Ren sighed deeply, thinking of what was to come his way. As he did, he heard the announcer state the schedule of the train that was coming was about to arrive any minute. Once the train arrived, he stepped in, and was lucky enough to find a seat. He sat down, trying to loosen up all the muscles that have tensed up all day today. After he caught his breath, he looked around, observing the presents of the other passengers, lost in thought. The teen decided to read to get his mind off of her. He tried to focus, but he ended up failing once more. His mind filled up with even more questions about her.
I wonder what's wrong between the gym teacher and Suzui-san...? He questioned himself, Why did she look so scared?
Ren decided to put his book away and focus more on the issue he wasn't even involved in until now. He tried to figure out what it was that was caused her fear. The teacher didn't seem so bad, but he could tell with what he felt earlier was a warning sign he wanted go figure out. He could sense danger that was heading towards her and his assumption with the bruises was possible abuse caused by him, but he had no proof which made him frustrated. He growled, tightening his fist as he put effort into figuring out the possibilities, but it ended up leading him to a headache. He gave up for now and noticed it was almost time for him to get off the train to go home. The adolescent took his glasses off to massage the bridge of his nose, hoping to clear his mind before exiting the train.
"Hm?" He looked across from him and noticed it was his classmate who was hanging out with Shiho after school. What was her name again...? Ann... Takamaki...? He asked himself. I guess I'm not alone on rumors, huh? He let out a small huff, recalling she was a topic in class, too. I wonder what her story is, too?
Ren ended up examining her. She appeared to have wavy platinum blonde hair that is styled in bushy pigtails with parted side bangs on the right side of her face where it seems she accessorizes with a single yellow hair clip above her left ear as well as small circular earrings on both ears and bright blue eyes. Her winter school uniform looked modified in a style that looked like it fit her personality like the girl he saw earlier at the library. The standard black blazer over a white varsity-like full-zip hooded sweatshirt, worn long to cover most of her short plaid skirt. Her sweatshirt has a red stripe between two blue stripes at the bottom, an S symbol near the front bottom on one side and a green four-leaf-clover symbol on the back of the hood. She was wearing red tights and brown boots with yellow laces.
The teen stared at her longer than he meant to and noticed her looking over at him. He felt like an idiot for noticing too late and looked away instantly, trying to hide his discomfort. Ren felt like he must've looked like a creep for how long hes been looking at her, but when he glanced back over to see her reaction, he heard a small giggle which led him to look back over. A smile crossed his face, matching her expression. He was thrown off guard to where he almost missed his stop. Ren put his glasses back on and stood up fast with an apologetic smile, still feeling as awkward as ever, rushing off the train once it came to a complete stop.
The unruly jet haired teen tried to catch his breath after leaving, admiring the decently fresh air in his neighborhood. He rubbed the back of his neck to loosen the tightness he could feel building up before walking back home. Ren took his time when heading back home, trying to process everything of what happened today, but it just increased his migraine to where he almost wanted to forget today's event. But the only thing that made it bearable was Shiho.
Yippee... An unwelcoming home to return to. An effortless chuckle left his lips, remembering school isn't the only thing that made him feel displeasure.
He was disquiet by the thought of even returning, but he didn't want to cause trouble, not just for him, but also for his guardian even though he wasn't welcomed. He put his hands in his pocket, rubbing the fabric as if to distract himself while he walked home. The teen stopped in his tracks, standing in front of the door, reading the sign of the cafe, before building up the courage to enter.
"Oh, you're back." Shojiro, the guardian, said sounding slightly annoyed. "How was it? Your first day? I didn't get a call from your school so I assume you followed the rules." He stated.
"Um... okay, I guess." He looked away, trying not think of the issue until he went to his room. "I'm gonna go study, thank you again for letting me stay here. If you'll excuse me." He smiled faintly, giving a small bow before heading upstairs.
Ren walked up to his room, setting his bag down by the front and his glasses on the shelf by his bed. He flopped on his bed, trying to catch his breath from all the things that happened today. He buried his head in his pillow, hoping to ease himself from today's unexpected stress.
