My brown-yellow eyes were staring into two deep, light-blue eyes. I kissed her. She caught me tightly. I was shocked.
An hour later, Rin regained her senses. Realizing I was kissing her, she pushed me away. I crashed back.
"What were you doing with me?! Oh no! Because of you, I'm... I'm gonna..." She was furious and tried to kick me, but Kagatari and Yuzuki caught her.
"Don't be angry. He's not the culprit. Just hear the truth!" said Miss Yurin.
They explained the whole tragedy to her. Then, blood began to trail from her nose.
"You... chemist!! I'm gonna kick your...!"
"Hey! Calm down!" Yuzuki shouted. "Look, Ahiro has passed away!"
The world returned in fragments. First came the cold, hard press of the floor against my skin, then the dull ache of returning consciousness. My senses, which had been scattered to the winds, slowly knitted themselves back together.
I drifted upward—less a conscious movement and more a reflex of my levitation—and forced my eyelids open.
The scene was surreal. Ahiro was no longer alone. We were gathered around a weathered wooden table that looked as though it had seen better centuries. Seated there were the girls: Kagetari, Shiori, and the others, their faces a blur of relief and exhaustion.
"Oh! Master! You're awake! Thank the gods!" Kagetari's voice cut through the fog, sharp with an intensity that bordered on fanaticism.
Shiori leaned back, a playful, almost predatory smirk dancing on her lips as she looked toward the others. "See? I told you. This girl is a total fanatic for her Master. The reason behind it? Well, that's the best part."
I blinked, trying to clear the static from my brain. "But... how do you even know that?"
Shiori didn't answer directly. Instead, she shot me a doya look—the universal expression of someone who knew exactly how much trouble I was in.
"We exchanged stories while you were out," Tsukiko said, offering a small, tired smile.
"That's great, but what about dinner?" I asked, my stomach choosing that exact moment to let out a hollow growl. "We still don't have anything that can actually be eaten. Even if Rin and I can scavenge those fruits, what about him?"
The table went silent. All eyes turned toward me.
"Is Tsukiko going to give him her milk again?" Sayaka asked. She said it with such casual, clinical indifference that it took a moment for the words to actually register.
"Oh my!" A new voice joined the fray—Tsukiko's mother. She looked at me with a mischievous glint in her eyes, her hand resting against a cheek flushed with mock scandal. "So my daughter's husband is going to drink his mother-in-law's milk again?"
I felt the blood rush to my face. The "baby" transformation was a mechanical necessity, but hearing it described like that was a different kind of torture.
"Okay, come on... drink up, little baby," someone whispered.
I didn't say a word. I couldn't. I felt the heat of Tsukiko's palm as she placed it against my cheek, her own face a shade of red that rivaled a sunset.
"Yuzuki, you want to join us?" the mother continued, relentless. "And you there, get out of here. Everything is settled."
"Oh, Mom! I told you to stop with the nasty talk!" Tsukiko hissed, her voice cracking.
"Ah! You want to drink some too? See? Your husband is drinking so... nicely." The mother leaned in closer, her voice a teasing silk. "Ah, my nipple feels so sensitive..."
Every girl in the room turned a vivid shade of crimson. Except for Rin. She remained perfectly still, her eyes wide and shocked—the only one who seemed to have truly just 'awakened' to the chaos of this new family dynamic.
"So..." Shiori's voice was a low, dangerous purr. "Yuzuki, you've already agreed that Ahiro-kun is going to be your husband?"
Sleep was a luxury we couldn't afford for long. It was shattered the next morning by a sound like a physical blow: Kagetari was making a racket again.
"What happened, Kagetari!?" I croaked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
"Master! Miss Yurin is sucking my finger like it's a popsicle!" she shouted, sounding somewhere between horrified and confused.
A wave of tired laughter rippled through the group. We'd ended up waking Yurin by accident just by shouting her name, and the poor girl looked mortified. She apologized profusely, her face turning a deep shade of crimson as she realized what she'd been doing in her sleep. Once the chaos settled, we called over the "chemist gang" to join us for the morning routine.
