Teitan High School, Class 1-A
After two classes, the once-unfamiliar students gradually grew acquainted.
"Hey, isn't our class supposed to have thirty-two people? Why are there only twenty-nine here?"
"Three didn't show up. Tsk tsk, skipping class on the first day? They must be delinquents."
"No way! Don't you need good grades to get into Teitan?"
During the break, most students were discussing the three classmates bold enough to skip the first day.
In a corner, a few girls chatted about which clubs to join after school.
"Yukiko, are you really joining the Drama Club?"
"Yes."
The girl with long, brown, curly hair, azure blue eyes, and delicate features nodded firmly.
"After graduating high school, I want to be an actress. The Drama Club will help me practice my acting skills."
"You're so beautiful, you'll definitely become a star," the girl beside her said enviously. "I'm stressing out. I don't even know what I want to do in the future."
Just then, a student by the window shouted, "Hey, look! There's a police car parked at the school gate!"
"Three students in Teitan High School uniforms got out!"
The other students in the classroom heard this and crowded curiously around the window.
"They must be the three who skipped class, right?"
"Why would a police car bring them to school? Did they commit a crime?"
"Idiot, if they committed a crime, the police would send them to jail, not Teitan!"
Fujimine Yukiko also came to the window, curiously observing the three classmates at the school gate.
One was a well-behaved girl wearing glasses, one was a delinquent with a pompadour and bloodstains on his clothes, and the other was a handsome boy with a lazy expression.
"The Dean of Students and Teacher Murakami have gone over," a student said, gloating. "Those three are done for!"
…
Teitan High School Gate
As soon as the Dean of Students reached Hayashi Shuichi and the other two, he began scolding them loudly, "It's the first day of high school, and you three dared to skip class! You've completely disgraced Teitan!"
"Dean, let's hear what the officer has to say first," Class A teacher Murakami Yui reminded him softly.
"Officer, what exactly did these three do? Tell us everything," the Dean said, already assuming Hayashi Shuichi and the others had done something illegal. "If the police find them difficult to handle, Teitan will certainly punish them severely."
"Well, teachers, you've misunderstood!"
The officer who drove Hayashi Shuichi and the others to Teitan was the rookie Inspector Megure. He explained, "This morning, these three found a body on their way to school, so they stayed to report it and assist our investigation. In fact, Hayashi Shuichi helped the police catch the murderer. We should be thanking them."
"Is that so?"
The Dean of Students looked embarrassed, clearly not expecting this reason for their absence.
"We helped the police solve a case. That shouldn't disgrace Teitan, right?" Kogoro Mouri said, dissatisfied. "And they still want to punish us…"
These words made the Dean's face turn green, then red.
"Alright, the third class is about to start," Teacher Murakami said, easing the tension. "You three, hurry to the classroom."
"Yes."
Hayashi Shuichi and the other two nodded and headed toward the school building.
The Dean of Students watched their backs, snorted, too embarrassed to stay at the gate, and turned back to his office.
Seeing the Dean leave without a word, Teacher Murakami could only apologize to Inspector Megure on his behalf, "Officer, I'm sorry. Our Dean of Students is in a bad mood today."
…
"Why did the Dean leave with such a dark face?"
The students of Class 1-A were still gathered by the window, watching the scene.
"Hey, they're heading toward our classroom!"
Seeing Hayashi Shuichi and the other two enter the school building, many students in Class A turned their eyes to the door.
A moment later, Kogoro Mouri, still with bloodstains on his clothes, stumbled into the classroom through the front door.
"Uh…"
Seeing all his classmates staring at him, Kogoro grew nervous.
"This, um…"
"Strange, weren't there three of them? Where are the other two?"
The students of Class A curiously watched the front door, not noticing the back door quietly open as Hayashi Shuichi and Eri Kisaki slipped in.
Most seats in the classroom were taken, leaving only one empty seat in the second-to-last row and two in the last.
"Is this seat taken?"
Hayashi Shuichi approached the empty seat in the last row and asked the beautiful girl with curly brown hair next to it.
"Huh?"
Fujimine Yukiko, who was also looking at the front door, was startled and nodded absently.
Hayashi Shuichi placed his schoolbag on the desk and sat next to Fujimine Yukiko.
Eri Kisaki followed, setting her bag down and sitting to Shuichi's right.
Kogoro Mouri, still awkwardly standing at the front, finally noticed Hayashi Shuichi and Eri Kisaki seated. He marched angrily to the back and sat in the empty seat in front of Shuichi.
"Shuichi, Eri, you two snuck off again…"
"Didn't you insist on being the first to enter the classroom?" Hayashi Shuichi said irritably.
"But you shouldn't have snuck in by yourselves," Kogoro Mouri grumbled. "Even if it's embarrassing, we should face it together."
"Don't be silly," Eri Kisaki rolled her eyes at Kogoro. "Shuichi and I don't have your thick skin."
…
The trio's bickering made the curly-haired girl next to them laugh softly.
Catching their glances, she held back her smile and introduced herself, "Hello, I'm Fujimine Yukiko."
Yukiko? The future mother of the God of Death?
No wonder her hairstyle looked familiar…
Hayashi Shuichi stared, lost in thought. Yukiko, feeling uneasy under his gaze, was about to get annoyed.
Eri Kisaki, sitting on Shuichi's other side, raised her arm and nudged him hard. "What are you staring at? So engrossed?"
"…I remembered someone I knew before," Hayashi Shuichi explained.
Tch, someone he knew? Who's he fooling?
Eri Kisaki rolled her eyes. The three had been friends since kindergarten and knew each other inside out. She couldn't recall any girl they knew who looked like Fujimine Yukiko.
Just then, Teacher Murakami Yui entered the classroom.
"Our class is finally complete. The three new students, please introduce yourselves to everyone."
As soon as Murakami finished speaking, Kogoro Mouri stood up excitedly.
Perhaps feeling his earlier entrance was embarrassing, he raised his voice for his introduction, "My name is Kogoro Mouri! I like judo, and my dream is to become a detective!"