Disclaimer: I don't own More Than A Married Couple But Not Lovers
My Marriage Practical Threw Me Into an Accidental Harem, and It's a Disaster!
Chapter One: More Than Happenstance, But Less Than Fate.
Jirō Yakuin blinked at the familiar ceiling, the reality of the new day washing over him. Slowly but surely his eyes adjusted to the sunlight coming through the curtains and a hand lifted, his forearm slowly being placed across his forehead. He turned his head slightly, his crimson eyes falling upon the phone which rested upon his side table, conveniently located beside his portable games console.
He reached a hand out and collected his phone, tapping the button on the side of it. The screen immediately flared to life and Jirō was forced to narrow his eyes so that the backlight didn't burn too much. The date on the screen hit Jirō like a tonne of bricks, he gripped the phone a little tighter as a soft sigh rolled off his lips.
"The Marriage Practical," he uttered to himself, trying not to sound too despondent. It'd been a lot of talk among the students toward the end of the previous year. "A whole year living with someone I barely know. Why did this school think a dumb idea like this one was going to work? Ugh, I'd better get ready, it's almost time to go."
Reluctantly, Jirō pulled himself up from his bed and stretched out, leaning back slightly and a satisfying crack sound filled the air. Jirō groaned softly at the relief that flooded through his body. He grabbed his clean uniform off his door handle.
It was weird to think that this was the last time he'd be getting ready inside this bedroom for a long while. He hadn't really considered it too much over the past few months but this was really gonna be it for a while, outside of maybe summer vacation and other holidays.
'Well, aside from the short trip back to grab my stuff and then once I leave for the dorm, that'll be it,' Jirō paused to take one last look around the room, and unable to help himself, felt a heavy sigh exhale from his mouth, "I'm really trading this for a dorm? Ugh, I at least hope my practical partner isn't overly loud and annoying.'
After showering and doing the last of his morning routine, Jirō said goodbye to his mother and then hit the road, starting up the journey to Seishun Academy. His backpack hung loosely from one of his shoulders and he used his left hand to grip the strap, making sure it didn't slide down his shoulder.
The streets were dotted with a small number of other people, some like him, who were dressed in school uniforms and en route to the school as well others slightly older no doubt on their way to work or something along those lines.
"Better keep moving or I'll miss the train and end up late."
The cool morning air brushed against his face as he picked up his pace, the sunlight just beginning to peek through the trees lining the street. A sign to keep moving, Jirō gripped his bag a little tighter, pushing his pace up to match his urgency.
'Ordinarily I wouldn't be in such a rush, but this practical crap is really hanging over my head. Throw a bunch of teenagers into co-ed living situations where they barely know each other. Yeah, cause that'll solve the world's problems and do literally anything other than cause awkward issues."
Jirō sighed again, 'Stupid practical, those party going normies are probably laughing it up, the chance to live without parents looking over your shoulder was definitely a selling point for these types and to make matters worse found socializing just as easy, it was almost second nature to these people."
As if on cue, Jirō heard laughter up ahead and he was promptly dragged out of his thoughts and forced directly back into reality. The laughter had come from the opposite side of the road, two female students Jirō had never met before. The young woman on the left was about a head shorter than the one on the right, but aside from that he didn't pay too much attention to their features.
'No time to get distracted by random people laughing Jirō , the last thing we need is to go into the first day of the practical with a strike for being late. Now, let's see-'
The blue-haired young man refocused his gaze onto the task at hand, he reached into his pocket and lifted his phone out to his gaze. After checking the time, Jirō returned his phone to his pocket and looked over at the scenery. Noticing a rapid increase in people, Jirō quickened his feet, hoping to beat some of them to the station. Jirō excused himself to the girls in front of him and then moved past them, closing in on the station and-
"Jirō !"
Hearing his name, the young man whipped around and the shock on his face softened. The new arrival had neck-length, olive-green hair that had bangs hanging on both sides of face, orange eyes, and oval-shaped, semi-rimless glasses. Like Jirō , he was dressed in the uniform for Seishun Academy (a blue collared shirt, dark blue slacks buckled with a brown belt and brown shoes) but unlike Jirō , he wasn't wearing a necktie.
"Hey man," Jirō said, "You're late."
"Sorry man, the new banner went live this morning and I ended up pulling a rare swimsuit gacha. I kind of lost track of the time after that, but it's cool I'm here now, right? Friend Kamo joins the fight!"
