The school day dragged on.
Ren barely listened to anything after what the teacher said in class.
His name… and Kai's name…
It kept echoing in his mind.
At some point, he stood up quietly and left the classroom.
No one stopped him.
No one really cared.
The bathroom was empty when he entered.
Cold tiles. Flickering light. Silence.
Ren walked to the sink and turned on the tap.
Water ran over his hands.
He looked at himself in the mirror.
Same face.
Same glasses.
But something about his reflection felt… distant.
Then—
BANG.
The bathroom door slammed open.
Footsteps.
Multiple.
Ren slowly lifted his head.
Through the mirror, he saw them enter.
Four boys.
The same bullies.
One of them laughed.
"Well look who it is."
Another leaned against the wall.
"The grieving brother."
A third snickered.
"You still coming to school after all that?"
Ren didn't turn around.
He just kept his hands under the water.
They stepped closer.
The air in the bathroom shifted.
One of them spoke again, voice sharper now.
"You think you're tough now, huh?"
Another stepped in front of the sinks.
"Your brother isn't here to save you a second time."
That made the room go quiet.
Ren slowly turned off the tap.
Drip… drip… silence.
He finally turned to face them.
Calm eyes.
No fear.
No anger yet.
Just stillness.
"…When did I need saving from my brother?" he said quietly.
That line hit something.
The leader's expression changed instantly.
"Oi… what did you say?"
The tension snapped.
One of them shoved him.
Hard.
Ren stumbled back into the sink.
Then another hit him.
Then another.
The bathroom filled with rough impacts and shouting.
No teachers nearby.
No interruption.
Just closed space and anger.
Ren didn't fight back.
Not at first.
He took the hits in silence, his glasses shifting slightly on his face.
The bullies kept going until their frustration cooled into satisfaction.
Finally, they stopped.
Breathing heavily.
One of them spat on the floor.
"Stay down next time."
They turned and walked out.
The door slammed shut behind them.
Silence returned.
Ren stayed there for a moment.
Slowly, he pushed himself upright.
His reflection in the mirror was slightly shaken.
But his eyes…
were still calm.
Too calm.
Water dripped from the sink again.
Tick… tick… tick…
And deep inside that silence—
something inside him began to respond.
Not pain.
Not fear.
Something else.
Something waiting.
Later The Day—
The walk home felt longer than usual.
Ren didn't rush.
He didn't really think about where his feet were going.
The pain from the bathroom was still there, but it felt distant… like it belonged to someone else.
When he finally reached home, the house was quiet.
He stepped inside slowly.
"I'm home mom?" he called softly.
No answer.
He walked further in.
Haruka Aoyama was in her bedroom.
Asleep.
Fully dressed still, like she had collapsed from exhaustion.
Ren stood at the doorway for a moment.
Then quietly turned away.
He didn't wake her.
He went down the hallway.
Toward his room.
But then he stopped.
The door at the end of the hallway.
Their father's office.
It was open.
Ren frowned slightly.
"…Mom?"
He hesitated.
Then stepped closer.
The room inside was dim.
Dusty.
But organized in a strange way—like someone had been keeping it untouched, yet meaningful.
Maps covered the walls.
Old travel notes.
Photos of mountains, deserts, forests, cities Ren had never seen before.
Pins marked locations across the world.
Ren slowly walked inside.
His eyes moved across everything.
"…So this is what he saw…" he murmured.
He stepped further in.
On the desk were notebooks filled with handwriting.
Dates. Coordinates. Symbols.
His father's journeys.
Places he had gone.
Things he had discovered.
Things he never fully explained.
Ren reached out slightly, touching one of the maps.
It felt… real.
Like his father had been chasing something bigger than just travel.
Something important.
Something hidden.
Then his eyes shifted deeper into the room.
Toward the locked drawer that had been slightly opened.
Just barely.
Like someone had been inside recently.
Ren paused.
"…Mom was here," he thought quietly.
He stepped closer.
Inside the drawer were more notes.
Older ones.
More cryptic.
And something small wrapped in cloth…
Ren's fingers hesitated as he reached for it.
The air in the room felt different now.
Heavier.
Like the room itself was waiting for him to make a choice.
To be continued...