I’ve Been Reincarnated as the Childhood Friend of a Doomed Heroine. Since I Don’t Want to Get Caught up in Her Bad Ending, I’ll Make Sure She Ends up Happy
Kijima Aoiko――.
Her scenario in the common route is also a tragic one.
Chronologically speaking, it’s July, a little while later.
She gets confessed to by a junior boy from the soccer club, but this guy is a notorious womanizer and a total piece of trash.
When she rejects him, he tries to force himself on her in the clubroom after practice.
Screaming and crying, she’s forcibly stripped of her jacket—a guaranteed traumatic scenario.
I was absolutely floored the first time I read it.
I knew it was a depressing game, but I never expected a sudden NTR development midway through the common route.
Technically, regardless of choices, the scenario ends with Akito stopping it, preventing the r*pe from happening. But that doesn’t erase the fact she was stripped and threatened.
It leaves the player with incredibly complex feelings, forced to continue the route afterward.
But!
Kijima Aoiko was a strong girl.
No matter what trauma she endured, she remained perpetually kind, earnest, and adorable—
That’s the kind of shining heroine she was.
In that awful depressing game called ‘Sakuchiru’, where one of the heroines repeatedly attempts suicide, she was the one and only genuine, unwavering source of comfort…!
In the game, that is.
In the bustling park, our space was the only one completely silent.
I asked again.
“Hey, Kijima-san. You clicked your tongue just now, right? You said ‘Die,’ didn’t you?”
“Eh? What’s that? I don’t get it. Nothing at all~”
“Yeah, right. That’s not convincing.”
She tried to feign ignorance, but it was futile.
When I shook my head firmly, Aiko’s mouth twisted slightly.
She sighed, a wry smile on her face.
“That guy… he’s a junior on the soccer team.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Yeah. And lately, he’s been coming on to me way too much. Like, trying to touch my boobs?”
“……”
“Of course I’ve been rejecting him, but he just won’t stop. It’s really bothering me.”
She no longer tried to hide it, her face hardening.
As for me, hearing this made something click.
Could it be… if this harassment junior follows the original scenario, he’s probably the rap*st bastard slated to appear later?
It’s not mentioned in the protagonist Akito’s side story, but I think it was hinted at a bit in Akito’s alternate side story.
For a moment, I was impressed that such things were happening behind the scenes.
But I quickly shook my head, realizing this wasn’t the time for that.
It seemed he hadn’t confessed yet, but there was no doubt he was a key character in the scenario.
“So, I thought he was only hitting on me, but he was actually going after other girls too. That’s the worst.”
“I think just targeting Kijima san is bad enough.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Seriously, I’m so glad I turned down every single one of his invitations to hang out.”
Aoiko looked genuinely disgusted, repeatedly making mysterious threatening gestures into the air.
I nodded in agreement.
“I think it was a wise decision. Kijima-san is too good for a guy like that.”
“Hey, do you really mean that? You heard that sigh earlier. Aren’t you disappointed in me too?”
“Not really.”
I denied it immediately, but to be honest, it was a bit complicated.
Her attitude in the game had actually thrown me off.
Plus, her behavior up until just now had been so true to the original story that I’d let my guard down.
It was like seeing an unexpected, off-the-charts true nature where I least expected it, leaving me confused.
As Aoiko’s eyes welled up, I continued.
“I was just impressed by how strong your heart is.”
“That’s not a compliment, is it!? Ugh, I never say stuff like this normally!”
It was true.
Her tone was sharp, but earlier she’d said it was fine if I just harassed her sexually, but nothing else was allowed. I knew she was fundamentally kind.
But she seemed mortified that I’d asked her about it.
“Uuuuuuuu…! You have to keep this a secret!”
“Ah, ahh. Of course.”
“Also, call me by my first name, Aoiko.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Calling me by my last name feels distant, and it makes me feel like you’d abandon me if something happened.”
“What kind of villain do you think I am? …Sigh, fine. Aoiko-san.”
“…What kind of name is that?”
Using her first name without honorifics scared me—I couldn’t bear to imagine what the other members would think.
