Did she come here too early?Hearing the sounds come from the bathroom, she flushes red. Oh, he"s taking a bath. She should do the same…right. She can do this. On the way there she found herself, murmuring pie. However, Kasumi immediately noticed something wrong. His clothes aren"t in the basket. Could it be-- she immediately opens the bath door. Indeed, to confirm her suspicions. Seeing Mikami hunched over, his clothes soaked with red on the back. She rushes over.
"It"s you, Kasumi-chan," Mikami says with a weak voice.
"Mikami…"
"I protected her, so don"t worry."
No, that"s not it. Right now, she"s more worried about--
"Kasumi-chan, you look prettier today."
That"s because she knew they"d be meeting. He must have understood since his lips brush against her neck. "Pretty. Since you"re so beautiful, will your blood be just as tasty?"
Blood.
That"s right, she should give it to him. Kasumi makes sure she"s leaning against the bathtub, and Mikami"s lips are on hers. Despite his present state though, she finds his hands-on top of hers. Ah. He really is so stupid.
.
.
He said this place was modeled after his apartment. But, maybe he forgot she had enough time to walk around before. This is clearly a different place, and yet she gets familiar. She gently caresses his hair, he really does have dark circles under his eyes. They hide it well during photo shoots, but Kasumi can tell. When Wataru reported Mikami"s present state, she felt sick to the stomach. She had a bad feeling, ever since Kanehara Kouta sent her a half-written email. It looked like he wanted to say something important regarding Mikami but was cut off. He"s so stupid, how could he still be so considerate after she betrayed him? Even though it"s a fake relations.h.i.+p, it doesn"t change the fact that she"s in one.
It doesn"t take her long before she"s taking things out of the fridge and making a meal. Rather, it surprised her how many ingredients were inside. Maybe he has been looking after himself.
"Kasumi-chan?" she hears Mikami"s voice coming from the other room.
"I"m cooking."
Soon, Mikami enters the kitchen. "You know, I was just thinking yesterday that I"m envious of senpai."
"Wait, is Lila making Karas.h.i.+ma lunch?"
"Seems like it."
She didn"t think their relations.h.i.+p had gotten that good. Mikami whispers something in her ear and her eyes go wide.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I don"t know how they are contacting each other without getting found. But, for now, it"s working."
Kasumi sighs in relief, as she replies."Thank goodness. I"ve been really worried about them.."
"I know."
....
Mikami repeatedly calls his name like he was in a trance."Kasumi, Kasumi. Kasumi. Kasumi-chan."
Like Lila said before, hearing your name repeated so many times - thump. Thump. Her hearts beating so loudly.
"Do you want to kiss Kasumi-chan?"Mikami said casually.
His casual tone irked her slightly, as she pushes him away slightly. "Why are you asking t--that?!"Kasumi exclaimed. Why is he asking? That"s not something you would usually ask for anyway.
"Well, senpai always asks Lilchan. So, I figured it was courteous."
How stupid.
This isn"t enough.
"Mikami. I love you, Mikami."
"You, keep repeating that."
She wants him to know.
She wants to make up for the times before.
"Mikami, wait a minute.."
"?"
Kasumi knew she was incredibly fl.u.s.tered at this point, but extends her hand out to undo the b.u.t.tons on Mikami"s s.h.i.+rt. Kasumi stutters a reply," L--let me."
He"s injured after all.
"Kasumi, am I dreaming? You want to touch me. "
With reddened cheeks, Kasumi looks up.
"Isn"t that obvious, dummy?"
A chuckle escaped his lips.
...…..
"Kasumi-chan, you"ve gotten prettier."Mikami complimented.
She has? Maybe it"s due to the different training system for models abroad.
"Lila"s looks actually suit the international model status more than me. I"m tall but..."
"Have they been bullying you?"
Kasumi averts her gaze.
"I see, so that"s why you--"
Kasumi places her fingers on his lips and shakes her head, "Kasumi-chan, I"m very worried. At least explain it to me."
"Letter. I wrote it down since I couldn"t say it properly. I know it will be hard to ask but..."
