REN

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE CHARACTERS OR THE PLOT. THOUGH IF I DID WELL...IT'D BE A LOT LESS INTERESTING.


Draco's Beginning


"Trapnest means "The trapped Den" Once we enter it, we can't get out by our own means I thought that that name could only come from a man who love having power over other." -Nana Osaki


"...Hey, Draco how is it you like me if you hate muggles?"

"You don't have expectations for me...you're my only friend."

"What about this Harry Potter kid, you talk about him enough."

"He'll be starting Hogwarts with me this year."

"You should make friends with him."

"But what if I'm not good enough?"

"Try your best Draco."

"...sure...Ren."

-

Flashback.

"Nine and three quarters huh?"

Ren Honjou age twenty two stares off at the people mossing about. He looks just a little bit excited-but then I guess that's just the way he is about things. He's nine years older then me but acts just like a kid.

"I have to run through that pillar to make it to the train." I say.

He lights the butt of a cig he had in his jacket pocket and smiles down at me, he looks a little sad like this will be the last time I see him. Honestly he's such a baby. You'd never think that with him, being as scary looking as he is with his piercings and spiked hair.

"I'll see you during the holiday." I'm trying to be brave, I really don't want to be nervous at all not around Ren. "Goody bye."

Before I can move he places a large hand on my head ruffling my slicked back hair and he's smiling at me with that warm smile he uses for such mushy occasions-usually it's towards Reira. "Remember what I said...try and make friends with him and try not to be an ass."

"I'm never an ass."

"Oh yeah? Then what about that poor kid you met when you were getting your school robes, hm? Didn't know what to say to you acting all snobby."

"Oh yeah? I seem to recall another snob, a giant Asian with spikey hair acting all obnoxious while being hit on for an autograph by a troupe of girls."

"Yeah well I don't like their flirting...besides I have..."

"Her, I know...when am I gonna meet her?"

Ren smiles again, sadly this time his eyes on mine holding me to that spot the same look reserved whenever he talks about her. He hands me a ring. "To remember us by-I wanted you to have it."

"Vivian? And it's in fashion!"

"You're rich why do you get excited about such things?"

"Because it's a Vivian Westwood ring!" I say as a matter of factly. I look at the ring again. "Was it Nana's?"

"It was."

"Then why are you giving it to me?"

I notice my father standing a bit away, he's staring at the back of Ren's head in a heated fashion. I watch as the people pass us by, the happy muggles going to where ever it is they go. I can hear the distant humming of the trains and I can feel the glimmer of magic surrounding the air around us.

"Because kid...you're...a good friend."

"Your best friend?"

He smiles.

"Yeah."

I smile brightly and this time it touches my eyes, I think I want to cry but I don't. I turn around and run through the pillar without saying goodbye and humming Recorded Butterfly, Trapnest' newest single.

-

"Are you hungry?"

"What?"

"Are you hungry, Malfoy-San?"

"Um...a bit..."

"Would you like a dumpling?"

"Yes."

It was near three in the morning and I found myself in apartment 707 sitting in on the bench like seat closest to the gated window. I can see the glimmering stars shimmer then fade slightly in the distance. If I were alone it would be better to reassess my thoughts but I'm not alone. I roll my shoulders slightly trying to rid the ache when a plate of fresh dumplings is placed in front of me with a glass of iced tea beside it. The glass is familiar-I think Ren had mentioned these before. Something about the strawberry glasses symbolizing friendship.

"You should go to sleep. You can use Nana's room if you want. It still has a bed and it's quite comfortable."

"I'm not tired." And I wasn't. I was too busy studying the stars in the sky trying to imagine how it used to be in this apartment. How it was with both women living there with their boyfriends their friends...with Ren alive and smiling and taking pictures that he would send me. Pictures that to this day I still cherish.

"That is an impressive ring." Hachi says pointing to the ring on the middle finger of the right hand. "Vivian Westwood. Too bad it isn't in fashion anymore-I haven't seen anyone where something that bold in quite a long time not since Blast."

