Chapter 5~

I need to quicken the pace of this story, good lord.

THIS CHAPTER FINALLY PROGRESSES. I spent more time in this story with character development so therefore my story is still going pretty slowly. This is still romance. This is still RinxLen. I need to remember that, goodness me.

Enjoy~

The class had many things to think about—why did they get a new teacher now? What happened to Hiyama? Why is this Tei Sukone so bright at seven in the morning?

But truth be told, Len was wondering about one thing:

When is Rinto going to arrive and what the heck is this new teacher going to do about him?

"Even though this is sudden, I don't want this introduction to press too much into our lesson today, so let's open our textbooks," Ms. Sukone gestured their desks with her wrists and, somewhat spellbound, the boys quietly obeyed, flipping through the pages silently. "Great! So yesterday, I was told you were taught about-."

Len perked up considerably, hearing the tell-tale machine-gun rhythm of footsteps down the hall. The class snickered a bit nervously and Ms. Sukone paused mid-sentence, narrowing her eyes curiously. "Is something wrong?"

"New Record. Four minutes before the bell and-," Rinto opened the door, looking extremely proud of himself, though it took him only a few seconds to realize the situation. "…Wrong class?" he looked around and stared at Len who was leaning back against his seat to avoid being hit by the door. "Oh. Morning, Lenny."

"Good morning…"

"And you are?" Ms. Sukone recovered from her shock quickly. She cleared her throat and tapped the folder in her hand. "Do you belong here?"

"I guess so," his eyes traveled up and down her body, and he seemed to scowl. "But you're not Hiyama."

"Mr. H got promoted," Dell supplied from the back. "We have a new teacher."

Rinto blinked and looked down at Len and then back at Ms. Sukone. "Oh."

"'Oh'? You are tardy," she cleared her throat crisply. "And since you are now my student, if you could please tell me your name?"

"Kagami," he straightened his back. "If you're looking at the seating chart, I sit in front of Sir Silver over there." Dell casually indicated the open chair in front of him as Rinto strode over to it.

"Mr. Rinto Kagami," she clicked her teeth unhappily. "I do hope this is not a daily routine of yours. As a student of Yamaha, I would expect better behavior from you."

Dell laughed sympathetically. "It's not a routine ma'am. Rinto's tardiness has become a tradition."

"Though only in first period," Len supplied weakly, earning a wink of approval from Rinto.

"Well, that is extremely unfortunate," she huffed, folding her arms crossly. "I have heard your name before, Mr. Kagami, and I hear that you are an exceptional student. You should take more care in your responsibilities as an honor student."

Rinto smiled tightly in reply, obviously used to this kind of lecture and bowed his head apologetically, though the entire class could see how insincere it was. "I will try better."

"So you should," she turned crisply to the board and jotted down the math lesson. "And since we have now met, you, Mr. Kagami, will assist me in teaching the class today's lesson."

Rinto blinked and sighed, standing back up grudgingly. "Yes ma'am. It would be my pleasure."

The class, including Len, snickered as he shuffled back up to the front, taking up a marker.

Despite his reluctance, however, Rinto shone in class that day, as expected. He solved questions as they were written and grasped the lesson's concepts easily—Ms. Sukone looked rather miffed that her attempt to humiliate him backfired.

"You really are an intelligent boy, aren't you?" she commented, stopping Rinto as he was beginning to leave at the end of class. Len paused at the doorway to wait for him.

"Thank you, Ms. Sukone," his smile, for a second, was almost sweet. "I hope you forgive me for my tardiness."

She smiled curiously. "For today. Try not to be late again to my class, okay Rinto?"

He waved cheerily at her as he left, swinging an arm around Len's shoulders as he walked out. When they were in the hallway, Rinto looked over his shoulder at the classroom and snorted. "O~Oh boy, she's dug herself a pit of disappointment. The day I wake up in time for class is the day Meiko herself becomes the teacher."

