Tomoyuki disliked mercenary and selfish people. In his opinion, such people seemed lying, self-serving, and stupid. Ryou's spiteful attitude toward society and the negligence by which the boy looked down on his peers led Tomoyuki to think about examining his character in detail. Tomoyuki, in his own words, hated arrogance, and there was plenty of it in Ryou, at least he was convinced of it. Glenn, on the other hand, underestimated Tomoyuki as a person, and this trait of his crushed the guy, which made Tomoyuki feel hatred for the dark-eyed man. Tomoyuki judged them in his own way, and wanted to infiltrate their confidence in order to expose their fears and prove their false bravery.
Friday came. Ryou, Tomoyuki, Yumiko, and Akiko sat in the club and talked to each other about things, as they always did. Akiko was unaccustomed to being with Tomoyuki, looking at his carefree face, but she decided to pretend that nothing happened between them at all. Masumi and Glenn entered the club together, and after a greeting, the young man made an important announcement.
"A new job has been found, specially chosen by Masumi-sensei. Ryou-kun and Tomoyuki-kun will speak for the job."
While Ryou perplexedly wondered why he was chosen again, Tomoyuki, on the other hand, pondered what Glenn intended by his actions. He was unaccustomed to understanding how, days after their conversation, the dark-eyed man had actually infused Tomoyukiwith Ryou, albeit as part of his job.
"Why don't we choose our own questionnaire?" complained Ryou slightly grudgingly, to which the teacher, who was sitting rankly on the edge of her desk, looked at him slowly.
"Because you youngsters don't understand what you're capable of," she replied. "You may take a questionnaire that you find difficult to do, and you will be left with nothing, or you may choose a questionnaire that does not match your skills at all. Beware of such outings, Glenn-kun and I decided to choose instead. Any more questions?"
Yumiko raised her hand. "What is your connection to the social service organization and what involvement do you have in this case?"
"Indirect. I'm only helping Glenn-kun, for I was previously involved in the organization myself."
"I see. I was not aware of that, thank you."
Tomoyuki had not guessed before that the teacher might have had anything to do with the questionnaires, and it was after her statement that he was partially able to figure out the reason why Glenn was up to some sort of trickery. What exactly Glenn was thinking, Tomoyuki could not know, but the young man concluded in his mind that something was definitely amiss between Glenn and Masumi.
"Why didn't you make it clear to us earlier?" gasped Ryou, to which Masumi smiled softly.
"Hey-hey, who would have thought you'd be interested in such a fact? I'm only helping you not to fail a task strictly assigned by the organization, and I'm saving Glenn-kun from unnecessary duties, just like his big sister!"
"I wouldn't mind if you were my big sister, Masumi-sensei," Glenn replied gently, with a sense of flirtation in his words.
Tomoyuki couldn't get it out of his head that and for what Glenn was up to with an elaborate but unknown plan, but the main thing that pissed the guy off was the fact that he and the others were unhesitatingly following his plan.
"By the way," Masumi complemented, putting her index finger to her lip, "you'll be taking the questionnaires on Friday specifically, so you'll be comfortable combining work with school."
"But under what pretext are you choosing the questionnaires?" asked Tomoyuki reproachfully, not at all surprising the teacher.
The teacher thought Glenn was right about Tomoyuki's judiciousness and willingness to get to the bottom of a truth he himself had invented, but was sure the young man could not beat Glenn's conscientiousness. Masumi was aware of the dark-eyed, tall young man's affairs.
"Connections!" she said optimistically, shutting down the whole general topic at the same time. Following, Glenn
Presented Ryou and Tomoyuki with a piece that spelled out the details of the job, and the boys signed off on the participation.
***
"Daisuke Social Services Organization."
Name of requestor – Saori Kobayashi
Questionnaire type – Physical
Type of Service – Social
Taken up – Ryou Hayashi, Tomoyuki Yamashita.
***
The boys decided to get to work instantly, after the school day was over. The two assembled at the gate, Ryou, following the documentation, called the person who had thrown the form request. There was a long silence, but the boys decided to wait, and soon the call was answered.
"Hello? Is that you, Saori Kobayashi?"
"Of course," sounded a bassy and characterless male voice. "A phone number written on paper is never wrong. People have a characteristic of checking their writing carefully, don't they?"
"I see… Can we meet somewhere?"
"Come to Ueno Park. I'll meet you by the middle field where there are lots of benches."
