DING DONG.
The doorbell rang early in the morning.
Takeru showed up at the door still wearing his usual old apron. His hair was a little messy, and he clearly had just escaped from the kitchen.
He opened the door.
Four boys were standing there.
Sora Aokaze, Kenta Goromaru, Ren Shiragane, and Yuu Hanabira.
The same boys from the banquet day.
The same boys who came over every single afternoon after school to hang out.
The same boys who emptied the fridge daily like it was a competitive sport.
All wearing school uniforms.
All perfectly awake.
And all staring at him like this was completely normal.
Takeru blinked slowly.
— ...You can wake up early?— he asked, confused.
Sora crossed his arms with a relaxed smile.
— I haven't gone to sleep yet.
Takeru looked at the uniform.
Then back at Sora's face.
— When do you sleep?
Sora answered immediately.
— In my free time.
— ….
Takeru blinked again.
— You go to school.
— Yes.
— So when do you sleep?
Sora shrugged.
— At school.
Kenta sighed and smacked his shoulder.
— Teacher Tsukishiro is going to make you deaf again with that whistle of hers!
Sora placed a dramatic hand over his chest.
— I know she loves me. That's just her way of expressing it.
Takeru stared at him.
With that face.
That tired face.
The face of someone thinking:
This guy is insane.
He sighed.
— ...Alright. What do you want?
The atmosphere suddenly shifted.
All four boys became serious.
Very serious.
Sora stepped forward.
— We came here yesterday.
He crossed his arms.
— And you were not present.
Takeru opened his mouth to explain.
Maybe apologize.
But before he could say anything—
Sora raised a hand dramatically.
— THERE IS NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE TO YOUR LORDS!
He struck a ridiculous heroic pose.
Ren, Kenta, and Yuu nodded solemnly behind him.
Takeru stared.
No emotion.
— …You guys are weird.
At that moment—
A figure slowly passed behind him in the hallway.
It was Mei.
Or at least… something that resembled Mei.
She looked like the undead.
Heavy dark circles under her eyes.
Half-closed eyes.
The expression of someone who hated the entire universe.
A blanket dragged along the floor behind her.
She walked past slowly.
Huffing.
Muttering.
Not looking at anyone.
Not blinking.
Not saying a single word.
Just walking.
Dragging the blanket.
And disappearing down the hallway…
The four boys fell silent.
Watching.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Then they turned to Takeru.
Takeru hadn't even looked back.
He had clearly felt the aura pass behind him.
Kenta whispered,
— …We thought she was cute.
Yuu replied,
— …I still think she is.
Sora murmured,
— …That was terrifying.
Ren took a sip from his juice box.
— …Extremely terrifying.
Silence.
Then Yuu — the youngest and calmest of them — cleared his throat.
— Anyway… we just wanted to check if you were back and let you know we're coming over this afternoon.
Takeru blinked.
— You came here just to tell me that?
— Yes.
— …
Takeru slowly started closing the door.
— I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that.
Sora instantly made a horrifying face.
— Then we'll break in.
The door stopped.
It remained open just a crack.
Takeru looked at him.
Expressionless.
The door closed.
A few hours later…
The house was quiet again.
The smell of food still lingered in the air.
Garlic.
A bit of oil.
The windows were slightly fogged from the steam of cooking.
Takeru was now in the shower.
Finally.
A moment of peace.
In the living room, Mei was lying on the floor with one leg swinging lazily in the air.
In front of her was her sticker album.
Stickers.
Decorative paper.
Colorful little things.
She was carefully decorating it while her favorite TV show played in the background.
In her hand—
A small afternoon snack.
Perfect vibes.
Peaceful.
Cozy.
DING DONG.
The doorbell rang.
Takeru didn't hear it.
Mei stood up.
She tripped a little on the blanket.
But managed to balance herself.
She walked to the door while still chewing.
Opened it.
— ….
No one was there.
She stared.
Blink.
"Hm."
She immediately remembered Harumi's ridiculous little performance about dangerous people knocking on doors.
Harumi had done a horrible dramatic act in the middle of the living room.
Mei closed the door.
— I won't open for strangers.
She went back to the living room.
Sat down.
Grabbed the album.
Laid down again.
Then—
THUMP.
CLACK.
OW!
Mei slowly turned her head.
The noise came from the backyard.
More specifically…
The wall.
She stood up and calmly walked outside.
"It's not like anyone would actually break into this house…
…right?"
When she reached the wall—
She saw THE SCENE
— Are you sure about this, Sora?! — Kenta said, giving him a boost.
Sora was STRUGGLING WITH HIS ENTIRE SOUL to climb onto the top of the wall.
— YES! — he yelled while dragging himself upward — He didn't answer the door! That's a challenge!"
Ren tried to speak.
— We only waited three sec—
— YOU'RE RIGHT, SORA!! — Yuu shouted while trying to climb too.
— DON'T DOUBT OUR POTENTIAL, TAKERU!! — Sora declared dramatically.
Mei just watched.
Silently.
Yuu fell to the other side.
PLOF.
He stood up immediately.
— I'm okay.
Clearly this had happened before.
Sora was now HANGING FROM THE WALL.
— YUU! STAND UNDER ME! BREAK MY FALL!"
Ren was lying on top of the wall with a juice box in his mouth.
— Hurry up, Sora.
— STOP DRINKING JUICE AND HELP ME!!
Mei continued watching.
With a judging face.
But also…
Curious.
After a lot of struggling…
The three of them were now trying to help Kenta climb up.
— MORE STRENGTH!!
— I'M TRYING!!
— PUSH!!
It wasn't working.
So then—
Ren simply turned around.
Walked away.
Passed Mei.
— Hey.
Entered the house.
Crossed the living room.
Opened the back door.
Walked to the wall.
Helped Kenta.
THUD.
CRASH.
All three collapsed onto the ground.
Kenta landed on top of the other two.
— OW!!
— GET OFF ME YOU'RE HEAVY!!
Ren walked back.
Passed through the house again.
Passed Mei.
— Problem solved.
Mei stood there.
— …?
"Why didn't they just do that from the beginning?"
At that moment from the bathroom
Takeru heard the noise.
— Mei?
— …
— Mei, don't tell them I'm in the shower. Say I already le—
Mei answered immediately.
— He's in the shower.
Silence.
Takeru stood under the water.
With that face.
Tired eyes.
Half-open mouth.
"…What happened to her today?"
Outside—
Sora shouted,
— PLAN B!!
Kenta yelled back,
— WHAT'S PLAN B?!
— THROW DIRT THROUGH THE BATHROOM WINDOW!!
— GOOD IDEA!!
Takeru looked up at the ceiling.
Sighed deeply.
"…."
Yeah.
I'm not finishing this shower.