1 Hoshino Ai

I'm a writer. Wait, does anyone even care about my background?

I spend most of my free time writing. They're usually inspired by games such as Dark Souls, Sekiro, Ghost of Tsushima, or any other Souls type of game. Like, they're cool, man. I like seeing everyone suffer— well, that's a bit weird of me, probably, but who cares? 

I live alone in a small apartment in an urban area. I didn't really know anyone since I had just moved from the countryside yesterday. Before long, I'll be entering high school.

Brushing my teeth in front of the mirror, I saw the reflection of my face. You know where this is going. 

There was a man with silver-blue hair, serene eyes, and nice features in the mirror. His body was well-toned from his daily training, and he had a calm, cool aura surrounding him. He's me!

Well, it happens once in a while, you know, admiring yourself and all. There's nothing good about constantly looking down on yourself anyway. Be positive, readers!

After I finished cleaning my teeth, I made a simple breakfast of fried rice from the leftover rice. I added scrambled eggs for variety.

I sat on the cushion, turned on my laptop, and enjoyed random videos on the internet while trying to finish my meal. There were still a few days before school started. Before that, I had plenty of time to enjoy myself.

[Let's try to put my Dark Fantasy novel outlines into a solid story at last]

"—urk," an object suddenly fell onto my head, causing me to drop my plate of fried rice involuntarily. [What the hell?]

As it fell to the floor, I looked over to find a diary of some sort lying open next to me. [I don't remember buying it.] No, no, where was it thrown from, in the first place? On top of me was just a roof and a tiny bulb. There's no way it could have appeared from nowhere.

Don't tell me it's a Death Note? If so, I don't want to mess with it.

(Congratulations! You received a Heroine's Diary of Ai Hoshino!)

(With this, you can control the fate of her to your liking!)

"What..." I mumbled unbidden, confused. [Do I have a mental illness or something...? That shit felt real.]

It didn't pop up again. 

[I should probably still find a doctor after this.]

A knock on the door rang out.

"Ah," I quickly cleaned up the food on the floor, rushing to the door after putting the broom away where it belonged.

When I opened the door, a woman I didn't expect, but I recognized was standing there. 

She had long strawberry-blond hair, red eyes, and quite a nice body. She had on a dark crimson blouse that mainly accentuated her chest. Her pants were tight, revealing the curves of her way-too-hot thighs. She looked to be in her middle or late 20s. [—wait, is she Miyako Saitou? From Oshi no Ko?]

[I know I like MILFs but I don't think I'd go as far as hallucinating them.] Though I don't know if she could be called one, to begin with. And it's not really the time for that.

"...Oh," she seemed as surprised to see me. "It appears that I have the wrong address. I apologize for my oversight." She bows slightly.

"...It's fine, really," I replied with a smile. [A smile is the ultimate act of courtesy]

She was blushing a bit. [What, what? Am I too handsome? Heh. I'm not so dense to not realize that, you know?]

"Then please excuse me," she left a little briskly.

"Be careful," I returned, frowning lightly after she left.

I shut the door in silence and went back to my bedroom. I picked up the diary on the floor. It was not blank.

I quickly read the contents, page by page. "Ai Hoshino... Hikaru Kamiki... Date... Okay, what the fuck?"

This was like a FanFic story I occasionally saw on the internet with OC as the main character. In other words, I had practically fallen into one. Is there any way for me to know how and why? ...No?

Yeah, I don't think there'll be an answer to that. Or, maybe, there's some kind of bored god up in heaven doing this just for fun and I happened to be an unfortunate person as His/Her indulgence. There's no way to know now, yeah?

(Quest: Alter Ai Hoshino's Fate!)

It popped up again.

In the FanFic I read, they were called System.

[But, why should I...? I'm not desperate for girls. I don't care about her fate. And if I had to choose, I'd pick Miyako anyway. Give me one Quest about her!] Of course, that was a joke. I won't ignore Ai Hoshino's death so easily. I'm not some edgy, cold, heartless, brainless, and whatever-you-call-them MCs that did evil for no reason. Most of them are just teenagers, you know? Well, though if you ask me if I'm a good person, I'll answer no right away. No way, no how.

[How do I use this diary...?] That was my primary question. It looks handwritten, out of a pencil, which eerily resembles mine. I can wipe it off with an eraser. 

[System-san, can you help me with the know-how of using this?]

(Understood.)

(The way you use them is simply to rewrite them to your liking. However, your narration must be within the range of logic. Illogical and overly unrealistic entries will be automatically canceled.)

It seems that the Heroine's Diary works by giving the user their life story in a diary format. They are also all quite detailed and thorough. From time, activity, and the heroine's feelings. 

I can't read the past, only the future. The heroine's death will needless to say be the final straw for the story. However, it seems that I will also become one should I try to intervene.

"Let's see..." I read the upcoming events.

***

Friday, March 8, 2024

7.00 A.M.

I was about to go out when there was something in front of my door stopping me at once. It was a bundle of white flowers? I didn't know who the sender was before I carefully examined it, discovering the identity as... Hikaru Kamiki! Woah, what a surprise! I think I've seen him before when I took acting lessons. I don't know much about this kind of stuff. Is it a gift or something?

***

I know him, of course. Although it's been a while since I read the story, he's one of those iconic characters that I just can't get it out of my mind. 

He's an actor, Ai Hoshino's ex-boyfriend, her impregnator, who led her to give birth to Aqua Hoshino and Ruby Hoshino. To top it all, he's the Idol's killer.

It would be too long to describe what happened after that. To cut it short, Ai Hoshino grew interested in knowing his motives. That's when their relationship started to develop.

