Chapter Text
Tsukasa woke up naturally, before his six o’clock alarm, to the sound of birds outside his room and the warmth of sunlight streaming through a crack in his window. It was peaceful, and Tsukasa couldn’t help but think, as he laid on the bed for a few minutes, that the peace was a sign that today was shaping up to be a good day. Although, he thought that everyday.
He went through the usual motions of his morning routine, and before long, he was on his way to school with his sister trailing behind him, talking about some new opportunity for her band, waving her hands around animatedly in her typical Saki way. He cherished his sister’s enthusiasm, and again came the thought that this was going to be a good day for him.
As Saki and Tsukasa parted ways, Tsukasa saw more of his fellow students: blazers, slacks, and plaid skirts popping up amongst the sea of pedestrians. Walking onto school grounds and to the shoe lockers brought him closer to the chatter of his classmates. Some waved at him, some turned to look at him, but most stuck to their conversations. He noticed, as he pulled his school shoes out of the rack, that the students of Kamiyama High were more excited than usual, and while he may not know why, it filled him with energy.
Today was going to be a good day.
He was putting his outdoor shoes away when large arms covered in blue wool wrapped around his torso, and a warmth enveloped his back. A chin came to rest on his shoulder and a familiar, jovial voice spoke to him.
“Good morning, Tsukasa-kun!”
“Ah, Rui!” Rui’s arms fell to his sides as Tsukasa turned to face him. “Good morning to you too!”
“I can’t wait to get to class,” Rui said, taking Tsukasa’s hand and leading him through the throng of students. Tsukasa flushed a little. Rui and the rest of his troupe had been incredibly touchy with him lately. While he couldn’t say he minded, it certainly made his face heat up. “I would like to see if the rumors are true. Do you think they are?”
“Huh?” Tsukasa hadn’t heard of any rumors. Which was odd, since he knew most of what went on in his school. Rui turned to look at him.
“It’s all people have been talking about this morning. A girl from 3-A came in and said–” Rui swallowed his words, thinking a little. Tsukasa was about to probe him for what the girl said when Rui smiled at him deviously. “Maybe I’ll let you figure it out for yourself.”
Tsukasa protested loudly, not wanting to be left in suspense, and people turned to look at the pair (“the day didn’t even start and those two are already being loud” they whispered amongst themselves). But Rui simply stuck his tongue out, claiming that they were going to be late. Tsukasa grumbled to himself the entire walk though the hallway.
His statement wasn’t devoid of truth, as the bell rang as soon as the pair stepped into the classroom. They rushed to take their seats next to each other as the teacher walked to the front of the class, trying her hardest to quiet her students. She started the announcements, as she did in every class. The teacher droned on and on about upcoming events and tests while the class listened, buzzing in suspense as they waited for the teacher to tell them what they desperately wanted to hear. Tsukasa found himself buzzing along with them, wondering what in the world the rumors were about, while Rui kept his eyes trained on Tsukasa, waiting for his reaction. When the announcements ended and the main event never came, a student stuck her hand up.
“Yes, Kaede,” the teacher called.
“Excuse me, but… I heard that we were going on a trip?” she said, but it sounded more like a question. Tsukasa perked up, hope evident in his face. A trip? To where? He heard chuckling from where Rui sat, pleased with Tsukasa’s reaction. The teacher sighed.
“Yes, they are, although you weren’t supposed to get the forms until next week… Kamiyama High is going to the beach.”
“The beach! I can’t believe it!”
An cracked open her lunch box as Mizuki leaned back in her chair. Mizuki’s words were probably echoing throughout the school, from a bunch of different people’s mouths. It feels like they hadn’t gone on a field trip in forever, and suddenly the entire school gets to go on one for a full week? Amazing.
“Right? I can’t wait! We’re gonna have so much fun!” An squealed.
Toya and Akito joined the pair in 2-A where they were eating, with Akito’s arm slung comfortingly around a disgruntled Toya, who wasn’t doing well with the racket of their classmates’ excitement. They squished themselves onto the tiny desk they were using as a lunch table and leaned in.
“You’ll both be going on the trip, I assume?” Akito asked them.
“Of course! Like it’s even a question,” Mizuki replied, leaning even further back on her chair. Toya eyed her, worry written all over his face.
“Exactly. A week on the beach, filled with good food, shopping, and rooming in a well known resort; who wouldn’t want to go?” An said, dreamily.
“Will you room with me and Akito, Mizuki?” Toya asked. He sounded calm, although he looked wound up, probably ready to spring into action and reach out to grab Mizuki if she fell.
“I guess…” she said, trying to be nonchalant, but An could tell she was troubled. Odd. “Being with friends might be nice, but I might drown in Akito’s eagerness.” Akito blushed a brilliant red. “‘Lil bro’s probably ecstatic he gets to sleep next to Toya– mmf!” Mizuki struggled to remove Akito’s hand from her mouth, while Akito tried to change the subject before Toya had time to be suspicious.
“Who will you room with, An?”
“Me?” An looked down at her mostly-empty lunch. “Well, I asked a few friends, but there’s still someone I need to talk to.”
“Who?” Mizuki asked, finally freeing herself from Akito’s grasp.
Just then, a head of green hair caught An’s eye. The other three turned to look as well.
The green-haired person looked around for a bit, most likely looking for a place to sit, and seeing no empty spaces, she turned around and left the classroom with her lunch box in her hands.
“Kusanagi?” Akito asked. An nodded quickly. She shoved the rest of her lunch into her mouth and excused herself out of the classroom.
Nene walked through the halls of Kamiyama High. She kept to the walls of the mostly empty space just to avoid the gaze of stragglers talking outside of the classrooms. She usually ate in 2-A, keeping to her mobile games, but for some reason, it seemed to be a hotspot for students today. Probably something to do with the large writing on the blackboards announcing the trip to the beach.
She would be lying if she said she wasn’t excited. Who wouldn’t be? But she was certainly worried she would have nothing to do. Her inner circle was limited, and she definitely wasn’t one to seek out new friends.
Nene kept her gaze focused on the box in her hands, intending to sit down outside, when she heard her name echoing through the corridor. Footsteps thundered closer and closer, and turning around brought her face-to-face with a tired An Shiraishi.
“S-Shiraishi?” Nene said, worried. “Are you okay? Did you call for me?”
“I’m okay–” An said in between pants, “And I did! Are you going on the beach trip?”
“Yes, I am…”
“Nice! Would you like to room with me and my friends?” Nene was shocked.
“M-me? But why?”
“Well, we have room for one more person, and my other friends have already made groups. I thought it’d be better for someone we know to be our fourth!” An said, and it was mostly true. Her other friends did in fact have full groups. But she wanted to get to know Nene better after doing the film project, and this was the only way she could think of that didn’t creep her out.
“Um… Sure” An grinned at her.
“Thanks a lot, Nene! I’ll tell the others; see you later!” She waved at Nene and turned to run back to the classroom, giddy with excitement. She and Nene could be friends, she was sure of it. She just had to make a plan.