Fruition

Fruition is one of 12 possible third episodes in Shiny Days.

Plot
The plot of Fruition follows the upper branch storyline, up to the point where Karen confesses to Makoto.

Makoto thanks Karen for thinking so much of him but ultimately rejects her confession, saying that he thinks of her like a sister. Karen asks if he likes Setsuna, or maybe Yamagata. He says he used to like Yamagata in middle school but that has been over for a while, and that there's someone else he likes. He doesn't want to tell her who it is, though, as he doesn't want Otome (or anyone else for that matter) to find out.

Karen guesses it must be Setsuna and admits that her confession was actually Setsuna's words. Makoto is confused, and Karen explains that she walked in on Setsuna's confession while Makoto wasn't there, and that Setsuna wasn't aware he wasn't in the room and thus couldn't hear it. She explains that Setsuna left after not getting an answer and that he should chase after her. He asks where she would be, and she says that Setsuna planned to go to their spot near the ocean one last time before giving up on him.

Makoto runs from the festival but bumps into Kokoro and Kotonoha on the way out. Kokoro asks him to join them, but he says he's in a hurry to confess to a girl. He leaves, and Kokoro is disappointed. She tells Kotonoha that she thought he would be a good boyfriend for her, but they were just a bit too late.

Makoto finds Setsuna sitting on the beach. She tells him to go away, but he refuses and sits down next to her. He tells her the story of what happened back at the shrine, and she seems uncertain that he's telling the truth. He then stuns her by repeating her confession word for word, followed by a confession of his own.

Makoto goes on to say that there's only one of two possibilities now: that he's telling the truth, and Setsuna made her confession to an empty room; or that Karen lied to him and he's just made an embarrassing one-sided confession. She believes him and admits that she did confess. They have their first kiss and then have sex on the beach. Afterwards, lying in the sand looking up at the stars, they happily confirm that they're officially a couple and agree to call each other Se-chan and Mako-chan.

Route
The route to Fruition is the default path for chapter 3 on the upper branch storyline, as getting any other result requires either an active effort or a blatant disregard for Setsuna's feelings. The only requirement for Fruition is that the bar is sufficiently high by the time Karen makes her confession. The exact threshold is difficult to determine, so some experimentation may be needed. There are fewer decisions points throughout the upper branch than there are in the lower branch, so care must be taken to get the bar into the correct state.

If the bar is too low when Karen makes her confession, you will get the ending Becoming Part of the Family or Haramihama Love Triangle instead.