Dream Star

Lila recalled the feelings she had behind them, and it felt like her heart would stop. Those beautiful silver eyes that she loved so much once upon a time s.h.i.+mmered with emotion, one she didn"t dare name. Even though she knew deep down what it meant, of course, she knew. Nothing has changed after all. Kiryu took her hand in his, and all the surrounding sounds seemed to fade.

It was a perfect moment, caught in crystal clarity. His colors were vibrant, an attack on my eyes. His own eyes s.h.i.+mmered with emotion, one she didn"t dare name. His hands took hers, sharing his warmth. The silence became a sound, better than any music.

"I love you."

It felt odd hearing those three words from Kiryu again. But Lila allowed him, why would she stop him from conveying his feelings? She has no right to do something like that. Her swearing, her jealousy, and tantrums are all part of herself. Despite so many flaws, Kiryu has always accepted it. He couldn"t have found better words if she had handed him a script.

His lips encased hers, like a gentle hug, or a caressing breeze. He did not rush anything, nor did he force her. It was truly perfect. Yet despite the perfectness of the moment, she didn"t say those words back.

Once the kiss ended, tears were welling up in her eyes, clearly shocking Kiryu, but they softened. As he wipes the tears away, "You still like to cry a lot, don"t you?"

She sniffed, "I can"t help it," Lila murmured. He really is an idiot, why did he kiss her again? He knows better than to do something like that. But at the same time, Lila understood. This is another goodbye, at least for now. This is the end once again, but at the same time, it"s the beginning of something. It"s painful; it hurts a lot. Right now, it feels like she is suffocating.

The moment, however, is destroyed when she felt something stuck in her thought, and before she knew it, she is coughing. Kiryu glanced over at her and sighed, he took his scarf off, and Lila stopped him, "Ah, wait I"m okay."

"No, you"re not," he shook his head and wrapped the silver material around her neck, "I saw it earlier after all. You"re reckless as always, eh?"

"Not always."

Yet when he took his gloves off and placed them on her hands, the sudden chill she felt earlier she had completely gone away. It was replaced with warmth, "How warm," she murmured. It"s warm, being beside Kiryu is the warmest place. Lila boldly took his hands with hers once more and placed them on top of each other, "Then...maybe we should pray for it. For me to get better...and for you to do so well, that I"ll hardly be able to recognize you anymore."

"Yeah. Let"s do that."

...
On their way back, Lila remained quiet as she thought about the events from just now. Ahhhhh, they kissed again. How troublesome, this is going to be a huge issue. While she did not initiate the kiss, it does not change that she kissed another man, "But Kiryu, I"ll have to tell Haruka and don"t blame me if he punches you," Lila broke the silence. She knew she would have to tell Haruka now. The first kiss aside, Kiryu kissed her again. A deep sigh pa.s.sed her lips, "I"m going to get in trouble too."

Kiryu rolled his eyes, "If Karas.h.i.+ma is punis.h.i.+ng you, it won"t be a punishment at all."

Lila"s cheeks flushed red when she realized what he meant. That"s true, whenever Haruka got worked up about something. It usually ended with the two of them getting rather intimate, "Maybe she should buy some new clothes," she knows that when Haruka touches her, he always appreciates her clothing.

"Still, this friend thing. We could try it."

"Even if it"s stupid?"

Kiryu smiled, "Yeah, even if it is. I"d rather things aren"t awkward between us. The media and their crazy imaginations aside, I"d hate it if you stopped talking to me."

"D-- don"t say things like that."

He only laughed at her conflict. Lila"s cheeks puffed up, geez this won"t be easy at all will it? But she"s glad that the two of them more or less talked about everything. As she thought this, she caught a glimpse of her hair in the shop window gla.s.s.

"Kiryu, one more thing. Do you still have some time?"

"Sure."

.....

Salon

"Don"t worry about getting disturbed here, this place is always a ghost town because the hairdresser is a crazy person," Kiryu said as he sat her down on the chair.

"I heard that," a voice called out from the back.

Lila sweat fell. She"s grateful that the owner of the salon closed up the shop when they saw them — even allowing them to borrow equipment and stuff. Still, this wouldn"t be possible if Kiryu didn"t have connections. Lila wanted to find a quiet salon and would have settled for a public one. However, Kiryu said that even though it"s late. There are many people still lingering around. "You don"t want to attract too much attention, right?" Indeed, the last thing she needed was for people to make a huge deal out of her getting her hair done.

