Students of Class 1-A began to move around, grabbing brooms, cloths, and dustpans for cleaning duty. The warm afternoon sun spilled through the tall windows, casting golden streaks across desks and the polished floor. The faint scent of sakura drifted in from the open windows, mingling with the echo of laughter from the hallway.
Kokoro pulled out his phone and opened his chat with Yui, his younger sister.
Kokoro: "You heading home now? All good?"
Yui: "Yup! Miho and Kana are with me at the station. We're drinking melon soda from the vending machine! Kana's trying to collect all the weird flavor bottles again."
Kokoro smiled faintly. Their quiet suburb was only a stop away from Tokyo. Sakura High wasn't far, but still, he always checked in.
Kokoro: "Good. Stick together, alright? Let me know when you get home."
Yui: "Aw, big brother's being sweet. Don't worry, I'll message you! You make any friends yet?"
Kokoro: "…Still working on that."
Yui: "You'll be fine! Just don't look so serious all the time, you'll scare people away! Oh, and no sulking in the corner like last year!"
He chuckled softly before putting his phone away.
"Yo, Kokoro," said Kenta Yamaguchi, nudging him with a mop handle. "You done growing, or are you gonna hit two meters next week?"
"Huh?" Kokoro blinked.
"You're huge, man! I look like a middle-schooler next to you," Kenta groaned. "Seriously, how's the air up there?"
"I… don't think it's that different," Kokoro mumbled.
Near the windows, Watanabe Mika quietly wiped down the glass, her silver-white hair catching the golden sunlight. Two girls nearby were whispering to each other while glancing at her.
"She's so elegant even when she's just cleaning."
"Do you think she's the kind of person who listens to classical music when vacuuming?"
Not far from her, Kubo Haruki was enthusiastically sweeping. "This place is gonna be so clean, the floor will shine like a mirror!" he declared.
"You're enjoying this too much," laughed one of the boys.
"I just believe in doing things with passion!" Haruki said proudly, spinning the broom like a staff.
Meanwhile, Nakajima Rei leaned lazily against a desk, holding a half-hearted grip on a dustpan.
"You gonna start cleaning or just absorb sunlight like a house cat?" Kubo asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I am strategically waiting for dust to come to me," Rei said, adjusting his sleeves.
"That's not how it works."
"It's the law of patience," Rei replied. "If you stay still long enough, someone else will clean around you."
Some students laughed nearby, whispering, "That guy's way too smooth about being lazy."
"Isn't he the one who got invited to eat at some new spot during lunch?"
"Yeah. Didn't go. Said the sunlight in the classroom was 'premium grade.'"
As the cleaning continued, Sayori Kojima darted between desks, flapping a rag like a sword. "I declare this classroom a mess-free zone! All dust shall be eliminated under my supreme cleaning strategy!"
Mei squeaked as Sayori playfully tossed a duster her way. "Sayori-chan, calm down! You're gonna start a sneeze storm!"
Even Fumika giggled as she blocked the flailing rag with her notebook, while Nao just shook her head in mock defeat. Their laughter echoed across the room, blending with the rustling of desks and soft chatter.
Near the back, Fujimoto Riku muttered from his corner, "Some of us are trying to clean in peace."
Sayori stopped mid-motion. "Aw, come on, Riku-kun. Don't be such a grump."
"I'm not grumpy. I'm just trying to finish this faster so I can go home and nap."
A few students glanced over, chuckling.
"Wait… isn't that guy the one who ranked third in the entire year?"
"No way. Seriously?"
"Yeah! He looks like a delinquent but he's a total honor student!"
The chatter and cleaning carried on under the golden afternoon light, the classroom alive with energy, teasing, and the beginnings of friendships forming in the gentle warmth of early spring.
_______________________________________
The scent of floor wax still lingered faintly as the students of Class 1-A wrapped up their cleaning duties. The last sweep of the broom echoed through the room before students began filing out in small groups, their voices rising in chatter and laughter. With classes done for the day and the sun already casting golden rays into the hallway through the wide glass windows, Sakura High's first floor had come alive with motion.
Students from other first-year classes spilled into the corridor too, making it feel more like a small festival than an ordinary school day. Posters began appearing on walls—bright, handwritten flyers advertising everything from the Basketball Club, Tea Ceremony Club, Astronomy Club, to more niche groups like the Retro Game Appreciation Club, Trainspotters' Society, and even the Experimental Bento Making Club.
Katsuragi Kokoro stepped into the hallway with his bag slung loosely over his shoulder, slightly behind the rest of 1-A. Around him, classmates chatted about clubs they might join, favorite subjects, or what snacks to grab on the way home.
"Did you see that girl from Class 2-B? Model-tier beauty!"
"Forget her, there was a senpai with violet hair in 3-C… total prince vibes."
"I heard the Literature Club has access to an old poetry archive… Sounds pretty cool."
