Renegades: Battlegrounds.-Chapter 53: The First Detention I

The hallway felt longer on the way back.

Every step echoed.

Every classroom door Ren passed seemed to pause, students inside turning to look through the windows.

Word seemed to travel fast at Sakura High.

"Kaito’s brother got called to the principal’s office."

"Joined Sakuratei."

"Wonder if he’s getting expelled."

Ren stopped outside Class 1-C. Took a breath. His hands were still shaking slightly. "Just walk in. Sit down. Don’t react." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

He opened the door.

It was Mid-homeroom.

Mr. Tanaka at the front, mid-sentence about tomorrow’s quiz.

Every head in the classroom turned simultaneously.

Complete silence.

Mr. Tanaka’s expression was carefully neutral. "Welcome back, Ryūhara. Take your seat."

Ren walked down the aisle. The silence was suffocating. He could feel every eye tracking his movement, some curious, some fearful, some calculating.

He reached his desk, sat down heavily.

The moment he did, a crumpled paper ball landed on his desk.

Shiinchiro, two seats over, gestured frantically.

Ren unfolded the note.

"WHAT HAPPENED?! DID HE EXPEL YOU?! ARE YOU OKAY?!"

Ren pulled out a pen, wrote quickly:

"Detention. 2 weeks. 3:30-6:00 PM every day. Tell you at lunch."

He passed it back.

Across the room, Hana was staring at him. Not with anger or fear but something more complicated.

Conflict.

Like she was trying to solve an equation with no right answer.

Their eyes met briefly.

She looked away first.

The class continued till the bell rang.

First period was over.

Students filed out, whispering as they passed Ren’s desk.

"Two weeks detention on his first week..."

"Hanagaki’s going after him..."

"The seniors are saying Kaito got the same treatment too..."

"Think he’ll last?"

Ren stayed seated, gathering his things slowly.

Fubuki appeared beside his desk, her voice soft. "Ren... are you alright?"

He looked up. Her gentle eyes were filled with worry.

"I’m fine."

"You don’t look fine."

He managed a weak smile. "I’ll be fine. Promise."

She nodded, unconvinced, and walked to her next class.

Ren stood, grabbed his bag, and joined the flow of students in the hallway.

Lunch Period.

12:23 PM.

The rooftop was quieter than usual.

Ren arrived first, claiming a spot near the railing where cherry blossoms drifted past. The view from here showed most of Hanasakura District, the shopping arcade, the residential areas spreading toward Downtown.

Footsteps on the stairs.

Shiinchiro burst through the door, lunch bag in hand. "Okay, spill. Everything. What did Hanagaki say? What’s the detention for? Can you appeal?"

Fubuki followed behind him, moving more gracefully, her own lunch carefully wrapped.

Then, unexpectedly to Ren’s surprise Hana too.

She stopped at the doorway, arms crossed, expression guarded. For a moment, Ren thought she might turn around and leave.

But she didn’t.

She walked over, sat at the edge of their group close enough to hear, far enough to maintain distance. Like she needed to understand but didn’t want to get pulled into his problems.

Ren wondered what internal battle she would have fought within herself to come up here.

"So?" Shiinchiro sat down, unwrapping his sandwich. "Tell us."

Ren explained everything.

The security footage.

The white armband.

Hanagaki’s threats.

The two-week detention, 3:30-6:00 PM daily.

The mandatory counseling sessions.

One more violation and he was gone.

"That’s insane!" Shiinchiro nearly choked on his food. "Hanagaki’s straight-up sabotaging you! Can’t you report him or something?"

"For what?" Ren pulled at the grass beside him. "He’s within his rights. I was on school grounds after hours and I am affiliated with Sakuratei."

Fubuki’s voice was quiet. "Can Hasegawa do anything? Can’t he talk to the principal?"

"I’m not asking him for help." Ren’s voice was firm. "This is my problem. I made the choice. I deal with the consequences."

Hana spoke for the first time, her voice sharp. "You’re really doing this. Joining them."

Ren met her gaze. "I have to."

"No." Her eyes flashed. "You chose to. There is a difference."

The words hung in the air between them.

"You could’ve walked away," Hana continued, voice tight with something between anger and fear.

"Transferred schools. Left Yugen. But you didn’t. You chose Sakuratei. You chose their wars, their violence, their—" She stopped herself.

"My sister almost died," she said quietly. "Because of you. Because you got involved in something you didn’t understand yet and now you’re doubling down."

Ren’s chest tightened. "I know. I’m sorry."

"Sorry doesn’t fix broken bones." Hana stood up. "But you’re going to do this anyway, aren’t you?"

"Yes."

She stared at him for a long moment. Then shook her head.

"Just... don’t die. Okay? Aoi would be devastated."

She walked away, back through the rooftop door.

Silence.

Fubuki looked down at her lunch, uncomfortable.

Shiinchiro cleared his throat. "She’ll come around. She’s just scared."

"She has every right to be." Ren pulled out his own lunch, a convenience store onigiri, hastily bought that morning. "I’m scared too."

Shiinchiro cleared his throat, breaking the uncomfortable quiet. "So... these trials. Are they just for you only or...?"

Ren looked up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." Shiin scratched the back of his head, not meeting Ren’s eyes. "Do they recruit other people? Like, regularly? Or was this a special Kaito’s-brother thing?"

Fubuki’s eyes widened slightly. "Shiin..."

"I’m just asking!" He waved his hands defensively. "Theoretically. Hypothetically. For... information purposes."

Ren stared at him. "You’re not seriously thinking about joining. Are you too?"

"I’m not thinking anything!" Shiinchiro said too quickly. "Just... you know. Curious. About how it works for my book you know."

Ren’s voice went quiet. "Shiin. Don’t."

"Don’t what? I’m just asking questions."

"You don’t need to do this. You don’t need to follow me into—"

"I’m not following you anywhere." Shiinchiro’s voice had an edge Ren had never heard before. "I’m making my own decisions. Just like you said you were."

The words hung there.

Fubuki looked between them, worried.

"Besides," Shiin added, forcing his usual grin back, "someone’s gotta make sure you don’t die during these trials, right? Who else is gonna drag your unconscious body to the hospital?"

He stood up, dusting off his uniform. "Anyway. Bell’s about to ring. We should head back."

He walked toward the stairs without waiting for a response.

Ren and Fubuki exchanged a look.

"He’s not serious," Ren said. "Right?"

Fubuki’s expression was unreadable. "I don’t know. Are you?"