Ren stopped walking.
Shiin halted too, blinking. "Ren?"
"Shiin… can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Do you think my brother was wrong? About the Five Virtues. About trying to lead with honor. "
Shiin's expression shifted to a serious one, painfully honest one.
"I think… your brother was a good person in a world that doesn't reward good people. "
He looked down briefly. "I think he tried to build something beautiful and it broke under the weight of reality. "
Ren's expression tightened. "That's not an answer. "
"Because I don't have an answer, Ren. " Shiin's voice cracked with frustration.
"I am just a first-year who knows too much gossip. I am not a fighter. I am not in a gang. I stay out of this stuff because I'm scared. I'm really scared. "
A brief silence fell between them.
"But you?" Shiin stepped in front of Ren, eyes clear despite the fear he admitted to. "You're not scared. Or maybe you are, and you just don't care. "
He pointed toward Sakura High, somewhere behind them in the distance. "You walked into Sakura High and fought the Mad Dog on your first day because you wanted to find answers. "
Ren looked away. "I didn't fight him for answers… did I? Or did I just want to hit something? "
"So the question isn't Was Kaito wrong? " Shiin said softly.
"The question should be.. What do you believe? "
Ren stared at him. He felt no anger, just emptiness that he couldn't fully define.
"I… don't know what I believe. "
Shiin placed a hand on his shoulder, gentle but firm.
"Then you've got three days to figure it out. "
The evening had draped itself over Hanasakura District before they could know it. The warm lights spilled from shop windows and students going home in small numbers.
Ren walked in silence his hands in his pockets, the earlier confrontation still hanging over him like a storm that refused to pass.
Shiin walked beside him, trying very obviously to lighten the air.
"Three days, huh?" he said, nudging Ren with his elbow. "What're you gonna do? "
Ren exhaled. "I don't know. "
"Well, let's think about it. Pros and cons. " Shiin held up a finger like he was lecturing. "Pro: You get protection. Crimson Dragons won't touch you if you're Sakuratei. "
Ren frowned. "Is that true? They put my brother in a coma. "
Shiin hesitated mid-step. "Yeah, but… that was different. The civil war left them weak. Now they're strong again. "
"Crimson Dragons know better than to start a war with a unified Sakuratei. "
They walked a few more steps before Ren spoke again. "And the cons?"
Shiin sighed, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. "You become a delinquent. Your life revolves around gang politics. You fight because Hasegawa tells you to fight. You risk getting expelled, arrested, or worse. "
He paused.
"And… you'll never know if you're following Hasegawa because you believe in him, or because you're trying to understand your brother. "
That statement hit Ren hard.
He felt a small squeeze in his chest. "Kaito… everything always comes back to you. I don't even know if I'm chasing answers or just chasing your ghosts. "
Shiin quickly backpedaled, waving his hands. "But hey! There's also free food at gang meetings. I heard they order like fifty pizzas for big events. So that's… that's something. "
Ren's mouth twitched. A reluctant smile slipped out. "You're an idiot. "
Shiin grinned wide. "Yeah, but I make you smile. That's worth something at the very least. "
They turned a final corner and the glow of the train station rose ahead, the rumbling tracks, the noise of the commuters. It felt like the end of something, and the beginning of something worse.
Ren and Shiin stopped at the platform entrance, the overhead board blinking. Shiin's train was leaving in a minute.
"You gonna be okay getting home from here?" Shiin asked, shifting his backpack higher.
"Yeah. Different line. "
They stood there for a moment, swallowed by the noise of people brushing past.
"So…" Shiin said, scratching his cheek. "thanks for not dying today. That would've been a bummer. "
Ren let out a short, tired laugh. "Thanks for not letting me die. "
"We're even now, right? The bike thing, the saving-your-life thing. We're square. "
"Yeah. " Ren said. "We're square. "
Shiin didn't move. He clearly wanted to say something but didn't know how.
"Hey, Ren?"
"Yeah?"
Shiin's voice softened. "Whatever you decide… I'm still your friend. Okay? Sakuratei or not. Pink Faction or walking away. I'm not going anywhere. "
Ren looked at him, really looked at him. In this whole city, loud and violent and burning with old grudges, Shiin was the first person who reached out without wanting something in return.
"Why?" Ren asked quietly.
Shiin flashed a lopsided grin. "Because you're interesting. And because someone's gotta make sure you don't get yourself killed. "
A chime rang out overhead. The train thundered into the station.
"That's me. " Shiin said, stepping backward toward the platform gate. "Text me when you get home safe, yeah?"
"Yeah. I will. "
He took a few steps, then turned one last time.
"Three days, Ren. Think carefully. "
"But also don't overthink it. Sometimes the right choice is the one that scares you most. "
With a final wave, he vanished into the flow of bodies heading onto the train.
Ren watched as the doors slid shut. The train pulled away, carrying Shiin into the tunnel and fading away.
Ren lowered himself onto a bench. The station felt bigger without Shiin in it, emptier despite the rush of people and the constant announcements rolling over the speakers.
"Pink Faction.
Red Faction.
Hasegawa's rules.
Kaito's ideals. "
Everyone had an opinion. Everyone had a version of Ren they wanted him to become. The responsible little brother. The avenger. The recruit. The pawn.
"Everyone except Shiin. " Ren realized.
He slid a hand into his jacket pocket and felt the folded note there—the one that had dragged him into this entire mess. His thumb pressed along the crease.
"What do I believe?"
The question echoed louder than any train.
A robotic voice chimed overhead. His line was arriving.
Ren stood slowly
"Three days. " He thought.
"No… two days and twenty-two hours now. "
Time to go home.
Time to think.
Time to decide whether he was walking into the same fire that burned his brother or finally stepping toward the truth Kaito died trying to reach.
The doors opened. Ren stepped inside.
As the train pulled away, he caught one last glimpse of the blossoms outside falling, falling, falling like the city was shedding something it wanted him to find.