Eternal Melody

“Are you returning to the hospital after-” Yuhi’s sentence fell short when they hear a rumbling sound come from the sky? In seconds rain started to fall rapidly. Yuhi looked around for a nearby shelter and found an old bus stop and lead the girl there.

“It just snowed yesterday,” Yuhi grumbled. The snow remained overnight, but with this sudden rain shower, it will most likely vanish.

Sumire laughed softly. “I guess the snow isn’t stable yet.”

Yuhi paused when he heard her laughter. It was only a mere chuckle, and yet her image in his head continues to grow lovelier. He is in a bit of a bid here.

When Asuka first mentioned that Sumire disappeared, he was frantic, but then she calmly replied that the girl most likely went to Tokyo. Yuhi didn’t believe it at first. But it seemed like Asuka caught the girl looking at the little letters he slipped into the books he gave her.

So based on her actions, he went to the nightclub that day. He already had a few drinks, so he didn’t know exactly when she came in, nor did he recognize her due to the amount of alcohol. His mind was hazy, but when he heard her speak, he knew who she was immediately.

Yuhi didn’t think they would end up in the same school. But even then, he didn’t have any hope that she would choose the art side. Her love for music runs deeply. So when she re-appeared as his classmate and became his deskmate too, he felt even more troubled.

He only intended to watch over her silently, but fate said so otherwise. Every time he is with her, he can’t help but remember clearly all the small reasons he fell for her before. They overlap with the current things he likes about her.

This is a huge problem. If he continues to like her this way, eventually, he will no longer hold back. She is so precious to him; he doesn’t want to do anything that would make her dislike him. Yuhi recalled how he was when he was still dating Miyazawa Makino and sighed deeply.

He was not in the best state back then, but why did he do such things? If Sumire knew all the things he did back then, would she leave him? Yuhi shook his head; he already knew that would not happen. She has repeatedly shown him that she is different from those other women. 

His gaze fell on the girl who was wiping herself with a napkin and paused. He recognized the piece of cloth immediately and looked away. “I can get you something better.”

Sumire shook her head and beamed happily. “No, I like this one.”

Is that so? He knew she isn’t the type of woman who cared for material possessions. She liked simple and pretty things. He gave her that old napkin during a mission because he noticed that she was sweating a lot.

Naturally, he saw her use it a few times after, but so much time has passed.

Yuhi didn’t think that she would keep it this entire time.

“Say Sumire. I want to give you something.”

“Eh?” She seemed startled and paused for a moment. “But it isn’t my birthday or anything.”

Yuhi pulled a small box out of his pocket, and he noticed her looking at it with wide eyes.

“Uh, if you’re going to propose Yuhi-san, you should make it more romantic.”

Yuhi rolled his eyes. Despite that snarky remark, he could tell how nervous she was. She still has that bad habit of teasing him, but something is different with her now. She is more honest with her feelings. 

He took a step forward and opened the box revealing a pair of ruby and gold-colored earrings. “I know you normally don’t wear these things. But I think it is a waste since you are so pretty.”

She does wear small trinkets occasionally, but nothing too grand. Yuhi intended to get her something like that at first, but he found a small corner shop when he wandered around the shopping district. It sold strange antique-looking items from the window, and he saw these earrings at a glance.

He couldn’t help but imagine how she would look in these before he knew it he had bought them.

“There is a necklace and bracelet too. But put these on first.” The items were not together, but he noticed that the designs were similar. So he asked the shopkeeper, who confirmed they were a set.

Yuhi saw her looking at him with expectation in his eyes, and he chuckled. She is silly at times, but that makes her even more loveable in his eyes. Yuhi closed the distance between them and took the earrings from the box, and leaned forward.

Normally he is good at this type of thing since he often had to cater to Makino’s whims. That girl had many bad habits; she would wake up late and even then wouldn’t be in the mood to move around for a while. He practically did everything for her. 

Sumire suddenly stepped on his foot, and Yuhi sighed. “I wasn’t thinking of her.”

“You can’t trick me!”

This girl is too sharp for the strangest things. “I was just thinking how hard this is to put on, and how with my experience, it should be easier,” Yuhi admitted. He doesn’t want her to misunderstand.

At those words, Sumire chuckled. “So even you have a hard time with something?”

“Hey, what is that supposed to mean.”

“Well, I have thought since I came here, but aren’t you too perfect, Yuhi-san? You can do anything from cooking to cleaning, drawing, and painting. Well, your grades are good, and you sing well. You are an all-rounder. Your also very handsome.”

“Are you trying to imply that I have no flaw?”

It was just a simple question, but Sumire suddenly paused. She was only silent for a few minutes, and yet he felt the tension in the air. Did he say something wrong?

Before he could think it through, Sumire suddenly spoke up and said. “You do have a flaw.”

“That is?”

“Your flaw is you fell in love with me.”

His eyes dimmed when he heard her response. Well, it is not like he doesn’t understand where her negativity and insecurity come from. There was a time where he disliked everything about himself and even did stupid things. 

He let himself go because why not? It is not like anybody expected anything from him. People portrayed this bad image onto him, and instead of working hard to prove them wrong, he went with it.

It was easier to do that than to struggle. Even if he did the opposite of what those rumors say, there would still be people who doubted him. There was a time where he thought it was hopeless.

But then he joined the Holy Knights and met Sumire again. There she showed him that there is still hope in this cruel world. She showed him that they could still work together as partners no matter what positions they were in. She has faith and an unwavering conviction that things will change.