"She seems nice though, Ms. Sukone," Len replied, shrugging off Rinto's arm. "Better than Hiyama."

"Really? I was pretty chill with Mr. H," Rinto yawned and stretched his arms. "Oh well, he was promoted, right? Dell told me he's like the Head of the Disciplinary Committee now."

"We have a disciplinary committee?"

He shrugged. "Private school or not, roughly two-thousand teenaged boys is going to need some sort of police force to keep us in check, right?" He paused and added a bit more solemnly. "What happened on Sunday is proof of that."

Len chuckled a bit nervously in agreement and scrambled for another topic to talk about while they walked. "Oh yeah! Have you heard about the soccer game coming up? Kaito is on the team, right?"

"I'm going," Rinto's face split into a sudden grin. "It's on Friday and the forecast says rain—there is nothing more fun than watching soccer in the rain."

Rain was on the way alright. It was a cloudy, gray and sad-looking Wednesday, a sudden change to the sun and shine they have had for the last week. Noting the sky, Len walked to orchestra several hours later, under the escort of Rinto, who had stayed behind at school while the rest of his Mock Trial team left for a tournament meet.

"Is it okay to miss out on it?"

Rinto shrugged, "They wouldn't let me go because of the fight, but I don't mind that much—I hated the case."

Len stuck his hand into his pocket. "Are you good at Mock Trial?"

"What do you think?" he asked with a smirk. "You've seen the way I scream at people—heck, you've been on the opposing end with me." He laughed sunnily. "I like Mock Trial, and I really like going to meets, actually."

"That makes sense, seeing how competitive you are," Len cracked a smile.

"I hope that's a compliment."

"It isn't," he assured, earning himself a light punch from his roommate.

"You're lucky I like you, Lenny," Rinto smirked as they approached the concert hall. "Have fun at practice, Len-Len. Don't forget you have an uber-important concert in one week, Mr. First Violin. You better not mess up."

Ah right, the concert. Len shrugged casually in reply, but a knot of anxiety coiled up in his stomach once again at the reminder. He had performed tons of times, of course, but this being his first at Yamaha, with talent scouts and University reps filling up the audience no doubt, put his nerves on fire.

Having sent Rinto on his way, Len groaned as he sunk into his chair, ignoring Dell's quiet snickering.

"Rinto bothering you?" he asked as he scraped at the rosin for his bow.

"The concert, actually," Len replied. "Just a bit nervous."

Luka cleared her throat, overhearing them, and Len sat up straight, scrambling to get his instrument ready. "Well, Mr. Kagamine, I do hope your nerves are caused by sheer excitement, and not by the paranoia of realizing how far behind you are." She gave him one pointed look that he shrunk to.

"No ma'am."

He was improving greatly, though, at playing. As he got more used to his piece, the more naturally he was able to play, so Luka was not really bitter with him at all.

"She actually likes picking on you," joked Rei, his section leader and concertmaster. "Luka enjoys seeing us cower, and since you're the poor new kid, all soft and inexperienced, you make a good target."

"See?" Dell nudged him reassuringly. "You're not terrible. You're just fun to pick on."

"Thanks."

"-And you are practicing, right? Rinto is a butt sometimes, but he's letting you get some notes in, right?"

Len snorted. "He actually pushes me to keep playing, believe it or not."

"Seriously?" Dell scoot closer to Len, breaking the loose formation that was their section circle. "That's unexpected."

"Is this the infamous Rinto Kagami?" mused Rei, setting his bow down for the moment. "The short kid who got into that fight on Sunday?"

"That's the one," he chuckled dryly. "But he's actually nicer than most people think."

Dell laughed and slapped his back. "Oh sure, he likes you, but he stole my muffin the other day."

"He seems pretty scary—I live in the room across Gumo Megpoid's, you know? Looks like Rinto didn't pull any of his punches to me," Rei's voice dwindled nervously, seeing Luka stalking over to their corner. "A-Anyhow, let's start again from the top, okay? Dell, don't fling your bow across the room again."

