Chronolust Temptation [18+] High S*xual Content
Ch.1 The Start

The sun hung low over Tasaka City, a sleepy sprawl on the outskirts of Tokyo where the urban pulse of the capital faded into a quiet hum of insects and rustling leaves. The riverbank, fringed with tall reeds and patches of wild grass, stretched out before Hayao Miyazaki, an ill-named eighteen-year-old third-year high school student. Hayao bore no relation to the famed director, but that did not stop some of his friends from gently teasing him time to time. 

The young man’s birthday had passed the week prior, a silent milestone marked only by a birthday card from his mother and some leftover curry rice that he’d eaten alone in his room. No party, no fanfare—just the weight of another year settling into his bones. With only the graduation ceremony left before he stepped into the uncertain void of adulthood, time felt like a heavy, formless thing, pooling in his hands with nowhere to go.

College an almost certain future.

Hayao stood at the edge of the river, its surface glinting like polished glass under the late afternoon light. He clutched a smooth, flat stone, its cool weight grounding him as he stared out at the water. His dark hair, slightly too long, fell into his eyes, and he brushed it aside with an impatient flick. He wore his school uniform, the navy blazer unbuttoned, tie loosened, the white shirt wrinkled from a day spent wandering aimlessly. The air carried the faint tang of damp earth and the distant rumble of a train crossing the bridge upstream. He tossed the stone, watching it skip—once, twice, three times—before it sank with a soft plop. A ripple spread, distorting the reflection of the sky, and he sighed, his breath catching in the humid air.

His mind wasn’t on the stone or the river. It was on her—Nanako Ishimura, his classmate, his friend, the girl who’d been a quiet constant in his life since their first year. Nanako, with her soft voice and the way her eyes crinkled when she laughed at his terrible jokes. Nanako, who could spend hours sketching in her notebook, her delicate fingers smudged with charcoal. Nanako with her short, almost boyish cut of dark hair. Nanako, who he’d watched from the corner of his eye for too long, his heart a tangled knot of longing and fear. He wanted to confess, to spill the words that had been clawing at his chest for months, but the thought made his stomach lurch. What if she laughed? What if she turned away, her smile fading into something cold and distant? What if he lost her entirely?

He picked up another stone, smoother than the last, and turned it over in his hand. The riverbank was quiet, save for the occasional splash of a fish or the rustle of a breeze through the reeds. Tasaka City wasn’t much—a cluster of low-rise buildings, a shopping street with a single arcade, and a shrine tucked into the hills—but it was home. Hayao had grown up here.

Graduation loomed like a guillotine, ready to sever the fragile threads of an unblossomed youth. Nanako was one of those threads, and the thought of her slipping away made his chest ache.

He drew back his arm, ready to skip the stone, when a memory flashed unbidden: Nanako, last week, sitting across from him in the classroom after school. The setting sun had painted her in gold, her school skirt riding up slightly as she leaned forward, teasing him about his messy handwriting. Her lips had parted in a laugh, and for a moment, he’d imagined pulling her close, feeling the warmth of her body, the softness of her skin under his fingers. The fantasy had hit him like a punch, raw and electric, leaving him flushed and silent. He’d mumbled something stupid and looked away, cursing himself for being a coward.

Now, alone by the river, the memory stirred something deeper—a heat that coiled low in his gut, equal parts desire and shame. He wanted her, not just in the chaste way of a schoolboy crush, but in a way that made his pulse race and his thoughts veer into dangerous, uncharted territory. He imagined her here, now, her uniform blouse clinging to her, dark eyes meeting his with a knowing glint. The thought was intoxicating, forbidden, and he shook his head, trying to banish it. He wasn’t like that. He wasn’t some creep. But the ache remained, persistent and undeniable.

Hayao tossed the stone, harder this time, and it skipped four times before vanishing into the river’s depths. He shoved his hands into his pockets, his jaw tight. Tomorrow, he told himself. Tomorrow, he’d find Nanako after the graduation ceremony. He’d pull her aside, maybe by the cherry blossom tree near the school gate, and tell her everything. How she made his days brighter, how her smile was the only thing that kept him grounded in this limbo of a town. How he wanted to hold her, to feel her breath against his skin, to know her in ways he barely dared to dream.

As Hayao stood by the river, the weight of his unspoken feelings for Nanako still churning in his chest, a different memory flickered to life, pulling his thoughts from her. Just yesterday, his best friend Shigeru, a brash would-be content creator chasing online clout, had cornered him at the school gate with a wild grin.

“Yo, Hayao, you’re always walking about in the woods and like nature and stuff,” Shigeru had said. “Tell you what, why don’t you help an old friend out. Go to the Kurotaki Tunnel tonight—alone. Record it. Send it to me on our shared folder. I’ll hook you up with something if you pull it off. Make it sound spooky and stuff if you can.”

The tunnels, an abandoned stretch of concrete shrouded in local ghost stories, loomed in Hayao’s mind now. It was a chance, at least, to get his mind off his unconfessed longing and perhaps to earn a favor from his old friend.

And, the Kurotaki Tunnel, despite its eerie reputation, was just a short distance from the river. But the pull of home, his quiet room, the familiar comfort of solitude, tugged at him just as strongly. It was time to decide what to do with the rest of his evening.

What should Hayao do?

1. Go to the Kurotaki Tunnel

   Record the spooky video for Shigeru, facing the abandoned tunnel and whatever “horrors” lurk within.

2. Head home

   Ignore Shigeru’s dare and retreat to the safety of his room, where he can wrestle with his thoughts about Nanako in peace.