They had been travelling together for so long in the barren world that soon, their feet had begun to tire and give out. The weather too had begun to dampen their abilities to go further that the two kids ran to the closest place they could to take shelter.
And that is how the two kids had found themselves inside a mucky school in the midst of the rain. Dusts were clumped all around the school. Chairs and desk of each classroom were moved from their lines; some even toppled over or broken. The offices of the teachers, too, had suffered from time — chairs and desks broken and papers that once belonged to the teachers' students were dissipating by the water dripping from the ceiling. One could barely make out the ink left behind by the students' writings and the teachers' gradings.
Seto and Ren had went to the kitchen in hopes that they would find any remaining food left behind. The two checked in the fridge, only to find rank, molding food that made the two quickly shut the door of the fridge. They went to check in the storage room, and soon, they had found some cans of baked beans and a couple bottles of water. With a happy sigh of relief, the two quickly placed what they could into Seto's bag before exiting out of the kitchen.
The two then went to the nurse's office to check for any possible medicine or first aid kits they may need, but there was nothing that Ren needed. It only made Seto worry more when Ren had begun to cough harshly. Immediately, the maroon haired boy gestured that Ren should rest and warm up under the covers of the bed provided by the nurses' office. Then, the two decided to stay in the nurses' office, both sitting on the bed and eating one of the cans of baked beans they had gotten from the kitchen.
As they eat, Seto lets out a sigh and closes his eyes.
"Seto?" Ren tilts her head in concern.
Seto forces a smile on his face, "Yeah, Ren?"
Ren remains silent at first before leaning toward the boy's face. The boy awkwardly shuffles back.
"You're not okay." Ren pouts, eyes slowly looking down.
"What? No! I'm… really okay," Seto chuckles lightly, putting down the can of beans. "I'm just really concerned about you. We haven't found any medicine in a while and…that means you… you might —" Seto gulps and bites his gum to fight the tears starting to flow, looking away from the silver haired girl.
Ren's cold, pale hand glosses over Seto's before she holds it gently with both of her hands.
"I'll be okay, Seto. I'm not afraid if that happens. Okay?" Ren smiles, eyes looking at Seto. Seto's eyes look up to meet Ren's lilac eyes, giving a weak smile back before nodding, but when Seto turned away again and slowly took his hand back, Ren could not help but still worry about the boy's emotional state. She places a finger to her lips in wonder.
Then she claps, disturbing Seto in his thoughts.
"R-Ren? What are you —"
"Piano."
"A what?"
Immediately Ren grabs the boy's hand once again as before, with a big grin she continues, "I saw a sign that said band room. Have you been to one?"
Seto shakes his head in surprised. Ren's grin grew bigger. The frail girl gets off the bed and pulls Seto off of his.
"Then we have to go see it!"
"W-Wait, don't you need to rest?" Seto frets.
Ren shakes her head, walking both of them towards the exit, "No, I'm fine now."
Seto frowns, "I don't think I can believe that."
Ren pouts, "It will be really quick. I promise."
"You promise? Then you'll go to sleep, right?" Seto prompts.
"Yep! I promise!" The silver haired girl places her free hand over her chest and nods. Then, with the same hand, she points outward into the dark hallway. "Then let's go."
Seto pauses, questioning at the girl's mysterious amount of energy, then nods and lets the girl lead them into the hallway.
Seto had to lend the flashlight over to Ren so she can continue leading them. The rain hits harshly against the window — or whatever's left of some of the window panes — and the wooden floor they walk on; their steps almost faded out by the rain. The air was growing more humid as they continued (to Seto) almost aimlessly, and there the air permeated with the scent of the damp soil from outside mixed with the rotting wood smell being given off by the school alone. Seto could not figure if the smell was something he enjoyed or was it making his head hurt. Either way, he saw that the scent did not bother Ren one bit. The girl seems so determined — even despite leading them down many dead ends.
"Are you sure you saw a band room, Ren?" Seto starts, slipping his hand away from Ren's grip, but Ren is quick to grab it again. She looks back at Seto, still walking onward.
