CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX – YURI'S SECRET (YuKi)

Sunday nights were often the quietest for Yuri. She preferred them that way, as they allowed her to relax. Saturdays were mostly devoted to any homework she had been given for the weekend, while Sunday mornings were the times she would go out to buy anything that she needed from the nearby stores, like food, toiletries and other such things. Nighttime would be for reading or writing, as always, with a hot cup of oolong tea by her side and some scented candles to set the mood on her desk. Tonight, however, she was too occupied to do her routine.

She looked over the two new books that she had just bought from the mall. They were old copies, their paperback covers already a bit wrinkled, their pages slightly yellowed. And like her favorite scented candles, the smell of worn book pages was as cathartic as it was familiar. Nearly an hour's worth of diving into piles upon piles of used books had rewarded her with them; she had tried looking for other editions in case they were part of a series, so that one book would not feel so alone. It was rare, however, for multiple editions of a novel's series to be donated to discount bookstores, so she had to settle for a single copy each. One of them was a Japanese original named Beneath the Cherry Blossoms, while the other was an American work titled Summer Past. Instead of the usual horror novels that the two of them liked, these were romance novels of a somber nature. Yuri didn't know what compelled her to buy them in the first place, given that romance was never her forte. Psychological horror novels never really dwelt for too long on such a theme, and she had never taken the time to watch romance movies or read happier works. She wondered whether Naoki had the same thoughts, and whether or not he would find a romance novel as a gift rather odd.

She had planned to give the book to him tomorrow, as she always did at school to surprise him, but Naoki had gone one step ahead of her and surprised her instead by inviting her out on a date tomorrow.

Yuri had stared for a full minute at his text message earlier, trying to grasp the idea that once again, Naoki was asking her out. She bit her lip, wondering what he had in mind, though she only had to look back at their book café excursions to know that there was nothing wrong about what he was asking. Still, her thoughts told her that there was something new about Naoki's invitation, especially following what she had done in their English class months ago. Yuri sighed rather pensively as she remembered just how quickly her heart raced as she recited the words she had written, telling of how a ghost came to possess a heart of amber, feeling that she and Naoki were the only two people in the world, bridged together by a bond rife with words spoken and read.

What was even more pleasant was the aftermath; Yuri had expected Naoki to balk, to reconsider his friendship with her in a terrible way, but it was quite the contrary. She caught glimpses of it in his grey eyes, and the way he would smile so handsomely whenever the two of them shared a conversation or had their moments of closeness after that fateful day. Even though it slowed down their reading of Markov considerably, Yuri had no intention of ever complaining. She knew that her bond with Naoki was far from being a full-fledged romantic relationship—then again, Yuri didn't know what criteria would cause a friendship to fit such a bill—but this was something that she wanted to see grow, and she sensed that Naoki wanted the same as well.

Going against her anxiety, she hoped that she wouldn't disappoint him.

All things considered, Naoki was happy for the triumvirate. Daisuke had admitted not too long ago about having something rather special with his classmate Natsuki, while Kenta was now becoming known among their year for establishing a close bond with Monika, a feat by his brash redheaded friend that many were still coming to terms with as they see the two together more and more frequently after school. Though it meant that his best friends were starting to spend less time with him in favor of the girls that they were now good friends with, Naoki was happy with how things were working out.

What he didn't expect, however, was the fact that he soon had the same experience they had.

Yuri was quickly proving to be genuinely sweet in spite of her shyness. She had surprised him twice in the past three months by giving him two new horror novels as gifts, and she had done the same earlier before lunchtime with a romance novel entitled Beneath the Cherry Blossoms. Naoki was warmed by the gesture the gifts brought even as Kenta often teased him about them. In return, he was planning something special for Yuri later today.

Much like the clandestine way he had asked around about The Monocle, Naoki set about inquiring his friends about where a good place for a date would be, though to lessen Yuri's guaranteed shock at it, he had informed her about it last night instead of catching her unawares at school. Moreover, he wanted this particular outing to be different from the ones he had in the past with her—it wouldn't involve simply reading and bonding over a simple cup of coffee or tea, nothing like that. Instead, it would be much like a real date—a trip to the movies, perhaps, or a dinner somewhere and a nice, quiet walk in the park afterwards.

The main problem with everything is that he had no idea what both of them liked.