So after a rather scary practice, with Luka breathing down the first violins' necks for the rest of the time, Len set up for choir. He had barely taken out his sheets, though, when Rinto and Kaito crept through the backdoor and onto stage, waving merrily at Luka as they sat on two vacant seats.

"Rinto Kagami and Kaito Shion," she greeted, sounding surprisingly friendly. Len scowled at them and they both waved at him too.

"Heyo, Ms. M, miss us?" Rinto nodded towards his roommate. "We're just here to watch Len, do you mind?"

"Normally, I would," she laughed, which was a strange sight to see, and shrugged. "But if it's you two, I can make an exception. Maybe watching practice might persuade you both to join again."

"Aw, Mr. M," Kaito rubbed his neck. "It's not like we wanted to quit, you know?"

"Of course, of course," she turned around sharply, having dealt with them, and glared at her current members, Len in particular. "One more time! Len, you start off—hey! Are you listening?"

"Yes ma'am!" he apologized, shaking himself. "I'm ready."

"Good, now then—," she struck the piano keys, and behind her, Kaito and Rinto had their arms up in mock-conductor form, both grinning wickedly at Len as he sang. At his pauses they shared a giggle and when he started again, they swooned, silently egging him on so that by the end of practice, he felt like punching both of their smug faces.

"You should sing more often, Lenny," Rinto told him cheerfully as they left. "Heck, I felt like joining you up there, you know?"

"I felt the same!" Kaito chortled. "Ah, if only I didn't take sports! I should have stayed in choir!"

Len, although still miffed, rose his head again. "You two were both in choir?"

"For maybe about two weeks," Rinto replied with a shrug. "We didn't get kicked out or anything, but a lot of the activities had weird scheduling, so in order for me to keep Mock Trial and for Kaito to keep both his sports, we had to quit. Luka loved us though."

"I can see that," Len rolled his eyes. "I don't think I've ever seen her giggle—at least not since Mr. Kamui came in once to watch our practice."

"Oh ho, ho? Gak with Ms. Luka?" Rinto leaned into Len's shoulder. "That's scandalous."

"The whole school knows that he has a thing for her though, it's not that—" Kaito's whole sentence stopped short, glared sharply at Len, who jolted to a stop.

"What is it?" he stammered, but Rinto shot away from his neck, and Len tensed at cold that replaced him, not even realizing that Rinto was so close. Kaito's warning look followed Rinto, to which the smaller blond smiled apologetically, seeming unusually sheepish. Nervously, Len repeated his question. "What happened?"

"Nothing, Lenny," Rinto forced a laugh. "I, uh, almost punched your neck, and seems like Kaito was able to stop me there. It's just a joke, that's all." But his voice had gone slightly higher, and Len detected the obvious lie, but in light of Kaito's dark look, he decided not to press it.

"…Right," Kaito agreed closing his eyes momentarily, before opening them again, smiling brightly like his normal self. "Anyhow, I have a present for you guys both! I'll give it you during dinner, since I have football practice right now."

"Alright," Rinto smiled and saluted lazily. "Have fun and break your legs!"

"A present? Wait!" Len repeated, looking at Rinto curiously as Kaito trotted away. His roommate shrugged, looking away pointedly.

"We'll see what it is," he murmured distractedly, sighing and rubbing his chest cautiously. "Citrus, he scared me though…"

"Rinto?"

He jumped, startled, and smirked at Len. "Ah, sorry 'bout that. It's just one of those days. Race me to the room, yeah? Loser has to buy the other a coke for dinner!"

"W-Wait, coke!? Rinto!" Len scrambled after him, his violin case hitting against his leg, and although his roommate was far ahead of him, he could have sworn he saw a twisted, conflicting emotion on Rinto's face.

