CREDITS TO: UTA NO PRINCE SAMA AND SILVERMOON249 (FOR NANAIRO NO COMPASS LYRICS)

CHAPTER 11

15 minutes ago...

"What, Tomo-chan? Are you.. for real?" Haruka subconsciously went straight onto her roommate's bed.

Tomochika grinned delightedly.

"I guess.. I was enchanted by his kindness. I mean.. Shinomiya-kun is a really gentle and caring person right? He is kind to everyone and he knows how to treat girls well," Tomochika smiled at the thought of Natsuki while combing her long hair.

Who have thought that returning to past had led Tomochika to get interested in Natsuki?

"Yes, you are right. Shinomiya-san is so gentle to girls."

Come to think of it, these two seemed quite close these days. Not to mention..

"No wonder those girls.. I realized that they gossip about you every time they see you.. I believe they are Shinomiya-san's fans.."

"I know right? Some of them looked at me like I am a threat to the earth or something but I don't want to care about it. I don't hope for Shinomiya-kun to like me as well. I believe this is just a crush. Unlike what you feel about Ichinose-san," Tomochika smirked wider as her best friend blushed on the spot. "Do you have any progress with him now, Haruka? Considering that he believed you when you told him everything?"

"No, not really.." she smiled as she approached the window. The rain was drizzling, reminded her of...

Tokiya-kun? She just thought about him and there he was. Walking alone in the rain with a despondent expression, written over his face.

Where is he going? Perhaps, he have problems with his work.. Or maybe, with his mother..

Her husband used to tell her that when he was still Hayato, Megumi always took her chances to pick a fight with him so that he would leave the agency.

This was a surreal déjà vu. She used to come across this situation with the late Tokiya. She quickly took an umbrella, trying to chase after him.

"Haruka, where are you going!?"

"I just saw him, Tomo-chan!"

The door was slammed rather quickly, sending Tomochika to chuckle delightedly.

"You know what, Haruka? To see that you went all out because of Ichinose-san, you must really love him. Who had thought that a guy can make you striving this hard, just like how you are with music? Wish you all the best, Haruka."

"Tokiya-kun..." as the composer knew where would Tokiya go every time he felt troubled, it was easy for her to find him.

But what happened next was hard for her to swallow.

Ah... kimi dake ni todoke
kono kaze no oto yo...

Feeling Heart...

In the midst of his unspeakable sorrow, he started singing. His voice sounded a bit cracked but it was still beautiful and gentle.

mou nakanakute ii yo sono mama de ii
sora o mite　Ah... My Sweetest Love

Blue... aoku kagayaku　hoo o tsutau sono shizuku
Rise... shitte ita kai?　asu e no hikari da to

"He is singing the song.." before she knew it, her golden orbs were already full with tears. "It's so beautiful.. no matter how many times I hear it.."

This is the song that made her feeling enchanted to him. Nanairo no Compass.

Truth... kimi wa tabun ne　jibun o mada yoku shiranai
sono namida wa kitto　kimi o michibiku niji ni naru

nagai tabi ni kogoeru nara
Ah... uta de atatamete ageru yo

kimi ga negau koto no zenbu ga hoshi ni naranai kamoshirenai
dakedo shinjiru yume de areba
ikusen aru "yozora no ichiban kirameku hazu no houseki" sa

In spite of the nostalgia, she really wanted to hug him. She knew that he was very upset about something.

"Otousan.." his sad mutter just broke her heart more. "Do you like that song? Do you want to listen to it again? Are you watching me now? I miss you so much. If only you are still here.."

"Ichinose-san..." she called him out subconsciously as she also could feel the pain that Tokiya had.

Tokiya let out a gasp as he was surprised at Haruka's sudden appearance.

"It's you..." unlike his typical tone which was usually annoyed and distracted with her sudden presence, his tone right now was in utter grief and hopelessness.

Tokiya turned his back towards her, struggling to make sure that his emotions did not get the better of him. His heart was totally tore into pieces by his encounter with his mother, enough for him to not feel distracted with Haruka.

He did not give a damn about what would happen next. He was too spent to anticipate or hope for anything.

"Ichinose-san, are you okay? I am worried about you since I saw you walking alone in the rain just now," Haruka felt hesistant to invade her husband's personal space. The truth was, she really wanted to hug Tokiya just like how she did to him everytime he had troubles.