"Yes, I did. I feel like we're close," The girl points the flashlight up and scans the signs above their heads. She mutters, "Something… science. W..Workout. M..Mus...ic. Music!"
"Music?"
"Songs, Seto! This is the band room!" Ren circles the beam of light around one sign. Seto squints to look at the sign to read it for himself. It really does say band room. He thinks. He is not that great at reading.
"Then, let's go inside," Seto suggests.
"Yes, let's go!" Ren lets go of Seto's hand and skips toward the door of the band room, pushing the door open. The door resists against her efforts. Ren stops to adjust her body so that one shoulder was against the dark metal door. She pushes — but nothing. She halts her efforts, taking a step back to look up at the sign. Her eyes are filled with worry and her hands clench into fists. In a low tone, she whispers, "Please. I need to do this."
Seto's faded blue eyes gaze at Ren and her wish, wondering why she "needs" to do this, but he only wishes to make her happy. He walks towards the door and pushes himself against it to pry it open. He grunts, but nothing. He pushes away from the door and looks back at Ren, whose eyes have been on the boy for all that time he had tried to open the door. They both keep their eyes locked upon each other, both knowing what the other was thinking.
With a nod, Ren joins by Seto's side at the door. Together they push against the door at the same time — as hard as they can. Soon enough, the door gives into their request and open slightly. The two stand up and sighs happily in relief. Ren takes Seto's hand into hers and guides the boy inward.
The room was large, and through the darkness, Seto can see many fold-up chairs lined against the room's back wall. Silly posters that inspired music were falling off all the walls. A case of trophies had toppled over, glass pieces shattered all over the nearby floor. But what Seto didn't notice until Ren had ran over to it was a large, odd looking machinery. He does not think he has seen something like this before. Aside from being covered in dust, the wooden machine is large and its sides have odd curves to it, that almost made him think of the waves of a sea. In the front, where a wooden bench sits, is some sort of stand, and beneath that stand, were long wooden pieces lined up. Some of the pieces were black and others were yellow due to time taking a toll on the machine. It looks odd to Seto. It reminds him of some sort of teeth.
Seto is not at all sure what was so interesting about this piece of machinery. It certainly looks weird so he could not help his curiosity, but what made him more curious was Ren's excitement. The girl had already managed to sit herself upon the bench. She turns her head around slightly.
"Seto, come here," Ren calls out, patting the empty space next to her on the bench. Seto walks a bit closer, passing by six seats that had been left out, lined up almost nicely by the machine. He could only imagine other survivors had come by to relax on their weary journey as well, or to discuss what this machine does. He certainly would do that. When he stands by the girl, he hesitates to sit down, almost afraid of the machine because of how ginormous it was in his eyes.
"Seto?" Ren calls out again, worry hinted in her tone. Seto looks away from the unknown item and to the silver haired girl.
"Uh, Ren, what is this?" Seto starts.
"Oh! You don't know!" Ren's eyes widen, lips pursed before giving way into a smile. She places her hand upon the yellow blocks, fingers on each block. "It's a piano. Apparently, it was used to make music. Shin had told me about it before. And when I was on my own with my cats, I had found a piano in another band room, and I tried to use it." With one finger, she presses one of the blocks down with ease, and immediately a noise sprang from the machine. "See? If I press down on one of the keys, it makes music."
"Music…" Seto mumbles, registering what Ren had said. "That's beautiful. So, you've used it before?"
Ren nods and keeps her eyes down on the piano. She presses her fingers one by one against the yellow blocks, creating a constant sound. Seto would not say that it is a kind of song — in fact, far from it.
"Um… Ren?"
The girl only chuckles at his sudden ask, "Don't worry. I know it isn't a good song. I know better."
Seto only nods at her response.
"After all, I made up that song that you heard me sing before." Ren continues, drawing her hands back and letting them cross over each other on her lap.
Seto's eyes widen, "W-What? Really? That's amazing!"
Ren looks over to Seto and smiles, "Thank you. It took me a little bit to try, but I did manage to make something with this piano. It goes…"
She adjusts her hands on the keys again, fingers now touching some of the black keys, too. Seto sees Ren stretch out one of her legs toward something under the piano. When he squats down to see, she was placing her foot on a pedal of the piano (Why would a piano need a pedal, he questioned in his head. Does it move like a bicycle, as well?).
