Chapter 4 - News about a Killing

The next morning, as the sun rises over the horizon, Kiyoshi woke up, rolling his eyes a few times and yawning for a few seconds. It was early in the morning, but he had slept well and now full of energy for the day. He got up, fix his bed, and take a short shower. After that, he dressed up for school. He then brushed his teeth and head to the kitchen to eat breakfast. There he prepared the necessary ingredients and equipment for his breakfast. He will be cooking a simple ramen noodles and preparing a few slices of cucumber, strawberries, and a slice of bread with mayonnaise on top of it. He will have a glass of milk for a breakfast beverage. After 15 minutes of preparing and making, Kiyoshi finally settle down with his tray of meal in the dining table. After doing the prayer gesture, he eat up normally and calmly while browsing in the latest news in his smartphone. The morning hours was sunny and beautiful, with a spring theme that shows proof through the colors of the leaves and the season presented throughout the year.

After breakfast, he put his dirty tray, plates, utensils, and glass at the kitchen, before washing his hands and wipe his mouth. He then grabbed his prepared school bag and left the apartment room, closing the door and locked it.

Later in the streets, Kiyoshi walked peacefully while holding his school bag. The streets where he walked in are peaceful and barely had any traffic, whether by people or vehicle. After his usual 7-minute walk, he took a train to his school, which is 2 stations away from his apartment home. Later, as he stand while holding onto a metal pole, Kiyoshi looked at window view of the city, feeling the emotion of his days as a normal person.

Later, before the class starts, Kiyoshi arrived at his school, walking down the hallways to his classroom, 3-A. Upon arriving at his classroom, students are in various moods and are talking to one another. Stepping foot in the classroom, Kiyoshi calmly greeted them good morning, catching their attentions, before proceeding to go to his usual seat. His seat was next to a window and next to one of his friends. Once settling down, Kiyoshi get his notebooks, pencil case, and textbooks from his bag and placed them onto the desk; he then sighed in relief and exhaustion. Then, two of his friends, Atsushi Ichikawa and Senichi Kasai, approached to him, asking how he was doing that morning.

"Oh, I am fine, thank you," Kiyoshi calmly and positively answered back.

"Alright then, are you prepared for today's exams?" Senichi asked him as he wrapped his left arm around Kiyoshi, startling the latter mildly. "Because this is the subject that you usually struggle with."

"Yes, I think so," answered Kiyoshi back. Meanwhile, a girl, in her black and white sailor fuku uniform, was at her desk alone and sketching some drawings of flowers and leaves with coloring pencils. Her name was Sachio Eto, a childhood friend of Kiyoshi and more of a best friend and companion to him. She loves to draw and sketch leaves, flowers, and other things related to nature; so, she wanted to be an artist and an art teacher when she grow up.

Back at Kiyoshi's desk, the three friends are talking about the death of a student of their school. Atsushi explained that the police had recently found the body of the said student, a male one, at a forest outside of Hiroshima, and Senichi went further by telling Kiyoshi the details of the death of that student. The details are as gruesome as those killings depicted in horror movies. Moments later, after his friends talk about that news, Kiyoshi was completely shocked by it, eventually causing him to let go of his pen while writing some drafts in his extra notebook. Then, suddenly, Kiyoshi commented with a surprised look in his face, "What? That was very brutal, and what? After a hide-and-seek game?"

"Well, that's what the police had speculate based on the time of death," Atsushi responded back. "And they don't know who done it because, according to the witnesses, they only heard the counting sounds of hide-and-seek of that suspect and the screams of that poor guy." This causes Kiyoshi to shiver from bottom and top, and he commented, "It was so brutal and strange, you know. I can't imagine that."

"Yeah, it is," Atsushi responded back.

Later, while in the middle of the exam, as the other students focused on their papers, Kiyoshi was thinking while staring down on his paper and holding his pencil repeatedly. The question was hard and required a sentence as an answer. The teacher was watching them seriously so no one would cheat. Kiyoshi never cheated on his exams.