Memories of Hope  

The sound of wood scraping, followed by the friction of tables and wood piled in front of the door, could still be heard inside the warehouse. There were no more aggressive bangs from outside, making Riku feel slightly more at ease. The young man with spiked hair leaned against the wall not far from Nao, assuming a thoughtful pose. He was still trying to think of a way to escape from this stuffy room without taking too much risk of being bitten by the undead outside. But until now, no ideas had crossed his mind. Feeling that all of this was a dead end, Riku's expression, once serious, now turned anxious. Yes... he was worried about the fate of himself and Nao, who might never be able to get out of this room.

Noticing the change in Riku's expression, Nao understood that he had reached his limit. Her eyes grew dim, signaling exhaustion and the feeling of almost giving up. But hadn't Nao made an unspoken promise to the boy who had inspired her about the meaning of struggle and the beauty of life from a different perspective that she would never give up again, no matter the circumstances?

Nao did not want to break that promise. She had also been thinking hard about how to escape since earlier. But so far, there had been no way out, no plan that crossed her mind. Now, she realized her life wouldn't last much longer. It was only a matter of time before they both lay still, succumbing to oxygen deprivation and dehydration. For the umpteenth time, her beautiful face faded, and her eyes became dim, just like before. However, something jolted her awake. Something pulled her from the despair that would soon swallow her. It was a memory. Yes, her memory of a smile. Someone with a characteristic grin who had always been her inspiration. The soothing smile, which she believed was the cure to slay her despair, re-entered her memory.

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***In the afternoon, in a park in the middle of Tokyo, Nao sat beneath a large, shady tree. This was the most enormous tree in the park, with dense, cool green leaves that made anyone sitting under it feel comfort and relief, offering a sense of tranquility amidst the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. Nao, too, sat there, closing her eyes and feeling every breeze caress her beautiful face. Her long hair seemed to dance in the wind, adding elegance to her appearance.

Her face was calm, but not her mind and heart. All the cruel words she had heard from her new friends at Kohoha Gakuen echoed in her memory. Her mind was full of the taunts and jeers that stung her ears, as though sharp needles had pierced her heart whenever those harsh words were spoken.

"Hey... look, is that the new transfer student coming to our school?"

"I heard that too."

"It seems like it."

"But I don't understand why the principal would accept someone like that."

"I was wondering that too, why would the school accept a disabled student like her?"

"Hey... look! The new transfer student has arrived."

"Is she disabled?"

"I think so. Is she in a wheelchair? She's just embarrassing the school."

"Imagine if the world knew Koryo High School had a disabled student like her?"

"Hahaha..."

"Hey... you guys are so noisy! I can't sleep!"

"So what, Ryuji?! A disabled student like her doesn't belong here."

"Why are you here? Go away! Don't come near us."

"Hey, listen... you should be at a special school for disabled kids like you."

"Haha, right... we'd be embarrassed to have a friend who's disabled. What will other schools think if they find out we have a disabled friend?"

"Oh no... just imagining it is so embarrassing, go somewhere else! Find another school."

"Look, her food fell. I bet she can't pick it up."

"Haha, just leave it. She doesn't belong here."

"She's just embarrassing Koryo High School."

"Hey, Ryuji! What are you doing?!"

"Enough, Ryuji... just leave her alone."

"Why are you helping her? Just leave her be."

"Aren't you ashamed to have a friend like her, someone so disabled?"

"I'm the one ashamed to have friends like you. You're all trash."

"Hey, what's wrong with you, Ryuji?!"

A clear liquid fell down her pale cheek without realizing it as she remembered all the mocking words. Nao placed both hands on her chest, feeling an intense pain in that part of her. A pain that made her think, why was she born into this world in such a... imperfect state? Why did Kami-sama make her life like this? Why was she born with paralyzed legs?

"If it's going to be like this... I wish... I-I wish I were never born... forever." Nao murmured, her eyes still closed. The tears didn't stop flowing from her eyes. Drop by drop, they fell, wetting the green grass beneath her.

"Everyone mocks me... everyone avoids me... everyone is ashamed of me..." she continued, sobbing.

"Why... w-why does it hurt so much? It hurts so much here..." Nao's voice grew hoarse as she tightened her grip on her chest as if showing that the pain she felt was right there.

"I... I... don't want to live anymore... The pain I've felt all this time... it's enough..." Nao sank deeper into despair. She thought there was no way to heal the pain she was feeling.

"It's useless for me to be moved from one school to another... everyone always avoids me..."

"I don't."

"Everyone always hates me..."

"That's nonsense. I don't hate you."

"B-but... I don't have any friends..."

