We always take our existence for granted.
We always walk towards a destination we know.
Towards the familiar.
But what if, one day, we suddenly stopped existing?
If one day, we vanished? If we left everything behind?
Against our will...
When nobody else will ever be able to find us...
Where will we be?
Walking towards a destination we don´t know...
Or will there ever be a destination anymore?
CHAPTER 1 - A Normal Day
6:31 a.m.
The morning Sun slowly rises over the distant valley between mounts Ryozen and Oike, making the green leaves of the forest trees come to life.
The sky over the suburbs changes from being dark to a familiar morning blue and orange gradient.
The birds chirp while they perch on the branches of the trees, welcoming the brand new day.
The increasingly bright sunlight enters through the window of a room in a house, somewhere in the town. As the lighting in the room reveals several furniture, a TV, a desk and a shelf with various books, an alarm coming from a little vibrating silver phone starts resounding through the four walls of the room. After a few seconds, the noise causes a reaction in a dormant figure laying on a bed, covered in a pink and white duvet, which starts moving hazily and emitting lazy groaning noises. A soft hand reaches out from underneath the duvet, picks up the phone and, by pressing a button on the side, silences the alarm.
Slowly, the duvet begins to rise, as the dormant girl begins to wake up from her slumber. The duvet falls on the bed, revealing a teenage girl, with a long, black hair, messy due to hours embedded in the pillows, wearing a pink shirt with white shorts. She struggles against the weight of her eyelids, that are constantly trying to close her beautiful grey eyes. She raises her left hand and rubs her eyes, as if she wanted to rub the feeling of being tired off her brain. Finally, the girl gathers enough willpower to pull her legs from underneath the covers and place her naked feet on the somewhat cold floor. She stands up, and stretches her arms up in the air, and after a minute preparing herself mentally to embrace a new day, she opens her closet and grabs a hanger with her school uniform, consisting in a navy-blue blazer, a white buttoned shirt and a light blue skirt. She starts changing into her uniform and, once she's done, she exits her room, adjusting the blue ribbon tied around the neck of her white shirt.
Her morning routine occurs as usual, with her preparing her own breakfast and school lunch. Today, she made herself some ramen, which she organized tightly inside a bento lunch box. Once she finishes her breakfast (consisting in some steamed rice with miso soup), she goes to the bathroom to fix her hair, brush her teeth, and apply some make-up on her naturally pale face. After this, she packs up the notes she needs for her classes in her blue schoolbag, and right before exiting her house, picks up her black bass case. She finally walks out of her house, en route to her school.
As she gracefully walks down the increasingly busy streets, passing by several houses and shops, the girl hears some footsteps behind her. They were swift, full of energy... And they were coming right towards her. As if it was from muscle memory, the girl quickly dodges the incoming presence by simply moving aside to the right. After that, all that is heard is a loud thud against the concrete street, followed by a high pitched, offended "ouch".
-"Hey! Why did you do that? I was just about to surprise you! And now I've fallen! If it wasn't for my lightning reflexes, I would've cracked my forehead open! Mio, you party-pooper..."- Complained the short haired girl with a large forehead on the ground, as she got up while rubbing the dirt off her hands.
-"Uh-huh... and if it weren't for my own reflexes, you would've achieved your goal and I would be cowering in fear from you scaring me, stupid Ritsu."- Mio starts berating Ritsu, with tranquil fury. -"You need to be stealthier than that. Besides, you've always done the same to me. So, you've become quite predictable, haha."- Mio laughs at Ritsu, quite mockingly.
-"It seems that you know me well... So well that you're even beginning to mock me just as I mock you. OK! You win... For now."- Says Ritsu, with a playfully menacing grin on her face. -"I'll figure out a way to scare you, and this time you won't see it coming, haha!"- She laughs in an evil fashion.
-"Anyways, stop fooling around and tell me. Did you fill the form that Nodoka-chan gave you, so we can use the stage for the next school festival?"-. After hearing this question, Ritsu's face changes completely, transitioning from a mischievous grin to an "Oh, crap!" expression. Mio can just look at Ritsu with a deadpan face, expecting a negative answer to her question. After all, it was typical of her to forget important stuff.
