Ren turned back toward their table. "Intimidating guy. "
"You have no idea wait till you see him in a fight. " Shiinchiro said, his usual enthusiasm replaced by something like wary respect. "He's a first-year from Class 1-B by the way same age as us but he's already one of Sakuratei's most aggressive fighters. Maybe THE most aggressive! "
"A first-year?" Ren couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. "How is that even possible?"
"Talent and crazy. " Hana said bluntly. "Mostly crazy."
"That's not entirely fair," Fubuki interjected softly. "I heard he's actually quite skilled in martial arts. Multiple disciplines, I think. "
"Skilled or not, hes dangerous" Shiinchiro muttered, poking at his food. "He's bad news... very very bad news. "
"I'm sure you heard the stories back in middle school that he got into like five fights against highschoolers and won all of them. Well they are all true. It's not exaggerated at all! He even took them all at once. "
"It was Hasegawa who personally recruited him into Sakuratei and now he's even in the inner circle. "
"It's his rapid rise that has caused issues though," Hana chirped in. "The older members are bound to be unhappy with Hasegawa's leadership style if a first-year getting that kind of status so quickly. It's too disrespectful to the hierarchy, to the guys who've been there for years. "
Ren glanced back at the Sakuratei table. Yuto was laughing at something another member said, but there was an edge to it, something sharp and dangerous beneath the casual exterior.
"So he's the reason for the internal division you mentioned?" Ren asked quietly.
"Kind of the center of it, yeah," Shiinchiro confirmed. "He is like the living symbol of Hasegawa's new approach that is raw talent and strength over seniority and tradition. Some of the members love it, some people hate it and his guts too. "
"And what about Yuto himself?" Ren asked. "Where does he stand on all this?"
Shiinchiro shrugged. "Extremely loyal to Hasegawa like a mad dog from what I can tell. Beyond that?" He lowered his voice even further. "I even heard he doesn't care much about gang politics. He just likes fighting. "
"Perfect," Hana muttered. "A violence addict with skill and no moral compass. Exactly what this school needs."
"You make him sound like a monster," Fubuki said gently. "We don't really know him, do we? Maybe there's more to his story."
"Maybe," Hana conceded. "But I'm fine not getting close enough to find out."
Ren studied Yuto from across the cafeteria, trying to reconcile what he was seeing with what he was hearing. The guy looked dangerous, sure, but there was something else there. A kind of isolation, maybe. Even surrounded by other Sakuratei members, Yuto seemed somehow separate.
"He looks alone. "Ren thought. "A first-year already that deep in gang politics. Just what kind of school is this? "
The tension between the four of them broke when Shiinchiro suddenly slammed his chopsticks down with renewed excitement.
"Okay, but speaking of legends... "
"Please don't," Hana said almost immediately like she already knew what he was about to do.
"Too late! " Shiinichiro laughed.
Then, like a child pulling a show-and-tell from his bag, Shiinchiro produced a battered notebook. The cover read, in a mismatched sketch.
Shiin's Encyclopedia of the Coolest Guys.
Ren blinked. "You gotta be kidding me. "
"Nope! " Shiinchiro flipped it open proudly. "I have been documenting all the local gang legends! Like look!"
"It goes back almost three years! "He turned the book around and kept flipping the pages till he reached a page. The page had a crude drawing of a guy mid-fight, surrounded by a dozen faceless figures. It was captioned as HASEGAWA – The Emperor of Sakuratei – Fought 12 Guys Alone and Won.
Ren stared at the book in disbelief. "Are you sure you wrote this and not some kindergartener? "
Ren and Hana fell into a burst of laughter.
"Yeah yeah yeah laugh all you want. "
"I'm gonna write a book someday! " Shiinchiro said, beaming.
Hana dropped her face into her hands. "Please stop you are killing me. "
Fubuki giggled quietly. "It's actually kind of impressive you have this much free time yet you just managed to pass the entrance exams. "
"It's called research. " Shiinchiro insisted. "Gotta know who runs this city!"
Ren shook his head, but there was a small, genuine smile resting at the corner of his mouth.
The smile faded a few moments later.
"This Hasegawa sounds overrated though" he muttered without thinking as he swiped through the pages. "No one can beat twelve guys alone. "
Shiinchiro's head snapped up. "WHAT?! Dude, he's a legend!"
Ren's tone stayed calm almost like he was bored. "Legends are just people. I will prove it.. I will beat him myself if I have to. "
His words landed heavy. The entire table went silent. Even the noisy seemed to dull at the worst possible moment.
Hana turned to him sharply. "Hey.. hey.. Ren, that's not funny. "
"I'm not joking," Ren repeated, voice low, steady. "I came here for answers. If Hasegawa doesn't want to tell me the truth ... "
He looked toward the Sakuratei table. "... I will make him."
SLAM. The sound was sudden echoing throughout the room. A lunch tray hit their table, spilling droplets of soup across the surface.
Ren turned quickly and standing over them their eyes sharp and jaw tight was Yuto Ishida. "You'll what? " He barked angrily.
The entire cafeteria froze at that moment for what was to come.