Cherry trees lined the gates. The walls were pure white, the gardens trimmed with military precision. Honor students spoke in soft voices. Shoes were always clean. Discipline was everything. The morning bell hadn’t even rung, and already someone had their head slammed into a locker.

Sakuragawa Academy was the kind of school that printed futures on diplomas. Politicians' kids. Celebrities' heirs. Shining model students with perfect posture and test scores.

And then there was them.

The Five.

No one called them by their full names unless they had a death wish. They didn’t belong here, and somehow, they owned the place.

They didn’t follow the dress code. They rewrote it. Open blazers, untucked shirts, piercings hidden behind shaggy bangs. Even their ties hung like nooses they refused to tighten.

The bell rang for first period. None of them moved.

They were sprawled across the back terrace — a pristine marble patio meant for formal gatherings — now littered with snack wrappers, cigarette butts, and Daiki’s scuffed sneakers resting on a thousand-yen chair.

Ren sat with his legs crossed, flipping through someone else’s textbook. Not to study. Just to see if there was anything worth mocking. “Still don’t know how any of these rich kids survive without crying when their phone battery dies,” he muttered.

Jin was carving something crude into the edge of the school bench with a pen. “That’s ‘cause they’re too busy choking on their parents’ money to grow a spine.”

Daiki lit a match just to watch it burn out on his tongue. “We should skip again today. Classes smell like fake perfume and desperation.”

Toma grunted from where he was half-asleep, one earbud in. “Tell me when someone bleeds. Then it’s interesting.”

Souta didn’t even sit with them — just stood by the railing, arms crossed, eyes narrowed at the sparkling courtyard below like it offended him personally.

A group of second-years passed by quietly, walking stiff and fast, eyes averted. No one spoke to the Five unless spoken to. No one challenged them. Not after last semester.

Then the gate clinked.

New shoes. New uniform. New blood.

Ren didn’t look up, but the corner of his mouth curled.