Beginning of the End

Sapphire Necklace

Akira felt like he was going to be sick.

"Another victim of the B. Rabbit Hunt had been found," A reporter on the television said, "The victim was identified to be Ishikawa Haruto, a first year student in Aoba Johsai. The body was discovered earlier in a public toilet near-"

The television screen turned black as Akira shakily held the remote. That... that place is where he had bumped into Kageyama.

Akira didn't want to think about it but, does Kageyama have something to do with the killings? If Akira remembers correctly, Ishikawa used to bother the setter back when the 'King' incident had been at its peak and Kageyama took revenge by... killing him?

Is Kageyama B. Rabbit?

No! Akira shouldn't be so rash with his accusations. Calling Kageyama 'King' was one thing, but labeling him a murderer was another. Maybe someone else did it, it was a public toilet anyone could have committed the crime after they bumped into each other.

Akira convinced himself that was the case but there was just something that he couldn't quite shake off.

"Akira, you're going to be late for morning pract- are you okay?" His mother stopped what she was doing in the kitchen and walked over to Akira who was looking pale.

"I'm fine," Akira replied with a shrug.

"You look pale, are you sure you're attending morning practice?"

"I just slept a bit late."

His mother looked at him skeptically before sighing, "If you say so..."

Akira has finished the rest of the toast in his hand and headed out.

The walk to school was quiet because it was still early in the morning, most students start heading to school at seven, it's only six. The news earlier and the events yesterday kept on replaying on his mind. What more, the victim this time is a student from their school, and people are bound to talk.

Akira dreads going to school.

...

Akira felt tired from the morning practice.

Oikawa-san also seemed to be more out of it than the usual. Akira understands because their family was mourning but there was something off about his senior.

Akira picked up the stray balls while he listened to the conversations of the third years by the benches. It was technically not eavesdropping if they were chatting for everyone to hear anyway.

"What got you into such a mood, captain?" Matsukawa-san asked as he wiped his sweat with a towel.

"Yeah, you had been grumbling and frowning the entire time. I think you scared some of the first years," Hanamaki-san added.

Oikawa-san grumbled something incoherent that had Matsukawa-san and Hanamaki-san turning to Iwaizumi-san for a translation, "He couldn't find Kageyama anywhere."

Kageyama?

That part piqued Akira's interest. Why are they looking for Kageyama? Akira was aware of Oikawa-san's ambition to defeat his junior but he feels that there is something more to it.

"Uh... who's Kageyama?" Hanamaki-san asked.

"One of our old juniors," Iwaizumi-san supplied as the three looked at Oikawa-san who was flipping papers on the clipboard for the nth time.

"This is weird, Iwa-chan! I couldn't find Tobio-chan anywhere! Not in our school records, not in other school's rosters, it's as if he disappeared from the face of the Earth!"