Then a sound. Slow at first, and slowly the sound came together to become a melody. A chord is arpeggiated, and that grabs Seto's attention. The sound of a beginning — a pure beginning that resonates with Seto's heart. He stands up, surprised by Ren's playing. From earlier, he would not have thought that she would be any good, but just those simple sounds made struck awe in Seto. A lone ascension of notes, one by one. Like footsteps on a single path. It made him think of the beginning of his own journey ever since he left his grandpa's observatory.
Ren stops playing to look up at Seto with curiosity. Seto awkwardly stares back before pulling his eyes away, "Agh, sorry. Please, keep playing."
Ren smiles and nods, "You like it. I'm glad."
Seto does not respond, awaiting to hear more of the piano.
Adjusting her hands, the silver haired girl proceeds with her playing. A new kind of melody that fits perfectly with what she had played before. She continues to play, and Seto's mind begins to wander to another imagery. How odd it had felt to leave the place he had grown up for so very long — refreshing… but to leave a place he had called "home" for the past fifteen years almost ached his heart.
As the song proceeds, Ren closes her eyes, "This part… It reminds me of when I was on my own. I wanted to make this part of the song to remember that."
Then the pitch of one of the notes switches to a higher octave, and Ren almost stops her hands from trying to stifle a giggle. Puzzled, Seto looks at the silver-haired girl to ask, "Ren?"
"I'm sorry, I just thought," she chuckles again, "The reason why I added this part to the song. It's funny. See, when I added the first part, it made me think of when I was alone. But then this part that follows along, repeating my footsteps, it's like you."
"M-Me?" Seto stutters in shock, taken aback by the sudden statement.
"Don't you agree?" Ren slows her playing.
"I… guess," Seto gives a lopsided grin and shrugs. Ren simply nods to his reply and proceeds to play more. Now that Ren had said that, that is all he can imagine. Images of seeing the silver haired girl sitting upon the broken pillar on that night, where the moonlight lit up the large pond surrounding the girl; remembering when she had fallen and he had touched her only to feel a warmth he hadn't felt in a long time. It's what had made him feel the motivation that he needed to go further — to not give up and fall to the floor, awaiting his own demise. How she had become a driving force for him, even though they barely knew each other. His dire wish to be with someone in the empty, cold world had given him a new life, a new path that he wanted to follow.
The song comes to a halt. Very abruptly. Seto quickly looks at Ren, but Ren merely stares down at her fingertips.
"That… That's where I stopped playing," Ren pulls her hands away from the keyboard. "I don't know where to go with the rest of the song. I don't want to think about the Glass Cage Project. I don't want that in my song."
Newspaper articles. Large headlines. They circle Seto's thoughts, enclosing and suffocating it. The words "The End" in large, black, blocky font that had made Seto cry so many nights alone for the people he never met — the people that used to cherish those items he had found, the people that were in the photographs left behind, the people whose emotions have manifested and linger about as malicious entities.
He didn't want to think of it either, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. What else can he do when he felt so alone in the world? When this single event robbed him of a world that he now craves? A world that he almost believes he can never obtain.
"Seto?" A voice breaks through his thoughts. Ren's eyes have been staring at him for a while. He can see the worry that swims beyond her irises.
"I'm sorry, Ren," Seto shakes his head, "I was just thinking about what you said…"
"I'm sorry for bringing it up," Ren replies shortly. There's a brief pause between the two before Ren reaches her hand out to grab Seto's turquoise sleeve. "Seto."
"Yes?"
"Play with me."
"P-Play? The piano?" Seto's eyes widen, but he lets Ren guide him to the piano bench to sit. He looks at Ren, pleading with his eyes, hoping she would get the message to spare him from making a fool out of himself.
But Ren's oblivious to his wish. Ren only stares back at Seto. She cocks her head toward the piano, as she places her hands on the keys, ready to play again. Seto sits on his hands and shakes his head at Ren. The girl pouts, her light pink lips sticking out. With one hand, she tugs at Seto's sleeve repetitively. The maroon-haired boy's shoulders droop in defeat and place his hands on the keyboard, too.
