Hey guys! Sorry that it took so long to update. I've been busy with school and work, plus I actually had a bout of writer's block. I apologize again and I hop you enjoy this update!
When Ren woke up later that day, he stayed silent and listened to everyone talking around him. Apparently they were heading towards Yokato Junior high because Endou had heard a rumor that one of his grandfather's notebooks was at that school. Besides that, Rika had also joined them, mostly because she didn't want to leave Ichinose alone. Aki didn't seem to like the idea, but Endou was oblivious to Aki's jealousy and cheerfully welcomed Rika to the team.
They were still a few hours away from their destination, so most of the team took a nap or quietly talked amongst themselves. Ren, who had already taken a nap, grew restless quickly, but didn't want to disturb Kazemaru who was sleeping peacefully beside him. So he sat still and twiddled his thumbs for a couple of minutes before glancing over at Fubuki, who was sitting alone, staring out the window. The kid slowly slid out of his seat between Kazemaru and Endou, as to not disturb the two and took the seat next to Fubuki. The grey haired boy felt his seat dip and glanced over to see Ren sit beside him; offering a small smile. "Something wrong Ren-kun?"
"No… I'm just a little bored. Ichirouta is sleeping and I didn't want to disturb him." Ren said and started to twiddle his thumbs again. Fubuki messed with the other's hair before turning to gaze out the window again. He looked sad and Ren didn't like that at all. "Let's play Janken*." He said without thinking. Fubuki faced Ren again with his eyebrow raised.
"Why would we play Janken?"
"We loved playing Janken for no reason. You, Atsuya and I played it all the time…well mostly Atsuya and I since we always seemed to get in a fight about something." Ren said slightly pouting at the thought. Fubuki remembered that Ren and Atsuya indeed always fought and it cause him to chuckle at the memory. "Alright Ren, let's play Janken."
When Hitomiko announced that they were 10 minutes outside the town it woke the ones who were sleeping up. Kazemaru yawned and drowsily rubbed his eyes. "I win again Shirou!" Kazemaru heard Ren say—why didn't he notice that Ren wasn't next to him? He was usually glued to his side…
Kazemaru slowly stood up and walked, more like bumbled, to the seat with Fubuki and Ren. He scooped up Ren and placed the small boy in his lap. Ren waited for Kazemaru to get comfortable before going back to his game. "You're playing Janken?" Kazemaru questioned sleepily as he watched Ren win again.
"Yep… it was the only game I could think of." Ren said as he and Fubuki both made a fist to show rock. "Saisho wa guu*" They said at the same time. "Janken pon!" Fubuki chose scissors while Ren kept rock. "Ah… I lost again. Ren-kun, you're too good at this game." Fubuki consented as leaned back against the seat. "Or you just suck." Ren retorted as he leaned against Kazemaru, who loosely wrapped his arms around Ren's waist and put his chin on his shoulder. It kind of made Ren feel like a teddy-bear, being held like that.
"Ah, we're in town." Endou said causing the team to look out the windows. Although it was their first time in the town, most of the team said that it felt like they had been here before. Ren could agree, though his reasoning was different… since he had been in many different orphanages before Sun Garden it wouldn't surprise him if he had passed through this town before.
"I've probably been here before…" he mumbled out loud, catching Kazemaru's and Fubuki's attention. "What do you mean Ren-kun?" Fubuki asked, slightly curious.
"Oh—well—I've been to so many different orphanages already. I've probably passed through this town at one point. It wouldn't surprise me if they move me here next." Ren said, his face drooping, he didn't want to be relocated again for the fifteenth time. It got tiresome after the fifth time.
"Why would they transfer you?" Kazemaru asked. He couldn't understand why Ren would be transferred. The six year-old was very well-mannered and polite to the team.
"I-I always seem to get into trouble. Before I was transferred to Sun Garden I got in a fight with one of the bigger boys… he was picking on me and some of the other kids for being tiny, so I punched him. Broke his nose and he was bleeding everywhere. In the end, I was the one who got in trouble and sent away," Ren paused before continuing, "I got into a lot of fights actually. Got put in a Christian orphanage once. They hated having me there 'cuz I broke every rule they had and kicked one of the—uhhh—father-priest-person in the knees… I was only there for a week."
Fubuki was staring wide-eyed at Ren while Kazemaru was kind of miffed that Ren was only revealing information about himself now, as opposed to when he was a thirteen year old. Did Ren not trust them? He never really seemed to like talking about his past either. It kind of upset Kazemaru, but there was no use pouting about it now. They would need to talk about this at a later date—like when they figure out how to change him back.
