Akagami had always been an ordinary teenager—or at least that's what he told himself. He went to high school like everyone else, sat quietly in the back of the class, and blended into the background. But inside, he felt like an outsider. The only child of two busy doctors, he was used to being alone. His parents' long shifts meant he rarely saw them, and over time, that loneliness had shaped him into someone who didn't know how to reach out to others.

Most of his classmates avoided him. Not because he had done anything wrong, but because he didn't seem to fit in. He wasn't the type to speak up in class or laugh at jokes during lunch. He was just... there. An invisible figure. Who would want to be friends with someone so quiet, so unnoticeable? Akagami often thought. He had long accepted that he wasn't born to shine. In fact, he had started to believe he was nothing more than a background character in the lives of others. He wasn't meant to stand out—just exist.

But sometimes, in the silence of his thoughts, a question gnawed at him. Why do I feel like this? Why do I see people as a threat rather than friends?

The answer lay buried in a memory he wished he could forget.

When Akagami was ten, everything changed.

Back in elementary school, he had been relentlessly bullied. It wasn't just name-calling or teasing—it was the kind of bullying that made him question his place in the world. At one point, he had given up hope that things would ever get better. But then Yagami appeared, like a beacon of light in the dark.

Yagami was everything Akagami wasn't—outgoing, confident, effortlessly likable. Akagami admired him from the moment they became friends. Yagami made him feel safe, like he wasn't so invisible after all. With him around, the world didn't seem as cold. For the first time, Akagami had hope that things might change.

But everything came crashing down.

Kawasaki, the school's most feared bully, had noticed Yagami too. With his hulking frame and cruel eyes, Kawasaki looked more like a high schooler than a fifth grader. He had a reputation for violence, and no one dared stand up to him. When he approached Yagami, it wasn't for friendship. Kawasaki threatened him, forcing Yagami into a twisted plan that would shatter Akagami's trust forever.

The plan was simple—lure Akagami to the school roof at dusk. Kawasaki knew that Akagami trusted Yagami, and that was the only way the plan would work.

Akagami remembered the moment Yagami invited him to the roof as if it were yesterday. It was after school, and the sun had begun to set, casting long shadows across the empty halls.

"Hey, Akagami, can you come with me? I need to show you something."

Akagami hesitated. Something about the way Yagami spoke seemed... off. But then he shook his head. No, he's my friend. He wouldn't lie to me. The thought calmed him, and he followed Yagami without question.

When they reached the roof, the air was cool, and the fading light painted the sky in shades of orange and purple. For a moment, Akagami felt at peace. But that peace didn't last. As he stepped out onto the roof, Yagami stayed behind, lingering by the door.

Before Akagami could ask what was going on, the door slammed shut.

The sound echoed in the stillness, and Akagami's heart raced. He ran to the door and pulled on the handle. It didn't budge.

Why? Why would Yagami lock me in?

Panic began to set in. Akagami banged on the door, his fists hitting the metal as hard as they could. He shouted for help, but his voice was swallowed by the wind. Minutes passed, then an hour. The sky darkened, and with it, so did his hope.

By the time the school's new security guard heard his desperate cries and unlocked the door, Akagami had sunk to the ground, exhausted, tears stinging his eyes. He couldn't understand it—why had his friend betrayed him?

The incident was reported to his parents, and within days, they pulled him out of the school. The betrayal left a scar that ran deep, a wound that never fully healed.

Now, at thirteen, Akagami stood at the gates of Sakura High School, his new school. Three years had passed since that terrible day, but the memories lingered like a shadow. He had learned to hide his pain behind a mask of indifference, but the trauma was still there, locked inside him like a dark room with no light.

As he walked into the school, Akagami couldn't shake the feeling that his past would always follow him. He had left the betrayal behind, but the fear remained. What awaited him here? Would things be different this time?

Or was he destined to be trapped in the shadows of his past forever?