"Ren, you know I can't actually…"
"Try," Ren says curtly. Taken aback, Seto looks away from the piano and Ren. His eyes then land on the six seats that were oddly placed nearby. He gulps, wondering about them (odd change of attention, he thought to himself). It was then that he realized something.
"Hey, Ren? I kind of wanted to make this next part… about someone," Seto mumbles.
"About someone?" Ren asks.
Seto nods, "Yeah, I…" He looks back at the six seats, "I won't be good at it. At all. But what you've made so far with your music. It's really pretty and it made me think of… everyone I met."
Ren simpers, happy that he has an idea, "That sounds wonderful."
Seto shyly smiles back, "I won't be as good as you, but I hope you can help me."
"Of course. I wouldn't mind at all." The two turn back to the piano, both hands on the keyboard. Ren stares at Seto's dirty hands, waiting for him to press a key and start, but the boy shows hesitation, hands staying still, almost dropping off the side of the keys.
"Seto?"
"I-I'm sorry. I'm just scared of making it sound bad since you did so well," Seto squeezes his hands into a fist before outstretching his fingers again.
"It's okay. You've never touched this before so it just takes some practice," Ren nods.
Without another word, Seto presses a key. A single sound comes out, rickety but still a note. He keeps his right index finger on the note and stretches his thumb out to hit another key.
Wrong.
He winces at the sound, as though the wrong sounding note had hurt his ears. But then he tries again, doing the same action, but with his pinky, and that didn't sound good either.
He tries playing a chord, but all the notes he hit were wrong and all that resounded were horrid strands of notes put together. Absolutely painful to his ears.
But Ren giggles, seemingly enjoying it, "You're doing fine, Seto. Maybe just one note at a time?"
Seto repeats, "One note at a time." He takes his left hand away from the keys (he definitely doesn't want to hurt his or Ren's ears anymore than he had already did) and focuses his attention on his right hand. He presses each of the different keys to hear what each of them sound like, fingers walking on each of the yellow and black steps.
When he finishes listening to each, he slowly presses down on one of the keys. The same one he started with before. He does not linger on that key for too long, thumb quick to press the next key. Suddenly a melody is beginning to form right at his fingertips, and it had made him smile. He returns to the first note and presses down on another key with pinky.
Ren claps, "That sounds really good!"
"R-Really?" Seto scratches his cheek, "I thought I was getting carried away."
"Yes, you were, but it was really good," Ren nods. Her left hand starts pressing into keys as well, sounds that were perfect for Seto's short melody. Seto smiles. The connection that he had yearned for — it was here with Ren. She knew what he wanted to do.
Seto turns back to the piano. He restarts his melody and tries again, letting his fingers get carried away with pressing away to create a song. With Ren's chords, it becomes an image to his mind. The stern part of the song. It made him remember his own determination after meeting Ren. Finding himself in an empty train station. As his hands glide easily over the keyboard, he can remember a certain talking machine that had guided him along part of his journey. If it were not for them, he would have been lost. They were a bridge that led him to the right path. How grateful he was to have met them, even when their time was cut short. Chuckling with them and making promises as they went on in those long corridors of the dark station mall. The vivid image of the two of them standing on the train tracks, staring far in the distance at the deep burning red that enflamed the sky. The words "I am glad to have met you" echo in a voice he had almost started to forget.
"That sounded really nice!" Ren cheers. "Good job, Seto!"
"T-Thank you..!" Seto smiles.
"It's a perfect addition! But… I don't think you should end it there."
"Oh… but I'm not really sure." Seto rubs the back of his head.
Ren grabs Seto's hand, "You were doing well. You'll be okay."
