Ahmed slowly opened the door to the principal's office. The atmosphere inside the room was heavier than outside. The principal sat behind his desk, his features frozen in a way the students were not accustomed to. He said nothing when Ahmed entered; he merely pointed to the chair in front of him. Ahmed sat in silence, feeling that something was deeply wrong.
After a few moments, the door opened again. Misaki entered first, followed by Honoka, who appeared more tense than ever. They stopped near Ahmed, looking at the principal with anxiety. The principal did not speak. Instead, he pressed a button on the remote control on his desk. The large screen behind him lit up.
A video clip appeared. At first, the scene looked ordinary: the school field, some students standing near the goal, while two of them stood further away with a camera mounted on a small tripod. They were filming shots toward the post as a form of training and accuracy analysis for the school football team.
Then, the camera panned slightly… and in a distant corner of the frame, the school rooftop appeared. Suddenly, Ahmed's features froze. On the screen... Honoka appeared. She was standing on the edge of the roof. Misaki's eyes widened.
Misaki (in a shocked whisper):
"This is..."
The video continued mercilessly. In the next shot, Honoka lunged forward. She jumped. The voices of the students filming rose in the video: "Hey! Wait—!"
But before their shock could even register, another person appeared in the frame. Ahmed. He ran at full speed toward the edge. Without any hesitation... he jumped. Even the students filming screamed in the video. The camera shook slightly from the intensity of the shock, but the image remained clear enough. In mid-air, Ahmed extended his arm forcefully. Then—he grabbed Honoka's arm.
A heavy silence filled the principal's office. On the screen, their bodies were falling together... before disappearing from the camera's frame. The video stopped. The black screen remained lit for moments. No one spoke. The only sound in the room was that of tense breathing.
Honoka slowly lowered her head, while Misaki remained frozen in place. As for Ahmed... he kept staring at the screen, as if seeing that moment for the first time. Finally... the principal spoke. But this time, his voice was not calm. He was angry.