Race To Find The Key! Light Up The Sky!

Chizuru "Guys! We have to find the owner and get a key!"

Kitaro "Do you know where the guy is?"

Alice "Uh, I mean yeah maybe. Let's go check!"

Lucy "Half of us will go, the other will guard the shed to make sure they don't die in there!"

Suiyoubi, Touma, Ryuji and Sugawara nod as Hisana salutes her.

Hisana "Right!"

She then shouts into the doors of the shed.

Hisana "Don't worry guys! I'll make sure you don't die in there and if you do then it wasn't my fault!"

She shouts as Suiyoubi sweats. Hikigaya listens to their muffled voices and sighs while sitting on the surprisingly clean-ish inside of the shed. Shiori sits against the wall opposite to him.

Hikigaya "It sounds like they locked us in and don't have a key."

Shiori "And with Suiyoubi and Hisana standing right outside, we can't just break the door down."

Hikigaya "I guess we're stuck in here.."

They sit in silence for a moment before Shiori speaks.

Shiori "That hot chocolate you gave me earlier, it had a weird aftertaste, didn't it?"

Hikigaya "Yeah, now that you mention it."

He says with a slightly surprised look. Shiori looks at him as if waiting for an answer.

Hikigaya "Oh, it wasn't me. Haru gave me those to share with you."

Shiori gets a slightly upset look.

Shiori "I don't know if I should be more mad that you didn't actually get me one or the fact our friend laced our drinks with something."

She says with an irritated tone. Hikigaya smiles a bit, quickly changing the subject.

Hikigaya "What? You think they're trying to poison us?"

Shiori "Not exactly, I was thinking more… love potion maybe? You know how they are."

She says while blushing a bit. Hikigaya blushes too and rubs the back of his head nervously.

Hikigaya "Oh, yeah maybe. They definitely would do that but with our bodies, it's not like it'll affect us anyway haha!"

Shiori "Right! Right, of course."

She smiles nervously too as they awkwardly sit together in the small shed.

Elsewhere, the group runs around looking for the owner. They ask multiple people about the owner with no luck until one of them points them to the front desk. They rush to the desk, sweaty and out of breath as Chizuru leans on the counter.

Chizuru "Excuse me… Do you know… where the owner is..?"

She asks between breaths. The front desk worker simply smiles.

Worker "I'm sorry, you just missed him. He went home for the night to celebrate New Year's with his family."

She says politely. Chizuru is stunned as the others are shocked too. Alice looks at the clock on the wall and notices how close it is to New Year's. She gets a worried look.

Alice "Guys! It's almost time!"

Lucy grits her teeth angrily and jumps on the counter.

Lucy "You better give us his address right now or I'm gonna rain down my wrath upon this whole place! Raahhhhh!"

She shouts as the others sweat and try to calm her down.

Haru "Lucy!"

Kitaro "Chill out!"

The worker sweats and looks concerned.

Worker "I can't give you his home address. That's confidential."

Lucy "I don't care! I've been running around everywhere looking for this dumb owner to get his key now give it!"

She shouts as the worker looks worried.

Worker "Key? What key are you talking about?"

Chizuru looks at the worker with a worried look.

Chizuru "I'm sorry, our friends accidently got locked in the shed on the patio outside and we just really don't want them to miss the New Year's fireworks."

Worker "If it's a key to a door on the property, we might have it here. I can go look for it."

Lucy stops immediately and adjusts herself.

Lucy "That would be great, yes."

Worker "Mhm. Next time try asking nicely before threatening someone."

She says with a lecturing tone as Lucy bows a bit.

Lucy "You're right, I'm sorry…"

Worker gives her a look before stepping into the back room.

Back in the shed, the two of them sit quietly while avoiding eye contact. Shiori looks at Hikigaya subtly while blushing a bit.

Shiori "Hikigaya. Have you ever thought that maybe my crush is you?"

She thinks back to the night of the cultural festival and what she said. She looks down a bit.

Shiori 'I told him back then… I really told him but now… I'm not sure he remembers with everything that happened after…'

She thinks while looking at him again. This time, Hikigaya notices her looking at him. She gets surprised and looks away. Hikigaya blushes a bit but doesn't look away and instead speaks up.

Hikigaya "You okay Shiori?"

She reluctantly looks at him, embarrassed before faking confidence.

Shiori "Well of course I am. Not like being trapped in here with an idiot like you is gonna bug me."

Hikigaya sweats a bit.

Hikigaya "I'm glad you've still got so much energy.."

He says as Shiori blushes and loses that fake burst of confidence. She shyly looks at him as he smiles at her a bit. She blushes about how cute he looks to her and covers a part of her face with her sleeves.

Shiori "Not like an idiot like you could be cute or anything…"

She whispers softly. Hikigaya perks up but is not able to understand what she said.

