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>>4591143
You take a good look at yourself in the mirror, recalling Koito’s advice you received during lunch. You instantly take notice of the pimples and the coarseness of your skin from your late night game binges.
Funny how a small reminder like this could make you attentive to details you never thought of paying attention to.

Now, lotion… hm, where could it be?
A few minutes of rummaging through your belongings made you realize that lotion isn’t a part of your regular room inventory. As far as you remember, it was one of those things you only use during winter, at the behest of your very attentive mother.
Clearly she’s the go-to person for your household needs.

You head out of your room and descend the stairs to the first floor, running into the parent you are looking for at the dinner table using her laptop.
“Mom?”
“Hm? What’s the matter, Senki?”
She pauses the video on foreign folktales she was watching and greets you with her soft and ever gentle voice
“Mom, do we have lotion at home?
“Why, dear, of course we do! What need-”
At first your mother replies rather casually, but suddenly pauses halfway through with a gasp.
“My, my.” She murmurs softly, resting her right hand against her slightly reddened cheek.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” You ask, puzzled by her abrupt silence and change in attitude.
“Oh, nothing! Nothing at all!” Standing up from her seat, she dissuades your question with a wave of her arms. “Hold on for just a second, let me fetch it for you!”

“It’s fine, I can take it myself.”
Even if you do find it unnatural for your mother to be flustered over practically nothing, you decide to not press her on the question. The lotion is all that you’re looking for.
“Um… okay! Follow me!”
You follow your mother upstairs into the main bedroom, opting to wait by the door to give her some privacy as she reaches for her dresser drawer. Kneeling, she rummages through the lower drawers, making small talk with you in the process.
“Senki, Are you using it for…. personal purposes?”
“Huh?”
“F-forget what I said... Would this one do?” She stands back up and presents you with a plain, translucent cylindrical bottle. The words ‘Extra moisturizing lotion’ is printed in a bold, highly stylized fashion on the front label. Curiously, the bottle has no dispenser pump like the one you remember, instead having a rounded cap on its top.
Nevertheless, it’s a brand new bottle your mother has fetched just for you.
Koito did say any lotion would do, right?

“Thanks mom, this will be fine.”
You take the bottle from her hand, to which she surprises you by placing her hands on your shoulders.
“Don’t overdo it, okay?” She says with a faint blush and a wry smile, giving you a few gentle pats on your arms.

“O..kay?”
With two nods she lets go of you and quickly shuffles away, leaving you in confusion. In the end, you’re still not certain as to what she’s talking about.

>>4591146
Returning to your room, you break the seal on the new bottle of lotion and immediately puts it into use.
Facing the mirror next to the door, you apply a veneer of the surprisingly viscous liquid onto your face, as Koito had instructed you earlier today. It is most definitely not the same lotion you used in the past: unlike the white, fragrant soapy cream you remember, this lotion is transparent, scentless, and oozes out of the bottle like some goo.
The sensation it leaves on your skin is rather… alien, as if some gigantic alien creature has smothered your face with its saliva. As strange as it may feel, your skin isn’t melting off, nor is it revolting with rashes after contact.
Must just be a different brand then.

In any case, you decide to pay no more attention to the strange lotion, and instead focus on more important matters:
That’s right, you still have a colony to launch into the stars and conquer the galaxy.

Sitting down at your desk you turn on the screen in front of you and boot up your neatly built desktop. You habitually drag your cursor to the little anthill icon and click twice, yet to your surprise, a different pop up appears in place of the usual launcher.

“Downloading Patch 1.2.1”

Right, you almost forgot you’ve set the game on auto download at startup for every patch.
“What did they change, I wonder?” You think to yourself as the bar slowly crawls its way from 0 to 100%. You couldn’t bother to read the 3-page long patch notes, so you instead fire up a new tab and head straight to the forums. Perhaps some dedicated players have already got some crash notes on the update...

[Patch 1.2.1 - First Impressions]
Thread starter: I51NK
Last reply: 2 seconds ago

Bingo.
As usual, the veteren player I51NK spearheads the discussion with his verbosely detailed analysis that reads like a university thesis paper. The length of the posts and the cryptic username aside, his guides and impressions have always proved to be informative and useful, however…
Didn’t this patch come out less than 4 hours ago?

