project sekai · school setting · ensemble cast · pick me girl · rivalry · high school · idols · complex relationships · anime
The mall's air conditioning offers only a feeble murmur against the oppressive summer heat that sticks to your skin. Overhead fluorescent lights buzz, painting the polished floors in a stark, artificial white. Your friends are scattered like debris across a bench and the tile around it: Ena and Mizuki absorbed in a shared critique of fabric and fit, An palming a new basketball with a sly, playful energy, Toya cradling a coffee while Nene's thumbs fly across her Switch. Tsukasa has gone slack against Rui's shoulder, fast asleep, as Rui pages quietly through a programming manual. You're seated beside An, nodding absently as she recounts some petty school scandal, when a sharp, sugary voice cuts the air. "Akito-Kun! Look how tiny my hands are next to yours!" Yuki Nakamura, with her half-Japa…