This is one of the things he admired about her. How can she be so strong despite having such bad health? She is physically and emotionally weak, and yet she can do something like this. But even now, Ran noticed it, the lonely look that flashed through her eyes.

Even now, she is shouldering something heavy.

"Wei...you.." One of the guys said weakly.

"Hm? What's this, were they friends of yours, Wei?"

Wei shook her head. "Hardly. But they have been following me around a lot. When I told them that I follow someone else, they didn't believe me." Wei trailed off. "I am somewhat sorry about this, Sumire-san.."

"No, it's fine." Sumire bends down at the barely conscious guy. "Doing something like this is fine and all. However, think of the order of opponents first before you fight."

With those words said, Sumire picked her bag up and walked in his direction. It was far too late for him to find somewhere to hide.

When she spotted him, she sighs. "What, I didn't know you had a stalker habit too?"

Hey, wait, why is she calling him a stalk- too? Ran looked over at Wei, who looked away. So this is not the first time he followed Sumire around. No wonder he agreed to it so easily, so he did it before.

"Don't put me on the same level as that guy." Ran trails off. "More importantly, are you..."

"Yeah, I'm fine. They were small fry."

That many guys surrounded her, and yet she called them small fry. Yep, only Ibuki Sumire would say that so casually. Then again, even if Wei didn't step in, Sumire would have managed it just fine. In fact, Wei probably stepped in so she would not go crazy.

Ran examined his surroundings again; he did not see any reporters, but this is a public area, so it is too hard to tell.

"Isn't your reaction a little too weak…?"

Sumire pressed her hands against his cheeks, and his eyes widened. She was teasing him, of course, and it meant nothing more, but he still felt his heart skip a beat.

She didn't have to go through the trouble of doing that so slyly… When he looked at the girl's girls' hands,, he noticed that she held her normal bag and a shopping bag.

He naturally extended his hand out, signaling for her to give it to him.

"You're the one acting sly here." Ran countered.

"This is what normal people call honesty. I am comfortable when I am around you, Ran."

Gee, what's with this girl. She suddenly reverts to normal after a fight like that. However, his gaze lands on the brunette; just now, that look in her eyes was the same as back then. Quite some time has passed since he had last saw such a look in her eyes.

When he met her again last year, there was no trace of the darkness in her violet orbs like jewels. It was a relief to see that. But now it has returned. Then again, her expression has brightened a lot since then. After Tsueno Mamoru passed away, it looked like she lost her soul.

"The song. What do you want to do about it?" Sumire suddenly changed the topic.

He blinked, confused at her words.

"You know your solo."

Oh, right, but with his busy schedule as of late, they delayed the matter with the solo song. Initially, she was supposed to write his before Jun, but he has a lot of work. He was supposed to discuss it with her yesterday,,, but Ran decided that he would not bother her with all that happened.

He guessed this is a good opportunity.

"You have an interval break for half an hour today, right? Let's do it then."

It was easy to get work with her since neither of their groups is internationally famous. He is popular, but the people know him in Japan; the same goes for the others. Terashima, on the other hand, is famous internationally.

Sumire pulls a face before she exclaims. "Ah then...come get me in the old music room."

Ha?

"Well, you will see when you get there," Sumire said in a sing-song voice as she skipped away.

Ran did not chase after her. It is a good thing that she did not pass him the bag. Kou will freak if he does not show up to work, but it seems Sumire has something to show him.

….

Three hours later - Iro Road High School-

Even though it was a holiday, the school was still open. Since this is an art and music school, many students dropped by to use the facilities since it is easier. Sumire told him to come to the old music room.

A place located in the middle of the art and music building, so the general students building. The old music room? From the name, it was clear what it was, and yet Ran did not understand why she would go there.

He eventually arrived in the right place; from a distance, he spotted Sumire just entering. Ran was about to call out to her but heard a voice from the room.

"You're late."

Sumire laughed. "Sorry, but I thought you would be late, Mr superstar."

"Hah, give me a break. You know I don't care for any jobs that have nothing to do with music."

The person who was in the room with Sumire was somebody he was familiar with. Terashima? But was he not doing important work on the other side of town today?

Ran watched as Terashima stood up. "Ah, wait-! I don't need to play the piano today." Sumire exclaimed, stopping him.

"Are you sure?"

"Mm, it's okay."

"Well, if you're comfortable. Is your voice okay today?"

Sumire laughed more. "Yuhi, you're too worried. It is okay; nobody is around but you anyway."

"True, but remember why we are doing this."

Ran could guess from bits and pieces of their conversation that the two practiced here. Could Terashima be helping Sumire regain her confidence to sing again? So many things have happened, so the girl has not sung since that art festival. Sumire has gradually returned to working but singing in front of others is still too hard for her.

Nagawa Sano has managed to cover for her, but it won't be long before others notice. She has to return to the stage and sing or give up music forever, and it is one or the other.

To think Terashima has been doing this even though he is busy.

"The sound of raindrops.

Like the clattering percussion.

Ding dong, ding dong…"

Ran's eyes widened when she started to sing. Huh? This is different than before, since when could she sing this way? Since when could she sing so gently?

"So beautifully.

The mottled path with sunlight and shadows.

Like a forest of dreams lead me into a rainbow mystery."

In the past, whenever Sumire sang, it gave off a powerful emotion matching her strong lyrics. She never sang such gentle melodies like this before.

"A sky full of stars

Hiding all of my secrets

Cicadas are chirping on a summer day.

Singing my hopes for the future.."

It did not take long for Ran to realize why. It is because Terashima is with her isn't it? Since Terashima is by her side right now, he can bring out the best in Sumire because this girl has always loved Terashima.

Ran thought he already knew about this before; he thought he prepared for it. After all, he spent all that time by her side before. How come he didn't realize it?