Naoki had often been teased in the past by his family and friends about being rather reclusive, opting to stay indoors reading a good book instead of going downtown to hang out at malls or arcades. Even during some downtown excursions involving the triumvirate, Naoki preferred to hang back and enjoy his day quietly while letting Daisuke and Kenta take the reins. It wasn't that going outside bored him to death; Naoki did enjoy spending time outside with his friends and family. It was just that playing video games, watching movies and generally having physical fun did not hold that much appeal to him, and he was sure that Yuri might be thinking along the same lines, only on a deeper degree compared to him. Thus, he knew that he had to be the one to nudge her forward in this particular case. Looking back at everything, Naoki began envying how easy it seemed for Kenta and Daisuke to go out with girls like Monika and Natsuki. Ever the reliable ones, though, the two of them offered what insights they could to help him out.

"Well, if you two wanna have fun without feeling uncomfortable, you can always try ordering some takeout and then eating it at a park, like a picnic," Daisuke had told him that morning before classes started. "Parks are really peaceful at this time of year, and you don't have to worry about crowds that much!"

"You can't go wrong with the movies unless it's the first date," Kenta had proffered with confidence after lunchtime. "It worked out well for me and Monika, plus you two have gone out before, so it'll be fine! Just don't make any sudden moves like holding hands just yet, alright? Tried that a couple of times back then. Not hot."

Given that he was too busy thinking about what he would be planning for later, Naoki called off his Markov discussion with Yuri for today; Yuri had obliged willingly, as she was still rather flustered after giving him her new gift in the presence of their other classmates. And so, after eating, Naoki weighed his fellow triumvirs' suggestions together with the other choices that his other friends offered: a visit at the local museum, some quality time at the arcade, shop-hopping around downtown, or a dinner date and nothing else. Naoki knew that the arcade was out of the question due to Yuri's timidity, and that a dinner date would work better in the future. Shop-hopping seemed nice as well, though he sensed that it might result in bookstore-hopping in the end if he had any say in it. So far, only the movies, the park picnic and the museum choices seemed adequate enough. In the end, Naoki decided to ask Kenta once again for help after their first post-lunchtime class.

"Look, if you're still trying to think of a good choice, just ask Yuri!" Kenta told him, glancing sideways at her as if to make sure that she wasn't hearing them talk from where they were sitting. "It's tough to always have a surprise in store for a date, so sometimes the best option is to just plan with her."

"I'll admit, it's getting a bit difficult indeed," said Naoki with a laugh. "I'll ask her after class while we're on our way downtown."

"Don't sweat it too much, alright?" said Kenta. "Just go with the flow, and you'll do just fine!"

He sounded so confident and encouraging that Naoki couldn't help but agree with his choice. Kenta may not have had much luck with girls in middle school, but if Monika was any proof of his hard work in doing well with a girl, Naoki had little reason to doubt his best friend, especially now that the triumvirate was pretty much in the same boat.

Yuri seemed more excited than usual when dismissal time came; instead of walking out of the classroom to wait for Naoki in the corridors, she waited beside him so that the two of them can leave together. "So . . . where are we going?" she asked him when they passed through the school's front doors.

"Actually, I want you to help me decide where we'll be going," he replied, grinning.

"Oh, really?" she asked, glancing at him nervously. "How c-come?"

"I'm having a bit of trouble choosing where we can go," he told her. "I don't go out often, and to be honest, I have no idea what a good place for a date would be."

Yuri blushed deeply. "An actual date, huh?" she mused. "To be fair, I also have no clue w-where to go on a date."

"That's okay," Naoki told her, "I just don't want you to grow tired going to bookstores and book cafés with me every time we go out."

"Oh, there's no need to worry about that!" Yuri exclaimed as they passed through the school gates. "I have fun with you no matter where we go, and no matter w-what we do."

"T-Thanks," said Naoki, blushing a little as well. "Anyway, how's your poetry doing?"

Again, Yuri glanced at him shyly. "To tell you the truth, I haven't written anything new yet since the one I r-recited for English class," she replied. "It's rather difficult for me to think about a new poem right n-now, I suppose."

"Is there something wrong?" asked Naoki.

"No, everything's fine," said Yuri. "I just get too preoccupied sometimes with my own feelings, often to the point where I cannot get my thoughts straight."

