"I just wanted to finish high school and go to a decent university."

The decision to move out of her hated mother's house in the future concluded the childish mindset of nine-year-old Yumiko. This could have been helped by foreign universities, whose dormitories she would have moved into, or indeed anywhere, as long as she was not under the same roof as her mother for the rest of her life. Her mother had made do with scolding her every time she was dissatisfied with the things of life from an early age. Yumiko was aware even then that she was an unwanted child, and from birth her mother could not tolerate her presence. Throughout her life, her mother wanted nothing but affection from Yumiko's father, but in return she received one disappointment in the form of child rearing. Her father had a wife in addition to her, and had been a ladies' man since childhood. After accidentally melting Yumiko's mother's heart, he soon paid the price for her harmful character, which is why he left her, leaving his home. In response, her mother stopped raising her daughter. When Yumiko was five years old, she finally decided to talk to her hunchbacked mother, who was mindlessly watching television. When asked if they would celebrate her daughter's fifth birthday, the horrifying answer came instantly.

"Stay away from me!" she shrieked when Yumiko tried to touch her shoulders with her hand. "Don't touch me, you brute."

On her birthday, her daughter received a furious yell from her parent. With a sharp step, she slapped the child, causing Yumiko to fall to the floor. Sensing her daughter's sense of fear, the mother took passionate pleasure and laughed hysterically with all her might. She enjoyed hitting her daughter.

Now, Yumiko felt her affection for her friends, for they bonded with her in spite of even her unsociability. She was thrilled on those weekdays when she walked through the same park with them every day, because this place had become a haven for her, which saved her from fatigue. Literally every bit of her friends' element was bloodily remembered in her eyes. Especially Glenn, for whom the girl had exceptional feelings, for she considered him her equal. The others at first seemed to Yumiko as unremarkable persons, but soon her attitude changed dramatically – Yumiko realized that through long communication with a person one can change not only his opinion about his person, but also to rethink the essence of his views in general. The girl subsequently found that her views were raw and vague, and completely changed her opinion of people, thus becoming more sociable with her surroundings. Thus, she noticed a true change in her inner self in preparation for the Cultural Festival.

"What a stupid thing I've done!" coddled Ryou in a circle on the bed, covering her face with a pillow. "Indelible shame! How could I have allowed myself such an oversight? I have no doubt that if Yumiko-chan broke off all relations with me, and within a few days I would be a nobody again... Our friendship, it will end because of my stupidity!" he exclaimed, ignoring his face flushed with shame.

Meanwhile, it was early morning, opening the curtains, the abundance of light caught his eyes, and Ryou squinted them unable to open. Opening the balcony to air out the room, he continued to think to himself that he couldn't go to school due to his confusion. He did not deign to face her for much longer to cool himself and her.

"But I so want to go to school," his lips pressed together at the sight of the phone that lay on his desk, "not because I'd like to study, not at all. I want to see them. Again, and talk about everything that's happened in the last few days like nothing's happened. Talking to them all day long is exactly what I prefer. But, I lost it all. In the blink of an eye. And I didn't really tell them about my personal life."

It had been three days since Ryou had shown up at school. Ashamed to talk to the other members, Yumiko stopped showing up in their office. Instead, she sat on the roof in her spare time and gazed out at the humble surroundings of their district, while at the same time doing her study assignments on her notebook. At noon she contemplated persuading everyone to arrange a joint meeting for the purpose of leaving all grudges behind, for she herself was not accustomed to spending her school leisure time alone. She longed to regain her comfortable position among her friends.

The neighborhood around the school was covered in yellow from behind the petals of the trees. As she stepped outside, she approached the corner where she always looked from her desk. A yellowing tree appeared before her, which was the only tree on the school grounds, and was near the side entrance for the teachers. Yumiko shut herself in peace, but the peace in her ears was soon disturbed by footsteps that approached from behind.

"Yumiko-chan," a sweet female voice said, and Yumiko slowly turned toward the intruder. When she opened her eyes, she saw a restrained Akiko standing at ease on her two. "Would you like to arrange a meeting with the others?"

These words were a balm to the brown-eyed schoolgirl's ears.

