"Ren seems better today." I look up from my soap covered hands to see Cecil smiling down at me. He takes one of the clean dishes next to me and, grabbing a towel, dries it off. "When I saw him this morning, it looks like something has changed in his heart once again. He's not the same as before, but he seems so relieved. Or perhaps he was just happy about something." He pauses and hums softly. "Although, Ren did seem slightly annoyed of Masato." He places the dish on the shelf in the cabinet.
"That's wonderful news! I was starting to get even more worried." Sighing happily, I grab the last dish in the sink. A few seconds of bliss fill the room as I scrub away the last of the food.
"Well…" I look up at Cecil to see a distant look in his eyes, clearly lost in his own mind. He seems to frown at his thoughts before blinking and grabbing the last dish, drying it off hurriedly.
"Huh? Is something really wrong after all?"
"... It's true Ren seems more like his usual self today, but..." He trails off, lost in thought once again. "It would appear that Masato's heart has changed as well, and in a similar way to Ren's. It's like he's scared of something but he also feels happy about it."
"He's scared but happy?" My voice trails off.
He nods at me. "He's scared of a change that has recently taken place, but I believe he's happy because Ren is going through a similar feeling. Though, on the bright side, they seem closer as friends than they were before."
"I see..." I drain the sink and Cecil hands me the towel. Placing the towel on the counter, after drying my hands, I turn for one final sweep of the kitchen, and then move to leave.
"Haruka…" Turning around, I see Cecil looking at me with a sad and serious look on his face. "You don't know anything do you?"
Not right at this moment, Cecil. I'll try to find answers for everyone. "No, I'm sorry."
He smiles and waves. "Don't worry about it Haruka! I have a feeling we'll get answers soon."
I do my best to run to Ren and Masato's room, but my heels are slowing me down. I shouldn't be rushing to eavesdrop on them! I should be getting to work on a new song! I need to stop meddling. But no matter how often I repeated those words to myself, I still kept my legs moving towards their room. When I see their door in sight, I slow down remarkably and try to prevent my heels from clicking on the tile. Carefully, I press my ear against the wood once more.
"What did I say about going outside?! I warned you over and over again! Why wouldn't you listen?" Ren's voice is dripping with anger and sounds as if he's practically snarling. "I just… I can't believe you of all people couldn't follow a simple order!"
"I know!" Masato shouts back to him. "I should've listened to you... I'm sorry." His voice softens as my ear starts to hurt from being pressed against the door so hard. "I should've listened to you. I'm sorry, ok?"
"Sorry doesn't cut it! You saw what happened! You put your life in danger!" Ren sighs. "If something worse had happened tonight, I wouldn't even know what to do. You have been killed…" A short pause follows as Ren groans angrily. "Instead, here you are; sitting alongside me in the same boat. And just because you couldn't keep your curiosity under control! Do you understand how furious I am right now?" Ren huffs and starts to walk about the room. "It was a simple request, and you couldn't even follow it!" Masato doesn't respond and a long pause follows shortly after. That can't be the end of the conversation! Masato, say something!
"I promise you, I would never have gone outside if I had known that was out there." I release a breath of air I didn't realize I was holding before putting my hand over my mouth to quiet myself.
"So if I told you what was out there, you wouldn't have gone?"
Another moment of silence goes by. "Well..."
"... Are you trying to put the blame on me?" The anger in his voice slowly starts to wash away.
"No. I…" Masato's voices trails off.
"No, I am to blame, at least a little. I should've told someone sooner." I wait for 1… 2… 3 seconds. "But you have to understand. Who here would actually believe me if I told them the truth?" Masato doesn't respond and the sound of a bed creaking echoes in the room. How's your arm?" He asks.
"Fine. It looks remarkably better than it did last night. I'm surprised it's healing so quickly like this."
"That's good to hear. Took me by surprise the first time around as well..." The room becomes quiet, the only sound being the occasional creak of a bed. I press my ear harder to the wooden door, but neither of them said anything for what seemed like hours, though it was probably only a minute.
Masato sighs before saying, "We can't hide this for long. We're not the only people who sleep in the room. If anyone were to see us sneaking out or to actually see us as…" He whispers the last part but, even though my ear was pressed so close to the door, I couldn't make out the word. He sighs again. "Someone will find out eventually. You and I both know that."
