Ketsugan High School Courtyard —
Monday — 7:32 AM
The sky was bruised with clouds, lazy streaks of gold and gray melting above the rooftop of Ketsugan High, where the bell hadn't even begun its morning scream. The courtyard buzzed—students drifting in, dragging their feet, pushing time like it was some dead weight they never asked for.
Kikidori Tenka sat backward on a bench, shirt untucked, tie half-on like a defeated warrior who barely survived his alarm clock. A pair of chopsticks dangled from his mouth like a cigarette, and he was currently trying to pick up rice from a lunchbox that wasn't even his.
"I'm gonna die," Kikidori muttered dramatically. "I haven't eaten since… since Haruna kicked me out of the snack bar line yesterday."
"You were groping the fruit section, Kikidori," came the ice-cold voice of Haruna Kurozaki, who appeared behind him like a shadow with Wi-Fi. Her black hair was pulled into a loose ponytail, and her uniform looked like it had been tailored by a prostitute with a fetish for leather straps.
Kikidori didn't even flinch. "I was caressing the melons. Big difference."
"Touch it again and I'll shut down your phone," Haruna snapped, sliding onto the bench beside him. Her voice dripped with calm rage and something darker, something you didn't talk about in daylight. Her skirt was too short, her collar unbuttoned just enough, and when she crossed her legs, even the air got hot.
"You don't scare me," Kikidori said, grinning like a fool. "You're too cute."
She leaned in, whispered against his ear, "I coded your browser history into a public livestream channel last night. Wanna keep talking, Romeo?"
"Okay, I'm scared now."
Across the courtyard, Joshua rolled into view—literally, on a skateboard he'd stolen from someone they didn't like. He wore his jacket backward, chewing on a red lollipop with blood-like coloring. Nobody really noticed the faint streaks of actual blood down his neck. He was grinning like someone who either just escaped prison or wanted to go back.
"Yo, nerds!" he yelled. "Did you guys see that dumbass third-year slip on a banana peel? He did a whole-ass pirouette before landing on his face! Made my morning."
Haruna raised a brow. "Joshua, you've got blood on your—"
"Don't worry. Not mine. Probably."
"Probably?!"
Kikidori laughed so hard he fell backward off the bench and slammed onto the concrete.
"You're such a freak," Haruna said, flicking her eyes to Kikidori, who was now face-down on the pavement, moaning.
Behind them, walking side-by-side, were Reiketsuna Yoru and Jean Maibara. Reiketsuna's shirt was buttoned to the collar, hands in pockets, eyes half-lidded in eternal indifference. His hair covered one eye, and the way he moved made people either swoon or back away.
Jean, however—Jean was chaos on stilettos. Her lipstick was blood-red, her skirt barely legal, and her smile looked like it belonged in a murder scene. She clung to Reiketsuna's arm, giggling like a doll cursed by a vengeful ghost.
"You're all loud," Reiketsuna muttered as they arrived.
"Tell them, baby," Jean whispered, licking the air toward Haruna with a grin.
Haruna didn't even flinch. "You wanna compare search histories?"
Jean paused. "…Fair."
The five of them sat together under the rustling tree that grew crooked in the courtyard, its roots cracked through the stone tiles like a warning. Most students thought they were just a weird clique. Five misfits who stuck together like bad fanfiction characters.
Nobody knew the truth.
Not the teachers. Not the other students. Not even the security running the school's surveillance.
Not one soul suspected that these five — Kikidori, Haruna, Joshua, Reiketsuna, Jean — weren't just friends.
They were legends.
Just... not the kind you read in bedtime stories.
Kikidori finally sat up, brushing off dust, and pointed a chopstick in the air like a sword.
"Class is about to start," he declared. "And I'm gonna fail so hard, the principal's gonna ask me for answers."
Joshua tossed him a middle finger. "You fail so bad you loop back around to success, bro."
Haruna sighed and stood up. "Come on, idiots. Don't make me hack the bell system again."
"You changed the fire drill sound to hentai moans," Reiketsuna said dryly.
Jean clapped like a child. "Best day ever!"
The five of them walked in, one by one.
Laughing.
Talking.
Just regular high schoolers.
Right?
End of Chapter 1
Wow... You actually read chapter one... I'm surprised... Well uh then you will like chapter two for sure😁😁😁