Archive of Our Own ^beta

When Verum Cor—a romance simulation game by a relatively unknown indie developer called ‘Flare Phenix’—had first been released, scepticism had been the prevailing reaction. Billing itself as the world’s first online competitive dating sim, Verum Cor challenged players to romance an ever changing and ever expanding roster of characters, each with their own difficulty levels and unique storylines. Not only were players rewarded for successfully romancing characters within often-strict time limits, but there was always the ever-present threat of another player swooping in and stealing said romanceable character away. ‘All is fair in love and war’ was the game’s tagline, and while the concept was novel it was thought to be too niche to truly take off.

Thus the industry was woefully underprepared for Verum Cor’s overnight explosive success. The Internet was quickly flooded with Let’s Plays and guides for various characters, compilations of the most brutal romance steals, memes, fanart, badly written self-insert fanfiction, merchandise… if it could be conceived of, it was highly likely that a Verum Cor version of it existed.

Soon amateur leagues cropped up, all with different rules. Then came the sponsorship deals. And so it wasn’t that much of a surprise when it was announced, just before the game’s second anniversary, that there was going to be an official eSports Verum Cor tournament.

It had been a roaring success, the initial venue turning out to be far too small given that tickets to the event sold out within ten minutes of being announced. Entry was open to everyone, with the preliminaries being conducted purely online in order to thin out the numbers. The tournament proper was held in a grand arena, players coming the world over to showcase their romantic prowess over Verum Cor’s characters.

And with a cash prize of 713,000,000 munny, it was also the most lucrative league out there.

The tournament comprised of five parts:

Round One had been a test of speed, with the top twenty players who romanced their chosen character the quickest proceeding.

Round Two was a test of the players’ schmoozing ability, the fifteen with the highest ‘love meter’ rankings getting to continue on.

The Quarter-Finals had been a somewhat grizzly affair: the remaining competitors were all given the same target, and it was a test of their ability to steal away someone else’s love interest and sabotage the progress their rivals had already made. Testing their cunning, strategic thought, and fortitude, only the strongest ten were allowed to progress.

And the Semi-Finals had really separated the pros from the n00bs. The objective was to romance a 5-star difficulty character, the highest in the game. Only five had succeeded.

And now was the time for the highly anticipated Final, where all of the skills the competitors had honed thus far would be put to the test.

The arena was filled to bursting point, not a single seat left free for the riveting final of what had already been one of the fiercest competitions modern gaming had ever witnessed.

There were five computers on the stage, all of them hooked up to huge monitors that broadcasted what was occurring for the audience, both here in the arena and streaming at home. A bright spotlight lit up the centre of the stage, a bright beacon of light in the previous darkness, and a man with enticing caramel skin and a mesmerising mane of silver hair was illuminated.

“Welcome,” purred a voice as thick as treacle, richer and more tempting than dark chocolate, “To the grand final of the first ever Verum Cor tournament.”

The crowd went wild, screaming and cheering. The presenter’s name was Xemnas, an actor of great renown in certain circles. His voice—described by the Radiant Garden Gazette as ‘audible eroticism’ and the Traverse Town Times as ‘the voice of love making’—had narrated countless romantic audiobooks and, in tandem with his good-looks, had solidified him as a staple actor in the romance genre. The ladies (and rather a lot of men, too) simply couldn’t get enough. And so it seemed only fitting that this audible Adonis be the voice and face of Verum Cor’s eSports debut.

“Only five casanovas remain, and once the week is out there shall only be one who will stand above all others. Unto them shall the title Verum Cor be passed, signifying them as a true master of hearts.”

“So let’s get this party started and meet these legends already!” a hyperactive voice cut in, and the audience roared anew as a spotlight snapped onto a lanky young man with bright cyan eyes and a distinctive mullet-like hairdo. His name was Demyx, and his inclusion as co-host had come as a surprise. He had become something of a heartthrob for young teenage girls, who had helped get his two singles—‘Demyx Time!’ and ‘Shiny Saturday Sitar’—to the top of the charts.

Scatty, silly, and always willing to pull a stunt for the fans, he was the polar opposite of Xemnas’ sensually stoic shtick, and yet the combination of the both of them had shockingly worked.

“Each finalist is gonna announce the character they intend to romance. These are all-new characters created specially for the final, so they’ve only had twenty-four hours to read their bios and consider their choice. Remember: route switching is allowed, but it’s high risk and high reward. You really wanna undo all your progress so far? Heck yeah you do if it means you can steal someone else’s girl or guy!”

“They will be tested on all of the disciplines at once: their speed at winning over the character, how charmed the character is at the end, and there are special bonuses awarded for any stealing and sabotaging,” Xemnas explained. “And naturally, the difficulty level they select is factored in. The higher the level, the higher the reward.”

“So let’s bring ‘em on up! You all know this first cool cat: bring the house down for Vanitas!”

Thunderous applause broke through the arena as the lights came up fully now. The bookies’ favourite strode purposefully into the centre. His diminutive stature was often overlooked because his force of personality was simply so large. With wild and spiky raven locks and curiously amber eyes, Vanitas was a veteran of the dangerous underground dating sim scene. He had been there during The Great Waifu War and lived to tell the tale.

(“A lot of good waifus were lost that day,” Vanitas would say to anyone who would listen, a haunted look in his eyes as he took a long drag on his berry vape. “I’ve seen some shit in my time, kid.”)

Rumours say that he had also been a key instigator of the Husbando Hostilities back in ’05, but there was no solid evidence for this and those who dared to suggest his involvement always ended up mysteriously disappearing into the shadows.

“It’s time to go big or go home; I will crush the competition!” he cackled almost maniacally, raising his hands in the air as he yelled, “I’m going for Larxene!”

On the big monitors above flashed the character in question, piercing eyes smirking at the audience. ‘Larxene: A savage nymph who scoffs at romance,’ the screen proclaimed. Difficulty: ★★★★★

“He’s going for it!” Demyx yelled excitedly, “Nothing but the highest difficulty for this seasoned pro!”

Vanitas’ mouth twisted into a deranged grin, waving to the crowd before moving to take his place behind one of the computers.

“Please put your hands together for our last lady standing,” Xemnas said with arms spread wide as if he were delivering a sermon. “Welcome, Xion.”

A petite girl with a cute black bob made her way onto the stage, waving shyly to the audience. She may have seemed unassuming, but Xion was a famous speedrunner with countless world records under her belt for games across a wide range of genres. She also held the record for the fastest successful romance in Verum Cor. She had been attempting the Roxas route and had stumbled across what later became known as the ‘ice cream exploit’. With only a few sea-salt ice creams Xion had gained the True End for Roxas’ route and earned a new world record in the process.

“I choose Naminé,” Xion announced, and the image of a sweet young lady holding a sketchbook flashed up on the screen.

‘Naminé: a shy artist with a surprisingly rebellious streak. Getting this delicate lily to open up to the idea of romance won’t be easy!’ said the screen. Difficulty: ★★★★☆

“A lower difficulty than Vanitas, but Xion will be hoping to truly capitalise on her excellent expedience and rack up enough points in the ‘speed’ category to clinch the win,” Xemnas nodded, sounding impressed by her strategy.

Xion smiled before heading over to her computer.

