Keanu was running laps around the school. It was 6 in the morning, the sun had just barely broken over the city and students at Cherryton were just starting to wake up. Some would call it strange, but, not being able to sleep and having nothing to do for a couple of hours tills school would start, Keanu opted that it was his best option. He was finishing his last lap when he stopped near a pillar to rest. He scrolled through social media for a bit, before leaning against the pillar. He felt something lightly touch his shoe. He glanced down for a moment before looking back at his phone, thinking nothing of it. His short-circuited brain however then realized something. A small piece of brick hit his shoe when he leaned against the pillar. He looked down and saw a big hole in the pillar, as if someone smashed something against it. He got a bit lower to inspect it, thinking it was probably some drunk delinquents smashing something out of drunk rage or unrelieved love from their parents. He then noticed a bit of a splatter at the impact point. It was red. Was it blood? Now Keanu was curious. He looked around a bit more and saw that there was a patch of ground that was a bit wet. He touched it and saw the ground was painted a very subtle dark red. He thought for a second if this was just a coincidence, after all he couldn't check for sure by smelling it. Yup, his sense of smell took quite a toll with his recent "hobby" and he couldn't smell anything. After considering his options for a second he remembered Legoshi's desire to hunt a killer, and this could be a clue. So Keanu moseyed his way to dorm 701, hoping to get this solved before students start walking around school grounds. He walked right up to the door and knocked on it. About ten seconds later, the door opened. Standing in the doorway, in an oversized shirt and pajamas stood Jack, awake, looking pale. He looked up at Keanu, not realizing who it was for a second.
-"Oh. It's you. Hey Keanu..." Jack greeted, although not with his usual cheery spirit.
-"What's up Jack? Mind if I come in a second?" Keanu politely asked.
-"Uhh, sure. Come in." Jack invited, Keanu stepped inside the dorm. His dorm mates were still asleep in their beds, not a care in the world between neither of 'em.
-"Won't be here long, just gotta get Legoshi." Keanu announced, making his way over to Legoshi's bed.
-"Actually! Legoshi's not here right now." Jack quickly interrupted. Keanu stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Jack.
-"And where might he be?" Keanu asked, suspicious.
-"He's taking care of his sick grandpa, said he'd come back in a couple of days." Jack answered.
-"Hm. Okay." Keanu grunted. Something caught his eye though. He looked over at the dresser close to Legoshi's bed and noticed it was full of clothes, not to mention a bunch of dirty laundry on top of it. "Y'know. He sure did leave a lot of clothes behind for being gone a couple of days." Keanu pointed out.
-"He owns a lot of clothes. So what if he left some here?" Jack responded, almost in a passive aggressive tone. Keanu raised an eyebrow.
-"Of course, of course. And when did he leave?" Keanu pressed further.
-"Last night. What, he didn't tell you?" Jack smugly asked back.
-"He didn't." Keanu answered back.
-"Well, I'm his best friend, so of course he'd tell me first." Jack clapped back, this time with a very clear passive aggressive tone. Keanu could now definitely tell something was up.
-"Well we've been spending a lot of time together, just thought he would've brought it up." Keanu muttered.
-"Yeah, you sure have, huh? Maybe a bit too much." Jack replied.
-"What do you mean by that?" Keanu asked, intrigued.
-"Nothing. Anyways Legoshi's not here so, do you think you can go now?" Jack asked, opening the door for Keanu.
-"Absolutely, no problem." Keanu answered, walking towards the door. Just before he was about to leave, he decided to stir the pot a bit, to observe what happens. "You know, you say you're his best friend but I sure doubt he feels the same way." Keanu mentioned. Jack's jaw dropped.
-"What do you mean by that!?" Jack barked.
-"Oh nothing. I'll see you around." Keanu brushed off, attempting to walk out of the dorm. Suddenly he felt something grab and tug his arm. He turned to see Jack grabbing his arm.
-"You know what!? You're a jerk, Keanu! Legoshi's my best friend! We've been friends since we were kids!" Jack yelled.
