"...Or I can throw you off it."
The bus had gone completely still.
Shido quickly regained his calm, his smile returned to his face.
"...I'm afraid I can't do that."
Before Ren could reply, someone from behind him spoke.
"Man, shut the hell up!"
Glancing behind his shoulder, Ren saw a blonde-haired delinquent cracking his knuckles.
Slowly stepping towards him.
"You think you can just boss everyone around?" he sneered. "We just got out of hell, and now you're acting all high and mighty."
Ren now slightly turned towards him, but not fully facing him.
The delinquent stepped even closer.
Ren could smell his horrible breath from how close he was.
"I'm not about to be your little bitch and take orders from a fucking loser like you!" he yelled. "So just shut the fuck up!"
The delinquent swung a straight right.
It was fast, but Ren was ready.
He stepped in and ducked low, the straight right passed over Ren's shoulder.
Ren's right hand shot up and clutched the delinquent's face.
At the same time, he slid his right foot behind the delinquent's legs.
Ren used the guys own momentum against him, shoving him off balance.
Ren pushed down hard with his right hand, sending the delinquent headfirst to the bus floor.
A loud, weird crunching noise filled the bus as the delinquent's head bounced off the bus floor.
Everyone stared in shock.
But surprisingly to Ren, the delinquent wasn't unconscious from the blow.
This guy is tougher than I thought.
Ren didn't hesitate.
He stomped on the delinquent's face.
Once...Twice...Three times.
The delinquent lay'd on the bus floor, his eyes rolled behind his head, his nose completely bloody and broken.
The bus fell silent once again.
No one moved or said anything.
Not until Shido stepped forward.
His calm expression from earlier wavering.
He still tried to take control.
"This is exactly what I mean...violence without restraint isn't leadership," he said. "This is exactly the kind of behavior that will get everyone killed."
Ren just stared at the neatly combed hair man.
Did he not just see him stomp on this guys head?
And he's still talking in his fuck ass speeches?
With no warning...Ren moved.
He was in front of Shido in seconds.
Ren grabbed his collar and shoved him hard into the side of the seats.
Shido's breath caught as the metal frame dug into his ribs.
Ren didn't say anything as flashbacks of Shido shoving that student into his death played in his mind.
Shido quickly tried to straighten up.
"W-Wait-"
Ren didn't care for what this piece of shit had to say.
A straight right fist made contact with Shido's face.
His glasses broke immediately on contact.
Ren didn't stop.
A left jab...another straight...finally a left hook to the body dropped Shido.
Ren stood over him as Shido curled into a ball.
Ren looked up...meeting the eyes of the beautiful school nurse.
"Shizuka, open the doors," Ren said calmly.
He grabbed Shido by the collar, dragging him towards the now opened doors.
In one swift swing, Ren threw Shido off the bus.
He wasn't the only one.
As soon as Shido realised he hit concrete.
Something heavy was thrown on top of him.
It was the delinquent Ren previously stomped out.
Back inside the bus, Ren stood in front of the school students.
"…Anyone who wants to follow him," he said flatly, jerking his head slightly toward the downed Shido, "Get off."
Most said nothing as some stared in shock, while some avoided eye contact.
Ren continued.
"But if you stay...you listen to me."
At those words, students stood from their seats.
They made their way to the doors, each deciding to follow Shido.
Looking out at all the students who decided to follow that crazy fuck, Ren shook his head as he looked back into the seats.
Three students still remained seated.
A boy sat near the middle row, hands clenched tightly against his knees, jaw set like he was forcing himself not to shake.
A bit behind him, a black haired girl with sharp eyes sat back in her seat, arms loosely crossed, watching everything…just observing.
Next to her, another girl sat stiffly, with brownish hair, her fingers gripping the edge of her skirt, clearly terrified but still there.
Ren walked towards them.
Before he even reached them, the boy spoke.
"…I'm not going with him," he said, voice tight, but steady enough.
The black haired girl spoke right after him.
"We saw what happened," she said. "Back at the school and just now."
Ren understood immediately, these three weren't fooled by that fuckers bullshit.
"He wasn't trying to help anyone," she finished.
Ren looked at three, his expression lightening as a smile appeared on his face.
"Ren...Ren Suzuki."
A moment of awkward silence came over them before they realised.
