What I have to do right now

When Lila hung up the phone, a deep sigh crossed her lips. She still felt such conflicting feelings, but unlike before, she felt eager to meet with him. Her gaze fell on the tablet in her hands. It was video footage of the place Haruka was at right now. During the call, Kiryu told her about the surveillance.

It was something that he set up on the devices.

Lila felt bad watching him, but she missed him a lot. She watched him briefly look over at Rikka but quickly left the room. He turned to the hallway and entered the room at the end. To her surprise, it was a place that had her photos on the wall. She could see some of her belongings too.

That dummy, but maybe she is the biggest fool of them all. She is the one who wants to see him.

..

When Lila opened her eyes, she found Kiryu caressing her hair. The bright light from the moon caught her attention, and she sat up. She looked at the small light source from the window alarmed at what she saw. It was pitch black outside.

"Kiryu I have to--"

The others will worry.

Kiryu paused. "You don't want to stay here?"

Stay with him?

"I mean, its late, Lila. I don't know how late you have stayed up since the situation started. But there are many creatures of the night now."

Lila nodded. She understood that she briefly caught the attention of one when she tried to go on a walk.

"I won't do anything, so...you can stay," Kiryu mumbled.

She glanced over and saw his flushed cheeks. Thump, thump. This is the first time she saw him like this. Is he nervous? Before they dated, Kiryu often stayed over at her place, and the same went vice versa. She would go to his house a lot. So it is hard to believe that he is getting nervous now.

Then again, she isn't exactly calm either. "Okay."

"Also, since your husband agreed already, you should probably drink my blood." Kiryu extended his arm out. "Drink."

Ah, he is trying to be a gentleman about this, isn't he? It isn't uncommon to drink from the arm, not the neck. This is common courtesy when the partner isn't around. But-- the thing is Kiryu is her...original partner. So this situation is a bit unusual.

Lila glanced at his arm and hesitated. "C--could I drink from your neck?"

At that comment, Kiryu rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Alright, this is a bad idea. Wait here." Kiryu suddenly said. He rose from his seat and exited the room.

She waited for a few minutes until he returned with a large cup and bottle. Kiryu placed it in front of her. "Alright, drink."

Lila spotted the straw and laughed. "Um..."

"Your hands must be tired already." Kiryu pointed out.

"Okay, thank you." Lila thanked him as she drank from the straw. The sweetness of Kiryu's blood fills her parched throat.

"So was it okay to tell Haruka about the professor? I am not sure how he will handle it."

Lila sighed. "Well, the only other contact we have in New York is mother. But mother is in hiding. I know she rescued father already. But it is hard to get hold of her."

Her mother most-likely, does not want anybody to find her right now. That was why the best thing to do now pass this onto Haruka. "I trust him, and he won't act recklessly like you think."

"Well, I know he isn't a dummy like you."

Lila pouted. "Again, with the name-calling!"

Kiryu chuckled. "You seem to be chirper now, feeling better?"

"Mmm, a little." She only drank a bit, and yet it felt like the strength had returned to her body. She felt Kiryu brush his hands across her forehead. "Go to sleep once you have finished that."

Lila nodded but occasionally glanced at him. There was something different about Kiryu now than before, and she wondered what it was. Or was he like this from the very beginning? In the past few months, she learned that there were many things about Austin Kiryu that she did not know before.

But it isn't just him, and she has gradually learned things about the guys in the God5.

What the present her has to do now o achieve her dreams. She has to break out of her shell. She is frightened. But ...during her performance with Kyoko-nee, certainly, something changed. The box with several locks is slowly coming apart. A part of her that she hid this entire time would end up unleashed.

The truth is Kiryu, since the day she was born. She knew they shared a deep bond. She laughs slightly if he heard that he would call her a dummy again.

Sichiro, Wataru, and Kasumi would say its unscientific. Eijiro would call her an idiot, and Shougo would tell her she's a romantic. Everyone..huh? Whenever she thought of her friends, what they said to her before she left and went to Light Town remained fresh in her mind.

'As I said before, you don't have to separate it. Since all of it is important to you, you put the feelings and emotions behind your singing.'

Wataru understood from the start even though he did not say anything.

'I'm not going to aim for you recklessly anymore. Nor am I going to ask for you to wait for me. Instead, I'll say, I'm already right on your trail. '

Rinna was enthusiastic from the moment they first shared a stage.

'I said last time your singings got better.

I forgot to add, you sing from the heart now.'

Eijiro is clumsy with words, but he occasionally gave compliments.

'you really do look better when you smile, and when your being honest, you are obviously lonely. Though we can't replace Kiryu, you can at least rely on us for matters like this. Besides, we're friends, right? '

'Can I set the idol, Terashima Lila, as my goal?

Lila chuckled when she recalled Maayas declaration, it was indeed like her.

'That's illogical. But with you, even the illogical becomes a reality. You said before that there's no difference between words and numbers to you. That there equally important. But isn't that wrong? There will always be something more important. '

Shichiro always used a logical approach to everything. But there were those rare occasions where he would say something like that.

'Blinded by the light of the sun, by a strong radiance. For a while, I neglected what was right beside her. Since Ageha came here, we have all been aiming to beat her. But my true goal shines far beyond the sun—the first star. I want to compete with you, Lila. '

As for her best friend, Kasumi? Lila is grateful that she met such a wonderful person.

'If you want to do something like that...Then you should throw away your hesitations '

From the moment they met that woman, Yoshikawa Ageha has helped her erase the remaining doubts in her heart.

'I heard it, your singing. You've gotten better -- as expected of the girl I raised to be my daughter. '

When her mother came back and said those words, she felt so overwhelmed. The past seven years of pain was not for nothing. There was a meaning to it all.

'From now on, I'll make up for it. All those times. '

Kiryu always wanted to make it up to her after he cheated on her. But there was no need, she understood.

'Lila-chan, thank you. '

That single thank you from her sister meant more to her than everything else. Everybody's words are equally important; she never forgot them even when she was in light town.

The voices of the people dear to her, no dear to him as well. She wonders if they can one day all stand on stage again. Lila refrained from singing this entire time because she did not want to get caught. She missed singing, she missed performing, but what she misses are those days they will never get back.