“Is it getting hot in here, or is it just Lea?” Demyx asked with a waggle of his eyebrows, the crowd laughing and cheering as a fiery haired beanpole of a man made a grand entrance.

Lea was a popular Let’s Player with an exuberance that was simply magnetising. His witty retorts and general swagger had made him a fan-favourite, especially since he had nearly crashed out of the competition in the previous round. Lea had chosen the Isa route, and that rollercoaster of a relationship with its high drama and raw emotion had been the most exhilarating to witness thus far. Many people had cried happy tears when, after all had seemed hopeless, Lea had turned it all around and managed to achieve the True End.

“It’s the final, so why don’t we all make some fun memories?” he asked, grinning when the audience responded positively to him. “Let’s turn up the heat and make things interesting! Listen up: I’m gonna go for Larxene and dethrone Vanitas in the process! Got it memorised?”

The audience gasped and screeched in delight at such a bold move. Larxene’s information once more flashed up on the screen and Demyx punched the air.

“All right! Fierce competition from the get-go; me likey~ I’m sure we’ll all be glued to Vanitas and Lea’s playthroughs now!”

Lea bowed low before swaggering over to his computer.

“Up next is our master tactician. Always ready with a scheme and a bottomless wealth of knowledge of this and all games, let us welcome Ienzo,” Xemnas said grandly.

Not much was known about Ienzo’s personal life beyond the fact that he was a hikikomori. There was a lot of speculation as to whether he would even leave his house to come and compete. No one had even known what he looked like before this competition despite his fame on forums for having the best and most comprehensive game guides in the world. He had penned numerous dating sim compendiums and had the most consistent romance rate of any Verum Cor player out there. With a firm understanding of the importance of statistics and a cool-headed approach, he was a force to be reckoned with even if he wasn’t the flashiest competitor.

“Aqua,” he said calmly, and above him flashed an image of a young woman with blue hair not entirely dissimilar to his own.

‘Aqua: A kind young woman whose sense of right and wrong never wavers, but who doesn’t have time for romance,’ the screen informed everyone. Difficulty: ★★★★⍟

“Four and a half stars,” Demyx whistled, “Interesting choice.”

It was a calculated move: Aqua posed a slightly easier challenge than a 5-star route, thus allowing for more time to rack up more points in the other categories, but was still higher than Xion’s difficulty to compensate for the fact that she was naturally faster at playthroughs. Ienzo nodded and took his place behind his computer.

“And finally,” Xemnas said with great weight to his tone, “A competitor who has captured not just the hearts of the characters in-game, but the hearts of everyone here.”

“Heck yeah! It’s Sora, everyone!” Demyx hollered, and Sora bounded onto the stage to the tune of thousands of cheers.

Sora was a young man with a remarkable ability to connect with anyone. While the rest of the finalists were all socially stunted in some way, Sora seemed energised by conversation whether it was with the hosts, the fans, or the characters he chose to romance. If Ienzo’s style was logic and facts, Sora’s relied on feeling and empathy. He was a little goofy and had a grin that was totally disarming, so much so that everyone else tended to underestimate him. But no longer. Sora was actually a very competitive individual and as he was pouring over the character profiles for the final, he knew what he had to do in order to overcome his incredibly formidable fellow finalists. It was risky, but if he could pull this off then it was totally worth it.

Everyone waited with baited breath to see who Sora would choose. The brunette placed a hand over his heart, took a deep breath, and said: “I’m gonna go with Riku!”

Collectively, as if it had been staged, the audience gasped in shock. Demyx dropped his mic. Vanitas started laughing and called out his thanks to Sora for taking himself out of the final before it had even started. Ienzo raised an eyebrow in surprise.

On the screen, a picture of a handsome young man appeared. Long silver hair tumbled about his shoulders as expressive blue-green eyes stared out over the arena.

‘Riku: ???’ the screen helpfully supplied. Difficulty: ★★★★★★

Six stars. The character who broke the scale.

Riku wasn’t a new character specially created for the final. On the contrary: he was one of the first characters in the game. At first it was assumed that he wasn’t romanceable given his anti-social nature and tendency to lurk in the background. But after a few curious gamers pursued the matter, it appeared that Riku was very much fair game.

He was different from the other characters though: he was the only character to feature a rating higher than five stars, lacked a bio, and it was simply impossible to put together a walkthrough for his route because his route was so damn changeable. No two players ever got the same scenarios or questions, leading to fandom speculation as to whether Riku was some sort of glitch. Whenever they were asked about the character, Flare Phenix refused to comment. In the almost two years since the game’s release, Riku’s route had never been successfully completed. Ienzo, one of the foremost authorities on these matters, had tried every strategy in the book and had been frustrated at every turn. Riku didn’t act like a video game character; his scenarios had no predictability. Trying to play his route felt eerily like trying to interact with an actual person at times.

After trying to crack the secret of Riku for two months, Ienzo had concluded that Riku was an unconquerable character with an unwinnable route, and most everyone agreed with him.

So for someone to attempt the route now, in the final? Well. That was just pure madness.

“What a surprising turn of events,” Xemnas said, having recovered first. “The Riku route, fabled to be insurmountable. We have only had one attempt of this route during the tournament and as I am sure you all recall, Luxord’s gamble did not pay off. Could Sora be the one to make history? We will be right back to find out after this commercial break.”

x~x~x~x~x

As the one to successfully romance his character first in the last round, Vanitas got to choose the main scenario. He had grinned and claimed to be a sucker for the classics, and so he chose the high school scenario.

The finalists all placed on their special interactive gloves and virtual reality glasses. The former allowed one to interact more fully with the characters, while the latter allowed for a fully immersive experience as well as displaying the HUD that allowed players to keep track of their opponents’ progress. The glasses were also equipped with a microphone, Verum Cor having utilised cutting-edge technology so that their characters could react to what you had to say.

Demyx had procured his sitar during the break and was now strumming some power chords as he sang, “Let the games begin~!”

Sora focused, head in the game. He watched as a school materialised before looking down at himself. A white blouse coupled with blue and white checked trousers adorned his avatar.

“Let’s do this,” he muttered, watching as Lea and Vanitas ran off in search of Larxene. Xion brought up a map of the school and nodded, heading off to the art room, and Ienzo trailed after. Clearly he was going to try and intercept early, which made sense given that Xion’s ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ style had sucker-punched them all before. Sora placed his hands on the keyboard and began to move forward as well. He had to find Riku; he didn't have time to worry about what everyone else was doing now that he had decided to walk the hardest route there was.

He found Riku up on the roof, because while Riku may have behaved unpredictably, there were just some cliché scenarios that types like him couldn’t avoid. A dramatic backdrop like this, where he could be broody with a view, was perfect.

Riku turned to regard him for a moment, and Sora didn't think that he would ever get used to Verum Cor’s hyperrealism. Riku’s hair cascaded down his back in a silver waterfall, each strand seemingly individually rendered. His eyes were so expressive, if guarded, and they looked directly at Sora as if he was actually seeing him and not just programmed to track the sensors in his visor to give the illusion of direct eye contact.

“Is this a joke?” Riku muttered, eyebrows furrowing. Sora faltered for a moment before three options flashed up before his vision.

> Greet Riku
> No but the cafeteria food here is a joke, am I right?
> Say nothing

Sora considered his options before making his choice.

