Takumi walked through the school's hallway with a small black notebook tucked loosely in his hand. The corridor wrapped around him in a blend of clean interior walls and tall reinforced-glass windows that reflected the rainy morning outside. His ear pieces played a steady beat—something mellow, just enough to drown out the distant chatter of students.
Around him, the school moved with its usual rhythm. Some students drifted between classrooms with easy smiles, pretending the nightly incidents had nothing to do with them. Others walked stiffly, tension visible in the tightness of their shoulders or the way they clutched their bags. Stress had carved itself into a fair portion of the student body—some wore it openly, some hid it beneath forced laughter.
Takumi kept walking, mind drifting, until a bright, energetic voice rang out behind him.
"Takumiii! Hey! Wait up!"
The sudden burst of enthusiasm made him pause. He stopped mid-step, lowering the notebook to his side as he glanced over his shoulder. One hand slipped casually into his pocket as he turned to face her.
"Nene," he said once he spotted the lively girl bouncing toward him, her school bag clutched in both hands just above her knees. One look at her smile, bright and overflowing with energy, told Takumi she was excited about something—though with Nene, excitement was her default setting.
"How've you been, Takumi? Last year flew by, didn't it? And the holidays—poof, gone just like that!" she said as she closed the distance between them, her steps light and almost skipping. The faint scent of her perfume drifted toward him, brushing against the edge of his senses.
Takumi slipped one ear piece out and nodded. "Guess it did," he replied, already knowing she'd walk with him all the way to class like she always did. "I hope your little brother and sister didn't drive you insane over break. If I had to deal with their whining every day, I'd probably run off into the woods and never look back."
Nene let out a dramatic gasp, rolling her eyes as the noise of the school filled the brief pause. "They weren't that bad. Most of the time they kept themselves busy. But yeah, they can be pretty annoying when they want to be. Still… you get used to it eventually."
Takumi shrugged in agreement, and Nene let out a cheerful chuckle.
"As usual, nothing gets to you," she said, bumping her shoulder lightly against his arm. "Seriously, I don't know how you do it. You've got that calm, cool, totally unbothered vibe going for you. If you're trying to impress me, well—congrats. Mission accomplished. I'm convinced." She grinned. "Sometimes I wonder how anyone reaches your level of laid-back."
Takumi only exhaled quietly, slipping his notebook under his arm as they continued down the hall.
He glanced down at her—Nene was noticeably shorter than most of the girls in their year, something she pretended not to care about but Takumi quietly found endearing.
"I wasn't trying to impress you," he replied, recognizing the familiar teasing tone she used with her close friends. Nene always pushed buttons just to see how people reacted.
"I know, I know," she said with a playful roll of her eyes. "But sometimes it feels like you are with the way you act. Don't take it the wrong way—I get it. You're just naturally that chill."
She flashed him a grin, but mid-step her voice caught, her words stumbling into a soft stutter.
"H-Hey—watch out!"
Someone barreled toward them, sprinting full-speed down the hallway. His shoes skidded loudly across the polished floor, sliding several feet before he managed to catch himself. A boy—around Takumi's age, breathless, wide-eyed, clearly in a hurry.
Their casual conversation came to an abrupt halt as the newcomer nearly collided with them.
The boy didn't even slow down—he slid right into place beside Takumi and dropped an elbow onto his shoulder with all the grace of a friendly bulldozer. The impact almost made Takumi sway.
"Cool as always, ain't ya, Taki?" he beamed, flashing a grin big enough to light the hallway. "Been a lil' while since I've seen ya, bud! Gotta say—you're lookin' fantastic today!"
His energy radiated like a small sun, immediately stealing Takumi's attention with a simple sideways glance.
"Itsuki…" Nene sighed dramatically. "Do you really have to throw your entire body weight on Takumi every time you see him? You're a tower. He's a pillar. It doesn't balance out."
Itsuki was indeed taller than both of them—by a noticeable margin—and Takumi had endured this exact greeting almost every day last year. Unless, of course, Itsuki skipped class. Which he did. A lot.
"Nice to see you too, Itsuki," Takumi said calmly, his smooth, laid-back tone earning a soft chuckle from Nene.
"I know that, bud!" Itsuki barked in laughter. "We ain't best buds for nothin', right?" He bumped Takumi's shoulder again before finally stepping back and giving the poor guy a break.
Nene crossed her arms with a teasing grin. "Well, well… looks like you didn't fail the exams during break. I'm honestly shocked. And impressed. Maybe."