"Let's just go, we're already pushing our luck as it is."
"You seem a little worked up today," Kamo pointed out, "Though, I suppose it's only natural since so much of our future is riding on the next few hours. A chance to finally break free from our usual quests and venture out into the unknown!"
"It's not the practical." Jirō explained to Kamo, slipping his free hand into his pocket, "I've been expecting that, so many of our classmates are obsessed with the damn thing. As far as *that*'s concerned? All I want to do is get a good ranking so that I can graduate. This is different."
"Different?" Kamo asked him.
"I just have this bad feeling that something's gonna go super wrong for me today."
The two young men paid for their tickets and weaved between crowds, pushing through the station to reach the platform they needed to take to go to school. The station itself was basic in design, and Jirō was so used to traveling it each day that he paid very little attention to the architecture.
"Super wrong? Like another loss on RotoSaga? I'm telling you man all you gotta do is be a bit more patient, that guy is on another level. Maybe do some grinding today? Dunno, I stopped playing that fossil years ago, RotoSaga 7 dropped and unlike the OG you can date the Princess now."
"Not my fault you can't appreciate her OG Model."
The train pulled up in the station, the rumbling of the cabins across the rails filling the station with their rumbling sound. Not saying anything further on the matter of RotoSaga and its subsequent sequels, Jirō boarded the train, not even turning back to check if Kamo was still behind him. He was just hoping that Kamo would drop the subject.
But another subject was broached nearby, one that once again forced Jirō to confront the reality of his present. The two girls he'd walked past earlier were seated a few rows away, but he could still hear them thanks to the fact they weren't making any effort really to keep their voices down.
"Oh that's right," The first girl said, "Don't the third years start the marriage practical this year? It's not even our turn to partake in it this year but I can't help but feel a little bit nervous for them."
"I totally get you, thinking ahead to next year when we're going to be going through it ourselves feels really daunting. I can only imagine how they're all feeling going into this. If it was me I think I'd like someone who's confident. I have a problem with shyness after all, and would love to be around someone who can boost it."
The words of the girls drifted further and further away from Jirō as his focus redirected itself onto the passing scenery outside the train window. It was poetic in a weird way, much like life, a train sped along with no hesitation onward to the journey it was being taken for. Much like life did that until you reached your destination.
'I'm feeling uncertain, but this is just for grades so it shouldn't be an issue. Then why do I have such an unsettled feeling? Why do I feel like something is going to go majorly wrong today!?'
"Earth to Jirō …You in there, dude?"
A jolt of shock hit Jirō at the base of his spine and he spun toward Kamo, a look of annoyance on his face, "What?"
Kamo held his hands up defensively, "You're really wrapped up in your own head Jirō , is this your confusion phase? Do I gotta switch Pokemon?"
"Kamo, please shut up," Jirō said, putting his head in his hands, "I can't deal with your crazy right now."
Still holding his hands up, defensively, Kamo wisely decided to close his mouth and not continue with what he was saying. Jirō silently thanked whatever higher power there was that he was stopping. Even though Kamo was his best-friend, Jirō could find him to be a bit much sometimes. Thankfully, for the most part, Kamo knew when to stop.
Whilst Kamo turned his attention back to his phone, Jirō turned again to the window, hoping desperately that he could drown out the noise, watching as the scenery outside the train window passed by once again, simultaneously trying his best to focus on the rumblings of the trains movement and not the chatter of the other passengers around him.
Eventually, the train ride would come to an end, Jirō and Kamo rose from their seats and made their way back out of the station. Jirō finally swung the other strap of his bag over his arm, pushing his hand down into the pocket of his trousers in a single motion.
'Last time coming this way on the train in the morning, huh? Maybe I should stop by that convenience store near here, do we have the time? I won't be able to do it again for a while? Eh, it should be fine.'
"Kamo, I'm going to the convenience store, you coming with?"
Sensing that Jirō was still in turmoil, Kamo only said, "Yeah, I'll tag along. Need to get some of those curry chips, they're limited edition so I want to buy them as many times as possible. Limited edition items are nature's true cruelty, my friend."
"They've only been on a sale for about a month, right?" Jirō asked, happy for the subject change, "Do you know when their run ends?"
"No," Kamo complained, "That's the worst part, on the bag it just says 'Limited Time Only' FOMO at its finest and I, a simple lover of both curry and chips, am doomed to cave each and every time. First these companies try and sell me air, now this."