In the evening, Akiko tried to think of a way to persuade Ryou to meet, and even get him to respond to messages. Without realizing why she needed to maintain the relationship between the circle members, an idea popped into her mind to announce an appointment in the general chat room where they were all. Before writing the message, the girl wondered simply whether she should intervene at all, since she was so eager for such an outcome beforehand. In fact, Yumiko and Ryou's relationship could have sunk into oblivion, and Akiko would have gained nothing but upside in terms of developing her intimacy with her boyfriend. Yumiko was no longer a target for her. However, the girl's hand resisted against her will, and her body trembled, with the goal of dulling her owner's thoughts. A new caption appeared on the general chat screen in the corner, informing her that Tomoyuki was typing something. The maiden froze as she read the new message from the blue-eyed man.

Yam: "I propose a meeting in the park, tomorrow at 3 p.m. No, I demand that you, and especially you, Ryou-kun, come."

Akiko didn't understand why Tomoyuki would want to arrange such a meeting if it wouldn't do him any good. Whether it was worth wasting his energy on those he hated, Akiko could not answer the question, guessing at the contradictory nature of his views.

Yam: "Stop hiding."

His message was obviously addressed to Ryou-kun, but Akiko involuntarily noticed a certain ambiguity in that sentence, as if Tomoyuki was addressing everyone, and not just Ryou was involved in the purpose of arranging the meeting.

Yam: "We should put an end to what happened."

Akiko wondered if the blue-eyed man had decided to give up on his ideals, which had brought the club members' relationships to a critical juncture. Had Tomoyuki stopped at the very end, without the confidence to fulfill his and Akiko's goal?

Ryou: "Alright."

Ryou's response shocked the girl. The guy, who hadn't read anyone's messages in the last three days of his lull, suddenly came back in touch. Of course, this also made Akiko happy, but not in a way that made her less worried about tomorrow. The meeting was officially set. The only one who didn't answer the call in the general chat room was Glenn.

The overcast weather didn't stop even in the afternoon the next day. As they entered the park, Yumiko made out the silhouette of a short guy standing near a bench nearby. Dressed warmly, the two teenagers met as soon as Yumiko ran closer to the guy. He turned out to be Tomoyuki , waiting relentlessly for his friends to arrive.

"You showed up early," Tomoyuki addressed, chuckling, and averted his gaze. "I couldn't come any later, either. I was worried."

"Nothing at all...!" the girl waved her hands, and approached the blue-eyed man. Smelling a pungent scent, her eyes widened in surprise. "Tomoyuki-kun, do you smoke?" she asked openly, causing the guy's shoulders to shake.

"Why would you think that?"

"You stink."

The girl's words puzzled Tomoyuki, and the boy felt uncomfortable. Noticing how embarrassed he was in his youthful confusion, she waved her hands again, hoping to cheer him up.

"I didn't mean to insult at all. I just... remembered the smell of my father," and she blurted out a bitter smile, remembering her childhood days to herself. Tomoyuki froze.

Walking over, Akiko walked over to the couple as well. Sitting down on the wooden bench, Yumiko breathed a few times on her cold-reddened hands. In a place filled with nothing but relaxing silence, the boys dared not make a single sound, but only waited for the remaining guy to arrive. A little while later, a certain silhouette appeared at the far edge of the path, moving deep into the dull park. The girls' breath was taken away, and Tomoyuki sharpened, waiting for this silhouette, marked masculine for its firm features of movement, to approach. Finally, after a slow time, approaching the boys, he stopped and stood still. A young man dressed in a dark, elegant cloak stood in front of the boys, whose dejected look they recognized instantly: it was their beloved Ryou, bringing sincere joy in meeting and prudence in communicating. This time, he brought them a welcome sense of satisfaction that he had arrived at the meeting.

"I apologize for not answering the phone," averted Ryou's uncomfortable eyes, beginning the conversation on this note. Convinced that the timing was favorable, he immediately bowed his head before them, and exclaimed as best he could, "I am very sorry to have condemned you to a predicament! My imprudence has played a cruel trick on me. Especially to you, Yumiko-chan, I am ready to ask for forgiveness... even for life! Please accept my apology! I am selfish, and on top of that I am stupid to ask for such nonsense, but it would simply kill me to be dishonored if I keep silent... I don't want our friendship to disappear!"

