I Won't Be a Loser

On one hand, Haruto's gaze was fixed on Eriri standing before him. On the other hand, his mind was desperately filtering through what he had just heard, trying to make sense of it.

…Did I mishear something? "Kekkon1"… That means "Marriage," right? A Marriage… with me? No, no, that can't be right. So then… Marriage? What? With who? And why?! {T/N: Kekkon is Marriage in japanese}

Unwilling to accept reality, Haruto stood frozen, staring blankly at the girl in front of him. His hand, which had been about to touch Eriri's, recoiled as if electrocuted. He even took two steps back instinctively, putting some distance between them.

The blonde-haired girl bit her lip, her sharp canine teeth pressing into the soft flesh. When she saw Haruto backing away, her face darkened slightly, but her gaze remained firmly locked onto him.

"...Um, did I mishear something?" Haruto forced a strained smile, trying to brush things off. "Eriri, did you say… 'Marraige'?"

There was no way Eriri, who had been agonizing over this for so long, would let him dismiss her words so easily.

"Marriage! I said, let's get married!"

"...Right. Marriage." Haruto let out a dry chuckle, his brain working overtime. "So I didn't mishear. Marriage... But Eriri, let's not even talk about emotions for now. We've only known each other for a week. Even if you want to get married, you… and I—"

He pointed at Eriri, then at himself, and gave a lighthearted smile as he delivered the punchline:

"We're not even old enough to get married, are we?"

The law hadn't yet been revised to raise the marriage age for girls to 18, matching the boys. Right now, the legal age for girls to marry was still 16. But even so, Eriri wasn't there yet.

"If I remember correctly, Eriri, you're 15, right? And I'm 16. Unfortunately, your grand plan for marriage is legally impossible."

Haruto almost broke out in a cold sweat at Eriri's sudden declaration, but he had managed to defuse the situation with logic. Surely, she would drop the subject now.

Eriri bit her lip harder, staring at him in frustration. She hadn't even considered their ages—she had been so caught up in her own emotions that she acted purely on impulse.

But now that the arrow had been nocked, there was no turning back.

She fixed her gaze on Haruto, inhaled deeply, and spoke.

"Do you really not remember? Do you really think we've only known each other for a week?"

"...Huh? Didn't we meet at the start of the school year?"

Haruto's smile stiffened. A strange feeling had been nagging at him for a while now, but Eriri's words made it impossible to ignore any longer.

Leaning against the doorframe, the girl slowly straightened up. Then, step by step, she walked toward him.

Haruto instinctively backed away. Further and further—until his foot unexpectedly caught on something, and he tumbled backward onto a soft gym mat.

He scrambled to push himself back, hands pressing against the mat, but just as he was about to retreat again, Eriri abruptly stopped in her tracks.

Looking down at him from above, she clenched her fists. The way she stared at him made Haruto feel like a child waiting for punishment, guilty of some unknown crime.

Smack!

Without warning, Eriri lunged forward, pinning him down beneath her.

Haruto's body tensed as he felt her press against him. Her golden twin tails cascaded down, framing his face, and the familiar fragrance of her shampoo surrounded him.

For a moment, his thoughts blurred. His mind drifted back to the past—to memories that shouldn't exist.

"When did it happen?"

Lying beneath her, Haruto stared up at Eriri. Her eyes gleamed with an intense, almost predatory hunger. Seeing her like this, he gave up struggling and simply lay still.

Eriri tightened her grip around his wrists, making sure he wouldn't slip away.

"The start of the school year."

"The time you fainted?"

"You figured it out, huh? At first, I thought it was just a hallucination. I kept telling myself I was imagining things." Her voice trembled slightly. "But after repeatedly testing things, I finally confirmed it. It wasn't just a dream—it was a memory from the future."

The visions of that future resurfaced in her mind. Those nightmarish scenes, filled with despair and tragedy…

She couldn't let things unfold that way.

She had to change the future.

And as long as she married Haruto, everything would be different. The nightmare—that ending—would never come true.

"That's why I have to take action. I have to change the future. The future is in my hands, and—"

Knock, knock—

The sound of knocking interrupted Eriri's words, making them catch in her throat. Lying on the gym mat, Haruto glanced toward the door.

"Is someone in there? Hello?"

A familiar voice called from outside. Both Eriri and Haruto recognized it immediately.

After leaving the gym earlier, Ichika Nakano had returned to the classroom with her sisters. But on the way back, Nino had casually thrown out a remark that stuck with her.

"Sawamura and Miyamizu stayed behind to clean up, right? You think they might get locked in a room together?"