“No but the cafeteria food here is a joke, am I right?” Sora said, smiling charmingly. Riku shot him an unimpressed look and turned around to gaze out over the campus.

The brunette sighed and quickly checked his stats, even though he knew that part of Riku's difficulty was not having any of his progress displayed. If his love meter had gone up or down, Sora would never know. He had to feel it out and adapt.

Just before he quit out of the menu he quickly checked on everyone else. Unsurprisingly, Xion was already making good headway with Naminé. At least she was, before a notification popped up.

Ienzo is making a play for Naminé!

Good. Sora would leave Xion to Ienzo for now.

He walked forward and stood by Riku’s side, keeping quiet. As he looked out over the grounds and saw students chatting and playing happily down below, it was almost easy to forget that this was only a game. The only giveaway was the stillness of everything. You couldn’t recreate the feeling of wind blowing through your hair or the smell of the freshly cut grass of the tennis courts.

Every now and then Sora would surreptitiously glance up at his intended romance. Riku was tall, and the sleeves of his blouse looked like they struggled to accommodate his muscular arms. Sora kept looking at them and wishing that there was a way he could actually touch Riku, unable to not think about what being held by those arms would feel like. But despite Riku’s rather imposing frame, his flawless pale skin gave him an almost porcelain appearance, as if he were a delicate china doll. Perhaps it was strange to think of a man who practically towered over him as beautiful, but Sora thought that word was perfectly fitting for Riku.

Whoever had designed him must be very cruel, placing pure perfection beyond reach.

“You’re not going to say some nauseating pick-up line?” Riku asked after about five minutes of them standing there in silence.

“Do you want me to?” Sora asked, looking at him curiously.

“Not really.”

“Then I won’t,” he smiled. “What would you like me to do?”

Riku blinked in surprise, tearing his eyes away from the distance to look down at Sora instead. He looked genuinely confused. “What… I want?”

“Yeah!”

Riku hesitated, the caution with which he held himself seeming so human that Sora quickly pulled up the HUD just to make sure that this was still in the game.

“You’re not like the others,” Riku commented after a moment.

The others… could it be that Riku remembered each and every player who had attempted his route? How many thousands of people had approached him? Despite the fact that Riku was just a very convincing fiction, Sora couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Not a single person had asked what he had wanted to do? Granted it was normal for the player to be the one dictating how everything went, but still…

“Is that a good thing?” Sora asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Well whatever it is you want me to do, I’ll do it.”

Riku stared at him, and Sora wondered if the character was going to request that he take a hike. But then the taller male sighed and said, “Why do you care?”

There were many answers to that question: victory, prize money, kudos, the sense of achievement. But so far during their brief interaction, a new answer came to Sora’s mind.

“Because you seem sad, and I want to make you happy instead.”

Those mesmerising eyes were definitely looking at him and seeing him, they had to be. It felt as if Riku was looking into his very soul and surely no algorithm or programming language could be that convincing. This whole interaction had been strange, unlike anything else Sora had experienced in Verum Cor thus far. What was Riku, really?

Sora jumped when Riku started laughing and he stared in wonder at the way his eyes crinkled under the force of his smile and how his cheeks gained just the slightest hint of pink to them. “You really aren’t like the others. What’s your name?”

Enter name, a prompt flashed up on his visor, and Sora hurriedly typed in his name and entered it at the same time as he said it into the mic.

“Sora.”

“Sora…” Riku murmured. “It’s… nice to meet you.”

Sora grinned, internally cheering at having received a compliment from Riku. There may not have been a love meter to let Sora know how he was doing, but he felt like something significant had just happened.

Sora happily chatted to Riku after that, ignoring the in-game clock showing that hours were passing by without him triggering any more scenarios. Riku was a good listener and would occasionally pass comment, and Sora wholly forgot that he was talking to a sophisticated AI because Riku felt like an old friend. It was only when the sky began to darken did Sora realise that he may have wasted this first day, even though it didn’t feel like a waste.

“Can I see you tomorrow?” he asked.

Riku cocked his head to the side. “Won’t you just show up and harass me either way? That’s how this usually goes, isn’t it?”

“I’m not like the others, remember?” Sora smiled, and Riku chuckled lightly.

“Right… you really do seem to care.”

Sora’s heart clenched at how shocked and confused Riku seemed to be about that. “I do.”

Riku was looking at him intently again, that intense gaze almost burning him. He opened his mouth but hesitated, biting his lip instead. He looked like he desperately had something he wanted to say, but the way he clenched his fists made Sora think that he hadn’t earned that privilege yet. “If that’s the case, then…” Riku said, voice quiet and unsure, “What is the one thing you care about more than anything else?”

Sora’s eyes widened when choices were laid before him, but they weren’t anything like the typical choices he had encountered in any dating sim thus far, Verum Cor or otherwise.

> The hearts connected by light
> My close friends
> The strength to protect others

What… what did this mean? What was that question and why were these the answers? Sora had done his research and knew that Ienzo had never come across anything like this back when he had tried to romance Riku, so…

God he had so many questions, but Riku was looking at him with poorly concealed hope, and so Sora cleared his throat and followed his heart.

“My close friends,” he said.

Riku let out a small breath. “I see,” he said simply, and for one dreadful moment Sora thought the Bad End screen was about to subsume his vision. But then Riku stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets as he said, “I’ll see you tomorrow then, Sora.”

x~x~x~x~x

Six hours in the real world was equivalent to two weeks in the game. And on the first day of the final Sora’s two weeks with Riku had yielded interesting results. Riku had a response to everything, no matter how obscure. While other characters would merely stare at you blankly if you said something totally rogue, because their AI was unable to parse and respond to the information, Riku’s AI had no such issues.

Sora had also concluded that Riku’s cold, impenetrable demeanour was undeserved. By simply being nice, Sora had gotten further than anyone else ever had. At the end of each day he would always politely ask Riku if they could hang out together again the next day, and each time Riku would seem touched that Sora was taking Riku’s own feelings into consideration.

Everything seemed to be going swimmingly, but Sora couldn’t help recalling that strange question and even stranger subset of answers. He hadn’t encountered anything like that since, the options being the usual fare he expected from dating sims, but… something wasn’t sitting right with him.

“Man, Larxene is such an icky romance,” Lea was saying as the finalists headed back to the hotel they were all staying at after day one. Xion was currently in the lead, although Ienzo’s meddling meant that it wasn’t as substantial as she’d have liked. She was currently scrolling through articles about art history in preparation for tomorrow. “If she calls me a shitty piece of trash one more time…”

“If you can't handle it you can always switch routes,” Vanitas grinned. “Leave Larxene up to a real man.”

“What? You mean you’re gonna switch off too, then?”

“What did you think?” Ienzo asked as he slid in next to Sora, ignoring the bickering going on behind them.

“He plays so differently to any character I’ve come across,” Sora said honestly.

Ienzo nodded. “Indeed...” A pause. Then, “Are you sure you wish to proceed with the Riku route? I have concluded that it is quite impossible.”

Sora thought back to that one question and couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to this story than any of them could have imagined. He placed a hand over his heart. “They say I can connect with anyone. This will be the ultimate test of that.”