They were embarrassed by his loud words, which made them shy. Especially Yumiko, who hadn't expected such pity from the young man, wanted to start with her own apology herself. Ryou's gaze was not about to rise, waiting leisurely for one of them to speak, or to comfort.

"I," Yumiko gathered her courage, and swallowed her saliva, "started this childish babble, so it's not Ryou-kun who needs to apologize here. To apologize to you... should be me."

"Don't be silly! If it wasn't for my tactless decision in the parade, nothing would have happened!"

"God be with him, that decision. What happened is what happened, but don't make a big deal out of it! I said some foolish things prematurely."

"That's not true at all."

The barrier between them crumbled as if to give free rein to their feelings. Ryou didn't want to hold back her emotions in front of them, just as Yumiko adored talking to them, for it gave the girl strength. As now, it was as if their relationship was back to normal when Tomoyuki chuckled during the arguments of the two self-proclaimed guilty friends. Akiko's restrained smile let Yumiko know that she was finally satisfied, and Ryou soon laughed too, raising his joyful eyes. Glancing over at their laughing childish silliness, Yumiko said goodbye to the resentments of days past.

"You guys are worth each other," Tomoyuki said, as if mockingly and sincerely.

"Did Ryou-kun cry?" played up Akiko at the sight of the guy.

"Nothing like that!"

No matter what, Yumiko had some excitement about Glenn's absence. He hadn't been in touch for four days. Puzzled by this question, Tomoyuki immediately told her that Glenn was busy with other things right now, and asked her to urge her not to call. When asked why, the blue-eyed man replied softly: "That's what he said so you wouldn't have to worry about him. He's had some personal problems that Glenn-kun can solve on his own."

"We shouldn't discourage him, or pry into his personal life," Ryou pondered. Akiko, on the other hand, suppressed, remembering the past conversation with the dark-eyed man.

Tomoyuki's words brought Yumiko into deep thought, for the girl could not believe that the dark-eyed man could say such a thing.

"Come on," Tomoyuki waved his palms, "Yumiko-chan, cheer up! Tell me, what have you been up to these past three days?"

"Actually, I've been thinking all this time about how much I've been able to change because of you," she replied, prompting her friends to respond. The two girls sat on a bench. "I realized that I would still be that Yumiko from the past if I hadn't met you. Even though that Yumiko had far fewer open features and was a cold girl, I still hope that she is alive, inside me. So, I am grateful to be surrounded by you!"

"We all think so," Tomoyuki answered her.

"I think," Ryou said, putting her hands in her pocket, "we are similar. People are attracted to each other's similarity – that's what someone important to me said. That's the meaning of friendship."

"I didn't have any friends before. I just stayed home and did my homework. I didn't think about making friends back then, but eventually... I'm glad I see you here and now."

At Tomoyuki's initiative, they left the park and walked down the road to the café. The gray clouds, along with the cold autumn climate, covered the city in a pale, dull light. Adjusting her scarf, Yumiko pulled it up to her ears. The cold made the boys' faces blush lightly, and they bought themselves a glass of milk coffee at the cafe and chatted until they were comforted. On leaving the establishment, the schoolchildren cleaned up after themselves and put the empty cups in a bucket. They walked out the front door together, and Ryou heard a rustling behind him that reminded him of the sharp feeling of shock. Glancing in that direction, ten meters away the boy met his eyes with the four frozen silhouettes of teenagers, and one of them had a bag falling from his hand. Akiko, who had noticed Ryou's silence like a stone, responded to these four unequal silhouettes.

"Ryou..." from the lips of one unfamiliar fellow expressed a restrained shock, causing each of the members to turn their gaze to him.

Examining each of the strangers in detail with modest eyes, Yumiko realized that they were her peers, and one of them was a short girl whose bag lay irreversibly near her slender legs. Akiko glanced over at Ryou, finally noticing his stunned look at the surprise of their encounter, and slowly hooked her fingers into his cloak. Tomoyuki glanced stale behind his friends, as if without a moment's surprise.

After a brief silence, Nishida's lips quivered, and a trembling voice sounded from his lips:

"Isshin?"