A/N: I'm sooooo sorry for taking so long! I just have had so much to do and so many problems these days. And one of those problems was Rens song. I accidentally lost the link to the perfect song for Ren, so I had to search for it. No such luck, but then I found this one and decided I liked it better. Also, it took a while because this is a long-ass chapter. So... yeah, I'm so sorry. Please don't kill me. I love you!
Sunshine. That's all you could see when you woke up at 7:30 am. The light went through your window in an almost ethereal way. You looked around your room. The clock that just woke you up was sitting on the bureau beside your bed, some pillows were scattered around the floor and your personal calendar that hung on your wall read:
"Jinguji Ren" on Today's date.
You sighed, not really wanting to leave the comfort of your bed. You felt kind of drained from the events of the day before. It had been a great day, though, since you got the bases for that first track. It needed more lyrics and a defined beat, but you could work that out later.
Slowly but steadily, you got up and stretched for around 10 minutes. Then, you walked into the bathroom and bathed quickly, not really wanting to be late. The day was really warm, but you honestly didn't know with Japan's sudden cold winds, so you settled for something light but that would keep you warm if needed (what I thought of is in the external link but you can choose whatever fits your style). You fixed up a light make up and took both of your tablets into the piano/living room.
Since you still had a little more than half an hour, you went to the kitchen and prepared a good breakfast. It was big enough to give you energies for the whole day, which you really appreciated because making a song in a day was no common feat. Then, you went back to your room, brushed your teeth and headed into the living room once again.
There, you saw Haruka and Ren chatting happily. You supposed neither of them were ones to be usually late.
"Hello there, Miss Nanami and Mr. Ren. How are you doing?"
"We're absolutely great, (Y/N). Just chatting about how you're going to work with us."
You smiled.
"Well, I'm glad about that because I thought, since yesterday worked so well, we could do something like that."
"Do you really think that would work, (Y-Y/N)?"
Giggling, you walked up to your tablet and fixed it so you'd record everything.
"Nope, that wouldn't work. We're going to do the same, but slightly different." You sat beside Haruka in front of the piano. "Miss Haruka, please look at Mr. Ren and tell me the three words that come to the top of your head."
"Why?" Ren asked. You simply ignored him and motioned Haruka to go on. She complied and looked at him for a moment before saying:
"U-um... orange, passion and... flowers?"
You hummed. "Okay. Miss Haruka, could you leave us for a moment here? "
"Uh-oh Sure."
Once you were alone, you looked at Ren straight in the eye. "Three words to describe yourself."
"Well, as the little lamb said-"
"No." You cut him off. "That's how she sees you, how you want everyone to see you. I want to know how you describe yourself, deep inside yourself. I want to know what you think of yourself, not the image you have."
He looked confused at first.
"I..." He was silent. You waited patiently as he passed a hand through his hair. "I don't know." He said lowly.
"...I see." The silence after that felt heavy on both of you. "Well then, we have to make a story about falling in love. Have you ever fallen for someone?"
He was silent for a moment. Suddenly, you saw him take a step towards you.
"What if I say I have, for the first time, with a difficult girl?"
You blushed. "Well, we make a song about that."
"Sounds perfect." He smiled, oh that perfect smile of his that lured everyone closer.
"U-uh Haruka, you can come in, now." You looked at the door as the girl walked in.
"Little Lamb, we have decided what we're going for."
He called her little lamb... And he said he was in love with someone who didn't act like she reciprocated... Damn, was it with you or Haruka? You wished he meant Haruka, really. Right now, you couldn't afford to fall for him, or anyone in Starish for that matter. Though, you couldn't help but feel a little envious.
"So... how is the melody going to sound?" You hummed in response while looking at Ren.
"Maybe..." An idea popped into your mind, but you weren't quite sure about it. You walked around the boy and checked him out. 'Stylish', Haruka had said. It could work... "Maybe start with a runway beat. Something that sounds like what you'd play on a runway..."
You quickly went to the piano and sat in front of the keys. Something like four notes, two rests and repeat... Yes, perfect.
"Oh, that sound great, (Y/N)!" Haruka said.
"Thanks! Come on, we'll do the rest all together." You flashed her a smile.
"Am I participating in this?" Ren asked.
"Of course! You're the one singing it! You have to like it!"
The boy seemed quite surprised about what you had just said. "Then... we can add on those two rests something like..." he was silent and then sang a small melody in a high pitch "Nana Na, nana Na."
"Sounds great, Jinguji-san!" Taking your second tablet in your hand, you opened a program and started writing down the partitur.
"Yes! So maybe we could start the singing later, right?"
Haruka hummed approvingly. "Maybe it could be with something like this." She played a few notes on the piano.
"I like that! What about you, Mr. Ren?"
"It sounds perfect, little lamb." He was smiling and sitting beside you on the piano. That way, Haruka was on your left while he was on your right.
