Chapter One : New Beginning

The morning air smelled like fresh ink and damp pavement as I stood at the school gates, gripping the strap of my bag. Okaida High School. My new beginning.

I took a breath and stepped forward, joining the slow-moving crowd of students. The campus stretched ahead, a mix of modern glass buildings and older brick structures, their ivy-covered walls giving the school a distinguished, almost elegant look. Banners flapped in the breeze, welcoming students to the new academic year.

"Kyoya!"

A familiar voice rang through the morning bustle. I turned just in time to see a tall figure shoving past a group of first-years, waving his arm like a madman.

Renji Sakamoto. My best friend since childhood.

"Dude! Took you long enough!" Renji clapped a hand on my shoulder, grinning. "I was starting to think you ditched me for another school."

I scoffed. "You're acting like we haven't seen each other in months."

He slung an arm around my neck, completely ignoring personal space as always. "But this is different, man! High school. The start of our golden years! You, me—top of the food chain now." He stretched his arms, breathing in the crisp morning air dramatically. "Doesn't it feel great?"

I smirked, peeling his arm off me. "If by 'great' you mean getting buried under assignments, sure."

Renji groaned. "Ugh, come on, don't start with that. Let me pretend school isn't about suffering for at least one day."

I chuckled. This was normal. Renji was always like this—dramatic, loud, and annoyingly optimistic. It felt good to have something familiar in a new place.

"Anyway," he continued, adjusting his uniform. "We should probably check the class list before the bell. If we're not in the same class, I'm rioting."

We made our way through the crowd, weaving between groups of students who were either nervously scanning the bulletin board or excitedly chatting with their old friends. The air buzzed with fresh energy—the kind that only came on the first day of school.

Renji's eyes darted across the posted lists. "Alright, let's see… Masaki, Masaki… Aha! Class 1-B!" He immediately checked the next column. "And—YES! Sakamoto, Class 1-B! Destiny, my friend. We're stuck together for another three years."

I shook my head with a smile. "Lucky me."

"Lucky you," he echoed smugly. "Now let's go—"

"Renji, don't block the board!"

A sharp voice interrupted, and before I could react, someone whacked Renji's shoulder with a notebook.

Yuna Tachibana.

She stood behind us, arms crossed, with her usual no-nonsense expression. Long, jet-black hair tied into a high ponytail, piercing brown eyes, and a demeanor that screamed 'I don't have time for your nonsense.'

Renji winced. "Ow, Yuna! What happened to 'hello, my dear friends, I've missed you'?"

Yuna ignored him, scanning the class list instead. After a second, she nodded. "Class 1-B. Looks like I'm stuck with you two idiots."

Renji grinned. "You say that like you're not excited."

She sighed but didn't argue.

Yuna had always been like this—calm, analytical, and always acting like she was too mature for us. But deep down, she was just as competitive as Renji, and she hated losing.

As the three of us started heading toward our building, another voice called out.

"Oh, hey! You guys made it to B-class too?"

Turning around, I spotted Haruto Miyazaki jogging up to us, a small smile on his face. His glasses slipped slightly down his nose, and he adjusted them with a practiced motion.

"Haruto! My man!" Renji threw an arm around him. "This is great! Our whole crew in the same class."

Haruto chuckled, slightly uncomfortable under Renji's grip. "It's good to see you guys again."

As we walked, I let the conversation flow around me, content just listening.

New school. New beginnings.

Day 1 - First Day Chaos

Okaida High School had an impressive campus, but inside, it was pure chaos.

The moment we stepped into Class 1-B, Renji immediately started claiming seats like a lunatic, dramatically throwing his bag onto one and spreading his arms. "THIS! This is my kingdom now!"

Yuna smacked the back of his head. "We haven't even started class, and you're already acting like a moron."

I sighed. "At least let the teacher enter before you start declaring wars."

Haruto, the only sane one among us, adjusted his glasses and chuckled. "I give it a week before Renji gets kicked out."

Renji gasped. "Excuse me?! I'll have you know that I am a respectable student—"

The classroom door slammed open.

A tall, middle-aged man in a suit marched in, his sharp eyes silencing the entire room in an instant. He placed his books on the desk, looked at us, and sighed.

"I'm Mr. Tsukino. I teach Mathematics. I do not tolerate noise, I do not tolerate lateness, and I especially do not tolerate nonsense."

Renji, who had just been in nonsense-mode, sank into his chair.

The class held their breath.

Then, Yuna did something that almost made me laugh—she straightened up like a perfect student, hands neatly folded, eyes forward.

Renji, sensing that his life was in danger, slowly mimicked her posture.

The first lesson began, and from that moment on, it was official—Mr. Tsukino was terrifying.

Day 2 - The Cafeteria Battle

By the second day, we had established our class roles.

Renji: The loud one.

Yuna: The responsible one.

Haruto: The quiet one who's actually a sarcastic genius.

Me? The one who had to put up with them.

The cafeteria was a battlefield. If you weren't fast, you weren't eating.

"GO, GO, GO!" Renji shouted, dragging me by the sleeve as we raced toward the lunch counter.

Haruto, somehow already there, held up his tray. "You guys are slow."

"How did you—?!" Yuna stopped mid-sentence. "Never mind. Move, I'm getting my food."

We finally found a table, but as we sat down, Renji's face darkened.

"Guys," he said gravely, "this school has a serious problem."

I blinked. "What?"

Renji pointed to his plate. "THE CHICKEN IS TOO SMALL."

Yuna nearly flipped her tray. "THAT is your serious problem?!"

Renji slammed his fist on the table. "THIS IS AN OUTRAGE."

Haruto smirked. "Are you going to start a protest?"

Renji narrowed his eyes. "...Don't tempt me."

