CHAPTER 1.
The PA system speakers littered throughout the school crackled and came to life, gathering the attention of those who heard it. "Ding Dong, Ding Dong," chimed the PA system.
"The Asahi High School Festival Closing Party has now concluded," came the voice of Tsubaki, a Third Year student and a member of the school's Broadcasting Club, "That was the final scheduled program."
The closing party signalled the end of three days' of culture festival for Asahi high school, a time for most students to wind down and enjoy the remaining time of the festival as teachers and student council members watched as professional crews dismantled stalls and other temporary constructions to return the hired equipment to the outdoor hire companies.
Classrooms which were decorated with hand-made decorations by the students could be returned to normal the next day, before school resumed the day after, and thus the school building was empty at this time. Various classrooms inside the school were decorated according to the theme the class voted for during the festival. Some classrooms were converted into scary haunted houses, whilst others were decorated as a bright and colourful cafe.
Despite other students having no reason to go into the school building during that time, there were five girls who went in together, steeled with certain resolve. After stopping past the shoe lockers, they linked hands by interlocking their pinkies and thumbs together to form a complete circle, symbolising their sisterly bond. They then split up, each individual heading to separate classrooms spread throughout the different floors of the school building. It was an agreement they made together in the afternoon just hours before, and the girls were waiting for someone, a young man who was informed of the girls' plans, and invited him to come to just *one* of these classrooms, as a way for the young man to approach his chosen girl as he said he would just two days ago.
Outside, a group of three young men walked towards the same building in silence, each with a similar but separate mission of their own. Two of them stopped outside the entrance and watched as the third went inside, alone to seek out the girl he wanted to see. The young man waved to his two friends without looking back as he went inside, and the remaining two young men took it as a signal to split up to complete their own missions; one went towards the still-burning bonfire, and the other towards the Broadcasting Club's stall, currently being dismantled.
"Uesugi-kun, when everything for today is over, each of us will be in our respective rooms, clutching our respective feelings, waiting for you."
Within the hallways of the darkened school building, there was an eerie silence. Suddenly, echoing footsteps could be heard by the five girls from their respective classrooms. Down the hallway he walked, up the steps he took, and down another hallway when he reached his destination floor. Time had suddenly slowed for the five girls, as he made his way to the classroom of the girl he desired to speak with.
One of the girls was leaning her folded arms on the railing of a balcony, which overlooked the bonfire below. She watched the young man who was walking towards the bonfire with his hands in his pockets. She saw him suddenly stop, and she made eye contact with him as he turned his head to look up towards her. Realising he had caught her watching him, she let out her usual bright smile and waved to him. The young man then returned a smile, before turning his head back towards the path and continued ahead to the bonfire, on a course towards a girl patiently waiting for the young man to approach her. The girl on the balcony relaxed her expression to a softer smile, being relieved of a large amount of anxiety. She knew that the anxiety was not about her, but she was anxious for the young man inside the school building, wanting to know who he would choose to see. She continued to look at the bonfire down below, waiting for the end to come.
Another girl was inside her classroom, standing at the front with her back to the blackboard, which was artistically filled with words celebrating the cultural festival. She looked ahead with indifference, but her emotions said otherwise. It was a mix of emotions that looped from overwhelming confidence to utter fear. She could not tell from the sound of the footsteps where they were headed to, and her changing emotions caused her thoughts to race at a million transactions per second. Her ramped up heartbeat and anxiety continued until her morale improved suddenly - she realised she could do nothing but wait. Her expression changed back to her tough exterior, as she continued clinging onto meagre hope.
A third girl was standing next to the window in her classroom looking outside, touching the glass and reminiscing about the past year, her face with a mysterious expression reflecting in the window. She told herself she did all that she could do - even giving the young man that final push to convey his feelings a week ago. She had no regrets, even though she wasn't sure if those feelings of his would be conveyed to her specifically. She turned her head back slightly and listened intently to the footsteps, now echoing ever closer to her classroom. Her thoughts then went to her memories of the time the young man and herself were chasing each other around the same building they are in now, running laps and laps around it, over something now she considers silly but cute. She blushed slightly at the embarrassing and shameful thing she did right after, and let out a soft chuckle with a smile - as it was the day she first talked with him, and she began blooming into the woman she is now. "The footsteps," she suddenly noticed, "they're…"
Suddenly, the infirmary doors rolled open, and someone was heard leaving the room in a hurry. The young man who had climbed the steps to that floor at that point heard the commotion and stopped. He recognised the sounds as coming from the same floor he just arrived at, and turned his head slightly towards the direction the sound was coming from. He noticed the moonlight casted a long shadow with bunny ears on the ground, which was getting smaller and smaller very quickly. He thought to himself, *she* was most likely running towards the stairs on the other side of the building to get away from him. The young man then turned his head back to go back on course, paused for a second to give some thought to the matter, and sighed to himself before continuing up the steps to the next floor.
The sudden sound of a rolling door being opened elsewhere while the now familiar footsteps were echoing, startled the four other girls. "A room suddenly opened...am I hearing another set of footsteps from a different direction...? Those footsteps seem to be getting louder and louder, now further and further away... Oh, *she* must have run away due to the guilt she harboured from having to leave our old school together..." This was the conclusion four remaining girls came to individually, and when they heard the familiar steps from before continuing to echo, it only gave them a nervous reminder that *these* footsteps would stop soon, too, when the young man arrives at his destination.
The final girl was sitting in her assigned seat, in her classroom in 3-1, staring ahead at the blackboard as she normally does during class. Before the sudden opening of the infirmary's doors, the only thought she was concerned with was about her sisters. Would they find happiness by the end of today? Who would be able to find this happiness? Would *he* finally find the answer to his worries that he had been looking for?
After her thoughts about the sudden opening of the infirmary doors ceased to trouble her, her thoughts returned to her own personal worries: about her career choice and choice of University. She was still suffering from a low judgement score in her University Prospect grading, did she overreach? It was mid October and the exams would be in mid January - in 3 months time! It would be difficult for someone with her poor grades to get into University, let alone become a teacher. She wanted to follow in her mother's career, and also...
Then, suddenly, the sound of a classroom's door being rolled open could be heard. The girls in the building were interrupted from their thoughts, and realised that the footsteps had stopped - it was over.
One of the girls, in her acceptance, opened her classroom door, calmly headed out to the hallway to find the others and leave. As she stepped out, she heard muffled crying from a neighbouring classroom a couple doors down. The girl, sporting her trademark headphones on her neck, ran towards the classroom, rolled open the doors and hugged the crying girl to console her, speaking softly to her. "Nino, it's over now."
The girl on the balcony smiled to herself, before turning around and leaning back on the railing gazing at the classroom where the door opened. "You had already made up your mind back then, huh?" she said to herself as she left.
The girl who had run away from the infirmary was still in the building, having arrived back at the infirmary and retrieved her phone that she had left on a bed. The shock from knowing the door being opened wasn't her's, she fell into a teacher's chair and cried to herself for a few minutes before drying her tears and leaving the infirmary to meet up with the others.
The fifth girl was still in the middle of her thoughts about following her mother's career path when she heard her classroom's backdoor being opened and turned around. Itsuki watched as Fuutarou walked in the doorway and walked towards her desk.
"Hey," greeted Fuutarou, "sorry for the wait."