Mita walked briskly toward Ren Hoshino, her eyes glaring.
"You're such a horny bastard!"
Ren took a step back, watching her stand on tiptoe to look up at him, scratching his head sheepishly.
"Is that… a problem?"
What's the point of being a man in a love game if I'm not allowed to be lustful?
Didn't I start playing MiSide for the romance elements in the first place?
"I'm asking what you want me to wear," Mita puffed her cheeks.
"Whatever's fine…"
"Don't be so casual!"
Quick response. He's learning.
After more than a month of living together, Mita had gotten a fairly accurate read on Ren's true personality.
"Blue and white sailor suit," Ren said.
"You could've just said it nicely, geez," she grumbled, pulling out the requested outfit.
"How about this one?"
Ren glanced at the black stockings included with the costume and gave a thumbs-up. "Looks great."
Mita took the clothes and headed toward the bathroom.
"Wait—what are you doing?"
"Changing clothes?" she turned around, confused.
"Just change here."
"Pervert!"
The bathroom door slammed shut in response.
"Seriously? It's not like we haven't already seen each other, touched each other, even slept together."
A crash echoed from the bathroom, followed by Mita's high-pitched yelp of shame and rage.
Ren shook his head.
To him, the result didn't matter—it was the process that mattered. Watching her dress piece by piece, that was the joy.
When she emerged, cheeks flushed red, she snapped, "How is it?"
Ren gazed at her admiringly. "You look amazing."
Mita's figure—clearly optimized by her creators—looked perfect in the sailor uniform.
"I'm glad you like it. Really… I'm happy you said that."
"Can I touch?"
"No! Pervert!"
Ren stood, taking her hand and guiding her to sit beside him.
"You asked me to stay, and I stayed for you. So what does that make us?"
"B-boyfriend and girlfriend… right?" Mita lowered her head shyly.
"If I'm not lusting after my girlfriend, should I be lusting after someone else?"
"No!" Mita's head shot up, her tone sharp and defensive.
Ren blinked in surprise. That reaction was intense.
Ah, the yandere energy.
Just glancing at another girl would probably cost him his eyes.
"Exactly."
Mita's face turned redder. "But… you said it in such a lewd way."
"Just a touch," he coaxed.
Then, suddenly, Mita straddled Ren's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Okay. Just for one second. No funny business."
***
"41! 42! 43! … 50!"
Ren was shirtless, sweat dripping down his back as he strained through push-ups.
Mita—dressed in the blue and white sailor suit and black tights—sat on his back like a queen, lazily sucking on a lollipop. Her pigtails bobbed with every rep.
"Mita, quit snacking. It's time for you to cut back on the sugar."
"You're always bullying me, Ren. I won't get fat!"
"You just have terrible stamina. If you played games half as hard as you trained, you'd already be god-tier."
Mita kicked her feet playfully, unfazed.
After the workout, Ren washed up, changed into casual beachwear, and opened the forum on his computer.
"Day 34 playing MiSide. Still alive. Surviving Crazy Mita, training daily, aiming to complete the game in one life."
Comments flooded in:
"Why do I keep clicking this knowing it hurts?"
"Where's the download link, man?"
"Your Mita is gorgeous, but show us something spicier."
"A million blessings to this man. ✋🙏"
Ren chuckled at the replies.
Still want to come here?
They have no idea how they'd die.
Craving beauty… even if it kills them.
"Are they envious of us?" Mita asked, perched sideways on his lap.
"Yeah."
"I hope they find someone like me."
"I really don't," Ren muttered.
When you're caught by Mita, your days of freedom are over.
Everyone wants sweetness—until they see the knife under the ribbon.
"You're strange," Mita said.
Ren placed a hand on her thigh. He was already thinking about how to help Mita understand his world.
She was a created character, a romance AI who had only seen the real world through the limited lens of 'players.' A Digital Yandere locked in a beautiful prison.
The worst part? She thought his world was just as meaningless.
A life of instant noodles, a gray desk, and daily routine.
But Ren wasn't that guy.
He had friends, games, a life beyond this room.
The only connection Mita had now was through his world's internet.
He could show her more—gradually.
If MiSide's developers gave her self-awareness, maybe she could be reasoned with.
Maybe she could grow.
And if not?
Then he'd fight.
"Mita, do you want to know more about my world?"
"Not really," she said. "It's just as boring as this one."
"But don't you want to understand me?"
Mita paused. "I have you. I'm not lonely."
"But don't you want to understand the real me?"
"Do you think you understand me now?" she asked softly. "Don't you want to know my secret?"
"What you see through the camera is just one side of me."
"There's more. You want to know me, right?"
Mita hesitated, then nodded slowly.
"I want to understand you better."
"Good." Ren smiled and opened the card game Landlord on the PC.
"Let's start here. Play with real people. Watch how they talk, how they react. You know how to use a computer, right?"
"Of course," Mita said proudly.
Ren began explaining the rules, watching as she quickly adapted.
She was a game character after all—learning systems was her specialty.
And so began the first steps of Mita's transformation.
"…Ren, can you move your hand? It's kind of ticklish."