Eternal Melody

Sumire felt that something was amiss at the gate. But she didn't think her suspicions would be correct. The entire 'base' deserted. No trace of equipment anywhere, the place was empty. Shin bent down and brushed his fingers across the ground.

"There was a fight here." Sumire pointed out. "A huge fight."

She noticed it, small traces of blood on the leaves of the plants they passed by at the gate.

"They took everything?"

Sumire nodded. "They destroyed some things too, and there are traces of a fire."

"You can tell just like that?"

"Mmmm."

"I see." Shin pulled his phone out. "I will have to report this."

"Can you wait until we leave? I don't want to be here when the police come." Sumire admitted. After how they handled her case, she didn't want anything to do with the force anymore.

"Alright, can you see anything else?"

"Rather than see, you can't smell that?"

"Smell?"

Sumire nodded, and she scanned the room. "There is a terrible stench of something rotting---" She paused in mid-thought when she recalled something.

She rushed over to the entrance, where there was a large box by the door. The door rusted, but she managed to open it. The moment she did, something fell out.

It was a corpse. The people who did this didn't even bother to cover it up. So that explains the smell, the smell of rotten meat. Or rather, the body could no longer be described as a body. It seems like crows came in and picked on the flesh. So what was left were only bones.

The sight repulsed her, but she knew she couldn't look away. This is the reality of the world. No matter how peaceful things look on the surface, there is darkness lurking in the shadows.

There is more darkness at this time than people would think. The fight between Yakuza and Yankees, the underworld. A society that people don't understand.

"Sumire?"

"Is this the person Ru met with?"

Shin walked over, and he frowned when he saw the body. "I can't tell, but he is probably one of the people that came that day."

"I see."

If more things like this happen, she wonders if all those secrets will get exposed? It will one day, and when that happens, she will no longer live a normal life. She is far too involved with the other side, so it will impact her if people find out.

"This is strange," Shin mumbled. "If they wanted to erase the evidence, they could have just blown this place up. Or set a fire or something. Normally one wouldn't leave everything behind like this."

"Then what do you think of this scenario?"

"Scenario?"

Sumire nodded. "The people who owned this base. So the guys Ru met with actually wanted to come to a compromise. I'm not saying all of them agreed, but a selected few did. That selected few are the group of people who you met; they are the ones who own this place."

"You're implying there was a rift in their organization?"

"Yes, and the other side decided to get rid of them. They raided the base, intending to destroy the evidence. But it turns out they were a step too late."

"Those people understood and evacuated everything beforehand?"

Sumire nodded. "I can't see many traces of broken equipment. But I can see bloodstains, torn clothes, and some hair. It implied that a fight took place, but when the base was already empty."

The strange feeling she got from this place earlier was that. It was far too empty. If the equipment got destroyed, one would at least see shards and fragments. Not even a spec of paper or a book either.

"You're smarter than I thought."

Her eyes twitched, annoyed at his words. But she sighed when she saw his expression. "You couldn't figure that out yourself?"

"Well, maybe I would have. But I would only consider it as one of many possibilities. The moment another theory pops up, backed with evidence, I would forget it." Shin trailed off. "This time around, I won't bother with other theories. I trust your judgment on this."

He trusts her judgment so suddenly? But wasn't he lecturing her earlier on? She doesn't understand this man at all.

"I would call the police now since we discovered a dead body."

Shin nodded. "I will do that."

...

Sumire walked down the path back to the park in a daze.

Shin decided to stay behind, so she left alone. 'That sight, I saw something similar before.' It felt like she saw it before. But where? Where did she see it? The sight of an empty thrashed building. The bloodstains and that stench. Sumire felt nauseous when she thought of the blood from earlier.

'That blood was fresh…' It must have happened recently.

It seems like Shin won't be around for a while. Shin having ties to the police force makes her uneasy, but what could she do about that? He is free to decide what to do with his life.

Still, it doesn't sit well with her at all, this situation. What was with that dead body? What kind of crazy things did Ru get involved in? That man, even though he was sick, got involved in something troublesome.

Sumire deeply sighed. 'So troublesome. Even now, I am still clearing after your mess. If he were here, he would laugh like a fool and find some way to bribe me to appease my anger.'

Her gaze fell on the pillar, not too far from where she was. There stood a man with dark hair, smoking and with his hands on his pockets.

'Uh oh, it seems like he already knew.' But is that so surprising already? Yuhi- San knows everything about her.

"Are you done?"

Her sweat fell when she sensed the coldness behind those words. "Uh, I am for now."

Yuhi didn't say anything and walked over. He extended his hand out and pinched her cheeks. "Damn brat, you put sleeping pills into my drink last night, didn't you?"

Sumire averted her gaze. "It's not my fault that it affected you for much longer than it was supposed to." ????????????????ℯ????d. ????????????

"Here is the culprit that made me miss my work this morning."

Ah, he missed work? So he wasn't at work but still sleeping?

"Well, you'll pay for it."

Pay for it? Sumire didn't get a chance to question it when he suddenly kissed her. A passionate kiss, and yet when she felt his hands on her clothes, she flinched slightly. 'This is a bit too much.'

"Y—Yuhi-san, stop for a moment."

Yuhi pulled their lips apart. "What?"

"What do you mean, what? You can't just kiss me out of nowhere like that. You have to set the mood for these things."

Yuhi rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Do you care about that stuff? I thought you liked me."

"You know, I do."

"Then, do you need to think of the setting? Normally you wouldn't be able to hold back in front of the person you love."

At that comment, Sumire sighed. 'It seems like I made him wait for so long. Yuhi-san loved me for so long, so his reaction is normal. I shouldn't be too mean.'

Indeed, this is a bit overwhelming for her. But it's not like he is forcing her, he stops whenever she asks him too despite his frustration. Sumire clung to his arm.

"Did you come out here to take me on a date?"

"A quick walk, since I have to go to work and all."

"Then let's go."

Yuhi nodded, and they walked down the path. It was oddly quiet this morning, and Sumire looked at her surroundings more. The parks in this place are very beautiful, and yet it is too quiet for her liking.