Eternal Melody

The walk home to his apartment was filled with dread. He wants nothing more than for Sumire to live a normal life and focus on her career. But those people won't give her peace.

He should contact Soujiro regarding the case Atsuro gave him. It would be fine for him to work on this alone, but Soujiro can be useful for stuff like this.

Moreover, he wants to help him a bit. Soujiro keeps distancing himself from Sumire.

'I already feel bad that I am taking her away from him.'

The one Sumire should be marrying is Soujiro. That engagement would have gone ahead if Sumire's parents were still alive.

Is this why, unlike the other guys who like her, he feels that Soujiro is more of a threat?

The moment he returned, he heard movement in the kitchen and headed over. Sure enough, there was Sumire wrapped in a cute bundle still. Is she wearing clothes underneath now?

"Yuhi, welcome home!" Sumire said brightly.

'What is this cute creature?'

"My wife?"

"Yes?"

Should he tell her not to reply to that so easily before they marry?

Yuhi felt his heartbeat increase when he saw her bright smile, and he hugged her tightly. He buried his face in her hair, and the girl laughed softly.

"What's the matter?"

"You look cute."

"Aha, is it the blanket? You have strange tastes, Yuhi."

Now that he was closer to her, he noticed the strap of her nightgown and sighed in relief. It's a good thing she put something on; if she continued wearing nothing, he would really attack her.

"You seem cheerful. Did something good happen?"

"Mmm! I wrote a song for you." Sumire said happily.

"For me?"

"Yes, the melody suddenly came to mind after you left, so I hurried to write it down. Do you want to listen? I think it came out nicely."

She still smells like wine; did she drink more?

"Hey, did you drink more?"

"A little, I was thinking."

"About?"

"You attacking me."

Hah, of course. She made it painfully clear what she wanted. Why does he hold back even when she is willing?

"We can, in a little bit. Let me listen to the song first?"

Yuhi pulled away from her, but Sumire suddenly tugged on his shirt. He turned to her and saw her red-stained face.

"You're going to attack me, Yuhi?"

Isn't that what she wanted? Why does she seem so surprised?

Yuhi rubbed the back of his neck and leaned forward to kiss her. "I'm going to." He mumbled against her lips. "Do you mind?"

He can't hold back when she behaves like this. Moreover, he does not want her to think that he does not want her.

"I-I-I don't mind, Yuhi!"

"Mm, thought so. But you're nervous?"

"A-little. What are you going to do?"

'What she says--' Yuhi stared at her dumbfounded. She truly is unbelievable.

"Is there anything you want me to do?"

"I-I didn't think you would ask me." Sumire laughed softly. "I can make requests?"

"You can."

Does she actually have some? Sumire leaned forward and mumbled something in his ear. He thought his ears were playing tricks on him for a moment until he looked at her gaze.

"Are you sure?" Yuhi brushed his forehead against hers. "I don't want to frighten you."

"You won't be. I like it."

"I see."

"You don't want to, Yuhi?"

Yuhi panicked when, "No, I really do. You're driving me insane. But I don't want to hurt you."

"You're so kind to me. I love that about you." Sumire laughed. "You know I drank that wine on purpose to see if you would attack me."

"I know, silly girl. Don't drink when you are unwell. Is your stomach still hurting?"

"I asked San for advice when you left. He told me what to do."

Yuhi frowned at the mention of that man. Surprisingly Nagawa didn't come here. Then again, with D entertainment growing, that guy will be busy for awhile.

"I see. I'm glad your not in pain anymore."

"But I still feel nausea, and I'm tired. I don't want to sleep again. I want to fool around!"

This girl is so determined about fooling around. But the moment he brings her to the bedroom, she will behave like a shy little girl again.

Yuhi brushed his forehead against hers. "I'll be gentle."

"Yuhi."

"You're sick. I don't want you to get hurt. So you have to behave."

"I-I understand." Sumire laughed. "I'm sorry for being so forward."

"You know I would never blame you for that."

It's a refreshing change, considering how she used to say everything in riddles.

"Your face looks flushed." Yuhi looked around the kitchen. "Were you trying to cook?"

"Ah, yes, but I kept messing up and dropping everything. So I was about to clean."

"I'll make you something light; what about some soup?"

"That sounds good."

"Cool, I'll start now."

His thoughts broke off when Sumire leaned over and kissed his cheek. Before he could even react, she had already rushed out of the kitchen doors.

Yuhi stared at the spot where she was just seconds ago and sighed deeply.

'Is she trying to kill me? Why does she keep behaving so cutely?'

It's a good change seeing her being so honest, and she smiles more. This is good, yet darkness will shroud those peaceful days soon.

Yuhi recalled what she said earlier about her first meeting with that guy.

He took out his phone from his pocket, scrolled through his messages with Mamoru, and found what he wanted. There were some videos and images attached.

For a moment, he is startled. 'Sumire did this?' Mamoru was right to be worried about her mental state during this time. She even cut the body to pieces; did she have to go that far?

Now that he thought about it, there was a similar case that they went on before. The victim's body was cut into pieces, and the killer flushed it down the drain to avoid people from discovering the body.

She didn't take inspiration from that case, did she?

Yuhi examined the images carefully. The way she cut up the body, too, this level of brutality is extreme. Is the darkness in her heart that strong even now? Ever since she came to Tokyo, she seemed calmer, and she attended school a lot at the start. These days she frequently disappears due to her return to the entertainment industry.

But perhaps she is secretly- Yuhi shook his head. It doesn't matter; she indeed did something brutal. However, he was the same; he did all types of things during his lowest point. He may not have done something this brutal, but he still did bad stuff.

'I can't judge her for doing this, especially since I was the main cause for her-' Yuhi's thoughts broke off when he felt a familiar pair of arms hug him from the back, causing him to drop his phone.

"Yuhi, you knew?"

"I did."

"Back then, I missed you, and San just betrayed me. It felt like many things were going wrong, and I was tired of the world. I did something frightening, but you don't hate me, do you?"

Yuhi felt her hands tremble, and he turned around to face her. He cupped her cheeks. "No, I find you more loveable."

She is so precious to him; how could he hate her for this? How could he judge her past? He understands how it feels to be broken, even if their circumstances are different.

Sumire's gaze softened. "I want something other than soup. Can I help you?"

"Sure."