Eternal Melody

He waited until the girl had left before walking over to the large doors. There stood a man with curly ginger hair wearing a black and purple colored cape. A relieved sigh passes his lips, seeing him unharmed.

"You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days, sir."

"I didn't say anything wrong."

"If you don't think that was wrong, then I question your morals."

This person lecturing him is his 'assistant' Jack.

"Morals huh, I should ask you the same. When did you get back?"

"Don't glare; you know, even if I come back, I have to report back to them first."

Sano sighed. "I shouldn't have lent you."

When he first made a deal with these people, they made an exchange. On his side, he had to exchange somebody valuable. So he traded his most valuable subordinate. Unlike the other people who surrounded him, this is one person who his family didn't hire. It was the same with Raiju because he helped them out, and they swore their loyalty.

Jack chuckled. "I see. By the way, master, I heard that you successfully met up with Ibuki Sumire."

"You stay here." Sano immediately understood why this man waited. "You're not meeting her."

"Huh? Why why?"

Sano clicked his tongue, annoyed. "Isn't it obvious? You're too noisy, and she is still a patient."

"Eh, but wasn't she just here? Since she saved you, I wanted to meet her even more."

Despite his normal-sounding words, Sano sensed the hidden intentions. "You don't have to test her."

"But master, what if she is your enemy? I have to find out quickly what she wants from you; otherwise, she will cause you harm."

This is the dangerous thing about loyal people. Some are loyal to the point they will do anything, even if it means ending another person's life. One of the reasons why he refrained from meeting Sumire sooner was Jack. He didn't think the man was in a stable enough condition, but even then, Sano waited until Jack left for a long mission before meeting with Sumire.

I cannot allow Jack to meet her.

It was the first thing that crossed his mind when he decided to go and see her. 

By stable enough condition, he meant Jack's mental state. When he first met the man, he was merely a young boy. He indeed saved Jack but not in the way Jack remembers. Sano stopped him from killing a person, but ,Jack had already killed so many others before he came.

Jack killed because his previous master told him to; they turned him into a bloody killing machine. Eventually, the boy lost it and tried to kill his master instead. 

This is why he is very careful with the orders he gives Jack. He ensures that the jobs he gives do not require taking a life. But even then, if Jack determines the other person is dangerous, he will kill without a second thought.

Many people have questioned why he would keep such a mad man by his side. But they don't understand how it feels to be alone. They don't understand how he felt when he realized that there was nobody on his side.

He turned to Jack. "Come with me to the hospital."

If he keeps prolonging their meeting, Jack will be suspicious; it is better to get this out of the way.

….

At the hospital.

It seemed there was no need to worry. The two were greeting each other like old friends to the point he was getting irritated. Why on earth is she able to speak to other guys so easily? When they first went out, there were many awkward moments; there were times where he racked his head thinking of topics to talk to her about,

They went out rather abruptly after all. So it is not like he got the time to get to know her. Because of this, he easily became jealous whenever he saw the way others interacted with her.

"By the way, miss, can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"Is it true you are going out with Terashima Yuhi?"

Sano immediately became alert at those words.

"Mm, correct."

After she said those words, his bad feeling came true. Jack pulled out a short dagger from his sleeve and cut Sumires cheek with it.

"Jack-" Sano's sentence fell short when he saw the look in Sumire's eyes.

"Too bad, even though you guys look so good together." Jack suddenly backed away, startling him. 

"I look even better with Yuhi."

Jack laughed. "I see. But Miss, you really are bold? You knew I had a knife on me all along."

Sano could no longer stand by and watch as he walked over. He brushed his fingers across the cut on her cheek. "Does it hurt Sumire?"

"I am alright; it barely grazed me."

He still doesn't like the idea that she got hurt in front of him. Sano turned to Jack, who still wore his signature smile on his face. 

"Jack." Sano simply said his name, but he said it threateningly.

Jack's face turned pale. "Gah, master, you are so scary. I wasn't really going to hurt her, and I know how precious she is. Besides, even if she is dating someone, it doesn't mean you can't snatch her away."

Sano glared at him, and Sumire chuckled. "Well, then your master has to try harder."

Jack's eyes brightened at those words. "I shall buy him more books as pointers." With those words said, the fool hurriedly left.

Sano turned to the girl. She really knows how to handle others. How did she manage to calm Jack down just by looking at him?

"Troublesome woman."

"You're the one being absurd. Are you going to act that way every time another guy says to me?" Sumire questioned.

"There's nothing I can't do."

Sumire sighed deeply. "Well, alright, you win. I thought you had meetings today."

"I finished early."

It was more like he only went there to confirm the current status. Sano brushed his hands across her forehead. "Your fever?"

"It's mainly gone. I feel better."

"I see."

Sano moved away and picked up a bottle of medication, and drank it. He turned to Sumire and quickly kissed her. It was just a brief kiss to make her swallow the medication, but it was a kiss nonetheless.

"You're awful," Sumire muttered when he pulled away from her.

"It's your fault for messing around. You just came back from the base too."

Sano couldn't mistake it. This girl actually had the nerve to follow him. If following him was bad enough, she actually used a sword and went against that person.