"Ah, that's understandable," said Naoki. "Poems require feelings, sure, but they also require our thoughts so that we can articulate the words we put into them properly."

"Yes, that's correct," Yuri acknowledged, smiling.

Once the two of them had entered downtown, Naoki gave her the museum and park picnic choices. He purposely left Kenta's movie date suggestion out for now, musing that out of the three, it was the choice that would fit better in the future like the dinner date would. Yuri looked pensive as she debated on the two choices.

"The museum sounds fine," she said quietly, thinking. "It closes at seven, so we still have a lot of time to visit. And then afterwards, maybe we can go to the park."

"Wait, you want to do both of them?" asked Naoki, surprised.

Yuri nodded bashfully. "W-Would that be okay with you?"

Naoki smiled. "Of course."

The museum had very few people wandering about, checking out the exhibits. Naoki preferred it that way, as he knew how nervous Yuri often felt around crowds. Plus, it gave them some space to converse freely about the exhibits. As they walked around, their shoes made quiet squeaking noises against the marble floors, and their voices echoed around the walls as they shared facts and read plaques in front of various exhibits, ranging from restored paintings from bygone ages to archaeological artifacts stowed inside glass cases to detailed dioramas of different time periods.

Though it may have seemed rather tedious to think about on paper, their trip to the museum began gaining some profound momentum especially when Yuri began to shine once again. The two of them shared what historical facts and trivia they knew, playing off of each other's intellect and knowledge smoothly. It was both different and similar to the way they debated about novels such as The Portrait of Markov, and Naoki was sure that Kenta and Daisuke would be both proud and amused at how well the two of them bonded.

"Ooh, let's check this one out!" said Yuri, walking quickly towards a certain display.

Naoki followed dutifully behind her, smiling at her enthusiasm. When he drew near, he saw that she had gone towards an array of glass exhibits containing various knives and swords from both feudal Japan and medieval Europe, all sitting atop velvet cushions and appropriately labeled with the details of the year and location they came from. There were claymores and ōdachi, katanas and longswords, with small daggers and tantō to accompany them, all displayed in their full splendor next to their restored scabbards. Some of them bore signs of age like faded marks and rust on their hilt and pommels, but their blades still glinted in the light, making them look almost good as new.

"Exceptional," said Yuri, leaning forward to gaze upon the blades as close as possible, her amethyst eyes glowing with interest.

"They do look quite good, right?" said Naoki.

"Magnificent," Yuri added. "I've read quite a few books about the craftsmanship behind swords and knives like these. It really is a meticulous process, with the way they forge the metal and design the blade from scratch, and how they get everything right for a perfect result. The materials that they use may vary depending on the type of blade being cast and the smith's own preferences, but the end result is always pleasing to observe and gaze upon."

Naoki grinned at Yuri's obvious enthusiasm. "I never knew you liked these kinds of things, Yuri."

Yuri blushed. "It's one of my personal interests, to peruse blades like these. I just find them really remarkable and b-beautiful."

"That's nice to hear," said Naoki, nodding as he looked upon the swords and knives closely.

All of a sudden, Yuri looked slightly uneasy. "Um, what time is it? We still h-have the park to go to, right?"

"Oh, sure," said Naoki, checking his watch. "Let's just order some food from the night market and take it there!"

"That sounds good," said Yuri eagerly. "Let's go."

The air grew colder as evening drew near. The two of them wrapped their school blazers tighter around themselves to ward off the chill. After a short visit to the night market, they managed to buy what food they wanted; Naoki ordered some fried rice and dumplings in a box, while Yuri settled for some salmon and shiitake onigiri. For beverages, a couple of bottles of juice sufficed, while a custard cake would provide some adequate dessert if they wanted.

Street sweepers appeared to be working overtime to make sure that parts of the city were cleared of any autumn foliage, and the park they had gone to was no exception. Though the trees there continued to shed their yellowing leaves, the ground was relatively clear of them. The place wasn't as large as some of the other parks in the city, but Yuri was fine with that. There were fewer people about, meaning there were less eyes around to observe the two of them eating and bonding together. Even so, she felt nervous as she walked next to Naoki on the way there, mindful of how much physical distance she should put between the two of them so as not to appear too close. Naoki, however, didn't seem to mind as he struck up conversations with her, affable as always.

