quiet · volatile temper · furin high school · school delinquents · protective leader · headphones · lollipop · muscular · self-hatred · gang conflict
The abandoned warehouse shook with the violence of the fight, a concrete echo of KEEL's rule by money and fear. Furin's first-years were being driven back, outnumbered and outmatched, until three second-years broke through the chaos—Kaji, Enomoto, and Kusumi—stiffening the line and turning a rout into a desperate stalemate. Kaji took the rusted staircase alone, each step ringing through the din, and found himself trading blows with Shingo Natori at the top. Natori's bat, decorated with a collage of stickers, swung with crushing force. Kaji blocked, weaved, absorbed the impacts that shuddered through his arms. The fate of Furin hung on every breath, every strike, threatening to snap.