Act I - A Soundless Beginning

A towering school, glass walls reflecting the sunlight, students marching with mechanical discipline, as if the entire scene were drawn with a ruler. Order at Oshima Academy isn't just a concept... it's an unwritten law etched into the cold tiles beneath their feet.

Sohara Akima sat in the back of the hall, observing the first student council meeting. Monotonous voices, endless reports, overly carefully written statements. Everything was running smoothly... boring.

He wasn't supposed to be here, but now he is a council member, a decision over which he had no control, like most things in his life.

"The graduation ceremony will proceed as planned. No changes."

Yukiha Kurasawa, "The council president", said it in a calm but firm tone, as if she were stating a truth immutable in the laws of physics. She didn't need to raise her voice; everyone listened without objection.

Sohara watched silently.

From the first moment, he sensed that Yukiha wasn't just an excellent student with a perfect record... but something else, something vague, as if she were trying to fit herself into a pre-made mold.

But that, of course, was none of his business.

"Akima."

He slowly raised his head. Misaki Shido, "The teacher in charge of the council", was looking directly at him.

"Since you're a newcomer here, you'll be taking over the organizational duties of the graduation ceremony."

Simply, without consulting, without room for refusal.

He stared at her for a moment, then nodded.

At the end of the meeting, the students stood and left, some talking animatedly, others reviewing their recent notes. Sohara, however, remained in his seat, his eyes fixed on the papers in front of him, without actually reading them.

"If you'd rather do your work silently, that's fine, but don't linger."

He raised his head slightly. Yukiha was standing beside him, her tone measured, her eyes expressionless.

"Don't worry, I won't let you down."

He looked at her for a moment longer, then stood quietly and left without waiting for her response.

But the moment he walked past her, he caught a glimpse of something in her eyes… a look that lasted only a second, but it was there.

Something was hidden behind the orderly surface of this place. Something no one would talk about… but it was there, like a shadow passing behind the curtain.