I will protect you

Unfortunately, his lack of knowledge prevents him from thinking of a solution alone. This is more frustrating than he thought it would be. Originally he thought it would be fine if he did not know. But after seeing the situation outside with his own eyes, it is difficult for him to continue living a leisure life.

His thoughts broke off when he felt Lila's hands on his shirt.

"Hold on." Haruka stopped her immediately. "What are you doing?"

Lila looked at him innocently with traces of his blood on her lips. "This is normal."

It's normal? Haruka tried to think about what Zane had told him. It was awkward to ask such questions earlier, but he had nobody else to ask. It did not seem right for him to ask Kiryu either.

Zane mentioned a certain degree of intimacy depending on the two individuals. But he did not think it was something like this.

Could something like this have occurred the other day with Kiryu too? Is that why Kiryu seemed so relucta- his thoughts broke off when he felt a soft pair of lips on his, only to realize that Lila had kissed him.

She puffed her cheeks into a pout when he drew back quickly. "You know, recently you have been too careful with me."

'It seems she has regained her strength a little. So it does work?' Haruka gently caressed her cheeks, and Lila exhaled deeply.

"Now you are just flirting." Lila trailed off. "Did you ask Zane how to help me?"

"Yeah."

"You really trust him." Lila's tone contained doubt. "I am sure you know by now that he has done many bad things?"

"He told me himself."

She seemed even angrier at that explanation, and he sighed.

"Does it bother you? I want to be completely honest with you." Haruka mumbled. "Ever since I came here, I have felt a bit suffocated. I understand why the people here do not like me very much, although things have gotten better recently. There is still a large barrier I cannot cross. It seemed like the past me did not have many friends either, so when I started to get along with Zane when he was Zero, I realized how lonely I felt."

Even though Lila has remained by his side this entire time, he felt that something was missing. It is not like he is not content with just her company alone. But sometimes, when they are together, he feels that gap growing larger. Sometimes, when she looks at him, Haruka understands that the old him wants.

Lila stopped sulking, and her gaze turned serious. "I see."

"I'm sorry. I know you are doing everything you can to protect me. I went through something harsh, and you do not want to expose me to such dangers again. But I-" Haruka's sentence fell short when she wrapped her arms around his neck and mumbled.

"It was my fault. If I hadn't left you that day."

She mentioned this before too. It seemed like he only got attacked severely after she left his side. He ought to ask Zane for more details on this to get a better underst- his thoughts broke off when he heard her sobbing. His eyes widened.

This was the first time he was seeing her cry like this. Since he came here, he has not seen her cry so much.

"Please listen to me," Lila begged. "It's too dangerous. I can't let that person get to you again. If she captures you again, I know she won't show any mercy this time. Please, you have to stay safe. What if you die?"

"Isn't that my line?" Haruka raised his voice slightly. He did not want to do this when she was crying. But it did not seem right for her to say such things regarding him.

How can she say that when she is the one who smells like death every day? At least his body is healthy.

"You, you're the one who smells like death."

Although the girl had regained her strength, that heavy scent had yet to leave.

"But that's normal-"

Haruka harshly cut her off and shook his head. "Smelling like a rotten corpse every night and looking like one is not normal. Lila," He trailed off as he ran his hands through his hair. "You are the one who needs protecting; you are the one who needs to be safe."

Between them, the one who would die if a serious attack happened would be her and not him.

"I-"

Haruka pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. Her entire body trembled, and he knew how badly she must have held it all back.

"Ssh," Haruka whispered. "It is alright. I am here now. You do not have to act strong all by yourself anymore. I will protect you."

Then she truly cried, she cried and told him the truth- how frightened she has been since their separation, how she wakes up every night hearing the voices of the dead. How she misses him and wants nothing more for his memories to return so, they can share the burden together.

After she calmed down, he kept his arms securely around her waist as they laid down.

"Can I not share the burden with you in my current state?" Haruka asked quietly.

"Oh." Lila paused as she had just realized something. "Are you upset?"

"Just a little." He said truthfully. "I understand that your are lonely and miss him. But, do you not like me like this?"

"I have noticed that you speak about the you with memories as a separate person."

"I tried to think of us as the same person. But other than the memory with Zane. I feel that our feelings towards you are vastly different. We both love you; there is no doubt. But our love and how we fell in love with you is different."

"Then Haruka, what if I tell you that the current you is simply the past you before we dated?"

His eyes widened when he heard her say those words. "Huh?"

"Hmm, I guess I should say this now. We have known each other since we were children, but an accident led to me losing my memories of you. It seemed like you were not aware at the time, but you also lost a part of your memories, but your personality was affected and not the people you knew. So you remembered me, but you lost a part of yourself."

"So you mean the things I enjoy doing now."

"Right cooking, you used to joke about opening up a restaurant for me. While I only recently regained these memories properly when we were apart from each other. I understood one thing, your kindness has never changed. After that accident, a lot happened, and as a result, you became less honest, became more guarded, and wary towards others. But, your kindness has remained the same. You are still the same person I proposed to when we were younger."

Could it be he made a mistake the entire time? "But whenever you bring up the past, you look like your in pain."

"I am only in pain because of you. You worked hard to win me over, after all. I feel like it is a waste that you do not recall all your efforts."

"I took you from Kiryu." Haruka immediately understood her words.