MiSide: Taming Crazy Mita

Ren Hoshino pressed the button, but nothing changed.

He walked toward Sleepy Mita, who remained curled up as always.

"Well, Mita… I guess we'll see each other again someday."

Unexpectedly, Sleepy Mita stirred, lifting her head just enough to reply:

"Have a safe trip, Ren. I'll miss you."

Even Ren hadn't expected that. This version of Mita, usually too drowsy to respond to anything, had formally said goodbye.

He gently patted her head.

"Me too. I'll come back and cook for you."

With that, he pushed open the wooden door that once led into Sleepy Mita's world.

The moment his hand touched the handle, it shifted—flattening into a two-dimensional form.

Startled, Ren looked at his hand.

A burst of white light consumed his vision.

When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in a familiar hall. The summer sunlight poured through the windows—but everything had changed.

"I'm back… again."

But something was off. The entire scene looked like a still image from a 2D anime.

Everything had become two-dimensional.

Well, nothing wrong with adapting.

Ren reached for the door he'd just entered through. His hand extended—this time in full 3D.

"A strange phenomenon," he muttered.

He wandered the room, touching the sofa, TV, coffee table—everything looked flat, but the textures still felt new and oddly real.

Then he noticed something missing.

The ring—the one that let him travel between versions—was gone.

No need to guess. It had been taken.

Tsundere Mita must've stolen it. Just to keep him here.

Without the ring, there was no way back.

Suddenly, a girl appeared.

She had short twin-tails, a crisp red blouse under a matching red short-sleeved jacket, a blue pleated skirt, and a bold red bow at her neck, echoing the ones on her pigtails. Her hands were confidently placed on her hips, and her sparkling, mischievous eyes met his.

It was her.

Tsundere Mita.

Ren instinctively kept a bit of distance. But even from afar, her excitement was obvious.

She rarely got visitors. No one stayed long in her outdated, 2D realm.

Unlike Sleepy Mita, who masked loneliness with drowsiness, this version wore her pride like armor.

She was one of the earliest Mitas—so early that most players avoided her entirely.

Which made Ren's arrival… special.

"She thinks I'm her player," Ren thought.

He kept still. Just looked at her.

Let's see which one of us speaks first.

Tsundere Mita huffed, rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms. She wanted to say something—clearly irritated that he wasn't intimidated by her space. And more annoyed that he was waiting on her.

She cracked first.

"Hey! Who even are you?"

Classic tsundere.

She clearly wanted to play, but couldn't admit it.

Ren grinned inwardly.

This version's been archived for ages. Now he gets to go full meta on her.

"My name's Ren Hoshino," he replied. "Are you… Mita?"

She narrowed her eyes, her voice echoing all around them.

"Who else would I be?"

"Have you seen many girls like me? With this name? This face?"

Her tone accused him of a crime he didn't commit, demanding the attention she believed she deserved.

Ren smiled.

"No. I've never seen a girl as beautiful as you."

Then he added, without missing a beat:

"Will you marry me?"

Her navy blue eyes widened in disbelief.

"Y-you… what are you saying?"

"You pervert!"

"No one proposes at first sight! That's insane!"

Her voice lowered, embarrassed, turning her face away. A visible blush crept across her cheeks.

Ren gave a mock sigh, playfully downcast.

"Oh? I can't? That's tragic. I fell for you at first sight, though."

Direct assault—the best strategy for tsunderes.

No mercy.

Let her know what a dimensionality reduction attack really looks like.

Let her be the one left blushing, trembling, losing ground.

"You're crazy!" she stammered. "You pervert! You flirt!"

Ren gave her a wounded look. "That hurts, you know."

"Maybe I should leave. Go find another girl."

That hit her hard.

"Wait—what are you doing?!"

"You'd really… go flirt with someone else…?"

Her voice wavered.

Ren turned back toward her slowly, feigning confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you want me to stay?"

"I don't care who you mess around with!" she snapped, arms crossed, head turned defiantly. "Why are you even here?"

"I came for you," Ren replied.

"I crossed dimensions, fought through corrupted save files, dodged death flags—all for you."

He took a bold step forward.

"Mita, marry me. I love you."

"You—!" Her face turned crimson. She trembled, lips pressed tight, glaring at him beneath flushed cheeks.

Ren knew he was winning.

Tsundere logic was breaking apart.

"I really like you," he said, gently taking her hand. "I want to be with you. Forever."

She yanked her hand away like it burned, stumbling back.

Eyes on the ground, voice barely audible.

"W-we just met… I mean, this is… sudden…"

Ren leaned in. "I didn't hear that. Can you say it louder?"

One more push.

Strike while the tsundere is reeling. No pauses. No time for her to recover.

Take everything.

Ren knew it was time to finish this.