Why?

Why is the heat fading?

Eh?

Rhys opened his eyes to see a pair of almond coloured eyes, watering and filled with relief. "....Beth?" Despite his dazed state he could tell that it was indeed his team member.

He was suddenly hugged in a rather aggressive manner. This girl really doesn"t have any feminine qualities at all. "You finally woke up Rhys, what a relief."

Ryys managed to reach over and hit the girls face pus.h.i.+ng her away, " The medicine was effective. Are you hungry Rhys?"

He looked at her suspiciously, she is talking way too fast. Rhys knew Beth very well, she only does this when she is nervous. Due to her fast speech, he didn"t get a chance to ask what medicine, before she shoved tray a of bamboo rice in front of his face.

"Here this is your favourite food, this should help with your hunger. I"ll grill the fish I caught this morning."

That"s not something someone with her position much or less a girl should be saying. His gaze landed on the tray for a few minutes before he realized something, "....Did you bring me here Beth?"

Sure she has the strength to do that. But something felt wrong. He doesn"t understand what that something

"I did," Beth nodded.

"Did you pat my hair?"

Though it was a bit of an awkward question to ask, he had to know. Because it was when he felt that warmth, despite the hotness he could sense a wave of calm light.

Beth suddenly looked nervous, but she suddenly replied. "That....." she paused briefly, "--- the one who was taking care of you was Yukinsama. You know the one I mentioned to you before."

"Can I meet her?" Rhys wondered why the name seemed familiar to him.

"Yukinsama is very busy, so you should sleep for awhile."

Rhys reluctantly nodded. He wanted to

He brought the food to his lips and watched the violet hair girl stand up. Rhys doesn"t stop her from leaving, and soon he was left alone. He doesn"t exactly remember what happened. But if he confirms it with someone from head quarters, they will surely give him an overview.

His gaze landed on his arm, expecting to see some wounds there. However, he could no longer see traces of the wound. Rhys scanned his body and found only light marks where a severe gash was earlier.

What medicine did he drink? Even such a severe wound has healed. "How peculiar..."

Well until he has fully recovered, he will stay here and then ask that Yukina woman questions. This isn"t the castle, so he can avoid meeting Lyn for awhile. After what he did to her, he didn"t know how to face her. Did he successfully scare her away? Rhys never wanted to do that to her, but he had no choice.

.....

When he next woke up, the room was pitch black.

Waking up in the middle of the night usually means you can"t get up and look around. This is supposed to be a modern western inn and yet its style is more like a eastern one. Huh, well he supposed it can"t be helped. Despite the fact that his wounds were healing, he was anything but fully recovered yet.

His thoughts broke off when he hears the door open, "Is he asleep?" a sweet feminine sounding voice inquired.

"He is asleep. After all he jus woke up all of this morning," Beth explained.

Hearing the door open quickly and footsteps going inside the room. Rhys did not understand why, but he quickly closed his eyes and pretend to sleep.

"He won"t recover so quickly, he"s not a like me."

As a sudden warmth filled his head, and his face. As he feels a pair of tender hands pat him, his eyes widened. So this is the woman who patted his hair. Is it just him? "She sounds like Lyn." Maybe because he isn"t feeling well, but for some reason he couldn"t hear very well.

......

A few days later -

The past creates the present, and it is because of our past - that such a present has been created..

Rhys was no fool.

Indeed that was one word you would not use to describe the sinister witch doctor. Ah, even now she is still trying to trick him. But he already saw through her trick.

Though at the start Rhys believed in Beth"s words when she said it"s their manager named Yukina who took care of him. He didn"t believe that for long, especially after he was kissed. When Beth left the room that day, that woman kissed him. Those lips, he knew them all too well.

After the medicine inside his body sank in, he managed to fully regain his senses. He placed his hand on the cus.h.i.+on beside his futon, this warmth and that light can only belong to one person. Lyn has done something foolish again. What is she doing taking care of him? Rather, the fact that she only comes in at night must mean she"s taking action for his sake. What is

that fool doing now?

He didn"t get himself injured and hurt so she could go ahead and do something like this. "Duty, memories. Fate. Screw all that. I"m just a man who wants to protect you." He touched the material of cloth across his forehead and sat up. "This has her scent.."

She should have just trusted those words he said then. After all, it"s all changed now. The intentions he had from the beginning, it"s all different. After they confronted each other that day, Rhys felt much lighter. She lifted the heavy cloud which darkened his heart this entire time. Rhys felt that he could do anything, even the things he couldn"t do before.

" That"s not...ah geez right now I really can"t respond to that. But I don"t hate you and I don"t mind you being near me. So quit thinking stupid things already...".

She can"t respond to it huh? Yet she went ahead and did something like that. Even now Rhys couldn"t forget it, the warmth of the girls lips when she willingly kissed him. That was the first time Lyn did something like that. Despite the fact that the two of them have been more than intimate already…

Lyn has never once taken the lead. He knew that was a conformation from her that despite engaging in such one sided acts with him, that she"s still being loyal to Kazuya. Perhaps a part of him was being considerate too.

Since when they first engaged in such actions, he would make sure to erase the girls memory in order to prevent her from suffering. However a long the way even that minor consideration of his vanished. Was it because he was becoming too selfish?