-"Uhmm... Well... That form..."- Ritsu begins to buy herself more time by ranting aimlessly. -"Well... How dare you ask me about it like that? You know I'm a busy girl! I've been doing lots of stuff! You can't simply come and boss me around! You didn't even say "good morning" to me!"- Ritsu tries to contradict Mio with all these arguments, but Mio was already expecting her to do that, so she knew how to fire back.
-"Busy doing what, exactly? May I remind you, Ritsu, that Nodoka gave you that form almost two weeks ago? If you don't hand it to her today, we won't be able to perform for the school festival!"- Mio's voice starts increasing in volume, but before she loses control of herself, she takes a deep breath and exhales. -"Look... I've had this conversation with you several times. I don't want to have it again. Just... Fill the form and hand it to Nodoka today before classes end, OK?"-
-"Aye aye, captain!"- Ritsu replies sarcastically. The two start walking away from the spot they were on and head towards the school.
After 10 minutes walking, they arrive to the Sakuragaoka High School. Several other female students are seen making their way to the main entrance, as they walk past the open metal gates of the building. A few teachers start to arrive, some by foot, some others in their cars. Mio and Ritsu greet other girls as they make their own way inside the building, and start heading to their classroom, the 3-1, located upstairs. They enter the classroom, in which there are not many classmates yet. At the distance, sitting on a desk at the back, they spot their blonde friend with big eyebrows: Tsumugi, or "Mugi", as everyone called her.
Mugi spots the two girls from her seat and immediately stands up to greet them. -"Hi there! Good morning! I'm glad you're finally here!"- She says with her calm, sweeter than honey voice.
Both Mio and Ritsu seem surprised of seeing her there; she's never been this early in the classroom. -"Wow Mugi! You seem to have finally beaten us! How did you make it here first? Tell us your secret!"- Ritsu exclaims excitedly, as she jumps up and down.
-"Hey, hey! Ritsu, calm down. She probably woke up earlier this time, that's all."- Mio replies to control her hyperactive friend.
-"Actually, I'm not the only one that made it earlier, hehe..."- Just as Mugi finishes saying this, as if it was on cue, an excited, happy yell is heard from the classroom's door. -"Surprise!"- A cute girl with childish personality rushes in, making her way through the desks so fast that her two yellow hairpins almost fall off her hair.
-"Yui?!"- Both Mio and Ritsu exclaim surprised in unison. -"What the he... How is this possible? Is this some sort of miracle?"- Ritsu asked, in a both puzzled and shocked manner.
-"Ehehe... I knew you guys would react like that. Actually, I was just returning from the bathroom, but then I saw you in here, and decided to surprise you!"- After explaining herself, Yui immediately starts hugging Mio and Ritsu, with her characteristic affection.
-"OK, OK! Enough! Jeez, you're always so... Cloying!"- Ritsu exclaims, while trying to push Yui away. When Yui finally let go of the duo, Ritsu was panting slightly and Mio was trying to hide her blushing cheeks, to no avail. -"Wow... You definitely caught us off-guard. You woke up earlier than ever!"- Said Mio, with an approving tone. -"And what prompted you to make such radical change in your routine?"- She asked.
-"Well, ehehe..."- Yui started chuckling, while taking her right arm behind her head and doing a silly gesture. -"I actually skipped breakfast to save more time, but I woke up at the same hour I do every day. Ui wouldn't let me do it, but I promised her to compensate with something else along the way."- Yui explains, as she pulls out an apple out of the pocket of her blazer and takes a bite out of it.
Mio sighs. -"Oh Yui... Of course. Did you know that that apple won't do anything to prevent you from feeling hungry and tired before lunch? You should never skip breakfast."- Mio starts lecturing Yui.
-"I know! But I wanted to know what it feels like to be early at school! Besides, I got to walk with Mugi to school for the first time ever. And I want to do it again!"- Yui replies with a pleading tone. -"It's the chance of a lifetime!"-
-"Yeah, but still, you'll end up regretting it in a few hours. Your stomach will be asking you nonstop for food."- Mio continued. Meanwhile, Ritsu was holding a chuckle and Mugi was looking at them both with her characteristic smile.
