After he finishes drinking her blood, he buries his head on her neck and sighs deeply. "I want to have s.e.x with you right now."Sumire laughs softly. "Did Atsuro give you a warning?"
A scowl appears on his face. "If you ask me. He"s doing it on purpose."
"Perhaps. But we ought to listen to him." she trails off and smiles softly. "Yuhi, right now, I still have many hesitations. I said it in the letter, right?"
"I know. You don"t have to worry about anything. I know things won"t return to normal, and you"re still afraid to touch me. But one thing that"s certain now is that you love me, right?"
"Yes, I love you."
"If you say it so easily, it becomes questionable.."
"It"s difficult for me, even though my feelings have only grown stronger since then." Sumire caresses his black locks and sighs in content. "Yuhi, why do I love you so much? Even now, I can"t explain it well."
Yuhi pulls her into his arms. "Yeah, the same goes for me. I don"t think we will ever be able to explain it well. But that"s fine; for the two of us, we"ve never had to verbally explain our feelings. Through our music, through our actions and gestures. We"ve always been able to convey it that way. I know it must still be painful for you to sing. Because it"s the same as telling me you love me."
"Yuhi, you understood...."
"Not right away, I"ll admit that much. Hey Sumire, do you hate singing?"
Sumire shook her head. "I don"t. But it is quite scary. If I sing, the only emotions that come out are my feelings for you. In the past, I didn"t think about it too much. I was glad; if everyone could hear my feelings for you, I"d be more relieved. Because it would mean n.o.body would think of taking you away from me. But that was wrong of me. Even those beautiful emotions slowly started to become clouded. That"s not how I should have expressed my love."
"Did you realize that when you heard Kanagawas playing?"
"Yes, Ren was always called a genius guitarist since we were younger. But it took me by surprise when I heard his playing again, his guitar playing had changed so much ---and not only was he incorporating his feelings. He was expressing it too."
His actions, words, and everything he did to show her his feelings. The feelings he had for her, true love.
She brushed her thumb on his lips to keep him quiet and gave him a sad smile as she continues. "You know I -- Lilchan beat me already. Her pureness and n.o.bility are so very bright. Even though I could not raise her properly after that incident, she continued smiling for me right up until I left, and now she sings and looks so radiant on stage. Despite all the difficulties in her life, she believes in those around her and turns those people trust her. Compared to that, I was never like that. Although I wanted to be, I couldn"t erase the fear."
She couldn"t erase that fear, and the music that person left behind, became something she had to entrust to somebody else—that song, the one that would mark the final as Angel.
"A cla.s.sic rock song as our send-off. "
"I love it! This is so good. I"m considering not retiring".
"Hey now . . Well, this song is special. It looks back on the painful past and yet.."
"It sounds cool."
"It will be better if you help. "
"Then I"ll do just that! I love your songs, Ren !"
"The treasure that person left me with until now is starting to take flight with her wings." His treasure. Their treasure. Before she knew what was happening, tears began streaming down from her face at a rapid rate.
"Oh no, why am I-"
Yuhi pulled her back down onto the bed and wrapped his arms tighter around herself.
"I love you; you did a good job by yourself this entire time. But it"s not over yet, for the remaining. Please rely on me."
"Rely on me, huh?" Her husband has changed a lot. In the past, he wouldn"t be able to confidentially tell her such things. He would hesitate.
.....
Three days later -
After she visited her daughter in the hospital, she quickly returned to the accommodation Yuhi rented out. Unfortunately, Frey was still unconscious, so Sumire didn"t want to risk going back yet.
She took her shoes off and entered the house. How strange. Even though the interior hasn"t changed much since that time she left, it feels different.
Oh, he recorded it…
Her gaze lands on the door to the kitchen. It seems like he cooked.
Sumire peeked her head through the door. Before she could get a word out, Yuhi walked over to her and buried his face in her chest.
"Yuhi…Ah..um …."
"Welcome back."
"Yes…" She hesitantly caressed his hair, and a hum of approval escapes his lips.
He looks worn out. She wonders if his job is pressuring? When she asked him what sort of work he does now, she never got a proper answer. It"s strange imagining him do any work that isn"t related to music though.
The two remained in each other"s arms for a good five or so minutes before Yuhi groggily got up.
"I"ll heat it, so just wait at the table."
"Okay."
He doesn"t hold her for long anymore. Even though when she returned, he was sticking to her for long periods. Even if it"s just a little bit, perhaps she has regained his trust? She won"t run away anymore. Even if it is still frightening for her, she has no intention of leaving.
Even so, he doesn"t touch her anymore, does he? Before she left, …he was always touching her. When they got married, he touched her more than he did when they were dating.
His touches, everything about him she had grown so accustomed to. Their bodies joined together so so many times.
Sumire curiously looks at the various sheets of paper on the ground. He must have been working. It"s okay for her to at least sort it out for him, right?
(Dearest Sumire)
Although he wrote it in English, she could tell it was for her. Ah…all of these are lyrics? Sumire blinks. Is he writing her a song in English? Yuhi is? But there are loads here. Is it part of a big alb.u.m or something? As she pondered about it, she feels him hug her from behind.
"Hey, now, you"ll ruin the surprise."
"Wh- S--sorry."
"Well, it was about time I told you anyway. So I guess this timing isn"t bad. Let"s discuss it over some food."
Sumire nodded and followed him to the table.