Glimmer in the Dark Night

On Monday morning, the sky was a hazy gray. Last night's rain had left puddles of varying sizes across the campus, reflecting the leaden clouds. Fūki Ran woke punctually at five thirty. The dorm room was still dark, and only the faint light filtering through the window outlined the furniture. He rose without a sound, switched on the desk lamp, and began organizing his recent observations in its soft glow.

He carefully marked Ryuen's recent movements on a specially made calendar with red, yellow, and blue pens. Red stood for direct contact between Ryuen and Class D students; yellow, meetings with students from other classes; and blue, his unusual wandering around campus. As the marks accumulated, an unsettling pattern gradually emerged: not only had the red marks become more numerous, they were beginning to cluster around a few specific times—especially lunch and the club activities period after school.

At seven, his phone gave a faint buzz. It was an email from Horikita: "Sudo went to the gym at six this morning, forty minutes earlier than usual. I've asked Hirata to 'happen' to drop by, so he won't be acting alone."

Feng Qi sent a brief reply: "Keep watching, but don't tip them off. Pay special attention to whether anyone from Class C shows up near the gym at the same time."

As breakfast time approached, a light rain began to fall again. Feng Qi walked toward the School Building with a black umbrella, raindrops tapping out a fine rhythm against its surface. At the corner of the Covered Corridor connecting the main building and the Special School Building, he unexpectedly ran into Sakura Eri. She stood alone beneath the eaves, gazing absently at the rain. She clutched a slightly worn sketchbook to her chest, her fingers unconsciously stroking the edge of its cover.

"Good morning, Sakura Eri." Feng Qi softened his voice and raised his umbrella slightly, careful not to startle her with his sudden appearance.

Sakura Eri flinched, as if roused from deep thought. She turned, her pink hair swaying gently with the movement. When she saw Feng Qi, her tense expression eased a little, but her fingers still gripped the sketchbook tightly. "G-good morning, Feng Qi..."

"Are you waiting for someone?" Feng Qi noticed the worn edges of her sketchbook and the faint traces of repeated edits on its cover. It was clearly a book she used often.

"N-no..." Sakura Eri lowered her head, her voice so faint it was almost drowned out by the rain. "I just... wanted to draw the cherry blossoms in the rain. Cherry blossoms at this time of year look especially... fragile and beautiful in the rain."

Feng Qi followed her gaze. The cherry trees outside the corridor were indeed swaying in the light rain, their pale pink petals beaded with raindrops, lending them a special charm. But he keenly sensed that Sakura Eri wasn't fully focused on the scenery. Every so often, her eyes strayed toward the gym, and a barely perceptible worry showed in them.

"Have things... been all right lately?" Feng Qi asked tentatively, keeping a respectful distance so she wouldn't feel pressured.

Sakura Eri's fingers absently rubbed the edge of her sketchbook. Her knuckles had gone faintly white from gripping it so hard. "S-someone's been protecting me in secret. I know... Thank you." Her voice was still soft, but her words took Feng Qi by surprise. He'd never expected this seemingly timid girl to be so perceptive.

"That day in the Library," Sakura Eri said quietly, her eyes still lowered, "and earlier, behind the School Building... I noticed you. Whenever someone from Class C came near, there always happened to be someone there. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence, but it happened too many times..."

The rain grew heavier, pattering crisply against the eaves as if accompanying her words. Sakura Eri lifted her head, her eyes shining with complicated feelings—gratitude, but also a trace of guilt. "I've always been so scared... scared of interacting with people, scared of getting hurt. But seeing everything you've done for me, I feel like... I should do something too. I can't keep hiding behind other people's protection."

She carefully took a stack of drawing sheets from her sketchbook. Their edges had curled slightly, as if they'd been leafed through many times. What surprised Feng Qi was that they weren't landscapes, but finely detailed figure sketches. Each one vividly depicted Class C students going about their activities, with the time, place, and detailed descriptions of their behavior neatly written beside the drawings. One showed Ishizaki Daichi talking to a stranger in front of a vending machine, with the note: "April 15, 15:23—exchanged an item with an unidentified person." Another showed Ibuki Mio wandering between the Library's shelves, with the note: "April 16, 10:17—repeatedly checked the area where Class D students usually sit."

"These are..." Feng Qi looked through the drawings, deeply shaken. Sakura Eri had not only noticed their efforts to protect her, she'd also been secretly gathering valuable intelligence—far more carefully than they'd expected.

"I've been used to watching people ever since I was little," Sakura Eri said. Her voice was still quiet, but now carried a note of resolve. "People usually don't notice me... which means I can see more of the little things they overlook." She lightly tapped a sketch of Ryuen talking to a Class B student in the cafeteria. "For example, Ryuen meets different people at the same spot in the cafeteria every Wednesday afternoon. He always chooses a seat in the corner."