The way she talked about Blast, the tone made it sound like the band was dead and maybe it was. The lead singer missing in some remote place alone wasting away while the drummer became a lawyer like he had always intended, the guitarist finally taking responsibility and taking over the family business. Their bassist, the youngest was an actor who still spoke fondly of his times as a member of Blast.

Ren had been the glue holding Nana Osaki together, Naoki had said over dinner the week before.

-

Flashback

"Dray-san is the best!"

"You always say that Naoki."

"Because it's true."

"Eat all your vegetables Naoki-flattery will get you nowhere with me."

"Aw Dray-saaan! I hate vegetables!"

It was normal for us to be seated beside one another once a week, every Thursday when Takumi wouldn't be there. Reira was fast asleep in the other room tucked away with Takumi's son, Ren, at her side. It was usually the only time Naoki and I would have the time to talk about my past, not that Takumi didn't know the truth it was just that he didn't care. It didn't have anything to do with his work with a new band to produce and set to the air to soar like Trapnest had once-I had nothing to do with that life why would he care? Naoki was fascinated though, always asking questions and pestering me about joining the ministry-though I was wont to go I knew that eventually I would find my way there.

He always said, to get back into the wizarding worlds good graces, to bring the Malfoy name back from the ashes was to show that I was a "good guy" and that I was willing to be near people that would show open scorn for me and my family name-that I should take it and make with it what I can to succeed.

"So how is life on the other side Dray-San?"

"Oh it's fine. Mother and Father are off on Holiday so I often times find myself alone in the manor when I do come home." I say in between bites of meatloaf-it isn't very good. "That's why I'm thinking of getting a flat nearby so I can keep an eye on Reira and Ren when you aren't here."

"But Takumi is usually here so it's ok. You should concentrate on your family right now Dray-san. What about your family name and status?"

"It matter little in comparison to Reira's well being."

"Ren would want you to try harder."

"And Ren would also want to smack you for hiding peas under your napkin. I said eat it all."

"You're so mean!"

I patted his mass of blond hair with a smile. I loved Naoki, he was the breath of fresh air in the whole mess and his endearing qualities and smiles and out right annoyances made my heart love him more then anything.

Besides that, he was the only other person, other then myself that took care of Reira. Takumi didn't have the ability to care for her not with Reira shouting at him and throwing her tantrums "it's your fault you killed Ren!" he couldn't get close enough to her.

"So Harry Potter, how is he?"

"What brought this on? I thought I told you to leave the topic of Harry Potter alone."

"You did but when do I ever listen?"

"Never." I said. "Do you think I should find Nana?"

The question brought a serious expression to Naoki's face making the slight lines near the corners of his eyes deepen reminding me that he was so much older. Suddenly he looked quite silly with his blond hair and loud clothes and rings, he suddenly seemed too old.

"Nana-san...isn't really Nana-san anymore, ya know? I ran into her in Germany last month and didn't recognized her at first, she was a spectacle on stage I doubt even Yasu would have known it was her." Naoki sighed. "You know, Ren was everything to her she even got a Ren tattoo on her arm. I wouldn't be able to be with such an obsessive woman but Ren was okay with that. She treated Ren like a possession just like Hachi, letting them wander free in her garden with it's gate tightly closed."

"Her garden?"

"But then Hachi left her garden with Takumi and Ren died leaving that garden barren and empty. Ren was what held Nana-san together and now that he's dead she's broken in a thousand shards spread all over the sea where Ren's ashes have taken rest in."

I nodded pretending to understand. Our meal continued quietly after that, the air thick between us. I wanted to go back to that summer where I met Trapnest, to the one holiday I spent with them. Tucked in the nook of Reira's neck while we slept on the futon while Naoki told stories, Takumi sitting near the window smoking and Ren playing his guitar pausing to jot the melody he'd come up with every other minute.