Itsuki choked on a cough, rubbing the back of his head as he looked off to the side, cheeks faintly red. "Y-Yeah, well… you already know I failed on purpose."
The lie was so obvious it practically glowed.
But that was just Itsuki—loud, silly, and impossible to dislike.
No one called him out for it. If anything, they were all relieved. Itsuki had made it to second year with them. And that meant three more years of this ridiculous, chaotic trio sticking together.
Itsuki wasn't exactly famous for his love of schoolwork—or for school in general. Most of the time, he survived classes thanks to Nene, who was effortlessly good at every subject thrown at them. She could solve equations, analyze literature, and memorize history dates faster than Itsuki could sharpen a pencil. Takumi, on the other hand, had a different kind of ease—quiet, calm, and quick to understand whatever assignment landed on his desk. He never complained, never caused trouble, and never gave teachers a reason to worry. Basically, the complete opposite of Itsuki.
"Yo, guys," Itsuki said suddenly, dropping his voice but not enough to call it subtle. "Did you see the news? Somethin' went down last night outside Aoshima. Like… really bad. Tons of people died in that train incident. Way more than anyone thought possible."
Of course they knew. Everyone knew. The news was plastered across every screen in the city.
Nene shot him a sharp look. "Seriously, Itsuki? You didn't need to bring that up right now. Pretty much every student in this school is terrified. And it wasn't just adults… there were babies, kids—whole families. We don't have to keep repeating it out loud."
Annoyed, she balled her hand into a fist and slammed it into his shoulder. Not lightly. Itsuki winced and immediately grabbed the spot.
"Ow—damn, Nene! I get it, okay? You coulda just said yes."
Takumi, walking between them, listened quietly without stepping into the argument. There was no point. Everyone already knew the midnight dangers too well. Talking about it didn't change anything. Avoiding the topic didn't, either.
Project Zero wasn't a rumor—it was a reality backed by horrifying proof. And although some people refused to think about it, Nene especially, the weight of the truth hung over Aoshima whether they acknowledged it or not.
Itsuki rubbed his shoulder dramatically, still wincing a little. "Man… I'm just sayin'," he muttered, glancing between the two of them. Then he leaned closer to Takumi with that familiar bro-to-bro look he always did when he wanted to sound serious—but never actually did.
"Look, Taki… you gotta admit," he said, voice dropping into a half-whisper, half-gravelly tone he only used when trying to sound cool, "last night was… somethin'. Like, way beyond the usual freaky midnight crap we hear about. That train didn't just derail—somethin' hit it. Hard."
He jabbed a thumb toward himself proudly, as if he were making a professional assessment. "And I ain't even the type to freak out over nothin'. You know me—I skip class more than I skip breakfast."
Nene rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn't fall out. "We know, Itsuki. That's literally the problem."
Itsuki ignored her entirely and kept talking to Takumi like they were having a private conversation in the middle of a crowd.
"But hey," he continued, shrugging one shoulder, "I'm just lookin' out for ya, man. You're always walkin' home late from cram school or… I dunno, whatever superhuman study routine you do. And with all this Project Zero stuff gettin' worse? I'm just sayin'—watch yourself. Somethin's out there."
He lifted a hand and pointed a finger at Takumi as if delivering important life advice.
"And if you do see somethin' weird?" he added. "Don't be a hero, alright? Just call me. I'll beat the hell outta whatever monster tries gettin' close."
Takumi stared at him, expression blank, the kind of silence that said, You would not survive five seconds.
Nene snorted. "Itsuki, you can't even beat a pop quiz. Please sit down."
Itsuki gasped dramatically as if personally attacked. "Wow. Rude. I fail one—okay, three—exams and suddenly I'm useless?"
The three of them continued down the hall, Itsuki's chatter bouncing around them like a soundtrack Takumi had learned to live with.
Takumi brushed a few strands of hair away from his eyes as he rounded the corner leading to their classroom. "You guys are overdoing it," he said casually, sliding his headphones off and tucking them into his bag. "It's not like staying quiet changes anything. Everyone knows what happened, and yet… here we are. Back in school like nothing ever happened."
Both of his friends looked at him—Itsuki with amusement, Nene with disbelief.
"Told ya, Nene!" Itsuki crowed, slapping Takumi's back with a grin. "Best buds always think alike. Taki's got it tight, right, man?"
Takumi didn't respond to the nickname, but the faint shrug he gave was enough of an answer.