"We're here." Hitomiko announced, snapping everyone to attention. As soon as the bus was parked Endou hopped off to greet an older man. Ren watch Endou, Hitomiko and Natsumi walk off with the older man while the rest of them waited by the soccer field. Ren was drawing in the dirt when Endou came back and another soccer team walked over to them. The soccer team was the Yokato Junior High team, who were big fans of the Raimon Junior High team. Ren noticed that one of the kids from the Yokato team was hiding behind his teammate. He was wearing a different uniform than the rest of them—the goalkeeper perhaps? Toda, the captain of the Yokato team, called out to the boy—Tachimukai—and he stiffly walked over to Endou to introduce himself. Ren thought Tachimukai was going to faint from meeting his idol. It was quite funny.
"Where's Masamune-san?" Toda asked as he looked at the Raimon team, "We were kinda looking forward to meeting him too." Ren's ears perked up at the name and looked over at Kazemaru, who looked dejected. Ren frowned, grabbed Kazemaru's hand and swore that if he ever met Masamune, he was going to fight him. How dare he make Ichirouta upset.
"Yeah, Masamune-san is so cool!" One of the Yokato players said. "He's really strong too!" said another. The Raimon team was panicking, it was kind of difficult to explain the situation when the boy in question was 7 years younger and unaware of who he really was. Surprisingly, Endou was the one who distracted them, "Oh, he's training somewhere. He said he will be able to join us in a couple of weeks."
"That's too bad," Toda said and his team sighed a little in disappointment. Tachimukai got excited when Toda suggested that he show Endou the goalkeeper technique he had been working on. So Raimon stood on the sidelines and watched Tachimukai stretch real quick.
'Here I go then!" Ichinose shouted from his spot on the field and Tachimukai took a deep breath before shouting "Please do!" Ren was intrigued. What type of hissatsu was it? Ichinose kicked the ball towards Tachimukai.
Tachimukai raised his hand into the air before bringing it down in front of him and shouted "GOD HAND!" A large blue hand, not unlike the one Endou uses, came out and caught the ball. Raimon was flabbergasted, Toda was proud of his little goalkeeper and Ren was impressed. After the initial shock, Endou became giddy and ran onto the field to talk excitedly to Tachimukai about the technique. The rest of the Raimon team still couldn't get over the fact that someone other than Endou could learn the hissatsu—especially when they learned that Tachimukai learned by watching a video over and over. After Endou said some more things to Tachimukai they did a little face off with God Hand, proving that Tachimukai's God Hand was the same as Endou's. More encouraging words were thrown around before Toda invited the Raimon team to practice with them.
"Ichirouta, can I join too?" Ren begged Kazemaru, he was getting tired of being left-out. "Sorry Ren, I don't think that's a good idea. You could get hurt." Ichirouta said distractedly, he didn't actually hear what Ren asked because he was excited to get some exercise after sitting on that bus for a long time. Kazemaru was so distracted that he almost missed Ren's pouting. "I'm taller than Yuuya (Kogure) and you already know that I'm pretty strong!" he retorted. "Ren, you need to remember that Kogure is—uh—older than you." Kazemaru gently told him.
Ren glared at Kazemaru, startling him and the others on the team. They had never seen Ren glare at Kazemaru, usually he was smiling at him. "That is not a good reason Ichirouta. Stop treating me like a stupid kid," Ren practically growled out, "if you don't want me around, just say it instead of making excuses." Kazemaru's eyes widened, "Ren, that's not what I was saying at all!"
"Whatever." Ren huffed out before running back to the bus. Kazemaru almost ran after him, but was held back by Fubuki. "You should probably give him some time," Fubuki said watching as Ren ran away, "He's not going to listen when he's upset." Kazemaru sighed, before agreeing with Fubuki and going over to the field to practice with the team. Kazemaru was still confused though, Ren rarely ever gets mad when he's told "no" and he's never glared at him like that either.
Ren sat on the bus and tried to calm himself down. Why was he so frustrated? Before he was okay with being told that he couldn't play with the older boys. Today, however, it was so damn frustrating—even more so that Kazemaru gave him a lousy excuse and didn't come running after him. Ren wanted Kazemaru to run after him. Oh no, was he acting like a spoiled brat? Ren hoped not because he hated spoiled kids—they like to make fun of him, especially when they find out that he's afraid of water. Then they try to push him into fountains or try to pour buckets of water on him.
"I'm the worst." He cried, bringing his knees up to hid his face in them. Why couldn't he be a good kid for once? Maybe this is why no one wanted him, because he was a horrible kid who couldn't listen to anyone. "I should just go back to Sun Garden or maybe I should go live in the forest where no one can find me." The idea sounded appealing, but Ichirouta wouldn't be there, nor Mamoru nor Shirou and he still had to get his revenge on Masamune. Ren cursed under his breath—dang, he knew too many swear 's probably another reason why no one wanted to adopt him.
