I am very sorry for this extremely late update. I started college and my schedule has been chaotic since I'm taking 19 credit hours... good news is that I had time this weekend to write this chapter while finishing up my essay for Monday.
Also I found a cool website and I made Ren. I also got a deviantart account though I haven't uploaded anything yet. If you want to check it out I placed the link on my profile. My Profile picture on that page is of Ren!
Anyway, enough of me talking. Enjoy!
They ended up at an amusement park, Naniwa Land to be exact. Little Ren looked around in wonderment.
"This place is amazing!" He shouted as his eyes sparkled at all the rides. His eyes were extra sparkly when he saw all the food.
The team laughed as Ren's head continued to whip around in excitement, before settling down to discuss their plan of action. Apparently the alien base has hidden in the amusement park and Natsumi took charge by telling everyone to split up to look around. Ren immediately grabbed Kazemaru's hand and refused to go with anyone else, even Hitomiko.
"I want to go with Ichirouta, please Onee-chan?" He begged and ended up getting what he wanted. Mostly since Hitomiko couldn't resist his pouting face.
So with Ren's hand in his and Domon by his side, Kazemaru left with his group. They visited many different places like the hall of mirrors, the petting zoo and some food stalls (since Ren got hungry).
About an hour later the three boys decided to take a break on the first bench they came across.
"I think this is the wrong place." Domon started to complain. Kazemaru gave him a small smile before turning his attention to Ren, who was tugging on the sleeve of his jacket.
"What's wrong Ren?" He asked. Ren began to point at something in the distance and Kazemaru squinted to make the image clearer. It seemed to be a vendor selling balloons of red, green, blue, yellow and purple. Each balloon had the logo of the park on it.
"Would you like one Ren?" He asked gently, smiling at the timid way the young boy was acting. Ren nodded this head, so Kazemaru got up from the bench and headed over to the vendor with Ren.
"Hello! Would you like a balloon?" The lady who was distributing balloons asked the two boys. Ren gave a timid nod, before slightly hiding behind Kazemaru. The lady handed Kazemaru a blue balloon and he handed it to Ren. The younger boy smiled at the balloon as Kazemaru paid for it.
"Thank you!" Ren told the lady before grabbing onto Kazemaru's hand and walking away with him, "Thank you too Ichirouta!"
Kazemaru smiled at him and they made their way back to Domon. Ren was looking at his balloon when he saw Ichinose out of the corner of his eye. He turned his full attention towards the boy and saw that he was walking behind a girl.
Huh… Where is Kazuya going?
Ren was about to point him out to Kazemaru, but he ended up bumping into someone. The force of the bump resulted in Ren letting go of the balloon.
"My balloon!" He shouted before running after the floating object.
"Ren come back!" Kazemaru shouted and ran after the younger boy along with Domon. After a few minutes they found Ren staring up at a tree, where the blue balloon was lodged in a fork in the branches. Ren looked up at the tree determined and was about to climb up, but he was stopped by Domon.
"Let me do it. We don't want you getting hurt." He said before he started climbing up. Domon safely made it up to the balloon and then slowly made his way back down. He returned the balloon to Ren, who gave a big thank you.
"It's time to meet up with everyone." Kazemaru said as he looked at his phone. Domon and Ren nodded in response before walking with the blunette boy.
Everyone met at the entrance again. Each group explained that they found nothing suspicious or that there seemed to be nothing related to the aliens. They contemplated about it, but they were interrupted by Aki asking where Ichinose was. Kazemaru mentioned that they hadn't seen him for a while. Ren was about to mention that he saw Ichinose, but was interrupted by Fubuki, who heard from two girls that saw him leave.
The team headed to an Okonomiyaki restaurant, where they found Ichinose talking to a girl. As Ichinose was going to leave, the girl prevented him from leaving because they had to get married because he ate some special Okonomiyaki. While everyone else yelled in shock, Ren cocked his head to the side.
"Marry? What's that?" He asked innocently. The first years and a couple of second years looked at him in a dumbfounded manner.
"Marriage is when two people who love each other ummm… exchange vows to become spouses." Megane tried explaining to the younger boy. Ren hummed in thought and began to stare at Kazemaru.
The strange girl kicked them out and promptly shut the door in their faces. The team heard Ichinose calling for help through the closed door and were thinking of ways to save him when a group of girls, who were a girls soccer team, came looking for the strange girl who was called Rika.
