Chapter 14: Secret Exposed

With the sun letting out a calm and relaxing light of the morning rise, the radiant energy light shone upon the forest surrounding the small town of Shooting Star. Ryan and Wendy took their usual path in heading towards the School but the silence between them made the female worried. They always talked about even the smallest things, but she noticed that Ryan had that troubled look on his face and she grew tired of it.

"Do you like breaking promises, Ryan?" She asked with a cold aura that suddenly covered their surroundings, making Ryan turn to face her in confusion before his eyes widened in shock to see an angry look from Wendy towards him directly.

"What are you talking about…?"

"I said what I said, Do you like breaking promises?"

"No… of course, no-"

"Then why do you keep brushing us off?!" She yelled in a mixture of anger and disappointment as Ryan was left in shock, stopping in their tracks. "You promised that we would do this together but why do you ignore us?!"

"Wendy… where is this coming from…?"

"I'm sick of you always ignoring us in your current state! You've been having nightmares about our deaths, your thoughts are overflowing in your head, and your emotions are growing stronger to the point you can't control it anymore because you keep bottling it up inside you, am I wrong? I know all of this because I am worried sick! I've been keeping an eye on you for these past few weeks, always ready to offer you my support, Always expecting for you to say "I can't do this alone" Joseph and I are your friends, we've been ready all this time, wanting to help you if you need it but you don't ask us about it… Do you know how painful it is? How painful it is for me to see a friend killing himself inside?! Maybe you don't but I do! I've been in your position once before and I know how hard it is for you and I know why you take matters into your own hands but you can't do this alone!"

Ryan was left in a sudden silence, he never wanted to hurt any of his friends, that's why he is willing to sacrifice himself just for their protection but seeing Wendy staring at him in anger with tears falling down from her light brown eyes as a sign that she had been keeping those liquids deep behind her eyes, he realized that he had already been hurting them without knowing it.

"I… I'm sorry… I just wanted to keep you all safe…"

"That's the problem with you Ryan! You always think about others before you! You are not a saint, you are not a guardian angel! You are a human being like us…! It's okay to be selfish from time to time because that is who we are… With your constant concern for others, you forgot that you're actually hurting one of the people who care a lot about you! Worry about your own life for once, not others because they can take care of their own if they are pushed to their limits…"

Ryan's eyes lowered down to his right hand when Wendy cuffed it with both of her hands, squeezing it gently as he could feel her extreme concern towards him just by the mere warmth emitting from her strangely cold hands.

"You saved us by making the creature of the lake chase you, and we saved you by handing you the weapon that killed it... that is what friends are for… we are always there for you, you don't have to do this alone because you are never alone…"

"Never question this… you are never alone"

Said a familiar memory that ran across his head after Wendy said those familiar words to him. A sudden rage of a powerful breeze blew from the east, causing the leaves of the trees to dance savagely along with their hair but still kept their steady stance, gazing heavily at each other's gaze, one filled with sadness and disappointment while the other was filled with the realization of the person in front of him, who's tears showed him the error of his current behavior. He reached for her cheeks and gently brushed away her tears with his left thumb before closing his eyes, feeling the refreshing breeze as he grew a new understanding of his possible future.

"How stupid of me… thinking I could end all of this by myself… I'm not strong enough to get through in with this mystery all alone"

"That's why you have us, this mystery got us all involved so we must finish this together because that is what true friends do"

"I know… alright then, from now on… I promise that I won't do anything on my own, we are the Mystery Club after all" Ryan replied with a reassuring laugh and smile that caused Wendy to follow him in his laugh before releasing his hand from her grip. "After I'm done in the Library… let's look for the books together"

"That sounds promising" Wendy commented with a gentle smile before they continued their way back to the school, feeling both delighted and relieved that she got through to him without him realizing her true feelings towards him.

