A day has passed since the tour began. After visiting Lake Kawaguchi, Ryou's group had time to go to one more location. It was a national park whose main attraction was Shiraito Falls. Many lectures about the park were given by the guide, and the students explored the area all around, also taking pictures next to the waterfall. They spent that night quietly at the hotel. Ryou, after putting his phone on charge, went to bed with the rest of the boys in class.
The next day, at one o'clock in the afternoon, the bus reached Kyoto, where everyone expected it to be. To where the uninformed students had originally planned to go. The guide advised all the students to go eat at nearby places, for the excursion today would be especially exciting. Truth be told, she said this every time she prepared the students for their next stops, so the students were already used to her extreme altruism.
Ryou and the club members deliberately met at a nearby restaurant and began to talk about their everyday lives as they toured. Even though they only reached the city itself today, the guys found a lot of topics to talk about. They shared their emotions. Ryou listened quietly to what they had to say, noticing their very positive opinions of the tour. He also noticed how their conversation had transformed into a more friendly one. Glenn was sitting in a white shirt, thus escaping the heat, and his silver chain protruded from his unbuttoned collar. Amazed by this chain, Akiko immediately spoke up:
"Glenn-kun, what's that around your neck?"
"Souvenir," he blurted out in a welcoming smile, guessing that none of them, except Tomoyuki by fate, had seen this chain of rectangular links in its entirety. Slipping his hands into the collar of his shirt, the young man pulled out the hiding part of the chain, the golden cross. Seeing his strange chain in full view, the boys literally gasped.
"A necklace with a cross on it?" muttered Yumiko anxiously. "I noticed how you always wore it."
"Yes. I always walk around with it, for my own sake. I hide it inside the collar from prying eyes."
"Then why are you… showing it to us?"
The gleaming golden surface of the cross reflected rays of glowing light from all over the place, making it glow even more. Glenn lowered his eyelashes to look at the cross, which he carefully held with his hand.
"Because you are my friends."
"It must mean a lot to you," Yumiko added softly, calming herself down.
"I got it from my father. Thanks to this chain, I do not forget his good deeds. It is my dignity. This cross reflects my father's sparkling, pure soul."
Glenn tucked the cross into his collar, and the chain, strange to the boys, reappeared as a plain silver chain, worn for appearances. Ryou hung his nose. He was touched by his friend's story about his father and his dignity. Deep down, the boy still wanted to have that kind of father-son relationship. To himself, he wished Glenn's father a bright life.
Akiko, in the middle of the conversation, detected the boy's silence, for even Yumiko herself sometimes joined in the conversation, and tried to cheer him up by saying: "And how was your everyday life on the trip?"
Coming to his senses, Ryou opened his mouth slightly at Akiko's sincere desire to cheer him up, and a bitter, grateful face was expressed on the guy's face.
"I've been trying my best to avoid meeting the pesky yous."
"H-hey! Not funny!"
The conversation turned jovial, and the restaurant reeked of friendly color.
***
When it was time for the tour around Kyoto, the club members dispersed into their groups, and the guide began to lead her group forward through the streets and roads, where cherry blossoms bloomed all around and the blue sky cherished above. The students were fascinated by the sakura trees, nestled in almost every nook and cranny they explored. Maybe it was this particular neighborhood that was covered in brilliant colors of pink, but the sakura trees never disappeared from view, no matter which street they turned into.
Kyoto was painted in the pink of graceful rose-colored trees. As he looked around at the nearby sights, Ryou silently recalled how he had been here before, and memories flashed before his eyes. Behind him ran out unnaturally bright children who were playing tag. In the very back a girl with darkish hair ran sloppily and with a heavy gasp, and in front two young boys chased each other.
This was Ryou's childhood stroll through these surroundings. In some places he remembered walking with his sister at an early age, who at the time seemed like a young beauty from fantasy novels. He also saw himself having all day fun with his friends in the park, which he walked through with a guide. Ryou felt nostalgic. Even though he hadn't moved in until March, all those exploring the neighborhoods captured his soul. Yumiko, who walked behind him, peered through the crowd at his both happy and sad looks.
***
In the evening, the tour stopped at the hotel. From the saturation of the evening chill, Ryou went outside, dressed in a warm black turtleneck. The hotel was closer to the center of town on the outskirts of a large street. After walking around in a circle, Ryou walked away from the hotel and sat down on a bench by the lighted road. The road traffic seemed surprisingly quiet, making it feel peaceful, without the hum of vehicular congestion.
