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The announcement over the intercom echoed through Kamiyama High, signaling the end of the festival.
“Thank you very much for attending today! The Kamiyama High School cultural festival will now—”
The voice trailed off beneath the background noise of laughter and other students chatting. Toya exhaled, tugging slightly at the collar of his uniform as he stepped out from the dressing room.
“… Finally changed.”
“Eh? But that shirt really suited you, Toya,” Akito grinned, walking beside him with his hands shoved in his hoodie pockets. Not that he minded Toya changing back to his uniform, he did as well. He was not gonna keep wearing that shirt and have An tease him.
Toya gave him a small side glance, though a smile was tugging at his lips. “You’re the only one who’d say that.”
“Heh—maybe.”
‘At least it all went fine,’ Akito thought, glancing up at the ceiling of the hallway. ‘No chaos, no slip-ups, and Toya smiled a lot. That’s… enough for today.’
Kohane approached them, holding a paper cup of juice. “Aoyagi-kun, Shinonome-kun! You two really worked hard! I’m glad it went smoothly.”
“Yeah!” An agreed, walking up behind her with her usual grin.
She looked at Akito and gasped in mock offense. “Akito! We were supposed to keep matching!” she said, pointing towards the class 2-A shirt she was still wearing.
Akito waved it off with a little shrug. “Yeah—no chance.”
Kohane giggled. She turned towards Akito and asked, “We still have practice tomorrow right?”
“‘course.” Akito nodded quickly. “Actually, uh… can we have practice with just the four of us? There’s… something I wanna talk about.”
An tilted her head, expression changing into something less teasing. “Something serious?”
Akito scratched the back of his neck, trying to play it off. “Not really—well, kinda, yeah. Just something important.”
Toya watched him quietly, his expression warm enough to steady the tightness in Akito’s chest.
“Alright!” Kohane said, smiling. “An-chan, can you tell the group—?”
“Done!” An said with a smirk. “Koutaro needed to do something anyways, Arata is visiting the hospital, and EVER has a gig.”
Akito grinned. “Thanks, An—seriously.”
They said their goodbyes, An dragging Kohane off to check out the closing party in the courtyard despite Kohane not being a Kamikou student.
Toya and Akito were left in the gradually emptying hallway.
'…The closing party’s soon,' Akito thought, watching students filing toward the courtyard. 'That means the school building’ll be pretty much empty. Perfect place to talk.'
He clenched his fists once before relaxing them, exhaling. 'No more running away.'
“…Toya.”
“Hm?”
“Wanna head to the rooftop?” Akito asked, voice quieter. “There’s something I haven’t told you yet. I–I wanna tell you properly.”
Toya blinked once, slightly surprised by the tone. He nodded. “Alright. Let’s go.”
They walked through the now empty hallway—posters half peeled from the walls, faint laughter from the courtyard through the open windows. The air outside was cooler than before.
Akito’s heart pounded hard enough he could feel it in his throat. ‘…I feel sick. But I can’t back out now. I’m not going to.’
Toya glanced sideways at him. “You okay? You look pale.”
“I’m fine,” Akito said too quickly. “It’s just hot, that’s all.”
Toya nodded slowly, deciding it was probably a good time to change the subject a bit.
“…So many people left for the closing event,” Toya murmured as they walked up the stairs towards the rooftop.
“Yeah,” Akito replied. “Everyone’s probably at the grounds. Place feels empty now.”
Toya nodded thoughtfully. “Strange… but kind of nice. The quiet, I mean.”
Akito glanced sideways at him, smirking. “You’d make that into a song if you could.”
“Maybe. It’d make for an interesting composition.”
“That so?”
“Mhm.”
They reached the rooftop door. Toya pushed it open slowly, and a warm gust of wind met them—the sky streaked in orange and rose.
Akito leaned against the railing for a moment, taking in the view. 'It’s now or never…'
“…Wow,” Toya murmured, stepping out onto the rooftop. “What an amazing sunset.”
Akito rubbed his arm nervously. “Yeah. Haven’t been up here in a while, huh.”
“Mhm.” Toya said quietly. His voice softened. “It’s peaceful. I like it when the school’s this quiet.”
“Guess that’s your thing,” Akito said. “Quiet.”
“It helps me think,” Toya replied. “Even earlier, when everyone was laughing, it was nice. But this feels… calmer.”
He looked out over the edge, where the wind blowing his bi-colored hair. “This… I’d like to capture it—maybe in a song.”
Akito scoffed, with no real bite behind it. “You and your deep thoughts again.”
Toya stared at him. “You’d complain if I didn’t tell you them.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Akito said. “But yeah… it’s a good view.”
For a while, the two just stood there, the silence stretching. Akito wanted to speak, to just let the words spill out already—but his throat wouldn’t cooperate.
‘He’s more expressive these days… I’m proud,’ Akito thought, watching the way Toya’s expression softened under the sunset. ‘...He doesn’t even realize how easy he makes it to feel calm around him. That’s why it’s so goddamn scary.’
Akito felt the words building in his chest again. ‘It’s okay. Just say it. You’ve wanted to for ages now.’
