Silence swallowed the room. It was heavy, suffocating and thick enough that even Ren's weak breathing sound seemed too loud against it.
Hasegawa set the apple down on the bedside table beside him. "You came here looking for me because of him… didn't you?"
Ren's hand moved again to the jacket pocket, gripping the paper through the fabric. "He told me to find you... before..."
"Before the Crimson Dragons put him in a coma. " Hasegawa said, his jaw tightening.
Ren's eyes snapped up, fire igniting in him. "You know. You know what happened to him!. "
"I know what the streets are saying. " Hasegawa replied looking at the window. "Crimson Dragons. Ambush. Knives. "
He took a sudden pause and then continued speaking. "I know Kaito Ryūhara doesn't quit. He doesn't run. He doesn't back down. "
Bitterness rippled through his voice. "I know his pride got him killed. "
"He's not dead. " Ren snapped angrily.
"He's not alive either. " Hasegawa said bluntly.
