What in the world are these from...? Shiho thought, It couldn't have been caused by...? The young student looked over at Ren as he was walking out, a feel of concerns beginning to cross her, He wouldn't have...? No... no... of course not... Right...? A feel of doubt began to grow as she watched him walk away.
Shiho didn't know how to feel as she stared at the rope burn marks. No... This couldn't have been caused by him. If anything... it would've been... "Nnn...!" She gripped her head, the throbbing pain worsening. "Why... can't I remember?!" The young teen covered her eyes, getting into a fetal position, burying her face between her arms, praying the pain would subside soon.
W-Wait... did... did I just see brick walls?! Castle walls?! Shiho shook, deeply concerned, backing up against the window. I must be losing it... "Nnn...! Not again!" She groaned. "R...en..." The pain suddenly began to lessen, What the...? Her brows furrowed, not understanding the meaning of it, "A-Anyway... I should just sleep this off." A sigh escaped her lips before her eyelids started to become heavy. Finally...
Sleep... Sleep seemed to be her only safe place. Well, until she met Ren. Once she met Ren, she actually began to feel safe during her wake.
Meanwhile...
Ren tapped his pencil on his table, staring out the window, lost in thought. His focus moved to the desk in front of him, Is she still at the shoot Shiho said earlier? The teen thought, then his mind moved to Shiho, I wonder if she'll be at least a bit better the next time I see her...
He became a bit wary about both of their positions. He worried about her health and worried a bit about the possibilities of false accusations rising even more. A deep sigh escaped as he rested his head on his desk. Please let her be okay... He looked up at the clock and noticed the bell was about to ring any moment. He sat up straight and clenched his pencil, awaiting for class to end. Once the bell went off, he packed his bag instantly, rushing to gather his things.
As he rushed out of the classroom to check up on Shiho, he flinched, frozen stiff after seeing Kamoshida near the infirmary. Damn it... Ren groaned, How can I avoid him...? He thought for a moment trying to figure out if he should head straight in or avoid him, Ah! Ryuji! I hope he'd be willing to help...
The teen ran his way back to his class and found Ryuji standing against the wall near his class, "Ryuji!" Ren called out to him, "Think you could help me?"
"Yeah, what's up dude?"
"I want to go check on Shiho, but... Kamoshida's hanging right outside the infirmary." Ren groaned, "I don't think it'd be wise to pass him. So... do you think you could distract him? Please?"
"Ugh... sure." Ryuji sighed deeply, slumping out of irritation, but huffed out a laugh.
"Thank you!"
The two teens headed towards the infirmary. Ren stood behind a corner while Ryuji headed over to the infirmary. The blond haired student started to talk smack to Kamoshida which ended up leading them to both walk away. Ren sighed with relief and started to walk over.
"Ren!" Shiho lit up by his arrival, looking relieve.
"Shiho..." A soft smile crossed his face as he approached her. "How are-!?" He was startled by her sudden embrace, but he sighed with a grin as he returned the hug.
Ren was happy, but concerns crossed him when he felt her shaking, "Shiho...?" He spoke softly.
"Ren..." She buried her face in the nape of his neck, tightening the embrace.
He hushed her as he gently stroked her head, hoping for her to calm down, "Everything's okay..." He calmly spoke, "What's wrong?" Ren released her, his hands still gently on her head as he looked at her with a soft expression.
The teenage boy felt a piercing pain hit straight through his heart once seeing tears slide down her cheeks. He wiped away the tears with his thumbs and embraced her to hide her distressing expression. "You're okay... everything's fine, Shiho. I'm here." He held her with care until she calmed down from her look of fright.
"Th-Thank you..." She hiccupped, wiping away her tears on his shoulder as she buried her face.
Ren stayed silent and nodded, letting her catch her breath as he waited for her to speak first, not wanting her stress level to heighten even more. All he felt he should do right now was sit there to comfort her and wait for her to release whatever she's wanting to express, if and when she's ready.
"I'm scared..." She whisperingly whined. "I'm so scared Ren..." She squeezed him tightly.