We all laughed.

These were my friends—stupid, loud, competitive, but they made everything fun.

Day 3 - The Call That Changed Everything

The first two days of high school were normal. Fun, even.

Then, the third day came.

I woke up groggily, my alarm ringing at full blast. I reached over, smacking the snooze button, when—

RING! RING!

My phone.

I squinted at the caller ID. Renji.

Why was he calling me this early?

I picked up. "Renji? What's up?"

"...Kyoya." His voice sounded off.

I sat up immediately. "What happened?"

There was a pause. Then, in a low, shaken voice, he said—

"School's been postponed for a week."

I blinked. "What? Why?"

Another pause.

"...There was a murder."

The air turned heavy.

I felt fully awake now.

"What?"

Renji's breathing was uneven. "Someone was found—near the gym—this morning. The teachers called the police, and now they're shutting everything down for investigation."

I gripped my phone tighter.

A murder? At school?

"...Who?" I asked.

Renji hesitated.

"I don't know. The news hasn't said yet."

My mind raced.

Just yesterday, we were joking around, complaining about chicken, getting scolded in math class—and now someone was dead?

"Kyoya?" Renji's voice brought me back. "What should we do?"

I swallowed. "Let's meet up later. We need to know what's going on."

Renji agreed, and we hung up.

For the first time since I started high school, I felt a strange, cold unease settle in my stomach.

The Murder Meeting at Renji's House

The entire day felt off.

I kept checking the news, but no names had been released. Just vague reports of a "tragic incident" at Okaida High School.

At 4 PM, I arrived at Renji's house.

Renji's house was a mess, as usual. Papers were scattered across the table, some of them—for some reason—covered in red marker like he was solving a high-profile case. Yuna and Haruto were already there, looking as puzzled as I felt.

Renji stood at the center of the chaos, arms crossed. "Alright, people. We are officially in the middle of a murder mystery."

Yuna sighed. "Renji. We are literally not detectives."

He pointed at me. "Says you! We have a detective right here. Kyoya, take it away!"

I raised an eyebrow. "I didn't agree to this."

Renji ignored me. "Now, let's talk clues. So far, the police haven't revealed much, but—" He dramatically flipped a notebook open. "I did some digging."

Haruto peered over his shoulder. "You mean, you searched Twitter?"

Renji coughed. "...Yes. And it was very useful, thank you."

Yuna massaged her temples. "What do you have?"

Renji's eyes gleamed as he slammed his notebook on the table. "First off—the victim."

We all leaned in.

Renji took a deep breath and dramatically flipped to the next page.

"Yamato Saito."

I frowned. "That name sounds familiar."

Haruto adjusted his glasses. "He was a third-year. Captain of the judo club."

A third-year? That made things even more confusing. Why would a senior be targeted?

I crossed my arms. "How did he die?"

Renji tapped his notebook. "Body was found near the gym at around 6:30 AM. But get this—he was already dead for at least six hours before that."

I blinked. "So… he was killed around midnight?"

"Exactly," Renji said, nodding. "And here's the interesting part—" He pulled out his phone and scrolled through a thread of students freaking out about the murder. "Some people claim they heard noises near the gym around 12:30 AM. Like… something heavy being dragged."

A chill ran down my spine. Someone moving a body?

Yuna's face darkened. "That means he wasn't killed at the gym."

Haruto nodded. "The killer must've moved him there."

I exhaled. "Okay, so we know the victim and an estimated time of death. What else?"

Renji grinned. "Suspects."

He pulled up a list of names.

1) The Rival – Hiroshi Tanaka

Member of the judo club.

Got into a huge fight with Yamato last week.

2) The Ex-Girlfriend – Misaki Aoyama

Dated Yamato but broke up two months ago.

Some say it ended badly.

3) The Teacher – Mr. Yoshida

School counselor.

The last known person to speak with Yamato the evening before his death.

I studied the list. It was well-organized… too well-organized for Renji.

I glanced at him. "...How long have you been researching this?"

Renji coughed. "...Since morning."

Yuna narrowed her eyes. "So when you called Kyoya, you had already started?"

Renji shrugged. "I had to do something!"

Haruto sighed. "Do you even have anything solid?"

Renji grinned. "Oh, I do. Guess what the police found near the body?"

We all waited.

Renji grinned wider and finally revealed the clue—

A button.

"A… button?" I repeated.

"Yes, my dear Watson," Renji said proudly. "A torn-off button from a school uniform."

Haruto nodded. "That means the killer is likely a student."

Renji wagged his finger. "Ah, but whose uniform?"

That was the real question.

We sat in silence, processing everything.

A student might have killed Yamato. But why? And where did the murder actually happen?

Something about this didn't sit right with me.

"Renji," I said after a while, "do we know if he fought back?"

Renji hesitated. "The police haven't said anything about that."

Yuna frowned. "If he was in the judo club, wouldn't he have put up a fight?"

"Unless," Haruto said quietly, "he never saw it coming."

The room fell silent.

I drummed my fingers on the table, deep in thought.

Whoever did this wasn't sloppy. The fact that the body was moved meant the killer had a plan. And the missing button… if that was the only clue left behind, maybe the killer didn't expect it to fall off.

Yuna sighed. "I don't know what we're supposed to do with all this. The police are already investigating."

Renji smirked. "Yeah, but they don't have us."

Haruto shook his head. "This is a terrible idea."

Renji ignored him. "Tomorrow, we go investigate."

Yuna groaned. "Renji, we can't just go snooping around—"

Renji grinned. "Oh, but we can."

I sighed. "I don't like this, but… we need to know more."

Something about this whole thing felt too close, too real.

And for some reason… I couldn't shake the feeling that we were missing something important.

Something big...