Several years ago. "You can"t die, dammed it! Damm, if you die.. you..."
But his words were futile, the man who was his best friend. The first person who became his friend. The one who helped him gain something precious remained unmoved on the ground. His friend surrounded in a pool of blood. And the face of the girl he loved was pale; the site froze her in disbelief.
"Yumeko?"
"No... No. Nooooo!"
When he saw the bright light around her, his eyes widened.
.
.
J Hospital.
Three people rushed into the emergency room area. He barely avoided the blast and ended up injured himself. But that didn"t matter. This pain from these wounds. They are mere scratches to the pain in his heart, the pain and regrets that Yumeko will have.
-----
.
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July 6th, 2035. Present Day
Haruka patiently waited for in the car, deep in thought.
"Let"s break up."
He didn"t mishear those words. Break up? Why did Austin Kiryu break up with her? He doesn"t understand this at all. Why would they break up? Weren"t the two of them getting along well? There was also that song. It makes little sense to him. His thoughts broke off when he heard a tap on the window. Haruka opened it and spotted blue hair, he unlocked the door, and Lila sat down beside him.
"Ah, I"m tired..."
He frowned, seeing how exhausted she looked.
"... Too much?"
Lila shook her head and laughed softly, "It"s okay, just fatigued. Thank you for worrying about me."
"Go to sleep. We still have one more job."
"Okay."
When he felt the girl lean her head on his shoulder, he was half tempted to pull her away. He still isn"t used to such contact, but the moment she tilted her head on his shoulder, the girl fell into a deep sleep. Seeing this Haruka wrapped his jacket around her, well, he can at least do this much for her.
.
.
His apartment, 9:45 PM
After a long day, they finally got back. Today was one day of the week where she stayed over at his place. It"s already become normal, her staying here. His gaze landed on the surroundings, the girl"s belongings.
His thoughts broke off seeing her emerge from the bathroom in her nightwear. He noticed the jacket yet and frowned, but didn"t comment. He watched as she walked over to the dressing table and sat down on the chair and picked up the hairdryer. Seeing her struggle, he sighed and walked over.
"Hand it over."
Lila laughed, "Thank you."
Haruka nodded, "Your hair, why did you dye it blue?" he asked. It was a random question. But like she did with him, he wants to learn more facts about her.
Soft laughter, "Um, why are you asking me..."
"I want to get to know you better," Haruka muttered quietly, but the girl heard and smiled. She brushed her hand against his cheeks.
"Thank you... Haruka, I"m happy."
Is she happy? How come? He doesn"t understand.
"The rain shower will start from tomorrow afternoon onward.," Lila informed him.
"Rain.," he muttered.
"In the morning, I"m working at the company. But, um, if you"d like. In the afternoon we could take a stroll..."
"In the rain?"
The girl"s cheeks reddened, and he paused. What did he do now? Why does she always get so embarra.s.sed around him? He waited for a response instead of asking her upfront.
Lila remained silent for a while. The girl appeared to battle with her thoughts. He concluded this considering how she kept muttering to herself every so often. After a while, she spoke up, and shyly played with her fingers as she said, "I want to, share an umbrella with you."
Huh? Umbrella?
He blinked and repeated the word. "Umbrella." To himself several times before he recalled something Yumeko used to mention before. Sharing an umbrella is romantic.
His gaze landed on the blus.h.i.+ng girl; he can"t think of any other reason she brought it up. The training camp ended almost a week ago now, and they had yet to talk about it. Haruka, but, didn"t want to rush her. If she has broken up with Austin Kiryu, he wants to give her time.
"Um, Haruka? A reply please."
His thoughts broke off.
"All right."
He seldom went out much in the rain, especially during this dangerous time. But if it"s for a short while, he ought to be okay. The girl"s smile brightened. "Haruka wants to share an umbrella too?" she asked him.
"To be honest, I don"t understand it..."
Her expression fell.
"But, it"s something special to you right?" He switched the hair dryer off as he finished drying the last strand of the girl"s hair. Lila suddenly hugged him and nodded.
"It is."
"Then, it"s important for me too." He"s still unaccustomed to those words. But, if he"s learned anything this whole time. He likes it when she smiles. Whenever she does, it feels like his day has gotten brighter.