Seto shrugs and smiles, giving it another try. His right hand moves to the right, and immediately he strikes down on one of the notes and proceeds onward. From the corner of Ren's eyes, she stares in amazement at Seto's abilities, continuing to play and catch up with his playing. Seto was lost in his own mind. This time, he thought of a quick encounter. The summer breeze coming through the broken windows of the second floor. Leaves falling through. The smell of rotting wood. A flower brooch upon a stand by the bed. A little spirit of an old lady, with chilling yet calming eyes. She closes her eyes and holds her left hand close to her chest. She speaks of the "gems of life." A lesson about the warmth of humanity. It was like he was listening to his grandpa doting on him again. A feeling of trust established between the two when he reached out his hand to her. And slowly but surely she grabbed it. A bond — brief but many lessons that had come from it.
He stops playing and pulls himself away from the piano. Ren quickly turns her head to look at Seto.
"What's wrong?" She asks.
Seto closes his eyes, "It's the people I'm thinking about. Why… was it so short?"
"Short, but good," Ren replies.
Seto rubs his eyes, "Yeah. Still good."
He doesn't return his hand on the piano though. No, his mind was trying to think ahead of what he should play next.
Something about play. Playing with someone. Running around in the dark amusement park, with the moon staring down at the both of them. He chases after the other, one note after another.
"U-Um.. Hey Ren?"
"Yes?" Ren leans back onto her hands.
"Can I… try something? It might sound kind of weird." Seto twiddles his thumbs.
"Go ahead," Ren gestures with one hand toward the piano.
Seto's hand shakes as it approaches the key. He starts with one key before pulling away quickly. A short sound. Fitting. Playful in its sound. He does the same for the next note and the following. All of it coming off as playful to his ear, quick and wispy. Just like the boy he had met in the amusement park, who wanted to play with Seto, toying with the kid. A shared touch that Seto wished he forgot but couldn't. A photo of the mischievous boy when he was younger. A mysterious past that he wanted to uncover, like the grand treasure chest that a pirate seeked. "Best friends, right?" Of course. A silly question after the fun time they had spent together. Despite the frustration he felt, afterwards Seto had felt happy thinking back on it now.
"It's cute," Ren places her hands on the piano again. "Can I try?" She repeats Seto's melody but in a lower octave. The repetition works out perfectly for the song.
More firm in its sound, the song had made him chuckle as it retains the odd gleefulness that he made it have when he played it, but perhaps a little more worn. Perhaps older. He finds himself chuckling more as he thought of the silly merchant with his rickety cart, following him and selling him items he carried on his journey. The joys he felt bringing them to his princess. Then the boy thinks about a girl. Ink marks all over her body. Floating right by his side as he runs down the halls. When he did something silly, she was surely going to react with a sassy retort. Her teasing, too. He definitely couldn't forget how it had made him blush. "I'm a sucker for cuties." She would keep saying that, and he'd get flustered every time.
Ren's playing slows down, notes ascending, "Are you ready?"
Seto smiles. He knows where he wants to go with the end. This is where he wants to end it. With his hand back on the piano, he continues the ascending notes.
The chorus rings loudly and clearly. More powerful than before when he thought about the girl and her brooch. Now he thinks of that night when he had reunited with everyone upon that Red Tower his grandpa told him to go to. The man in white so determined in his strife, but Seto's wish to live was stronger, as the two fought upon that tower by the moon. "The world was packed with mean-spirited monsters." The man had said, but Seto couldn't dare think it true. Not when he had met so many beautiful people in his life that he owed his life to. When the playful girl had went to comfort the man in white. "To be a part of your life." Her wish was granted. When the two had realized their real wishes and ended it all. Words of gratitude as they end the project that had doomed the world before.
One chord and his fingers begin to slow their procession across the keyboard. Another chord and another ascension. Alone together in the world, the silver haired girl and he stand looking at the round white moon. How beautiful it was on that night: the silver light glimmering on the silver hair of the girl. The summer wind blowing past them, guiding them towards the direction needed to go. It was the time he had learned her name finally and suddenly he felt connected. He knew that this would be a connection that would last him the longest in this lonely world. And he had never felt so grateful until that very night. To be able to feel that warmth as he grasps her hand. To know that someone is still alive with him, to feel what he feels, to hear what he hears. He is no longer alone.
