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

On the way back from the field trip, Shindou wasn’t on the bus.

 

What exactly happened to him? When I heard the whole story from my classmates… it was something so terrible, I could hardly describe it.

 

I didn’t know if they were the ones who actually laid their hands on him, but at the very least, their revenge had been carried out.

 

I could call it “serves him right” or “what goes around comes around,” but was that punishment really justified?

 

That wasn’t something I had the right to decide.

 

Still, even if I didn’t need to feel it, a small bit of guilt remained in my chest.

 

After the field trip ended, the weekend passed, and Monday arrived.

 

That morning, sunlight pouring through the curtains woke me up. I stretched my body in the pleasant morning air and got out of bed.

 

My parents had already left for work, so I was alone. It was a peaceful morning.

 

I ate breakfast, got ready, and headed to school.

 

At the three-way intersection on the way there, someone called out to me.

 

“Yuu-kun, good morning!”

 

“Good morning, Mizuki.”

 

We greeted each other and naturally walked side by side toward school.

 

Mizuki hummed happily and was clearly in a good mood. Her cute face made me stare a little.

 

“What is it? You’re staring at my face like that. It’s a little embarrassing.”

 

“No… There’s a reason.”

 

“You know? You can just say I’m cute, right?”

 

“By the way, wasn’t there an English quiz today? Did you study?”

 

“Ah, you changed the subject! Well… I didn’t study, but I’ll be fine! What about you, Yuu-kun?”

 

“I didn’t study either. Now I’m starting to worry.”

 

“It’s okay, it’s just a review from the midterm. I’m sure you’ll do great.”

 

“I hope so.”

 

“Oh, I’m on morning duty today! I’m sorry, Yuu-kun. You have to go on ahead!!”

 

After that harmless little conversation, Mizuki suddenly remembered and ran off like the wind toward school.

 

She was in a rush, I thought as I watched her back disappear, and slowly continued walking.

 

When I reached school, for some reason, the teacher was actually standing inside the gate, greeting students.

 

Mixed with the sleepy morning air, everyone gave a light greeting and shuffled inside.

 

It was the start of a new week, so everyone looked tired.

 

Just like the others, I yawned and walked to the entrance hall to change my shoes.

 

─And then.

 

“Good morning, Yuu-kun!”

 

“Whoa!?”

 

A blonde gal suddenly jumped out from behind the shoe lockers.

 

My heart nearly popped out of my chest from the surprise.

 

“Haha, what’s wrong? You got so scared.”

 

Yukina said with a mischievous smile and was teasing me.

 

Two of the buttons on her shirt were undone, and her ribbon was loosely tied.

 

Her full chest was right in front of me because of that, and I quickly averted my eyes.

 

“Yuu-kun is a pervert.”

 

“T-That was an accident.”

 

“Really? Are you sure you didn’t want to look more?”

 

She was teasing me.

 

I knew that. If I reacted or got flustered, it would be exactly what she wanted.

 

“Do you want to skip school with me and do something fun?”

 

“…Don’t say stupid things. Come on, let’s go to class. Besides, the teacher’s standing at the gate, we can’t get out now.”

 

“…Tch. Too bad! Alright then, let’s go!”

 

Yukina clicked her tongue in a way that made it obvious she was disappointed.

 

We then walked toward the classroom, chatting about nothing important.

 

“Ah, good morning, Yukina.”

 

“Morning.”

 

“Good morning, you two! What are you doing over here?”

 

As we approached the classroom, two gals were talking near the door.

 

They were Yukina’s friends. As soon as Yukina saw them, she rushed over.

 

“You know, a little something happened.”

 

“Do you want to hear it?”

 

“Yeah, tell me, tell me! Alright, Yuu-kun, see ya later!”

 

Looking curious about their story, Yukina happily went into the classroom with them.

 

I followed a moment later and sat down in my seat.

 

“Good morning, Yuu-chan.”

 

The silver-haired girl who always caught everyone’s eye ─Rei, closed the page she was reading and smiled.

 

“Oh, good morning. You’re early.”

 

“Really? This is normal for me.”

 

Rei gave a gentle smile and looked back down at her novel.

 

A cute pink book cover wrapped around it.

 

She must’ve just started it, since she was still on the early pages.

 

“What is it?”

