These will probably be my last words.

Things have calmed down a little. We still have to be careful, but since I have some time now, I figured I would write down my thoughts.

My name is Sakura Megumi. I was a Japanese teacher at Megurigaoka Private High School.

I crossed out the sentence with my pen.

I still am a Japanese teacher. Even if this school doesn’t operate anymore. I understood my role one evening after school on the rooftop. There were several moments, even before that, where I approached that realization.

I lowered my pen onto the diary, staring at the rain outside. I’ve only been a teacher for some time, with my first months being met with constant discouragement by my family. It didn’t matter for now.

The door beside me slid open, making me close my diary.

“Hi Tanaka-kun,” I smiled at him.

“Morning Sakura-sensei” Ryu leaned his arm on the nearby wall.

“Did something happen? You seem tense"

“I often get told that, but it’s just how I look"

Behind the clear voice and confidence he emitted, I felt as if he was hiding more than what he was showing.

Ryu seems like a good kid. It’s a shame he isn’t as direct and social as I expected, or else he wouldn’t have to face the issue of people clashing against him all of the time.

Ryu always had that fake face that only a few could see through. He was always hiding something every time you spoke with him. Yet, every time he spoke, I couldn’t tell if his intentions were pure or not.

“So what would you like to tell me?”

“Of course” Ryu looked at the window once more, “can I ask when are we going to try and secure the first floor?”

“Well, I haven’t thought it out. But how about in two weeks?”

“Not to sound pushy sensei, but how about we do it in three days?”

“Three days? We haven’t fully secured the second floor. Wouldn’t it be beneficial if we try to create a strong buffer between them and us?”

“Well yea. That’s what I was also thinking. But I just think it’s not a good idea to do it in three days"

“Did something happen?”

“With the club? Of course not"

“Can you please tell me then?” I smiled.

Ryu-kun looked at me with an expressionless face which almost made me think he was just acting irrational and silly. I didn’t like how he was hiding things, but it’s natural for teenagers like him.

“Can I trust you?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t you?” I smiled.

Ryu walked up to me, placing his hand behind my ear.

“With the rainy season inbound, I’m expecting that it may impact what they’re doing”

“What do you mean?”

“Their memories may do something with their behavior”

“And you’re inferring that with this rain, they may start swarming our school?”

“If they already haven’t”

“Well, did you and Ebisuzawa-san check up at the entrance?”

“We did yesterday while Wakasa-san tended to Takeya-san. Not much to report"

“Then why should we do it in three days?”

“I’ve managed to check the weather in advance since the phone lines haven’t shut down by some miracle. Fortunately, we should be expecting clear skies tomorrow… I don’t have information on the next two weeks after that”

“Alright, let’s go in three days then"

“Thanks Sensei…” Ryu smiled, “Anyways, can I get something from the table over there?” he pointed over at the table.

“Sure"

Ryu looked through the tables, before walking over to my side, staring at the half-broken vase beside my table.

“It’s a shame we had to handle Kamiyama-sensei a few days ago"

“Let’s just hope we don’t run into our past friends"

“Agreed…”

He looked over at the shelves, individually going through each folder and book across it. As he went through the top shelf, his hand tipped a nearby folder, causing it to fall over.

“Oh! So sorry about that sensei!”

“It’s alright” I walked over.

I crouched down, grabbing onto the papers and creating a small neat pile in conjunction with Ryu who handled the larger folders. However, he missed out on a small handbook and a paper.

Wait…

“So sorry about that. I’m just a bit tense"

“It’s alright” I stuffed a paper inside the folder,

“Is everything alright sensei?”

“Of course. You missed one" I passed the folder to him.

“Thanks, Sensei” Ryu grabbed it, placing it back on the shelf in front of him, “Anyways, I’ll be checking out the other shelf"

While Ryu walked off, I hastily slid my hand through the folder, grabbing onto the manual I had stuffed inside.

