LET ME DOWN SLOWLY ⸻ sakusa kiyoomi.

𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 | sakusa did what ?!

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SAKUSA DID WHAT ?!

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— futako tamagawa rise shopping center, setagaya, tokyo !

THE FIRST SNOW OF 2012 CAME falling in soft blurs of white against an urban backdrop of tall buildings and busy streets, colouring people's jackets white and the streets slippery. The metal chains bound around a tire's circumference were introduced, to prevent accidents due to the melting then freezing layer of ice gathered on the roads. It came in time for the holiday mood, bringing several families and friends out to malls in the Setagaya district of Tokyo to go holiday shopping.

Set in the heart of the mall was a giant, artificial Christmas tree the rose up to the second railing of the mall, a giant star resembling to a snowflake set on the tip of the cone-shaped tree, several decorations of snowflakes and colourful baubles of red and gold lining the green material. Around it was a reception stall of sorts in the shape of a gingerbread house, the lining of the roof spud with bright lights and gingerbread cookie cutouts on the tables.

In the ground floor level of the mall was a sportswear shop — ASICS Walking — in which three second years of Ōkamikumo Academy Volleyball Club were at, browsing for volleyball shoes while talking about everyday things together.

"Hey. Does this fit your needs?" Sato Doi caught a pair of court shoes, surveying the white and black striped design of the shoe, tracing a finger over the light blue accents of the shoe critically.

She turned to look at her blonde companion, who was crouched down with the onyx-haired Ōkamikumo ace, looking at shoes on the bottom rack of the shelf. "It's good, but the design isn't my style."

Kina hummed. "Yeah, it's mine. You should try it, it's good quality."

Doi turned the tag over, bringing it closer to her eyes to read off the label, eyes widening as she took in the four digits of the shoe. "6290 yen? Never mind. Pass."

She tossed it back to Kina, who exclaimed an "Oi!" as the shoes lobbed the back of her head, sliding down to the floor. Kina turned around to inversely wag the finger at the offender, who only smirked in response.

"Say, Doi, how much did you get for math in end-of-year exams?" Miho asked the dark-haired girl, whose eyebrows rose at the question, setting a knee onto the floor for balance as she crouched down beside Miho. She reached out for a black and gold-accented shoe, flipping the tag over to read the price — 15 514 yen, even worse — before testing out the soles of the shoe, chewing on her lip as she mused over the conundrum of killing her wallet or killing her ankles.

"Eh. Barely got a B."

"Oh. Nice. It's pretty high for your class, though, right?"

Doi shrugged, setting the shoe down on the rack with a sigh, taking a mental note to see whether the store sold ankle guards. "The highest in class was like 70, so I guess so?" She took the grey and white shoe Kina handed her. "How about you two?"

Miho made a face, her amber eyes flitting over to Kina in an annoyed manner — "78," she groused. "Then of course Kina had to show off and fucking aced her test."

Mic drop.

"D — oi! I didn't ask for you to reveal my score!" Kina's eye twitched in slight annoyance as she slapped a hand over Miho's hand a beat too late, leaving Doi to let out a breath, unsurprised at the blonde's test scores.