The Girl Everyone Admires Loves Me… and I Don’t Remember Why. - Chapter 12: No Flags Are Raised, None Can Be Planted.

No Flags Are Raised, None Can Be Planted.

Chitose Yuuki’s POV.

Night.

I was playing an online game with Tatsuya and Kouta.

While we waited for the next match to start, Tatsuya suddenly spoke up.

“Oh, right. I heard something—yesterday after school, Takanashi-san apparently got hit on by some guy from another school.”

“What’s with the random topic? It’s not exactly rare, is it?”

I’ve heard stories about Mitsuki getting approached countless times already.

At this point, nothing surprises me anymore.

“No, but get this—the guy’s apparently considered pretty good-looking even by girls from his own school.”

“And she turned him down anyway, right? Then it doesn’t matter.”

As we were going back and forth like that, Kouta seemed to remember something.

“Oh yeah. I heard from a friend too—some scary-looking upperclassman was really persistent about asking Takanashi-san to hang out.”

“I know about that one. But it sounds like that senior hasn’t bothered Mitsuki again lately. He’s apparently obsessed with some girl from another school now.”

That guy had a rough face and I never heard anything good about him, so honestly, I’m relieved he lost interest in her.

“Well, if push comes to shove, I’ll handle it myself.”

“Ho~?”

“Seriously? For real?”

“Of course I will.”

I felt genuinely offended by how skeptical the two of them sounded.

When the time comes, I’m not the kind of coward who runs away, nor a heartless bastard who does nothing, and definitely not some all-talk poser.

“…Still, I think Mitsuki will be fine on her own. And if something actually happens, she’ll contact me anyway.”

No contact means no problem. That’s how it works.

“Ahh, right. Yuuki, you’ve got Takanashi-san’s contact info, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Though we don’t really message each other anymore. To be precise—we used to, but lately it’s completely stopped.”

My replies were always late, or I’d forget entirely, and at some point the frequency just… dropped off.

I figured talking face-to-face was faster and easier anyway, so I didn’t think much of it.

Apparently Mitsuki felt the same way, because after that we basically only talked in person whenever there was something to say.

“…Y’know, listening to you talk, Yuuki, it kinda feels like you’re personally snapping every flag before it can even stand.”

“What flag are you even talking about?”

“Nothing, never mind. Sorry, forget I said anything. Oh—next match is starting.”

After that we got completely absorbed in the game again. By the time we logged off, the date had already changed.

And, as usual, the next morning I ended up rushing to school barely in time to avoid being marked late.

***

Miyase Tomoya’s POV.

Morning.

The moment I woke up and checked my phone, there was already a message from Takanashi. I replied right away.

This has become my morning routine lately.

“She really is an early riser, huh…”

And it’s not just waking up early—she even makes her own lunch. That’s honestly impressive.

Come to think of it, Takanashi’s been coming to school early recently too.

She used to arrive a little later together with Chitose.

‘Good morning. Let’s do our best again today too ♪’

‘Yeah. Especially since exams are getting close.’

After replying to Takanashi, I quickly finished getting ready and left the house.

“…So sleepy.”

I stayed up way too late last night reading light novels.

Maybe I’ll grab a coffee from the vending machine once I get to school.

After arriving, I bought one and downed it.

“…Alright.”

Just as I was about to head to the classroom, I accidentally bumped into a female student carrying a thick stack of printouts.

“S-sorry! I was spacing out…”

She crouched down to gather the papers that had scattered across the floor.

“I’ll help.”

“Ah—thank you so much!”

I picked up the fallen sheets and handed them to her.

“Here. I think I got them all, but you should probably count just to be sure.”

“Right, yes…”

While she was counting, I scanned the area to make sure nothing had been missed.

That’s when my phone vibrated in my hand.

A quick glance—

‘Miyase-kun. You should be arriving at school soon, right? By the way, I’m already in the classroom. Come quickly ♡’

Come quickly…? Does she need something from me?

“Ah—all of them are here.”

“Good, that’s a relief.”

“Um… really, I’m so sorry.”

“No, it was my fault for not paying attention. Sorry. Anyway—the stack looks pretty heavy. Want help carrying them?”

“N-no, it’s okay! This is my duty as class monitor today.”

Ah, so she’s on day-duty.

“Got it. Then… please be careful.”

“Y-yes!”

“I’ll head on ahead then.”

Just as I turned to leave, a voice called out from behind.

“U-um, if it’s okay…”

“Good morning, Miyase-kun.”

And there she was—Takanashi, suddenly appearing.

“Takanashi? Weren’t you already in the classroom?”

“I got thirsty, so I thought I’d buy something to drink.”

The other girl stared at Takanashi with wide, startled eyes.

Well… yeah, I can understand why.

“Ah—I’ll be going now!”

She hurried off almost at a run.

“Hey, Miyase-kun. Who was that girl just now?”

Takanashi asked, tilting her head with a perfect, gentle smile.

Somehow… that smile felt oddly chilling.

I explained the whole situation to her.

“Ohhh, so that’s what happened.”

“I’m just glad we managed to pick up all the papers without any missing.”

“…Yes. That’s good. Really good.”

I had no idea that her final words carried more than one meaning.

“But from now on… we should be careful so that things like this… don’t happen again, okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll watch out.”

I nodded earnestly.

But even then, I still had no clue what exactly Takanashi had been warning me about.