I—I uhm... I believe now is the best moment for a flashback, but I'm not sure how to achieve it... Would this be the button— Oh crap! What did I just press, and why are the alarms going off?!
Ahh... W—What's the matter, Senpai? What exactly are you doing? I thought you went to the breakroom to rest?!
…
There isn't time to explain... *button click* Okay, here we go... I switched off the alarm... *quick exhale* Hmm? Why are you staring at me like that, and why are toying with your thumbs?
…
Senpai, I'm s—sorry... I just wanted to be useful for a change...
...
Bwahahaha!
...
Hey... Senpai, stop patting my head so violently...
…
Are you seriously depressed as a result of that? Just lighten up a little... I don't care if you're useful or not; as long as you learn from your mistakes, your Senpai will be quite happy.
But I should probably take over now because I'm feeling better now that I've taken my break, and you can get back to what you were doing; sorry for being so bothersome.
…
Hah? W—What do you mean by being so bothersome? You're my Senpai, I obviously owe it to you to assist you whenever you require it.
...
Doesn't that completely reverse the roles...? Eh, whatever, you've been dismissed, take care now... *knuckle cracking* All right, back to work.
Hm? Is that a sticky note on my desk...? "Susumu glanced out the window and into the distance, (should I put a flashback after this?)" she even took notes? how kind of her, hehe.
Okay, three, two, one...
Susumu begins to reminisce about a far earlier time, known as 'New Year's Eve, December 31st, 2021.'
(+ FLASHBACK BEGIN +)
Susumu is now seen sitting in the back seat of a car, he also seems to be wearing a suit; he has his head against the window, staring at the starry sky; his father, who is driving, asks, "Susumu-chan, are we going the right way?"
Susumu sighs quickly and straightens his back, looking at the road ahead of him and saying, "Yeah, just follow this road and we'll see Moriyama-san's mansion."
His mom who is sitting beside his dad then cuts herself into the conversation, "Takashi-kun is really kind, you know? He invited all of us to his mansion so we can celebrate this New Year's Eve together."
Susumu slouches his back against the car seat as he murmurs, "That means I can also spend this yearly celebration with all my friends," a faint smile forms on his face.
The Ishibashi Family then notices something over the horizon, a massive—and I mean massive—mansion, and the car comes to a stop in front of the gate as his father opens the driver seat window and stares straight into the camera right by the metal gate, as if to say, "Open the gate."
The gate then glides open, and his father drives into the compound, parking directly in front of the garage and turning off the engine.
Susumu is the first to exit the automobile, stepping onto the gravel in his black shoes, which causes a slight crunch.
Someone with crimson hair goes up to them in casual clothes, stops in front of him, and tilts his head, "Ishibashi-san? Why are you dressed so formally?"
Susumu slouches his shoulders, "Fujikawa-san? It's New Year's Eve, you definitely have to dress your best during this time," Takashi shakes his head, "Look, Moriyama-san and Shinsato-san are dressed casually as well, including their family, you're the odd one out here."
Susumu's parents then get out of the car, they seem to also be wearing casual clothes since his dad's formal attire is in the laundry, while his mom doesn't have any formal attire in her closet.
Takashi then remarks, crossing his arms, "Look, even your parents didn't wear any formal apparel." Susumu looks away, clicking his tongue, and murmurs, "So I'm the only one who wanted to dress decently..."
He closes his eyes and exhales, he takes off his suit jacket and hangs it on his arm, Takashi then looks at Susumu's parents and smiles, he then gestures to them to follow him, and the three of them follow the crimson-haired boy.
They enter the house and stand in front of a large lobby, they see two staircases leading upstairs, and the dining room to the side; he motions to Susumu's parents to the dining room, "The other grownups are in there drinking wine."
Susumu's parents then split off, his mom says, "We'll be making acquaintances with the other adults, have fun with your friends!"
Susumu nods, and he then turns back to Takashi, Takashi says to Susumu, "Our friends are in my room right now, we were in the middle of a card game before you arrived but in all honesty—" He scratches his cheek, "—I was losing, so I was saying that we should restart once you arrived."
"So you just exploited me as an escape tool?" Susumu asks as they begin strolling up the stairs.
"It was for the greater good," Takashi says as he turns to face Susumu.
"Yeah, for the greater good of your ego," Susumu remarked, his face deadpan.
Takashi laughs awkwardly as they travel up the stairs and into a hallway that leads to his room; he swings the door to his room open; Susumu removes his shoes and enters the room, where he sees Fumio and Ayano holding a pair of cards.
Fumio, stopping himself from laughing, says, "Hey, who brought a businessman to our party?"
"Shut up," Susumu replied, his face flushed. He starts folding his suit jacket and placing it on Takashi's bed, loosening his tie as he sat down on the floor, "So, what are you guys playing?"
