Eli's eyes slowly widened, she was stunned to what she said. Umi has a point.
And because of that, something from within her heart has changed. The beat? The feelings? She does not know. But one thing's for sure... Hearing that from the blue-haired did change something from within her.
Umi then giggled, "Shall we finish up? We still have a lot to do and we need to have lunch you know? It'll be bad for all of us to work with an empty stomach."
Eli unconsciously nodded and then the blue-haired stood up, walking away to go back to work. The blonde then just watched her for a moment. Her mind began to be jumbled as she began to rethink every decision that she had made ever since she came here. Her eyes glimmered sadly and released a short sigh. She then looked down at the ground.
Of what Umi just said created a large impact on her. She was too dumb to realize that following the SoulDream Phenomenon could lead to such circumstances. Sure she could meet that person. In fact, she had met Honoka, whom she thought was her soulmate. Of course, Eli loves Honoka. However...
What if it was not Honoka? What if it wasn't her all along and all she dreamt was a person who is still out there, waiting for her? She will not know what to do if that happens. Her mind is now making a mess. Ever since she met Honoka and Umi, her dreams began to quiet down like it finally found what it was looking for. She felt stronger feelings for Honoka so she concluded it that it was her all along. And then there's Umi...
Eli sighed again and placed a hand on her left chest where her heart is, "So I still need to follow my heart huh?" She muttered under her breath.
'If such a thing actually happens... Then what should I do? Umi... Tell me...' Her mind asked.
The blonde's eyes widened. Of all people, why did she want to ask Umi about it? Why not Honoka?
Umi, on the other hand, then noticed that Eli was not following her and then turned her heels to look over at the blonde who was still deep in her thoughts. The blue-haired tilted her head innocently and blinked in curiosity before calling Eli out, "Eli!"
The blonde flinched a bit as she came back to reality, she then rose her head up and looked at the blue-haired who was staring at her. Eli blinked and then smiled before she stood up and walked over towards the other female.
'It is too soon to think about this. I should focus on the wedding for now. This is more important.' Eli thought and finally reached the blue-haired. The two of them then went back to work.
Without Eli knowing, that such a quotation could entirely change everything.
It is finally the wedding of Chihiro and Kotori, everyone was there in the Mirage Fields to witness it. Umi and Eli were at the sides of the audience since they are one of the officials. The ceremony has been going on for a while until that time came...
"You may now kiss the bride!" The vow master announced and Chihiro gently removed the wedding veil, moving it over Kotori's head. The two looked deeply into each other's eyes like they were the only ones around. Chihiro took a deep breath before she leaned forward, her eyes closing in the process. Kotori did the same. Until their lips touched softly, earning loud cheers and claps coming from everyone else.
After that, the couple pulled their faces away to look at them with bright smiles on their faces. They then walked along the carpeted pathway and reached the end of it. Umi and Eli were smiling brightly as they just clapped.
"Alright! Let's determine who will be the next one to get married later!" Kotori said.
Chihiro chuckled, "Make sure to aim it at Umi okay?"
Kotori giggled as she looked at her, "Of course!"
Umi heard that and it made her blush, "Why me!?"
"Yeah! Why her?! I want to be the next one to get married!" Honoka said.
Brenda grinned, "Best of luck, Hoka!"
"Hey! You think I will lose to you though?" Seth said and Thea just chuckled nervously.
"No, I will be the one who will get the bouquet later!" Nico said and Maki just sighed.
"Nya! Good luck, Nico!" Rin said enthusiastically, "But I want Kayo-chin to be the next one to get married nya!"
Hanayo blushed at this and chuckled, "I will do my best, Rin!"
Tanya just rolled her eyes, "Kids..."
Nozomi giggled, "Well, they are still young."
Eli just grinned, "Well, I am excited to see who will be the next lucky girl!"
"I will be the lucky girl!" Honoka said and winked at Eli.
"No, I'm the lucky one!" Nico said.
"No, I am!" Seth argued.
Kotori and Chihiro just giggled.
The people around them then laughed at their antics.
Umi just shook her head while she has her palm placed her forehead with her eyes closed, "These people..."
After that, they went to commence the reception and they began to eat their lunches. The guests were all gathered on the tables and some were at the buffet table to get some food. Eli, on the other hand, was sitting under the large tree's shade, watching everyone silently with her serious expression.
"So when's the honeymoon?" Thea asked with a smirk and Chihiro blushed.
"Th-Thea!" Chihiro said.
Kotori giggled, "Well, we are going to Paris by next week and stay there for a couple of days."
Thea's smirk then turned into a grin, "Paris! Great choice!"
"But you are also a great choice to me." Seth flirtatiously said as she walked and stood beside Thea who then yelped and looked over at her, "Sheesh, Seth, do you always have to flirt around like that? We are in public you know!"
Seth giggled, "Aw come on, they know how much I like you! No, more like love you!"
