The second stage of preparation began and the helpers went into force. There were about thirty helpers in all, including the rest of the club, and their job was to help with the fill-in sheets, physical strength, do the rest of the leaders' errands, and act on the assignments written in the report that was handed out to everyone the first week. Yumiko commented on their positions in the school recesses, but some complained that they wished they could rest during the recesses.
Then Yumiko asked them why they joined in organizing the festival if time was precious to them. She asked the boys to take their best initiative before November. Yumiko was in the juice, pushing the students during her speeches. The preparations for the Cultural Festival were just beginning.
At the end of the third school day, club members were walking in the same park and talking quietly about the fickle weather, discussing Yumiko's awakened leadership.
"I honestly didn't know that you, Yumiko-chan, could handle forty people," Tomoyuki tuned in, and Yumiko was embarrassed. "I've noticed we've been taking frequent walks in this park lately."
"It's comfortable," Ryou remarked, and the blue-eyed man nodded his head.
Yumiko was glad to be spending time with her close friends. Without thinking long, the girl decided to open up:
"I'm comfortable being with you guys, honestly," she bemused when she saw the surprised faces of the boys. " A-ah, I shouldn't have said that! Sorry."
"I'm comfortable with you, too," Tomoyuki shrugged his head with a bitter look, which made Akiko, who was walking beside him, respond.
"Spending time with you after a difficult worry was just what I needed," the brown-eyed woman added. "And this park..." she lifted her gaze to the manicured trees on the sides, "...has come to mean a much dearer place to me."
A few days later, in her first class, instead of schoolwork and class work, Yumiko was surreptitiously busy filling out worksheets. Ryou stared in her direction, detecting a change in her routine. Yumiko herself didn't realize that she was fully engrossed in preparing for the festival and stopped working as hard in school classes as before. However, the teachers knew that she was a leader, and their respect for her for not failing once in all of her 11 years at school intersected with the decision not to torment the leaders in organizing the festival.
During the meeting, Yumiko reported on the current preparations and declared that she would move on to the third phase as soon as possible, starting next week. The students in the office couldn't stop thinking about how grateful they were to the girl who had taken on the main task of giving everyone the best festival in the school's history. After her next performance, the president expressed his sincere gratitude to her.
However, when Tsubasa started to speak about the current state of affairs, and how they would go into active work at the beginning of the third stage, Yumiko, listening to her intently and with her tortured eyes periodically closed, suddenly passed out, starting to fall head over heels against the table. Noticing out of the corner of his eye her sudden body movement, Haru, who was sitting beside her, managed to react before she would have tripped over a chair and fallen, and grabbed her halfway down in time. The people in the office only caught sight of her fainting at the last moment, and a shocked Ryou finally saw Haru catch her in time.
Akiko, who was standing next to her, didn't even realize what had happened and covered her mouth with her hands out of concern. Tsubasa stopped talking when she saw the situation, and the president sitting next to her couldn't believe his eyes. Haru shouted her name, to which Yumiko quickly woke up, but the girl's weary face finally settled into the thoughts of the guys in her circle. Soon, Yumiko responded by uttering: "What?!" and saw the concerned faces of each student. Before her sleepy gaze, Haru presented himself, clinging to the girl's back.
"Yumiko-san…" dumbfounded Haru, who had gray hair. "Well, why would you work so hard to torment your health! You could get seriously ill…" he continued worriedly. Yumiko's sleepy eyes could barely catch up with the words that were reaching her ears.
"Shogo-kun…"
"Haru is telling the truth," Natsuki regretted, folding his arms. "I'm very sorry. I hadn't considered that you might have overreacted, Sato-san. After Mori-chan's speech, the meeting ends for today," he announced to the entire cabinet. "Sato-san, just so you'll notice – we're all grateful for your efforts and willing to help, so we'll take over the process from today and stop putting all the work on you anymore. I didn't keep track, and all the responsibility rests with me."
"But it's okay!"
"No one minds doing the heavy lifting for you, Sato-san, so get some rest. You should relax."
The participants were fine with the student council president's stated decision, and one aide added that if this way they could help the leaders with their hard work, they were undeniably in agreement. Yumiko, who watched the scene admiringly, apologized to people for not withholding her fatigue for the benefit of maximum productivity.
"It's not your fault," Ryou exclaimed behind the girl's back. "We're the ones who didn't keep track…!" he added, following up by looking back at the club members with a regretful look. "How can we be called her friends after that!"
