Yori turned on her heels to leave with the plate of food knowing she would interrupt their little moment. Truthfully she was a tad bit surprised when she heard about Lila and Karas.h.i.+ma Haruka — well more like, surprised about Lila openly expressing her feelings while Lila has always been a sincere person. Sincere even back when all that mess happened during their younger days. Part of the reason they fought, and she disappeared during middle school, was Lila not being honest and hiding her feelings regarding Kiryu. Yori didn"t like it at all.She didn"t like that Lila was avoiding important matters.
Spotting Ruri-san emerges from the corner, Yori walked over, "Did something happen?"
"Yori-chan, you have a phone call."
Phone call?
...........
When Yori answered the phone in the garden center main shop, she heard a familiar voice and laughed, "Kasumi."
The girl didn"t seem happy, "It"s already been a while since you"ve met, but I do not see any announcements.."
Yori laughed, "Aha, you"re too impatient. Besides my promise was with Teras.h.i.+ma Lila, not Kiku Ari."
Kasumi, however, didn"t give up, "It"s fine since the media don"t know that.."
It"s natural. Kasumi and even Akari must have waited all this time, for her and Lila to stand on stage together. "I"m a bit hesitant," Yori admitted.
"Is Lila not good enough?" Kasumi said.
Yori shook her head even though she knew Kasumi couldn"t see and quickly explained. "That"s not it; she"s superb."
Yori genuinely meant this. It surprised her. She thought Lila would be more hesitant after being separated from Kiryu. Sure there was hesitation, but it didn"t last long, "That girl has a strong and unwavering resolve. No matter what happens, she will get back up on her own two feet. As long as one person is supporting her, she will be just fine. From now onwards Lila will continue s.h.i.+ning even brighter. I wonder if I"m worthy to stand by her side."
Kasumi voiced her name slowly, "Yori.."
"Kasumi, you should know. What I"ve been up to while I was gone. At the start, I didn"t want to get involved at all. But once I realized that this could help Lila, I recklessly joined and forgot my morals." Yori laughed at the last part, as the memory came to her. That was the most reckless way to join an underground crime group in the world. "Did you know, sounding like an over-hyper idiot backfires? People thought they could push me around."
"Did you get hurt?" Kasumi asked.
"No, they tried jumping on me from day one because of my stupid intro and because I"m a girl. However, they couldn"t. I stopped them; strength is everything there."
It was indeed survival of the fittest.
The other end is silent for a moment, and Yori thinks back to when she first came back last year. The first one to run and chase her was Kasumi...
--------
2034 (October)
" That was quite the stumble! I didn"t think our first time meeting again would be you charging at me with a bang!" Yori laughed as she helped Kasumi get up.
Kasumi averted her gaze, "Please, if I don"t grab hold of you. You"ll rush off again."
Yori smiled, as she thought how careless Kasumi is. She probably didn"t even check to see if reporters were following her. "Normally yes. But I wanted to talk to you, so I wouldn"t have rushed off."
"Lila. Shouldn"t you see her? And Akari too. Those two have been very worried about you." Kasumi said, slowly catching her breath.
She blinked and laughed again, how straight forward of her.
Yori nodded, "I do..want to see Lila. I was just on my way. But for some reason, my feet stopped. I guess I"m nervous."
---------
She was nervous, meeting Lila again after being apart for so long. It worried Yori that the girl resented her for what happened before. But it wasn"t like that at all.
"Is it because of what happened back then?" Kasumi said uncertainty filled her tone.
Yori blinks and laughed awkwardly, " So you heard about that? "
"I knew something happened. But I didn"t know what it was until recently. " Kasumi seemed troubled, and it tempted Yori to laugh. Knowing Kasumi after learning the truth, she must have panicked and worried about it.
"I see. Well, honestly. I still have loads of mixed feelings on that matter. If you heard, you know back then my emotions completely snapped. I couldn"t stand it you know? Even though there was love right beside her, she didn"t want to accept it. It was cruel of me to pressure her but if I didn"t, and Kiryu gave up on her despite loving her so much, what do you think would have happened?"
"That"s--" It was clear from that first sentence alone that Kasumi never thought about it, so Yori interrupted her.
Yori cut Kasumi off, "The power of two as one. It"s far more powerful than one would think. But unlike back then, my mindset has altered slightly." That"s right, in contrast to before, things have changed.
"It has?" Kasumi said.
"Yes, I wonder if that"s why I could come here. But the power, the light around those who have the desire to protect those that are dear to them are just as important. It really is such a beautiful light." Yori explained, she paused realizing something.
The light of those who...Oh… Yori thought back to Lila"s stage on the day of the first round as well as the stages since Karas.h.i.+ma Haruka became her manager. Perhaps something is already changing here.
........
Yori quietly left the garden center main building and walked back to the dome. She could tell that the party was still ongoing judging from the noise. Yori stretched her arms, well Yori supposed its time to switch serious mode off and just party. Yori didn"t want to leave Kasumi hanging, but she honestly didn"t want to promise anything. She wants to fulfill the promise from the past, but there are a few things she needs to do first.
Yori blinked spotting blue hair by the large oak tree in the center of the path. "Huh?" Why is she here?
Could it be — Yori dumbly walked over.
"Yori! Look, cake!" Lila said happily.
Hey guys, bringing out the cake when the chief guest of honor isn"t around. But more importantly, "What happened to Karas.h.i.+ma?"
"It"s cake time! So I thought I would go find you, Yori, it"s better eating with friends."
An image of a young Lila flashed in her mind. The young Lila said similar.
"Cake tastes better when eating with friends."
Gee, Lila hasn"t changed much has she? Her gaze landed on the plate Lila carried Yori pouted, "You only brought me one slice? How cruel."
Lila laughed, "Let"s go back!!"
"I wonder if there will be any left," Yori said.
At this comment, Lila burst into tears realizing, "I"m sorry, I should have thought about that."
Easy to cry as usual.
Yori smiled and patted Lilas hair, "Why don"t we just split this one? And have a mini picnic under the trees."
Lilas tears stopped, eyes bright and soft laughter escaped her lips, "Okay."