Chapter Text
The sun, that usually scorching, chose to hide behind dark clouds that day. A gentle wind blew through the streets, swaying the trees along the roadside until they looked as if they were dancing to the rhythm of the gloomy sky. The city felt quieter than usual, as though it were waiting for something to happen.
Two boys stepped out of the train and began walking along the roadside. Both wore black school uniforms with striking gold buttons that stood out against the gloomy weather. The curly-haired boy, slightly shorter in stature, was named Yasuda, while the one walking beside him was Bouya Harumichi—a tall blond teenager with sharp eyes and a relaxed stride, as if he had no interest in the world around him.
They attended one of the most notorious high schools in the area, Suzuran High School. But the school’s reputation did not come from academic achievements or magnificent buildings. Suzuran was known as a gathering place for wild, hot-headed students who were impossible to control. They lived by their own strength and pride, like a flock of crows that refused to bow to anyone.
Bouya Harumichi is a second-year transfer student currently in class 2-C. It's only been a month since he arrived at Suzuran High School, but in that short time, his name has become well-known.
It all started with Yasuda, the first friend he made at the school. However, Harumichi's reason for approaching him is actually very simple—and a little ridiculous. He once accidentally saw a photo of Yasuda's very beautiful older sister in his wallet. From that day on, Yasuda's life slowly turned into a nightmare. Harumichi continued to follow him wherever he went, tailing him almost every day while relentlessly asking to be introduced to his sister.
During that same month, many incidents eventually brought Harumichi together with four others: Hiromi, Pon, Mako, and Akutsu. None of those encounters were ever ordinary, because at Suzuran, a fight was often the beginning of a friendships.
Yasuda walked with an irritated expression, constantly glancing at Harumichi, who looked completely relaxed beside him. Their walk toward Suzuran felt uneven—one filled with frustration, while the other showed not the slightest hint of guilt. The wind blew gently once again, causing Harumichi’s blond hair to sway lazily with his steps.
“You know, it’s because of you that we’re late for school,” Yasuda grumbled irritably.
Harumichi glanced at him for a moment before shrugging carelessly. “It’s still morning. What are you making such a fuss about?”
Yasuda immediately stopped walking and stared at him in disbelief. “Are you insane? It’s already eleven o’clock! You spent three whole hours in the bathroom!” he shouted, smacking Harumichi hard on the shoulder, the impact echoing loudly.
Harumichi winced slightly while rubbing his shoulder. “That’s because of the expired milk you gave me. So this isn’t my fault.”
“What?!” Yasuda glared at him even more angrily. “I already told you that milk had to be drunk that same day! Why are you blaming me now? And that was a whole week ago!”
Yasuda let out a long sigh, exhausted from dealing with Harumichi’s behavior, as he always seemed to have a ridiculous excuse for every problem he caused himself.
Somehow, the blond-haired boy always managed to twist the situation as if every bit of misfortune in the world was Yasuda’s fault.
“Just shut up…” Harumichi muttered while clutching his stomach with a pained expression. “Hearing your voice is making my stomach hurt again.”
From the very beginning, Yasuda had already suspected that Harumichi would cause trouble again today. That was why he had been genuinely shocked when he ran into him on the train at eight o’clock that morning. During the past month, Harumichi had almost never arrived before noon. To Yasuda, seeing the blond-haired boy that early felt like something impossible. For a moment, he even thought the sun must have risen from the wrong direction that day.
A few minutes later, they finally arrived at the gates of Suzuran. Unlike most schools that closed their gates once the bell rang, Suzuran always left its gates wide open. There were no teachers on duty, no security guards, and no one who truly cared whether students arrived late—or did not show up at all.
They walked through the classroom hallways filled with the noisy voices of students. Some could be seen fighting in the corners of the corridors, while others sat around casually without any fear of being scolded by anyone. Yasuda and Bouya Harumichi then climbed the stairs to the third floor, eventually reaching the rooftop—the place that had become Harumichi and his friends’ usual hangout spot to pass the time.