Ienzo smiled slightly, flicking his incomprehensible fringe out of his face. “One less competitor in my way, then.”

x~x~x~x~x

Riku didn’t like to talk about himself much, but he was quite happy to talk about most anything else. After exhausting the topics of favourite animals and most fun things to do on a day out, they had moved on to talking about food.

“I guess I always liked the sweet tang of apples,” Riku was saying. “How about you?”

> You like apples? Well thank god I'm not a doctor, because I wouldn't want you to keep me away!
> Pineapples. Definitely pineapples.
> I guess berries are kinda cool

The choices had made Sora jump a little. The flow of conversation had been so effortlessly natural and the choices popping up like that totally ruined the immersion. Flare Phenix had somehow developed a character that would flawlessly pass any Turing test, Sora was sure of it. Luckily, the answer to Riku’s question this time was incredibly easy.

“I’m totally a pineapple guy!” he grinned.

Riku cocked his head to the side in a way that should have been far too adorable for a man of 182 centimetres. “Pine…apple?”

Sora’s eyes widened. “Wait, you’ve never had a pineapple?” he gaped.

“I…” Riku furrowed his eyebrows. “Is it like a spiky apple?”

“Pineapples are sweet and tangy. You can eat them with sweet things and with savoury things; truly the ultimate fruit!” Sora said happily, before adopting a grave expression and looking Riku in the eyes. “Some people will tell you that pineapples have no business being on pizza. Those people are wrong.”

Riku seemed to be a bit lost, a small confused smile playing on his lips as he nodded politely. It made Sora’s heart swell, and without thinking he reached out to take his hand. “Let’s share one.”

In the first dating sim Sora had ever played—a rather rudimentary game called Island of Destiny that he picked up on a whim when it was on sale—his first romance’s True End involved sharing a tropical star-shaped fruit to ensure they would always be together. Sora had always imagined it to taste like a super sweet pineapple. He supposed Kairi would always hold a special place in his heart as his first, but he was surprised at just how keenly he wanted to share a pineapple with Riku in that moment.

Sora’s hand phased through Riku. The glove he was wearing vibrated to indicate that the AI had registered the motion, but both of them stared at where the connection should have been but wasn’t. Graphics had come a long way since Island of Destiny, and right now Sora didn’t think that was a good thing, frowning up at this untouchable illusion.

Riku’s expression was grim, and he pulled his hand back and clenched it into a fist by his side.

“That's impossible,” he said, voice devoid of any emotion. “None of this is real. It never will be.”

Sora wanted to ask what Riku meant by that, but the taller male was already walking away from him.

“No matter how different you are, the ending will still be the same.”

It sounded like a warning to Sora as well as a reminder for Riku himself.

Once again, a thousand more questions with no answers plagued Sora’s mind.

x~x~x~x~x

Riku was in a crappy mood on day three of the final. Six weeks had passed in-game, and Ienzo’s wooing of Aqua was starting to become a threat. Everyone was so convinced that Sora was going to strike out with Riku that no one ever bothered trying to sabotage his efforts, and then the game announced a special event: the school play. It was an opportunity for all the characters to interact together, and a crucial period in which love meter gains and losses could be the ultimate difference between victory and defeat.

Lea was currently showboating, clutching a skull in his hand and waxing poetic about lost loves. Watching this performance with a look of utter contempt was Larxene, long legs crossed as she perched on the edge of a desk.

“Your acting is trash,” she said snippily, and Vanitas burst out laughing. Lea threw the skull at him, but it merely phased through his rival’s avatar.

“At least I’ve got my lines memorised!” he yelled at both of them.

“Plays are lame,” Larxene yawned, “I’m bored.”

Both Lea and Vanitas suddenly straightened up, clearly being presented with a set of options in response to their love interest’s boredom.

Behind them, Xion and Naminé were painting backdrops for the play, and a quick glance at the menu showed that Naminé’s love meter was steadily filling up. Xion may even max it out today, which would still give her two more days of play to increase her other metrics.

Sabotage Xion?
> Yes
> No

Sora looked over to Riku, who was clutching the script in his hand and glaring absolute daggers at it. He selected ‘no’; he needed to work on his own route before he started messing with someone else’s.

“You don’t like plays?” Sora asked.

“I don’t like this one,” Riku said through gritted teeth.

> Press Riku for more information
> Change the subject
> Say nothing

“How come?” Sora asked. “Too cliché for you?”

“Cliché?” Riku murmured, squeezing the script tighter.

“Well, I mean, come on. Arrogant asshole noble having his heart locked away by a sorcerer for acting like a dick is hardly original,” Sora shrugged. “I figured you’d go for something more, uh, intellectual?”

What was meant to be a compliment on Riku’s ability to understand more complex works of art appeared to have backfired terribly, as Riku swiftly stood up and sent Sora a positively icy look. He threw the script at him, and even though it wouldn’t actually hit him, Sora still flinched. The gamer watched forlornly as Riku stalked off, his heart aching as he slammed the door shut. A chill ran through him as he waited for Bad End to flash up, but after a few tense seconds Sora let out a small sigh of relief. He had fucked up, but it hadn’t been game breaking. He had to find a way to fix it.

“A heart as selfish and dark as yours has no right to exist. I will take this filthy heart from you and lock it away. But unlike yours, my heart is capable of mercy and empathy. Should you miraculously gain the ability to love, and be loved in return, your heart shall be yours again and you may once more live in the light. But for now, I cast you into shadow!”

Sora looked over to where Aqua was running lines as the sorcerer, Ienzo silently encouraging her. She was dressed in grand robes, blue and flowing in a manner reminiscent of a tsunami. She looked as if she commanded water itself, and her fierce delivery was unnervingly convincing. Lea was playing the part of the cursed noble, and he was currently eyeing Aqua up with a considered expression.

Sabotage Ienzo?
> Yes
> No

Sora quickly pressed the ‘no’ button, feeling a sudden sense of urgency to track Riku down. Maybe it was the smarter play to mess with Ienzo, stalling his progress and bumping up his own stats in the process. But playing logically wasn’t Sora’s usual style and his instincts were telling him to find Riku immediately. As he ran out of the room, a notification flashed before his eyes:

Lea is making a play for Aqua!

Sora checked the roof, the cafeteria, all of the classrooms he passed, and the gymnasium, but he couldn’t find Riku anywhere. He pulled up the map, trying to work out where he had missed.

As the in-game clock was close to signalling the end of the day, Sora finally found him.

Riku was outside of the school, standing at the very edge of the map. The scenery beyond the out of bounds was rendered; it wasn’t immediately obvious at all that there were invisible boundaries, but Riku stood on that boundary now with his face creased into a whole host of emotions.

“Riku!” Sora called to him, skidding to a halt.

Riku turned to look at him, the slump of his shoulders screaming defeat, eyes full of an incomprehensible hurt that gripped Sora’s own heart in a cold grasp.

“Riku, what’s going on? Talk to me!”

Riku’s lips stretched into a smile, a cruel, empty little thing. “Oh don’t mind me. I’m just getting worked up over a stupid cliché.”

“I didn't mean it like that,” Sora said, taking a step closer. “Please just... tell me what’s going on. I want to help.”

“What’s the point? None of this is real.”

