Eternal Melody

Sumire glanced over at Yuhi, who was fast asleep and sighed. It seems like she has underestimated him a bit. When they returned to the library to fetch their stuff, Sumire saw all the books scattered with multicolored post notes. Yuhi casually put her down, and she watched him put everything in his bag. She thought she understood him, but it seems like she doesn't.

Yuhi is equally serious about investigating what happened with Ru.

She wondered what that person meant to him. Was Ru important to Yuhi too? Sumire never understood their relationship, but they were friends, right? If that is the case, then he must be upset too. Did he have time to grieve?

Whenever Sumire thought of the word grieve, she would think of their mutual friends.

I left so suddenly like that and only formed three people. Are they worried? They just lost Mamoru, and then I disappear on them like that.

When he is fast asleep, he almost looks like a child.

Yuhi is nineteen; he is two years older than her. Honestly, the age difference is not a lot. But she treats him as her senior regardless.

She moved a strand of hair away from his face and quickly turned to stand up. The home ed classrooms should be free now. She ought to make him some food. But the moment she did, a hand shot out and grabbed her arm.

It belonged to Yuhi, of course. "Yuhi? I am just going to make some food."

"Nnm, no stay here." He nuzzled his face on her chest.

Sumire looked at him with wide eyes and sighed.

What a helpless man.

Still, she likes this a lot, Sumire brought Yuhi closer to her. "Yuhi," Sumire mumbled softly. "Could I ask you about Mamoru, the two of you--" She paused.

The two of them were what?

Sumire did not get a chance to say anything when she felt his lips graze her clothes. "Don't you dare."

"Even though I have a wife now, she is so stingy."

A wife? Who on earth is his wife; this level of shamelessness is amazing. Yuhi suddenly lifted his head and looked at her. "So hey Sumire."

"What is it?"

"I was wondering if you would like to go somewhere with me."

Somewhere?

"You know lately, you seem quite down, so I thought we could go somewhere to lighten your mood."

Her eyes widened when she heard his words. Ah, so he noticed it? Of course, he did. Yuhi understands everything about her. She does not understand why he spends so much time watching her-- no, she does understand. Yuhi loves her, and that is why he is always watching over her.

Sumire did not reply right away but saw the expression on his face. A bright red tint of red appeared on his face.

This is one of the things she likes about him.

He is clumsy and awkward with his words, but he cares a lot about her.

"You don't have to. I know you are busy."

Yuhi awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "I am busy, but if its something like a walk or looking around town, I can still do that. I mean, I know you don't like crowded places, so maybe a walk is better. You like scenery.. We could even have a picnic and take some pictures together.. I would like some photos of you."

Whenever she sees Yuhi this way, it reminds her that this strong and confident man is not only clumsy with words, but he is very kind. She understood that this is not easy for Yuhi, taking care of her.

He has his own burdens to shoulder. Sumire knew that her presence in his life has caused him to make many sacrifices. Sumire extended her hand out and caressed her cheeks. I want to change. I want to move on. For so long she remained stagnant after Ru died, it felt like the entire world was against her. She did not think she could move on and live a normal-like.

Even now, it is difficult, and she has many days where she cannot breathe. Days where she feels helpless, lonely, and miserable. But seeing Yuhi put so much effort for her sake makes her want to try her best to.

Sumire hesitantly extended her hand out and caressed his cheeks; she leaned forward until their foreheads brushed against one another. If it is Terashima Yuhi, then it is okay, right?

"Sumire?"

"Thank you."

Just two words, but she knew Yuhi understood.

He nodded and squeezed her hands. "You can talk to me about anything, and you can count on me too. Don't go off and fight on your own."

Ah, so that was why he stopped her from going.

"Yuhi, is your career not important to you? Becoming a singer was your dream, right?"

Yuhi frowned at her words. "It is important. I won't deny that. But Sumire, you are more important than my dream. I will sacrifice the world for you."

Her eyes widened when she heard those words. Again he is saying such stupid sounding things.

But this stupid trait of his is something she liked.

He will sacrifice the world, huh?

Yuhi probably has no idea what that sounds like. So stupid, he is lucky that she is the one who he is saying this too. If it were any other girl, they would have taken advantage of him by now.

It seems as though she is falling for him. No matter how much she denies it or suppresses her feelings. This is no good; it was not supposed to be like this. She was not supposed to fall in love with him to the point of no return.

Anybody could say such words, did Sano not say something similar before? He said something about her scars not bothering him. 'You're beautiful just the way you are.'

Sano's words echoed in her head and Sumire sighed.

She understood better than anyone that Terashima Yuhi is not that type of a man. But it is still difficult for her. It is still difficult for her to accept other people into her life after what happened.

Her breakups and then Mamoru's death.

It feels like she has not had a single peaceful day since what happened then.

To her surprise, Yuhi did not say anymore and grabbed hold of her wrist. "Let's go."