The call went out and the guys were given a clear-cut order for them to follow. The only thing the guys didn't understand was what was required of them. The type of service was spelled out as "social," but the meaning of that word within the job was unclear to Ryou. Asking Tomoyuki if he guessed what kind of care the guys were specifically asked for, Ryou received a negative answer.
The public park was in the central district, which was a long way from the school, but the boys had nothing to lose. As they strolled through the large park in the evening, they admired the blossoming sakura trees that were snugly planted along the sides of the path, and the path itself was lit by lanterns placed at the corners. The number of trees mesmerized Ryou's mind, and the consistency of the light pink of the sakura trees enveloped the entire park.
Walking across the pond with shining lotuses and boats laden with couples in love, Ryou wondered how beautiful this park would have looked if they had walked through it in the light of day. There were waterfowl nestling on the pond, and beyond the pond area was a bridge to the southern part of the park, where all sorts of museums and historical exhibits reigned. The boys, on the other hand, had to walk toward the high ground.
Finally, as they reached the rendezvous point, the schoolboys noticed a pile of campers set in the corners of the rounded path, where not a single soul was present except one man sitting on a distant bench. Slowly approaching with each step, Ryou noticed the features of the man's face, hair, and clothing illuminated by the lantern next to the bench. He had blond, two-way hair that reached to his temples, and the features of his pale face and brown eyes indicated the man's maturity. You could tell he was forty years old by the look on his face and the stately look in his eyes.
The boys stood about two meters away from him, and the man slowly threw a cold stare at them. Adjusting his round, thin-rimmed glasses, his erect lips moved.
"I didn't expect to get schoolchildren sent to me this time," issued the wizened man in a low tone of voice. Taking a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his light-colored coat, he took one out and solidly lit it with the iron lighter on his other hand. Exhaling, he continued at a slow pace, "What motivated you to work in this line of work?"
"Money is never superfluous," the young man answered him. "My name is Hayashi Ryou, and the guy on the right is Yamashita Tomoyuki," and bowing their heads, the boys looked down respectfully.
From the corner of his eye, the man looked at them and took another drag.
"And you, then, are Saori Kobayashi?" moderately complemented Ryou.
"Papers don't lie," Saori replied, and glanced toward the path from which the young men had come. "Papers hold truth and secrets. For centuries, and no one can disprove them."
"Quite right," Ryou added, and looked up. Tomoyuki had mixed impressions of Saori Kobayashi. The personality seemed too detached for the young man, and he couldn't help but notice the cold style of his communication, as if the man was basically indifferent to the boys' arrival.
"Have you had a chance to walk through the park yet?" asked Saori. "The nature of the park is fascinating with the thorny alleys and general tranquility. Especially in the evening, when there are no people around. In the daytime, however, the park takes on a completely different charisma, the charisma of a golden spring, smelling of teenage love. It's like Yin Yang."
"You're right," Ryou replied. "It's my first time here, but I've had time to take in the charm of the place. Obviously, you like to stroll around this place... but dare I ask you a question."
"Is this about work?" gasped Saori, changing his gaze to the alley. "Let's skip the sultry Tokyo work days. Enjoy what springtime Ueno Park provides with its thousand sakura trees."
Rising from the bench, he extinguished his cigarette against a trashcan and headed toward the rose alley, whose path was scattered with sakura leaves and illuminated by lanterns. The young men followed Saori leisurely. There were trees planted on either side of the alley and a cool breeze was blowing that weathered the petals on the trees. The tranquility of the alley made Ryou think of Kyoto, how he and his old friends used to stroll all day long through natural gardens like this.
"I was often carried here before," Saori declared, walking to the front. "I remember when I moved from the gnarly Osaka, then I met the real life. First impressions are always brighter."
"Such tranquility as this park sometimes lacks in everyday life," Ryou agreed, to which the man snickered. Saori Kobayashi's stony gaze hadn't changed since meeting the boys.
"What do you want, peace of mind in your life? You must be tired of the youthful routine, huh?"
"Maybe so, I haven't figured myself out thoroughly myself," Ryou replied meekly, and Tomoyuki stared at him.
Saori mooed again. The alley ended, and the path led further away along the lotus pond. Pressing his hands against the fence behind which the pond was, Saori sighed wearily. The breeze fell directly on his blond hair. Unbuttoning the collar of his white shirt, he lifted his cold eyes. Before him in all its majesty was the open evening sky, with stars shining, and a white airplane flying.
Turning his head toward the young men waiting silently for the man, Saori Kobayashi pursed his lips again.
"I think it's time to talk about work."