In the Meantime, Hitomi entered the library after the school Groundskeeper opened the Library doors about a few minutes ago. She has always been the first girl to enter this old library which she may call home seeing how comfortable she is being surrounded by nothing but the silent books she adores more than anyone or anything else. With time to spare before the students arrived, she strolled around the library corridor, running her right hand across every book she passed, feeling the knowledge and wisdom from each of their backgrounds while her left hand held the brown book she always carried around her chest. She opened the window and curtains, letting in the soft breeze of the morning into the calm and quiet library before she made her way back to her favorite desk. But upon her short journey, she stumbled upon the only male that knew she could speak, reading an open book on the same table with the morning light shining upon his split-colored hair and eyes.

"(It's the male again… why is he here so early? Doesn't he have class…?)" She muttered to herself, internally while she gazed upon the lad from a short distance, her amethyst eyes sparkling in a mixture of curiosity and fascination towards him after knowing that someone might value books besides her. "(Oh yeah… I forgot to thank him after what he did yesterday)" A flash of memory from yesterday's incident appeared in her thoughts, although the memory of hers was embarrassing for the shy female to bear, deep down she didn't want to forget that spark of warmth he felt towards him in that very short moment. She never felt as safe towards someone before besides in the library. Her cheeks lightened with light pink colors as a sudden response to the heat of that memory. She shook her head sideways aggressively, removing the rising emotions before she tried to muster her courage to speak to the person who saved her, and suddenly her legs started to walk towards the male on their own without her control! Her thoughts became jumbled with random words, mixed with Japanese as she couldn't think of anything to say, not even a simple 'Hello', seeing she never made any conversation starting from her childhood. She blamed her legs that were subconsciously moving towards Ryan, shutting her eyes as she could feel her raising heart. Once the shy female was a few feet near Ryan from behind, she opened her eyes slowly, gazing at the unknowing lad from behind him, she slowly opened her mouth, hesitant yet determined to speak but her eyes locked at the book he was scribbling on with a pen. The flush of red disappeared and the shyness in her eyes began to turn dim before in a flash of action, Ryan was placed in a state of shock and confusion when Hitomi swiftly swiped the book away from his hands with the eyes like he just did something that he shouldn't have done.

"(Why did you scribble on a book! Who does that!! You're not supposed to write anything unless you're the author!)" She yelled in her thoughts, creasing her eyebrows in rage toward the lad as if she said that directly out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry…! I was just fixing some minor errors…" Ryan apologized with a regretting tone towards her, leaving Hitomi in a state of realization before she observed what he did in the book. "The founder of Shooting Star said that he was born in 1940… that book contained 1920, I was just correcting it"

Hitomi's eyes widened even more, Ryan was right about the date mistake, but she still couldn't help but feel angry towards him. She held her book and the book she swiped away from him tightly around her chest, leaning her face towards him in a sudden action.

"B….baka!!!" She yelled in her native language with a low voice that only both of them could hear. After realizing what she just did, her thoughts became jumbled once more, her cheeks flushed in the same red colors before she ran back towards her desk, hiding underneath the sturdy and varnished counter and covering her face with the books in her hand as an attempt to remove her embarrassment.

Ryan was left in silence and guilt, remembering the fierce look in her eyes brought standing on a sinking floor of regret. He watched as Hitomi hid underneath her desk counter and wanted to apologize once more, but he thought that she needed some space first before doing so. So he gulped in his guilt and proceeded to read the rest of his required books to understand the history of the town he was in. Paul arrived at where Ryan was seen reading, having a troubled look after overhearing what Hitomi yelled at him.

"Hey, pal… I heard everything… wow she really can speak…" Paul muttered before taking a seat on the opposite side to where Ryan sat.

"Yeah… I feel bad for angering her like that…"

"Sounds like you got a crush"

"Does it?"

"I don't know, dude. But what I do know, is that you are the only person she managed to talk to"

"... Who spread the rumors about her being mute" Ryan asked with a sudden deep voice.

"Hmm… I remember that the female had orange hair, what was her name again… sorry dude I forgot"

"I see… that's alright, thanks anyways. Your skipping class again?"

"Yeah, it's boring. I mean I already know what the teachers are going to teach us, I did advanced study so I won't gain any knowledge anyways"

"Hey, I did advance reading to"

"Then why do you still go to school?"

