Permission to Hope

The doors of the dojo sat in front of him, marking the beginning of a very anxious moment for Sota. 

This was the first time in a month he had donned his uniform and returned to class. He had already called Sensei and let him know that he would be coming today to visit rather than train. He blamed an injury, which wasn't entirely fabricated. He left out the part where the injuries were self-inflicted, of course, but Sensei didn't ask questions. Maybe Sensei knew, maybe he didn't, but that was not what stood at the forefront of Sota's mind. 

Sota was greeted by the familiar smells and sounds of the dojo as he walked through the doors. Class was underway, so he tried to make his entrance subtle. A couple of students gazed over in his direction briefly, but Sensei kept the room's focus fairly well as he led them through an exercise. 

"Hey, Sota!" 

Sota turned to see that Natsu was approaching from the supply room. He was carrying some pads and other equipment for the drills. 

"Hey, Natsu," Sota acknowledged, keeping his voice lowered. "I'm surprised that you're not up there running something."

"You know how Sensei gets when he decides he wants the class to himself," Natsu chuckled as he set down the equipment at its intended location. "Anyway, how's it been? I was beginning to think you had vanished from the face of the Earth."

"Yeah, just an injury that was causing some issues... With any luck, I'll be back at it pretty soon."

"Glad to hear it!" Natsu exclaimed, his excitement genuine. "Practicing with students is great, but you're the only other one I can work with at a higher level. It will be nice to have you back."

Sota nodded in agreement. With the exception of Riku, Natsu was the closest thing that Sota had to a 'friend' in class. They were more like acquaintances than true friends, but they had trained together for a very long time. Natsu and Sota had joined around the same time, with Natsu only being a couple years younger than him. 

Natsu turned his attention back towards the class. Just before he headed out, Sota reached out and caught his shoulder. 

"What's up?"

Sota had acted more out of instinct than a planned thought. Riku had assured him that nothing had happened in his absence, but he had to hear it himself. 

"How have the students been?" Sota asked, trying to find the right way to ask the question. "I know I've been gone for a little bit. Figured I'd see if anything changed."

"Not too much," Natsu admitted, turning his attention back temporarily. "You know how they can be. Sometimes they practice, sometimes they don't. We just do what we can, am I right?"

"What about Shinji...and Ren?" Sota questioned. "I know Shinji's been one you've had to work closely with. I also assume you've been assisting Ren a lot since I've been out and you've been bringing her to class..."

"Shinji will always be a work in-progress," Natsu chuckled. "As for Ren...she's definitely an interesting one. I can see why you got so honed in on training her. She takes her training seriously, and she's surprisingly mature for a sixteen-year-old. Normally I don't expect that type of personality from someone who's a couple years younger than me."

"Oh? Does that mean she's on the 'Natsu Hitlist'?"

Sota feigned as much of his usual sarcasm as he could. It was a well-known joke that Natsu often pursued the girls around his age that attended class. Riku was usually the one to tease Natsu, with Sota backing him up. This situation, however, was a bit unique. 

"I guess we'll see!" Natsu laughed. "I'll admit that she's quite interesting, but she sees through a lot of my usual tactics. I'll be in it for the long-haul if I decide to really pursue it in that manner. Never say never, though!"

With that, Sota allowed Natsu to continue towards class to assist. Sota had confirmed there was nothing present as of yet, but that wasn't necessarily for a lack of effort and intent on Natsu's part. It was a bittersweet result; one that Sota knew couldn't be left to simmer. With enough time, Natsu would find a way to seal the deal if he really got dead-set on it, and that's assuming it wasn't already too late...

Would he be better for her? Someone more confident and likable?

Sota shook the thought from his mind. 

Despite arriving early, Sota had decided to sit and observe the entire two-hour class. It seemed a bit much for a visit, but he needed all the time he could get to prep his mind for what he had planned. It was natural that he was full of nerves. He had tried to form meaningful connections with dozens of girls to see where it would lead, and it had gotten off the ground exactly zero times. He knew he couldn't get wrapped up in his own pity if he was going to be successful this time, but his brain wasn't going to allow him to completely ignore the data. 

