Chapter 21 Act 4: Scene 4
The several notifications that Kiyotaka received was enough to snap him out of his trance, but that didn't make him forget what he just said. His eyes widened when he realized it, and he quickly turned to his stunned heroines so he could explain himself.
"Uh... sorry about that," he quickly spoke, before raising his arms as though he was surrendering. "I didn't mean it in a depraved way, if that's what you're thinking."
Kiyotaka cursed himself in his thoughts. This must be the work of the system, there's no doubt about it! He would never say something like that in front of other people, much less three girls who are only wearing swimsuits! The worst part was that he wasn't even being controlled, which is what the system does whenever he chooses from the three options. He said it because it was what's on his mind!
On the bright side, as much as it embarrassed him, this does confirm his hypothesis about the system helping him become a normal person again... though he didn't expect it to 'help' in this way... influencing him in some way to say things like this. But maybe it's okay? After all, these three are his heroines, so... it's fine to say something like what he did, right...?
The girls remained completely silent for the next few seconds, making the young man fear for the worst. If any of them get angry, the broken skill might activate and he didn't want that to happen. Maybe being away from them for a bit would do some good and let both parties take a deep breath to calm themselves.
"I'm going to talk with Sudo," he told them as he turned around and walked away, his eyes roaming around quickly in search of his red-haired friend.
He saw Sudo near the far end of the pool, where he was standing over the beaten-up forms of Yamauchi and Ike. He quickly headed towards where Sudo was while keeping himself from taking a glance at his heroines who were behind him.
"Tch. That's what you get for messing with me," he scoffed, looking down at the two idiots who bore Xs for their eyes, and had big lumps on their heads. It was clear that Ken didn't let them off the hook easily.
"Sudo."
Hearing his name being called, the red-haired teen turned to whoever just spoke. The scowl on his face disappeared right away and was replaced with a grin when he saw who it was.
After Kiyotaka had saved him from those Class-C students at the convenience store last week, the two talked a lot more and eventually became friends. Kiyotaka found him easy to get along with once you get past his tough exterior, while Ken saw his act of helping him as something that couldn't be repaid with simple words.
"Yo, Ayanokouji. What's up?"
Kiyotaka opened his mouth to say something, but thought twice about it. There's no way he could tell his friend about his little problem with Suzune, Kikyo, and Chiaki.
"I shouldn't tell him anything about those three..." he thought to himself. "He wouldn't understand. At best, he would laugh and accidentally reveal it to someone else. I can see him apologizing and telling me that he doesn't know what to give me as an answer, though."
Deciding that it would be for the best to keep the issue to himself, Kiyotaka decided to ask about something else. Something that can spark a conversation between them, at least. "What happened to those two?" he asked, pointing to the two perverts who were still out of it.
"Ah, these two were running their mouths, so I decided to teach them a little lesson."
"I doubt that these two will learn from this."
Sudo grinned. "Same, but that just means I'll have to beat it harder into their skulls next time."
"Please don't make a habit out of it. You might get in trouble, and there's a chance that I might not be there to save you from being stupid," Kiyotaka sighed, shaking his head.
"I know, I know..." Sudo laughed heartily. "So is there something else you need?"
Kiyotaka was about to bring up the topic of swimming and their class today, only for the two to hear someone else's voice cutting into their little discussion.
"Sudo-kun! You never told me you work out! Man, look at you... I'm jealous!" exclaimed Onodera Kayano as she walked closer towards the red-haired basketball player, marveling at his toned physique.
Ken's entire demeanor changed immediately upon seeing the girl, going from confident to uneasy. "That's not exactly something that I tell anyone I meet, Onodera..." he muttered, scratching the back of his head.
Kayano laughed, before she began pulling on his arm. "Well, too bad because now I know! Come on, you gotta share your workout routine with me! Maybe we can even do it together when you have time."
Completely out of options at the moment, Sudo turned to his friend with a pleading look. "Help me," he mouthed, which Kiyotaka understood right away.
However, instead of helping his friend like what he wanted, Kiyotaka had something else in mind.
