Himawari stares at her sketchbook, uninspired. Since the trip to the beach, she can't get Luka's angry expression out of her mind. For a guy who rarely shows any emotion, the raven head was very surprised to see the furious look on his usually calm face.
Luka hasn't said anything after that, he keeps doing his own thing: going to school, playing the guitar, writing music, practicing with the Kitty Session, and so on. He has been unusually close to her, helping the artist with a lot of things and always staying by her side. They spend a lot of time together, with Luka playing his guitar and Himawari doodling on the sketchbook. It's only a matter of time before their friends begin to put up plans to help them get closer or get Himawari to confess her feelings, which gives her a lot of headaches.
Right now, what she wants is to understand why Luka got angry…
Himawari walks to Couffaine's houseboat, only to meet Mrs. Couffaine who is sitting on the deck as she enjoys the beautiful scenery of the Seine River. The glassed woman smiles as she spots the familiar raven head walking towards her, Anarka Couffaine is very pleased to see the young girl visits her house.
"Himawari, it's great to see you!"
"Hello, Mrs. Couffaine." she greets "Are Juleka and Luka home?"
"My little ones aren't home yet, they went out to get some stuff at a guitar shop."
The raven head nods her head and sits down across from the woman, smiling as she starts a small conversation with her. Apparently, Mrs. Couffaine has a lot to say about her children as she shares many stories about them when they were young and Himawari giggles as she eagerly listens to them. She notices how caring and loving the woman is towards her kids, often time let them do whatever they want as long as it's reasonable.
Although enjoying the chaos and rebellious actions, Anarka does believe that sometimes, there's a good thing in following the rules. She's also a great musician as Himawari has seen her performance quite a few times. Different from her son's calmness and Juleka's shyness, the mother of the two is a rebellious woman with a fierce personality who is also a genius guitarist that even Jagged Stone himself has to ask her to perform with him.
I think I know where Luka got his musical talent from…
Himawari giggles when Anarka talks about the time Luka accidentally broke his guitar and cried so hard that the whole neighborhood was shaken by his loud cries. It's hard for her to imagine a calm and collected Luka Couffaine expressing his sadness in such a dramatic way like that and then, it hit her…
The guitarist's angry expression…
"Say, Mrs. Couffaine, do you mind if I ask this question?"
"Go on, young one?" she turns to her "What is it that you want to ask?"
"Uhm, it's about Luka…"
She told her their story at the beach and how Luka had helped her get through her panic attacks and how surprised she was when she saw Luka's furious face.
Anarka listens to the young artist, nodding her head in response as she frowns a bit, so Luka has shown a rare sight of his personal issues to this young lady…
"Himawari, it seems like Luka trusts you enough to show his own issues, eh?"
"No, it's not like that. I don't want him to feel uncomfortable, that's why I haven't asked him anything about it. I was wondering if you can share some of his stories with me, that is…if you don't mind…"
The glassed woman smiles, acknowledging her worries about invading Luka's personal space. It can't be helped, especially when her son is very quiet about these kinds of issues. Looking at Himawari again, those amethyst orbs filled with worries have touched her soft spot. She doesn't want to be the person who shares this information without her son's consent but for some reason, she feels like Himawari has to know this in order to help Luka.
"You know, Luka was very vocal about what he likes and dislikes when he was young…"
Anarka smiles as she remembers those rare moments of her son, smiling and laughing at whatever jokes that person told him. That person had always been a great role model for her son to follow, a gifted guitarist that taught Luka how to play guitar since he was in diapers. He and that person had such a great relationship that no one could break it, yet…
"That person broke Luka's heart…"
Himawari bites her lower lips when she sees a melancholic smile form on the woman's face. Whoever that is must be very important to the Couffaine family, especially Luka…
"May I ask…who that person is?"
Anarka startles a bit and looks at her, staring straight into her eyes as the raven head feels an invisible tension that slowly rises between them, has she overstepped the boundary? But instead of scoffing or showing any sight of negativity, Mrs. Couffaine just smiles and pats her head gently yet Himawari can somehow sense a distress signal behind her actions.
