Falling asleep while plagued by creative burnout probably meant thinking about it all day and dreaming about it all night—which would explain why this nightmare was so outrageously absurd.
Future simulations.
A future girlfriend.
Future crises…
Just hearing it all sounded exhausting.
And honestly, he couldn't imagine what kind of romantic luck someone as allergenically incompatible with the opposite sex as himself could possibly run into—unless this thing also came with guaranteed assignment.
The curly-haired boy rubbed his eyes. After tossing and turning for a while, he eventually slipped back into a hazy sleep.
I'll worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes.When the boat reaches the bridge… it'll probably just sink.
The next day, Narumi Tōru was dragged awake by his alarm clock. After washing up and going through his routine, he felt surprisingly little sense of reality about what had happened the night before.
Just like always, he made himself a simple breakfast and left home about half an hour before classes began, as if everything had already returned to its familiar daily rhythm—
And yet, his intuition told him something was still off.
Even during the mind-numbingly dull Japanese class and the high-school math lesson that functioned better as a lullaby, Narumi couldn't shake the feeling that this "normalcy" wasn't real. If he had to pinpoint the reason, it was probably because last night's so-called dream was still squatting stubbornly in his head.
It was like being told there would be a test, but never being given the date—leaving everyone on edge, constantly bracing for an ambush.
In this unsettled state, Narumi somehow made it through what should have been a grueling school day. Before he knew it, it was time for his scheduled talk with Hiratsuka Shizuka.
"Why so lifeless? Come on, Narumi. Like we discussed yesterday, I'm taking you somewhere next. You'll need to perk up."
Hiratsuka-sensei put on a deliberately mysterious smile, then all but dragged the curly-haired boy out of the teachers' office. That decisive, no-nonsense attitude of hers felt oddly comforting to Narumi—
Wait… is this the prelude to a government-assigned girlfriend?
"Don't tell me you're going to introduce me to a girlfriend, Sensei."
"Hah? What are you thinking? There's no such good deal. I can't even find a partner for myself—where would I get the time to play matchmaker for you kids?"
"So… Sensei doesn't have a boyfriend either?"
"The 'leftover woman' hasn't offended any of you, you know."
Hiratsuka shot him a glare that clearly said keep talking and I'll end you, though she also seemed thoroughly used to this kind of marriage-and-romance talk. Ignoring the very real threat in her eyes, Narumi lobbed a perfectly straight fastball in a casual tone.
"I'm just surprised someone as amazing as you still doesn't have a partner. Those guys seriously have no taste."
If my future girlfriend were Hiratsuka-sensei… That wouldn't be so bad.Becoming a onee-san's plaything while still young—skipping twenty years of detours.
Hiratsuka blinked in mild surprise, then quickly regained the composed ease expected of a teacher.
"Well, aren't you smooth. If I were a few years younger—or you a few years older—I might've actually been tempted. What a shame. That aside, Narumi, have you considered joining a club?"
"Sorry, Sensei. I'm a loyal member of the Go-Home Club."
"Eh? Not thinking of stepping outside your comfort zone? It might change your future, you know."
"That sounds a bit loaded coming from you. Do teachers have KPIs for this sort of thing too?"
"Don't be that perceptive about it. But I really do recommend you think it over—new relationships, new encounters… surely that leads to a brand-new future, right?"
…The future, huh.
The two walked through the quiet, after-school hallway and stopped in front of a long-abandoned clubroom.
"Since you're saying all that, Sensei… hm?"
Just as Narumi lifted his head to respond, his senses caught something subtly wrong.
Laughter and chatter suddenly flooded the corridor—where it should have been calm—while the surrounding air felt as if it had been completely replaced in an instant.
And when he raised his head—
The teacher in front of him was gone.
That eerie sensation crawled up his back like an icy ghost's hand. After a brief blur, his vision returned to normal—
But this time, Narumi Tōru could clearly feel that something had changed.
The floor seemed farther away, giving him the sensation that he had suddenly grown taller.
The surroundings were subtly different as well. For instance, the clubroom door now bore a sign reading "Service Club"—a name that invited all sorts of imaginative misinterpretations. Inside, the room was no longer the dilapidated mess he'd glimpsed earlier; instead, it looked carefully cleaned, bearing the lived-in traces of regular use.
[First simulation initiated. Please find the optimal way to overcome the crisis in this scenario and survive the ordeal. Good luck.]
As expected—the simulation had begun.
"…A crisis?"
Noticing that he now had the physique of a young adult, Narumi stared at himself in a daze, completely unaware that a figure was approaching him from behind—
And then very familiarly draped an arm over his shoulder.
"Achē, what are you spacing out here for?"
The girl, with her fluffy black mid-length hair, smiled and blinked. Her bright, lively grin and cheerful presence alone were enough to make anyone feel refreshed, like a spring breeze.
"Seriously, what's the point of coming here? There's nobody around right now."
She poked Narumi's turned cheek with her finger. The familiar sensation caused knowledge that hadn't existed moments ago to flood his mind—
The person in front of him was his ex-girlfriend.
Yukinoshita Haruno.
Her seemingly gentle, friendly smile—firm enough to leave no room for refusal—now carried a hint of deeper meaning.
"We agreed we'd go see little Yukino together, didn't we? She's not here right now, you know."
Yukinoshita Haruno cast a casual glance at the empty Service Club room, then, as naturally as breathing, wrapped her arm around the still-confused Narumi and led him away.
Leaving the familiar-yet-foreign school building behind, the two headed straight toward the parking lot.
Narumi ended up in the driver's seat almost by momentum alone. Compared to the issue of not having a license, what truly worried him was something else entirely.
"We're going to…?"
The influx of memories needed time—he still hadn't fully synchronized with this version of his future self.
"Oh my, why do you look so sleepy? I just told you—we're going to see little Yukino."
Yukinoshita Haruno smoothly settled into the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt. Only when she turned her head did she leave Narumi with a line that was light in tone—
And devastating in impact.
"Where else could someone seriously ill go? Even if she's unwilling, she can only stay put in the hospital and behave, right?"
"...…Huh?"
It seemed this future had truly turned a lot of people's lives completely upside down.