I wonder how tomorrow's gonna go? He peeked over at his window, spacing out again. Should I talk to Suzui-san tomorrow for her safety? Ren asked, partially using it as an excuse to see her again, I'll save it for tomorrow I guess... The teen sighed, his eyelids were becoming heavy, his energy soon reaching to zero to where he was about to pass out, until he heard a sudden ding come from his phone. Hm? Who could it possibly be? My parents? He surprisingly hoped it wasn't as he checked his phone. What the hell...? The adolescent was surprised seeing an icon appear on his phone, I don't recall downloading this... delete.
Ren set his phone aside and forced himself up to keep himself awake to study until it was bed time. He was able to learn what he missed in class. Or so he hoped. When he looked at his phone, he saw it was ten o'clock. He breathed in deeply and exhaled slow, resting against the wall, looking beside him, seeing the dirty plate.
I should thank Sojiro for dinner and clean the dishes before he leaves then head to bed. He thought to himself, getting up.
"Finally done with your studies?" Ren nodded. "Good. I'm gonna head back home, don't stay up too long."
"Thank you for the meal." A faint smile appeared before heading to the sink to clean the dishes.
Sojiro hummed before walking out the door, locking up. Ren set aside the dishes and headed up stairs to go to sleep. When he got ready for bed, and lied down, his eyelids becoming heavy he heard a ding come from his phone again.
Who could it be this time? He groaned, What the hell? The teen started to get irritated a bit, deleting the app instantly before going to sleep.
Hours later that felt like minutes, he felt a chill go through his whole body, reaching around to bury himself in his blanket. He ended up falling off his bed. Or so he thought.
Huh? Where the hell am I? He was startled, looking at his surroundings, Is this...? Am I in a jail cell?! Ren stood up swiftly, leading himself to hit against a wall by the cause of getting up too fast. I thought I was on probation! When the hell did I get sent to juvie?! He was troubled, "Ow..." He groaned, getting hit by the chains he was tied down in.
"Oh, finally awake, huh, Inmate?" Someone said, walking up to his cell.
Ren looked up, bewildered on what's going on around him. He noticed two little girls that were twins appear in front of his cell. They appeared to be young girls with platinum blonde hair and yellow eyes. The twins were both wearing a black eye patch with the letter "V" over one of their eyes and a blue prison guard outfit. One had a long braid and a hat with the letters "O-Y-O-O," while the other had hair buns and a hat with the letters "X-M-R-N." The letters appear to spell "OXYMORON." They wore a brassard on their left arm. They also have matching black ties. One was holding a clip holder, while the other held an electric shock baton.
He was lost on what to say as he put effort into wrapping this whole thing around his head. As he finally got his senses back to speak, the twins moved aside his cell, exposing an elderly looking man with a big nose.
"Trickster, welcome to my Velvet Room." The man said.
"So you've come to, Inmate." The one with the hair buns started.
"The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream." The other twin said.
"You're in the presence of our master, stand up straight!" The first twin stated.
Ren rubbed the back of his head, slowly getting up this time to head to the front, hoping to get answers. As he did, he felt something heavy hold him back, noticing it was a ball and chain. He put strength into reaching the front and placed his hands on the bars, tugging on them, hoping to get out to talk to them in a more mannerly way, but there was no success, he resigned instantly, hoping for a satisfying explanation to lessen his discontent.
"Welcome, I am delighted to make your acquaintance." The elderly man said.
Ren was a bit taken back by his appearance, but mainly by his deep voice. The man had the appearance of a bizarre old man with a long nose, pointed ears and bulging, bloodshot eyes. He was wearing a black suit with white gloves. He appeared to look quite tall when he looked at the length of his legs.
"This place place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter." He started, "It is a room that only those who are bound by a "contract" may enter." He continued, "I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well." He introduced himself. "I summoned you to speak of important matters." The man explained, "It involves your life as well."
"Important matters?" Ren replied, still completely confused.