"I don't know… I guess I just find it fun, I guess?"

"You… are the weirdest person I ever met"

"Thank you" Ryan replied as both of them chuckled with a low voice before the sand of the hourglass started falling. Time goes by as the quiet aura of the library is unchanged. Hitomi was still hiding underneath her desk, clenching her brown book on her chest while the book he swiped from Ryan was placed on the cold, hard floor.

"(What came over me…? Why did I yell at him… he was only just trying to fix a minor mistake. I even called him an idiot in Japanese… Argh! I really hope he didn't understand that… but he was really good at Japanese at that time… his accent was so fluent I thought that I was actually talking to someone from my homeland… Hitomi you messed up again!)" The female yelled at herself deep in her thoughts, regretting what she did in an instant. After a few more moments of mentally regretting what she did, the female finally exited from her rabbit hole and gazed over at Ryan from across her desk. She wanted to apologize properly towards him but seeing that Paul was reading on the same table as he was, her confidence refused to gather even if she wanted it. She let out a deep sigh, holding the same brown book she always carried, and walked towards the large aisle of books, wanting to read anything her hands could grab on. Piling up books by books as she kept a troubled look. After the way she just yelled at the Split-colored boy, memories of her past soon came upon her head, flashing memories by memories that she wanted to forget. Each step she took with the added silence of the library only made the memories overflow in her head to the point where she could hear all the voices of her childhood.

"Ne! Anata wa sensei no okiniiri no kabin o kowashimashita. Taihen'na koto ni narimasu (Hey! you broke Teacher's favorite vase. We're going to be in so much trouble)"

"Ie,-sode wa arimasen. Hitomi no sei ni shimashou. Kanojo wa hahaha o hanasu koto wa arimasen (No we're not, let's just blame it on Hitomi. She never speaks Hahaha)"

"Hahaha sō sō. Myūto Hitomi! (Hahaha Oh yeah. Hitomi the Mute)"

"E to Hitomi... Anata wa sensei no kabin o kowashimashita, watashitachi wa iu tsumoridesu (Uh Oh Hitomi. You broke the Teacher's vase, we're going to tell)"

Kids' blame and laughter were heard across the room, fingers pointing towards the sad and quiet female child whose tears are seen in her dark amethyst eyes. That event started off small and then spread like wildfire, but everything changed when the young Hitomi found herself wandering into the library of her previous elementary school. It was a small place but the silence was still as calming as any other library. The room filled with nothing more but books became her safe haven from that day onwards.

Hitomi couldn't help but react to that sudden occurrence of memory by making a sad and troubled expression as she walked down the familiar halls of the library. She then came across a sudden audible noise from across the book Aisle on her left. She hurried her way towards the sudden noise and saw a female student, wearing a dark pink hoodie and a red knee-high skirt, quarreling with a delinquent-looking student, whose lips are slightly dark. It was obvious that he smokes a lot of cigarettes. His ears had more piercings than the female asking with two of his friends which was seen from a few distances behind him. And ask for his clothes, the sleeves on both sides were torn as if to make others see how tough the male was.

"Come on, babe. I'm just asking for a few dollars, is that so much to ask?" Said the delinquent-looking male as the female's flames of anger were raging deep inside her.

"No! You always ask me for money and always spend them on useless junk! When will you change?! I'm sick and tired of all of this, Kyle!" Shouted the angry female.

"Hey, Josephine… are you saying you don't love me anymore?"

"You know what…? Maybe I do, wait no. I definitely don't love you anymore! You keep asking me to give you money but you never even returned your love to me! Do I even matter to you? Doesn't my love mean anything to you?!"

"Hey, you don't have to go that far…"

"No! It's over between us! Don't ever call me again, loser" Josephine ended their conversation and attempted to leave but Kyle's friends blocked her way towards the exit. Frightening Josephine with the smirk on their faces, she turned to face Kyle, who suddenly leaned close to her face with a wide smug look across his face.

