The last thing Haruka wanted to do was rely on Austin Kiryu of all people. But judging from his conversation with Zane earlier, it"s just high time he makes a move. Haruka knew with the events; lately, he won"t be able to stay by Lila"s side constantly anymore. He has to pretend that nothing has changed and that he is still going to go along with the plan. Still, "Miyazawa, suspects me," Haruka thought. She seems to use whatever chance she can get to make him slip up. Now, that he has knowledge that Miyazawa is Zane"s woman, he will not let his personal feelings stop him from getting help.He let the two talk for a while and observed Lila the whole time. She was trying to remain indifferent for his sake. However, Haruka could see how happy she was about receiving the call. Or perhaps he was reading too much into the situation like he always did. Afterward, Lila gave him the phone and Haruka spends the next few minutes explaining the situation. Austin Kiryu didn"t reply right away and said, "Put Lila back on."
Haruka hands it back over.
"Ah-huh, yeah. Okay!" Lila trailed off before she laughed, "En, I got it. I"ll take care," with those words said Lila ended the call and returned to cutely clinging on to him.
"What did he say?"
"He called you an idiot for not realizing sooner."
Haruka"s sweat fell at those words, "How blunt," he thought. But Haruka supposed it couldn"t be avoided, "And, even if you didn"t say so he would protect me," Lila explained. Haruka nodded, good thing Austin Kiryu catches on quickly. Still, Haruka wondered if that was the part that made Lila laugh like that. Will she tell him if he asks?
Is there any need for him? He was right beside her the whole time she was speaking with Austin Kiryu. Haruka gently pushed the girl down onto the bed, and Lila stared at him for a few seconds before she wrapped her arms around his neck. She was expecting something, but this time around, he did not plan to touch her. At least not in that manner anyway.
Haruka brought his lips to the girls neck, and gently kissed her there. Lila"s cheeks turned a lovely shade of red. The girl must have realized what he was up to, "No s.e.x?"
He smiled at her innocent question, "No, but I do want to kiss you everywhere."
Lila laughed, "Okay silly," his gaze softened. He really does have to do something. To protect her, even if Austin Kiryu helps her. Haruka isn"t sure whether it would be enough. No, that"s not it. He knows it will be enough. Austin Kiryu will guard her with his life. There is no doubt about it, but the problem is then where does that leave him? If he just allows Austin Kiryu to help her, what about him?
This is a matter of his personal feelings, huh? How stupid. But his gaze fell on the beautiful girl who was looking at him curiously, as though trying to see if she could guess where he would kiss her next. "Stupid girl," Haruka thought before he leaned forward and gently kissed her lips.
-----------------
The last thing Miu expected to find when she returned was Karas.h.i.+ma Haruka sick too, or rather, "Such serious wounds," Miu thought when she checked on the security monitoring. It was a habit of hers to check whenever her parents weren"t around the house. Even though both Karas.h.i.+ma and Lila were in the house, Miu still instinctively went to the monitoring room. What interested her was the footage right before she b.u.mped into Karas.h.i.+ma.
Miu watched it carefully; her face turned dark by the minute. "Such serious wounds," Miu thought as she zoomed in the footage. Did somebody hurt him? But who? Karas.h.i.+ma may be on the "enemies side," but n.o.body from their side would beat him now because he is Lila"s boyfriend.
What"s more, he hasn"t done anything to hurt them. Miu"s thoughts broke off when her gaze fell on the monitor for the guest room on the first floor. Her cheeks turned red when moans pa.s.sed the mic, Miu switched it off immediately. She really has gotten bold.
The two were kissing rather heavily, and Miu decided to wait until the two finished. "Good thing Lila is in the guest room," Miu thought. She did think to bring the girl to her room initially since it would be more comfortable for her friend. But recalling the messy state, she decided against it. Miu waited while taking occasional glances at the monitor. For two people who supposedly do it every day, they sure kiss like they"ve never kissed before. Her thoughts broke off when they stopped, after a few words, Lila hit Karas.h.i.+ma and started crying.
She looked at the scene curiously before she clicks the sound command.
"Sssh, don"t cry."
"Haruka, I really can"t stand it. Please let me help you."
"It"s fine as long as you"re safe."
"I don"t want to be the only one safe," Lila exclaimed, "What good does it do if I"m the only one safe? What about our future together, I can"t be the only one there?"
"Do you really think she will kill me?"
"Yes, yes, I do."