"That's enough for today," Rinto groaned as he slammed the textbook shut, practically asleep on Len's desk. "How many pages did we go through?" Len flipped through his 'supplementary workbook'.

"Twelve."

"Oh fantastic, just forty-two more to go," Rinto drawled sarcastically. "Do the teachers hate you, Lenny?"

He laughed, mentally exhausted. "Probably."

"Well, that's okay, none of the teachers like me either," Rinto sat up, pulling back his bangs and snapping off the clips that held them up. He tossed his glasses onto the desk, smiling reassuringly at Len. "It's nice being roomies with someone in the same boat."

"Even if your roomie is pretty stupid?"

Rinto shook his head and cleared his throat, waggling his finger importantly. "Academically incompetent, Len, not stupid. I have what you lack and vice versa, did you notice that?"

"Well, we both have blond hair about the same length, and blue eyes," Len joked. "So I don't really—."

"Besides that, Lenny boy," Rinto brushed him off impatiently. "I don't know if you know, but I'm pretty short-tempered with everyone and everything, but you seem like a very soft pillow in comparison."

"Is it also like how I have no backbone, but you have the willpower to break backbones?"

He laughed in agreement, "That's right! Opposites attract, so they say!" They both laughed, enjoying the aftereffects of the long study session. Rinto leaned his elbows on his desk, his head turned slightly so that he was still facing Len. There was a curious look on his face, one that looked a bit like his face from when Kaito had glared at him, but it was more obvious this time.

"Hey, Rinto…"

"What's up?"

"About earlier, were you really about to punch my neck?" because that was a stupid excuse, and they both knew it. Rinto blinked in surprise and averted his eyes again.

"Oh, right that," he chuckled. "Well... No, I wasn't going to hit you, but... I've been… I've been meaning to tell you this Len, but it's not exactly… easy to say. Um, can you-can you keep a secret? A big one?"

"A secret?" Len never knew that Rinto could say a single word with so much fear. "Sure, what's-."

There was a sound akin to a cannon exploding, and Rinto jumped out of his seat, nearly elbowing Len in the face as he got up.

"Rinnyto? Lenny-kins?" Kaito's telltale falsetto voice sang over the wood of their door. "Time for din-din, dears!"

"Impeccable timing," Rinto hissed, rubbing his eye in exasperation. "As always."

"Rinto," Len stood up, eyeing him warily. "What about the…"

His roommate smiled tightly. "Later. I'm not really allowed to tell you anyways. Don't worry about it, it's not bad or anything."

Len doubted that, by the way Rinto kneaded his fingers, he could tell that it was nothing good. Still, he supposed that he had to respect his roommate's privacy, so instead of pushing it, he just let it slide and hurried to the door, opening it for the posed Kaito.

"Where's our presents?" Rinto demanded, his demeanor returning to normal.

"Rude!" Kaito scoffed. "I'll give them when I'm ready!"

"When you're ready," Rinto repeated disbelievingly. "Fine, whatever. But it better be good!"

As usual, they took their table at lunch, Len grudgingly handing over the soda that he owed Rinto. "It wasn't fair," he whined as Rinto slurped it. "You had a head start and I still had my violin!"

"That's life, Len," he burped, clearly pleased. "See, what I would have done, if I were you, I would have thrown that violin at your legs, tripping you, and secured victory."

"If Luka doesn't like me now, then imagine how she would be if I broke my violin a week before the concert, she would probably package me and throw me all the way back to my house." Len shivered at the thought.

"Well, if she does do that, I'll put a word in and tell her to do it after my soccer game," Kaito winked. "Speaking of which! Here are your presents!" He produced two game tickets from his pockets, handing one to each of them. "Third row, down center, best view—especially since it's raining!"

Rinto snatched his ticket excitedly, grinning. "Fun, I was afraid that I wouldn't get one since their nearly sold out."

"Thanks," Len agreed, looking it over. "Do they give all the players free tickets?"