"Okay, I need to stop feeling sorry for myself!" Ren shouted to no one, "I know! I'll go practice on my own!" Feeling better about himself, Ren grabbed a soccer ball and headed outside. He looked to his right and saw the Raimon team and the Yokato team scrimmaging; it also looked like Endou was trying to learn a new technique. Ren pursed his lips before jogging in the other direction. He didn't want to practice where Ichirouta could see him. He was still upset with him.
Ren found an area he could practice in not too far from where the others were. There was a stretch along the bank of the river that would be perfect for dribbling practice and a bridge nearby that would work for shooting practice. Ren placed the soccer ball down and started doing a few warm-up stretches before getting to work. First, he would work on dribbling up and down the bank before he started on shooting. He spent 15 minutes dribbling and it was kind of difficult because the bank was slick with mud, a sign that it had rained recently. After slipping and sliding, Ren decided that it was time for shooting practice. He placed that ball down in front of the stone wall of the over-pass, but when he was going to start practicing, someone shouted at him.
"What do you think you're doing, shrimpy?" Ren looked over to see a large boy with 4 other boys cowering behind him. They looked like 2nd year middle school students to Ren and he was quickly able to identify that the leader was the large boy. Ren's body automatically went taut and he slowly took a step back. The large boy took notice and took a step closer "You deaf shrimpy? I asked you a question." Ren looked down to avoid eye-contact, "I'm practicing." He said quietly, he hated acting meek, but he didn't want to get into a fight.
"This is our area." The large boy simply stated. Ren kept his eyes down, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I'll leave now." He said while taking small steps back. "Did you hear that boys? He didn't know," The large boy's voice got sarcastic and Ren froze in tracks, "I think we should teach shrimpy here a lesson."
"Sure thing Satou-san."
Ren looked up and noticed that the 4 other boys had circled around him and blocked off his escape point. Why didn't he notice them? "L-look, I didn't mean any harm. I'll just leave and get out of your hair." Damn it, Ren didn't mean to stutter. The large boy, the one called Satou, smirked at Ren before getting closer quickly—damn for a large boy, he was fast—"I was already in a bad mood and you being here made it worse, soooo too bad for you." The Satou said punching Ren in the gut. Ren felt all the air exit his lungs as he fell to the ground holding his stomach. Man, this kid was pretty strong.
Before Ren could recover, someone grabbed a fist full of his hair and lifted him up. "You shouldn't have angered Satou-san, shrimpy." The boy said before a different boy kicked Ren in his injured stomach. Another punched him in the face. It hurt, but Ren didn't scream out, he refused to give these bullies that satisfaction. Stupid bullies, always taking their anger out on people smaller and younger than them. Satou and his goons continued to hit and kick Ren, occasionally pulling his hair or kicking dirt in his face. Despite Ren not making a sound, the bullies weren't getting bored tormenting their victim.
Ren wished he was back with the others, he also wished that he could take on five boys at once, but most of all he wished he didn't get mad at Kazemaru in the first place. He should have accepted Kazemaru's refusal and cheered on his friends during their match. He acted rashly again, just like that one time where he—Ren was knocked out of his thoughts when one of the boys delivered a quite painful kick to Ren's spine and before he could stop it, he screamed out.
"Keep going guys. Show this shrimp not to mess with us." Satou said kicking Ren again. What did Ren do to deserve this? Wait, he didn't do anything and that angered Ren.
Ren felt his mind clear and his thoughts become more focused. It was happening again, that feeling he gets when he's in a fight—it felt like he was switching off his emotions and nerves. "Leave me alone!" Ren shouted, kicking out his left leg and successfully kicking Satou's leg, making the large boy fall. When the goons went to help Satou up, Ren wasted no time getting up and running for it. He probably should be in a lot of pain, but when his emotions turn off like this, he usually can't feel anything. "After him!" He heard Satou roar behind him, but Ren didn't stop running.
Ren kept running, even when he saw the field in front of him. He quickly spotted Kazemaru and was about to shout to him when there was a sharp tug on his hoodie. Satou had caught him and lifted him up by the hood, choking him. "Where do you think you're going?" Satou sneered and Ren, despite being choked, glared back. Ren was so close and he wasn't going down without a fight. "Let me go!" Shouted the child as he grabbed Satou's arm and kicked at it. Satou's goons came to try and hold Ren's legs, but he kept kicking them around. His emotions and feeling were back, but the adrenaline kept him going. Although, it was making it harder to breathe and oh no, he was seeing black spots.
