welcome to the exhibit.

You were tired. You were so, so tired. The alarm next to your nightstand practically blared in your ears, making you groan and toss in bed. You lived through this morning for almost a thousand times now. Like any normal person, you sluggishly slammed down the button for the digital clock to shut it up. Alright, [NAME]. You lived this fifteen times before, you can live this new cycle again. Before all of this happened, you were just like any weird teen. You had interests that differed from people, you had few friends, and you really didn't stand out all that much. One might say that your life seems lonely, but it was yours. Despite the cold lunches and the free time spent in your classroom due to your friends having other groups to hang out with, there was one thing that didn't make you go insane. Phighting. It was a Roblox game that had a spot in your heart, besides the late night moments of almost punching your screen because of your teammates. And just like any other fandom person, you loved, really loved the characters. You were one of those people who would imagine themselves with them—self-shipping was the term. Despite the fanfictions and imaginary scenarios, you also liked dating sims. You got to make the choice, you get to choose your own ending. So imagine the amount of noise complaints you got from your roommates when you squealed at the sight of a Phighting dating sim. A highschool AU, no less! You stayed up playing it, trying different options and seeing what options triggered the other Phighters' routes. That same night, you unknowingly passed out. Like any cliche anime story, you found yourself isekai'd into the game itself! With the experience of going through every route and its requirements to get there, you were confident in yourself that you could get your love interest! Except… it just didn't work. Your first ever cycle ended in a fail. In some way, somehow, the things you've remembered trying in the game didn't work. Even the automatic unlockable interests like Sword and Rocket, they didn't accept. You restarted back at the start of the school year. The InfoMeter—the thing that helped you with information and objectives in the sim—told you that the only way to get back to your world is to get with any of the love interests. It just didn't work. Even if you maxed out your ranks in the later cycles, none of the love interests accepted your confession, or confessed to you. Changing personalities didn't help, either. This lasted for fifteen cycles—you've tried to cater to every love interests.

You've tried to mold yourself to what ideal person they preferred, referring to Infometer. You've paid attention to every romance flag at a specific time, and remembered to respond to it. Nothing. And you've given up at this point. You stared into space at the wall in front of you, and subconsciously scanned your room. You remembered when you could barely contain your giddiness as you first found yourself in the same room you've customized in the game: your dream room. Now, it just made your eyes ache. You forced yourself to sit up, letting the cool air of the morning brush your skin. A buzz vibrated on the side of your pillow—your phone. It lit up as a notification popped up. You grabbed it. first day of high school — July 14, XXXX. From; InfoMeter. With every failed cycle, you always returned to July 14th—InfoMeter would always show you your route, and how well you did. The same robotic voice came from your phone.

Route Sixteen: A Normal Year. "With nothing special happening, you've continued your life as a normal highschool student. But at least, you've made friends along the way." Stats: ACADEMICS RANK 6, CHARISMA RANK 6, KINDNESS RANK 6, CONFIDENCE RANK 6. Route 16. The same route you'd always get at the end of each cycle; You didn't get with any love interest, but you've only been close friends with them. With your social ranks maxed out, you've unlocked every single one of them. You've adapted and managed your schedule to fit all of the interests. But it still just didn't work. You shook your head, pondering getting to you again. If you thought too much about it, a headache would start to form just on the first day. You shook it off, throwing your legs to the side of the bed to stand up and start your morning routine. This cycle… you've decided to just exist. Be a background character, or be a part of something—something you've never tried before? Either way, you've decided to be just… you. You're tired of being something else for others.

Today, you'll treat it like you've treated it like any other normal first day from before. You've already packed your schoolbag the night before, so you didn't worry about missing any stuff. Standing up from your bed, you grabbed your uniform from the closet and went in the bathroom to change and do your routine there. ⡞⠳⣄⣀⣠⠞⢷ ֹ۪ The obligations were still weighing in your mind, a stubborn glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe this time it'll be different. But that's what you've always told yourself. You looked in the mirror. It has slight fog from your shower, slight spots from years of being used. Despite everything, it's still you. You wore your customized uniform—since the school apparently allowed it. You wished it would've been the same in the real world… But you realized you were missing something… Oh right, your ID. You twisted the doorknob of the bathroom, grabbed your phone on the sink, and went to your desk, where your ID was placed. This was when the player got to choose their name. InfoMeter's UI popped up in front of you. Different cycles, you've chosen different aliases. Your online name, names that you thought were nice, even your original characters' names… But this time, you wanted something more… like yourself. And what better way to do it than putting your own name? You grabbed the ID, as the cover reflected the light in your room. You let out a deep breath, before deciding and inputting your desired name in InfoMeter. [NAME] [M.I] [LAST NAME]. You straightened out the lanyard before looking at it again. You decorated your lanyard—pins on both sides, with key chains at the end of the ID holder. As soon as you put it on, your phone buzzed loudly, the ringtone echoing loudly. You pulled up your phone, seeing the caller ID. 'SWORD !!' Oh right. This was the first introduction to Sword and Rocket. You stared at it for a moment, debating whether you should answer or not. You can practically hear Sword's words in your head, as if you can recite it perfectly. Reluctantly, you had to pick it up. A beep! was heard when you accepted the call, bringing the phone to your ear.