Why didn’t I just–

“Megu-nee? What’s up?” A voice came from behind me.

I turned over, facing Kurumi who just came into the room.

“Wha–? It… it’s nothing! Also, stop calling me Megu-nee”

“Okay Sakura-sensei”

“Morning Ebisuzawa-san” Ryu called out from the other side of the room.

“Ah, hi Ryu-kun”

“I wonder if we can find some answer sheets!” Yuki emerged from behind Kurumi.

“Your teacher’s right here, you know?” Yuuri stood at the door, pinching Yuki’s cheek.

“A’hm! Sorry!”

“We’ll clean this place up later" I responded to the group.

“Alright,” Yuuri responded, releasing her grasp over Yuki.

“Let’s head back to the club room. We got some ‘woodwork’ to do after lunch anyways”

“Got it!” Yuki cheerfully called out, with the students leaving the room shortly.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

It’s just an ordinary emergency manual. It’s got nothing to do with this. But… What if it does?

What… What is this?

My hands shook as I stared towards the manual, with my back leaning onto the door of the bathroom stall. It didn’t make sense.

Who could’ve made something like this? Did they wish to see the world burn?

Every sentence I went through in the manual seemed like another punch in the gut.

I didn’t know… How could I have known… It’s not my fault.

No! We’re the ones who dragged those kids into this. We, as adults. No matter how you put it, right now… I’m the only adult left. It’s all…

It’s all my fault.

I slowly slipped through the stall’s doors, lowering the manual.

“Megu-nee?” Yuki’s voice called out from outside, “Are you having a stomachache?”

“It’s… it’s alright. I’ll be out in a moment" I stood up, hugging the manual.

“Alright! I’ll see you at lunchtime!”

“Yep!” I responded, with Yuki running out of the room shortly.

Take a deep breath Sakura…

I walked out of the bathroom, heading straight towards the staff room and placing the manual back on the shelf. I couldn’t share it with anyone. Not now. Nobody knows yet.

Except… for one.

I closed the shelf doors, making my way toward the clubroom with my usual smile on my face. It felt harder than normal to keep a strong face in front of others, but I had to keep it no matter what happened.

“Sorry for the wait everybody!” I slid the door open.

“Ah, you’ve finally arrived" Yuuri smiled while holding a plate of sushi, “Yuki-san was starving”

“Mhm" Kurumi nodded, her face visibly more tense than usual.

“Well, at least Yuki-san held off from eating until now" Ryu proceeded to lean from his chair, “After all, we’re still growing"

I couldn’t help but freeze at his comment out of shock.

“Sorry sensei" Ryu turned over, “Almost forgot about you"

Am I that inconspicuous???

“It’s alright…” I mumbled, “Shall we eat?”

Everybody nodded.

“Let’s dig in!” We all called out in unison, while I slowly raised my spoon, still trying to comprehend Ryu’s comments.

I couldn’t help but think about what was in that manual while going through lunch.

It wasn’t easy to just forget about it and keep my usual straight face. I couldn’t place the burden on them. It’s almost common sense.

While continuing with the lunch, Ryu stood up from his seat, briefly washing up his plate before heading towards the door.

“Please excuse me" I stood up,

“Aw, alright” Yuki continued with her food.

I followed Ryu shortly, stopping as we got to the nearby music room. He turned over, giving out an innocent smile.

“So… it seems you know about the manual?” Ryu dug his hands into his pockets,

“I should be asking you that"

“You’re saying as if knowing is a bad thing”

“When you were at the lounge, did you drop those folders on purpose?”

“Yea. But I didn’t want to force you to clean it up. After all, we can’t place our burdens on others in the hopes of them fixing it, right?”

“My exact sentiment…”

“And I’m not saying that the manual is your burden. It hasn’t been. You can’t blame the collective group of the school’s faculty including yourself because of someone or something that wanted to watch the world burn”

“I have a responsibility as a teacher, Tanaka-kun. It is why I take the burden…” I gripped onto my ribbon,

“You can’t keep that burden, Sensei. But I won’t stop you”

“I understand… but why couldn’t you just ask me about the manual?”

