After I Picked up a Notebook Filled With Intense Emotions, the Girls Started Acting Strange - SS2 Award Commemoration

It was nothing but bad vibes.

From start to finish, the letter was filled with nothing but unsettling things.

This letter was full of heavy emotions; the main point was probably written at the very end.

—Tomorrow. I’ll be waiting at that place. Make sure you come.

—If you don’t come… I’ll take away something important to you.

There was no place written, not even a time.

This was honestly a very unfriendly letter.

And it even came with a threat.

Can I really call this a love letter?

Or should I call it a threat instead?

Hmm.

More importantly, what even is my “important”?

I couldn’t really think of anything.

Right now, I’m satisfied as long as I can live my peaceful life.

…Well, it’s already starting to not feel so peaceful anymore.

Of course, the manga and games I enjoy are important to me.

And the signed jersey I got from an athlete I liked a long time ago, that’s a treasure too.

My family is important. My friends are too.

“…My most important.”

No, wait a second? Isn’t this like that thing written in the notebook?

—If my love isn’t returned… then I’ll die with him… No matter what.

“…”

This is bad.

I’m starting to sweat a lot.

My most important thing… that would be my life.

Yeah, of course it is. Anyone would say the same.

I don’t know who sent this letter, but I have a guess.

No, it’s more like I only have one guess.

It has to be one of those three girls!!

At that moment, I decided on my new goal.

…I need to find out who sent this letter and make her satisfied. That’s my only choice.

I don’t want to die yet.

If I can meet the sender at “that place,” then maybe there’s still hope!

“Alright, if that’s the plan, then first—”

◆

After getting that letter, I went home and tried to think about what “that place” could be.

There was no doubt, the sender had to be one of those three girls.

So I thought it must be a place connected to one of them…

“No way I could figure that out!!!”

The next day.

Yesterday was Friday, so today is Saturday.

I was at the station, watching people pass by and quietly freaking out to myself.

There was no way the station itself was “that place.”

But I didn’t have any other options.

I mean, there were no hints. How was I supposed to know?

I had checked all the likely places.

School. My old elementary school. Lots of spots.

But I hadn’t run into anyone.

So, I planned to wait at the station and see if one of them passed through.

Call it sneaky if you want. I don’t care. My life is on the line here.

If “that place” exists, one of them would definitely have to pass through the station.

That’s why I had been standing here since early morning.

…My stomach rumbled.

I left home so early this morning that I hadn’t eaten anything. I should’ve grabbed at least the banana in the living room.

But even a little delay might have been dangerous for my life.

Still, the chances of running into them were low.

“…I guess this is the end of my luck…”

“What’s that about?”

“Ugh!?”

My life just got a little shorter.

The moment I muttered that, a voice called from behind me. I jumped and turned around.

“Yuu-kun, good morning. What a coincidence to meet here.”

No, this is too unnatural…

The letter’s sender. One of the three candidates. Sena Mizuki was standing there in casual clothes.

A soft cream blouse and a white knee-length flare skirt. Very neat and elegant, just like her.

“Eh, why are you here?”

“Why, I just happened to be passing by.”

“I-I see…”

Could something like this really be a coincidence? Or did my plan actually work?

But, if she’s the one who sent the letter, would she really be the one to talk to me first?

“Ah, that’s right. Yuu-kun, are you free later? If you want, could you come with me for a bit?”

“No, that’s…”

W-what should I do?

“You’re free, right? I know you are!”

“Yes.”

And just like that, I was dragged along.

Mizuki led me to a café near the station.

It had just opened recently, and even though it wasn’t open yet, a long line of young people had already formed.

“Knot.”

“Yeah. I don’t know what it means, but it sounds fancy.”

“Yeah.”

The name was written on a standing sign in English, with the Japanese reading written underneath. I didn’t know what it actually meant; my English skills weren’t good enough for that.

There was no way this was “that place.” I’d never been here before.

After waiting in line for a few tens of minutes, the café finally opened, and we went inside. It surprisingly went smoothly.

I think there were at least twenty groups ahead of us, but it felt like we got called in pretty fast. Maybe it was just my imagination.

The ceiling was higher than I expected, with bare concrete and several iron pendant lights hanging down.

The lighting was dim and was designed to make the most of the sunlight coming in through the windows.

The café had a very calm and relaxed atmosphere because of that.

“So, do you like it?”

“Yeah. It’s really stylish. I didn’t expect to come somewhere like this first thing in the morning. Honestly, the atmosphere is nice. I think even a guy alone could come here, and I’d probably come back again.”

“Hehe, I thought you’d say that, Yuu-kun! All that research paid off.”

“W-wow…”

She actually went out of her way to bring me here. She really did this just for me.

“Wait? Where’s the menu?”

I was looking around as the other customers were all checking menus and calling the staff to order.

“There’s no menu.”

“…No menu?”