"I get it. But, after I read that. Tell me everything yourself okay? You, trust me right Kasumi-chan."
She does. Feeling his lips on her neck, shoulders, she shudders.
"Kasumi-chan. Do you, really need me?"Mikami murmurs softly against her neck.
Kasumi wasn"t amused at all by this question and immediately gets mad. Why is he even asking her something like that? At this stage. Kasumi doesn"t hesitate to voice out her anger, "Mikami, I"ll get angry."
"Aren"t you already?"Mikami says with an amused smile. This isn"t funny at all.
Why would he ask something so stupid? Mikami must have seen her reaction since he brings his lips to her hair and places light kisses there. He really is an idiot.
.
.
"Kasumi-chan. I want to see you again properly soon."
"Meeting here isn"t enough? "
Mikami nodded, "It isn"t. I want to see you all the time, I want to take you on a date."
"Date…" her cheeks flush red, "I want that too, maybe…you could slip out and I"ll show you Paris?"
Mikami"s powers seem to be rather stable recently. If it"s like that, then they could use this pathway.
"Sounds like a plan. Wait a sec, let me find my schedule."
Her eyes light up. A date, she hasn"t gone in one with him for a long time. Even then, the dates they had were always in a hotel. Her face color goes pale, wait a minute, they"ve never really had a proper date before. Though there was that mountain trip, they ended up being interrupted/joined by the others. Gaaahh, so this entire time. They"ve just been having s.e.x, right?!!! The sudden realization dawns on her and Kasumi"s face color goes pale. Calm down. With the circ.u.mstances the way they were, going on a normal date was impossible. But even so, she doesn"t want their relations.h.i.+p to be defined by feelings of l.u.s.t solely. As lovers, naturally that desire will always be there. However, she wants something much more. Mikami, can she hope, that he would want something like that too?
Kasumi walks over to find Mikami speaking with someone on the phone.
"Did you eat? I left some money on the table. Just order takeaway if you"re afraid. Yes, I"ll be returning soon."
. .
Thump. Thump.
The context of that conversation, is he living together with someone? It doesn"t sound like a guy either. So, it"s a girl? But, when she slept with him. Even she could tell he hasn"t had another woman in a long time. What"s more, something seems different here.
Her thoughts break off when she feels Mikami right in front of the door, "The girl I love? Yeah, I"m with her now. No, it"s fine. We can"t stay together for long. I"ll head back soon."
!!!
The girl he loves.
.
.
She really shouldn"t be doing this, but --she really is very worried about Lila. And, she also wants to spend a little more time about Mikami. It should be okay if she doesn"t stay long. It surprised her, how much her friend"s appearance had changed. Although she saw it on TV already, there is something clearly different here. The blue hair suits her. But she looks so much paler than before... As Kasumi was examining the girl"s condition, Lila stirs.
"Unn…Kiryu?"Lila murmurs.
"Sleepyhead, Kasumi-chan is here."
At that comment, Lila bolts awake. Kasumi was about to greet her, but Lila grabs her arm. The slight contact made her frown. She"s skinnier than before...
"Kasumi! Yay, it"s Kasumi. Wah, wah!!!"Lila exclaims happily.
Kasumi finds herself easily returning to the routine and immediately started lecturing Lila. "Are you eating properly? Gah, you look so pale and you"re super skinny! You have eye bags, why aren"t you sleeping? And your hands are filled with blisters."
Lila, however, didn"t seem phased and instead replied with an even more cheerful tone, "Kasumi"s loving insults !"
Geh, this girl. She"s the same as ever. Kasumi takes out a wrapped parcel and Lila laughs softly.
"Food!!! Yay."
"You have to eat properly, you look slimmer than before."
Lila wraps her arms around her, hugging her as she cheerful says, "Kasumi, your so kind! I like you."
"Yes, yes I know."
Kasumi"s gaze softens seeing her friends cheerful and beaming smile. It"s been a while since she last saw her, she"s glad that Lila still seems chirper. When she saw the performance on TV, Kasumi was slightly worried. She was worried that her friend reverted back to how she used to be. It can"t be, can it?