She loves you more than before

"I know she was, but she went crazy. Kiryu already feels bad knowing that she only ended up that way because of him."

"You knew and Kiryu also-?"

Lila nodded. "Kiryu is not clueless like me. He can tell when somebody genuinely likes him. But Rosalia-chan took it too far; she stepped on his bottom line, on me." She clarified. "Even Kiryu can only endure so much. You have to understand, and so does Zane. Rosalia-chan is beyond saving now."

"I frankly want nothing to do with her either," Haruka recalled something briefly. "But maybe there is a chance for her."

There was a time during the time he was captive. Rosalia came to see him. Haruka assumed that she came over to sleep with him like all the other females Sophia tossed at him, but it was not like that at all. She just spoke to him the entire time. She didn't exactly say pleasant things all the time, but she talked a lot about Kiryu.

It was strange hearing that mad woman's love story, but when she talked about how she met Kiryu and how she later fell in love with him. She looked just like a normal girl in love.

"Considering how you were working on something with Yumeko behind my back, then maybe you do have a solution for her."

His sweat fell; she really isn't going to hold back anymore, is she? But he supposes this is his fault.

"Yes, I was. But the one who actually found an answer was her."

Despite her strange personality, Yumeko was actually very smart. She may act like an idiot half the time, but her IQ is very high. Her grades only slipped a lot because she spent more time focusing on music. But she could easily pass her re-takes. He wondered if any of the teachers noticed that.

"Kouta, Mikami-kun, and Takehiro are staying at that clock tower now."

"So they found it?" Haruka said interested. Although Yumeko and he concluded the existence of the tower. They never got around to searching for it since they went to Lila's hometown and many things happened.

"Yes, and also." Lila trailed off with a dark expression.

"What's wrong?"

"It's about Akari."

Lila tells him Austin Akari's state if he recalls that girl is Kiryu's half sister.

"We can indeed use songs against the infected, and it is also true that if the infected dislike your songs, they can consume you."

"Then they didn't like Akari's song?"

"Not quite. Austin Akari has Kiragi Asuka, her mothers blood. Her songs should work on the infected."

"But it didn't."

"It must be because she swallowed those drugs. Taking those is the same as telling the infected that you're an impure being." Haruka trailed off. "If she is in that bad of a state, should we go see her?"

Lila blinked, puzzled at his suggestion. "But huh? You-" She seemed shocked that he would suggest it.

"It seems like that loudmouth guy isn't doing well too. I will have a look."

Besides, it would be better if he got a look at this tower properly.

…..

The first thing he sees is an annoyed-looking Kanehera Kouta.

Haruka already saw the tower from a distance, but it still surprised him to see it up close.

Huan, the girl you like, is truly amazing. How on earth did she figure out that this thing even existed?

Still, his gaze fell on Kanehera. "What?"

"How could you bring her to a place like this. What is the infected sense she is here?"

"It's fine."

Besides, even if he said he would go on his own, she would have followed him.

"She also looks ill."

Haruka looked towards the girl peering at the tower entrance with an anxious look on her face. "Go inside." Haruka urged her forward. "I will join you shortly."

Lila was about to rush off, but she quickly turned to him before asking her if something was wrong. He felt a familiar pair of lips on his cheek. "L-later we continue." Lila quickly dashed off before he could even react.

But not before he saw her red-stained cheeks.

Haruka stood there dumbfounded for a few minutes before Kouta sighed.

"You two are still as cheesy and cringy as ever. Both of you never get tired of it, I see."

"Hey, what do you think that was about? She does that a lot lately."

She started it four days ago, and since then, he felt like his heart would stop. It was a good thing she rushed off as fast as she did. Haruka felt his entire face burn up due to embarrassment. Hasn't she gotten bolder in their time apart from one another?

"Isn't it obvious? She likes you more than before."

Haruka paused, and something appeared in his head. "Zane said that to me when I had no memories too."

Zane could have said that to reassure the him with no memories. But Kanehera Kouta has no reason to do that. So it is true? Lila actually likes him more than she did before?

How did her feelings for him grow him even though they had been apart from one another for so long? Haruka paused in mid-thought. It is not impossible; the same thing went for him after all.

'I realized even more reasons why I loved her. During my captivity, I had more time to myself, more time to think with no distractions. I thought of her. I thought back to all those memories they shared since she came to Light town.'

There were things he already loved about her, but he equally found new things he loved.

Sophia always looked livid whenever she sent for him after those times.

'Why even now?' No matter how much she drugged him, he still thought of Lila. She must have realized that, and that was why she started to get people to beat him up. She probably thought he would focus more on the pain than Lila if they beat him badly.

But it had the opposite effect; he thought about her even more. He thought about whenever he was sick or ended up getting into stupid fights. She would take care of him.

"Zane, huh." Kouta trailed off and sighed. "I still don't trust him, but we are indeed making more progress now that he is on our side."

"Zane won't betray me."

"If your friendship with him was this strong, couldn't you have avoided this?"

"Sophia is very cunning. She played us both."

If things had proceeded with the original plan, it would not have ended up this way. Lila would have still gone against Zane, but all those people would not have lost their lives or ended up infected.