The Trail to Truth

Sota's days had become an ironic reversal of Ren's optimism. 

On his screen were the results from his most recent online courses. He had passed, but it was by an incredibly thin margin. He leaned back in his chair, frustration and despair settling in. He had intentionally picked low-key classes so he could maintain them even if he was going through bad times. Despite that, the events of the last few months had caused even that minimum to start cracking. 

What kind of moron did he have to be to flunk classes as simple as these?

Out of instinct, he picked up his phone and checked for unread messages. There weren't any. The last sequence of messages still lingered on his screen.

[Sota]: I'm going to be relatively busy this week, so notes from videos may be a bit delayed. 

[Ren]: No problem, Senpai! Final exams are this week anyway, so it works out.

That had been five days ago. He had initiated because he felt himself getting too wrapped up in their conversations. Things had begun shifting subtly since they first began texting. Before, it was almost entirely limited to videos and notes for instruction. 

After the events with her grandfather - in the months that followed - their texts had drifted to a higher percentage of friendly banter. How their days went, light-hearted stories from their past, and even some level of emotional reassurance on days that were tougher. 

It had felt like it had been approaching a dangerous line, so Sota had sent that text in order to press the brakes and recalibrate. It had worked for this week, but it was causing him more harm than good. He was distracted and fidgety without the back-and-forth interaction. 

It meant that the line he feared had likely already been crossed, and that made him angry. 

He immediately stood up from his chair and got himself dressed. Stewing in his room wasn't helpful - he needed to take action and figure out where things stood. From there, all that was left was to act.

***

"It's been a bit, Sota..."

Sensei observed as Sota put down his bag and got his class attire on. He hadn't returned to a regular class since his last visit several months back. 

"Yes," Sota eventually responded. "I've been working on getting myself back into a little bit better shape, so I figured I'd come see how things are going."

It was a lie. He hadn't planned on coming back to class this quickly. Despite how things had progressed with Ren's training, he had not yet regained himself fully from that incident. Even he had begun to recognize that the incident with Ren was just the final nail in a titanic coffin that he needed to unpack for himself. 

No, he wasn't here because he intended to regularly return. He was here because he needed to find out once in for all how interacting with Ren made him feel. Was he just stir-crazy and in need of some socialization? Or was he actually beginning to walk a dangerous line? Depending on what he discovered, this may very well be the final time he worked with Ren.

"That's it, huh?" Sensei questioned, clearly unconvinced. 

"Yep. I figured I can do a light warmup to see how my body is recovering, and  then I can just focus on assisting as I normally would."

"I see... Well, have it your way then. I'm sure Ren and your other pupils will be excited to get some facetime."

Sota nodded and turned to walk away. He didn't have a particularly large social battery at the moment. He had to get himself calm and collected before his conversation with Ren...

"Senpai!"

Sota's eyes widened. He immediately removed the horror from his face and turned to see Ren sprinting over. Once he had turned and she confirmed it was him, her expression seemed to light up. 

"I can't believe you're here!" she exclaimed. "I thought you were going to be busy all week?"

"Yeah..." Sota began, stumbling to find his words quickly. "I just had some things I wanted to clear up..."

"Hold up," Sensei interjected, inserting himself into the conversation. "Before you two start chatting, I actually needed to ask Ren a question before class got started."

"Oh, I guess I'm popular today!" she giggled in her typical bubbly nature. "What is it?"

"Shinji hasn't been at class the last few nights," Sensei explained. "I called his folks to check on him and they mentioned he had been a bit down in the dumps. They mentioned you might know something about it?"

"Oh, no! Poor Shinji..."

Her eyes sunk to the ground and her expression became sorrowful. It was the first time that Sota had ever really seen Ren with a pained look or expression on her face. Almost immediately, an emotional urge to try and help soothe her came over him. He stopped himself immediately.

That's strike one. I'm not getting attached to a high schooler.

"I tried to be considerate..." Ren admitted. "He asked me on a date at school recently, and I turned him down."

Once again, Sota's emotions flared up a bit. He couldn't make sense of them, but the fact that they reacted made him furious at himself. 

Strike two. This is going to go faster than I thought...

"Ah, that makes more sense," Sensei announced, fully comprehending the situation. "If that's all that transpired, then he'll be fine with time. Don't let yourself feel guilty over something like that."

"I'll do my best," Ren giggled, brushing it off as best she could. "I tried to get him to understand that I'm just not interested in dating while I finish high school, but most guys don't seem to believe that..."

"That's because it's typically not a believable statement," Sensei admitted. "Most girls your age have boys at the forefront of their mind."

"Yeah, I've seen that. It's the truth, though. None of the guys in my school are particularly interesting to me. Sure, I guess I could date someone just to appease others, but that seems silly. A decision like that could impact me for the rest of my life - I'm okay with it remaining awkward for a year or two until it doesn't matter anymore..."

Ren smiled with her words, conveying that she was earnest in her feelings. Sensei seemed to understand, nodding in acknowledgement before heading off. For Sota, however, her words had stung much deeper. 

It's as if the words had entirely disarmed him from making a decision about what to do next. Not in a way that made him emotional, but in a way that made him question what he was doing...

"Anyway," Ren turned her attention back to him. "What were you saying before, Senpai?"

"It was...something in one of your more recent videos," Sota diverted the conversation. "I wanted to make sure we reviewed it today in-person. I didn't have another time to do so, so I showed up today to make sure we could review."

"Oh, okay!" Ren exclaimed, her excitable expression returning. "Thanks, Senpai! I feel so special having you come to help me with that!"

Before he could say anything else, she excused herself to go get ready for class. Sota watched her jog off, and was now more confused than ever. 

Confusion was quickly replaced with self-directed fury. Something in his mind had shifted. The inner turmoil was loud, but it was clear. Ren understood something that Sota didn't - and Sota couldn't even determine what it was. 

"I see our favorite Senpai has paid us an undue visit..."

Riku approached. Sota glared towards him, but none of his usual teasing nature was present. It seems like he had seen the brief exchange, and had ascertained enough information to greet him calmly. 

"So, what now?" Riku asked, feeling like that was the most important question at this moment. 

Riku let his question hang in the air - knowing Sota would have to find an answer for it. Sota, after a moment of contemplation, finally took a deep breath. He brought his logical brain back to the forefront. 

"I have no idea what's going on," he admitted, almost calmly. "What I know is that this whole thing started months ago, because I overreacted to Natsu bringing Ren to class. Since then, it's been a rollercoaster that I've had no idea how to get off of. I've tried to dissect it, you've been supportive, and Ren's simply an innocent bystander. There can be no more of these childish games from me...I need to go and get the truth ripped out of me once and for all..."

He met Riku's gaze.

"Ah, I see..." Riku thought aloud. "I guess that means you'll be paying her a visit later tonight, then?"