I Won't Be a Loser

Although Yoshi Akihisa and Sakamoto Yuuji seemed to have some ulterior motives, since they insisted on visiting his apartment, Haruto didn't refuse. From the moment they left the classroom, stepped out of the school gates, and all the way to his place, he was practically escorted by the two of them—one on each side—until they arrived at his apartment complex.

"So this is where Haruto's apartment is? Got it, I've memorized the location."

Standing at his apartment door, Haruto suddenly heard Akihisa's comment, spoken in the tone of a criminal scouting a target. He shot him a skeptical glance.

Noticing Haruto's look, Akihisa responded with a warm, beaming smile.

"Relax, it's not like I'm suspecting you of betraying me and Yuuji by secretly getting a cute girlfriend. And I'm definitely not planning to confirm your crime and then carry out a righteous midnight execution! Ahahaha~"

"..."

Haruto sighed, pulled out his keys, unlocked the door, and motioned for them to come inside.

"Excuse us—"

"Pardon the intrusion."

As they stepped in, both Akihisa and Yuuji looked around. The place was clean and well-kept, which surprised Yuuji a little. He hadn't expected the apartment to be so well-equipped. Compared to Akihisa's home, it was only slightly smaller.

Once they reached the living room, Haruto poured them each a cup of tea.

"So this is where you live, huh?" Yuuji commented as he surveyed the apartment. He smirked. "Not bad at all. Living here alone seems pretty nice. I'm actually tempted to move out of my house now."

Akihisa, on the other hand, was scanning the room with curiosity. "Wait… there's no gaming console? No TV?"

After looking around and failing to find anything interesting, his gaze landed on Haruto. He was genuinely puzzled—how does he not get bored at night?

"I don't have any," Haruto replied casually. "I only just moved to Tokyo. Stocking up on daily necessities already cost me a lot of money. I didn't have any extra funds for entertainment."

"Ah, I see," Akihisa nodded in understanding. Then, after a brief pause, he leaned in with a sly grin.

"Well then… what about girls?"

Akihisa Yoshi nodded, then suddenly stood up, walked to the bathroom door, and swung it open.

"Not here either?"

"..."

Haruto fell silent for a moment, then turned his head toward Yuuji, who was sitting beside him.

"Is he always like this?"

"Yeah, always."

Without even opening his eyes, Yuuji nodded, arms crossed.

Akihisa continued searching the apartment, peeking into every possible space where he might find his so-called "girl." But after a thorough look around and coming up empty-handed, he returned to his seat.

"Ahaha, found nothing! As expected, Haruto is just a good friend of ours. There's no way he would betray me and Yuuji by secretly getting a girlfriend before us—"

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang.

Akihisa stopped mid-sentence, his gaze snapping toward the door.

Haruto stood up and walked toward it, but just as he was about to open it, he suddenly felt a cold sensation around his ankle—like something filthy had wrapped around it. Turning back, he saw Akihisa lying on the floor, clinging to his right leg.

Yeah, definitely something filthy.

"Akihisa?"

"Tell me it's not a girl at the door."

"...I'm opening it."

"Akihisa, let him open it first," Yuuji said, still sitting with his arms crossed. "Once we see who's outside, we can decide what to do next."

Out of nowhere, Yuuji pulled out a black hood, embroidered with a crimson 'F' on the front. He flashed a grin at Akihisa.

"Good thinking, Yuuji."

Akihisa let go of Haruto's leg and reached into his pocket, producing a matching black hood.

Haruto sighed. He had hoped Yuuji would be the sane one here, but now it seemed he was just as bad as Akihisa. Ignoring them, he turned back to the door and opened it.

"Yo, Haruto."

The person at the door was not who he had been expecting.

Standing there was Ryuuji Takasu, holding a small bento box in his hand.

Haruto was a bit surprised but also relieved.

"Oh, Ryuuji. Come in."

Hearing the male voice at the door, Yuuji and Akihisa—who had been sitting in the living room, ready to spring into action—both froze. The black hoods they had taken out were silently stuffed back into their pockets as they smiled and sipped their tea.

"Then, excuse me."

Ryuuji stepped into the apartment and handed the bento box to Haruto.

"I made some pickled vegetables. Try them later and let me know how they taste."

"Pickles? Thanks, I appreciate it."

"No problem. I just made a little extra, so I figured… Wait, you have other guests?"

Ryuuji followed Haruto inside, and when he noticed the two unfamiliar faces in the room, he was slightly surprised.

Meanwhile, Akihisa—who had been curious about Ryuuji—suddenly tensed up the moment their eyes met. His body stiffened, and he gulped. Then, after a long pause, he quietly shrank behind Yuuji.

"Let me introduce you. This is my friend, Ryuuji Takasu. He's got a great personality. And… these are my classmates."

"Yo, I'm Yuuji Sakamoto. Nice to meet you."

Compared to the anxious Akihisa, Yuuji was much more composed. He did find Ryuuji's intense stare a little concerning, but he wasn't one to judge based on appearances alone. He trusted that Haruto wouldn't befriend someone with a bad personality.

"And the one hiding behind him is Akihisa Yoshi."

"Huh? He's your friend?" Akihisa let out a nervous chuckle, then sighed in relief. "Man, that scared me. But since he's your friend, I guess there's no problem. I'm Akihisa Yoshi, nice to meet you~"

He flashed a thumbs-up and a bright smile.

"Ryuuji Takasu. Nice to meet you too."

Seeing that Haruto's classmates weren't overly wary of him, Ryuuji relaxed and smiled in return. At Haruto's invitation, he sat down.

The four of them spent time together, chatting away. With Akihisa's naturally lively personality and Haruto's guidance, Ryuuji—who had always longed for more friends—quickly became comfortable with them. They bonded over various topics and grew closer.

Then, amidst their conversation, Akihisa suddenly asked, "By the way, Ryuuji, you live nearby too, right? Do you visit Haruto's place often?"

"Not really," Ryuuji replied. "Why?"

Akihisa's expression turned mischievous.

"Well, Haruto mentioned that his neighbor is a girl he gets along really well with. Do you know anything about that?"

"..."

The room fell into an eerie silence.

Ryuuji's mind immediately flashed back to a certain black-haired girl with a prominent ahoge. He also recalled Haruto mentioning his girlfriend not too long ago.

The atmosphere in the room shifted.

A bead of sweat rolled down Haruto's temple.

Akihisa, Yuuji, and Ryuuji all exchanged glances.

For a moment, no one spoke.