After everything that had happened to me, I was finally able to go home, but then happened to run into a very familiar face. There she was, once again, leisurely walking around town.

“Miyuki…”

It’s her, the source of all my problems. She’s the one who pushed me into that weird portal. If not for her, I wouldn’t have almost died when I got chased by all those guards, I wouldn’t have had to spend the night in a jail cell, and I wouldn’t need to wonder whether or not to accept the invitation that’s only gonna put me in more danger.

“Miyuki!” I’m furious! No matter how pretty and perfect she may be, the sight of her fills me with nothing but anger now. I’m not one to complain directly to people’s faces, but I can’t forgive her after all she’s done to me. I’m gonna give her a piece of my mind!

“Hm? Iroha! Hi!” Miyuki recognized my voice and turned my way.

You’re smiling, Miyuki?! After pushing me into the portal like that? How can you smile after everything you’ve done to me? Who does this girl think she is? Just because you’re attractive doesn’t mean I can’t get angry with you! Just you wait… You’re gonna see what happens when you-

“!?!”

What is she wearing? I’m so shocked I can’t think properly! Her outfit looked so good that I forgot what I was doing. It’s like… emo? Punk? Goth? Fuck if I know what it’s actually called, but it’s making my brain melt!

It’s so hot! Miyuki herself looks like the embodiment of snow, so dark and somewhat edgy clothes create an incredible contrast that’s impossible for me to resist! How does she drive me crazy so much?!

She was wearing a t-shirt with a long-sleeved shirt underneath. The long-sleeved shirt was black with red stripes, while the t-shirt was just black, but it had a macabre graphic with a barely legible Kob written on it. As if that wasn’t good enough already, the collar of her shirt was very open, and she had a thin black choker around her pale neck.

Below that was a red plaided skirt held in place by a simple yet incredible black leather belt and thigh highs that followed the same black and red stripped pattern as her sleeves. I almost didn’t want to look anymore. Everything looks so good and perfect on her. The more I see, the more I want to see. Luckily for my sanity, there was only one thing left, which was a pair of oppressive-looking, black, knee-high boots.

What an incredible outfit… I knew Miyuki was good-looking, but this outfit is on another level. I dig it, I really dig it. She’s so my type!

“Iroha?” Miyuki couldn’t help but call out to me when she saw me suddenly stop.

I had become so lost in my own thoughts after seeing her outfit that I wouldn’t have snapped out of it if it wasn’t for her voice.

“Y- your clothes.” I was so curious about Miyuki’s clothes that the question inadvertently escaped my mouth. Is this the kind of clothes she usually wears? I would never have guessed.

“Oh! You like them? I saw this outfit on my way home, and it looked like a fun thing to wear, so I bought it on a whim. Pretty cool, right?” Miyuki spoke cheerfully and did a little spin in place to show off her clothes to me.

“*Nod…* They look really good on you…” I was so entranced that my honest feelings just slipped out.

“Don’t they? Thanks, Iroha.”

Wow, she’s bold! She bought clothes like that on whim? Is that normal for her? I guess there’s no reason to hesitate for a girl as pretty as her. Anything would look good on her.

Wait. Focus, Iroha! You’re not here to talk about clothes.

I need to ask Miyuki what her deal was and why she pushed me into the portal. It’s her fault I had to go through all of those awful things! I have to make her explain herself!

“Iroha, are you alright?” Miyuki’s worried voice caught me by surprise. “I heard you got sick and couldn’t come to school today. Is it alright for you to be outside?”

Huh? Sick? That’s not it. I was stuck in a cell! Did they have Shinji tell my school I was sick? I remember them saying they worked with the government, so I bet they have all kinds of connections.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

“Uhmm… T- that was just in the morning…” Miyuki’s face turned into a smile as the worry melted away. “It was nothing, I’m feeling much better now.” Miyuki had started walking closer to me, and her face was right in front of mine by the time I finished speaking.

“Eh?”

What?! No way! No way no way no way no way no way!

She kissed me!? Miyuki?! Why? Why why why why why why?

Am I dreaming? All of a sudden, she gave me a kiss on the cheek. Does she like me? Her lips on my cheek! What’s going on? Why would Miyuki do that? I don’t understand! My heart is beating so fast! I think I’m going crazy! Miyuki Miyuki Miyuki Miyuki!

It was only a quick kiss but, that singular moment felt like an eternity to me. I don’t know why she did it, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget this moment.

“I’m glad you’re alright now!” Miyuki grinned as she pulled back.

“Mi- Mi- Mi- Miyuki!? W- w- what was that?” I didn’t know how to react, my body was just trembling and shaking. I don’t even know how to think, I have no clue what I just said.

“You earned that for getting better so quickly. Well done!” Miyuki laughed carefree. “I meant it as a sort of greeting, but sorry if you didn’t like it.”

A greeting, she says? My heart almost stopped. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten such a deadly greeting before… Maybe I have… A few too many recently, even.

Well, I’m fine now, and I’m not gonna complain about getting a kiss from her… Maybe I was being a little too harsh on her. Miyuki is super nice and friendly. I should at least give her a chance to explain herself. I don’t want to jump to conclusions and accuse her of something she didn’t do.

“M- Miyuki, what happened yesterday?”

