𝔰𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫

44 6 58
                                    

Their first class of the day had been as exhausting as Ren had anticipated, if not, worse. The teenagers wouldn't shut up, some were always talking amongst themselves instead of paying attention, some others were paying attention, but Ren found their condescendent tone with which they spoke somewhat obnoxious, and by the time the first hour of the day was over, they could already feel their patience wearing out.

Ren wasn't one to pick favorites (they absolutely were) but if they had to choose, they'd wish to have to only teach the nice girl from earlier, who'd been kind enough to guide them to their designated classroom, and her friend group. They proved to be the least obnoxious out of the whole classroom.

As the bell rang, they quietly observed as the students filed out of the classroom, leaving them alone to bask in the stillness of the room, and a couple of papers to grade, but they weren't particularly worried about that task.

Ren sighed heavily, they could hear the faint sounds of birds chirping outside in the gardens, and the sound was to their liking. Perhaps another walk outside to calm their tension would be beneficial.

They stood up, having an hour to spare before the next class came around. They gathered their few belongings and walked outside the classroom, seeking out the emptier hallways, so as to not interact with anyone on their way to the cafeteria.

It took them a few minutes, remembering where the right turns were along the way. The school was a damn labyrinth and Ren held a mild grudge against whoever thought it would be a good idea to build it that way. Eventually, they reached the area they were searching for.

It was partly empty, without mentioning the few students working here and there in some tables. Ren's eyes glided along the vast space, the exquisite smell of coffee reaching their nose, and their tension almost immediately left their shoulders.

They were set on requesting a cup from the nice lunch ladies, walking further into the room, until their eyes fixated upon a familiar, and still slightly unpleasant figure.

Ren sighed once the other man noticed their presence, realizing too late they'd have to interact with him. He held a glint in his eyes, one of when you knew something important. And Ren couldn't find a way to flee before the man was already stalking up to them at a mildly hurried pace.

"Hideki-san" Ren acknowledged, gripping their portfolio tighter to their side "good to finally encounter you. Have you seen anything yet?"

Hideki inspected them for half a millisecond before replying "skip the formalities, Ren-kun" he said, taking a hold of their arm and dragging them away from their precious coffee "we need to have a conversation"

Ren sighed in exhaustion, watching with a longing look as they were taken far away from their closest source of energy.

•──•─•──•✦•──•─•──•

"a Guild member?"

Ren was beyond confused. They blinked up at Hideki - who was outrageously taller than them - with confusion displayed on their features. Out of everything they were expecting to hear, they weren't exactly anticipating a third party would join the approaching chaos.

After their unfortunate encounter in the cafeteria, Hideki had promptly dragged Ren across campus. To the farthest, most secluded garden they could reach. Where their voices would be hidden by the chirping of the birds and the wooshes of the wind.

Hideki had then proceeded to dump a shitload of information upon Ren's shoulders, as though the stress from interacting with a bunch of condescending and prejudicial sixteen-year-olds wasn't tiresome enough.

"why would they come here? I wasn't aware the Guild was somehow involved"

Hideki scoffed "it seems the boss didn't anticipate it either. I called Ranpo. If he was never informed about this, then there was no way Fukuzawa knew about this either"

Ren cursed under their breath. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. They'd have multiple encounters with the Guild, all of them which were highly unpleasant, and Ren couldn't help but feel like Francis was plotting something more sinister than what they could imagine.

They ran a hand through their hair, fixing their teacher uniform before checking their watch. Hideki had zoned out, staring intently at the floor as though it were the most interesting thing in the world. Ren coughed, gaining his attention back.

"I'll try to dig up whatever I can. For now, don't interact with her" they sounded almost demanding, and Hideki couldn't help but grimace at the feeling of being ordered around.

"too late. Already did" he clicked his tongue, checking his watch too. He paid no mind to the way Ren sighed, exasperated. They seemed to be doing that a lot today "just small talk over a cup of coffee. Nothing to worry about"

Ren forced themself not to roll their eyes. Feeling the tension building up in their shoulders again. This was supposed to be easy. But then again, when did anything go the ADA's way?

"talking about coffee. You prevented me from getting a much needed one" the recalled, already turning on their heel and waving over their shoulder as they walked away, leaving Hideki frowning towards their retreating form.

"stay away from her until we can figure something out" they said once last time, before they disappeared into the building.

Making sure no one was around, Hideki too eventually went inside.

•──•─•──•✦•──•─•──•
𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉𝖘
927

𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐍' 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐊 | ohshc x bsdWhere stories live. Discover now