I Won't Be a Loser

When Mitsuha finally emerged from Haruto's room, her clothes a little disheveled, Sekai and Setsuna had just finished using the bathroom. They'd been wondering where Haruto had gone when they saw Mitsuha approaching.

Straightening her clothes and smoothing down her hair, Mitsuha stepped out and immediately spotted the two girls. She recognized Setsuna as her brother's girlfriend but didn't know the other girl—she hadn't seen her back in Tokyo either.

"It's been two months since we last saw each other, huh? I'm really glad you could come all the way out to Itomori. That was a long trip—you must be exhausted, Setsuna."

"Just a little. I didn't expect the journey to be so long without a single public restroom in sight. I had to hold it for what felt like forever. It was such a relief to finally get here."

"Yeah, that's how it is out here. In big cities, there are public restrooms everywhere—in stations, subway stops—but small towns like Itomori don't have those. People just use the bathroom at home."

Mitsuha, who'd grown up in Itomori, had long since accepted this way of life.

"And who's this?" Mitsuha turned to the unfamiliar girl beside Setsuna. She'd been about to ask earlier but didn't want to seem rude, so she'd waited until now.

"You must be Haruto's sister, Miyamizu Mitsuha , right? Haruto talked about you on the way here—said you're really lively."

"Hmm?"

The way this girl casually called her brother Haruto instantly put Mitsuha on guard. She studied Sekai's face, her expression wary.

"Sekai's my classmate—and actually a relative too. She's known Haruto for long time. The three of us usually hang out together. I was worried she'd feel lonely over summer break, so I invited her along."

"Saionji Sekai. I hope we'll get along."

"Pleased to meet you."

Mitsuha returned the greeting politely, but she couldn't stop her mind from focusing on the words the three of us and together. Her imagination ran wild. She stared at Sekai, as if hoping to read something deeper from her expression, which only made Sekai feel more awkward.

"Mitsuha, what are you doing at the door? Ah—you're finished already?"

Haruto had come out of his room and, noticing the little standoff, instinctively reached out to ruffle Mitsuha's hair, trying to nudge her away.

But Mitsuha smacked his hand aside and gave him a sharp jab to the waist before turning away with a pout. If it weren't for the two girls standing there, she would've demanded her gift on the spot—but with them watching, she kept her cool and stomped off.

"What were you talking about just now?"

"Mitsuha was curious about Sekai. That's all."

"That's it?"

Sekai, who had been a little flustered under Mitsuha's gaze, regained her usual composure and smiled at Haruto. "Yeah, we introduced ourselves. And there's someone named Yotsuha too, right?"

"She's probably in the living room. Let me show you to your room."

"Our room?"

Sekai blinked, surprised. She glanced at Setsuna beside her—did this mean they'd be sharing?

"Yeah. Since this isn't Tokyo and my family's here, it wouldn't be appropriate for Setsuna to stay in my room. The guest room's all set up for both of you, but you'll need to unpack your own things."

Haruto led them to the guest room, a bit removed from his own. When he slid the door open, the girls stepped inside and found a spacious, old-fashioned room that reminded Setsuna of the traditional inns she'd stayed in during past trips.

"It's huge—way bigger than my room."

Sekai looked around in surprise, eyeing the futons laid out neatly on the floor. She glanced at Setsuna, who was already unpacking.

"Get some rest. My room's just down the hall. If you need anything, just let me know."

"Mm-hm."

Setsuna nodded, opening her suitcase and starting to sort her clothes and toiletries.

"Don't worry about us," Sekai added. "You probably have things to catch up on with your family. If anything comes up, we'll call."

"All right. I'll come get you when dinner's ready."

Haruto smiled and left, sliding the door shut behind him. As Sekai had said, there were plenty of things to do: reassure Mitsuha, give her and Yotsuha the gifts he'd promised, and check in with his mom and grandma.

"Phew—I'm so tired."

After Haruto left and the door closed behind him, Sekai collapsed onto the tatami floor. The soft mat cushioned her as she lay down completely, gazing up at Setsuna, who was still tidying up.

"Setsuna, aren't you going to take a break?"

"My body's not that tired—just a little mentally exhausted. I'd rather finish organizing all this first. There's still stuff to do tonight."

"What kind of stuff?"

As she continued sorting through her suitcase, Setsuna glanced back at Sekai sprawled on the floor, looking listless. She let out a small sigh.

"Haruto's family across the way... and we need to bathe, too."

"Ah... we really did work up a sweat on the trip today... I guess we do need a good bath."

As she spoke, Sekai lifted an arm and sniffed at her armpit. Immediately, her eyes widened in dismay, and she turned her head to the side, coughing uncontrollably.

"Cough—cough cough—yeah, we definitely need a bath."

_ _ _ __ 

"Planning to stay home for the two weeks of break?"

Seeing his grandmother weaving cord in the room, Haruto set down the gifts he'd brought back from Tokyo—small items an elderly person might use: old-fashioned accessories that had once been popular and fabric from the city.

His grandmother, wearing her reading glasses, paused her work and slowly raised her head, looking at her grandson. After all the time he'd been away from Itomori, she could sense that he had changed.

"Tokyo's changed you a lot."