As he processed his own thoughts, he spent a decent chunk of time watching Ren go through class. His goal wasn't to be creepy, but he was rapidly approaching the point of no return. As he and Riku had discussed, this girl would hold a lot of power over him if he walked this path. He wanted to simply observe and see if anything gave him the feeling that he was making the wrong decision. 

As expected, her excitement and pureness provided him with no reason to doubt her. 

Within enough time, class came to an end. Sensei had dismissed the class so that they could get ready to head out. He acknowledged Sota's presence with a nod, but didn't come over to converse. 

"I see that we've been graced with your presence once more!" Riku exclaimed as he came over to where Sota was sitting. 

Under normal circumstances, Sota might have replied with a sarcastic remark or some other witty comeback. With his nerves running high, however, he more so acknowledged Riku's presence with eye contact. 

"Jeez...lighten up, Senpai," Riku teased, despite only ever using his title in formal situations. "You're stiff as a board. I know you're not a whiz at these things, but at least act like you know what you're doing..."

He knew Riku was right. He took a deep breath, loosened up his shoulders and try to relax a bit. There was no need to be this tense. He still had at least a couple of minutes to fully sort out his thoughts, right?

"Hey, Senpai!"

Ren jogged over to meet them, almost as if she had heard Sota thinking about her. Sota and Riku quietly exchanged glances. Riku's was encouraging, but also was masking his usual shit-eating grin at the same time. 

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Ren apologized. "I just wanted to say hi, but I might've barged in to your conversation..."

"Not at all, girl!" Riku assured her. "As a matter of fact, Sota and I were just talking about you!"

"Really?" Ren questioned, "Why?"

Rather than answer, Riku turned his gaze to Sota and put him on the spot. Sota wanted to back-hand him, but saw that Ren's gaze had shifted to him as well. 

This is it. No more theorizing. 

"Well...because," Sota started, trying not to stammer. "Riku and I were planning a weekend day to take a trip around town just to hang out...and we thought it might be fun if we invited you..."

"Me?!"

Ren was definitely surprised by the offer. Her gaze shifted back and forth between Sota and Riku, expecting one of them to admit it was a prank. 

Riku's gaze shifted back and forth as well. He could see this wasn't going to go anywhere without some nudging...

"Of course!" he exclaimed. "You're such a blast in class, we thought it'd make perfect sense to have you come out with us! What do you think?"

"I...I'll have to check," Ren stuttered, still shocked by the offer. "But yes, absolutely yes! I'll check if I can get permission to go!"

Riku and Ren then swapped numbers and created a group chat for the three of them to communicate on. Once it was set, Ren skipped off to her bag in excitement. 

"Don't expect me to bail you out like that every time," Riku whispered to Sota. "I covered your ass this time, but you're going to need to have a bit more life in you than that if you're going to get somewhere."

Riku headed off towards his bag as well, leaving Sota to process what had been set in motion. 

***

Once Ren had gotten out of Natsu's car and returned home, there was only one thing on her mind. That was how to make this work. 

She entered the house quietly. Her grandfather had passed out on the couch after working through a 6-pack and her grandmother was already asleep. Mika had closed her door to 'go to bed', but Ren could clearly see lights coming out from under the door. Mika had likely put in headphones and started gaming without permission. Normally Ren would have to deal with that, but she didn't care at the moment. 

She quietly made her way to the family calendar and looked through the upcoming weekends, praying she would find an excuse she could use in her favor. 

There it is!

An upcoming weekend where her mother intended to be gone all weekend. It was marked as 'girl time', which was her mother's code for staying over at her friend's houses to have affairs with their husbands. It typically disgusted Ren, but today, she would take what she could get. 