When I fled, Aoiko just gave me a perfectly normal disgusted look.
Seems my likability didn’t go up after all. That’s a relief.
◇
“Dammit! Why am I getting involved again…!?”
After buying drinks, we split into pairs to ride the coffee cup.
As the view slowly spun, I mentally scolded myself for the umpteenth time.
Then, apparently carried away by my own momentum, it slipped out loud, and my ride-mate caught it.
“Toyo-chin, what’s up? You seem weirder than usual.”
“So what do you guys think I’m like normally? … ? Toyo-chin?”
I almost ignored it, but my curiosity got the better of me and I asked back.
Then Kisa said it with a straight face.
“Toyono, so Toyo-chin. We hang out together, but calling you by your last name feels stiff, right?”
“No, really? Like, everyone calls Ujiya just Ujiya, don’t they?”
“Oh, true. That’s funny.”
“You’re so random.”
Suddenly being called by a nickname caught me off guard, but whatever.
Compared to others, there was no particular downside to deepening my relationship with Kisa.
Not having to push her away even if she got closer felt like a kind of healing for me right now.
“Still, why Toyo-chin?”
“Because it’s Toyono, duh. Oh, you hate names ending in ‘chin’?”
“That’s fine, though.”
“Yeah, right. Boys are born with ‘chin’ anyway.”
“……”
What should I do?
My inner ear should be strong, but somehow I’m getting dizzy.
While I was recoiling from the sudden dirty joke, Kisa asked, spinning her cup.
This time her tone was slightly more serious.
“Actually, haven’t you been low-key since the roller coaster? You look downcast. Did you actually dislike it too, Toyo-chin?”
“You’re observant. But it’s fine. That’s not why.”
My mood had indeed dropped, but it was only because I was fretting over the situation with Aiko.
I felt bad for making her worry unnecessarily.
And I was a bit impressed.
She usually acts all goofy around me, but I guess she’s just playing the original supporting character role.
She observes people well.
“Thanks for caring.”
“Nah, nah. Well, personally, I was imagining another scenario where maybe the roller coaster dislodged some kidney stones or something.”
“…How much do you like dirty jokes?”
“Just kidding. I was just trying to lighten the mood.”
“…Oh.”
Honestly, I can’t explain my relationship with Aoiko or my situation to this one.
But then again, right.
Maybe it’s okay to tell her, as long as I don’t touch on the core issues.
Luckily, there’s no doomed heroine sticking her nose in here.
“Hiiragi-san, do guys ever get the wrong idea about you?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re pretty close with guys, right? I was wondering if you ever turn into a serious romance magnet or something.”
Lately, things around me have been unsettling.
Every move I make seems to create connections with the original heroines, and honestly, I’m freaking out.
I don’t think I’m popular enough to be that self-conscious, but I’m also scared of the heroines getting any closer.
I asked if there was some subtle way to dodge it.
Kisa talks with guys a lot too, and I think in that kind of relationship, people tend to fall for you without meaning to.
There must be something I can learn.
And she answered, completely unfazed.
“No? I draw boundaries.”
“Draw boundaries?”
“Yeah. Like, how to talk so the other person doesn’t get the wrong idea, or how to subtly make them realize there’s no chance.”
“I see.”
Apparently, everyone really thinks about this stuff.
It didn’t seem like the kind of answer I’d expect from the girl who just the other day asked me on the way home if I was a potential boyfriend candidate, but well, that’s that.
I’ll take her advice.
“Wait, what? Don’t worry, I don’t like Toyo-chan, so relax.”
“I’m not misunderstanding that.”
“And there’s absolutely no chance either. Got that?”
“That’s harsh! I know that already, no need to say it again!”
“Hehe, seriously hilarious. Toyo-chan, please get along well with Shinorin~”
“……”
Sighing, I thought to myself, That’s exactly why I asked.
Well, well, I realized once again that I’ll have to be careful about how I carry myself from now on.
―◇―
[Kijima Aoiko]
Affection for Akito: 20% (→)
Affection for Kyota: 1% (↑)
Maiban