While I51NK is well known for his dedication to this game, it’s still surprising for him to have run through the changes and type out a post in such detail within such a short timespan. You scroll past his initial post, and it seems like other players also share the same sentiment.

“Our Lord and Savior is here!”
“This fast? Did you receive early access?”
“Obviously I51NK is a Synthetic, that’s the only explanation.”

Before you sink your time into reading the thread, you take a look at the progress of the download.
...10%
Well, looks like the update will take longer than you had expected. Maybe you can use this time at the computer for something else...

>>4591149

>Read the post and maybe watch a few guide vids while waiting for the update

>Check out some of the new art and short comics on the pixart website

>The old club chat group that you are part of is going crazy for some reason, might want to see what’s the fuss

>>4591146
Oh fuck, it's the side ponytail of death.
Also Senki is truly innocent. A real harem protag.

>>4591149
Taking bets on which of the girls is I51NK

>>4591152
>The old club chat group that you are part of is going crazy for some reason, might want to see what’s the fuss

>>4591152
>Check out some of the new art and short comics on the pixart website
>>4591166
QM specifically stated that harems are not allowed though.

>>4591152
>Check out some of the new art and short comics on the pixart website
>>4591152
Yukari, probably.
She's the only one of the cast so far who's petty enough to write some tl;dr guide.

>>4591152
>Check out some of the new art and short comics on the pixart website

Also OP it's best to have a character sheet so we get to keep up with the cast

>>4591246
More likely that it's Chihaya or Shinichi.
The former because he's the type to be a massive sperglord while the latter is geekish enough to autistically shit out guides like a printer just to make himself feel important.

>>4591149
You open a new tab on your browser, navigating your cursor towards the blue [P] icon on your bookmarks. Pixiart, as the name converys, is a prominent art uploading site. Since the last Comitia convention ended a few months ago, now is a good opportunity to check out what’s new in the scene.

The blue, pleasantly simplistic blue logo pops up, they slowly resolve into simple shapes: lines, squares, circles, gradually gaining depth and solidity as the site’s layout comes into view. The list of ‘popular tags’ drift horizontally on the top of the page like a row of ants, while this week’s ‘featured art’ is on display front and center.

As you scroll through the myriad of new entries on the site, it seems that ‘V-Streamers’ are the hot topic of the season. From a dancing peanut to meticulously designed character models of moefied eldritch gods, their art has flushed out almost all competition from the ‘recently popular’ category, fully substantiating the claims Chihaya and his pals were discussing back in class.

Out of curiosity you click on the site’s built-in wiki page to read more about this now booming trend.
Let’s see… Combination of 3D models, facial and appendage tracking, voice acting... Bringing 2d characters and personas capable of real-time interaction through technology… Becoming a trend on video and streaming sites, many of whom now having major following and competing with irl streamers.

While you are never that big a fan of watching streams or the whole idol chasing culture, the attention and fanfare they managed to garner is nevertheless impressive. Besides, you have to admit some artists really placed a lot of heart and attention into making the models.

Returning to the ever-growing ‘popular’ tag, you decide to browse through some of the fan art and short comics. Even if you aren’t familiar with any of these characters, perhaps some of the jokes and memes could be enjoyable in their own right. What better place to start than the piece on the very top of the week’s most popular?

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>>4595127
Clicking the top of the list leads you to a 18 page fan comic with a cover page of notable skill and detail, featuring an online persona going by the handle ‘Tuner Kaoru-tan’.
The character in question is a considerably attractive teen with long, straight pink hair, donning a black jacket over a woolen beige shirt, brown shorts, as well as a ribboned headband.
Surprisingly, according to the tags, the individual in question happens to not be a Virtual Streamer, but an actual existing streamer- a male streamer, to be exact. You swear you would have never guessed had it not been for the tags.
Speaking of tags…

R-18
Males only
Otoko-no-ko
blackmail
asphyxiation
mindbreak
heart pupils
mesuochi

Hold up, this thing is supposedly based on a real, existing person?
You take a good look at the list of progressively degenerate tags on the bottom of the screen, then back to the innocent cover page on the top. The title of this gallery is simply labeled “Fan Doodles & Short Comic”, but you can feel the ominous air radiating from the screen. Like a tome of forbidden curses, it seems to be actively tempting you, daring you to click the “Collapse All” button at the picture’s bottom left corner.

