By the time it was morning and Ayato was getting ready for school, he was getting ushered out of the house by his mom.
"You need to go before you're late. You don't want to keep your friends waiting, do you?" His mom happily smiled as she helped him pack up to get ready, seeming more excited than he was.
"Mom, I got this." He firmly said as he snatched his bag from her hands. "I can get ready just fine on my own. Why are you in my room?"
"Because!" His mother exclaimed, her face lighting up. "You told me you made new friends at school. Any mother would be excited! Maybe you can bring them over sometime for dinner. That would be fun, right?"
"Mom," Ayato sighed as he put on his coat and shoes. "They're just my classmates. We're not at that level yet."
"Yet, you say." His mother softly repeated, nearly squealing at the suggestion. "My boy is growing up. It only seems like yesterday when you used to play with your friends in kindergarten."
"You're exaggerating," Ayato commented, grabbing his bag and turning to his mom. "I'm out. I might be home later because we have to choose clubs, so don't wait for me with dinner."
"Have fun!" His mother called after him as he left the house and walked towards school.
This time, as he rounded the corner, he made sure to go slow and be careful, hoping to avoid a repeat of yesterday. He wasn't surprised to see Osano standing there, looking at his phone, as he didn't seem to notice Ayato's presence. The sight gave him an idea as he silently approached the other, unaware that he was standing behind him as he blew into his ear.
"EEK!" Osano let out a high shriek as he recoiled, jumping away from the other with a fearful expression. His face reddened once he realized who it was, and he turned frustrated. "Aishi-kun! Don't approach me like that! I thought you were someone else!"
"Like who?" Ayato innocently asked, although he couldn't help but be amused. However, his amusement didn't last long as Osano fell silent, eyes widening. "N-no one. Geez! Do you always get into other people's business like that?"
When Ayato didn't answer, Osano turned his head away, prodding his hands on his hips. "Whatever! Just don't do that again, or I'll kick you next time. Then we'll see if it's still funny to you."
Ayato was confused as to why Osano got all worked up. His expression of fear seemed too real for someone getting scared by a little prank like that. When Ayato wanted to step away, Osano pulled him in by making him more curious about his life. Now, although he didn't intend to, he can't help but wonder what's bothering him. Maybe Osano is more interesting than he lets on, after all.
Before the two could talk any further, a perky voice greeted them. "Good morning, guys! I see we're all early today," Taro commented as he joined the two, prompting them to start walking.
"Except for you, you're the last one again," Osano remarked, his sharp gaze shooting from Taro to Ayato. "And someone else thinks it's funny to scare people first thing in the morning."
"You scared Osano?" Taro asked in surprise, a hint of amusement in his voice. "I would pay to see that again. Man, now I wish I had left the house earlier instead of sleeping longer."
"You're absurd!" Osano exclaimed with a blush.
Taro laughed at his friend, slumping his arm over Ayato's shoulders. "Next time, make sure you scare him when I'm near. It's been a while since I saw him get pranked."
"Yeah, because I kick you otherwise." Osano rolled his eyes.
Taro cringed as he recalled a memory, "That hurt a lot. I was still sore days after."
As Ayato observed Osano's proud expression and Taro's hurt one, he was surprised to see that his threats held some truth.
As the two entered the school and into their class, Taro made sure to remind him of the event after that day.
"We're still on for visiting the clubs after school, right?"
"Yeah," Ayato nodded. "I have time. Besides, I wanna handle this as soon as possible so I can choose a club right away."
"I'm with you on that," Taro agreed. "Maybe we should go with Osano's pick and save ourselves the trouble by choosing the cooking club."
"Maybe," Ayato shrugged and sat down. Right away, their teacher entered in a hurry, calling everyone to go to their seats.
"Right, class. Sorry, I'm late. I got upheld in traffic." The teacher took a moment to recollect himself and unpack his bag before he took to the board to start the lesson. After writing some words in chalk, he turned around to face the class. "Before we begin this class, I'd like to start by letting you know that from tomorrow onwards, you'll have a new teacher."
Those words got the students talking, and soon, everyone was wondering aloud to each other about who would be their next teacher. Ayato wondered about the sudden change as well, seeing as their teacher had been working at their school for several years now. After multiple efforts to get his students to quiet down, the teacher continued talking.
"There's nothing bad going on. My wife just had our newborn and is recovering, so I have decided to stay home and take care of her." That received a lot of sympathetic responses and congratulations until the teacher asked for their attention once more. Everyone wondered what was left to say.
"Since I won't be around to teach you guys, someone else will take my place instead. Starting tomorrow morning, I want you guys to listen to your new teacher and not cause too much trouble, alright? Now, let's move on with the lesson."
"Who do you think it is?" Osano leaned closer to Ayato as he whispered, carefully watching the teacher to avoid getting caught. "I don't know," Ayato sighed. "And I wouldn't know either. It's not like I interact with any of the teachers a lot."
