[System Notice: Heroine Route Progress – Rika Tachibana | Affection: 13% | Trust Tier: 1]
[Emotional Resistance: High – Multiple Event Triggers Required]
[Note: Heroine classified as "Deep Route" – Expect Minimal Initial Progress]
The day after our shared art session, I expected some kind of shift.
Not romance. Not even warmth.
Just… a change.
But when I walked into the library the next morning, Rika didn't look at me. She was seated near the window, sketchbook in hand, headphones over her ears. Her pencil moved with mechanical grace, eyes focused, her whole aura screaming: don't disturb me.
So I didn't.
I shelved books. Sorted files. Watched her from afar.
She didn't acknowledge me once.
[System Prompt: "Silence Encounter" – Do Not Force Dialogue | Observation Required]
Her indifference wasn't rudeness. It was control.
The Rika I'd seen yesterday—that brief flicker of humanity—was gone. Replaced again by the quiet, composed artist who guarded her emotions like classified data.
But I wasn't giving up.
Not on her.
[After School – Rooftop Overlook | Time: 17:42]
[Side Event Triggered – "Solitude Sketch"]
I found her again at sunset—seated on the edge of the rooftop fence, legs tucked up, sketchpad balanced on her knees. The city behind her glowed gold and crimson, catching in her hair like fire.
I approached slowly. This time, she glanced at me.
"You again," she said. Not unkindly. Not warmly.
"You don't mind?"
"I would've left if I did."
[Trust Check Passed – +2 Affection | Player Presence Tolerated]
I sat a few feet away.
She kept drawing. Pencil scratching. Pages flipping.
"What is it this time?" I asked.
"Nothing," she said. "Everything."
I smiled. "Cryptic."
She paused.
Then, after a moment: "This city has too many sharp lines. I try to soften them on paper. But it never looks right."
"Because it isn't?"
"Because I'm not sure what right is anymore."
The wind tugged at our hair.
[Optional Dialogue Unlocked: "What does right mean to you?" | "Do you want to find out?" | Remain silent]
Selected: "Do you want to find out?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Then, quietly: "Maybe. But I'm not sure I want to share the answer."
[Trust Check Failed – Emotional Wall Reinforced | Progress Blocked]
I winced inwardly.
Rika's path wouldn't be about charming smiles or clever banter. She'd built her defenses over years. She needed someone who would outlast her silence.
So I said nothing.
Just sat there.
And after a long moment—
"…Thank you," she whispered.
[System Log Update: Patience Bonus – Rika Trust +3]
[Achievement: "You Didn't Fill the Silence"]
[Two Days Later – Art Room | Time: 18:12]
[Major Event Trigger: "Unseen Exhibition"]
I returned to the art room just after club hours. I hadn't planned to. My body moved before my mind did.
The lights were off.
But someone was still inside.
I stepped in slowly.
What I saw stopped me cold.
Canvases. Dozens of them.
Each one of Rika's. Hung carelessly. Unfinished. Unnamed. Half of them in charcoal, the rest in muted oils. They weren't dragons or landscapes.
They were people.
Faces distorted. Shattered. Smiling with teeth too sharp. Crying ink. Eyes scratched out.
And in the farthest corner—almost hidden—one canvas turned against the wall.
I moved toward it.
Her voice stopped me.
"Don't look at that one."
She stood in the shadows. Watching.
I froze.
"I didn't mean to sneak in," I said.
"You didn't." She stepped into the dim light. Her expression unreadable. "I left the door open."
"So you wanted me to see all this?"
"No. But I knew you would."
[System Alert: Deep Trust Triggered – Hidden Memory Approaching]
She walked past me.
Stopped in front of the turned canvas.
Her hand hesitated at the frame.
Then, without a word, she flipped it around.
I stared.
It was… me.
But not just me.
It was me, distorted. Painted in a swirl of color and static. My eyes were hollow. My mouth smeared, as if mid-scream. Around me were strings—red, tight, choking, coiled around my limbs.
She looked at me. Her voice quiet.
"I painted this the day I first saw you."
I didn't know what to say.
"It's not flattering," she said. "But it was honest."
"Why the strings?"
She stared at the painting, then said something that made my breath catch.
"Because I thought you were just another puppet. But now I'm not so sure."
[System Freeze – Emotional Surge Detected]
[Route Progress: 21% | "Insight" Trait Unlocked – Player Will Now Trigger Reflective Dialogue]
The air between us had changed again.
But not like before.
This wasn't the start of affection.
This was her warning.
She wasn't ready to trust. But she was willing to let me stand in the doorway.
It would be up to me to earn the right to step through.