What is he doing?

"You're right. I suppose I have been too hasty."

"But you can't help it either. With the way she practically sticks to you like glue all the time and telling you how much she likes you. It must have been difficult."

"You only know the half of it."

"The fact that she loves you so much too means she also has her own desires."

"What are you talking about?"

At that point, Kiryu stopped eavesdropping and stepped inside. "Isn't it obvious that Lila has desires towards you? Don't you know how she looks at you like some type of hungry beast about to devour it's prey-" Before Kiryu could finish his sentence, somebody quickly covered his mouth.

Kiryu looked down and saw it was Lila. How she moved so fast after sleeping on Haruka's lap for so long is beyond him.

"What? He doesn't know?" Kiryu whispered.

"O-Of course, I can't tell him that! Do you know how dangerous that will be for me?"

Kiryu looked at her dumbfounded. He was under the impression that the two had a fairly intimate relationship before. So he assumed they openly spoke about their desires towards each other. Lila never hesitated to do that back when they dated, no even before then.

Why does she have to suppress- Kiryu paused when he saw the look on the girl's face. This is the first time seeing Lila like this. What is with this expression?

His thoughts broke off when Haruka stepped forward and grabbed hold of Lila's hand.

"I don't know what you're sulking about. But I get jealous."

"That's not-"

Haruka's gaze was gentle as he leaned down and gently kissed her forehead. "Will you tell me what is wrong?"

"I guess I can."

'I see, these two are truly okay now. There is no longer any need for him to worry about them.' He looked over at Kotori, and the girl nodded as they quickly exited the room. He briefly looked over at the gap in the door as Lila explained what they spoke about.

Haruka did not tease her; instead, he patiently listened and then cupped her cheeks. "I love you, Lila."

Despite being so far away, Kiryu clearly heard what Haruka said.

"Those two seem different now."

"Yeah."

It's because things are different now; he understands that he needs to come to terms with his heart. 'I truly do not want to burden Lila with my feelings anymore.'

Kotori's phone suddenly rang, disrupting his thoughts. "Hello? W-wait Nobu? What's wro-"

Kiryu watched as her face turned pale, and she immediately passed him the phone.

"Nobu? What did you say to Kotori?"

"This is bad, Kiryu-san, really, really bad. But how was I supposed to know Rosalia-san would charge in here and take Zane? I tried to fend her off, but she is stronger than me!"

His eyes widened when he heard those words. What? Rosalia not only found their hideout, but she went ahead and took Zane with her? What is going on? His thoughts broke off when somebody snatched the phone from him. "We are on our way. Nobuhiko-san, try to move to a safer place if you are not that hurt."

It was Lila; the girl was surprisingly calm. But unlike the calm girl, the person trailing after her looked terrible.

Kiryu had more than enough time to observe Haruka and Zane's relationship to understand that they were genuinely friends.

..

At the hideout

At first glance, it looked fine on the outside, but when they approached the area where Zane was staying. They saw the hole in the roof and walls. Nobuhiko was sat on one of the debris covering his right eye with a bleeding arm.

He looked awful. Kiryu could tell from his wounds that he must have used his own body to shield Zane, but even that wasn't enough. Kotori walked over, and Nobuhiko looked up with a foolish grin on his face.

"I wondered why you sent me out like that! Did you know she was coming?"

"I felt something bad approaching, yes. I didn't know it was her. But it was a good thing you weren't here. If you were, she would have killed you."

Kiryu clenched his fist tightly. He felt very angry. 'I should have killed Rosalia a long time ago.' Why did he bother giving her a second chance? No, it has long surpassed a second chance by now. Why does that woman insist on hurting those who are dear to him?

Nobuhiko made the right move. If Rosalia saw Kotori, she would surely make her endure pain worse than death. That woman, exactly what does she want? He no longer understood her behaviour.

But even with Rosalia like that, how on earth did Zane fall in love with her?

Lila went over to help treat Nobuhiko alongside Kotori while Haruka inspected the damage.

He eventually left the room and made his way to the balcony area. Kiryu had taken the five sheets of paper out of the girl's notebook. This, could it possibly be for him? Their solo songs are long overdue, and she recently composed something for the others.

But he didn't think that she intended to write one for every one of them, considering how busy she's been recently. Ever since, they learned that they could use songs against the infected. Lila has been composing songs for everybody.

Suppose she snuck out of the assembly like that without saying a word to anyone. She is clearly doing a dangerous job that she doesn't want anyone knowing; they'd stop her otherwise.

Even though Rinna and Akari are okay now, it doesn't change the fact that Lila has a lot of work to do. Really, what are is she doing in a time like this?

She truly is an idiot. He realized at that time when he felt that he was all alone in the world. She discovered him and filled him with love from his gaze alone. If Lila didn't call out to him then and said those words, the person here would not be the same as him.

He didn't have a place in school, let alone home; people stayed clear of him, and at home, it's too disastrous for words. He forgot his reason for living. Then suddenly, he is basked in that single shining ray of light.

It's not as though he doesn't understand already, even long before the world turned out like this.

It really isn't as though he doesn't understand that Terashima Lila belongs to Haruka. From the very moment they met, even someone as oblivious as him could tell. He could tell that even if he tried, she would never belong to him. Even though he understood that from the beginning, it didn't stop him from falling deeply in love with her, did it? Ah, this really is hopeless. What on earth is he doing?