"Only the starting members," Kaito whistled, clearly fishing for praise. "And I went through a lot to get those seats in particular, you know?"

"Fantastic! We'll be sitting next to rich kids' parents then!" Rinto hooted. "And that's always fun!"

'Fun' according to Rinto, was mooching off of free snacks from sympathetic rich parent.

"Our parents spent a lot of money buying us our uniforms," he was saying, his blue eyes were big and round, seeming to be innocent. "And I forgot my umbrella at home… Lucky that my brother remembered to bring one!"

The mother who he was talking to gasped, staring at the single umbrella that sat between Rinto and Len. "Why don't your parents bring you another one?"

"Well… Dad is always busy so he doesn't come a lot, and Mom—" Rinto trailed off. "Actually, we don't really have a spare umbrella at home, do we?"

Dumbly, Len shook his head, knowing better than to expose Rinto's act.

"Oh, how sad…Why don't you buy another one, then?"

This was it. This was where Rinto turned into a sad puppy, looking sheepishly to the ground. "Ah… The truth is, we don't have a lot of money. We're both here on scholarships."

She put a hand to her mouth. "That's amazing! The both of you? Now… If only my son could that. Here, why don't you and your brother share this?"

"Oh, thank you so much, ma'am!" Rinto took the chips and waters gratefully. "We really appreciate it!"

"That's dirty," Len muttered underneath his breath, gripping the umbrella tightly.

The umbrella wasn't even his. He was the one who forgot to bring an umbrella, and Rinto had been kind enough to offer to share it once the weather dropped.

"You saw her bag, she had fifty of these," Rinto replied back. "Well, we get to fully enjoy this game now—ah, it's starting to sprinkle."

On cue, Len opened the umbrella, holding it above them as Rinto opened the chip bags. "The players are coming out now."

Indeed, both teams, Yamaha in dark crimson uniforms and their opponents wearing bright blue, trotted out to the field, Kaito towering over the other players.

"The rain is going to get harder," Rinto observed mildly, though Len could see how excited he was. "This is going to be fun."

"Not for the players," Len mused, to which his roommate grunted to.

The game started.

From the very beginning, Kaito shot ahead of the rest, seeming to want to get a goal in before the rain settled in, but the team they were against were no pushovers and by the team he was near the goal, the rain was pelting the field.

"Things are getting pretty muddy out there," Rinto laughed, edging closer to Len so that his shoulder was out of the rain. "Look at that, they're starting to slip." Indeed, on the field, the players, both crimson and blue, were sliding all over themselves, some of them falling over the ball as it grew slick with rain. Kaito himself had a huge mud stain across his shirt, though he didn't seem to mind as he masterfully received a pass and cannoned it into the goal, causing the whole bleachers to stand up, cheering.

"This is nothing like a regular high school match," Len muttered, in awe of the sheer number of fans that Yamaha seemed to have. "At most, there's maybe fifty people cheering for each side."

"There's more than just students and family here, that's why," Rinto laughed. "Just like at concerts or tourney-meets for Mock Trial, there are talent scouts, Uni reps, and even outside spectators who just want to watch for the heck of it. Yamaha is all about prestige and elitists, right?"

"I guess so," Len's stomach plunged at the mention of concerts, his own being less than a week away.

"Hey, you're looking a bit pale, you okay?" Rinto tore his eyes from the field for a moment. "You should go inside if you're not feeling good. This rain isn't going to let up for a while, after all."

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

The crowd shrieked again and they both turned to the field, seeing the opposite team cheering loudly.

Rinto whistled, impressed. "So they scored, huh? Kaito's getting warmed up though—if you're sure your fine, Lenny, then that's cool. But if you feel sick, feel free to just take the umbrella and go back to the room."

"Will do, thanks."

Rinto flicked his eyes again, smiling. "Don't mention it."

The game resumed.

