The karaoke place was huge — neon lights, loud music, countless booths, the whole deal.

  Akane was the most impressed. She never got to do karaoke with anyone, and the place looked fantastic. Her gym bag sat neatly by her feet; she still ran before school most mornings to clear her head, and the sight of a real stage made her eyes shine in a way I hadn’t seen since we were kids.

  “Wow, this karaoke place is so big! We really get to sing here now? Let’s hurry!”

  But before she takes another step, she trips on a small rock, and she starts falling. I rush to help her, but we both fall. And there I was, my hands landed somewhere. We ended up in the push-against-the-wall position, only that i was hovering just over Akane.

  We froze.

  She turned red.

  Then, as usual…

  “WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU PERVERT?!”

  Her bag slammed into my face. I saw the afterlife for a moment. I landed like a dead soldier.

  Hikaru helped me up after a few seconds, laughing. The girls went ahead.

  “Man… how are you NOT in love with any of them? You've known each other for a long while now.”

  “I’m not! They’re just friends! Childhood friends!”

  “Sure. And I’m the Emperor of Japan. Fess' up.”

  "No. Not happening, we're just friends."

  "And that's why Mai slept in your bed in the sixth grade?"

  “IT’S ALL WRONG. SHE SNUCK IN MY HOUSE AND GOT IN BED WITH ME, I DID NOTHING.”

  (We were in the sixth grade. She snuck in my house because she felt alone and wanted to spend time with me, even though it was in the wrong manner.)

  “And then, if it was really nothing, then why are you getting all defensive.”

  I stand there and wonder at Hikaru’s genius mind work. He figured me out in a few seconds.

  “Well…come on man, let’s just get going with our plan. We need to have fun.”

  The girls on the other hand, were having a hot discussion.

  Kaguya started it, feeling some sort of protective feeling for her friends, as she always was.

  "Akane...did you do that on purpose?"

  "Of course not! I didn't see the rock..."

  Mai looked funny at her, reminding herself of an anime she watched not long ago.

  "Haha...what a scene you caused. What did you think of it?"

  "What do you mean?! Nothing...but...I guess it was kind of cool that he tried to save me from hurting myself..."

  Kaguya looked relieved.

  "Be more careful next time, girl."

  We walk on the hallway, and enter the booth. The girls were already settled in.

  Inside the booth, everyone took turns singing. I chose to sing last.

  Akane chose a love song — and kept glancing at me. Her eyes kept flicking to me between lines.

  "Why is he not looking at me?! I chose this song for him...you fool!"

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  Mai sang with suspicious enthusiasm, shouting out an anime opening like she always did to hype herself up.

  "Look at me...come on..."

  Kaguya’s voice was soft and controlled the kind of calm that made people listen; she smiled like someone who’d practiced this exact moment in her head all over again.

  "I'm having so much fun!"

  Then it was my turn.

  I picked a random song… and apparently that was enough to stun the entire room. As I finish the song, praises don’t hesitate to appear.

  As Kaito sings, a girl passes by their booth. Upon hearing his voice, she instantly stops for a second, and then eventually looks through the glass panel of the door.

  Mai’s jaw dropped.

  “Kaito, that was amazing!”

  Akane blinked twice.

  “You don’t remember he used to be called a star of voice acting when we were about 5 years old? He was featured in many movies and shows.”

  Kaguya was speechless, along with Hikaru. None of them ever heard my singing skills.

  "That was amazing, Kaito!"

  "Man, you're a great singer!"

  "Thanks, you two."

  The girl passing by picked herself up and went away.

  Her eyes widened.

  “Kaito?kun…? So he was in the industry too… and Mai?chan is here? This is perfect. I found the perfect gateway to him! ”

  She disappeared before anyone noticed her.

  In the karaoke room, they are all chanting for Kaito.

  “Encore! Encore!”

  “Come on guys…let’s just go home.”

  “Aww…”

  “We’ll come here again, don’t worry.”

  Mai rose up from the couch.