Toya turned to him. “Yeah?”
Akito opened his mouth—
Then—
“Ah—Shinonome-kun!!”
He froze and turned. A girl from his class was running toward them, waving her arms around frantically.
“Eh? What’s wrong?”
“U-uh, a partition board that we used for the dressing room walls fell earlier! Someone got hurt a bit!” the classmate said. “The teacher wasn’t in the infirmary, and I couldn’t find anyone—can you help me look!?”
“Ah—yeah, of course.” Akito said immediately, glancing at Toya. “Sorry, I’ll be right back, Toya. I won’t be long.”
“…Should I help too?” Toya asked.
Akito shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine. It’s about my class.”
“…Alright then—” Toya replied after a pause. “I’ll wait.”
“...Thanks,” Akito said quickly, then hurried off with the classmate.
Toya sighed softly once the door closed behind him, then turned toward the sunset. The orange glow reflected off his hair and caught faintly on the edges of his eyes.
“It really is beautiful from up here,” he murmured to himself.
He smiled faintly, remembering the nervous way Akito had been acting all day. ‘Whatever it was he wanted to say, it clearly mattered.’ Toya thought quietly, smiling to himself. 'And I want to hear it from him properly.'
He leaned against the railing, the air still and peaceful.
The sound of hurried footsteps came from behind him.
“…Akito?” he turned—
“Yo! If we hide out here, no one’ll find us, right?”
Two boys stumbled onto the rooftop, laughing. One more trailing slightly behind him.
“The fes closing party's a pain too, how 'bout we slack off here?”
The rooftop was painted in orange light, the hum of the festival fading into the distance. A group of Toya’s classmates—three boys he recognized vaguely from class—had wandered up, voices casual and lazy.
“Ah—man, I’m seriously wiped out…” one of them groaned, stretching his arms high above his head.
“Yeah,” the second replied. “They’re doing some kind of closing party later, right? Not sure if I’ll even go.”
“I get what you mean~,” the third added, laughing. “Bit of a pain huh?”
Toya exhaled softly, glancing away. ‘They’re from my class, right? Pretty sure they went to the same middle school as Akito…’
He shifted his weight, eyes scanning the courtyard below, trying to distract himself by looking for Kohane and An. ‘What should I do…? If there are people here, maybe I should find somewhere else to talk with him—’
“Come to think of it,” the first boy said suddenly, his tone shifting with a spark of interest, “that guy running down the hallway earlier—wasn’t that Shinonome?”
“Yeah,” the second said. “Looked like him.”
The third chuckled. “Thought so. That one… would actually be pretty good-looking if, y’know, there wasn’t all that other stuff about him, huh~?”
Toya’s gaze snapped toward them. ‘They’re talking about… Akito?’
He hesitated. ‘Well… it’s true that he is good-looking, actually.’
“Hey, knock it off with stuff like that,” the quieter one muttered, though not too forcefully.
“What? I mean, I’m not wrong,” his friend said.
Then one of them noticed something. “...Huh? Wait! There’s someone over there—”
The third boy blinked. “Ah! Aoyagi! Didn’t see you there, man.” He said, waving at the bluenette enthusiastically. “Weren’t you walking around with Shinonome, Shiraishi, and that other girl earlier?”
Toya froze. “...Ah—hello... and, yeah.”
“I knew it!” the first said, elbowing his friend.
“Hey, don’t just jump people like that,” the second scolded, slapping the guy in the back. “You’ll scare him off.”
“It’s fine! It’s the festival, right? No one really cares,” the first said. He turned back to Toya, curious. “Hey, I never really noticed before, but you and Shinonome get along?”
“Well…” Toya said carefully, “we’ve known each other for a long time, in a way.”
The boy nodded. “Ah, is that so? Then—”
“Are you also, like—a girl or something?”
The air dropped to silence.
Toya blinked once. Twice.
“...Huh?”
“Hey—quit it,” the second one hissed, his voice wavering slightly.
“What? It’s just a joke, relax!” the first said, laughing awkwardly. “Sorry ‘bout that Aoyagi—”
“...What’s with that?” Toya’s voice finally came out.
“A joke,” he repeated. “That’s not funny at all.”
The boy’s grin faltered. “I said I’m sorry, okay? I'm sure you're just an ordinary guy anyway—”
“...What’s that supposed to mean?” Toya said.
“Eh…?”
“‘Ordinary’,” Toya repeated, words like sandpaper. His eyes narrowed, searching their faces. “What do you mean by that exactly?”
“...H-Hey…” one of them muttered, glancing between them. “Could it be—Aoyagi seriously doesn’t know—”
“That’s why I told you to stop!” the second snapped, shoving his friend.
“But come on!” the first protested, nervous now. “When they’ve known each other that long, you’d think they knew, right!? It’s not like Shinonome’s denying it or anything!”
Toya froze.
“Eh…?” His voice barely made a sound.
The world seemed to tilt slightly.
‘...It’s not a joke?’
