Projection Diary
p5
Oh, Cartelet-san. You've finished your day duties pretty quickly.
That's because
I want to go home with Shino right away!
Shino-
Karen~ Let's go eat those crepes by the station today!
Wow¬ I wonder if Japan's crepes can win against London's crepes?
I recommend the Italian Sil vous Plait Crepe!
Ooh, what's this? Heading to the station?
Youko-chan...
Italian? French? Which is it...?
What the heck~?
...
p6
It's fine. I'm used to it.
I'm not so much of a child that I'd get all jealous
over Shino getting worked up over other blonde girls.whisper whisper...
We've had less time to talk since the class change,
but I can handle this much...
...Aya?
School's over, Aya. What are you reading by yourself.
Oh, this? It's an exchange diary I used to write with Youko.
It kinda died off midway since Youko got lazy with her replies,
but she'd write about having fun with her family...
...Aya.
p7
You're done for. Sitting in the classroom by yourself after school reminiscing from an exchange diary.
You're trying to escape reality too much...
Shut up! Are you one to talk when you've been rubbing your cheeks against that kokeshi doll, Alice!?
I-I need to do that to soothe my soul!
Wait, you saw that!?
I was only reading this cos it caught my eye~
And I'm just doing this cos Shino... cos Shino~
...Hey, Aya.
If it's alright with you...
would you like to do
an exchange diary with me?
p10
...J-Just kidding! I just brought it up out of boredom~
Hahaha Ahaha
Ahaha
Y-Yeah. It's not exactly all the rage now that we're high schoolers.
Aha
...Then how about we take a different approach?
We'll write one pretending to be someone else like in a play.
I'll write a diary pretending to be Shino,
Pretend
you pretend to be Youko, Alice,
and we'll write it like Shino and Youko are having an exchange.
Oh~ That sounds fun.
I'll start things off~
Dear Youko-chan,
Good evening, it's me, Shinobu☆ I haven't done an exchange diary in ages, so I feel kinda nervous.
By the way, Youko-chan, you and Alice in Class C usually come over at lunch to talk with either me or Karen. Are you sure you don't need to talk to Aya-chan?
by Aya
p11
Aya... I wonder if she got embarrassed while writing this...
But it feels strange.
Even though Shino's watching telly in the living room,
it really feels like a letter from her.
Erm, I'm... "pretending to be Youko writing a letter to Shino", right?
I wonder how Youko would respond...
by Alice
Hm~? It's fine. Me and Aya have been talking to each other ever since we were little, after all. More importantly, are you making sure to talk with Alice? Don't go making her feel lonely now.
AAAAAH!
I'm writing some embarrassing stuff too!!!
What's this chill I'm feeling!?
p12
The next day
Aya, here's the notebook I borrowed from you.
Thank you, Alice.
So you're lending notes to Cartelet-san?
Ah, yeah... Stuff like English composition and the like.
Class is starting~
I see... Youko's already gotten sick of talking to me, huh...
I-Is something wrong, Komichi-san!?
The next period
For today, turn your textbooks to page 67...
I've been fluffing Alice's hair everyday! Viva la blonde!by Aya
p13
Alice~ I went to eat crepes with Karen-chan today!
That so? Were they good?
Yes.
I would've taken you with us if you didn't have day duty, Alice.
I want to go with you too some time, Alice... Well, good night.
...It hasn't exactly been every day recently.
Eh~? Alice said it was "once every 2-3 days". Have you been spending more time playing with Karen's hair lately?
...Is that so?
Hah! I thought as much. Do you think Alice would be happier if I fluffed her some more?
I guess Aliece wants her to touch her more.
As for me...
p14
Your hair's really smooth, Aya. Isn't it touch tending to it every day~?
N-Not really... This comes natural to girls.
I love how it feels to run my fingers through your pigtails from the base to the end in a smooth motion~
Don't play around with me too much...
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Why am I thinking about writing that!?
What's with this delusion!?
Komichi-san!? Do you need to go to the nurse's office!?
Alice~ I'm taking a bath~
Let's go to bed once I'm finished~
Okay, Shino~
We've exchanged the diary quite a few times today.
Writing as someone else is suprisingly fun.
p15
...Do I want to be fluffed?
Yeah, just a little.
...
No no no no!! I'm Youko right now!
I'm writing while pretending to be Youko!
Alice~ You've been staying up a lot lately, haven't you?
NYAAAH I-It's nothing, Shino! I just got a little crazy for a moment there~~
p16
Let's just erase
that "just a little" part...
W-Well, you'd have to ask her that yourself. Besides, you're clinging onto her like you're lovers or something. Isn't that weird?
by Alice
You may have a point. By the way, Youko-chan, if you had a lover, what would you want them to be like?
by Aya
What's this all of a sudden, Shino?
by Alice
Ufufu. Just a little girls' talk.
by Aya
p17
Girls' talk, huh... Hey, Shino. Let's say, just for example, if Alice told you
by Alice
that she likes you not just as a friend, but as something more precious, what would you do?
...Hard to say. I'd probably get confused if she dropped that on me all of a sudden.
by Aya
Then how about if Youko-chan said she liked you as more than a friend and wanted you to spend less time with other girls, what would you do?
Aya...
p18
Shinobu~ Alice~ There were two puddings left, so I've brought them here.
Isami.
Oh, Shinobu's already asleep?
Yeah. It seems she's really tired from PE today.
What a kid.
Shame you can't eat them together, huh, Alice?
N-Not what I meant!
I'll leave the other one in the fridge.
...But to be honest,
it is a shame.
Delicious...
p19
Alice~ This pudding is delicious.
