CHAPTER 28: A POINTLESS GRUDGE

«Hey, where are you rushing off to, Aoshi Toya?» Renji hisses as he steps out from one of the narrow side streets cutting across Aoshi’s path.

«I-I’m just heading home. I’ve been spending more time than usual at the university lately because of an important exam, and I’d like to get back before it gets dark,» Aoshi replies, forcing himself to hide the unease that Renji’s presence stirs in him.

«Aren’t you a little too old to be afraid of the dark?» Renji sneers, moving toward him with slow, heavy steps. Aoshi instinctively backs away, his trembling feet retreating with every step Renji takes forward.

«W-What do you want from me?» Aoshi stammers, trying to sound braver than he feels. But that pitiful attempt only makes Renji burst into a long, sinister laugh.

«I just want to have a little chat, that’s all. After all, we’ve got a lot in common, don’t we? We’re both Miori’s exes — and both of us got dumped by her. Of course, you were tossed aside like a fruit squeezed dry, while I was dumped because she caught me having fun with girls just as hot as she is — maybe even hotter. I only got back together with her after seeing how low she’d fallen, thinking she could make me jealous. It’s been over a month since then, and we’ve never even had a proper talk about it. Well... better late than never,» Renji says with a shrug.

Despite those seemingly reassuring words, Aoshi is anything but calm — his legs are shaking as if electric stimulators were strapped to them. His breathing is shallow, almost held back, making no sound at all, like a victim trying to hide from a serial killer who’s broken into his house in the middle of the night.

W-Why is Renji saying all this to me? If he really just wanted to talk, he could’ve done it back at the university — there was no need to ambush me in a deserted place like this. Not to mention that frustrated, twitching look on his face... it doesn’t bode well at all. No way I’m staying here with him — I need to run!

Aoshi’s legs suddenly stop trembling — now they’re stiff, every muscle tensed like those of a runner just before the starting signal. He takes a deep breath and... go!

«You little bastard, where the hell do you think you’re running?!» Renji shouts, immediately throwing himself after Aoshi.

Renji is taller, his legs longer and more trained, his stride far wider than Aoshi’s — and yet, Aoshi manages to pull ahead in that first explosive sprint. Renji may have better shape, but Aoshi is driven by the raw adrenaline of someone fleeing for his life, like a gazelle running from a lion. Still, his shoulder bag now feels heavier than ever, and the textbooks inside are far too expensive for his poor pockets to just toss aside and replace.

Aoshi can feel the weight of Renji’s fast, heavy footsteps pounding right behind him. He can sense him closing in, but he doesn’t dare look back — partly because turning around would slow him down and cost him precious seconds, maybe even make him trip, but mostly because of the sheer terror of actually seeing Renji right there, breathing down his neck. In a situation like this, Aoshi would much rather not know than face that cruel reality.

His eyes light up the moment he spots the small red warehouse that marks the edge of the old abandoned industrial area.

Once I get past that, I’ll finally be safe. Even at this hour, there should still be enough people around to stop Renji from laying a hand on me. But still... what did I ever do to him? Why would he want to hurt me? We never had any bad blood between us, aside from Miori — and that was over a month ago. That’s way too long to still hold a grudge. Come on, Aoshi — just a little more! One last push, and—

A piercing scream of pain bursts from Aoshi’s bloody mouth — his face and palms torn open by the violent impact with the asphalt after Renji trips him from behind, having finally caught up.

Aoshi’s body, carried forward by momentum, crashes and rolls several more meters across the ground, scraping his side and slamming his head again and again against the pavement — the back of his skull first, then his face. A stream of blood gushes from his nose and mouth, his lips split open and bleeding from the friction and impact, and a sharp pain shoots through his right leg and shoulder from the fall.

Dazed and half-blinded by the blow to his head, Aoshi immediately tries to get back on his feet — staggering, trembling, in agony — but a sudden stomp from behind slams him back down. Renji’s heavy foot presses hard against his back, pinning him to the ground.

«W-Why...? What did I ever do to you...?!» Aoshi gasps, choking on the blood filling his throat, his fists clenching tight from pain and rage.

«That time you and Miori kissed right in the middle of the university courtyard... you did it just to humiliate me in front of everyone, didn’t you?! It was so damn embarrassing — you have no idea what my ears had to endure that day, forced to listen to people comparing you and me. Some even went as far as to suggest Miori dumped me because she was already fooling around with you while we were still together! I’ve never felt so pathetic in my entire life, you fucking show-off!» Renji shouts, followed by another scream of pain from Aoshi as Renji drives a vicious kick into his side, smashing into his ribs. Then another kick. And another.

Renji bends forward, slamming his knee down hard on Aoshi’s back, as if trying to crush his spine. A punch to the back of the head — then a second — then a relentless flurry of blows, accompanied by furious screams and insults. It’s as if he’s unloading all his pent-up rage onto Aoshi, a fury far too brutal to be justified by the mere humiliation of a kiss that happened over a month and a half ago, back when Aoshi and Miori had been dating for barely two weeks.

Aoshi crosses his arms behind his head to shield himself from the barrage, but it’s useless. He screams, begs for help, cries — but no one hears him, no one except Renji. And the more Aoshi cries out and thrashes around, the harder Renji’s punches become — savage, merciless — his growls turning feral, his breath heavy and wild like that of a beast. Aoshi’s forearms, swollen and bruised purple from countless hits, look as if they’re about to snap.

Finally, Renji stops only when he feels no more resistance — when Aoshi’s arms, once raised to protect himself, fall limply to his sides. Straightening up, Renji towers over Aoshi’s motionless body, glaring down at him with rage and contempt, before bolting away, leaving Aoshi lying on a dark, blood-red carpet of asphalt.