"Thank you, I knew I could count on you!"

"Now, Hayashi-san, I ask you not to disturb me now. I have to finish my food before my next class starts."

"Of course! Thank you again for your answer."

As he walked away, the young man waved his hand victoriously, and Yumiko noticed it from the corner of her eyes, after which a slight, modest smile appeared on her face. Before giving her response to Ryou she discounted the presumably bad consequences of her decision at zero, and literally held out her hand to the man who needed her at this moment.

"Of course, you could have found a bunch of actual pros and cons before answering, but at this particular moment, I didn't really care." A young woman wondered if she was unselfishly helping the man right now, or if it was just self-inflicted.

That same afternoon, Ryou told his students that he was already dating a girl, and even apologized to them for hiding the fact. He repeated his words over and over again to every schoolgirl who came to him for affection, and because of this, he saw a lot of backlash. To those who asked him about the girl's name, he answered directly and with a seriousness that the truth could not be distinguished from a lie. Throughout the day there was no misunderstanding on Yumiko's face other than humility, and it seemed that their plan was paying off.

As a result, the rumors spread through almost the entire school in less than a day, and Ryou was a little embarrassed, but he knew the trouble he was going to. Toward the end of the school day, as a bitter, sunny sunset wafted outside, the school's huddled students walked out of the school. Looking at the rays of light slowly disappearing over the horizon as they swept across the city, and gazing up at that sun from the top floor of the school, Ryou, pensive, didn't even notice Yumiko walking up beside him. She was holding a notebook in both hands and a bag on her shoulder.

"No outsiders are allowed in here," she said jokingly and fondly.

"My heart told me to come this way."

"Do you like to look at pictures like this?"

"Of course. They comfort me. You can remember passages from the past without end, warming your soul and heart."

Yumiko was a little surprised by the young man's talkativeness and realized that he, too, had his own oddities in mind. Though she was aware of his avoidance of people's attention, she couldn't fathom why Ryou wasn't running from her as well.

"I don't have any of those," Yumiko replied to his words.

"Ah... I see."

Even though it was none of his business and they were no more than acquaintances and classmates to each other, the interest in learning more about her never left the guy's mind. He stared at the sunset humbly, wondering why she always reeked of humility. From the influx of questions Ryou realized that he was greatly moved by her words.

"By the way, how's your mood? No one bothered you after what I said, I hope?"

"Yes, your plan seems to have worked. Congratulations."

"So it did. I got off easy."

"And what are you going to do now?"

"Hmm? I guess... I'll lay low for a while."

"Not coming to class, you mean?"

"Maybe. My future goal is to be the invisible one that no one will pay attention to."

Yumiko was suddenly interested in his answer, and soon assuming she could find a resemblance to him in this sort of way. Various moments from her high school life swirled in the maiden's mind, which also made her realize that she was invisible.

"But what are you so eager to hide from people for?" declared Yumiko, not daring to say that she was similar to him. Thinking that he would not be interested, she only set out to find out the reason for Ryou's avoidance of society.

Before Ryou could answer, the two of them heard the arrival of a certain group of schoolgirls who were waiting for the young man to come close to them. They had a distinctive look of confidence, and when they called his name, they caused Ryou's confusion.

Ryou headed toward the young schoolgirls with a tired and slightly stern look in his eyes. Yumiko, on the other hand, thinking it was her business as well, followed the teenager to her pleasure.

"Hayashi-san, can you give me your phone number?" came the first female voice.

"What are you doing up here on the roof?"

"Is that your girlfriend beside you right now!"

The group of maidens glanced from the humbled Ryou directly toward Yumiko, who was looking behind him. She had a slightly confused but not at all confused look, which meant that she trusted Ryou, who was about to give them an answer.

"Not otherwise, you got it right," Ryou replied with deliberate indifference, and followed up by pointing his thumb toward his pretend mate. "Actually, we were just talking about our relationship, so please leave this place.

"Is that his other half?" said one of the maidens sadly. "I guess we didn't make it, girls..."