I feel twice as happy eating it with you~
Your delicious blonde hair won't lose to it either!
Human caramel!
I'm certain it doesn't taste good~
Wait, what kind of delusion is that!?
I'm not tasty! I'm not tasty!
...I guess Aya
also having feels like this
for Youko.
If it were Youko,
how would she respond?
p20
I'd support Aya and properly accept her feelings. I love Aya too... I would never do anything to make her feel lonely.
by Alice
...You're such a fool, Alice.
Youko
would never say something like that.
p21
Inokuma-san? She was with Cartelet-san a moment ago...
Alright. I'll come again later...
OW!
I-I banged my foot against Alice's desk.
I must be gravitating towards blonde hair...
...What's this notebook, I wonder...?
p22
I'm just gonna go buy something to drink~
Take care, Youko.
...
Shino?
That notebook...
To think you'd pry into someone's private belongings.
U-Um, I only saw a little bit of the last page.
I didn't think it was that amazing.
It said in your handwriting
that you love Aya-chan.
p23
Ah, look, Shino! This is just fiction...
B-B-But on the right side of the page,
it says "I'm sorry, but that's wrong" in Aya's handwriting.
!?
...?
E-Erm, don't worry about it, Alice!
I'll support you no matter who you love, Alice! Maybe they're not close by right now,
but I'm sure your destined one is out there somewhere! Just hang in there!
p24
Huh? Onee-chan, is Alice still in the bath?
Yes. She's taking a long one today.
Fwah~
Guess I'll go to sleep without her then~...
...She's asleep.
I need to reply to Shino.
p25
No.
Sorry, but that's wrong.
Not Shino. To Aya.
...I'm sure your destined one is out there somewhere...
What is this feeling?
...Where is Shino?
What should I write?
p26
Uuh...
Why do I feel so sad?
It was just a little misunderstanding. Happens all the time.
Shino cares for me a lot.
I should know that already.
Wait, does she really?
Does she meddle with me just because of my blonde hair?
Kh
...Ah...
No. Shino isn't that kind of girl.
It's all wrong.
What am I to Shino?
What is Shino to me?
p27
...Shino.
What Shino said to me today was really painful.
It's strange... I know it was just normal advice from a friend, and yet...
I guess these feelings really were love towards Shino.
p28
Maybe I've just been deluding myself since starting that diary with Aya,
but...
They're still the same since back then. Her sleek black hair.
Her soft and slightly mature lips.
Her slender shoulders and her stretched out hands.
Her moderately-sized chest.
Everything about Shino.
p29
Nononononononono!!
...Wait!
I'm starting to sound like a pervert...
...Maybe I really have gone crazy.
It really is strange.
Even though she's this close,
I feel hazy from Shino not talking to me at school as much,
to the point that I made Aya play Shino's role.
p30
She's this close to me.
If these feelings are real,
then if I get closer
and touch her,
then maybe,
Mm...
these feelings with get across...
p31
mumble...
... Karen...?
Mmm...
Alice...?
I guess... she went to the bathroom...
p33
Good morning, Ayaya~
I haven't gotten the diary back from Alice.
...Might be because I just left it there.
It slipped my mind...
Good morning, Aya-chan.
Ah, Aya-chan, I wanted to ask.
Did Alice confess to you?
Eh?
p34
I only caught a glimpse, but...
You're the one who wrote "sorry, but that's wrong", right, Aya-chan?
Alice has been feeling down since yesterday, so maybe she thought that much about you.
I'm not blaming you or anything, though...
O-Oh, that! I'll explain everything later, Shino!
Ah! Aya-chan!
...The stuff Alice wrote in the diary before...
Shino must've though those were Alice's feelings and not Youko's.
Alice...
p35
Alice!
Alice! I'm sorry! About the diary and Shino and...
No, it's not your fault, Aya.
I was irresponsible too.
N-No, it's because I wrote something weird...
If I had only played my role properly, even Shino would've understood it was fictional.
I'm so stupid.
Ah.
Alice~ Please cheer up~
Shino impersonation
That sounds nothing like her, Aya.
p36
You're not Shino after all.
It's okay, Aya.
Yeah.
You're right.
I'm sorry.
I couldn't do anything.
p37
Even though I understand how Alice feels to a painful degree,
just understanding won't solve anything.
I'm not Shino
and Alice isn't Youko.
In the end, all we've been doing
is licking each other's wounds.
Oh.
What's up, Alice?
p38
Youko.
...
What are you crying about?
Did something happen?
...
Ah, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to.
Here.
p39
Youko hugged Alice
as simply
as that.
Ah, that's right.
I bought this French bread at the convenience store just now,
but it says it was made in the Phillipines! Crazy, no?
I guess they both start with an "f" sound, at least...
Here.
Have some.
p40
Ah!
But England and France have been fighting since long ago, right!?
There was something about it in World History!
If you eat this, Alice, it might fire up your English blood, I guess~?
Hahaha
Just kidding.
Here.
...Feel a little better now?
...Yeah.
p41
...Thanks, Youko.
Don't sweat it.
It's just what friends do.
Oh right, I got a coupon from that crepe place we went to the other day.
You can have it, Alice.
You sure?
Yeah. Let's all go together next time.
That's right, Alice.
This is who Youko is.
She's really kind.
When she sees someone's heart is closed, she doesn't hesitate to bust open the windows
and let the light shine in.
p42
Seriously.
I almost want to hate
how kind she is.
That's why I fell in love with her.
Hey, Youko. We haven't done an exchange diary in a while. Wanna try it?
No way. We're in high school, y'know?