Chapter 1: The Boku-Girl Heroine Wants to Be Seen

「Hey, hey. Sakura, you have an older brother, right?」

「Yeah! He's super nice!」

Miyano Sakura-chan was the first friend I made after entering high school. She's very cheerful, and unlike me, very girly.

It seems she has an Onii-chan she's proud of. His name is Miyano Kaede. Sakura seems to love her brother, and she boasted about him at every opportunity.

Then one day, when I was hanging out at Sakura's house, the rumored Onii-chan came home.

「Thank you for always taking care of our Sakura.」

「Wha!? I'm not causing that much trouble!?」

「...Yes! I'm properly taking care of herー!」

Onii-san was always gentle in his manner, and he always treated someone with my appearance as a girl.

I was so happy about that, and whenever I had free time, I'd drop by their house just to talk to him.

Unlike those immature kids up until middle school who never treated me like a girl, Onii-san, who was also my senpai, looked so mature and cool.

I wanted him to keep watching me forever, that's what I thought, but...

「Eh, you're studying for exams at my place this time? That's fine, but... don't complain about it being messy, okay?」

「Well, Sakura and her friends are at my place this year. You're really helping me out. I'll treat you to something sometime.」

「......I want to eat expensive ice cream.」

Before the midterms, I happened to pass by Onii-san during a classroom transfer. Next to him was a fluffy, cute person, and they were having a really fun conversation.

Later, I heard from Sakura that she is his childhood friend. She had big breasts and was cuter than someone like me.

Also, his expression was somehow more childish than when he talks to me.

He prefers girls who are more feminine than me, with bigger breasts after all.

No one would give a second glance to a thin, muscular, and flat-chested girl like me.

One day, when I started thinking about such trivial things, I was relaxing in my room watching videos.

As if escaping from reality, I was browsing track and field content looking for something useful for practice when I noticed a particular video had a lot of views.

It was a video someone had uploaded of a high school girls' track meet. I watched it wondering if there was some amazing athlete, but there was nothing special about it.

Curious about why it had gotten so many views, I opened the comment section.

Honestly, it wasn't pleasant to read. Most of the comments were about the uniforms the athletes were wearing rather than the competition itself, filled with lewd comments.

Yet, even though the comments were unpleasant, for some reason my heart wouldn't stop pounding. Of course I felt disgusted. But more than that...

「Could I... also excite everyone... as a girl...?」

After that, I acted quickly. For the time being, I changed into my gym clothes, hid my face and school emblem, and took a selfie. It felt like I was doing something wrong, and I knew I should stop, but with the single-minded desire to be recognized as a girl, I created a secret account and posted my selfie there.

At first, there was no reaction. I should have stopped there. I should have deleted it immediately.

But a few days later, that post got reactions.

【So cute! I want to see more risqué photos】

...From there, I couldn't stop anymore.

The reactions gradually increased. Everyone praised me as cute, got excited calling me sexy, and begged for more, more.

Then, when June came around. I finally reached a point I shouldn't have crossed.

【I want you to take off your underwear】【I want to see your bare breasts】【I want to see at least half your face】

Even in my messed-up state, I couldn't immediately comply with those requests.

If I do that, there will be no going back. I knew it was absolutely wrong.

While I was agonizing over this, I heard from Sakura that Onii-san had forgotten his lunch.

I convinced Sakura and decided to deliver it during lunch break instead.

Maybe I wanted him to stop me.

Maybe he would see through what I'm troubled about.

That's what... I wanted to believe......

I arrived at the classroom and peeked inside. Near the door was a really scary-looking guy, which was a bit frightening, but I gathered my courage and rushed into the classroom.

「Senpaaai! I came to deliver the lunch you forgot instead of Sakura!」

Cheerfully, in my usual way, I handed the lunch to him.

「Thanks for going out of your way.」

He thanked me with his usual smile... and then...

He immediately turned toward his childhood friend.

Friday, June 14th. As usual, I was working hard at club activities. The summer tournament is approaching, and there isn't much time left to practice with the senpais. I've been so busy that I haven't posted any selfies since that request that day.

「Hey, Sera. Got a minute?」

That day during practice, a male senpai called out to me.

