Even though it was time for a break, and everyone was getting their lunches out or going down for lunch. Lila remained in the studio and stared at the score sheet in front of her. What"s wrong with her? Why can"t she sing? She"s always loved to sing. No matter what her circ.u.mstances were, she"s always been able to let her voice out. No matter what, she"s always been able to sing the emotions in her heart. How come she can"t? Right now it"s so difficult for her.She"s the one who took up this challenge, so she should be the one to see it through to the end. With the way she is now, she will only continue bothering everyone. Why can"t she sing? Her voice isn"t coming out at all. No matter what she does...
"Stop now."
"Haruka.."
"Sit down here."
"..."
Lila slowly nodded and sits down where Haruka told her. "Close your eyes, sleep for a bit. Lunch break is long."
"Ah but--"
"Sleep. Your no use right now."
As harsh as those words are, she can"t deny it. Even sleeping these days has become increasingly difficult. Her gaze landed on Haruka. He"s so far, but he"s not leaving. It"s difficult to breathe, whenever she tries to sing. It"s suffocating. She can"t see her present destination now. She broke the rules and contacted Kiryu, she"s already strayed from the path of her journey. Is that why she"s feeling so very confused? It makes no sense to her.
)
She leaned forward and lightly kisses his lips, cheeks red with embarra.s.sment, "I want to see a grand future with you."
"The future?"
"A peaceful future. With no distinction of rank, blood. A place where everyone can be happy, but even I understand the existence of a conflict cannot disappear completely. "she shyly plays with her fingers, "So, um, in that future...I want us two to be ... in the centre."
(
. ..Kiryu, the future she envisioned that would come forth after his journey has suddenly become so dark. The entire time, she has been singing with deep emotions whether or not it"s love. And yet, she isn"t able to sing this song. For the longest time, she has been plagued with an unbelievable amount of darkness. From the moment she was born, her mother seldom smiled and even mother was with Ren-san something seemed amiss. However, that time they went to see father.
For the first time she saw her mother"s smile, and for the first time caught more than a glimpse of the pain Ren-san bore. For the longest time, she"s been surrounded by problems and surrounded by the deepest darkness. Even then, she"s never lost her voice like this.
She"s never encountered a situation like this before. What is she supposed to do?
)
"No matter how long it takes. I will wait for you. If by chance you get there when it"s my birthday, I"ll tell you the day - and then we can go another date."
"And if I don"t come?"
"I"ll wait, no matter how long."
(
!!!
Oh. . . ?
. . .
Lila s.h.i.+fted closer, something Haruka noticed "What?"
"Hand please."
". .. ."
Haruka gives it to her and she immediately clutched it, before closing her eyes. If something"s going to change, she can"t avoid it. But, she can"t say for sure yet. It"s so confusing.
___________________________________________________
8:00 PM
Why can"t she sing?
It"s painful watching her like this.
Haruka tossed the mail to the corner only to hear a clattering sound.
. . . . .
What"s that sound?
. .. Haruka picks up the parcel on the ground, seeing the return address. His eyes widen.
. . .
___________________________________________________
6th May 2035.
It was a mere coincidence that he had work in the same building as her. He didn"t even know it earlier, otherwise, he would have said something.
"Do you think we will be okay?"
"Maybe she just needs a break, Karas.h.i.+msan works her pretty hard."
"Well yeah, but you have to admit he"s good at his job."
"Right, she should have known what she was getting into."
Although no names were mentioned, Kouta understood full well who they were talking about.
He still has time. So Kouta found himself heading to the girl"s location.
.
.
" --"
"Try again."
"Not quite right."
. .....
. . . .He did think, no he"s sure everyone noticed it. But her singing is slightly different now. Different than when she was singing with her real ident.i.ty and now. Something"s changed. He probably shouldn"t interfere too much. His job is just to watch over her. But, he can"t watch her suffer like this.
"Kanehara."
"Karas.h.i.+msan, could you leave for a moment?"
"Huh?"
"Just wait outside. You don"t have to really leave, just make it seem like you are."
The staff seem really puzzled and was clearly going to stop him. After all, it"s unheard of for the producer to leave.
He just wants to try something.
He could be mistaken. But...
To his surprise, Karas.h.i.+ma nodded, "Alright."
"Haruksan."
"Leave the door slightly open. Don"t make it obvious."
Once Karas.h.i.+msan left, he takes a deep breath and tapped one of the staff"s shoulder. The one in charge of the mic, he seemed puzzled but nodded and he stood in front of it. "Fly. Don"t hold back, show everyone what you can do."
It was just a few words, but he noticed that she reacted. He turned to the staff and tells them to start recording.
" I kept a facade up against this pain I was unaware of.
This heart that I held on, has always been hurting.
Your gentle gaze undid my wounds like an invisible hand.."
___________________________________________________
Haruka heard the girls voice from outside the door and his gaze dimmed. So, that"s it. Right now, she can"t sing in front of him. Well, he supposed it"s only natural after what happened. Originally, she showed such signs before. But she seemed to have gotten over it.
To his surprise though, the door opens slightly and Lila happily hugged him, "Haruka, look! I sang!"
"...."
She probably didn"t realize what she was doing.
Since after his gaze meets hers, she looked away.
. .. . . .
He cautiously extends his hand out and flicks her forehead, "You did well."
"R--right. ..thank you Haruka."Lila stammered.
Does she realize she"s still using his first name?
"I didn"t do anything. We should try it several more times, can you do it again?"
"Ah yes!"