Chasing Dreams (Dropped)

Chapter 9: Sword

"Y-you're Seth's older sister?" Ren's voice quivered a bit from the shocking revelation.

Sarah reluctantly nodded and lifted up her hands and spoke nervously "B-but me and him aren't that much alike..."

"Is that so..."

"I do appreciate you helping me Sarah, but I'd like to be left alone if that is okay with you."

The white haired teen frowned a bit before nodding, her voice remained warm just like before but you could sense a bit of sadness coming from it. "I understand...if you ever need help with anything feel free to let me know."

Sarah then placed a roll of clinical tape on a desk before walking out leaving Ren alone to his own thoughts.

"I'm glad to see that you are okay"

Ren glanced up to see a girl with crystal blue eyes and dark hair staring at him. Her lips were formed into a light smile as she held her bag awkwardly.

"Suzume, you were released from the hospital already?" Ren asked beginning to stand up.

Suzume nodded and rubbed her arm blushing a bit "Thanks to you my injury ended up being significantly less severe compared to what it could have been."

Ren's face lightened up and he quickly grabbed her hands "that's great, I'm so happy for you!" Suzume's face went beat red and her heart beating so fast that it practically was coming out of her chest.

"What about you? I heard about what happened earlier with Seth are you-"

Ren let go of her hands and turned focusing his attention out the window. The sky was fast and filled with clouds, creating a wave of blue and white that swirled into the afternoon sky. The brightness of the sky gleamed against Ren's crimson eyes brilliantly.

"Thanks to Sarah my wounds were properly taken care of." His eyes lowered to the ground only to stare at his feet.

"But there is a wound that cannot be healed right?" Suzume asked.

"Your pride"

Ren didn't speak for awhile, but when he eventually turned back he was a bit surprised to see that Suzume was still their staring at him with full attention. Her eyes weren't filled with judgement they looked at him for what he was, a man in pain.

"I overheard your conversation with Sarah, I can't blame you for getting a bit paranoid when you learned about her relationship with Seth."

"Unlike him she is a nice person, she treats people kindly and doesn't judge people differently based on their social class. In many ways she is the embodiment of what heroes should be."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ren asked, his eyes were wide with wonder but also confusion.

Suzume's face then began to panic as she looked back and forth nervously "Erm it's because I felt like repaying my debt to you..."

She began to fumble with her fingers as she voice increased in speed "Because if you I was finally freed from my mother's shackles and allowed to live my life the way I see fit. I want to learn the way of the sword to protect people, not to cause harm to others."

"It's not just that though...you and Sarah are kinda similar in that way...you were kind to me despite the way how I treated you before...and" before she could finish she felt Ren place his hand on top of her head "I think I get the idea, thank you Suzume you've made me feel a little better."

Suzume nodded and watched Ren place his blazer back on and adjust his tie. "I should probably apologize to Sarah then..." he mumbled.

"Ah Suzume I'll see you later then!"

As Ren ran off Suzume watched and smiled with confidence "I'll become your blade...and cut the thorns that stand in your path..."

A few hours later

A light melody resonated throughout the room as heavy keys were pressed downwards. A continuous ringing echoed from the piano as the silver haired girl played her song.

Ren slowly opened the door, and was immediately sent into a trance from her music. The rhythms that she created formed a sweet melody in his ears.

Her body moved along with her fingers, touching every single part of the keyboard until every key was played. The way how she moved was fluid showcasing how passionate she was about the instrument.

It wasn't long until she stopped, she let out a few heavy breathes and opened her eyes only for tears to roll down her face.

When Ren noticed that his moved shifted unknowingly moving the desk that he was leaning on.

Sarah quickly jumped from the loud screech against the floor and turned to see Ren staring at her with reddened cheeks. She lifted up her hand to her chest and sighed "You scared the hell out of me, I thought I was being spied on."

"Sorry about that..." Ren slowly approached her and glanced down at the white and black Keys "It was beautiful?"

"What?"

"The way how you played was beautiful" Ren repeated, "Sorry...after hearing it I didn't want to interrupt." Sarah quickly smiled and shook her head "It isn't a big deal, you are actually the first person who has heard this little performance of mine."

She looked down with dull wet eyes, her warm smile remained stained across her face.

"That song must be something special to you"

"You could say that..." she turned her head towards him almost seeming a bit hopeless.

But then she quickly changed the subject to avoid further questioning "So what brings you here Ren?"

The short boy placed his hand behind his head rubbing it sheepishly "I wanted to apologize about before, I jumped to conclusions a bit too quickly. I'm sorry about that...not giving you a chance to show me who you truly are."

"Don't worry about it, it's kinda the reaction I expect from people these days...."

"Even so it doesn't really sit right with me that I did something like that. Is there anything I can do for you to make it up?" He asked.

Sarah remained quiet for a moment before turning to him with a small smile "There is actually..."

"I'd like another chance to show you who I truly am."

"Would you mind having dinner with me and my family at my home on Friday?"

Ren paused for a moment, the entire room for him froze. He felt bad because how he treated her earlier but that the same time, he didn't want to eat dinner with Seth.

His eyes scrolled down to see how happy she was asking him and he nodded "Yeah I can come..."

"Okay then it's a date!" She said happily standing up and grabbing her bag "I'll show you that there are good traits in everyone."

"See you Friday Renji Tachibana" She said in a joyful tone.

Ren stood still and watched her leave, his face was pale and his eyes remained still. As the door closed behind her, he began to start yelling "WHAT THE HELL DID I GET MYSELF INTO!"

Chapter End

Next Chapter: Dinner At The Vermillion Household