「Yes!」

The senpai brings me to the boys' locker room. He says he has some secret discussion. He leads me inside, and what could it possibly be......

「This is you, right, Sera?」

「Eh.........」

What the senpai showed me on his smartphone was the lewd selfie I posted on that day when I entrusted everything to Onii-san. My mouth was visible, and it was my shameful appearance with my top half exposed.

「That's... not...」

「Come on. This account is yours, right? The gym clothes are from our school, and just hiding the emblem doesn't fool anyone. Plus, the mole near your mouth is the same.」

「......No... really...」

「Yeah, yeah. Then if it's not you, I'll spread it to the guys' group chat. A naked girl who looks like Sera, everyone will eat that up...」

「......Please stop...」

「......Then you understand, right? Since you're posting selfies like this online. There's a proper way to ask, you know?」

The senpai backs me against the wall and brings his face close to mine.

No no no no.

I don't want to be touched by anyone other than Onii-san... anyone other than the person I like...... stop......

「Don't worry. If you work hard enough, I'll delete the photos.」

No.........

Help me...... Onii-san.........

Finally, Friday, June 14th arrived. This afternoon, Akari will be threatened by her club senpai and raped.

I managed to find what seemed to be Akari's secret account, but it was already too late and the nude selfie that triggered the incident had already been posted.

But even if I had found it earlier, I probably wouldn't have stopped it. I don't even know at what stage that guy noticed Akari. Besides, I don't even know his face or name. He's just some mob character.

Even if I had threatened Akari first and made her stop posting the photo that triggered the incident, that guy would have probably used the photos he had already obtained to threaten her. That might shift the timing of the incident. It means letting Akari go through something scary, but it's actually easier to save her if things proceed according to the game.

...This really is an unreasonable event for a first one. Someone like me couldn't stop Akari from creating the secret account that's the root cause of this incident. If only I could have done that, things would have been so much easier.

The timing to prevent Akari's event in the game is during lunch break on June 10th. When she comes to deliver the lunch, you just have to select the option "Want to eat together?" By the way, this option doesn't appear on the first playthrough. It's an option that appears from the second playthrough onward and is the protagonist's last chance to keep Akari.

Fortunately, only the threatening male student has the photos at this stage. But gradually his demands will escalate, and that scumbag who started thinking of Akari as his plaything will eventually spread the word to other club members.

...Akari will slowly break down. She'll start taking pleasure in people getting excited over her as a girl. It's probably escapism. Watching her fall was quite painful.

Can't be helped. Time for direct action. It might be a bit uncool, but I'll throw away such pride. I reincarnated as a guy with these muscles for a reason. I'll solve this with overwhelming violence that the protagonist doesn't have.

「Hey, Sera. Got a minute?」

「Yes!」

After school. I spot Akari being led by a male student, disappearing toward the locker rooms. I decided to follow after them, keeping some distance so I wouldn't be noticed.

And so, I arrived at the boys' track and field club locker room. There's no time to eavesdrop. Even a little harm could leave a lifelong scar.

The door is probably locked. The locker room should be fairly spacious. He wouldn't assault someone right near the door.

In that case......!

「...Hmph!!」

I kicked the door with all my might and succeeded in breaking it down.

「Wha......!?」

「Eh......」

Inside was the scumbag trying to undress Akari and a tearful Akari.

...Seeing it in person is quite painful. It feels even worse knowing what will happen next.

「W-What are you doing!? Suddenly──」

The scumbag tried to shout at me aggressively, but I immediately punched him in the face with all my strength without hesitation.

「Shut the hell up.」

Having witnessed the scene, my anger overflowed from seeing all the terrible things done to Akari in the game, and I couldn't help but hit him.

「W-What... are you doing......」

I grabbed the collar of the guy who lost all will to fight from a single blow, made my eyes as sharp as possible, and spoke in a menacing voice.

「Don't touch what's mine, or I'll kill you.」

「Hii......」

I operated his smartphone that was still on and opened his image folder. Inside were Akari's selfies saved, and I deleted all of them.