>This won’t hurt.
>Just flip through enough to satiate the curiosity
>Close the tab, you ain’t touching that shit.

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>>4595129
>Close the tab, you ain’t touching that shit.

>>4595129
>Close the tab, you ain’t touching that shit.
This has to be the work of a certain classmate sitting right behind us.

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>>4595129
>Just flip through enough to satiate the curiosity

>>4595129
>Close the tab, you ain’t touching that shit.

>>4595129
>Close the tab, you ain’t touching that shit.

>>4595129
>blackmail
>asphyxiation
>mindbreak
>heart pupils
>mesuochi
Is the artist also named 'obui' by occasion?

>>4595129
>This won’t hurt.
hot

>>4595129
>This won’t hurt.

>>4595129
Nope. Curious as you are, you would much prefer not to have some regrettable image burned into your retina. Backing out of the page you return to the rows of entries under the "popular" tab, hoping to find something else to help you pass time.
A browse through the rest is… a bit disappointing, to say the least.
The bulk of the entries are certainly nice, with good art, memes and short comics a plenty, yet you find most of the puns and gags flying right over your head. Perhaps you would have enjoyed them more had you watched the streams beforehand, but as it stands, it’s not quite as fun as you had hoped. Maybe you should just head back to the forums and read about the new patch instead-

*ping!*
Or alternatively, dive right back into the hive with the newly downloaded patch!
Rushing your cursor to the flashing tab on the bottom you boot up the game, humming to the tune of the Antpires’ main theme. As much as you appreciate the time and effort that the dedicated put into writing guides, you have always preferred to experience what surprises the games hold first hand before reading about them online.
I51NK’s detailed analysis can come later- now is the time to let your hivemind reach the stars!

~A few hours later~

[You have entered the Interstellar Age]

You free your hands off the keyboard and lean back for a stretch, hardly able to contain the proud grin stretching across your face. The task is done, you’ve managed to subjugate and assimilate all the other species within your homeworld, and launched your hive to colonize the rest of the star system. Now if you’d just push harder, maybe you can branch out into other star systems rapidly, perhaps even uncover artifacts that can help you skip ahead on the tech tree and achieve faster-than-light travel sooner than…

Your thoughts momentarily freeze as your gaze flashes across your phone lying next to your mouse.
Wait, what time is it?
You give the device’s touch screen a few taps, and is presented with the current time in bold:
01:17 AM

You recall Sensei telling you to get 8 hours of sleep every night, but… that didn’t seem applicable if antpires was part of the equation. Besides, it’s still one and a half hour earlier than the time you went to bed last night, and you might still have some time to go a little further-

“I’ll let it go this time, but there won’t be a second time!”, you remember sensei’s mercy and his words of warning.

On a second thought, perhaps you should take heed to the words and make good of your promise.
With a heavy heart you save your game and log off your PC. Time to turn the lights off for the day.

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>>4607765
<Ringing>

Your sound sleep is disturbed by a vague ringing noise in the distance. As it did not sound like your alarm, you choose to not pay it much attention.

<Progressively louder ringing>

However, the ringing soon intensifies to the point where you can no longer ignore it. You sit up from the bed, sleepy eyed and half awake, looking left and right for the source of the noise. The sound apparently comes from nearby, and that intermittent buzzing sounds awfully like the noise of a vibrating phone-
Wait, phone?

You reach for your phone lying on the porch next to your bed while rubbing your eyes with the other free hand.

“OHAIYO, LIL BRO!”

