Ren opened the door for Shiho, both giving each other a small smile as they both headed out the door.
"Best not do anything stupid..." Sojiro sighed deeply, letting out a light laugh as he shook his head.
The two adolescents walked out silently, side by side. Ren placed his hands in his pockets, hoping the closeness won't lead to their hands brushing against each other. Even if just little skin to skin contact, he knows his heart would most likely burst, just by the softness of her hand. Shiho placed her hands behind her back, trying to avoid the same thing. They once again fell into slight depression because of the slight distant they both could feel. The two still kept going in circles, wondering to themselves on why things were going like this since they just started to become friends. They barely know each other. They barely speak to one another. They barely spend time together. Yet they both wondered to themselves on why they already seemed so close, but also felt so distant.
A sigh escaped Shiho, her mind beginning to wander. Ren peeked over, contemplating on questioning her, but was a bit concerned on prying into her life. Shiho glanced over, feeling Ren's gaze towards her which led her to reveal a small grin slide across her face, along with a light laugh.
"I'm assuming you're curious about earlier...?" She gave a crooked grin, looking over at him with a bitter look, not really wanting to recollect the event from earlier.
"You don't have to if you don't want to..." Ren looked over at her with concern, giving an expression of understanding.
"Heh... thank you..." She stopped in her tracks.
Shiho looked down, slowly closing her eyes. The young woman gripped her hands tightly, building up the courage to speak up. She breathed in and out slowly, putting effort into calming her throbbing heart.
"Shiho..." Ren ended up placing one hand on her cheek by reflex, meaning to comfort her.
She jolted a little, her eyes fluttering open. The adolescent bit her bottom lip as she looked up at him. Shiho felt her chest tightening which led her to shutting her eyes tightly. Right after Ren saw that expression, he withdrew his hand, but it was placed back on her cheek as she gripped his hand tightly. Ren's heart sank once seeing the look of sorrow reappear on her face, looking as though she was about to burst into tears. By impulse, he placed his other hand on her other cheek and rested his forehead on hers, hoping she would feel his warmth, showing he's always here for her.
Shiho's lips trembled, some tears sliding down her cheeks as she began to shake. "Thank you..." She gripped both of his hands.
Ren didn't know what to say. All he did was stand there in silence. Without any thought, he tugged her into his arms, hiding her teary face into his chest, hoping she'd feel safe in his hold. The young man stroke her hair, hoping to calm down her nerves. At that moment she felt completely safe. The young woman didn't understand why she felt such comfort from a person she just barely met, but she didn't mind it. She felt she could actually trust him. Even if just a little.
Shiho sighed deeply, burying her face in his chest, building up the courage to speak up. "...Earlier..." She gripped onto his shirt as she inhaled and exhaled slowly, "At practice... I was told to stay behind."
Earlier After School...
"Suzui-chan!" The coach called out. "Got a minute?"
"Hm?" Shiho mumbled, her heart beginning to throb, "Wh-What is it, Coach...?" She began to tremble.
"I noticed you've been making some mistakes during practice lately." He began to point out. "Any idea of the cause of it?" Her coach went down to her level, not understanding personal space. "Could the cause happen to be your boyfriend?"
"Huh?" She jolted once he was getting closer, her brows furrowing.
"The delinquent." He responded.
"What? No! Of course not!" Shiho stated instantly, "He has nothing to do with my sudden incompetence!"
"Oh?" Her coach smirked, "Then do I have to give you even more lessons?"
"N-No... You don't have to worry, Coach! I'll do better next time!" She spit out, about to run, but was grabbed by the arm before she could even take a step away.
"Now, now, Suzui-chan." Kamoshida chuckled, gripping her arm, "No need to rush. I can give you a quick lesson."
Please no... She closed her eyes tightly.
"Come on. No need to be coy. This will just be quick." He tugged her towards him.
The coach dragged her to the gym, gripping her arm tightly, giving warning she has no way to escape and even if she did, he would do what he normally does when he loses his cool.
I can't escape... She whined quietly, closing her eyes even tighter, begging this usual nightmare to end soon.
"Now, get in position." He smirked, practically throwing her to the center.
She tried to stay calm and get into position without letting her legs lock up like last time. Shiho didn't want to end up in the same situation as last time. The volleyball player tried and tried to stay strong, but with the fear and stress that kept building up, her legs ended up becoming weak, leading her to fall to her knees. Before her knees reached the floor, she was grabbed by Kamoshida from behind.
"I guess I'll have to be of assistants again today too, Suzui-chan." He chuckled in her ear, giving a sly grin she could automatically sense.
Her coach placed his hands on her hips, making her rest up against him. His face right beside hers, his lips close to her ear to where she could hear his breath of excitement. She shivered when she felt his hands slide up her figure, passing towards her chest which led her to groan, quivering in fear. Her eyes opened wide, soon squinting as some tears began to slip through her eye lids like cracks in a dam. She could feel something from behind her, wanting to push away from that uncomfortable feeling and escape, but she was frozen stiff. Shiho was in complete shock to where she couldn't move. The young woman didn't have the strength nor the ability to even struggle.
"Are you ready, Suzui-chan?" Kamoshida breathed a cackle against her ear.
The teen couldn't say a word. Her lips were slightly open, but no words could escape. She wanted to scream. She wanted to yell. She wanted to say something. But as the discomfort she continued to feel, she felt as though she was already dead. Luckily for her though...
"Mr. Kamoshida?" Somebody called out to him, entering the gym.