“Hm? What do you mean?” Miyuki softly tilted her head to the side, like she was genuinely confused about my question.

“You know… when you pushed me in.”

“I pushed you? When did that happen?” Miyuki entered into deep thought, trying to remember what I was talking about.

Are you serious, Miyuki? Don’t act like you don’t remember! I may be able to forgive you if you give me an explanation, but don’t lie to me.

“What happened yesterday at the end? After we finished out ice creams?” I was getting agitated, and my voice became a little louder.

“Are you alright, Iroha?” Miyuki looked worried and troubled. “I don’t know what you mean. You said it was getting late, so we both just went home after saying goodbye.”

No way… No way no way! That’s not what happened! “Are you serious?”

“I’m not sure what you were expecting, but what’s even there not to be serious about?” Miyuki was worried about me and grabbed one of my hands.

Is she telling the truth? There’s no way! She pushed me into the portal, I remember that clearly. Does she really not remember it? That’s not possible. That’s just not possible. What if she’s not lying? What if she really doesn’t remember? Maybe her memory was altered somehow… If it’s possible to make a portal into another world, I’m sure altering someone’s memories is possible.

I still don’t get why she would push me in. Even if she does not remember it, she still decided to push me. Why would she do something like that? No, I guess that’s not true. She could have just been brainwashed, possessed, or something like that. If it’s possible to change someone’s memory, I can’t dismiss that possibility.

So what? Is she actually telling the truth? She really thinks we just ate our ice cream, said our goodbyes, and went home? I can’t exactly go off on her then. She’s not really at fault, and it’s not like it would accomplish anything since she wouldn’t even know what I’m talking about.

“S- sorry, forget about what I said, I got confused.” I apologized because I didn’t want Miyuki to be angry at me for raising my voice and asking weird questions.

“It’s alright. I gotta ask you something, Iroha. Why are you wearing your uniform even though you didn’t go to school today?” Miyuki adorably pressed her index finger against her right cheek in an inquisitive manner.

What do I even say? I gotta come up with something. I can’t just tell I was stuck in a cell, so I haven’t had the time to change. “Well… I was going to pick up dinner, and… the uniform was just at hand, so…”

“Is that so? Could it be that…” Miyuki grinned like she had just thought of something fun. “You weren’t actually sick and just wanted to skip class?”

“What? No-” I tried to explain myself, but she cut me off.

“That’s not good, Iroha. We’re friends, aren’t we? If you were going to cut class, you should have just told me, and we could have cut class together.”

Friends? Oh yeah! She did agree to be my friend yesterday. I thought that was off the table since she pushed me into the portal, but if she doesn’t remember, I guess that means we’re friends.

What is this girl even saying? You just transferred here yesterday. You can’t just skip class on your second day. Would she actually cut class with me if I asked her? But to begin with, I didn’t even cut class because I wanted to.

“N- no, Miyuki! I didn’t cut class! I actually couldn’t come.”

“Ahahaha!” Miyuki seemed to enjoy my troubled expression. “If you say so, I guess I can take your word for it. Are you the type that never skips class?”

“No… I skip sometimes…” When I get hooked on a new anime or game.

“So you do skip! Do you wanna do something together next time you feel like skipping? Since you also like games, we could go to an arcade or something.”

“Maybe…” If I ever skip class, it’s because there’s something I wanna do at home. I don’t think we’d be able to hang out in that case.

This is too much. I can’t believe Miyuki actually wants to hang out with me. Why is a girl as beautiful and perfect as her so nice to me? Is it because we’re friends? I guess it was worth talking to her after all.

“Uhm… are you the type that likes to skip often?”

“Me? I’m super straitlaced. I absolutely never skip unless there’s something more interesting going on.” My face cracked into a slight smile because of her words.

Something more interesting than class? That’s not a very high bar to clear.

Miyuki smiled back when she saw me smiling. “But we don’t have to wait until you feel like cutting class to do something fun. We could go somewhere right now.”

“What?” That came out of nowhere. I would love to go with Miyuki, but I don’t think I can take any more at this point. I need to go home, or I might go crazy.

“No, never mind. Today’s not a good day. I’ve been walking around for too long now, so it’s time for me to go home. Maybe some other day.”

“Y- yeah, I need to go home too.”

“You should do that. You’re going to get sick again if you spend too much time outside, and I don’t want that for you. I’ll see you tomorrow, Iroha.” Miyuki waved her hand and leisurely walked away.

I had no reason to stand around either, so I also headed home. I’m glad everything worked out with Miyuki. I was expecting us to fight, but instead I learned we were friendlier than I thought.

She really is the best. I think she’s a bit impulsive, and that makes her hard to predict, but it ends up being really charming. I really like her… She’s very friendly and easy to get along with. I think I may have a shot.

I entered my apartment and took a deep breath.

“I’m finally back…” So much has happened, but I’m finally home. A lot of scary stuff happened in such a short time. I was worried I’d never be able to come back here, but I did, and I’m so happy right now. I can finally sit down, relax, and play some games in the company of my waifus. Sorry, Miyuki, but I have more love in me than any one person can receive. Not that my waifus count as people… but you get the point.

[Update Completed. VISS Driver EX is now available.]

“Wait, what was that?” Was that one of the VISS Driver notifications? No way, is it working?