The girls team began to squeal when they found out that Rika had found a "husband" and the Raimon team decided that they needed to do something. Megane proposed that they decide with soccer and Rika agreed, so they went to the soccer field.
After a small warmup both teams moved onto the field and the match started with the Osaka girls kick off. A girl named Midou dribbled up the field, did a really cool flip thing and landed in front of Kazemaru who went to block her… only to be distracted when she winked at him. After getting past him she kicked the ball to Rika who made a shot that was caught by Endou. Megane scolded Kazemaru for going easy on Midou and Kazemaru denied it. The blunnette boy looked at Midou who winked at him and Kazemaru got a little flustered.
GET AWAY FROM HIM! A voice boomed in Ren's head and caused him to clutch his head. Where was that voice coming from?
"Ren are you okay?" Aki asked in concern. He waved her off with a small "I'm okay" before paying attention to the game again.
Ren thought the girls were just messing around, but noticed that it was like they were using tactics to get Raimon into their pace. As he was thinking that he saw Midou use a hissatsu on Kazemaru… the technique was called Prima Donna and she basically held hands with Kazemaru. A black aura surrounded Ren, scaring the managers. They slowly inched away from the boy and went back to watching the game.
The Osaka girls ended up getting the first point because Rika and Midou used a hissatsu called Butterfly Dream that seemed to change paths. With the Osaka girls in the lead, the first half ended, and each team went back to their respective benches. Raimon tried to figure out how the girls were so strong, but they couldn't think of anything. So they huddled with Endou telling them to not get pulled into their pace and to not underestimate the girls. Ren stayed silent the whole time with the dark aura surrounding him, but no one mentioned it though Kazemaru was a little worried.
Back on the field as soon as the whistle blew, Fubuki went forward and his aura changed again. He scored Raimon's first point with Eternal Blizzard right in the beginning of the second half. After that, it was a rally of offense and defense with neither side giving up. After Endou caught the ball from Rika's Rose Splash he passed it to Ichinose. He, being the awesome magician of the field, went through three guards before using Spiral Shot to score the second point. Nothing could stop Raimon after that and they scored an additional two points before the end of the match, bringing the score to 4-1.
The girls team congratulated Raimon with Rika trailing after Ichinose. When Megane asked how they got so strong they seemed to freeze and Rika almost said something, but her teammates interrupted her. After a debate the girls let Rika show Raimon the secret.
As Rika led the way, everyone began to converse with each other. Mihou began to talk to Kazemaru… and flirt.
"So Kazemaru-kun, are you dating anyone?" She asked causing Kazemaru to become very flustered. Before he could answer, Ren weaseled his way in between the two and grabbed Kazemaru's hand.
"Yes he is. Now back off." Ren said with a sharp glare. Mihou and everyone near jumped back in shock. Mihou cleared her throat and returned his glare with a haughty expression.
"Really? Prove it." She demanded, believing that the boy was just jealous and lying, but she didn't expect the boy to shine in a pool of light. Ren emerged as his twelve year old self and promptly hugged Kazemaru.
"Ichirouta is dating me," He said before giving Kazemaru a peck on the lips and then turned to Mihou, "Enough proof for you?"
Mihou and the other girls were gapping, not at the kiss, but at the fact that the boy grew in front of their eyes. The Raimon team was already used to Ren reverting because he usually reverts when the time is appropriate… wait.
"Ren, why did you revert back?" Kazemaru asked, clearly confused like everyone else.
"Oh… ummm, well," Ren stammered, how was he going to say this? "My younger self was feeling a VERY strong emotion. I used that to fuel our energy to revert."
Kazemaru and everyone else was waiting for him to explain further (the Osaka girls were still kind of frozen and gapping). Ren squirmed under their gazes, before taking a deep breath.
"It turns out that… my younger self has, um, fallen in love with Ichirouta." Ren said, rubbing the back of his head. His face began to flush a dark shade of red as did Kazemaru's. Before anyone could say anything though, Ren began to stagger and was enveloped in another pool of light. He reverted to his younger self and fainted… again.
"That… was kind of embarrassing." Kazemaru said before picking Ren bridal style. The Osaka girls finally stopped gaping and began to ask a billion of questions; Rika started to lead the away again while Endou started to explain the situation to the girls. He briefly told them, about Ren and how the team met him. Rika led them back into Naiwa land and to the castle Kazemaru, Domon and Ren checked out earlier; it turns out that there was a secret passage way leading to an underground practice center.