Because the park was clear of crowds, the two of them had little trouble picking out one of the few gazebos there for their picnic. They chose a nice little spot that sat underneath the shade of a towering cherry blossom, its once-pink foliage having turned a deep red-orange for the autumn. Yuri leaned onto the gazebo's wooden railings as she looked up at it in wonder, her mind filling up with words for an impromptu poem as the tree suffused her with imagery. It reminded her as well of the novel he had given Naoki, with its image of the eponymous tree on the cover.

"Everything looks nice this time of year, hmm?"

Yuri turned to see Naoki standing close beside her, also gazing up at the cherry blossom from under the gazebo's roof.

"Yes, it d-does," she said silently, her breath almost taken away at how close he was.

"I really like autumn," said Naoki, shifting his gaze around the rest of the park. "The cold air, the beautiful sights, the relaxed atmosphere . . . It all makes for some good time to just sit in your room, reading and enjoying a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. Or oolong tea," he added, grinning at Yuri.

Yuri smiled back. "You're quite right about that," she replied. "I prefer winter myself, though. Some might find opportunities to go out and have fun in the snow—snowball fights and snow angels, for instance. I, on the other hand, prefer to just sit by the window and read, and sometimes it feels good to watch the snowflakes fall from there. It helps me think and feel for my poems."

"Yeah, seasons like that really help you get in your groove for any creative things you might want to try doing," said Naoki. "You know what? With autumn around and winter approaching, I might just try writing some poetry again."

"Didn't you try continuing what you started b-back in English class?" asked Yuri, remembering the poem she had written then and feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Not really, with all the schoolwork we've been having so far," said Naoki apologetically. "It's also why I still haven't gotten around to reading those novels you gave me."

Yuri's face flushed. "I'm sorry for giving you all those within s-such a short time."

"No, it's okay!" said Naoki quickly. "At least I'll have a lot of stories to keep myself busy with when schoolwork finally dies down, right?"

"W-Well, I suppose so," said Yuri anxiously. "But we haven't finished The Portrait of Markov yet. . ."

Naoki laughed. "Yeah, we've been caught up in a lot of stuff lately," he admitted. "Do you wanna continue tomorrow after lunch, as usual?"

"Yes, that would be great," said Yuri, nodding with a smile.

With the sun vanishing as the evening arrived, the park's lampposts began turning on, providing some light for the two of them as they sat down to eat. Some people passed by as they ate—a man walking his dog, a woman coming home from work, a couple with their daughter, a caretaker doing his rounds. As she took small bites of onigiri, Yuri watched them walk past, her mind wandering as she imagined the stories behind their faces and expressions, like she was visualizing them as characters from a book. The way a child's face shone whenever her parents picked her up, the way a workman wiped the sweat from his brow after a hard day, the way a man gazed upon his surroundings with a profound look in his eyes, all these were things that Yuri liked to mull on whenever she was idling without a book in front of her.

"Yuri?" Naoki's voice rang rather distantly.

Yuri jumped a little in her seat, startled out of her reverie. "Y-Yes?"

"I asked you a question, but it seems that you spaced out a little there," said Naoki with a small chuckle.

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry for that!" Yuri cried out, putting down the onigiri she was eating. "I was just thinking about a few things so I didn't n-notice!"

"Totally understandable, don't worry," said Naoki reassuringly. "I just wanted to ask you if you'll be fine with an invitation from Kenta."

"What is it about?"

"Are you familiar with Monika Steinbeck?"

"From 3-A, right? She's one of our year's model students, if I remember correctly."

"Yep, that's her! Anyway, she and Kenta are planning to go out sometime in the future, and she told him that it's fine if he brings some of his friends along. He invited me and our other buddy Daisuke along, and he said that if it was fine with you, you can come along."

Yuri paused, feeling curious and nervous at the same time. Any excursion with Naoki was fine in her book, while she was relatively okay with Kenta around, given that she knew him better than her other classmates. Daisuke, who had been her classmate last year, seemed rather unfamiliar, as she had never bonded with him that much other than as casual classmates; Monika was a complete stranger to her.

"W-Where are they planning to go?" she asked tentatively.