No words came from him. For him to struggle so much in giving full vent to whatever he felt right now, it only indicated an unspeakable pain and normally, she would wait for him until he was ready to open up to her.

"Nanami-san," he restarted the conversation but still, his blue eyes did not meet hers. "If you really know everything about my future, can you tell me something?"

"Eh?"

"You know my mother doesn't love me right? She abandoned me since I was 12."

"Ichinose-san.."

"What can I do so that she will treat me as her son again? What can I do so that she will apologize to my late father for being such an ungrateful wife? Or is that too impossible?" the flat voice sounded hopeless, much to her dismay.

Because from the start, she knows what is the answer for the set of questions. She knows that Megumi left Tokiya's father after his business went bankrupt. To make it more heart-rending, his father committed a suicide since he had nothing left especially when Megumi took Tokiya away from him.

In fact, Tokiya's family issue never met a happy resolution. The relationship between Tokiya and Megumi remained horrible to the point of she did not even bother to attend her son's wedding. Sadly enough, Megumi just felt guilty when Tokiya was no longer in this world. Much to everyone's surprise, she attended his funeral. Since then, she became as depressed as Haruka.

"Or perhaps.." he chuckled bitterly. "She will treat me as her son only after my death? Should I commit a suicide then?"

"No, Ichinose-san! Please don't," she could not stand to be an onlooker anymore. All she wanted to do was comforting him and made him aware that he was never alone.

He had her. He had STARISH.

Yet, her attempt to get closer to him was stopped by a few drops of red and thick liquid, flowing endlessly from Tokiya's wrist.

"Ichinose-san, could it be..." Haruka's heart skipped a beat for a while. She grabbed the hand of his before all of sudden, a small pocket knife fell onto the ground.

"Ichinose-san, what are you doing!?" panic and anger just mixed up in her body as her eyes searched for something to cover his wrist until she found her handkerchief in her pocket. She tried to wrap his gash but Tokiya refused to be cured.

"Ichinose-san, we should go to the health centre now! Your gash looked horrible."

"It's none of your business. Go away."

"How could I when you just hurt yourself!?" Haruka could not resist herself from scolding him but Tokiya did not even respond to her. "What about your dream? You come to this school because you want to sing, right? Don't you feel it's such a waste if you hurt yourself like this? After all this time!?"

"I'm done, Nanami-san! I lost everything that I treasure in my life. There is no use for me to work hard now. I don't have anyone! I lost my parents for crying out loud!"

His anger and disappointment were cooled down by a warm hug from Haruka as she put her umbrella aside.

"I am your family. I am and will always be your family, Ichinose Tokiya. Do you remember those things that I've told you before? I am going to be your wife. A wife means another family member for you so please don't ever think about killing yourself because... I care about you, Ichinose-san. You are important to me."

Tokiya was gobsmacked. To be honest, there is something about this girl which softened his heart. Everything about this girl is strange but in a pleasant way. It is impossible for him to find a girl with this kind of aura like her.

The warmness finally broke the jar of his sorrow. When she rested his head on her shoulder and making themselves sat on the wet grasses, it took the wind out of his sails. Every single attempt of her to comfort him mysteriously knocked him for six.

"I know you cannot cry that easy but I want to embrace you until you calm down. Can you give me the permission, Ichinose-san? Because..." her small hand softly caressed his shoulder before going down to his back muscle, making his blue orbs widened out of surprise. Just how casual and bold this innocent-looking girl could be with him?

"From the way your muscle felt so stiff in my hand, I am positive you still have a lot of disappointment in yourself, right? Why don't you give a full vent to it? I will be here for you."

Her voice... it was way too beautiful in his ears, especially when his name came out from her lips. He could feel the sincerity and affection from her.

"Thank you, Nanami-san," her shoulder suddenly felt wet which she instantly knew why.

Tokiya was crying.

"Ichinose-san.." She pulled him closer while struggling to not cry as well. Especially when she heard heart-rending sobs and pants, coming from him.

"Cry more, Ichinose-san. I will never leave you alone."

And so he did.

AngelLilica-sannnnn, thank you again for your comment! Here is another chapter for you. 

And also, about this chapter, I know, it's short. But for next chapter, I promise it will be longer.. and less emotional. And also, minnasan, if you do have a thought about this story, feel free to let me know. Please don't be shy. I am really looking forward to it. Thank youuuuu!