"You do."

"Who...?" Nao asked with her eyes still closed, crying.

"Me..."

"Am I... hallucinating now...?"

"Hahaha, you're so funny, Nao."

Startled by the sound of someone laughing beside her, Nao tried to open her swollen, tear-filled eyes to find the source of the sound. But when she turned her head, her eyes widened when she saw a tanned young man with blonde hair lying on the grass. Nao froze, her mouth slightly open. No words came out of her mouth.

'S-so all this time... it was him...' Nao screamed inside her mind. She didn't know that the one answering her words was this yellow-haired boy. Nao had thought she was hallucinating when she heard that voice. She hadn't realized someone was near her when she had been crying earlier.

"You have a friend, Nao. I am your friend," said the young man, who was none other than Ryuji, lying on the grass with his eyes closed. Nao didn't respond at all, still stunned by her surprise.

"I don't hate you at all... never. And I'm sure not everyone hates your flaws. I'm also an idiot, and I'm someone who can't be relied on. In the past, everyone always mocked me, just like you. But I never cared about what they said..." Ryuji sat up from lying down, facing Nao.

"They always called me stupid, a delinquent, and useless. But do you know what I did? I kept moving forward. I stayed true to myself. I kept protecting what was valuable to me, and I never gave up. I always fought hard to make friends. Friends who would accept me as their friend."

"F-friends who would accept you as their friend...?"

"Yes, Nao... friends are one of the reasons I keep going. Protecting them and protecting the friends who are precious to me is why I never give up. Even though many hate me, some still care about me. And you should believe that too, Nao."

"M-me...?"

"Believe it... believe that there are still people who care about you, Nao." Ryuji said, gently gazing at the sweet girl in front of him. He also smiled at her, a smile that could shatter all doubts.

With that, Nao remembered her father. Her father still accepted her despite her disability. Her father never made an issue of her imperfections. Her father always tried to make her happy. Her father didn't want her to be sad because of all the insults, so he kept transferring her from one school to another so that Nao could find friends who would accept her for all her flaws.

Yes... now Nao realized she had someone who still loved her and always would: her father. Nao had never realized this because she had always been saddened by her condition, which was far from perfect.

Her tears fell again as she remembered the love her father had given her. She nodded at Ryuji while wiping the tears still at the corners of her eyes as if agreeing with Ryuji's words. Seeing Nao nodding at him, Ryuji immediately stood up and smiled gently at her.

"No matter how hard your life is, believe there are still people who love you, Nao, because everyone has flaws. So, never give up." Ryuji gave her his sweet smile momentarily before walking away from Nao. As she saw Ryuji walk further away, Nao immediately called.

"A-anoo..." Nao called. Hearing Nao say something, Ryuji stopped and turned slightly toward her.

"A-ano... Thank you..." Nao said, facing the grass while gripping her green school skirt tightly.

"Um? Eheheh..." Ryuji gave a wide grin as he scratched the back of his head, which wasn't itchy. ***

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"Found it..!" Aya-sensei shouted. The others showed surprised yet happy expressions. Emi, who had almost given up, was incredibly relieved. Aya had found the key on the principal's shelf. No wonder Takeshi and the others hadn't seen it.

"Hhh... thank goodness." Emi sighed with relief.

"Finally, we found it... that was exhausting," Mina said while adjusting her glasses.

"Then, Aya-sensei... where is the bus?" Daiki asked.

"The bus is parked in the back parking lot. But, if we go there, we'll inevitably have to face them." Aya-sensei said, looking toward the Koryo High School parking lot through the teacher's room window. From here, she could see that there were quite a few of the creatures in the parking lot. The Koryo High School parking lot is located behind the main building and is part of the school area. It's not too far from where they are now.

"Yooosh! That's not a problem." Ryuji said, pumping his fist. Oddly, Ryuji was the only one still showing enthusiasm. Unlike the others, it was clear they were all exhausted.

Mina immediately picked up the baseball bat Ryuji had leaned against the table while looking for the key earlier and handed it to him. When Ryuji took the bat from Mina, he smiled at her. However, Mina quickly turned her face away in annoyance. Ryuji, seeing this, just scratched his cheek with his finger. He was too oblivious to notice Mina hiding the red flush on her face.

Not long after, a loud banging sound came from the door. Perhaps the undead had figured out they were here. Ryuji immediately walked toward the door, followed by Takeshi and Emi, carrying the broken broomsticks. Right behind them, Aya-sensei, Mina, and Daiki were also ready. Ryuji knew this was going to be a long and tiring night. He tightened his grip on the bat in his hand.

"Let's go!"

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