Chapter Text
1
Three minutes after you were dropped into this world, a line of glittering gold text appeared in front of your eyes.
【Main Quest: You are now a first-year student at Kamome Academy High School. Within 100 days, make the important story character “Hanako-kun” fall in love with you.】
You stared at it for three full seconds.
Hanako-kun?
You had never actually watched the anime, but one of your friends had talked about it enough that you knew the basics.
Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun.
A wholesome romance series.
The male lead was some kind of ghost boy.
Cute, apparently.
Short black hair.
And if you remembered correctly, there was a seal stuck to his face.
Honestly, he was pretty memorable.
All right, then!
You lifted your chin with complete confidence.
This was basically in the bag.
There was just one tiny problem.
Sorry, heroine.
You and Hanako-kun might have been adorable together in canon, but in this timeline, you were about to get NTR’d.
Not because you wanted to.
You had no particular desire to become a homewrecker.
But if you failed the mission, you died.
So.
Please forgive me.
With that solemn apology made entirely in your own head, you headed toward the girls’ bathroom in the old school building.
According to the Seven Mysteries, that was where Hanako-kun was supposed to be.
Except fate, apparently, had decided to save you the trip.
Before you even reached the old building, a boy floated around the corner of the hallway.
Black hair.
Golden-amber eyes.
A black school uniform.
A seal on his face.
You stopped dead.
“…”
Wait.
Wasn’t that literally your mission target?
He was even floating.
The system had not lied to you.
So naturally, you walked straight up to him.
“Hanako-kun?”
The boy stopped.
He looked at you with those huge amber eyes for several long seconds.
“…”
Then he smiled.
It was bright and lively, almost sunny, and when he grinned, two tiny fangs peeked out.
Adorable.
“Mm~?”
At that exact moment, you became convinced you were already at least ten percent of the way through the route.
…
In hindsight,
that was the beginning of your tragedy.
That day, you fed “Hanako-kun” some sweets you happened to have with you.
He loved them.
The system chimed in immediately:
【Target Affection Increased.】
You were thrilled.
By the second day, “Hanako-kun” had developed a new habit: dropping down from the ceiling directly onto you.
The first time, you nearly had a heart attack.
By the fifth, you were already catching him on instinct.
Then you spent the entire afternoon playing with him.
You were exhausted.
On the third day, he had apparently decided that the proper way to greet you was to hug you on sight.
“Hanako-kun.”
“Mm?”
“Are you getting clingier?”
He made no attempt to let go. He just looked up at you from where he was wrapped around you.
You reached over and patted his head.
His hair was soft.
Cat-soft.
Very squishy.
And yes, very clingy.
Still, wasn’t the male lead in this series supposed to be pretty physically affectionate?
Your friend had mentioned something about him being almost touch-starved.
Right on cue, the system popped up again.
【Target Affection: 42%.】
You nearly started glowing.
Day three.
Forty-two percent.
Was this some kind of beginner bonus?
At this rate, forget one hundred days.
You could probably finish the route in ten.
Sure, this particular “Hanako-kun” had a few... quirks.
For example, whenever some dangerous supernatural creature chased you down and you screamed for help, he would appear out of nowhere and tear it apart with his bare hands.
Literally tear it apart.
The first time you saw it happen, you were too shocked to even blink.
Meanwhile, he turned back toward you with blood all over his face and asked brightly,
“(Y/N), are you okay?”
You: “…”
“Yeah.”
Fantasy action series.
Just endure it.
…
Then there were the times he found some weird insect or unfamiliar supernatural creature.
He would crouch down beside it, pick it up, and examine it with intense curiosity.
Eventually, he would look over at you, eyes shining.
“(Y/N), aren’t you curious what it looks like inside? We could open it up with a pen.”
You stared at him for two seconds.
“…No. Thank you.”
“Ehh—”
He looked genuinely disappointed.
You glanced at the thing thrashing wildly in his hands.
Then at his sparkling eyes.
Curious kid.
Normal enough.
…
Every now and then, “Hanako-kun” would also say something with a smile that felt just a little too dark for a school romance series.
You did your best to be understanding.
The male lead had a bit of a yandere streak.
Japanese romance fiction.
Perfectly normal.
Then came the evening of the third day.
For the second time, you watched him cheerfully smash a supernatural creature straight into the wall.
Smack.
It burst.
Then he crouched down, dipped his fingers into whatever fluid had come out of it, and started drawing on the wall like he was having the time of his life.
You stood behind him.
Silent.
For a very long moment.
“Hanako-kun.”
“Mm?”
He looked back at you.
“Where’s your knife?”
The boy tilted his head.
“Knife?”
“Yeah.”
You dug through the scraps of secondhand knowledge you had about the series.
“Isn’t Hanako-kun supposed to have a weapon?”
You were pretty sure he did.
Probably.
Your friend had tried to sell you on the anime years ago, and while you definitely had not been paying attention, you vaguely remembered the male lead holding some kind of blade.
A kitchen knife?
The boy stared at you for two seconds.
Then, for some reason, he broke into an especially delighted smile.
“I don’t use that~”
“…Oh.”
You considered this.
Right.
Of course.
So... he was just a hand-to-hand fighter???
Maybe you had remembered it wrong.
That would hardly be surprising.
You had never watched the series in the first place.
Besides, back then, innocent little you still believed one very simple thing—
As long as the affection meter kept going up,
there couldn’t possibly be a problem.