"Of course not," Osano rolled his eyes at the obvious remark. "I'm asking if you think it's someone from outside this school. I've heard all the other teachers have enough students as it is. I'm curious who it'll be."
"Osano," Taro whispered, shooting him a look that said, 'Pay attention.' As Osano sighed and backed off, Ayato turned his gaze back to the board in front.
Now that Osano mentioned it, the teachers did appear to be busy teaching all the other classes. He wonders who it'll be. Then again, there's no point in thinking about it if the new teacher is going to teach their class tomorrow anyway. As their lessons passed and lunch break as well, it was finally time to look around the club rooms.
As everyone was leaving, Osano jumped from his seat, grabbed his bag, and excitedly turned to the others. "Well, I'm off to see Odayaka-kun about joining his club again. What are you guys going to do?"
Ayato turned to Taro, waiting for him to answer in their stead as the boy thought it over. "In that case, I think we should start by visiting some of the clubs we're interested in. Most of them have open days, so we can look around. We can visit those first and see if we have time for the rest."
Ayato agreed, nodding. "What clubs are there?"
Impatiently, Osano called out to them. "I will be going then since you guys still have to decide on where to go. Text me when you're done looking around and maybe we can walk home together, or not. See you!"
As Osano left the two, Taro looked at Ayato. "Wanna go? I'll explain to you what clubs there are on the way there."
"Okay," Ayato said as he grabbed his bag to follow him out of the room.
On their way there, Taro began listing all the clubs currently present in the school. First, there was the student council, which worked on a system of votes and approval from the council members. Besides that, it wasn't a club but served as a replacement once you joined it. However, because it took a lot of time and talking to certain people, Taro advised him not to join it.
Furthermore, just as Osano had mentioned, there were the cooking and gaming clubs. There was also the sports club, both for running tracks and martial arts.
"Are you interested in sports, Yamada-kun?" Ayato asked in curiosity, earning an awkward chuckle from Taro. "Not really. Like Osano mentioned before, I'm more of a reader. I like to sit somewhere quiet and do my own thing reading books instead of doing physical activities like sports."
"I see. You must like reading a lot, then." Ayato commented.
"I do!" Taro enthusiastically exclaimed, a sudden change from his usual calm demeanour. "It's the one thing I'm very passionate about! I just wish there was something like a book club at this school. Then I wouldn't have to consider all these other clubs to choose from."
"Maybe you should start your own club," Ayato suggested as he took in Taro's enthusiasm. The other turned shy at the suggestion, "I couldn't. I'm not cut out to be a club leader." Taro sighed, "Anyways, there aren't any empty club rooms either, so even if I wanted to start my club, I wouldn't have a place to have my club activities."
"That's too bad," Ayato commented as he looked ahead. The hallway that they entered was full of students, and it seemed that they had reached the floor where most of the club rooms were.
Taro smiled as he noticed the busy sight. "Yeah, but what gives? I'll just join some other club instead and maybe pick up a new hobby in the meantime."
"Right," Ayato halted once Taro stopped walking. The black-haired male turned to him, gesturing to the doors. "Now that we're here, what club do you want to see first?"
Following the direction Taro was pointing at, Ayato read the names of the clubs on the signs hanging above the doors. The gaming club didn't particularly stand out to him, and neither did the occult club for now. As he let his eyes slide across the rooms, he noticed the sign of the cooking club.
Ayato turned to Taro, "What about the cooking club?" Taro followed his gaze to the door. "Oh, you mean the club Osano is going to join? Sure, we can take a look if you're curious."
As the two walked over to the club, they noticed that all the visitors were just leaving, having received all kinds of cakes and sweets. By the time they reached the club room and went inside, there were only a few people left.
Noticing the few visitors, a man with brown locks and light-coloured eyes turned to them. "Welcome! How can I help you?" His gentle voice caught their attention, as Taro was the first to talk. "We were looking to see if we could get more information on the club's activities."
"You're Osano's friends, right?" The man, whom Ayato presumed to be called Odayaka-kun, seemed to recognize Taro. "Osano was just here. You must've missed him on his way out."
"He was?" Taro sounded in surprise.
Odayaka sighed, and to their surprise, his expression seemed regretful. "Yes, he came over to let us know he wanted to join the club again, but sadly, we're not allowed to take the same club members twice."
"Is that a school policy?" Ayato raised an eyebrow.
Odayaka shook his head. " It's more of a club policy, but every club is enforcing it, so we decided to do the same. It was a shame to let him go."
Noticing the mood needed some brightening up, Odayaka grabbed a plate of cupcakes and offered some to them. "Here, have some. Perhaps it'll convince you to join our club."
"I've been thinking about it," Taro admitted as he happily took a cupcake. "Besides reading, I figured cooking is a nice and peaceful hobby that'll suit me."