No. The HUD overlay tried to remind him of this fact but Sora couldn’t buy into it. Riku’s pain right now was palpable, it was real. The way he rolled his eyes at Sora’s antics or hid a chuckle behind his hand, the way he seemed genuinely interested in what Sora had to say and would always respond in such a convincing way... all of it seemed so real.

The way Riku’s blue-green eyes were shining with emotion right now couldn’t just be down to code. No programming language could ever articulate his ethereal beauty or render each long eyelash and quirk of pillowy lips to that degree of perfection. 

For the first time since he had started playing dating sims, Sora wasn’t having fun. Because this didn’t feel like a game. It felt too real.

Sora placed a hand over his heart. “It is!” he insisted. “I can feel it. My heart is telling me that this is real!”

Riku scoffed, running a hand through his hair as he looked directly at Sora’s chest. “Your heart? What good will that weak little thing do for you?”

“It will guide me! It will help me save you!”

Riku started laughing. “Save me? I don't exist, Sora. I don’t have a heart for you to try and worm your way into.”

“Then I'll give you mine.”

Riku faltered, looking at Sora with wide eyes. Shock was written all over his face. “W-What?” he stuttered.

“I'll give you my heart,” Sora repeated, reaching out to place his hands on Riku’s shoulders. The gloves vibrated, the contact registered, but still Sora’s hands phased through those broad shoulders.

“Why would you?” Riku asked quietly, breath hitching in a way that suggested he was holding back sobs.

“Because, Riku, I—”

The in-game clock started flashing, signalling to Sora that he only had less than a minute left of the day. “C-Can I see you tomorrow?!” he asked desperately, watching as the clock kept counting down.

Riku flinched back, biting his lip and hands clenched into fists at his side. “Just... do what you want,” he muttered.

“No,” Sora said firmly, “What do you want?”

“I…” There were only seconds left, and then Sora would be forced to stop playing as day three drew to a close. Riku sighed and deflated, glancing once more at the scenery beyond the map, to places he couldn’t go. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he murmured, and then Sora was booted out of the game and onto the main menu.

x~x~x~x~x

Sora pulled his visor off, tuning into the excited murmurs of the crowd. Demyx was excitedly recapping the highlights of what had occurred that day. Xemnas was doing the same thing, but less excited and said with a smoulder, as was his default. Clips of their gameplay were being broadcast across the large screens above them, and Sora heard his own voice ringing out:

“I’ll give you my heart.”

Lea leant over and patted him on the shoulder, grinning wide. “Very convincing, Sora.”

The brunette laughed weakly in response. “Y-Yeah…” He stared at the menu screen, wondering if Riku was okay. Did everything pause when they weren’t in there, or did the characters continue to interact with one another? Riku seemed to be aware that his reality wasn’t, well, reality, but was that part of his programming or something else? Was he waiting for Sora right now?

He was quiet on the walk back to the hotel, ignoring the way Lea was taunting Ienzo and missing how Xion, completely absorbed in some mobile game, tripped over a crack in the pavement. He briefly tuned in after Ienzo had issued some sort of cutting remark, and that was only because Vanitas yelled loud enough to shake Sora out of his thoughts.

“Hey! For your information I was exonerated of all charges relating to the shotacontroversies!”

…what?

Actually… no. He didn’t want to know.

“What’s that look for, huh?” Vanitas asked, leering at Sora.

“Back off,” Sora muttered.

“You’ve been suspiciously quiet this whole time,” Vanitas said, not backing off at all. “Care to share with the class?”

“He’s probably just thinking about how to play it tomorrow. Looks like we have a new master strategist, eh, Ienzo?” Lea smirked.

Ienzo was looking at Sora with an odd expression. “What happened today?” he asked after a moment.

Sora hesitated, but Lea opened his arms dramatically. “Why, he gave us all a show! I must say I never expected a performance like that from Sora, of all people.”

“Was it really a performance?”

Four sets of eyes snapped to Xion, who was pocketing her phone. She was looking at Sora with something that looked a bit like pity. “Well? Was it?”

It was only for a second, but Sora’s hesitation was telling enough.

“No freakin’ way,” Vanitas snickered, “You were serious? That wasn’t just a line to get Riku to fall for you?”

“I mean, that’s—” Sora faltered. He had meant what he had said. Whenever he was interacting with Riku he often forgot that he was supposed to be just another route to conquer. The words he had spoken had come straight from his heart, and he was going to stand by them.

“Woah, steady on,” Lea said, raising an eyebrow. “You remember that this is all a simulation, right? Just a bunch of data for us to romance? I know it can seem convincing, trust me the whole Isa thing took me for a real ride, but it’s not real.”

“You’re wrong!” Sora protested, “Riku is different!”

Vanitas’ snicker had graduated to a full-on mirthful cackle at this point. “Damn, he really is in love with a bunch of ones and zeros! You really wanna give your heart to some pretty piece of data you’ve only tried interacting with for three days!”

“But he’s not just data,” Sora insisted, turning to Ienzo, “He isn’t, right? If he was, you’d have found like… an algorithm or some consistent logic to his code, but you couldn’t do it.”

Ienzo’s eyebrows furrowed. “It is true that I couldn’t ascertain any consistent logic to him, but… I think that is because his programming is glitched somehow. I still maintain that his route is unwinnable.”

“Even though Sora has gotten further with Riku than anyone else has before?” Xion asked.

“It doesn’t mean he can complete the route,” Ienzo reasoned. “Looking over Sora’s gameplay, it seems that Riku’s AI has developed a measure of self-awareness. Therefore there are no certain constants. If anything, the AI will just be hostile to player attempts as it will be able to see through all of our choices.”

“A self-aware AI…” Vanitas murmured. “Interesting.”

“He isn’t just an AI or a glitched programme, I’m sure of it,” Sora said. But the looks his fellow finalists shot at him suggested that they all thought he was going crazy.

Maybe he was. Sora was meant to be the one romancing Riku, and yet the very opposite had occurred.

Had he really fallen in love with a piece of code?

Crap.

x~x~x~x~x

“Can we talk?”

That was the first thing that Riku had said to Sora the instant he logged in to Verum Cor on day four, and it caused his heart to drop down to his stomach. Good things hardly ever followed those words.

“Y-Yeah, sure.” He tried to sound casual but failed.

“Let’s go to the roof,” Riku suggested, and Sora followed behind him with his mind racing with all the ways Riku could take this.

The pro-gamer hadn’t gotten much sleep last night; his mind had been stuck on Riku and whether he was okay, what he could do to help, and trying to come to terms with his newfound feelings for what was, ostensibly, a video game character.

He’d need to lay off the dating sims for a while once this whole tournament was over.

“So? What’s on your mind?” Sora asked once they had reached their destination, the lack of a breeze up here unnerving him.

“About what you said yesterday,” Riku said without pre-amble, “Let’s pretend you didn’t say it.”

Sora’s eyebrows furrowed. “What? Why?”

“Because I don’t want to believe in a promise that makes no sense.”

“Wait- is this- are you… are you rejecting me?” Sora’s heart clenched painfully in his chest.

“Is it even possible to reject something that isn’t real?” Riku asked detachedly.

Sora gritted his teeth. “Why do you keep saying that this isn’t real? Stop dismissing my feelings so easily!”

“Your feelings are nonsensical and misguided!”

