Chapter 57: The Weight of a Promise
Inside the Kimo residence, the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. Mina looked at her father, her eyes pleading. "Dad... please."
Kimo sighed, his hand hovering over the tablet screen as he turned off the brutal footage from the school. "Don't worry about it, Mina. Just rest. He is my student... I will handle this."
He turned to leave, his face a mask of professional coldness, but Mina's voice stopped him at the door. "He broke the rules, didn't he? Because of me?"
"He did," Kimo replied without looking back. "And in our world, breaking the rules comes with a heavy price. He will be punished."
"Promise me!" Mina shouted, her voice trembling. Kimo stopped in his tracks. "Promise me you won't kill him. Promise me you won't break him, Dad. He saved my life when no one else would. You owe him that much."
Kimo's expression shifted, a flicker of genuine conflict crossing his features. He didn't give her a verbal answer, but the way his shoulders slumped for a fraction of a second told Mina everything she needed to know. He was a father first, but a Sensei always.
The Principal's Office: Present Time
The air in the office smelled of copper and ozone. Ren stood in the center of the room, his head slightly bowed. Dark, crimson blood—the teacher's blood—dripped slowly from his knuckles, staining the expensive carpet. The Principal was huddled on the floor, cradling his semi-conscious wife, his face twisted in a mask of fear and fury.
Kimo stood directly in front of Ren. The silence was deafening. Kimo looked into Ren's eyes, searching for a sign of remorse, but Ren kept his gaze fixed on the floor, his breathing heavy and ragged.
"What have you done, Ren?" Kimo's voice was a low, dangerous rumble.
Ren didn't answer. He didn't even flinch.
CRACK!
Kimo swung his hand in a brutal arc. The slap was so powerful that it sent Ren's head snapping to the side. A spray of blood erupted from Ren's mouth, painting his cheek red. Yet, Ren didn't fall. He didn't groan. He simply straightened his neck and stood back in his original position, his expression stoic and unmoving.
"That's right! Hit him again!" the Principal screamed from the floor. "Look at what he did to my wife! Beat him until he can't walk! He's a monster!"
Kimo raised his hand again, his muscles tensed for another strike. Ren closed his eyes, bracing for the impact, expecting the bone-breaking force of a Vane Master's strike.
But the blow never came.
Instead, Ren felt the cold, heavy click of metal around his wrists. He opened his eyes to see Kimo snapping a pair of high-grade Vaner handcuffs onto him.
"Enough," Kimo said, his voice cutting through the Principal's hysterics.
Kimo grabbed Ren by the arm, his grip like iron. He led him out of the ruined office, past the terrified students and the saluting guards who watched in stunned silence. They walked out of the school gates and toward the parking lot where Kimo's signature car sat—a Black Ford V8, a sleek, two-door beast of a machine.
Kimo opened the passenger door. "Get in."
Ren slid into the leather seat, the metallic clink of his handcuffs the only sound in the car. Kimo walked around to the driver's side, his movements sharp and deliberate. He got in, gripped the steering wheel, and turned the key. The V8 engine roared to life with a deep, predatory growl.
As they pulled out of the school lot, the atmosphere inside the car was suffocating. Ren stared out the window, the city blurring past, knowing that his life as a normal student was officially over.