One day—
While showering, Yuzuru glanced at the full-length mirror in the bathroom and tilted his head.
“…Huh?”
His gaze fixed on his own abdomen reflected there.
Something felt off.
“…Tsk.”
He sucked it in, tensed his abs—
Then prodded and pinched his stomach with his fingers, checking again and again.
“…No way. That’s ridiculous.”
Finishing up quickly, Yuzuru dried his hair with a bath towel and stepped onto the scale in the changing area.
“What…?”
He’d gained weight.
(I’d like to think it’s just because I’m still growing… but this belly fat says otherwise…)
His height had increased a bit, so naturally his weight would go up as well—
But he could feel that the weight gain exceeded the growth in height.
Of course, muscle weighs more than fat, so you can’t judge purely by numbers.
Still, he didn’t feel like he’d gained muscle, and judging by appearance alone, his stomach did seem slightly more pronounced.
Calling it “putting on weight” was the most reasonable conclusion.
(But why…? My activity level hasn’t dropped—if anything, I should be more active thanks to my part-time job.)
Yuzuru worked as a floor staff member at a restaurant.
The job wasn’t just carrying dishes or taking orders—he also had to circulate so customers could easily approach him.
Which meant he actually moved around quite a lot.
Certainly more than lounging at home or playing games.
A few months ago, he’d even increased his shifts to buy a present for Arisa, so his activity level should’ve gone up.
(So what’s the cause…?)
As he pondered that—
“Yuzuru-san, Yuzuru-san… are you listening?”
A sweet, bell-like voice rang out.
He looked up to find his adorable, flaxen-haired fiancée—Yukishiro Arisa—staring intently at him.
“Ah—sorry. I zoned out.”
“Is something troubling you?”
“No, well… it’s nothing serious.”
I’ve gained weight.
That wasn’t something he found easy to admit.
It wasn’t like Arisa would stop liking him over a bit of weight gain, and it wasn’t even that noticeable—
But it was a matter of male pride.
Even if it wasn’t true, he wanted to be a solid, “muscular” man in Arisa’s eyes.
“I see… Well, if you ever want to talk, please do.”
“Thanks. Um… so?”
“Would you like another helping? There’s still nikujaga, and more rice as well.” Nikujaga — a Japanese dish of meat and potatoes simmered in a sweet-savoury sauce
“Yeah… I think I will.”
Today’s main dish was nikujaga made with new potatoes and fresh onions.
Some might debate whether it pairs with white rice, but Yuzuru was firmly on the yes side.
“Understood.”
Her reply was calm and matter-of-fact.
But after all this time together, Yuzuru could tell her voice was brimming with excitement.
If she had a tail, it’d be wagging furiously.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks.”
He accepted the nikujaga and a bowl of rice from Arisa.
Carbs and more carbs.
“Ah…”
“Is something wrong?”
“N-no, it’s nothing.”
He shook his head a little too forcefully and resumed eating.
And as he ate, he realised—
(So this is the cause…)
The culprit was Arisa.
His activity level hadn’t changed.
So why had he gained weight?
Simple.
He was eating more.
Obvious, really, when you thought about it.
Truthfully, Yuzuru had suspected as much for a while.
He’d just deliberately avoided thinking about it.
Because Arisa’s cooking was delicious.
Because she paid attention to nutritional balance.
Because food made by Arisa was basically zero calories.
—Or so he told himself.
But no matter how balanced the nutrition was, eating more inevitably led to weight gain.
It was tasty, and when Arisa asked, “Would you like seconds?”, he couldn’t help but say yes.
On top of that, she’d recently fed him some very high-calorie cake.
“Yuzuru-san, Yuzuru-san.”
“—Ah, sorry. What is it?”
After the meal, while they were cleaning up, Arisa called out to him, snapping him back to reality.
“Well… your hands had stopped moving. Um, the dishes—are they washed?”
“Ah, sorry. These are already done.”
He handed her the plate.
Arisa wiped it with a cloth and placed it in the drying rack.
“Are you really alright, Yuzuru-san?”
“It’s really nothing serious, but…”
“It doesn’t seem like nothing. Even if it’s something small, I’ll gladly listen.”
Yuzuru hesitated.
He didn’t really want to say it—but if he wanted to lose weight, Arisa’s cooperation was essential.
After a moment’s thought, he spoke.
“Um… from now on, smaller portions are fine.”
He avoided saying outright that he’d gained weight.
But—
“…Huh?”
Arisa froze.
Her eyes widened, and she stood there, motionless.
“…Arisa-san?”