The girls showed the Raimon team around the huge place. There were training machines all around and as Megane was "testing one" Ren woke up, while he was still in the arms of Kazemaru.
"Ah, you're awake. How are you feeling?" Kazemaru asked the younger boy. Ren was still a little dazed so he didn't answer right away, but when he got his vision cleared; his face flushed to a fire engine red.
"Are you o…." Kazemaru was asking before he remembered what older Ren was telling them before…
It turns out that… my younger self has, um, fallen in love with Ichirouta
Fighting down the urge to place the boy down and run in embarrassment, Kazemaru gently set Ren down and ruffled his hair. With his face still red, Ren down at the floor, but he also grabbed Kazemaru's hand and luckily Kazemaru didn't jump from the contact. The awkward moment was forgotten when Megane fell off of the machine and onto the mat behind him, which caused Ren to laugh at him. Endou also got excited and asked to use the training machines; Rika was silent, but after Ichinose asked, she gave in a let Raimon use the machines.
Everyone went their separate ways to find a machine that would help them boost their skills. Kazemaru stayed behind and started using the machine Megane was using before, with Ren watching him. Kazemaru fell a lot of times and Ren wanted to get up to check to make sure he was okay, but didn't since he had a feeling that Kazemaru would like that too much. After a while Ren started to get bored and a little antsy so he decided to check out the machine next to Kazemaru. It looked to be the same kind of machine Kazemaru was using and Ren decided to try it out… without permission.
Level one was easy for him, it was just running, soon he made it to level two, then three and four. He got to level seven when someone finally noticed him.
"What are you doing!" one of the Osaka girls shouted at him. Ren turned his head towards her at the wrong time; one of the projectiles that were being shot out was flying towards his left knee. The girl screamed, which caught the attention of everyone and they turned their heads in time to see Ren flawlessly dodge the shoe and continue to run.
"Don't scream… it's dangerous." Ren said before jumping off the machine and walking over to Kazemaru, who scolded him for touching the machines without permission. Everyone on the Raimon team already knew that the younger Ren basically had the abilities of the older Ren and they weren't that shocked that he could perform so well on the machines… unlike the Osaka girl who was still freaking out. Everyone went back to practicing for another hour before eating the food that the goalkeeper on the Osaka girls' team made. After another hour of training, they headed back to the bus for a well-deserved night of rest.
The next morning, everyone woke up early to start training. Ren decided to watch Fubuki train that day because he was very worried about his childhood friend. Fubuki seemed a little pale to Ren that morning and the younger boy was determined to look after the snow boy.
Though… watching Fubuki train this hard was a little frightening for Ren. Fubuki's eyes seemed to glow orange from Ren's perspective and it was just plain creepy… also Fubuki's destruction of the training machine was scary as well.
"Shirou…" Ren whispered when Fubuki ran back after being asked to help with defense practice with Kidou. He didn't like the way Fubuki's eyes changed to the same color as… Atsuya's eyes.
That very day, everyone cleared the highest level that could be achieved on the machines. Ren was happy for everyone, but he was still very worried about Fubuki… more like extremely worried. As they were making their way back to the caravan to rest up for their match against Epsilon Ren grabbed Fubuki's hand to stop him.
"What's wrong Ren?" Fubuki asked, a little confused by Ren's actions and the look on the younger boy's face.
"Shirou… promise me you won't push yourself too hard, okay?" Ren asked quietly, worry laced his voice causing Fubuki jumped slightly at the boy's tone.
"I'll be careful Ren-kun." Fubuki said before continuing towards the caravan while he continued to hold Ren's hand. Fubuki was going to have to wait till Ren was asleep to continue training…
The Next day, Epsilon arrived just on time… like they said they would. Everyone was well rested, even Rika who joined the team. Both teams gathered on the field and the match started as the whistle blew.
At the start Maquia used Meteor Shower to get past Kidou, Rika and Touko, but she couldn't get past Kazemaru. So she passed the ball to Zel, who used Ganymede Proton towards Endou. Endou used Majin the hand to stop the shoot and was successful in stopping the ball by himself this time.
Epsilon was very surprised by how much stronger Raimon was then last time. Everyone was stronger than before even though Kidou and Ichinose couldn't get the ball past Desarm. The match continued with each side being equal in strength and everyone cooperating together, but something changed in Fubuki. He stole the ball and began charging at Desarm, shouting about how he must be perfect. Fubuki used Eternal Blizzard, but Desarm used… Worm Hole, another hissatsu Ren recognized.