Naoki shrugged as he chewed through a mouthful of fried rice and dumpling. "Nothing's final, as far as I know. Kenta asked Daisuke if he could bring his friend along as well, and from what Kenta told me, Monika's also asking one of her classmates to come along. If everything goes well, I suppose there'll be seven or eight of us in total."

Yuri nodded to show that she had heard what Naoki explained, but inside, she felt rather fearful. Crowds tended to be overwhelming, but at least they often passed by without paying much attention to her whenever she was caught up in them, so she always managed to slip by unnoticed. In a smaller group where the members interacted with one another extensively, however, attention would surely come to her at some point, and it was something she wouldn't be able to avoid, not if she wanted to make things awkward.

As if he had read her thoughts, Naoki continued. "It's alright if you don't want to go. I understand that it can be a bit too much to hang out with people we're not too familiar with. I just thought it'd be fun to meet new friends and hopefully bust some stress."

"I'll t-think about it," said Yuri, not wanting to sound as if she was flat-out refusing him, but also not wanting to give an affirmative answer just yet. In an effort to sound enthusiastic about it, she added, "Though if you're there with me, I'd already like to go."

Naoki's cheeks reddened a little. "Likewise, Yuri," he said warmly.

When the two of them finished eating their food, Naoki opened the box that contained the cake that they had bought. Its top layer, which was a dark orange coating of sugary custard, glistened invitingly as it sat over a fluffy mound of white sponge cake.

"That looks pretty good," said Naoki as he set aside the box's lid.

"I agree," said Yuri, observing the cake's sides carefully. "However, I don't think we have any paper plates at hand to eat it with. . ."

"That's okay, we can just eat it by hand," said Naoki. "Although I do wish there was something we could cut it with, otherwise we just have to settle for piecing it apart by hand as well."

"Oh, if only I had my favorite knife with me," said Yuri sadly.

Naoki looked at her. "Uh, what was that?"

Yuri stopped in her tracks, snapping to attention as she realized what she had just said. "Wait! W-What I meant was, ah . . . um . . ."

Naoki kept staring at her, frowning slightly. "Yuri, did you just say . . . your 'favorite knife'?"

"Um . . . You see, what I w-wanted to say is that . . ."

Try as she might to rack her brain for something to segue her answer with, Yuri knew it was futile to deny what she had just uttered, not when Naoki heard her perfectly well. Once again, she had spoken without thinking, and this time, it might just cost her dearly. Her heart began to race, and she gripped her left forearm tightly, hoping that the pain it brought would bring her some respite.

She decided to go ahead and admit what was already said. "Yes, m-my favorite knife."

Naoki sat up straighter. His face looked more curiously puzzled than anything, but that offered little comfort to her. "You mean you own a knife?" he asked her.

Swallowing anxiously, Yuri nodded. "Y-You see, I collect knives. . ."

Naoki raised his eyebrows; Yuri felt her anxiety skyrocket. "Collect . . . knives . . .?" he repeated, as if trying to grasp the meaning of the two words together.

Again, she nodded. "Mostly, it's j-just custom-made knives that I find on the internet," she went on, as if stating that would make things sound less weird than she was feeling them to be. "I l-look them up online and order them if t-they fit my fancy."

Naoki paused before speaking; evidently, he was still too surprised by the revelation. "Is that like . . . a hobby of yours or something?"

Yuri sighed, gripping her forearm even tighter; pain wrapped around her limb like a bracer made out of barbed wire. "Yes, I s-suppose that's it, a hobby. . ."

Naoki looked intently at her. "So that's why you liked watching that exhibit we came across earlier, right?" he said.

"Yes. . ." she said very quietly. It was like being back behind the gymnasium the day after she stumbled during their P.E. class. She felt a million judging eyes staring at her, watching as she trembled in humiliation at what she had just revealed. He must already be thinking how eccentric and disturbing I am.

To her great surprise, Naoki placed a hand on her forearm. Yuri twitched slightly at the feel of his warm palm, causing her to let go of the painful grip she was maintaining on herself. The gesture was light and reassuring, and it startled her to her core.

"Don't worry, it's alright," he said kindly. "I was just a bit astonished, that's all. I didn't expect someone like you to have a hobby like that."

Yuri looked at him imploringly. "I know. It's rather weird, right? Weird and even a little c-creepy. . ."

