The Quiet Before

With his headphones in place again, Ren let himself sink back into the music. Slowly his head started bobbing and his foot started tapping as they synced up with the beat of the song. He counted out the measures of the intro as they passed, each only helping to build the anticipation. 13... 14... 15... 16... and... His hands started to move again, fingers moving dexterously between the strings as he strummed away. It was a bouncy, repetitive rhythm, one that felt more and more natural each time he repeated it. That's what playing a bass was like, you acted as a bridge between rhythm and lead, often playing the same notes over and over, but sinking deeper and deeper into a groove as you did. The deep tones reverberated with you, made you feel the music as you played it. It was easy to get lost in the sound when the music started to take hold.

And that's why Ren didn't notice when someone came to knock at his door. His eyes closed, ears full of music, foot tapping, body swaying with the rhythm, senses shut off to everything else, there's no way he could have noticed. No, he just kept on going right to the end, hands shifting along his instrument in the endless cycle of the bass line. Luckily, the song in question wasn't terribly long, so when the track began to fade out and his eyes opened to find a figure standing in his doorway, they had probably only been there for a minute or so at most.

Ren gave a start when he finally noticed the presence, hastily removing his headphones before it even registered who he was looking at. "Oh, Fu... Sorry, had my ears turned off, I wasn't being too loud, was I?" He scratched his head timidly, he hadn't actually thought there would be anyone else around in the dorms to disturb, so he'd been playing with his amp on. Relatively low, but still enough that it could be heard in the rest of the building apparently. Well, no one had come to complain so far and he'd been at it for about an hour now, so maybe it was fine? He shrugged slightly and then looked up at his friend with a smile. She'd only just recently gotten back from the hospital, and he hadn't really had much of a chance to catch up with her yet. Since he was trying to rest, now seemed like as good a time as any. "You know you don't have to ask. Come on in, make yourself comfortable." He said as he shifted to make room, the huge bean bag was plenty big enough to fit multiple people comfortably, though the chair at his desk was also free if she preferred that. Either way, he'd set his base aside from the moment, wincing slightly at a pain in his side from the movement before turning back to face Fu. "Haven't seen much of you since you got back, how have you been holding up?"

"Well, I guess that makes sense." Ren nodded as Fu brought up her backlog of school work, turning to face her as she sat with his arms crossed atop his knees. With how long the girl was out of school, it was only natural that she had quite a pile of material to burn through, and that wasn't even counting the high standards of the UA. Ren was actually a bit behind himself in that regard as well. Between his job and the extra training, his studies had been taking a back seat and his grades outside of the hero classes had started to reflect it. That was something he'd have to address after the sports festival was over... It'd be a shame to not make it due to a bad math grade when he'd been trying so hard everywhere else. "If you need any help catching up, let me know. I can honestly use the refresher, and it'll be easier with company."

As for the festival itself, well, that was another thing Ren could understand. He was definitely working hard to get ready for the event, his sore muscles and aching bones were proof enough of that, but the venue itself was something else. A full on competition with his classmates to prove that they'd grown? Sure. But on a stage that the whole country watched and dissected? He could very much do without that. "Yeah, I get what you mean, not particularly looking forward to that part either..." He didn't really talk about his past or his family much, but by now most of the school knew who his 'father' was, and that was only one of the people's whose attention he'd much rather avoid.

But that wasn't all of it either, was it? Ren could understand his friend's problems far better than she probably expected, having faced the same issues before he came to the school. He traded one name for another, but the problem was the same. Being measured against a name. Being put down and isolated when you failed to meet some ridiculous standard. Being reminded of everything you dislike about yourself constantly... His golden eyes unfocused as memories tried to bring themselves to the surface, but it only lasted a brief moment before he forced them back. Those thoughts wouldn't help anyone right now. "Don't worry, we'll think of a way to get both of us through it, trust me." He moved his gaze back and smiled."But I doubt that's all you wanted to talk about though, right? C'mon, tell me what's on your mind."

"Alright, guess we'll have to dig into that later." Ren nodded and gave Fu a thumbs up, but then his expression turned slightly embarrassed and he scratched his head timidly. "Just... don't expect a whole lot from me on math. I'm not good for much beyond what I use in my recipes." Math and History were his two worst subjects, always had been. Science though, strangely enough, was something that he tended to grasp quite easily. Perhaps it was because he had some rather direct applications for that knowledge with his quirk. 

As Fu further elaborated on her worries for the upcoming event, Ren leaned forward slightly and rested his chin atop his arms. It was a perfectly understandable concern, especially when one considered what she'd been through at UA so far. Very quickly after joining the hero course she'd transferred to one of the general education classes, and though she did manage to transfer back in, she was hospitalized almost immediately after. Far from an ideal situation to be sure, but... Ren tilted his head from side to side as he mulled it over. "I get what you're saying, but... I don't think it's so much that you need to do super well or anything. I think you just need to do the best you can." With how many extremely talented individuals made up their class, it was rather ridiculous to expect any one to be able to truly stand out among them, especially when handicapped by a prolonged medical leave. "Aoi sensei always said there's more to being a hero than fighting and being flashy. As long as you show how hard you're trying, no one can really fault you... And besides..." He lifted his head back up and met her gaze with a rather confident look. "I know you Fu, you've got what it takes. Your best will be more than enough."