Kaito, seeming reenergized, started by popping the ball into the air with his leg, rocketing it to a teammate who had sprinted across the field. The other team scrambled around him, three members circling Kaito protectively. Panicking, the Yamaha member with the ball kicked it away from the crowd, and for the moment it was free ball. One from the rival school ran to get it, but tripped in the mud, so the ball was taken again by Kaito.

"Seems pretty Kaito-centric," Len commented. "Is he like the ace?"

"I don't know if they're just intentionally overusing Kai or the rain just has them nervous," Rinto sighed, chewing on his chips. "But he's got incredibly stamina, so they should be fine. The other school is catching on quickly though."

That was true, even as they spoke, Len watched as five of the opposing team crowded around the incoming Kaito, the other four waiting warily in the back. The blockade proved futile though, as he smoothly popped the ball upwards and over the five's heads, he himself jumping over them.

Rinto cheered as the five slipped and tripped in shock in the rain. "Now that's fun!"

"…Are you just here to watch the players fall?"

"What kind of question is that?" he snorted. "Do you know who I am?"

Kaito scored the second point, making Rinto scream again.

Len sighed in exasperation, taking his eyes off the game for only a moment, when Rinto reached and grabbed his shoulder.

"What-."

"Kai!"

The whole crowd, made a collective gasp, when the goalie, in anger, kicked the ball to the referee who was across the field, but the rain caused his grip to slip and the ball hit Kaito in the head solidly, the tall male falling at the impact. Rinto and Len stood up, and the goalie put his hands up in alarm, the entire Yamaha team running to their ace.

"Is he okay?" Len rubbed his eyes, but the rain caused everything to be a bit blearily, and he couldn't tell if Kaito was standing with the help of his teammates, or if his teammates were just lifting his limp body.

"I-I think he's walking," Rinto replied. "But they're taking him out."

Kaito did stumble to the benches, holding his head and seeming a bit dazed, Coach Al was shouting with the referee and the other team's coach approached them somewhat nervously, the offending goalie in tow.

"There's Yuuma," Len pointed out, and indeed the Dorm Master, official school nurse, was running across the field with a dark jacket over his head. He crouched over by Kaito, checking into the boy's eyes and head.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Rinto's grip on Len's shoulder tightened. "Is Kaito standing up?"

He was getting up alright, and was stalking over to Coach Al, seeming to trade some words with him, Yuuma eventually joining him.

"He's not trying to get back in the game is he?"

"He is."

And he apparently won, because when Yamaha got up to line on the field again, he stood amongst them, his head low, but looking otherwise alright.

Len sat down again and Rinto soon after, his hand snapping away from Len's shoulder. "Oh, sorry."

"It's fine," he barely even noticed, distracted by Kaito's fall. "Do you think Kaito will be okay?"

Rinto seemed to relax a bit, and he cracked a smile. "'Course. His thick skull isn't going to crack from something like that." And to prove him right, Kaito didn't have any lack of performance as he tore up the field again, the rain seeming to not affect him at all.

As expected, Yamaha won, and the whole stadium roared as Kaito shot in the last goal before the buzzer.

"Three-six?" Rinto noted, eyeing the scoreboard. "Not bad."

They both made a silent agreement to wait for Kaito, and stood underneath Rinto's umbrella outside of the stadium, dodging the other players as they exited.

"Kaito!" Len called, waving him down. Kaito approached them, a confused smile on his face.

"…Hi? Do I know you?"

"A soccer ball to the face doesn't cause amnesia," Rinto retorted and the taller boy broke into laughter.

"Still, it hurt, you know!" he rubbed his forehead lightly. "Did you see how close I was to the goalie when he kicked it? I thought my head had flown off."

"We thought you were knocked out," Len winced at the sight of the red bump that was forming near Kaito's temple. "What did Yuuma say?"

"He said it looks bad, but didn't do any real damage. Told me that my thick skull probably saved me."

Rinto and Len exchanged a glance and burst out laughing. "Sounds about right! Are you going to the locker rooms right now?"