「...Oi. How long are you gonna stand there? Hurry up and get back to practice.」

「…Ah, y-yes!」

I call out to Akari, who has been watching the whole thing. Someone might come soon. I need her to escape before that.

Akari bolts out of the locker room like a startled rabbit. I decided to make sure this guy wouldn't bother Akari in the future.

「Try snitching on me. I recorded your whole conversation just now. Sounded like you were having fun. Did it feel that good to threaten your female kouhai?」

「P-Please stop...... I was wrong! So please...」

「......Then never touch that girl again. If you do it again, you know what'll happen, right?」

「I-I under… stand...」

The recording is a lie, of course. There's no way I could do that through a door.

But he can't make that judgment right now. Protecting himself is obviously more important to him.

Leaving the completely dejected guy in the locker room, I decided to leave promptly as well.

I want to think this is settled for now. I had to break the flag by force, but... I can't stand seeing such a cheerful girl become clouded.

I don't know how my actions will affect the scenario. There's a possibility that a different event might trigger.

「...Gotta do something about this.」

Watching Akari return to practice as if nothing had happened, I decided to head home for today.

Monday morning, after the weekend. As I headed to the classroom thinking about what to do about Akari, I spotted her fidgeting in front of my classroom. She probably has business with the protagonist. I thought I'd just pass by, but...

「Ah... um!」

For some reason, I was the one she called out to.

「...What?」

「Um... about what happened... the other day... I wanted to talk...」

Akari spoke to me while clearly afraid of me. Even if I helped her, my face is too scary. It's understandable she'd be frightened.

「T-Thank you very much!」

While trembling, she bows her head with momentum. Since she is doing this right in the middle of the hallway, we attract attention from other students wondering what is going on.

「Tch... Let's go somewhere else.」

「...Y-Yes.」

It would be a problem if she talked about that day here, so I decided to move to a place with fewer people.

「......This should be fine.」

Where I brought Akari is this school's rooftop, Ibuse Reo's skipping spot. Thanks to Reo's infamy, no one dares to come near. It's perfect for secret conversations.

「So... has anything happened since then?」

「No... that senpai didn't come to practice over the weekend... and nothing from other club members either...」

「...That's good then.」

That was one of my concerns. I thought there might be some kind of forcing mechanism at work, but apparently not. In other words, the more destruction flags I break, the happier the heroines become.

「...Um, Senpai, can I ask you something?」

「Go ahead.」

「Senpai... why were you at that place?」

That's a difficult question. There's no way she'd believe me if I said I rely on memories from my previous life.

「...I've always been interested in the track team. So I wanted to observe. I thought I'd just go to the locker room first.」

Yeah. That's a good lie for something improvised. Sounds plausible.

「Then I heard voices talking, and the rest is what happened.」

「I see... so, um, Senpai... you also... heard... what we were talking about, right?」

「......Yeah.」

Akari fell silent at my answer. So her purpose was to confirm that fact.

「......Please. I'll do anything. So just don't tell to Kaede-senpai...」

And she came to bow her head to me, gathering her courage, to prevent that fact from becoming public. I saved her yet she's this scared of me... that does hurt a little.

「Do I look like the kind of guy who'd do something like that?」

「N-No... you don't...」

If you really didn't think so, you wouldn't be this scared. Now it's ended up looking like I made her say that.

「...Well, I know it's hard to believe with my scary face, but trust me. I won't spread it around.」

「B-But...」

From Akari's perspective, it's certainly scary. Being suddenly saved by a guy who looks this much like a delinquent, with nothing asked in return... I should probably offer something.

「Then how about exchanging contact info with me?」

「Eh......」

「I went out of my way to save you. Contact info should be fine, right?」

「Ehm......」

「...If you get involved with a guy again, contact me immediately. I'll come running.」

I smile as gently as I can at the confused Akari. Even if it was just an attempt, after something like that happened. I want to give her at least a little peace of mind.

「......! Y-Yes!」

Thinking that just exchanging contact info was a cheap price to pay, Akari happily agreed to the exchange. Besides, if it becomes known that my name is in her contacts, it'll serve as a great intimidation tool. "I'm acquainted with that Ibuse Reo".

