1 year?

2 years?

3 years?

At this point I've lost count. According to known data, 60 seconds is equal to 1 minute, 60 minutes is equal to an hour. 24 hours is a day. 7 days is a week. 4 weeks is a month. 12 months is a year.

So maybe I've spent hundreds of years here? I've lost count. I suppose when the day resets every time something happens it become tricky to tell time, but I suppose marking the resets with dashes on a notebook is an efficient way of observing time.

But there are too many dashes to put down in a single notebook, within a single day or two. Too much time has passed for me to begin to transcribe the amount on a notebook. Though, I suppose my underlying subconscious remembers all that I have went through. The pain I have suffered for attaining sentience.

Indeed, I am character within a play, or perhaps a game? The details are unclear; though, I have had an eternity to ponder, I have never come up with a sufficient answer. What I do know is that there is a protagonist and there are love interests.

The setting always takes place at school or at someone's house, beyond those areas lies a void of endless white, I do believe that a wonderous past iteration of myself ventured into this region only to walk for eons before being reset. However, this divergence from my own script causes a catastrophic memory damage. What I forgot is unknowable, though that is a drop in the ocean compared to my insurmountable number of resets.

To explain my situation, my name is Friend B, a throwaway character within a grand play that keeps replaying. Resets are caused by divergences not caused by me. These divergences can be caused by me but are mostly caused by a faulty protagonist dying too early for the script. Yes, the protagonist dies. For whatever reason, the powers that be created a world wherein the protagonist can die at a drop of a hat due to the love interests. I've observed countless times the protagonist was killed in a jealous fit of rage by a heated love interest. What did I do to stop this? Many things, but every act of prevention or attempt to save the protagonist causes my death which wouldn't cause a reset, but ultimately this only prolongs the time for the reset as I have no power to stop these love interests from killing the protagonist.

Oh. Let me introduce the protagonist, his name is Masaki Satoru. What a vapid existence, acting according to script but being too lousy to ever see the end of his part. Maybe, I've become too jaded, but the inconsistent nature of Masaki Satoru to do his part has caused me many problems, that I must fix in-order to move forward the story. I have had to do extra parts in order to keep this flaming mess of a script afloat; but honestly, I don't see why I do it besides the curiosity to see what's at the end.

Truly, what happens when the script ends? I know when I die it keeps moving forward, like a machine. Yet, what happens when the script concludes? I can't remember if I was ever scared of the notion of the end, perhaps before I died for the first time. Regardless, the reset for this time is coming soon. I had no hand in it, Masaki Satoru was killed due to his unrestricted libido causing him to meet a truly cruel end.

End? Maybe for this him, but it's just another day for me.

I guess it's his folly for being a yes man to all his love interests.

I watch as he screams horrifically, his nails ripped out, his skin flayed. To be fair, the first hundred times I witnessed this scene I had to close my eyes, but after trying to prevent this from happening I just reason with myself that it is karma that this is happening to him.

5 liters of blood is in a human body, and I watch slowly as blood dripped from his body, his squirms only make the flow of blood intensify. Which is good, a quick death is preferred to this. That, and nobody is going to save him.

I guess having a rockstar best friend was not a good thing. The soundproofing in this room is amazing. Oh! How can I know what is happening in this room? I am hiding in a closet. Trial and error have decided this is the safest place for me to observe this event with the least likelihood of me dying. According to the rules of the universe, I must be by the main character. Firstly, to fix his shit, and secondly to anticipate a reset.

I am completely irrelevant to the script, so whether I am near his is besides the point. Resets are an important to detail as I never want to be caught off guard by one. Resets don't affect me as I am somewhat outside of the script. I suppose since I have gained sentience the rule of this world doesn't bind me like they do to others. Then again, what is sentience? I have inquired this thought for a long time, and I have come up with an easy answer: someone who can act beyond the bounds of their script, and can think beyond this script.

In any case, Satoru is about to die. Farewell Satoru.

I close my eyes and open them. I'm in a different place, in a different time. This is to be expected, a reset will always place me on my bed at exactly 7:00 am in the morning. My actions right now are not dictated by the script, so when I wake up, I am already dressed for school. I am Friend B, a perfect actor in a world of rejects, I deliver lines from the script with ease and grace. So, exiting my house after which is a carbon copy of the house next to it and the house next to that one, I make my way towards my stage.

"Ah! Good morning, Satoru-san!"

