Gun's Sister

Chapter-2 Ren..

Years have passed, and soon I turned twelve, Yamazaki Kei-that's the name bestowed upon me. I grew up under the traditional rules of the Yamazaki clan, an experience that, truth be told, is exhausting.

My father, Yamazaki Shintaro, is a strict rule-enforcer, a stickler for tradition, though that didn't mean I was ignored or unloved. In fact, being the only girl born in the clan after a decade made me the center of attention. As long as I didn't do anything too extreme, my mistakes were usually forgiven.

The sliding door opened, and a gentle voice called, "You're going to be late again." My older brother, Yamazaki Haruto stood there with a small smile.

I sighed. "I know," I mumbled, hurrying to pack my school bag.

He stepped inside, quietly helping me.

"Thanks, Haruto-nii," I said, finally ready. "I'll get going now. Bye!" I grabbed my skateboard and dashed out, only to skid to a stop and run back.

Haruto-nii tilted his head. "What happened?"

I grinned, jumping up to kiss his cheek and waved goodbye. Just as I turned to leave, I thought I heard a small chuckle behind me, but I didn't have time to look back-I was already running late.

Once I reached the gate of the Yamazaki estate, I put my skateboard down and hopped on, gliding along the side of the road. I had one earbud in so I could still hear traffic from the other side.

As I approached the crosswalk, I saw the light turn red for the cars, but I stopped when I noticed an old man nearby, looking troubled.

I stepped off my skateboard, tucking it under my arm, and approached him. "Is something wrong, Ojiisan? Do you need help crossing the road?" He nodded with a worried expression, and his vision seemed weak.

Taking his hand, I guided him across the road. The light turned green for cars as we were halfway across, but I held up my hand, signaling the cars to wait. Luckily, they did, and as soon as we reached the other side, the cars began to move again.

The old man thanked me, and I smiled. "No problem, Ojiisan. Take care!"

I set my skateboard down and skated off toward school, realizing just how late I was. I made it to the gates just as they were about to close, dashing through in time. I collapsed on the ground, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Phew... made it in time."

A shadow loomed over me, and I looked up to see Ren, one of my classmates, staring down with a clearly unimpressed expression.

"This doesn't count as 'in time,' you know," he said.

I shrugged. "I made it before the gate closed, so it counts. I'm perfectly on time, Ren."

He shook his head, clearly exasperated. "If you say so..."

Ren rolled his eyes and offered a hand to help me up. I grabbed it, dusting myself off with a grin.

The bell rang as we entered, and I was just about to make a dash for my classroom, as I walked into the classroom, I glanced at my seat only to find a girl sitting there,with a lazy look, casually I said, "You know, that's my seat."

The girl's face drained of color as she looked up at me. She scrambled to her feet, bowing repeatedly, her voice trembling as she mumbled apologies before practically running out of my way. I sighed, took my seat and leaned back, lost in thought.

It isn't the first time this has happened. In fact, it is all too common now for me. Being part of the Yamazaki clan came with a reputation-a reputation that people either respected or feared. The Yamazaki clan wasn't just a family; it was one of the oldest yakuza families in the area.

The clan's influence and power spread far and wide, and because of that, everyone is scared of me because of my last name.It is quite frustrating at times but that doesn't I completely hate being from Yakuza family it's quite interesting to see people being scared of me but..

Sure, it got people to leave me alone, but it also meant I didn't really have any friends. Well, except for Ren. Ren was the only one who didn't flinch around me, who wasn't scared off by my family's reputation. In fact, he seemed to be the one person capable of scaring me.

There was something about Ren-a strange, almost intimidating energy. He had the vibe of a strict, no-nonsense parent, that "Asian mom" energy, despite being our age.

And, ironically enough, he wasn't even related to any family by blood. Ren is an orphan. He is being sponsored by one of the families working for the Yamazaki clan, a "charity case" as some people called it

Even though he was the quiet, nerdy type and not particularly strong, he always managed to keep me in line with his calm, persistent scolding.

___

During lunch break, Kei set out to find Ren, wandering the halls until she spotted him near the senior class. She slowed down, her eyes narrowing as she took in the scene: Ren was on the ground, his books scattered around him, while a group of seniors stood over him, sneering.

Ren, however, didn't seem intimidated. If anything, he looked mildly annoyed, as if these idiots were more of an inconvenience than a threat. With a sigh, he began picking up his books, ignoring their taunts.

One of the seniors sneered, "So, think you're better than us just because you hang around with that Yamazaki girl?"

"Or are you hiding behind her to cover up how pathetic you are?" another added, smirking.

Ren barely reacted, continuing to collect his things as though they weren't even worth a response.

Kei's eyes flashed. Before she knew it, she strode up and delivered a solid kick to one of the seniors, sending him stumbling forward. He yelped, clutching his backside as he glared over his shoulder.

The other two turned, surprise quickly replaced by irritation-until they saw who had kicked him. Kei stood there, looking at them as though they were nothing more than dirt on her shoe.

"No one gets to trash-talk about my people," she said coolly, her gaze unflinching.

One of the seniors took a threatening step forward, clearly prepared to retaliate, but the third one quickly stopped him, whispering urgently in his ear. Kei saw the flicker of recognition and fear pass over his face.

They tried to keep their tough front, muttering something under their breath, but it wasn't long before all three of them hurried off, casting wary glances back at her.

Kei watched them go, then turned to Ren, who had finished gathering his books with an exasperated look on his face.

"You didn't need to step in, you know," he muttered, dusting off his uniform.

Kei shrugged. "Yeah, but it was more satisfying this way" Kei crossed her arms, giving Ren an exasperated look.

"You know, you yell your lungs out at me all the time, but you go completely quiet in front of idiots like that?"

Ren shot her a glare, tucking his books under his arm. "There's no point wasting my energy on people who aren't worth it."

Kei rolled her eyes. "Oh, so I'm the one worth yelling at?"

Ren's mouth twitched with the hint of a smile. "Consider it my way of showing you care."

She scoffed and headed back to class. Kei nudged him with a smirk, a playful gleam in her eyes. "Got a crush on me or what?"

Ren shot her a disgusted look, then slapped his palm against her face, shoving her away gently. "My taste hasn't gotten that bad."

She burst out laughing, swatting his hand away. "Ouch. I'm hurt, Ren. Truly."

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head as they continued down the hall. "Trust me, the last thing I need is to inflate your ego any more than it already is."

Kei grinned, falling into step beside him. "You're lucky, I let you hang out with me"

He huffed. "Yeah, lucky me..."