Crucially, no one noticed the maiden with long, pink hair huddled against the stairs the whole time. As she listened, she stared at Yumiko's aloof gaze and automatically repeated the entire conversation over and over in her mind, going into detail about the young man's facial expressions and gestures, which eventually led her to conclude in her investigation.

"I don't believe it," she whispered in a gentle, feminine voice, pointing her index finger at Yumiko.

Yumiko, returning home only in the evening, opened the front door with her key and removed her shoes with impunity. The modestly sized apartment had two rooms and a kitchen. What else would you expect from a private one-story house, at times like this you should be content with the compactness of the apartment. Placing her phone on the nightstand, she wandered quietly through the dark apartment. As she entered the hall, she noticed the picture of her mother asleep in a sitting position beside the TV on, about ten open alcohol cans and a ton of clothes strewn across the room. The mere sight could have made one despair and know the deplorable situation in her family, but the maiden was in no way surprised by the picture. She flailed her body as if everything seemed normal to her, and continued on her way, to her bedroom.

She thought that nobody won't be able to change anything, so she shouldn't bother. It's not worth wasting time on foolish things.

Soon changed into her home clothes with naked, slender legs, Yumiko sat down at her chair and turned on her laptop. She always did educational assignments there, after she got home, over and over again. These assignments were of school and higher educational level. She loved to learn, but for the most part, she studied for no reason, which was clear from her excessive busyness. This was what made her seem like a nerd to her classmates.

Unexpectedly for her, there was a loud ringing of the phone call from the hallway, disturbing the calm throughout the apartment. Hoping to catch it before her sleepy mother noticed it and woke up, she rushed to pick up the phone. Grasping the phone, she sloppily almost dropped it, and answered it. Closing the door of her room, the first thing she did was look at the caller's name. It was her father.

With her father on the phone, Yumiko always spoke with a passive tone and saw the difference in conversations in person and remotely. In fact, her daughter had not seen her father's face for more than six months, and she seemed completely oblivious to her business that she did not notice how quickly the days between their meetings flew by.

To her, her father was the only family she had and something of a pillar in the midst of her difficult financial problems. She took her time listening to his every typical question and answering briefly. Understanding how much of a man her father is, exhausted from his never ending job, her daughter always asked him his health.

"I see, I'm glad you're well. You're always tired after work, after all."

"I promise I'll visit you soon, daughter. Wait a little longer, and at our next meeting I'll let you buy anything you want."

"All right," replied the daughter warmly, sitting on the bed and pressing her body against his knees.

"Daughter, is everything all right with mom's condition?"

"Yes," Yumiko responded after a long pause, and her frail hands clenched.

Her father understood why Yumiko might be lying, and not wanting to ruin his daughter's day, he changed the subject after each uncomfortable question if he thought his daughter was having trouble answering.

"You can always call and talk to me. I can get away from work for a few minutes for your call. Just know that."

"Thank you, Father."

"About your brother..." hesitated the father through the tube, and he hummed, "Forget it. See you soon."

"Uh-huh."

Father ended the call. Yumiko silently lowered her arms onto the bed and pressed her back against the wall. Hearing an inaudible rustling through the door to the room, she stood up and opened it. Immediately a stern female figure, as short as her daughter, appeared before her.

"Who were you talking to?" said her mother coldly, looking piercingly at the face of the worried Yumiko. "Answer me, who called you?"

"I don't see the point in answering," Yumiko announced depressedly, looking at her mother with mild disgust.

"You cheeky girl... Why did he call you?"

Yumiko thought that she didn't want to be around her, mentally asking her to leave.

"Why is he calling you instead of me...?" interrogated her mother nervously.

Go away...!

"Why you and not me?"

"Yes, because I am at least someone in Daddy's life!" pronounced the daughter's testy voice, unable to stand her mother's bitchiness and stupidity.

"Lies!"