"That kind of thing only happens in TV dramas," Yotsuba dismissed it outright. "No way something like that would actually happen in real life."

Ichika, however, wasn't so sure. After a brief moment of hesitation, she told her sisters she would go back and check—just in case.

When she arrived at the gym, she found it empty. The place was still a mess, but there was no sign of Sawamura or Haruto.

So, she made her way to the storage room to investigate.

As she got closer, she heard voices inside. She hadn't intended to eavesdrop, but the word "future" caught her attention.

Future?

That didn't sound like a normal conversation between classmates.

Her curiosity got the better of her, and before she knew it, she was knocking on the door.

Inside, the sudden sound sent both Haruto and Eriri into a tense silence.

Haruto wasn't even sure why he instinctively held his breath. But something told him that if Ichika opened the door now and saw their situation, it wouldn't look good.

And it wasn't like he could just turn to her and say, "Relax, I was just spreading positive energy!"

No way she'd buy that.

Meanwhile, Eriri knew she was in the wrong. If she got caught like this, things could spiral out of control. She glanced down at Haruto, who had given up struggling and was lying still.

For some reason, her sharp little canine teeth started to itch.

She really wanted to bite him.

"If no one answers, I'm coming in."

"...Wait a second," Haruto finally spoke up. "I'm in here. The door got locked. I'll open it now."

Outside, Ichika glanced at the lock. She decided to trust his explanation—for now.

She had no interest in seeing anything she wasn't mentally prepared for.

Inside, the sound of shuffling and footsteps followed before the door creaked open.

Standing there was Haruto, looking perfectly normal—clothes neat, hair in place. That alone was enough to make Ichika relax a little.

Peering past him, she saw Eriri, also composed and tidy.

Eriri met Ichika's gaze and bit her lip slightly.

"…Did you need something, Nakano-san?"

"No, not really," Ichika replied casually. "I just thought you two might need help cleaning up. What were you doing in there?"

"Nothing much. Just putting the basketballs away," Haruto answered smoothly. "Anyway, since you're here, let's clean up quickly so we can get back."

With that, he walked out of the storage room and began tidying up the gym.

Eriri lingered for a moment, shooting Ichika a complicated look before silently following after him.

Ichika watched them both, her curiosity growing. Something about their behavior felt off.

But for now, she joined them in cleaning.

By the time the three of them returned to the classroom, it was just in time for the next lesson.

However, the atmosphere had shifted.

All eyes were on them. Whispers spread. Speculation filled the air.

Even the teacher noticed the strange tension but chose to ignore it—this was a private school, after all. As long as it didn't cause problems, no one wanted to get involved in teenage drama.

The undercurrent of gossip remained.

And even as the school day came to an end, the tension never fully faded.

As soon as the final bell rang, Haruto grabbed his bag and made his way out of the classroom.

Ichika exchanged a glance with Nino before following after him.

Meanwhile, Eriri stayed in her seat, calmly packing her things. She didn't move until Haruto and Ichika had already left. Then, she quietly walked out with Hinami Aoi, choosing a different route home.

Just as Haruto was nearing the school gates, a hand suddenly clapped down on his shoulder.

"Yo."

He didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

Without stopping, he kept walking forward. But he still responded.

"What, not heading home with your sisters?"

"No rush. So… you free?"

Ichika fell into step beside him, leaning in slightly to gauge his reaction.

Haruto glanced at her before letting out a small sigh.

"…I've got some time. Why?"

"Come shopping with me."

"Where?"

"Shibuya. Sasazuka."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in town, Setsuna was spending time with Sekai and Kotonoha.

At Sekai's suggestion, the three of them had decided to grab a bite at her family's restaurant.

Not that it was anything fancy—just some juice and fries while they chatted and worked on homework together. Typical girl time.

"Ugh, the guys at school are so annoying," Sekai complained, resting her chin in her hand. "Even though they know Kotonoha doesn't like guys getting too close, they still keep trying."

Kotonoha's cute looks always attracted attention. And since she was uncomfortable around boys, the job of keeping them away usually fell to Sekai and Setsuna.

"Well, she is adorable," Setsuna remarked casually, taking a sip of lemon tea.

Her gaze flicked toward Kotonoha's figure.

"…And she has a great body."

Kotonoha's face immediately turned red.

"I-It's not like that… I'm just a normal girl…"

"Mmm, being modest is cute too," Sekai said with an exaggerated sigh. "But if you overdo it, it kinda hurts, you know?"

She glanced at Setsuna, hoping for some sympathy—

Only to feel even worse.

For some reason, it felt like she was the only one in their group who had completely lost the genetic lottery.

It was like she was the only loser here.