-"Hey. Relationships grow and relationships die. Legoshi here found himself some new interests, and I guess he just doesn't view you as part of them." Keanu provoked further.
-"New interests!? It's all because of you! You're a horrible influence on him! Before he was just a quiet, kind guy. And now!? Now he's getting into fights at night! He's getting scar after scar, and it's all because of you!" Jack continued yelling. At this point, his dorm mates woke up and looked over at the two of them to see what was going on. The room was silent for a moment, while the gears in Keanu's head started turning.
-"Fights?" Keanu asked, his tone shifting to something far more sinister. "At. Night?" Keanu spoke in such a robotic, unnatural fashion. As if those three words were completely alien to him. Jack turned pale and let go of Keanu's hand, stepping backwards into the dorm room.
-"I meant...I...I..." Jack stammered. The rest of the 701 canines perked up, completely on edge about what was gonna happen next.
-"What fights?" Keanu asked, in a hostile "friendly" tone.
-"Well, a few days ago...He umm...fought some guy... He got hurt..." Jack fumbled on his words.
-"Really? That's strange, I saw him a few days ago, and he looked completely fine." Keanu pushed, now walking towards Jack in a slow, cold fashion.
-"Well I mean...He..." Jack kept on stammering, not knowing what excuse to make.
-"Jack. Jackie. Jack O' Lantern." Keanu sweet talked him, sadistically. He walked up to Jack, who was now frozen in place.
-"Y-yes?" Jack asked, his hand shaking.
-"Why are you lying to me?" Keanu asked him in a soft,yet sinister tone. Jack was silent, his gaze shifting around the room rapidly while Keanu looked him straight in the eyes. Jack could feel Keanu's bloodshot eyes staring right at his soul, who felt like it might get devoured any second.
-"I'm..." Jack's throat was paralyzed, it could barely get any sound out.
-"You can just tell me the truth now, and everything can go back to normal." Keanu offered, towering over Jack. The 701 canines were all looking right at them, frozen in anticipation.
-"I told you... Legoshi just left to take care of his grandpa... That's it..." Jack muttered. The whole room was silent for a few moments. It seemed as if time had frozen. Then, suddenly, Keanu grabbed Jack by the collar of his shirt and started dragging him outside.
-"C'mere you little bastard!" Keanu growled, dragging Jack out of the dorm. The entire dorm room jumped out of bed to go after them. "STAY HERE!" Keanu yelled. They all instantly froze.
Jack kept struggling but it was no use. Keanu was physically stronger and was not letting go. He dragged Jack through the building, down the stairs and outside to the broken pillar. He threw Jack on the ground. Jack fell on his back and instantly started crawling backwards, away from Keanu.
-"Please! I-" Jack pleaded.
-"Recognize this!?" Keanu yelled, pointing at the broken pillar.
-"I-I-" Jack stammered.
-"What about this!?" Keanu yelled again, this time pointing at the blood soaked ground.
-"I do! Okay!?" Jack finally managed to cry out.
-"Speak." Keanu ordered.
-"Legoshi got into a fight with someone last night-" Jack started explaining, his whole body shaking.
-"With whom?" Keanu cut off with a demanding tone.
-"I don't know! He said he doesn't know who attacked him! He got beat up pretty bad and was bleeding everywhere. I found him and helped him up. He said he had to stay out of school for a while, so he doesn't get killed. He told me to tell everyone that he's visiting his sick grandpa so it isn't suspicious!" Jack explained
-"How badly was he bleeding?" Keanu demanded an answer.
-"A lot. He just left..." Jack retold, tears forming in his eyes. Keanu stayed silent for a bit.
-"Go back to your dorm. Tell nobody what happened." Keanu commanded. Jack got up and ran inside the building towards his dorm room.
Keanu went outside of the school courtyard and lit up a cigarette. He leaned against a fence and he felt like he was about to throw up. He breathed in and out slowly, calming himself. He took one final deep breath and started walking towards the black market.