Sitting in the meeting place, Ryou was waiting for his friends from Kyoto to arrive, and turning on his phone, he opened a gallery of photographs. With slow movements of his fingers, he opened the folder with the downloaded photos and unfolded the last photo full screen. The photo had been taken that day when the boys from the club had met in Maruyama Park on a field trip, and were happily curling up for the camera, standing at the bridge in front of the sakuras. In the next photo, the boys made an imperious look while standing near a mock-up with samurai armor in the museum.
Flipping to the next photo, the teenager's mouth dropped open. In this selfie picture, only Yumiko and Ryou were standing by the lake, with a view of Mount Fuji overhead. Ryou remembered how with an awkward, high-pitched tone he had then asked her to take a picture, inspired by the guide's admonition to take photos together while the opportunity presented itself. After looking at the three photographs, a moderate smile spread across Ryou's face. Then he opened Messenger and entered Oda's chat room. The edge showed that twenty minutes had passed since the last message had been written. Sighing, wrung out from the nonstop walking, Ryou continued to wait silently.
No sooner had he lowered his head with boredom than his eyelashes closed and Ryou dozed off. After a while, Ryou's consciousness, which was in deep water and slowly sinking, heard a soft and inarticulate low-pitched call. The boy paid no attention, and sank further into the depths, hearing only bubbles in the water. His thin and taut legs continually gave off a humming and stabbing pain.
As he heard again the voice of a man calling the young man's name, Ryou immediately responded and looked in the direction of the exuding sound. He saw a guy in his twenties standing nearby with broad shoulders and a short haircut. A small light in this guy's brown eyes floated around the corners, reflecting longing on his face combined with peacefulness. Losing his voice, Ryou stood up from his seat. It was Oda, Ryou's friend, the eldest of their fellowship group.
"Oda…" shook Ryou's lips. From the back of the broad guy's silhouette peeked out the frail body of a thin girl with long ash-colored hair. She was as excited as Oda, whose body stiffened at the sight of the thick-haired young man.
Dressed in a light blouse and black skirt, the girl finally spoke:
"Ryou-kun," she squeezed out a bitter smile, overcome with sadness at the long-awaited reunion, "Welcome back."
"Maiko-chan… I'm home."
Oda lifted his arms, showing that he was ready for a hug. "Drop the sadness, Ryou. Be not filled with doubt."
Ryou walked with heavy steps toward his friend, and embraced that hug he had missed since March. Maiko, too, snuggled gently against the boys.
"I'm sorry I didn't give you any notice of my leaving."
"That's okay," Oda answered him with his eyes closed, "Today won't ruin anything anymore."
"Yeah…" mumbled Maiko faintly, nuzzling her face against the boys' shoulders. "We meet at last."
The three of them sat in a nearby park and talked about things that had happened during Ryou's absence. From the chaste Oda's words, the young man realized that he hadn't missed anything important, and he already knew a lot of the news in the general chat room. However, Ryou could not help but miss the most important news for them, from which he decided not to be silent:
"Maiko-chan, how are you going to fly to America?"
"Oh, that's… The move is going to work out, no matter what, but I'm leaving this week."
"Why in the summer?"
"I start studying in America in September. I already turned in the paperwork in June."
"And you're okay with that?" added Ryou, and the couple broke into a bitter smile. They were just as worried about the case, too, but inside themselves they had made up their minds long ago.
"I'm fine with it," Oda replied in a lowered voice. "I'll stay in this town to work further, bringing at least some income into the house. Maiko-chan is a pure-blooded genius, you don't see that often. I wouldn't want her genius to go to waste because of me."
Maiko hung her head in dejection. In truth, both Maiko and Oda are seniors in their social circle, and Maiko had already graduated this year and Oda was a year ahead of her. Ryou thought that their decision could not be objectively challenged, with Maiko being a person who strives to evolve and not stay in one place for long. Oda, on the other hand, is a pure softy, with a habit of taking full responsibility, and in spite of his physical strength, he won't touch a fly.
"Are you two going to keep dating? How's your life together?"
"We shall see, we'll find out."
"I see," Ryou grimaced, and Maiko touched his shoulder in a hurry.
"Tell us more about yourself, Ryou-kun. How are things in Tokyo?"
"Yes… Tokyo is a great city. To tell the truth, at first I had my doubts, but soon began to understand Tokyo. I began to feel every pulse of this city, as if it was a living entity. I began to notice how this city slowly covered me in chains, but for what, I don't know. To keep me from escaping? But I have nowhere to go. Tokyo is taking over the minds of the innocent."
"How scary…" puzzled Maiko. "Kyoto doesn't have that feeling at all. It's as if it doesn't hold back, but rather gives free rein for actions."
