Ryou gathered the confidence to ask Yumiko directly about her true feelings. It was the next school day, and during the big break, the boy met her with eyes wide open. At Ryou's request, they were left alone in an office empty of students and school desks.
"What am I thinking… about Shogo-kun?" clung Yumiko to her forearms, which the boy had grabbed earlier in order to drag her into the study. "But why, Ryou-kun, did it become important to you?"
"I want to know," said Ryou firmly, unable to pick up a word out of excitement a few minutes ago. Yumiko, on the other hand, was not at all shy, but found it difficult to give a precise answer.
"How do I feel about him…? Well, he's a good leader, and always gives help to both the assistants and the other leaders. Because of his strength, our team is organized and friendly at the same time. He's a good friend. Ryou-kun, was I able to satisfy you with my answer?" puzzled Yumiko at the end, and Ryou lowered his lashes in doubt about his abilities.
"So he's a good buddy for you…"
"Y-you wanted to talk to me about him? Maybe he didn't please you in some way? Ryou-kun, you look pouty. N-nothing's wrong?"
"Not at all! Alright, gotta go!" the guy left the office, wishing he could get out of the girl's sight as soon as possible so she wouldn't notice his face blushing with embarrassment. Yumiko contemplated the farce that had occurred, and could not come to terms with the vagueness of Ryou, in the middle of running away. Assuming what Ryou had in mind under his creation, the modest woman pressed her lips tightly together in amazement, unable to imagine for what other reason a guy could ask such a thing of a girl.
Glenn, meanwhile, who was socializing with the schoolgirls in his class and helping them with moving things to their desired classroom, noticed in his own suave way how he was becoming more open with his surroundings, who had not previously touched his life. He wondered if this might be the effect of Yumiko and the rest of the guys on his space, previously encircled in nothing but work and silence. Maybe his new friends had produced a change in his indulgence and gallantry.
Indeed, it was an obvious assumption, for Glenn began to talk to people in a more familiar and social manner. When his lady classmates thanked him for his favor, Glenn was abruptly shocked. Asked what was the matter, the girls got the answer that the boy had an unexpected stomachache, and he left with a general apology.
Reaching for the bathroom with all haste, Glenn grasped his arm around his neck, and with his other hand turned on the faucet, from which cold water immediately poured out. Blood gushed from the tall guy's mouth, and his dark eyes turned a sickly red color. Lifting his murdered gaze, the young man saw that clean tap water was flowing into the bloody sink. He realized the danger that had come.
Panting from the lack of air he was getting, he lowered his face into the water and pressed himself against the white tiled wall. His downcast, thick hair was wet. The pain that had descended upon him dulled his senses, and he concluded that this wave of anguish was the worst to endure in the last few times. Each time the pain increased in frequency, arising at the most inopportune moments, even while he slept, causing Glenn to suffocate in his own blood.
"My time is running out," he said with a pained look.
***
"I've really changed," Yumiko said, looking at the mirror in her pretty room. The girl sat on a stool beside her desk, her skinny body pressed against her knees. "What's up today… Why would Ryou-kun be worried about who I'm making contact with? Maybe he's just worrisome," she bowed her gaze to her luminous knees. She couldn't help feeling lost, of course, because this was the first time she'd ever encountered something like this, and she didn't know how to act or react. "Is it possible that Ryou-kun has a crush on me?" she bewailed, covering her head in embarrassment.
She couldn't believe what she said, and if she reasoned, Ryou had indeed avoided close and open communication until early on, but soon became quite an outgoing young man. And he did socialize with Yumiko quite often, if you count how friendly he was with her during all that time. Yumiko almost inadvertently concluded to herself that the young man was really in love with her.
People who confessed to her unexpectedly, she did not count for something terrific, because it is unfair when the other half does not know much about the person who confesses his love. That's why she would never agree to such a confession. Opening the brown curtains, she looked out the dusky window and wondered how much had changed in her everyday life in this brief year.
She was happy when she thought about walking together and talking with the members of the literary club, because then she could feel comfortable between the shoulders of her friends. It didn't stop her from thinking of Akiko only in a lovely way, even after her outspoken antics, right up to the very meeting. Yumiko could only silently admire the guys who were cheering her on.
"They're all cute. Cute as light rabbits. Their epathetic, dreamy, and stylishness draws me to hang out with them about the weather, weekdays, and anything else I feel like talking about! Isn't that a symbol of friendship?" revived Yumiko, dreaming of their future relationship. "Wow... even I got friends. I couldn't have dreamed of that."
It was the beginning of the first day of November. The weather had finally warmed up. At school the preparation came to the final stages and the decorated corridors and classrooms embodied a festive mood, and the cheerfulness of the younger classes flourished in full force around the school. Through the hallways you could see teachers talking to students about the festival, and the readiness for the event was coming to a close.
A sense of liveliness dominated the school, as if all the students had forgotten about exams and other worries for a time, in order to participate in the largest Cultural Festival in the school's history. There were two days left before the festival began. The middle school students prepared all sorts of fun themes like fantasy role-playing games and scare rooms, while the older grades focused on cafes and multifaceted fun. Of course, everyone had mixed themes.
Yumiko stood at the window and regarded the front gate of the school, waiting patiently for the third day of fall November, when everything would be filled with people, benches, and fun. She was filled with an inner confidence to proclaim the success of their common work, and she hoped for the responsiveness of the teachers. As this Cultural Festival was the last in the school life of the circle participants, she with all her soul believed in the best outcome.