The light and hope in her eyes from that time have vanished. That was one of the first things he noticed from her when she first came here. Part of it is Mamoru's fault, but the main cause is most likely Nagawa Sano.
It seemed they entered a relationship shortly after he left, so Yuhi understood. Sumire was lonely; she didn't want him to go. But to the very last day, she never admitted such things. So she went ahead and randomly got a boyfriend. It didn't have to be Nagawa Sano; she just needed somebody who would help her forget.
The reason why he is having a hard time with Nagawa's case is this. He felt bad about it. Sumire never liked Nagawa Sano that way, and Nagawa must have noticed it. At least whatever feelings she had for him were not romantic, which caused friction in their relationship.
Nagawa must have struggled to win her over. But even after trying so hard, nothing happened. He could relate in a way. When he first joined the Holy Knights, Sumire treated him so coldly.
Yuhi sighed. "Then I could say the same thing."
She looked horrified at his words and was about to counter them when he leaned forward even more. Maybe it was due to the rain. He was having a hard time with the clasp.
"Say Yuhi, when did you get me this?"
"Two months ago. It was a week before you disappeared."
"Why didn't you give it?" She asked curiously.
"I was nervous. I have never done anything like this before." Yuhi admitted. It was the first time for him to pick out a present for the woman he loves.
"What about your exes? Surely you gave them gifts too."
It seemed like his explanation didn't convince her.
"I did give them gifts, but those were things they picked out themselves. Whenever a special occasion happened, they would tell me what to buy."
Or rather, he never understood that logic. If they wanted those items so badly, they could have bought it themselves, but instead, they waited. Then again, those two girls were weird.
Yuhi saw her frown and chuckled. "Don't you get jealous too easily?"
"Isn't that because your thinking of your former women in my presence for longer than a few seconds?"
When he saw her puffy cheeks, Yuhi leaned forward until their foreheads touched, their lips dangerously close. It was then when he finished putting the earrings on her. But he had yet to move away. Yuhi took hold of her pretty hands and brushed his lips against her ear.
"You always say such things. But last night, and earlier too. Did you forget what we did?"
He asked her in a normal voice, but her entire face up to her ears turned red. "Isn't this unfair? You are teasing me."
"Maybe I am a little, but your the one who keeps blaming me for things."
Doesn't she know how loyal he is to her?
Sometimes her doubts upset him even though he understood why she behaved this way. Her distrust towards men is due to Nagawa, but that would also make it his fault. If he didn't leave, she wouldn't end up this way.
Maybe he should have pressed her then. He already suspected that she had a crush on him. If he pushed her just a little, then she would have confessed. But if he did that, he would be no different from those trash who pressure women into dating.
His thoughts broke off when he felt her petal-like lips on his.
"The fact that I love you, Yuhi-san, it seems you still do not understand."
Yuhi is shocked only for a moment when he hears her teasing tone. "You need to stop tricking me."
"I thought you liked me better this way."
He likes everything about her regardless of what she does. Sumire pulled away from him and took out a small pocket mirror from her bag.
Yuhi watched her scrutinize the earrings. "I feel like I have seen these before."
"They aren't new. I got them from an antique shop. It's probably some old relic."
He hesitated at first, giving her this as a gift. If he was going to buy her something, shouldn't it be something new? But he knew at a glance that she would look good in these.
"Ah, I feel that these are similar to the earrings you gave me when we were kids."
Yuhi, for a moment, froze at those words, and Sumire covered her mouth quickly, but it was far too late. She tried to escape, but he ended up backing her against the wall.
"How much do you remember?" Yuhi questioned. If she remembered everything, then her reaction wouldn't be like this. She would have said something a long time ago, and she wouldn't have gone to see Mamoru.
Why would she willingly return to that hell?
"When I was there, I started to recall bits and pieces. I wasn't very sure, and I would forget the things I remember the next day. However, that was when one of the researchers who was friendly with Ru gave me a diary. He said I should write it all out. When I came back, the diary was with me. Sano kept it for a while since he didn't want to emotionally trigger me, but he gave it after our talk. Slowly bits and pieces came to me." Sumire explained.
So it was something like that. Then does that mean the reason she doesn't remember has something to do with that place?
"You don't forget now?"
Sumire nodded. "It is still blurry to me, but there are times where I remember things better. Also, I already learned from Hino-san that we knew each other when we were younger. So it isn't too hard for me to connect the dots."
So most of it is an educated guess with blurred memories, huh? So she still doesn't recall what happened that day. This is a good thing, and yet a part of him felt disappointed.
Yuhi looked at the earrings again and paused. Maybe these are the ones he gave to her? After she left the institution, they must have taken whatever belongings she left behind and sold them off.
Since she lost her memories, she must not have thought to take this with her. She probably looked at it and didn't think it was hers.
He recalled the feelings he had when he first made that for her. It was the first time he made something like that; he didn't think he would do such a good job. When he heard that it was well crafted, Yuhi was very pleased because it meant giving her a nice gift.
The smile on her face when he gave it to her then left a long-lasting impression.