The door clicked shut behind Hasegawa.
Ren exhaled finally, letting his let his clenched muscles free at last. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again, a face was hovering inches from his.
"Hey!" Shiinchiro's voice blasted straight into his skull. "Thank goodness! You're alright."
"Too...too close!" Ren shoved his face away.
"Why's your face right there, man?!" He complained.
"Oh nice, this is the thanks I get?" Shiinchiro puffed, half laughing.
Ren tried to sit up but the pain stung through him again, blurring his vision.
"Heyy... take it easy man you just got sucker-punched and even passed out. " Shiinchiro said.
"But hey, you're safe now. Nothing to worry about. "
"You brought me here?" Ren asked, confused.
"Yeah. " Shiinchiro said proudly. "You're heavier than you look, though. "
"Ehmm.. so does this.. this makes up for when I almost ran you over with my bike, right?. " Shiinichiro said sheepshisly.
Ren couldn't help but crack a smirk. "Yeah, yeah. We're even, Hayashi."
"Shiin," he corrected. "My friends call me Shiin."
"Fine. Shiin. We're even Shiin. "
Ren lay back down, staring at the white ceiling but his mind just refused to rest. It was replaying his own weaknesses in vivid detail: the blow he didn't see, the floor rushing up, the helplessness.
"I need to get stronger. " He thought, his jaw tightening.
Shiinchiro snorted. "Or maybe try not getting your face punched next time? "
"It came out of nowhere, man. " Ren argued.
"Still… but you actually landed a clean hit on Yuto. You don't know how insane that is. Most of the third-years can't even touch him in a fight. "
"That kick of yours at the end was sooo wicked. " Shiin added, grabbing Ren's leg for emphasis.
Ren yanked it away from him grip. "Cut it out."
Shiinchiro only laughed. "Dude, you're like… flexible as hell."
Ren could only give off half a smile as his eyes still had that cold look in it. "I got lucky. "
"Lucky or not, that kick was crazy. "
But Ren's expression only darkened even more. "Luck won't cut it next time. "
He knew he couldn't keep stumbling through fights on instinct. Not with Hasegawa watching him from the shadows.
Not in this city.. There were levels to this world he hadn't seen yet. If Yuto was only Step One… how high did the staircase go?
"So, Shiinchiro. " Ren said, turning his head. "You said you know this city well?"
Shiin nodded confidently. "Pretty much every street and every gang that runs it. "
"Good. " Ren murmured.
"I want you to... "
Before he could continue, a sharp knock on the door split the air.
The nurse leaned into the room her expression stern. "School's closing for the day, boys. Time to head home. "
Shiin stretched and popped his shoulders. "You heard her, Ren. Let's get you out of here before someone else tries to knock your head clean off. "
Ren forced himself upright. Every muscle burned, but he managed to stand.
"Need my help hero too?" Shiin smiled.
"I'm fine. " Ren snapped.
"You look fine. " Shiin said mockingly. "Like a newborn deer. Hehehe. "
Ren ignored him completely and grabbed his jacket of it's place of resting, making sure his fingers ran through the inside pocket.
The note was still there, still crinkled, still bloodstained.
He closed his fist around it. "I said I'm fine."
Shiin lifted his hands in a surrender mode. "Okay, Mr. Independent."
They headed for the door but Ren paused briefly gazing back at the bed where Hasegawa had been sitting just moments earlier.
Shiin noticed him stop and spoke. "What's wrong?"
"... Its nothing. " Ren muttered. "Let's go. "
The hallway was silent but Ren's mind was loud. Louder than it has ever for a long time.
"Three days. " He thought. "Three days to choose which world I'm stepping into. "
"What do you believe, Ren? "
"Kaito's world… or Hasegawa's? "
He didn't know yet.
But he would.
Ren walked through the hallway slowly, his body still stiff with pain. Shiin was beside him, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, his sneakers scuffing the tiles with every lazy step.
"So…" Shiin began, his voice casual but his eyes sharp and focused for once. "You met him, didn't you?"
Ren didn't look at him. "Met who?"
"Come on, man. Hasegawa. " Shiin's tone sharpened. "I saw him go into the nurse's office. Tried to follow in but Soma blocked the door said it was boss's orders. "
He glanced sideways at Ren. "What'd he want?"
Ren hesitated. He could lie. He should lie but the truth forced itself out anyway. "He wants me to join Sakuratei."
Ren had walked three more steps before he realised that Shiin had stopped dead in his tracks.
"He… what?"
"I've got three days to decide. "
Shiin let out a short, disbelieving laugh, almost choking on it. "Three days? That's it? That's.. Ren, do you know what that means? "
"That I have three days to decide if I want to join a gang or transfer schools?" Ren replied flatly.
"No." Shiin ran a hand through his hair, pacing in a tight circle. "It means Hasegawa wants you. He doesn't personally recruit. People beg to join and he turns them away. But you.. " He pointed at Ren. "You fight Yuto on your first day and suddenly you get a personal invitation? That's insane."
"Why? What's so special about it?"
Shiin started walking again with Ren following closer now.
"Because Hasegawa doesn't trust easily. After the civil war, after everything that happened with your brother.. "
Ren's voice cut sharp through the empty hallway.
"What do you know about my brother?"
Shiin slowed, choosing his words carefully.
"Not much. " He admitted. "Just… stories. That Kaito founded Sakuratei. That he led with honor and ideals. "
"And that does ideals almost destroyed them. " He shot Ren a quick glance. "And that when Hasegawa took over, he changed everything."
"Changed how?" Ren asked.
"Made it harder. " Shiin said. "Colder. Your brother believed in the Five Virtues—righteousness, courage, all that samurai code stuff. Hasegawa believes in survival. "
They reached the shoe lockers and started changing footwear.
"And not everyone's happy about it," Shiin added.
"The Red Faction. " Ren said quietly.
Shiin froze mid–shoe change. "How do you know about that? Right Hasegawa must've told you. "
"No. Someone interrupted us. " Ren said. "Some Guy with a broken hand. Said something about the Red Faction moving. "
"Oh that was Soma. Yeah, I heard Hasegawa broke his hand for sucker-punching you. Message to anyone else thinking about cheap shots. "
He finished tying his shoes. "The Red Faction's the real problem though. "
"Hasegawa said they're third-years who won't follow a second-year. "
"That's part of it. " Shiin said as they walked out into the evening air. "But it's deeper than that. "
He shoved his hands back into his pockets. "Sakuratei's split in two now. The Pink Faction made up of Hasegawa's loyalists. They wear the white and pink, follow his rules, accept his leadership. "
"And the Red Faction?" Ren asked.
"Third-years who remember Kaito," Shiin said quietly. "Who think Hasegawa's too young, too ruthless, too different from what Sakuratei used to be. "
He stopped walking, this time turning fully to face Ren. "They want the old ways back. Your brother's ways."
Ren looked down. "And that's a problem because…?"
"Because Kaito's ways failed, Ren. " Shiin said bluntly. "The civil war almost destroyed Sakuratei. Crimson Dragons took advantage of the chaos. Midnight Shadows moved in. If Hasegawa hadn't taken control when he did... "
He shook his head.
"There wouldn't be a Sakuratei anymore. "
"So the Red Faction wants to go back to a system that nearly got them killed. " Ren said
"Nostalgia's a hell of a drug. " Shiin muttered.
"And lots of pride too. They hate taking orders from someone younger than them. "
He nudged Ren lightly.
"Especially someone who isn't named Ryūhara."