When those words pa.s.sed Karas.h.i.+ma"s lips, Kiryu suddenly felt guilty. "c.r.a.p," he didn"t think he would end up feeling bad about it. If it were in the past, he probably wouldn"t care much, Lila has always belonged to him after all. Whether he kisses her or not should be no concern of other people. But it"s different now, Lila is no longer remotely even his. "What?"
"Uhh, sorry, that"s not all we did," Kiryu apologized.
Haruka took a moment to process his words, his gaze darkened, "You had s.e.x with her?"
"N—no, don"t be a fool. I"m not that immoral," or rather is that something he should casually bring up? Then again, this is Karas.h.i.+ma.
"So you just kissed her?"
"Well, maybe I touched her a bit. But that"s what happens when you kiss somebody," Kiryu knew he was sounding like an idiot. But he was never the type of person to keep secrets. Well, unless they were secrets regarding Lila. This is about Lila too, but it"s different too since it concerns another person. That"s why he is doing this, even if it is risky for him.
"I see, got it."
That"s it? Karas.h.i.+ma will not punch him or anything? Because he"s pretty sure that when a guy hears their girlfriend has been lip-locking with another man, it ends up in a fistfight. While Lila did nothing wrong, and it was all his doing. The fact of the matter remains that they kissed. He waited and waited, but Karas.h.i.+ma did not say anymore. Before Kiryu could question him, they hear Lilas frantic voice and made their way to the edge of the cliff. When he saw the sight, his sweat fell.
"The challenge is on hold it seems."
....
Teras.h.i.+ma Family Household
Sumire-san fainted.
It turned out she had been hiding a 39°c fever.
And the challenges just abruptly ended. While there were still many trials ahead, they couldn"t presume them without the primary judge.
"Mommy, Mommy."
Sumire-san laughed, "I"m okay, Lilchan, don"t worry."
"Mommy, I"ll make dinner. Don"t worry! I"ll make sure father eats."
"You"re a good girl, thank you."
Kiryu felt a tug on his arm, "Kiryu, don"t leave. Help out."
His gaze softened, she really is cute. No matter what she does. Kiryu nodded, "Yeah, I haven"t eaten your cooking in a while so I wouldn"t miss it for the world."
Lila laughed, "Silly."
The two of them quietly left the room and returned to the living room downstairs. Karas.h.i.+ma was on the couch, fiddling with his phone. Lila frowned and walked over; she took the phone from him, "No more cheating for the day."
"You know, if you"re just jealous, you could say so."
Lila pouted, "I won"t let you win all the time. Haruka, me and Kiryu will cook dinner. So be patient and don"t go anywhere."
"You and him?"
"Ah-huh."
Kiryu felt Karas.h.i.+ma"s deadly tone, and his sweat fell. Hey, nothing will happen between them. Even if they will be behind closed doors, Kiryu knew better than to try to kiss her again. Look what happened the last time, Lila got very emotional. He doesn"t want to stress her out. She only just returned after all.
..
He only stepped out for a few minutes to get some groceries in the store nearby. But, when he came back he"s greeted with the sight of Lila"s chest half exposed, Karas.h.i.+ma"s hands lingered on her stomach as the two were kissing heavily.
"Nnhh..uka...Haruka," Lila ran her hand through his hair.
So, what is he supposed to do in this situation? The sight genuinely disturbed him. But like he said before, he isn"t a petty person and while it broke his heart seeing his Lila being intimate with another guy. He isn"t unreasonable.
Kiryu just waited patiently until they finished, he didn"t stay in the room exactly - and just went to the next room. But maybe, just maybe they realized he was there since when he stopped hearing moans and reentered. Lila wouldn"t look him in the eye. But Karas.h.i.+ma was all casual and picked up the bag, and started to empty the contents.