「...Thank you very much.」

Akari stared at her smartphone as if it were precious and murmured. She says she's not girly, but Akari is a proper girl. Her face right now, relieved that her anxiety has been removed, is so cute that I can't help but want to pat her head.

「Have you deleted the secret account already?」

「...Yes. I deleted it.」

「Don't ever do that again... I mean, even without doing weird stuff like that, you're plenty girly, and you're properly, c-cute.」

「Cu......!?」

It was a cheesy line I came up with to boost Akari's self-esteem, but since I've never said anything like this to a girl before, I got embarrassed midway and stumbled over my words. But Akari blushed all the way to her ears at my words and gave me a cute reaction. So cute after all.

「By the way... you're in love with Miyano from my class, right?」

「N-Mo!? Someone like me couldn't...」

「Stop with that "someone like me" stuff. Have confidence. If you go at him head-on, Miyano will fall for you instantly.」

「Y-You think so...?」

「Ou. There's no guy who wouldn't be interested if a girl like you came at him.」

「Re... really...?」

What Akari lacks is confidence as a girl. If I praise her over and over, she won't do anything stupid like that again even without getting together with Kaede.

「Ehehe... ehm... so... even someone like Senpai... would...?」

「......That's what I'm saying, right?? Miyano is just a guy too.」

「T-Tthat's not what I mean!」

Akari raised her voice and ran up to me. I can't help but feel my heart skip a beat at the sight of her desperately looking up at my face.

「U-Um... what I'm trying to say is──」

「Akari!! Are you okay!?」

Just as Akari was about to tell me something, the rooftop door opened and the protagonist Miyano Kaede appeared, out of breath.

「Eh, eh?? Why... is Senpai here...」

「Just now I went to the classroom... and they said you went somewhere with Ibuse... so...!」

Hou. So he ran around thinking I was going to do something to Akari. What a cool protagonist-like move. I've gained some respect for him.

「So... Akari... did that guy do anything to you!?」

「I-I'm fine...」

「Looks like your escort's here. Well, I'll head back to the classroom first, so don't be late, you twoー.」

I decided to quickly retreat from the rooftop, switching places with Kaede. His glare has been painfully intense. Well, he just glares and doesn't actually do anything though.

Now Akari just needs to confess her feelings to the protagonist as I advised... nice going, protagonist. Having a girl like this fall for you. You're a lucky guy.

I deleted the photos that guy had, Akari deleted her own secret account, and she obtained the ultimate intimidation tool, Ibuse Reo's contact info. With all this, she should be fine for now. There's some time until the next heroine's event. This time I'll work hard to prevent things before the incident happens.

Then, the next day. When I got on the train that arrived at the station platform.

「......Ah...」

I woke up early today and took an earlier train than usual, which led me to run into Akari inside the car.

Before I could even think about what to do, I was pushed from behind, and before I knew it, the train car was overflowing with people, and Akari and I ended up facing each other.

「...Sorry.」

「No. It's fine.」

I apologize reflexively because it feels like I'm doing something wrong. But Akari didn't seem to mind, smiling cheerfully.

It's about three stops to the station nearest to the high school. I just have to endure this awkward space for a little longer.

With that thought, I looked away from Akari and tried my best to ignore the situation, when suddenly my smartphone in my pocket buzzed with a notification.

There's no way I can check it in this situation, so I was going to ignore it for now, but Akari immediately poked my side.

Wondering what she wanted, I looked at Akari, and she was hiding her mouth behind her smartphone, sending me a look that said "Won't you look at it...?"

Defeated by Akari's adorable eyes, I reluctantly decided to check the notification.

Apparently, she sent me an image, and without opening it, I couldn't tell from the notification alone what it contained.

What could it be...

「Pbfft!!!?」

Seeing the image when I opened the message made me burst out involuntarily. The surrounding passengers gave me cold looks for a moment, and I immediately apologized profusely.

But still......!!

「Oi... what are you doing...」

「.........」

I speak to Akari in the smallest voice possible. But there's no reply from Akari, and this time it's Akari who looked away from me.

But Akari's mouth was relaxed into a smile, making it clear that this wasn't some kind of mistake.

