Dream Star

How did it end up like this? Lila stared nervously at the door to the bathroom, Haruka said he would go ahead and shower and she ought to relax. Are they going to do it again? Lila laid down on the bed and hugged the pillow as she rolled to one side. It"s not like she is against it per say, she loves it when Haruka holds her.

It"s unusual, last year she would not have thought about such things. Kiryu was a pervert and all that. But he still refrained himself from touching her too much. Of course, Lila understood that Kiryu did that for her sake. However, it made her uncomfortable at times, especially since she knew what kinds of things he did with Rosalia. Lila used to have a complex about it; she would compare herself to Rosalia over and over.

Her thoughts broke off when she felt a pair of familiar arms wrapped around her from the back.

"Sleepy, babe?"

"You kidnapped me," Lila pouted. Or rather, it was more like she ended up coming along with him. But Haruka should have stopped her.

Haruka"s lips curve to a smile as he held her tightly, "I already told Kogami that you"re here. Just wait, I"m sure she will arrive soon."

"Haruka, can you put a s.h.i.+rt on?"

"Why?"

"You"ll catch a cold," Lila trailed off, "And, you"re making me feel nervous." Lila didn"t bother hiding it; if she tried to do so, then he would simply tease her.

"Why are you nervous? Because you can feel my naked body?"

Lila flushed red, "Such a shameless man," she didn"t dare to turn around. Why is Haruka always teasing her? She would hardly call this situation fair.

"Haruka, what are you doing?"

"Hugging."

Hugging? But, she feels a bit strange. She can feel his breath at her neck, his body pressed against hers. Honestly, it was killing her not to turn around and take a look.

"Babe, your pretty."

"Haruka, can you not be an idiot for like one second?"

"Sorry. Is it too much for you? I really, really love you, I want to touch you all the time. I know it"s strange, but I can"t help myself around you."

If he apologizes, it makes her look bad for acting so stingy. Haruka probably has no bad intentions, though. Lila turned around and caressed his cheeks, "Mmm, your hands are nice."

"Say," Lila mumbled. "You love me right, Haruka?"

"Yeah."

"Then please don"t leave my side."

"What"s wrong?"

"I think I"m afraid," Lila mumbled and recalled how Kiryu let her go that day. No, even long before then. She watched as her Mother leave and even Ren-san. Those dear to her always end up leaving her.

....

A few minutes later

Lila"s face felt hot; she could tell she was blus.h.i.+ng more than normal. Is that even possible? Lila glanced down at Haruka who was Ummm, licking her.

"Babe, your beautiful..."

"D-- don"t talk to me right now."

Haruka chuckled, "You don"t have to be embarra.s.sed. You do realize we"re a couple and that I"ve seen your body plenty of times, right?"

..

Yori is late, where could she have gotten to? Lila hoped her friend didn"t run into trouble. Her thoughts broke off when she felt Haruka stir awake, "Um?"

"Hmmm, you got me good."

Lila turned red at his words and shoved him away from her, "You know babe, I"m surprised you still have strength left."

"I"m going to shower! Don"t bother me," Lila exclaimed as she got up. But the moment she stood up, her legs felt weak.

"Need help?"

"No!"

Haruka chuckled and picked her up, "Calm down, I"m well aware of how you are after we have s.e.x. Why don"t we take a relaxing bath?"

That won"t be relaxing for her, though.

Her thoughts broke off when she sees that her phone had constantly been glowing, "Ah?"

.....

High Seeds Records

It was easy to fall back into the routine that she discarded a long time ago. Of course, being Devil"s singing, Cinderella was something that had naturally been engraved into her. It was a quick singing job - and yet, Lila noticed how many people had been paying attention to her. She supposes right now loads of people are watching her after all.

"And that was DEVIL with their single that is still charting.."

Lila exhales deeply once they finished the living recording. She"s tired; she"s a lot more exhausted than she thought she would be. It"s not like Lila had to use her powers in that fight, and yet her body feels somewhat trained. The black-haired placed her hand on her forehead, how strange. Even though she"s been fighting a lot recently with her own strength, not her curse powers or her powers and yet her body is... Her thoughts broke off when she felt Haruka casually loop his arms around her, steadying her balance,

"Arata, me and Lila are taking a break. Amina stand on guard for us yeah?"

Their violet hair leader who had been stressed out since she got back made his way over and lightly patted her hair. "Rest up, Lila."

She has always known that the reason why Arata treats her so kindly is because she"s Angel"s singing princess. Yet whenever he did stuff like that she cannot help but recall it, the days where it was just the two of them, where she could sing care freely from the bottom of her heart without thinking of anything else.

