Two months had passed since Nina's funeral. Haruka had managed to keep the news away from the media for at least long enough to keep the funeral a small, quiet one. The weeks following the funeral had been bit of a frenzy for her. She had even had her number changed to keep from getting calls all the time from the media to find out how she was dealing with the death of Nina, the one link she had left to the world-famous violinist that she had so loved, and the fact that Nina had been attacked seemingly at the very moment she was receiving her trophy.
Her friends, for a large part of the time, knew to give her some time alone. Every once in a while, they would make sure to drop by and make sure she was as okay as it was possible for her to be. Thankfully, the racing season had ended and she could have time to grieve without worrying about what was happening to her career.
Seiya had made a point of keeping his distance, for several reasons. One of the larger reasons was that he knew he would be tempted to hang around much longer than she would be comfortable with at this point. He knew too well that when Haruka wanted to be left alone, it was what she got. Another big reason was that he was still unsure of the revelation he had come to as he had splashed into the cold water of that brook. Now he stood before the front door, debating whether he should have even came here, even now. He shook his head, then turned and headed down the small set of steps that led up to her front door. He froze when he heard the door open behind him, then turned around.
Haruka stood there, looking a bit less distinguished than he had grown so accustomed to, but definitely more comfortably dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. Seiya couldn't help a small smile at seeing her at what was apparently one of the few times she wasn't dressed to show off her strength and stead-fast demeanor. She braved a weak smile back at him. "Just like you to walk off and not even say hello..."
"Er, well... I wasn't sure if you were ready to put up with me again."
"I'm never ready to put up with you, Seiya. You seem to forget, you were the one who started this whole friendship thing." With that, she turned and headed back into the house, but she left the door standing open. Taking that as an invitation, he headed into the house and closed the door behind him. He shed the light jacket he had been wearing and hung that up on a hook on a coat rack that hung in the entrance before seeking Haruka out. He found her settled on the floor amongst several boxes - some full and taped closed, others open and empty, while some others were still only half full. Interspaced amongst all the boxes were piles of things - things he quickly recognized as Nina's.
Haruka tossed him a glance then gave a weak smile. "I kept stopping by her room and just sitting in there for hours... I have to get all of this put away or I'll go insane. It's just not going very fast because I keep stopping and looking at the stuff..."
He gave an understanding nod and went to join her on the floor, promptly helping to place things into boxes, every now and then pausing to get a sheet of newspaper to wrap something in. They worked in silence for over an hour, Haruka occasionally pausing to look down at something in her hand. Seiya pretended not to notice and just continued to work at putting things away and sealing the boxes as they became full. When the piles had dwindled down to nothing, he looked over to her and gave a small smile to see her holding the now slightly worn teddy bear holding the gigantic plush heart. Then he sealed up the final box, setting it off to the side with the others. "I think it's safe to keep that one thing out. Think you can manage to keep your sanity?"
She nodded her head before releasing a long sigh, looking about at where all the piles had just been an hour ago. "...Thank you, Seiya... I probably would have been sitting here going through all of this stuff for another week."
"Well, I couldn't very well leave you here to sort through it all by yourself..." He then paused, looking over his friend with a soft sigh. "You look as if you haven't slept or eaten in days, Haruka."
"Gee, thanks for that expert opinion. I was just completely unaware of that fact."
"Haruka..."
She sighed, leaning back against the chair she had sat in front of. "Don't say it. I got enough of that every time one of the girls or Mamoru stopped in by here. This past week is the first time I've actually managed to have time to myself. Someone's been by here every day..."
"I have to say something. It's kind of a duty of being a friend." He rose to his feet, then glanced about at all the boxes. "Tell you what. I'll put all these boxes down in the basement while you take a shower and change, and I'll take you out to dinner tonight."
Haruka rose to her feet, stretching slightly and managing a small smirk. "Why Seiya, are you asking me out on a date?"
He returned the smirk as he gazed over at her. "Why, do you want it to be a date?"
She stared at him for a few long moments before chuckling softly and shaking her head. "Very funny, Seiya." With that, she turned and headed up the stairs. It wasn't until he heard the shower start that he started moving once again.