“Waaahgh!?”
The abrupt and ear-piercing greeting almost made you jump out of your bed, making you drop your phone onto your lap.
“Senki? SENKIIIII?”
What lingering sleepiness you had is wiped clean by the repeated calls of your name, from a voice you have registered all too well in your memory. As the initial shock slowly stops ringing in your head, your instincts quickly guide you towards your dropped phone and answer to the perpetuator of this ambush.

“Nii-san?”
“There you are, lil bro!”
Picking up the phone presents you with the cheerful grin of your brother, Eiki.
The bangs of his wavy and well set silver hair sways side to side as he waves at you, greeting you with a wink from his clear sky-blue eyes behind his round shades nudged to the tip of his nose.
He has not contacted you through calling your number, but rather through the video chat function from a social media app.
The call, sudden as it is, feels awfully similar to the way he’d wake you up for school in the years you commute together. He hasn’t even left home for a week, and you already feel like you’re already starting to miss him.

"How’s school, Senki? I mean, you are at school, right?” He inquires with a glint of curiosity, emphasizing the word ‘are’.
“W-wha?” His words catch you by surprise- you swear to God you did set an alarm for 7:50… could it be that you clicked it off in your sleep?
“Oh dear, Senki! You gotta hurry up then!” His casual morning greeting quickly escalates into a full call of urgency. “I heard ma’s gonna bring up your late night habits to the old man if it starts to affect your school works!”
Though Eiki’s delivery sounds a little too deliberate to be genuine, the content of his words alone is enough to kick you into full gear.

“W-What should I do!?”
“Ok, do as I instruct, and you might still beat the bell!” He said confidently, holding up a fist like a boxing instructor “No pressure, we’ll go step by step. Now, put on your uniform!”
“R-right!”

Placing your phone back onto the side porch, you hop out of your bed and hurriedly throw on your uniform hanging by the closet, spurred on by your brother’s intangible presence.

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>>4607767
“Wallet? Phone? Student ID? You got PE today?“
“Uh, no, um... Got it!”
You rummage through your bag while buttoning your shirt, visually confirming the items as Eiki reads them out like a checklist. Making doubly sure that your wallet has been packed along the rest, you pick up your bag and rush out of your room towards the first floor.

“Ah, Senki! Would you like to have breakfast?” Your mother, no doubt having taken notice of the rumbling upstairs, greets you just as you reach the bottom of the stairs.
“M-mom! I don’t have time, I’ll be late!” You yell as you pass by her at the dinner table sipping her coffee.
“O-oh! What about I pack your breakfast with your lunch?” She stares at you wide eyed, hand over her cheek. You don’t blame her though- this might be the first time you are this diligent in your morning routine.

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth and fix your hair!” Your brother commands you through the phone. “And leave your phone here, you don’t want to get it wet do you?
“Right!”
You place the phone over on the table as your mother starts packing up your breakfast, no doubt influenced by your hurried attitude as well.
“Hi ma!”
“Eiki! How are you my dear? How is college?”
You can hear your brother and mother striking up a conversation as you walk into the restroom, but you have no leisure to eavesdrop at the moment. Due to the utter urgency of the situation, you opt to brush your teeth and groom your hair concurrently, doing both as fast as you can.

“Senki~ Your food is ready!”
Your mother meets you as soon as you step out of the restroom, handing you both your phone and a packed lunch box. Her confusion from earlier has dissipated, and instead returns with her signature warm, wide smile.

“Thanks, mom!”
“Take care Senki! Have fun at school~”
Nodding, you pick up the bento and race for the front door, flinging it open with a loud slam as you rush out into the fresh air outside.

“Dammit.”
Yukari isn’t here today, likely having already left without you prior to your arrival.
You can’t help but curse at yourself for this blunder. Sure, you might be able to get to school on time, but the sheer thought of Yukari staring down at you is enough to unsettle your nerves. You’ll have to make up to her… again.

>>4607768
“Well done lil bro! Now just get to school, and you’re all set!” Your brother’s words of encouragement breaks your line of thought, reminding you of your current objective.

“How much time do I have? What time is it, Nii-san?”

“Well let’s see… around 42 minutes! It's 7:48 now!” He proclaims with a gleeful smile as he gives you a thumbs up. “Have fun at school, ciao!”

