Invisible No More

The annual tournament was well underway. 

Ren was doing her best not to fidget in-place as the judges elaborated their decision. She had gone out and performed her routine to the best of her ability, but there were at least twelve others in her bracket that were doing their best as well. Having spectated a tournament before, she didn't think she'd be this anxious to see what the outcome was. Being a competitor was an entirely different feeling, though.

Ren looked to the crowd to try and distract herself, but it didn't help. Everyone in class had mentioned that their tournament was one of the larger ones, but she didn't realize what that meant until this moment. There were hundreds of competitors and spectators spread throughout the gymnasium hosting the tournament. She was in one of six rings, which meant a lot of eyes were on her as the judges elaborated their decision. 

Not only that, but her nerves were running high due to her grandparents being in attendance. She had been shocked to find out that they were going to be in attendance, but it seemed that Sensei had talked her up. His promise of them being impressed with Ren's skills likely played into the 'talented child' illusion that they had. She at least felt some happiness that they decided to take time to come and see her in action. Her biggest fear, however, was that they might take class away from her if she didn't perform well enough for them - just like her grades at school.

"We've made our decision," the head judge announced, pulling Ren's focus back. "Contestants, line up!"

Everyone in the division, including Ren, came together and stood at attention. It was time to see if her hours of practice had paid off. 

"Third place," the judge announced, "Haruki Yamane!"

Everyone clapped in applause as a boy with short-black hair stepped forward. He bowed to the judges and took his third-place trophy, returning to line once the crowd died down. 

"Second place," the judge announced, "Rin Aizawa!"

A slightly larger applause for this brown-haired girl. It was at this point that Ren's heart sank a bit. She knew the competition was going to be fierce, and the two who had just received trophies had done very beautiful routines. She was happy for them, but was already plotting how she was going to convince her grandparents to let her stay in class when she couldn't even place third. 

"First place," the judge finally called out, "Ren Shirahane!"

The crowd erupted even louder, especially since it was filled with other classmates from her school. Ren stood there in a momentary daze, not fully processing that she had won. She eventually realized the judge was waving her forward, and she quickly snapped back to it. She stepped forward, took her trophy, and stepped back in line. 

It was the first trophy she had ever won. A golden trophy with a dragon sitting atop a pearl.

"That's it for this division! The contestants may now disperse while we prepare for the next one!"

As instructed, everyone began heading off towards their respective families and classmates. Ren stood still, basking in the moment of excitement and reprieve. Somehow, despite the stiff competition, she had managed to win first place. She wanted to be humble in this moment, but she could feel that she was grinning from one ear to the other. 

"Great job, Ren!" Sensei stepped out from the crowd to speak with her. "Your hard work really showed out there."

"Thanks. Hopefully, it was enough to warrant my grandparents coming out to see."

"I think it will be," he assured her. "I'll go talk to them now before they head out. Why don't you go and help out at the director's table?"

"Yes, sir!"

She practically skipped off towards her school's area, like a schoolgirl. As she approached her bag to put down her trophy, several classmates gave their congratulations. A barrage of back-pats and "good jobs" washed over her, filling her with tons of positive energy. By the time she was heading towards the director table, all of her anxiety had been replaced with her usual vibrant energy. 

"Good job out there, girl!" Riku called out as Ren approached the table. "I'd say it was close...but it wasn't!"

"Thanks, Riku! Sensei sent me over to see where I could help out?"

"Great question. Let's see..."

Riku took a moment looking over the roster of volunteers and who was currently stationed where. He poked his head up from time to time to glance over at the different stations, seeing if there was anywhere obvious Ren could be of use. He seemed stumped for a bit, then his eyes lit up as if a lightbulb went off. 

"Actually..." Riku thought aloud. 

He turned and directed Ren's attention towards the far corner of the "director's" area. She could see that a desk and table had been put over there with a laptop, printer, and several stacks of paper. Sitting there, diving through papers and entering information into the laptop for printing, was Sota. 

"I think everyone's favorite sulky 'Senpai' could use some assistance," he stated with a grin across his face. "I know he's a machine when he wants to be, but he's been sitting over there plugging away for over six hours. I'm sure he could use a helping hand to get ahead and maybe catch a break."

"Great! I'll go help Senpai, then."

Riku opened the gate to the director's area so Ren could head off towards Sota's location. She was kind of relieved to be given that assignment. While she was very bubbly and social, even she had limits. Having some time in a quieter area with someone who was more laid back would be a nice place to recharge. 

"Reporting for duty, Senpai!" Ren announced, snapping to attention once she arrived at his desk. 

Sota looked up from his laptop, somewhat startled to see Ren standing there. After a moment of thinking, he peered behind her and looked towards the central director table. Sure enough, he saw Riku grinning in the distance, waving at him tauntingly.

"I see," Sota muttered, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Alright, then. Take a seat and we'll see what you can do."

Sota explained the gist of what his role was for the tournament. Every contestant had filled out their information when the tournament began. His job was to sift through the hundreds of competitors and organize them into relevant divisions. He would then enter the divisions into the laptop, let it organize brackets, and then print out the brackets for the judges to use. 

