Renegades: Battlegrounds.-Chapter 30: Teachers’ Warning

Mr. Tanaka removed his glasses and set them carefully on his desk. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and released a long, tired sigh. "I know about the cafeteria incident."

Ren tried to speak up. "Sensei, I... "

Mr. Tanaka raised one hand not in anger, but as a command to wait. "Let me finish. "

Ren fell silent.

Mr. Tanaka leaned against his desk, arms crossed, weary. He looked tired. Older than his forty-something years. Like he had seen this exact scenario play out too many times.

"The principal wants to expel you."

The words hit harder than Yuto’s fists had.

Expulsion. That would mean leaving Yugen. Going back to his mother. Abandoning any chance of finding out what happened to Kaito.

"Violence on school grounds. Disrupting the peace. Damaging school property. " Mr. Tanaka ticked off on his fingers. "He has grounds. More than enough to do that. "

Ren’s heart thudded.

"But Fujimoto Hasegawa intervened. " Mr. Tanaka continued, eyes unreadable. "He said it was self-defense. That Yuto Ishida instigated. That you were simply defending yourself when cornered. "

"Hasegawa’s word carries... weight. More than the principal’s. More than mine. More than most people." His gaze locked on Ren. "So you’re not expelled. Not yet. But you’re on thin ice. One more incident, one more fight, one more disruption... and even Hasegawa won’t save you. Understood? "

"Understood. " Ren said quietly.

Mr. Tanaka walked to the windows, hands clasped behind his back. Looking out at the courtyard below, he could see the students moving between buildings.

"I taught your brother, you know. " He said without turning.

Ren froze.

"Years ago, when I transferred here. He was in my homeroom class like you too now. "

He turned back to Ren. "Kaito was a good kid. Smart, kind, always helping others with their homework, volunteering for cleanup duty, defending students who were being bullied."

"He had this... light in his eyes. This optimism. Like he genuinely believed people could be better if you just gave them a chance. "

Mr. Tanaka’s smile faded. "Then he got involved with gangs. "

Ren’s hands clenched into fists.

"I watched him change. Slowly at first. Missing classes. Coming to school with bruises. Getting into fights. But the worst part wasn’t the violence. It was watching that light in his eyes... dim. "

"By the time Kaito left Sakura High, he was someone else entirely. The kind boy who helped with homework was gone. Replaced by someone harder. Colder. Someone who’d seen too much, done too much. "

"Don’t make his mistakes, Ryūhara. Whatever you’re looking for whatever answers you think you’ll find in that world they’re not worth losing yourself. "

Ren met his teacher’s eyes. "What if I don’t have a choice? "

Mr. Tanaka sighed. "We always have a choice. It’s just easier to pretend we don’t. Easier to tell ourselves we’re being forced, that circumstances are making our decisions for us. "

He returned to his desk and began organizing papers. "You can go. I hope you think about what I said. "

Ren stood up and grabbed his bag but at the door, he paused.

"Sensei... do you know what happened to my brother? "

Mr. Tanaka’s hands paused on the papers."No, I’m afraid I do not know. "

"But you must have heard things. Rumors. "

"Rumors are dangerous, Ryūhara. Especially in this town. "

Ren wouldn’t give up and pressed on. "Please. "

Mr. Tanaka finally looked up. "He was investigating something. Crimson Dragons. Something powerful people didn’t like. "

"And then he ended up in the coma. That’s all I know. That’s all anyone seems to know. "

Ren absorbed it, another piece of the puzzle.

REN: "Thank you, Sensei. "

He left the classroom and in the hallway, students rushed between classes. The morning bustle. Normal school life.

But Ren felt anything but normal.

"Kaito was investigating Crimson Dragons. "

"Found something that made powerful people feel nervous and he got attacked for it. "

"Two days and fifteen hours. I need answers before the deadline hits. " He finally concluded.