Before his last class, Ryou was summoned by Glenn at the school exit. Uneasingly, as he moved through the mass of schoolchildren going to the cafeteria on the first floor, he noticed Glenn standing in front of him.
"Don't tell me you've been waiting here for me like this," Ryou said, not removing his resigned gaze. "What did you call me for?"
"I seem to be in a little trouble."
As they approached the deserted field behind the school, the boys came to a corner where no one would see them. They encountered two tall, third-year seniors. One of them had a stout body and a confident look, and Ryou looked back at Glenn, misunderstanding.
"Glenn, Glenn, Glenn... I don't think we've spoken before?" the stout guy added, taking off his jacket. He glanced at the dark-eyed man standing a few steps in front of them.
"Didn't have to," Glenn replied, keeping his composure stiff. "Didn't you say you were coming alone?"
"You didn't come alone, either. And the guy next to you is the guy who attracts all the schoolgirls? I envy people like you."
Ryou looked at him with a sharp and contemptuous look, as if to declare that he had nothing to do with his situation.
"Nothing to envy."
"I suppose you won't let our problem be solved in words?" the dark-eyed man asked, undoing the buttons of his jacket. "Eh, and I thought we could have gone peacefully."
"Glenn, you do realize you hurt my friend, and I don't forgive for that kind of thing," the fighting big man said defiantly, not letting go of the lanky smile and unruly confidence in his eyes. "I've heard a lot from my friends that you're a good guy and a good fighter. My character's a good one for trusting my friends, and I hope you won't disappoint me."
"Rest assured," Glenn slowly twisted the sleeves of his shirt to his elbow and exposed his skinny but long forearms.
"Hey, with the wavy hair!" the big guy pointed his eyes directly at Ryou. "You gonna stand your ground as a backup?"
"Don't overestimate me, Yamada," Glenn deadpanned nonchalantly. "I'm not stupid enough to fight you alone."
Ryou measured a sharp, murderous bumblebee-like sting across the tough guy. Placing his hands in the pockets of his caged pants, the young man hid his displeasure by noticing the good-naturedness in the battle-senior's eyes. He's not so formidable, Ryou thought.
"So you're the Yamada-san who got dumped by the girl in my class? I feel for you. It must have been hard to accept that you're not omnipotent at some things."
"Yeah. Sato-san's a nice girl, seems calm and poised from the outside," Yamada responded with a warm tone, not losing hope in his words. "A real ideal for me! Yes, she didn't lift a finger when she rejected me. I can be overly emotional, but unlike others like me, I try to turn that minus into a plus! I was born that way."
"Well," Glenn smirked, ducking his belly and adopting a low body stance, "you're not going to cry, I hope?" he sharpened his focused eyes on Yamada. "For I won't cry either."
Yamada slammed his fists together with pleasure and ducked his back. "That's it! A real man's honor. But don't you forget, Glenn…" he added, and the high school boy standing beside him followed him into a fighting stance. "In a fight, you don't give in when one side is less strong than the other. You won't turn the situation in your favor with that plan."
"I didn't force you," chuckled Glenn, and Ryou immediately put his jacket on the concrete without fail.
Calling for Ryou, the dark-eyed man had hoped on Ryou's abilities, which he could only guess at the existence of. Thanks to his height, Glenn initially thought of some way to improve his position to beat Yamada, but when another senior intervened following them, the young man began to lose his grip.
But when Glenn glanced at Ryou's serious and watchful eye, aimed directly at the two opponents, the young man's concentration dawned on him. Ryou was like a falcon, cold-bloodedly waiting for targets to strike. Glenn's confidence returned to normal.
A gusty wind swooped in from afar and swept across the white shirts of the four boys who were calmly waiting for the fight to begin. The wind blew across the school grounds, and the leaves that lay on the ground lifted from the gust and rolled away beyond the school boundaries.
Yamada's previously motionless straight legs shifted and his body stepped sharply toward Glenn and Ryou. The boys' fists bared to deliver a painful blow that would result in a victory for one of the two sides.
Ryou had always understood that all disagreements began because of a discrepancy in the views of certain parties to a conflict. In his view, wars have basically been in people's blood since their inception. Conflicts were unavoidable, and disagreements were unavoidable. The very stupidity of men, in the end, led to grave consequences. Not a single human soul lived without quarrels and fits of aggression. That's what pissed him off about people.
Every direct attack Yamada made was hard to dodge, but his legs came into the force unglamorously. Yamada was good at all techniques of using force, but what amused the big guy the most was the thrill of glorious battles. His face lit up each time at the dignified evasions of the nimble Ryou, who seemed a dark horse, and Glenn's savvy in allowing him to advance after every enemy miss made Yamada feel invigorated. Ryou was advancing on his opponents in moments, with not a shred of doubt in his movements, and this gave Glenn a boost of energy.
Despite the equal fight, each of the contestants made mistakes, which were paid for with hand-waving from their opponents. They fell, but they didn't give up, and no one cared about soiled shirts and reddened hands. This was what Yamada thought their battle was glorious. He had achieved his goal of experiencing that lost feeling of blood rush and desire to live.
