"I told you not to run so fast, geez," Yuhi said as he unrolled the bandages and tore one up.

"Sorry." She laughed awkwardly. "I guess I was jealous."

"I don't mind that, but, earlier you...could you explain that?"

Sumire looked away. "Was it wrong?"

"Well, no, it was great, but I am serious. You shouldn't provoke me too much. It's a good thing Hino came. I would have ended up breaking my promise."

So he would have continued?

Yuhi dropped the bandages and leaned forward. "Tonight, do you have some time? You could go back with me."

"Arent we staying at Atushis tonight?"

Atushi said he wanted to discuss something.

Yuhi bit her ear, and she flinched. "You don't want to? Continue what we did earlier? We stopped, but that doesn't mean it's over." He placed one of his hands on her thighs. "I want to do something fun. You don't want that Sumire? You seemed willing earlier."

Uhh-- she needs a time out! What is with this person? She thought she was good at teasing people. But Terashima Yuhi takes teasing to another level.

"Sumire?"

"I don't know what to say," Sumire admitted. "This stuff is new to me."

At that comment, Yuhi pulled back. He suddenly flicked her forehead. "When you respond like that, even I get confused." Yuhi trailed off. "Well, forget it. I understand that you're different. Your not controlling like Touko or seductive like Makino."

The second part bugs her. If that is what Yuhi likes, she ought to work hard. But uhh, for now, she ought to deal with his random kisses. Those are bad for her heart.

"This will sting." Yuhi lifted her hand and put the cotton bud with ointment towards it.

She flinched slightly, but she was too busy looking at his face. "Yuhi, you're a bit too handsome."

"Crazy girl, what are you saying."

To her surprise, a light tint of red appeared on his face. Ah, quite some time has passed since she last saw this. But she is speaking the truth here. He has a good looking face, and she unconsciously looked towards his chest. Whenever he wore T-shirts, she could see the muscles through his clothes.

Sumire quickly looked away. She needs to stop eyeing him like a creep. Even if she is his girlfriend...

"You know if you wanted to check me out, you should do it when we take a bath together."

She raised her eyebrow at that comment. "You mean we will do that again?"

"Yeah, it's relaxing."

Is that so? Perhaps Yuhi wants to do some other things with her too, but he hasn't said anything. This person holds a lot of things back for her sake. If she considers the people he dated, he is tolerating a lot of stuff. He treats her differently from them, that shows she is special.

Just now, what upset her was seeing Yuhi speak so casually with another girl. Aaah- now that she thought about it, she probably looked very rude there. That woman even backed away when Yuhi introduced her. Touko probably isn't a bad person. Well, the cheating factor aside- she is probably a normal person.

"What are you thinking about now?" Yuhi sighed. "Don't think anymore, weird things."

"I won't, but Yuhi, I do have a question for you."

"Hmm?"

"When did you first start to like me? I mean, you weren't interested in me when we first met." She trailed off. "Or were you? You had bad intentions bringing me home that time.." Her sentence fell short when Yuhi flicked her forehead again. "Ouch, that hurts."

"Quit messing around. Does it matter when I started to like you? You already figured out that I liked you for so many years. That information should be enough for you."

It should be, but she isn't satisfied. Perhaps Yuhi knows something. The accident she ended up in when she was younger. The accident that led to her losing her memories. Does Yuhi know something?

Sumire slumped her head in his arms. "Yuhi-san, will you pat my head and console me?"

Yuhi puts the antiseptic down, and she felt his hands on her hair. A content sigh passed her lips.

"You okay, Sumire?"

"Well, I am repenting for my behavior a few minutes ago. Jealousy is a monster in disguise. I should know better."

"Regrets?"

"Just a little." Sumire trailed off. "You two get along better than I thought."

"Well, she was my rival for the longest time. I guess I feel comfortable around her. However, Sumire, you don't have to worry. I said all that stuff about Touko cheating, but there was more to it than that. I didn't hate her when we broke up. But when I thought how toxic our relationship was, I ended up hating her."

She raised her face then. "Toxic?"

"She was controlling and possessive not so much me but my art. If I painted something different and not like my usual style, she would get mad. This prevented me from exploring other themes."

"Ah, the thing you mentioned before about weakness?"

"Yeah. Honestly, it didn't bother me as much back then. I didn't have you around, so I did not need to paint such gentle pictures. But things are different now. I want you to smile more."

Her eyes widened when she heard those words. So that was the reason why. When she saw that painting, she immediately felt happy. The painful feeling in her heart and her other concerns vanished. That warm and gentle painting, his use of soothing colors, it was all for her? No wonder she felt so strongly connected to it.

Sumire stood up. She sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his neck. For a moment, she does not say anything. But in the next second, she gradually placed light kisses there.

"Mm, comforting me?"

"Yuhi, were you lonely all this time? Waiting for me."

It was something she wanted to ask him this entire time.