After I Picked up a Notebook Filled With Intense Emotions, the Girls Started Acting Strange

The day Mizuki went to talk to Shiomi for advice.

That day, I was really nervous. But when I heard the full story, it turned out Mizuki had gone to Shiomi to talk about me.

Shiomi had acted all high and mighty toward me, and I secretly hoped karma would hit him someday. I didn’t think it would happen so soon, though. It took everything I had not to laugh.

The person Shiomi likes is Mizuki, and she is actually in love with me.

Just imagining how painful it must be… knowing his love won’t come true, and on top of that, being asked for advice about the person she really likes, someone who isn’t him.

Thinking about it made all my frustration fade away.

“Hey, come to think of it. Mizuki-chan doesn’t eat lunch with you anymore. You two don’t go to school together either, right?”

Imaoka’s mouth was full of bread during lunch a few days later.

“Oh, you’re right. I haven’t seen you together lately. Did you guys fight or something?”

“Ahaha, no way!”

“Are you sure?”

“…”

Yukina joined in with a teasing tone, and the others started laughing. Only Rei stayed quiet and was calmly eating her lunch like she didn’t care.

Lately, Mizuki had been eating with other friends or going to the cafeteria instead. In her place, Yukina and Rei had started joining me for lunch more often.

I couldn’t blame everyone for being curious. It was obvious Mizuki and I weren’t spending as much time together anymore.

But I already knew the reason.

“She said she wants to take some time to look at herself. She thinks she’s been too clingy, so she wants to stop that. Honestly, I’m glad she finally realized it.”

After that talk with Shiomi, I checked on Mizuki, just in case. But she seemed totally normal. She actually seemed even more positive. She told me.

─From now on, I’ll stop waking you up in the mornings and making your lunch. I realized I was doing too much and maybe bothering you. I want to rethink myself a little. What? You don’t mind if I still do it sometimes? No, I want to wait until I can do it perfectly for you. It’s all for you, Arata. I’m sorry, but please wait for me, okay? It’s for you.

Honestly, things had already gotten much better, so she didn’t need to change anything. But when a girl says she’s trying her best for me, I can’t really complain, can I?

Right now, Mizuki’s trying to become the kind of woman who’s worthy of me. I might not choose her in the end, but it doesn’t hurt to keep that option open.

Guess Shiomi can be useful sometimes after all.

Shiomi-kun, are you watching~?

The girl you like is working hard for me every single day!

“Pfft.”

I couldn’t help but grin, thinking about it. It reminded me of one of those doujin stories where the guy gets his girl stolen. Maybe I should even send him a little video someday. What were those called again, something-letter? Just imagining his face made me feel amazing.

“By the way. I’ve seen her hanging out with Shiomi a lot lately.”

“Ah, me too!”

“Huh? That’s just a coincidence.”

“Come on, ever since that day you two argued, I’ve seen them together more and more.”

“It’s not a big deal. She said she’s just asking him for advice, that’s all.”

Yeah. The reason Mizuki’s been meeting with Shiomi is that she’s talking to him about me.

There are no special feelings between them. There shouldn’t be.

“But I saw them eating lunch together.”

“Oh yeah, I saw that too.”

“T-That was just once, right? Nothing worth making a big deal about.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s every day now. You just don’t notice. She usually talks to her friends for a bit, then leaves. You’ve seen her desk empty halfway through lunch, right? She’s not here even today. Didn’t you notice?”

“Wha…”

I froze and looked around the room.

Mizuki was nowhere to be found.

No way. I hadn’t checked lately, but at first, I used to keep an eye on who she ate with. I thought she was just hanging out with her friends.

“And I’ve seen them walking home together, too. Since I’m in the soccer club, I pass by the road near the field sometimes. I’ve spotted them a few times. You probably didn’t know because of your own club stuff.”

That can’t be…

There’s no way Mizuki of all people would do something like that.

She likes me. That’s a fact.

“Now that you mention it. I saw them together at a family restaurant the other day.”

“…!?”

“They looked pretty close. Maybe I just imagined it, though.”

What were they saying?

“Dude, maybe she’s done with you?”

“D-Don’t say something so stupid!!”

“Whoa!”

I shouted before I realized it, my voice echoing through the room. Everyone turned to look at me. I sat back down quickly and glared at Imaoka.