Jirō rolled his eyes, his tone flat, "It's so the bag can actually open, they're not being evil or anything, dude. Come on, we need to hurry or we'll run out of time."
"You've been saying that a lot, are you really that worked up about the practical?"
"I'm not worked up about the practical, like I told you. I just-" Jirō trailed off, refusing to meet Kamo's eye.
"-Have a bad feeling about today," Kamo finished for him.
Silence reigned between the two once again as they navigated the space between their current location and the convenience store. With the way he more looked at his phone and barely spoke, it became rapidly apparent that Kamo had given up on trying to make conversation with Jirō for now and the latter was content for this so that he would be able to enjoy the last little semblance of peace in his world before the practical came along later that night and shattered it.
Traffic on this side of the commute was starting to pick up as well, but Jirō and Kamo were able to weave reasonably well through the people who'd gathered in pursuit of arriving at their schools or places of employment on time. The Convenience Store they'd chosen was a little ways away from the train station but close enough that they still had a chance to be on time for class.
Jirō entered the store through the automated doors and went off to find something. Kamo on the other hand made his way to the back of the store where the shelves were, passing the freezers containing varying flavors of ice cream and other assorted frozen goods, he arrived at his destination and panic instantly covered the young man's face.
"T-They're Sold Out!?" Kamo's jaw fell open, "B-but they were here yesterday! How could they have gone through all their stock already!? Nooo!" Resigning himself to his fate, Kamo chose something randomly from the shelf and headed up to the counter where Jirō was already exchanging yen with the clerk.
Jirō glanced at Kamo's choice with mild disinterest, raising an eyebrow. "Got what you wanted?"
"If you mean obtaining the rare snack I so desperately craved, then no, if you mean a subpar substitute because I don't have the time to select something better…then yes."
"Alright, pay for it so we can get out of here," Jirō said, barely reacting to what Kamo said at all, "I'll wait outside for you so we're not taking up the whole place."
Without waiting for verbal confirmation from Kamo, Jirō retreated from the convenience store through the same automated doors he'd entered, mid-bite of the meat bun clutched in his fingertips. Warmth spread through his mouth from the first moment he took a bite and by now, at his third had settled comfortably in his body.
'Even if I'm worried about how today's going to go, it's nice to be able to have one last moment like this beforehand.'
Once Kamo had exited the store, he fell into step beside Jirō and the two of them took off down the sidewalk at a relaxed pace, chatting casually about different things. Jirō *did* notice that most of the talk centered around how disappointed Kamo was that his favorite limited edition snack had sold out but since it provided him with an easy out from having to deal with his brain right now, Jirō was inclined to let it go this time.
Jirō took another bite from the surface of the meat bun, lifting his eyes just in time to see the front of Seishun Academy coming into sight on the horizon. Grinning, Kamo pointed it out, "It seems the party is on the home stretch! En route to our objective!"
"I get it man, let's just get this crap over with."
"You are severely underestimating this practical's power, my dear Jirō . These things are totally random so you could end up with someone who is several times out of your league! It's practically a cheat code to connection for nerds like us!"
"Don't lump me in with your perverted ass," Jirō grumbled under his breath, slipping his hands back into his pockets and leaving Kamo in the dust without making a sound, "That's disgusting."
'Best to just ignore him when he gets this way,' Jirō shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, desperately trying to ignore the perspiration building on the inside of his palms, the dampness making it difficult for his fingertips to get a decent grip on his palm, 'Ugh, why am I getting worked up? It's just a stupid practical!'
Jirō was so wrapped up in his head that he barely noticed the passage of the space around him and by the time he pulled himself out of his own head, he and Kamo were walking through the gates of their school.
"Wait, we're here already?" Jirō asked, blinking rapidly as he took in the sight of the towering school gates, a large sign bearing the name 'Seishun Academy' glaring down at him from just above the entrance way. He must've been pretty lost in thought, he hadn't even really heard the chatter of the other students around him, but this was a positive sign, if there were this many students out here, that meant one thing. They weren't late. They'd narrowly pulled it off.
"What do you expect, zoning out like that?" Kamo put forward, "You looked like you were in that one music video where the guy's staring out the window of the bus, the rain on the window a metaphor for how sad he feels on the inside! It's such a cruel world for you isn't it, Jirō ?"
"Dude, can you not?"