-"If you end up so hungry that you start feeling that you want to eat somebody, I recommend that you go for Mio. She'll surely satisfy your hunger with her thic"- Ritsu's joke was interrupted by Mio's fist, which connected right on her head, leaving Ritsu with a big bump. -"Shut up, you stupid!"- Mio yells at Ritsu, with a red face from the embarrassment.
The first half of the day passes by with absolute normality. After the first couple of classes finish, the 4 girls go to their beloved reunion spot and, some would say, their sanctuary: the Light Music Club room. The midday sun came in through the windows and illuminated everything with a warm light, contributing to the coziness of the place. The table, the chairs, and benches, Ritsu's drum kit, the tea sets in the cupboards... Everything was in place and ready to be used. The four girls enter eagerly and place their belongings on the floor. As Mio starts unpacking her bass and Mugi her keyboard, Yui exclaims. -"Ugh... I can't take it anymore! Can we have some tea and cake now? I need it!"- As Mio predicted, having skipped breakfast wasn't going well for Yui; she was hungrier than ever.
-"Well, you know what to do..."- Ritsu snickers as she nods towards Mio, who immediately approached Ritsu and flicked her in the forehead. -"You little...!"- Mio mutters irritated. -"Be patient. I'll start making some green tea after we're done setting our instruments up."- Mugi reassures Yui.
After the girls have finished unpacking their instruments, Mugi runs towards the cupboards and brings out her tea set, as well as a box with some sweets and another one with the traditional strawberry cake. After the table's set, the four girls sit down; at the same time, the club room doors open. -"Sorry! I stayed to help cleaning our classroom! Am I late?"- Azusa, the youngest member of the band, arrives panting while carrying her guitar in its case on her back.
-"Hey, welcome! No, you're not. We were just about to begin!"- Mugi exclaims happily.
-"Azu-nyaaaaan..."- Yui weakly exclaims from her seat; she's too weakened by hunger to stand up and pounce over Azusa, like she usually does.
-"Yui-senpai! Are you OK?"- Azusa asks with a bit of concern, to which Mio replies, with a disapproving look, -"She skipped breakfast, so now she's really, really hungry. In fact, we will delay today's practice session so that she can have a bite out of something, or else she'll pass out."-
-"Oh my... Senpai, you really shouldn't have done that!"- Azusa admonishes Yui. After a few moments, everyone sits down, and Mugi starts slicing the cake in five parts. After she's done, all the girls take their slice and start eating it, as they talk about how their day has been so far. As expected, Yui devoured her slice in less than it took the rest of the band to finish their tea.
-"Yui! Oh my god, you were undeniably hungry! We're lucky you didn't think of eating any of us!"- Ritsu exclaimed, a little shocked at how fast Yui had finished her slice, which was fairly big. -"Ahhh... Now I feel incredibly full..."- Yui sighed in content, while rubbing her tummy with her hand.
-"I really hope you don't get an indigestion from eating too fast. Next time, please don't skip breakfast, OK?"- Mio says, like a mother teaching her child a lesson.
The rest of their time spent inside the clubroom, the band practiced really hard, until they perfected their sound; Ritsu improved her rhythm, and her powerful kicks and blasts gave the songs a lot of character; Mio's bass lines were richer and even a little funky; Yui's guitar playing and singing improved altogether as well; Mugi's Hammond organ lines sounded phenomenally good, and finally, Azusa's guitar made a wonderful accompaniment for the already awesome ensemble. By the end of the day, the girls felt absolutely satisfied with their progresses, and were ready to call it a day and wrap up the rehearsal session.
-"Wow! We were super-awesome today! Your cake really gave me the energy I needed Mugi-chan! Thank you!"- Yui exclaimed as she hugged Mugi tightly. The sweet blonde teenager hugged Yui back as well, while smiling profusely. -"Yeah! I'm totally confident when I say that this next school festival will be a success! Good job, everyone!"- Azusa added, no less happy and proud than the rest.
-"It sure will. Anyways... Ritsu, did you do what I told you to do this morning?"- Mio asked, as she put her bass back into its case. As for Ritsu, well... -"Huh? And what was that?"- The tomboy drummer asks.
