She wanted to hug Mamoru and call him an idiot, but those words wouldn’t leave her mouth. Instead, she felt the tears fall. Mamoru immediately panicked and grabbed hold of her hands.

“Ki? Hey, what’s wrong?” Mamoru asked, concerned.

“W-why are you here now? You-You have been avoiding me.” Sumire sobbed.

A complicated look flashed through his eyes. “I felt bad, you know, about how I treated you. I’m alright now, and I won’t act up again. But I wanted to make sure first. I don’t want to hurt you again.”

“Didn’t you get my message? I told you it was okay!” Sumire exclaimed.

“I got it, but Ki, I broke my promise and hurt you.” Mamoru looked away. “I didn’t want to risk that again and make you scared of me.”

Sumire frowned. “But I wasn’t afraid.”

Not once was she afraid, even when Ru hurt her? What scared her more than anything was hearing his pained cries and seeing him suffer.

Mamoru squeezed her hands. “I’m sorry for everything. I want to make it up to you. I know you-” He pauses for a moment before continuing. “-have missed me a lot and have endured so much pain because of me. How many times did you cry because of me?”

She continued to frown; all the emotions she had held back this entire time exploded. “Of course, I missed you; of course, I cried a lot. You said you would protect me, then you did something stupid! You shouldn’t have driven me to the concert if you had a bad feeling. Your such an idiot!”

“Uh, but if I told you-” Mamoru looked startled at her sudden outburst.

Sumire didn’t let him speak and continued. “Why didn’t you send me a message? Why didn’t you see me sooner?”

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“H-hey, you make it sound so simple. I barely managed to escape, and I suffered extreme injuries. I am sure you met the young Narasaki, and he explained my condition to you. I couldn’t move my fingers properly and forgot about walking. If I showed up in that state, I would embarrass you.”

“That’s not good enough! Since when was your appearance more important? You’re handsome, but you always look like an idiot when you speak.”

“That again?”

“You should have valued your love for me and the promise you made me first!” Sumire exclaimed.

Mamoru was only looking at her, dumbfounded at her little outburst. He raised his hand. “Hold on, we only have a few minutes before your birthday ends. I don’t want to destroy it. But Ki, you really talk a lot now.”

“It’s been a year. Of course, I have changed.” Sumire sobbed. “I really, I really wanted to see you when we finally met again. You acted like such an idiot.”

She felt him let go of her hand as he wiped her tears.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t intend to make you suffer so much. I know you can’t forgive me right away, but-“

Sumire shakes her head and hugs him tightly. “-forgive. I have already forgiven you. No, there was nothing to forgive.”

It took her a few minutes before she calmed down, but when she did, they sat down on the bench on the balcony. Ru explained to her that he wanted to come here much sooner, but Lucifer was deliberately making his life hard.

“So you really joined the Black Alice organization?” Sumire mumbled.

“I did, but it’s not what you think. I’m actually working as a detective for the government now.” Mamoru quickly explained.

Sumire blinked upon hearing those words. She was speechless. She had thought of all types of scenarios why Ru would join, but she wasn’t expecting it to be this.

“So the government think Lucifer is a threat?” Sumire asked, surprised.

How unusual, most government officials don’t pay attention to regular people. Perhaps Lucifer’s expansion has caught their attention?

“At the very least, there is a politician there who believes that Lucifer will eventually cause major problems. But since there is no actual evidence, he cannot make a move. So he hired me to investigate.”

“I see. Did you tell anybody else?”

“Siena knows.”

At those words, Sumire hit his arm with her hands. “You kept in touch with Siena but forgot about me?”

Nase Siena was one of her closest friends, who spent more time traveling than the average person.

“H-hey, don’t be mad. It was just a coincidence. We bumped into each other when I was on a mission. Of course, with her interrogation skills, I couldn’t just escape. That girl is scary.”

She still wasn’t happy with his explanation, and Mamoru must have noticed since he looked panicked.

“I’m here now, and I will tell you everything from now on.”

“So, your not just going to disappear after today?” Sumire said, surprised.

“I did intend that at first. But I realize now it will do no good. Eventually, you will find out that I have been snooping around and watching you.”

Her eyes widened upon hearing his words. Huh? What is he talking about?

“W-when I heard that Yuhi had gone to the US, I figured you would be lonely. So, I have been checking on you.”

So that’s why there were times when she felt like somebody was watching her. To think that it had been Ru. Even though she felt like somebody was watching her and should have alerted Hino, she didn’t.

‘The presence wasn’t threatening, it was filled with warmth. That’s why I didn’t say anything.’

Sumire stands up and walks back into her room as she brings out the snow globe Eli gave her earlier on behalf of Ru.

“This, did you make it?”

Mamoru nodded, and a tint of red appeared on his face. “Y-yeah, it was my first time making a globe. But I remembered how much you liked collecting them. Also, after eleven years, I was running out of gift ideas. I managed to do it perfectly, so you don’t have to worry about it breaking.”

His blushing face and evasive words were enough for her to understand. No, her gaze fell on his fingers, seeing the bandages. It’s enough seeing his injured hands, which were holding onto hers again.

Sumire laughed softly. “Ru, you’re holding my hand.”

“S-sorry-j-just-” He stammered.

“No, this is okay.” Sumire trailed off and coughed.

It took her a moment to realize that she is still wearing her nightwear. No wonder she feels cold. She was about to stand up and return to the room. But in an instant, Mamoru’s face is close to hers, and he is wrapping half of his scarf around her and pulling her closer.

“You’re going to make your cold worse, Ki.”

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