Dream Star

"That," Lila recalled what just happened with Kiryu . She supposes it can"t be helped . Lila positioned herself onto his lap, "Your angry at me?"

"A little . "

"It was a habit, I apologize . "

"A habit, huh? Then what about the future? Even when you"re my wife, will it be a habit for you to meet with him in secret?"

Lila looked at him, puzzled, "What are you talking about?"

Haruka"s gaze darkened slightly, "Don"t mess around; I know about your secret meetings . "

What is he talking about? Seeing the serious look in his eyes, Lila knew he was serious . She took a deep breath, "I haven"t met with Kiryu in private . Sure I ran into him a few days ago at the park near my apartment . But that"s because there is a shooting range there . I wanted to practice my skills . "

Is that what he"s talking about? Because she hasn"t met with Kiryu secretly other than that time .

Haruka sighed, "Even if it was a coincidence, tell me next time . I saw a rather disturbing video, quit acting embarra.s.sed around him . Are you stupid?"

"I"m sorry . "

"You must make it up to me . "

Lila blushed at his words; she immediately understood where he was coming from . Why does it feel like she got played? "Okay, then tonight . I"ll be the one to please Haruka . "

"Tonight? You must be joking, do it now . "

E---hhh? But, "Haruka, our promise . "

"You owe me . "

That she does, but, "Cab we at least go inside? It"s cold here," usually that would work on him . But she saw the intense look in his eyes, "Haruka?"

"Do it here . "

He"s still angry at her, was it that bad? It was a mere coincidence . Lila didn"t think of it as necessary, that"s why she didn"t tell him . Still, if hes going to misunderstand . Lila took out a small blade from her pocket, and raised it towards her finger . She makes a small cut, but it was large enough for a stream of blood to flow out .

" . . . What?"

"Since you don"t believe me, just see for yourself," Lila said as she extended her finger towards him .

Haruka sighed but nodded . But instead he simply tore his s.h.i.+rt slightly, and started to treat the wound .

Ehhh? He"s, he"s not drinking .

"Don"t do these stupid things to prove your point," Haruka said, "I get it, nothing happened between you two . But that doesn"t change my opinion . "

Doesn"t it? But nothing happened . Lila hugged him tightly; she doesn"t want him getting angry at her . If he"s angry, won"t he go to other girls? She doesn"t want that .

"Let"s go back . "

Lila shook her head, and Haruka sighed, "You don"t want to go back home?"

Eh? "Let"s talk at home," Haruka repeated .

Her eyes brightened at his words; he isn"t mad then? Thank goodness .

. . . .
- Lila"s apartment -

In the end, all he did was kiss her and then cuddle until he fell asleep . Her gaze fell on the man whose arms were wrapped around her . He was furious earlier . If it were in the past, maybe he would have resolved this with s.e.x again . However, it seems like he really is changing now .

"Sorry," Haruka apologized, "Did I hurt your lips?"

"No, I"m okay," she gently caressed his face, "You didn"t lose control . "

"Well, I am angry at you . But, I"d never hurt you . You"re my wife . "

"Were . . . were not married yet, dummy . "

Haruka smiled, "Yet," he repeated .

"Haruka, you said video . "

"Mei showed me . "

"Aizawa, again?" Lila frowned . That girl isn"t innocent after all, "Mei, you call her that," her frown deepened . This situation feels like de-jvu, didn"t this happen before with Kiryu calling Selichan using her first name? It"s just a name, but with the country"s values where calling a person by their first name means they are close, means she has every reason to worry .

"Don"t like it?"

Lila nodded, "I don"t . "

"Then, I"ll stop . "

Just like that? Lila looked at him suspiciously but shook her head; she can"t be that cautious . Lila leaned forward and gently kissed his lips, "Were not doing anything today?"

"Mmm," he hummed against her lips, "We can, but you"re tired . Don"t you want to rest?"

"I do, but just a bit?"

"Alright . "

. . .

"Lila, you"re gorgeous . I don"t want you to leave me for him, ever . "

Dummy, why would she leave him?

It feels so good, kissing him like this . She seldom ever went on top, because Lila found it far too embarra.s.sing . Let"s face it, she has no experience, so she would probably just make a fool out of herself .

"Your eyes are red . "

Lila blushed, "Oh no," why is she getting so worked up? It"s only kissing .

"In your state now, maybe you"ll show me?" Haruka"s tone contained a hint of hope .

"N--no," Lila pulled away, "We still can"t . "

"Alright, I"ll be patient . "

It feels awkward to continue now . But, it"s hard to stop too . So Lila continued her previous actions, kissing him as her life depended on it, "Lila," he murmured .

"Haruka," she trailed off, "Will you be gentle?"

"Yeah, I think I can . "

"Dummy," she said as she lightly hit him, "What"s with the I think?"

"Well, after you acted so pa.s.sionately with me . It would be rude not to respond the same way, no?

. . .

When Lila woke up, Haruka is no longer beside her . A note carefully tucked in her hands .