She"s supposed to be resting, and yet why on earth are they in the living quarters at the back? What"s more, why is she cooking miso soup? The black-haired would have voiced all that stuff out had Haruka not walked out of the bath; she averted her gaze almost immediately. He does it on purpose, doesn"t he? Trying to make her feel self-conscious although they"ve long past the stage of getting embarra.s.sed when seeing each other"s bodies.

Lila felt Haruka wrap his arms around her, his bare skin pressed against hers; she s.h.i.+vers, "Haruka, you"re going to catch a cold."

"I know."

Lila took out the robe from the side and handed it over immediately. "Walking around with nothing on in this place isn"t a good idea."

"My bad sorry, sorry. But why are you getting embarra.s.sed? "Haruka said, as he slipped the white robes on.

"I"m not embarra.s.sed."

Really, he always seems to do everything at his own pace. This person .. .is always like this. Back then and even now. But taking a bath so casually in a place that isn"t his is too careless. But a bath, huh.

Lila wonders if she ought to take a bath too. Does she smell of blood? Lila didn"t get a chance to clean herself up before she came here properly. She wrapped it up quickly, but she won"t be surprised if Yori and the others got there right afterward. Yori, Lila has always been aware of her friend"s loyalty, and she"s never actually minded it before.

However, her plan has changed now, in contrast, to back then. There doesn"t have to be a sacrifice, for there to be a truly happy future; everyone should be there. That"s why she should properly tell Yori. Lila knew that Yori knows it already, this decision of hers. Even if they don"t exchange words, it"s something that is silently said already.

Once they finished eating, Lila found herself sat down on the couch and leaning her head back on to the headboard only to have Haruka join her.

"You know, ever since I fell in love with you, I realized how much of a coward I am," Haruka stated as he snuggled on to her lap. He really is hopeless, isn"t he?

Lila sighed, "A coward? How can you protect me and make me happy then?"

Haruka smiled, "Don"t worry babe, I have ways to make you happy," he trailed off, and she felt his hands trail on her legs. She moves his hand away quickly, and Haruka chuckled.

Geez, it isn"t funny. Why does Haruka always get like this?

"Of course, as long as you stay by my side to support me."

Oh, this is, "As long as you stay beside me, I"ll be able to move mountains." Catching his gaze on her, she sighs deeply. Really he"s too much. "Alright," Lila agreed as she gently caressed his ear and then his cheeks.

Haruka likes it when she caresses her; he always has a content look on her face whenever she does it, that"s annoying she wants to be caressed too. Just as she thought that Haruka s.h.i.+fted his position, so his head was buried on her chest as he lightly loosened her collar; but he does nothing but sniffs at her. He likes to be caressed like a child, but... what is this feeling? She feels so attached to him.

She wants to be kind to him and stay by his side. Be a source of strength for him. Hug him tightly in her arms. She wants to offer him everything he wants.

But, there are still many complications left in their relations.h.i.+p.

"Say Haruka.."

"What is it?"

"Kiryu agreed to the joint project," Lila pauses momentarily regretting what she just said. Since she only drew upon the idea recently, it would mean that she met up with him this morning.

Feeling his hands hold hers, she instantly relaxed, "I was thinking of syncing up your schedules for awhile. So you can get to see how each other works and stuff before you work together. Synchronization is important, after all."

"I got it."

"Do you really?" Rather, when did his hands get there? He"s always quick to act. But Lila knows he won"t do anything other than this. Because right now, this sort of peaceful atmosphere is one that cannot easily be replicated again.

"I do. Synchronization, you and Arata talk about it all the time. I don"t think you need to worry too much on that department. If I can to a certain degree hold a friends.h.i.+p with others, I doubt it will be too difficult with that person."

"Those two, Kiryu and senpai both have their difficulties now. But I quite like their harmony," Lila paused. That"s right, even with complications and conflicting ideas. She is drawn in naturally to their stage. Perhaps it"s the way Kiryu naturally emits a bright, beautiful moonlight that even draws in senpai.

Haruka reached over and touched her face, "I wish you could make that face for me also."

"You can see my other expressions."

Lila closed. She wants to help this person; she wants to do what she can for him. But there are certainly limitations, and eventually, she will completely hit a dead end.

When Haruka falls asleep, Lila quickly scribbles a note as she opened the doors to the back staircase — taking one last balance back at Haruka before she rushed down. If possible, it would be nice if she could stay wrapped in his arms. Because whenever she feels like this, she thinks back to the past a lot. But even if she wants to think about Haruka always. In times like this, Kiryu always comes to mind; first, she wonders why.