Chapter1: echoes of an empty life

HOTOKE SANO POV:

Life…

Life must be meaningful, isn’t it?

How cruel it is towards me.

I used to think my life didn’t mean anything. Not in a dramatic way, just… empty. Days blurred together, one after another, like pages in a book no one bothered to read. I’d wake up, go to school, sit in the same corner of the same classroom, and wonder if anyone would notice if I wasn’t there. Most of the time, they didn’t.

I really don’t how did I pass these years.

how can survive today?

if tomorrow wasn’t in my plans

BZZZ BZZZ BZZZ

I woke up because of my phone, It felt like the sound was coming from underwater, distant and muffled.

I wake up feeling nothing.

Not tired, not rested. Just….blank.

I stared at the ceiling for a while, trying to figure out what today was supposed to feel like, but there was nothing waiting for me. I didn’t feel tired. I didn’t feel awake either. Just… numb. Like my body remembered how to exist even when I didn’t.

“I guess I’m alive,” I muttered under my breath, though I didn’t feel much like it.

feel connected to any of it. I brushed my teeth, put on my uniform, and looked at my reflection. eyes dull, expression empty, like I was seeing a stranger who happened to look like me.

Some people wake up with dreams, goals, or at least a sense of purpose. I wake up with silence. And somehow, that’s become normal for me.

After preparation, I grabbed my bag and headed out the door. I saw some students walking, and some are running

Unlike me.

I can hear their laughters, I can see their wided smiles.

I kept going, dragging my bag over one shoulder. It was lighter than it should be. I barely brought anything. What was the point? School was just another place to sit, breathe, and exist until the sun went down again.

I walked through the gates, my steps automatic, my mind empty. The morning chatter of students barely registered. Everything felt flat, like a scene in a film I’d seen too many times.

And then I saw him.

Daiki.

He was leaning against the wall near the entrance, grinning like the world owed him something. His hair was messy as usual, eyes sparkling with that ridiculous energy he always carried. He spotted me immediately, he waved at me.

“Hotoke! You’re late again, man!” he called out, hopping off the wall with surprising agility. “Did you sleep through your alarm, or are you just practicing your zombie walk for Halloween?”

I frowned slightly, but didn’t respond. My arms hung by my sides, the same way they always did.

“You look dead inside… as usual. I swear, man, one day I’m gonna inject some energy into that boring soul of yours!”

I sighed. Maybe it was his energy. Maybe it was the way he refused to let me disappear into nothingness. Somehow, despite myself, I felt the tiniest pull, like a crack in the monotony.

“Morning,” I muttered. Not a greeting, not an apology, just… words.

Daiki laughed. Loud. Obnoxiously loud. But for some reason, it didn’t irritate me this time. It was… tolerable.

“You’re coming with me today, right? I’ve got a plan!” he said, eyes gleaming with whatever ridiculous thing he had in mind.

I didn’t say anything. I didn’t need to. Somehow, I already knew I’d follow.

Because even in a world that felt meaningless, Daiki made it… harder to completely disappear.

Daiki grabbed my arm before I could drift back into my own thoughts. “Come on, slowpoke! Don’t make me drag you to class!”

I let him pull me along, my feet moving on autopilot. The hallways were loud with chatter and the scrape of shoes on linoleum, but I barely noticed. Everything felt muted, as if I were watching life through a fogged-up window.

Daiki, on the other hand, seemed to be part of the noise. He bounced along, humming some absurd tune and occasionally poking students in passing.

The class proceeds quietly, or maybe I just can’t hear voices..

The final bell rang, dragging the last shreds of focus from the room. Daiki leapt from his seat before I even had time to gather my bag.

“Race you out of here!” he shouted, bolting toward the door. I trailed behind, slow and steady, like I always did.

Outside, the streets were quieter now, the usual bustle thinning as students scattered home. Daiki ran ahead, swinging his arms wildly, while I followed, feet crunching on the pavement.

We walked side by side, the rhythm of our steps silent except for the occasional hum or muttered remark from Daiki.