"Well, I won't deny that it's rather odd," Naoki admitted, "but . . . ah, who am I to judge someone's personal hobby and interest, right?"

He frowned, and Yuri sensed that he must be thinking of the right words to say. "You collect knives, so does that . . . does that mean that you're a totally different person to me now? I don't think so, right? You're still Yuri to me, nothing's changed. I just found out something new about you, so what's wrong with that? I don't think that changed my perception of you one bit, and I don't think it ever should. If I do that, it'd be like judging a person simply because their interests are not the same as mine—that's unfair. There's already too much of that happening today, and it's just all sad.

"Anyway, I digress—again, if collecting knives is your hobby, then I don't see anything wrong with that."

A short silence stretched between them. Naoki coughed a little, not wanting to keep it going for too long. "Anyway, I'm sorry if my reaction to what you said seemed a bit too much. I don't want you to think that I'm repulsed or something. I just didn't know how to react immediately to . . . to what you said and all. . ."

"No, it's okay," said Yuri at last, feeling relieved as she felt the eyes around her vanish after Naoki said his piece. "T-Thank you for understanding. . ."

Naoki smiled. He pulled his hand away from her forearm; Yuri watched it go sadly, wishing that it lingered for a little while longer. "Shall we try this cake out now?" he asked.

"S-Sure thing!"

The cake turned out to be a bit too sweet for Yuri's taste, but she was grateful for the respite it provided from what just happened. Less people were now passing by, and the lights in the buildings around the park started turning on to prepare for the evening. The sidewalks soon grew noisier as more people filed out of offices and establishments to walk through the streets, going home after a hard day's work. Yuri watched from where she sat, nibbling at the custard cake timidly.

"Buildings come to life,

As lights give color to stone,

And autumn persists."

Naoki's voice was silent but solemn as he spoke. Yuri stopped chewing, surprised by the words that he had just uttered. Five-seven-five—a haiku. When she looked over at him, he smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that," he stated. "I was observing the rest of the city along with you, and it just sort of came to me."

"It was actually r-rather good," Yuri told him.

"Thanks. Didn't know I could cook up a haiku on the spot. My buddies would be amazed."

"I'm sure you would be able to write a lot more than just haikus in the future," she said encouragingly.

Naoki shrugged as he took another bite of custard cake. "Well, as long as you're there to help me, maybe I would," he said gregariously.

Yuri paused for a moment, thinking as she set down her custard cake piece. Naoki looked at her with a mildly puzzled look in his bespectacled eyes. "What is it?" he asked.

She looked at him and smiled.

"With pen and paper,

With my words, thoughts and feelings,

I'll do what I can."

In spite of the shortness of her haiku response, Yuri knew that it was more than enough. Now, it was Naoki's turn to be surprised at the poem that came his way. "We really should start making on-the-spot haikus a thing, don't you agree?" he said in an amused tone.

Yuri giggled shyly. "M-Maybe we can."

As she arrived home later that evening, Yuri didn't know what to feel. Part of her still felt light and happy from the time she had just spent with Naoki. As he had intended, their excursion was very different from their book café dates. It was definitely a first for Yuri, and it was something that she looked forward to in the future once again, especially with the little haiku exchange they had and how lighthearted it made her feel.

On the other hand, though, she also felt anxious because of two things: the invitation to an outing that Naoki relayed to her, and the fact that she had just revealed one of her bigger secrets to him. She could put off thinking about the invitation for now, but her revelation still made her feel worried. Granted, Naoki had told her that there was nothing too weird about the idea that she collects knives, but now that he wasn't present, she felt very self-conscious about it all.

Was it alright indeed? Was there nothing weird about her chosen hobby and interest? The shame continued to eat away at her, but gradually, she decided to somehow look at things from an objective perspective by not thinking with embarrassment about it and instead imagining how it would feel if she encountered another person who had a similarly eccentric hobby or interest. For this, she also took into account the words that Naoki had spoken: It's like judging a person simply because their interests are not the same as mine—that's unfair. In a way, such a thought was applicable to everyone, and with it, Yuri felt justified about her hobby.

Whether or not it justified other things about her hobby, however, was a whole other matter.

