Dream Star

. . .
A few minutes later .

A relieved sigh pa.s.sed her lips; it seems like that worked . "Thank you, Lila," Kasumi made her way through the clearing and stopped running . Once she goes past the shrine, then she ought to be back on the main roads .

Let"s see her next work is where, as Kasumi flickered through her schedule book . Something slips out of it, a single photograph . She immediately picks it up, a deep sigh escaping her lips . She should be careful where she puts this photo . If anyone were to figure out her connection with Mikami, it might destroy his chances, although it"s not uncommon to find childhood friends amongst idols . Anyone a.s.sociated with her is different . After all, she"s still a hanyou princess; the hanyou a.s.sociation is really troublesome . Why do they have to be so overprotective? Sure their blood is rare now, but they don"t have to go crazy with every little detail . They pry way too much into peoples personal lives .

She wants to perform for him, her very best one . That time he seemed so happy that he finally had a goal, something he could enjoy . She wants to see that expression on his face again . Kasumi snaps out of her daze, realizing that she would be late if she doesn"t get a move on . As she turned to leave though she trips .

Dam— Kasumi shut her eyes bracing for the impact, but there was no such thing . When she opens her eyes, she finds green hair and forest eyes, Wataru had caught her . . " Tha—nks . "

Wataru nodded, " Your welcome . New shoes im guessing? "

"Yes," she replied like usual, and yet somehow this is strange . For some reason, she felt nervous . Although Kasumi didn"t want to think too deeply about what Wataru did that time, and she managed to speak to him just fine when they returned to the set . However, when she returned home that night, she became incredibly self-conscious . She didn"t know . . That Wataru could be so bold, or that he could express such tender affections towards her .

"Kasumi?" Even the way he is saying her name, makes her feel incredibly shy now . Is it because she hasn"t had many contact with men other than s.h.i.+chiro, her brother, Kiryu and that person? If so, it would explain why she"s suddenly feeling like this . Up until now, she"s been fine speaking with Wataru after all . They"ve been good friends for a year now, to suddenly feel self-conscious when she sees him now is strange . Then again, she wonders if it"s just her . It feels like he"s making a move on her these days .

Her thoughts broke off when he placed his hand on her forehead, "Hey, are you sick? You"re really red . My a.n.a.lysis show"s there"s a high chance of that being the case since your always overdoing it . You"ve been helping the president more in secret after all . "

"You know about that?"

"Hmm? Yeah," Wataru still had his hand on her forehead, but this time he had moved it, so he was ruffling her hair .

He"s so attentive of her . If she thought back to it now, there"s probably been previous examples of that being the case . But she has not noticed it up until now . Even though she"s always calling Lila slow, she didn"t realize that Wataru was fond of her .

"Is Kiryu working?" Kasumi asked .

"I left him with your brother, so yes, hopefully, they are working . "

Hopefully, her sweat fell, and she deeply sighed, "If Kiryu is like this now, I wonder how he was when I wasn"t around here . "

"According to Kou, he wouldn"t even attend lessons, let alone work . Though he motivated himself after seeing Lila that first time, something is different now," Wataru trailed off, "I guess without Lila, Kiryu finds it hard to do most things . "

Kasumi always saw the love between Lila and Kiryu as something she admired and respected . But as more time pa.s.sed by, she realized that their love story as beautiful as it may be, had many complications, "Those two revolved their lives around each other, that was a problem wasn"t it?"

Wataru nodded, "Though they were happy, it meant that when it came to facing problems that would damage their relations.h.i.+p, they would run away . "

"All I want is for the two of them to be happy, for things to go back to how they were before . But," Kasumi paused, "I shouldn"t encourage that . They were happy, but they were running away from so many things . "

"You don"t have to worry about it too much if it"s those two they probably already have an idea on what they should do next . "

Kasumi supposes that"s true . Even though she knows Lila and Kiryu better than Wataru, it seems like he has a better understanding of what they are thinking than her . Even now, this person does not change, huh? He"s a very kind person . But even if she thinks he hasn"t changed, he has, hasn"t he? They all have . Due to being busy with work every day in France, Kasumi didn"t pay much attention to Wataru or what he was up to .

