Eternal Melody

"Do you want to eat? I actually stopped by that bakery you like."

Sumire lifted her face from his chest and looked at him with bright eyes. Hino had to stop looking at her because she was so close. Yuhi, he is already doing his best. But it's hard being around the girl he likes. Sometimes he doesn't even blame Sano for being so crazy and kissing her without her permission. She looks gorgeous, even when she is sick.

He turned to the side table and picked up a bag. "I hope it hasn't gotten cold." Hino inspected the contents, and to his relief, the pastries he bought for her were still warm.

She seemed delighted that he knew what her favorites were when he first saw what she was eating. Hino had to stop himself from speaking.

'If I tell her Sano picked out some of those, she would probably get mad.'

"Why was San with you?"

"Oh, err, he helped me out with my work today."

"That's right, he was always strangely good at paperwork. It seems his connections in the entertainment industry have increased too. He even bribed people to keep Yuhi and the guys in M5 there for a year."

"Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be six months?"

"It's six months because I interfered. I used my connections." Sumire mumbled.

Hino didn't know whether he should be shocked or not. Of course, she already knew. Sumire has always been one step ahead of Sano.

"Six months, are you okay with that? If you want, I can do something too."

Sumire shakes her head. "No don't. For now, it's best that Yuhi is in the US. Even though I hate being apart from him, the state of the underworld has recently been a bit messy. It's best that he isn't around right now."

He looked at her with a troubled look on his face. Saying those words is the same as admitting that she has been sneaking around and doing work for Aki.

Sumire laughed, understanding. "Are you impressed by my stealth skills, manager?"

"I don't even want to know when you managed to sneak out." Hino shakes his head disapprovingly. "Sumire, I already said I won't force you to quit the underworld since it seems like there is something you have to do there. But, at the very least, tell me what your up to and what jobs he is sending you on."

He doesn't trust that Aki guy one bit, and even Yuhi warned him before.

'Sumire has never disobeyed him and follows his orders without complaining. She never questions him.'

Another guy and an unusual relationship, how difficult could it be? How wrong was he? Sumire's loyalty to Aki is something he doesn't understand at all.

Sumire rummaged through the drawers and pulled out some papers and folders.

"I won't hide anything from you. These are the cases I am working on right now."

As Sumire casually explained, Hino looked through the papers, horrified. Has she been doing all of this alone? Nearly all of these are enough to get her killed. It seems like he has no choice but to speak to Eli. Surely that guy will know something about Aki. He hates to admit it, but after he left the facility. The one who looked after Sumire was Eli. Eli must know something about that guy.

"Do you need any help?"

Sumire blinked and laughed. "You know, normally, I work better alone. But, having a partner is nice, and we work well together." She picks up one of the files. "Then, can you join me for this one?"

"A missing family case?"

"Mmm, the one who hired me for this was actually an old acquaintance of my parents. They said one day, this 'family' just disappeared out of nowhere. The surveillance showed them leaving for work in the morning and returning home. But they just vanished. Their children weren't missing at first, but every two days, a child vanished. They have five children, and every two days, each one disappears. The common pattern is they were all at home, except this one." Sumire pointed to a photo of a guy with ginger hair and glasses. "He is the only one who disappeared in a different location."

"Are you suspicious of him?"

"A little, I did some snooping around, and it seems like he was the only one at odds with his family. Unfortunately, I still need to find out more information before I can confirm my suspicions."

Hino sighed. "I already know what you're going to ask. We can go if it's just investigating, but you better stick by me."

Sumire looked at him blankly. "So you want me to hold your hand the entire time?"

At those words, his cheeks turned red, and she laughed softly. "H-hey-" Hino exclaimed, knowing that she was teasing him.

"I understand, Hino; we will investigate the mansion, that's all."

"Then we can go later after dinner; you need to get more rest. Your face looks flushed." Hino placed his hand on her forehead, and the heat transmitted onto his palm again. "You're burning up, lay down."

Sumire follows his instructions and brings the blanket to her face. "Hino, you know you're good at taking care of people. Yuhi is very clumsy at it."

"Exactly, now are you seeing my good points?" Hino looked at the bottles of medications on her bedside table and frowned. "I told you to take your medicine, didn't I?"

"Unn, but my head hurt so much, so I just slept, and then Atsuro came and started to be anno-" Sumire suddenly bolted up. "Where are the kids? He-he didn't take them away, did he?"

It was the first time he had seen her look so frightened. Hino leaves the room, walks downstairs,, and picks up the two kids from the stroller, only to feel someone tug on his arm.

"Is my mom okay?"

It was Huan, Tsueno's child. The kid always looked mature each time he saw him.

"Yeah, she is. Tomorrow it's her birthday, and we plan to go to the aquarium. I have tickets for everyone."

At those words, Huan shakes his head. "Uncle Hino, you should take mom out to play. Lately, she has been glued to my siblings and me. She needs some space. Mom is still young; she needs to live her life too."

Hino looked at the kid with wide eyes. Indeed, this kid is certainly Tseuno's.

"Your mom would like it if you're there too. She feels bad not being able to take you out often, so let's go together and have some fun, okay?"

Besides, if the media sees the children with them, then they can't twist the situation.

"Will you treat me to food, uncle?"

Hino laughed. "I will. Let's go see your mom, okay?"