"That person…is his father…"
The raven head looks at the woman, her amethyst eyes widening a bit as Mrs. Couffaine continues the story.
Anarka met that man when she was still part of Jagged Stone's crew, they were both guitarists with great talent. The two began to get closer and eventually started dating when Anarka turned 20. They had many ups and downs, as Anarka's rebellious clashed with Mr. Couffaine's conformist, but the birth of Luka was the first thing that connected them, physically and mentally.
Gone with the days of constant fighting, the two began to shift their focus and love to the new bundle of joy named Luka Couffaine. Live a life full of his parents' love, Luka grew up in a happy household with his father constantly being his inspiration and role model. The father and son bond between the young boy and Mr. Couffaine was very strong to the point that even Anarka believed that if anything happened, Luka would choose to stay with his dad instead.
"You know, the guitar that Luka always has by his side is actually his father's old guitar…"
However, those happy moments started to fade away after the birth of Juleka. Mr. Couffaine, for some reason, started to distance himself from his own family. He left in the early morning and only returned back at midnight, his body reeked of alcohol smell. Anarka wasn't minding about it, knowing that her love needed some time and space to focus on his music career. She was a caring woman who loved him with all her heart and soul, having two kids at a young age like that was quite difficult, especially when none of them had a breakthrough in their careers. The money that they had for being in Jagged Stone's band wasn't enough to support their family, especially when Anarka had to step down and all the financial pressure was soon put on Mr. Couffaine's shoulders.
Days turned into months, months turned into years and before she even knew it, they had been living together for almost a decade. Although Mr. Couffaine still supported their family and still had a great bond with his children, the relationship between him and Anarka slowly changed. They were falling out of…love…
Not wanting to let their children know the secret, they both acted like loving parents and that their family was still happy but it was not enough to stop Luka from questioning his parents' odd behaviors when the kids weren't around. Despite being a young boy, Luka had developed a talent for observing people's behavior and he knew that something was not right, yet he couldn't bring up the subject. He put all his trust in his father, knowing that Mr. Couffaine would never let him down and then…
On that fateful day, Luka saw it…
He saw his father kiss another woman…
"Luka was furious to the point that he confronted his own father about it." Mrs. Couffaine sighs "We got into a huge fight and in a moment of anger, he hit me…"
"Oh no…"
No words could describe Luka's anger, his blood boiled when he saw blood on the corner of his mother's lips and Juleka cried in fear. His father, the man who he had the utmost respect, the man who he wanted to be in the future, had hurt his mother and sister…
"After that fight, he left without saying any words and has never come back ever since…"
Himawari lowers her head, unable to hold back the wretched feeling that rises in her heart as she hears the story. Despite telling herself that she should not feel bad about any of this, her heart clenched when she sees Mrs. Couffaine's tears as the woman tells her the story.
It's hard for her to imagine that kind of thing happening to her family, she would be devastated…
She finally understands why Luka has always masked his true feelings in such a calm and collected manner, he's having a hard time putting his trust in people…
"Hey Himawari!"
A hand drops onto her shoulder as Himawari startles when a deep, warm voice called out her name. She turns around to see the familiar pair of aqua eyes look at her, there's a glint of delight in his eyes.
The raven head smiles a bit as he takes a seat next to her, asking his mom about what they were talking about. Mrs. Couffaine shakes her head, telling him that she just told her about some of the pirate jokes that she just came up with while Juleka places some of the sweets that they got from Marinette's bakery.
Although trying to keep up with the conversation that they're having, Himawari can't help herself but steals a few glances at Luka. Her eyes are full of concern as she finally knows the reason why the guitarist decides to mask his true feelings like that. The raven head knows that it's not her place to say anything about it but she can't help but want to help, she hopes that Luka will talk to her about his own struggles and personal issues rather than hiding them from everyone.
"Is something wrong?"
"Huh?" she startles "Oh, uhm… I'm fine."