"You really want me to do this?" Kiryu was referring to dying her hair back to the natural color.

"Ah-huh," Lila murmured. It just felt right to her that Kiryu ought to change her hair color back to the way it was. It"s the end between them but at the same time something is starting, "Besides blue is nice and all, but I"ve missed it. People have always said I resembled Mother, but this hair color reminds me of my father. I"d like it when people see me not just to think of Mother but Father too."

"I"m sure you don"t have to change your hair for that, you could just show them your temper," she kicked his foot, "Ouch, you"re as violent as ever."

"Tough luck, why are you still such a bully? My personality isn"t that bad," Lila retorted, "I mean, I"m so kind, cute and adorable. Haruka is head over heels for me for a reason."

"Yeah, I"m sure that"s the reason why Karas.h.i.+ma likes you. I"m sure your body had nothing to do with it."

If somebody else had said that comment then Lila may have taken offense. But this was Kiryu, and she knew what he was getting at, "It"s true Haruka likes my appearance, he already admitted that much. But he told me that the main reason is I have some sort of healing effect on him."

"Healing, huh?"

"Are you going to say that"s wrong too?"

Kiryu shook his head, "No, this one is correct."

"He thinks that way too?" Lila thought, but she doesn"t understand it, Lila felt Kiryu"s hands on her hair, they seemed to linger there for a few seconds before he picked up some shampoo, and adjusted the chair, so she was facing him.

"Close your eyes, okay?"

"But, you"ll do something weird."

Kiryu laughed, "Calm down, I"m just going to wash your hair, and then we can do the whole dying and tr.i.m.m.i.n.g, yeah?"

Lila looked at him with caution but nodded. Not like anything else can happen. She closed her eyes and allowed Kiryu to wash her hair. It felt unusual to go through this long process. When she dyed her hair previously, she just did it without much thought. Perhaps that"s why it looks off in some parts. A sudden thought came to mind, it was a thought about her boyfriend Karas.h.i.+ma Haruka, "I wonder if Haruka will get mad," Lila brought up.

"Karas.h.i.+ma?"

"Ah-huh, he told me he really liked my hair," Lila paused. This was why she hesitated to change it the moment she got back. Though Haruka is calling her Ari less and less these days and using her actual name, he would always bury his face in his hair and murmur how this was all his and all that. Whenever Haruka got that way, Lila understood. Haruka wants to make sure that she is still his.

"I don"t know Karas.h.i.+ma well, but I"m sure he would like you regardless of your looks."

"That"s just you, Kiryu."

Kiryu laughed, "Well, if your appearance is all he wanted then he could have easily gone to somebody else, you"re a beauty Lila, but there are others who are the same and more attainable too."

That"s true, why would Haruka bother with her if all he was after was her looks? Why would he go through this pain and suffering just for her appearance? Lila knew that even without Kiryu saying anything, the hair thing might upset Haruka. But he won"t make such a fuss about it.

After Kiryu washed her hair, he dried it a bit and adjusted the chair until she was in a sitting position again. It felt strange having Kiryu touch her, and she made a mental note to herself, "make sure to stay far far away from Kiryu," whenever they talk anyway. A reasonable distance, one that is suitable for friends.h.i.+p. No matter how much Lila racked her brains to think though, she couldn"t come up with a solution of any kind. This is a lot more difficult than she thought it would be.

"How far do friends need to stay away from each other?" Lila wondered out loud.

Kiryu bursts into laughter and Lila realized that she just said that out loud, "I—it"s not funny, I"m thinking about this very carefully," if she doesn"t take it seriously, then Haruka would misunderstand again. She no longer wants to see that expression on his face.

"Are you worried about Karas.h.i.+ma?"

Lila knew she should keep it to herself. It"s hers and Haruka"s problem, but for some reason Lila found herself telling Kiryu. Maybe because she"s been keeping it to herself the whole time, but after she finished explaining, it felt like a weight of her shoulders. Once Lila finished, Lila noted how he didn"t reply right away, and she immediately panicked. Did she say something she shouldn"t have?