#orientation.arc

Poor Monoma, the angel that fell...

It’s bullshit.

The whole thing.

Traumatizing students under the excuse of preparation? It’s not just morally wrong, it’s illogical. Push people too hard and they will either break or push back.

There is also a new explanation that the worst of the trauma is some secret villain. Far too convenient. No matter what happens I won’t buy into this goddamn bullshit.

I wish I’d been able to stop it.

No, we're not okay.

If we don't answer a question the first time, please take it as a hint that me and my classmates don't want to talk about our new permanent psychological trauma caused by the commission.

I can hear you, child. You were crying for help, and don't fear…

For I am here…

To help, to comfort, to aid, to heal.

You wanted my help, my clarification.

And now you have it. In my heart, I know that you, deep inside, wanted to have a conversation with me, or rather, with this part of yourself that you hate. The past… you still punish yourself because of the past, don't you?

It was the right thing to do. You're not selfish for wanting to live. You're not selfish for sacrificing others, for making mistakes, for making amends.

You are still, and by any means, a kid. And what you went through is bad enough to leave you shaken for a few months, or years, but life can go on if you allow it to be.

Then, how can I help it when it comes back? How can I avoid to cry when I feel lonely, when I act foolishly. When I make mistakes that hurt others, when I fade into the background, when I make myself look like an idiot, because I don't know better...

Then… how can I help it when my own brain hates me?

I hate myself. And that's the only truth.

Of course it is. But it's you… who makes it real. I'm just a glitch, a mistake that shouldn't be there. I stored you temporarily in the hidden files. As this game nears its end, I need to tell you and the others that it's not your fault. While it may seem that it is, you can only blame yourself for so much, and past that point, it becomes meaningless.

Your self hatred… I want to heal it, but if you won't allow yourself to heal it, then, I can't help you.

Don't you see how damaging this is? For you? For me?

I could be your conscience. But I'm not. I'm a mistake. A proto-Bondo, if you will.

I can only understand what's been inside the code, written for me, for us.

Why the fuck do you keep doing this to me?

It's unreal. I shouldn't be doing this. I should be outside of this simulation, and start to live in the real world.

But you can't, until I allow you. I could delete you, and let every single thought of Kojiro Bondo in this place be erased. I don't want this to happen to you.

I saw how you ended. How you truly ended. Do you want to die young?

I don't care.

I don't care because the only people who will care are going to be my parents!

And they can have one mouth less to feed. If they can barely feed themselves… then… how can I live… HOW CAN I LIVE, KNOWING THAT THEY STARVE? I HATE THIS. I HATE THIS SHIT.

AND MOST OF ALL I HATE US.

Your pain… your hate… Creati wanted to help you… when you died… but she couldn't do it because she was trapped in glue. You died by a shotgun. From the children of the robbers you stopped as a child.

I can only help you see this future because it's the most plausible one, if it ends up being reality, then it's your choice.

Then what do you want me to do? Read my lips.

I. Can't. Be. A. Hero.

You can, but you only want to cut yourself off that path because you saw something that made you regret it.

Do you really want to see what happens before that, if it might make you happy?

…

You were acclaimed. People wanted to take photos with you. People admired you. You were loved. Another hero. I can see it.

But you left them behind. You broke up barely a year into your relationship. You couldn't cope with both, your private life and your hero life. You wanted to die. You left them, on your own accord.

Then, people forgot you. Forgot about Industrial. Industrial died to the eyes of the media.

And then Bondo Kojiro died, for everyone alive. And especially, for the two that remained.

I'm, I'm sorry.

Don't be. You seem calmer when I mentioned your special one.

Do you want to know?

... Yes.

Marksman. The Shooter Hero. He was with you the whole time. After the orientation, he reached out to the two of you. Both Sugarman and Plamo.

He wanted to make others happy, it seems. He never forgot about you. It's like he wanted specifically to look for you, for the background character.

His feelings were real before you died. And became even more so with the time.

It's not a lie.

It's your future. Or at least one of them.

I-I… I…

You seem cuter when you blush. So please keep it going.

What I'm trying to say is… don't give up. If you do, you might as well die now that you have the chance.

Please keep going, Bondo.

[FORCED DISCONNECTION IS GOING TO HAPPEN. ARE YOU SURE TO END THIS SESSION?

Y/N]

Goodbye. And thanks... For everything.