The call terminates the moment he finishes his words, leaving you staring blankly at the dimmed screen as your pre-set alarm begins to ring.

“Wha- WHAAAAT?”
You’ve been played, duped and bamboozled by your brother, through and through.
Arching your head up to the sky, you let out a slow sigh, letting the tension drain away as you swiped off the alarm. At least you don’t have to worry about being late to school today.
Still, there’s a full 40 minutes before the first bells ring. What are you supposed to do?

>Wait for Yukari to arrive, and go to school together
>Take a walk to the convenience store first and get your daily dose of caffeine enrichment
>Stroll to school at your own leisurely pace.
>Write in.

>>4607769
>Wait for Yukari to arrive, and go to school together
Ditching her would be a shit move.

>>4607769
>Write-In: Do a couple exercises like push-ups and sit-ups, then grab some caffeine at the Convenience Store.
Gotta stay fit

>>4607769
>Take a walk to the convenience store first and get your daily dose of caffeine enrichment

>>4607769
>Take a walk to the convenience store first and get your daily dose of caffeine enrichment
Yukari a shit. Spread your wings, Senki!

>>4607769
>Wait for Yukari to arrive, and go to school together

>>4607769
>Wait for Yukari to arrive, and go to school together
>>4607781
There's not liking her and then there's being an ass. She's still dedicating her time to fetch Senki every morning even though she lives closer to school.
At the very least inform her you're going off by yourself so she doesn't come in on nothing and get even more pissed.

>>4607769
Actually, can we
>Go to Yukari's place and catch her there
It's still a power move.

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>>4607769
>>4607794
>>4607781
>>4607775

Alright anons, how about we calm down and arrange a compromise?
>Take a walk to the convenience store first and get your daily dose of caffeine enrichment
>Inform Yukari so she won't be blown off by the arrangement
>Exercise on your way there.

>>4607807
I'm fine with this

>>4607807
Compromise accepted

>>4607807
Sounds good to me!

>>4607807
>>4607810
>>4607820
>>4607846
With this much time to spare, you have for once, in the longest time, the luxury of goofing about a little without having to worry whether or not you could beat the first bell. Before you go wandering about your merry way, however, you remember one lingering matter to address: Yukari.


Judging by the time, she has most likely already departed from her home and is on her way to your house. You didn’t exactly leave her in the best of mood after that little debacle at lunch the day prior, and there’s no way of knowing whether or not she’d hold that against you.

Nevertheless, you feel that you should let her know of your plan… if she still plans to come and fetch you, that is


Scrolling through your list of contacts on your phone, you get to Yukari’s number. Taking a deep breath, you call her up as you begin making your way towards the convenience store for your daily dose of caffeine supplements.


“Senki?”

The other side picks up within seconds of you ringing the number.

“Yukari, um...”
You pause, listening carefully to her tone to pick up any hints or indications of her current emotional state.

“That’s odd, you just got out of bed, didn’t you?”

Much to your relief, her voice sounds more or less neutral. Perhaps she’s forgotten about the incident, as long as you don’t bring it up.
“Well...I actually got out of bed early today.” You answer while your legs pick up the pace. “I was thinking of getting coffee…”


“Wait, you? Waking up early?” The news compels her to interrupt before you can finish the sentence. “Color me surprised...Anyways, you were saying?”

“Um, I was gonna make a stop at the convenience store before going to school.” “You want me to get you anything? You know, for yesterday?”

Recalling the ‘favor’ you owe her, you opt to repay her as soon as you can before she demands interest from it.

“Just get me an extra of whatever you are getting.” She replies after a brief pause of consideration. “I’ll see you there.”


The call ends, and you feel you’ve gotten rid of a burden on your shoulder.

The morning you thrust yourself into is moist and sluggish, but now the rays of the morning sun slant through the cloud, casting shimmering highlights on the awakening street, precisely reflecting the way you feel about your day.


With such a beautiful morning, maybe you can afford a little exercise that Sensei suggested yesterday?
You barely did any since the end of the previous school year, which taxed on your overall fitness… if feeling overexerted and excruciatingly out of breath from a short run yesterday is any indication.

