Dream Star 584 Lets Talk About Terashima Lila

"Wha—what do you mean?"

"You're going to ask me now? Well, here's not the best place. But there's no one around, so.." 

"What are you going to do to me?" she exclaimed utterly fl.u.s.tered. Being alone with this guy is dangerous, after all. Kasumi averts her gaze. "A—any way you will leave again, so even if you say that. I won't be able to see what kinds of faces you'll make."

That's right. Eventually, he will no longer be by her side again. So even if he says all these things, it will be futile. Who knows when the next time they will meet again? She can't simply wait around like before, especially when she has somebody else. Someone she wants to treasure.

"Ah, I guess you have a point."

"See! Your back to your old self again, you liar—" Kasumi sentence fell short when she saw the look in his eyes. She tried to avoid his gaze.

Mikami did not mind and continued, "I promise. Wherever I go, whatever the distance that separates us, I will come back to you. And when we both grow up and become adults, I will marry you. Because I'll always be in love with you."

"L—let me go," her cheeks burned red at this point. Normally, she would not get embarra.s.sed. But, this person always melts her cold exterior.

"If you don't believe me, I'll seal my promise with a kiss."

"Wh-"

"I love you, Kasumi."

Those were the last words she heard before his lips met hers, and her senses completely melted away. So stupid, this person. There's no way she will wait for such an idiot. But she won't push him away now. This is her gift to him before he leaves.

...

"I'm serious fool, let go of me," Kasumi didn't want to look him in the eye at all. Why does he act this way? They have not met in so long, and yet he does these foolish things.

"So, why are we meeting s.h.i.+chiro, now? You have to perform soon."

"It's okay; he's in a cafe across the street. Besides, there are things the three of us have to discuss."

__________________

At Dragon Cafe

Hamano Mikami always knew things would get complicated if they ever speak about Teras.h.i.+ma Lila. He knew the purpose of Kasumi's meeting.

Kasumi wanted to discuss the current affairs with Lila and Haruka. She wants their input.

At that comment, Futaba reached over and grabbed hold of his wrist, who lowered his hand so she could speak into the receiver, "Sorry to bother you while you're sad! Cheer up," Kasumi chirped.

Since earlier, she seemed oddly chirper.

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to hear that from you."

This cold and indifferent looking man is the other childhood friend, Nakara s.h.i.+chiro.

"Sorry about that, s.h.i.+chiro," Mikami apologized.

"It's fine. But your the only one who eats okonomiyaki when the weathers like this."

"Idiot. It's exactly because it's cold that I'm eating this now. Besides, Kasumi's going to be working till late tonight, so she needs to eat up now."

Kasumi will get hungry after performing too. He has to make sure she gets enough food.

"If I get too chubby, it'll be your fault, Mikami. But if I don't get enough food, it's your fault s.h.i.+chiro."

What a carefree smile. It's not unusual, yet it is indeed rare. Mikami could see it now, the relations.h.i.+p between childhood friends. Kasumi, she seems genuinely fine now. Earlier, they didn't have a proper talk, though. Is she really fine?

"I'm already pretty full, so I'm fine with what we already have. But you can go ahead and order more Mikami," Kasumi said, pa.s.sing him the menu.

"Could we get squid b.a.l.l.s, pork b.a.l.l.s, mixed b.a.l.l.s, octopus b.a.l.l.s, and pork kimchi b.a.l.l.s?" s.h.i.+chiro said to the waiter. The waiter quickly jotted down the order and told them to wait a few minutes. s.h.i.+chiro nodded, and the man walked away.

"You're ordering too much."

"It's all right. The majority is for you, Mikami, my treat."

Mikami sighed but nodded. Quite some time has pa.s.sed since he spent time with them like this.

"Is the talk going to be so serious that you're bribing me?" Mikami asked once the waiter placed the tray down.

s.h.i.+chiro removed it from the plate with the spatula and pa.s.sed the large portion to him. Mikami rolled his eyes but accepted it.

"That depends on how you see it. But no, this isn't a bribe. You've had a lot of jobs recently, so I figured you haven't been eating much."

Since his group, RAY hit of the tournaments with such a fantastic performance. However, right now, his career is something that's still...

"What a mother hen, I appreciate the thought though." Mikami took some large bites.

Mikami thought that his friend would comment on his speculations, complaints, and theories. Or comment on him being too noisy. But instead, his blue-colored companion merely listened to him.

"I see, so that's it. I figured that they had some sort of connection with each other. But now that it's like this, it makes sense."

"I understand that they are close friends like siblings even. But to go this far and sacrifice his feelings, it doesn't seem right, nor does it seem like him."

Kasumi nodded, "It's true that person's feelings towards Lila have always been powerful. So the chances of him being one of the ones that gave up are small. But that's exactly the reason, why don't you think?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Like it's because his feelings towards her were the strongest that he's able to give her up, knowing that she will be truly happy with the other person," Kasumi mumbled.

Mikami would never have thought that such a simple sentence would cross Kasumi's lips. But now that it's happened, he doesn't know how to comprehend those words without a long explanation.

He turned to s.h.i.+chiro. His friend wore a complicated look on his face as he continued.

"Yeah, it's exactly that. In the first place, the guys who fall for Lila fall for several things. Her personality and her music. Her music and her voice are main factors. That's why if they can see her express her feelings in her music whole heart idly towards another person, it's easier for them to give up then confessing. The guys in Seven Stars aren't stupid, and I know they are just waiting for everything to end before they say their goodbyes. Do you want to know why she never rejected any of them despite knowing their feelings?"

Mikami nodded as s.h.i.+chiro continued, "Because they are insurance in case something happens with the main guy. Putting it this way really makes her seem like a calculating woman. But it's not like she had much of a choice in the first place. For Lila, it would be great if the first guy she fell in love with would be with her forever. However, the first guy she fell for had to be Kiryu, and we all know what happened there."

"s.h.i.+chiro, don't put it like that," Kasumi said, hitting his shoulder. 

The girl's ruby-colored orbs softened. "Lila, really loved Kiryu, and if possible, she would have liked to be with him forever. But she never said those words to him, nor did she ever tell him the extent of her feelings for him. Because she knew they would have to part with each other, eventually. I'll say this now because of the situation.

However, Kiryu has a serious illness. Not exactly a medicinal one but more to do with the after-effects of being born with such strange powers. Eventually, he would not have only lost his hearing, but his vision and his motor senseless. He would have ended up confined to a bed. So in a sense, when he left Lila. He was..."

"Haruksenpai knew," Mikami interjected.

For a moment, Kasumi did not reply, and he understood why. Everyone thinks badly of Haruksenpai. "He knew?" Kasumi asked after a few minutes.

Mikami laughed, "Yes, he knew. That's why he tried to get Lilchan to hate him."