"Then we could put something like..."
And that's how you spent your whole morning. By 1 pm, the melody was completed and everyone was dead tired. Haruka and you waved your goodbyes and you stayed with Ren to start the lyrics.
"Why don't we discuss the lyrics over some food? I'm starving." You said.
"Perfect by me."
"Then, let's go." You took your tablet with you and skipped happily to the kitchen, Ren following you with a small smile on his face. You remembered you had seen some precooked food earlier and decided to just reheat it.
While you were taking the food out of the fridge and putting it in the microwave, you decided to go back to business.
"I want to get to know you better before we make the lyrics, is that alright?"
"Yeah, I think so. But I want to know about you, too."
"U-um- but that's not important for the song. Why do you want to know?" You were quite nervous so you stared at the green numbers on the fridge as then counted backwards.
"Well, I'm not a very open person, so I would like to know things about you if you get to know things about me." You couldn't disagree with that, so you just sighed and nodded. "Alright, first question! What do you think about love?"
"Wow... that was kinda blunt..." You said after a pause as you pulled the food out of the microwave.
"Well, sometimes I like being straightforward."
"Hum... okay, then. I'll be straightforward, too. I am afraid of it, sometimes." You took a bite of the food. It tasted nice, actually. "Not of the idea of falling in love, or having my heart broken, but I'm afraid of love, in the way that it'll hurt you at some point." You sighed and looked down, avoiding Ren's eyes. "Every relationship has that point where you get hurt and have to decide wether you'll fight for your love or leave it. And I'm afraid, someday, the person I love will not fight for it."
"...Why do you think they would do that?" He wanted the truth? Oh well. You kept eating, and he followed you wearily.
"Because even I don't know if I would fight for it." You took another bite and smiled at him softly. "Two questions from you. I'll ask two questions. First: What do you first see when you talk with that girl you're falling for?"
Straight to business.
Ren was silent for a moment as he looked deep into your eyes. When he spoke, he sent shivers down your spine. Not bad shivers, but those that feel nice and made you feel warm.
"Her gaze." You stared back into his eyes. "It's like she's looking at something far away, a problem she needs to solve, but she's too enclosed in her own really high walls... She shut herself in a way that she can't solve the problem from inside her walls."
There was a tense silence between both of you. You stared into each other's eyes until you could muster some strenght to speak, even if it was only a whisper.
"Second question: Do you want to destroy those walls?"
"Yes. Yes, I do."
You parted your gaze and looked down, trying not to look at him in the eyes.
"Well, then, I guess that's all we really need, right? To make the song. I'd suggest we both brush our teeth and meet in the piano room to begin the lyrics." Without waiting for an answer, you got up and washed your dish. You had finished eating just before your weird stare contest.
Ren looked at you silently as you left the kitchen and headed towards your bathroom. Damn, why were you acting like this? Were you crushing on him? Why is HE acting like this? Doesn't he love Haruka? Yeah, he's probably talking about her...
You quickly brushed your teeth and headed to the piano room. After a few minutes, Ren walked in with your pad in hand.
"Here." he handed it to you. "You forgot it in the kitchen."
You chuckled awkwardly and took it back. You pressed record and word recognizer, that way you would be able to read the words you sang.
"So, let's start with the song, shall we?" You sat in front of the piano. "What if I start playing and you sing something? We can start from there."
"Sounds right."
Your fingers skillfully waltzed through the piano as you started the song. You felt like something was missing at the start, but you would focus on that later.
"When you speak a reason not to love
Why does the number of words you speak
Increase suddenly"
It sounded cool, but it felt like he had run out of words, so you continued. As you sang, he sat beside you, inching closer.
"Entirely in order to warm
It's like trying to recite the spell I thought about
Pretending to cure the wounds of love
Everyone only suffered"
You ran out of ideas and then he continued: "Don't be afraid and show another wound
Can't cure anyone but me."
The was a pause in the song. In that moment, you tried to think of a lyric.
"I have it." You nodded and continued playing. "A talkative mouth" He sang, getting even closer, his lips almost touching yours.
"A blocked kiss." You answered softly.
"Just barely touching" He kept going. "The eyes I stare at."
And then he was silent. You stopped playing. That was one part of the lyric missing. The magic had gone just as the song was over.
"I don't know what could go next." he mumbled really close to your ear.
"Me neither." You murmured.
"That's quite a dilemma, right, my lady?"
That's it. You looked at each other, like you were synchronized.
"Dilemma!"
"It's perfect!"
"I know!" You smiled and played the first notes, singing:
"Dilemma Dilemma" you played them twice again. "Dilemma, Dilemma."
"That is perfect! It sounds amazing!"
"Yes! That can even be the chorus!"
"I was thinking the same. This is going to be amazing!"
"Yeah! Well, now that we've got that, we should start again, right?"
