"Wow she walks fast as hell. " Ren wondered as Hana had set a brisk pace toward the main building, her ponytail swinging with each determined step.
She didn't even wait to look back to see if the other two were following she just assumed they would normally be doing.
Fubuki was now walking beside Ren at a comfortable distance away that felt deliberate giving him some semblance of space but not crowding him after what had just happened.
"Sorry about Hana," she said softly, her voice almost apologetic. "She is... very.. very.. protective. "
Ren finally had a chance to take a good look at Fubuki. Up close, she looked even gentler than he had assumed first.
She had soft features, round kind eyes, the sort of person who would probably apologized when other people bumped into her. Her light brown hair was cut in a neat bob that framed her face, and she kept her hands clasped in front of her as she walked.
"It's fine really.. don't worry about it too much. " Ren said after a moment. His voice coming out rougher than he intended it to.
Ren wasn't good with girls, he had a few crushes here and there in middle school but nothing more than that.
He cleared his throat. "I'd probably react the same way she did if I saw someone chasing a friend around. "
It was true. From the outside, Ren had looked exactly like what Hana had accused him of being, some creep trying to harass a girl on the first day. He couldn't blame her for stepping in really and trying to help.
Fubuki's smile softened further. "That's... kind of you to say. Most people would still be angry at the accusations. "
"I don't have energy left for anger over such small things. " Ren thought but didn't say out loud.
Not when his brother was in a coma and he is recieving the strangest of messages.
"Even though she didn't have to hold my hands that hard. " He lamented, rubbing his wrists. Ren's wrist still throbbed hard where she had grabbed him earlier.
They walked in silence for a few more seconds as the cherry blossoms fell down around them as they moved deeper into the school grounds. Other students moved past them all heading in the same direction, all towards the main building where the matriculation ceremony would be held.
"I am Fubuki Ayase, by the way. " she said, breaking the quiet that had come between them.
"Ren Ryūhara." He answered.
"You said earlier you were in Class 1-C too right. " Ren inquired.
"Yeah. " Fubuki's face lit up as she answered. "It's such a coincidence that we are all in the same class."
Something about the way she expressed her genuine pleasure at this coincidence made Ren's chest tighten abit. When was the last time someone had been happy to meet him? Before Kaito's attack, probably. Before his world had narrowed down to hospital waiting rooms, police questionings and the constant eating need for answers.
"Yeah what a nice coincidence. " He agreed. "But I don't know anyone here, I'm still kind of in this town."
"Well, now you know me," Fubuki said simply, like it was the easiest thing in the world. "And Hana, sort of. Even if you two got off to a rough start."
From ahead of them, Hana's voice rang out, sharp and clear despite not turning around: "He is still a creep and I don't trust him one bit. "
Ren couldn't tell if she was being serious or being sarcastic. Fubuki just smiled and shook her head, a gesture that said that's just how she is without needing words.
They finally reached the main building.
It was three-story structure that managed to blend well with traditional history of the town and the necessary modern necessities. The Cherry trees grew close to the walls, their branches nearly brushing the windows on the second floor classrooms. The entrance was wide, with students funneling through in organized chaos.
Ren followed Fubuki and Hana inside and the interior of the Building was exactly as how Ren had pictured it in his mind from the outside. It was clean, well-maintained, with that particular odd smell that all schools seemed to share, that smell of floor polish, chalk dust and something like too much colognes.
But there was something else underneath. Something Ren couldn't quite name.
Tension, maybe.
The hallways were crowded with students changing their shoes in the genkan, hanging up bags on lockers, chatting in clusters. Normal first-day-back-from-break energy. But as Ren walked through, following Fubuki's lead while Hana stayed a few steps ahead, he started noticing things.
Small things.
Details that didn't quite fit the picture of a peaceful high school.
Like the way certain groups of students moved through the hallway and the way everyone else seemed to give them the space they wanted. It wasn't that obvious but it was there and not very subtle.
There was the occasional slight shift to the side, the eyes dropping, the conversations pausing until they had passed.
Ren's eyes tracked one such group of three boys. They were all second or third-years based on their size and the confident way they carried themselves. They wore the standard black gakuran, but something about them was different. The way their jackets hung or maybe the way they talked Or was it the way they walked.
Then Ren finally saw it, a brief flash of white under one of the boy's jacket collar. An armband, partially hidden under with what looked like a flower embroidered on it.
"Cherry blossoms. " He thought.
The group passed by, and the normal hallway noise resumed like someone had turned the volume back up.
But that wasn't all Ren had seen other students wearing armbands too. Not white ones but red ones, hidden just as carefully.
A different gang? Same gang but a different faction?
"How many groups were operating in this school?" He thought.
And more importantly which one did Hasegawa Fujimoto lead?