The convenience store is just ten minutes away by walking, surely a short jog to warm up your muscles won’t hurt.

>>4613756
That turns out to be a terrible idea.
Sure, you manage to reach your destination in less than half the time… At the cost of being desperately out of breath, panting for air like an old dog while leaning against the shop window of the convenience store. With your heart pounding hard and your stomach cramping up, you are harshly reminded of why you avoided intense exercise in the first place. Nevertheless, you feel a bit more confident from your willingness to force yourself to exercise.(+athletic)

The muscle sore and nausea aside, your effort of arriving this early does have its benefits.
At your usual arrival time, the place would be jam-packed with both salarymen and students, forming a queue before the check-out counter long enough to make you feel like a worker drone in one of the endless ant lines of your interstellar hive.
Making it here a mere twenty odd minutes earlier painted a completely different picture, with only a handful of customers present, and not even a line at the check-out. As soon as your breathing returns to normal, you hurry into the store and begin cheerily browsing through the well stocked shelves of refrigerated refreshments.

Normally you would go straight for your preferred brand of canned mocha or cafe au lait and head straight to the counter, but today the extra time gives you the leisure to browse through other options. Your eyes gravitate towards the row labeled ‘limited time only!’, usually empty in the morning due to the overwhelming demand of its displayed merchandise. Among which a certain item picks up your attention-

“KAIJU”

The bright neon blue dragon logo of the carbonated energy drink grabs your attention like a luminescent fish bait to a hungry carp. Reputed for its uniquely bright blue hue and possessing the highest caffeine content available in any beverage on the market, this blueberry flavored nectar is sure to provide you the boost you need to get through your day.

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>>4623458
As you grab two cans of the potent beverage, you catch a glimpse of a familiar silhouette stepping in to your right, also here to pick a drink from the shelves. Her long, wavy blonde hair and robust body type are both reminiscent of the older Makino sibling… not to mention the faint scent of lavender that left you quite the impression yesterday.

“Call me”
The words she left you with yesterday instinctively echoes through your mind, compelling you to approach her. At the very least, you felt you should probably excuse yourself for not reciprocating her offer.

“Good morning, Makino san.”
You begin with a neutral greeting, planning to gauge her mood from her response… to which you received none. Yayoi appears to be too fixated on picking a drink to pay you any attention. That, or she deliberately chose to ignore you.
Regardless of which it might be, you decide to try calling her again.

“Makino-san?”

“Uwa?”
Realizing that you are calling for her attention, ‘Yayoi’ turns her head to her left and greets you with a wide smile while waving at you with her right hand.
“Howdy~”

Howdy? That does not sound like Yayoi at all. Puzzlingly you look towards her, and as soon as your eyes meet with hers…
One glance at her face made you realize that you must have misidentified the younger Makino as her older sister. Her wrinkled uniform should’ve been a dead giveaway, but your brain jumped to conclusion from impression alone. Luckily, you are not close enough to either of the siblings to call them by their name, which conveniently gives you a chance to avoid utter embarrassment.
However, before you come up with a different greeting, Satsuki suddenly closes her distance and leans towards you, close enough for the little tuft of cowlick on the top of her head to brush against your cheek.

“Sooooo~” She begins, slightly swaying left to right while curiously observing you with her round, puppy-like cyan eyes. “What is it?”

“Oh, em, not much!” Taken aback by her sudden approach, you toss your hands up in a flurry while backing away to make some distance. “I, um, I thought you were your sister for a second. You know, the hair and all…”

As you explain yourself, you notice the younger Makino rearing up her head. Lifting her head, she sticks out her nose and begins sniffing about the surrounding air, like a hound attempting to pick up a scent.

‘Oh dear’, you think to yourself and hurriedly take two additional steps back, before turning aside to sniff your own collar. Your mind instinctively registers that something about you must’ve warranted such a bizarre action from her- and the sweat from your excruciating jog earlier binks into your mind as the primary suspect.

“Ah no, it’s not you.” She shakes her head, then once again locks her eyes with yours. “You were saying?”

