Dream Star

When Lila woke up again, the following morning, she was already back home in her"s and Haruka"s apartment in H Street. Haruka"s back faced her as he typed away on his laptop. Lila noticed the two trays of food on the bedside table and realized something. He must have only left her side to get food, no— he probably asked somebody the meal for him. He really stuck to his word about not leaving her. In contrast to the previous day, Lila felt a lot better. But she was in no condition to be moving around.

Lila buried her face in his back, and Haruka turned to her, "Mmm, you"re awake."

"Ah-huh, morning power recharge."

Haruka laughed, "Yeah, I know. Eat your breakfast first, though, wait I"ll heat it," Haruka paused, "Is that okay?"

Lila nodded; she felt better. While the gooseb.u.mps had yet to leave her skin, she didn"t feel as scared anymore. Maybe because of the change in environment. Lila shook her head, that"s rude. That place was still a place Haruka lived in before. Her getting scared there had nothing to do with the environment.

....
Just as she was about to ask something else, Haruka abruptly let her go and stood up.

"Lila, that bracelet you always wear. Do you know what that symbol is?"

"Kiryu told me that it"s a charm because of the process of reincarnation. Since I was killed in my past life, this charm will warn me of any individuals after me."

When she sensed his silence, her sweatdropped. It probably sounds like gibberish from her., "As vague as ever I see," Haruka muttered. She looked at him puzzled, is he talking about Kiryu or her?

"Well, I don"t understand that stuff. Reincarnation and all that," Lila said. Though having individuals who aren"t human in the modern world is already strange enough. There are strange folks out there who believe in reincarnation and even say they have been reincarnated.

"You never gave it much thought?"

Lila shook her head.

"But you know about this stuff, Haruka?"

Haruka nodded, "I dabbled on the subject a little in the past. An exact definition of reincarnation would be when the souls of the dead leave the "current" world. There is the current world the one we live in and then the "next" world, which is considered the afterlife. Once we depart from the present world, we leave behind our flesh behind, we discard our bodies, and the souls return to their original state. The souls will return to the afterlife and enter the wheel of reincarnation so they can be reborn into the next world. Everything was discarded; any lingering attachments will vanish entirely in the wheel. Of course, you can"t enter the afterlife if you have any, anyway."

So he really is an expert in these things, "But amongst those souls, there are a few people with the power to remember, the world everyone forgot," before she could ask him what he meant, she saw a sudden dark aura wrap around him, "And amongst those there are people who still retain everything, not just memories."

Haruka?

What"s going on? The aura around him has changed. What"s this deadly and sinister feeling? She watches as he pulled out his brush and wrote several characters on a sheet of paper that seemed to wrap around them. His eyes turned red, her eyes widened. Is he using his hanyou powers?

"Get behind me, Lila. Here he comes."

Huh?

The second he said that the doors broke down, revealing a random guy with a metal blade in his hands. A knife? Lila was about getting ready to a.s.sist when she felt the strength leave her body. Ah, it"s no good after all. "Haruka?"

After Haruka muttered a few words, the guy collapsed on the ground. Eh...that was amazing. Come to think of it this is the first time she had seen it in action. Haruka"s powers, he always refrained from using it in front of her after all.

"I take it you entered this place as a customer, right?".

Lila watched as Haruka planted his foot on the guy, the man groaned in pain.

"Who sent you?" Haruka stepped on the man again, "Are you going to say you came because she"s an idol whom you can meet? Don"t because that boring pretext has already been used on Sumire. Tonight it was loud and noisy, so you thought there was an opportunity. But I"ll tell you this if you leave a single scratch on Ari. I"ll hunt you down to the deepest ends of h.e.l.l. And slice your soul to shreds," Haruka"s deadly tone matched the murderous expression on his face, "Tell me right now."

When Lila saw the man groan in even more pain, she got up and made her way over. She hugged Haruka half expecting the deadly aura to vanish. But it seemed to grow more intense by the minute.

"This man came here to kill - no," his gaze darkened, "He came here to a.s.sault you."

Lila paused; indeed, it didn"t look like he was going to stab her with that knife but actually tore her clothing. If Haruka didn"t react fast, it would have been bad. But still, "I don"t want you to hurt anyone," Lila murmured. She doesn"t want him to stain his hands anymore. She doesn"t want him to suffer.

Haruka sighed before he leaned down and gently kissed her lips, "Don"t cry."

Lila nodded as she held back her tears. Haruka saved her, but he had to use his powers. It must be painful for him.

He turned away from her and clicked his tongue, "Today is your lucky day. Ari is very forgiving, whether it"s towards trash like me and even lower trash like you," Haruka removed his foot, "But, your fate is about to turn around."

The man was still regaining his breath on the ground when a figure appeared in the door - at least where the door was. The person walked over; her eyes widened at the next scene since the person dawned in her clan"s clothing stabbed the man without hesitation in the center. He killed the man with a single blow.

"You....why?"

"Your brother"s orders mam. Your guards right now are rather inefficient for this kind of order."

Her brother? Lila immediately thought of Huan - but then recalled something. The people who worked for her family don"t refer to Huan as her brother since he"s only her step-sibling. Her eyes widened, that person?

Haruka took a few steps forward until he stood in front her, "Take this guy away. And tell your master that there"s no need for you to tail her. She already has a rather pesky guard."

The cloaked figure nodded and left, once he did - Lila"s gaze fell on the pool of blood on the ground. After what happened recently, looking at blood made her feel sick. Haruka must have noticed since he brought his arms around her, s.h.i.+elding her from the sight.

"Lila, it"s okay."

"It"s scary," Lila admitted.

Haruka nodded and raised his hand, the pool of blood immediately vanished, and she sighed in relief. Lila looked back at the spot where her brother"s guard left. Was that person her brother"s guard?

But her brother"s guards have always been so gentle... Yet they can do something like that without hesitation. Ah, but is she one to talk on that department? She doesn"t hesitate either after all.

"Haruka."

"Hmm?" Haruka looked at her, as he gently caressed her hair. Haruka must have read her thoughts since he continued, as he made his way over towards the broken door and picked it up, "No matter what happens, you"ve never changed."

Haruka raised his finger, and the door returned to normal.

Lila blinked, what does he mean by that?

"No matter what happens, you don"t have to be a special person. But as long as there is a deep impression, memory of the past - if you"re in similar conditions. Something will resound in your heart."

A deep impression, huh, meaning that even if things are different, there are things that won"t be forgotten.

Haruka continued, "No matter how much a persons appearance changes. Some traits will always remain the same."

The same, huh.

Then even back then did she have such thoughts of emptiness?

Suddenly she felt his arms around her, as he closed the door. To find that Haruka had carried her on to the bed, "So in the next life you will probably once again become mine alone."

Lila blushed at his words, "Um, are you saying were connected by the red thread of fate?"