We made our way down toward the river, the air crisp and smelling of damp earth.
"Hey! Perv daughter and mom!" Kagetari called out, pointing a finger at Tsukiko and her mother. "You haven't brushed your teeth in two days, and you haven't had a bath either! But don't worry, we've got exactly two toothbrushes."
"Don't call us perverts!" Tsukiko's mother snapped back, though she didn't look nearly as offended as she should have. "And oh! You've got a whole picnic bus, Yuzuki. Surely you have some spare brushes?"
Shiori chimed in with a smirk. "Yes, of course we do. There are a hundred brushes in the bus. Hanako, go and lend them seven."
The morning routine felt almost normal until the toothbrushing started. After Yuzuki distributed the supplies, Kagetari held up a hand, looking slightly flustered.
"Um... I want the same brush as my Master," she declared.
"Uh? But why?" Yuzuki asked, blinking in confusion.
"Because... he's my Master!"
Sayaka threw her hands up in exasperation. "Whoa! What kind of answer is that!?"
"No. Use this," I interrupted, handing her a separate one before the argument could spiral.
"Um... okay, Ahiro-sama," she murmured. We ended up sharing my toothpaste—a small, minty reminder of the world we'd left behind.
Once we finished, we began the trek back toward our cave. The sun was climbing higher, filtering through the dense canopy, when Sayaka suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"Hey, I can see something over there."
"What? Where?" we asked in unison.
She pointed toward a dense cluster of trees. We pushed through the undergrowth and froze. There, standing defiantly against the wild greenery of the island, was a white, concrete wall. It looked pristine, clinical, and completely out of place.
"Hey! Let's go there! Maybe there's a house!" Miss Yurin shouted, her voice echoing with a mix of hope and desperation.
We didn't just walk; we ran. We scrambled toward the structure, knowing we had to cross the river since our "Harem Cave" sat on the opposite side of this new discovery. We held onto each other's hands as we waded through the current, a chain of bodies determined not to be swept away.
But as we crossed, a cold shiver ran down my spine. Something felt wrong. I tried to ignore the instinct, focusing instead on the sight ahead.
A few minutes later, we emerged into a clearing and gasped.
"Oh my god! A mansion on an island like this!?" Shiori gasped, her eyes wide. "Is it a dream?"
It was massive. A sprawling, high-end estate that looked like it belonged in a luxury suburb, not a deserted jungle.
"Let's go inside," Shiori suggested, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Maybe there are more people living here. I have a feeling... it's like this house was teleported here, just like us."
The logic was sound, yet terrifying. We approached the massive, ornate wooden door. The scale of it made us feel small—vulnerable.
I reached out and knocked. The sound was heavy, echoing deep within the house.
"I'm scared..." Tsukiko whispered, moving closer to me.
Yuzuki took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. "Don't worry. We're all here together."
"Is anyone here?" I called out, my voice echoing into the stillness.
The massive door creaked open. Standing there was a girl with pink hair, wearing a beautiful, ornate frock that looked like it belonged in a high-end boutique rather than a jungle. I guessed she was around fifteen—roughly my age—but she looked completely out of place amidst the vines and humidity.
"Hello. We were hoping to have a word with you," Miss Yurin said, her voice soft and polite to avoid startling her.
The girl didn't answer. Instead, tears began to well up in her eyes, spilling over and tracing paths down her cheeks. Suddenly, she broke into a sob.
"Wha—what happened all of a sudden!?" someone stammered, the group shifting with embarrassment and confusion.
"P-please... come in," the girl managed to choke out between sobs.
Miss Yurin nodded to us. "Oh—okay girls, let's go inside."
We stepped through the threshold and stopped dead. The interior was a vast hall, dominated by plush sofas and a sleek glass table that seemed to hum with expensive taste. A grand staircase spiraled toward the upper floors, and a dozen doors branched off into unknown rooms. It was a palace hidden in a green hell.