"I've been through some things I'd never have experienced in Itomori... so I guess I'm not exactly the same as before."

"The two girls who came with you... one of them's your girlfriend, right?"

"Yeah."

He'd already told his mother, Futaba, and since Futaba worried her own mother might disapprove, she had explained everything to his grandmother before Haruto came home. So hearing this now didn't really surprise him.

"Have you seen your mother yet?"

"Not yet."

"It's been a while since you two last saw each other. You should go see her. She's missed you a lot while you were away."

"I will."

Leaving his grandmother's room, Haruto wandered through the house looking for his mother. He finally found her out back, sorting through vegetables in the garden.

"You're back?"

"Yeah. I just saw Grandma. She sent me to help out."

"There's really not much that needs doing... though, can you wash these carrots for me? And peel the potatoes, too."

"Sure."

Haruto took the basket from his mother and looked down at the potatoes and carrots inside. Unlike in Tokyo, where they had to buy vegetables at the supermarket, the garden here provided plenty for everyday meals.

"Oh, by the way—do those two girls dislike anything?"

"Food-wise? Vegetables?" Haruto thought for a moment. "I don't think there's anything they particularly hate... though Setsuna's not too fond of green peppers, but she can force herself to eat them."

His mother nodded, her expression making it clear she'd taken note. She waved him off to deal with the vegetables while she checked on the rest of the garden.

"Hey—where's my present?"

As soon as he stepped inside, Haruto was greeted by Mitsuha's accusatory tone. She stared at him as if he'd betrayed her, her eyes full of mock sorrow.

"It's in my room... but I've got stuff to take care of first, so I—"

Before he could finish, Mitsuha dashed off toward his room. Haruto let out a long sigh as he watched her go. Just then, Yotsuha appeared and peeked into the basket of vegetables.

"Need help?"

"Hm? Then you can wash them. I'll go check on Mitsuha—make sure she doesn't tear my room apart."

"If you want, I can cover for you even if you bully her."

"Bully her...? Yeah, I think I'll pass."

Haruto couldn't help but wonder what Mitsuha had put Yotsuha through for her to say that. When he turned her down, Yotsuha actually looked disappointed. Hugging the basket, she headed for the sink, and Haruto made his way to his room.

"Where's my present, where's my present... is it hidden in a little box~?"

Mitsuha rushed into his room, eyes scanning for treasure. Her gaze fell on his large black suitcase. With a grin, she pounced on it, set it on the floor, and unzipped it.

"Let's see... clothes? Toothpaste? Hm, toothbrush, towels... did he really have to buy all new stuff? The old ones are still here at home... what a waste!"

She started pulling things out, stacking his clothes and tossing them onto his bed. Then her eyes landed on a small white box.

"Huh?!"

She stared at the small white box for a long while before finally picking it up.

"A phone? A new phone?"

It had already been opened before, so there was no need to worry about Haruto noticing she had tampered with it. She opened it without hesitation—and there it was: a brand-new phone, resting inside.

"Is this... a gift?"

She hesitated. Deep down, Mitsuha had always wanted a phone of her own, but it was just too expensive. Her allowance wasn't enough either, so she'd gone without one. Now she sat silently, staring at the phone for a long time before slowly closing the box again.

"Maybe... it's for him. He already opened it, so it probably isn't mine."

She set it aside and continued rummaging through the suitcase.

Just as Haruto returned from the living room and reached his bedroom door, the sight that greeted him made him sigh: Mitsuha, crouched in front of his open suitcase, digging around inside with both hands.

He knocked on the doorframe lightly. The girl froze, then quickly looked up.

"Ah, you're back!"

"What are you doing rummaging through my stuff?"

"N-Nothing really! I was just checking if you brought back any indecent magazines so I could rat you out to Mom and prove you've gone bad in Tokyo!"

Stepping into the room and looking at the clothes tossed all over his bed, Haruto let out a long sigh. For a moment, he had the urge to grab Mitsuha and throw her onto the bed, just so she could understand what it felt like to be one of the poor shirts beneath her mess.

"You threw all my clothes on the bed and turned the rest into a disaster zone. Seriously—so? Did you find the gift?"

"Which one?"

Following Haruto's pointing finger, Mitsuha's gaze landed on the small white box again. She blinked and picked it up.

"This?"

"Yeah."

"But... this is expensive, right?"

She opened the box again and stared at the sleek, brand-new phone inside. Her expression froze for a moment, then slowly, she looked up at Haruto, who had come to stand beside her.

Originally, Haruto had planned to give Mitsuha an older, second-hand model. But with the rise of smartphones, even his own device had become somewhat rare—hard to find anywhere outside the countryside. In Tokyo, nearly every shop only stocked the latest touchscreen models.

So in the end, Haruto had decided to buy her a Sharp 302SH.

"It's nothing too fancy. You've always had to borrow Mom's phone to contact people—it's not convenient. From now on, if anything comes up, just use this to reach me. I already got the SIM card set up for you, and there's credit loaded in too. Just let me know when it runs out."

He glanced down at his suitcase. Thank goodness he'd predicted this situation and hid everything else well. If Mitsuha had kept digging and happened to find those pink...condoms...