"That's Kaito's little brother," the scarred guy announced, his voice cutting through the heavy silence like a blade.
He walked forward with easy confidence, each step deliberate, measured. "The one Hasegawa recruited last night."
The words hit the room like a stone thrown into still water.
Murmurs rippled outward, voices overlapping, rising and falling in waves of speculation and disbelief.
"*That's him?"
"Doesn't look like much..."
"Did you see him break the damn door?"
"Wait... Has Hasegawa actually recruited him?"
"What was he thinking?"
"Kaito's brother? For real?"
"I heard he fought Yuto and won—"
"Bullshit. Nobody beats Yuto on their first day—"
The scarred guy stopped just a few feet away from Ren, close enough that Ren could see the details of that jagged scar cutting across his collarbone. Close enough to feel the weight of his assessment.
