Chapter 170: Chapter 169 - The Last Morning
It was an ordinary morning, but still.
Not a noisy one that rushes to fill the whole world with its presence.
This one arrived slowly, almost carefully, knowing how important it is.
Kuro opened his eyes not hearing the alarm clock.
He just lay motionless for a moment or two, looking at the ceiling.
Today...
It was the last day.
---
Kuro slowly rose and began inspecting the room.
Everything was the same as usually.
Books on the desk.
Folded uniform on the chair.
Schoolbag put by the door.
Everything seemed to stay in place.
But somehow...
Everything seemed to be changing.
---
Kuro put his hand on the folded uniform.
He kept holding it longer than necessary.
Not because it was special.
But because it was familiar.
Years and years of mornings, routine, the same hallway.
Every single thing linked to that fabric.
Kuro smiled lightly.
"So this is it..."
---
At the breakfast table, only silence reigned.
Neither of his parents said anything unnecessary.
It wasn’t necessary.
Mother silently put a dish in front of Kuro.
"Eat well."
"Sure," – Kuro answered.
Father looked at him longer than it was necessary and said:
"Graduation, huh."
"Sure," – Kuro smiled.
That’s all.
---
The way to school seemed longer than it usually seemed.
The streets, sky, wind... All of that remained the same.
But now Kuro noticed everything around him.
Corner store, broken sign near the station, sounds of birds near the old bridge.
All of that he hadn’t noticed before...
now became important.
---
At school, the atmosphere had changed.
Students talked not too loudly.
Laughed not too loudly either.
Some of them stood in groups, pretending everything was the same.
But not anymore.
Not anymore.
---
In the school hall, Kuro stopped for a moment.
Looking at the whole building stretching before his eyes.
Long corridors.
Familiar classrooms.
Stairs which he climbed many times during his years at school.
For a moment or two...
He felt he remembered how he entered this school.
---
The young boy awkwardly standing in the middle of the hall.
Not knowing what to do, not knowing anyone.
Just quietly observing everything.
Then he felt that this place will seem unusual to him forever.
But now...
Now everything was changed.
Leaving it seemed unusual.
---
"Kuro."
Kuro turned around.
Unusually silent Akari stood near him.
She held her bag in her hands.
"...Morning," she said.
"Morning," – Kuro smiled.
She didn’t tease him this time.
She just looked around the hall.
"...Seems unusual, doesn’t it?"
"Yes," – Kuro nodded.
---
Rika arrived then, followed by Mina, Aoi.
Yui arrived after some time.
One by one...
They gathered without any plan.
As always.
As they used to do every day.
But not as usual.
---
None of them joked aloud.
None of them rushed to get ahead.
Even Akari remained silent for some time.
Then she said softly:
"So this is the last time we’ll be doing that."
Nobody answered immediately.
Because there was nothing to fix.
---
Mina bent her head slightly.
"I’m still thinking I’ll come here by mistake tomorrow."
Rika smiled weakly.
"I know I’ll miss the noise of the hallway."
Aoi straightened her glasses.
"Statistically speaking, the emotional attachment increases if the environment is experienced long enough."
Akari looked at her.
"...Can you not ruin the moment?"
"I was explaining it."
"Stop explaining feelings."
---
Yui looked at Kuro.
"You seem quiet."
Kuro blinked.
"...Guess I’m just thinking about things."
"About what?"
Kuro paused and answered honestly.
"About everything that happened here."
The rooftop.
The library.
Counseling center.
Study sessions late at night.
Failures.
Laughter.
Arguments that don’t matter anymore.
And people who do.
---
Bell rang somewhere far away.
Not the final bell.
Not yet.
Just the usual morning signal.
But somehow...
It sounded differently today.
They all could hear it.
Nobody moved.
---
Minami Asakura from the class looked at them from the window silently.
She understood at once.
None of them acted normally.
They all tried.
That was worse and better at the same time.
---
She turned toward the board and wrote only one sentence.
Then she stopped.
Looked at it.
And didn’t add anything else.
---
Outside, Kuro took a deep breath and whispered:
"... Let’s go."
And all of them...
They went to the class.
The atmosphere of the classroom seemed to change as they entered the room.
That was not because anything had changed.
They still had the desks arranged in their respective rows.