The end of the song, the final pieces of notes intertwine with each other, like Ren and Seto's hands on that night. A smile granted upon the boy's dirt covered face, ready and motivated once more for his journey.
He can hear his name being called again. The boy turns to Ren. Ren leans in toward Seto and presses a finger to his cheek and soon, he could feel something wet there. Ren caresses Seto's face and wipes whatever was on his face.
"I'm sorry. I tried to make you happy again, but I made you sad instead." Ren pulls her hand away from Seto's face. Seto can only smile at the girl.
"No, you actually… made me really happy. Thank you." Seto wipes his eyes with his sleeves
"But Seto, you're crying," Ren rubs her arm.
"O-Oh, yeah. I was… The song, it made me think of…"
"Your friends?"
"Yeah," Seto sighs, "I know it's silly of me to think of them. I know I shouldn't be hurting, so it's… it's about time I let go, right?"
But Ren shakes her head, "Never forget."
Seto is taken back by her comment. It's just like any of her other short replies, but it hit him greatly. That's what he never wanted to do. He couldn't bring himself to let it go, no matter how much pain it had brought him because regardless of the pain, there was so much joy that blossomed in his heart when he recalls those memories — those people. He did not want to forget their names, their faces, their voices, nor what they gave him.
He gives a bittersweet grin toward the girl before holding her pale hand, "Thank you, Ren."
Ren only nods before looking out the window. Nothing. And it's silent in the night, "There's no more rain."
Seto checks toward the windows, too, "Ah, you're right. So, I guess we should get going then. We still need to get you the medicine after all."
"Right," Ren stands up from the bench. As Seto joins her, Ren takes Seto's hand into hers, "Let's go, okay?"
Seto stares down at their hands intertwining before looking into her lilac eyes and nodding a "yes."
But as the two proceeded to leave the piano room, Seto could have sworn he heard familiar voices calling out and thanking him. He turned back, eyes directed straight to the six seats. Perhaps he was growing tired from focusing on the piano too much, but he heard it again.
"Thank you, Seto," Six distinct voices say.
Seto couldn't tell anymore, but he continues to smile and nod at the seats, knowing full well of who those voices were.
"A dedication… to everyone," He mutters as he exits the room holding Ren's hand and leaving the school to continue on his journey.
A/N: Hey there. Thanks for reading this fic! I wanted to make a note about where in the song that each event takes place, according to watch?v=-BeJ3ZXZN9M
0:00 - 0:30 a lone violin makes Seto think of himself on the beginning of this journey. When he had started alone
0:30 - 0:55 Seto continues to think about his journey — a weird refreshing but sad sort of tone, like something is about to begin, but to Ren, she wrote it so its actually about her — the start of her own journey and this is her on her own
0:55 - 1:20 Ren points out that this is Seto's part. She wanted it to sound like hers but different tone because he followed her as his journey.
1:20 - 1:46 Seto comes and joins along with Ren because Ren doesn't know what to do for the rest of the song. Ren teaches a little bit. Ren takes one part (the chords) and Seto takes the melody. Seto kept his friends in mind and his first thought with this part was of his time with PF, when both of them were helping him on his journey. A bridge to his aimless self to knowing where he wanted to go
1:46-2:11 This part reminds Seto of the many lessons he had learned, from Chiyo as well. It made Seto realize the warmth of humanity and how much it really means to him. Ren liked that, and helped put this in.
2:11- 2:24 Seto wanted to add something that made him think of Crow. Something playful, wispy. And lo and behold this part. Ren had fun playing this part, too.
2:24-2:38 I wanted to imagine that Ren wanted to repeat it but in a less wispy kinda sound. Seto liked the way she played it and sounded really nice. He does another association of following along, and it made him feel silly thinking about the Merchant guy. But it also made him feel like Sai, where she was playful like Crow, but she was also very serious as they proceeded to the end of their journey.
2:38 - 3:04 The ending of the song — powerful and that made him think of Shin, the final events of their journey. The realization of what happened, making Shin realize the truth.
3:04-3:23 A slow ending that made him think of just Ren and Seto now. And it made him happy.
Thank you again for reading and I hope you take care. See ya.