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Ren didn't expect many good things to happen when the school year started. The best case scenario in his head had been getting along with one or two people and being rejected by everyone else.

So he had been pleasantly surprised when he found himself being friends with everyone at the dorms. Really, he would say each day was fun in its own way.

The people who caught his attention the most, though, had been Yu and the Yuki siblings.

Yu had seemed distant at first, but Ren could tell there was something more to him. It was like he tried to hide his more excited side, or hide the things he liked. As if others would judge him in some way. But, as the weeks passed, Ren could see his serious and indifferent disguise fade away bit by bit.

As for the Yuki siblings, they both seemed like completely different people. Even if they were related and only had an age difference of one year.

Hamuko was easy to get along with. Ren liked her cheerful and wild attitude. It was like she could bring a little bit of joy to everyone in the dorm, despite her occasional impulsiveness. She would often spend the afternoon with him and Yu, which might have contributed to both of them becoming more open with not just each other, but with everyone.

Makoto, though… He was so distant. He barely even talked to anyone besides Hamuko. And the times he did talk, he seemed completely uninterested and, in some cases, almost emotionless. Ren couldn't tell if it was a matter of shyness or not.

So he had been surprised when he had just started yelling at him and Yu, telling them to stay away from Hamuko, that she didn't need them. He seemed so enraged, as if they had tried to murder her. But they hadn't done anything to hurt Hamuko. At least not that they knew. And then he had just turned his back on them, not even caring about their questions of what they did wrong.

Ren could tell Yu was much more emotionally affected than he was. He kept trying to hold back tears, but it was all too obvious that he was almost sobbing.

"I'm not crying… I'm not supposed to cry. We didn't do anything wrong, did we?" Yu questioned.

Ren didn't answer his actual question. He could tell there was a much more immediate issue in front of him. "It's okay to cry if you feel like it. You don't have to pretend you're strong all the time."

And just like that Yu had broken down. He finally let himself cry, sobbing. First onto his hands and then on Ren's shoulder when he had hugged him, mumbling a little "thank you".

The next morning, they asked Hamuko if they had ever done anything to hurt or offend her, to which she replied no. But when she asked why they would ask that, they said it was "just to make sure". So this was a problem with Makoto, not with Hamuko. They would have to question him instead.

The problem was, it was insanely difficult to talk to the boy alone. Whenever he wasn't locked up in his room, he was following Hamuko around. Like a stone-faced guard dog.

But they had been greeted with a surprise at night. Once everyone else was asleep, Makoto was the one who had looked for them before they could go to sleep, asking to talk to them in his room.

Ren had never really tried to imagine what his room would look like. But he was still surprised by how… Hollow it was. It didn't have anything that would imply Makoto having any hobbies. The only part of it that had any semblance of life was his desk, with not only some studying materials on top but also two framed pictures. One of him and Hamuko when they were kids, and another one with only the Hamuko they currently knew.

Makoto sat at the edge of his bed, and took a deep breath. He spoke without looking at them, still in his quiet tone. “I’m sorry I yelled at you…”

Ren and Yu were silent for a second. This… Wasn't what they expected to hear.

"I may have gotten a little emotional…"

" A little?" Ren questioned.

"Fine. A lot." Makoto groaned. "This doesn't mean we're friends, though. I'm doing this for Hamuko."

Yu raised an eyebrow. "For Hamuko?"

"... She'd be furious at me if she found out… She's the last person I'd want to upset… The last person I'd want to lose…"

That was when Ren came to a realisation: Hamuko was the most important thing in the world to him. He cared for her more than Ren had thought.

He could understand why. Hamuko had told them about what happened with their parents. Ever since they were little, they only had each other. And it seemed that Makoto's reaction was to hold onto the only family he had left and ignore everything else.

"Yuki-san…" Ren mumbled. He didn't know what to say. Everything made so much more sense now. And… It made Makoto look so much more "broken" in Ren's eyes.

"Y'know, Yuki," Yu spoke carefully. "Hamuko is important to us too. And she talks about you a lot. She really cares about you."

For a moment, Ren saw a ghost of emotion in Makoto's face. But it was quickly gone. Had he been surprised?

"I wouldn't mind meeting the 'Mako-nii' she tells us so much about one day." Ren chuckled. "I'd like for us to get along, too."

Makoto was silent for a moment, as if processing what he had heard. And then he spoke. "You can leave now. Good night."

"Huh? O-oh, good night." Yu sounded so disappointed.

Even as they left his room, Ren still felt slightly happy. Maybe they were finally breaking his walls a little. But they'd have to wait just a little longer…