Luka frowns a bit when Himawari takes a bite of the cream puff in her hand, smiling at his mother when she talks like a pirate character. He has caught the weird expression she wears on her face but says nothing about it and continues to listen to his mom's jokes.
When Himawari excuses herself to go back home, Luka offers to escort her back and ignores her comment that she doesn't want to trouble him. While walking back to her home, he can't seem to shake off the odd feelings about her and his mom's conversation. His intuition says that she might have known something and yet he decides to keep silent rather than confront her about it.
The bond between him and Himawari has been strengthened throughout those months and he wants nothing more than to make the girl happy. Since the day he realizes that his feelings for Marinette have changed, Luka also comes to terms that he has a very soft spot for the raven head. Sweet and gentle Himawari, the girl who always welcomes everyone with a smile on her face has seen through the walls that he builds around his heart. Instead of coming forwards and demanding to know everything, the raven head is slowly and steadily inching closer to him, giving him the space that he needs rather than forcing him to tell her the truth.
Luka feels comfortable while being near her, for some reason, he feels like he can rely on her as much as she can rely on him. A silent and mutual trust is formed between them but he doesn't want to overstep his line as the guitarist is afraid that Himawari might feel uneasy when he takes things a bit too far.
When he is diving deep into his own thoughts, Luka doesn't know that he has finally stood in front of her house. Himawari turns to him, amethyst eyes looking at him fondly as she reaches out. Her soft, delicate fingers touch his face Luka snaps out of his thought when he feels her warm hand cupping his face.
"Thank you for taking me home, Luka." she smiles.
"It's okay. I told you many times that you don't have to say thank you for small things like this."
She giggles a bit before looking at him and Luka immediately picks up a weird yet soothing signal deep in those beautiful amethyst orbs.
"Luka, I… I know it's not my place to tell you this but…" she bites her bottom lips "I hope that one day, you will trust me enough to share your story with me."
With one last smile, she walks back into her house, leaving Luka blinks nonstop as he tries to digest her sentence. The warmth of her hand still lingers on his skin as the guitarist feels his face begins to heat up. Covering his face with his calloused hand, he sighs heavily, knowing that Himawari may have known something through his mother. Not that he's bothered by that but Luka doesn't believe that this is the right time to share those stories with her…
Not yet, not now…
That night as Himawari is lying flat on her bed, she can't shake off the thought about Luka's family matter. She understands that it's not her place to say anything and she should mind her own business but…
Luka Couffaine…
A talented guitarist who has an amazing gift of music…
A calm and collected boy who always supports his little sister, a generous and empathic boy who cares about everyone around him...
However, despite having a heart of gold, no one can really understand him and he isn't able to rely on anyone. Luka masks his weakness under the perfect smile that he wears on his face and everyone, even her, assumes that he and Juleka have a perfect life on the Liberty boat.
Himawari sighs to herself, feeling gloomy for even thinking about that. Since the day she stepped foot into Françoise Dupont High School, Luka has always been by her side. The young guitarist helps her, aiding her through many troubles that she has in her life. His calm and composed attitude is very soothing to the point that she relies on them, just like how Marinette seeks his comfort whenever she's feeling blue. A pang of guilt hits her heart as she remembers how many times she has relies on him, sharing her troubles while not knowing that he has his own struggles that no one can understand…
Sighing to herself again, she turns her attention to the sketchbook in her hands. The thought about Luka's past has occupied her mind that she doesn't care about drawing anymore…
As Himawari tries to collect her mind again, her phone rings…
"Juleka?"
She is very surprised to see the younger Couffaine calls her. A weird irritated feeling rises as she hears a very familiar voice, shouting and yelling on the other side.
"Himawari, please! You have to come here quick!"
"What's going on? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine…But brother…He's…"
She hears it, Luka's loud voice, Juleka's cries and Anarka's pleading tone to stop whatever is happening on the other side of the phone. Gripping her phone tightly, even if she's not there, the raven head can feel the rising tension at the Couffaine's household. What in the world is happening over there?
"I'll be there immediately!"