"Wataru, would you —like to see a movie with me?" Kasumi is dumbfounded by her own words . Eh? Wait what? That"s not what she was supposed to say . Though it"s true, just now she was thinking of wanting to get to know him . Why on earth is she asking him?

Wataru blinks, and pushes the frame of his gla.s.ses to the bridge of his nose, "So, let me ask you . You didn"t see what was in my pockets, right?" Kasumi shook her head, not understanding where he was coming from .
"s.h.i.+chiro, didn"t say anything to you either?"

More head shaking . What"s he getting at? Wataru pulls a thinking expression before murmuring something to himself, for an incredibly long time . A good 15 minutes . Ehhh? C—could it be, that he thinks this is strange? That she"s asking him like this? As Kasumi was mulling this over to herself, she hadn"t noticed Wataru take something out of his pockets until he placed directly it in her hands . Tickets . . . ? Not just ordinary ones, "This movie --!"

"When you were asking me about a movie, I certainly hope this is the one you want to see . "

" . . wait, um -- what -- why do you have these?"

"Is that not obvious?" Kasumi shook her head, and Wataru leans closer, "I see, perhaps your slower than Lila . I am, as you say, making a move on you . I have been since that time in the shrine . "

Kasumi"s cheeks colored at the close proximity and his words . Everything she had been thinking about just went away . He personally confirmed it himself, about being interested in her . However, no matter how overwhelmed she is about this, "I, have someone I"m interested in, I have for a long time now," even if she is nervous and acting self-conscious around him . The feeling of love towards that person is still as strong as ever .

Wataru nodded, "Yeah, that"s why I was reluctant . That so-called boyfriend of yours, I know even now your heart belongs to Hamano Mikami, and him alone . But," he trailed off, "I just figured I"d give it a shot . "

Kasumi eyed him, suspiciously, "I hope Karas.h.i.+ma isn"t influencing you . "

The green-haired man laughed, "Well, seeing him being successful with Lila motivated me a bit . "

"Don"t encourage them," Kasumi exclaimed . But really, if this were a story, then the second male lead wouldn"t stand a remote chance . He would get demoted to friend status because his connection with the female lead is far too weak . They will only ever be supporting roles, but she peered over at Wataru, "Do you feel this sudden will to try again, because you can"t see things going well between Mikami and me, now?" she asked .

Wataru paused, but he shook his head, "It"s more like, it"s precisely because I know things will go well . I don"t want to have any regrets . "

Kasumi"s eyes widened at his words, "You"ve been talking with Kiryu . "

"Seems like we"re both in the same situation, so yes I did . "

Kasumi didn"t know what to say; rather, it was hard to imagine Kiryu and Wataru discussing matters regarding love . The two of them walked towards the clearing; the red torii gate of the shrine came into view . Being persistent to the point it is stupid, huh? She supposes once upon a time she was the same as Kiryu and Wataru, no matter what happened, she would be persistent when it came to love . But at some point, that changed . She wondered why, why did things change so drastically?

Back then, it felt like people kept pus.h.i.+ng her to a corner, and even though she felt like surrendering and giving everything up . She still persisted on and on . Kasumi wondered where that determination of hers came from . Her thoughts broke off when she felt the vibrating sound of her phone and pulled it from her pocket . There was a single message from her brother .

From: Brother
Left the idiot at the bar .

Her eyes widened, and she sighed, "So troublesome," Kasumi thought . It seems like even now she has to watch over those two . Wataru must have seen the message too since he smiled, "I"ll leave it to you . "

"You should offer your a.s.sistance . "

Wataru shook his head, "Better you handle this, other than Lila; you"re the only one Kiryu listens to . "

Indeed, still, "It would be better if Lila came," Kasumi muttered as she looked up at the sky . While Kiryu listens to her, if it were Lila - then the problem would vanish in seconds, "Kiryu, is he acting up again?" these days she couldn"t tell . He seems normal when he is working after all .