Thea blushed, "W-Wha-?!"
Seth's eyes then sparkled, "Got you!"
"S-SETH!" Thea shouted and Seth just laughed at her reaction.
"They sure get along huh?" Tanya asked Nozomi, who just nodded at her, "I actually like them both to get a long a little more." The purple-haired replied.
"Well, anything could happen right?" Tanya smiled down at her wife who looked up at her, returning the smile, "Of course, just like to what happened to the both of us."
Tanya nodded.
"Mama! Papa!" Herlyn called out as she ran towards them. The two then looked at their daughter.
"What's wrong?" Tanya asked.
Herlyn grinned, "Can we get ice cream on the way home?"
"Of course, Herlyn. You don't have to ask." Nozomi delightfully answered and Herlyn's eyes sparkled.
"Really?!"
"You heard your mother." Tanya chuckled.
"Yay!" Herlyn threw her hands up in the air happily.
"Sheesh, Herlyn is such a cutie nya!" Rin grinned as she watched them from a table. Across her is Hanayo who keeps eating, "I agree, Rin."
"Should we also get a kid, Kayo-chin?" Rin grinned and Hanayo almost choked her food. Hanayo then grabbed the glass of water and drank it up. After that, Hanayo placed the glass and took a deep breath, "That's too sudden, Rin!"
Rin laughed, "I was just kidding, sheesh! I really love your reaction nya!"
"Right, you really love how Hanayo chokes on her food every time you say something ridiculous." Maki said and Nico just laughed.
"Hey! I was just being honest!" Rin argued.
"Well, too honest that it made Hanayo choke on her food." Nico said.
"You two are mean!" Rin pouted.
Brenda and Honoka were on another table, eating their lunch. Brenda already finished hers, as well as Honoka. The black-haired was watching the four with a soft smile, "Those four sure get along a lot huh?"
Honoka blinked and looked at the said four, she then giggled, "You bet."
"I wanna know their story." Brenda looked at Honoka, who looked back at her, "Hoooh? It is a long story but to make things short, Hanayo and Maki are good friends and same goes to Nico and Rin. Then one day, Rin liked Hanayo and was too shy to tell her how she feels about her so she asked Maki for help. And so Maki did, eventually meeting Nico and the two of them slowly fell in love. Now, with the help of Nico and Maki, Rin was able to tell her feelings for Hanayo and it was sweetly returned. Now, the four them are really close up until now." Honoka explained.
"That's interesting, I want to hear the full story later if that's okay for you, Hoka." Brenda grinned and Honoka smiled happily.
"Of course!"
Brenda smiled, "You know, you are beautiful when you smile like that."
Honoka then blushed, "W-Where did that come from?! Jeez!"
Brenda let out a chuckle, "I was just telling the truth!"
"Right! Anyway, do you perhaps want seconds? I am ready to have seconds! The bread is delicious!" Honoka suggested and Brenda just nodded.
"Sure! I'll have some seconds!"
"Yaay!" Honoka stood up and picked up her and Brenda's plates then went to the buffet table to get some more food.
Brenda watched her for a moment before noticing the blonde, who was in deep thought at at the tree. She blinked and sighed before she stood up and walked towards Eli, greeting her, "Yo, Eli."
The blonde flinched and looked up at the tall black-haired with a smile, "Ahh, Brenda! Is there something wrong?"
Brenda raised an eyebrow, "I should be asking that question instead and I know that kind of face." She then sat beside the blonde, keeping her gaze at her.
"What's wrong?" Brenda asked.
"It's nothing." Eli chuckled, pretending that she is fine.
Brenda eyed her sharply but with a smile, "I repeat, I know that kind of face. You can't fool me with it."
"And I repeat, it's fine." Eli said.
"I don't think that kind of face tells me that you are alright. Spit it out."
"Jeez, you are so stubborn." Eli rolled her eyes.
"I am." Brenda grinned, "Now tell me."
Eli then stared at Brenda for a moment before she looked at everyone, "Just... something came up the day before the actual wedding."
"Why? Did you and Umi have a fight?" Brenda's eyes softened.
"N-No! Well, just that, we discussed about the phenomenon yesterday. It got me so silent and think deeply like this that's all."
"The phenomenon? You mean the SoulDream Phenomenon?" Brenda asked.
"Yeah..."
"I see..." Brenda replied, "Go on."
"Well, Umi said that the phenomenon basically tells about your compatible partner through dreams and that it can be replaced once you don't feel anything special towards that person. I'm not saying that I don't feel anything towards Honoka but I was just worried..."
"That Honoka might not be the right one for you?" Brenda asked and Eli went silent before nodding.
"Yeah... I'm scared that a day will come wherein I will accidentally hurt Honoka because of that. I don't want to hurt her."
Brenda just listened to her intently, allowing the blonde to continue.