Then, halfway down the block, something caught our eyes. A crowd had gathered near the intersection up ahead, cordoned off with yellow tape. Police cars were parked haphazardly, lights flashing, and uniformed officers were trying to manage the chaos.

Daiki slowed immediately, frowning as he looked at the scene. “Not again… looks like another crime happened,” he muttered, his usual energy dimmed by unease.

We lingered at the edge of the crowd, watching the officers cordon off the area, taking statements, and snapping photos. People murmured, speculating, pointing fingers, but none of it mattered to me. I felt the same numb detachment I always did.

Daiki, on the other hand, seemed energized in a strange, restless way. His eyes darted between the police and the gathering crowd, almost like he was analyzing everything.

“Hey,” he said, nudging me with his elbow, “you know there’s a club at school for this kind of stuff, right?”

I turned slowly, giving him a blank look.

“The crime-solving club!” he continued, eyes sparkling. “They dig into weird cases, try to figure stuff out before the cops even do. It’s… well, it’s exactly what we’re seeing here. Isn’t that kind of cool?”

I shrugged. “Clubs are clubs. Boring.”

Daiki waved his hand dramatically, as if I’d just insulted the entire universe.

“Boring? Hotoke, this isn’t boring! This is real-life detective stuff! You’d actually get to do… stuff. Figure things out. Solve mysteries. Isn’t that better than sitting in class staring at your notebook all day?”

I stared at him, silent. The thought of actually caring about something… it was exhausting. But I couldn’t deny a small flicker of curiosity, a tiny pull that made me glance back at the police scene.

“Come on,” Daiki said, smirking. “I’ll join too. You know I can’t stop getting myself into trouble, so we might as well make it official. Think about it… us, solving crimes. Could be fun. Or dangerous. Or both. Either way, better than nothing, right?”

I didn’t answer immediately. I didn’t have to. Daiki’s grin was enough to plant the idea somewhere in my mind, like a seed I didn’t know I wanted to grow.

We continued down the street, the flashing lights of the police cars fading behind us. Daiki kept glancing back, clearly trying to gauge my reaction.

“So… what do you think? You in?” he asked again, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

I shook my head slowly. “Not interested.”

Daiki froze mid-step, blinking at me like I’d just told him the sky was green. “Wait… what? Not interested? Hotoke, come on! This is real-life detective stuff! Mysteries! Clues! Danger! How is that not interesting?”

I shrugged, dragging my bag a little heavier. “Sounds like too much effort. I don’t see why I’d bother.”

Daiki groaned, throwing his hands up. “Too much effort? Hotoke… everything is too much effort for you! I swear, sometimes I think you’re allergic to excitement.”

“Maybe I am,” I said flatly, not even looking at him.

He sighed, shaking his head, but didn’t push further at least, not yet. “Fine,” he muttered, but I caught the grin he tried to hide. “Suit yourself. But when you’re stuck staring at another boring wall of nothing, don’t say I didn’t try to drag you into something fun.”

We parted ways. He waves goodbyedbye and look at him leaving.

The walk home was quiet. Daiki’s chatter had faded behind me, replaced by the soft crunch of my shoes on the empty street. The evening air was cold, but I hardly noticed.

When I finally reached my house, the windows were dark, the door closed. No voices. No laughter. No life. Just me. I fumbled with the keys, the metal cold in my hand, and stepped inside.

The darkness swallowed me. The rooms were empty, echoing my movements with hollow indifference. The living room, the kitchen, the hallways, everything was exactly as it had been yesterday, and the day before. Nothing had changed. Nothing would change.

But is it wrong to hope it would change?..

is it wrong to still wait my mom, dad and my older brother welcome me and ask how’s my day?..

I dropped my bag by the door and let myself sink into the silence. No one called my name. No one asked how my day was. No one cared. The walls seemed to press in, black shadows pooling in the corners, matching the heaviness inside me.

The world outside might be loud, chaotic, full of people and crimes and excitement… but here, in this darkness, it was just me. Always just me.

And maybe that was the only thing I could count on.

……

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