「Oi......」

After arriving at the station nearest to the school and getting off the train together, I waited until the people around us disappeared before speaking to Akari.

「...I told you to stop doing stuff like this, right?」

「......I'm sorry.」

The image Akari sent was quite simple. It was a selfie of Akari in her uniform, lifting her skirt and showing off her underwear.

Even though I scolded her, Akari looked apologetic yet somehow happy.

「In the first place... if you're gonna send it, at least send it to Miyano.」

「......If I sent it to Senpai, he'd treat me like a pervert. Besides... things are a bit awkward with him.」

「...What did you do this time?」

「Actually, I talked with Kaede-senpai after Ibuse-senpai left the rooftop.」

「You really weren't hurt!?」

Kaede-senpai was really worried about me, and that made me happy. But...

「I don't know what happened, but... don't follow a guy like that anymore, okay? He's dangerous!」

「...He's not that kind of person!」

Kaede-senpai said Ibuse-senpai was a bad person and told me lots of rumors about him.

But I just couldn't believe any of them, and as we talked more and more, it turned into an argument. Then...

「If something happens to Akari, Sakura will be sad!!」

...he said that. And for some reason, it really bothered me.

「......!」

「I... slapped Senpai.」

「Seriously, you two...」

The rumors the protagonist told her were probably mostly true. He was always fighting, had a bad reputation with women, and barely even came to school. But what matters is the words the protagonist chose.

What do you mean "Sakura will be sad"? That's wrong, are you an idiot? Have you never played a galge? That's why you can't protect the heroines, you siscon.

「...I kind of already knew. That Senp... Kaede-senpai didn't see me as a girl, but just as his precious little sister's friend.」

「T-That's not necessarily true?」

See, she's about to spiral again! Please stop trying to raise flags I don't know about! I seriously can't deal with things I don't know!?

「...Ibuse-senpai is kind after all. Encouraging someone like me.」

「I told you to stop saying "someone like me".」

「...Then, what do you think?」

「...Ha?」

Akari put her hand on her skirt at the still-empty platform and spoke to me with a mischievous smile.

「Am I... cute?」

「......Obviously you're cute.」

「That photo earlier. Did it excite you?」

「...Yeah, it did. So what?」

Why do I have to be asked something like that by a younger girl? This is too embarrassing.

「Don't you want to confirm it?」

「Wha...... wait!? Hold on! Where do you think we──」

Akari gradually lifts up her skirt, and finally......

「.........Oi.」

「What? Obviously I'm wearing shorts underneath.」

What was hidden in the territory protected by the skirt wasn't red underwear like in the photo, just regular gym shorts.

「Could it be... you've never seen under a girl's skirt? You were so desperate... you're cute, Senpai.」

「You little......!」

Why is she properly dressed even though she's a heroine in an eroge? Well, I was glad she was! Ahhh geez! That made my heart pound so much!

「I knew those rumors were lies after all. If you really had a bad reputation with women, you wouldn't get flustered over something like this.」

「Don't tease me too much, Sera...」

Come to think of it, Akari in the game was like this too once you got on her route. Just when you thought she was indifferent to sex, she was actually quite curious and always teased the protagonist. Well, she is someone who does those things, so it's not like she wasn't interested from the start.

「...You finally called me by name.」

「Ah? ...Ahh, did I?」

「Yes. I was worried, you know.」

「......Sorry about that.」

This is bad. I've never talked face-to-face with such a cute girl before, so I can't find words from all the happiness and embarrassment. I can't even look at Akari. After all my complaining about the protagonist, what a sorry state I'm in.

「For such a cute Senpai, here's a reward.」

「Now what are you...... oh...」

Akari called out to me again, and I steeled my heart that I wouldn't be flustered no matter what she did, then turned toward Akari again.

「You... that's......」

Akari was still holding up her skirt with her left hand, and with her free right hand, she was pulling down her shorts slightly, letting a glimpse of red fabric peek out.

「I still can't have confidence in myself. So...... keep watching me from now on and until I can be confident, please keep telling me I'm cute.」

I don't know how this happened. Is it because I forcibly broke the flag, or is this current situation itself Akari's new event?

I don't know. I don't understand anything, but......