"I wasn't exactly trying to be funny," he muttered to himself, but decided for now it was for the best that Haruka thought he had been. Then he set about moving the boxes downstairs into the basement, stacking them neatly amongst other boxes with labels stating their contents. He found a marker upstairs and took it down with him, labeling each of the boxes simply with the little girl's name. He gave a sad sigh, looking over the many boxes that must hold hundreds of memories for Haruka, all boxed up and out of sight. He shook his head and went back upstairs as he heard the shower stop. He stopped in the kitchen to wash his hands of the dust he had picked up off a few of the other boxes, and then put his slightly mussed hair back into its usual neat ponytail.
Not long after Haruka came back down the stairs looking more like her usual self in a pair of black slacks and a navy blue dress shirt. Her blond hair was still slightly damp from the shower. Seiya gave her a faint smile, and they left.
A few hours later they left the restaurant they had both agreed on - a place a bit more casual than either would have taken someone on a date to. Just in an effort to keep her away from her house, Seiya suggested they go for a walk in the park. Haruka gave him a small smirk as she looked to him. "Why Seiya, this is beginning to sound more and more like a date."
"Bah. You keep saying things like that Haruka and you'll make me think that's what you want this to be."
"Oh, right. I keep forgetting... You're in a band. Your kind of people tend to be a bit more conceited than what's normal."
"This coming from the world-class racer..."
"Yeah, well..." Haruka let the retort fade away as they settled down on a bench in front of the lake to watch the sun set without really checking the decision with the other person. It just seemed to be a silent agreement between the two.
As the sun slowly sank into the horizon, Seiya chanced a glance over at Haruka, whose gaze was focused out at the colors playing off the surface of the water. He gave a small sigh and looked back to the horizon. "Haruka... That day that you walked out of the music store... What was it that you were afraid of being hurt by? All that I was offering you was friendship."
She was silent for a few long moments as the sun neared the end of its descent, the colors playing off the light cloud cover in the west as darkness slowly set in from the east. "I don't really know, Seiya. It's just that... something told me to distance myself as far from you as I possibly could."
They both fell to silence as the sun finally disappeared with all its colors, and the remaining light in the sky faded away and lamps began lighting up along the park trail. Seiya turned to look up at Haruka. Unbidden, his hand crept up to lightly touch her cheek, which caused her to look at him with a curious expression. He brought his head closer to hers, and spoke softly. "I won't hurt you, Haruka..." Her eyes widened slightly before his lips met with hers softly, but she didn't pull away. The kiss lingered until he felt something cool hit his fingertips and pulled back to discover that a few tears had slipped from beneath Haruka's closed eyelids. He gave a sigh and quickly pulled away. "Sorry."
She was silent, looking away from him as starlight danced on the water. He rose and stood there for a moment before turning to look back at her. "Actually, no I'm not. I'm not in the least bit sorry for doing that. I realized something that night when I was looking for you. When I thought that I might lose you."
"Seiya, please..."
"No, I'm saying this. I've tortured myself over the past couple months to try to come up with some solution as to why I feel like this. Why I was so worried about you that night, and why I was the one that Setsuna sent to look for you, instead of someone else. But there's only one answer to it all, and I'm tired of fighting it, tired of trying to hide it away as if there were something wrong with it."
"Don't..."
"I love you, Haruka."
Her eyes fell shut, forcing more tears to cascade down her cheeks. He reached his right hand out and brushed away the tears from either cheek, lingering on her left cheek as he leaned down closer to her. He kissed her right cheek, and whispered softly, "Itsu ka anata tokime kasetai."
He pulled away and walked off to leave her alone in her thoughts. Both his hands were stuffed into the pockets of his jacket as he walked along, faintly dazed from what he had just said. He hadn't really decided that's what he felt before all of those words, but as soon as they did come out, he realized that it was quite possible that he had never spoken truer words. But he had to smile a little at the realization of what had just transgressed.
Kou Seiya was in love with Ten'ou Haruka.
Translation: Itsu ka anata tokime kasetai - Someday, I want to make your heart beat fast