Eternal Melody

YUHI

"After I met lex, I buried the memories of my wildays away. So, it makes sense why I didn't recognize Lennon. Moreover we were both very different then. When I listened to Lennon, I saw the tender look in his eyes and understood that he truly held genuine feelings for me."

"But he raped you."

"Lennon explained to me how a coven of witches sold him several pieces of antique jewellery. Lennon was collecting them to gradually give them to me as a gift, but he didn't realize they were corrupted until it was too late. My dear, you should know about this right? If you spend a lot of time around artefacts corrupted in darkness, the darkness transfers to you too."

Yuhi nodded. "And from the sounds of it, he touched the pieces directly. Being in the same room as those things are already dangerous let alone touching them."

"So Lennon was corrupted, and when his soul was shattered, each piece was slowly cleansed and he returned to his usual self." Sumire trailed off. "Having a woman in the mercenary guild was strange. The only way for me to stay there was to marry one of the members."

"What about your family?"

"My family wouldn't take me back unless I cut things off with Lex which I obviously couldn't do."

"But, you had to marry another man." Toh pointed out the flaw in Sumire's words.

"Lennon wasn't just another man though."

Toh didn't question her further but Yuhi knew what he wanted to say. She was willing to go to the mercenary guild to seek protection, and marry anyone. She was lucky the leader was someone she knew. Mercenaries in this life are rare but there are still a few, and all of them are bastards. They would have treated her terribly if she was someone random.

"It turned out Lennon had been looking for me too, and I actually came at a good time since they were actively seeking women with my description. Out of all the girls who came, I was the one who matched the requirements. At that time I mentally prepared myself, thinking I must have caught the attention of the mercenary guild leader by mistake. When I saw it was Lennon, I was really emotional."

"And you fucked again?" Toh finished.

Sumire's cheeks coloured and she coughed. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, that seems to be the pattern since you saw him in your third life."

"Okay, okay so we slept together! Big deal. At that moment I was simply a woman seeking shelter after being abused."

"If I knew you back then, beautiful, perhaps courting you would have been easier."

Sumire looked offended and Yuhi's sweat fell. Is this, how they usually talk to each other? He still isn't too familiar with their relationship, and how they interact. He hasn't had much of an opportunity till now. He supposes he can use this situation to observe.

"It was going really well, and even when Lex showed up. Lennon said he would help him."

"While he continued to fuck you?"

"Okay, so maybe that part was wrong."

"Indeed it was, promising to help his brother but also fucking his woman?" Toh shakes his head. "Your relationship with both brothers was unhealthy."

"Perhaps." Sumire plays with a strand of her hair. "Either way, Lennon changed and treated me well. He ended up dying when he jumped in front of a sword that was meant for me."

Sensing her quiet tone, Yuhi interjected. "Was Lucifer the one who killed you in your fifth life?"

"Yes, Lennon jumped in front of me but the blade was long and still pierced me. He killed both of us."

That explains it, those wounds must have been caused from the darkness in the blade. From Lucifer gripping her hand too tightly.

"This Lennon sounds like he is your ally, even though I don't like what he did to you in your first life. Is there any way to find him now? Or maybe you have met him already?" Toh said. 

Sumire bit her lip again. "Do you remember how Lucifer was attacked not too long ago?"

"Yes by Aki." Toh trailed off. "Are you trying to say Aki is Lennon?"

Sumire shakes her head. "No, not exactly. In this life Lennon doesn't have a physical form but his soul is inside Aki. They are two separate people except they are sharing the same body."

A complicated look flashed through Toh's face. "Let's take a break, all of this is hard to digest."

"Do you not believe me?"

Toh shakes his head. "I spoke to you when you were Norah, I knew it was you but not you. However, there are a lot of things I need to process from another view point. I believe everything you say without question beautiful, but in this instance we need someone with a clear head to come up with the next move."

'I need to contact Atsuro.' Yuhi didn't speak much because he wasn't sure if he could say anything objectively like Mashima.

 ____________________________

The call with Atsuro lead to the usual scowling. Yuhi exhales deeply as he re-enters the room preparing to apologize. Earlier he asked Mashima if there was a quiet area in the ship, an area that isn't used and would be a bother getting too. He needed space, but he knew with how Sumire was eyeing him with that worried look it would be difficult to escape. So, he had Mashima distract her.

"Sumire, I'm sorry about-" Yuhi paused, looking at the empty bed. He scratches his head and finds himself looking around. There were two rooms attached to this one, but after inspecting all three he couldn't find her. This room, too, is cold. The heating hasn't been switched on since this morning.

Did she not return?

Yuhi exited the room, she definitely isn't in the lounge anymore.

He hesitantly made his way in the direction of Mashima's room. To give them privacy, Mashima's room is on the other side of the ship. Yuhi also suspects it's so Mashima won't need to listen to the two of them being intimate.