Fade

Half an hour passed after Lucia unveiled her godly draconic metal creation and Naoto was one of the few who lingered through Ryo and Sumire's most recent backlash. His sister Sophie was one of the key topics that he never imagined would be brought up because of his irrelevancy in her life. Nevertheless, Naoto realized that the name 'Sophie' has done significant damage that impacted far more other people other than him. As he chased after Sumire, he wanted to unveil the truth about her existence to her to clear up confusion.

Naoto stopped by a glimmering moonlight ocean underneath a stone inlaid bridge. The cool breeze brushed against their wet clothes and made them significantly colder than usual. However, Sumire seemed to brave through the chilling temperatures as her body numbed both emotionally and physically. Naoto approached Sumire with an open mind about her recent argument with Ryo, believing that there was something else at stake for wanting to support Lucia. She leaned against the edge of the stone bridge lost in thought.

"Sumire!" Naoto called, dashing over to her as fast as possible. With a light exhale, Naoto began speaking. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," Sumire said after silence filled the air a few seconds later. Her overly light voice was filled with melancholy and hopelessness based on her tone. "I really don't know."

"Well, that's why I'm here," Naoto shyly spoke while rubbing the back of his scalp. "I mean, you can tell me anything. I want to be able to-"

"Naoto," Sumire spoke and turned her head towards him, effectively startling him. "Why are you always hiding information about Sophie? It's already clear that Ryo knows her. Why don't you talk to him about her?"

Naoto took some time to process her question, leaning against the stone bridge with her. "Because I'm scared of what he'll think of me." He admitted.

"You never even tried," Sumire observed. "How will you know if you don't try?"

"Because it's a make-or-break situation," Naoto replied. "Ryo saved me. I don't want to lose that chance of being his friend by telling him the truth. I just can't risk it."

"You see Ryo as a friend?" Sumire curiously asked.

"Of course I do," Naoto said. "He has a good heart and fights to protect people. Even Natia, out of all people for Christ's sake. Even you, during that fight you had. I know he cares about you, but you have to admit you went too far with it."

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Sumire said as she gazed into her reflection through the moonlight's shimmering glow. She sighed before wiping one of her eyes that began formulating tears on the surface. "As I said, I just don't know what to do anymore."

"Yeah, me neither," Naoto said, leaning against the bridge with her. "I'll bet he and Natia were both confused over why you wanted to help Lucia, and why you mentioned Sophie and her friend. To be honest, I am a bit too. I mean, someone like her? She's caused more destruction more than anyone we've ever dealt with back in Sunlight."

"I want to save her, because..." Sumire's voice trailed off as she lowered her head. Naoto could sense a disturbance in her aura that brought her grief.

"Why?" Naoto asked once again.

"Because... she reminds me of myself," Sumire clarified, beginning to tear up at the mere thought of her comparison. "She's exactly who I was and how I felt about my father after what he had done to me. I wanted to kill him so bad. I wanted to cut him out of my life in the most gruesome way possible. But then I thought about my mother and Ryo, and I knew that I couldn't do that for them. They didn't need to be traumatized more than they already were."

"Lucia isn't like you at all," Naoto said.

"She is. I couldn't save my mother. I couldn't save Ryo. And now, I can't save Lucia. I really am just useless. I'm the worst daughter in the world, the worst sister, and the worst friend. So many people are suffering around me and I just can't do anything about it. I see it all unfold in front of me... but I can't do anything. Lucia is in so much pain. It's the pain that I've been used to for years and years, and I can't stop her from this."

"You're being too hard on yourself," Naoto identified. "You're Sumire Nakai. You're not a superwoman by any means. You have your own limitations and your struggles. You can't possibly focus on so many things at once. That isn't realistic at all."

"You say that... but in reality, I haven't overcome any obstacles or struggles." Sumire disagreed, leaning her head towards her reflection in the midnight moon. Ripples formed on the water's surface, shuddering her perceived image. "All I've done is run away, just like Ryo. I don't have the strength to confront them. I can't apologize to my mother, nor can I approach my father and tell him he meant nothing to me. All I've been doing is putting them on hold and pretending like it never happened."

"Take one step at a time," Naoto said. "You never know. You can end up doing something you never expected to change that."

Sumire embraced Naoto with a warm hug, wanting the close affection of a friend by her side. Naoto blushed after realizing his biggest crush held him dearly. His senses tingled in pure ecstasy, but he calmed down after realizing that this was a serious moment for her.

"I have to save her. I just know I have to," Sumire's voice choked as she failed at enunciating her words. Endless teardrops streamed down her cheeks. "Because she's the only person left to save. If I can't save her, then how can I even protect the ones that I love? How can I protect my mother and Ryo? I truly am pathetic. I haven't saved anyone..."

"You know that's not true!" Naoto's loud voice pierced the skies with an echo. Sumire inhaled and gasped at Naoto's sudden change of volume and force, stepping back to see his sudden change in personality. "You saved me! You made me invested in Sunlight! It's all because of you!" Naoto closed his eyes and puckered his cheeks together in utter embarrassment. "You... you even had me fall in love with you, damn it!"

"Naoto..." Sumire was speechless at his unbound confession.

"It's true, you know!" Naoto said, releasing his true feelings. "I mean, who else would wake me up in the morning when I'm supposed to be drowsy with that smile? And who else is so goofy stuffing down slices of pizza just to prove a point? Who else could be as beautiful as you are? You! You really are! The way your voice sounds, the way you move your hair... it's all just beautiful!"

Sumire placed her hand over her chest in astonishment over Naoto's sudden confession. The midnight breeze lightly brushed her jet black ponytail aside, bringing her chills from her water-drenched clothing.