“W-was it… not good?”
“N-no—”
“I-I’m sorry! Was there something you don’t like in it? Or… was it not salty enough? Too salty? Too sweet? Or maybe the meat had a smell—”
Her face turned pale as she spoke, her voice trembling with anxiety.
Yuzuru immediately realised he’d phrased it badly.
“No, there’s nothing wrong with the taste.”
“R-really? Then… was there a hair in it? Or… have you grown tired of my cooking…?”
“Arisa!”
He raised his voice and pulled her into a tight embrace.
She flinched.
“Calm down. I love your cooking—and I love you even more.”
He whispered into her ear.
Gradually, the tension left her body.
“R-really…?”
He slowly let go.
Her face was bright red.
“I’m sorry… I panicked. Um, then… why smaller portions? Is it too much? Hard to finish?”
“Well… that’s part of it, I guess. Though we freeze leftovers, so it’s not really a problem.”
“…Then?”
“Um… I’ve gained weight.”
“…Pardon?”
“My weight’s gone up, so I thought I’d try dieting.”
“…Oh.”
Yeah, this is kind of embarrassing…
Arisa, meanwhile, looked blank with surprise.
“…Men gain weight too, huh.”
“…That’s hardly unusual.”
“Sorry, that came out wrong. I don’t mean literally—it’s more like… you actually worry about it.”
Women tend to be very sensitive about their bodies.
Even a few kilos can feel like “getting fat”.
Men, on the other hand, often don’t care—even if they gain weight, they might not even weigh themselves.
That’s what she meant.
“But are you really gaining weight? Could it just be growth? You don’t look any different…”
“It’s less about the number, more like… my stomach feels a bit… fuller, I guess.”
If it were muscle, that’d be great.
Thinking that, Yuzuru lifted his shirt slightly.
“Like this—”
“H-hey…! D-don’t do that so suddenly!”
Arisa turned away, flustered.
Her cheeks flushed rose-pink as she averted her gaze—yet kept sneaking glances at his stomach.
“We’ve bathed together before.”
“T-that was…! I need time to mentally prepare!”
Swimsuits at the pool? Fine.
Even bathing in swimsuits? Fine.
But suddenly lifting a shirt to show skin? Apparently not.
Yuzuru didn’t quite get it.
“D-do you even need to show me?”
“Well… I wanted your opinion—if it looks different.”
“Hmm… from my perspective… not really… Ah, but now that you mention it… compared to last summer… maybe your abs are a bit less defined than I remember? Though that could just be memory bias.”
“In your mind, my abs are a memory?”
“D-don’t say weird things…”
“A memory?”
“…W-well, I did think you looked muscular and kind of… attractive.”
Back at the pool last summer, Arisa had still been in her prickly phase.
But even then, she’d thought he looked appealing in a swimsuit.
Which meant she’d already been seeing him as a man.
Yuzuru himself had thought “Whoa, that’s sexy” when he saw her chest back then, so it was much the same.
The fact they’d both felt that way—it made him happy.
Though whether it was mutual feelings or just mutual fantasies was another matter.
“If you want, I can show you anytime. You can even touch.”
“…Then I’d have to show you in return, wouldn’t I? I’m not falling for that.”
That plan clearly wasn’t going to work.
“But still… you don’t look like you need to diet. Suddenly changing your eating habits isn’t good for your health, you know?”
“If I don’t act early, it’ll be worse later. And… you like muscles, don’t you?”
“D-don’t say it like it’s my fetish…! Even if you weren’t muscular—or even if you gained weight—you’d still be you, Yuzuru-san…”
“But between a muscular me and a chubby me, you prefer the former, right?”
Just like how he’d still love Arisa regardless—
Even if her waist thickened or her chest or hips shrank—
He still preferred her current figure.
It was natural to want to be attractive to the person you loved.
“Well… yes, that’s true…”
“And summer break’s coming up.”
They’d probably go to the beach or pool.
Maybe Soichiro, Hijiri, and Ayaka would be there too.
Showing up out of shape wouldn’t be great.
“Understood. Then I’ll join you.”
“No, you don’t have to—”
“I was thinking it’s about time I got serious too. …Not that I’ve gained weight.”
“Yeah, I know.”
He’d seen her swimsuit over Golden Week.
Her figure had been—exceptional.
“I’ll make meals and bento with low carbs and high protein in mind.”
“Ah—well, you don’t have to go that far—”
“Are you underestimating this, Yuzuru-san? Are you serious about it?”
“I’m sorry. I’ll do my best.”
Yuzuru had no choice but to bow his head.
