Early morning. Shirogane Miyuki rubbed his eyes and slowly woke up in bed.
He looked around blankly. He remembered reviewing for finals with Takamine Rinji the night before…
"How did I end up…"
"Rinji-nii saw you fall asleep, so he carried you to bed."
"Huh?"
Right—now he remembered. They'd stayed up late studying.
It had started as a usual review session. Miyuki wanted Rinji to go to bed first, but Rinji showed no signs of drowsiness. So naturally, Miyuki kept going too.
But in the end, he was the first to knock out, dozing off at the desk.
Now, he looked around and saw that he'd been changed into pajamas, and even had a blanket over him.
"You invited someone over to study, but in the end, Rinji-nii had to take care of you. You're more useless than I thought."
"Rinji-nii really is a gentle guy… Hey, Kei, don't look at me like I'm a bug."
Kei was giving him that classic "my brother's so pathetic" look.
"Hmph."
"Hey! I'm still an impressive guy, okay? Rinji used to be under my command in the student council!"
"I really don't get how Rinji-nii ever agreed to work under you."
"Because of my excellent leadership! …Wait, Kei." Shirogane squinted. "You've been oddly fond of Rinji-nii lately. Why?"
"Shut up and go die."
"..."
Used to his sister's behavior, Shirogane got up and walked to the living room. Their father was already at the dining table.
"Wow, breakfast is surprisingly fancy."
"Rinji made it. He got up early while someone was still snoring."
"Stop dissing me all the time… Wait, where is Rinji?"
Shirogane looked around the small room but didn't see him.
"He left after making breakfast," their father said. "Said he had to go to the hospital. Didn't say why."
"I see…"
---
Tokyo, Setagaya Ward – A Certain Hospital
Takamine Rinji entered the hospital and headed straight for the reception desk.
"Excuse me, could you tell me where Room 6 in the ICU is?"
"And you are?"
"I got a call to visit a patient today. Can you show me the way?"
"Of course."
Once she understood his purpose, the nurse led Rinji through the hospital.
As they walked, she chatted with him.
"The patient was brought in last night. Dislocated wrist, both tibias and proximal phalanges in his right hand completely fractured. And the worst part—his chest looked like it had been hit by a blunt weapon. His heart had already stopped by the time he arrived."
"He's still alive?"
"Surprisingly, yes. Tough guy. The specialists managed to revive him, and he woke up this morning… Honestly, who hits someone that hard?" She sounded genuinely concerned.
She'd been shocked when the ambulance arrived—she thought they were bringing in a corpse.
As they approached the single-occupant room, she whispered, "You're a high school student, right? Are you… friends with the patient?"
"Oh, not friends."
"Huh? Then why visit him?"
"I covered his medical bills. Just here to see how he's recovering—not here to collect."
"I see."
The nurse smiled warmly.
"This young man must be really kind."
"Of course." Rinji smiled. "After all, I'm the one who beat him up."
"..."
Her smile froze instantly. Rinji ignored her and opened the door.
The room was filled with medical equipment. The same scrawny middle-aged man from last night sat nearby.
But the bed was empty.
"Mr. Yamashita, you're the patient—"
"I'm pretty much healed."
A young man, around 180 cm tall with a strong build and mop-like hair, was doing stretches on the floor.
Rinji instantly recognized him—it was the guy he'd wrecked the night before.
"How are you feeling?"
"Almost fully recovered."
He didn't seem to hold a grudge at all. Standing up, he stared Rinji in the eyes with a toothy grin.
"Fight me again."
"Can't you go bother someone else?" Rinji's brow twitched.
Rinji stood 175 cm. This guy was 182. Rinji had to look up just to meet his eyes.
"Ahem…"
The small, sweaty middle-aged man walked over, nervously laughing. "If you guys must fight… not in the hospital, please."
He'd seen their clash last night firsthand. It was like two prehistoric beasts colliding. Even just standing nearby felt suffocating.
"Oh, Mr. Yamashita. Thanks again for last night."
Rinji lowered his gaze to look at him and shook his hand.
"Sorry I had to leave everything to you afterward."
"It's fine, really…"
After slamming the punk into a wall, Rinji had handed a check to Yamashita and asked him to send both injured guys to the hospital, leaving a contact number just in case.
"So what's the name of this punk?"
"Oh, he's—"
"Tokita Ohma. That's my name," the young man cut in.
"Tokita Ohma, huh… What a mouthful. Whatever."
Rinji looked at him and said, "You know, I could have killed you last night. But I'm generous with talent. I even paid for your treatment. If you pull this stunt again, I'll buy you a coffin."
"You're arrogant, kid."
"Geez, didn't learn your lesson, huh?"