"Tokyo also has a lot of people on the city streets. This town never falls asleep. Also, the city is more beautiful in the evening…" without realizing it, Ryou remembered Yumiko in the evening cold when he handed her a coat. Even then, under the cover of twilight, the brown-eyed girl's face illuminated by the light of spotlights and street lamps suddenly came to his mind. And toward the end arose her gentle, comforting smile on both the boy's heart and soul.
"You seemed to like it there."
"I made friends there," the teenager continued to ponder, and Maiko gasped, covering her mouth.
"Really?"
"They're good guys. I'm sure you'd like them."
Seeing Oda and Maiko's interested faces, the teenager went on to talk about his friends, capturing every moment that happened in his life in Tokyo. At the core were his feelings after the move and getting used to the new space that had surrounded him for five whole months. Ryou was genuinely happy and altruistic in that moment, realizing that he now had the faces of his good old friends by his side. As much as the guy denied it, he really missed his weekdays in Kyoto.
When it was time to say goodbye, Oda said that Ryou had a hidden surprise that they wouldn't tell him about. The important thing is that Ryou waits for him. The schoolboy misunderstood what ultimately led him to accept the existence of their secret. On a final note, however, Ryou was sad to say goodbye to them, for the afternoon tour would end and he would be leaving back.
His concern for Maiko was not unreasonable, for the news of the separation felt unfavorable. In response, Maiko comforted him. Everything will turn out all right, she said. They won't disappear without her, whispered her innocent voice, feeling her heart break. Eventually, they said goodbye.
As Ryou approached the hotel, he finally saw the light from the hotel's front door rising. Near the wall, where the light from inside the hotel didn't reach, stood the painfully familiar silhouette of a stout guy drinking coffee. Ryou recognized Yamada from a crossed glance. At first, they greeted each other, but couldn't find a common topic of conversation, eventually deciding to chat about how their everyday life was going after the fight.
"I've cut ties with those young ladies who stood up to Sato-san," Yamada announced, without any regret. His directed gaze into the distance pacified Ryou.
"Huh? Well, they really did a nasty thing," said Ryou, staying nearby Yamada. "Pestering a defenseless girl with a mob is the peak of depravity."
"I can't understand where betrayal comes from. One day they come to you with all the sweetness in their souls that you begin to believe in their purity, and the next day they stab you in the back," the young man handed Ryou his glass of hot coffee. Ryou silently accepted the glass, gently grasping it with his fingers.
"That's why I limit my social circle," Ryou replied, taking a sip of the hot contents of the brownish glass.
"How do you know if the person in front of you is sincere with you?"
"I guess you get that through prolonged communication," the thick-haired man reflected, huddling against the wall.
"But there are people who can exploit your flaws uncovered from your gaze. They don't make a show of it in communication."
"People are attracted to the same people as themselves. Inwardly, they are friends with those who are on par with them."
"So here I can't figure out who's really friendly with me and who's using me as a pawn. Maybe I'm too trusting, I don't deny it."
"I don't know," Ryou replied, in a soft tone. "I only know what I see. I have no friends who are insincere with me, and certainly not with themselves. Besides, I have no harmful friends who wish to do me ill."
"Cherish these friends. You may never find the likes of them again."
The boy was passionately captivated by Yamada's sustained enthusiasm. Who knew they could cross paths again, but with regular, friendly companionship. Yamada looked up at the evening sky and gave a deep gasp.
"I'll tell you a secret. I admire starry skies and natural vistas. That's why I wouldn't leave this excursion behind. To some, but this summer trip will sit in my mind for a long time."
As he looked up at the open sky, millions of bright stars gathered in a wide line before his eyes, hidden in an immaculate, dark galactic space that humans had centuries to reach, and wandering shooting stars floated across the sky in a huddle for a moment, as if a group of doves were flying west, and disappearing from the horizon.
These shooting stars were not for everyone to see, which made the vivid colors in Ryou's eyes shine doubly bright. The dark blue stardust was recognized in the eyes of the students, soon appearing in all its nonchalant glory. The color of his eyes, which matched the color of the stardust, was reflected in his pupils, as if it belonged to them.
Thus ended the day with the two teenagers. The atmosphere of harmony recreated the silence that Tokyo lacked. The vicious circle of driving cars on the street had subsided, and not a single person on the sidewalk could be seen again.
***
The tour ended in this way. In the morning, Ryou met with the circle members, and together they waited for their buses to arrive, away from the cluster of students. As the first bus arrived and before it departed, the students said goodbye to the guides, and the tenth-graders insisted on their next lead-in next time.
As it happens, the guide also stated that she was eager to meet them next year as well. A beaming smile appeared on his face as he looked at this scene, as the guy realized that there would be no next time for him. The trip back took seven hours, and the bus never stopped along the way. Following the end of the four days of the tour, the school trip was over. The members of the literature club had another memorable time in their final year of school.