The Girl Everyone Admires Loves Me… and I Don’t Remember Why. - Chapter 5: Into the Unknown.

Into the Unknown.

“…Ah. It’s raining.”

Just as we were about to leave the shopping mall, we noticed the downpour outside.

The rain was already fairly heavy, and it looked like it might get even worse.

Better to head home soon.

I pulled a folding umbrella from my bag.

“Do you have an umbrella, Takanashi?”

“Yes, I do.”

She took one out of her bag as well.

“Prepared as always.”

“Thank you. But you’re just as prepared, Miyase-kun.”

“I forgot mine once and had to walk home in the rain—caught a cold because of it. Ever since, I’ve made sure to bring one.”

“…I see. Yeah, walking home in the rain really isn’t good. You could catch a cold.”

For a moment, her tone seemed to dip.

Maybe she’d had a similar experience and was remembering it.

But she quickly returned to her usual self.

“Well then, shall we head home?”

“Takanashi—I’ll walk you part of the way.”

“…”

Her steps faltered just as she started walking.

She must not have expected me to offer.

“Thank you. But I’ll be fine. I don’t want to trouble you.”

“It’s no trouble at all. I’m just worried. It’s already dark, and with this rain… Besides, part of the reason we stayed so late is because I got carried away talking.”

According to my phone, the rain had only just started.

If we hadn’t gotten so absorbed in conversation, we could have left while it was still light.

“But if we’re talking about reasons, I’m just as guilty. I was having so much fun talking with you that I lost track of time too.”

“Still, I’d feel better seeing you home safely.”

“Fufu. You’re surprisingly protective, Miyase-kun.”

“I’m especially protective when it comes to you.”

“…!”

In bad weather and darkness, letting a girl as stunning as Takanashi walk home alone? Anyone would worry.

Though maybe, like she said, I’m just overly cautious by nature.

“Th-That’s not fair… When you say it like that, I can’t possibly refuse.”

Her ears had turned bright red.

“Um… then, Miyase-kun—would you mind walking me partway?”

“Of course. Thank you.”

“No, thank you.”

And so we started walking side by side.

“…Miyase-kun.”

As we walked, she suddenly spoke.

“You really are kind, aren’t you?”

“I think I’m pretty average.”

“The fact that you think this is average is the greatest proof of how kind you truly are.”

She took a few steps ahead, then turned back to face me.

The smile she wore as she looked at me was so captivating I couldn’t help but stare.

“Thank you, Miyase-kun.”

Somehow, that thank you didn’t feel like it was only for walking her home.

It sounded as though she was thanking me for something else entirely.

***

Takanashi Mitsuki’s POV.

“…”

While walking, I stole a glance at Miyase-kun beside me.

My heart, already pounding, beat even faster.

…That’s not fair.

I was supposed to be the one stealing his heart.

I was supposed to make him fall for me.

Yet somehow, I’m the one falling deeper and deeper.

He really is kind.

And that kindness has saved me—helped me—so many times.

Even the very first time we met.

After school on this day, in the timeline before I came back…

After Yuuki abruptly canceled our shopping plans, I’d gone to the mall alone, feeling down.

Everywhere I looked inside the stores, I saw friends and couples happily shopping together.

If things had gone as planned, right now I would have been…

The thought only darkened my mood further.

In the end, I didn’t buy anything and was about to head home when the rain started—making everything worse.

Then, as if to add insult to injury, a message arrived from Yuuki.

“We’re all playing the new game right now and it’s super fun—so next time you should join us, Mitsuki!”

Seeing how casually he brushed off breaking our promise, sadness flooded my heart.

In that moment, something inside me just… gave up.

I was about to walk home without even opening my umbrella—when it happened.

“Takanashi? Are you okay?”

“…Eh? Miyase… kun?”

That was how I met him.

He told me he’d come to buy books and noticed I seemed off as he was leaving, so he called out to me.

And then…

“Takanashi—I’ll walk you partway home.”

“Eh… but…”

“I’d worry too much letting you walk alone in this dark, awful weather.”

After that, he walked me part of the way.

The whole time, he was attentive and gentle, concerned for how I was feeling.

Thanks to him, I managed to pull myself together.

If I hadn’t met Miyase-kun that day, I might never have recovered.

I could have caught a cold, and my mental state might have spiraled even further.

That day, he saved me.

And now…

The circumstances are different, but once again he’s walking me home because he’s worried about me.

Miyase-kun is still the same Miyase-kun.

And that means…

I took out my phone.

A message had just arrived from Yuuki.

“We’re all playing the new game right now and it’s super fun—so next time you should join us, Mitsuki!”

The exact same message as before.

I’d thought it during lunch and after school too, but Yuuki is still the same old Yuuki.

Nothing about him has changed.

But I’m not the same girl I was back then—the one who overflowed with sadness reading this message.

So…

Once I got home, I sent Yuuki a certain message.

And from that point on, I would truly step into uncharted territory—experiences I’d never had before.