1. When Time Travel Breaks Romance (And Also My Sanity)
There are a few things in life I was vaguely prepared for:
Surprise tests
Social anxiety
Being caught in awkward romantic situations
But I was absolutely not ready for a silver-haired girl in a battle cloak to point at me and yell:
"YOU ARE MINE, KAZUKI."
Naturally, I responded like any dignified protagonist:
"Wh-Wh-WHO ARE YOU!?"
She stepped forward. Tall, graceful, with glowing crimson eyes that screamed I eat time travel for breakfast. Her boots sparkled. Literally.
"I'm Luna Kazuki. Your future wife. And I've come to claim what is rightfully mine."
Everyone went dead silent.
Lilith muttered, "Did she just… surname-flex?"
Sayuri raised a blade. Ayaka cracked her knuckles. Mizuki summoned a magical frying pan.
This was not a romantic comedy anymore.
This was war.
2. Luna's Heartbreaking Backstory (Because of Course She Has One)
Around the campfire, after she forcibly joined the Training Camp™ by threatening to collapse the space-time continuum, Luna began her PowerPoint presentation of Destiny.
"In the year 2042, you finally confessed… after 87 failed attempts. It was beautiful. There was cake."
"But then… tragedy struck. A meteor made of bad romantic decisions hit our timeline. You were lost to the Haremverse."
"So I traveled back to ensure I'd win your heart before the harem absorbed you."
Mizuki raised a brow. "You time-traveled… to seduce your past husband… in high school?"
"Precisely."
Ayaka looked at me. "…This is somehow your fault."
3. Meanwhile, in My Brain: Total Meltdown
INTERNAL KAZUKI STATUS:
Future Wife: ✔
Childhood Friend: 😭
Assassin Girl: Holding a kunai with my name on it
Tsundere Demon: Currently calculating explosion radius
Stepmom-Adjacent Sorceress: 80% amused, 20% possessive
Me: 404 Error
"I just want to eat marshmallows and survive puberty," I whispered.
Sayuri slid next to me. "You okay?"
"No."
"Good," she smirked. "Stay off-balance. It's when you're cutest."
I faceplanted into the grass.
4. Operation: "Win Kazuki's Heart" – Begins Now
Luna, unbothered by our mental collapse, set down a literal love tournament bracket on a whiteboard she pulled from nowhere.
"Tomorrow begins the Romance Royale," she announced.
"Four challenges. Four girls. One prize: Kazuki."
Lilith crossed her arms. "You're making a game out of this?"
"Time is limited."
Ayaka cracked her knuckles. "Then I'll make you limited."
Sayuri: already vanished into the shadows.
Mizuki sighed. "Guess we're doing this."
Kazuki.exe had stopped working.
5. That Night – The Chaos Campfire Council
Lilith: "She's too perfect. Hair too smooth. Backstory too tragic. Obvious villainess."
Ayaka: "No, she's real. And she's probably who he ends up with."
Sayuri: "If I end up losing to someone with sparkles in her boots, I will assassinate destiny itself."
Mizuki: "She's hot. Honestly, kind of rooting for her."
Kazuki (me): quietly roasting a marshmallow in full emotional shutdown.
6. The Girls Corner Me
Back in the cabin, the girls corner me like I'm the last yakisoba pan in the vending machine.
Lilith: "You don't have to go along with this, you know."
Ayaka: "You haven't even sorted out your feelings for us."
Sayuri: "You're blushing again."
Kazuki: "That's not fair! I'm always blushing!"
Suddenly — Luna steps in, silent and confident.
"I'm not here to take away your choices," she says gently. "I'm here… to remind you that you have a future worth protecting."
She places her hand on my chest.
The girls freeze.
It's a moment. A dangerously romantic, time-fracturing moment.
And then—
7. A Meteor Strikes. (Not a Metaphor.)
BOOM.
The lodge shakes.
Outside the window… a real meteor hurtles from the sky, crashing into the nearby forest.
Everyone rushes out to see it — a crater, glowing faintly.
From the impact zone rises… a girl.
Tall. Mysterious. Glowing eyes.
"Kazuki Arata… I am your daughter. From the other future."
Kazuki: faints on the spot.
End of Chapter 17
✅ Call to Action:
🌀 Who's the real future? Luna the Wife, or the Mysterious Daughter?
🔥 Vote now: #TeamLilith, #TeamAyaka, #TeamSayuri, #TeamMizuki, or #TeamLuna
📌 Save for Chapter 18 – "My Time-Traveling Daughter Just Enrolled in My Class and Wants to Erase Her Mom"