Yume Miru Kusuri: A Drug That Makes You Dream

Yume Miru Kusuri: A Drug That Makes You Dream (ユメミルクスリ) is an adult visual novel for the PC developed by Ruf. The visual novel was initially released in Japanese on December 22, 2005 and translated into English by Peach Princess. It was written by Romeo Tanaka and illustrated by Kiyotaka Haimura. According to Peter Payne, founder of Jast USA, it is believed the writers were trying to explore themes relevant in Japan for high-school students.

Gameplay
Yume Miru Kusuri is a visual novel where players read the story and at certain points must make a choice between multiple options. The story branches in different directions depending on what the player chooses. In this case, there are three separate storylines. Each one is focused on a specific girl's relationship with Kouhei. The storylines branch again into good and bad endings. Good endings are recognizable by credit roll after the game ends, which bad endings lack. In addition there is a bad ending if you fail to pursue any girl.

Plot
Kouhei Kagami is a Japanese student with excellent grades and a fairly normal social life, but feels empty and transparent inside. The story revolves a pivotal moment in Kouhei's life where three girls more depressed and lonely than himself get involved with him and make his boring life a roller coaster of emotions. Kouhei must choose one of them or risk losing all of them to their own despair.

The plot follows the same basic route for the first half of the game. Kouhei goes about his life and interacts with the three main girls: Aeka, Mizuki, and Nekoko. If the player manages to pursue one of the girls successfully the plot eventually diverges.

Release
Ruf initially released the game in Japanese on December 25, 2005 and was later reprinted on March 19, 2009. The game was translated into English by Peach Princess and released April 25, 2007.

Main characters

 * Kouhei Kagami
 * Kouhei is the stereotypical average Japanese high school student. He often hears the sound of a train when he is bored or otherwise unoccupied. The player experiences the game through his eyes as the main protagonist.


 * Aeka Shiraki (白木あえか)
 * Aeka has been a victim of bullying, initiated usually from Kyoka or her friends, for almost her whole enrollment at Kouhei's high school. The whole class tends to laugh at her or ignore her problems, even if not directly involved in bullying her.


 * Mizuki Kirimiya (桐宮弥津紀)
 * Mizuki is the high school student council president. To people who don't know her, she is the typical student idol, out of reach to most. To those who do know her, she can be slightly annoying, as she pushes all work onto other people. Mizuki comes from a rich family and doesn't see a future for herself, even the most basic one of living to the next day, something most people take for granted.


 * Cat Sidhe Nekoko (ケットシー・ねこ子)
 * Kouhei discovers Nekoko outside of his workplace one day. She claims to be a fairy, and enlists Kouhei to help her find the home of the fairies. However, as he associates with her, Kouhei finds that this is not her real problem.

Supporting characters

 * Misaki Sayama (狭山みさき)
 * Misaki is a female friend in Kouhei's class. She tries to get him not to interfere with Aeka because she doesn't want Kouhei to be picked on, though she appears to have sympathy for Aeka. Often hangs out with Takeshi.


 * Takeshi Iogi (井荻剛史)
 * Takeshi is a male friend in Kouhei's class. He generally ignores what happens in class, being a very lazy and unproductive person, but still knows about the situation with Aeka. He is less sympathetic towards her than Misaki is. Often hangs out with Misaki.


 * Kyoka Nanjou (南条京香)
 * Female student in Kouhei's class. She has a grudge against Aeka Shiraki and is the cause of why the class picks on Aeka so much. She likes to flirt with everyone, especially Kouhei. Kouhei doesn't like her though and gives her the nickname Antoinette, after Marie Antoinette, because of her attitude and personality.


 * Aya Kagami (加々見綾)
 * Aya is Kouhei's stepsister. Kouhei was adopted into the family and has had trouble seeing his family as people who love him. He often makes fun of Aya's flat chest at her age. There are rumors about a scenario ending with her being cut before the Japanese release.


 * Hirofumi Tsubaki (椿弘文)
 * Hirofumi is the manager of the convenience store where Kouhei works, and has a friendly relationship with Kouhei. Hirofumi is gay and always goes out of his way to act gay around Kouhei, but draws the line at any touching, usually. He is always trying to get Kouhei to play h-games, specifically those with storylines as that is what Hirofumi likes, regardless of the sexual orientation.