"Name! Name! Are you already ready? Me and Rocket are about to reach your house, we're just a few blocks away!" Sword's voice was energetic—too energetic in the morning—it almost grated on your nerves how you heard this exact sentence so many times. Sword and Rocket are the player's childhood friends in this game; Naturally in this sequence of events, they made plans beforehand to go together on the first day. Normally, the only choices for the player are to say whether you're ready or not. Ultimately, you had to go with them. Not this time. "Ah… Sorry Sword, I'm caught up with something. You and Rocket can go ahead with the bus." You lied through your teeth. You definitely didn't have anything going on. "What?" Sword's voice faltered, confusion in his voice. The energy dampened down audibly. You can hear Rocket pipe up in the background. "Did they say…? What?" You can hear the phone fumbling in the call, likely Rocket swiping it from Sword. "What do you mean you're caught up with something?" Rocket's voice almost sounded… rigid, and off. But almost as if he did something out of line, he tried to take it back. "I… I mean… uh…" "Eerr.. What Rocket meant to say is that.. uh… wwee can help you! Yeah, we can help you with that!" Your eyebrows furrowed. This is… wrong. But then again, you're defying the main story. You're tired of going with the flow of the story. You shook your head lightly, before speaking again. "No, it's really okay. If you're worried about me being late, it's fine. I'll just catch up." "…If you're sure…" Sword's voice became quieter, before you hung up without a goodbye. You let out a relieved huff as the call ended, slumping near the doorway before stuffing your phone in your pocket. Going to school alone was not a foreign concept to you—in fact, you always did go alone everyday back home. Except the times where your sibling went with you. You wanted to forget those times. Always every time that your sibling goes alongside you, their friends just swarm them. Even something as simple as just walking in the hallway with them, every person just greets only them. Your sibling, without a doubt, was and is better than you in many ways than one. The golden child of the family, as you would say. They're exceptional with academics, competing in some out of town competitions with their team. They were student council, being volunteers in various clubs. Not only that, they were better than what you were only capable of doing. Art. You remember such a time in an art competition, being confident in your entry. Art was a comfort to you, and it was the only way you could prove yourself. Until they joined. They even asked you for help with their entry, saying that you were the better one. They always went up to you, asking for feedback and all that. Liar. You're always better than me. You're just rubbing it in my face, aren't you? And they won. First place. Your parents were proud of them, of course. It's them; it's always them that gets everything. You were third. After that, you never touched anything remotely related to art again. That's why you moved on to video games. That was the one, and the only thing, that they couldn't touch. They always spent their time on academics, extra curriculars, you name it—all for their dream college that they wanted to get in. Medical college, like what your parents wanted. You… didn't have any particular ambition. You never thought that far ahead in the future—you were unsure of what you wanted. Every time those activities involve future careers or jobs, you just… put something general. Sure, art was an option, but with the economy right now? No thanks. You grabbed your bag, slinging it over your shoulder and feeling it weigh you down to the side. You didn't really put in much effort, considering it was still the first day. A muffled voice came from your pocket. You dug your hand in, past the lint and dust to fish out your phone from inside. It was InfoMeter.

> IT'S TIME FOR SCHOOL. YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO BE LATE NOW, WOULD YOU?

…Huh. InfoMeter didn't react to you changing the story? Then again, you were in the game itself.. so maybe you could explore. Find new possibilities—new things to do rather than chase some inphernals that didn't even bother to pay attention to you.

⡞⠳⣄⣀⣠⠞⢷ ֹ۪

"They were acting weird earlier, don't you think?" Sword mumbled, walking side by side with Rocket on the sidewalk. The concrete crunched under their shoes.

Sword and Rocket passed by [Name]'s house, now a few blocks ahead on the way to the school. A slight tense silence filled them from their conversation earlier.

Sword was taken aback by [Name]'s refusal to go with them. They would always go with them, no matter the circumstances.

On the other hand, Rocket was tense by the way he acted earlier. He didn't know why the sudden agitation washed over him when he heard the words from the phone.

He didn't even like them. In fact, he hated them. "I don't know, Sword." Rocket sighed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, adjusting the bag slung on his shoulder. His eyebrow furrowed just slightly. "Maybe they just have something up. I don't really care." "And you shouldn't, too." Rocket glanced at Sword. His voice became gruff with every word, venom seeping out. "We've been living the same shit over, and over because of them." "But have you ever thought that it's because nobody ever accepts them?" Sword stops in his tracks for a moment, before Rocket noticed his best friend stopped.

"It looks like they were really trying." His expression was empathetic. "They were trying to… y'know." Sword couldn't explain it, but the feeling was there.

"You say that," Rocket sighed, turning his back on Sword. "And yet you also rejected them." He stated bluntly.

"I…" The words died down in his throat, looking away in shame. That was true, yes—but it wasn't like the others; It wasn't resentment, but he just genuinely thought [Name] was a good friend.

There was a moment of silence before Sword picked up the pace again, catching up to his best friend.

"C'mon," Rocket called out for him, looking more impatient. "At least they're not here to bother us anymore."

Though, it was like as if something shifted in the world itself—as much as Rocket didn't want to admit it. He knew Sword felt it too. But his accumulated exhaustion and resentment overrides this uneasy feeling.

A headache was forming. On the first day of highschool.

…For fucks sake.

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[NAME]'S ALTERNATE UNIFORM