Mom slapped Yumiko on the cheek with all her might, and she didn't even twitch. A formidable look in her daughter's direction manifested into further shouting: "He was always calling and making chit-chat with the bedfellows!"

The daughter thought that was how he favored the likes of her mother.

The mother straightened up and retreated back into the hall, whispering to herself, "Cheeky asshole."

Mom's communication with her daughter had developed a toxic relationship with them since childhood. Mom began doing this after her lover, Yumiko's father, left her and the reason for this was her alcohol addiction. After such news, she was hesitant to quit, and it eventually came to an increase in her bad habits and nervousness. She had been pouring out her anger on Yumiko since she was a child, while at the same time considering her daughter a mistake of her youth. What was to be expected, Yumiko herself almost believed these words, until her father, who met her again, showed her daughter the right path to follow.

Alienated, Yumiko declared to herself that she could not change anything. It was time to accept these thoughts as fact again. In her mind, she had expected too much from helping people. She shouldn't have hoped for an answer, or a fate, or anyone else.

Her eyes, lifeless at this moment, lost the outline of light, and her right cheek flushed hard with a slap.

That same evening, Ryou sat by the window, wrapped in a blanket, gazing out at the Ferris wheel gleaming from the neighboring county. Where was he going to find it? It was simple: this ferris wheel belonged to a massive city park where the young man had not yet gone.

He recalled fragments from his life, particularly those that had recently occurred in his family. One fragment the young man knew he remembered for the rest of his life: the loud sound of a vase falling and his father shouting in front of the window in one of his rooms, through which was reflected the irritated face of Ryou, who did not want to hear him shout in his direction.

"Nobody asked you, Ryou!"

"Shut up, father."

"Darling, stop blaming him...!"

The mother's hands trembled, while the father's strong hands clenched, just to keep from overreaching and making a ruckus in the apartment.

These voices were muffled, gradually producing fractional shrieks. It seemed as if he could hear these voices, doused in water.

"It's the same thing every day, son," his father lowered his eyes with a stern but suppressed voice, and soon he waved his hand heavily. "When will you calm down?"

"Don't blame me," Ryou continued with a resigned look.

Following, inaudible screams and gurgles in the water whispered. Those were snippets of life, and he remembered them with a chill. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in fresh water, unable to breathe. The gurgling didn't stop.

"So you're moving out of your house?"

A snippet of life came out when two young men were talking to each other, with their dark-colored umbrellas open, in gray and rainy weather. When this recollection was made, Ryou didn't care.

"Yes, but I have nowhere to go."

"Go to Tokyo. To your sister's place."

Ryou's gaze darkened sharply after hearing the words from his peer. He was stunned by these humble but confident words. Upset, Ryou lowered his eyes and stopped resisting his bitter emotions.

His mental state was deteriorating.

He was saved from an immeasurable amount of strained memories by the woman who called him affectionately by name. Her warm, feminine voice removed all tension from the young man's body, and he looked in her direction. She stood meekly beside the kitchen table, holding her purse on her shoulder. Ryou lifted his head.

"You came home from work a little earlier today than you did yesterday," he added with a weary smile, forgetting his frustrations.

"I've never had a steady schedule."

After making sure Ryou was okay, she walked over to him.

"So, how long were you looking at me trying to sleep?"

"I just walked into the house."

"I see. Thank you."

"Hmm? Why are you apologizing?" gave Megumi a misunderstood face, which was odd of her, since she's always walking around with a neutral stare.

The younger brother only shook his head.

"I'm only glad to have a beautiful, kind sister. Why don't you have a man?"

"I have enough problems of my own. So why should I need a man when I have a handsome, kind younger brother in the house?"

"Actually, I'm glad to hear that."

The young man reasoned that his sister had always helped him. Ever since he was a child, she had been dragging him, holding his hands and pulling him wherever she could, so that he could see the beauty of life.

Ryou returned to his original, affectionate state of mind. His guardian angel was his older sister, and she had helped him grow since he was a child.

Memories of these happy episodes warmed his soul.