 

“No, I was just wondering what you’re reading.”

 

“A novel. It’s the book version of that romance movie that’s showing now. It’s about childhood friends. People say the novel is even better than the movie.”

 

I felt like I’d heard about that somewhere.

 

“I’ll lend it to you when I finish it. Tell me what you think afterward.”

 

“…Well, I don’t know how long it’ll take me to finish, but if that’s okay.”

 

“That’s fine.”

 

Rei flipped another page with a quiet rustle.

 

She could talk and read at the same time. That’s impressive.

 

We kept talking, and time had slipped by before I knew it.

 

“All right, class is about to start. Talking time is over.”

 

She closed the book and put it inside her desk.

 

Just as the warning bell ended, Gozen-sensei entered the classroom with his large frame swaying slightly as he walked.

 

Listening to the morning announcements, the new day finally began.

 

◆

 

…Isn’t this too peaceful?

 

Our conversations were so normal. So natural.

 

It felt wrong, and it almost felt strange.

 

It was like the crazy, frightening side they showed before had been nothing but a dream.

 

No, no, no.

 

It’s not like I want them to act insane again.

 

But they’re acting as if nothing ever happened, and that’s confusing.

 

I kept waiting for their true selves, those heavy emotions, to show up again. But nothing came.

 

They were just normal. Like friends talking casually.

 

Maybe everything that happened last week was actually a dream.

 

That’s how peaceful everything felt.

 

I’m not wishing for chaos, but when they act as if absolutely nothing happened, I can’t help but be thrown off.

 

The teacher’s voice faded into the background.

 

Instead, my mind drifted back to what happened by the lake at sunset on that day.

 

＊＊＊

 

“““Now we can be together forever.”””

 

“─Gasp!?”

 

Three voices spoke behind me.

 

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

 

I didn’t think all three of them would be standing right behind me.

 

I swallowed hard and slowly tried to turn around.

 

I didn’t know what to say, but I felt like we needed to talk.

 

─But then.

 

“Don’t. Keep facing forward until the circle of light disappears.”

 

“Yeah. You really shouldn’t look back right now.”

 

“If our eyes meet, I don’t know what might happen.”

 

Yes.

 

After hearing that, there was no way I could turn around.

 

“Yuu-kun.”

 

“Yuu-kun.”

 

“Yuu-chan.”

 

Each of them called me in their own way. My whole body tensed.

 

“““See you later.”””

 

“…Eh.”

 

That was all they said. Then all three went completely quiet.

 

Why didn’t they want me to look at them? I had no idea.

 

A minute passed. The sunset rippled. The lake’s reflection grew weaker.

 

The world dimmed, and the “Ring of Light” disappeared without me realizing.

 

Just like I promised, I gathered my courage and turned around.

 

“…This is straight-up horror.”

 

There was no one there. Not a single person.

 

＊＊＊

 

On the bus ride home that day, we didn’t even sit in the same seats. And after we went our separate ways, we didn’t talk at all.

 

It felt like the whole thing had been a dream from one night.

 

At first, I thought things between us had gone back to normal, but today, they talked to me like nothing strange had ever happened.

 

“…What are they planning?”

 

My small whisper was swallowed up by the teacher’s voice.

 

And just like that, another completely ordinary day came to an end.

 

◆

 

The next day.

 

Morning came again. It was gentle and peaceful.

 

It felt like I slept better than usual. Maybe it was because I had fewer things to worry about.

 

Not having to stress over that notebook anymore was a huge relief.

 

…But that didn’t mean I had no worries at all.

 

The girls were being way too quiet.

 

It wasn’t as serious as before, but it still bothered me. Humans really are annoying creatures sometimes.

 

“…So, why are you here?”

 

“Oh, is it strange?”

 

“Well… yeah. If my senses aren’t wrong.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

Having no worries really was nice.

 

But that peaceful feeling lasted only a moment.

 

The flag got triggered way too fast.

 

I didn’t know how, but Rei was sitting on a chair in my room.

 

On my desk was a novel that definitely wasn’t mine.

 

“…”

 

I shut my eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again, hoping it was a dream.

 

Instead, she was sitting even closer.

 

“I’m sorry, but how did you get in here?”

 

“…?”

 

What was with that confused face?

 

You totally understand what I’m asking. You’re just bad at pretending.

