"It's nothing," Haruka murmured, "Why don't you try practicing for it, anyway? I'll talk to the idol board and see the update on the situation . "

Lila nodded, "Okay, Haruka . So um, right now," she shyly played with her fingers, "I want to," she bent down and whispered in his ear .

"Hmm? It seems like you understand," Haruka's lips had curve to a grin .

Idiot…

But, Haruka probably understands it deep down . The more involved she gets with her fellow G.o.ddess4 members, the more she will meet with Kiryu . Lila wrapped her arms around Haruka's neck .

"Lila," Haruka whispers in her ear, as he removed her clothes, "You're beautiful . "

"Dummy, just start…"

"Yeah . "

. . . . .

Dressing Room - R Studio -

"It's not like you to s.p.a.ce out during an interview," Yori said .

"I'm sorry," Lila apologized .

Yori looked her up and down, "What's the matter? Did something happen? Aargh, is Karas.h.i.+ma bothering you again?!!"

Her sweat fell, 'whenever something happens, why do people blame Haruka?' Lila thought .

"It's not that," Lila then tells Yori about the issue with the G.o.ddess4 .

Her friend listens intently and then sighed, "I wondered why you didn't perform with them in the recent TV live performances . What are you doing? Obviously, it's okay for you to sing with them . "

"Eh? But . . "

Yori walked over to her bag and took out a familiar CD, "Recognize this?"

"Ah, yes . The single we released before I went on my journey . "

"I carry this with me every day . "

Lila looked at her friend, confused . Yori reached over and pinched her cheeks, and Lila pouted, "Haruka did that already!"

"Oh, so Karas.h.i.+ma is sensible at times . Gee, Lila . Why are you so stubborn? Don't you know those three have been waiting for you? Just sing with them again . "

"It's not that simple," Lila trailed off, "I know, that those three always felt pressured being in a group with me . On our last stages together, I noticed it too . Everybody was struggling to keep up . Even though I wanted the four of us to evolve together . "

"That can't be helped, even if you say that . The four of you were on completely different levels from the start . You and Kasumi were way ahead of the other two . "

"But then, how come even Kasumi . . "

Just thinking about it pained her . The stages with the G.o.dDESS4 members afterwards . That's why she asked for her final stage to be a solo one . Lila didn't want to pressure everyone any longer .

"Isn't it okay now? While you went on your journey, the other three found what they lack too . "

Lila understood that full well . If she performed with the other three now, in terms of abilities, there would be nothing wrong now . But, "My performances, my stages - everything is different now . The harmony the four of us have before won't be the same . The other three found what they were lacking, and still maintained a balance . But if you add me into the picture, the balance will be disrupted . "

"Lila . "

"Harmony is important in group stages," Lila sighed, "Right now, the only one I have that harmony with is you, Yori . "

"Aaargh, alright!" Yori exclaimed, "I get it . "

"Yori?"

Yori smiled, "For now, let's do as you said . Let's focus on our next performance . "

Her gaze softened, "Yes . "

Training with Kogami Yori always made her feel happy . Both of them are similar personality-wise, their skills, and mindset to training too . That's why it's easy for them to perform together, even now when they are training . Their dance movements and voices are in sync .

"I think you should make the third turn sharper . "

Yori, who was sitting crossed leg on the floor, was wiping her sweat away, " You think? I thought it was a beautiful enchanting turn . "

"Enchanting?"

"Don't you see the sparkles?"

"I did, it was amazing . "

Thank goodness Yori seems to be smiling happily right now . She understands why even s.h.i.+chiro was uneasy, and even she too has been feeling guilty about it . However, recently, the guilts disappeared . Maybe it's because there's something about Yori's behavior recently that suggests that she knows . If that's the case then, Lila knew that in due time she would have to tell them .

Yori stood up, "But, I guess you're right . I really should turn more sharply there . "

"Yeah . That way, you can sparkle more . "

"Maybe! Your turn was really cool, too . How can I fix mine? "

"Hmmm, I think you should do this," Lila did a quick turn as an example .

