The beetle, exquisitely beautiful in its strange alien way, clung to a branch roughly four meters off the ground, dozing in the sun.
It sprawled there without a care in the world, basking in the thin winter light — perfectly, blissfully content —
— until a small, childlike hand reached up onto the branch.
"Tomori! Hold the ladder steady — I'm climbing up!"
So high. So terrifyingly, sickeningly high.
The trembling in Chiose's legs was getting worse. She could feel the vibration running all the way through her body — every muscle quivering with the fear of falling.
According to Freud, fear of heights might trace back to infancy — to all those tumbles during crawling and first steps, experiences that carve themselves into the subconscious and become a lifelong dread of the drop below.
But Chiose gritted her teeth and crushed that fear down by sheer force of will, because a greater fear had taken its place.
"Can't die young. Can't just die. Have to live — so I can't be scared of this…"
She could barely hear Tomori calling up from below. The ringing in her ears and the distance swallowed every word.
[Don't be afraid. You've made it up. Now you just need to…]
I need to WHAT?!
[You need to crawl out to the end of the branch, then 'accidentally' kick the ladder down… as for what comes after, I'll leave that to my Host's own discretion.]
…Hiss.
That was fast.
She hadn't expected an opening like this to just fall into her lap.
Chiose wrapped both arms around the thick trunk and closed her hand firmly around the beetle.
The view from up here was extraordinary. She could even make out the little house where she'd spent so many years inside this simulation.
"How do I use this… how am I supposed to use this?!"
She kept telling herself it wasn't real, that none of it mattered, that she shouldn't worry — but the corners of her eyes were stinging red all the same.
"Tomori… I…"
She glared at the beetle one last time — it sat there clicking and creaking, utterly oblivious — and then something in Chiose hardened into resolve. She leaned out past the branch and called down:
"Tomori! I found it! It's not hurt at all!"
"Okay, Chiose, come down now!"
Chiose clung to the trunk with tears blurring her vision. She genuinely wanted to cry.
If you refuse to hurt anyone, in the end the only one who gets hurt is yourself.
If it weren't for the little sister waiting for her back in the real world, she almost thought — even dying here for real would be okay.
I'm sorry… God, this is awful. She couldn't say any of this to Kyoumoto, had to swallow it all down alone — and she still had to be a good role model on top of everything — she couldn't do something this terrible, and yet…
The system's notification strobed across her vision. That enormous countdown, always there, ticking down — it made Chiose want to throw back her head and scream.
It was time to end the simulation.
She couldn't drag this out any longer.
Tomori had been raised big enough. Chiose, you took care of her so well, you made her so happy — she's old enough now to think, and to grieve. It's time, Chiose… do it. Even if it's just an act.
"..."
In the end, Yoshiiro Chiose closed her eyes — and kicked the ladder.
"Uwah — Tomori!"
She flattened herself against the branch and covered her eyes with both hands, screaming Tomori's name with everything she had.
The ladder hit the grass with a soft, muffled thud. Beneath it rose Takamatsu Tomori's faint, startled cry.
"Huh?! Chiose! Don't be scared — I'll set the ladder back up, just come down as fast as you can!"
"But — but —!"
A complete plan had already assembled itself inside Chiose's head. One more line. That was all she needed to say — just one more line, and this simulation's progress would leap forward by a mile.
"But Tomori — I'm scared, I can't do it… wuu, can you climb up and come get me?"
"Okay! Chiose — ungh —" Struggling the ladder upright, Tomori hauled herself onto it with ragged, determined breath, already climbing without a moment's hesitation. "Wait for me! Don't move!"
"Okay…" The tail of Chiose's voice trembled — a thin, threadlike edge of tears underneath.
What a miserable simulation.
She watched the ladder go up again. She watched it shudder. And before long, there was Tomori, pulling herself up over the top.
Tomori looked like she'd been dragged through a hedge — she'd probably caught herself on the ladder when it fell.
But Chiose didn't have even a moment to feel guilty about that. There were only a few steps left now.
She had to let Tomori hold her on the way down.
And somewhere along the way — she had to make the ladder fall.
She was going to shock this stupid little kid using the most clichéd method imaginable.
Just… pull her into her arms, let her be shielded by her own sister — and fall together.
But falling together wasn't enough on its own.
Just falling together…
[System — if I die inside the simulation, does the regret feedback I receive get tallied at the moment of death, or within a set period after death?]
If it's calculated after death — that would be a windfall!
As long as she dies from the fall with Tomori held in her arms — that alone would be enough to haunt the other girl for the rest of her life… make her suffer every single day…
[Regret generated after the Host's death can be tallied, but within a designated time window.]
Perfect.
SMACK —
Chiose slapped herself hard across the face.
This was… this was genuinely evil of her.
But it was the only way to make the most of the opportunity in front of her.
Kyoumoto was waiting for her at home.
Kyoumoto was waiting!
Yoshiiro Chiose took Takamatsu Tomori's hand — the same hand she had held so many countless times inside this simulation.
"Tomori, I'm scared."
"Don't be scared — I came to get you!"
You can't save me.
You can't save anyone.
Chiose let Tomori wrap around her. Here was this little child — just another small child — throwing every ounce of herself into protecting another small child with absolute, unthinking seriousness.
When it came down to it, it was just that Tomori cared about her too much.
"Tomori, you're still so small. You've put… way too much weight on me."
Chiose couldn't stop herself from saying it, somewhere on the way down.
"Huh?"
It wasn't the kind of thing Takamatsu Tomori had ever thought about. If Chiose hadn't said it out loud, she might have gone her whole life without thinking about it at all.
"I mean… ugh, I just mean — Tomori is going to have other friends too, so you should… think carefully about who matters how much…"
Shut up! What are you even saying?!
Chiose chose silence. She was saying too much — she was starting to sound less and less like a child with every word.
[But I was never a child to begin with.]
"We'll go down slow, okay, Chiose? Don't be scared… don't be scared…"
"But Tomori."
You're the one shaking harder. You're the one who's actually frightened.
I'm just an actor playing the villain. And you're a simulated sister. …What a mess.
Chiose couldn't decide whether any of this was real.
Tomori's arms were so warm. But for the sake of living —
While Tomori was focused on the descent, Chiose quietly stopped behaving herself. Tomori was too earnest, too absorbed to notice what Chiose was doing.
The beetle, which had been curled up tight in her grip, was released. It stretched its legs unhurriedly and rose back into the open air.
"It got away — Tomori, grab it! Wuu —!"
"Huh? Okay."
Tomori reached out — but her other hand was still hooked around Chiose, and the reach pulled her body out past the edge of the ladder.
[The moment is HERE!!!! GO!!!! My darling Host!]
[…Okay.]
Chiose braced one hand against Tomori, and at the same time let her weight begin to tilt — sideways and back.
There was no other purpose to it. Only the hope that the ladder would fall toward her side, so that she could be the one to shield Tomori.
C-R-E-A-K —
"Wuuuuah?!?!"
Tomori screamed. The ladder screamed. Only Chiose was silent.
____
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 20 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