Today was the school's cultural festival. The halls were buzzing with activity—students decorating classrooms, wearing ridiculous costumes, and selling food that probably wouldn't pass any health inspection.
Kazuki stood quietly in a corner of the corridor, observing the chaos with his usual expression: emotionless, uninterested, and like he just rolled out of bed.
"Come on, let's walk around!" Aira appeared, dressed in a light pink yukata covered in floral patterns. It instantly turned heads wherever she went.
"I don't like crowds," Kazuki replied, already plotting his escape.
"But you promised last night, during that horror movie!"
"I fell asleep halfway. That doesn't count as consent."
Still, Kazuki ended up tagging along. The two of them wandered through the noisy, colorful festival filled with laughter, weird cosplay screams, and Suguru shouting from afar:
"FREE RAMEN AT CLASS 3-B! IF YOU DARE!!!"
As they tried to locate Suguru's class, the power suddenly went out.
Darkness.
Screams echoed.
Panic followed.
Reflexively, Kazuki grabbed Aira's hand.
"Hold on."
"Uh… okay…"
They slowly walked through the dark hallway, unsure of what awaited them in the blackout.