Hikigaya "What did you say?"

Shiori scrunches her eyebrows and looks away with a playfully irritated look.

Shiori "Nothing that concerns you."

Hikigaya "Right. I'm sure you saying something out loud in this small shed with only me in it has nothing to do with me."

Shiori looks at him for a moment before hesitantly opening her mouth.

Shiori "Hey… Hikigaya?.."

She calls his name softly. He looks surprised by her softness as she continues.

Shiori "Back at the cultural festival… before your accident… do you remember what I told you?.."

She asks softly. Hikigaya looks at her, surprised a bit before thinking about it. Shiori waits for his response, assuming he does.

Hikigaya "Hm… No, not particularly."

Shiori stiffens up, shocked.

Hikigaya "I mean, I remember you being mad at me for something but when are you not mad at me? Haha! After you stormed off, I chased after you and everything else is a blur. Why? Did I forget something important?"

He asks with a genuinely concerned look. Shiori has her head lowered with shadows over her eyes for a moment before looking at him and smiling.

Shiori "Nope, nothing important at all!"

She says happily through a pained smile. Hikigaya gives her a side smile back but can obviously tell she's not telling the truth. Before they can say anything else, they hear noises outside the shed. The friends guarding the shed turn to see the others running back towards the doors leading to the patio. Haru holds a key out in front of himself with a happy and relieved look.

Haru "Guys! We got it! We got the key!"

The others smile in relief.

Ryuji "And just in time."

Suiyoubi "The New Year is only a minute away."

They say while smiling in relief. As the group runs through the doors and onto the patio, Haru smiles before tripping. He slams onto the ground, losing grip of the key, as it tumbles away from him. The group looks shocked as he looks at it with wide eyes. It tumbles over the side of the patio and into the dark forest floor covered in snow below.

Haru "NOOOO!!"

He shouts in horror as he watches the key go over the edge. Hikigaya has his ear to the door and sighs.

Hikigaya "It sounds like Haru dropped the key."

Shiori "Of course he did."

She says, now sitting next to him. They have the same slightly disappointed look as Haru cartoonishly cries while Sugawara pats his head.

Haru "I had it… It was in my hand and I failed…"

Sugawara "There, there."

Chizuru "What do we do now?"

She asks with a concerned look on her face. Ryuji sighs and shakes his head.

Ryuji "I guess we go looking for it."

Hisana "Woah! Guys, look!"

She points to the sky as a few fireworks fly into the air. They burst as everyone looks at the beautiful display in the sky. Touma sweats a bit while looking at her.

Touma 'Leave it to her to completely forget about our situation…'

The fireworks blast in the air, lighting up the cold, dark, night sky as the others watch for a moment. Hikigaya looks at the rays of light coming through the door with a soft smile on his face. Shiori looks at him and blushes, admiring his beauty.

Shiori 'Hikigaya…'

She lifts her hand gently towards him.

Shiori 'I…'

Hikigaya notices and looks at her with a surprised look. She then punches him in the arm softly and smiles at him.

Shiori "Happy New Year you dummy."

Hikigaya smiles and blushes a bit.

Hikigaya "Happy New Year, Shiori."

He places his hand on top of her fist, surprising her, causing her to blush more. He then gets an idea and stands up, still holding onto her hand.

Hikigaya "I know! I'll just break the lock on the door. I can time it with the boom of the fireworks."

Shiori is surprised by his idea.

Shiori "That could work and would definitely beat staying in here."

Hikigaya snickers and rubs his finger under his nose.

Hikigaya "I know! I'm pretty smart, aren't I?"

Shiori sweats a bit.

Shiori "Don't push it.."

Hikigaya "Okay, ready… Now!"

He waits for the boom of the firework before shoving the doors open, snapping the older, worn out lock in the process. They step out quietly as the others have their backs turned to them. Hikigaya leans to her and whispers.

Hikigaya "I'm glad we made it out before the show was over…"

He whispers as she nods. The group all stares at the sky as it lights up with bright vibrant colors. Shiori is surprised a bit when she realizes Hikigaya is still holding onto her hand. She blushes and smiles while looking at their hands. She then looks up at Hikigaya and slightly tightens her grip on his hand. Hikigaya notices and looks at her. She smiles warmly and blushes as he blushes a bit too noticing her.

Shiori 'I love you, Hikigaya.'

She thinks as she stares at his face being lit by the wonderful colors in the sky. He looks at her with a slightly embarrassed and surprised look but doesn't look away.

Shiori 'Looking at you…'

In her desert world in her soul, she stands with a smile on her face as she looks at the sky. The heavy clouds begin to thin out as small bands of light begin to shine through, one directly on her face. She closes her eyes and basks in the warm light.

Shiori 'Lights up the sky more than any firework in the world.'

She thinks softly to herself as their hands stay held through the whole show.