"You mean dusty!"
"You don't get it!"
Kokoro gave a small chuckle to himself as he sidestepped a group of girls excitedly chatting about the School Idol Club. His thoughts drifted for a moment—Kenta had his crew, and even though he talked to Kokoro, it was clear he already had close friends. It made Kokoro feel a bit like the odd one out again, but he brushed it off. Maybe with time, things would be different.
As he approached a vending machine near the end of the hall, the hum of its refrigeration unit faint under the noise of the hallway, he inserted a few coins and picked a melon soda and a red bean bun. Just as the machine clunked his drink into the dispenser tray, he felt someone looking at him.
He glanced over his shoulder—Watanabe Mika stood a few meters away, near a bulletin board where a poster for the Music Club had just been put up. She wasn't looking at the poster, though—her pale eyes were briefly on him. When their eyes met, Mika quickly looked away and let out a small sigh, barely visible unless someone was really paying attention.
Kokoro blinked.
What… was that about?
Mika turned back toward a couple of girls from another class who were chatting with her, all clearly interested in the Music Club. From what little Kokoro had picked up, Mika was planning to join, and they seemed to be gravitating toward her like moths to a flame.
Despite her quiet elegance, Mika didn't seem cold at all. In fact, she smiled softly as she spoke, and while her schedule seemed packed, she clearly didn't mind talking with people—especially those with similar interests. Still, Kokoro felt oddly off-balance after that glance. Had she… recognized him? Was it just curiosity?
Further down the hall, loud laughter burst out—Kenta Yamaguchi and his two close friends, Murata Genji and Ogawa Minoru (from Class 1-C), were clowning around near a poster for the Comedy Skit & Video Creation Club.
"Bro, this club was made for us!" Genji shouted.
"I call dibs on being the straight man in the next skit," Ogawa muttered through a yawn.
Kenta raised a finger dramatically. "No. I am the content. You two are just my background music."
Kokoro smirked at the group's antics. A few other students stopped to watch, some amused, others confused.
Elsewhere, Ishida Nao and Tanaka Fumika were flipping through a pamphlet for the Dance & Idol Training Club, still finishing up sweets from lunch.
"The uniform design's so cute! I wonder if they'll let us perform in Candy Prism songs!"
"I'll bake cookies after rehearsals!"
Back near 1-A's classroom, Sayori Kojima was sitting on the windowsill, swinging her short legs back and forth while playing something on her handheld console. A few other girls watched over her shoulder, while some jealous boys hovered nearby.
"Losers," Sayori said, not even looking up, "witness how a max-level being trains her thumbs."
The girls giggled. "You're so funny, Sayori-chan."
"I'm not funny, I'm divine."
Meanwhile, Hanabusa Mei stood in front of a pale-blue flyer with glittery trim. Her eyes sparkled behind her glasses.
"'Reading & Literature Circle: For Lovers of Books, Old and New.'"
She softly hugged her notebook to her chest. "I think I just found paradise…"
A few feet away, Kubo Haruki waddled to a stop in front of a darker, space-themed poster.
"'Sakura High Astronomy Club: Explore the Stars.'"
He squeaked excitedly, adjusting his round glasses. "They have a rooftop telescope?! Count me in! But first…"
He pulled a small cookie from his pocket and nibbled it. "Fuel for science."
At the far end of the hallway, Fujimoto Riku tried to retreat from two persistent third-year senpai wearing Martial Arts Club jackets.
"Come on, kid. You've got the look. That wild energy!"
"Yeah, join us! We'll turn you into a tiger in the ring!"
"No thanks. I'm trying to master the ancient art of 'go home and nap,'" Riku replied, deadpan.
One of the senpai tried to flex impressively. "Think about your legacy!"
"I just want to sleep. My legacy is in bed."
"You're wasting your potential!"
"I'm trying to waste my entire afternoon. Please respect that."
Nearby students burst out laughing. One even whispered, "That's the guy who got third place in the exams?"
"Legend," someone else muttered.
And then there was Nakajima Rei.
Silver-haired and permanently drowsy, Rei had made it halfway down the hallway and… just stopped. He had collapsed—gracefully, somehow—onto a bench near the vending machines, his school bag still slung across one shoulder.
A curious second-year approached, pointing at a Shogi Club flyer nearby. "Hey, you thinking about joining? You've got that genius vibe."
Rei lazily looked up at him, blinking slowly.
"…I was actually just trying to sit near the vending machine in case someone drops a second drink."
The senior blinked. "Uh… what?"
"If I breathe deeply and stay completely still," Rei said with complete seriousness, "people will forget I'm here and I can survive off their leftover snacks."
"…You okay?"
Rei gave a faint thumbs-up. "I'm thriving."
Kokoro passed by just as Rei slowly leaned sideways and dozed off mid-conversation, and the baffled senpai was left awkwardly holding the Shogi Club flyer.