Their celebration had gone much longer than they ever thought it would.

Not because they had planned such a thing beforehand.

Because they had not wanted to leave.

Once Yui’s success became official, the entire group somehow found themselves at their usual eating place near the station.

There was something lighter in the air today.

Perhaps in many days.

After the whole medical exam arc, for the first time, Yui did not appear tense.

Not even a little bit.

Kuro watched the group quietly sitting at the other end of the table.

As usual.

Of course, as soon as the group got into one place, a conversation about the future inevitably began.

The poor Yui happened to be the first victim.

"Future Doctor Yui!"

Akari smirked.

Yui instantly threw a napkin at her.

"Stop saying that!"

"You literally succeeded."

"Exactly. That’s not the point."

"That’s precisely why it is the point."

They started laughing.

Even Yui did it.

Not a few months ago, she would just roll her eyes and change the topic.

Now, however, she seemed to have accepted the compliment.

At least, as it should be.

Then Mina suddenly decided to join.

"And then what?"

Yui paused before answering.

"Medical training."

She did not seem happy about it.

"Now, at last, I am truly excited about it."

All of them sensed the difference.

Previously, Yui used to chase her path solely for the sake of others’ opinions.

Now, however, she seemed to have her reasons.

At least, that was something.

Conversation continued.

This time, Aoi decided to tell the group about her future plans.

University.

Research.

Various scholarships.

She seemed quite excited about that.

The rest of the group tried hard not to look bored.

None of it was understandable to them.

Even to Kuro.

Akari did not manage to sit more than thirty seconds.

"So basically you’re going to become a supervillain scientist?"

Aoi sighed.

"No."

"That’s exactly what a future supervillain scientist would say."

Mina almost choked on her drink.

Then came proud announcement from Rika.

"I will become a legendary manga artist."

It was so predictable that none of them seemed to object.

Mainly because Rika was already halfway to her goal.

There were so many sketchbooks filled with various stories to become a publisher.

"What kind of manga?"

Mina asked.

Rika pointed out Kuro.

"Slice of life."

Kuro instantly felt uncomfortable with that idea.

"Why are you pointing at me?"

"No particular reason."

For some reason, that reply was not helpful at all.

Then Mina proudly declared.

"And I will become a teacher."

Again, no reaction.

Because all of them knew it was her destiny.

Thanks to her endless patience.

Endless kindness.

Ability to repeat explanations many times in a row without going crazy.

In contrast to certain people.

They all looked at Akari.

"I heard that."

"Good."

"I expected nothing less of you," Aoi remarked.

Conversation finally reached Akari’s turn.

Everyone seemed to show interest.

Which promised something fun.

"What will you become?" Mina asked.

Akari crossed her arms.

"A world-known athlete."

"Not bad."

"An idol?"

"Doubtful."

"An actress?"

"Dubious."

"A CEO?"

"Impossible."

"Astronaut?"

Silence.

Akari pointed to Aoi.

"Why did you instantly refuse CEO version but not astronaut?"

"Because space will kick you out."

Laughter filled the air.

Again, Akari had no words.

Afterwards, everybody talked about their plans.

Dreams.

Goals.

Universities.

Careers.

Until someone looked at Kuro.

Then everyone followed him.

A dangerous sign.

Immediately, he noticed that.

"Why are you all staring at me?"

Mina blinked.

"What about you?"

Again, such an innocent question.

Except this time, Kuro found himself unable to answer it.

"...I don’t know."

Silent pause followed that question.

Not awkward.

Just shocked.

Because it was not common to see Kuro confused.

"You have never thought about your career?" Yui asked.

"I did," Kuro responded.

"Then?"

"...Absolutely nothing."

Akari stared at him.

"What do you mean absolutely nothing?"

"Exactly what I said."

It seemed to Kuro that it did not sound so reasonable now.

All of them had an answer.

Perhaps not the best.

Perhaps even the temporary one.

However, they had something.

Goal.

Direction.

Future they could imagine.

He had nothing.

Not because of his lack of skills or lack of opportunities.

Simply because he had never taken any time to consider himself.

That thought troubled him more than it should have.

Eventually, the conversation shifted to other topics.

And Kuro seemed to become more silent than usual.

Laughter around him seemed faraway.

Not unpleasant.

Just faraway.

For the rest of the evening, he seemed more eager to listen than speak.

Something seemed stuck in his head.

Something uncomfortable.

That night, when everyone went home, Kuro found himself standing on the school rooftop.

Sunset.

Light orange filling the sky above the city.

Cool and peaceful wind.

Usually, he loved places like that.

Today, however, it seemed like it did not fit.

He leaned on the fence.

Thinking.

Actually thinking.

Which was not common for him at all.

"What should I do?"

That question seemed ridiculous.

But he could not find any answer to it.

For some reason, he was always ready to support and help everyone.

