Chapter 41 - The Only One
*UNEDITED*
She was not originally in love with Tsueno Mamoru.
When she first met him, Sumire thought he was an idiot. He was always smiling, even when people pushed him around. Whenever anybody used him he would laugh it off. He was a huge fool, and yet Sumire quickly learned to like him. It was not hard, even if he was a fool, he was a kind guy.
Unlike other people who treated her like a monster, Tsueno Mamoru treated her like a normal girl. He was the only one who saw her for who she was. The only one who knew the Ibuki Sumire from back then.
...….
Kaleidoscope Bar
Sumire opened her eyes when she realized she could not breath. The moment she opened her eyes, that feeling lingered for a few minutes before vanishing. It felt like she was drowning, someone shackled her to the bottom of the ocean after throwing her there. It was a peculiar dream, because it was something that happened before.
After the accident that killed her parents, Sumire lost the guard who helped her escape and the enemies cornered her to the ocean. One of them succeeded in pushing her away. She could not forget the emotions she felt that day.
She was cold, tired and very hungry. But she did not die immediately. A normal human would have died. That was the first time where she realized she was not normal.
When Sumire opened her eyes, she realized where she was. Kaleidoscope bar.. and .. Her gaze fell on the person beside her. She woke up in Yuhi's arms again, she has to stop doing this. It isn't healthy for either of them to get used to something like this. But she knew Yuhi would not want her to leave.
"Morning."
"Ah, good-" her sentence fell short when he buried his face in her chest. "Yuhi?"
"It's Saturday, we have no classes today. Let's go back to sleep."
"Yuhi, it's already eight and I'm hungry."
"Mmm, night."
Sumire rolled her eyes and sighed. Well nobody can argue against him when he is like this. Since they found a theme, Yuhi was drafting sketches every night. She didnt know which one she wanted to paint yet but Yuhi was already drafting sketches.
This person truly loves painting and yet occasionally he would get that hollow look on his face. Sumire wanted to learn more about him. Sumire played with his hair. "Are you not hungry Yuhi?"
"Are you cooking?"
"I think so. Atushi said he was going to buy some liquor in London, so he will be gone for the day."
"Going that far? What a weird guy." Yuhi trailed off. "I guess we can eat now."
Sumire beamed happily. "Okay."
"I'm going to shower, you go ahead of me."
She nodded and Yuhi pulled away from her. He lets out a large yawn as he gets up from the bed.
Sumire quietly made her way down the steps until she reached the first floor, the bar. It was a chilly morning and she draped her arms around her shoulders.
She always liked winter mornings, there was something mesmerizing and enchanting about it. She walked over to the adjacent door by the jukebox and opened it. The bar kitchen was strangely spacious despite how small the main seating area looked like.
When Atushi learned she was living together with Yuhi, he made some strict rules. They spend the last three days of the week here at the bar. Sumire did not mind it too much, it's not like anything has changed.
She quickly got out the necessary equipment, frying pan, oils, eggs and bacon. A traditional english breakfast. Sumire learned that Yuhi was a very picky eater. He would only eat certain foods on particular days. According to Atushi, this was because Yuhi travelled the world a lot when he was younger, so he developed a sensitive taste bud.
Ever since the case with the infirmary, Yuhi always watches her eat or sometimes he would feed her. The latter made her feel embarrassed because she was not a child. She did not need somebody to feed her.
The days seem to go by so quickly, soon it will be April. How many months have passed since she last came to Tokyo? Sumire stopped counting the days. These days she is calmer and a lot more relaxed. But she still can't forget. This is the world without Tsueno Mamoru, a world without him. Pain emerged in her chest and she clenched her fist.
Would anything have changed even if the accident didn't happen? She would still end up losing him wouldn't she?
"Mmm, bacon?" A familiar voice said behind her.
Sumire nodded. "I was going to add sausages too, but I can't reach it."
While she was tall the cabinets and freezers in this place are very high up. Yuhi walked over to one of the top freezers and casually picked up some sausages. He walked back over to her and placed it on the other pan. Sumire laughed. "Will you help me Yuhi?"
"I guess I could." Yuhi trailed off. "You know I'm surprised you can cook, you couldn't do so before."
"I learned."
Sumire did not think it was necessary before, but she learned it for Mamorus sake. When Mamoru became very poorly and his condition worsened, he often had to stay at home bedridden. Back then they could not go anywhere and so she learned. She wanted him to taste various foods even if he couldn't go outside.
She even did crazy things like ask the chefs from the restaurants they went to for recipes or tips. Naturally they would not give such a thing out easily. There is a reason why each restaurant has different flavours when it comes to different foods.
Yuhi placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and squeezed her hands. "It is a helpful skill."
He did not comment on it despite noticing the look on her face.
Yuhi is too kind, sometimes she wishes he would say something mean to her already. If Yuhi treated her cruelly then it would be easier to push him away, she would feel less guilty.
"When did you learn Yuhi?"
"Hmm, I guess when I was travelling. Back then I did not have much money since I was just starting my career up. I had to be careful with the things I bought. As a star I had to keep up my image, so I could not live in a cheap place. The same went for transport, I couldn't use public transport and had to buy an expensive bike and car. The expenses for those things was a lot already. So to save money, I never ate out and learned how to cook instead."
It seems like Yuhi went through a lot too.