“I thought you forgot about it”

“I did. It’s weird to see that you also know such a thing”

“Considering that we’re too well equipped, especially for a school, it was best to assume that they somehow knew something was happening… something like this isn’t out of the possibility”

Ryu’s composure as he explained his almost uncanny assumption of the manual was spot on.

“By the way sensei, can you do me a favor?”

“Sure, what is it?” I smiled.

“Can you keep an eye on Takeya-san?”

“Of course! But, why’d you ask?”

“You’d understand what’s been happening with her compared to me"

“I know she’s been a bit immature recently, but I feel like you’re referring to… something else?”

“Exactly"

“Well, what is it?”

“I… I don’t know"

“Hm. I’ll go check up on her later on”

The room went silent as Ryu looked around.

“You know, sensei, I’ve always been noticing something about you" Ryu leaned his arm over one of the windows,

“Go on?”

“You’ve always kept a strong face in front of others. And that’s not exactly a bad thing. So when I saw you during lunchtime, I was worried about what’s in the manual"

“Huh, I thought I kept a happy face"

“You did. But no offense sensei, it’s not your best"

“Alright, Tanaka-kun, what would you like to tell me?”

“I thought you were the one coming up to me for questions"

“Did you leave to do something else?”

“Of course" Ryu grabbed onto the violin,

“I never knew you played an instrument"

“Ever since I gave up on Art” Ryu reached for the bow, resting it on top of the violin.

“Hold on. Wouldn’t the music attract them?”

“We’ve made noise at the rooftops and third floors but we’ve never had an issue with them trying to get through after that"

“Good point”

Ryu gripped onto the bow with a smile, pulling it across the strings to create a calming melody. He was decent at the violin, yet had a few rough patches during the beginning. Nonetheless, I sat close to the piano in admiration.

I stared at the outside window, with the rain turning into a small shower that went along with the music Ryu was playing. However, Ryu seemed lifeless in how he played his music though.

I shouldn’t be judging him too harshly.

“What do you think?” Ryu lowered his violin.

“It’s good… but…”

“Go on?”

“You seemed a bit lifeless in your music”

“I get that a lot…”

“Do you often try to improve?”

“I do…”

“Well… can I give you some advice?”

“Fire away”

“Would it not hurt to try and push your emotions into whatever instrument you play?”

Ryu looked at me weirdly.

“Push your emotions… hm?”

“I’m not a musician teacher… although I did piano”

“I understand. Thanks for the insight though”

“I did like the music you were playing, Tanaka-kun. Don’t push yourself too hard or else you’ll probably lose focus on the piece itself”

“Hm…”

Ryu continued with his song, this time resorting to a more melancholy yet positive tune towards his music. It felt satisfying to hear it with that extra push of effort and emotion that Ryu had started to place.

However, I noticed that he started delaying or downplaying his efforts from time to time. It was as if he was restraining himself or just trying to keep careful.

I nonetheless didn’t mind how he played.

Later on, the club continued with the table barricades, having set up the final one close to the stairs under the pretense of a ‘woodwork activity’. While I carried the second last table, Kurumi crouched on top of the barricades with her shovel slung over her back.

“Right. Pass me the next one" Kurumi motioned her hand.

“Okay. Here goes–” I passed the table over to Yuuri, who then passed it to Kurumi.

“That’s all of it"

“We’ll have the second floor cleared out soon"

“And on to the first, right?”

“As much as I want to get out of here, the first floor’s still far away”

“Mhm…”

Ryu dashed to Yuki, helping her lift the table she was holding.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be there in no time at all!”

The basement floors of the school are designated disaster shelter areas. Right now, it’s still too dangerous to go there, but I’ll tell them once we get to the first floor. When that time comes, I’ll tell them everything.