He closed his eyes, trying to stay leveled and not jump into assumptions of the most likely cause. He peeked behind himself to see if the possible so-called reason is by the entrance, but thankfully, he was nowhere in sight. Ren tightened the hug a little as he closed his eyes, hoping his comfort would drain some of the stress she was carrying on her shoulders. He cradled her head and massaged her upper back, hoping she would finally be at ease. Which thankfully, she slowly was.
"I'm sorry... C-Coach... was just staring at me from the entrance." She finally confessed, "I could... feel his eyes just... looking all over me... feeling as if he was touching me all over again." She whimpered, "I was so scared he'd approach me like he's done before..." Shiho continued to wipe away the tears. "What do I do?" More tears escaped.
His eyes tightly closed and his body tensed up, anger beginning to rise. "You're not alone anymore, Shiho..." He gently spoke, "I'm here and I'll always be here."
Shiho finally stopped shaking, releasing herself from him so she could see the face that always seemed to be able to calm her throbbing heart. A small smile appeared, her hands suddenly cupping his cheeks. The adolescent male was surprised by her touch, but didn't mind it nor pull away. He closed his eyes and smiled kindly, hoping it would lead her to ease. Seconds after though, he was startled when she placed her forehead upon his, a small hum coming from her as her smile grew.
"Thank you..." She breathed out.
"Any time..." He smiled in turn. "Are you hungry?" Ren asked, moving his head away from her, hoping food might comfort her.
"Yeah..." She sighed a little, a bit saddened by the distance. The adolescent still didn't understand the reason, but brushed it aside.
"Well... I made a bento, so if you would like, you're welcomed to have it." He smiled gently, grabbing his lunch from his bag.
"How about we split it?" Shiho giggled, "So we're even. Again." She said, remembering she gave a part of her lunch to him.
"Deal." He breathed out a laugh, placing his hand on her head, stroking her head.
Her smile grew and she felt warm all over. Her heart felt something she still didn't understand so she brushed it aside once more, putting it away in safekeeping to think more about it when she's able to think clearer.
They quietly and peacefully ate lunch together. Shiho felt safe once again by his presence, but there was still a speck of worry hidden behind her mind after glimpsing at the burn marks again. The teen wanted to ask him if he knew the cause, but she was a bit concerned of the results, so she stayed quiet for now.
Lunch ended and Ren put his box away, "I hope the food was decent." He awkwardly chuckled, praying it wasn't bad.
"The food was good." She grinned from ear to ear, "Did you make it yourself?"
"Yeah, my mother taught me a bit, so I'm putting it to use." He responded.
"Well, she taught you quite well then."
"Are you okay to return to class or would you like to rest some more?"
"I think I'm okay to return. I just need to put ointment the nurse said she'll give me on these burn marks and then I'm good to go."
"Okay. I'll go get the nurse."
No... it couldn't have been Ren to cause these... right...? She asked herself.
Shiho nodded and awaited their return. She stared at her wrists, lightly skimming her fingers over them, not feeling much pain. The adolescent thought she was going to ache, but after the abuse she's gone through, she felt her body began a high pain tolerance. Shiho gripped her hands, closing her eyes in hopes to rid her fear and anxiety, then was startled out of it when they returned.
"Here's some ointment for you to rub gently every 4 hours for the next few days." The nurse informed, gently rubbing it on her wrists then handing it to her.
"Okay. Thank you Miss." Shiho nodded, grabbing hold of it.
"Shall we?" Ren held out his hand towards her.
"Let's." She grinned, accepting his hand.
As they walked out, their hands were still linked and rumors spread once again. This time though, it sounded a little worse than this mornings...
"I heard he abuses her." One student whispered.
"I bet that's why she's dating him." One responded.
"Such a poor girl... I feel sorry for her." Another added.
Shiho became a little frustrated by the continuous misinterpretation and accusations. She squeezed his hand tightly and closed her eyes. The adolescent looked over at Ren and was shocked none of this effected him. Shiho breathed out a small laugh and her doubt towards him slowly vanished, leading her to pull him towards her and...