Silver Wish

Shichiro does not interrupt her and allows her to continue to speak.

"Mother and father, your parents, the old generation fought hard so society could accept our existence. But even then, there were many dissatisfied with the situation and restrictions placed on us."

"Because of the government."

Lila nodded. "Right, even though mother and father have the most power, they still have to bend to the government. Do you know why?"

"Because your mother left."

"Yes." She trailed off. "It was because my mother left that position empty, and my father lost control that the power our family gained from that war slowly became the government's power. However, even the government cannot do anything that would crucially harm the existence of hanyous and evolved humans."

"Then.."

"It's because they didn't have full control that they placed those restrictions. But when they realized that they could not control us using these restrictions, they resorted to asking an outside source, and thus here we are now."

"Wait, Lila, are you saying--"

"Our own government, no, the Japanese government broke the treaty between the evolved beings and humans. They are the reasons why that man got what he wanted."

This is crazy; how on earth did she work that out? Indeed, Shichiro suspected something similar, but he could never get an accurate answer. So that means Wataru must have found out at some point too, which is why he stopped going home a lot, and there was friction between him and his father.

"You remember more than I thought."

"Once I calmed down, I remembered a lot more things. Then I realized the only thing that was missing was my memories of that person." Lia closed her eyes briefly. "I transferred out of the Universal star academy, I transferred to Light academy and met Yumeko, Mikami-kun, and the others. I must have met him there too."

It seems she does understand. It was a relief to him. Shichiro heard bits and pieces from Kiryu, and it worried Shichiro too. After all, they needed Lila to end this. He didn't know what it was, but he felt that Lila is the only one they need to end this situation.

It is a lot of strain and burden on her, the fate of the world, but Shichiro had no choice but to place all his hopes on her.

He knew that Karashima must have tried to block the news out from New York. He would have done the same in his place. To shield Lila from the cruelties of the world and only to show her the light.

He and Kiryu came up with; it was an unconscious decision and never verbally discussed it. But the day Terashima Sumire left, everything fell apart. That was why they wanted to salvage something, even if it was cruel of them to keep things from Lila.

"The day your mother left, there were already signs of this," Shichiro muttered. "I think she was investigating this case."

"I see."

"Lila, me, and Kiryu were-"

Lila shook her head. "You two don't have to explain anything, and I am glad that you think so strongly about me. I enjoyed many peaceful years because of you both."

Shichiro still kept his head low.

"It was a lot of fun for me too in Light town. My memories of that person may have vanished. But the feelings I have remain in my heart. I was muddled-headed when Kiryu told me yesterday, and I cried a lot watching the videos on my phone. But in the end, I woke up with a strong dėsɨrė to help and see what was going on outside. The reason I could think that way is most likely because of him, because of the feelings he gave me. I could confront my cowardly and weak self."

When he started to receive word from Mikami regarding Lila's situation in Light Town, Shichiro didn't take his friend seriously. All Mikami ever said that Lila had changed; she changed even more as each day passed by.

He thought he understood what Mikami meant, but it turns out that is not the case here.

"Do you want to see him?"

"Last night, I thought about it a lot. I watched those videos in detail too, and I could tell how happy I was. I was so happy, and I loved him so much." Lila trailed off. "For me to choose somebody who wasn't Kiryu, I am sure you and the others went through a lot, right?"

"I underestimated it, the love you had for him." Shichiro felt very ashamed to say this.

"Oh, that's right."

The feeling that was nagging him vanished as those somebody just solved it. "If only all this could go on forever, that is what I thought at one point."

Lila extended her hand out and patted his head, causing his eyes to widen.

"Good boy, good boy. You've done well so far haven't you? About Kasumi. About Mikami-kun. Just leave it up to me. But just one last time, show those two. No matter what road the three of you end up following, there's always an intersection. In that intersection, miracle encounters can happen. That's why," she smiles softly.

"It's okay for you to cry, Shichiro."

"Don't tell anyone, and I'll buy you that new workbook."

"That's lucky. But yeah, I understand. So," Lila pulled him towards her until his head rested on her ċhėst. "It's okay to cry. But..." she laughs softly. "Be quick. Kiryu gets moody."

"That foolish bear. ." He murmurs.

He has no right to cry at all. Lila is the one suffering, and she is the one who should be crying right now. Kiryu is suffering too, his friend wants to be with Lila, but he can't.

….

Shichiro was about to tell Lila to stay put while he went, but the girl had already rushed off.

As careless and reckless as ever! Shichiro immediately rushed after her. The guys must have seen him coming since they quickly left.

"Are you okay?" Lila asked.

The girl lifted her face, and Shichiros eyes widened when he saw who it was. The girl, too, seemed startled. "Shinozaki Rikka?!!"

Indeed it was the woman Karashima supposedly had an affair with, but Shichiro already knew there was something wrong there. He quickly learned that the woman that was with Karashima was a fake. This one isn't the fake, it's the real one.

"Lila-chan?"

Lila tilted her head puzzled. "Do you know me?"

At that comment, Shinozaki scrambled to her feet and quickly dashed off. Shichiro, however, caught a glimpse of something on the ground and quickly rushed to pick it up. "I found it."

"Huh?"

"The clue to prove Karashima is alive."

Since it came from Shinozaki, too, then it is most likely correct.