Kane

January. The school hallways buzzed like a beehive—the final school year was making everyone especially nervous. The eleventh grade lived by its own rules, and everyone knew one name.

Kane.

Tall—almost to the ceiling—with hair as red as blood, streaked with white, a challenge to the world. His eyes, one blue and one green, always looked as if he knew the outcome of any conflict in advance. A bully, a terror to the teachers, a man around whom people either grew bolder or tried to disappear. He had a girlfriend, a reputation, and the feeling that the school was his territory. And into this familiar order, Koro entered.

The new kid appeared quietly, almost unnoticed. A thin boy, shorter than Kane, with hair a soft, milky yellow, as if it always caught the light. His blue eyes—calm, deep, hidden behind glasses—looked at the world intently, without fear or challenge. He moved carefully, in baggy pants and a light sweater, as if afraid to brush against the air around him. An excellent student. Correct. Too correct for this class.

That's why he was noticed right away.