Eternal Melody

Where did she rush off too? Ran found himself looking all over the festival for Sumire. After Jun did the opening song, naturally, people flocked to him. Although Yuhi didn't perform, once people saw him, they naturally surrounded him too. Kou and Tetsuo said they would arrive later, but there was still time for their group performance. Sumire must have left once she saw all those people. However, it's not safe for her to be alone in her state.

He still felt awkward after what happened the last time they spoke properly. But he doesn't want it to continue being awkward. It feels like a lot has happened since Mamoru's accident.

'I wasn't close to him, but it still felt strange to me hearing that guy was gone.' He saw how much it affected his childhood friend Momoi Futaba and his other acquaintances. So, it was difficult for him to ignore the situation.

After running around for a few minutes, he was on the verge of giving up when he saw somebody hunched over by the tree in the forest area. Despite it being dark, Ran could see the brunette.

He walked over and found the person he was looking for. She had just finished throwing up. Ran patted her back. "Are you alright?"

Sumire turned to him weakly and laughed. "Aha, this is embarrassing."

"Your nausea is bad, right? Kou told me about it."

"Indeed, Kou knows my condition since he has visited me; both Tetsuo and Jun-kun always message me." Sumire stood up and placed her hands on her hips as she leaned forward. "As for you, you've been avoiding me, correct?"

Ran could only look at her with wide eyes. For someone who was hunched over moments ago, she certainly has a lot of energy right now. He couldn't deny her words even if he wanted to. It's true after his short emotional outburst last time; he has avoided being left alone with her. However, it wasn't her fault. He avoided her because he wanted to settle the emotions in his heart. Until he fully settled them, he didn't want to be left alone with her.

'It should be fine now.' After he had that talk with Yuhi, he felt much better. He silently criticized his behavior this entire time.

"Oh my, you're surprisingly honest today. If that's the case, treat me to something nice, and then I will forgive you."

This girl does everything at her own pace as usual. Ran nodded, and she raised her fist in the air and did a mini victory pose as she said, 'I did it.' Ran had to stop himself from commenting on how cute she was.

He found a nearby stand that sold hot dogs and bought her that. But it did not take long before that one meal turned into several. Eating and walking would mean they could blend in better. However, not when they are carrying so much food.

So after struggling to carry the several food boxes, they eventually found a table in the corner away from most of the stalls.

The moment he put the last box down, Sumire laughed. "You should have seen your face while we walked."

"This is heavier than it looks."

"That's why I offered to carry some; you're the one who was being stubborn."

How could he possibly allow her to carry any of this when she is pregnant? When he first heard the news, he silently praised himself regarding his timing to stop sulking. Indeed, it would have been difficult to take the news if he was still in the same emotional state. But, the situation has changed now.

'I think what bothered me the most was learning that Terashima Yuhi is actually a good guy.'

One of the main reasons why he accepted being in a group with Terashima Yuhi was because he wanted to find his flaw. If he found his flaw, then he would have a valid reason to take Sumire away. But he couldn't find any. Not only was Terashima Yuhi not like the rumors, but he was also a good guy who cared a lot for his friends.

He couldn't find a single thing to hate, no matter how hard he searched. Even when the rumors of the childhood friend came, Yuhi handled the situation perfectly. Sumire wasn't uneasy for long, and now she doesn't even talk about it.

Ran hated to admit that Yuhi was the perfect person for Sumire. Not only did Yuhi treat her well, he understood her better than anybody else. They have perfect harmony.

His gaze fell on Sumire, who was eating the takoyaki with a bright smile on her face. "This is so good."

"Slow down; you're making it seem like you haven't been able to eat this stuff in a long time."

"That's because I haven't! Since my pregnancy Yuhi-san has been strangely controlling over me eating street food. He acts like I am going to be poisoned."

"You never know that could happen." Ran looked at the other boxes.

'Maybe I should check the rest?'

Sumire followed his gaze and frowned. "Don't you start too? It's enough for my dearest and my manager to nag."

Her manager is Narasaki Hino right?

"Ah, only Shin and Kou are good to me."

At the mention of the former, Ran frowned a little. The main reason why he is tossing aside his grudge against Yuhi isn't because he suddenly matured. It's because he diverts his attention to the newfound pest by her side. He thought it unusual, but why was she close to Nakara Shin?

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"Did you know Nakara Shin before you came to Tokyo?" Ran decided to just ask her.

Instead of worrying about it silently, he knew she would tell him if he just asked her. She is that type of person, after all.

"Mm a little. Shin was an active member of the underworld not too long ago. I guess you could say I saved him from a life-and-death situation. Before then, we didn't speak much unless it was during the meetings for large raids. Ran, you were solo and didn't join any organizations, but you understand how the underworld works, correct?"

"I do."

"During large-scale operations, we would form a large group and team up with other organizations. Of course, this only ever happened when a major incident occurred. Otherwise, most groups tend to keep themselves and contact other groups as small as possible. Shin is one of his organization's leaders, meaning he was present during those meetings." Sumire paused and laughed. "Actually, I just recalled something."

"What is it?"

"We often got into disputes how the fights would go. Shin is a good guy; he would choose the best possible route that involved fewer sacrifices. While I didn't hesitate to sacrifice people if need be."