-"WHAT?! You haven't done it yet?!"- Mio suddenly starts shouting angrily, her suspicions having been confirmed by Ritsu's nonchalant reply; she hadn't filled the form to use the school's stage for the festival. -"Whoa, hey! Calm down! What was that..."- Ritsu remembers, and her natural smile fades once again. -"Oh... Dang it! Don't panic! I have the form in my schoolbag. I'll fill it right here and right now!"-
-"You better do it! Otherwise, all our rehearsals will have been in vain! How can you keep forgetting something so important?!"- Mio starts scolding Ritsu angrily, shouting and gesturing aggresively with her hands. Seeing her friend in such a deranged state, Ritsu rushes towards her schoolbag and quickly grabs the form and a pen, and starts filling it over the table. -"OK, OK! Here! I'm filling it! See? I'm filling it."- Ritsu replies, trying to calm Mio down. In a matter of a few minutes, Ritsu has finished, and with a triumphant smile, grabs the paper and puts it in her schoolbag.
-"And don't forget to give it to Nodoka before you leave! I swear that if you forget about that last, simple step..."- Mio tells Ritsu, threateningly. -"I'll do it! Jeez! Calm down."- Ritsu replies, kind of annoyed by Mio's insistence. She takes her schoolbag and proceeds to head towards the clubroom's door. Same with Yui, Mugi and Azusa, who have finished packing their instruments up. -"Come on, Mio-senpai. It's time to go home. Don't worry. I'll make sure Ritsu delivers the form."- Azusa reassured the tense bassist.
-"Thank you, Azusa, but for now... I think I'll stay behind for a few moments. Go ahead without me. I'll catch up."- Mio replies, with an exhausted tone. -"OK. We'll wait for you downstairs."- Azusa replies. -"Don't delay, Mio-chan!"- Yui exclaims.
The four girls exit the clubroom. Their footsteps can be heard descending the stairs next to the door, as the sound of their chattering became quieter and quieter, until everything became almost silent. Mio just stood by the whiteboard, letting out a relieved, or a rather exhausted sigh.
-"That irresposible... She'll get us in trouble one day."- Mio starts muttering to herself. She walked in circles around the clubroom, looking to ease her stress. There were so many aspects about her tomboyish friend that annoyed her most of the time and, quite honestly, she's unsure of how they were still friends after all the time they've known each other.
Mio walks towards the table Ritsu filled the form on, and noticed that she had forgotten her pen. "Of course she did...", Mio thought. "She can't even remember where she leaves the very things she's holding."
As a sign of frustration, Mio takes the pen and throws it to one corner of the room. "There. Maybe she'll find it later." Mio turns around, decided to leave... But she stops on her tracks. Something felt off. She tries to figure out what it is. Then, she remembers: when she threw Ritsu's pen, she didn't hear the pen hit the floor. Something in her subconscious was expecting the whole time to hear the pen hit the floor, but it didn't...
She turns around, expecting to find the pen.
But when her eyes met with the floor, the pen wasn't anywhere to be seen.
She thought to herself that the pen might have rolled underneath a piece of furniture... Except that there was no furniture near that section of the room.
Mio, completely puzzled over the whereabouts of the pen, starts giving in to her curiosity, as she begins to search for the pen. It wasn't even hers to begin with, so it would be irresponsible to not try to find it.
As her eyes begin to scan the floor, her gaze stops. It freezes. It focuses on a very specific spot on the floor.
The floor.
It looked... Off.
The corner of the room looked... Blurry.
The wooden textures of the planks on the floor didn't quite make sense. The vertical parquet design, that remained unaltered throughout the entire floor of the room, seemed to "glitch" spontaneously, as if it was the texture of a faulty videogame.
Mio got closer to the "anomaly".
Her mind was blank. Her curiosity was commanding her every move.
The glitchy texture of the floor was almost hypnotizing.
Mio started to feel as if something really dense was numbing her senses.
Her vision was now tunneling into the floor.
Her hearing was now being overwhelmed by a loud tinnitus.
Almost unwillingly, Mio takes one step forward...
And then...
Lights out.