 

“You should get up soon, or you’ll be late for school. Or should I help you get dressed?”

 

“I’ll pass.”

 

“Alright. I’ll wait in the living room.”

 

Just like that, Rei left the room as if it were completely normal.

 

I changed into my school uniform and headed to the bathroom.

 

After washing my face, I finally noticed the strange feeling.

 

“Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. Ahhh. I might actually come.”

 

“…”

 

What am I supposed to say?

 

Next to the washing machine was a laundry basket full of my clothes from yesterday.

 

And right there, sitting on the floor, was a blonde girl pressing her face against a pair of my underwear.

 

When Yukina noticed me, she quickly stuffed the underwear into her skirt pocket.

 

A thief.

 

A very bold one.

 

“Yuu-kun. Good morning.”

 

“…Yeah. Good morning. Can you give that back?”

 

“Eh!? I-I don’t know what you mean!”

 

“You do. The thing in your pocket.”

 

“Oh, this? It was on the floor, so I picked it up! I’ll just put it back!?”

 

Don’t act like something in my own house is some kind of lost item.

 

“Then, I’ll go back to the living room now!”

 

Yukina said that and walked out proudly.

 

I sighed, brushed my teeth, fixed my bed hair, and got ready.

 

Finally, I opened the door to the living room.

 

“Ah, Yuu-kun. Good morning! I’m making breakfast!”

 

“…”

 

I was already too tired to be surprised anymore.

 

When I opened the door, Mizuki was standing in the dining kitchen, wearing her school uniform and an apron.

 

Rei was sitting at the dining table, calmly enjoying a cup of coffee, and Yukina was tapping on her phone.

 

They blended into my daily life so naturally that I didn’t know what to say. My mouth just hung open.

 

“You like bread for breakfast, right? I made hot sandwiches. Try some!!”

 

“…”

 

It was huge.

 

A giant fried cutlet was stuffed between slices of toasted bread.

 

The ratio of cutlet to bread was something like 9:1.

 

And she had piled a whole mountain of them on a plate.

 

This wasn’t normal. My stomach hurt just looking at it.

 

“…Do you not like it?”

 

“N-no… Thank you. I’ll eat it.”

 

“Make sure you eat all of it!”

 

“…”

 

When I approached the table, Rei naturally pulled out the chair beside her.

 

For a moment, I thought she exchanged a sharp glare with Yukina across from her, but Rei nudged me to sit, so I did.

 

I said thanks for the food, picked up a sandwich, and took a bite.

 

It was good.

 

But the amount was insane for breakfast.

 

While I was eating, someone prepared hot coffee and brought it over.

 

It was in a mug the size of my head.

 

…Where do they even buy something like that?

 

After I took a breath, Mizuki sat down at the seat in front of me like it was the most natural thing.

 

“…So, what exactly is all this?”

 

“They broke the promise. So it couldn’t be helped.”

 

“Huh? Rei, you broke it too!”

 

“Exactly. We all said we’d give Yuu-kun a short rest for a while.”

 

A short rest…?

 

“Doing things behind our backs isn’t fair. I won’t overlook it. I’ll be the one managing Yuu-kun.”

 

“Managing? I can’t allow that. Yuu-chan belongs to me.”

 

“…Says the girl who already got rejected once (muttered).”

 

“…Excuse me? I was never rejected. I’ll have you know, our feelings were mutual.”

 

“Here, Yuu-kun. Ahh.”

 

“That’s in the past!? Things are different now.”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

“Yuu-kun, is it delicious?”

 

“Y-yeah…”

 

““…””

 

“Gasp.”

 

Please stop with the baby-talk.

 

Mizuki and Rei kept arguing. In the middle of their fight, Yukina slipped in and fed me a piece of a cutlet sandwich.

 

The moment the other two noticed, the light vanished from their eyes.

 

“Come on, arguing won’t get us anywhere. Yuu-kun is mine, end of story.”

 

“Yukina-chan, that’s not what we agreed on.”

 

“That’s right. As I said before, whoever drags Yuu-chan down into a mess of obsession during school life gets to have him. That part hasn’t changed.”

 

A mess of obsession…?

 

Is that really the sound effect they want to use?

 

“As long as it’s fair. If you follow the fair rules, then even if you kidnap him, lock him up, or tie him down to make him yours, it’s allowed. That will decide everything.”