"Like this? " Yori said, copying her turn .

"You know if you get it right perfectly the first time . It seems meaningless asking me for my advice . "

"But the advice of a number one idol is really cool, you know?" Yori said with a slight smile .

"Now it just seems like your teasing me . Should we take a proper break?"

Yori nodded, "Yes . "

In the end, the two of them sat down on the ground their backs pressed against the mirror . Although there is a couch on the other side, upon getting their snacks and returning to the lesson room, they ended up sitting down in the same spot .

"Lila, you know maybe you should refrain from wearing halter tops when you're covered in love bites . "

At that, her partner reached over and covered her neck, " Ah . .   . it was noticeable after all? " Lila said, embarra.s.sed .

Yori raised her eyebrows, "Of course . Honestly, I get that you're br.i.m.m.i.n.g with happiness . But try to keep it under control . .   . . " she trails off, "However, you really do seem happy . Did you spend time with Karas.h.i.+ma today? "

Lila thought hack to what happened this morning, and her cheeks burned red . Yori sighed, "Forget, I ever ask . "

"Wahh, don't tease me . Ask . "

However, Yori was shaking her head and talking about her being a love-struck fool .

"Speaking of which, I wanted to ask . "

"What is it?"

"Yori, what's between you and Soichiro?" Lila asked .

At that comment, Yori who was in the middle of a spin suddenly halted . Considering how she was transitioning into the spin, it was hard to believe that she stopped so swiftly . Indeed, her friend suddenly lets out a large yelp, "Aagh . "

Lila bent down, "Are you okay? Did you twist it?"

"Just a bit, but nothing major," Yori sighed, "Why did you ask me something weird?

"What's wrong with me asking? You're always with him these days . "

"That's because," Yori paused .

Lila looked at her, suspiciously, "Because?"

"Because of you," Yori admitted, "In exchange for your freedom, I asked him to make use of me . "

Ah, wait, what?!! Her eyes widened at Yori's words . "That's . . " Lila did think it was strange that Soichiro was not giving her any jobs . It turns out Yori did something like this .

"Don't worry Lila; I'm not being made to do anything unreasonable . "

"No, that's not it . But," Lila trailed off . Soichiro's always kept her by his side because of his feelings for her . Despite his shrewd att.i.tude, Lila knew that he was loyal to the woman he loves . Look how much he spoilt her and let her take advantage of him . Soichiro knows that she is using him, and yet, "Uhh, he . . . hasn't asked anything about me, right?"

Soichiro liking Yori is also a possibility . But judging from how he reacted during the fight, that guy still likes her .

Yori sweat fell, "You know him well . "

Lila deeply sighed, "I wanted to be wrong for once . "

____

Lila seems very troubled whenever Soichiro is concerned . Yori never got to ask before, exactly what their relations.h.i.+p is .

" .   . adults in an amus.e.m.e.nt park . Or rather, I'm getting disturbing images picturing Karas.h.i.+ma in an amus.e.m.e.nt park . . . "

That scary guy amongst all those people happy and bursting with life?

Lila laughed, "Fufu your right . He certainly looked out of place . But," Lila's tone changes to a softer one, "Even though it was something that goes against his image, he still went there with me . I know he has bad memories in places like that is meant for families and couples after all . Yet he still went with me . Right now, I feel like I'm being loved . Or something like that . "

'Lyn loves Karas.h.i.+ma there's no doubt about it . That's why even if we do this, nothing will change . '

Although Yori said those words with certainty to Nakura s.h.i.+chiro, perhaps a part of her wanted it to fall apart . Because she really liked it back then, Kiryu and Lila together . To her, they were the ultimate duo . Even if she never became Lila's friend and gained a higher position, she wouldn't have minded as long as things could remain like that forever . Some part of her decided to help bring Kiryu back so it could happen again .

Such ugly and dark thoughts, yet even now if she asked her Lila would surely say that she never thought of her that way before . This person is kind, Kiryu was kind too, and she knows from her observations already . That the same goes for Karas.h.i.+ma Haruka .