My dear wife
I have to go to the company for a meeting
I"ll come back

Haruka

The company, Lila deeply sighed . Those people, why is there timing so bad? Well forget it, she supposes that the timing is actually good for her . Lila wanted to go to the company and clear her thoughts for a bit . She needs to decide what to do next .

. . . .
Moonlight Entertainment

"Good work today . "

With those words said, Lila headed out of the office . It had been quite some time since she had come, and she was somewhat tired from the amount of work she had to do today . Although she"s not unaccustomed to doing a lot of work, it"s been a while since she has been here .

A deep sigh pa.s.sed her lips, it was awkward for her to come . Everybody knew what happened with her and Soichiro . But n.o.body stopped her from entering . Even though they fought, it seems like he still intended to protect her . How stupid, he should have received word that she came into work . But, he didn"t come down . Lila shook her head, she doesn"t want to see that jerk anyway . The only reason she came was because, regardless of how things are between her and Soichiro . She is still a member of this company, she can"t neglect her work .

Besides, she doesn"t have a lot of time left . Forget doing the work here; soon, she won"t be able to stand on stage .

When she received the medical notification earlier today, Lila wasn"t surprised .

She can"t let Haruka know, she can"t let anyone know . If they find out forget partic.i.p.ating in the festival . She will most likely be dismissed from her solo work . It"s okay . If she rests from time to time, she will manage just fine . Right now there"s something she has to do, so no matter what happens she will do it until she stabilized her position . She won"t take time off work . It"ll be fine because later she will be in Haruka"s arms . Everything will be fine .

" But he isn"t mine alone . " A whisper that no one but herself would hear . She thought she was selfish, wanting Haruka to be by her side forever working with her where she could always reach him, where she could understand him . Thoughts like these hurt the most . Knowing that the world is not as pure as it was at first glance, knowing at the time that he made his promise the two of them would end up unknowingly drift apart from each other, subconsciously knowing in the back of her thoughts .

Unknowingly have other people evade the world that they had created for themselves . She cares about Kiryu a lot still, and Haruka probably cares about Aizawa Mei in his own way . Even if they are the most special to each other, they can"t just ignore those around them . Even if it"s painful for her, it"s a reality that she has to accept .

With the closing of that door, Lila realized that their paths were suddenly separating from one another; still, she looked forward to where his path would be, even if trees and mountains blocked her view she would always still be looking out of the corner of her eye . Those paths, even without her realizing or taking action, would once again join together, only for a short time, but it was enough to make a difference .

Looking down at her phone, she checked her previous medical reports . It really has been getting worse . Eventually, the signs will become too obvious, and someone will notice . But for now, she can keep it hidden . She doesn"t want anyone to worry . Even more than that, right now, she can"t show any weakness . She has to remain strong .

. . . . .

Whenever Lila had a little bit of time, she would practice at the stations shooting range . She wants to improve her skills more . Her mistake from the other day still hasn"t left her mind . It was a good thing that it was just her in that area; that she wasn"t trying to protect someone . If someone had been there and she made such a fatal mistake due to her jealousy, then it would have been bad .

Her face color turned cold at the thought . If someone got hurt because of her again, she would never be able to forgive herself . She needs to improve her skills . Plus shooting helps calms with her nervous and deals with her anxiety .

Lila took a firing stance and took a deep breath . Her hands used to shake just holding it, but now she"s able to wield it calmly and even use it in battle . In the past, even when firing static targets, she was reluctant to use a weapon that could instantly end a life . Unlike a blade, the chances of surviving a bullet wound are pretty weak . The day that she dispelled that hesitation was during a training day in middle school .

After listening to his words, she understood what the weight of a weapon meant to Ameno-senpai . For him, this was not just a tool for killing . But it was a means to protect people . She shouldn"t hold a gun without resolve either .

When she several shots beside her hit the very center, she turned to the person beside her to spot pale purple hair . Oh, speak of the devil .

"Ameno-senpai!!! " Indeed, it was none other than the purple hair saxophonist . How strange to see him here . She heard from the others that he would not be showing himself here for a while; and yet here he is .

The dark expression she saw dispelled the moment she said his name . " Little Lila, " he shows a look of surprise but then glances over at her target board . Ameno seemed confused, and he raised his eyebrow, "Hmmm . . . . you should have been able to hit a bullseye . "

Although she did well and all her shots were in the center circle, the rest were in the edges, not the center . Lila looked down at the cold ground, embarra.s.sed .

"Since you"re here, let me give you a special lesson . "

Lila doesn"t get a chance to say anything . Or rather she knew she wouldn"t be able to .

She took a deep breath as she pulled the trigger, aiming for the center . Ameno stood closely behind her, and his right hand over her right hand which held the gun, while his other hand covered her right hand firmly as he applied a little of his strength to pull the gun .

"Do you remember what I said before? When pulling a trigger, your whole body must be relaxed . But firm enough, so you don"t make a blunder," he trailed off, "And your body posture must be right, don"t focus your weight on one area of the body . "

Even though he"s usually foolish and lazy, whenever it comes to teaching, he becomes very serious .