The school considered it educational experience.
The students considered it field trip.
Kuro considered it longest day of his life.
---
"The program ’Career Shadowing’ helps you experience various occupations."
The horoom teacher bead with pride.
"You will spend a whole day visiting the places associated with occupations you want."
She paused.
"If you wish, you may visit multiple organizations."
Students eagerly chattered about what workplace they wanted to visit.
Universities.
Hospitals.
Companies.
Research laboratories.
Publishing houses.
Everyone except Kuro.
He silently stared at a blank piece of paper in front of him.
Empty.
Like his career options in the aptitude test.
Before he could consider any further—
He felt a hand on his shoulder.
"...Akari," he groaned.
"We’ve made our decision."
"That sounds like a bad start."
"You’re unsure what occupation you’ll pursue."
"Yes."
"Then you may join us and try ours."
"... Ours?"
Girls nodded.
Kuro knew sothing was seriously wrong.
"A terrible idea."
None of the others paid attention.
---
Kuro found himself outside the hospital of the city at nine in the morning.
Yui adjusted a visitor badge hanging on her neck.
"Welco."
She bead with pride.
"To my future workplace."
Kuro looked up to the large building.
"So this is where future doctors lose their sleep."
"They lose their weekend, too."
"And holidays."
"... Mostly."
Before Kuro could ask sothing else, a physician appeared to greet them.
"Are you Yui’s classmates?"
"Yes."
Physician smiled.
"She speaks very well about all of you."
Yui blushed imdiately.
"I... haven’t."
"You have."
"You absolutely haven’t."
"You absolutely have."
Akari leaned closer to whisper in Kuro’s ear.
"Doctors can lie professionally."
Yui elbowed her.
---
The hospital looked surprisingly peaceful inside.
Doctors rushed along the corridors but no one ever looked hurried.
Nurses greeted patients with practiced smile.
Families stayed quiet.
The purposefulness of everything cald Kuro sowhat.
Yui described various departnts while they walked.
"Ergency."
"Surgery."
"Pediatrics."
"Internal dicine."
Kuro listened attentively.
The place looked extrely serious.
More serious than school.
Until they passed a waiting area.
There stood a lone kid sitting holding a toy rabbit.
He looked terrified.
Parents were discussing sothing with the nurse near him.
Without a thought, Kuro crouched near him.
"You’re also waiting?"
The boy nodded shyly.
"... You’re scared?"
Once again, nodding.
Kuro pointed at the rabbit.
"I can see you’ve chosen a reliable bodyguard."
The boy looked at the animal.
"It guards ."
"I can tell."
He smiled.
"He looks reliable."
Kuro saw the sa expression appear on the boy’s face.
By the ti the nurse finished talking to parents, she saw the boy happily laughing at ridiculous voices made by Kuro.
Yui watched the scene quietly.
Her physician watched it too.
As they went away from the waiting area, physician glanced at her.
"He’s a smart kid."
Yui smiled slightly.
"I know."
---
Their next destination was research laboratory where one of the girls spent her free ti.
The mood imdiately changed.
Nothing was untidy here.
White walls.
Gentle hums of machines.
Researchers looked at computer screens filled with numbers.
Aoi felt very comfortable.
"This laboratory specializes in analyzing environntal data."
Akari looked around.
"I didn’t understand even a word."
"Which one exactly?"
"’Environntal.’"
Silence.
Aoi sighed.
"As expected."
A researcher gave Kuro several sheets of papers.
"Could you sort it?"
Looking at endless tables and diagrams on them, Kuro gave up five minutes later.
"I admire researchers."
He admitted sincerely.
"But I would definitely lose my mind."
Aoi agreed.
"Fair point."
---
After lunch, they went to the elentary school where Mina was a volunteer.
The children instantly surrounded her when they saw her.
"Mina-sensei!"
Several dozen pairs of feet raced through the corridor.
Kuro stepped aside.
"I’ll stay aside."
"You won’t."
Mina smiled cheerfully.
"I need help."
Before Kuro could say anything, a girl pulled his sleeve.
"Brother."
"... Yes?"
"Could you tie my ribbon?"
He looked at her.
"I... can try."
So awkward monts later, Kuro successfully tied the ribbon.
"Thank you!"
And she ran away, smiling happily.
Another child suddenly appeared.
"My paper airplane won’t fly."
Another one.
"I can’t reach bookshelf."
Another one.
"Can you read this?"
Kuro found himself surrounded by children within a minute.
Akari was watching them from across the room.
"... Betrayal."
"They prefer him to us."
Rika whispered gloomily.
A boy proudly took his drawing out.
"It’s you."
Kuro glanced at it.
The picture depicted an extrely ssy-haired person.
"... Accurate."
The boy grinned.
"I’ll draw another one!"
Mina quietly chuckled.
"You are amazing with kids."
"I haven’t done anything."
"You never think that you did."
She replied.
---
The last stop for the group was the publishing house of one of Rika’s favourite editors.