The girl eventually stopped crying, though an occasional sob still shook her shoulders.
"Please, sit on the sofas," she offered.
We took our seats. The girl sat alone on a single sofa, while Miss Yurin and the "perv family" huddled together on another. I sat with the chemists on the sofa beside them. The contrast was jarring; we were covered in the grime of the island, sitting on furniture worth more than our previous lives.
"So, tell us why you were crying," Miss Yurin prompted gently.
The girl straightened her dress, trying to regain her composure. "At first, let me introduce myself. I am Ai Kurohana, the only daughter of Hachi and Kirie Kurohana. And you?"
We went around the room, introducing ourselves one by one. Once the formalities were settled, she began to explain how she ended up in this impossible place.
"I was in my room, wearing this dress," Ai began, her voice trembling. "Today was supposed to be a party—an invitation event for my father's business partners. My mother had ordered the maids to go back to their homes so we could have some privacy and rest before the event. It was just the three of us in the house."
She looked toward the grand foyer, her eyes vacant. "When my mom and dad entered our car to pick someone up, they called for me to come in... because—"
"I was standing right at the entrance of this mansion," Ai continued, her voice small as she recalled the moment. "I was just about to step outside... then everything changed. It was instantaneous. I reached this place, and then I lost consciousness."
The room fell into a heavy silence.
"So, Yurin's intuition was right," Shiori whispered.
Miss Yurin nodded solemnly, her eyes scanning the opulent hall before turning back to our host.
Ai took a shaky breath, her fingers twisting in the fabric of her dress. "Can I say... one thing?"
"Of course," I replied.
"We were teleported here just like you were," Ai said, her eyes searching ours for some kind of shared understanding. "Maybe we can live here together? With more people, there's a better chance of survival."
"OF COURSE!" Kagetari shouted, her enthusiasm practically shaking the glass table. "I'm pleased! You're welcome to join the Harem Family! Oh! I'm now a member of the Harem Family too!"
A collective blush swept through the room. Kagetari's lack of a filter was, as always, devastatingly effective.
"Wait here," Ai said, a small, genuine smile finally breaking through her sadness. "I'm going to make some tea for everyone."
Kagetari's eyes sparkled. She practically leapt to her feet, her previous fanatical energy returning in full force. "Ai-san! Please, let me help! Let me make the tea for my Master and his friends!"
"Wow! Thanks a lot!" Ai laughed. "Actually, I don't even know how to make tea myself. I've always just seen my maid do it. I was thought I'd give it a try... but let's go together!"
The two of them, now strangely bonded over the task, headed toward the kitchen nestled beside the grand staircase.
I watched them go, a thought crossing my mind. Whoa... Ai decided to make us her experimental tools? It was a terrifying thought, considering she'd never touched a kettle in her life. Thanks to Kagetari, I think we might actually survive this tea party.
Suddenly, Miss Yurin's voice sharpened, cutting through my internal monologue. Her face was pale.
"Hey! Where is Rin!?"
The question hit us like cold water. We looked around. Tsukiko blinked, her brow furrowed in confusion. "What?! Isn't she here with us?"
All eyes turned toward the Chemist Gang. They were huddled together, looking at Miss Yurin with suspicious, guarded eyes.
"You made her your experimental tool again, didn't you!?" Miss Yurin demanded, her voice rising.
The Chemists didn't look away. The silence that followed was far more dangerous than the jungle outside.
"No! No one even knows!" Shiori protested, her voice rising with panic.
"Girls! Wait here! I'm going to find her!" I shouted over my shoulder, already halfway out the door. I didn't wait for a reply. I couldn't afford to be late.
Wait—
I was already gone. My mind was a whirlwind of dark thoughts. I couldn't lose her—not like this. She was the first girl who had ever kissed me, a memory from just an hour ago that felt like a lifetime in this chaotic world.