"We're playing Ichi— well, more like WAS playing Ichi, because we have to repeat from the beginning now that you're here," Ayano says, looking up from her cards.
Fumio exhales a dejected sigh and places his hands behind him to support his weight, "Eeeh? But I was one card away from winning..." He shows his card, which was a black card.
Takashi sits down and takes up his cards, but wait... Five, sixteen... twenty!? Twenty playing cards!?
That's a lot of cards; either he was exceptionally unlucky or Ayano harassed him with plus two cards.
Ayano then states, "Moriyama-san will sort the cards because he was the closest to winning," before looking at Susumu and saying, "You'll be the last one to play your cards because you just joined."
"You'll be second to last because you have the most cards among us three," she says to Takashi, who sighs relievedly, "At least I'm not last..."
Fumio begins reshuffling the cards 'nearly' flawlessly, 'nearly' since some cards slip from his hands.
After reshuffling the cards, Fumio starts passing them toward his opponents; after giving ten cards each, he places the card pile near the middle and pulls a card off the top, and places it facing upward, a blue five-card.
Fumio shakes his head and pulls a card off the card pile, Takashi chuckles, "Starting off pretty badly, huh?" Fumio's turn is skipped as it moves to Ayano, who plays a red five-card, it then moves to Takashi who plays a red one-card.
The turn moves to Susumu, who scans his deck, he then grabs a green one-card, before stopping himself, he looks at his other cards and sees a red block card. His face may seem deadpan, but past that face is someone grinning widely.
He switches his hand over to the block card and plays it, Fumio grimaces, "Well, I guess I'm playing the game yet."
This is getting interesting for being such a simple card game... Ah crap, if I narrate this card game any longer, I'll use up all the flashback time I have, I guess I'll have to skip to near the end.
*Tape fast forward, click!*
Takashi plays a black color change card, he laughs and shouts, "I finally won!" He falls on his back as he feels a wave of ecstasy flood his brain, Fumio's eye has a slight twitch as he looks at his fifteen cards, "Damn it..."
Susumu stares at his three cards blankly, "That was fun, though, I don't want to play this game again."
Ayano stares at her two cards, "I was so close to an Ichi though..."
"Well, I really want to go out on a stroll now, clear my head of any furious thoughts produced by this game; do you guys want to join along?" Fumio stands up and wipes his hands.
Takashi stands up straight and says, "Sure, let's just clear this up first," to which Ayano responds, "Third place and below will have to clean up the cards."
Susumu nods and begins stacking the cards, while Fumio, albeit hesitantly, gets down on one knee and begins stacking.
They place the cards back into the box and walk out of the room, they put on their shoes and start walking through the hallway, they go down the staircase and out the front door, Susumu looks back at the front door as Takashi closes it, "Are you sure it's fine if we don't tell them?"
Takashi gives the thumbs up and walks past them, "Absolutely. Now," he pauses as he turns around, "We have a vineyard in the back of our mansion, we can stroll through there if that's fine with you guys."
Takashi smiles and leads the group as the three pals nod.
Susumu looks up at the glittering sky and remarks, "The stars are wonderful tonight, aren't they?"
"I agree," Fumio says, looking up at the sky, "I've always admired constellations when I was younger, so this is the perfect time for me to clear my mind of any remaining nasty ideas."
"Maybe one day, when I graduate from college, I would like to become an astronomer," Fumio says as the four friends cross the corner and begin walking through a vineyard.
Fumio then turns to his three friends, "What are your dreams for the future?"
Takashi rubs the back of his head, "This is embarrassing to say, but... I would want to become a winemaker," Fumio then tilts his head, "Isn't your father the CEO of a winemaking company? Why don't you just take that position over?"
Takashi stops and inspects the vines, "Well, I am taking over that position whether I like it or not, but I would also like to work amongst the winemakers, so that's why I want to learn while young."
Fumio nods and turns to Susumu, who sees his stare and says, "I don't think about the future too much, so I'm not sure what I'll be when I'm older."
"Do you at least have a modest idea?" Fumio asks, raising an eyebrow.
Susumu shakes his head, Fumio sighs and turns to face Ayano, "How about you, Shinsato-san, any plans for your future?"
Ayano comes to a halt, and the other three stop going as soon as they spot her. Her lips tremble as she glances down at the ground, "T—this is difficult to explain... but..."
The boys wait in suspense, and Ayano glances up, shakily saying, "I'm sorry, but... but..."
Behind the boys, fireworks begin to be fired off; Ayano looks up with tears in her eyes, and her mouth begins to move, but I can't seem to understand what she's saying...
But... In all honesty, the boys obviously heard what she said, their pupils contracting as they are hit with the abrupt knowledge, Susumu's pupils contracting the most as he mumbles in disbelief, "W—what?"
The fireworks then stop getting set off, and New Year's Eve has come to an end...