"I have a feeling someone already does…" I softly gasp and run to my room, doing my best to keep my heels from clicking against the tile. They couldn't possibly think it was me! No, they could be talking about anyone.
When I reach my room, I shut the door behind me, gasping for a breath of air. Maybe, I should write my songs in here for today. It wouldn't be best to leave for now.
A yawn escapes me as I stretch out my back. I must have been writing for hours, my back is killing me. Without hesitation, I get up to lie down on my bed for a moment of relaxation. Lying down on the soft covers, I smile as I melt into the comforting pillows, back slowly relaxing on the surface. Stretching out my legs, I look at the clock. 7:03 PM. Dinner will be in less than an hour. A faint rapping sound fills the room as someone knocks on the door.
Sighing, I begrudgingly walk to the doorway. Some part of me was hoping it would be Otoya waiting there, a smile on his face and asking if I wanted to help with the preparations. Or Cecil to tell me about a fun recording he went to. Even though I knew that it wasn't either of them, I opened the door none the less.
And there were Ren and Masato, standing stoically and appearing as if there here for business. "May we come in Little Lamb?" Ren flashes a smile of reassurance.
Masato takes a hesitant step forward. "Please, it is urgent business."
"Of course." They walk in and stand in the center of the room before gesturing for me to sit. Taking a seat on the bed, I wait patiently for them to say something.
Ren sighs and runs his hand through his hair before saying, "We know you've been listening to our conversations."
My eyes go wide and I stand up immediately. "I-I'm sorry! I never intended to listen in on your conversations! I was so worried about you two and I feared something terrible might have happen! I shouldn't have been meddling in other people problems again, but-"
"No, no, don't worry yourself, Lady. Nothing is really wrong per say…" Masato glares at him. "Well, there has been… a change of pace, really." Masato's glare turns to daggers. Ren glares back at him. "Why don't you try to explain what's happening?" I take my seat once again.
Masato seems to growl slightly before sighing. "To be honest, there's nothing I can explain, in a way, I'm in the dark just as much as Haruka." He crosses his arms.
"Tch…" Ren crosses the floor and takes a seat on the bed next to me. "Haruka, we can assure you that everything is fine, you have no reason to worry. But please do not listen in on our conversations anymore."
"Then why are you acting so different? Why are you so persistent on keeping this a secret from everyone?" Tears start to form in my eyes.
Masato sits on the other side of me. "Are you saying you know exactly what's going on?"
I look at him in shock, "No! Well… not exactly. All I know is that, somewhere along the line, one or both of you got hurt, so I've been worried." Blinking away the tears, I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Well then, Little Lamb, we can assure you we're fine. Look." Ren rolls up both his sleeves only to reveal flawless skin, no marks or scars or even a bruise. Masato does the same, although his arm did have a fading scar on it, which looked to be weeks old, I wasn't entirely reassured that they were both unharmed. Something is wrong. I know I heard their conversation correctly.
"I still don't see why you two are being so secretive over nothing." I've wiped the last of the tears away by now.
Masato taps my hand before whispering, "This is our problem, no one else's. It wouldn't be right to drag you and everyone else into it."
"But don't you think we could help you?"
Ren chuckles, "Well, I'd love for you to help me, Lady." Masato lightly shoves his arm. "But, we can handle the situation ourselves." Masato nods to him before standing up and heading for the door, with Ren following.
"Remember, it's our little secret for now, okay?" Ren looks back at me and winks. I nod my head and they close the door softly behind them.
Closing my eyes, I pause to think for a moment. I know what I heard, and they need help from someone. I won't allow the people I love to be harmed. Not while knowing I could do something about it. I walk to my desk in slow strides and grab the notepad in the left drawer. Flipping it open, I hurriedly scribble down a note to myself. Tears start to form in my eyes again and I do my best to hold them back. I'm sorry Ren, Masato. I believe and trust in you with all my heart, but I can't let you handle this by yourselves.
So as a quick note: I realize that they use a different name for each character, (like how Masato would call him Shinomiya but Syo would call him Natsuki) but after having a few people read the rough drafts of the chapters, they said it's a bit too confusing. So, now everyone goes by their first name or a nickname. Please, feel free to leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter, or favorite and follow if the story interest you.