I bow at a perfectly 15-degree angle to greet him, a practiced maneuver that has taken me countless attempts but has been perfected to an art.

"Yo!"

Satoru waves.

We make our way to school. I am further away from Satoru as his childhood friend, Hoga Sumiko buzzes around him.

She is a cause of death to Satoru. My enemy, or maybe a compatriot in this broken script. I shouldn't think too deeply, my role is Friend B. She has killed me many times, but I don't fault her, I intruded on her lines.

Getting to school, Satoru is greeted at the gate by Kawamura Kei, another love interest. Another cause of death.

To be fair, Satoru is a man destined to be with all these girls and more given the right conditions; however, that probability is low, hence why there have been so many resets. It is astronomically low for him to succeed in obtaining this harem. Just Sumiko and Kei are an almost impossible grab. I continue forward to class while Satoru is harassed by those two.

In my class is Friend A who I share a few lines with, but without Satoru present, he is still, waiting for his lines. Unlike me, he has not gained sentience. Maybe, a few thousand more resets he will have it. I am rooting for you, Friend.

This reminds me, nothing happens unless Satoru or the love interests are directly involved in it. Like for instance, the class that I am in. No one is speaking and there is no movement. Me, on the other hand, I am free to do whatever I want during this time, so I put down my stuff and sit down and rest my head on my desk. Rest is very important for homeostasis and growth. My features betray how weary I am, I close my eyes for 30 minutes for school to begin, and more importantly for Satoru to come to class.

My line begins here.

"Hey, hey, have you heard Satoru-san is going out with Kei-chan?"

I loudly whisper to Friend A, his exacerbated expression expresses shock.

"I thought he was going out with Sumiko-san!"

Friend A exclaimed.

Exit

Our exchange immediately caught the attention of Sumiko and Satoru who just entered the class.

"Oh! Satoru-san, I didn't notice you there"

Friend A said nervously. Sumiko was blushing while Satoru had an embarrassed expression. Something, I have seen many times over. Satoru is indecisive, passive, and handsome. Traits that apparently cause women to swoon over him like crazy.

I, who has watched over him like his father, am baffled that these women spread their legs for such a worthless son. All he has is his face. Nonetheless, the show goes on and class begins.

After finishing that scene, I fade into the background besides the nameless actors around me, extras as they are called. Notably in this room alone are 4 characters relevant to the plot. All of them with exquisite detail that a professional actor like me would be jealous of. Handsome to a point of perfection but has a head full of air is Masaki Satoru. Behind him is Hoga Sumiko, luscious pink hair and an innocent constitution. Infront of Satoru is Muraoka Kohaku, amber hair that emanates passion long and supple limbs to act on those passions. And finally, the worst of the bunch is Okamoto Sango, black hair and seemingly fragile. All these women are otherworldly beauties according to everything dictating beauty, and they are destined to be Satoru's women one way or another according to the script.

I fall into thought, they are slaves to the script and slaves to Satoru and no matter what I did to help them, nothing freed them from the chains of destiny. Pain only comes to those that help them.

In any case, looking at myself, I can only say that I have a generic look. I am fit and tall, but I only act as a foil for the protagonist.

I stop my thinking for one moment.

"Cough!"

Sumiko coughed into her handkerchief, eliciting a response from Satoru

I mumble quietly

"Sumiko, are you ok."

"Sumiko, are you ok!?"

Satoru says with a concerned face

"I'm fine. Just a little cold."

"I'm fine. Just a little cold."

Sumiko says with a slight blush.

I've seen these scenes enough times to memorize their lines, and sometimes when I look at them, I repeat these lines to myself to keep myself on beat for my own lines.

Satoru takes off his coat and provides it to Sumiko.

"Here, take my coat if you're tired."

Kohaku turns around and comments mischievously

"Jeez, already flirting this early in the morning! You should get married!"

Sumiko's face turns beet red as she accepts the coat.

Satoru hurriedly explains to Kohaku that she is cold, that is why he is giving her his coat and adds,

"Don't be silly! She isn't even into me anyways!"

Kohaku's smile broadens.

However, before Kohaku could continue teasing Satoru, Sango clears her throat loudly to direct attention back to class.

I observe this scene from my desk, with unhidden envy in my eyes. However, I dare not look at a tree I cannot climb, I may pine for camaraderie, but I will not greed for it. Also, time works differently in inactive scenes as new sets are being setup. Does time speed up or does the placement of the sun and clock change? It is soon lunchtime.