"Yup! But now that you know what it's all about, you should be the one making the lyrics completely. I will just help you a bit."
"Alright, lady."
You nodded and started playing once again. Ren read the lyrics from the tablet.
"When you speak a reason not to love
Why does the number of words you speak
Increase suddenly
Entirely in order to warm
It's like trying to recite the spell I thought about
Pretending to cure the wounds of love
Everyone only suffered
Don't be afraid and show another wound
Can't cure anyone but me
A talkative mouth
A blocked kiss
Just barely touching
The eyes I stare at
Dilemma dilemma
A heart that draws me in
A body that goes against me
Stopping time as it is
A gaze I'm entangled in
Dilemma Dilemma
Dilemma Dilemma
The truth is that you're honest and kind
Who was locked in emotions
In order to entirely protect your weak self
You built high walls and shut yourself out
Past love takes the form of a ghost
Slip through the crack in your heart
The strict defense of being prepared for an argument
No one but me can be torn
A talkative mouth
A blocked kiss
Just barely touching
The eyes I stare at
Dilemma dilemma
I rely on you and with a hand on the wall
You can't escape anymore
A gaze that I'm entangled in
Dilemma Dilemma"
There was another pause. "I don't really know what to put in the bridge."
Humming, you thought about it. "Well, maybe a small rap. Remember everyone is going to sing every song, so mabe we could put one of the guys to rap."
"Nice idea. But what would they rap?"
"Um... maybe something not so fast and something that resembles what you said in the kitchen:
The mixed feelings that you hide in your eyes
If I read the shape of your mind surely I can know
The hand that can open your closed heart
I want to break the you that made the reason I put away my desires"
"I like that."
"Thanks. So, will the song end with another chorus"
"Yeah, that would fit well." He was sitting really close to you, and the magic of the song wasn't there anymore to ease the awkwardness.
"Well, you didn't need much of my help, then. You just knew what you wanted to say in the song. What if now we fix it?
"Fix it?" He asked confused.
"Yeah, add stuff to the song!" You got up and took your tablet. The recorder stopped and you skipped over to your room, where you had the computer and the other tablet.
"What stuff?" He asked as he followed you, keeping up with your step.
"Well, we have to make it sound more... Starish!" you smiled. Your eyes were suddenly bright. This was truly the best part of songs.
Once you arrived, you connected your tablet to the computer and downloaded the partitur to another program. This one would help you making it sound more electronic and upbeat than just the piano.
"Okay, you can leave and come in around an hour and a half. I'll have this finished and then you can tell me how you like it, alright?"
"Can't I stay with you? I'd like to spend this whole day together."
"H-huh? O-oh! if you want to, yeah."
"Thank you, my lady."
"Sure." You mumbled and got to work. Sitting in front of the computer, you clicked many different ways of changing the song.
Maybe some pop-rock sound could be good for the start with a high key background in waves...
And that's how you spent the next hour. Ren was sitting beside you on a chair, watching you work, for the first 15 minutes. You were completely silent and focused, so he decided not to bother you and looked around. Your tablet caught his attention. Since you werent using it, he took it and looked atthe lyrics of the song. He learned them easily and started browsing around until he found your images. Lots of drawings, sketches, photos and selfies with your friends filled your device. He was quite surprised the amount hadn't flooded your storage space. He spent half an hour looking around your images and photos, and he was just missing a few of the newest ones when you finally finished the song.
"Well, that's it! Can you listen to it, please?" He nodded and you played the song. His eyes went wide just as it started.
When it finished, you waited for him to say something. It actually took a while.
"It's... it's perfect."
Your eyes glinted with happiness. "Really? Thank you!" You jumped to hug him.
"Oh, of course it is, my lady!" He hugged back with one arm. "You made the beat changes sound perfect with those pauses and the unertone sounded so nice!"
"You noticed? Thank you, thank you!" You separated from him. "Well, now we only need to hear it with the lyrics, right?"
"Yes. Shall we?" He stood up and offered you a hand. "Will you dance with me while I sing?"
You smiled and took his hand. "Alright." Ren smiled back and played the song on your computer once again. Immediately, he pulled you into his chest and began singing the whole song once again. He danced, holding you closely. Although this was not a song to be danced in pairs, it felt right to be in his arms while it played.
It just felt magical.
And when it ended, you separated from his embrace and asked him a big question. A question that meant "Do you conside yourself my friend or should we remain as coworkers?":
"Ren... can I call you Renji?"
"Huh? Is that your nickname for me, (Y/N)?" You nodded. "Well, what does it mean?"
Smiling, you answered: "It means yearning love."
He chuckled. "Alright. You can call me Renji."
"Thank you." You stood there, comfortably silent for a moment.
"Then, should we ask the others to start recording?" he asked.
"You read my mind. Let's call them."
Please tell me if you liked it! Next one will be Syo's!