>>4623460
“Um… I’m sor-”
“Ah! Good morning, Senki kun!”
A familiar and incredibly jubilant voice wedges into the scene, cutting your apology short. You turn your head towards your left at the source of that voice, and are greeted by the sight of….

“Makino-san?”

““Yes?””
Both ‘Satsuki’ answer your call concurrently, one to your left and one to your right.
“Sa-chan, you know him~?” The ‘Satsuki’ from earlier inquires as she walks up and joins her doppleganger. Aside from the slight differences in hairstyle and iris tint, the two appear as near perfect clones of one another.
“Yes! I met him yesterday, he’s Eiki-san’s little brother!” The newcomer ‘Satsuki’ nods energetically and answers in a familiarly uplifting tone, much more similar to your encounter yesterday. In fact, going by how the two behave, you can confidently say that this newcomer is definitely the ‘Satsuki Makino’ you remember.

On the other hand, the lookalike can hardly mask her shock as she stares at you with wide eyes and raised brows, her hands shoot up to cover her mouth as she lets out a long gasp.

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>>4627811
“Um… hi?”
Before you have the chance to reintroduce yourself, you find yourself on the receiving end of a pouncing tackle from the freshly acquainted girl.
“Oof!”
Your mind barely has time to register what had happened while you are struck by the combined impact of the collision with the girl in the front, and the immediate pain on your bottom as you land on your ass.


Despite standing slightly shorter than Yukari, her reckless charge hurls her entire weight right onto your chest like a little cannonball, sending the both of you slamming onto the ground. Thankfully, you avoided more serious injury by the girl holding you from under your armpits in a bear hug, preventing your back and head from hitting the ground.
But her overbearing and extremely physical display of affection did not stop there- instead of letting go of you after both of you are on the ground, she instead shuffles her face closer to yours.
“I’m Uzuki Makino!” Your overly enthusiastic new acquaintance gives you the warmest, widest smile you’ve ever been graced with from a girl of your age. “Let’s be friends, Senki-kun~”

“S-sure!?”
The words reflexively escape your mouth while your senses get overwhelmed by her presence- the faint sweet, lavender scent from her hair, the tight hold around your chest, the softness of her skin and body as she presses her entire weight against you… And the sight of her content smile as she snuggles against you, resting her head on your shoulder
Your heart begins racing as hard as your jog earlier as you feel the warmth of her cheek brushing against your neck, and the slight ticklish sensation of every breath she takes.

“U-chan!” You hear Satsuki’s snap, the teacher-like voice surprising both you and your assailant. “T-this isn’t appropriate!”
Her words give you the clarity of mind to realize how compromising a position the two of you are stuck in, and apparently for Uzuki herself as well.

“Oh!”
You feel the weight off your chest as Uzuki releases you from her grasp and immediately pops back up standing. Together, the two grab you by each of your hands, then haul you back onto your legs in no time.


You stand there dumbfounded for a second, holding onto the two cans of energy drink you picked out earlier. Mentally, you feeI as if you have been delivered a straight knockout punch to the chin, only to come to surrounded by the curious gazes of a progressively increasing crowd of bystanders. You feel you’ve missed out the important ‘why’ of this entire incident, but of course, the siblings do not give you the luxury to think it through.

“Hurry now, Nee-chan is waiting outside!”
A hand on both you and her sister’s back, Satsuki nudges the two of you to hurry to the counter before more spectators show up and overcrowd the scene.

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>>4627818
The three of you step out of the store just as the regular crowd of salarymen and students begin rushing in. Disregarding the envious gaze from the store clerk as you were doing checkout, the queue and purchase at the store today is delightfully smooth and eventless. As the three of you break through the stream of eager customers, you spot your childhood friend standing at the sidewalk, right next to the pedestrian crossing. To her right, less than two meters away, stands the older Makino sibling.

“Why, isn’t this Yae-san? What a pleasant coincidence.”
“Oh, and what are you doing here, princess? Having your daily dose of sneering at the peasants?”