"You make others feel things they've never felt before, so stop saying that you're useless! Because you're dead wrong! We appreciate everything you've done, Sumire. You saved me and countless others. You don't need to prove yourself over this. Not to Ryo or your mother, because I'm sure as hell that they treasure you just because of who you are! And... I'll always love you for who you are! If you're ever feeling lonely or useless, I'll protect you no matter what happens!"

Sumire avoided eye contact with Naoto as she turned red, swaying her arms from side to side. As Naoto waited for her to reply, he was shocked to see her giggling with the back of her palm covering her mouth and cheeks. This caught him off guard as one of the only responses he didn't want to see back after his heartfelt confession. His eyes opened widely with his jaw-dropped at her unnecessary giggling.

"H-hey! What's so funny?!" Naoto crankily asked.

"It's nothing," Sumire said as she continued giggling. "Well, you said you'd protect me, but it looked like you're the one who needed protecting tonight."

Naoto's forehead wrinkled in utter embarrassment, realizing that she had been the one to save him from Lucia's mercenaries. "E-Even so! Maybe I need to learn how to use a nanosuit like you guys..." He muttered.

Sumire embraced Naoto once more with another tight hug. "Thank you, Naoto. Thank you for sharing your feelings. But the Naoto I know is much stronger than this. He doesn't need to depend on someone else's feelings to be strong. And I know you can show this without me. I'll be watching you from a distance as your comrade," She moved back to see Naoto's face stunned at her words. His face was still. "Is that okay?"

Naoto realized that he had been rejected, but for some odd reason, his heart didn't shatter apart. He received it quite well, believing that Sumire was too kind to be upset about. "Yeah. It's okay." He said, smiling passionately about keeping Sumire healthy and happy. Deep down, he was willing to sacrifice as much as he could for this to happen, for nothing else made him happier than seeing others feel the same way.

"Thank you, Naoto," Sumire said, holding Naoto again. Her hair gently brushed against Naoto's left cheek as he knew he made the right decision about staying with Sumire as close allies. "If it's not too selfish... then maybe you can talk to Ryo about Sophie. This time, don't hold anything back, okay?"

"Only if you promise me that you'll confer with allies before trying to stop Lucia," Naoto reminded. "It's for your own good. I don't want to see you getting hurt. You need to be alive so you can protect Ryo and your mother. I want to see this happen, and I'll make sure it does."

Sumire lightly smiled before realizing that Ryo had been standing and observing their conversation from a distance on the stone bridge. He approached the two while withstanding the hesitation and possible occurrence of another argument. Naoto moved aside after realizing Sumire locked eyes with her brother, giving them the space to speak as siblings. Sumire inhaled a tense breath before stepping forward, maintaining eye contact with Ryo.

"You know... I'm kind of bad at this whole sibling thing," Sumire nervously said while losing eye contact. "But... I know in the end that you mean well. I'm sorry that I brought up those people's names. I shouldn't have done that. I know how sensitive it is to you."

"It's okay," Ryo forgave, lowering his eyes to his feet. "To be honest, it's a flaw I have as well. I can't always let their names take me over. I know that already."

"Well, the truth about why I brought up their names was to make you feel bad," Sumire said as she shook her head in denial. "I wasn't myself. To be honest, I don't even know what I consider 'myself' nowadays. There's just so much shit that's happening; me being a part of your family, the whole stake of Aries at risk, my mother, and Lucia. I'm only trying to help Lucia because-"

"She reminds you of yourself," Ryo said, stepping closer to Sumire with a confident stare. He placed his hand over Sumire's right shoulder and firmly held it there. "I know, Sumire. I know. But what matters is we're smart when we do something about it. You might be right now I'm not like you, but... I want to be. Because you're the only family I've got."

"Ryo..." Sumire whispered. She playfully placed her head on Ryo's shoulder and rammed it multiple times while giggling. Ryo and Naoto were caught off guard by her awkward antics and attempts to appear cute. "Okay, okay. You win, Ryo. I'll play it smart. We'll find some allies, and-"

"Hey!" Natia's sudden voice broke apart their sibling talk. She stood in front of the stone bridge with a stern expression, as if something unexpected had occurred to throw her off the brink of sanity. "Sorry to burst your dumb little sibling apologies, but shit's going down at headquarters. It's Akai. He's trying to fuck with clown girl and the others."

"Jinni?" Naoto's senses suddenly stirred after Natia mentioned her status. "Oh shit, and it's Akai too. He was with Rose Accel the other day!" He sped towards Ryo to grab his attention. "Ryo, we have to get back!"

Ryo nodded at Naoto to approve of the idea. "What is he doing?" He asked Natia.

"He's... he's trying to take the orange crystal," Natia stated.

"What?" Ryo said, baffled by his unexpected behavior.

"Come on, let's move!" Sumire ordered, grabbing Ryo's hand and pulling him across the stone bridge. "We don't have time!"

The four sped down the bridge as fast as possible to return back to their headquarters for the emergency. The sanctity of the orange crystal and its significance in solving future cases beyond Lucia's insanity. Despite Aries being at risk for total decimation, the orange crystal that Ryo pillaged at Genesis seemed even more significant, as it involved the ones that razed Lucia's home planet. As Genesis was the one who was primarily responsible for Lucia's drastic change from the melodic and soothing individual she was, Ryo knew that he would have to stop Akai before anything turned out for the worse.

The crystal's dazzling aura also had April's presence among it as a reflection of her eyes. Ryo remembered this and could never risk letting it fade...