“I-I’m j-just kidding, man. Don’t get so worked up.”

“You started it. And I’m not angry, okay? There’s no way that’s true. Mizuki always replies when I message her, and she even shared her cooking with me the other day because she made too much.”

The fried chikuwa snacks she gave me were delicious.

They were a little burnt, but that just meant she was thinking about me and lost focus. What a clumsy girl.

She said she wasn’t going to cook for me for a while, but that was just to get better at it. Sometimes she still lets me taste her food to learn what I like best.

There’s no way a girl like that has gotten tired of me… Impossible.

“Anyway, she’s only hanging out with Shiomi for now. It’s just temporary. And if anyone spreads weird rumors about her, I won’t forgive them.”

“Hey, wait. Where are you going?”

“I’m going to talk to Mizuki!”

Mizuki belongs to me. She said she wanted to work on herself, but being friendly with another guy? That’s not what she meant.

I stuffed the empty bread wrapper into a plastic bag, stood up, and left the classroom.

◆

“Damn it. Imaoka really pisses me off!”

I stomped down the hallway while fuming over what Imaoka had said.

Students around me quickly moved aside, startled by my angry pace, but I didn’t notice any of them. Even when my shoelaces came undone, I didn’t care.

“There you are!”

Just a few minutes before lunch break ended, I finally spotted Mizuki coming out of the restroom. I rushed straight toward her.

“Mizuki!”

“..Arata? What’s wrong—kya!?”

Ignoring the people around them, I grabbed Mizuki’s shoulders. My sudden movement made her eyes go wide in surprise.

“W-What’s wrong?”

“Who did you eat lunch with today?”

“Who, does it matter?”

“It wasn’t Shiomi, was it!?”

“Why are you so worked up about that?”

“B-Because… a-anyway! Don’t hang around Shiomi too much, okay? You’re cute, and if he gets the wrong idea, that’ll be trouble. I’m just saying this for your own good, just so you know? You get that, right?”

I knew it wasn’t right to interfere with her friendships, but the irritation inside me spilled out before I could stop it.

I’d never acted like this before, and I didn’t even realize it myself.

Mizuki just looked at me and giggled softly.

“…W-What’s so funny?”

“You never cared what I did before. But now that I’ve stopped doing things for you, you’re suddenly all worked up. Arata is really the clingy type.”

“─What.”

(Clingy? Me?)

Her teasing me is nerve-wracking. My face grew hot.

“I can read you like a book, Arata. We’re childhood friends, after all.”

“R-Right. Yeah… that’s true.”

I let out a small sigh of relief at that word. That meant she still cared about me. That’s what I told myself.

“I’ve done everything for you since we met again. I forgave everything, no matter what it was.”

“…!”

But then, her gentle tone suddenly changed. The air around them seemed to grow colder and heavier. My palms started sweating as I stared at her and was unable to say a word.

“And of course, I knew what would happen to you if I suddenly stopped doing all that.”

“W-What are you talking about…”

I stepped back. Then another step. This wasn’t the Mizuki I knew.

“Hehe. I’m just kidding.”

The mood suddenly changed. The tension in the air vanished all at once, and I almost collapsed. I barely managed to lean against the wall behind me to stay upright.

“I’m kind of a perfectionist.”

“U-um. Mizuki?”

What was she talking about now?

“Because of that, I sometimes lose sight of everything around me. That’s why I ended up making too much of that fried chicken you said you liked.”

“…”

“I just want you to be happy. That’s why I’ll do everything I can for that. Even if it means asking Shiomi for advice. You understand, right? Don’t you?”

“W-What do you mean…”

“So, just wait a little longer, okay? I’ll be perfect soon.”

“Y-yeah…”

Mizuki smiled brightly, as if nothing strange had happened just moments ago.

“Alright then! Let’s do our best this afternoon, too!”

“Y-Yeah…”

It was supposed to be for her own good. And Mizuki said she was doing it for me… Why did it still feel so wrong?

What was that just now?

“Damn it…! Argh!?”

As I muttered under my breath and tried to walk away on shaky legs, my foot caught on my loose shoelace. I tripped and slammed face-first into the floor.

“Ugh… ngh… gah…”

─Pfft.

─What was that?

─So lame.

Hiding my face from the laughter around me, I stood up and dragged myself back to the classroom.

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