He knew Kamo was trying to be supportive in his own way, his eccentric humor was how he took the edge off the more serious situations they often found themselves in, but he wished his friend had a better grasp on the old saying, 'there's a time and a place.'
"Yo dweebs! If you're gonna stand there like idiots, can you not do it right in the middle of the walkway?"
Pulled from his thoughts yet again, Jirō turned, his gaze falling upon a trio of beautiful teenage girls. The first one, standing to the left, was seemingly shorter than the other two, by about a head, with long maroon hair and red eyes. On the far right, the tallest of the trio, had bright orange hair tied in a ponytail with hair strands hanging on either side and purple eyes. Finally, the centrepiece of the group had waist-length pink hair tied in twin buns and blue-green eyes.
"Our bad," Jirō said, as he and Kamo stepped aside for the girls to walk past.
Once they were out of ear-shot, Kamo raised his hands, clutching them together and closed his eyes then spoke in a quiet sing-song little voice, "anything for the goddess Akari Watanabe."
"I hate girls who think they're in a teen drama. Look, let's just get to class. We're already cutting it close as is," Jirō 's hands flew right back into his pocket and he turned away from his thoughts, pushing his way across the courtyard and into the main building of the school, Kamo following close behind.
"Are you sure?"
A voice drifted to Jirō outside of an open door as he navigated his way through the first floor of the building, it was difficult to hear above all the chatter and bustle of all the students wanting to get to class, but he did manage to catch the end of the conversation.
"They system isn't allowing me to make any alterations to it, is there anything that can be done to rectify it? Maybe we could use a paper-based allotment this year?"
"That would be inappropriate and set the tone for bias, even if it's unintentional. For now, unfortunately we'll have to leave things as they are. If nothing else this will be a good learning experience for those involved."
Trying his best not to make it seem like he was eavesdropping, Jirō made a beeline for the stairs, wanting to get up to the classroom before he was noticed by the teachers having the discussion. Besides, it's not like their little conversation had anything to do with him, right?
Sighing to himself, Jirō ascended the stairs, turning his head back just a fraction to see if Kamo was still nearby, as well as making sure he hadn't been noticed to be listening in.
"Wonder what that's all about?" Kamo asked him quietly.
"No idea, sounds like they're scrambling though," Jirō said, turning his gaze back to where he was walking, "None of our business either way, we should just focus on getting through the day ourselves."
Finally, they arrived at the classroom. Jirō made his way to the back, sitting down in his usual seat and sighing, well for better or worse, it was time to get this day started.
"Hello class," the woman who spoke was tall, with long green hair that framed her shoulders, a formal-style attire of a black skirt and white blouse, and finally a set of ovular spectacles framing her face, "Pay attention up here please. Today signifies the beginning of something I'm sure you've already heard about. The Marriage Practical."
Immediately murmurs began to spread throughout the class, but the teacher was able to quiet them down with a little wave of her hand, "During this time you will randomly be assigned a partner and the two of you will live together as a mock married couple for the duration of the year. Each of the dorms you'll be using is fully furnished, and you'll be graded on how well you get along for the duration of the practical. Lastly, each of the bedrooms is equipped with a lock that can only be opened by the designated occupants fingerprint. This is to ensure they are the only ones able to enter."
'Wait, then what's the point of all this then!?' Jirō sighed, watching the power-point presentation that was being used to explain to the students how the practical was going to work.
"Third years will be dismissed early today in order to move into their new dorms and have a chance to settle in and make first adjustments with their practical partner. Finally, this year the school board has decided to employ a new rule, this is due to some of the students last year abusing the privilege of switching partners. I won't go too much into it, but the important part is, unlike previous years, A-Rank switches will not be implemented, and special permission will be needed if you wish to switch partners."
The reaction was immediate.
"But wait, what if I get stuck with someone I don't like? Or someone who's not cute?" Terafune exclaimed, sadness on his face.
"Probably that kid who was hacking the rankings last year," Sachi sighed.
"Hacking the rankings?" Akari said, "I heard about that, he was like getting students to pay him to get the rankings they wanted, yeah?"
"Yeah," Natsumi agreed, "Can't really blame the school board, even if it does suck. Imagine getting landed with a no-good womanizer like Terafune."
"Hey!" Terafune exclaimed, red dusting his cheeks as he quickly turned away from the three girls. Hoping to focus on literally anything else.
