Renegades: Battlegrounds.-Chapter 37: The Trap

April 10, 2005,

Day 3 of the 3-Day Deadline [Final Day]

Train Platform — Hanasakura Station,

6:47 PM.

Ren’s throat was dry from the two hours of karaoke.

Shiinchiro had insisted that they should go.

"Come on man, it’s Sunday! Last day of freedom before the school week!" Shiinichiro yelled over the phone.

Ren exhausted from yesterday’s Downtown expedition, didn’t have. the energy to refuse.

So they went... just the two of them because Hana had family obligations and Fubuki was visiting relatives.

Shiinchiro sung terribly with so much enthusiasm that you wouldn’t think he was a bad singer. Ren sat back mostly, slowly drinking his soda watching his friend butcher song after song with absolute confidence.

For a few hours, it felt normal.

Ren had forgotten about gang politics, about the deadline looming like a guillotine blade, about the choice he still hadn’t made but as he stood on the train platform, reality crashed back on him.

"Tomorrow... Tomorrow I have to give Hasegawa an answer. "

"Join Sakuratei or walk away. "

He checked his phone, a text from Shiinchiro, sent five minutes ago.

"Thanks for coming out! You are a great singer man."

Ren smiled despite himself and typed back "Liar but thanks.. see you tomorrow in school. "

Another message came through. "Big day tomorrow huh. "

Ren responded. "Yeah."

"Whatever you decide, I got your back."

Ren stared at that message for a long moment. "Whatever I decide...what am I going to decide? "

He pocketed his phone and leaned against a pillar.

The platform was relatively empty. It was a Sunday evening so it was to be expected.

Ren could see just a few salary workers heading home late, a couple arguing quietly, an elderly woman with shopping bags and Ren’s eyes caught on a figure at the far end of the platform.

Hooded.

Black jacket, hood pulled up despite the mild evening weather. Hands in pockets. Standing near the platform edge, lingering.

"Probably nothing. Lots of people wear hoodies. " Ren thought.

But something about the figure’s posture felt deliberate. Like they were trying to blend in but doing it too obviously.

The train announcement echoed through the station. "Train bound for Downtown arriving in two minutes. Please stand behind the yellow line."

Ren pushed off the pillar and walked toward where the train doors would open.

In his side vision, the hooded figure moved too. Closer to the tracks. Closer to where Ren stood.

"Coincidence. " Ren shook off the feeling.

The train arrived with its usual screech and whoosh of displaced air. Doors slid open. Ren boarded, took a seat by the window and atched the platform as other passengers boarded.

The hooded figure stepped into the same car.

Took a seat three rows back, facing Ren’s direction.

The doors closed and the train pulled away from the station. Ren kept his eyes on the window, but his attention was on the reflection. On the hooded figure behind him.

The figure didn’t move, didn’t check a phone, didn’t shift, didn’t look around. Just kept staring at him.

"Paranoid. I’m being paranoid. "

"Lots of people take this train everyday. "

But his hand drifted to his jacket pocket. To Aoi’s business card, which he had been carrying since yesterday.

He had meant to visit the café. Check in, maybe thank her again, see if she was okay after the park incident.

"After I get off. I’ll walk to the café. Clear my head before tomorrow. "

The train rattled through tunnels, the lights flickering.

Ren watched the reflection.

The hooded figure hadn’t moved. Hadn’t checked a phone, hadn’t looked around, hadn’t done anything a normal passenger would do.

Just sat there watching him patiently.

"Someone’s following me or I’m losing my mind. "

The train pulled into Hanasakura Station.

"Now arriving at Hanasakura Station. Please watch your step." The train announcement buzzed.

Ren stood and moved toward the doors. Behind him he heard subtle movement.

The hooded figure stood too.

The doors opened and Ren stepped onto the platform, turning left toward the exit stairs.

Behind him he heard footsteps, matching his pace.

"Okay I’m not paranoid. Someone is definetely following me. "

He kept walking normally, hands in his pockets and reached the stairs, climbing to street level.

At street level, the cool air hit him, carrying the scent of cherry blossoms and frying food from nearby restaurants.

Sakura Avenue stretched ahead, lined with shops and cafés. Ren turned right, heading towards where Kissaten Sakura should be according to the address on the card.

The footsteps continued behind him.

Not too close. Maybe twenty feet back but it was there.

"Who? "

"Crimson Dragons? No, I didn’t encounter any members yesterday. "

"Red Faction? Takeshi trying to pressure me? "

"Or..."

He thought of the Kotekai bikers from the lake and their leader’s threat. "We will remember your face. "

"It’s definitely them. " Ren’s jaw tightened. "Fine. Let’s see what they want. "

He took a deliberate turn down a narrower side street. Small shops closing for the night, metal shutters being closed down.

The footsteps behind him continued. Closer now and even more confident than before.

Ren picked up his pace slightly and the footsteps matched again.

He turned another corner into an even narrower alley. Service entrance for a restaurant, garbage bins lined against walls, dimly lit by a dying bulb.

Ren could hear his own breathing now. Could hear the footsteps behind him even more clearly.

"If they’re following me, they will have to commit now. "

"No crowds to hide in. No witnesses. "

The footsteps echoed into the alley behind him.

Ren kept walking but slower now, listening, calculating.

Behind him, the footsteps matched his pace then it stopped abruptly.

Ren stopped too and turned slowly.

The hooded figure stood twenty feet away, silhouetted against the alley entrance, a dark outline in the streetlight glow.

For a long moment, neither of them moved.

Just two figures in a narrow alley. Garbage bins and shadows between them.

Ren exhaled sharply. "Why are you following me?"

The figure didn’t respond immediately instead slowly, the figure raised a hand, pulled out a phone from his pocket and pressed it to their ear.

"What’s going on? "

"He’s in position." A muffled voice answered the call. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Ren’s blood turned to ice. "Position? "

"This is a setup...A trap. "

Behind him, the sound he had been dreading filled the air.

Engines... Multiple engines.

Growing louder.

Motorcycles.

"Shit. "