After I Picked up a Notebook Filled With Intense Emotions, the Girls Started Acting Strange - Chapter 47

After I parted ways with Mizuki, I headed back to the viewing deck.

Yukina was looking out at the scenery with a lonely expression, but when she noticed me, her face lit up and she ran over.

“I’m sorry. Did I keep you waiting?”

“No. You came right on time! If you were even one second late, I might’ve cried!”

“I-I’m glad I made it.”

Her voice was as cheerful as always.

But the way she said she wouldn’t forgive even a one-second delay… I felt a bit of the weight behind her words.

At least she didn’t end up crying.

“It’s my turn now, right?”

“―Um. Y-Yukina-san…?”

“…”

She suddenly hugged me and then froze.

No reaction at all, even when I called her name. She didn’t move a muscle.

Her head was right under my nose, and even in the daylight, I could smell the sweet scent of her smooth blonde hair. The shampoo smell tickled my nose.

Why do girls always smell so good?

N-No. I need to focus on something else…

“Pffffffffffffft. Ahaha.”

“Um…?”

“Hey, do you want to go somewhere quiet?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

It felt like she just took a big sniff of something… but what the heck was that…?

Yukina acted like nothing happened and tugged on my sleeve.

Her arms looked thin, but the strength she pulled with was surprising.

I could tell that she had no intention of letting go.

“Y-Yukina. Stop pulling so hard.”

“No… I don’t want anyone else taking you.”

She must be talking about Mizuki.

She didn’t say it directly, but her actions made her feelings clear.

Yukina led me along, and we eventually reached a small pond deeper inside the nature park.

It was on the opposite side of the viewing deck from the flower field. A place I hadn’t visited yet.

There was almost no one around.

Only the water was glittering softly as the wind touched its surface.

“I like places like this.”

“Really? I thought you liked lively places more.”

“If I’m with Yuu-kun, I like it anywhere.”

“…I don’t know how to respond to that.”

“Ahaha, I’m kidding. I actually calm down better in quiet places. I used to be super gloomy, just so you know.”

Yukina sat down on a bench and patted the spot beside her and told me to sit.

“─Um.”

When I sat down, our shoulders touched naturally. Then she leaned a little closer.

…T-Too close.

Yukina kept coming closer bit by bit.

Every time the wind blew, her hair brushed against my arm. The sweet smell made me feel strange.

“Today, Yuu-kun looked like you were having fun with everyone.”

“Well, it was a group activity.”

Did I look like I was having fun? Honestly, I barely remembered enjoying anything.

If anything, it had been nothing but stress. Mostly because of Shindou and these guys.

“But you know… You barely looked at me today?”

“…That’s not true. I looked at Yukina too.”

“Hm… Then tell me. How many times did I look at Yuu-kun this morning?”

“…”

I-I have no idea.

“How many times did Yuu-kun look at me?”

“…No, I don’t really count things like that.”

“Hmm. So that means zero.”

She said it in a sulking tone and tugged on my sleeve again.

It was cute but also a little scary.

But I had to ask now. The same question I asked Mizuki earlier.

Yukina was clearly jealous. If I didn’t ask now, I never would.

“So. I want to ask you something. Yukina… why do you like me so mu—”

“Because you’re my savior.”

She answered instantly.

Her face didn’t change, but her voice was sweet, and she was so close I could feel her breath.

“…Your savior, you said that before?”

“Yeah. That savior.”

“But isn’t that Shindou—”

“Of course not.”

Scary.

She cut me off again without even waiting.

No hesitation at all.

Before, she said her savior might have been Shindou.

So, when did that change to me?

So ever since that day she started coming to me, it was because she thought I was the one who saved her?

If I remember right, the savior was the person who helped her little sister…

“W-Wait, I seriously don’t remember anything like that…”

“That’s… can’t be helped.”

“Huh?”

“No. It’s nothing! Anyway, I have proof.”

“Proof?”

“Well, remember when I went to Yuu-kun’s house the other day? I forgot to return the towel I borrowed.”

“Ah.”

That simple and plain towel. I hadn’t noticed one was missing since I had several identical ones.

“And?”

“I asked my sister to smell it, and she said it has the same scent as the person who saved her!!”

A dog? Her sister has the nose of a dog?

“Back then, I was using a different fabric softener, so it took me a while. But the deeper, personal smell you have doesn’t change!”

She said that like it was nothing. But it was honestly pretty terrifying.

“I-I see.”

Her sister was saved back when Yukina was in middle school. If that’s true…

I dug into the memories I didn’t want to remember.

Memories I tried to push away for years.

But now, it all made sense.

Why did Yukina suddenly start showing so much affection toward me?

Why did her feelings seem so heavy, like she was tied to something?

If I were her savior…

Then everything fit perfectly.

…Wait?

“Then, what was that day all about?”

“That day?”

“The day you came to my house. You suddenly acted strangely?”

“T-that’s…”

“I thought it was because you saw the ethics notebook but ―Ah.”

I muttered it without thinking. Too late. I realized what I’d said only after the words were already out.

“Notebook?”

This is bad…

Every instinct inside me screamed. She must not know.

Whether that notebook was really hers or not, showing it to her now would be dangerous after she’d already shown that jealous side.

“Hey, wait. Didn’t Yuu-kun say you didn’t have it?”

“N-No… well, that was just… a way of speaking or…”

This is bad. This is really, really bad.

“So you did look at it.”

“…Yes.”

At this point, I had no choice but to tell the truth.

“────…”

“Y-Yukina…?”

Yukina’s face went blank, like her mind shut down.

And then.

“~~~~~Gasp.”

Whoosh.

Her face went bright red in an instant, like boiling water exploding from a kettle.

“Y-Y-Y-You looked!? You actually looked at my ethics notebook!?”

“W-wait, calm down…”

“──Gasp!!”

She grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard.

“H-Hey!?”

Then she suddenly stood up from the bench and ran away in panic.

Was that a mistake? Should I have chased her?

No, we both need time to calm down.

Thump, thump.

My heart was beating loudly.

But at least now I knew Mizuki and Yukina weren’t trying to hurt me. That alone made me let out a breath of relief.

Still, that must mean the notebook Yukina mentioned is something she really doesn’t want anyone to see.

“Oh, that’s right. The notebook!”

The ethics notebook I had shoved back into my bag earlier.

I remembered it and took it out again.

I checked that no one was nearby. Then I opened the notebook again,

“Gasp.”