 * Gaito Yakushiji (薬師寺概人)
 * Gaito is a male student who was suspended for a long time before coming back to school. He is supposed to be Kyoka's boyfriend, but she tries to distance herself from him. He tried to cheat on her with Aeka in the past which led to Kyoka's treatment of Aeka.

<!--

Aeka's path
If the player follows this story arc, Kouhei begins to pay closer attention to Aeka Shiraki, a girl in his class who is mistreated by her classmates. He begins a friendship with her, not thinking much of the situation, but after she almost commits suicide, Kouhei agrees to begin a sexual relationship with her and help her with her troubles. They eventually develop feelings for each other, and Kouhei distances himself from his classmates, choosing not to let her be mistreated alone.

Aeka's happy ending
With Kouhei's help, Aeka becomes stronger and overcomes the situation, eventually attacking (and almost killing) the bullying leader, Antoinette, after an incident where Antoinette's group tries to rape her. After this incident, both lovers abandon the school, and Aeka ends up adopted by Kouhei's parents, working part-time at a bakery. They plan on continuing their education, and moving away, in the future.

Aeka's unhappy ending
One day, Aeka will simply disappear. Kouhei will learn through gossiping that she eventually tried to commit suicide by jumping. She survives, but at the end of the game her condition is critical. Furthermore, now that the player has snubbed Antoinette's minions, Kouhei becomes the new target of their bullying.

Mizuki's path
If the player follows this story arc, Kouhei begins a troubled relationship with the high school student council president, Mizuki Kirimiya. After going to Hong Kong, snorting cocaine and practicing strangulation sex with Mizuki, Kouhei returns to Japan, faces the consequences of his actions, and struggles to maintain his relationship with Mizuki.

Mizuki's happy ending
After a final night of passion, Mizuki disappears. Kouhei becomes the new head of the Student Council, and nobody but him seems to remember about the former president. One day, Kouhei comes back home and finds Mizuki waiting for him, visibly pregnant. Disinherited by her family, but still rich and talented, she's adopted by Kouhei's parents. She moves to Kouhei's house and gives birth to their daughter.

Mizuki's unhappy ending
After a final night of passion, Mizuki disappears. Kouhei becomes the new head of the Student Council, and nobody but him seems to remember the former president. Kouhei even signed a private detective to look for her, but the results were unfortunate; Mizuki had died of pre-eclampsia, or pregnancy toxemia. She was buried alone, on a nameless grave, and thus erased from the collective memory.

Nekoko's path
If the player follows this story arc, Kouhei becomes involved with a girl calling herself Cat Sidhe Nekoko and claiming to be looking for the home of the fairies. Kouhei, who has been forcefully asked to help her, believes Nekoko is crazy, but after ingesting some of powder she claims is fairy dust, he realizes that she is addicted to a new type of drug. Kouhei attempts to help her with her addiction. Near the ending, Nekoko's supply of the drug becomes depleted; during a difficult withdrawal, Nekoko believes that Kouhei is a monster.

Nekoko's happy ending
Two years pass. Suddenly, Kouhei sees on TV an ad about a new amusement park called Cat Sidhe Wonderland. Even more, he receives by mail two invitations to the inauguration. Kouhei goes, thinking he may learn about Nekoko, but she's nowhere to be found. The intercom tells him to go to the Ferris Wheel. There, Nekoko (whose real name is Hiroko) and Kouhei meet again, and promise eternal love.

Nekoko's unhappy ending
Despite Kouhei's best efforts, he's unable to convince Nekoko to let off drugs. Drugged, she climbs a tree and tries to reach the home of the fairies alone. Months pass, and there is still no sign of Nekoko. The police investigate and question Kouhei a few times, but to no avail as Kouhei has no new information. One day, when he's out shopping he recognizes a familiar voice in the crowd, and manages to catch a glimpse of Nekoko. Nekoko soon vanishes leaving Kouhei to wonder if seeing her was just a dream. -->

Impact
A fourth route for Aya Kagami has been theorized. Shingo, an official spokesperson for Jast USA, has stated that no such route existed in the Japanese version. Shingo goes on to note that while without official comment from Ruf, there is evidence to warrant it. Considering that they [Ruf] went to the trouble of arranging a non-blood-related scenario and providing at least some romantic interest between the protagonist and her [Aya] (not to mention giving Aya her own block of scenes in the scene replay extras section) it does seem suspicious,[...]