After I Picked up a Notebook Filled With Intense Emotions, the Girls Started Acting Strange - Chapter 28

“―So, what the hell is going on here?”

“I was gonna ask you that.”

It had been a few hours since the messy morning.

When lunchtime came, I asked Kazuma to eat together.

But somehow, both Sena-san and Yukina were already waiting for us like they knew we’d show up.

I’d only just messaged Kazuma a few minutes ago, so… how?

Anyway, the reason I even invited him out was because I couldn’t stand the atmosphere in class anymore.

As time went on, the curious looks toward me didn’t fade; they only got worse.

And the reason was obvious. It had to do with Yukina’s behavior this morning.

Up until now, she’d always shown her affection for Shindou openly.

No one knew whether Shindou felt anything more than friendship toward her, but Yukina’s one-sided crush was clear to anyone who looked.

But then, that all changed today.

The direction of her feelings that once aimed at Shindou had suddenly shifted toward me.

So, everyone was confused.

―Did something happen between those two?

That’s what they were whispering. And that wasn’t the only thing.

Apparently, some students had seen Shindou and Yukina hanging out during Golden Week. Both of them stand out, so it’s easy to spot them even in a crowd.

Now, just a day later, everything was different. People started saying Shindou must’ve done something stupid, and after that, Yukina switched over to me.

To make matters worse, I’d also been spending time with Sena-san lately, and since Shindou had been jokingly called the Shindou Harem, the rumors had turned into Shindou getting stolen from or Shiomi stealing his girls.

─Who the hell’s the homewrecker here!?

Oops, my inner Kansai comedian slipped out there. I’m sorry, fake accent.

Still, I think I’ve earned the right to protest a little. It’s not like I stole anyone, or even meant to.

But, there is a tiny bit of truth to those rumors. I indeed tried to comfort Yukina after her date with Shindou didn’t go well. And, that happened at my place…

From the outside, it totally looks like I stole her. Thanks for misunderstanding, everyone.

I keep saying it, but I didn’t steal anyone! Seriously!

“Shiomi-kun! Here, I made you some fried chikuwa rolls! Today’s flavor is curry! I even packed extras for you!”

“Yuu-kun! I made lunch too… I hope it’s not a bother. If you don’t want it, I’ll throw it away right now.”

“…”

“So, what are you gonna do about this?”

Even though I’d already bought some bread, both of them pushed their homemade lunches toward me.

“Ahaha, it must be tough being the popular guy.”

Shut up.

Kanda was there too and was sitting next to Kazuma like always.

For now, I accepted both lunches and started forcing them down with all my might.

Sena-san’s bento was delicious and well-balanced as always, though I couldn’t shake the feeling that the portions were slowly getting bigger each time. Didn’t we already talk about limits? Where did that conversation go?

As for Yukina’s lunch, well, it didn’t look good to put it nicely. Some parts were too salty, others had no flavor at all. At least nothing was raw this time… but there were a few things so burnt they were basically unrecognizable.

I had a lot I wanted to say, but every time I hesitated so much, Yukina looked like she was about to cry. So I had no choice but to man up and eat it. She went through all the trouble to make it for me, after all. I wanted to accept that feeling.

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if I should accept it so easily. I didn’t want to doubt her intentions, but her attitude was way too different from before.

“Hey, Sena-san makes sense, but why is Orihara-san acting like this, too?”

While Kanda kept the two girls distracted, Kazuma leaned in and whispered to me.

“…”

And I had an idea why their behavior changed. It was the notebook.

She’d already been acting strange when she left my place yesterday. That had to be it.

Maybe that notebook still hides some kind of secret. I haven’t even read the whole thing yet, so I can’t be sure.

Looks like I’ll have to keep reading…

“You’ve got  that look that something’s up again.”

“Well…”

“I mean, it’s great that Yuu is suddenly popular, but there’s something off about all this. And the fact that both of them used to be linked to Shindou makes it even weirder.”

I agreed.

The notebook’s owner had written with an almost painful kind of devotion. The kind of love that clings no matter what.

Shindou had his issues. But if either of those two girls were really the ones who wrote it, would they really switch their feelings so easily?

Even if the guy made a fool of himself, that kind of love would’ve swallowed it whole.

…Unless I’ve got it all wrong…?

I don’t know anymore.

If neither of them is the owner, then there’s only one person left.

But both of them were definitely looking for that notebook, so there’s no way it’s unrelated.

…Damn it. My head’s gonna explode.

I don’t mean to sound full of myself, but why did their feelings suddenly turn toward me?

There had to be some reason for it. I needed to figure that out a little more carefully.

“I just hope Shindou doesn’t try to start anything.”

“Yeah.”

That was a headache waiting to happen, too.

◆

I was furious.

I swore to myself that I would get rid of those wicked and arrogant classmates no matter what.

I didn’t understand girls at all. But I am a handsome guy.

I’d always cared only about my looks, never my heart. I spent my days fooling around, enjoying life without thinking too deeply.

But when it came to being cheated on, I was more sensitive than anyone.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!! What the hell is this!? They’re saying I’m the guy who got cheated on!? Don’t mess with me!!!”

After hearing the story from Ryouji, I felt like I was going to lose my mind from rage.

Of all people… him!?

Even during break time, those disgusting stares from everyone didn’t stop; they just got worse. I tried to get close and talk, but her group of gal friends kept blocking me.

