"Choose now, host," the voice of the system whispered to him in his mind.
Akira blinked at the glowing red text that was in front of him. His heart was still beating fast from everything that had happened. "You have to be kidding me."
[OPTION A: Suppress your urges. Reward: +2 CHARM]
[OPTION B: Jerk off to the viral video of your humiliation. Reward: +5 PERV-POINTS]
Akira let out a bitter laugh. "You’re not serious," he replied, shaking his head. "This is a mess. You expect me to... what? Get off to that?"
The system mockingly said, "Oh, darling, don’t act like you’re bigger than it." Don’t you want power? Power demands honesty... and indulgence. Pick, sweetheart. I’m dying to see which one you’ll choose."
Akira kept walking. "Yeah, right. I’m not playing your perverted game."
"Refusal detected," the system chimed in. "Host must choose."
"I said no."
The glow followed him till he reach his apartment door. He slammed it shut behind him, the screen still burning bright in his vision.
"Choose now, host," the voice repeated.
He threw his torn cape to one side and dropped on the couch, trying to catch his breathing. "This isn’t real. It’s just some crazy dream."
"Dreams don’t make your hands shake like that," the voice whispered.
"Shut the fvck up and leave me alone."
There was no answer. For a second, he thought the system had given up. Then the red text flashed again in his face. This time it was brighter.
[MANDATORY CHOICE INITIALISED]
With a groan, he pulled himself up and walked to where his desk was. The room was quiet. His family was gone on some trip out of town and his father got delayed for work. He doesn’t have no one to talk to, no friends to text, no phone; he had shattered the damn thing hours ago.
"Fine," he muttered. "Let’s see how far this insanity goes."
He opened his laptop and typed Sakura Hanamura confession video. Lo and behold, there it was. His humiliation in HD. Her words, "Hell no, never... not even in your dreams," sounded like poison.
As Akira looked at himself on the screen, a knot formed in his throat. His hands would not stop shaking, and his voice was shaking too. The crowd was laughing at him, and he could feel a fire in his chest.
His hand had automatically reached for his belt before he realised what he was doing.
Then he stopped. "What the fvck am I doing?"
He took a deep breath and slammed the laptop close. "No."
The system pinged sharply.
[WARNING: Host inactivity detected.]
[Failure to choose will result in TERMINATION.]
Akira froze. "Termination? You’re bluffing."
The system’s tone darkened. "Action in five... four... three..."
He laughed nervously. "You wouldn’t..."
"Two..."
Suddenly, he felt something in his throat as if air was not entering his lungs again.
"One."
"Wait!" Akira fell down to his knees, gasping, holding his neck. It was like his lungs were collapsing. His vision darkened. "I... I choose A!" he choked out.
The pressure vanished instantly. He fell forward, coughing violently, sweat dripping down his face.
"Playing it good, I see," the voice teased. "It’s only a matter of time before you stop pretending."
"Y-you tried to kill me!" Akira wheezed.
"I prefer to think of it as... enforcing the rules; just a slight motivation. Choice is survival, darling. Remember that. Now rest; you’ve earned it."
He lay on the floor for a while looking up at the ceiling. The only sound in the apartment was the hum of the old refrigerator. Finally, he blurted out, "This isn’t a dream."
The system purred softly in his mind. "No, Akira. It’s your new reality."
He didn’t remember when he slept off, only that he was thinking that: What happens when both choices are impossible?
—
Morning sunlight spilled through his blinds. Akira woke up groggy but alive. The crimson interface hovered faintly in his vision:
[STATS UPDATED: CHARM +2]
He rubbed his eyes. "Still here, huh?"
"Always, darling," the voice cooed. "Now let’s see what mischief comes today."
Akira didn’t eat breakfast as he was still feeling restless instead of hungry. He quickly put on his wrinkled school uniform and grabbed his bag, where he kept his dagger, before leaving the room.
The whispering began the moment he stepped onto campus.
"That’s the creep from the video."
"Creep King’s back."
"Man’s got balls showing his face."
He ignored them all.
But when he got to his locker, the words "CREEP KING" were written in red marker all over it. After staring at it for a long moment, he gave it a small smile. "Original."
"Pathetic," the system murmured. "They mock you because they can. Make them regret it."
But he didn’t answer.
As he turned towards class, he spotted Mia Takahashi by her locker. She was wearing a short skirt and an untucked shirt, the kind of style that made teachers sigh in frustration and made it hard for guys to concentrate.
She was standing next to a smaller boy that was nervously holding his bag.
"When it’s lunch time," she said in a sharp voice, "you’ll buy me lunch with your money, loser."
The boy nodded, trembling.
The system’s screen lit up immediately.
[CHOICE AVAILABLE]
[OPTION A: Step in politely.]
[OPTION B: Grab her ass and dominate... whisper "Behave."]
Akira’s heart thudded.
"You’re kidding me," he whispered.
"Tick-tock," the system sang. "Show me your true self, and remember what happens when you don’t make a choice."
In his mind, he replied. "And what do I get as a reward if I choose option B?"
"Let’s say it’s going to be worth it."
He took a deep breath and then walked toward her. "Hey."
Mia turned, narrowing her eyes. "What do you want, creep?"
Without another word, he reached out and grabbed her ass. "Behave, slut," he whispered in her ear.
The hallway fell silent for half a heartbeat.
"What the...?" Mia snapped with wide eyes as they locked on his. For a moment, Akira braced himself for what might happen next; it’s either Mia slap him or shove him away and call him a pervert.
But instead, she grabbed his collar and dragged him into an empty classroom. "You got a death wish or something?" she hissed but her cheeks were flushed.
Akira didn’t flinch. "Maybe. Or maybe I’m just tired of playing nice."
Something in his tone made her pause.
Mia closed the door shut and slammed Akira on the wall. "What’s your problem?" she demanded with anger in her voice, though her eyes said something different. "Why did you grab me?"
"You didn’t stop me," he said, stepping forward.
Her eyes narrowed. "Because I was shocked!"
"Still didn’t stop me."
They were close now and breathing the same warm air between them. He could feel her pulse racing at her neck, an undeniable flutter of nerves and excitement.
"Feel that? That’s all you and what you can be. Make the right choices and you can have her... and many more."
Akira leaned in slightly more, his heart pounding as if he was daring her to close the gap completely.
"You... you t-think you can just grab me like that?" she stammered a bit before regaining her fire.
"I already did."
Her glare faltered. "You’re insane."
"Maybe." His voice dropped lower. "But I’m done being the joke."
Mia’s lips parted. She remained silent for a heartbeat before grabbing him and giving him a forceful kiss.
"Stop talking," she whispered in between breaths. "This doesn’t mean anything."
"Sure."
Her hand went under his shirt and her nails graze his skin. "That aggression... it’s kinda hot, even if you’re ugly."
Akira smirked. "Keep talking; maybe I’ll believe you."
The system made a ding sound:
[MINOR H-SCENE UNLOCKED — +15 PERV-POINTS]
Akira pressed her back against the desk, their bodies grinding through their clothes. "You like this?" he murmured.
"Shut up," she breathed, biting her lip. "You wish."
But she didn’t move away.
When she finally did, her breathing was shallow and her face was pink. "That’s enough. Not here."
"Scared?"
"Curious," she said with a sly smile. "Meet me at the gym after school. We’ll see if you can keep that confidence."
Akira grinned. "Deal."