Silver Wish

Even if she is no longer as weak as she was before, her instinct to protect her has not vanished. Lila is far more capable than him in terms of strength and managing her lifestyle, and yet he still has foolish thoughts about protecting her and shielding her from harm.

The word mafia immediately popped into his head when he saw the person in front of him—a man with ginger hair and slanted eyes. He wore the traditional Chinese outfit—the room decorated in various artifacts from all across Asia.

"Guests?" He looked at them, and then his gaze fell towards Lila. "Now, this is a surprise. What is Soichiros little Princess doing out of her cage?"

Kiryu frowned when he heard the words cage. "Lila is not--"

"He leaves me out to play once in a while," Lila answered. Kiryu understood that it did not bother her at all.

If he knew that Lila already knew whom he was investigating, he would have told her sooner.

This man is notorious in the underworld for having an equally bad reputation as Soichiro. Nobody knew, however, what his surname was. His first name was Yan, and he inherited this business from his grandfather, who was formerly a singer.

The two of them sat down on the couch, and Yan took a seat directly opposite. "I can guess why you came here."

"Then, that should make it easier."

Yang chuckled. "But you should understand my position too. There is a reason why he has not touched my people yet. He still finds me useful in this game of his. If I turn on him, then this place will be in shambles in seconds, and my people will die."

The man was still smiling as he said those serious words. Kiryu felt very uncomfortable around people like this, so he remained silent.

"Then maybe I should talk to your grandfather."

"Oi hold on." Yan immediately stopped her. "If you talk to him, he would kill me."

"Exactly. If you die, then he could take over the business again."

"Damn you, Lila." Yan cursed. He took a deep breath. "What kind of help do you need from me? If it is something large even I have to be careful, but--"

"I need you to help us with this." Lila took out a familiar letter from her bag. "Could your people find the owner for me?"

That is Kasumi's letter, isn't it?

Yan scanned the note. "The dome."

Lila nodded. "Correct."

A troubled look appeared on his face. "You know I want to help you with this. But it is out of my hands."

"Why?"

"During that time, we received a notice not to go outside. Of course, that did not stop us from going out. But later, I received reports that some of our men died. Coincidentally they were near the dome at that time."

Lila sighed. "Your men died because you failed to keep a leash on them despite somebody warning you."

"Anyhow, it is terrible news. I don't think we can deal with whatever is going on with the dome. I will try to look for this girl for you. But if we find her near that, I will get my men to do something."

Before Yan could say anymore, they hear the sound of rocks thrown against the window. The sound of heavy footsteps from Yan's men. Yan did not seem surprised.

"You two, stay put here and do not go anywhere."

When Yan left them alone to deal with whatever was happening outside. Kiryu turned to Lila, who seemed to be in a daze. He reached out for her hands and squeezed it. "Are you okay?"

"I was just thinking about something, Kiryu."

"Something?"

"About Yumeko." Lila trailed off. "It felt like she had a key role to play, and that was why I went over to light town. But along the way, somebody interfered.."

He couldn't possibly tell her that she was more focused on Haruka and forgot all about Kanehera Yumeko.

"Don't think about this now. You should get some rest, and you look tired."

Lila looked at him and nodded. "I do feel a bit sleepy."

The moment Lila fell asleep, Kiryu sighed deeply. His gaze fell on the girl in his arms. What is he going to do about this situation? Initially, he did not intend to stay with Lila for too long. He told her a few months ago to stay away from him for a reason.

If he strays away from Rosalia too long, she will try something again. There were many rumors that he crossed over to that side. It isn't true, but it isn't wrong either. He wanted to talk to Lila about it and reveal everything to her, but then the accident happened, and he could no longer do so.

Kiryu felt his eyelids droop. It seems he is tired too, just a few minutes.

….

2034X

It was one of those nights where he felt confident enough to waltz over to Rosalia's place and to confront her. When he found his girlfriend waiting for him, she didn't scold him but praised him.

"You should have asked Izumi to get it. He's your guard, so a bit of a sacrifice will be okay."

Instead, he is positive that Izumi tried to do it. Since his appearance seemed a bit off, Lila must have shoved him and insisted that she do it herself.

"But, that loses meaning."

Kiryu looked at her, puzzled.

"Um, it's for you, Kiryu!"

"Me?"

"Ah-huh."

She shyly holds up the clover in her hands towards him.

"My Kiryu, you haven't been well recently. So, I wanted to do something for you. But I couldn't come up with anything, so I thought instead that I would give you some power."

Kiryu accepts it, puts it inside his napkin, and places it in his bag, careful not to crush it.

"Thanks, my Lila."

"Praise! Yay!"

He kisses her hair and then forehead, causing beautiful laughter to escape her lips. "Will you be spoiling me, Kiryu?"

"Mmmm."

"Then, then I want to sit on your ŀȧp!"

"Feel free."

Lila does so, and a content sigh escapes his lips. This distance is the best one for them after all.

"Ne, ne my Kiryu!"

"Hmmm?"

"-love you!"

Just the usual randomness, huh? As he thought that. Kiryu felt her lips lock against his. It was brief, but it was still a kiss. His eyes widened, and for a moment, he was speechless.

"Wah- I did it."

"You…"

"I know. I just gave you the clover. But, it's not enough. I, um, really love and treasure you. So, my Kiryu, tell me what you're thinking?"

What is he thinking? What has he focused on this entire time? What got him so distracted? She hasn't figured it out? It is something stupid. To be distracted over his dėsɨrės, to be fighting his dėsɨrės when she's right here. Beside him, always.

"Let me hold you seriously, Lila."

"Oh, I see, you were um impatient for that." She stammered.

"Yeah."

"Kiryu, um, I know there's something more to it. But, until you're ready to tell me, I won't ask. However, tell me bites from time to time? I may be smart, but even for me, I won't understand unless you tell me."

That's right, she's always been like this. So, kind, so gentle to him, so understanding. But, he's afraid. Afraid that if he genuinely tells her everything, she would no longer look at him the same way. His ŀustful dėsɨrės aside, this entire time, he has been hiding a huge secret from her.

..

He was the first one to wake up, and when he did, he sighed. What is he doing? It seems deep down in his heart he can't hide what he wants.

He wants to return to those peaceful days, the days where he could hold her in his arms.

The days where her smile was for him and him alone was a selfish thought, yet he longed for it.

The days where they focused on each other even if it meant ignoring the world around them.

The days where she could smile freely and not worry about anything, the days where he shielded her from the ugliness of the world.