When Karas.h.i.+ma was busy working out whether or not they could use the stove for this recipe, Lila came over to him; she shyly reached out for his s.h.i.+rt, "Kiryu," Lila whispered, "Um, I--"
Kiryu just nodded, "Like I said before, I won"t be unreasonable about it, and I"ll try to be your friend. You can kiss, or do whatever you want with another guy. Because I"m confident if the friend thing doesn"t work out, I"ll be able to s.n.a.t.c.h you back," he wasn"t just saying this either while it did hurt him to see that sight. He"s always had this mindset towards guys who practically show they are l.u.s.ting after Lila. "They don"t really like her for who she is, so Lila will never accept them," theory. But of course Karas.h.i.+ma is different, Lila really liked him. Otherwise, she wouldn"t drop all morals and act affectionate in her parent"s house kitchen.
Lila flushed red, and he knew his words had embarra.s.sed her.
"I don"t want things to be awkward, Karas.h.i.+ma is your boyfriend," Kiryu implied because of this she shouldn"t feel so awkward, or hold back or anything.
But Lila must have misunderstood, "You"re not bothered by it? Even a little?"
It was a stupid question, later when they part ways for the day, and he goes to sleep. He will most likely be up all night thinking about it, may even end up having to stay in the dungeon because his hanyou state would activate. The thought of Lila being intimate with Karas.h.i.+ma Haruka already disturbed him, let alone seeing the two making out and on the verge of doing it.
"You know the answer to that," and Kiryu does not get a chance to hear her reply since Haruka turned around.
It didn"t look like he realized what was going on, since he walked over, "Oven is okay for this, so how do we prepare for it?"
Lila reached over and buried her face in Karas.h.i.+ma"s arms, "I"ll make it, you focus on the soup Haruka," she said softly.
"Alright."
And just like that, the three of them divided the tasks between them. Kiryu remained silent, knowing that he made things awkward. But really, what was he supposed to say? Wasn"t he the hurt party in all of this. He just saw the love of his life, and no he isn"t exaggerating here. They may have broken up, but they are still engaged. So things aren"t entirely helpless. She is still the love of his life because his feelings for her haven"t changed even once.
"Haruka, what are you making?"
"Focus on your own food."
"But, you"re doing something different. Ah! Your making dumplings!" Lila beamed.
"You need something light, and heavy," Haruka explained, "Considering how worn out your body has been."
"Um, okay," he knew how Lila felt. Karas.h.i.+ma is acting way too bold here. In the past, when he was dating Lila, he wouldn"t be caught dead saying such lines in the Teras.h.i.+ma family house because Lila"s father is scary. But clearly, Karas.h.i.+ma Haruka does not fear Teras.h.i.+ma Yuhi.
"Haruka, Haruka."
"Hmmm?"
"Can I help Kiryu?"
This surprised him, Kiryu thought Lila wouldn"t speak with him again. Okay, so that does sound a bit exaggerated. But Kiryu at least thought she wouldn"t want to talk to him at least until tomorrow. He knew Lila well when things get awkward between her and another person. She usually needs at least a night to think things through. She would weigh out the pro"s and con"s and conclude that the fight isn"t worth risking the relations.h.i.+p with the other person. While she always came to that conclusion anyway, Lila still liked to ask.
"No."
Ouch.
Lila, however, made her way over and Karas.h.i.+ma"s eyes looked like they were on fire. Uhh, isn"t she afraid of him getting upset? But Lila was already standing by his side and asking for an egg.
"Shouldn"t you go back to him?"
"Haruka has to get used to seeing us together, I mean we are friends, aren"t we?"
His sweat fell; that"s why she is doing this? But that"s true, the two of them are friends now, and Karas.h.i.+ma whether he liked it or not has to get used to this. Still, "Go back over there, we don"t want him to brood do we?"
Lila paused, "You don"t need my help here?"
"I need to impress you with my new skills, so no I can handle this."
Lila laughed, and she hit his arm lightly, "Okay, silly," with those words said she swiftly returned to Haruka"s side. Lila probably came over here because she realized he had the most preparation work to do. As considerate as ever, eh.
Still, his gaze landed on Lila who tapped Haruka"s shoulder, the guy seemed mad, but his gaze softened when Lila hugged him. He will have to get used to seeing these scenes — the scene of Lila with another guy.