The warning bell for first period rang, its clear tone echoing through the rain. Sakura Eri hurriedly gathered the drawings and carefully put them back in her sketchbook, then bowed slightly to Feng Qi. "If this information is useful... please tell me. I-I want to do something for the class too." With that, she hurried toward the School Building, her figure soon disappearing into the rain.

As he watched her go, Feng Qi realized for the first time that this seemingly fragile girl concealed a strength no one knew about. Her "invisibility" wasn't a weakness. It was a unique advantage.

During the break, Feng Qi had a brief meeting with Horikita and Kushida in the corridor outside the teachers' office. Rainwater slid down the windows, tracing winding lines across the glass. He told them about Sakura Eri, and all three were both surprised and encouraged.

"We've been so focused on how to protect her," Kushida said with a sigh, absently twirling a strand of hair. "We overlooked her potential. She's much stronger than we thought."

Horikita, unusually, agreed, though her tone remained composed. "Everyone has something unique to offer. What matters is whether they're given the chance to use it. Sakura Eri's powers of observation are certainly unexpected."

At lunchtime, a sudden downpour trapped most of the students indoors. Dense raindrops battered the windows, and the sky was as dark as dusk. Taking advantage of the weather, Feng Qi held a small meeting in the Bookshelf Area at the very back of the Library. Few people came to this part of the building, and the tall bookshelves surrounding them created a natural private space. Besides Horikita and Kushida, Hirata had also been invited.

"I think we need to reassess our current strategy," Hirata began, keeping his voice low. "Protecting people unilaterally takes a lot of effort. It could also put pressure on the people we're protecting, or even make them dependent on us."

Feng Qi spread Sakura Eri's drawings across the small round table between them. The desk lamp illuminated their delicate details. "Sakura Eri's abilities have reminded us of something. Maybe we should build a more equal network of cooperation, where every student willing to take part can contribute their strengths, instead of passively accepting protection."

Kushida studied the sketches closely, her fingers lightly tracing the notes on the page. "This information is incredibly detailed. If we set up a way to share it, we could predict Ryuen's movements more effectively. Like this one." She pointed to a sketch of Ryuen talking with a Class A student. "If Sakura Eri can keep recording things like this, we might be able to figure out his patterns."

"But we have to be careful," Horikita cautioned, glancing over the bookshelves to make sure no one was nearby. "The more people involved, the greater the risk of a leak. We need to screen participants carefully and make sure everyone can be trusted."

The raindrops hammered the Library's glass windows. Warm light spilled across the bookshelves as the four sat around the table, quietly discussing possible plans. Their shadows overlapped on the shelves, as if acting out a silent play.

"We can start small," Hirata suggested, lightly tapping his fingers on the table as if deep in thought. "Find a few reliable students and assign them different areas. Sudo could keep an eye on the Sports Clubs, and Shinohara might be able to keep track of the Girls' Cliques."

"I can talk to Sudo," Horikita said with a note of confidence. "He's become less wary of me lately, and after what happened last time, he's more willing to cooperate."

"Leave Sakura Eri to me," Kushida said with a warm smile. "She already seems to trust me a fair bit, and we both take part in art-related activities, so it'll feel more natural."

Feng Qi nodded and gathered the scattered drawings into a neat stack. "I'll continue coordinating everything and analyzing the intelligence. Hirata, as class representative, you should stay in the open and avoid taking part in these operations directly. Your value lies in keeping the class running normally and serving as everyone's emotional anchor."

The meeting went on for nearly an hour, accompanied by the sound of rain. Afterward, the four left the Library one by one, about five minutes apart, as though they'd simply been students studying there by chance. Feng Qi was the last to leave. He carefully checked the table to make sure they hadn't left anything behind.

By evening, the rain had eased and the sky began to clear. On his way back to the dorm, Feng Qi spotted Ryuen standing alone on the School Building's Rooftop, looking down over the campus. The setting sun shone through the clouds, giving Ryuen's silhouette a strange golden outline. Even from this distance, Feng Qi could sense the calculation and anticipation in Ryuen's gaze, like a leopard patiently waiting for its moment.

That night, Feng Qi organized what he'd learned during the day in his dorm. Sakura Eri's drawings had not only provided valuable intelligence, they'd also shown him the strength hidden within Class D. Every finely detailed sketch seemed to tell the same story: everyone in the class had a unique talent; they just needed the right opportunity to show it. Perhaps what they needed wasn't to build higher walls, but to find the right place for every fragment so the whole picture could come together.

He wrote in his diary: "True strength isn't about protecting the weak; it's about helping everyone discover their own strength. Today, I learned that even the most inconspicuous corner may hide the brightest glimmer."

Outside, the rain had stopped completely. A Crescent Moon peeked out from behind the parting clouds, casting its clear light over the damp campus. Tomorrow would be a new day, and a new beginning. Feng Qi switched off the desk lamp and let the moonlight spill across his desk. In the stillness of the night, he seemed to hear the heartbeat of all of Class D—faint, but steady, like a glimmer in the dark night: small, yet never extinguished.