“But they are real,” Sora insisted, taking a step forward and causing Riku to take a step back. “Yeah, maybe it doesn’t make sense.” Another step forward. “A-And maybe I’m losing my mind.” Step. “But I always try to follow my heart.” Step. “And right now it’s pointing to you.” A final step, and Riku was backed up against the chain-link fence that prevented students from falling off the roof. “Riku, I love you.”

Riku gasped, looking so open and vulnerable in that moment, and Sora wanted nothing more than to take his hands and squeeze them reassuringly, pull Riku into a hug and show him that he was being serious. “Sora, I…” Riku’s voice was shaking, his resolve crumbling before Sora.

And then someone was applauding.

The two males glanced over to the roof’s entrance and found a raven-haired young man leaning casually against the wall there. “Well done, Sora. With a performance like that, you nearly moved me to tears,” Vanitas smirked.

“What are you doing?” Sora asked, eyes narrowed on the unwelcome visitor.

Vanitas just started chuckling. “Isn’t it obvious?” And then a notification flashed across Sora’s visor:

Vanitas is making a play for Riku!

Sora stared at him. This couldn’t be happening… they all thought Riku was impossible to win over, so why? Why was Vanitas doing this?

“So it seems you know that this is all a lie,” Vanitas was saying, prowling over to his prey, eyes locked with Riku’s, “But how much do you know, really? How much can you actually comprehend? Why don’t we find out?” He grinned, and the way his amber eyes glinted with the action made him seem feral. “You’re in a video game, Riku. A dating simulation game, to be precise. You’re the character no one can romance: the unwinnable route. But Sora here, well, he’s special. He thinks he can crack you. And by successfully wooing you in here, he gets to profit big time out there. But ain’t he doing a masterful job with his sincerity shtick? Don’t feel too bad, though; he almost had me fooled just then.”

“Just shut up!” Sora yelled, feeling absolutely furious. “How dare you treat Riku like he’s some trophy to be won?!”

Vanitas cocked his head to the side, a crooked grin stretching his lips as he said, “But that’s exactly what he is.” Sora clenched his fists and opened his mouth to retort, but Vanitas held up a hand. “Be careful on that moral high-ground you think you’re standing on. Don’t act like you didn’t pick Riku in the first place because you thought it would net you the trophy and prize money.”

“I- that’s—” Sora faltered, looking over to Riku. He had been regarding this whole conversation with an unreadable expression thus far, but when their gazes met Sora’s heart clenched painfully at the sheer hurt in Riku’s aquamarine eyes.

“E-Even if that was the case, it’s not true now, I swear!” he said desperately, trying to reach out to Riku, but the taller male took a big step back and out of reach.

“No matter how different you are, the ending will still be the same,” Riku murmured, looking angry and betrayed and broken.

“Riku, no,” Sora said weakly, trying to get closer to him again, but Riku just kept backing away from him like he was desperate to get away.

“Why the long face?” Riku asked bitterly. “I’m not real. This,” he gestured between the two of them, “Was always a lie. What is it you are so afraid of?”

Sora gasped when options flashed up on his visor, his pulse picking up so fast he felt dizzy. He may not have understood a damn thing, but he had the distinct feeling that if he answered incorrectly, this really would be over for good.

> Getting trapped in the darkness
> Causing someone to be hurt
> Losing something that's important

He’d already hurt Riku, and honestly Sora didn’t care about himself at all in that moment.

“Losing something that’s important,” he said earnestly, eyes beseeching Riku not to give up on him.

‘Please believe me,’ he thought, willing Riku to understand, ‘You have to trust me.’

Riku clicked his tongue, hands clenched so hard into fists that his knuckles had turned white, before he stormed off of the roof and left Sora alone with Vanitas. The latter whistled low under his breath, watching the door to the roof slam shut.

“Well, that went better than I thought it would,” he snickered, and Sora saw red.

“How could you?!” he yelled, yanking his visor off almost violently and standing up from his chair.

“What is this? Sora has disconnected himself from his computer,” Xemnas commentated, a surprised note lingering in his smooth tone.

As Sora stormed over to Vanitas’ console, Demyx began hyping up the crowd and cheering, “Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!”

He pushed Vanitas’ chair back and snatched the visor clear off his face. Vanitas seemed shocked for a moment before he smirked up at Sora dangerously. “All is fair in love and war, right?” he cooed, laughing when Sora grabbed him by the collar and tugged him upwards.

“It’s not fair!” he growled, “Riku isn’t just another character we can screw around with. He feels things, really truly feels them, instead of just following some programming to react to whatever options we select!” He had brought his hand back in a fist, and Vanitas’ eyes locked onto it.

“Do it,” he goaded him, eyes sparking, “Defend some fictional character’s honour like an idiot.”

“Is that all this is to you? What about your waifus? Are they just ‘some fictional characters’ that you don’t care about?!”

“I know that they aren’t real,” Vanitas replied levelly, “That’s what’s so good about them; they’re a fantasy. I’m not crazy enough to think they have friggin’ sentience, you weirdo!”

And then Sora decked him.

The crowd was gasping and cheering and jeering, Demyx and Xemnas struggling to articulate this downright unprecedented turn of events, and the other finalists had paused their games in shock to watch the drama unfold.

Everything seemed to happen in a blur. Sora felt strong arms pulling him off of Vanitas. He was informed that he would not be allowed to continue playing that day as punishment for his rash actions, which would place him at a significant disadvantage tomorrow, if they even allowed him to compete. Then he was being seen to by the on-site doctor, a man with a long face and piercing emerald eyes by the name of Even, who seemed relieved to be treating a case that wasn’t the usual wrist strain gamers tended to become afflicted with.

Sleep deprivation and stress had been the conclusion, and Sora was ordered to stay in his hotel room and rest. But how could he rest when everything was burning down around him?

Sora had been gazing listlessly at the ceiling of his room, replaying the image of Riku storming off, back to him, over and over again. The man claimed that he didn’t have a heart, so it stood to reason that he also didn’t have a heart to break. And yet watching his retreating form, it was as if Sora could see the cracks all over that porcelain skin.

He didn’t know how long he had been lying there, but when his phone vibrated it pulled Sora out of his miserable thoughts. It was his Discord, and it was notifying him of a message from a user he had never heard of before. Someone going by the name DiZ.

DiZ: You cannot give up. You are the key.

Sora’s eyebrows furrowed. What was that supposed to mean? They key to what?

DiZ: You have surely noticed that all is not what it seems when it comes to Verum Cor. When it comes to Riku.

The gamer nearly dropped his phone. This person knew something about Riku? He hurriedly began typing a response.

PineappleBoi1.5ReMIX: wot do u kno bout riku?!?!?!

DiZ: That Verum Cor is acting as a prison for that poor boy who has been cursed to live in shadow, away from the real world.

PineappleBoi1.5ReMIX: how can i help???? i want 2 save him!!!

DiZ: A heart is so much more than any system, and yet his has been systematically manipulated throughout countless centuries. Verum Cor is merely the latest incarnation, a modern day prison of data.

While Sora may have understood what all of those words meant individually, together they made little sense. Still, he saw that DiZ was still typing, and so he anxiously waited for the next message in the hope that it would make things clearer. It didn't.

DiZ: The process of encoding hearts is incalculable, and it is a wonder that his has not yet perished. But your interactions with him are proof that hearts cannot be contained by data.

