Reflection

Noa and Sora soon got to their home, a massive villa in an isolated gated community. It had three floors, plush carpeting and a vintage look that had been somewhat modernized. The driver dropped them at the entrance and parked it next to the 6 other cars in the massive garage.

Noa had been checking on Sora's injury on the ride home, and she checked to see if there were any other cuts or bruises that might been missed. Thankfully there were none, and she ruffled his hair affectionately.

As they stepped inside, Sora pulled off his bag and took out a glass box that had a beautiful purple flower in it.

"Nee-san, this is for you! I found it myself!"

Noa took the box with a surprised look and admired the flower, giving Sora a confused look.

"At the trip I saw this flower far away and I knew you would like it, so I went to pick it up. But when I went back, everyone was gone and I was so scared!"

Sora started to narrate his story with exaggerated movements and expressions.

"What?? Why would you do that Sora, you shouldn't do that," Noa replied with a stern look.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again. But I was so scared that I started running around looking for them and got lost. When I stopped, I was in a road where there were no people around and I wanted to cry. But I'm a Lionheart so I didn't cry!"

Noa didn't interrupt this time, she knew he ended up fine so she waited for his entire story before cutting it.

'Lionheart? There's that word again. Why does he know an English word?'

"And then, I saw big scary dogs on the road, and they started chasing me with angry faces! They had foam in their mouths, it w-was so scary Nee-san!"

"Foam? Were they rabid? What did you do Sora?"

"I started running again, but they were very fast! When I looked back to see how close they were I ran into a wall and my leg got hurt!"

'Hmmm, at least he wasn't bitten by the dogs,' Noa thought internally.

"I thought I would be dead, but then I saw an Onii-chan who was walking near us and I called for help! He was wearing the same uniform as you Nee-san!"

"Oh? And he was the one that saved you? I should thank him properly." Noa was surprised at Sora's good luck. But then she noticed that he looked very angry for some reason.

"NO! That Onii-chan was not a Lionheart. He ran away when he saw the dogs!"

"WHAT???" Noa was furious. She knew that the student didn't really have an obligation to put himself in harm's way, but who runs away and leaves a bleeding child about to be attacked by dogs?

"Then what did you do Sora?"

"This time I really thought I was dead, so I closed my eyes. And then BANG, WHOOSH!! I opened my eyes and there was a different Onii-chan there! He was also wearing your uniform, and he kicked the dog away!"

Noa was surprised, that really was a close call.

"He punched and kicked the bad dogs and they ran away after getting so scared, HAHAH IT WAS AWEESSOMEEE!"

"Hoo, that's good. Did he take you to the hospital after?"

"Yes, my leg was hurting so much and I wanted to cry, but Onii-chan told me I was a Lionheart and brave boys don't cry. So I didn't cry," Sora said proudly, one hand at his hip and the other punching the sky.

"O-Oh? Yes you were very brave Sora!" Noa complimented him even though she was a little confused.

'Pretty smart of the guy to calm Sora down in this way.'

"He carried me to the hospital and they bandaged me there. The nurse said to clean the knee every few days Nee-san!"

"Ok, I'll do that. It's good that they gave the supplies as well."

"Mhm, Onii-chan asked the nurse for a glass box for my flower when I told him I picked it for you! He also bought me ice cream afterwards and took my back to kindergarten!"

Noa was genuinely surprised that someone went this far for Sora. Not only saving him from the dogs, but taking him to the hospital and minding these little details? That's incredibly rare. she was touched.

"Where was he? I didn't see him at the kindergarten?"

Sora pouted when she asked him that.

"I also wanted you to meet Onii-chan, but he said he was late for something and only took me to the gate."

'He didn't ask for a reward or anything either, I have to thank him somehow.'

"It's ok, tell me his name. Since he goes to my school I can thank him later," she asked.

But Sora stiffened and his eyes widened. He started to tear up as well, scaring Noa a little.

"What happened? Are you in pain?"

"N-No, I f-forgot to ask his name Nee-san! W-What if I never see him again??"

Noa smacked her forehead in exasperation and patted Sora's head.

"It's ok, you remember what he looks like, right? When the time is right maybe you'll see him again."

"Mhm, I remember! He was very handsome, you should marry him Nee-san so that we can live together!" he gushed, getting progressively more excited at the thought.

Noa flicked his little forehead with a wry smile.

"Don't get carried away brat, come you should get some rest."

She wanted to take Sora to her school sometime to look for her benefactor, but there were almost a thousand people attending Souhei High so it wasn't really feasible.

She had to think of another way, because she didn't like to owe people. But that is for another time.

***

Reiji threw himself onto his plush bed, exhausted after all that had happened on his first day.

"Too much, wayyy too much! My brain hurts from all that tension ugghhh!"

He rolled over and stretched as far as he could.

"Thankfully, there are only a few times where so many events are packed into one day. Usually it's pretty spaced out since the game occurs from their first year in high school all the way through college, though the latter is a DLC."

Reiji felt like he should plan his steps out a little more so that he isn't blindsided like this again. He'd hate it if he forgot a major event and someone got hurt because of it.

He didn't really think of himself as a hero, but because he knew that some bad occurrences would happen in the future, he felt a little obligated to intervene if necessary.

The guilt would eat away at him otherwise, plus he liked most of the characters in the game. It's easier to help someone when you know you're doing it for a good person who deserves it.

Regarding the rabid dogs, he had called animal control after dropping Sora off, leaving it to them since he didn't know what else he could do.

"Let's see, the next major event that I might need to check....is next week. It's for Haruna, huh? That's a little troublesome.... But I can't sit this one out, it's too big of a deal."

He scratched his hair in slight frustration.

"There's also Yui's thing that will happen in a couple of days. But she's not a heroine, a villainess actually....I haven't seen her yet either."

Another tidbit that Reiji just realized was that his memory of the game was fairly vivid in an odd way. He not only knew all the major events, he even knew the specific date and time it would happen.

Maybe some of those details were in the game, but he definitely shouldn't be remembering these tiny ones so clearly.

"I don't know if this is some added perk, or my memory is still fresh because I played it so recently, but I'll take anything I can get at this point."

Either way, Reiji understood at this point that he couldn't trust the protagonist at all. He had to keep an eye on these big events, and if that needed him to interact with the heroines if necessary, so be it.

"If Riku makes the right decision, awesome! But if not, I'll have to step in... I'll leave the minor events like the choices that come up during regular interactions since I'm not the protagonist. It's not like I can cut into their conversation. Plus it only affects favorability, not their well-being or mental health."

Reiji raised his hand to block out the light on the ceiling, sighing as he clenched his fist.

"I noticed that some of OG Reiji's traits have stuck with me. Like his courage, demeanor, arrogance, and most importantly his anger. But it's not overpowering, it's like they merged with my own traits to give it some balance? I can't really tell anyway. I don't think I would've been able to step in and fight those rabid dogs so confidently as Alex, so it might be another perk to help me adjust to my capabilities."

He stood up and entered his bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror once again. The dragon tattoo on his chest and arm, the dangling earrings, the messy hair, and the deep blue eyes.

He smiled as he cracked his neck.

"Yeah this is a pretty good deal, thank you devs. I'll live a life I'll be proud of from now on," he whispered to the void.