Everything was noisy in there.
Artists drew incredibly fast.
Editors rushed between desks carrying manuscripts.
Phone rang non-stop.
Rika’s eyes shined.
"This..."
She whispered.
"...Is heaven."
Five minutes later—
She discussed story ideas with an editor.
Twenty minutes later—
She argued passionately about developnt of characters.
Thirty minutes later—
Editor laughed happily.
"You definitely should submit your stories."
Rika almost fainted.
anwhile...
Kuro was organizing piles of collapsed manuscripts which another editor left on the floor.
"You wouldn’t have to help."
He smiled.
"It would take forever."
"It wasn’t a big problem."
The editor looked surprised.
"Really?"
Kuro just shrugged.
"They were collapsing anyway."
"So you saved them," the editor said.
"Sure."
---
When the group ca out of the publishing house, everyone felt exhausted.
Akari imdiately claid two seats in train.
"Today was educational."
"You slept through it," Aoi reminded.
"I learned through dreams," Akari countered.
"Right."
Rika was hugging a business card the editor gave her.
"I’m going to beco famous author."
"We know," everyone responded simultaneously.
Yui leaned to a window.
"Glad you chose ."
Kuro smiled back.
"So am I."
Trains were gently moving as a warm glow of sunset covered the city.
For so minutes, everyone was silent.
Then Mina looked at Kuro.
"So..."
"What?"
"Which workplace did you like better?"
Everyone turned to look at him.
Hospital.
Laboratory.
School.
Publishing house.
Kuro considered the options carefully.
"All of them were fascinating."
"That wasn’t an answer," Akari complained.
He looked out of a train window.
Rembering terrified kid.
Helpless kids.
Editor who thanked him.
Even researchers whom he carried sothing without asking to.
Then Kuro smiled gently.
"I think it was none of them."
Everyone waited patiently.
"I enjoyed helping those people there," Kuro continued.
Silence settled between them.
A calm silence.
Yui smiled first.
Then Mina.
Then Aoi.
Even Rika stopped writing her notes.
Akari crossed her arms.
"... That was very Kuro thing to say."
"What’s wrong with that?"
"It ans..."
She grinned.
"... That you are hopeless."
"No."
Aoi shook her head slowly.
"No, it doesn’t."
Trains were moving forward, towards ho.
The light of city slowly lit up.
And Kuro rested his head on window.
So many possibilities were revealed to him today.
Doctor.
Researcher.
Teacher.
Author.
None of them fully suited him.
However, each ti soone needed help—
He acted long before thinking.
Perhaps it was the first answer.
To what occupation he wanted?
No, to why did he need job at all?
For the first ti in weeks, future stopped seeming so vague.
Still far.
Still unknown.
But the first step was finally made.
The small step to the future.
Later that night, after everyone had returned ho, Kuro found himself wandering into the local convenience store.
At this point, he didn’t intend on thinking anymore about career options.
His head had already officially hit the limits for the day.
What he desired was only to buy so cold drinks.
But before reaching the cash register, he noticed an elderly lady examining a shelf of boxes.
Her gaze was bouncing between two packages that were almost the sa, and her expression seed to grow more perplexed with each passing second.
Kuro slowed down his pace.
"Do you need any help...? "
The woman nodded apologetically.
"My grandson had gotten a cold, but I cannot read the letters well."
Kuro picked up both boxes and checked the labels.
"This one is for kids."
"And this one is for adults," he said, pointing towards the other box.
"Oh..."
The woman let out a relieved sigh.
"If I had got the wrong one..."
Kuro put the box into her hands.
"It will probably suit your purpose better."
"Thanks, young man."
She smiled gratefully.
"You saved a lot of effort."
"I didn’t do anything."
"What you’ve done is more than enough."
Kuro nervously scratched the cheek.
"I simply happened to be near."
After purchasing his drink, he left the store under the sound of sliding automatic doors.
But he had taken not even a step outside, when Kuro heard the familiar voice.
"I knew you were going to assist soone."
He turned around.
Minami stood a couple of ters away, holding a shopping bag.
"...Sensei."
"I bought food," she replied walking towards him with a smile.
"And you?"
"Just got so tea," Kuro said.
"And did so voluntary service."
"I didn’t do that voluntarily."
"You didn’t?" Minami asked turning to look at the convenience store, where the elderly woman was still smiling.
"But that does not matter, since you never even stopped to consider."
"Because you saw soone needing help," she continued.
"And you helped."
Minami gave him a knowing look.
"And now you will continue to help others."
"I..." Kuro looked at the box in his hands.
"...Do people always see such things in ?"
"Yes," she said.
"All except for yourself."
Kuro fell silent.
As they started walking towards the train station, he found himself recalling all the events of the previous day.
Hospital, elentary school, and the publishing office...
And finally...
This convenience store.
None of those instances had been planned beforehand, but every ti Kuro did the sa – helped those in need.
Until now, he had considered it rely to be a habit.
But maybe...
There was more to it than that.
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