CHAPTER 2

Despite his embarrassment, Ren had hung around the meadows, silently hoping the rabbit girl would return. To his disappointment though, she didn't. However, he couldn't stop thinking about the strange girl he had met by the stream. Who was she? What was she doing there? Disheartened, he returned home. Ren wasn't too surprised to see some strange people in his house when he returned that evening. He had figured his mother would hire some help in moving. And he wasn't in the least bit surprised when he saw the note saying she'd be gone for some time as she had a meeting to attend. She was always like this. Working, working, working. Even though Ren knew it was for his own good, he still…he still missed her.

"I've put some food in the fridge for you. Warm it up when you're ready..." Ren folded up the paper and sighed before leaning his chin on his wrist and staring outside. This was a vantage point to gaze at the setting sun in the meadow. The light it cast was warm and comforting and he felt it wrap around him like a comfortable blanket. Not too far away, he could hear the muted discussions of the movers as they discussed where to place some furniture. Ren's mind eventually wondered to other things. "I wonder what she's doing now…?"

***

A little girl dashed through the door of a small bungalow. Without stopping, She flew up the stairs and flung herself onto her bed. She quickly took off her mask and buried her face into a pillow.

"Chiyo chan! What is wrong? Why are you running?"

Chiyo flushed red at the realization of how much noise she must have made. "I'm sorry Baachan. It's alright"

"... Well, do not be so loud then!"

"Sorry…"

The next five minutes were spent with a little girl in a yukata rolling around on her bed and screaming into a pillow.

"Waaahhh. That's a human! A real human!"

Of course, Meeting a human wasn't something so special. Even though she lived in a secluded area with her grandmother and had been homeschooled by said grandmother, Chiyo had still met her fair share of people. However she had been going to that stream ever since a few years ago, when she had learnt to read and write. The reason was simply that it was peaceful. She would read a chapter there, or practice her calligraphy or simply bask in the sunshine. She had never encountered anyone there though. There was a house, but it had seemed lifeless there; so much so that she had thought it to be abandoned. Clearly, she was wrong. Chiyo eventually stopped rolling around and mentally ran through the events of the evening. She'd been so shocked that she had run away instinctively before she could even comprehend what was happening. And by the time she did understand, it was too embarrassing to return. "Does he live in that house though? If so, is it possible

to...make a… friend?"This idea was quickly dismissed, of course. She didn't even know his character, And even if she did, she was terrible at making friends. And terribly, terribly shy. Of course she was still curious about him... She tried to calm her beating heart as she thought of what to do next "Maybe I should... go there tomorrow" With this thought in mind, Chiyo quietly lifted her face from the pillow and went to change.

***

It was Ren's first day of school, so naturally, he was nervous. He'd fidgeted through the night and woken up early in order to get ready. He went down the stairs and tried to get comfortable with the loud silence. In the kitchen, he practised his introduction as he ate. Nothing must go wrong; this was the thought in his mind.

"Hello. I am Ren. Nice to meet you."

"Class, say hello to Ren". 12 pairs of eyes trained on him curiously, as whispers emerged around the room. Ren suddenly felt very nervous and his thoughts became muddled.

"Hello... I am you-N-nice to meet Ren..."

"…"

The atmosphere instantly became very awkward as a few nervous chuckles uncertainly escaped the lips of his classmates. Ren felt his entire face flush as he lowered his head in embarrassment.

"This is such a disaster…" he thought as tears welled up in his eyes and threatened to fall.

"Ha...PftBWAHAKA!!!" Suddenly, loud, unrestrained laughter filled the room. Ren raised his head and could barely make out the silhouette of a boy hunched over his desk...laughing.

"You... you're so...funny " he said between gasps. Then, the boy straightened and stared Ren straight in the eye. A bright smile crept on his face.

"I'm Dera. I think we're going to be great friends".

There was a short moment of silence before the whole class erupted into complaints.

"You're still so dramatic Dera"

"I really thought you were sprayed with laughing gas"

"What's so funny that you were laughing like a dying hyena?"

"Have you ever seen a dying hyena that still has the energy to laugh?"

"The point is whether or not you have even seen a hyena, dying or not ".

"My mum took me to the zoo…"

Just like that, the conversation moved away from both boys and onto whether or not hyenas should be kept as pets.

Ren blinked in confusion. He felt that this development was too fast, and he couldn't comprehend what was happening.

He turned to face Dera and noticed he was waving his hands wildly in the air.

"Come sit with me" he mouthed. Instead of replying, Ren glanced at the teacher next to him.

The teacher smiled kindly at him and nodded. Receiving his approval, Ren made his way to the seat next to Dera. However, just as he was about halfway there, a shout resonated in the classroom.

"Wait!"