  “You better keep your promise!”

  The karaoke session ends, and everyone goes home. It’s already 8 PM, the sun has already set. We part ways at the train station with Hikaru and Kaguya, and there Akane, Mai and Kaito stay together. They lived next to each other after all.

  Mai takes her goodbye first.

  “Well, it was a pretty fun day! I hope all of our high school days will be just as fun as this one.”

  Akane responds sharply.

  “You could say it was…fun. I really enjoyed our time together.”

  I smile at them.

  “Yes, we haven’t hung out in this formation for quite a while. It’s been kind of too long. We should do this more often.”

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself! It’s not like it was special because of you or anything…”

  “Yes, yes, sure. What about you Mai?”

  “Sure, let’s hang out more often! Let’s do it like when we were kids!”

  We all split up and go in our homes. We all lived alone, after all.

  I lay in my bed after taking a shower and think about the day.

  “Today was fun…but something doesn’t sit right with me. Mai suddenly clinging on to me…and Akane getting embarrassed when I fall over her. Well, maybe I understand Akane but why does she feel so cold? I’ve always been nice to her…”

  Kaito's mind drifted back to childhood. He was ALWAYS there for her.

  Kaito was always there for Akane during their childhood days. When Akane’s grandmother died a few years ago, Kaito was the first one to go there. He started crying, saying he’ll be there with her to get over it. Whenever they fell while playing, Kaito always rushed to help her. When she needed help to study, he always came to help her. She was especially close to him when they were younger, like a big brother and small sister.

  But something happened in the final grade of Junior High, just before going to High School. She started growing a bit cold towards him. And he never understood why, since Kaito was always warm to her.

  Akane finally gets done with her bath, and lays in her bed. She’s still embarrassed for what happened earlier, thinking about it endlessly.

  “Why am I like this?! He was always there for me… and I keep acting like a tsundere! I love him so much, but I freeze every time I try to say it!”

  Her thoughts spiraled.

  “I can’t lose to Mai… she likes him too. She even slept next to him once in junior high… ugh! I changed my style for him, I studied so hard to get into the same school… I want to win him over… but I can’t even talk normally to him…”

  Tears slipped down her cheeks.

  Meanwhile, just as Mai was preparing to go to sleep, she received a text.

  She looked very surprised.

  "Huh? Mizuki texted me? Wha-WHAT?!"

  It’s about 7 AM. The night passed by in an instant.

  I let out a long sigh and rub my face with both hands. The morning light leaking through the curtains felt unusually bright.

  “…Get it together, Kaito,” I muttered to myself.

  But my heart didn’t listen. Every time I thought about Akane’s perfume lingering on my uniform, my chest tightened in a way I didn’t understand — or maybe didn’t want to understand.

  I walked back into my room, still half-asleep, and stared at the mess I’d left last night. Clothes on the chair, textbooks on the floor, my phone charging at a weird angle… everything looked the same as always, yet somehow the atmosphere felt different. Maybe because I felt different.

  I sat on the edge of my bed, letting my thoughts wander.

  “Mai was acting strange yesterday… and Akane too. Even Kaguya grabbed my arm. Why is everyone suddenly—”

  I stopped mid-sentence, shaking my head.

  “No. I’m overthinking. It’s just…first-day excitement. That’s all.”

  Still, the memories kept replaying in my mind — Akane’s flustered face, Mai’s teasing grin, Kaguya’s quiet stare. It was like my brain refused to give me a moment of peace.

  I stood up and stretched, trying to shake off the lingering tension. The house was silent, the kind of silence that made every small sound echo — the hum of the fridge, the faint ticking of the clock, the soft rustle of my uniform as I moved.

  Living alone had its perks, but mornings like this made the place feel a little too big.

  I grabbed my bag, checked if I had my keys, and headed toward the door. My hand hovered over the doorknob for a moment.

  “Please let today be normal, dear gods…”

  I wasn’t sure if I was praying or just begging the universe.

  And then, I hear banging on my door. Who could it be?