「That's okay, right? Reo-senpai.」

It seems the only thing that's certain is that I completely chose the wrong option.

From then on, Akari started sending me underwear selfies every morning at the same time. At first I tried to leave them on read, but she barged into my classroom that same day, so I've decided to at least give her some reaction.

Then one day during lunch break. Having virtually no place in the classroom, I was spending my lunch break on the rooftop. While eating my bento and thinking about what to do next in my private rooftop, the door burst open energetically.

「Ah, I found you, Senpai!」

「...What.」

The one who came to the rooftop that no one dares approach was Akari. She sat down next to me and took out a bento from her bag.

「Can I sit next to you!」

「...Do what you want.」

「…Ihihi… Thank you very much!」

I didn't want to refuse and have her do something weird again, and honestly I was lonely eating alone, so I agreed to Akari's request.

「Eating lunch on the rooftop is like a dream! We couldn't get in during middle school... and it's all to ourselves! This is all thanks to Senpai!」

「...Yeah yeah, good for you.」

「Muu... Right, Senpai! How was today's selfie! I was a bit confident about it!」

I've never talked to this type of girl before, so I was at a loss for how to respond and gave a curt reply, but in response, Akari kept pushing forward without stopping and asked for my thoughts on today's photo.

「......Well, it was good, I guess?」

「Ehehe... did you maybe use it? I don't mind! In fact, if you want, I can send even more risqué ones...」

「...Oi.」

I grab the head of Akari who keeps making dangerous statements and squeeze lightly. Even after going through that, this lewd brat still hasn't learned her lesson.

「Ow ow ow! S-Sorry!」

「Don't casually say stuff like that to guys. I might not be able to save you next time.」

「......Ehehe.」

「...Why are you smiling?」

「Weell? I was just thinking how kind you are after all... Ouch!? Why are you squeezing harder!?」

「Because you're saying something completely off.」

What's kind about a guy who's currently grabbing a girl's head? If she's this easy, I'm seriously worried about what lies ahead for her.

While punishing Akari like this, I decided to think about something.

That is, about Miyano Kaede. How does the current Kaede feel about Akari? Based on the game's depiction, he should be aware that she has feelings for him... but right now it seems like the Noeru route, so will he not respond to Akari's feelings?

Even so, Kaede still doesn't seem happy about me and Akari being involved. When Akari barged into the classroom the other day, he was glaring at me with an intense expression.

Well, I understand wanting to worry. If I were in Kaede's position, I'd be worried too.

But then there should be more he could do. He should get close to her and see if someone has something on her, and if he does that, I can entrust Akari to him with peace of mind.

But he won't do that. Just like when he came to find us talking, he only directs hateful looks at me. After that, he just tells Akari she shouldn't. He didn't listen to Akari's opinion and just tried to force his own thoughts through.

There were hints in the first playthrough's depictions, but probably the true nature of this person called Miyano Kaede is...

「...Senpai? What's wrong?」

「Hm? Ahh, sorry. Was lost in thought.」

Akari's worried voice pulled me back to reality. Before I knew it, my strength had slipped away, and when I tried to remove my hand that had just been resting on Akari's head, she moved her head to follow my hand's movement.

「...What?」

「Just enjoying it to the fullest.」

「......I'm never doing this again.」

「Ehh!? Whyy!?」

And so, for some reason, the boku-girl heroine Akari who had taken a liking to me ended up spending lunch breaks with me.

While spending such days, one day. Just as I finished a noisy lunch break with Akari and was about to return to the classroom, a certain girl called out to me.

「Wait.」

「...What is it?」

The girl's identity is Fujita Shiori, the Student Council President and one of the heroines. I've only talked to her once and haven't since. It's been a while since we last met.

「I have something to discuss with you.」

「I don't have time though?」

「True. So after school. Please come to the student council room.」

「...Fine, fine.」

There's no point intimidating Shiori. It's less trouble to just do what she says. Besides, I had business with Shiori too. It's convenient that we can talk there.

After all, the next event is......

Thursday, June 27th.

Event name, "Shattering Conviction. Falling Justice".

Target Heroine: Fujita Shiori