's comment reignited it almost instantly.
Her natural gift for stirring things up was terrifying.
As expected, Taki's eyes snapped back to life. The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
"I'm Tomori's friend. Who are you people, and what are you doing with her?"
"We're her bandmates! The three of us are starting a band together, there's nothing wrong with that, right?"
"…Huh?!"
[Anon's statement completely fried Taki's brain. Unable to grasp the situation, all she could do was mutter 'Huh?' in disbelief.]
[Learning that Tomori had started a band without her, and because of you, shook her deeply.]
[But the hardest part to accept was this: Tomori had formed the band not with her, but with you. She didn't even know when you and Tomori got so close. Even holding hands, she'd never gotten that far.]
[At that moment, Shiina Taki looked like she wanted to eat you alive.]
[But thanks to Tomori's intervention, she gradually calmed down. Her eyes still shot daggers, but at least she was pretending to be civil now. She wasn't trying to murder you anymore.]
[You notice something in Taki's eyes, she looks like she wants to say something but is holding back.]
Come on, man.
Like it wasn't obvious what Taki was thinking.
The flash of memory from earlier had shown Haru her dumbfounded expression in first person. Honestly, it was kind of funny.
She was obviously sulking, jealous that Tomori started a band without her.
That mix of frustration and envy? It looked just like a certain someone who used to eavesdrop outside classroom doors.
The image was so vivid that Haru worried he might burst out laughing the next time he saw Taki in real life.
[Faced with Taki, who seemed to have something she couldn't say out loud, you decided to—]
[1. Happily invite her to join the band. A good band needs a drummer who can control the entire rhythm.]
[2. Ignore her.]
[3. Contact her privately, using the issue with Tomori to get some leverage.]
[4. Virtual reality.]
Kazami Haru hadn't even finished reading when his eyes caught sight of an absolutely outrageous option.
Wasn't this thing supposed to be called the "Ultimate Romance Simulator"?
Why did it keep throwing out these bizarre, off-the-wall choices? And the third one, damn it! It actually kind of made sense. He couldn't shake the feeling it might actually work.
If it was Taki-san... maybe she really would do anything for Tomori.
Kazami Haru shook off the thoughts the simulator was trying to feed him and chose the first option.
Taki might be a high-pressure menace, but when it came to drumming, her skill was undeniably top-tier. The moment she joined the band, she'd be a central pillar of strength.
As long as the pressure didn't flare up, she was a rock-solid teammate.
[You didn't let Taki's earlier aggressiveness leave a bad impression on you. Instead, you cheerfully invited her to join the band, which caused some obvious dissatisfaction from Chihaya Anon standing nearby.]
pic: [1]
[Shiina Taki seemed completely caught off guard by your unexpected invitation. For the sake of Tomori, she didn't refuse outright, but even so, she clearly wasn't about to treat you kindly.]
[She even went out of her way to shoot you a fierce warning—"A band isn't something you just mess around with."]
[Shiina Taki's opinion of you has changed.]
Wait, that's all it takes for a change of heart?
Just a few harsh words? Come on, if you don't get chewed out a little, where's the pressure?
[Despite a few bumps along the way, you successfully brought your makeshift band to "STARRY" in Shimokitazawa. As you were renting a rehearsal room, you passed by a girl with striking features and a cool, elegant air, her blue hair making her stand out.]
[Yamada Ryo has taken notice of you.]
[Yamada Ryo's affection for you has increased.]
What the hell?
Kazami Haru stared at the words on the simulator screen, his hand frozen mid-air with a cup of hot coffee.
This run was supposed to be the second route for Tomori.
Whether in this "second playthrough" or the previous "first," Yamada Ryo was never part of the equation. Not even a little.
Yeah, they'd had some brief interaction in Ryo's own route, but that was just a one-time meeting.
Even Ryo herself forgot about it soon after.
So what gives?
Why was Ryo acting all ready to throw herself at him right from the get-go?
They hadn't even exchanged a single word, just brushed past each other, and boom: "attention gained," "affection increased."
When he first met her during Ryo's route, nothing like that happened!
Could it be...
Was it because in this playthrough, he was suddenly surrounded by so many women, and Ryo found that intriguing?
[Chihaya Anon, attending band practice for the first time, was clearly insecure. But despite knowing she wasn't up to par, she insisted on being both guitarist and lead vocalist. This sparked a fierce argument with Shiina Taki, who was single-mindedly devoted to Takamatsu Tomori.]
[Thanks to her, though, you quickly realized just how rough this makeshift band actually was.]
[Anon, the guitarist, seemed to only know chords. And Tomori, the would-be lead singer, was too haunted by past trauma to raise her voice. This drove Shiina Taki, who wanted to form a proper band, into a state of deep frustration.]
[Maybe because Anon was such a novice, even your own skills as the keyboardist were called into question by Taki.]
Damn, when did the atmosphere get this tense?
Taki bro, all that talk earlier was just fun and games. No need to go full throttle on us now!
Caught in the middle, taking heat from both sides, this kind of pressure could give a guy PTSD from playing CS:GO.
[This time, your team-building effort at "STARRY" ended in unfortunate failure.]
[On the way back, Shiina Taki tried to walk Tomori home, but sensing something hidden in Tomori's heart, you intercepted her instead, despite the murderous glare Taki gave you.]
[1] https://imgur.com/WfhBYCx