A peaceful moment

Lila wasn't sure if this was safe or not. While she did inform Kiryu, she remained vigilant. Unlike the rest of the world, New York was the only place with completely normal areas. Although the current shopping district, they were in had safety measures. There was a large dome that reached the ceiling that would prevent the infected from coming here.

"Hey, you alright? You seem distracted. "

"Ah, I'm fine. "

For the last few minutes, Lila has had a difficult time calming her heart. It never occurred to her how good-looking he was; he has only been wearing plain clothes indoors. Although it was taboo to dress up too much, he certainly looked different.

"Alright, if you're sick, just tell me. So where are we going? "

Oh, he's so kind. So gentle. .Lila smiles brightly. It's okay for her to enjoy this, right? She hesitantly clung to his arm, and they looked at a few shops.

This is so much fun.

She hasn't been able to relax like this in quite some time.

When they're at the bating center, that's when her relax mode turns into panic. Earlier, they were merely shopping and exploring the plazas. Now that they're at the batting center, Lila can feel her heartbeat speed up, with no trace of being relaxed.

Lila cleared her throat, hoping to keep calm and stop her face from turning red every three seconds. But it wasn't easy since she felt the warmth of his body so closely. When she told him that she has never done this before, he said he would show her.

It never occurred to her that while he lost his memories, he still remembered all his skills.

The most important thing now is this situation. It felt like he was embracing her when he was only helping adjust her posture. She had her back pressed against him, and her heartbeat was going crazy.

This is the first time being so close to another guy other than Kiryu; at least, this is what she currently remembers.

But it felt nice to her; it made her feel safe and protected.

Her gaze softened as she repeated the words protected. From the very start, this person has always made her feel safe. When he hugged her when she started crying, she felt a familiar sense of safety. So when she learned that this man was her husband, it didn't surprise her.

Her thoughts broke off when she felt something buldge. C--calm down, Lila; they've already done more intimate things before. Something like this shouldn't affect her at all.

"Are you listening? "

She gasped when she felt his lips graze against her ear; she almost let go of the bat. Haruka didn't mind and tightened his hold on her hand.

"Y-Yes… I'm listening. Continue, please."

"Alright, so what are you supposed to aim at?"

"At the center."

Haruka nodded and slowly let go of her hand. The absence of his warmth made her feel frightened, but only for a moment since she caught his gaze on her. Despite her strange emotional mindset, she managed to hit it, and it landed right below the center.

Lila turned around with a beaming smile.

"Look, Haruka-kun! I'm improving! Isn't that great?"

He responds with lips on hers. For a moment, she froze. Before she could register what he just did, Haruka pulled away.

"You did well. Hmm, I wonder what other activities this place has..."

Whether it was basketball or tennis, Lila could gradually feel him touching her even more. T--this-- this-- he's acting all nonchalant. But he's doing all of this on purpose. When they took a break to eat at the food stall, Lila confronted him directly.

"What do you think you've been doing?"

Haruka looked at her puzzled, and she coughed. "The kissing and the touching!" Or rather, today, she has learned what a shameless person he is.

Kotori-chan did mention this to her, but Lila believed that he would do anything unless she made a move. After all, both of them have lost their memories of each other. If she didn't make a move that time, Lila knew he would never have even thought of it. But nowhere is that very same guy who hesitated and kept asking her if she was sure is shamelessly touching her.

"I like touching you."

Uh- how can she get angry if he says that so honestly?

"So, why are you red?"

"B--because you--- j--just." Lila no longer knew what to say to him.

Haruka looked at her, confused. "This is a date. "

W--well yeah, this is indeed a date, bu wait could it be -- that's what he thinks dates are all about? Now that he mentions it, the entire time, they were shopping and browsing earlier. He seemed a bit confused. Ah, so it's something like that.

Lila takes his hand.

"This place isn't Japan. But there are many beautiful buildings here. It will be a waste if you don't see them. "

She took him around several vendors selling different food worldwide. One of them being a Japanese stall. She stopped and bought them several dishes to try out.

"Wow, so this is takoyaki. It looks amusing. Can we eat this? " Lila nodded. Haruka, however, had more questions.

"But why do they use octopus to make takoyaki? Why not use squid, shrimp, or jellyfish instead? The Japanese are strange. "

Isn't he half Japanese? Or rather jellyfish takoyaki, the very thought of it is making her lose her appetite.

Still, this is the first time hearing him speak so much without sounding meek and docile. Her gaze softened when she saw him looking around with innocent eyes. It seems he hasn't forgotten his skills since he helped her earlier batting. But, it seems none of this stuff has triggered the thing he likes the most.

Her thoughts break when she picks up a newspaper that had flown to her feet. The date on the corner of the paper was last year.

DEVIL's ' Black and white sign. ' has just sold 10 million copies.

The special edition interplay has also hit five million copies.

These are the highest sales figures we have seen since the legendary generation.

It seemed unusual finding this now, but she still stared at it. Black and white sign was a song Kiryu composed for her. Although she doesn't recall the circumstances very well, she knew it was an important song.

When she openly declared her intentions to Kiryu. For some reason, he seemed hesitant. At the time, she didn't notice the reason why. But now she does.

It is her fault. Her voice still isn't powerful enough. More and more, it has to get stronger. There is still something she can do.

Her thoughts broke off when Haruka pulled her into his arms. "I am sorry for startling you. I didn't think touching you would make you uncomfortable."

Lila shook her head. "That's not it. I just thought it was nostalgic, that is all."

"It seems I touched you a lot in the past and with no restraint." A dark aura surrounded him. "I think I understand why your friends hate me so much."

"I don't think they hate you."

If they hated him, they wouldn't let him stay in the house. "I think it is more like they don't know what they can say in front of you. Haruka-kun, the wounds on your body are very severe; even my mother cannot heal them. You went through something traumatic before you came here."

She is sure they are only behaving awkwardly because they do not want to trigger something bad.

Lila carefully watched his expression and saw him looking at the center of the dome. It was only a small visible piece of the sky, but Haruka looked at it seriously.

The day they get their memories back, will they be able to spend time with each other like this?