Ryou's serious gaze stunned the members of the circle, and among them Tomoyuki seemed regretful, making Akiko cringe. Why does he look distressed, Akiko wondered, having previously thought that Tomoyuki's path led to a strictly laid out plan that he came up with in hopes of hurting Yumiko and Ryou, but lately she had begun to doubt the guy's seriousness. And whether the plan even existed, Akiko didn't know for sure. Ryou's teeth whined in frustration. That feeling was inherent in everyone.
After Tsubasa finished her speech and the meeting ended there, Yumiko didn't notice how she had already found herself in the park where she and the guys occasionally walked. She was sitting on a bench, holding a cup of coffee from the restaurant with one hand, and looking at the sullen faces of Ryou and Tomoyuki.
"Why are you so self-destructive, and for this job…?" shuddered Ryou's shoulders, revealing Yumiko's resemblance to Megumi, who at one time also toiled at her job. The boy didn't understand the girls' feelings. "We're worried about you, Yumiko-chan, and it won't be good if you get sick."
Yumiko only acquiesced, glancing back and forth at her friends' faces and at the hot cup of coffee her frail hands were holding.
"I apologize…"
"Stop apologizing. I only demand that you pay more attention."
"You don't have to hide your tiredness from us," encouraged Glenn, "We can always give you a helping hand."
"That's right! We should be strong enough to handle a job like this," replied Tomoyuki, concerned about Yumiko's burden.
"Guys…" the brown-eyed woman lowered her head, regretting her action. "Indeed, I have changed a little. Forgotten, without even realizing it myself, that instead of lessons I started preparing for the festival. I took this job not because I decided to help the committee and the teachers, but when I saw how you believed in me and that I could be useful."
Upon hearing the girl's experiences, Akiko gasped in bitterness. She was saddened that Yumiko had taken her incitement as something friendly, which made her feel sorry, for Yumiko really could not recognize either aggression or angst, and had only forgotten, forgiving Akiko's every transgression.
"I continued to be a leader for the sake of fitting your trust. My friends believed in me, and so I worked hard for the festival… You asked me to participate. How could I say no to my first friends?"
An outline of shyness showed on the girl's face as she confessed her feelings. Her stunned friends opened their mouths and looked away, also embarrassed.
"I also want my friends to taste the feast of our last cultural festival…"
Akiko felt guilty for the first time in years. During this small October period, her opinion of the brown-eyed girl was transformed, each time breaking an earlier notion of her. All the while, Yumiko worked for the members of the literary circle, and what a pity it was for Akiko when she realized the value of friendship for the brown-eyed girl. On reflection, Tomoyuki caught up with how much Yumiko had become attached to them during this year of study.
"Whatever you want to do on your own, Yumiko-chan…" ogled Tomoyuki, "...Someone will come to your rescue. They will. So, please, share your thoughts with us as well."
"That's why we're friends," Ryou added, scratching the back of his head in discomfort. To the boys, such words from Ryou amounted to a revelation, for the guy was not good at expressing his feelings on his own, for fear of being pushed aside.
"Let's make promises to each other!" retorted Glenn, surprising the depressed boys. He was eager to lift their spirits. "Let's stand in a circle and shake hands. That way we promise both ourselves and others to keep our word and not cheat. The game is mediocre, but it helps in difficult moments."
"I remember this game," Ryou replied. "Glenn-kun, do you remember the times of early childhood…"
Glenn nodded. The circle members stood in a circle, and Glenn and Ryou held out their hands first. Everyone followed, thus closing their eyes. Glenn muttered softly, "I'll keep my word: I'll never cheat." The others inwardly repeated his words, for the rules of the game required this in order to make a miraculous pact. Basically, this game was played by children as they declared their promises to each other.
"I promise," Glenn concluded, "not to cheat anymore, always to ask a friend for help and to help. I promise."
Following him, Ryou mouthed, "I promise," and opened his eyes as well. The baton alternated clockwise until the girls were last. Yumiko wholeheartedly promised herself not to withhold anything from her friends anymore, and held out her fragile and chilled hand to Akiko.
"Akiko-chan, you're next," Yumiko called in a friendly tone to the girl with long, pink hair. The feeling of tenderness and kindness around her enveloped Akiko with warmth, even though she doubted her rightness. Akiko realized within herself that there was not an ounce of contempt, fear, or hatred in that feeling, but only genuine friendliness. Swallowing, Akiko slowly accepted her hands.
"I promise."