CHAPTER 48: THE EYES OF THE PREY
On one side of the campus, the completely exhausted boys of Class 2-A had finished their race and were dragging their feet toward the gym's main locker and shower rooms. The intense heat, exhaustion, and the scent of sweat still lingered heavily over the sports ground.
However, on the other side of the gym building, an entirely different, eerie silence blanketed a deserted, straight pathway.
Renjiro froze completely at the massive gym entrance. His hand, which had reached out to grab the heavy door handle, hung suspended in mid-air. His gaze was locked onto four boys walking down that isolated, straight path.
They didn't look like ordinary high school students. Their aura was so suffocatingly heavy that the very air around them felt hard to breathe.
First, Renjiro's eyes fell upon the short boy walking in the middle. He was around 5'7", and his physique was incredibly frail and weak. He had bright orange hair, styled in a messy shag-cut. One glance was enough to tell that he hadn't been physically injured yet—there wasn't a single scratch on his body—but internally, he was consumed by pure terror. The boy's entire body was trembling with fear, and his head hung low, as if every last ounce of his spirit had been completely crushed.
And the three boys walking around him... they were the true source of that terror.
The first boy, walking on the right, was 6'1" tall. His body was incredibly bulky and broad, built like an absolute 'Tank'. Even though he wasn't as heavy as Renjiro, his muscular build resembled that of a dangerous, hardened street brawler.
He had blonde hair cut in a sharp French crop style. His black school jacket was wide open, revealing an unbuttoned white shirt, and a gold chain hung from his trousers. He walked with a heavy, suffocating arrogance, as if his sheer physical size made everyone else beneath him.
The second boy was the tallest of them all, standing around 6'3". While his body was on the slender side, his face was deeply sleazy and unsettling. He had Matte Purple hair that was slightly long and messy. His facial structure was somewhat elongated like a weasel, and his eyes were unnervingly wide, fitted with creepy purple-and-black contact lenses. His jacket was also open, with a thin chain around his neck. He walked with his chin slightly raised, staring straight ahead with a disgusting, sneaky smirk permanently plastered on his face.
But it was the third boy who looked the most wild and terrifying. He was lean, but his physique was athletic and wiry-muscular. His carbon black hair was styled in an ultra-sharp fade cut.
His face looked like a horrifying hybrid between a dog and a monkey. His eyes were narrow and dangerous like a hunter's, and sharp fangs were clearly visible between his lips. Instead of a white shirt, he wore a dark purple t-shirt beneath his open school jacket.
This third, 'Dog-Monkey' faced boy had his heavy hand clamped tightly down on the frail, orange-haired boy's shoulder—exactly like a predator dragging its uninjured prey to the slaughter.
The monkey-faced boy delivered a harsh slap to the orange-haired boy's back and growled, "Walk straight... if you stumble even once, I'll break both your legs right here."
Hearing this, the purple-haired boy let out a disgusting, sleazy laugh. "Why are you so terrified, bug?
We aren't here to kill you... we're just going to 'play' with you for a while.
Save those tears, brat... you're going to need them a lot today...
Hahahahaha!"
The three bullies were walking with immense, blinded arrogance, staring straight ahead. Because of this, they completely failed to notice Renjiro standing by the gym doors.
But... the small, orange-haired boy, who was suffocating in fear with his head bowed, slightly tilted his trembling eyes.
His terrified gaze landed on Renjiro standing in the distance.
For a single, fleeting second, their eyes met.
There was no hope left in the orange-haired boy's eyes. There was only a bottomless abyss of fear and agonizing pain. It felt as though his eyes were desperately screaming, *"Please... save me..."*
Renjiro's heart began to pound violently against his ribs.
*Ba-dump. Ba-dump.*
Seeing the sheer terror in the orange-haired boy's eyes, Renjiro's mind was violently dragged back into the darkest depths of his trauma from Hakuho High.
He vividly remembered the times when his bullies used to grab him just like that, dragging him into the dark alleys while no one ever came to his rescue.
