(At 2:00 PM, the lingering sound of the bell ending the lunch break had not yet fully faded. A lazy and tranquil atmosphere permeated the Sōbu High School campus. In the security booth at the gate, the old guard was yawning, his eyelids heavy.
Suddenly, the violent and wild roar of an engine approached from afar, like the hiss of a wounded beast, instantly tearing through the silence and bringing a heart-palpitating sense of danger.
The security guard jumped in fright, his sleepiness vanishing as he looked around nervously. The next second, his eyes widened in horror—a black car was speeding toward the school's iron gates at a near-insane pace, far exceeding the campus speed limit, with no sign of slowing down!
"No... no way..." The guard's mind went blank. "Could it be..."
Before the thought could finish—
Boom!!!
A deafening roar!
The black car slammed into the flimsy iron gates like a cannonball! Metal twisted and snapped, letting out a tooth-grinding groan as a large gap was forced open! The car didn't lose its momentum as it charged onto the campus, leaving scorched tire marks on the asphalt before finally coming to a precarious stop on the main road in front of the teaching building, wisps of white smoke rising from the hood.
The security guard's mouth hung open; it took him a full three or four seconds to react. Then came a surge of rage and heartache—his bonus was gone!
He grabbed the baton from the desk, rushed out of the security booth, and cursed at the battered car: "Hey! You bastard! How are you driving?! I'm telling you, you're finished! Just wait until you're in jail!"
He stomped toward the driver's side, attempting to pull the door open.
Bang!
A crisp gunshot pierced the campus sky.
A bullet struck the ground precisely not far from the guard's feet, kicking up a small puff of dust.
All of the guard's anger was instantly extinguished by cold fear, and his charge came to a dead halt. With a smooth and agile movement, he turned around and slipped back into the security booth even faster than he had come out, quietly pulling the door shut.
Crack!
The driver's side door was kicked open, the distorted hinges letting out a wail. Kuchiba Hiro stepped out of the car unharmed, a handgun gripped tightly in his hand. Expressionless, his cold gaze swept over the teaching building before he strode without hesitation toward the building where the second-year students were located.
Sōbu High School wasn't large; with three teaching buildings, a gymnasium, and an athletic field, one could see almost everything at a glance. The massive impact from earlier and the subsequent gunshot had long since shattered the peace of the campus.
Class 2-J, where Yukinoshita Yukino was, was located on the third floor. As Kuchiba Hiro walked through the second-floor corridor, a teacher disturbed by the commotion outside happened to open the door to investigate.
Seeing Kuchiba Hiro, he subconsciously frowned and asked, "Student, what's happening outside?"
Kuchiba Hiro acted as if he hadn't heard, passing by him without looking.
The teacher froze, thinking the student's attitude was extremely rude. Just as he was about to scold him again, his peripheral vision caught the cold metallic glint of the handgun hanging naturally in the his hand!
The teacher's words instantly caught in his throat. His face turned deathly pale, and his lips trembled uncontrollably.
He practically scrambled back into the classroom, slammed the door shut, and leaned against it, panting heavily. Then, in a low, terrified voice, he shouted to the stunned students, "Run! Run quickly! There's a criminal! He has a gun! Go notify the other classes! Call the police! Call the police now!"
Panic spread through the floor like a plague.
Kuchiba Hiro was deaf to the sudden explosion of chaos and screams behind him. His steps did not falter as he went straight to the third floor. His goal was clear and obsessive—capture her and force the killer who murdered his father to show himself!
He threw open the door to Class 2-J.
The scene inside the classroom instantly froze. On the podium, Hiratsuka Shizuka was wiping chalk dust off her hands, her movement stopping mid-air.
Below, the students, already unsettled by the loud noise downstairs and the faint commotion that followed, now stared in horror at this uninvited guest who had burst in brandishing a weapon.
Kuchiba Hiro's cold gaze was like a scanner, quickly sweeping over every face in the classroom.
Once.
Twice.
His gaze finally fixed on an empty seat by the window—no one was there.
His brow furrowed suddenly, and his eyes snapped toward the only adult on the podium who remained calm—Hiratsuka Shizuka.
"Yukinoshita Yukino," his voice was low and raspy, carrying an unquestionable pressure, "where is she?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka slowly set down the eraser. Her gaze met Kuchiba Hiro's calmly, without the slightest hint of evasion, as she stated steadily, "She didn't come today."
Lies!
Almost the moment the words left Hiratsuka Shizuka's mouth, a groundless but incredibly strong intuition pierced Kuchiba Hiro's mind like an ice pick! She was lying!
Why? To protect her student? But if Yukinoshita had come, why was the seat empty? Did she know in advance? Had the news leaked so quickly? No... one could only say that as expected of a high-ranking official backed by a powerful faction, her reaction speed and ability to avoid danger were beyond imagination.
So, what role did this seemingly calm female teacher play in all of this?
Bang!
Without warning, Kuchiba Hiro raised his gun and fired a shot at the ceiling! Dust and debris showered down, triggering a wave of suppressed screams.
He suddenly swung the gun, pointing it at a girl in the first row on the right who was already trembling violently.
"Yukinoshita Yukino," every word he spoke seemed dipped in ice, "did she come today?"
Tears instantly welled up in the girl's eyes. Her body shook like a leaf in the autumn wind. Looking at the dark muzzle of the gun, she only dared to give a tiny, terrified nod.
Bang!
Another shot! The bullet pierced the girl's desk and hit the floor by her feet, leaving a smoking bullet hole!
"Ah—!" the girl let out a heart-wrenching scream.
"Speak," Kuchiba Hiro commanded emotionlessly.
"She... she came..." the girl's voice shook so much it was barely audible, the words squeezed out from between her teeth.
Bang! A third gunshot! The bullet flew past the tip of her shoe!
"Louder!" Kuchiba Hiro's voice rose, tinged with obvious anger.
"She came! Yukinoshita Yukino came today!!" The girl completely broke down, crying out with all her strength. Her voice echoed throughout the pin-drop silent classroom.
Kuchiba Hiro slowly moved the gun away, his cold gaze once again locking onto Hiratsuka Shizuka's face.
"You," he asked word by word, his voice full of dangerous intent, "why did you lie to me?")