The coach released her and acted as if nothing was going on. He just placed his friendly smile like usual and spoke like everything was going fine.
"You can go home, Suzui-chan." He looked at her with a devilish look, "We'll continue this tomorrow, okay?"
Shiho couldn't say anything. She didn't want to say anything nor look at him any longer. The teen ran out as fast as she could.
Ann... Please still be here! She ran without even stopping for breath, hoping she could forget what happened not long ago.
Present Time...
Ren's eyes opened widely, filled with disbelief. Blood rushed through him, a feel of anger beginning to boil deep inside him. His heart beat quickened. He gripped onto Shiho even tighter.
That damn bastard... He rested his head on hers, hugging her tightly, I'm going to end this. Some way, some how, I will find a way for this to end.
"I'm... I'm sorry for springing this on you..." She whined against his chest, gripping onto her shirt. "I just..."
"Don't you ever apologize for this." He hugged her tighter, "I'm glad you did."
Shiho breathed out a laugh, her eyebrows furrowing into a look of sadness as her eyes released all of the tears she held back from earlier.
"Let me help you." He whispered gently which somehow calmed Shiho down even just a little.
"Heh... how could you possibly do that?" She looked up at him, some tears sliding down her cheeks as a crooked smile appeared on her face.
Ren wiped away her tears as he thought for a moment, hoping to keep that filthy man away from her. Then he just remembered. "Let me be your fake boyfriend." He spit out without even thinking of saying it in a bit of a better way.
"Huh...?" She looked at him, shocked.
"S-Sorry. Let me say that a little better..." He cackled, rubbing the back of his head, his face becoming a little flushed. "Let me be with you during practice. Right when you're done, I'll walk you straight back home. I'll help you avoid him from doing such a thing again." He held onto her arms as he looked at her calmly, but also with determination. "Okay?" Ren gave her a crooked grin, showing he's committed to helping her pull through this whole situation.
The young woman was hesitant for a moment which Ren could automatically sense.
"Do you trust me?" Ren looked at her sincerely.
Shiho was surprised to hear him ask that, but when he did, she had a gut feeling to nod her head slowly. When she did, a genuine grin slid across his face.
"Thank you." He looked at her kindly.
He ruffled her hair gently again like in the café. When he did, her heart skipped a beat again. She still didn't understand the meaning of it, but she brushed it off like usual and focused on what's going on now.
"We'll start this at school tomorrow?" He placed his hand gently on her cheek unconsciously.
"Y-Yeah..." She answered quietly, putting effort into hiding her blush.
"Okay." He grinned, "Well, let's go to the train station. I wouldn't want your parents to worry. And most definitely don't want you to walk home alone in the dark."
I most certainly don't want her to end up in the same position as that other woman at my hometown... He looked away, exposing an expression of deep concern after remembering the past.
"Ren?" Shiho looked at him, trying to get his attention, "Is something the matter on your end?"
"Hm? Oh... n-nothing to worry about." He smiled faintly, "Nothing to worry about at all..." Ren looked away with a sigh, "Let's take you home."
Without any thought given, his hand reached out towards hers and he began to walk ahead, leading the way. Shiho flinched a little from the sudden grab, but she didn't mind it. She felt his warmth which made her feel safe every time. By impulse, she squeezed his hand tightly as if telling him thank you. Ren jolted by the sudden squeeze, finally realizing what he was doing, but he didn't express it. He just let out a little cackle as he continued to lead the way.
"Stay safe, have your phone out and stay in the light if night falls before you reach home, okay?" He looked at her with seriousness as if expressing himself like a worried parent.
"Okay, dad." Shiho giggled, finally feeling at ease, the event from earlier erasing from her mind.
"I'm serious." He chuckled, ruffling her hair again like a younger sibling, "Stay safe, okay?"
"Okay." She looked down, hiding her slightly reddened face, going in for a tight squeeze of appreciation. "Thank you again, Ren."
A look of surprise was exposed on his face, but then turned into a look of happiness, "My pleasure." He rested his hand on her head, reciprocating the sudden embrace, "See you tomorrow."
Shiho's heart was racing again and was taken aback from hearing Ren's suddenly race too. She was going to question the meaning of it, but she didn't want to ruin any of this, so she buried her curiosity and released him, heading into the train.
"Have a nice evening, Ren." She waved, stepping foot into the train.
"You as well, Shiho." He waved in turn.
He kept looking at her until the train began to head out. As the light reflected on the window, he saw a look of sadness on his face. He was beginning to wonder on why he had such an expression. Was it because of what's to come tomorrow? Was it because of what happened to Shiho earlier? Or was it because she was leaving? Those thoughts boggled in his mind as he was returning home.
"I thought I told you not to do anything stupid!" Is the first thing he received right when he walked into the café.
"Huh?" He looked over, falling out of his random trance, "Oh, no! This isn't caused by me!" He stated quickly, after noticing his shirt was damp, "This is by the cause of... personal matters." Ren looked down, remembering what he was told. "It's nothing to worry about."
"Better not be..." Sojiro said, giving him a look of suspicion.
"Yeah..." Ren sighed deeply, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm going to bed early. Goodnight." He smiled kindly while heading towards his room.
"Okay..." Sojiro said, curious on what happened, but didn't pry into what happened.
The adolescent was lost in thought again as he changed into his PJ's, Here's to hoping tomorrow's going to be a better day... If not for me, then at least for Shiho... Once he wrapped himself into his blanket, he fell into a deep slumber, praying tomorrow will be a better day than the rest.