Harukas touch is foreign, not like the one she"s accustomed to, and yet there"s something about it that"s familiar. Normally she would feel disgusted if another guy makes light contact with her, that"s how it has always been. But it"s different now. Haruka knows exactly where to touch her. He knows exactly what she wants. Haruka captures her lips along the way, and her brain stops functioning. Her thoughts all scrambled up and jumbled. Her body growing increasingly hot.20 minutes or so later. Haruka finally stops and draws back from her. The place where he just touched her was awfully hot. Her skin feels like it"s burning. Despite the weak feeling in her knees, Lila musters up her remaining strength and tugs on the edge of his s.h.i.+rt.
"What?"
At first, Lila cannot get the words to leave her lips, she was still somewhat light headed due to the pa.s.sionate kiss they shared only moments ago. His touch remaining on her skin. Haruka must have noticed since he walks over to the counter and pours her a gla.s.s of water. Lila accepts it, her hand brushes against his lightly and she feels the sound of her heart increase. After taking a few gulps, she finds the strength in her voice and asks him.
"I want a hug." Lila decides to ask directly, instead of glossing her words and feigning ignorance like she normally would.
"Alright."
Feeling his hands trail on her thighs, her cheeks redden. Uwah...
"You, your pretty bold huh? Well, I don"t mind doing it now, especially after that."
Wh--what is he talking about?
It hits her a second later, does he think she wants to? Lila obviously panics. She somehow manages to push him slightly away and tells him that he"s got the wrong idea. Haruka pauses.
"Huh, so you actually just want a hug? Are you sure it"s not code for something else?"
She frantically shakes her head.
Code? What is he on about? Her eyes go wide when he gently pulls her into his arms and wraps his hands around her, "This, is what you want?"
Lila nods.
This, she woke up to this warm and comfortable feeling. Even though it"s something he usually doesn"t do...
It"s nice..being like this with him... He"s so warm and comfortable. It"s different than when she"s with Kiryu. Very different. It"s so different, that she"s afraid. But at least she knows one thing, when they are like this, she feels safe. The darkness doesn"t surround her. It doesn"t engulf her and try to pull her down. Is this wrong? It probably is. She"s using him. She"s using him when his feelings are growing even more clear. The more time she spends with him, the more she understands. This person really loves her.
He must have read her thoughts since he cups her cheeks.
"You"re so stupid."
She really is stupid.
Lila feels Haruka"s fingers brush against the corner of her eyes, wiping her tears. "Geez, I never know what to do when you were crying. Don"t cry."
Really, what is she doing? She doesn"t know anymore.
Why did she come here?
Why did she come to this place?
Since coming here, what has she achieved?
Nothing, absolutely nothing.
She hasn"t even gotten to know Yumeko-chan and anyone else properly yet. Even writing Hamano-kun song, she only based it on observation. The only reason it was so well received was due to the emotions he poured when he sang it.
.
.
Not here...
Lila looks around and shuts her eyes. She can still sense his presence. Despite her present state, she simply wrapped the blanket around her and got up. It surprised her how difficult it was to move. Her legs feel all wobbly. Haruka only kissed her too. But his kisses aren"t simple. It involves so much intimacy.
She follows the direction of the sound and opens one of the doors. There in the centre of a s.p.a.cious looking room filled with gym equipment, was Harukkun. He was lifting some weights. Lila with curious eyes watches him for a while until his gaze meets her.
"Ah um sorry for disturbing."
"It"s fine, I just finished." he puts the weights down.
...So Harukkun works out. He did say that in the magazine interview when he temporarily joined DEVIL. But, she didn"t think he was serious. And just now he was holding her when -- her whole face reddens. As she thought, she really does become strange when she"s around him. She doesn"t have time to be fooling around like this. Her heart hurts. When Haruka looks at her, she doesn"t know what to do. Was it like this last year too? Or has something changed between them? Even if something changes, it shouldn"t affect her so much.
It was unavoidable to say so the least, her gaze falling on his bare chest. Immediately, Lila could feel her cool cheeks heat up in embarra.s.sment.
It"s hard to think straight, when he always exposes himself so easily in front of her. Is he not embarra.s.sed in anyway? What"s more, there"s something, mysterious about it. She doesn"t quite get it but..
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Seeing the girl avoid his gaze but glance back at his body, he pauses and puts the weight down. Is she that surprised? It"s not like it"s anything special. Still, he supposes this is a good reaction from her. Since she came here, he"s been attracted to her. Even long before he confirmed her ident.i.ty. Every action of hers, as strange as it is, seem so endearing and loveable to him. Noticing his mindset turning soft, Haruka shakes his head lightly. It"s one thing to fall for her, you can"t become soft. Kindness is a weakness after all.
"Give me a towel."
Lila nodded and walked over to the cabinets. Although, he only brought her here a few times and when he does, he immediately pounces on her. So she doesn"t have time to look around, and yet to his amazement, she already knows where things are kept. Eventually, she returns with a towel in her hands and walks over to him. Once she was in front, she immediately starts wiping the sweat from his chest. The entire time, he kept his gaze fixed on her. Staring at every corner of her body and slightly taking measurements. She"s a first-cla.s.s beauty alright.
"Ah--um ..um.."
"You"re pretty."
"Q---quit complimenting me."
. . .
Now that"s a first. He"s never heard that before.
Well. That"s not surprising either. Recalling how she cried earlier though, he pauses and doesn"t touch her. He just watches her nervously wipe the sweat from his chest. She"s very pretty. It surprised him when he first realised it was her that time. After all, she"s gotten so much more mature in the short time they parted. She"s grown taller, her body is a lot more developed. Haruka is staring at the girl in amazement.
Really, it"s such amazing growth. What"s with her? Despite what it seems like, he"s quite knowledgeable about his lineage. So this really does come across as a surprise to him. Why is she like this? It makes no sense at all. But, it"s not like he"s complaining. It makes his job a lot easier if she"s like this.
When she was finished, rather than hara.s.s her. Haruka pulls her down on the bed.
Lila seemed somewhat startled and was on the verge of protesting, "Ah..."
He cuts her off and says one word, "Rest."
She seemed surprised but nodded, and he tucks her in with the blanket. When she"s fallen asleep, he ought to finish off those appointments. But, it wouldn"t be safe to leave her sleeping here. Even though he sent the order to the others not to come here certain times. There are those who break it. Lila hasn"t noticed at all since she is always fast asleep during those times.
Instead of sleeping, however, she immediately turned to him and asked a question. "Senpai, tell me a story?"
Is she a kid? No wait, she technically is...
"I don"t have many good ones.."
"Ah, but I want to learn more about you."
"...Alright."Haruka says reluctantly.
He doesn"t really mind sharing. But what does he tell her? There really isn"t anything good. Well, he supposes he can talk about people he knows... Not that they are any better. But at least they are better than him.
"Best friend? You have one senpai?"
"Don"t be so surprised."
"But, it"s you senpai."
...Then again, he doesn"t have many close friends. He may be surrounded by loads of people every day. But there are a seldom few he would call his close friends. Haruka continues on with this topic and watches Lila listening to him attentively. Once in a while, she would ask rather difficult questions, and he somehow manages to not divulge too much information
After all, these people are technically her enemies. h.e.l.l, he"s her enemy too. However, like he always says; work and private lives are separate. Right now he"s simply the student Karas.h.i.+ma Haruka. He doesn"t have to worry about any of that stuff. Right now, he can simply be with her.