"Onee-chan… Why are they using my hissatsu techniques?" Ren asked in a distressed tone. Hitomiko gave the boy a small frown before looking back at the game, choosing not to answer him. Ren didn't like the fact that these people looked like people he knew and we using the hissatsu techinques that he made with his friends.
The battle continued on, Fubuki used Eternal Blizzard again after Kidou and Ichinose used Twin Boost. Sadly, Desarm used Worm Hole to stop the shoot again. He passed the ball to his teammates who tried to get a score, but the first half ended with the score of 0-0.
Hitomiko decided to let Fubuki do offense from defense. It was going to put a lot of pressure on Fubuki and Ren didn't like that, not at all. All he could was watch over Fubuki and the team, so when Ren saw Fubuki disappear he followed him.
Fubuki went into the bathroom to splash water on his face and Ren stood in a dark corner to watch him. Ren heard Fubuki talking to himself, having to be perfect. It upset Ren very much.
"Shirou…" Ren called out lightly, startling Fubuki from his small monologue to himself.
"Ren? What are you doing in here?" Fubuki asked. He confused on why the boy had followed him into the bathroom.
"Please don't push yourself to hard. It's not good for your state of mind." Ren told him. Fubuki's body filled with a warm feeling and he gave Ren a smile.
"I'll be careful." He told Ren before grabbing his hand and leading them back to the stadium.
The second half began and it seemed to Ren that Fubuki was ignoring his advice, as well as Kidou's. Fubuki was being very reckless and it allowed for Epsilon to get passed him and they scored a point with Gaia Break. Ren felt anger swell in him because he could see that Fubuki was blaming himself, even though Endou was encouraging everyone that there was still time to get the point back.
"Onee-chan," Ren addressed Hitomiko. When she looked over at him, he continued, "Why are you letting Shirou destroy himself."
Hitomiko was very surprised at what Ren said that she couldn't even answer him. She went back to focusing on the match, but Ren's words still played in the back of her mind. Ren got fed up with watching Fubuki play so recklessly; he was stealing the ball from his own teammates!
Shirou! Stop it please!
That voice sounded in Ren's mind again, causing his head to hurt once again. Even though it was painful for Ren, he couldn't help, but agree with the voice. As Ren clutched his head, Fubuki was able to score a goal with Eternal Blizzard and brought the score 1-1. Everyone was cheering except Ren who was still clutching his head in pain, Otonashi noticed and went to see what was wrong. Ren brushed her off though and ran to randomly till he was in a dark hallway with a dead end.
The voice in his head was getting louder, torturing his head with a blistering pain that wouldn't stop. Ren whimpered as he crouched facing a dark corner and clutched his head. He begged for the voice to stop screaming, but the anger the voice felt drowned out little Ren's voice. So he sat hunched in the bathroom for what seemed like an eternity…
"Ren, are you in here?"
Ren looked from his hunched position to see Kazemaru turning the corner. Kazemaru cocked his head to the side and looked at Ren.
"There you are! Are you… Woah!" Kazemaru shouted as Ren tackled him and knocked the both of them over. Ren started to sob into his shirt and all Kazemaru could do was hold him.
"Kazemaru, did you find Ren?"
Kazemaru looked over to see that Endou with the rest of the team turn the corner and head towards them. Kazemaru nodded at Endou and stood up while Ren seemed to sob even harder.
"Why is Ren crying?" Kidou asked, voicing the concern everyone was feeling. Kazemaru shrugged his shoulders because he didn't know the answer either. Ren cried out and began clutching his head again. Kazemaru jumped at the sudden sound, but instinctively held Ren close to him and began to rock the boy slowly. The team discussed what they should do and agreed to bring Ren back to the caravan.
When they got back, Kazemaru gently laid Ren on their seat and slowly draped a blanket over the small boy. Ren had fallen asleep when Kazemaru carried him back to the caravan, which was very lucky for the team.
"Let's let him rest for a while." Endou told the team before exiting the bus. The team followed him, but Kazemaru hesitated for a moment. He looked at Ren and slowly began to smooth him hair.
"Feel better soon." Kazemaru whispered softly and placed a kiss in Ren's forehead. Kazemaru walked off the caravan and caught up with the rest of the team.
The formatting looks a little weird to me... Anyway, I hope you liked it and I will try my best not to take so long with the nest chapter! Au revoir! Ja Ne! Have a wonderful week!