When he asked Lila that question earlier, it did occur to him that she would sing for him. He isn"t boasting or anything like that. But he just had a strong feeling. It doesn"t have to be him; he said that so many times already. He"s content just being near her, seeing her smile. But," I loved you a lot. "How... How can he pretend that she never said that? Even if it was under such circ.u.mstances. She still said the words, "I love you" to him; and right now…in an important event like this — your singing for him.
What a fool, he should have realized it sooner. It"s just like Mother told him; he doesn"t have to find a way to be part of Lila"s life. He will always be there.
When he wrote Oth.e.l.lo back then, Kiryu understood that the image of Lila"s voice and what he thought was different from reality. That"s why he stopped writing her songs for a while. But when she entered high school, and he saw her desperately try to keep all her emotions bottled up. He told her," I"ll write it for you. A song that can help make you scream. So, don"t cry anymore." and then - it came.
Songs that would help her voice out her feelings. Since that time, he helped write more and more songs that let her scream. Melodies that fit with those explosive feelings.
Last year, when he saw how Ichinose was holding her back. Kiryu wanted to pull her away from him. But even with those guy"s songs, Lila found a way to release all her explosive feelings. Lila isn"t a genius like her mother, father, and Kyoko-san. Unlike them, her voice was normal at the start. There was nothing special other than the fact it was louder than others.
Back then Lila she --
..
Year 2034
Kiryu extends his hand out to caress her cheeks, and the girl flushes red, "Kiryu, your awake."
"Yeah."
"Ah, um.."
Kiryu sat up and hugged her, "Did I startle you? I saw you and just wanted to touch you."
The pretty girl in his embrace laughs lightly, "Um, I was a bit surprised. But, since I like being touched by you. I didn"t mind it.."
She likes being touched by him, huh? It feels like; it"s been a long time since he heard her say that. Of course, it has. She probably has no chance to react; whenever he holds her these days. He"s always so hasty, after all.
"Lila, am I treating you, especially? Am I treasuring you? Am I giving you enough love?"
Although he isn"t accustomed to saying such words, although he doesn"t want her to find out, he"s plagued with worries and darkness. Right now...he wants to confirm it with her. Is he showing it to her properly?
He"s known Lila for thirteen years, after all, he"s been by her side for so long.
Yet he recalled her trembling in his arms when her confusion subsided. Kiryu realized it, something he had been trying to dismiss this entire time.
The things he doesn"t know about her are probably things regarding him. How much does Lila really like him? He"s probably never considered it although he"s crossed the hurdle and understands that she loves him.
Kiryu probably didn"t realize just how much he means to Lila. All of this mess with Rosalia right now. It"s probably, making her so uneasy and anxious. Knowing her, she"s been telling herself every day like a ritual that it"s alright, their feelings are connected, even if they aren"t with each other. Since it"s her, she"s been trying to turn the negative into a positive. Lila... it pains him seeing you like this.
His thoughts broke when she hugged him tightly. "What are you doing?"
"Holding you tightly, so my love pours through.."
Kiryu is speechless at the girl"s words.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
"Your love.." he mumbled.
"I love you, Kiryu."
….
Present
Whenever he was in a slump of any kind, she would sing, and hold him tightly in her arms. Lila was always positive and sure about her feelings for him. No matter how he treated her, she would always tell him he loved her. Back then, how many times did he touch Rosalia when he was dating Lila? He regretted it so much; he should have broken away.
But he still did something like that. It was only twice when he was ending things with her and that time during winter, where Rosalia drugged him. However, the latter was his fault too. How could he have given Rosalia such a good opportunity?
After he started dating Lila, he should have stopped speaking with her. It was a whirlpool of regrets, his relations.h.i.+p with Lila. He hurt her just by maintaining a friends.h.i.+p with Rosalia. But, Lila would always smile and tell him that it was okay and that she understood. Since it"s her, she probably did understand. That doesn"t make it any better.