"Don't flatter yourself, Josephine. You meant nothing to me from the start besides being my source of income. It's funny how easy it is to fool a person who has no friends" Said Kyle with a smug laugh before he felt someone tapping his shoulders. He turned to see who it was and saw Hitomi, holding up an open notebook which contained large highlighted letters that spelled 'Be Quiet'.

After a few moments of silence, the aura of quiet ended when Kyle and his friends let out an audible laugh, swiping away Hitomi's book before replying with a tone that meant to annoy her.

"You're telling me to be quiet, Book freak? What a laugh. This is none of your business so get back into your rabbit hole, freak!" He closed the book and slammed it onto her chest with force, causing Hitomi to fall on the floor while she held the book he slammed tightly in her chest with care. Josephine rushed to Hitomi's aid, assisting her after the huge fall she just experienced.

"Asshole! Just go already! I hope you die from all that smoking!" She yelled with all her heart but it only seemed to anger her more with the wife smirk on each of their faces.

Suddenly, Josephine's anger was washed away when Hitomi slowly picked herself up from the floor, dusting her black jeans before writing something on the book, making the males curious before showing it to them with the words written as 'I am the caretaker of this library, everything that happens there are my business and responsibility. I ask you to please be quiet and leave'.

Kyle was about to laugh even more after reading the book but his laughter disappeared when he gazed upon the fearless gaze at Hitomi's eyes. He didn't know why but seeing her gaze like that towards him, angered him more. The veins on the side of his eyes were palpitating, clenching his fist as the sound of his fingers cracking was heard.

"Don't look at me like that freak!" Yelled Kyle in anger as he aimed a swift punch onto Hitomi. She quickly closed her eyes as part of her reflex and waited for the hard impact of his knuckles, this wasn't the first time this same scenario happened to her. But everything changed when the hit didn't arrive, her eyes slowly opened up, and saw the same male that once saved her yesterday caught Kyle's punch with his right palm with ease and anger in his eyes. "Who are you~"

Ryan immediately reached for his neck, choking him with immense strength with his left hand. The pain caused him to cough before failing to grasp any air down to his lungs, his head was immediately turning purple as a sign that he couldn't breathe while his friends stood there, afraid to even make any movements as they could see the sheer anger on Ryan's split colored eyes.

"I hate to cause a commotion here but I believe that book said to Be Quiet unless you're blind not to read it…!"

"Jason!" Kyle shouted one of his friend's names with his remaining breath. The male on the left gulped down his intimidation towards Ryan and charged at him with the attempt to tackle him. With his eyes suddenly shifting towards Jason, he pushed Kyle away, sending him falling on the floor as he gasped in desperation for air. The lad countered the attempt to tackle by planting his feet firmly on the floor and standing his ground as he was barely even moved with his tackle, shocking Jason after realizing that the person they were facing wasn't just skilled in combat but physically strong as well. Ryan realized the mistake and regret in Jason's eyes so he ended it quickly, executing a shoulder throw and slammed him on the hard floor as Josephine pulled Hitomi away from the conflict. The other male attempted to fight Ryan as well but was stopped after Paul appeared from nowhere and punched him across the face, causing him to stumble hard on the floor.

"Stay down, last warning. Always wanted to say that! And.. ouch that hurt!" Said Paul in his thoughts but kept a dominant stare at the fallen enemy.

Without refusing to surrender, Kyle gathered all his rage onto one target, Ryan. He charged at him and focused all his strength on his fist but Ryan was too fast, swiftly avoiding his punch, grabbing his wrist, and tripping his foot backward which caused him to fall front first on the ground. He planted his knee on Kyle's back while he pulled his arms way back and if he was to continue, the arm would definitely snap.

"If you refuse to give up, I will break your arm. If you plan to hurt these two females again, I will break your arm. If you ever returned, here again, I will break your arm. After the count of three, I will break your arm unless you apologize to them. Make your move" Ryan said with a cold voice near Kyle's ears as he started counting, each passing second he slowly pulled his arms further back, causing him to feel immense pain before throwing away his pride and shouted.

"I'm sorry!!! I promise I won't go near Josephine again!" Kyle shouted in desperation for him to get out of the library without any broken limb.

