Chasing Dreams (Dropped)

Chapter 65: Protection

"Renji..." A woman's voice echoed in the distance.

"Uh..." 

"Renji, have you woken up yet? We need to start heading off to school soon or else we'll be late" Suzume's voice grew louder as she walked down the hall.

"Uh..."

Ren let out a series of groans as his body slowly began to awaken. With a final turn he placed his hand over his eyes immediately wincing from the bright light entering the room.

After a few seconds the intensity of the light dwindled allowing Ren to fully open his eyes in what felt like days.

"Good morning...Suzume." Ren muttered, as he laid his eyes upon her.

Suzume stood at the doorway with a light smile, as she gently ran her fingers through her hair. 

"Good morning." Suzume nodded and deepened her smile acting as if this has happened many times before "You should probably get up, we need to get going."

Ren let out a sluggish yawn before stretching his body along the cot "What time is it?"

"7:30" Suzume muttered glancing down at her watch "You should probably hurry up though school starts at 8."

Ren slowly sat up groaning along the way there. He let out another yawn before raising his hand to cover up his mouth "You're right we probably should get moving..." He looked around the room for a moment before eyeing his red and black uniform on top of a nightstand. "Thanks, for waking me up." Ren finally said rubbing the back of his head "I've never been much of a morning person."

Suzume's eyes edged away before making her usual odd smile. Ren watched for a bit, he was always aware of her awkward tendencies, like how she seemed to pick her words carefully or that she had difficulty holding eye contact. 

Ren's face softened as he stared at her noticing the tainted mark that resided on her cheek. 

Ren thought about Sayuri for a moment, about what she did and even how he reacted to it. His thin smile immediately faded, as his look stiffened causing Suzume to look on nervously "Suzume..." He muttered her name once more fully grabbing her attention.

He stopped for a moment as the scene of her being slapped replayed in his head. He slowly turned his head away recollecting his thoughts. He momentarily thought about Suzume's reaction to the situation that occurred and frowned "How do I even tackle something like this?"

 "How long..." He paused unsure if he actually wanted an answer "How long has this been going on?"

Suzume stared at Ren for awhile, long enough to make Ren's body go stiff. She didn't say anything, instead watching him closely as if she were looking at his very soul. It took her a couple minutes, to form anything resembling a response, but what he heard wasn't what he expected.

"What are you doing?" Suzume questioned, adjusting her tone to sound a bit more blunt than usual.

Ren gave her an absent stare before turning his head somewhat. He seemed puzzled by her words, causing his mind to draw a blank "What?" He paused for a moment only to continue "What are you?"

Before he could even finish Suzume interrupted him, giving him an answer that only further confuse him.

"I mean what are you doing here?" Suzume's eyes shifted from the ground only to fall flat upon Ren's. The eyes that normally filled her with hope, didn't do anything for her now. Instead they left her feeling more uncertain than ever before.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ren asked. He watched Suzume for a moment, hoping to see some sort of light flicker within her but instead he only saw darkness. The state of her heart after the years of turmoil caused by her Mother.