"Still, this is a surprise..." Igor said, examining the look of the room, "The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such." He chuckled, "You truly are a "prisoner" of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."
"Ruin?" He questioned, concerns starting to mix.
"I speak of the end to everything." He responded, "However there is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be "rehabilitated". Rehabilitated towards freedom... That is your only means to avoid ruin... Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"
"I'd rather avoid ruin." Ren answered.
"Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation." He replied, "Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here."
"Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like." Caroline, the girl with buns, said with a smirk.
"The duty of the wardens is to protect inmates. We are also you collaborators." Justine, the girl with the braid added. "That is, if you remain obedient."
"I shall explain the roles of these two at another occasion." Igor said. "Now them it seems the night is waning... It is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually..."
A bell suddenly rung, making Ren jump and back away from the door, "Time's up. Now hurry up and go back to sleep." Caroline said, looking up at him.
"Wait!" The adolescent grabbed the bars, struggling against them.
I had a strange dream. Ruin... Rehabilitation... What does it mean...? He thought to himself, trying to organize his thoughts.
"Hey. Get going. Don't be late for school." Sojiro called out.
Whatever... Ren tried to erase the weird dream from his mind and headed to school.
He took the train to school and started to think of how today is going to be. How should he act around school? The rumors didn't hit him as much as they did. Should he try and meet up with Shiho? He didn't want to seem like a stalker. What happens if she can't handle much of today like yesterday? Ren filled his mind with questions yet again, burying the questions of his dream in the back of his mind.
When Ren finally arrived school grounds he wanted to look around for Shiho, but he thought to himself, he should save it for later, letting things happen on their on. Though as he entered the building he saw the gym teacher, standing proudly at the front door, smiling at all the school girls as if checking them out. The discomforting aura he felt yesterday was still there when he looked at him.
What was his name again? Kamoshida? He thought.
As he walked in further, ignoring his presence, he heard him call out Shiho's name again, sounding like a big shot. Ren looked over and headed her way, before the teacher could reach her again.
"Morning, love!" Ren thankfully beat him to her. He could sense a deathly stare at him, feeling as though daggers were thrown at him, "Is he glaring at me?" He whispered.
Shiho glanced over and hummed, "What are you doing? Are you an idiot?" She sounded concerned.
"I'm sorry, I just can't let him continue on with whatever he's doing to you." Ren responded.
"What in the world makes you think he's-?" Ren gave her a look of you don't need to lie, which made he stop in her "I appreciate what you did for me yesterday, but I don't want you to get into anymore trouble. You're already going through enough aren't you?" She looked up at him, worried.
There it was again. He felt like something hit him in the chest. He still couldn't understand what it was that kept hitting him every time she looked at him with that bothersome look.
"Don't worry about me, okay?" Shiho gave a weak smile at him this time, "Worry about yourself, more." She was about to walk the other way to avoid her coach, but Ren ended up grabbing her hand once again.
"I really appreciate your concerns, but what's going on around me. The rumors, the glares, the threats aren't bothering me anymore. My main concern is you." He looked at her, a look of distress washing over his face this time.
Shiho breathed out a small laugh, giving a weak smile while shaking her head, "I truly appreciate your concerns, but you really don't need to worry about me. I'm doing just fine. Just a little tired from overworking, but it's all... it's all worth it." She lied.
"Suzui-san, please... I want to help you." Ren said, his worries beginning to grow.
"I'll see you later, Amamiya-san." She smiled softly, freeing herself from his hold.
Ren let her walk away this time, feeling dumbfounded. He was rooted to the floor, wanting to go after her, but he felt pushed away even further this time. The teen heard a chuckle leave the coaches mouth, making him glance over, seeing a look of amusement on Kamoshida's smug looking face. A little laugh ended up escaping Ren's lips, hiding his look of determination, inwardly telling himself he is not going to let him lay a finger on her any longer.
My concerns towards you exceed the concerns towards myself. He thought to himself, looking in the direction she left before heading his way to his class.