"You cook often?" Odayaka asked in curiosity, and Taro shook his head. "Sadly, no, but I've been wanting to learn."
"Then you've come to the right address!" Odayaka crossed his arms as he beamed at the two, turning his attention to Ayato. "What about you? Have you considered joining?"
Ayato felt his attention suddenly shift as he shrugged, "I can cook. I just don't cook as often anymore."
"There's always something new to learn," Odayaka remarked. "Besides cooking, we also bake or try out different cuisines. You'll never get bored doing club activities with us."
"I'll think about it," Ayato responded as he glanced at Taro, who seemed to be more interested than he was. He stepped closer to the other, reminding him that they still needed to look around the other clubs.
"Oh, you're right," Taro softly said, noticing Ayato's impatience. He turned to Odayaka and smiled. "Aishi-kun and I were still planning to look around more, but we want to thank you for welcoming us."
"It's no problem. You're welcome anytime." Odayaka modestly brushed away the apology. "Just think about joining the club, okay? We could use some new members."
"We will," Taro promised.
"By the way, I didn't get your name," Odayaka said, turning to Ayato. "I know about Yamada-kun through Osano. Who might you be? I don't remember seeing you before."
"I'm Ayato Aishi," Ayato politely introduced himself. "I just recently got to know Osano and Yamada-kun on the first day."
"I see, that's nice. I didn't realize you had become so close," Odayaka smiled, noting the informal use of Osano's name. "I'm Amao Odayaka. Let's get to know each other as well, Aishi-kun."
"Of course," Ayato nodded, and Taro gestured to him, "We'll go now, then. Good luck with the open day, Odayaka-kun."
"Thank you, Yamada-kun," Odayaka's face turned gentle. "You guys have fun looking at the clubs."
"Thanks," Ayato muttered. At that time, Amao was approached by some of his club members, and Ayato and Taro decided to leave.
As they looked around the hall, Taro turned to Ayato. "So, what do you think about the cooking club?"
Ayato shook his head, "I don't think it's for me."
"Really? Already?" Taro sounded in surprise. "I thought it was a nice change of pace, but you're right. Maybe we should look around more first." As he glanced at the doors, he wondered what club they should go to next. Looking around in the cooking club had taken more time than he had expected, and he wasn't sure where to spend the rest of their remaining time.
As if he could read his mind, Ayato tapped his shoulder, prompting him to face him. "How about the drama club? That sounds interesting."
"Sure," Taro nodded before checking his watch. "Perhaps after that, we should call it a day. I don't think we have enough time left as it is."
"Okay," Ayato decided, and the duo began walking towards the next club.
"Aishi-kun," Taro said as the two descended the stairs.
"Yes?"
"You called Osano by his first name just now. That must mean you guys have become close." Taro commented.
Ayato was surprised. He hadn't thought about it since he didn't know Osano's last name, and asking for it days after would be weird. So, he just brushed it off. "Yeah, I didn't think he'd mind if I called him that."
"Is that so?" Taro responded, prompting Ayato to look at him. "In that case, you can call me Taro. It would only be fair."
"Alright," Ayato obliged.
"Can I call you Ayato then?"
"I don't see why not."
"Cool," Taro seemed content as he smiled. "I'm curious about the next club, Ayato."
After a walk to the gym, since the drama club decided to hold their activities at a different location, the two reached their location. Because the building stood alone from the rest of the school, it took a while for them to get there.
"That's unusual," Taro commented. "Normally, they hold their activities in their club room."
"Didn't they change their location for the open day?" Ayato wondered.
"I think so," Taro was unsure as he looked at the door. "It doesn't look open either. I wonder if we should go in?"
"We might as well after coming all the way here," Ayato said, and before Taro could stop him, he was grabbing hold of the door and pushing it open. Since the door of the gym was heavier than those at school, he had to put in some strength to open it all the way. Then, once there was enough room for them to pass, they stepped into the room and began walking.
"I don't see anyone here." Taro nervously said as he looked around.
"Wait," Ayano halted. "I think I hear something."
As their heads turned in the direction where the sound was coming from, they found themselves walking towards the stage. It was hard to make out what was on the stage, with the large room and poor lighting, but the closer they got, the more Ayato was starting to wonder what he was seeing.
The moment they reached the stage, Taro gasped in shock. "Is that-?!"
"Don't look." Ayato instinctively clasped a firm hand over his eyes, making sure he didn't see the gruesome sight of the stage.
In the centre of the room, lying on the wooden planks, seemed to be a woman's body covered in blood. Judging from the splatters of blood covering the floor, there was a lot of struggle before she eventually passed away.
As Ayato heard Taro's breath quickening and felt his body shaking, he was left wondering about how he should handle this. His train of thought was interrupted, however, when the creaking sound of a door opening emerged from behind the stage.
With bated breaths, the two waited for someone to appear as the closing of the door echoed throughout the room.
Perhaps his peaceful schooldays were already coming to an end.