Suddenly, a soccer ball hit Satou in the face and caused him to drop Ren. Both of them hit the ground pretty hard—Satou was holding his face screaming that his "bose bas broben*" and Ren was gasping for air. Strong arms wrapped around Ren and pulled him into a hug. It was Kazemaru. "Are you okay!" he shouted as he held the small boy and Ren let out a little whimper. Kazemaru apologized and quickly let him go before inspecting his injuries.
Hitomiko and the Yokato junior high principle were taking care of Satou and his goons, while the two soccer teams went back to practice—except Kazemaru who was helping Aki tend to Ren's injuries. Fortunately, it was nothing too serious. Just a lot of bruises on his stomach, arms, legs and a huge bruise on his face. There were a couple of scratches on his face as well, but they only stung a little bit now. "Why did those guys attack you Ren?" Kazemaru asked in the most calming tone he could muster at the moment. He was beyond angry—how dare those guys attack a boy that was obviously younger than them!? Ren tried to shrug, but he was much too sore to. "I don't know," he said quietly, "I apologized for being in their spot and tried to leave."
Kazemaru and Aki frowned when they heard that. To them, it sounded like Ren did nothing to provoke their anger towards him, so why did those bullies attack him? Ren cringed when Aki dabbed one of the cuts on his face with a cotton ball, but he was able to turn and give Kazemaru a smile, "I'll be okay. This isn't the first fight I've gotten into, nor the worst." That didn't make Kazemaru feel better—it only made him angrier. Ren noticed that what he said only upset Kazemaru even more, but before he could say something else he was interrupted.
"There you are shrimpy!" came the booming voice of Satou. Ren cringed away when the large boy came storming over with his goons behind him. "Thanks to you, we're suspended from school and club activities!" he shouted as he tried to get closer, but he was blocked by an angry Kazemaru, who crossed his arms and glared at Satou. "Back off." Kazemaru hissed at Satou, who actually took a step back, but regained his posture and turned to glare a Ren again. "We're going to make you pay!" He snarled and he tried to take another step towards Ren, but Kazemaru blocked him once more. "Out of my way!" Satou snarled once more and raised his fist.
Time seemed to go slow for Ren. The switch (that's what he decided to call the weird feeling) flipped again and Ren could see everything slowly. He could see Endou shouting, he could see both teams running towards them and he could see Hitomiko with the principle running towards them as well. It was a strange feeling, but right now wasn't the time for him to analyze the feeling. Ren jumped to his feet, ran towards Kazemaru and wrapped his arms around the older boy's waist. Ren pulled Kazemaru back and they both fell to the ground while Satou's fist just missed Kazemaru's face and he stumbled. "Why you little" he sneered and turned to glare at Ren, but a fearful look spread across Satou's face. Ren was kneeling on the ground with his arms around Kazemaru's stomach and he was peeking out from under Kazemaru's arm; Ren was staring at Satou. It wasn't a glare or anything sinister, but it sent shivers up Satou's spine.
It was as if the kid was capable of murder.
Ren slowly got up from his kneeling position and stood in front of Kazemaru, "If you try to hurt him again I will fight you. I will hurt you. Just because I didn't fight back before doesn't mean I'm not capable of fighting now." Ren threatened, his eyes were as cold as ice now and just as deadly. Satou took a step back, "W-whatever, this is a waste of time." Satou grumbled and he briskly walked past Ren and Kazemaru, calling his goons as he went.
Ren turned to smile at Kazemaru, "Hehe, it worked." He giggled in delight. Kazemaru on the other hand was confused on what transpired. As were the others, but Hitomiko persuaded them that everything was okay and made them go back to the game. Kazemaru checked on Ren once more before heading onto the field. Ren sat back and relaxed for the moment.
Satou and friends were sitting in their spot under the bridge. "Satou-san, why did you walk away from shrimpy?" inquired the friend to Satou's immediate left. The other friends exchanged glances with each other. Why did Satou let him go?
Satou gave a tired glance to his friend before facing forward again, "Because Tachibana, I felt as though he was going to kill me." Tachibana let out a small chuckle "Kill you Satou-san? He was like six years old and he's short, barely even 110 cm* I bet."
Satou glanced at Tachibana again, "Even the smallest creature will fight to the death when cornered."
* Janken is a pretty popular game in Japan and the equivalent of the game Rock, Paper, Scissors. Saisho wa gu is translated to "First is rock", Janken Pon is translated to "Rock, Scissors, Paper Pop" and if it ends in a draw, the player will end with Aiko De Sho "It's a draw" with Japanese sound effects of sho sho sho. There apparently different variations of this game
*110.8 cm = 3'8" which is the average height of a 5 year old. 117.1 (3'10") is the average height of a 6 year old. Ren is below average height for his age.