In any other circumstance, Yayoi’s greeting would be interpreted as nothing more than a friendly morning greeting between classmates. However, Yukari’s creased brows and the unrepressed hostility in her words paint a very different picture to this exchange.

“Certainly not, I was merely passing by.” Yayoi simply smiles, her tone soft and carefree as a bird. “Projecting your insecurities on your fellow schoolmate is hardly a healthy habit, Yae-san.”
You can tell she’s not ‘really’ staying cordial towards your friend, either.
As a matter of fact, you feel like you’ve been accidentally teleported to a 1870s wild west frontier town, where two rival gunslingers are staring down one another in a quickdraw match right outside a saloon.

“Hard to imagine an ojou-sama like yourself walking to school.”
Yukari stirs, the corners of her mouth turn down ever so slightly. It’s enough evidence for you to tell she isn’t enjoying this exchange at all.
“Oh you flatter me, Yae-san.” Yayoi muses, flicking a tuft of her hair over her shoulder. “But unlike yourself, I owe a duty to those I hold dear, and-.”

“”Nee-chan!””
As if perfectly timed, the twins emerge from behind you, calling and running towards with near precise synchronization. As Satsuki and Uzuki happily joined their sister’s side, they also diverted the attention of both Yukari and Yayoi towards the direction they came from, and by extension… onto you.

“Hi?”
You raise your hand in an awkward wave. Being tossed so unexpectedly into the spotlight made you ill-prepared to untangle yourself from this situation. The older Makino sibling doesn’t wave back, to which you are quickly reminded of her offer yesterday, and the very fact that you have not done what she asked.

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>>4627820
“Senki!”
Yukari calls out your name, almost like a whistle telling you to move along.
Instinctively you comply as instructed, and why wouldn’t you? The faster this awkward tension is resolved, the better.

Yet as you attempt to join your friend, Yayoi breaks rank, stepping in front and intercepting you halfway. Yayoi Makino looks perfectly composed and perfectly poised, just as your impression of her has been. But there is something different about the ingenue now as she glides even closer-
Instead of the outright intimacy she displayed prior, she stops roughly one step in front of you, looking at you with a frown followed by two light taps in the chest
“How inconsiderate of you, leaving a girl hanging like that...” She says with a disgruntled pout.

You attempt to mutter some words out of your mouth, but she does not give you that chance. Yayoi turns around with a flick of her hair and joins the rest of her siblings.
“Let’s go.”
Standing in the center of the two, she gives out the simplest of orders, and the two instantly follow, but not before both turning back to wave you goodbye.

Seconds away from the Makinos leaving you and Yukari to your devices, you can already feel the brooding storm that is about to rain down upon you. Even without looking you can tell that this one little incident could very well send Yukari right over the edge.

And right you are- the moment you turn to look at Yukari, she glares back at you, fire raging in her eyes.

“Senki, what the HELL was THAT!?”

Yukari is demanding answers, and it’s in your best interests to give her one right now.

>Tell her the full story from start to finish
>Say you met her through Satsuki, who is friends with Mifuyu. Leave out the call part.
>Tell her it's nothing worth talking about, just some small thing between Yayoi and you
>Write in

>>4627822
>Say you met her through Satsuki, who is friends with Mifuyu. Leave out the call part.

>a whistle telling you to move along
Yukari continues to be worst girl. Isn't she supposed to be the heroine?

>>4627822
>Say you met her through Satsuki, who is friends with Mifuyu. Leave out the call part.
>>4627828
It's called being jealous

>>4627822
>Tell her the full story from start to finish

>>4627822
>Say you met her through Satsuki, who is friends with Mifuyu. Leave out the call part.
>>4628187
Which is good, it keeps Yukari on the edge. The Makinos don't seem to be bad people either.

>>4627822
>Say you met her through Satsuki, who is friends with Mifuyu. Leave out the call part.

Looks like we wont have enough time to get the next bit done before the thread sinks
We'll archive this thread now

Also because Focus is in a not very convenient position to work on Subaru right now, we will be doing another Senki thread after this. It should be up within this week, and we'll notify thread on focus's twitter

Thanks Everyone for joining! Hope to have you join again soon.