Back with another Ren chapter! After this, we'll be switching back to Otoya for a bit. For now, enjoy this chapter.

The Story of Jinguuji Ren II

Ren let out a noisy sigh of disappointment as he surveyed the empty music room.

For the past couple of days, he had been hurrying to the music room right after school ended, hoping to catch the blue-haired boy again. So far, the student had been in the room playing the piano every time Ren arrived. The fifth grader would sit in the empty classroom next door and listen to the music through the wall. Even during school hours, Ren's mind was preoccupied with the anticipation of seeing the mysterious pianist after school. In fact, he hadn't even remembered to listen to his mother's song in a week.

But today, the boy wasn't there. The piano remained silent and untouched.

Ren pulled a chair over to the side of the room and pulled out the music recorder with his mother's song. He plugged his earphones into the device, placed the plugs in his ears, and hit play.

…..

The next day...

Ren quickly made his way to where the third graders usually had their classes, a book clutched in his hands. He knew that Hayato would still be around since the bell had rung not too long ago. The more sociable Ichinose twin always stayed back for a bit to say goodbye to everyone while his little brother went outside to avoid others.

The problem was...Ren didn't know which classroom Hayato would be coming out from.

However, that wasn't really a problem since Hayato found him. "Ren? What are you doing here, nya?" The navy-haired third grader chirped happily from behind Ren.

'Oh, good! I can probably make it to the music room on time. I hope he's there this time.' Ren turned and held out the book. "Your book, Haya-tan. I came to return it."

"Oh, yeah," Hayato laughed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "About that, can you return it to the library for me, nya?"

Ren blinked, still holding the book out. "Huh?"

Hayato clapped his hands together in an apology. "I'm so, so, so, so sorry, Ren! Tokiya and I have a chorus meeting right now. I don't have time to run to the library, nya!"

"Okay, okay, fine," Ren agreed hurriedly before the older Ichinose twin could bombard him with apologies, "You owe me one though!"

"Of course, Ren. Thanks, nya!" Hayato shouted as Ren jogged away. 'Please let him be in the music room when I get there!' Ren prayed.

As soon as he placed the book in the return bin, Ren turned and dashed out of the library, heading for the nearest flight of stairs up to the second floor. He practically flew up the steps and ran through the halls. He turned the corner and could see the music room at the end of the hall. The fifth grader froze where he stood, listening hard. To his relief, he could hear the piano singing.

Suddenly, the music stopped. Ren crept up to the door and peered in through the window. The blue-haired boy was zipping up his bag, clearly about to leave. A feeling of panic hit Ren and he quickly pulled the door open.

"Wait!"

The boy jumped violently at Ren's sudden outburst and slammed his knee against the piano. Both involuntarily flinched at the loud thunk that echoed around the room, and the blue-haired boy cried out in pain and clutched at the throbbing joint.

"Are you okay?" Ren asked, crouching down next to him with honest concern on his face. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"I'm okay," the boy murmured, glancing up at Ren. 'He has violet eyes,' the older boy noticed.

An awkward silence passed between the two. The young pianist shyly stared at the ground with his hands clenched nervously in his lap. Ren noticed that his figure looked rather fragile, just like a girl's. It really hadn't been the fifth grader's fault when he mistook the blue-haired boy for a girl.

The quiet was becoming unbearable. Normally, Ren would have found a new topic to talk about, but his social skills had deserted him the moment he entered the room. Instead, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "Your music is cool!"

He mentally smacked himself. 'That's the only thing I could say? Seriously?' He was Jinguuji Ren; he should be able to say something better than that! "What I mean is, you're really good at playing piano. It sounds really nice." Well, that was just a bit better but at least he didn't stutter or anything.

"...Thank you."

Ren lifted his eyes to the other party's face, feeling more encouraged to speak when he saw the tiny, pleased smile and the tint of red that were creeping across the pale face. "How long have you been playing?" he asked, shifting into a more comfortable sitting position, "Do you practice here every day?"

The pianist hesitated for a bit, and for a moment, Ren worried that he had pushed too quickly. However, those concerns abated when the student replied, "I started playing a few years ago, and I come here every day after school to practice."

"Really? That's cool!" Ren really hadn't been expecting to hear that the boy had been playing for years, but he still found it impressive. "I play the saxophone, but I just started that last year." 'The same year I started listening to the song from my mother,' he added silently.

"Saxophone?"

"Yeah!" There weren't any saxophones in the room, so Ren did his best to describe the instrument. "It's usually yellow, and it's pretty big. There are buttons that you press down on to change the pitch of the note you're playing, and you blow air into one end to produce the note."

He paused in his explanation when he noticed that the other wasn't staring at the floor anymore. 'Finally, he's looking me in the eye,' he thought with satisfaction.

The two of them continued to talk for another few minutes. The nervous tension between them slowly disappeared and soon, they were having a pretty comfortable conversation, sitting with their backs to the wall.

When the blue-haired boy noticed how long he had stayed, he jumped up and grabbed his bag. "I have to go," he said hurriedly, "My butler is probably waiting for me."

Oh, yeah. This guy came from a wealthy family, just like Ren. "Okay." The fifth grader stood up as well, trying not to let his disappointment into his voice, "I'll see you tomorrow then." He suddenly remembered something and quickly called after the other. "I'm Ren. You're…?"

"...Masato."

Ren smiled and waved. "See you later, Masato."

The fourth grader nodded and left. Ren leaned against the piano, smirking to himself as he repeated the pianist's name to himself in his head. He tapped a finger lightly against his chin, immersed in his thoughts. After a while, he snapped his fingers triumphantly.

'I'll call him Masayan!'