Without a doubt, he's a kind person . Despite what happened in the past, Kogami Yori can still say for certain that the man named Karas.h.i.+ma Haruka is a good guy . She won't try to justify his actions because no matter what reasons he had, it's clearly wrong — however, someone who can smile like that . Someone who can accept the person that is Teras.h.i.+ma Lila is plenty good enough .

"Yori? Is something wrong? Are you sick? Uwaa if you are, I'm sorry I didn't notice . . . "

Yori shook her head, "No, I'm alright, just thinking . That Karas.h.i.+ma isn't a bad person after all . "

"Ah! Could it be your after har too? Let me say this now even if it's you, Yori, I won't hand Haruka to you . "

Her sweatdropped, "Lila, you know that's like highly impossible right? " or rather Lila is seriously asking her this again?

"I know! But I need to take careful measures . Lately, Haruka has been smiling a lot on TV too, and his fangirls are turning quite scary . The other girls in the entertainment industry are suddenly saying things like ' I didn't know he was such a kind guy, I might go for him . ' "

"Uh, sounds like you're having a hard time . "

Lila nodded, "Right? I'm doing my best here! And yet Haruka is always so laid back and carefree . I should talk some sense of responsibility in him . . "

But huh, something like that has been happening after all . She heard it from Kasumi the last time they had a job together . However, she didn't really pay much mind to it then, "Kasumi said it too . . . Oh and ah, I heard something when I was going to the TV station . They say ' A guy that's good taking care of children is a catch . '" Yori quoted .

At that comment a dark aura wrapped around her black-haired partner, "I see I see, so that's how it is . Then I'll make sure to take extra steps to know how lazy and unmotivated that guy is . "

"I'm pretty sure if you do that he will get ambushed instead and when that happens . I, as the other mentor, will get dragged into it . "

Lyn and began to hit her head, "I'm sorry, I know this is our problem . I just get fl.u.s.tered whenever I think of all those girls pining after Haruka . The situation with Aizawa Mei isn't really solved either . Though for now she's distracted . "

"Distracted? " Yori repeated .

"Yeah, Haruka got her a new manager . And apparently there's a guy from one of the new boy bands who really likes her," Lila smiled, "Well, for now, she's distracted . "

"That sounds like good news, but why do you seem unhappy? Did something happen? "

"When we ran into the two earlier, Haruka pushed Aizawa Mei to that guy . What do you think that was all about?"Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting .

Huh? Doesn't she get it? "Isn't he trying to help them out? "

"Eh? But, doesn't Haruka harbor some form of feelings towards Aizawa Mei? "

Dense . She's too dense! Even before she spoke about it with Karas.h.i.+ma, she already knew that those feelings amounted to nothing at all . Poor Karas.h.i.+ma, he's been trying his best to shower her with love and yet Lila doesn't get it at all . She's similar to those dense shoujo manga heroines or the female protagonist in those otome games — the latter sounds like a better route due to the choices .

"Lila, I shouldn't be the one telling you this, but the whole Karas.h.i.+ma had feelings for Aizawa was," as Yori explained it to the brunette her expression changed until her cheeks were a light dust of red .

"O--oh ! So it was a false alarm . Haruka .   . really does love me . I see . "

Oh wow, she's never seen this expression before . So this is the expression she makes when Karas.h.i.+ma is mentioned . Who would have thought that person with such a dark gaze would end up looking like this?

"N--now that you've told me . I don't know how I'm going to face him .   . . It's kind of embarra.s.sing for me, you see . "

Lila really has changed quite a bit in contrast to then . Yori would never have thought that a person like Teras.h.i.+ma Lila would end up like this . The person she met back then looked so far gone and emotionless, even more than herself . Who would have thought that a single person could change that person . To think the person that changed Teras.h.i.+ma Lila isn't Austin Kiryu . But this sort of conclusion certainly isn't bad .  After all, Lila really does love Karas.h.i.+ma Haruka, and she is happier now .

Yori smiles, "Isn't it fine, though? As long as your happy . "

"Ah-huh! Yosh, let's return to practice . "