Chapter Text
https://i.postimg.cc/BbSDF5Zf/Untitled76.jpg
After the extra chemistry class he was forced to attend, Isagi Yoichi was utterly exhausted. Perhaps if he focused as much on his academics as he did on sports, he wouldn't have to endure his chemistry teacher's endless rambling.
Not that a single student in the room was listening to a word the man said anyway.
Isagi almost felt a twinge of pity for him.
"Isagi-kun! Have you seen Tada-chan anywhere?" one of his classmates asked.
"Hmm, his classes probably ended early. He must have gone straight back to the dorm," Isagi replied with a faint smile, packing his things into his bag before rising from his desk.
"The team and I were planning to drag him to a karaoke bar after class... Ugh, looks like he slipped away," another student chimed in, sighing as the first boy nodded in agreement.
‘You guys just want him to pay for your food...’ Isagi thought, a cold drop of sweat rolling down his cheek.
"Alright then, see you tomorrow, Isagi-kun!" the two boys called out, bidding him farewell before exiting the classroom.
Isagi nodded to them and began making his way out as well.
‘I hope Tada-chan actually did his share of washing the dishes... This is the fourth time this week. I deliberately left them out so he’d notice...’
Isagi mused, hoping his roommate would move his lazy butt and clean up for once.
‘Heh, it’s not like his game is going anywhere... What a total addict.’
The thought crossed Isagi's mind for a second, eliciting a soft chuckle before he continued on toward the shared dorm he split with his classmate, Tada Tomori.
"I'm back..." Isagi announced, closing the door behind him.
"Welcome back~" Tada hummed barely above a whisper, his eyes glued to the screen.
"Ah, Tada-chan, did you clean—"
Isagi barely looked up before taking in the catastrophe before him. Dirty clothes strewed across the floor, socks tossed right beside the trash bin... and Tada's school uniform dumped next to the bathroom door!
"H-Huh?!" Isagi stared at the mess, his mouth agape.
He could swear he had cleaned up before leaving the house this morning... How on earth did Tada manage to make the place even worse?!
"Ahhh!! Rana-chan is such a tsundere~ Please accept my gift!!" Tada wailed dramatically, enamored with the character art on the screen.
The girl on screen, Rana, possessed dark hair and sharp turquoise-green eyes—an elegant figure with a biting tsundere personality.
"Huh? Do you think I need your gifts?! It's not like I care about stupid owl dolls! Hmph!"
"Nooo, Rana-chan!! Please accept it!" Tada cried out, clinging to the display as he watched his affection points drop instead of increase.
A blue notification popped up across the screen:
> [WARNING!]
> Rana-chan thinks you're mocking her!
> -10% (Current: 28% / Required: +28% Side Quest)
"Nooo!! A whole week's progress down the drain!!!" Tada wailed even harder, collapsing onto the floor.
‘Good grief... How obsessed can he be with this dumb game?’ Isagi thought with irritation, picking up the clothes scattered on the ground.
He paused, wondering why his own black shirt was mixed in with Tada's pile... Tada had better not have worn it, or they were going to have a serious talk about his roommate status.
Dropping the dirty laundry into the basket in the small bathroom, Isagi sighed and returned to collect the rest.
"Tada-chan, can you get up and help?"
"Not now, Isagi! I have to go on a date with Mimi!"
"Mimi?" Isagi blurted out loud.
'Does Tada have a girlfriend?'
He quickly glanced back at Tada.
"Yes, Mimi-chan~ Please accept the invite♡!"
A new girl appeared on screen. She had short brown hair, a cute appearance, and a lively, bubbly demeanor.
"Oh! You want to grab something together? Absolutely!" Mimi-chan giggled sweetly, clapping her hands in delight.
A blue notification flashed across the screen again:
> [NOTIFICATION!]
> Mimi-chan is interested in your date invite!
> +25% (Current: 48% / Required: +60% Main Quest)
"Yeeesss!!! Mimi-chan~~"
‘Ah... Of course. A loser like him would only ever have a fictional girlfriend in a ridiculous game—’
Isagi's thoughts ground to a halt when he felt his foot step on something that definitely wasn't Tada's shirt.
He looked down and saw the game case Tada had been playing with.
"Ugh... he just throws his stuff everywhere!" Isagi couldn't hold back his inner voice this time, not that Tada was paying any attention.
‘Hmm...’ Isagi picked up the case and read the title.
Ⓛove x҉ Ⓕire
"What a name," Isagi muttered aloud.
It was no surprise this was a bestseller, the girls in this game were undeniably gorgeous.
On the cover art, the first girl Isagi had seen—the one Tada called "Rana-chan"—sat in a bold pose. Her dark blue dress featured an intricate medieval design, and with her long hairstyle, she looked down disdainfully at the girl behind her.
The girl behind her had light red hair and an ornate burgundy royal dress, though shadows engulfed most of her face. The developers had likely done that because she was an unreleased character, or simply to add suspense.
Looking closer, however...
"Ah... there are so many girls on the cover..."
And he was right. There were about ten girls featured, each with distinct expressions, costume designs, and unique beauty! There was a gorgeous tan girl with short hair and striking golden eyes... Beside her stood a taller girl with dark red hair, thick eyelashes, and deep eyes—she looked stunning in a black dress paired with burgundy-red gloves.
But...ten girls?!
'Good grief... Tada-chan loves harem games! What a degenerate...'
"Ugh! What a bastard!!" Tada spat out in frustration, causing Isagi to look over in confusion.
"What's wrong?" Isagi asked, stepping toward him.
"Ugh, I hate this guy so much! How dare he steal Mimi-chan from me?!"