"Honoka is a fine woman. She loves me with all of her heart and so am I. But after hearing what Umi said to me yesterday aside of that, it got me thinking too much."
Brenda's face looked stoic. But deep inside, she felt like her chest was being crushed by a large hammer after hearing that Honoka loves the blonde and vice versa. But she has to remain unaffected on this one to avoid conflicts.
"What did she say?" Brenda asked, trying to stay interested to cover up the pain.
"Just because you have met your soulmate doesn't mean that you two were really meant to be together." Eli repeated exactly what Umi said the other day.
And that made Brenda nod in agreement. On her side, she does not solely rely on the phenomenon but rather, she follows her heart. It led her to meeting Honoka that time and she was thankful that it happened. There are a lot of things that happened way back then before Eli arrived into their lives.
"I agree to what Umi said though." Brenda said.
"Really? Then could you tell me what love is?" Eli asked and looked at the black-haired who still kept her gaze at her.
Brenda smiled and answered, "Love is like a battlefield. You fight for someone or something even if it means sacrificing your life."
"Sacrificing your life huh..." Eli said and her eyes softened. Can she do that to Honoka? Well, she can try. However, why is it that of what Brenda just said reminded her own obligation for Umi? That Eli wanted to protect the blue-haired instead.
"Say... Brenda, have you met your soulmate?" Eli asked again.
Brenda blinked, "Maybe."
"Maybe? How?"
Brenda then looked at everyone else, mainly focusing her eyes on Honoka who was busy picking food, "Whether I want to meet my soulmate or not depends on me."
"Why is that?" Eli blinked and raised an eyebrow as she eyed her.
"Because love never chooses. You still have to follow your heart when it comes to love."
The blonde just stayed silent as she listened.
Brenda then continued, "Once you fall in love, things like soulmates won't matter."
Eli's eyes then widened.
"You know what's best?" Brenda looked at the blonde with a smile, "Follow your heart and let it take you to the right one." The black-haired then pats the blonde's shoulder before standing up and walking back towards her table.
The blonde then watched her leave before her eyes went to search for Umi, eventually finding her eating on a table along with the other guests. The blonde then focuses her stare at her.
'Follow my heart huh...' Eli then smiled slightly as she stared at the blue-haired. She don't know why but she feels so alive whenever she sees her. She could feel her heart beating rapidly for the other to the point that she had to place her hand over her left chest, trying to feel her heart beat.
The blonde sighed and placed her hand down, "Jeez..."
Honoka then went back to Brenda and placed the plates down, she then looked around to find Eli and eventually saw her sitting beside the tree, her smile brightens and cheerfully runs up to her but then she noticed that the blonde was looking at something. She then stopped for a bit and then looked over her shoulder, seeing that it was Umi. Honoka raised an eyebrow.
'Why is she looking at Umi?' She wondered and she could feel her heart breaking apart. But she must not gain ideas, maybe Eli was smiling because the view is beautiful. It is probably that. Honoka then decided to shrug it off and then looked up at the blonde again, running again towards her happily, "Eli!" She called out.
The blonde flinched and then saw Honoka running up to her. The blonde smiled and then stood up, spreading her arms in the process, "Hey!"
Honoka then launched herself and landed in Eli's arms, "What were you doing here?! You should eat with us!"
Eli yelped at the impact and stumbled back a bit but immediately regained her balance, she then looked down at Honoka with a smile, "Ahh, I decided to eat later."
"Jeez! You'd die of starvation if you actually did that! The party won't end until midnight!" Honoka said with a laugh.
Eli chuckled, "Right, right!"
"So what's wrong? You were spacing out earlier!" Honoka then sooner asked.
Eli just smiled at her, "Just stress."
"Ohh, I understand. Having to arrange a wedding design is really nerve-wrecking." Honoka grinned.
Eli nodded.
"But you have to take a break sometime! Jeez! Don't make me worried about you!" Honoka then pouted, earning a chuckle from the blonde.
"Don't worry, I will take a break." The blonde answered.
"Now come on! Let's go back to everyone!" Honoka then dragged Eli towards her and Brenda's table, "I'll get you food!"
Eli yelped, "R-Right! I'm coming!" But as she followed Honoka back to where everyone is, her mind began to take her to something deep again.
Of what Brenda said also made sense and she cannot blame that. She wanted to deny it but it totally makes sense. Basing her fate onto the phenomenon is entirely ridiculous. Sure, she did follow it completely and met Honoka but isn't she being unfair? She chose someone because the phenomenon said so. She did not even give her heart a chance to think about it.
Moreover, she is confused whether she should just leave as it is or do something about it. She doesn't want to hurt anyone especially Honoka. The blonde then looked at Honoka who kept dragging her towards their table.
'Am I doing the right thing?' Her heart wondered.
A/N: Heey guys! New chapter is out! Hope you guys liked it! Votes and comments are always appreciated!