Renjiro was paralyzed. His breathing grew incredibly heavy, and his clenched fists began to shake uncontrollably.
"W-What is this...?" Renjiro whispered to himself, his voice quivering. "Hoshigawa High is supposed to be an elite school... how can bullying like this happen here?
Those three... they don't look human.
They look like actual monsters."
*"Where exactly are they taking this boy? Their intentions don't seem right at all,"* Renjiro thought, watching them push the boy further down the straight path.
*"That boy... his eyes are clearly begging me for help,"* Renjiro reasoned, a storm of panic and confusion raging in his mind.
*"He is just as terrified as I used to be.But what should I do?I don't know anything about this school. What the rules are, who these guys are... if I jump into this blindly, I'll just be inviting unnecessary trouble. And on top of that, it's almost time for the next class..."*
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. *"He looks like he is in massive trouble. His eyes are screaming for salvation. But... what can I possibly do?"*
Renjiro's entire body was trembling violently just from witnessing the terrifying aura radiating from those three.
Just then, the old trauma, the fear that had settled deep inside him after years of enduring abuse, began to seep poison into his mind.
*(The Voice of Trauma)*: *"What use are you, Renjiro? You have spent your entire life getting beaten to a pulp, and now you want to help a complete stranger? What exactly are you trying to prove? That you are some hero? If you take even one step toward them right now, there will be no bigger fool in this world than you. This world is incredibly cruel, Renjiro. No one helps anyone without a reason here."*
But immediately, his own Conscience screamed from within, refusing to tolerate this twisted logic.
*(Conscience)*: *"Stop feeding yourself this toxic comfort! If you turn your back and walk away today, remember this... there will be absolutely no difference between you and those cowardly bystanders who turned their faces away when you were being beaten! You know exactly how agonizing that loneliness feels! What did Principal Sir tell you? 'Never bow your head in fear of anyone's taunts.' A true warrior isn't someone who never feels fear... a true warrior is someone who moves forward despite being terrified!"*
The deafening roar of this psychological war completely shook Renjiro to his core. He tightly clamped both his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut.
**"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"** Renjiro screamed furiously inside his mind out of sheer frustration.
Absolute silence fell over his mind.
Renjiro opened his eyes. His old fear and trauma were screaming at him to stop, but this time, the Principal's voice overpowered his cowardice.
*"No..."* Renjiro said, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists tightly. *"I will not become a stain on my Grandfather's name. I will not become like those bystanders!"*
He took a forceful step forward to stop those monsters.
But just then...
"Arghhh! Damn it, my legs!"
An agonizing groan escaped Renjiro's lips.
Because of performing 300 continuous squats in the scorching sun, a horrific, paralyzing cramp suddenly shot through his thigh muscles. His exhausted 150 kg body couldn't withstand the sudden spike of agony, and he stumbled, collapsing to his knees right there on the ground.
He began to gasp for air. Trembling in pain, he pounded his fists against his legs, desperately trying to force himself up, but his legs had absolutely zero strength left to even support his weight. Muscle failure had completely locked his body down.
By the time Renjiro managed to painstakingly drag himself back up using the heavy door for support, it was too late. The four of them had turned the corner of the dark corridor and completely vanished from sight.
Renjiro slammed his fist against the heavy gym door in pure anger and helplessness.
"Damn it... my body... why isn't it working?!" he choked out, looking down at his trembling legs in misery. "It seems I really did do way too many squats... I can't do anything... my legs are hurting so badly, what do I do?!"
With a profound sense of guilt and a heavy heart, Renjiro pulled the gym door open and stepped inside.
As he dragged his heavy feet through the massive indoor facility toward the shower room, he relentlessly cursed himself. No matter how hard he tried to distract his mind, the uninjured yet terror-stricken face of that orange-haired boy kept flashing before his eyes.
He kept walking, searching, *"Where exactly is the shower room..."* but with every single step he took, his own physical helplessness and the boy's screaming eyes ate away at him from the inside.
Chapter End