Chapter 4 – After School Is a Minefield

**Volume 1: The Day My Normal Life Died**  

**Chapter 4 – After School Is a Minefield**  

The final bell rang like a mercy shot.
I thought I had survived the day. I was wrong.
The moment I stepped out of the classroom, the hallway turned into a predator’s playground. Girls from every year were already waiting, eyes glowing with those cursed pink hearts, skirts swishing, blushes burning. Some had changed into their club uniforms — tennis skirts that barely reached mid-thigh, cheerleader outfits that hugged every curve, even a few in tight track suits that left nothing to the imagination.
“Haruto-kun!! Let’s walk home together!!”  “Haruto-kun, my house is on the way! Come over and I’ll cook for you naked— I mean, normally!!”  “Haruto-kun, please let me carry your bag… and maybe sit on your lap on the train…”
I tried to bolt toward the shoe lockers. A wall of girls blocked me.
Yui appeared like a pink-haired demon summoned from hell. She shoved through the crowd, twin-tails bouncing, face flushed, and grabbed my wrist in a death grip.
“Back off, all of you!!” she snarled, voice cracking with embarrassment. “He’s walking home with me today!!”
Her massive chest pressed against my arm as she yanked me forward. The other girls hissed and whined, but Yui’s glare was lethal.
We made it to the shoe lockers. Barely.
The moment I bent down to change shoes, three girls tried to “help” me — one pressing her breasts against my back, another sliding her hand along my thigh while pretending to tie my laces, the third whispering directly into my ear with hot breath.
“Haruto-kun… your legs look so strong… I want to wrap mine around them…”
Yui snapped. She shoved the girls away, spun me around, and pinned me against the lockers with both hands on my chest. Her body was flush against mine, soft curves molding perfectly, heart eyes flickering even as she tried to stay tsundere.
“D-Don’t let them touch you, idiot!!” she hissed, face inches from mine. “If anyone’s going to be all over you, it’s… it’s me!! Got it?!”
Her thighs squeezed against mine. I could feel the heat through her skirt. The pendant on my neck burned hotter than ever.
“Yui… your chest is—”
“Shut up!! It’s not my fault they’re big!!” She looked away, ears burning red, but didn’t pull back an inch. “Just… just stay close to me on the way home. If you get stolen, I’ll never forgive you.”
We finally escaped the school gates. Or so I thought.
The street home was a minefield.
Every block brought new ambushes.
A group from the tennis club waited at the corner in their short pleated skirts, rackets in hand, eyes sparkling.
“Haruto-kun!! Play doubles with us… in my room after!!”
A trio of first-years in sailor uniforms appeared from an alley, surrounding us in seconds. One pressed against my left side, another my right, the third tried to slip her hand into mine.
“Haruto-kun… your hand is so warm… can I hold it forever?”
Yui was losing her mind. She wrapped both arms around my waist from behind, chest squishing hard against my back, chin resting on my shoulder as she glared at the girls.
“He’s taken!! By me!! Go away!!”
Her breath was hot against my ear. Her body was trembling slightly — half anger, half something else the curse was forcing on her.
I was drowning in softness and perfume. Every step made her thighs brush against mine. Every breath made her chest move against my back.
By the time we reached the park halfway home, I was a wreck.
Yui pulled me behind a tree, away from the latest wave of girls. She pushed me against the trunk, hands on my chest, looking up at me with those glowing pink eyes and a face so red it looked like she had a fever.
“Haruto… you idiot…” she whispered, voice shaky. “This curse… it’s making me feel weird things. I keep thinking about… about pressing closer… about you touching me… about you telling me I’m pretty even though I’m always mean to you…”
She bit her lip, thighs squeezing together.
“But I’m still me, okay? So don’t get cocky. I’m only doing this because… because the curse is making me!! It’s not like I actually want you to… to slide your hand under my skirt or anything stupid like that!!”
Her hand was already sliding down my chest toward my waist.
I could feel the pendant burning like fire against my skin.
“Yui… if you keep pressing like that…”
She looked up at me, eyes half-lidded, lips parted.
“…Then what, perv? You’ll finally do something about it?”
For a second the tsundere mask slipped completely. Her body trembled against mine, soft and warm and desperate.
Then she snapped back, face exploding red again.
“J-Just kidding!! Don’t get any ideas!! I was just testing you!!”
She spun around and started dragging me home again, but her grip on my hand was tighter than ever, fingers laced with mine.
The rest of the walk was a blur of more girls, more confessions, more attempts to steal me away. Yui fought them all off like a jealous guard dog, while secretly pressing closer every chance she got.
When we finally reached my front door, she stopped, still holding my hand.
“…Don’t go inside yet,” she muttered, looking at her feet. “The curse is still active… and my house is empty today… so if you want to… to continue this stupid testing… I wouldn’t mind…”
She didn’t look at me. Her ears were burning.
The pendant glowed brighter than ever.
My normal life wasn’t just dead.
It had been cremated, scattered, and replaced with the most dangerous harem hell imaginable.
And the worst part?
A tiny, traitorous part of me was starting to enjoy it.
**To Be Continued in Chapter 5 – “Nighttime Is When the Real Curse Awakens”**