“Hey, Yasuda,” Hiromi greeted him when he appeared at the rooftop entrance. “Why are you late today?.”
Three students in Suzuran High School uniforms were already there—Hiromi, Pon, and Mako. Hearing the question, Yasuda immediately felt his irritation rise again as he remembered what had happened that morning.
But being far too exhausted to explain everything, he simply raised a hand and pointed behind him, directly at the person responsible for their lateness.
The three of them immediately turned their heads. Seeing Harumichi walk in with a relaxed expression, they immediately understood without further explanation.
"Ah..." Pon muttered softly.
Bouya Harumichi himself did not care about their stares at all. He walked past the group without saying a word, then immediately dropped himself onto the old sofa in the corner of the rooftop—a place that was slowly becoming his throne every single day. Leaning back lazily with one hand resting on his stomach, he looked like a tired king who had just returned from battle.
“So, what’s going on?” Yasuda asked as he walked over and joined them. “You guys looked pretty serious when we came in.”
“You know Rindaman? He finally came back to school,” Hiromi replied with a serious expression.
“Ringoman?” Harumichi responded from the sofa he had just collapsed onto, without even bothering to open his eyes.
“RINDAMAN!!” Yasuda shouted at him in irritation. “How do you always hear people’s names wrong?! Even now, you still call me Yasui!”
*In Japanese, “Yasui” mean “cheap.”
Bouya Harumichi simply raised a hand lazily to show that he did not care, while Yasuda looked even more tempted to throw something at his head.
Pon then stepped forward, staring at Harumichi with a serious expression. “Remember his name well, Bouya. Even though you defeated Bandou’s faction, it’s better not to pick a fight with that guy.” His voice sounded heavier than usual, as if he were talking about someone completely different from the other students at Suzuran.
For a moment, the atmosphere on the rooftop grew quieter. Even the wind seemed to carry a strange tension the instant that name was mentioned. At Suzuran, the name Rindaman was not just an ordinary rumor. He was someone almost every student knew, yet very few truly dared to approach.
“Yeah, stay away from him,” Yasuda added with a tense expression. His voice was far quieter than usual, as though he were afraid someone might overhear them. “I heard he once went to prison for killing someone,” he continued.
Bouya Harumichi, who had been lying down lazily moments ago, immediately opened one eye. “What?”
Yasuda swallowed hard before continuing. “And the rumor is… the people he killed were his own father and older brother.”
“I also heard he’s two or three years older than us,” Mako added while leaning against the rooftop fence. “That’s why everyone fears him in this school. Not a single person dares to get close to him.”
“Fu… fu… fu…” A quiet laugh suddenly came from Harumichi, instantly drawing everyone’s attention toward him.
The blond-haired boy lowered his head as he chuckled softly, but little by little his laughter grew wider, louder, and filled with excitement. The lazy look in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a spark of life, as if he had just discovered something incredibly interesting.
“Y-you’re not thinking about doing something crazy again, are you?” Yasuda asked nervously. He knew that expression far too well, and it almost never ended well.
“HAHAHAA” Bouya Harumichi suddenly jumped up from the sofa and sprinted toward the rooftop door without giving any explanation at all.
“AHH, wait! Where are you going?!” Yasuda shouted in panic as he immediately chased after him.
The rooftop door slammed shut loudly, leaving Takeda Hiromi, Pon, and Mako standing there in silence for a few moments. The wind blew past them, carrying an awkward tension through the rooftop.
Mako let out a quiet sigh. “Shouldn’t we stop him?”
Takeda Hiromi simply slipped both hands into his pockets before turning away from the rooftop.
“It’s pointless,” he answered casually. “Once Bouya gets like that, he won’t listen to anyone.”
“Let Yasuda deal with him.”
On the other side of the school hallway, Yasuda’s shouts as he continued chasing after Bouya Harumichi could still be heard faintly in the distance. Meanwhile, dark clouds had now completely covered the sky above Suzuran High School, making the atmosphere around the school feel even gloomier. The wind blew colder than before, as if warning that a heavy rain was about to fall.
~~ End of chapter 1