“Yeah. Oh, look, it’s here!”

While I was still wondering what she meant, Mizuki pointed behind me.

On the table had been placed fluffy pancakes with bananas on top and a cup of coffee.

…But I didn’t order this.

“Last time it was baked apple pancakes, but today I thought you might want a banana!”

“…Yeah, I guess so.”

How does she know what I feel?

I rushed out of the house this morning and kept thinking about the banana I missed for breakfast… How does she know that?

“You usually order a café latte, but you looked sleepy today, so I asked them to make your coffee stronger.”

“…”

Am I being watched?

Just like that, a plate of pancakes covered in strawberries was placed in front of her, and she chose milk tea to drink.

“You didn’t eat breakfast, so I thought you’d be hungry. Eat a lot, okay?”

“Thank you.”

This is weird. How does she know I didn’t have breakfast, that I missed my banana, and that I’m sleepy from getting up early?

And the food came way too fast. Other customers who came in around the same time were still looking at the menu.

“One sugar and some milk. That’s how you like it, right?”

“Yeah, thank you. You know me well.”

“That’s just common sense!”

“Common sense?”

“Yeah, common sense!”

“…”

Thinking about it won’t get me anywhere.

My idea of common sense clearly doesn’t match hers.

I decided not to think about how she knew all this.

While I tried to stop thinking, Mizuki took knives and forks from the table’s cutlery holder and handed them to me.

It was a complete service, almost too much.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. If you want, I can cut some and feed you a bite?”

“No, that’s a bit much.”

“You don’t have to be shy. Well, let’s eat then.”

After looking a little disappointed, she said thank you for the food and started.

She cut her pancakes and took a bite with smooth movements.

“Mmm~~~!!!”

I couldn’t help but smile.

A lot of strange things had happened today, but just seeing her smile like this made it all worth it.

I stopped staring, cut my own pancakes, and took bites with the banana.

“…!”

The sweet banana and creamy texture were perfectly matched; it’s so good.

“Here, Yuu-kun. This one’s delicious too.”

“…”

She held out her strawberry pancake right in front of me. The fruity smell tickled my nose.

“Here.”

“…Ah.”

I felt a little embarrassed, so I took it.

“Is it sweet?”

“…Yeah.”

My face got a bit hot, and I looked away.

My mouth was full of the sweet and sour fruity flavor.

“I feel like eating some bananas too. Yours, Yuu-kun.”

“…”

She opened her mouth slightly while waiting for me to feed her.

No funny intentions, right?

I’m not imagining things, right?

I cut some of my pancake, added banana and cream, and offered it to Mizuki. She took a small bite and chewed slowly, savoring it, and then licked her lips.

The way she did it was strangely seductive.

“Hehe, your banana is really tasty, Yuu-kun.”

“Don’t keep saying that.”

After that, we finished the rest of our pancakes and then moved on to the main topic.

“Why did you bring me here?”

“Well, Yuu-kun has been going through a lot lately, right? I thought it’d be good to eat something tasty when you’re tired.”

“…”

Her pure smile made me even more confused.

There was no hint of craziness in her eyes, just a beautiful smile.

All that stuff probably meant what happened on the recent school trip.

Part of the reason for that mess was Mizuki, too… but her caring for me honestly like this, made me happy.

So, I gathered my courage.

“Mizuki, did you give me a letter?”

“Letter? What kind?”

“Ah, no. You know, something like let’s meet today?”

I didn’t mention the really heavy part of the letter.

I didn’t know if Mizuki was the one who sent it. And I couldn’t just show the letter even if she asked.

“It said to come to that place, but I didn’t know exactly where. So I wandered around the station.”

“…”

Mizuki heard that and paused while looking like she was thinking carefully about something.

…This reaction… She’s not the one?

“Hm, I’m sorry. Maybe it wasn’t me.”

“I see. Got it.”

“Let’s head out soon. It looks like it’s still pretty crowded outside.”

After that, we left the café.

When I went to pay, she was already doing that thing couples do at fancy restaurants while acting as if she’d already taken care of it.

…I felt bad, so I forced her to let me pay for my own portion. She still looked a little unhappy at the end.

“Well then, Yuu-kun, I just remembered something I have to do after this.”

“…Something to do?”

“Yeah. I had fun having breakfast with you. Thank you!”

And with that, she left like a whirlwind.

“…What was that all about?”

In the end, I still didn’t know if she was the one who sent the letter.

And she only gave me a mysterious reaction.

“…What does she mean by maybe not?”

Once again, I was back at square one.

“Ah, Yuu-kun.”

I wasn’t back at square one after all.

◇◇◇

Afterword

Thank you so much for all the congratulatory messages!

I’ll keep working hard on getting the book version ready.

This was the story of a date with Mizuki.

Yandere characters really are tricky.

The story continues. Next time, another yandere.

Please keep enjoying the SS.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback!