the Midnight Concert

Thanks to the chaos caused by the Pink Bunny and the resulting delay in the wedding announcement, Ren had gained something he hadn't had in months: time. And he didn't intend to waste it.

He was in his room, staring at the empty space where his suit had once hung. His father had destroyed it with a stick weeks ago, an act of violence intended to break his spirit. Ren had assumed that was the end of the eclipse group.

But loyalty must not only be expressed in words. The door opened silently. It was Naoki. The butler entered carrying a black dry cleaning bag, somewhat bulky. His face showed a mixture of fear and determination. “ Young master... ” whispered Naoki. It was almost midnight. Ren looked at him. Naoki opened the bag. Inside, a suit gleamed. It wasn't the original, but it was a perfect replica of the ECLIPSE costume.

“ I have a response suit. ” Naoki confessed. “I  kept it among my personal belongings in the servant's room. I knew your father would never stoop to searching a servant's room. ” Naoki hesitated for a moment, hugging the bag. “ Are you sure about this, Ren? If they catch you leaving... ” Ren stepped closer and took the suit. His grip was firm. “I've made up my mind, Naoki. I realized the mistake I was making. I was letting them dominate me. I need to make amends... starting with my second family.”

Naoki saw the sparkle in Ren's eyes. They were no longer the dead eyes of last week. He smiled, proud to see the boy he raised regaining his fire. “ Then go, Young Master. "

Ren dressed quickly. The feel of the suit on his skin was like breathing again. He escaped through a back service door, moving like a shadow. He could hear, muffled by the walls, the shouts of his father and Mr. Takashima in the main office, discussing legal strategies against the Minamoto family. Ren crossed the garden and jumped over the low wall at the back.

Finally, he was free. But what he didn't realize, in his rush for freedom, was that a figure had seen him from a second-story balcony. An elegant, silent female figure who watched his jump. And that figure, driven by curiosity and suspicion, decided to follow him.

Agitated by the race, Ren arrived at his destination twenty minutes late. It was an abandoned house on the outskirts of the residential district, a place with broken windows and graffiti that Eclipse used as its base in its early days. Ren went inside. The air smelled of dust and old wood. There they were: Satoru, Kazemaru, Andrey, and Junpei. They were sitting on old boxes, their instruments turned off. When they saw Ren come in, they jumped to their feet. The silence became intense.

Ren had summoned them there with a message, but now that he had them in front of him, he wanted to explain the whole situation to them. He wanted to tell them that his father had forced him, that he had missed them, that he was sorry for ignoring them. But the words stuck in his throat. He wasn't used to expressing himself in front of others without song lyrics.

“ I... ” Ren began, looking at the floor. “ My time management was... inefficient. Communication protocols failed due to... external interference. And I... regret the disconnection."

“ It was a somewhat clumsy and cold apology, as always. ” Ren closed his eyes, expecting them to yell at him. Instead, he heard laughter. Kazemaru was laughing. Then Satoru. “ God, it's so like you! ” said Andrey, smiling. “ Only you would apologize as if reading from an instruction manual. ” “ You're late, Leader. ” said Junpei, giving him a friendly shove on the shoulder. “ We forgive you. But you owe us a round of soft drinks. ”

Ren looked up, surprised. There was no resentment in his eyes. Only relief. They were his family after all.

After that emotional little chat, where Ren promised not to disappear again, the energy of the group changed. “ Okay. ” said Satoru, picking up his guitar. “ We've cried. Now what do we do? We can't waste tonight. ”

Everyone left the abandoned house, carrying their instruments and portable amplifiers. Their new location would not be a stadium or a studio. They were going to give a street concert. Right there, under a nearby bridge where the acoustics were perfect and the police were slow to arrive. To celebrate their reconciliation.

They set up the equipment in minutes. Ren took the microphone. The music started. It was an explosion of emotions. Ren sang with a passion he hadn't shown in months, releasing all the frustration of the wedding, of his father, of the gilded cage.

But Ren was so lost in the music that he didn't look back. In the distance, hidden in the shadows of a concrete pillar, the figure who had followed him had just arrived. His eyes were fixed on the white-haired vocalist.