The biggest problem would be that it was this weekend. That only left four days between now and the hangout, and she wasn't sure if Sota and Riku could make it work on such short notice. Her heart sank a bit when she saw that her mother had nothing else coming up. She at least had to try, though. 

She grabbed her phone and opened the group chat. 

[Ren]: Hey! I know it's super short notice, but what if we did this Saturday? It looks like it's the only one I can make work :(

she waited for a minute to see if she got an immediate response. When she didn't hear back, she decided to focus on making herself a quick dinner. She knew that sitting there and staring at her phone would make her more anxious. She'd rather get dinner made and get tucked away in her bedroom before her mother came home or her grandfather stirred in a drunken stupor. 

She threw together something quick, grabbed a throwaway plate and quietly darted into her room. By the time she had closed her door and begun eating, she had gotten some replies. 

[Riku (Queen)]: I can make that work! Only cause it's you, though <3

[Sota]: Works on my end, too.

[Ren]: Awesome! Not 100% yet, but I should have an answer by the morning. Thanks again for inviting me!

[Riku (Queen)]: Anytime girl! ^w^

Ren put down her phone and happily picked away at her dinner. Despite it being so late, the idea of an actual hangout with friends seemed to give her limitless energy. Even after eating and doing two hours of homework, she could barely get to sleep with all her excitement. There was only one obstacle that stood between her and this hangout now...

***

"Grandpa, you have a second to talk?"

"What's up?"

They sat together at the table, coffees in-hand. Ren's bus would be there in ten minutes, and this was the only time of day she would see her Grandfather where he wasn't inebriated. She had to work fast. 

"I got asked to hangout by some friends at class this weekend. Would that be okay with you?"

"Ask your mother..."

"She's out this weekend," Ren interjected, knowing that would be his initial response. "That's why I wanted to ask you..."

Her grandfather put down his coffee and looked at her with a 'why is this my problem' expression. He analyzed her expression for a moment, seeing what he could glean. 

"Is it that Senpai boy?"

"Yes...well, no. It's a Senpai, but it is not the one who usually brings me to class."

"So it's still a boy?"

Ren knew that she would get shot down if it was insinuated to be a date. Dates meant relationships, and that would draw her attention away from grades and housework. 

"No! There's two boys going, not just the one!"

Ren spoke as if stating it boldly would make it a good defense. Her grandfather's expression only worsened, making Ren realize he wasn't taking it the right way.

"Not like that!" Ren exclaimed, now blushing. "My classmate Riku isn't even into women! He and Senpai Sota have been friends for years. They're hanging out this weekend and invited me to tag along."

"So one's not into women...and the other's his 'best friend'?" her grandfather pondered. "Seems like maybe you should let them have their date..."

"That's horrible, Grandpa!"

"The only thing horrible here is your acting," he shot back. "Date or not, I know damn well that you're trying to plan this around your mother being gone because she would immediately say no. Now, you're trying to sneak it behind her back and throw me under the bus with it? Why the hell should I say yes?"

Ren tried to think of a response, but the clock chimed from the living room. 

"That's your cue. Go catch your bus..."

Things were falling apart in front of her. She wracked her brain, trying to find the right words. Something she could say? A chore she could offer to do? There had to be something she could do to appeal to him...

All that came were tears.

"Please. I'm begging you, Grandpa," Ren choked out. "I've never been asked to go hang out with friends before. You're the only one who can let me..."

Her grandfather studied her expression. She was bad at acting, but that meant her tears were real. Maybe it was the hangover or something deeper, but he simply leaned back in his chair and sighed. 

"Go, do what you want this weekend," he conceded. "But don't run to me for help if it blows up in your face. "

The clock chimed once again, and the bus could be heard approaching from the distance. 

"Go, before you're late..."

"Yes," Ren confirmed, wiping away her tears. "Thanks so much, Grandpa!"

With that, Ren ran out the door with more enthusiasm then she'd had in years. She wasn't concerned with whether this would turn into a terrible mistake. She knew this hangout was borrowed time, and she intended to live it to the fullest.