When I reached the riverbank, my heart nearly stopped. Rin was lying motionless by the water's edge, one hand submerged in the cold, rushing current. Panic, sharp and cold, flared in my chest. I scrambled toward her, desperately lifting her from the mud. Using every ounce of my strength, I levitated her, shifting her weight onto my back.
As I moved, her hand brushed against mine, and her cheek slumped against my neck. She was burning up. The heat radiating from her skin was terrifying.
"A fever..." I breathed, the realization hitting me like a physical blow. "She has a massive fever!"
I didn't think. I just ran, rushing back toward the towering silhouette of the mansion.
When I burst back into the grand hall, the air was thick with surprise. Everyone froze. Kagetari stood there holding a tray of tea cups, the porcelain rattling against the metal.
"What happened to her!?" Miss Yurin demanded, stepping forward immediately.
I laid Rin down on one of the plush sofas, her breathing shallow and ragged. Between gasps for air, I told them everything—how I'd found her, the water, the heat.
"Oh no! Chemist gang, make a medicine!" Yuzuki cried out, looking toward the others with wide, pleading eyes.
"It's not that simple," Hanako countered, her brow furrowed. "We've got some experimental chemicals, but that isn't medicine. Not for something this severe."
"Wait! Hold on!" Ai interrupted. She didn't wait for an explanation, turning and sprinting up the grand staircase. She returned a few minutes later, clutching a sleek, professional-grade medicine kit.
"Okay, let me check," Hanako said, her hands moving with practiced efficiency as she opened the kit. She sorted through the vials and packets, her expression darkening with every passing second.
"This isn't for a fever," she whispered, her voice trembling. "None of this is... I'm sorry."
The silence that followed was suffocating. We stood in that beautiful, expensive hall, surrounded by luxury, yet we felt more helpless than we ever had in the cave. We were scared—truly, deeply scared. For the first time, the island didn't just feel like a puzzle. It felt like a predator.
The desperation in the room shifted into a cold, calculated focus. Kagetari moved with urgent precision, pressing an ice pack against Rin's forehead, but the heat radiating from her skin was so intense it felt like the ice was melting on contact.
"She's burning up," Kagetari whispered, her eyes never leaving Rin's pale face.
"We have to do something," Miss Yurin urged, her voice tight. "And we have to do it now."
A heavy silence fell over the group as we looked at Rin—the girl who had just kissed me, now fading before our eyes. It was Tsukiko who finally broke the tension, her eyes lighting up with a sudden, sharp realization.
"Hey! I have a thought that might help her," she said, looking around at us. "Look, if this mansion was teleported here, maybe there are more people wandering this island. And most of them will have different professions. We aren't just students—someone out there might be a doctor. If we can find them, we can save her."
For a heartbeat, the idea hung in the air, brilliant and terrifying. Miss Yurin was the first to nod. "Brilliant idea! Let's start now!"
The plan solidified instantly. We couldn't all go; some had to stay and maintain the mansion, which had become our only fortress. "Okay," Yurin commanded, "Ahiro, Yuzuki, and Shiori will head out to find more survivors. The rest of you stay here. We need to scavenge food and keep this place running. That is just as vital for survival."
As the three of us stepped toward the grand entrance, the weight of the mission settled on my shoulders. I reached out, grabbing Yuzuki and Shiori's hands, squeezing them tight.
"Gotta catch 'em all!" I shouted, the words erupting from me as a strange, defiant burst of energy.
Yuzuki blinked, her confusion momentary. "Huh? I've heard that punchline somewhere..."
"Yes," I replied with a grim smirk, looking out at the dense, unforgiving jungle that awaited us. "It's from an anime. It was pretty popular once."
"Then let's go," Shiori said, her voice steadying. "Rin is suffering. We don't have a second to lose."
We stepped out of the mansion's clinical coolness and back into the humid, predatory heat of the island. We weren't just survivors anymore; we were a search party, and the clock was ticking.
END