"Wow, Senpai," Ren exclaimed. "I'm a bit surprised. You're so discrete back here, but this seems like the most important role out of anyone."

"Maybe," Sota said, handing her a stack of papers. "Let's not mess it up, then."

Once the two began working together, Sota was shocked at how much faster things moved. Given her intensity in class, it didn't surprise him that she was a hard worker. Her ability to parse and organize information, however, was very impressive. He knew Ren was a quick learner, but he hadn't expected her to be as helpful as she was. In all honesty, he typically preferred to handle everything alone because others would typically slow him down. 

"That should do it," Sota announced after about an hour of collaboration. "If all goes to plan, all the brackets should be set for the rest of the day. I have to say, you were a big help."

"Thanks, Senpai! Does that mean you'll get to compete today, too?"

"Not likely. I should be on standby in case something goes amiss..."

A complete fabrication. In reality, he had no desire to compete with how little he practiced outside of class. Despite Sensei urging him to compete, he did not feel like making a fool of himself in front of so many people. Running the back-end of the tournament gave him an excuse; he was going to take it. 

"I should be all set here, if you want to go help somewhere else?"

"If it's alright with you, Senpai, I'd rather hang here if that's okay? N...not that I'm trying to get out of helping. It's just a lot of mayhem out there and it's a bit more peaceful here."

Normally, Sota would've told them to go double-check with Sensei before deciding to just clock out. In that moment, though, fragments of his past seemed to pop into his mind. Memories of a happy-go-lucky boy who always asked people to spend time with him, but no one ever gave him the chance. Everyone had sent him away, and he never found a place that he felt was safe. He's not sure why Ren's request seemed to bring those memories to the forefront, but he decided to acknowledge them. 

"Have it your way," Sota sat back in his chair and looked out over the tournament. "I can't say I'd act any different. There's something comforting about being able to hang here in the background. It's sort of ironic to crave being invisible..."

"Because in our real lives, we've tried to fight so desperately not to be?"

Sota stiffened at Ren's words. Not only were they terrifyingly accurate to what he was thinking, but it was darker than what he was expecting from such a bubbly ball of energy. She had said them so gently and in such a matter-of-fact tone. As he watched her staring out over the tournament, Sensei's words from a couple of months ago echoed in his mind. 

If I were a gambling man, I'd say that there's something dark and nasty lurking underneath the surface.

"Yeah," he finally managed. "I definitely won't argue that the world is cruel..."

"The world is cruel," Ren repeated, a bitter poison in her words. "The people in it are worse. They're selfish, conniving, and will sacrifice you in a heartbeat if you cause even the most minor of inconveniences. 'Friends', 'Family', it doesn't matter - almost all people will disregard your humanity at a moment's notice..."

Sota sat silently. He was surprised to hear such things coming from the bright and cheery Ren, but  he had plenty of experience with the sporadic need to vent. It was something he rarely let himself do, so he simply remained silent and allowed her to do so. 

"But you are not one of those people, Senpai..."

Ren turned to look at him. Sota expected some sort of sorrow or anger after such a speech, but instead only received a warm and gentle smile. 

"Remember that if nothing else, I see you," she stated, "and I appreciate everything you've put into helping me get better."

Such a heartfelt compliment after having called out the world's cruelty was jarring to Sota. He wasn't really sure how to address the compliment, nor Ren's turbulent speech beforehand. He knew what it felt like to be invisible, however, and he knew that opening up to conversation could go a long way.

"Thanks, Ren," he acknowledged, smiling back at her. "So, what do you think about...?"

In an effort to lift Ren's spirits a bit, Sota decided to spend some time simply talking with her. They had never really had the chance to interact outside of a classroom setting, so he didn't mind giving her some time. He expected that after a half-hour, she would be in a good headspace and he would know a bit more about her as a person.

What he didn't expect, however, was for the conversation to go on as long as it did. It wasn't planned; the conversation just kept going, neither of them wanting it to end. Their interests, their viewpoints, their mindsets. It seemed like on every wavelength, they could just naturally interact without it ever feeling awkward. 

Minutes turned to hours, competitors came and left. Even the lighting of the room had significantly changed due to the sun's movement. All outside of the world of the words they were exchanging.

"Hey, you two gossip-queens," Riku's words broke their conversation, nearly four hours after it had begun. "The tournament's wrapping up. Let's start getting things packed up."

"A...already?" Ren leapt from her seat, fear in her eyes. "I was supposed to start helping in the kitchen for the family dinner! Oh man, Sensei's gonna let me have it..."

With that, she rocketed off towards the gymnasium exit. Sota was a bit thrown off by the shift in tempo. One minute she was there, the next she was gone. 

"Soooo," Riku crept close to Sota. "We gonna talk about your lover's conversation with Ren, or..."

"I'll hurt you."

"Fine, jeez!" Riku pulled back, still teasing. "I won't let anyone know what happened. Queen's honor."

"Nothing happened!" Sota called out as Riku darted away. 

But something had happened. Setting aside Riku's antics, both Sota and Ren felt that something had happened in those hours spent talking. What it was, what it meant, or any greater detail wasn't quite discernible at the moment. One thing was clear to both of them, though. 

For the first time in both of their lives, they felt fully seen and heard by another person.