Nene, meanwhile, shook her head as if tired of dealing with both of them. "You guys are impossible," she muttered. But her expression softened into something more conflicted, something rawer. "It's not that you're wrong, Takumi. I know everyone's aware of what happened. It's just…"
She exhaled, gripping her bag a little tighter.
"It freaks me out, okay? Thinking about that train—those people… families, kids—it makes me feel sick. I can't imagine how it must've been for them. And—and what if someone I knew was on it?" Her voice wavered, eyes flicking toward Takumi for a brief second. "What if someone close to you was… or to Itsuki? I can't even think straight when I picture it."
Her steps slowed as they approached the classroom door, the weight of her fears pressing down on her shoulders.
"Well, there weren't any," Takumi replied evenly. "With that many lives lost, we're honestly lucky none of them were people we knew." He stepped into the classroom, letting his bag drop onto his desk before sinking into his chair. Propping his elbow on the wooden surface and resting his chin on his palm, he continued, "So many deaths… it's going to hit society hard. And if more incidents like this start happening, we're in trouble. This was one of the biggest disasters we've had since the laboratory went up in flames. At this point, we should be worrying about ourselves more than anyone else."
Itsuki flopped into his seat with a dramatic thud, leaning back and locking his hands behind his head like he practically owned the classroom. Nene sat down with far more grace, resting her arms neatly on her desk.
"I get where you're coming from, Takumi," Nene said with a drained sigh. "But living like this? It's too much. We can't even hang out like normal friends anymore. Everything's warnings and curfews and… tension." She shook her head, reaching into her bag.
Itsuki rummaged through his backpack at the same time, while Takumi pulled out his phone to keep scrolling through updates.
"Yo, Nene, relax," Itsuki said, waving his hand lazily. "We can still hang out during the day, ya know? Mornin's, afternoons—plenty of time. We just can't go out at night. It ain't the end of the world." He puffed his chest proudly. "Trust me, way worse stuff can happen. Like yesterday, right? I ordered a chicken burger… and they gave me pork, bro!" He slapped his desk. "Do you get how messed up that is? Straight-up betrayal! My wallet cried, man—cried!"
Takumi slowly turned his head with that emotionless, deadpan look. "…How is that worse?"
Itsuki launched himself forward instantly, grabbing Takumi by both shoulders like he was about to drop divine revelation. "Bro. Bro. I'm allergic to pork, dude! Allergic!" He shook him once, dramatically. "You feel me now?! I could've died, man! Imagine goin' out like that—me, a legend, ended by a damn burger! Not a monster, not some night-stalker—just a mislabeled sandwich takin' my whole legacy down!"
Nene pinched the bridge of her nose. "Itsuki… you took one bite and realized immediately."
"Exactly! 'Cause I'm smart, Nene! My survival instincts are god-tier!" he declared proudly, still clinging to Takumi like the world depended on it. "I value my life, bro!"
Takumi blinked once. Slowly. That was it.
Once the rest of their classmates filtered into the room, the teacher was the last to arrive—but something else caught Takumi's attention first.
Mid-conversation, he turned toward the entrance doors leading into the hallway. His eyes narrowed slightly, not out of surprise, but mild curiosity. Nene and Itsuki followed his gaze a second later… and immediately groaned in unison.
Walking through the door was a girl with long, silky pink hair tied into a high ponytail. Aoshiki Yuna. The school's shining star. Perfect grades, perfect attendance, perfect reputation. Loved by the teachers, admired by the students—basically the walking definition of "popular."
And neither Nene nor Itsuki could stand her.
"Ugh…" Itsuki muttered, dropping his head into his palm with theatrical suffering. "Of course. Aoshiki Yuna. Why wouldn't she show up on the first day? I was really hopin' she'd get dumped into a different class this year. But no, fate hates me."
Nene let out a long, exhausted sigh, already rolling her eyes so far back she might've seen her past life. She didn't bother to hide her distaste.
Itsuki groaned louder. "Bro, I'm tellin' ya, Taki—she'd be way better off stuck in the advanced classes or somethin'. Not here mixin' with us normal people. Every time she walks in, the whole class forgets how to breathe. And for what? 'Cause she's pretty? 'Cause she's smart? 'Cause the teachers treat her like the second coming of education?"
He threw his hands up dramatically. "Man, I swear, even the janitor likes her more than me. The janitor!"
Nene huffed, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair with a stiff glare. "You're unbelievable, Itsuki. But honestly? Same. The girl's got a fan club bigger than the cafeteria line. Everyone worships her like she's some kind of goddess. Just looking at her makes teachers nicer. It's disgusting."