‘Then—’
A flashback pops up in his mind—Akito, sitting across from him at Crase Café, fidgeting nervous. Toya had found him there late at night, thinking hard about something.
“Whatever you’re thinking about… I’ll wait. I want you to rely on me more, as your partner.” he said. It was a promise.
“Toya…”
‘Then what Akito wanted to talk about was—’
His heartbeat was thumping in his ears louder now.
The rooftop door creaked open.
“Ah!” one of the boys gasped.
Toya turned—
And froze.
Akito stood there in the doorway, eyes wide, face pale. For a moment, time stopped.
“...Ah…” Akito’s breath hitched. His gaze darted from Toya to the boys, and realization flooded his face.
...
“...Ah… hah…”
Then he turned and bolted, his footsteps pounding down the stairwell.
“Wait—Akito!!” Toya shouted, chasing after him, his voice echoing against the walls.
The others stood frozen, guilt and confusion twisting in their expressions as Toya disappeared through the door after him, the sound of running feet fading into the empty hall.
After this story,
Shinonome Akito will temporarily disappear from the "Real World".
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The hallway echoed with the sound of frantic footsteps. Running.
Akito’s breath came ragged, his chest burning, vision blurring as he ran.
Every sound—the pounding of his heart, the sound of his shoes on the floor—sliced through the silence of the now-empty corridor.
“Akito—!” Toya’s voice rang out from behind him. “Wait! Akito stop!!”
But Akito didn’t stop. Couldn’t. His body moved on its own, driven by panic and shame and the unbearable ringing in his ears.
Toya’s footsteps thundered after him, but the distance wasn’t closing fast enough. “...I can’t—catch up…!” he gasped, turning sharply at a junction.
His eyes darted toward the connecting passageway that cut across to the next hall. ‘If I go through there, I might be able to get ahead of him—!’
He hesitated, chest heaving. He wasn't exactly the athletic type, and now he was chasing his very athletic partner. He wouldn't be able to catch up if he didn't take the shortcut, but—
‘But… but even if I do catch Akito—what can I even say…?’
The image of Akito’s face—shock turning to pure horror—flashed in his mind. Toya grit his teeth and ran faster.
The school was silent now. The festival crowd had moved to the field for the closing party; the whole building felt hollow, filled only with the echo of running feet and ragged breaths.
“Akito!” Toya shouted again.
The ginger-haired boy finally stumbled to a stop at the end of the corridor, one hand gripping the wall for balance. His shoulders shook with every labored breath.
Toya slowed, catching up, his own breathing unsteady. “...Ah… Akito, I—”
He reached out a hand, but Akito turned away, voice trembling. “...'m sorry.”
Toya froze.
Akito’s gaze stayed fixed on the floor, facing away from him. “...I should’ve said it way earlier.”
“Akito…”
“It surprised you, right…? Right—!?” Akito cut in.
Toya’s throat tightened. “But… that’s… I’m not—”
“I know!” Akito shouted suddenly. “Earlier you were just—just surprised. That’s all… y-you didn’t feel a-anything else. I-I get that. I really fucking do...”
Akito’s hands were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. “I understand all of that—”
Toya winced. “Akito—”
“But… but…” Akito’s breath hitched. “No matter what, it’s no use…!”
Toya flinched at his voice.
“Because you’re… you’re so nice…!” Akito’s voice broke. “I’m sure now, you’ll talk to me like nothing happened… Kohane too… and An…”
He laughed weakly, the sound trembling. “You three will just say, ‘so that’s how it was,’ and you’ll smile, and you’ll keep acting like everything’s fine, like it’s normal…!”
Memories hit him.
BAD DOGS’s fight, the reveal of Nagi-san’s death, everything else. They’ve never dealt with it properly… haven’t they? Brushed it off to get back on their goal to surpass RAD WEEKEND… that’s always what they’ve done.
Akito's voice cracked, growing louder with each word. “And the next day, and the day after that, everyone won’t ever change— You’ll make me think nothing’s changed…!”
“...Akito—”
“That’s just… fuck—” He choked, tears stinging his eyes. “That’s just how everyone is…”
He wiped at his face with the end of his hoodie sleeve, trembling. “It’s good… and I know— I fucking know it’s a good thing—!”
“But—” He slammed his fist against the wall. “But for that to be ‘cuz this shit happened… I hate it!”
Toya tried getting closer, grabbing Akito’s hand. “Akito… please—”
Akito pulled away. He stepped back, shaking his head violently. “I’m sorry.”
“Ah—wait—!”
“I’m sorry for not telling you all this time,” Akito said, his voice barely steady. “I’m sorry—because I couldn’t face you.”
Before Toya could move, Akito turned and ran again—back down the empty hall, his footsteps fading into the night.
“Akito—!” Toya’s voice cracked as he reached out.
He stumbled forward a few steps, then stopped. The silence rushed back in, pressing heavy against his chest.
“...Why…” His voice trembled. “Why did I—”
I brought this upon myself huh...
Running.
Running.
I kept on running away from them.
"I might as well have someone say it for me,"
I thought back then
...isn't this what I wanted?
Ah...
I want to disappear.