"Yeah, they want to throw a party," Kaito flashed a grin. "Want to crash it?"

"No thank you," Rinto made a face. "I can barely handle you, much less the entire soccer team. Come on, Len. Now that we're sure he's fine, let's head back to the dorms first."

"I'll race you," Len cracked a grin. "First one there gets to shower first."

Len lost again.

"You'll need another hundred years to beat me, sunny boy!" Rinto hooted as he entered the shower.

"Mr. H stopped me in the hall to fold the umbrella!" Len shouted back, extremely miffed. "That's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair!"

So Len was left with his soggy clothes and socks to sit, huddled in the corner of their room while Rinto soaked in his shower. Irritably, he tossed his shirt and pants into the laundry bin, deciding to at least keep his boxers on since they were still dry. He wrapped himself in his blanket and hid in there until he heard Rinto's shower stop, then he poked his head out and waited for his roommate to get out.

The only thing that left the bathroom, though, was the loud expletive that Rinto had barked.

"Did you fall?" Len shouted back, crawling out of his bed.

"No, but I—dammit," Rinto hissed, sounding pissed.

"Did a soccer ball hit your head?"

"Ha, ha," his roommate groaned loudly. "Hey, uh, can you do me a favor?"

Len stretched and shivered in the cold. "Sure."

"Can you get me my clothes? I forgot to get them when I came in here. They should be on my bed."

Len glanced across from him. "They're not."

"Dammit."

"Hey, I could just grab them for you, no problem," he replied hastily. "Just tell me what you need."

"I—," Rinto paused for a considerably long time, and when he spoke again, his voice was wavering. "Just some clean shorts and a t-shirt." Len gingerly opened up their closest and picked out the articles from Rinto's side. He glanced at the drawer below him.

"How about some, uh…"

"Some what?"

"Some under…garments."

Rinto fell silent. There was some unsaid tension that suddenly built up as none of them spoke, and Len wondered why it was so bad.

It was just some underwear, yet he felt like he had trodden on something deep and forbidden.

"I'm…not…going to wear any tonight," Rinto replied, trying to sound lighthearted, but Len could have sworn he nearly choked. "Just the shorts and shirt should be cool."

And so, stiffly, Len grabbed the clothes and made for the bathroom door, twisting the knob. "Hey Rinto?"

"What?" the word sounded strained.

"The door is locked."

"Are you even—," Rinto kept his words in check though, and Len heard the quiet slap of his feet against the bathroom tile. The door unlocked and he opened it, though there was no Rinto in sight.

"Um, Rin-," Len was cut off by a hand that extended from behind the door, its fingers snapped and motioned at the clothes in his hands.

"Just drop the clothes," Rinto growled. "Then kindly just wait a moment."

Len, deciding that it probably wouldn't be the best to speak, simply did as he was told and backed out of the restroom, listening to the frustrated boy wrestle his clothes on before slamming the door open, looking clearly distressed.

"Are you feeling alright?" he managed to choke out, not used to seeing Rinto so flushed.

"Peachy," Rinto seemed to pause and looked Len up and down, seeming to take in the lack of clothes. He closed his eyes momentarily and then took a deep, sarcastic bow, opening the door wider for Len. "Alright, your turn to shower."

He plopped himself onto his bed right after and turned to the wall, his face buried into his pillow, leaving Len to stand there and wonder:

What the heck just happened?

Chapter 5 Fin.

What did just happen?

Familiar scene from the old story, that leads up to the big part of the story which took six chapters to reach this time around because I needed more meat to this story.

BUT IT ALL GOES DOWNHILL FROM HERE. Yes, my dear readers who are fed up with me, I can confidently say that things are looking better for this story. Hopefully.

As always, thank you for reading my story! Though it's a bit slow and awkward, I do hope that you still enjoy it! Whether you review, favorite or follow this story; it all gives me great joy and motivation to write, thank you!

Mush Luvve

~asianchibi