 

“Ugh, whatever.”

 

“Just so you know, I’m not planning to lose.”

 

“I’m not losing either.”

 

“Hehehe.”

 

“Kyaha.”

 

“Ahaha.”

 

What kind of fair kidnapping and restraining is that?

 

And why are they suddenly bonding over this weird friendship?

 

Their argument settled down for the moment, and we all headed to school.

 

I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d survive until tomorrow, but apparently, they’ll at least let me live normally while we’re at school.

 

…How is that supposed to make me feel safe?

 

When I reached the classroom, I sat at my desk, took out today’s textbooks and notebooks from my backpack, and started getting ready.

 

A new day was beginning.

 

I had no idea how things between the girls and me would end up.

 

But even so, I decided I needed to somehow deal with them and face their heavy feelings head-on.

 

“…?”

 

When I put my notebook inside, something got caught.

 

I was sure I had emptied my desk before going home yesterday, so nothing should have been there…

 

I reached in and pulled it out.

 

It was a cute and pale-pink campus notebook I didn’t recognize.

 

A bad feeling rushed through me, and sweat started pouring out.

 

I turned the notebook over to look at the front cover─.

 

“Give me a break…”

 

The words slipped out of my mouth.

 

On the title of the notebook, it said.

 

─Ethics.

 

─End of Volume 1.

 

◇◇◇

 

Afterword (a bit long)

 

Thank you very much for reading up to this point.

 

I’m sorry the update was a little late.

 

With this, Volume 1 is complete.

 

It ended up much longer than I planned. Some parts dragged, but I’m glad I managed to finish it.

 

As I wrote last time, what comes next depends on the GA Contest results.

 

Please pray for me, or maybe the book will get published in some other way.

 

Either way, the story grew more than I expected, so even if GA doesn’t work out, I might still continue it.

 

I’ve already thought roughly about what happens after this.

 

And, well… I kind of ended Volume 1 in a very way that will definitely continue. Haha.

 

Thank you for all the comments and reviews.

 

Every time I received one, it really boosted my motivation.

 

To be honest, I hadn’t planned for Shindou to turn into such a jerk or to get hit with that much serves you right. But after seeing everyone’s comments…

 

I got carried away, and that became his fate. Haha.

 

That said, the idea that Rei originally liked someone else, had her love ruined by Shindou, and wanted revenge. That part was set from the beginning.

 

A yandere whose love gets interrupted is scary, so I added the horror tag.

 

I’m glad it actually worked as intended.

 

To tell the truth, writing serves you right stories or yandere stories wasn’t really my thing.

 

(I didn’t want to follow trends. It’s kind of a contrarian attitude, haha.)

 

But after my previous work, I wanted to challenge myself with different genres, and it ended up like this.

 

I wonder if I wrote it well?

 

Judging from the comments, some people praised the yandere parts, so maybe I did okay, even though it’s not my specialty.

 

There are still things I wish I could have done better, like using the notebook more, giving Yukina more yandere horror elements, explaining why the subject was ethics, and revealing S’s secret properly.

 

I wanted to polish those parts more, but because of the GA Contest deadline, I had to publish the draft as I wrote it.

 

If possible, I’d love to revise those parts someday.

 

Also, the Kakuyomu Contest begins in December. I’ll start creating something new now, so the earliest I can publish will probably be near the end of the year.

 

For the new story, since this mystery, yandere style was fun to write, I’m thinking of combining it with older ideas I had.

 

The title would be, “I Picked Up a Diary Filled With Intense Emotions, and Now Everything’s a Mess.”

 

Hmm, I feel like I’ve heard a similar title somewhere! Haha.

 

It sounds similar, but it won’t be a serves-you-right story or a horror-focused one.

 

It’s more like a simple romantic comedy.

 

But since it has many similarities to this story, I’m still unsure.

 

I might even end up publishing something completely different (there’s one more idea I’m considering).

 

Well, that’s the plan for now. If you’re willing, please follow my next work and read it too.

 

This got long, but that’s the end of the afterword.

 

Thank you for staying with me.

 

I hope we meet again, either at the next work or in Volume 2.

 

And if you’d like, I’d really appreciate a review to celebrate the end of Volume 1.

 

Comments are always welcome!!