"Apologise to Hitomi as well"

"Argh! Fine, I'm sorry! I promise I won't come back now let me go!!!"

Ryan didn't have any second thoughts and released the male from his grasp before the three of them ran towards the exit without looking back. Humiliated and injured. As the heat of the conflict was starting to cool down, Hitomi couldn't help but stare in both admiration and relief towards Ryan. At first when he saved her by cushioning her fall and receiving the pain from getting hit by the aisle was something coincidental for her seeing she never once thought that a person would save her just like that, especially if that person didn't know anything about her but seeing how the same male saved her when she needed it the most, moved her heart. The feeling was unknown to her but yet she liked that feeling and that feeling only comes when the male is in view in both of her eyes.

"(He saved me… again? Why… Why risk yourself? Who are you…?)" She asked herself one too many times but if she ever wanted for these question to be answered, then she has to ask the only person that can answer those wondering thoughts of hers, and that is the person who was wiping off the sweat from his forehead and turning himself to face her, staring at her alluring eyes. Her mouth slowly opened by instincts and wanted to formally thank him but Josephine got to him first.

"Hey, umm… thank you for helping us. How can I ever repay you? I can pay you with money if you want?" She asked with an assertive voice, making Ryan slightly chuckle with a delighted look as if what she said was a joke.

"You don't have to do that, I just wanted to maintain the silence of this library, besides… I refuse to see a male raise their fist on a girl…" he muttered the last sentence before Paul appeared from behind, rubbing the knuckles on his fist that instantly had a bruise after punching the male.

"Jeez, that was my first punch in a very long time. And yeah, you better find someone better" Paul agreed.

"Thank you, and I think I already have" She replied with a cute smile across her face that was directed to Ryan. Seeing those three speak to each other so happily as if nothing happened made Hitomi feel… invisible. Even though she liked the silence, there are still hidden parts of herself that wanted to communicate with at least one person that she felt comfortable talking to. Her emotions soon began to sink, lowering her head as she held her book on her chest, clenching it tightly before walking away in silence. Ryan noticed the shy female walking away and wanted to finally talk to her but Josephine stopped him from doing so.

"Hey, umm can I give you my number…? I don't have any friends so I'm hoping you could be one of them…? Both of you I mean" She asked.

"Oh, sure"

As the three of them exchanged numbers, Hitomi slowly walked back to her desk in silence, sitting on her same old chair before opening one of her books that was piled on the counter. Reading the words contained in the book to remove her thoughts of the questions she wanted to ask him earlier.

"(I don't need any friends or anyone to talk to, for I have a book to accompany me in my favorite silence. This library is my sanctuary, and these books are my everything, with them around I don't need anyone else. Yet… why… Why is it that every time I see him… I receive the desire to talk to him…? I feel just as comfortable around him when it's just us both… why… why do I feel like this towards him…?)" Remembering how he just saved her by blocking the lunch in the last second made her cheeks flutter in red colors without her even knowing. Her heart was the only thing she could hear as it raced across her chest, rapidly beating while she just ignored everything that was going on in her body but her mind still hadn't left the image of that person.

Hours have passed and Hitomi just realized that she had fallen asleep. She didn't remember sleeping at all but feeling that her senses were still weak made her believe that she did fall asleep, the saliva on the book she was reading earlier made it even more clear. She felt a bit embarrassed after falling asleep just like that. The time was already 4:30, she stood up from her chair and attempted to place the used books back in their correct aisle but she stopped when she heard the sound of a pen scribbling on a paper. She turned her head in the direction of the sound and saw Ryan, writing something on a thin book who was left sitting alone at the same table he usually sits.

"(He's still here?! Wait what is he…- Is he writing in a book again!)" She alerted herself before walking with pace towards him from behind and swiping away the book he was writing on, shocking him again before meeting both of their eyes.

"Why would you scribble on a book again!"

"Oh… if you're thinking that I was writing a book again then you're mistaken. That's actually my book, I'm finishing my homework…" Ryan said with a reading smile, surprising Hitomi after she read what he wrote. It was indeed his book, her cheeks immediately turned bright pink due to the sudden embarrassment.

