Sumire took a deep breath before she opened the door. Sure enough, on the other side of the door was Sano. But there was something different about him.

Oh, this--? Her eyes widened when she saw his badly bruised face. No, the bruises went all the way down to his neck.

"Did you get hurt again?"

Sano cupped her cheeks. "You're okay?"

"Mmm, nobody has gone after me for a while-" She paused mid-sentence when she saw how bad his wounds were "They hurt you?"

"…"

Hino sighed deeply. "If you don't tell her, I will."

"…"

It took Sano a few minutes before he finally spoke. The words that left his lips were hard to believe.

"Eh? You mean--"

Hino nodded. "Lately, they drag Sano along with them to their jobs and make him do unreasonable things."

"Is that because they heard about me bringing him with me?"

"Well, you did create rather ambiguous rumors."

Sumire sweat fell when she heard those words. "Well, you know..."

Sano slumped in her arms. "It must hurt. Hold on a second." She placed her hand on his forehead. "I think you have a fever too."

The moment she moved her hand away, however, Sano leaned in to kiss her. "San…mmmm…."

"I wanted to say this for a long time, but you learned to kiss with your mouth open. You couldn't do it before."

Why does he remember such things? Why does he have to behave this way? Before she could process that thought, somebody entered the room and pulled her away.

"Yuh-?"

He wiped her mouth with a cloth and sighed. "Geez, how many times do I have to do this?"

"Are you okay?"

Oh, her legs now that he is here. She suddenly felt all the tension disappear.

Yuhi crouched down. "Good job calling me."

"You're too slow."

He squeezed her hands. "Do you want to go back? But since we're here, we can eat out."

"We can grab a bite somewhere."

Yuhi kissed her forehead softly. "Cool, then let's go on a date."

He turned to Hino, who helped Sano up. "Listen, I get that you like her and that you're doing a lot for her. But surely you must understand that doing this will only scare her?"

"Yuhi it's fine."

Sano looks so sick, and he needs to go to a hospital.

"San, you can go back to the bar. You remember where it is, right? Stay for a while and get your wounds treated."

"..with you. I want to stay with you now."

Sumire awkwardly looked over at Yuhi, who sighed but nodded.

Yuhi was about to say something, but Hino tapped his shoulder. "Come with me for a bit. I have something to discuss with you."

"Alright."

The moment the two left, she brought Sano over to the couch.

Sano caressed her cheeks. "Are you not hurt?"

"You're the one who is hurt," Sumire stated flatly. Why is he even expressing such concern for her?

"But they said--"

Sumire shook her head. "You need to stop letting them get to you. Listen, Sano, and I told you before that you don't have to sacrifice everything for my sake."

They are no longer in a relationship. Her sentence fell short when she suddenly felt herself on the ground. Sano hovered over, and in seconds he was kissing her deeply.

'Oh once again…' Didn't this happen a lot in the past too? Whenever she expressed her concern for him, he would end up doing this to her.

He would kiss her passionately, a passionate kiss that has no deep feelings behind it. It is like a predator kissing it's prey.

"You kiss," Sano mumbled. "--differently now."

Does she?

Why does he even remember things like that? Ah, she doesn't understand anymore. 'I wanted to use him like a doll and trample all over him.'

That was her plan to crush him and make his life miserable. It was one of the things she could hold onto when Ru left her. Her revenge towards the person who hurt her.

She forgot all about it when she dated Ru, but those dark thoughts emerged after the accident. Before she knew it, the situation became like this.

He was so cruel to her when they broke up, and he set up those terrible situations when they dated. He is the worst kind of man.

But since when could he kiss her so gently like this? It seems he has genuine feelings for her. How is she supposed to continue treating him in the future?

This is so painful, and it hurts to breathe. It hurts whenever she is around this person.

"Are you crying?"

"San-" She muttered. "No, stop."

"Don't cry, Sumire. I like you so much."

But it is too late for them already, even if he does this with her.

"Sumire." Sano's breathing became unsteady. "Please, don't cry."

"Ugh, I'm an awful person."

She needs to get away from him now.

"I can tell what is on your mind right now." Sano deepened the kiss, and she felt her vision blur.

"Why?"

"You and I are the same."

"We are both rotten?"

Sano weakly smiled. "If that is what you want to think."

He is kissing her again without stopping, and this time she felt his hands on her clothing. She wouldn't stop crying. This is so painful. It hurts too much; how much longer does she have to live like this? Why does she have to continue this way?

Her thoughts broke off when somebody pulled her off the ground.

It was Yuhi, and there was a mixture of pain and anger in his eyes.

"Nagawa-"

Sumire tugged on his arm and shook her head. "Let's just go, Yuhi."

Just take her away already; please make this pain go away.

Yuhi nodded and pulled her into his arms. "Alright, let's do things your way."

…

An hour later

It was clear that he was angry. But unfortunately, she couldn't tell who he was angry at. Yuhi didn't take her back to the bar but to one of his apartments. The moment he closed the door behind them. Yuhi pinned her against the wall.

"Tell me something, Sumire."

".."

"Is that normal for you? Not to fight back when somebody oppresses you like that?"

"I-"

"Or is it because it's him?"

This was her first time seeing Yuhi so angry. Then again, this is how he should have acted all along. His behavior this entire time was unusual. But perhaps she got used to it since now his anger scares her.

"I said to you before that I'm a terrible person. It's not like-"

Yuhi slammed his other hand against the wall, startling her. "Sumire, after we talked last time, I thought you would start taking responsibility for your actions. I know you are only using him. But let us be realistic. You never got over your breakup. Mamoru managed to distract you, but even then, it wasn't enough."