"I'm going to the restroom for a bit. See you in a bit, Sudo," he turned around and began to head for the restroom, "I'm not getting involved in that, Sudo. I already have enough on my hands with three, and more to come..."
He took a little glance behind him, where he saw Sudo throwing an angry look in his direction, and he simply responded with a thumbs-up before continuing on his way.
"At first, I thought I would have to keep a close eye on Sudo because he seems to be a rebellious person, but it looks like Onodera can keep him under control. If this keeps up, he'll eventually get to experience what I feel when I'm around those three heroines and perhaps, maybe I'll even tell him about what I'm going through."
Yes, Kiyotaka was glad that Ken was going through the same thing as him, having his own issues regarding girls. Because so far, among the boys, Ken was the only one whom he can call a friend. Yosuke was naturally with everyone, but he wouldn't say that they were friends yet. Plus, he might have a lot of fangirls among their female classmates, but he wasn't really having any problem of any sort with them. Kiyotaka needed someone who shared his pain.
Apart from those two, there really isn't anyone else. There's no way he's going to befriend Koenji, as well as the boys who cared more about being a pervert. The only other guys whom he didn't really see any problem with were Miyake and Yukimura, but he didn't think they would be of much help...
Whatever. He could think about this some other time. Right now, he needs to get his mind off of his little mishap with his three heroines earlier, and then apologize to them later on. Surely by that time, they'd have calmed down as well and they'll be able to talk normally again.
As he got to the restroom right next to the pool area, he opened the door with the intention of heading to the sink so he could wash his face, but he wouldn't even be able to get there because of what he's seeing in front of him.
"You've got to be kidding me... this is the men's restroom," he thought, his mouth hanging open in complete disbelief.
A girl with long, red hair was bending over in front of him, having just finished taking off her red lacy bra, giving the young man a full view of her naked breasts. Her glasses were resting on the nearby sink. She only had her panties on as a result, just as she looked up at the person who suddenly entered the restroom.
Sakura Airi's face turned red immediately, even reaching the point that steam began coming out of her head. On the other hand, Kiyotaka only stared at her, especially those two big masses of flesh on her chest that were each capped with beautiful pink nipples.
['Airi's Bountiful Airis' was added to the gallery!]
He didn't even pay attention to the sound of the system's camera snapping a photo, nor the image of Airi's nearly-naked body appearing as a notification, because he was too focused on the fact that he was seeing a girl's naked body for the first time... well, nearly-naked body, at least.
Of course, being a perfectly normal teenager, he couldn't help but stare at the girl, particularly her massive chest that was being burned into his mind. In the same way, Airi reacted to Kiyotaka's presence similar to how every girl would react whenever a boy peeks on her.
"K-K-K-K-KYAAAAAAAAA...!"
Kiyotaka made no move to dodge the incoming uniform that headed for his head, which hit him directly on the face. Even though he couldn't see anything, he heard the sound of footsteps leaving the restroom in a hurry.
Once he was sure that he was all alone inside, Kiyotaka slowly removed the uniform from his face and looked behind him. It didn't seem like anyone heard the girl's scream a while ago, so no one should be coming here.
"Right after I got myself in an awkward situation with Horikita, Kushida, and Matsushita... the system decides to throw this at me," he thought as he folded the girl's clothes neatly before heading to the sink, ignoring the new notifications that popped up at the same time.
[Airi Route has been Unlocked! You can now see 'Heroine Status' with Sakura Airi!]
[Your current status with Airi has changed to 'An Accidental Misunderstanding'!]
[Congratulations! You unlocked the Achievement: 'Taste of What's To Come'! You gained +5 in Aura!]
Kiyotaka raised his fist, ready to punch the mirror in front of him and shatter it out of frustration, before taking a few deep breaths to calm himself. Letting his arm fall beside him, he leaned forward against the sink and looked down.
ραпdα nᴏνa| сom He should have seen something like this coming, but it's impossible. He was wrong about this whole thing in the first place, especially at what he initially thought this was. God, he should have gotten the hint when he was left speechless at seeing his three heroines in their swimsuits earlier!
Because it was at this moment that Kiyotaka remembered... his 'superpower' wasn't a normal dating simulator at all.
It was an eroge.