"(I'm so sorry! I'm truly sorry! Arghh I messed up again!!!)" She yelled at herself once more in her thoughts, covering her bright red face behind her brown book that she put up so he couldn't see her cheeks.

"It's okay, you don't have to apologize," Ryan responded which placed her in a state of silence before her thoughts analyzed what he just replied to her, shocking her as her eyes widened.

"(Did he just hear me apologize?!)"

"If you're wondering how I knew, it's easy… I finished observing you"

"(Observing me…? Has he been watching over me this whole time since we first met?! Has he been keeping an eye on me?!)"

"I apologize if it sounded weird, I'm not planning something if you're wondering" Ryan reassured her with a gentle tone and chuckle.

Her reddened face became blush when the thought of someone like Ryan would observe her to the point he realized that she had been keeping loud words deep in her thoughts. She let out a deep, silent sigh before sitting on a chair in front of him, planting her head down on her arm that was placed on the table as awkwardness filled the air between them. Ryan kept his calm stare at the female who's face was planted on the table, he wanted to further get to know her but speaking was not an option as he could tell that she must be either shy or does not have the confidence to speak.

"(Why did I even say here…? I'm supposed to arrange the books… and besides… It's so quiet that it's awkward between us. I haven't even thanked him yet for all that he did for me… Why can't you just speak to him… now should be your best Chance Hitomi, he's all alone but argh! You're such a wimp!)" She argued at herself until Ryan gently poked her head, gaining her attention by raising her head up to see him pushing his book towards him with a gentle smile on his face. She noticed that words were containing his book, she read the words in her thoughts which was 'I know you can't speak but I wanted us to formally meet so I thought maybe exchanging writings would work. I'm Ryan Cunningham nice to meet you'

Her eyes widened up a bit as a response before turning her attention towards him, seeing the small smile that he had was something that automatically made her write a reply on the same book. Seeing her write on his book made him feel relieved that she actually liked the idea of conversing through written words. After she was finished with her reply, she handed him the book back. The way she wrote her reply was too formal which caused him to giggle while Hitomi was left with an embarrassed look, regretting that she wrote a formal reply instead of a normal, casual one.

'It is a pleasure to meet you as well Ryan. I am Hitomi Tanaka, I assume you already know who I am, seeing that I am quite "Famous" in this school. I wanted to start by formally apologizing to you for the actions I just did by swiping your book earlier today, it was very rude of me to do so. I am also very thankful for what you did to me the other day and for saving me from the student earlier. I cannot thank you enough.' He read in silence as well before writing his response towards her while still having that cheerful smile as a sign that he is enjoying their current way of conversing.

'Well I'm impressed by how formal that was, but you don't have to make it like that. Just write what makes you feel comfortable. Just imagine you're talking to me with your actual voice. Also, I forgive you. I'm glad you unhurt' Ryan showed him what he wrote, exposing a small smile on her face as they continued with their conversing.

'Thank you, I thought you were weirded out by my reply. But I got a question, why did it help me?'

'If you were in my shoes, would you just let someone get hurt even knowing you have the power to prevent that? I know I wouldn't, that's why I helped you"

'But you don't even know me. I have no friends to help me, yet why would you help me and risk your safety by fighting those guys earlier? It just doesn't make any sense to me. Was it because he was a jerk to the female from before?'

'No, it was because he hit you. It angered me when I suddenly saw you falling on the cold, hard floor. I could have prevented it all if I just stopped their quarrel sooner but I didn't and it leads for you to get hurt'

'I'm fine, don't worry about me, I still don't know why to do it all for someone like me… but Thank you so much'

'Someone like you… what actually do you think you are when you wrote that?'

