The first thing Ren saw was those white ceiling tiles. They came into focus as his eyes fluttered open, each blink returning him back to reality. Then came that smell he had hated... the smell of antiseptic, sharp and and the slow, growing throb behind his skull, like someone knocking from inside his head.
The nurse's office was washed in warm, golden-hour light. Everything was still... too still.
The school was quiet in a way that felt wrong to him. It was quiet enough that Ren could almost hear dust settling on the cabinets, quiet enough that his own breath sounded loud in his ears.
"Where…?" Ren tried to move but the pain surged through his ribs like someone has stabbed him.
He froze as his fingers curled into the sheets as a groan slipped out. His lungs felt tight. His skull throbbed.
"The cafeteria… Yuto.. the fight. " Ren tried to remember. "Someone hit me from behind… "
A sound broke the silence, a slow crunching rhythm almost casual. Ren turned his turned his head toward the noise.
In the next bed over, a boy sat cross-legged on the sheets, eating an apple. His Sakuratei uniform was worn loose, his tie crooked, the sleeves rolled up in a way that made it look intentional, too stylish to be messy, too careless to be proper. His hair fell over his eyes in uneven strands, casting a shadow across them.
The boy took another crunch and raised his gaze and locked eyes with Ren. "Hey, sleeping beauty. " He said.
Every muscle in Ren's body tensed. He felt danger. Pure, instinctive danger.
"Thought you'd be out longer. " the boy added, casually pointing the apple at him like it was a microphone.
"Yuto really did a number on you. " He leaned forward slightly, elbow resting on his knee. "Want some juice? Nurse left orange and apple before I she left."
Ren swallowed, his throat raw, voice barely coming out. "You are…"
A small smile curved across Hasegawa's lips, lazy but sharp around the edges. "Hasegawa Fujimoto."
"But you already knew that, didn't you, Ren?" The boy smiled.
Ren's breath hitched. "How did you.. "
Hasegawa shrugged, tapping the apple against his knee. "Know your name? Please."
He took another bite, speaking around the crunch.
"You fought Yuto on your first day and didn't die. Everyone knows your name now. "
Another slow bite. "…Well. Everyone who matters."
Hasegawa rose from his seat slowly as if he had all the time in the world and moved towards Ren's bedside.
He glanced down at Ren, eyes sharp but unreadable. "Don't try to sit up. You've got two cracked ribs and a concussion. Moving is a very bad idea."
Ren of course tried to anyways and the pain that spiked through his torso felt like an electric current and he collapsed back against the pillow with a low, involuntary grunt.
"Stubborn. " Hasegawa sighed like he had expected that outcome. "Just like him. "
He turned away, dragging a chair that was beside the bed on the tiled floor before spinning it around, and sitting backwards on it, his arms folded over the backrest, posture loose but dominating the space.
Ren breathed through the pain, chest rising and falling. "Like… who?"
Hasegawa didn't answer him immediately, he just kept his gaze focused on Ren, studying him and then finally he spoke up.
"You survived Yuto Ishida. Most people don't.. not on their first day at the very least and not without backup." He paused, tilting his head. "So either you're incredibly skilled, incredibly lucky, or incredibly stupid. So which is it, Ren?"
"Why do you care?. " Ren growled back.
Hasegawa laughed not in a mocking tone or even cruel, but a genuine, warm smile that somehow made Ren feel far more unsettling.
"Why do I care?" He spread his hands slightly.
"You walk into my school, pick a fight with one of my best fighter, turn my cafeteria into a war zone.. "
He leaned back in the chair. "And you've got the nerve to as me why I care?"
A hint of admiration flickered across Hasegawa's face. "You are either extremely brave or extremely suicidal. I'm trying to figure out which is it. "
Ren didn't answer and instead his gaze darted to the jacket draped over the chair beside his bed. His hand moved instinctively toward it, towards the front pocket.
His fingers brushed the crumpled paper still inside and a sense of relief flooded him.
"Looking for something?" Hasegawa asked, instantly catching the movement.
Ren pulled his hand back, defensive. "No."
That all-knowing smile returned to Hasegawa's face. "You're a terrible liar." Hasegawa said cold.
"Kaito was the same way. Always wore his heart on his sleeve. Always carried things... notes, mementos, stupid sentimental crap." His voice hardened.
Ren froze in place.
Hasegawa's eyes drifted to the window, his tonebecoming something meaner. "He thought words mattered."
He let out a quiet scoff. "Wrote everything down like it meant something."
He turned back to Ren. "They don't. Words don't matter. Actions do."
Hasegawa turned the apple in his hand slowly, absent-minded, like he was weighing something far heavier than fruit. Without warning, he extended the half-eaten apple toward Ren. "Want some? You look hungry."
Ren stared at it at him unsure if it was a joke or a test. Something about the gesture felt wrong. A temptation or a trap.
"No." Ren shook his head. "Keep your apple. "
Hasegawa's smile stretched wider like he had just watched a mouse avoid a piece of cheese he'd intentionally placed on a spring-loaded snap.
"Smart," Hasegawa said, amused. "Never take food from strangers."
He took another bite of it. "Even if they're trying to help."
"Are you?" Ren asked quietly. "Are you trying to help?"
"That depends," Hasegawa said, chewing thoughtfully. "Are you worth helping?"
Ren's jaw tightened. "I didn't come here for your help... "
In that moment something in Hasegawa's expression shifted, his all present smirk faded, the amusement in his voice drained and what was replaced was something else.
"No." His voice softened, almost solemn. "You came here for Kaito."