It was already surprising to see Karas.h.i.+ma Haruka, outside the place that is clearly Kiryu"s. But, she wasn"t expecting to find her best friend, after dinner - being cornered against the kitchen desktop. Kasumi eyes go wide seeing the sight before her. She did figure it was like this, but. .seeing it in person; she"s unsure of what to do."Ss--senpai, n--not now."Lila stammers.
"Why? Because your friend came? That makes me feel bad."
"Don"t feel bad!!"
"Then, cheer me up."
"By kissing?"
Karas.h.i.+ma nodded and she watches as Lila extend her hand out.
Lila, she"s way too naive !!
"That looks nice huh, Kasumi-chan!"
She elbows him, causing him to let go.
"I"m kidding. Hey, senpai. Ari-chan, let"s discuss the sleeping arrangements."
Her best friend immediately leaves Karas.h.i.+ma Haruka"s side and hides behind her. It was the usual scene. But, this was for Karas.h.i.+ma. So, she felt slightly uncomfortable.
"Why, do we have to discuss? She"s obviously staying with me."
"N--No!! I--I"m staying with Kasumi."
"Hah? After that?!!"
"T--that"s why stupid."
Kasumi"s sweatdropped, as she watches the scene. Unsure what to do. Their arguing? Lila clings to her.
"Kasumi, Kasumi. Let"s chat loads!"
Her gaze softens, "That"s right, let"s."
. . . .
.
Lila was very insistent on staying in the same room as her. At first, she simply thought it was because Lila didn"t want to be alone with Karas.h.i.+ma, but - she watches the girl take out the Kiryu plus.h.i.+e. Slip-on Kiryu"s jumper. Seeing the girl surround herself with Kiryu"s belongings and gifts. Kasumi sweatdropped, uh. Does she do this every night since she left?
"Kasumi, Kasumi! Look, look, you know before I left. Kiryu made me this snow globe."
"He made it? That"s amazing."
"En, my Kiryu is amazing! Also, you know my Kiryu said--"
Lila really hasn"t changed. She was worrying for nothing it seems. It"s not like Karas.h.i.+ma Haruka can enter her heart that easily. After all, what Lila and Kiryu have is a love of 13 years. The same as her and Mikami. The two of them eventually lay down on the sleeping bag. Rather, it took her some time to convince Lila to lay down. Hearing shuffling, Kasumi opens the quilt and the girl"s violet orbs sparkles.
"Yay, next to Kasumi."
"You"ll be meeting Kiryu soon, so you better eat properly, or you"ll make him worried."
"Ah-huh, Kasumi. Do you think Kiryu still loves me?"
"Of course, he does."
When she asks where that idea came from, Lila tells her about Kiryu"s new a.s.sistant. Hearing it was a girl, her face colour goes pale. But seeing Lila worried, Kasumi nodded, changing her expression to indifference.
"And? so what?"
"But Kasumi, it"s a girl. A girl."
"It doesn"t change anything. Kiryu loves you, he will never replace you."
"Aha, okay! I believe you Kasumi."
But still…she should check up on this matter.
___________________________________________________
Kasumi and Hamano-kun"s feelings, she thinks she"s starting to understand it now. Lila silently gets up and makes her way to the room next door, she takes a seat on the window ledge and picks up where she left off. Her guitar, and composition materials in front of her.
.
.
Next morning, 5:00 am.
Lila found herself coming across Kasumi during her morning jog. The two of them didn"t say anything and simply kept running. Lila may have gradually fallen back into her morning jogging routine. However, she hasn"t felt at peace whilst jogging in a long time. Her heart and mind have been restless since arriving here. She can hear it again, the sound of the wind. The natural rhythm of nature.
She doesn"t know how long they were running. But the two of them ran until they were completely out of breath, eventually, they came to a stop and collapsed on the gra.s.s.
"Your stamina...is still as crazy as ever…"Kasumi says exhaustion filled her voice.
Before Lila could respond though, she finds herself bursting into a fit of coughs. Thankfully, there was no blood coming out.
That, however, didn"t change the fact that Kasumi"s tone was filled with worry, "Lila?!!"
Lila laughs softly, "I"m okay, it"s just been awhile.."
Kasumi though wasn"t buying it and frowns. "Is it, really that bad?"
Lila slowly nodded.
"Lila…"
"But, it"s getting better. Being with everyone here helps me a lot."Lila replies with a smile. When she was isolated, she was on the verge of giving up. "I haven"t spent a lot of time with them yet, but I can tell they care for me. So I"ll be okay."
To be honest, she"s really surprised. That everyone treats her so well; despite the countless times she"s had to bail on them because of Haruka. They really are kind people and even though she composed songs, gave them mediocre sounding advice. They all listened and, were able to s.h.i.+ne so brightly on stage.
Kasumi is quiet for a few minutes before saying,
"I"ll still worry about you."
Seeing her friends tears, Lila laughs softly, "Kasumi, your crying."
"Because of you. You"re so stupid and careless. I told you to contact me!"
"But the rules…"
"If you can contact Wataru, contact me too."
Oh, so she found out about that. Lila"s gaze softens, "En, I know. Sorry."
"Lila, did you hear about my announcement?"
"Ah, yes! They said you"d return properly and announce some big news…"Lila recalls the conversation she had with Mikami, and grabs her friends hands, "About your boyfriend?"
Kasumi shakes her head, and Lila sighs in relief. Kasumi has probably explained it to Mikami already as she did with her last night. But, that person easily misunderstands. Kasumi whispers in her ear and Lila"s eyes go wide.
"Wahhh, really?!!"Lila exclaimed.
"Sssh, don"t say it out loud."
"Right!."
But, to think Kasumi found…Lila is a bit surprised.
"I--I don"t want you to misunderstand though. My dream is still…"Kasumi responds nervously.
Oh!
"Kasumi, are you a mind reader?!"
Her friend simply hugs her, "I really am serious Lila. About what I said last year. That person too understands that"s why I want you to..do the same. Find that girl, and let"s meet again on stage."
Find…Lila knew instinctively who Kasumi meant, "Didn"t she say it? She would come here. But, you haven"t seen her yet correct?"
Lila slowly nodded.
"Lila, there"s a lot I want to talk to you about.."
"Kasumi?"
Kasumi laughs, "But, we clearly don"t have time. That"s why I"ll say this much. Even now my goal is the brightest star. It"s you, Lila."
The brightest...
"But I--"Lila was about to protest, however, Kasumi was shaking her head.
"Your performance is different now, yes. But, it"s still exactly like you. Even now in my eyes your so radiant."
Lila"s eyes go wide at her friend"s words.
"I can be confident?"Lila says slowly.
"Yes, you can!"