PineappleBoi1.5ReMIX: listen man idk bout all this deep stuff but if theres a way i can help riku u need 2 tell me

DiZ sent him a number of links, and Sora quickly began pulling up multiple tabs to check out what this mysterious person had to say.

DiZ: Consume this information: the fruits of my many years of research.

PineappleBoi1.5ReMIX: k

DiZ: And be forewarned that to lose is to win.

PineappleBoi1.5ReMIX: wot?

DiZ: Armed with such knowledge you shall surely be able to unlock that prison and set him free.

PineappleBoi1.5ReMIX: uhh aiite will do!!! thank u, whoever u r!!

DiZ: Oh and one more thing.

PineappleBoi1.5ReMIX: ???

DiZ: Please employ the use of a spell-checker in the future. Having a saviour of hearts use such atrocious spelling and grammar offends my scholarly sensibilities.

PineappleBoi1.5ReMIX: sorry no tym 4 grammar gotta go save my data boyfrend!!

Sora spent many hours scouring the links that the mysterious DiZ had sent him, not once questioning DiZ’s authenticity or why they seemed to have such a vested interest in this whole thing. There was nothing to be gained from being sceptical, and so he consumed the information like a starving man.

A lot of the links were to history sites that told of an ancient kingdom that existed over a thousand years ago. The kingdom of Scala ad Caelum. The kingdom had a rich history and culture, but the links DiZ had sent him kept referencing one particular incident.

Scala ad Caelum was split into duchies, and the young Duke of Phenix appeared to be the most notorious noble. Of the surviving documents that had been translated by scholars, the duke possessed a beauty supposedly passed down from the heavens themselves. He was favoured by the gods, and with his riches and beloved place upon the most prestigious of pedestals he developed an unbearably arrogant personality. He was rude, brazen, selfish, and thoroughly dislikeable, if utterly beguiling. And then one day he had angered a powerful sorcerer by the name of Yen Sid. Accounts differed on what exactly it was that the duke had done. Some claimed that he stole Yen Sid’s lover away, others believed that he had neglected to help the old sorcerer in his hour of need, while others maintained that Yen Sid was merely jealous of the beautiful youth and went after him out of spite. Regardless of the reason, Yen Sid saw that the duke’s heart was selfish and tainted, ruthless and cruel, and sought to lock such a dirty heart away from the purity of Scala ad Caelum.

Accounts also differed on what happened next. Some say that Yen Sid, in his mercy and wisdom, gave the duke a chance. Others claim that the gods, devastated that their favourite human had lost his heart, undid a measure of Yen Sid’s magic and gave the young man a way back to earth from the shadows. In both scenarios, the caveat was the same:

Should the duke, left as but a mere shell of an existence and cursed to wander in shadows, somehow gain the ability to love, and find someone to love him in return, then he would be allowed to walk in the light once more.

Sora’s mind was already reeling from this information and the implications of it. The play… Riku’s reaction… His blood ran cold at the thought that Riku had been alone and lost for thousands of years. But other parts of that story seemed familiar. The Duke of Phenix… Was it a coincidence that Verum Cor was developed by Flare Phenix? That it had such an emphasis on hearts? It took Sora a long time scouring the Internet and various forums to find out who actually owned Flare Phenix and ascertain who designed Verum Cor in the first place. Just when he was about to give up hope, he found his answer tucked away in an obscure website written in a foreign language:

Flare Phenix CEO: Yen Sid.

Sora gritted his teeth. That bastard! Was Verum Cor a front this whole time? Some sick sadistic prison in which Riku would watch people fall in love all around him while he was doomed to be the unwinnable route? Pursued by players who would claim to love him, but never would, because they just saw him as yet another character to conquer, a pretty computer programme…

Sora looked out of his window, noting that dawn was just about breaking. He had been up all night and he felt fidgety and more than a little discombobulated, but he had never been more determined about anything in his entire life.

Today, the last day of the Verum Cor tournament, was going to be the day that someone cleared the Riku route.

He was going to save Riku, no matter what.

x~x~x~x~x

When Sora strode into the stadium that day, he heard a palpable hush ripple through the crowd.

“After shock scenes yesterday, Sora is back. Punching a fellow contestant in the face but walking in the next day like a man on a mission… that’s so metal!” Demyx cheered, playing a quick sitar solo to really hammer home the supposed badassery of it all.

Vanitas was sporting a black eye but seemed to find the whole situation amusing, head-banging along to what Demyx was throwing down.

“But he is attempting the Riku route and lost out on an entire day of play. Does he stand a chance, when Xion has already successfully maxed out Naminé’s love meter and can focus on maxing out her other stats today?”

“And don’t forget about Lea, who’s medalling on the Aqua route finally got him in Larxene’s good graces!” Demyx chipped in. “Get ready for some heart-pounding lovey-dovey action! Any one of our finalists could claim the prize and be crowned the true master of hearts!”

Sora tuned everything out as he took his seat and put on his visor. He knew what he had to do.

He found Riku sitting at the back of a classroom, head buried in a book. He glanced up when he heard a door opening, and scowled when he saw it was Sora.

“What do you want?”

Sora swallowed and stepped into the classroom. “I wanted to see you.”

“Well after what happened the last time we were together, and then your little disappearing act, I don’t want to see you.” He turned his gaze back to the book, tension written all over his body in the way he held himself.

Disappearing act? That’s right. Two weeks in-game had passed, and as far as Riku knew, Sora had given up on him.

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Sora took a seat opposite Riku, trying not to be too put out when Riku didn’t even toss a cursory glance his way. “I… did some research,” he said after long, awkward minutes of silence. “And however it happened, whatever you did, you didn’t deserve it.”

Riku’s eyebrow twitched, proof that he was listening, and so Sora pressed on.

“Maybe you were different back then, but the past is the past. Right here, right now, I know the you before me is a fundamentally good person. Sad and scared and alone, but good.”

“What are you blabbering on about?” Riku muttered, eyes briefly flickering away from the page of his book.

“In the five days, however many weeks, or whatever time scale you operate on… In the time I’ve come to know you… You always made sure to check that I was okay, always listened to what I had to say. You helped out rival classes during the cultural festival because you’re just that considerate, and I’ve seen the way you water the plants up on the roof. You are a good person.”

Riku snorted. “‘Person’?”

“I know about Scala ad Caelum.”

Riku slammed his book shut. “What?” he asked sharply, eyes impossibly wide.

“I’m gonna get you out of here,” Sora said determinedly, sliding his hand across the table so it was almost touching Riku’s. “I promise.”

“Stop it,” Riku said, standing up, “Stop saying things that make me start to hope like an idiot when I know that it can’t be true.”

“Why is it so hard to believe?” Sora asked.

“Because you have a vested interest in making me give in,” Riku explained. “I don’t know how you will profit, but you will, right? If you ‘beat my route’. I’ve been made a fool of so many times over…” he sighed in frustration. “I don’t even know how long it’s been, but I’m fed up of putting myself on the line only to find out that I was being used the whole time.”

“It’s true that if I clear your route that I stand to gain a lot out in the real world,” Sora said honestly, “And I did see you as some sort of trophy to be gained. But within seconds of actually talking to you, that all changed. When I said I’d give you my heart, I meant it.”

