(pfp by @heiwwwwwwa)

Rui lived in a dating game, and he was aware of his role as the protagonist's best friend - to help Tsukasa get together with the heroines. In order to get a happy ending, Tsukasa ought to date the heroine of his choice before graduation, and Rui had been watching him for a year now. Even so, it was now the second year, and nothing had happened yet. Tsukasa also looked gloomy...

"Tsukasa-kun," Rui called out softly as they walked to school together, "Don't worry. If you set your mind on it, things will be okay. I'll lend you a hand, too." "Rui..." Tsukasa went silent in contemplation, then he looked at Rui, "To be honest, I noticed it while playing..." "This game is definitely bugged!" "What do you mean?" Rui asked in surprise. "No matter how hard I try, there's a bug that prevents me from triggering your events!" Rui paused, sweating a bit in confusion, "Y-You know that I can't be romanced, right? Even if you use glitches, it's impossible." Tsukasa fell to his knees in a comically disheartened way, "What an awful game!" "Don't call it an awful game!"

Turned out, Tsukasa had been trying to romance and triggering Rui's special events for over a year (there were none, though). So that was why he kept ignoring Rui's advice on the heroines!

"Well, you don't have to choose me, when you already have the heroines to choose from," Rui tried to divert the topic, "Emu-kun is bright, and her smile is contagious. Nene is a bit sharp-tongued, but she cares about you. And Mizuki, too, I'm sure you will grow to like them if you..." "No, I get it. They really are nice," Tsukasa smiled softly, turning to Rui, "But the one that I want to win over is you, Rui."

Rui felt his face turning bright red, and he averted his gaze. Since the start, he had known that he couldn't be with Tsukasa, yet now he was getting flustered. It was definitely a bug.

"Just give up already. I'm just the best friend character," Rui sighed, trying to calm his heart.

"Nope, a miracle will definitely come!"

"Just how stubborn are you?"