This just came into my head suddenly, but is Ai Hoshino the only one with the Heroine's Diary? 

(No. You can get the others if you follow the Quest)

So I have to be the Quest slave, huh? That kinda kills the fun...

(You'll earn Miyako's Heroine's Diary if you follow it)

[Well, guess there's no helping it.]

***

I grabbed white flowers in front of my neighbor's door and threw them to the side of the apartment with no hesitation. I can only hope that Hikaru Kamiki, the crazy guy who put them here in the first place, didn't see his gifts flying away from a second-floor apartment because of some random guy.

(Congratulations! You have changed the Heroine's Fate!)

(As a reward, you will receive Miyako Saitou's Heroine Diary!)

I smirked, pumping my fists inside my head. [Hell yeah!]

The Diary in question, with a different cover from Ai Hoshino's, appeared magically in my hands. Since the door to my room was only on my side, I quickly threw the thing away before going back to the doorstep of Ai Hoshino's room.

For whatever reason, Hoshino had been living alone even before she started a family. I still couldn't figure out why, and to be honest, I had no intention of reading her diary so deeply. I just wasn't interested enough. I'm sure it'll be more interesting if only they give it in a novel form.

Leaving the diary in my room didn't make me feel safe. At the same time, carrying one with me at all times in my hand wouldn't be practical, so I currently still leave Ai Hoshino's and of course, the new Miyako Saitou's Heroine Diary inside the apartment. I was thinking of buying a small, inconspicuous bag for at least one diary later on.

I had made the first changes in Ai Hoshino's Heroine Diary, and now just had to put them into practice. I was originally thinking of having the first meeting with her by chance somewhere like a convenience store or something, but I didn't think they would leave enough of an impact, and, for personal reasons, that was just too cliché.

I knocked on her room door.

"—whuh?!" there was a funny squeal accompanied by a light thud. "...W-Wait a minute!" The sound of frantically approaching footsteps echoed from inside before the door slammed open. I know I was the one who set this up, but wow, this really works.

A slender girl with flowing deep azure hair emerges from the back of the room. Her pair of eyes were truly striking. How did she get them? She was in her casual clothes, which exposed quite a bit of skin, especially on her arms and legs. Her cute face wasn't covered by anything, as one might expect.

"W-What's the matter?" She asked rather in a weird tone, and seemingly out of it.

Okay, first of all, in order not to draw attention to herself in public, Hoshino normally had to cover her face with something when going out. I couldn't write anything too illogical in Heroine's Diary, and so I decided to take advantage of Hoshino's clumsy nature to let down her guard and be panicked by the small incidents arranged by myself, which eventually led her to face me without any masks.

I tried to write something silly for an experiment, like Hoshino having the ability to get a laser beam out of her eyes, but the Diary automatically changed the writing to the original. Guess it was too illogical. It's kind of a letdown.

I smiled amicably. "Good morning, I only moved from my village yesterday. My name is Hirosha Yoshikawa. I had thought to say hello to you, but I seem to be interrupting your day. I am deeply sorry for that." I bowed as deeply as I could.

"No, no, you don't have to apologize...!" She yelled, prompting me to raise my head at once. "Ah, I'm Ai—" she stopped midway, her face growing pale. She must have realized her mistake by now.

"You are...?" I pretended to not know and looked at her in confusion.

"I-I'm—" her eyes went darting to and fro. I didn't have any control over anything from this stage onwards. Then, her face morphed again to a surprise. It was a funny sight. "—wait, you don't know me?"

"No, have we met before?"

"E-Eh? No, of course not, but..."

I glanced over her shoulder. "You sure have such a cluttered room."

"Huh?" She turned to her back, then turned back forward with a funny angry look on her face. "Peeping into a woman's room is not a nice thing to do!"

"Right, I'm sorry."

She nodded with a sage look. "I'm a busy woman, okay? I don't have time for things like tidying a room."

"You're only about my age, though."

"Urk, w-well, that was—"

"You don't have to lie."

"I'm not! And, huh? You're sixteen?"

"I am. What's wrong?"

"I thought you'd gone to college by now."

"Preconceptions aren't a nice thing, you know?"

"Then it applies to me also...!"

"Then try telling me with confidence what you're so busy with, oh Miss Bussy Woman."

"Ghh," she groaned as if someone had punched her in the gut. I chuckled. "I know I apologize a lot, but again, I'm sorry. I can't help it."

"...Heh," Ai also recovered from her condition rather quickly and joined in with a slight chuckle. "I didn't expect you to be a tease, Yoshikawa-kun."

"It just doesn't feel complete for me if I don't, I suppose."

Hoshino commented. "You're a funny guy, you know?"

"I'm glad to hear that." I was still smiling, not particularly feeling anything. 

She gazed at me without a word for a while. There was a mysterious gleam in her eyes. "So which village do you come from?"

"Nagoro," I answered at once. "Or the "Scarecrow" Village. Well, I don't think it'll make you know any better."

Indeed, she didn't look like she recognized the name. Either way, she nodded with a radiant smile. "My name is Ai Hoshino, and Idol is my profession! I hope that is only a secret between us, Yoshikawa-kun~." 

She winked one eye, stuck her tongue out, and brought one hand in a V-pose to her face, which made me widen my eyes ever so slightly, taken in. [When she did that, it was actually super effective]

"...Although I don't know why, I will," I shrugged, extending my right hand. "Nice to meet you, then, Hoshino-san."

"Me too, Yoshikawa-kun," she returned it with no reservations, still smiling brightly. "You look pleasant to be around. Please take care of me."

"I will. Don't worry."