Eternal Melody

It did not take long before she reached the attached bathroom. The moment she opened the door, she realized that somebody had already filled the tub with water.

'That dummy was too prepared.' He must have realized that she would end up accepting his advances. Then again, 'I don't think I have ever rejected him before.' Whenever Yuhi wanted to touch her, she would immediately agree. There is no reason to refuse; they are a couple.

She sat down and dipped her legs in the warm water. She did this for a few minutes before slipping her clothes off and entering the water.

'You're prettier than any other human in the universe, brighter than any star shining in the galaxy, lovelier than any flower.'

Recalling Yuhi's words, her cheeks flushed red. How dangerous, Yuhi-san is too dangerous. Now, whenever he compliments her, he adds extra stuff. She has to be more careful when asking him for praise.

Their relationship is going well, almost too well even.

"A year." Sumire mumbled.

In a few months, it would be a year since she accepted his confession. To think, this time last year, she was still locked up in Ru's home and was in a terrible state.

She would never have thought that the situation would turn into this in just a year. To have Yuhi stand by her side was one of Ru's greatest wishes. He never fails to mention Yuhi and the feelings Yuhi has for her. But she wondered when did that stop? It should have stopped at one point since he asked her out. Was it during the time she was with Ren?

"My memory."

She supposes there is still something wrong with it. Although she is starting to recall fragments of her times in the facility, it still isn't enough. There was the issue with her memories when she was kidnapped too. How much was erased? Just the part about meeting Yuhi and regarding her being an ability user. Why those two things in particular?

Maybe she should ask Yuhi to help her with- Sumire paused in mid-thought. What is she doing relying on Yuhi so much? It's true that she has been more careful after she snuck out that time and caused problems for him. However, even with something simple as investigating? She should at least do that on her own.

'No, it's because you are not satisfied.' A voice in her head said.

Sumire frowned, hearing the voice. Here it is again. Recently she has been hearing these voices in her head. Not just random voices of the past but somebody speaking to her directly.

'Regarding?'

'Terashima Yuhi. If you completely possess and make him yours, then your longing would be appeased. You should do whatever you want, drink until nothing is left, swallow until you're tired.'

Sumire slammed her hands against the edge of the tub.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Like she could ever do something like that.

'But haven't you had these thoughts before? Thoughts about possessing him and keeping him locked away? Our ideas came from these thoughts of yours.'

'Are you pretending? Or just holding back?'

'Don't do that, do whatever you want. Even if it means devouring a life, you can just move on to the next one.'

At those words, she hits her fist against the edge of the tub again, causing fresh droplets of blood to appear in her fingers.

Her thoughts break off when somebody grabs hold of her hand.

"What are you doing? Why are you destroying your pretty hands?"

She almost screamed seeing Yuhi. W-when did he come in? How long has he been watching? Yuhi wore a simple white bathrobe, and he was staring her up and down, most likely for other injuries. Seeing the concerned look on his face, Sumire immediately understood what was going on in his mind.

"Ah, it's not like that." Sumire quickly explained. Yuhi, however, looked like he didn't believe her.

'I don't want to talk about the voices now.' Sumire bit her lip and slowly nodded.

"You caught me."

Just admit it for now and apologize later.

"I guess we are starting with your hands first." He lowered his body and raised her hands.

It took her a few extra seconds to understand what he was doing. "Did you come here to help me bathe?"

"Yes, I thought you'd struggle today."

Is he worrying that her emotional state isn't good after what happened earlier? Now probably isn't the time to tell him that after speaking to both him and Hino-san, she feels much better.

'I suppose I can take advantage of this, Yuhi-san pampering me.'

"Soaking it in warm water might be better." Yuhi examined her injured fingers carefully. "Is the water warm enough?"

"Yes." Sumire replied.

"Then does it hurt?"

"Oh no, it's okay."

It did hurt, but she would rather not trouble him. He squeezed her fingers briefly, and she winced in pain.

"Tell me again."

He did that on purpose! Sumire sighed deeply. "It hurts." She reluctantly admitted.

"That's all you have to say. I will apply ointment after the bath, so soak your fingers, okay?"

Sumire nodded and followed his instructions as she placed her injured hands in the warm water. It hurt, however, only for a short while. The pain seemed to gradually soothe due to the water.

"Is this a herbal bath?" Sumire asked.

She didn't notice anything when she first entered, but why else would her fingers feel relaxed like this?

"Correct." Yuhi reached over for the jars on the side and picked up a bottle as he poured it into the tub. "Unfortunately, I do not have any roses, but this rose water should make up for it."

The moment Yuhi poured in the contents of the rose water, the water turned into a lovely shade of pink. It took only a few seconds before she smelled the familiar aroma of roses.

His rough fingers dug into her hair. "You haven't washed your hair yet, right?"

"No."

"I guess I didn't miss the best part yet."

Sumire laughed at those words. Now that she thinks about it, Yuhi-san does have a strange obsession with her hair. Maybe he finds it pretty?

"Was there a reason why you were late?"

"I had to tell the others that we went home."

"Ah, that's right! We were supposed to be having a meeting."

"It's alright; we can discuss it in school tomorrow."

If he says so, it feels strange, even though they end up separated. She and Yuhi and the other guys in M5 end up reunited. Previously she only ever believed in destiny regarding matters regarding romance. Her and

Her and Yuhi are destined to be together after all. But, after recalling her memories with the other guys, she is starting to see another use for that word.