Chapter 1: The Beginning

## *The Beginning*

*Chapter 1: The Beginning* is the first chapter of Deer River V1.

## Blurb

Deer River Academy for Girls is one of the most prestigious all-girl colleges in the world. Kaede Akamatsu, a top pianist for her age, is one of the many freshmen entering the college. But she's heard rumors about the college, rumors about a certain bullying problem, that she's really hoping are just that: rumors.

## Summary

Kaede Akamatsu arrives as a freshman at Deer River. While she’s heard rumors about the reputation that Deer River has, particularly regarding its penchant for wedgies and other such pranks, she can’t imagine that it’s as bad as they say. All seems normal as she meets with her counselor, Kali Belladonna. After giving Kaede a run-down on Deer River, Kali gives Kaede a map of the college campus, before showing her a picture of her daughter, Blake Belladonna, when she was a child. Kali mentions that she would make a good friend for her daughter, but Kaede doesn’t make the connection that the child is now a college student.

Right as Kaede is about to leave, Kali notices that Kaede’s waistband is hovering out of her skirt. Aware of the rampant bullying situation, Kali mentions to Kaede that it would do good for her to tuck in her panties, mentioning that it would be for her “own good.” This embarrasses Kaede as she steps out of Kali’s office, though not before heeding the counselor’s advice by tucking in her panties. Flustered, Kaede begins to wonder what Kali’s advice truly means.

Using the map Kali gave her, Kaede begins to look across campus for her dorm room. Distracted by Kali’s words, however, Kaede ends up bumping into Drake Francis, who immediately recognizes that Kaede is a freshman. Intimidated by Drake’s stature, Kaede meekly asks Drake if she’d like to be friends with her. Drake teases her by pretending to consider her offer, before swiftly reaching her hands for Kaede’s panties and giving her a wedgie. Kaede chides herself for not properly realizing that Kali’s advice had actually been a warning.

Fifteen minutes later, Kaede finds herself stuck on top of one of Deer River’s many flagpoles, hung up there by Drake. Suspended in the air, Kaede notices a plethora of students across campus being given wedgies, cementing her fear that the rumors about Deer River’s bullying situation were true all along. Kaede’s hope in Deer River begins to dwindle as she hangs.

After a few hours of hanging, Kaede doubts that anyone’s going to get her down anytime soon. However, at that moment, Makoto Niijima comes across the hanging freshman and lowers her down the flagpole. Thankful that she’s finally free from the flagpole wedgie, Kaede embraces Makoto in a hug, before meekly backing off. Makoto reassures her that she understands how rough wedgies can be.

Introducing herself to Kaede, Makoto leads Kaede to her dorm room, striking up a friendly conversation with her in the process. Makoto tells Kaede that she’s majoring in criminal justice, and that she’s disappointed about the power that bullies hold over Deer River. She also mentions that she runs a group that tries to bring order to the school, even though they’ve only had mixed success at best.

Reaching the dorms, Kaede and Makoto exchange phone numbers. Kaede feels relieved that she has a friend at Deer River who shares a similar opinion on wedgies. She begins to think that Deer River might not be so bad as long as she has a friend by her side.

## Characters

* Kaede Akamatsu (debut)
* Kali Belladonna (debut)
* Blake Belladonna (mentioned)
* Drake Francis (debut)
* Makoto Niijima (debut)
* Sae Niijima (mentioned)

## Chapter Notes/Trivia

* This is the first chapter of both Volume I and Deer River as a whole.
* The picture that Kali shows to Kaede is a picture of Blake Belladonna, who would later appear as a protagonist in *Chapter 7: From Shadows*.
* Makoto’s conversation with Kaede at the end of the chapter serves to foreshadow future groups that appear in later chapters.
	+ While Makoto mentions that she runs a group to bring order to Deer River, she doesn’t mention what exactly her group is called. Later, in *Chapter 8: The Council and the Guild*, it is revealed that the group Makoto is referring to is the Student Council.
	+ The “mixed success” that Makoto mentions alludes to the fact that Medb’s Army, the dominant bully faction at Deer River, currently rules the school despite the Student Council's best efforts. Medb and her Knights make their first appearance in *Chapter 4: Beacon's Flame*.