Renegades: Battlegrounds.-Chapter 42: Emergency Services

Ren froze. The bat trembled in his hands.

The biker on the ground cowered, arms raised over his head. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Matsuno walked over to him. "It’s over. Let him go."

Ren’s fingers loosened. The bat slipped from his grip and clattered against the pavement. His knees buckled as the adrenaline finally drained away, vision blurring again.

Strong hands caught Ren before he hit the ground. "Easy," Matsuno said quietly. "You did good."

Around them, the alley was quiet. All fourteen Kotekai bikers were down—unconscious, groaning, or fleeing on their motorcycles, their engines roaring as they disappeared into the night.

The leader was the last to retreat, limping toward his bike, blood streaming from his nose and mouth.

"This isn’t over! You guys are crazy! You hear me?! CRAZY!" he shouted over his shoulder as he climbed onto his motorcycle.

He revved the engine and disappeared into the darkness.

Silence settled in his absence. Only the sounds of car alarms in the distant traffic, and someone crying softly.

Ren pulled away from Matsuno despite his body screaming. "Aoi... "

He half-crawled, half-stumbled to where she sat slumped against the café wall.

Her left arm hung at an unnatural angle. Broken. Blood matted her hair, streaming from a cut on her forehead. Her eyes were unfocused, dazed with shock.

But she was breathing. Conscious. Alive.

"I’m sorry," Ren said, collapsing beside her. His voice broke. "Aoi... I’m so sorry."

"It hurts," she whispered weakly. "My arm... I can’t... it won’t move..."

His hands shook as he tried to assess her injuries. Blood—too much blood but he couldn’t tell how much was hers and how much was his.

He forced himself to breathe. Think.

"Head wounds bleed a lot," he said, keeping his voice steady. "Don’t panic. Just apply pressure."

"I’ve got it," he added softly. "Don’t try to move. Just—"

He shrugged off his torn, bloody jacket and pressed it firmly against her forehead. "Hold this. Press down. Can you do that?"

Aoi’s hand rose, her fingers brushing the fabric but they trembled and fell back uselessly into her lap.

"It’s okay," He said quickly. "I’ve got it."

Ren held the jacket there himself, applying steady pressure. His other hand found her good arm, checked her pulse. It was Weak but steady.

He looked up at Matsuno. "We need an ambulance. Now."

A phone was already in his hand. "Already called. ETA three minutes."

Matsuno crouched beside them, checking Aoi’s pulse for himself.

"She’s breathing. Pulse is weak but steady. You did good keeping pressure on the wound."

Ren swallowed hard, his voice cracking. "This is my fault. They came after her because of me."

"No. " Matsuno’s reply came firm. "They came after her because they’re animals. Big difference."

Their eyes met.

"You protected her. Fought fourteen guys to keep her safe. That’s not fault. That’s courage."

Sirens began to wail in the distance. Red and blue lights flickered across the alley walls.

"Captain! Police and ambulance incoming!" Tatsuya yelled from the alley entrance.

"Everyone scatter. " Matsuno stood, issuing order. "Leave the evidence. No Sakuratei members here when they arrive."

"What about the kid?" Kenta asked.

Matsuno looked at Ren. "He’s a witness. He stays."

The three Third Division members melted into the shadows, disappearing as quickly as they’d appeared.

Matsuno lingered a moment longer. "When the cops ask, you fought them alone. Understand? Sakuratei wasn’t here."

Ren blinked, confused.."But—"

Matsuno cut him off. "Trust me. It’s better this way."

"Hasegawa will be in touch. You’ve got a lot to answer for."

He walked toward the darkness, then stopped and looked back.

"Welcome to Sakuratei, kid."

Then he was gone.

The ambulance screeched into the alley, followed immediately by two police cars.

Paramedics burst out, rushing toward Ren and Aoi with equipment and a stretcher.

"Jesus," one of them muttered, taking in the scene. "What in heaven’s happened here?"

"She’s hurt," Ren said, still pressing the jacket to her head. "Broken arm. Head injury. She needs—"

"Step back, son. Let us work."

Ren reluctantly moved away, still clutching the bloody jacket.

Reluctantly, he moved away, the bloody jacket still clutched in his hands, and watched as they took over. They checked her vitals, stabilized her neck with a collar. They began to splinter her arm, examining the head wound.

"Vitals stable but weak," one paramedic reported. "Probable concussion. Broken radius, clean break. Significant blood loss but controlled."

"We need to move. Now."

They’re loaded Aoi onto the stretcher with practiced efficiency.

As they wheeled her past, her eyes found his. "Thank you..." she whispered, barely audible.

Then the ambulance doors closed. The siren wailing as the ambulance pulled away.

Ren tried to follow but a police officer stepped into his path. "Son. We need to ask you some questions."

Ren’s legs gave out..He slid down the wall until he was sitting on the pavement.

"I need to go with her," he said weakly. "I need to make sure—"

"You’re not going anywhere until you explain what happened here."

The officer glanced around the alley.

Ren exhaled shakily. Too tired to lie. "Kotekai biker gang," he said. "They ambushed us. I fought them off. "

"Mutiple motorcycles. Blood everywhere. Unconscious men. Looks like a war zone." The officer’s eyes narrowed. "You. One kid. Fought fourteen bikers. Alone."

"...Yes."

"Do you take me for a... " The officer opened his mouth to push further—

"Officer. " A calm voice interrupted him.

The cop turned, hand instinctively drifting toward his weapon then he stopped.

White jackets emerged from the shadows. Cherry blossom emblems gleamed under the lights.

"Sakuratei," the officer said warily.

"The boy’s in shock. " Matsuno said, hands raised in a non-threatening gesture. "He can give his statement at the hospital."

"I wasn’t aware Sakuratei answered to Kotekai’s beck and call."

"We don’t. We protect Hanasakura District. That includes civilians being harassed by trash."

He met the officer’s gaze evenly. "He fought them alone. Kept that girl alive until we arrived. Then we made sure Kotekai understood they’re not welcome here."

The officer looked between Matsuno and Ren. Weighing his options then finally sighed. "Fine. Hospital first. But he doesn’t leave the city. We’ll be following up."

"He won’t."

The officer walked away, muttering into his radio.

Matsuno crouched beside Ren. "Can you walk?"

Ren tried but his ankle gave out immediately. "I—"

Matsuno caught him. "Guess not."

He pulled Ren’s arm over his shoulder, supporting his weight.

"Tatsuya. Get the car. We’re taking him to the hospital."

"On it, Captain."

As they moved, Ren finally asked, voice thin, "How did you know? How did you find us in time?"

"Hasegawa’s had you watched," came the answer. "Standard protocol during the three-day recruitment period."

"When our guy saw fourteen Kotekai bikers tailing you, he called it in. We mobilized."

"So... he knew I was in danger."

"Kid," he said quietly, "Hasegawa knows everything that happens in Hanasakura. Remember that."

A black sedan pulled up with Tatsuya at the wheel.

Ren was eased into the back seat, and the door closed beside him as Matsuno climbed in.

As the car pulled away, Ren looked back at the alley—blood on the pavement, abandoned motorcycles, police lights flashing.

"Aoi’s hurt because of me. I couldn’t protect her. I failed. "

His vision blurred not from pain this time, but from tears he could no longer hold back.

Matsuno said nothing. Just handed him a towel.

The car drove through the night, toward the hospital, toward consequences Ren couldn’t yet imagine.