3:47 AM
The only light in the room came from the computer screen, casting a pale blue glow over everything. A teenage boy sat hunched in front of it, his face lit by the flickering graphics, eyes bloodshot from hours of nonstop gaming.
His fingers moved fast, precise. The game's victory music rang out.
"Too easy," he muttered, a tired smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Outside, the world was silent. Everyone else was asleep.
The clock on the screen read 4:03 AM when he finally turned the console off and flopped onto his bed — still dressed in yesterday's wrinkled uniform. His body was exhausted, but his mind buzzed with adrenaline.
8:17 AM
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
The alarm screeched through the room. Kaito Ryuudou groaned, blindly swinging his arm until he slammed the snooze button.
Five more minutes, he thought.
Then—
"RYUUDOU!" his mother's voice roared from downstairs.
"Wake up! You're already late! If you don't get out of bed right now, I'm throwing your PC out the window!"
His eyes snapped open. His heart dropped.
Oh no. Not again.
What followed was chaos:
He threw on his uniform — inside out.
Brushed his teeth while pulling on socks.
Wiped a glob of toothpaste off his blazer.
Almost tripped over his own feet as he charged down the stairs.
"Move, move, move!" he muttered, panic rising.
"Ryuudou!" his mother shouted again as he bolted through the kitchen. She hurled a piece of toast at him like a frisbee.
He caught it in his mouth mid-run, barely slowing down.
The streets were his obstacle course now.
He leapt over a sleeping dog.
Dodged a cyclist with a shocked yell.
His shoelaces slapped against his ankles with every frantic step.
"Watch where you're going!" someone barked.
He didn't answer. He couldn't. He was racing the clock.
The school gates were in sight.
8:29 AM.
He had seconds left.
CLANG!
The gates slammed shut in front of him.
Kaito skidded to a stop, breathless, heart pounding.
And then came the voice.
"Well, well."
Mr. Hayashi, the school's fearsome discipline officer, stood behind the bars with a detention slip already in hand.
"Ryuudou," he said, eyes narrowing. "Late again. Why am I not surprised?"
Kaito stood frozen, hands on his knees, gasping for breath. The toast dangled from his mouth. He pulled it out slowly, trying not to look defeated.
"…Morning, Mr. Hayashi," he muttered.
"Detention. Today. After school," Hayashi said coolly, slipping the paper through the gate.
Kaito took it with a groan.
"That's the third time this week," Hayashi added.
"If I had a yen for every detention slip…" Kaito mumbled, shoving it in his pocket, "...I could finally buy a decent alarm clock."
Mr. Hayashi's frown deepened.
Kaito straightened up, exhaled, and gave a small, crooked grin.
"Guess I missed the gate, but hey — still beat the bell."
He turned and headed toward the school office, dragging his feet, already trying to come up with an excuse the receptionist hadn't heard before.
Then he stopped.
A strange chill brushed the back of his neck.
He turned. The air behind him shimmered — faint, like ripples on water. It lasted only a second before vanishing into nothing.
He blinked. Rubbed his eyes.
Nothing there.
"…Weird," he whispered.
He shook it off and kept walking, unaware that something had already begun to shift.
He didn't know it yet, but this was the last normal morning of his life.
End of Chapter 1