Isagi glanced back at the screen. A man with dark blue hair and an arrogant smile had appeared, holding hands with Mimi-chan.
"Miguri-chan, I recently found a beautiful flower garden. It reminded me of your lovely smile~"
"Oh! You flatterer~" the girl giggled, her cheeks flushing bright red.
A red notification flashed
> [WARNING!]
> You lost Mimi-chan's attention! She is now going to the flower garden with #҉#҉#҉#҉#҉#҉ !
> -12% (Current: 48% / Required: +28% Main Quest)
"Huh? Why isn't his name showing up?" Isagi asked.
"I don't know, his real name is never mentioned. But the characters seem to know him. I just call him the homewrecking bastard," Tada grumbled.
‘Of course you'd call him that... He stole "Mimi-chan" from you.’ Isagi sighed,
exhausted by Tada's childish behavior. Sometimes he genuinely wondered how Tada made it into university—did he forge his high school records?
"Hmm... Isagi, you know..."
"Huh?" Isagi looked at Tada.
"You kind of resemble this villain from the new game."
https://i.postimg.cc/NM17mf1M/Untitled63.jpg
"What..." Isagi stared at Tada with a deadpan expression.
‘Is he calling me a homewrecker?’ Isagi thought, hiding his annoyance.
"Hmm..." Tada stared intensely at Isagi's face until Isagi shifted his gaze, uncomfortable under the scrutiny.
‘Yeah, no. Isagi-chan is way too nice to be that demon,’ Tada thought, a relieved smile spreading across his face.
https://i.postimg.cc/FsFgkv1k/Untitled64.jpg
‘What is going through his head right now...’ Isagi eyed Tada's smiling face suspiciously.
"Can you actually get up now? The dishes are going to rot in the sink ^^," Isagi said, his polite smile straining into a scowl.
"Ehh... Fine, fine, I'm getting up," Tada yawned unabashedly, standing up to stretch his body.
"I have to prepare myself for Mimi-chan anyway~!"
‘What a degenerate loser...’ Isagi sighed.
"Since I'm in a good mood, I'll go wash those dishes! Wait for me, Mimi-chan! I won't be long!!" Tada sang out cheerfully, making his way to the kitchen while stepping right over the shirts still lying on the floor.
"Sigh... What am I going to do with this guy..." Isagi rubbed his temples in exhaustion.
He was about to head to his bed to rest when he noticed the TV screen was still running the game.
"Huh, he didn't even turn off the game before leaving..."
Suddenly, a different warning appeared on screen:
╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗
> [WARNING]
> This game does not feature an auto-save system.
> Please ensure you save your progress so you don't lose your data!
╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝
"Haaah... He didn't save his level either." Isagi stared at the screen. Why did the notification feel like it was mocking him?
He felt a surge of annoyance—mostly directed at Tada.
‘If he loses his progress... he's going to blame me for it,’ Isagi thought, picking up Tada's red-and-black controller.
‘He'd better thank me and make sure he cleans up his mess afterward!’
Beep.
Beep.
Click.
Click.
Isagi had only intended to save the game... but he found himself playing it! The game's vibrant colors—and, well, the girls—had drawn him in!
And Before he knew it...
"[User]..." Rana-chan said, looking at the screen with a pout, though her bright blush betrayed her true feelings.
"Rana-chan..." the user replied.
The two embraced intimately, Rana-chan hiding her flushed face in the user's neck.
⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨ᰔ୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹
> HAPPY ENDING! (Ending 3/10)
Flowers and hearts flooded the screen before it dimmed to black.
The game was over.
Isagi had cleared it in less than half an hour...
‘What in the world...’ Isagi thought.
‘I really got carried away...’
"Hah... I cleared the game before I even realized it..." Isagi murmured aloud.
"What do I do now—"
A notification popped up:
╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗
> Thank you for playing!
> Return to the start menu by pressing "O" to begin a new journey!
╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝
"Ah! Right! I can just restart the game and play back to Tada-chan's progress. Was he on Chapter 3?.. Or maybe Chapter 5..."
Isagi returned to the title screen, only to notice a new option:
[Gender Change]
"Huh?" Isagi muttered, recalling something.
"Ah, right. It said 'Unisex' on the game cover... Did they mean there are two versions of the game?"
Before Isagi could finish his sentence, a new prompt appeared
╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗
> [Love x Fire: Male Version Has Been Added!]
> Please check out the new version! Male version!
> For our female players! ♡
╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝
‘Haaah, I'm not a girl.’ Isagi pouted slightly,
though he understood the game was trying to cater to the opposite gender as well.
Still, curiosity got the better of him.
"A male version? Maybe I should check it out before Tada gets back—"
"What are you doing?"
"Eeeek!!!" Isagi jumped at the sudden voice right next to his ear, spinning around frantically.
"T-Tada!... Wait!"
"I can explain—"
"Shut up..." Tada cracked his knuckles, looking far more muscular than Isagi ever remembered.
Shadows completely swallowed Tada's face.
"You ruined my progress for the entire week..."
"Are you ready for the consequences, "
"T-Tada-chan??" Isagi was practically in tears, watching his roommate approach with a terrifyingly ominous aura surrounding him.
SWOOSH—
"Now, DIE!!" Tada screamed with a massive scowl, unleashing a full-force kick straight into Isagi's stomach.
STOP--
"Ghk...!!" Isagi spat, doubled over in agony.
For a split second... Isagi's thumb grazed the 'A' button just before he lost consciousness...
A new notification flashed across the screen
╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗
> Loading new version...
> "Love x Fire: Male Version"
> Loading...
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 99%
╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝
> [Download Complete.]