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2034 (Last year, Academy)"I can understand those sentiments. If you have the ability why don"t you use it?" Ageha questioned.
"Un, she always got mad because of that. " Not using your talent is a sin. "," Lila trails off, "When Yori left, it was in the middle of my first year in middle school. The reason she left, I"m sure Acchan can guess."
"You weren"t honest towards your feelings about Austin Kiryu," Ageha said.
Lila nodded, "Yes. Although that had been the case until then, she suddenly got angry about it. I couldn"t understand why. But then she said something like " What do you do if he gets taken away from you?" When I heard that something clicked, what I had been trying to hide the entire time. That time Kiryu had made some new friends, but he wouldn"t tell me who they were. Most likely Yori knew the ident.i.ty of these people and felt some threatened. She didn"t want me to lose what was most important to me. Yori cried for me; it was then I understood exactly how important friends were. Although I cared for those around me, something felt wrong. Something scared me of something. That"s why when she cried. I didn"t know what to do."
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July 29th (Present Day)
The two of them couldn"t talk properly with Haruka around. But, gah she"s even more nervous now than she was earlier. Last year they didn"t talk about what happened when they were younger. It"s a topic that can"t be avoided any longer. Like she told Acchan, she didn"t know what to do. When Kiryu acted strangely and when Yori got angry and cried for her. Her emotions were indeed a mess then.
Lila walked back and forth, in front of the address Yori wrote for her. It was early in the morning so no neighbors will mistake her for a weird person. Though she has been standing around for almost an hour. Many people walking by could easily a.s.sume that. She could talk to Yori properly yesterday, how come she"s suddenly acting nervous? Gah.
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(Garden Center)
Yori made her way outside with water can as she adjusted her ap.r.o.n and tied her hair up in a high ponytail. Ah, the domes up. At least the manager didn"t forget that. The gla.s.s dome that gets put around the outside area when the weather changes. Despite it being cold, the plants here really have been taken care of perfectly. For the larger plants she picks up the hose and uses the sprinkler mode, this felt relaxing. It felt like a long time since she last relaxed like this.
Recalling her meeting with Lila yesterday, her lips curve to a smile, and she chuckled. Some things about her don"t change at all.
Her thoughts broke, as Yori felt someone hit her head.
Yori turned to the source and spotted blue hair and violet colored eyes. Her eyes widened. Yori didn"t expect to see her just as she was thinking about her. What a strange coincidence this is. "Lila! What are you doing here?"
It astonished Yori seeing Lila though she planned to invite the girl over. She planned to wait until after the concert.
"... why else would I go to a garden center ....?" Lila said.
To buy flowers. The person Lila is buying flowers for can only be one person.
Yori chuckled. "I don"t recommend flowers to a customer who has negative intentions." she joked.
Lila sighed and rubbed the back of her head, "I"m buying them for Ameno-senpai."
"That"s better! Come with me; I"ll show you around." She glances back at the right and left at both sides. She has watered them enough.
Despite the largeness of the garden center, it did not take Yori long before she showed her most of the place. It took only ten minutes.
Both of them are individuals who are not considered " normal," so their speed is indeed quicker than most people. It was still relaxing to take a walk surrounded by plants. "…..Say." Lila spoke up.
"Yes?"
"Did you receive any more injuries?" Lila asked.
Yori smiled, "I should ask you that." At that comment, her friend burst into tears and Yori laughed. "Really, you cry so much."
"Yori, I"m sorry…"
Her gaze softened and Yori shook her head, "No, I"m sorry. You know back then, I should have just waited patiently. You were on the verge of figuring things out, anyway. So all I had to do was wait, but I couldn"t even grant you that much. So I apologize."
"That"s my line.. Don"t steal the spotlight."
"I"m back Lila."
......
Once Lila calmed down, Yori took her to a quiet spot in the garden center.
"You"re also working on your own brand?" Lila asked.
Yori nodded, " Yes, mainly. But I also have my cafe. I"ve started up branches of a little cafe in TOKYO. Every other prefecture like f.u.kuoka, Nagoya, Osaka, Niigata. Though here in London, I mainly focus on my idol work so I only work part time in cafes and garden centers. I am always busy."
"That"s amazing."
"Is that so? I still don"t feel like this is enough."
Lila blinked, "Even though you"ve achieved so much already?"
Yori nodded, "Yes I suppose it will always be this way. Despite having accomplished a lot, you won"t ever feel like you"ve truly achieved. You"all always feel like something is missing. That"s not you being ungrateful or anything it"s quite the opposite." she trailed off with a bright smile, "I am sure people who feel this way, only do so because they have a lot of dreams."
A lot of dreams, huh? Seeing Lila look puzzled, Yori chuckled. This girl doesn"t realize that she"s talking about her, huh? She supposes this is normal.
No matter how many dazzling stages Lila performs, she is never satisfied. It"s like after each stage; there is something else she is aiming for.
"Um, maybe you"re talking about me?"
Ah? Yori laughed, so she gets it.
Yori smiled and nodded.
"Being an idol isn"t an easy job, and many people look down on us. " All you have to do is stand there and look pretty." With your ident.i.ty as Kiku Ari, I"m sure you get a lot of critics. It was the same for me. Such comments have been repeated to me several times, to the point I got sick of hearing them. I should have lost heart easily since I am a weak-willed person. But I didn"t. Whenever I looked at you Lila, it felt like I could continue doing my best." Yori explained. It was because of Lila because Lila was working so hard that she could get this far.
That"s why Yori saw there was no longer any need to hide from her friend. She wants to face the present Lila and challenge her as an idol.