Aoshi is about halfway through the vast, desolate industrial area he has to cross to get home from university when—

"Hey... where do you think you’re going, Aoshi Toya?" a male voice hisses — far from friendly.

A voice Aoshi doesn’t immediately recognize — but he figures it out the moment he turns toward the sound and sees a figure stepping out from the shadows of a side street along his path.

Renji Kurotani. Miori’s boyfriend.

"I-I’m just heading home. I stayed at the university longer than usual because I’ve got an important exam coming up," Aoshi replies, his voice trembling as he tries to suppress the fear and unease stirred by Renji’s imposing presence — a physique built through intense training and long hours at the gym Miori has been forcing him through ever since they started dating.

A presence far bigger and more solid compared to Aoshi’s frail frame.

But what unsettles him the most is something else entirely.

Renji lives on the opposite side of Ueda.

Which means this isn’t a coincidence.

Renji was waiting for him.

"Are you a little too old to be afraid of the dark?" Renji sneers, closing in with slow, heavy steps.

Aoshi instinctively takes a step back.

"W-What do you want from me?" Aoshi stammers, trying to sound braver than he feels — but the pathetic attempt only makes Renji burst into mocking laughter.

"I just want to talk, that’s all. After all, we’ve got a lot in common, don’t we? We’re both Miori’s exes — and we both got dumped. The difference is, you got tossed aside like a fruit squeezed dry... while I got dumped because I was busy enjoying girls just as pretty as her — maybe even better. I only got back with her after seeing how low she’d stooped trying to make me jealous. It’s been over a month since then, and we still haven’t had this little chat. Well... better late than never."

Despite those seemingly reassuring words, Aoshi is anything but at ease — his legs tremble, his breathing shallow, almost held in, as quiet as someone hiding from a serial killer in the dead of night.

W-Why is Renji telling me all this? If he really wanted to talk, he could’ve done it at university — there was no need to set up an ambush in a deserted place like this. And that tense, restless look on his face doesn’t promise anything good. My instincts are screaming at me that it’s dangerous to stay here alone with him — I need to run!

Aoshi’s legs suddenly stop trembling — now they’re locked in place, every muscle coiled like a runner at the starting line.

He takes a deep breath... and bolts.

"You bastard—where do you think you’re running?!" Renji roars, taking off after him without hesitation.

Renji is taller, his legs longer and better trained, his stride far wider — and yet Aoshi manages to gain ground in that first burst. Renji may be stronger, but Aoshi is driven by pure adrenaline, the instinct of someone running for his life — a gazelle fleeing a lion.

Still, the strap of his shoulder bag digs into him, heavier than ever, and the books inside are far too expensive to just toss aside.

Behind him, the pounding rhythm of Renji’s footsteps is already closing in.

He can feel the distance shrinking, but he doesn’t dare look back — partly because it would slow him down, costing him precious seconds or even making him stumble, but mostly because of the sheer terror of actually seeing him there.

Right behind him.

His eyes widen when he spots it — a small red warehouse marking the edge of the abandoned industrial zone.

Once I get past that, I’ll be safe. Even at this hour, there should still be enough people around to stop Renji from touching me. But... what did I even do to him? Why does he want to hurt me? There’s never been anything between us, except that thing with Miori — and that ended over a month ago. That’s too long to still be holding a grudge. Come on, Aoshi — just a little more! One last push and—

But before he can reach safety his legs are suddenly taken out from under him.

A bloodcurdling scream tears from Aoshi’s bloodied mouth as he slams violently onto the asphalt, his face and palms scraping harshly when Renji catches up and trips him from behind.

Carried forward by momentum, his body rolls across the pavement for several meters, his side grinding against the rough surface as his head hits the ground again and again — first the back, then his face.

Blood trickles from his nose and mouth, his lips split open from impact and friction, while sharp pain shoots through his right leg and shoulder.

Dazed, half-blinded from the blow to his head, Aoshi tries to get back up immediately — staggering, trembling, overwhelmed by pain, but a brutal kick from behind sends him crashing back down.

Renji’s heavy foot presses firmly against his back, pinning him in place.

"W-Why...? What did I ever do to you...?!" Aoshi gasps, choking on the blood filling his throat, his fists clenched with pain and anger.

"When you and Miori kissed right in the middle of the university courtyard... you did that on purpose to humiliate me in front of everyone, didn’t you?! It was so damn embarrassing — you have no idea what I had to listen to that day, forced to hear people comparing me to you. Some even said Miori dumped me because she was already with you while we were still together! I’ve never felt that pathetic in my entire life, you fucking exhibitionist!" Renji shouts, as another cry of pain bursts from Aoshi when a brutal kick slams into his side, crashing against his ribs, then another, and another.

Renji leans forward, driving his knee hard into Aoshi’s back as if trying to break his spine, a punch to the back of his head — then another — then an unrelenting barrage of blows, accompanied by furious shouts and insults, as if he were unloading all his pent-up rage onto Aoshi, a brutality far too excessive to be justified by the mere embarrassment of a kiss that happened more than a month and a half earlier, when Aoshi and Miori had only been together for two weeks.

Aoshi crosses his arms behind his head to protect himself, but it’s useless.

He screams, begs for help, cries — but no one hears him, no one except Renji. And the more Aoshi struggles and screams, the more ferocious Renji’s blows become — savage, merciless — his growls turning animalistic, his breathing heavy and uneven. Aoshi’s forearms, swollen and bruised from the repeated blows, look like they’re about to snap.

In the end, Renji stops only when he feels no more resistance — when Aoshi’s arms, once raised in defense, fall limp at his sides. Straightening up, Renji looms over Aoshi’s motionless body, staring down at him with anger and contempt, before turning and running away, leaving him sprawled across the dark asphalt, stained red.