Jirō sighed, running a hand through his hair, 'A whole year and you can't switch if you don't like them? What the hell is this!? They're insane! Actually insane!'
"That's all I have for you today class, please go and find your partner assignments in the hall and then you may return home to collect your belongings. Please report to your practical dorm by no later than this evening."
The rapid discussion kicked off nearly the second the teacher finished speaking, trepidation, excitement and anticipation seemed to fill the room from that second, the conversations taking over the room near immediately.
"Hi Jirō ," a voice said from the young man's left.
"Oh," Jirō said, looking to that direction, a calm look on his face despite the maelstrom of emotions that brewed inside him, he caught the faint nervousness in her smile as she tucked a strand of her chocolate-colored hair behind her ear, "Hullo Sakurazaka."
"Ready for the practical?" she asked him gently, tilting her head slightly as if taking in his appearance. She placed her hands together on the table but it didn't seem as though she was holding anything.
'Shiori Sakurazaka, my former childhood crush. I used to think the world of her, but nowadays- best not to dwell on the past Jirō . She's just a friend these days.'
Jirō 's back straightened up, and he offered a tiny smile, "Yeah, but not as everyone else it seems. You'd think they were being given the keys to a candy store or-"
"A bag of limited edition curry chips!"
"Kamo!" Jirō exclaimed.
Shiori giggled, it was a soft sound, but it appeared as though from her reaction that she was used to the olive-haired young man's eccentric personality by now. She leaned back slightly, her eyes returning to Jirō . The happiness from Kamo's cheeky moment faded a little and her shoulders slumped, a sigh leaving her lips, "To be honest, I'm super nervous. Are you nervous?"
"Big time," Jirō said, sighing as he slumped forward onto his desk, "I'm not what you'd call good with the ladies. I anticipate it being a nightmare at worst and a disaster at best."
"I get shy around strangers, I hope I get paired with a friend."
"Yeah," he agreed, falling back into silence, 'I guess I'm not the only one concerned. How can so much of our future ride on this one assignment? I just don't get it! What's the goal here? Oh well, time to see who I'm paired with. If I head out while people are talking, maybe I can beat the rush in the hallway?'
He got up from his desk and his hands immediately dug into his pockets. He exited the classroom and immediately he felt a chill rush down his spine, that feeling was back and for some reason it was pressing down on him like an unseen force from above, 'What is this? Why do I feel like something's about to go horribly wrong? It's like it's becoming more difficult to breathe.'
Jirō took a deep breath, clenching the fists in his pocket a little tighter, using the trick to ground himself back in reality and then left the classroom behind. Whether he liked it or not the moment of truth had arrived. The next year of his life was about to be determined and in that fleeting moment he couldn't help but think back to that conversation he'd overheard this morning.
'Why am I thinking about that now?'
There were other voices in the hallway, but they seemed to be very far away in the moment and sounded as though they were mutated coming from underwater. Jirō could feel the rapid thump of his heart pressing against his chest, but he attempted to calm himself, in the end he was forced to accept that the only way to settle his anxiety was to read the board. He scanned the board, looking for his name, on the way he saw that Sakurazaka would be paired with Minami Tenjin, a popular boy from his class.
'She'll be in good hands I think, I might not get along with the guy, but I think Shiori will be well looked after in this case. Now, let's see-"
The next name he found was not his own but Kamo's, beside a name he didn't recognize. Perhaps it was a girl from one of the other classes then?
'Stop stalling Jirō , the pairing won't change based on how long you avoid looking at it," He clenched the fists in his pockets tighter one last time and braced himself for what was to come.
Jirō Yakuin's heart dropped. His breath hitched, and it felt like the air had been knocked out of his lungs. The murmurs in the hallway seemed to fade completely, replaced by a dull ringing in his ears.
'No way… This has to be some kind of mistake.'
Jirō reached up and rubbed his eyes a few times, as if it would change the reality of what he'd just witnessed. He paused for a second, then rubbed again, desperate to make the situation disappear. His heart thudded in chest, and only one question came to mind throughout the entire ordeal.
'How was this possible?' His heart-rate had almost doubled, his throat felt tight, and to top it all off he could feel a bead of sweat rolling down the back of his neck. He tried to take a breath, but all that came out was a small cough.
His name was on the board as expected but there wasn't a single name beside it…
There were three.
Yakuin Jirō - Watanabe Akari - Ohashi Natsumi - Takamiya Sachi.