Eternal Melody

'I want my children to live in peaceful times. I do not want to get them involved in the underworld.' But, in order for there to be true peace, she has to root out all the evil. There should still be some time left.

"The Holy Knights, with an entire organization of killers trained since they were children, are incapable?" Hino repeated in disbelief.

"Right, they are a useless bunch." Sumire trailed off. "But your information network is amazing; how did you find out?"

There are a few skilled individuals, but most of them only know how to kill and leave nothing behind. On most occasions, that would be fine. However, there are circumstances that call for keeping the targets alive.

'I should call a cleaner later to take care of them.' Although she has been doing jobs for Aki, she hasn't been killing anybody. Killing when she is pregnant is bad karma, after all. She has been using rubber bullets instead of lethal ones.

"Let's just say that I am the one who taught Jun how to hack."

Sumire whistled. "I see now. You don't need to ask people for information; you can just find out on your own. Is that how you obtained my medical files?"

Hino sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "If I didn't do that, I was afraid Sano would catch on."

"You really are good at acting, though. I wouldn't have suspected that you knew me. But you slipped up when I first visited your house to hang out."

"To think a cup of coffee gave away my tightly guarded secret." Hino trailed off. "You also went along with the act; aren't you the real actress?"

Sumire laughed. "Don't tell my agency otherwise. I will end up with more acting jobs." Her sentence fell short when she saw Hino walk over to a vending machine. "I'm not thirsty."

"But I am, and it's easier to buy two than one."

"I will have-"

"A diet cola, right?" Hino interjected.

He truly does understand her. Frankly speaking, she feels a bit conflicted. It's almost like she is sneaking off and meeting with Hino alone without her dearest permission.

Hino walked over and placed the cola in her hands. "Time for a break, your boss should allow that much."

"Mm, let's take a break."

"Hold on." Hino takes out a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes down the bench. "I don't trust this place to do its daily cleaning."

"Well, this is an alleyway."

"By the way, even if you don't tell Yuhi anything, I am pretty sure he knows what we are up to. So you don't have to feel guilty for sneaking around with me."

Sumire looked at Hino dumbfounded. "I haven't even said anything yet."

"You're too easy to read. Besides, do you really think this is a secret rendezvous? It seems quite lacking."

"Hino, maybe I am being a bad influence on you."

Hino sighed deeply. "I think it's a bit too late to realize that." He trailed off. "So, will you at least tell me? Why don't you ever disobey Aki? Or rather, I hear if somebody gives you orders, you fulfill it. Your not the easily influenced type."

"Hmmm." Sumire trailed off. "To be honest, I am starting to forget the reason myself. I accept without hesitation whenever he tells me to do anything. Oh, but in the past, I did use to have thoughts like, 'why is it always me?' But at some point, those vanished." Sumire pointed to her gun. "It became natural to wield this and do this type of work."

"I thought there would be a deeper reason."

"There was, but like I said, after doing this every day for the past few years, you start to forget your reasoning. I don't think I am the only one who thinks this way. There are plenty of others who, once they get into the routine of something, will continue doing that routine for the rest of their lives. Even if they seek to change, it has already become natural to them."

Hino looked troubled. "I don't think this type of life suits you."

"It probably doesn't. But this is already my role. I cannot turn my back now."

"If you continue rising in the entertainment industry, eventually, you will have to stop this."

"I won't stop."

"But the more famous you become, the more the reporters will want news on you. You're able to cover everything up well now, and I don't doubt the Holy Knight's security, but eventually, the balance will break somewhere."

"Indeed, the Holy knight's security can't protect me forever. But during times when I almost got caught, the one who handled everything was Aki personally. That person, even though I turned him down, has never backed down on his word about protecting me and keeping me safe."

"Don't you find it strange that he is still doing that much for you?"

Sumire sighed. "I do, actually. Do you know after I rejected him, he burst into laughter saying, 'I wouldn't have it any other way?'"

"Ha, what is that?"

"It's weird, isn't it?"

"Very." Hino agreed.

"Now it's my turn for questions. A normal hacker wouldn't be able to fight so well."

At those words, Hino turns quiet before he nods. "Your right. This was before I reunited with Yuhi again. Shortly after I left the facility, I joined the guerrillas."

Sumire looked at him with wide eyes. "Does that mean you were a terrorist?"

"Normal people, after hearing that, wouldn't look so happy; what's with you?"

"No, no, it's very shocking, but considering how serious you are about life now and your strong respect for the law. It's unusual."

"-and you find unusual stuff fun, right?" Hino flicked her forehead. "You need to get that habit of yours under control. I can't watch you all the time."

"You say that Hino, but you're doing a good job predicting my every move. I just said I would head downtown. I could be visiting the bar. But you immediately brought your weapon with you."

"I've always kept this with me." Hino pointed to the gun. "Of course, I can't go around visibly carrying it due to the swords and firearms control law. But I do wear clothes that conceal it well."

Right, Hino always wears that long dark violet-colored jacket.

'I want to ask him why violet, but it's quite clear why.'

"The only reason why I'm wearing this color is because of you."

Sumire raised her hands and backed away. "Woah, stop, stop-stop right there."

"What is it now?"

"You just said this wasn't a secret rendezvous, but now you're saying cheesy lines like that." Sumire pointed out.

"Aren't you acting too suspiciously around me? I already told you that it would be easy for me if I wanted to take you away from Yuhi."

Why does he sound so proud about that?

"Anyway, let's go to the hospital."

"Eh, but I didn't get hurt-" Her sentence fell short when Hino pointed to her shoulder.

"It's bleeding."

Eh? Sumire recalled her fight a few minutes ago. Ah, this was probably when she got distracted watching Hino fight. Although she did end up dodging, the bullet must have grazed her.