Downtown District,
9:42 AM.
The noise hit Ren first.
Downtown was loud in a way Hanasakura never was. Pachinko machines blasting metallic melodies, karaoke ads shouting from mounted speakers, engines revving, people yelling to be heard over everything else.
Neon signs covered every building, battling daylight. Casinos, host clubs, arcades, bars, shops with names painted in red and gold. The air smelled of street food, cigarette smoke, and something indefinably wrong.
"Crimson Dragons territory."
Even the students looked different here. Black gakuran uniforms with red trim.Red accessories. Red armbands.
Ren saw clusters of Hanami Academy teens lounging on sidewalks, shoving each other, smoking openly, laughing too hard.
Ren kept his head down as he passed a group lounging outside an arcade.
"I'm telling you. The Mad Dog would get destroyed if he came here!" One with a mohawk shouted at the top of his voice. "That Ryūhara kid is nothing special."