Even then, his gaze fell on the stage. She would still choose to sing for him?
....
Backstage
He left the audience seats and headed backstage. Knowing Lila, Kiryu knew she would want to be alone after a performance. Indeed, when he found her, she was all by herself. Kiryu waltz over and pinned her against the wall.
"K--Kiryu, uh um..." The girl was nervous; naturally, anybody would be. She just sang for him, does that mean he stands a chance? Is it not over after all? Kiryu had so many things he wanted to say, but after a while, the words that left his lips were...
"You know Lila. I want to kiss you right now."
"Wh-wha, you obviously can"t."
Kiryu glanced around and noted that Karas.h.i.+ma was nowhere to be seen. "Sorry, but I will."
___
"Thank you for singing for me."
Those words felt so brief - because his lips fell on hers in seconds. Kiryu suddenly kissing her caught her off guard. She didn"t think he would kiss her. That was the last thing she expected.
Wait, wait, what is going on? Why is he kissing her, no... Why is his kiss so gentle, why can she feel his emotions like this? Why now… Lila didn"t want to know. For the longest time, she pretended that she didn"t know. Rather than Kiryu trying to get over her, it felt like he was falling for her even more. What about her? While she knew that she loved Haruka, while she enjoyed her days with him.
Lila could never erase one thing from her heart. She can only sing with such a powerful voice when she sings for Kiryu.
Kiryu suddenly drew back from her, "All you have to do is to break up with Karas.h.i.+ma, and then your voice will always be like this."
Lila immediately understood what he meant. Many people have told her the same after all. That she would sing better if she returned to Kiryu"s side. But that is something she can"t do. Even if she has to sacrifice her voice, she won"t leave Haruka. He means the world to her.
When Kiryu pulled away from her, right at that moment, Haruka entered the room. Noticing how close they were, Lila immediately backed away. But perhaps this reaction was wrong of her.
Haruka strolled over and caressed her cheeks, "Are you okay? What"s wrong? Does your throat her? You did sing like that, after all."
"Ah, I"m thirsty. I want some water."
Didn"t he see what happened just now?
Or maybe Haruka saw and he was pretending?
Why does she feel so nervous? It"s not like; she was the one who kissed Kiryu.
"Lila?"
Lila buried her face in Haruka"s arms and held him tightly. "Stupid Kiryu…" Why did he have to kiss her like that? It messes everything up…
____
Kiryu left the two after a while, and when he exited, he slumped on the ground. Crud, that was bad. Why did he kiss her? Okay, so it"s not like it came out of nowhere. Whenever he sees Lila, he always feels like kissing her. But, actually doing it? Now that was something he hasn"t tried to do after the time she came here. Last time she cried, and he promised her that he wouldn"t anymore. This time she seemed surprised…?
"Look at this idiot who ran away after kissing her."
"s.h.i.+chiro, say something if you were there."
His friend sighed deeply, "I was looking for you. The others want to know what song to do next. You changed the first song so suddenly, so the others wondered if the other songs were changed to."
"No, leave things the way they are."
Kiryu didn"t know why he had the other songs changed. Was it because he saw how Lila and Karas.h.i.+ma interacted backstage? He"s so petty, using music like this to get her attention. But this is the only way for him, the only way to remain in her sight.
"So, you kissed her. What was the reaction this time?"
"She seemed surprised, those eyes…" Kiryu trailed off and shook his head. "No, I just caught her off guard. She loves Karas.h.i.+ma; she won"t let him go."
"And yet?"
"Why did she sing for me? Is she an idiot?" Kiryu cursed. Why did she sing for him again on such an important stage like this?
"Don"t you know the answer to that?"
And he does know, strangely enough. Lila, she probably still has some feelings left for him. But unlike before, she"s already made her mind up. She decided to crush whatever feelings she had left, just to stay by Karas.h.i.+ma"s side. That"s fine, isn"t it? That was the outcome he wanted.