To solve any of their problems.

Without considering himself at all.

The door leading to the rooftop opened.

Kuro did not even need to look who it was.

Only Minami would ever choose to come there after classes.

Minami walked up to him.

Pocketed hands.

Peaceful expression.

Teacher mode activated.

"What are you doing here?"

Kuro asked.

Minami sat next to him.

"Liking one of my students."

"For which reason?"

"I was hiding."

"And?"

"I know."

Another silence filled the air.

Comfortable silence.

Like it was their special talent now.

After a while, Minami glanced at Kuro.

"You are thinking too much."

"Maybe."

"What are you going to do in the future?"

Kuro looked at her.

"...Is it that obvious?"

"To those paying attention."

It was not reassuring at all.

Minami looked at the sunset.

"Those questions you had trouble answering bothered you."

Not a question this time.

But a clear statement.

As usual.

Kuro sighed.

"Everyone has something."

"And?"

"I do not."

The answer sounded quite unexpected.

Neither of them spoke after it.

After a while, Minami suddenly burst out laughing.

Real laugh.

Rare occurrence.

"You have too high opinion of other people."

Kuro frowned.

"What does it mean?"

"Most people have no clue what they are doing."

"This is absurd."

"It definitely is."

Minami smiled.

"Half of adults I know are just winging it."

It did not reassure at all.

"The main thing is not to have an answer."

She continued.

"But to find it."

City was slowly getting illuminated with the onset of evening.

Lights started lighting everywhere.

Kuro watched them quietly.

Maybe she was right.

Maybe not knowing your future is not failure.

Maybe it is just another beginning.

For the first time all day long, the pressure seemed to ease.

Not entirely.

Just partially.

When the last ray of sunlight disappeared under the horizon, one thought remained.

Yui wanted to become a doctor.

Aoi wanted to become a researcher.

Mina wanted to become a teacher.

Rika wanted to become an artist.

Akari wanted to become whatever she fancied this week.

What about him?

Kuro looked at the lights filling the city.

After years, for the first time, he did not know anything.

Maybe...

That was his new beginning.

That night, Kuro couldn’t sleep.

Which was rare.

See, Kuro had a gift.

Sleeping wherever he wanted.

Classrooms.

Train rides.

Lectures.

Preparation meetings for festivals.

Lectures for the student council.

It didn’t matter.

Wherever and whenever he wanted to sleep.

He did.

This night, he couldn’t stop thinking about what happened before.

Over and over and over again.

So Kuro got up.

Grabbed his phone.

The room was dark.

Only the faint glow of the screen illuminated his face.

A notification popped up.

School Career Survey.

Due: Tomorrow.

He stared at it.

Sighed.

"Right."

How could he forget about that?

Once he opened the app, there were the same old questions.

Name.

Class.

Fields of interest.

Favorite universities.

Dream jobs.

Normal questions.

They should have been easy.

Kuro answered a few questions effortlessly.

Until he encountered a particular one.

"What kind of future would you like?"

He froze.

Paused the game.

Let the cursor blink.

Blink.

Blink.

On.

The question mark hovered above the empty box.

One minute went by.

Another followed.

Still no answer.

He thought about studying medicine.

That was Yui’s path.

Not his.

Research?

Yes, it was definitely Aoi’s.

Teaching?

Minami would do much better.

Writing?

There was Rika.

Whose dreams already resided within fictional worlds.

Whatever Akari decided for herself this week?

Definitely not her.

An empty box remained empty.

For the first time ever, Kuro realized how lagging behind he was.

Not behind others.

Not in terms of knowledge.

Not socially.

Behind.

All the people in his life seemed to move towards something.

While he was stuck at the intersection and not even sure about the direction.

The realization was supposed to scare him.

But, for some reason, it just annoyed.

He shut down the survey.

"No clue."

The words hung in his dark room.

Then another realization emerged.

A simple one.

What was he good at?

He knew immediately.

Making people happy.

It surprised him.

Whenever somebody was having troubles, he helped.

Most of the time unwillingly.

Sometimes irrationally.

Quite often against his better judgment.

But somehow he always did it.

Yui.

Minami.

Akari.

Aoi.

Mina.

Rika.

One by one.

He helped them all.

Kuro stared at the ceiling.

Surely, making people happy wouldn’t become his career.

But this was the only thing that was truly him.

And the first one today.

---

Perhaps he didn’t know what he really wanted to become.

---

But maybe it wasn’t too late to figure out the truth.

Outside, the lights glimmered under the clear night sky.

Inside, Kuro shut his eyes.

His future remained unclear.

Questions were still unanswered.

The survey was incomplete.

But, for the first time after lunch, the uncertainty wasn’t so frightening.

Somehow, an answer lay somewhere.

In front of him.

He just needed to find it.

Unlike before.

Now he was willing to start the search.