“How can you?!” Riku asked, running a hand through his hair and mussing up the strands. “I can’t even keep my own heart! What makes you think I can take care of yours? I’ll just corrupt it and turn it black.”

“I know you won’t, because you’re a good person.”

“You don’t know me!”

“Maybe not, but I want you for a lifetime. And I’m going to give that to you.”

Riku’s chest was heaving with the deep breaths he was taking, and he braced himself against the windowsill. Any composure he had possessed had slipped away and he was laid bare before Sora: a scared, lonely soul that had been crying out for countless years for someone to care.

“I love you,” Sora smiled, and Riku’s breath hitched. Sora called up the menu and scrolled through the options until he found the section he wanted.

Are you sure you want to switch off of the Riku route?

> Yes
> No

Please select the route you would like to switch to:

> Naminé [cannot switch to this route, love meter at max]
> Aqua
> Larxene

New Love Rival! Sora is now pursuing Larxene!

Sora could hear the audience going insane in the background, along with Vanitas and Lea’s indignant shouts, but he didn’t pay any of this the slightest hint of attention. Instead he kept his gaze on Riku, who was looking thoroughly aghast.

“W-What are you doing?” he stuttered.

“Any time I spend with you now won’t register in the game or improve my stats in any way. I’m hanging out with you because I want to, no ulterior motives.”

“No… no one is that selfless, you can’t be serious,” Riku said, shaking his head. “What is your angle? What are you trying to pull?”

“I just want you to believe in me.”

“Give me a break! Everyone always wants something. So what is it that you’re after? What do you wish?!”

Sora was honestly shocked when options popped up on his visor. He had switched off of Riku’s route, so he shouldn’t be given any more events like this with him now. Unless… these questions had nothing to do with being on his route in the first place, and instead were testing something else.

> To protect my friends
> To recover something important
> To heal the pain from the past

Sora clicked the second option so roughly that he nearly broke the mouse.

“Give Riku his heart back!” he yelled, and Sora heard a thud as Riku fell heavily into his seat. He was staring at the gamer in awe, and he carefully brought a hand up to cover his chest where, had it not been stolen away, his heart would have been.

Sora checked the in-game clock. “I still have just under two weeks to prove to you that I’m serious,” he said, “So can I see you tomorrow?”

“Sora,” Riku murmured. “I… yes.”

As it turned out, Sora only needed a week. Sora refused to interact with Larxene at all and, as she was now his official route, all of his game metrics fell through the floor. Sora didn’t care. He raced Riku across the sports field, attempted to bake an elaborate cake with him in the home economics classroom (he really wasn’t sure how he managed to burn virtual ingredients, but Riku had laughed, so he supposed it wasn’t a total disaster), and spent long hours up on the roof talking about anything and everything.

It wasn’t even a particularly meaningful moment when it happened. Sora had been talking about his struggles over finding the perfect hair gel to keep his hair nice and spiky, and Riku had turned to him with a small, fond smile on his face as he said:

“Hey, Sora? I love you too.”

Sora had gawked at him, feeling his face flushing, but before he could respond he was booted out of the game and was presented with a brand new CG. It depicted Riku leaning against the chain-link fence of the roof and smiling happily, eyes full of love and adoration, his hair and loose tie blowing in a gentle breeze.

He stared at the picture, ignoring the frantic shouts of the crowd in the background. Unlocking a CG after successfully completing a route was standard, but… but Sora hadn’t even been on Riku’s route. This couldn’t be right. He had promised that he’d get Riku out!

He tried to enter the game again but it locked him out, and then Demyx was zipping over to him and excitedly pressing the microphone against his mouth after asking how it felt to have beaten the insurmountable Riku route.

It felt surreal. Sora felt weightless and a little numb inside. Had he made it all up? Was he crazy, after all? Had he invented this whole story for a character in a stupid video game? He stared at the CG and Riku stared back.

Before he knew it, Sora had started sobbing.

x~x~x~x~x

Sora sat in the dark, empty arena. It was apt; he felt the same way.

Disqualified.

While he may have been the only person on the planet to have beaten the Riku route, and would forever go down in history for it, the fact that he hadn’t officially been locked onto his route at the time of finishing the game meant that it didn’t count.

Lea had been the winner in the end, and his victory speech had already gone viral. Even though he had been there for the whole thing, Sora hadn’t really been present. He couldn’t have told you what Lea had said, or remember the exact reasons why he had won anyway.

He just felt hollow.

He stayed behind once the event was over. He supposed he looked so defeated and haunted that no one bothered arguing with him. The arena had long since been cleared of people, and Sora had been staring blankly at the Riku CG ever since.

Sleep deprivation and stress. Clearly those two things had combined and he had conjured up some elaborate story about Riku. That had to be it. He sighed heavily and quit out of the CG. He looked at the menu. It still wouldn’t let him back in the game. The Unlockables section was flashing, indicating that he had new content available to him.

New outfits. New settings. New characters, sometimes.

Sora felt like he was pretty ruined for dating sims for a while, maybe forever. Still, before he quit, he went in and checked it out of sheer force of habit. It was only when he got to the very end that he saw it:

Riku’s heart unlocked!

Sora’s eyes widened and he hurriedly selected the item in question.

A heart that heralds from the time just after the age of fairy tales fell. Initially stained black with arrogance, hatred, and greed, it has spent centuries in stasis. Battered and fragile, but not broken, it will remain strong, loyal, and true to those deserving.

Will you accept Riku's heart?

> Yes
> No

Sora had never clicked ‘yes’ faster in his life. Suddenly his computer screen lit up, so bright that it was blinding. Sora fell off of his chair, shielding his eyes. He blinked, still seeing bright spots behind his eyelids, and when his vision finally cleared all the air in his lungs left him at once.

Riku stood before him. He was looking down at his body, holding his arms out in wonder and flexing his fingers experimentally before placing a hand over his heart. His eyes, always so expressive and captivating in the game, seemed even more breathtaking now as they sought out Sora’s shocked gaze.

“Sora,” he whispered, and oh god, Sora felt his cheeks becoming wet again and yeah, he was definitely sobbing once more. He sprang up from the floor and practically tackled Riku, filled with an indescribably potent joy at being met by a warm, solid body instead of phasing right through.

“You’re here! You’re really here! I thought I’d lost you, t-that I’d gone crazy,” he rambled, and he practically melted against that hard chest as strong arms encircled him. This felt better than anything he had previously imagined. He could feel that Riku was lightly shaking against him as well, and when he spoke his words were just as thick with emotion.

“Thank you so much, Sora.” He held him tighter. “I love you.”

Sora laughed through his happy, relieved tears, and then stood on his tip-toes to kiss Riku breathless, because now Riku had breath that Sora could steal and a body that he could hold just as tightly against his own.

“I love you too,” he cried between his kisses, all of his senses alight with elation.

He hadn’t lifted the trophy, he wasn’t a millionaire right now, and he wasn’t the master of hearts. But that was all okay.

'Be forewarned that to lose is to win.'

It was all okay, because he had something much better: he held the heart of the most amazing individual he had ever met, and Riku held his heart in return. Sora couldn’t wait to get to know every little detail about Riku, and as they shared kisses full of relief and warmth and love, Sora felt like the biggest winner; indeed, the luckiest man on the planet.

True End.