Itsuki jabbed a thumb toward Yuna. "Exactly! And she's always got that look—like she's too serious to exist. No jokes, no chill, just perfection 24/7. Makes me feel like I'm failing at life."
Nene snorted. "You are failing at life."
"Uncalled for," Itsuki snapped back.
Takumi remained quiet, observing them both calmly. He didn't share their annoyance. He didn't share anyone's adoration either. Yuna was… fine. A classmate. Someone he knew existed. Nothing more, nothing less.
Sensing Takumi's neutrality, Itsuki sighed dramatically. "Don't ya think she'd be better off literally anywhere else but here with us, Taki? She's like… a magnet for attention. I can't breathe around people like her."
Nene shook her head. "Leave Takumi out of your petty rivalry, Itsuki. He's lucky he doesn't have a reason to dislike her. He's at peace. Meanwhile, the rest of us get blinded by her popularity every second she walks past."
Itsuki slumped forward, defeated. "Whatever… Her popularity makes me sick. Even if she's hot."
Nene choked. "ITSUKI—"
"What? I'm honest!"
Takumi simply blinked, watching the chaos unfold as always—quietly, calmly, unmoved.
Takumi didn't bother adding anything to the mix. Whether students praised Yuna or complained about her, he never felt strongly enough to join either side. Still, he spoke just enough to stir Itsuki.
"Why not say that out loud, Itsuki?" he said casually, eyes drifting toward the door. "She's the class president. And a member of the student council."
Itsuki snapped his head toward him immediately, eyes narrowing with all the intensity of someone betrayed by their own comrade. He squinted, glaring with every ounce of irritation he could muster—yet somehow, he still couldn't bring himself to hate Takumi.
"Bro… sometimes I wonder what I gotta do to convince you to dislike her," he groaned dramatically. "She's just—she's too much. Too perfect. Too serious. Nobody can handle that!" His voice cracked into a whine, both pitiful and comedic. "Every damn exam—she's done in five minutes! Always gets top scores! Every. Single. Time. Like—what does she even do for fun? Does she hang out? Go outside? Laugh? Or does she just stay locked up in some library tower, readin' books until her hair turns gray from too much knowledge?"
By the end of his rant, he dropped his forehead onto his desk with a loud thud that made a few students flinch.
Nene leaned forward, unapologetically blunt. "Itsuki, let's be real. You're just stupid."
His head snapped up, offended.
"But besides that," she added, "you probably want Yuna's attention. Or appreciation. You always go chasing after new girls—don't pretend you don't."
Itsuki looked personally attacked. "I—I don't chase—! I just—!"
Before he could trip over more excuses, the classroom door slid fully open.
A hush fell over the room as Aoshiki Yuna stepped forward, standing poised near the front. The teacher, who had just entered behind her, gestured lightly.
"Class," the teacher announced, "before we begin, Yuna will give a short address to welcome everyone back for the new year."
Itsuki's soul visibly left his body.
Yuna bowed her head slightly, her voice calm, refined, and firm as she stepped into the role effortlessly—just like she always did.
"Oh, wonderful," Itsuki muttered under his breath. "Now I gotta listen to her go on and on…"
Yuna stepped forward, completely unfazed by the scattered groans or quiet complaints drifting through the room. She clasped her hands neatly in front of her, posture perfect as always, eyes calm and focused.
"Good morning, everyone," she began, her voice steady and composed. "I hope you all managed to find some rest during the break. As we begin a new year, I ask that we continue supporting each other and staying informed about ongoing safety measures throughout Aoshima. The city is changing… and so must we. Please make sure you follow the updated curfew rules and travel advisories."
Takumi listened, chin resting on his hand, not particularly moved but not bothered either. Itsuki slumped so far into his chair he looked like he wanted to melt straight through it. Nene, though annoyed, listened politely—she always respected structure, even if she disliked the person giving it.
Yuna continued, "Lastly, I hope we can all work together to maintain a safe and encouraging learning environment. We don't know what the future holds, but staying calm and prepared is the best any of us can do. Thank you."
The classroom applauded lightly—some sincerely, others because they felt they had to. Yuna bowed her head once more and returned to her seat as the teacher began writing on the board.
But Takumi wasn't looking at the board.
His gaze drifted toward the window—one of the reinforced ones lining the side of the classroom. Rain streaked down the glass in slow, crawling lines.
And for a moment… just a flicker… something distorted the reflection.
To be continued...