My Arata Complex

Even though his message box had been exploding, Arata decided to stop passing by the computer in his room. He needed to go out at night, and so he couldn't check the forum. It would trigger the final action time; he wouldn't be able to meet Usagi at the park during the 9 PM action time. After eating dinner he made himself, he left his house.

Then again, the moment he closed the gate of his residence, a notification blocked his vision.

[You are outside at night! Be mindful of your surroundings! Danger hour is active, and you might hit Game Over at certain places. Being caught by your active date-ables would send you to the next action time.]

It was only now that Arata remembered how Attori and Ruby told him to be wary about going out at night. They weren't pleased by it as well. Then again—if this danger hour pursued, how was he able to meet Momoka and Usagi?

'Maybe because the night creature was still uncaught. I should deal with that thing first, I guess.' Arata sighed after being frozen. He turned to the side and noticed that the door of Yukari's home swung open slowly. His best friend was taking out the trash, and he would be wasting the night if he gets caught by an active date-able.

What was an active date-able? They were the date-ables that the player had turned into his 'Friends'—ones garnering Affection Points. 'Acquaintances' wouldn't count as active date-ables. This was explained in the first part of the game, and most players didn't really pay attention to this label. There was nothing that made this group separate from all the date-ables after all. Right now, Arata was really wary. It wasn't hard to figure out which ones to avoid and not to; he had to avoid everyone at all costs! He had activated all possible date-ables at this phase of the non-route. Usagi was still locked, as well as the rest that he had no idea would be date-ables in the future.

The city continued to be captivating at night still. Despite the things that were happening, Arata still found it nice to walk around on his own. Exploring the night view of a city he was in used to be his only luxury back in the real world.

"Real world..." Arata whispered as he passed by the Arcade Basket. He saw people playing games in the various machines they've got. He still referred to the old world as the real world, and even though he had constant communication with his old pals in-game, he couldn't feel the hope that he could ever go back. Then again, if he could choose between the two worlds, he would most likely choose to stay behind. The realness of this supposed made-up world had already grown on him, and the warmth he felt from the people who loved him was so much compared to his old life.

Why would a king trade a life of a loser with his?

Like planned, he had to reach the Lumen Park. He glanced at his watch to check the action time, and it was still 9 PM. He leisurely walked along the road as if he was not in danger of running into any of his girls. Soon enough, the bright lights grew dim as he got to the part of the city where establishments were scarce. The canopy of the trees shrouded the clear night sky, and Arata even had to bring out his phone to rely on its weak light.

The man gulped down the lump forming inside his throat. He started walking with caution; he felt like right now wasn't the right time to run away. A 'Game Over'… that term wasn't even used in a Challenge Mode. He would faint after losing all of his HP and Stamina, but that wasn't certainly 'Game Over'.

He had heard about the pitfalls from Sayaka. He must be really careful.

Swish. Something moved behind him, and it didn't feel like it was some kind of animal. Arata continued walking, switching his phone camera into its selfie mode. It wasn't previously available, but he didn't think much about it right now. He raised it to his face as if checking his face, but he was actually spying on that thing behind him.

There were no more movements from behind him. Arata frowned as he continued walking forward, hoping to see where the threat would be coming from. He was most likely to be ambushed from behind at this rate. Due to his alertness, he noticed a shadow descended behind him. He saw it fusing with his own shadow, and so he knew it was in front of him now. Listening to his gut feeling, he quickly pulled his body back.

Swish! He just missed a clawed hand that entered the faint light of his phone. He fell on his b.u.t.t and tried to crawl back while locking his eyes on that silhouette before him.

In his urgency to swipe away the notifications that obscured his view, he missed an important detail. Right now, he had to focus on not dying.

"Ohoho, that was fast! I thought you'd be a lot slower!"