Miu paused, "Interesting," she thought. It"s easy to guess who Lila is talking about. Lila has always been a calm and rational person. No matter what dangers she faced, she would remain indifferent to it and just carry on her task. However, there is one person that seems to send Lila of edge, and that"s, "Miyazawa Rosalia," Miu tapped her fingers on the edge of the keyboard, "I see, so she made a move."
She supposes it was only natural, considering how quiet Miyazawa has been. Still, it seems like she ought to contact Kyoko-san.
...
When Miu arrived at the guest room, Lila had a collapsed Karas.h.i.+ma Haruka in her arms, and she could tell her friend was struggling not to fall too. A deep sigh pa.s.sed her lips as she helped Lila get Karas.h.i.+ma to lay down, before laying the girl down herself.
"I"m usually not the type to lecture. But are you two idiots?"
"Not idiots Miu, a couple! Haruka and I are a couple."
Yes, yes, she knows that. Why is Lila so happy? Then again, her friend was always a weird one. Miu poured a cup of tea and pa.s.sed it to Lila, but the girl shook her head, "It"s um, alright..because...," Miu watched her gaze land on Karas.h.i.+ma and she immediately understood.
"She must have drunk his blood," Miu thought.
"How are the urges lately? Controllable?"
Lila paused, "A little. Honestly, I don"t know these days; I"m so busy with work. Sometimes it feels like I"m not a hanyou. But there are times at night when I see Haruka lay beside me, where I get all sorts of thoughts. This cursed blood inside me; it won"t go away just like that."
"Sorry."
The girl shook her head, and Miu watched as Lila snuggled up to Karas.h.i.+ma, "Haruka, he"s different than Kiryu. I"ve always known that. At the start of our relations.h.i.+p, I did get caught up in the flow. He was very hurt, and he needed somebody to be there for him. It was an odd way for a relations.h.i.+p to start. But at that time, even though I knew that. I was thinking clearly, "I want this person, I want to be one with him," " Lila trailed off, her gaze softened, "That first night we got together, I made love with him for the first time and it felt just right. His hand in mine, him being so close to me."
"And now?"
"Now, things are slightly different, I still love him, but whenever he holds me, he"s always trembling. It seems like he"s afraid or sometimes it feels rushed like he"s afraid I will slip away," Lila closed her eyes before opening them, "Hey Miu, I wonder why it"s like this now. I love him so much; I even came back here to break things up with Kiryu and yet things have been going badly with Haruka and me lately."
"Before I answer that, tell me something Lila, do you still like Kiryu?"
"Probably? Honestly, for me, right now, I can only think of Haruka. But whenever I see Kiryu, my heart hurts, and I don"t know what to do," Lila laughed, "It"s contradictory."
It isn"t really, considering how badly things ended with Kiryu. Lila still needs closure from her relations.h.i.+p with Kiryu, "Did you speak with Kiryu?" Miu asked. Even though she liked Kiryu herself for a long time after they talked, she felt content, "like this is enough," she had such thoughts. Kiryu isn"t the type of guy who would leave things hanging.
"I spoke with Kiryu; he told me we could be friends."
Kiryu said that? To Lila of all people? "So blunt," Miu thought. No, this is Kiryu were talking about, "Did he tell you he loves you first?"
"Ah-huh, after he kissed me."
He what?!! Miu looked at her friend with wide eyes. Kiryu kissed her? And Lila is still staying with Karas.h.i.+ma. Miu shook her head, why is kissing the determining factor now? But it just felt very strange to her; she suddenly recalled how obsessed Lila was with Kiryu, about his kisses and everything he did. It"s very hard to believe how much things have changed. For things to have changed this much in just the span of a few months means, "The breakup with Kiryu damaged Lila this much," Miu thought.
She knew her friend had changed. But she couldn"t just confirm things from the TV alone, that"s why she went to London and secretly watched over her for a bit.
Miu reached over and hugged her friend, "This time around I will help you," she drawled, "You helped me so much in the past, so this time," Miu was struggling not to cry. How can Lila act so strong when things are like this? How does she bear with all the pain? All the suffering?
Lila laughed softly, "Miu is a crybaby now?"
"Quiet, geez," Miu trailed off, "I"m serious Lila, I know things are still awkward between you and Kasumi. But you can rely on me; I"ll ensure that I come right away."
"En, I got it."
Still, it would be unfortunate if things remained liked this between Kasumi and Lila. Lila"s enemies will use whatever weakness they can get hold of to their advantage. This should be her first job.