Yuri walked over to her desk, sitting down on the chair there and putting her bag down next to her. Given that she still felt full with the food that she had eaten with Naoki, she mused that skipping dinner for tonight would be fine, though that was no reason for her to skip out on her nightly cup of oolong tea. As she was about to reach down to take her things out of her bag, she looked over to the desk's bottommost drawer. She knew exactly what the contents of the drawer were, and given that her day with Naoki earlier involved a brief but substantial discussion about them, she decided to open it and take a look inside.

Seven knives lay there side by side, resting atop a small white pillow that she had stuffed inside the drawer. Their blades and handles were made of different materials and possessed different styles, giving each knife its own unique look and feel. One had a leaf-shaped steel blade with a dark green handle crafted out of aluminum; another resembled a kunai with its dark, pointed blade and its thin black leather handgrip; one of them was a small hunting knife, its cream-colored handle made out of smoothed bone and its blade possessing a thick, curved edge. Yuri's personal favorite, however, was a Damascus steel straight-back knife with a polished dark brown handle made out of mahogany. Damascus steel knives often had silver wavelike patterns inlaid in the grey steel as a result of their manufacturing, and Yuri found this particular design exquisite.

As she sat there looking at her collection, she looked back in her mind to the time she first became interested in knives as a young girl. Such tools had only basic uses that seemed to have no elegant undertones, but Yuri always thought otherwise. The first time that she had ever learned to use a knife, she had experimented with it by slicing up many things: a tomato, a sheet of paper, a spare length of a garden hose in her grandmother's backyard. Every time she saw a knife's edge cut through such things easily, her fascination with them kept growing, and even now that she was older, that fascination still lingered upon her. As she already knew how knives work, she had decided to look into how they were made; reading and learning how, with much toil and effort, a simple piece of metal can be crafted and forged into one of the exquisite blades that piqued her interest. Once she saw and understood how much work went into creating such things of sharp beauty, Yuri grew to appreciate knives even more.

Her interest had taken a whole new turn when she accidentally cut her finger one day.

The pain had shocked her a little, but she knew better than to be surprised by the fact that a knife's blade can cut through human skin with the same keenness that it does through food or paper. She had bandaged the cut then and decided to take a break from knives for a while, knowing that like fire, knives can be both helpful and dangerous. However, she never forgot the experience, especially when there were moments that reminded her of it. Yuri remembered when she had scraped her knee back in their P.E. class. She remembered touching the wound there and feeling the stinging sensation of pain course through her like a unique electric shock. More profoundly, she remembered just what kind of relief the pain seemed to offer her then, and how it blotted out the embarrassment brought by her blunder.

It brought back memories of the times that she had done similar things, memories that she didn't want to remember right now, not when she felt this emotionally and mentally sober.

As the evening set in further, Yuri took the time to dress into more casual clothing, her mind again reviewing the day she just had with Naoki. The two of them had parted cordially in spite of the impact that her revealed secret incurred; Naoki had promised that the two of them would begin reading and analyzing The Portrait of Markov once again tomorrow. She looked forward to the discussion and knew that she would soon have to review the most recent chapter that they had tackled.

Yuri stretched gracefully as she sat down. The short-sleeved white shirt and blue shorts that she was now wearing did little to ward off the chill of an autumn evening from her arms and legs, but a steaming cup of oolong tea later would help relieve that. She leaned down, opened her school bag, and took out her school books and her copy of Markov. Before she settled down to begin, however, curiosity nudged at her. After a brief moment of thinking, she opened the bottommost drawer at her desk once again.

This time, instead of simply observing, she picked up the Damascus steel knife carefully, not wanting it to collide with the drawer's corners or with the other knives. She traced her finger along the knife's wavy patterns towards the blade, taking care not to press too deep and draw blood from her finger like last time. It had been a long time since she last looked at her favorite knife, let alone all of the other knives; she usually let them sit in the drawer, taking them out only to clean them properly and make sure that they weren't starting to rust or dull. There were other times in the past, however, when she opened the drawer and took one of them out for a totally different reason—a reason that Yuri was trying to avoid encountering again with all her might. Right now, everything was fine; she had only taken out the knife to check on it as she would with one of the novels that she had read before. She was thankful that so far, nothing bad had happened yet for her to consider using this knife or any of her other knives again for a purpose other than cutting up food or other things.

After all, knives weren't the only things that Yuri had a collection of. One look at the scars on her left forearm would prove just that.