Renegades: Battlegrounds.-Chapter 27: Cherry Blossoms Don’t Lie

Evening had already settled into Yugen City by the time Ren stepped out of Hanasakura Station.

Ren walked slowly, each step a constant battle with the pain in his ribs. The bandages beneath his uniform stretched with every movement he made. His knuckles still ached, his skull throbbing where the sucker punch had stolen the world from him earlier that day.

"Two days, twenty-two hours. "

Hasegawa’s voice was still there in the back of his mind but Shiin’s words lingered even heavier. "What do you believe? "

He turned down a quieter lane, past shuttered shops that had closed for the day and apartment buildings stacked like toy blocks.

Ren stopped in front of a three-story building with peeling paint and balconies cluttered with drying laundry. A tabby cat lounged on one rail, barely paying attention to him.

"Home. " Ren thought. Well If he could still call it that.

Inside, the fluorescent hallway lights buzzed and flickered like a scene from a horror movie. Mailboxes lined the wall near the stairs with one simply labeled simply. "RYŪHARA "

He climbed the staircase slowly. The pain in his ribs bitting intensely at him but he pressed on until he reached the second floor. His room, Apartment 203 waited at the end of the hall.

He had put his hand on the doorknob about to turn it in when a voice called out behind him.

"Ren-kun? "

Ren froze instantly and turned slowly to face the origin of the voice.

The landlady stepped out from apartment 201, trash bag in hand. Her soft sweater hung loosely off her frame, and her warm eyes immediately widened when she saw him.

"Ren-kun! What happened to your face?! "

She dropped the trash without caring where it landed and hurried toward him, hands hovering around his injuries as if afraid he might crumble.

"I’m fine, Landlady-san. Just... Just.. "

"Don’t lie to me! You are not fine. " She scolded.

"Look at you. " Her voice gentled down a bit. "Come here. Let me see. "

Ren tensed but didn’t pull away when she cupped his face carefully, gently tilting it to examine the bruises and the cut across his brow.

"Did you get into a fight? "

"...Something like that. " Ren admitted.

She sighed and released him, though worry still evident on her face. "Boys. Always getting into trouble. "

Her tone warmed. "Does it hurt? "

"A little. "

"A little. " She repeated, unimpressed. "Ren-kun, you can barely stand up straight. "

He realized too late that he was favoring his left side. He tried to quickly straighten up but the pain flared violently, forcing a sharp breath through his teeth.

"See? Terrible liar. Just like your brother. "

Ren went stuff at the mention of Kaito and a beige silence hung between them.

After a moment, she asked him softly. "Have you eaten?"

"I’m not really hungry. "

"That’s another lie. " She smiled gently. "I made too much curry. Come over later if you change your mind. Door’s open. "

"Thank you, Landlady-san. But I’m really.. " 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"You know. " She interrupted thoughtfully. "You remind me of someone. "

"Who? "

"My son. Seiji. " Her smile warmed. "He’s about your age. First-year too, at a different school from yours. "

"Oh. "

"He’s a good boy. Top of his class. Always reading. Wears these silly big glasses that make him look like a young professor. "

"But he doesn’t have many friends. Too shy. Too serious. I keep telling him he should meet people, go out, enjoy being young. But he just studies and studies. "

Ren nodded politely. "He sounds... dedicated. "

"You should meet him sometime. " She winked. "I think you two would get along. "

Ren almost choked. "Uh... maybe. "

She laughed a light and genuine laugh. "I’m not setting up a playdate, Ren-kun. Don’t look so terrified. I just worry. "

Her hand rested softly on his shoulder. "About both of you. "

"Yugen isn’t a safe place. Especially for boys your age. " She hesitated. "Especially for boys like your brother. "

Ren’s gut tightened. "...What do you mean?"

"Kaito was a good boy. Kind. Always helping the neighbors, always polite." She looked away, her expression dimming. "But he got mixed up with dangerous things. Things no high schooler should ever be near. "

She didn’t continue. She didn’t need to.

"Just be careful, Ren-kun. " She murmured. "Whatever you’re doing. Whoever you’re spending time with. "

Her hand squeezed his shoulder. "Aiko would never forgive me if something happened to you too. "

Guilt rose like heat under Ren’s skin.

"I’ll be careful. "

"That’s what your brother said too. "

She picked up her forgotten trash bag and retreated to her apartment, leaving Ren alone in the hallway.

He unlocked 203 and stepped inside.

The apartment was small barely enough room for a table, a futon, and a crudely assembled shelf. But everywhere in it was Kaito.

Posters lined the walls, anime, martial arts films, punk bands. The bookshelf overflowed with manga volumes, philosophy titles, and training manuals.

Clothes hung neatly in the closet, his shoes still sat beside the door which were too big for Ren.

There was a framed photo hunged above the table. It was a photo of Kaito at sixteen, one arm around an eleven-year-old Ren, cherry blossoms falling behind them. Both smiling. Both alive.

Ren let his bag fall to the floor and stood there for a long moment.

Ren lowered himself onto the futon. He stared up at the ceiling feeling numb.

"The landlady’s right. I’m just like him. "

"Getting into fights. Making enemies. Running toward danger without thinking. "

He fished into his jacket and pulled out the bloodstained note unfolding it gently

"HASEGAWA FUJIMOTO – SAKURA HIGH – THE TRUTH "

"I found him, Kaito. Just like you asked me to but... but I still don’t understand anything. "

His phone buzzed but it wasn’t a message just the an alarm he had set in the morning. He went straight to his his message history, scrolling to the strange text.

From: Unknown Number

Date: July 5, 2005

Body: Time is a river that flows in circles. Your brother knew this. Soon, you will too.

The first loop begins at the peak. — H

Ren read it again and again and again.

And then again.

"H. "

"Hasegawa? Could it really be him? "

But the date rattled him. July fifth. Three months from now. Thirteen weeks. "

How could Hasegawa send him a message... from the future?

He typed a reply. "Who is this? "

And then pressed send.

"Message could not be delivered. Number does not exist. "

He didn’t give up and tried it again.

"H? Hasegawa? Is this you? "

He received the same error as before.

He opened the number details. The area code was local but the rest of the number wasn’t assigned to anyone.

"Not yet. " He thought. "This number won’t exist until July. "

His chest tightened. "Which means this message... it definitely came from the future. "

He set the phone down, his breath uneasy. "Fuck! I’m losing it already. "

"Fights. Gangs. A coma. A message from a nonexistent number. Nothing is making sense. "

Ren closed his eyes. He could feel ten exhaustion in his bones. "Two days. "

Hasegawa wanted an answer: Join Sakuratei or leave Yugen.

Shiin wanted to know what he believed.

His mother wanted him safe.

The landlady wanted him alive.

And Kaito...

Ren looked at the photo again. "Kaito wanted me to find Hasegawa. To learn the truth but what truth? "

He lay there wide awak, the sleep refusing to come.

Eventually, he sat up, walked gingerly to the window, and pushed aside the curtain.

Outside, Yugen City shimmered under the night, the buildings rising like jagged teeth, neon signs glowing, and cherry blossoms drifting in the dark like pale ghosts.

Ren rested his forehead against the cool glass.

"Two days. " He thought. "I’ll figure it out in two days. I have to. "

Cherry blossoms floated past the window, soft as ever but he knew deep down.

That everything was about to change.

END OF ARC 1: THE OUTSIDER’S TUMULTUOUS FIRST DAY