As a result, the scuffle ended in equal defeat for both teams. The decisive blow came from Ryou, kicking Yamada in the groin and causing him to lose his footing. Losing what little strength they had left, all four seniors fell to the ground. Greedily exhaling warm air, Glenn, who was sitting exhausted in the corner, could not open his eyes in any way. Ryou sat beside him, wiping his forehead with his red palms. Their faces were slightly battered, but their shoulders and legs took the most blows. Yamada's back was lying on the cement ground with both of his hands under his head. He looked contentedly at the open sky. The boys' shirtsleeves were soiled and battered.
Ryou shook the dust off the dark plaid pants he had worn since the beginning of the school year, and none of the teachers complained to him.
Closing his eyes, Yamada said quietly:
"What a long time since I felt a sense of equal strength in battles. And yet, I wasn't lied to about you, Glenn."
"Your friends told me about you, too," Glenn replied placidly, lifting his dark jacket. "According to them you're nice and good-natured, though you may look defiant."
"Ha ha, then they didn't lie about me!" showed a satisfied face. "And I like you guys. Call me Yamada, let's get acquainted."
"Ryou Hayashi," Ryou lifted his briefcase relaxed, and fixed his hair back.
"Glenn Zaleman," the dark-eyed man added, smiling. "Let me introduce you, Yamada-san."
"Shimada Satori," grinned the senior, "I'm in the same class as Yamada-kun."
"Ha ha! And you're a good fighter!" clapped his palms together. "Forget about our disagreement, Glenn-kun?"
"There was no disagreement. You were asked, after all, by the girls who scornfully threatened Yumiko behind the school."
"Threatened? I didn't know about that. My friends came to me, saying that you had hurt them. I could have just talked to you, but they also informed me that you wanted to point your hands at them."
"You have been deceived, and in the silliest style," Glenn retorted, to which Yamada flinched in embarrassment. "You shouldn't trust a friend like that, who's a trickster. You have to turn away from people like that in your social circle," Glenn muttered importantly, and he calmed down.
"Sorry, bad habit," Yamada regarded his sternness warmly. Indeed, the good-nature of the rugged man was not uncommon. As they drew closer, the young men did not find him formidable.
Glenn thought that his influence in his surroundings and kindness were used by bad people, and sincerely pitied Yamada, who could not do anything with his trust. Yamada had a pure soul, even though he fought and participated in street scuffles. He treated people loyally, but drove away the other bullies and bad people from the school and neighborhood where he lived. Glenn had heard good things about Yamada, and he didn't want to hurt the good man. That's why, in the scuffle, he didn't use all his strength.
So they became friends with the main bully of their school.
Glenn and Ryou stepped quietly toward the entrance of the school building. Ryou dared not say anything, but only kept his calm. His calm eyes, the color of which referred to the expanse of a dark blue galaxy, on the surface of which the gods themselves rested, stared nonchalantly just below the horizon, and he was just a couple of inches shorter than Glenn.
"I didn't know you could fight, anyway," Glenn said.
"Didn't have to tell you."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought you into my problems, but you helped me out, and for that I'm grateful."
"You're always like that. Your requests sound like orders, which to refuse is on par with the death penalty. You make me feel creepy."
"I'm sorry," Glenn waved his hand with a soft look, trying to take away Ryou 's displeasure.
"But I never imagined I'd be so open with you… How come?"
"All because you attract people, Ryou-kun," Glenn smirked. "We're all attracted to you," he showed his tenderness, and Ryou froze in surprise.
"I hate it when you smile like that," Ryou crossed his arms.
"I certainly can't help it."
"There's a reason there's a scary legend about your look at school. It's like you came from the graveyard, by God," Ryou continued, embarrassing Glenn with embarrassment. "But I like it. I appreciate this everyday life. I really appreciate it."
"I'm glad to hear that," the dark-haired man closed his eyes approvingly.
For that was the outcome Glenn had intended, so that Ryou would finally enjoy ordinary school days with the boys. So, he wanted to help the young man experience the height of his emotions while he could.
***
As he walked out of the bathroom, Ryou sighed wearily, as he was able to disengage himself from the schoolgirls asking about his battered face. Then, the young man firmly declared that he had helped his friend solve his problem, to which the girls admired the young man's favor immensely.
When he climbed the stairs to the second floor, at the same time putting on a black jacket, which he cleaned from dust, in the middle Ryou stopped, seeing Yumiko, who in her case saw Ryou, standing near the stairs on the second floor.
Her calm, submissive look reeked of the same cold mood, but Ryou didn't flinch. The young man knew that this way Yumiko could feel safe, and with the boys she seemed like a different, warmer person.
"That was a good fuck," came out of her mouth in a carefree and slightly husky voice. "Will you tell me later what happened to you?"
Ryou seemed stunned by her, and didn't even notice how his estranged eyes came alive at the sight of his friend's beauty and tenderness. He felt different with her, very different.
"Yeah."