'A nobody who just realized that I actually had a lot of words in my thoughts after reading how many I just wrote'

'That's not what I see. After observing you, I found out that you love reading books more than anything in this world, of course, that's obvious but when I asked you for the book I wanted, you gave me all of the books related to that book in a matter of minutes. It's rare to see anyone who has that ability, I'm still amazed by it till now'

A sudden blush appeared on her cheeks after reading what he wrote, she felt happy and slightly thrilled from his compliments. She quickly wrote back her reply with her smile growing wider with each of their conversations.

'Wow, you thought of me that way…? Thank you so much'

'Your welcome' He wrote his response before their eyes met for the third time this day, but for the first time, he could feel the happiness in her dark purple eyes. 'Why do you like books?'

'Where do I even begin!'

They had their conversation going for a while, both of them having a smile on their faces as they both felt like they were learning so much from each other. Hitomi felt relieved and happy, talking to a person for the first time in her life. All her childhood, she refused to converse with anyone, fearing that they might get weirded out by her but in this very moment, she felt nothing but joy in writing with Ryan as the time passed them by. It all seemed like a good conversation until Ryan asked something he shouldn't have.

'Why don't you talk?'

And with that, her smile slowly disappeared, the joy in her eyes started to fade as memories of her past were all she could remember now. Seeing her in this state made Ryan feel like he shouldn't have asked her about that.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I asked something I shouldn't have" Ryan spoke, breaking their moment of silence.

Hitomi moved her head sideways as a response that he did nothing wrong, but even though she wanted it, she couldn't bring herself to tell him about her past.

"(It's not your fault. It's just… that question is something I can never tell anyone. I have my reasons not to speak) and I would like to keep it that way (It's not that I don't trust you… it's just that I tried it once and it backfired, there was only one person at that time who I spoke with) but she's gone… although I would like it if I have the confidence to speak in front of you, you are the only one who knows I can talk after all but… I'm a coward"

Ryan's eyes were left in a widened shock after what she just spoke out loud, her voice was calm and relaxing to hear, as expected from a foreigner.

"You do realize that you just said half of your thoughts with your voice right?" Ryan pointed out her mistake, her face was blank for a few moments until she realized what she did, her eyes responded by widening in shock as her cheeks grew brighter than they could ever do.

"(Ehh? EHHH?!! I just said half of it without Noticing?! Not to mention, without stuttering?! Why?!)"

"You have a beautiful voice, Hitomi" Ryan admitted which caused her heart to race once more. She couldn't take any more of the heat and quickly wrote something on his book, gesturing to him to read it after writing.

'I still need to collect the books, you should go now the school is about to close!'

"Oh, I see. Alright then. Also Hitomi, you should at least be proud, you got to speak more clearer now. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone unless you want me to" Said Ryan with a reassuring smile before leaving the area.

Hitomi was still mentally panicking in her thoughts, her cheeks were as red as they could get as her palms started to sweat for the first time. But even with all of that was happening to her, she still somehow managed to calm herself down a bit and recollect her thoughts.

"(He's right though… I managed to somehow talk to him, but why is this happening to me?! Why does every time I'm around him, I get flustered yet I also feel confident… argh! My heart is still pounding… could this mean… does this mean I'm attracted to him…?)"

Just by thinking of that possibility, her heart raced rapidly once more as if it was telling her that she is attracted to him but she refused to believe it, even though it only beats rapidly when his image came to her mind. She shook her unwanted thoughts away from her mind for the time being.

"(Just stay calm… focus on cleaning the library… But it's already past 5 pm, if I clean this by hand the gates might close on me…)"

She had no other choice, if she wanted to head back home to rest, then she needed to quickly finish her suites here. If only the other members of the council were here then it would make it all easy for Hitomi. Not having any more choices, she opened her book as the eye on the back end of the cover glowed brightly once more along with her purple-colored eyes. The book levitated back towards their correct places while she let magic do the work for her as she walked back to her desk to grab her bag. But once she turned around, she saw Ryan, standing with a shocked look after witnessing the books levitate in front of him. Shocking Hitomi, as well as they both, stared while staring at each other from a distance.

"Hitomi… what's going?" Ryan asked in disbelief of what he was seeing before him. She dropped her bag while she realized in silence, whatever she did was not meant for anyone to see.

"Ryan…?"