"Wha---"

"I'm really angry. I must be an even bigger idiot to love you this much. Let's assume that you're telling the truth. Why do you look like you're about to cry? "

Her eyes widened at those words, and she tried to look away, but it was futile.

He noticed, of course, he did. Yuhi is the only person who she can't lie to. It is easy for her to lie to others, but the truth ends up slipping out when it comes to Terashima Yuhi.

"I love your smile. I can tell right away if it's fake or not. You can't play dumb with me. The enemy probably made some demands using my life as a bargaining chip. That's the only explanation that makes sense."

"No, I--- " She needs to deny it. She has to.

"Enough, be quiet." Yuhi silenced her and pulled her into his arms.

She noticed that he was quivering, and thus the tears desperately spilled from her eyes. It's not good. She can't pull away from him even though she has to.

"I felt like I was going to die. You left without saying a word to anyone, and you decided to sacrifice yourself. Do you have any idea how much th me? You really don't understand anything. You have no idea what it would mean if I lost you for real if you died somewhere in a place where I didn't know. A place where you'd be by yourself. "

Even though Eli was there, and even though Ru was in reach- Yuhi is right. She was close to dying in a place where nobody would find her—what a frightening thought. At the time, she did not think about it too deeply, but now that she is safe again, she realized how careless her behavior was.

"No, let me go, please."

Please let her go. Please don't say anything anymore. She doesn't need to hear it. She doesn't need to know how much he loves her.

"Didn't I tell you to be quiet? Just listen to what I have to say. I'm not dying, no matter what happens. You're not running from me again, no matter what. Didn't we vow when we first started dating, ' till death do us apart?' Didn't we swear that we would share each other's burdens? You broke the promise far too early if you ask me."

She never expected to hear words like that come from Yuhi's mouth. She tried to search for a retort back but found none. What can she say? He is right. They aren't even married yet, and she already ran away because of her insecurities.

"T--there's no other way. I will still remember, I'll live on with his memory everyday, I'll return his feelings. However, when the enemy slowly began to make their moves. I couldn't ignore it. I wouldn't bear it if you died Yuhi, so---this was the only way."

"There are a lot of options. Besides, you said we'd try to find a way together. That during the most difficult times, we would think about it together. 'I'm not alone' you're the one who made me realize that I have you and others who care about me. The same goes for you. Even if they'd kill me if you didn't obey, I'd just die if you sacrificed yourself. Don't you understand already? Geez, give me a break already. If you're going to make me hurt this much, it would be better to die together. "

At those words, she frantically shook her head.

"No !!!" she exclaimed. "No, I can't die with you Yuhi, I promised Ru that I'd die with him, that I'd fall into hell with him. But to the very end, I couldn't do that. I couldn't do it. I considered killing myself after his death. I was going crazy after all. I couldn't sing anymore. Music became a painful subject to me, but whenever I heard your songs, whenever you held me, I felt at ease. I felt so calm. Even now, during this situation, I just want to get close to you."

This isn't the time to get close or get affectionate. But the last two months, the only thing on her mind was to return to Yuhi, no matter what it took. If she could see Yuhi again, then she would surely tell him.

"I am towards Yuhi...love you a lot... "

It felt like a light load left her chest when she said those words, and she felt his fingers brush the tears from her eyes.

"Correct answer. You love me and only me. That's how it's always been, and he knew that too. The night before he got into an accident, he contacted me. "

Eh? Ru did what? Wait-?

Yuhi sighed. "Before I go into this subject. Was Mamoru the one who hurt you?"

Ah--she thought there was something wrong with him. It must have been painful for Yuhi to watch her in this state.

Sumire nodded. "He did, but it was only after they experimented on him."

"Experiment?"

"Tell me, Yuhi, is there any way to force somebody to have abilities?"

Yuhi nodded. "In the life sciences, there are many researchers who play with the idea of turning a normal human into an ability user, or mess with a very powerful ability user." He trailed off. "Are you saying Mamoru--?"

"I believe so. I did hear from Hino's brother that Ru got badly hurt from the accident, but why would he-"

"Obviously, he will do what he can to regain his strength."

"Are you saying it is for my sake? Is that why he--" Sumire paused when she recalled his pained expression.

Runaway Sumire.

"I see. I think I get it, but was it frightening? That he hurt you."

Weak laughter escaped her lips when she heard Yuhi say those words. Frightening? What frightened her was not her own life but his painful cries. She didn't think she would ever see Ru like that. It was a first for her, feeling so powerless. Even though she has strength, strength that is abnormal, she couldn't protect anyone.

Her thoughts broke off when she felt Yuhis hands on her hair. "But well, I was ready to murder him if he deliberately hurt you."

"Uh, that would have been a problem."

"I'm not happy about this."

Her gaze softened when she heard his tone. But even though he isn't happy, he will respect her wishes and her decisions.