The voice matched the one that Attori and Keiko met that night. Arata continued backing away and used his phone to cast light on the s.u.c.c.u.b.u.s. It was indeed the same creature, and she was a bit less attractive. The skin on her face was loose and digging into the holes of her cheeks. Her eyes were surrounded by darker circles, and her b.r.e.a.s.ts were sagging a little. It was not the pretty s.u.c.c.u.b.u.s—but one that seemed to be hungry for a fix.

"What are you exactly?" Arata gained the courage to stand up, seeing the full form of the creature. He continued sizing up those wings; he had no idea how fast she could fly and chase him down. This thing was a date-able according to Sayaka; to think that he needed to escape every night to find this creature. He didn't have an idea if she would be preying on him on dates.

"I'd love to, but I don't think tonight is the best time." The player had to unlock her first, right? Without any proper notification which served as his guide, he might end up feeding himself to the creature. Even if he was curious to know how Sayaka would react if he died in-game, he wasn't ready to risk it.

"Tonight isn't the best time? Oh, you mean... you expect to see me again some time?" The s.u.c.c.u.b.u.s giggled and reached out her arm to stroke at Arata's face with her clawed fingers.

"Of course. I'm going to make you fall in love with me soon." The king tried to be full of himself. He was dealing with a creature that looked like it would favor confident individuals; he just hoped he was right.

The s.u.c.c.u.b.u.s pulled back her hand and laughed out. She lifted her body from the ground and sat mid-air. Her fingers tapped against her chin as she sized up the king. She giggled. "How bold of you to assume that I'm that interested. I could find a lot more handsome men out there, you know."

Arata spread his arms as if selling himself. "Yes, but are they like me?" He grinned wider and laid a sharp gaze at the s.u.c.c.u.b.u.s. "I am a god."

The s.u.c.c.u.b.u.s' eyebrow raised at the claim. "A god? Then why don't you harm me?"

"I'm a god of love. I don't think I should hurt you... unless you continue threatening the city." Arata just had to nod to himself for a good bet since he wasn't killed or attacked at least. He dropped his arms and asked, hoping to find her route direction. "Why'd you come here anyway?"

"I... am looking for something." The creature smiled. "If you manage to help me find what I need, I would leave the city alone. Then again..." She swirled in mid-air. "I have to test if you can find me in the city. I won't be in this form so good luck in looking for me! You'll see me in a paradise in the dark, guised in a helper's gown. Service is my weapon, and so is my heart.

"Vermelha will see you again soon, little god!"

[Your Charms is currently MAXED! Your Charms is high enough to make the creature leave!]

[The attacking date-able ??? ??? retreated! The defending date-able Attei Attori was safe! The defending date-able Wakaba Keiko was safe! You have succeeded the Challenge! Score rank: SSS! Handsome Mediator! You have been awarded with 10,000 Experience points!]

[You have reached level 103! Congratulations! New magazines and room frames are now available! Please check the shop for more exciting items!]

Arata's eyes widened as he saw the notifications. He turned to the side where there was no wall, and he noticed two figures walking towards him. Attori smiled at him while Keiko eyed at him differently. His eyes flickered; he would be sent home now. Damn, he didn't get to speak to Sayaka.

He took a deep breath. "Is everything alright? Why were you two hiding?"

"We weren't hiding; we just came. I just knew you're here, and I was alarmed when that thing showed up." Attori went to hug his arm. Arata took his arm away because he wanted to pull Attori to his side with his hand on her waist. She giggled softly, looking down at the man's unscathed body. "That was a good dodge."

"Ah, I guess you saw everything." Arata scratched his cheek with his other hand. He then turned to Keiko. "Keiko, let's walk home together."

"...you..." she stepped back. The childhood friend eyed at him with fear. "Why did you choose to befriend a monster? Isn't... isn't Attei enough abomination to you?"

[A Reversal Affection Scene has started! Childhood Sweetie Wakaba Keiko has the Affection Rate of 100%. The date-able is doubting you. Make sure to answer truthfully to regain her trust!]