But those times were gone Ren was dead. I wasn't the twelve year old that Reira used to sing to anymore, the one that slept in her futon at night. I was the twelve year old that Naoki would pat on the head and joke around with and teach the art of girl pickup. I was the twelve year old that Takumi would berate and scowl at when we argued but would secretly smile when he thought I didn't notice. I wasn't the twelve year old that Ren confided in, the one that took care of him when he was too high to take care of himself. The twelve year old that had learned how to hide the needles and the coke and pot the kid who tucked him in to bed at night. The kid who knew every aspect of Nana Osaki's personality and life because Ren couldn't ever talk of anything else when he was high.

I hated her and yet I loved her because Renloved her. I understood why he loved her and why he couldn't forget her. She was the great love of his life and I would be damned lucky to find one.

We ate in silence every now and then pausing to listen closely to Reira's even breathing and little Ren's tossing and turning. I wasn't sure what Naoki was thinking but I didn't care. Sweet melodies of the past, that perfect holiday swept through me in euphoric torrents trapping me in it's den.

-

"Hey, Hachi can you tell me the story of the day you and Nana met?"

"Eh? Oh but aren't you tired?"

"No, this dumpling has filled me up and made me antsy. You're a great cook." I say with a smile, I haven't touched the iced tea. The strawberry glass seems too delicate. "Can you tell me?"

She nods, her eyes are as awake as mine and again I wonder why she stayed behind after the others have left. It wasn't to keep an eye on me, I think I reminded her of Ren.

"Well, we met on the train to Tokyo in winter. The snow was falling quickly from the sky..."

- (To be continued with reviews good ones please.)-

Italics in this chapter are used for flashbacks.

Little Ren is Takumi's son-his mother in this story is Hachi. He doesn't know Japanese. Naoki is his teacher trying to teach the language to him. They live in England.

Naoki knows about Draco's past and is trying to get him to go back into the wizarding community. He wants Draco's family reestablished for Narcissa's sake-it's suspected that he has a bit of a crush on her-she is also very fond of him. He is still very childish but obviously has grown up quite a bit, he wants Draco to have a life outside of Trapnest going as far as mentioning Harry Potter, whom Draco seems to have an odd attraction to. Whether it is a romantic attraction or not, Naoki is determined to get them together believing that it is what Ren would have wanted.

Draco was the one to take care of Ren when he was high so far as to hide how bad Ren's addiction was by hiding the heroine and cocaine. He is oddly attracted to Harry Potter, the depths of it unknown even to him-Reira calls it fascination while Takumi scoffs at it saying it is like 'old times' all over again. Going so far as to warn Harry to stay away from Draco so that he doesn't become the Fido in Draco life (comparing it to Nana and Hachi. Hachi meaning "Dog" in Japanese.) Though Draco is unaware that Harry and Takumi have met. (Takumi had tracked Harry down and called to meet him at a cafe to warn him about Draco's odd obsession)

Takumi seems to care more for Draco then previously thought, he warns Harry for Draco's sake assuming that 'Old times' would happen again. He is father to Little Ren and Satsuki, Hachi's children. He is back in Japan with his wife and daughter producing music and working with a new band. Reira still seems to hold contempt for him not allowing him to touch or take care of her. She calls him the Demon King and outright accusing him of Ren's death while calling Draco Takumi and Little Ren by Draco's name.

She only seems to be able to recognize Naoki.

In the next chapter we skip to Harry and Takumi's meeting then to Hachi's story of the day Nana and Hachi met.

FUN FACT #1: Draco learned how to play drums from Naoki.

FUN FACT #2: Draco smokes the same brand as Takumi, Gitanes.

FUN FACT #3: Draco is bisexual and had a short lived relationship with Atsushi, the second generation guitarist for Trapnest, Ren's predecessor. They were living together in England after the war but ended after Atsushi fought with Takumi. Atsushi confessed to Draco that he was only experimenting with Draco and that he had cheated the entire time.

Sasuke: Hope you review!

Sera: And hope to see you there!

Sasuke and Sera: Ja ne!