Mizuki must’ve been tricked by that guy. She’s being manipulated, that’s all. There’s no way I got cheated on.

And Yukina used to like me. So why is she with him now?

“…Tch. That’s just like those gals. That damn slut.”

So that’s what it was after all. Turns out the rumors about her sleeping around with anyone were true.

If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve made my move first. Not that I’d ever want someone’s leftovers now!

“Where the hell did that slut go!?”

Finally, during lunch break, I saw Yukina step away from her friends. But the moment she left the classroom, she disappeared. So I had to run around looking for her.

Lunch break was almost over, and I still hadn’t even eaten!

I was irritated as I searched every corner until I finally spotted that familiar blonde hair. She was walking out of the restroom with a girl I didn’t recognize. She is pretty cute, actually.

“Yukina! I need to talk to you!”

“Huh, what is it!?”

When I grabbed her arm, she quickly shook me off. Rubbing the spot where I’d touched her, Yukina glared at me like I was some kind of criminal.

Hey, I didn’t even grab her that hard! Why’s she acting like I’m the bad guy here!?

“If you’ve got something to say, then just say it here.”

“You’ve heard the weird rumors about me, right?”

“Weird rumors…?”

“Don’t play dumb! Everyone’s been whispering and staring at me!”

“…Oh. That.”

Yukina suddenly let out a small laugh, like she’d just remembered something.

Seeing that made the blood rush straight to my head again.

No, calm down. I came here to talk to her, not to lose it.

“I want you to tell everyone that those rumors are lies. That they’re all made-up nonsense.”

“About what?”

“About me boring you, making you angry, or you being disappointed in me. That stuff. It’s ridiculous, right? So, I want you to tell everyone it’s not true.”

The rumors had grown way worse than that; people were even saying Shiomi stole her from me, but there was no way I could admit that to her. My pride wouldn’t let me.

“What are you even talking about? It’s all true.”

“True!? But yesterday, you looked like you were having fun!”

“You call that fun? What kind of sense do you even have…?”

With a deep sigh, Yukina stared at me like I was hopeless.

“Do you want me to explain everything I felt yesterday, from start to finish? First off, when we met, you didn’t even say I looked cute. I dressed up for you. And you called it normal. Are you serious?”

“T-that’s…”

“Then you walked way ahead through the crowd and almost lost me. You took the wrong road to the theater, and we had to rush in at the last second. And instead of apologizing, you just kept making excuses.”

“…”

“Even during the movie, you didn’t focus at all. You were just looking around at other people. And I know you saw your childhood friend, Mizuki, afterward. You couldn’t take your eyes off her the whole time.”

─Whoa, that’s brutal.

─Yeah, if a guy did that on a date, I’d dump him too.

─Even as a guy, I can’t defend that one.

─Seriously. I thought he was at least good-looking, but now?

─Total jerk.

─No wonder she got taken by someone else.

─Serves him right, haha.

I suddenly realized everyone around us had stopped to listen.

I could hear them whispering, and every single word was mocking me.

“Y-Yukina, let’s talk somewhere─”

“You lost your wallet, and even at the café, you were awful. You only ordered drinks until I begged you to actually get food. And your table manners? Disgusting.”

“T-That’s got nothing to do with this!?”

“Then you kept talking about yourself. And when Mizuki rejected you, you twisted it into something pathetic.”

“That’s not true! You’ve got it all wrong!”

“It was the worst day of my life.”

“─”

“So don’t ever show your face in front of me again.”

With that, Yukina turned and walked away.

I couldn’t move. I just stood there, frozen.

When I finally looked around, everyone was laughing at me.

“Y-You’ve got it wrong! That’s not how it happened!!”

But no one listened.

And so, I ran as fast as I could to get away from all of it.

Out of breath and not thinking straight, I ran until I reached the hallway with the vending machines.

“What the hell!!! Damn it!!!”

In a burst of anger, I kicked the nearby trash bin for cans and bottles.

It must’ve been full, because a glass bottle that was stuck at the top fell out, hit the floor, and shattered loudly.

“C-crap.”

“Hey, Shindou. What do you think you’re doing?”

“─T-Takahashi-sense…”

Standing there was none other than our club’s strict advisor, Takahashi-sensei.

Just great… he saw me kicking it.

“Clean that up, then come to the staff room later.”

“W-wait, this was… an accident…”

“No excuses. And this isn’t the only thing. We also need to talk about you skipping yesterday. Got it?”

“…”

He knows…

My face went pale as I watched the teacher walk away.

“…Ow!?”

A piece of glass had cut my finger.

“What the hell!! Damn it all!!! Aaaaaarghhhhhh!!!”

“You’re being too loud, Shindou!!”

“─I-I’m sorry…”

My face turned bright red with embarrassment.

◇◇◇

Afterword

The title was “Run Arata.” It’s only an homage at the very beginning and the very end, though.

I’ve already checked everything about copyright, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

Also, thank you so much for reading up to this point.

The next chapter will be a side story, marking a little break in the story.

After that is the final arc, maybe? It turned out longer than I expected.

I don’t have nearly as much written ahead as I’d hoped, but I’ll do my best!

To keep the quality up, there might be days when I can’t update daily. Please understand.

I’m really happy to have received so many reviews!

If you haven’t yet, I’d be so glad if you could follow, rate, leave a comment, or write a review!!