Renegades: Battlegrounds.-Chapter 48: A Choice And A Path II

The rooftop door closed behind Ren with a metallic clang that echoed across the empty space.

Four figures stood silhouetted against the city lights. Hasegawa at the center, Yuto to his right, and two others Ren didn’t recognize.

The taller one looked stoic, arms crossed watching with the stillness of someone who’d seen too many fights. The shorter figure, feminine in build, tracked Ren’s every movement with sharp, calculating eyes.

Hasegawa didn’t turn around, he simply said. "You’re late. I said 8:00 sharp."

Ren checked his phone. It was 8:03 PM.

His hands were shaking so badly he could barely keep his grip. He hadn’t slept since the hospital. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw blood. Bikers. The motorcycle bearing down.

"I’m here now," Ren managed.

"Three minutes." Hasegawa’s voice carried no warmth.

"In a real fight, three minutes is the difference between saving someone and burying them. You should know that better than most by now."

The casual cruelty of the statement hit Ren in the chest. He thought of those seconds watching the biker aim at him. Aoi running. The impact.

"Ren Ryūhara." The girl spoke up suddenly, cutting through his spiral. Her voice was crisp, businesslike.

"First-year, Class 1-C. Younger brother of Kaito Ryūhara, Sakuratei’s founder. Fought Yuto Ishida to a near standstill on his first day. Survived an ambush by fourteen Kotekai bikers while protecting a civilian."

She tilted her head. "Impressive resume for someone who’s been here less than a week."

"Kaede does our background checks," Hasegawa said casually. "She’s very thorough, as you can see."

The other boy finally spoke, his voice deep and measured. "Moriyama. First Division."

He studied Ren with calculating eyes. "You look like him. Your brother. Same eyes. The kind that’ve already seen too much."

Ren’s chest tightened. "You knew Kaito?"

"Everyone knew Kaito." Moriyama’s expression didn’t change. "The question is whether you’re anything like him."

"...Or whether you’ll break faster than he did."

Hasegawa turned then, his face illuminated by the glow of Yugen City spreading out below them. His expression was unreadable, assessing, calculating. "Walk with me, Ren."

Ren knew it wasn’t a request.

Hasegawa moved to the rooftop’s edge, where a waist-high railing was all that separated them from a three-story drop. Ren followed, his ankle still throbbing where the knife had cut him.

"Look at this." Hasegawa gestured to the cityscape. "What do you see?"

Ren looked out.

Neon lights in the distance marking Downtown District. The softer glow of residential areas.

The dark patches of parks between. Somewhere out there, Aoi was in a hospital bed with pins in her arm.

"A city," Ren said quietly. "Schools. Homes."

"I see responsibility." Hasegawa’s voice was quiet but firm.

"Every building down there has people. Families. Students. Children. They go about their lives because someone maintains order. Sometimes that someone is the police. Sometimes..."

He glanced at Ren. "It’s us."

"Us?"

"Sakuratei." Hasegawa pulled something from his jacket—a photograph, creased and worn. He handed it to Ren.

The photo showed five teenagers, maybe seventeen or eighteen, standing in front of Sakura High’s gates. Cherry blossoms bloomed behind them. They all wore matching white jackets with pink cherry blossom embroidery on the back.

The boy in the center was unmistakable—even in Ren’s worst nightmares, he’d know that face.

Kaito.

Younger. Smiling with genuine joy. His arms spread wide like he was presenting his crew to the world.

Ren’s vision blurred. His hands trembled holding the photo.

Five teenagers. Cherry blossoms. White jackets.

His eyes moved across each face.

The girl on the left had short hair and a baseball bat resting on her shoulder. She was laughing at something off-camera, caught mid-motion like she couldn’t stand still. Someone had written in faded marker at the bottom: Hina - 1st Division Captain.

Next to her, a tall boy with glasses and a serious expression held a notebook. Even in the photo, he looked like he was analyzing something. The marker read: Takumi - Strategist.

On the right side, two boys stood close together. One had bleached blonde hair and was making a peace sign. The other, darker-haired, had his arm around the blonde’s shoulders. The writing said: Akira & Yoshihiro - 2nd Division.

And in the center—

Kaito.

Younger. Smiling with genuine joy. His arms spread wide like he was presenting his crew to the world.

Someone had drawn a small crown above his head in marker.

Ren’s thumb traced over his brother’s face.

"Five years ago." Hasegawa’s voice was quiet. "When your brother was seventeen."

Ren looked up. "Who were they?"

"The people who abandoned him."

The words hung in the air.

Hasegawa pointed to the girl with the bat. "Hina graduated. Moved to some big university. We haven’t heard from her since then."

His finger moved to the boy with glasses. "Takumi transferred schools mid-year. His family relocated. He stopped answering Kaito’s calls."

Then to the two on the right. "Akira and Yoshihiro left together. No explanation. Just... gone. Some say they joined a gang in Tokyo. Others say they got scared and ran."

Hasegawa’s jaw tightened. "One by one, they all left. And Kaito—" He gestured to the photo."—Kaito stayed. Tried to hold it together alone."

Ren stared at the faded marker notes. The little crown. The worn edges of the photo.

"How old were you?" Ren asked quietly.

"Eleven." Hasegawa looked out at the city. "Still in middle school. My grandfather runs a dojo in Hanasakura. Your brother trained there for years."

He paused.

"I used to watch from the doorway when I visited. Kaito always seemed so... different. Like he believed so strongly in what he was doing that reality bent around him."

Hasegawa’s voice went flat. "I thought he was incredible."

He took the photo back from Ren, staring at it.

"I was wrong."

The bitterness in those three words was sharp enough to cut.

"These four?" Hasegawa tapped the faces surrounding Kaito. "They built something that meant something. Hanasakura was safer because they existed. Local businesses didn’t get shaken down. Students didn’t get jumped walking home. It actually worked."

He folded the photo carefully. "But ideals don’t hold a gang together. Loyalty does. And when they left, the loyalty left with them."

Ren’s chest tightened. "What did Kaito do?"

"What he always did. Tried harder. Worked longer. Carried more." Hasegawa’s expression hardened.

"Restructured everything around his Five Virtues. Righteousness. Courage. Benevolence. Respect. Sincerity."

He looked at Ren directly. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"He believed we could be better than the violence. That ideals alone could protect people but..."

"Three weeks ago, someone put a knife in your brother and left him bleeding. Those beautiful ideals didn’t save him."

"They didn’t save the people who got hurt following him. And they sure as hell won’t save you."

Ren flinched.

"So no," Hasegawa said quietly, "I’m not a big fan of Kaito Ryūhara’s philosophy."

He paused. "But I’ll give him this."

"He had the guts to try."

"Even if it broke him."