"…Ryuji," the boy added, like he realized he should say it. "Ryuji Aizawa."
Ren looked at him for a second before turning to the girl next to him.
She didn't hesitate.
"Miyu Kanzaki," she said, voice calm.
His eyes moved to the last girl.
She flinched slightly when he looked at her.
Then forced herself to speak.
"…Hina," she said softly. "…Hina Sakamoto."
Ren looked at the three of them.
"Nice to meet you," he said before turning away and moving back to the front.
The three sat there for a second.
Then Ryuji let out a quiet breath.
"…Guess we're doing this," he muttered.
Miyu didn't take her eyes off Ren.
"…Yeah," she said quietly.
Hina nodded, still nervous as she looked at Ren's back.
At the front of the bus, Ren locked eyes with the beautiful school nurse, Shizuka.
"R-Ren...Can I come with you?"
Ren stared at her for a second.
"Of course,'' he said. "Why would I kick out the only person who knows how to drive?"
Of course, Ren wouldn't mention his driving experience from his previous life.
Shizuka stared at him.
Then let out a shaky laugh, some of the tension finally breaking.
"O-Oh… right…"
She nodded quickly, gripping the wheel again.
"R-Right! I'll do my best!"
The bus's engine roared as they moved.
Leaving the countless students and teacher out in the dark, cold world.
Ren sat at the closest seat next to Shizuka, behind him thye other three moved closer to the front.
Ryuji leaned forward slightly. "…So we're really just leaving them?"
Ren didn't even turn around.
"They made their choice," he said. "They're not our problem anymore."
Hina hugged her arms slightly, still tense.
"…Are we going to be okay?"
Ren glanced back at her.
"You'll be fine."
Hina froze for a second...then simply nodded.
At the wheel, Shizuka spoke again, a little more confident now.
"…Where are we going?"
"We have to meet up with the others," Ren said. "Saeko said Takashi and Rei were heading to the shopping district."
"So that's where we're going as well," he said.
Ren paused for a second before he continued.
"And try not to crash," Ren added.
Shizuka puffed her cheeks slightly. "H-Hey! I won't!"
Ren let out a quiet breath that almost sounded like a laugh.
"Good."
Ren closed his eyes, letting time pass by.
In his head, he looked at a blue screen.
[Leon Synchronization]
[STATUS]
Synchronization: 13%
Points Available: 312
It had been so long since his little killing spree in the school that he almost forgot about his points.
"Convert."
[CONFIRM CONVERSION?]Yes / No
"Yeah."
The screen pulsed.
[POINTS CONVERTED]
Synchronization: 13% → 19%
Congratulations
[SYNC THRESHOLD REACHED]
15% Has been reached.
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: COMBAT FLOW]
Outside of his mindscape, Ren's fingers twitched.
His breathing steadied on its own.
His posture shifted just enough to feel more balanced, like his body had quietly corrected itself.
Ren flexed his hand once, then let it relax.
"…Huh."
A faint smirk pulled at his lips.
"That's kinda nice."
[PASSIVE EFFECT: REDUCED ACTION DELAY]
[PASSIVE EFFECT: IMPROVED TRANSITION BETWEEN MOVEMENTS]
The screen quickly disappeared.
Everything was going black as he was left with his thoughts.
It wasn't long before something pulled him back to reality.
"Is- Is that a crash?"
Shizuka's words made Ren quickly regain focus.
Ren's eyes snapped open as he looked ahead.
The headlights of the bus clearly shone on a mess of wreckage.
Cars were flipped over and sideways over each other, with debris scattered across the vehicles.
Ren leaned forward, looking at the massive wreck, he noticed...it wasn't natural.
This wreck didn't happen naturally, something caused it...or purposely made it.
Shizuka started to slow the bus down.
"…Don't slow down," Ren said.
But Shizuka already had.
"…I-I can't go through that!"
She was right.
There wasn't enough space.
Before he could say anything.
Multiple headlights flared behind them.
Two large vehicles crashed into the bus from behind.
Ryuji shot up from his seat. "What the hell was that?!"
Hina's voice dropped to a panicked whisper. "...Ren!"
Miyu didn't move as she saw multiple shadows moving around outside in the dark.
"This wasn't random," she said quietly.
Ren was silent as he looked around into the darkness.
Finally, he spoke.
"It's an ambush."
.....
End of Chapter 8