Touji woke up quite abruptly. His head, which was lying on his desk quickly shot up as the teacher called his name from the back of the class.

"Touji! Are you listening?"

"Yes, ma’am." He quickly responded.

"This is unlike you to sleep in class. What were you doing last night?"

"I was preparing for my brother's birthday party with my sister and ended up staying out late. Sorry."

"Well, it’s good that you care so much for your family, but just remember not to neglect your studies."

"Yes ma’am." Touji piped, as he peeked over his neighbour’s shoulder to catch which page they were on. He was having an unpleasant dream prior to the teacher's call, so he was happy to have been woken.

Classes were coming to a close, and he had to head home to finish up the party preparations.

After school had ended, Touji got up from his desk and began merrily skipping out of the classroom when Ryunoske grabbed his arm.

"Oi! Leaving already? Wanna come karaoke with the boys?"

"I’d love to, but I’ve got things to do. Party preparations and stuff."

"That’s too bad. What about tomorrow?"

"Sorry, my track team has an event tomorrow. But Saturday should work."

"Cool, we'll plan for Saturday then."

"Deal."

Touji took a short detour to the boys' changing room where he switched his school uniform for his green hoodie and casual black pants, then they both exited the school building and headed towards the student parking lot.

"Hey, Touji. I’ve been wondering for a while..."

"What?"

"How old are you?"

"16."

Ryunoske's eyes narrowed. "You look 15."

"No, I’m 16. I turned it last month."

Ryunoske laughed, then his face turned grim.

"That means you’re older by three months."

"So what?"

"It hurts my pride."

"Don’t know why it would."

"You just don’t understand my superiority complex," Ryunoske whispered in a pouty tone.

"Heh!!! What you say?! I can’t hear you." Touji retorted.

"You making fun of me?!" Ryunoske asked in a mock, angry tone.

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"The joke was already there. I just acknowledged its existence. That’s all." Touji whispered under his breath and playfully stuck his tongue out at his friend. "On another note, where is Toube?"

"Oh, he’s on a date right now with Aoi. they went to the theatres to watch a horror film 'cause that’s apparently what she’s into."

"Well, that kind of girlfriend is gonna be a bit weird, but I mean, good for him. I hope it works out between them." The chances of that are less than twenty percent. Good luck.

They strolled down the quiet streets together, Ryunoske whistling a tune as they walked.

"Yeah, it’s a shame. If only you two were closer in age it would be perfect."

"I’m sorry. Who would be perfect?"

"You and my sister."

"For a second it sounds enticing, but as soon as I remember that you would become my brother-in-law the prospect losses all its flavour."

"It’s not like I want to be related to you. Just a friendly suggestion."

"Ok, Tsundere. If that’s what your saying."

"That brings me to another topic." Ryunoske chimmed, "Why haven’t you considered dating?"

"I have. I’ve been asked out a couple of times, but I told them I wasn’t ready to date anyone yet."

"A couple of times you say!!!" Ryunoske's eyes burned with rage. "Don’t just casually throw that comment around like it's nothing. You don’t know how many enemies you’d make. And to think you would try and shame your best friend right to his face." He placed his elbow over his eyes and pretended to cry.

Touji immediately copied him and began crying his heart out.

"Nothing matters anymore." Ryunoske cried.

"Nothing matters anymore," Touji spoke in sync.

"Stop mimicking me!"

"I’m sorry." Touji apologized.

Ryunoske suddenly stopped fake crying and attempted to reignite the conversation.

"Talking about girls. You know that maid café down the road, close to my house?"

"Kinda. Never been there though."

"Well, apparently one of the new waitresses is from the girl’s private academy across town, and people are saying she’s straight out of a manga. Like idol hot."

"You listen to those rumours? And you believe them as well? I’m disappointed in you." Touji said as he tried to compensate for Ryunoske's unconscious attempts to walk him off the sidewalk.

"I can’t deny that I was listening to or believing those rumours, but I can say with full confidence that I’ve never been there."

"Yeah, right."

“I’m telling you. It’s the truth," he persisted.

“Bro, you don’t need to try and convince me. Just admit that that’s what you’re into and get it over with.”

A light humming sound began to protrude from Touji’s pocket.

"Excuse me Ryunoske, but my mom is calling me."

"No problem, man."

Touji answered his phone and placed it next to his ear. He could vaguely hear the muffled sound of a baby crying in the background.

"Hi, Mom."

"Hello dear. Make sure to buy the cake on the way home, okay? Not a big one."

"Don’t worry about it. Us kids have got you covered."

"Well, well. I’ll leave it to you then."

"Can I talk to Souma for a sec?"

"Sure, I'll put him on."

There was a short period of silence followed while Ryunoske stood beside Touji, patiently waiting for the call to end.

"Helwow." The sound of a child’s voice was heard through the phone’s speaker.

"Souma! Are you excited for the party tonight? We’ve got peak food lined up and waiting, plus a huge cake with your name carved all over it. How’s that sound?"

"Yaaaaaaaaay!" Touji laughed as he listened to this response.

"Promise to be a good boy till we get home okay."

"Pwamise."

"That’s it! See you soon. Bye." Touji then hung up and placed his phone into his school bag.

He turned to Ryunoske who was now removing the peddles from all the flowers near the edge of the road. "That’s my brother, Souma. He’s the best."

"Man, you’ve got a good relationship with your fam. It’s refreshing."

"Thanks. Sorry to make you wait."

"Nah, all good. As I was saying earlier-"

Ryunoske continued to discuss the unfairness of him not being confessed to, but Touji quickly zoned out. He began to feel uneasy as he noticed the sky becoming rapidly darker. Unexpectedly everything began to slow down to a drastic extent, where the cars that were once speeding by were now at a standstill. Then without warning time stopped. He couldn’t move his limbs or even blink his eyes. It felt as though his soul was floating outside of his body. A black oval shape appeared in front of him.

He tried to yell but nothing came out. A slit appeared from within the circle and a large red iris roughly the size of his head stared back at him. Suddenly, the oval spread across his view and enveloped everything, casting a globe of darkness around him.

Something cold was clasped around his ankles and wrists. As if hit on the head with a baseball bat he lost consciousness and slipped into an unrestful sleep.