After successfully completing his first job, Ryou fell ill and bothered to lie down at home until he recovered. He was sure he got a cold when he returned home from the hospital in the evening, the day of the accident. He was closely monitored from time to time by his sister and Ryou was forced to swallow pills at her whim. Also, he was occasionally written to by club members in the general chat room they had created and asked about his condition, which made the young man feel warm at heart. Akiko was the most communicative, sharing messages the most often.
Starting the next week, he returned to his routine, school life. During one school day, the club members noticed a certain change in his communication – the guy began to show his feelings more openly, to which Akiko and Yumiko were most surprised. Through his occasional smile on his face there was a sincere good-naturedness that had not been seen before by his club friends. Tomoyuki, seeing the fact that he had become more sociable and sincere, felt a sense of caution, but could not help but rejoice at the news.
In fact, Tomoyuki did indeed often see Glenn in or out of the bathroom. For the young man, such an act was a mystery that he wanted to uncover someday. Tomoyuki was interested in Glenn's personality, for he knew nothing about him to this day. Solving some mystery of the dark-eyed, tall young man's identity was a priority for Tomoyuki's plans, which he tells no one.
A few minutes before meeting Akiko, after the end of the school day, Tomoyuki suddenly called Glenn to the soccer field behind the school and in its grounds. Outside, a sunset was setting in front of the boys, illuminating their humbled faces. As they were near the soccer field, Tomoyuki, who was standing in front, stopped and turned around. There seemed to be a strong rift in their relationship, which is why they had hardly spoken since the early days. In spite of this, he launched into blackmail in his own style.
"Let me guess," Glenn said, faking a hand to his chin, "You want to talk to me about a particular subject, Tomoyuki-kun?"
"Exactly."
"You couldn't have called me for no reason. We've never had a heart-to-heart."
"I want to change that situation," Tomoyuki replied and turned toward the sun. Feeling the cool breeze falling on his dark hair, the boy sighed deeply. "What a lovely thing... to get some fresh air. Our school is a little farther from the central district, but still... the difference in air purity is felt strongly."
"There are remarkably fewer poisonous fumes here," Glenn added. "The school is already followed by real mountain nature."
"Glenn-san, you make a good point. Do you think you're smarter than Sato-chan at school?"
"Hmm? At school rates, our scores are the same, but I think that surpassing Yumiko-chan will be able to surpass me without any problem. Who knows, maybe she already has."
"I've heard that you're at the top of the honors list, and have been holding your spot for a long time. How has Sato-chan not been able to overtake you?"
"I don't know," replied the young man, with indifference. "I have no interest at all in who is at what level, in knowledge or discipline — I don't judge people."
The blue-eyed feigned admiration. "There he is — the genius of our school!" he said, and turning to Glenn, seemed more serious about the conversation. "They say geniuses have secrets most of all. Are you hiding something from us, Glenn-san?"
"I wouldn't say so. I only think it's less meaningful to you than your present. What do you think?"
"I feel you're hiding some oh-so-serious things from us."
"Maybe so," Glenn replied, smiling. "But this is coming from a guy who has skeletons in his closet?" he complemented, and Tomoyuki stammered.
"What do you mean?" the young man replied, sensing a faceless danger, and noticing how Glenn's dark eyes widened like a boundless abyss, the young man was not easily alarmed.
"How are you and Akiko-chan up to something?"
"I don't understand anything. We're not up to anything between each other."
"Of course not," Glenn added, raising his tone. "You're not hiding anything. For instance, your last meeting at the running field didn't happen at all."
Tomoyuki's hands trembled and he clenched them into a fist. His shoulders stiffened, he straightened with a wave of his hand, and seemed more confident not to lose his dominance in the conversation.
"Right, nothing happened," he added, frowning, and then Glenn began pacing slowly toward Tomoyuki, not removing his harmless smile.
"Of course I believe it. Friends won't lie to each other, especially when it's one circle that brings them together."
"Is it the circle?" exclaimed Tomoyuki anxiously. "It was with the literature circle that you decided to bring our relationship closer together? B-b-but for what? Wh-what are you arranging this for?" disappeared the guy's confidence as Glenn approached him. Eventually, Glenn overshadowed the young man's gaze with his tall stature, and Tomoyuki was faced with the shadow of a young man standing just an inch from him.
Glenn lowered his dark gaze to him. "I don't understand a word you're saying," he replied with a grim tone, and the sun came up to illuminate his smile, which made Tomoyuki wrinkle in fear. "You wanted something from me, didn't you?"
Barely restrained, Tomoyuki was unable to say a word for a long time. After a short time, straightening up, he contemplated setting aside his fear, at least not showing it on the outside, and stared at the young man with a hard gaze.
"I need your help."
Then Glenn closed his eyes and removed the gloom around his person. He had had enough of Tomoyuki's confident words to stop pestering him with sudden anxiety. Tomoyuki exhaled, relieved of his tension and lowered his shoulders.
"I see," Glenn said peacefully and retreated a few steps. "Friends I can't refuse, of course, depending on what their request is. You, I suppose, are looking for something more imposing."
"I want..." Tomoyuki's gaze lowered, not expecting it to come to this outcome. He couldn't have known he would lose the conversation, having no chance of winning at blackmail from even the start. "I want to strengthen my friendship with Hayashi-kun. Hayashi-kun is closed off right now and doesn't show his sincerity in person — that's what I wish to correct, at the same time giving Akiko-chan a chance to get close to him. Such is the case that Akiko-chan... thinks of Hayashi-kun, not just as a friend."
And then Glenn thought deeply about the young man's statement, and pondered within himself how his situation could be remedied. "I'll help you," Glenn replied shortly, adopting a peaceful smile.
"O-okay!" said Tomoyuki, bowing his head sharply. "That's all I wanted!" he complemented, without raising his gaze. He wondered inwardly if Glenn really believed him, for the real goals could not be known to him because he had never told anyone about them before. He wondered how Glenn had found out about his conversation with Akiko, but most of all he worried about his undisclosed secret to Glenn.
"Don't get me wrong," Glenn added meekly and turned to the side. "If you're pondering self-serving and mercenary things, you'd better get rid of them," he added, and glanced back at the distressed Tomoyuki. "You have so many faces, I'm confused to see the real one. Did you think no one would notice?"
Tomoyuki was enveloped in shock again. "I-I don't know what you're talking about, Glenn-san."
"Life is short, and I would have spent them on more worthy deeds. Who knows, if you suddenly get a deadly disease, God forbid, no one will help you," Glenn moved toward the exit of the soccer field, making Tomoyuki gulp his saliva with exertion. "And before you know it, you'll be left with nothing, and your friends won't notice that your remaining time of mortality is already counting on your fingers. That's why life is short."
Glenn walked away. Silently sitting on his knees, Tomoyuki soiled his school pants. He crossed his arms and squeezed his shoulders, contemplating his failure. He was almost exposed. So, the young man learned more about Glenn. About the dark side of Glenn that the guy only showed in extreme situations. For Tomoyuki, it was both a formidable honor and an unwashable shame.