"I heard that someone went missing near Ukiyoe Street again, right? This is already the seventh case this month, isn't it? So scary!"
"Yes, my family doesn't let me go to Ukiyoe Street at all lately. Now I can only go to the station and hang around the old streets."
"I heard a new café opened on Ukiyoe Street. I wanted to go see it. Hey, hey, Miura-kun, what do you say we go after school?"
"Eh? That sounds dangerous. Maybe not after all."
As soon as Nakano Yu entered the classroom, the chatter of the girls unsettled him. Hearing that someone had gone missing again, Nakano Yu couldn't help but glance at the girls who were talking.
Those girls were a popular group in the class. Their average grades were mediocre, but Miura Yumiko, who led them, had considerable talent in social skills. Still, Nakano Yu honestly didn't like her because of her queen-like behavior.
As for her character, Nakano Yu didn't know much about it, so it wasn't clear to him. If those girls weren't talking about something that interested him, he wouldn't have even glanced at them a second time.
But judging by her appearance, Miura Yumiko was indeed beautiful. Her golden hair fell down her shoulders, paired with green eyes and light, subtle makeup, giving her a youthful vitality. As for her figure, there was nothing particularly striking.
"Hey, Nakano-kun is looking at us!"
"Shhh, be quiet! Don't let him hear!"
Noticing Nakano Yu's gaze, the two girls next to Miura Yumiko blushed slightly and whispered, but their words still didn't escape Nakano Yu's ears.
Hearing her friends' words, Miura Yumiko, who was filing her nails, also looked up and directly met Nakano Yu's gaze.
Seeing the young man's attractive, purple-thirsty eyes and handsome face, Miura Yumiko couldn't help but freeze, while her blush uncontrollably spread across her cheeks.
Nakano Yu, however, just gave Miura Yumiko a brief glance without saying anything, thinking about the recent disappearances on Ukiyoe Street, then went straight to his seat and sat down.
"Eh, eh, Nakano-kun looks so cold! Totally my type! I'd really like to add him on LINE!"
"What are you thinking?! Nakano-kun hardly talks to anyone, let alone adds someone on LINE. For things like this, it's better to just fantasize, right, Miura?"
The two girls giggled, but Miura Yumiko didn't immediately respond.
When they looked closer, they saw that Miura Yumiko was turned slightly and quietly watching the young man in the second-to-last row by the window.
"Eh?! Miura has that expression? Don't tell me she's fallen for Nakano-kun?!"
"Impossible, would Miura give up on Hayama Hayato?!"
Their gossip chirped like sparrows, but Miura Yumiko remained completely indifferent.
As if sensing her gaze, Nakano Yu turned his head and met her eyes again.
Caught off guard by the young man's sudden look, Miura Yumiko froze, then quickly turned her head to the side and lowered her eyes without a word.
"Speaking of which, I wonder what Nakano-kun is like privately. I'm a little curious."
"Probably like some young lord, right?"
The two girls next to her kept talking, which triggered Miura Yumiko's memories.
It was the afternoon two days ago. She was returning home from school as usual, but since she was in a bad mood, she didn't go with her friends and chose a deserted shortcut. And just then, she was harassed by some thug.
Fortunately, Nakano Yu appeared in time; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
However, after Nakano Yu dealt with the thug, he immediately left, without any intention of talking to her. That incident made her doubt her own charm for a while.
Miura Yumiko didn't know that Nakano Yu had appeared in that area because it was a target of a system mission, which is why he hurried there. As for saving the girl, it was just a casual act.
Also, Nakano Yu knew that Miura Yumiko liked Hayama Hayato. Although it was unrequited love, Nakano Yu had no intention of doing any NTR-type things. After all, Miura Yumiko couldn't be considered an unsurpassable beauty.
At least there was still a difference compared to the Five Sisters. Nakano Yu had no need to get involved in trouble because of Miura Yumiko.
Seeing that Miura Yumiko was no longer looking at him, Nakano Yu was satisfied and withdrew his gaze.
Recently, people have been disappearing on Ukiyoe Street; this is already the seventh case. Something's not right.
The police haven't made any moves yet, so it's probably those things causing the problem. Looks like I'll have to find time to deal with it.
After all, the Nakano family house is on Ukiyoe Street. If something were to happen to the Five Sisters because of this, it would be a bit late to react then.
Speaking of which, doesn't a group of monsters watch over Ukiyoe Street? Considering such a big incident is happening, haven't those monsters taken any action?
Lost in thought, Nakano Yu didn't even notice when the class started.
At the sound of the school bell, Nakano Yu gathered his thoughts and glanced at the seat next to him. Seeing it was still empty, he couldn't help but sigh.
The seat next to Nakano Yu belonged to a girl, and just saying her name would send chills down anyone's spine!
She was the famous yandere among yanderes, beautiful and kind, full of traits of an ideal wife — Katsura Kotonoha!
Speaking of which, Nakano Yu and Katsura Kotonoha had a decent relationship. They could talk normally, but rarely went out together, as Katsura Kotonoha's upbringing had been unusually strict.
However, Katsura Kotonoha wasn't in school today, nor yesterday. Is she sick?
Should he find time to visit her?
That thought was immediately dismissed by Nakano Yu. His relationship with Katsura Kotonoha was fine, but not good enough for him, as a male classmate, to go visit her at her home.
She's probably just sick and will return to school in a few days.
Thinking this, Nakano Yu no longer bothered with the matter.
Time passed quickly at school. The Five Sisters were all busy with their own things and rarely came to look for him. Nakano Yu usually didn't have many friends, so he mostly only talked with Katsura Kotonoha. With her absent, the day passed quite boringly.
Twilight colored the sky orange, while the setting sun even dyed the scattered clouds crimson.
Since the school sports festival was approaching, Yotsuba decided not to go home with Nakano Yu and the others after school, but to stay for training. Tokyo hadn't been safe lately, so Edo would pick up Yotsuba after training, which slightly eased Nakano Yu.
However, what surprised Nakano Yu was that Ichika also decided not to go home with them, instead taking a taxi alone under the pretext of being busy with work, leaving Nakano Yu no chance to ask what happened.
Thinking it was about Ichika's acting career, Nakano Yu only reminded her by phone to call him if anything happened, and said no more.
He still had to deal with the situation on Ukiyoe Street. As long as such a thorn hung before his eyes, Nakano Yu wouldn't feel at ease until he dealt with it soon.
However, Nakano Yu couldn't even imagine that this night was destined to be restless.
Not even Ichika could have imagined that tonight her good younger brother would completely overturn her view of the world.