By the end of the first chapter, Siddharth already knew two things had changed his life forever.
The girl he had seen at the hospital was dead.
And his father—a police officer—was lying in a coma.
The next day arrived, but nothing felt normal.
Siddharth sat in the school canteen, staring at his food without really seeing it. Around him, students laughed, talked, lived their usual lives—as if the world hadn't shifted overnight.
Then someone pulled a chair loudly.
A boy stood there, smirking.
It started with words.
Mocking.
Provoking.
Not directly at first—but soon the jokes turned personal.
His father's name came up.
The boy kept pushing, enjoying every second of it.
Siddharth looked up slowly.
That was enough.
Voices rose.
Chairs scraped back.
Within moments, the argument turned into a heated clash. Students gathered around them, forming a tight circle, feeding on the chaos.
Just as things were about to turn ugly, footsteps cut through the noise.
The principal arrived.
The crowd fell silent.
From the edge of the group, another boy slipped away unnoticed. As he left, he muttered under his breath,
"I'll deal with these pointless fights later."
Then he disappeared.
The boy Siddharth had been fighting stepped forward. His name was Rajeev.
They exchanged sharp words, anger burning on both sides—but the principal's presence ended it before it could explode further.
Both were warned.
Both were dismissed.
School ended with an uneasy quiet.
Outside the gate, Siddharth's two friends caught up with him.
"Do you want us to walk you home?" one of them asked.
"You don't have to go alone."
Siddharth shook his head.
"I'll manage," he said.
And with that, he walked away by himself.
The road ahead was empty.
Too quiet.
Suddenly—
A hard kick landed on his back.
Siddharth stumbled forward, nearly losing his balance. He barely managed to steady himself before turning around.
Behind him stood the same boy from the canteen.
Rajeev.
The fight wasn't over.
It had only changed its place.
And this time, there were no teachers…
no principal…
and no crowd to stop what was coming next.
One of the boys stepped forward and said coldly,
"This is where the fight begins."
Rajeev wasn't alone. Two more boys stood beside him.
Siddharth cracked his neck slightly, a dangerous calm settling over him.
"That's exactly what I wanted," he said.
"Finally, a chance to let my hands loose."
Rajeev's two boys charged first.
One of them threw a punch at Siddharth.
Siddharth caught the fist mid-air.
With a sharp twist, he slammed the boy to the ground. Before the second attacker could react, Siddharth drove a hard punch into his face.
Both of them collapsed—knocked out cold.
Rajeev took a step back.
Fear flickered across his face.
Siddharth smirked.
"All this waiting till the end of the school?"
"You could've stood up to me right there in class."
Rajeev answered with a strange, unsettling smile.
"This is just the beginning."
Suddenly—
They appeared from everywhere.
Not ten.
Not twenty.
Fifty boys stepped forward and surrounded Siddharth completely.
The air tightened.
One of them attacked.
Siddharth fought back—blocking, striking, refusing to fall even though he was outnumbered.
Then, from behind, someone tried to hit him.
The blow never landed.
A hand stopped it mid-swing.
"You're not alone," a voice said.
It was kairav.
The same friend who had asked him earlier, "Should we walk you home?"
Jim stepped in without hesitation, standing shoulder to shoulder with Siddharth.
Rajeev laughed loudly.
"So now you're two?"
"I've got fifty men. I could kill you right now…
but I'll spare you—so you never cross my path again."
At that exact moment—
A dark shadow rose behind Rajeev.
And then—
BAM.
A brutal punch landed square on his face.
Rajeev staggered back.
The third boy had arrived.
Yuvan
Now there were three of them.
Siddharth, kairav, and yuvan fought together—back to back, refusing to retreat. The confidence of the crowd began to crack.
Fear replaced noise.
But while the three were distracted—
Rajeev moved silently from behind.
Hatred burned in his eyes.
He rushed toward Siddharth, ready to strike—
Suddenly—
Someone came from the side.
Fast.
Precise.
Merciless.
A knee smashed into Rajeev's jaw.
The sound was sickening.
Rajeev hit the ground hard.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
Two of his teeth shattered onto the pavement.
He groaned, staring up in disbelief.
"Wait…"
"This guy… he's from our class."
One of Rajeev's friends whispered in panic,
"He's the same guy who's troubled us many times before."
Rajeev spat blood and smiled painfully.
"Good."
"Then today, I'll finish all four of you together."
The crowd stepped forward again.
And just as the fight was about to explode—
Sirens.
Red and blue lights flooded the street.
Police.
Chaos broke out.
Boys scattered in every direction.
The moment was gone.
The boy who had broken Rajeev's jaw stood silently.
No fear.
No anger.
Only cold confidence.
He was the same boy who had said earlier—
"I'll deal with them later."
His name was—
Sai...
And Siddharth had no idea yet
that this moment marked the beginning
of a war he could no longer walk away from.