They still had the windows which allowed light to enter the room.
There was still the same chalkboard with marks from the previous lessons.
But on this day...
everything was amplified in silence.
---
Kuro sat down on his seat.
Placing his bag beside the desk in an unusually slow manner.
For a moment, he just looked at his desk.
Scratches from the wear and tear.
Small ink stains.
One of the corners a bit worn out due to too much writing.
It did not seem so important.
But it was.
It had always been his.
---
Akari sat on the seat behind Kuro.
Uncharacteristically silent.
Rika sat by the window and was already drawing silently.
Mina carefully placed a small origami bookmark on each desk.
Simple and handmade.
Aoi adjusted her seat in the perfect posture.
Yui also sat down and just looked at her desk for a while.
None of them spoke.
Not until...
---
The door of the classroom opened.
Minami Asakura stepped in.
Instantly...
they straightened up.
Not because they feared.
It was because of the habits they developed.
She held attendance sheets in one of her hands.
In the other...
she held a small box.
---
"Good morning."
Her voice sounded calm as usual.
But was softer than before.
"Good morning," everyone replied.
Not even Akari prolonged it anymore.
---
Minami walked to the front and put the box on her desk.
Then she looked at them.
One by one.
Slowly.
Like she was trying to remember every single detail of the room.
---
"Today is the last time we will be together like this."
She stated plainly.
Without exaggeration.
Simply the truth.
---
Some of them shifted in their seats.
Akari averted her gaze first.
Rika paused with her sketching for a moment.
Mina lowered her gaze.
Aoi blinked once.
Yui clenched her fists slightly.
Kuro did not do anything.
---
Minami continued her speech.
"You will soon depart to different places."
"To different universities."
"To different cities."
"To different lives."
She paused for a bit.
And then quietly added,
"But that doesn’t mean that this time ends."
---
She opened the small box on her desk.
Inside there were small papers.
Neatly folded.
Carefully written.
---
"Before we begin the homeroom..."
"I want you to take one."
"A pause."
"And write something."
"One thing you could not have said easily during your schooling."
"One thing you wish to leave behind here."
Her gaze softened a little.
"And something you wish to take with yourself."
---
Silence filled the room.
Not heavy.
Just filled.
---
Akari whispered,
"...This is emotional blackmail."
Rika nodded.
"...I support it."
Aoi said quietly,
"It is a closure activity."
Yui added softly,
"I think it is a good idea."
Kuro did not speak.
But he understood everything.
---
Minami slightly stepped back from the box.
"I will not read them."
"That’s not the point."
"This is for you."
A pause.
And then she said,
"For the version of you which will come back to this room someday... even in memory."
---
One by one, the students stood up.
They took a slip of the paper.
They returned to their seats.
---
Kuro held the small paper in his hand.
Blank.
Simple.
Yet surprisingly heavy.
He looked at it for some time.
Then slowly put down his pen.
---
For a long time...
he did not write.
He just thought.
Of all the things.
Of Yui regaining her courage.
Of Mina gaining her confidence.
Of Rika making her dreams true.
Of Aoi understanding people beyond the data.
Of Akari protecting her feelings behind noise.
Of Minami never giving up on anyone of them.
And of himself...
who once did not know where he belongs.
---
Finally...
he wrote.
Just a few words.
Not perfect.
Not polished.
But honest.
---
Around him, the sounds of the pens filling the room.
Not loud.
Not hurried.
Just steadily.
Like heartbeats being captured in memory.
---
Minami quietly watched from the front.
She did not interrupt.
She did not guide.
She did not correct.
She just stood there...
letting them prepare themselves.
---
Outside, the wind gently blew through the school grounds.
Some petals were passing by.
Like even nature knew this was an important moment.
---
Kuro set down his pen.
Folded the paper.
And held it for a moment longer than required.
Then put it inside the box.
---
He looked around the classroom.
All of them were still writing.
Thinking.
Saying their own goodbye in their own way.
---
And for the first time this morning...
Kuro understood something very simple.
It was not just the last day of the school.
It was the last time they would be here...
all together.
Like this.
---
Minami closed her eyes for a moment.
Then opened them.
"Alright."
She said softly.
"Let’s begin the homeroom."
---
The bell did not ring yet.
But somehow...
it already felt like the end.
