Synthesia

Unknown to Sumire, Mamoru did chase her outside. But he decided not to do anything since he spotted Alto Mikaze not too far away. Sure enough, his decision was the right one. There is no need to worry; as long as those guys are around, even if it is not him, Ki will not be alone.

Mamoru recalled how happy the girl had been since she met the six of them in middle school. She would always come back and frequently tell him about the songs she wrote for them. Amongst those six, the only ones he was familiar with were Tachibana Masaru and Senbi Nao. But even then, he did not know them well enough.

Everything could go wrong because of his decision. Yet something connected him to this girl. He didn't know the red string of fate was so difficult to cut. No matter what he did, he would cross paths with this girl.

When they met again, she had no memory of who he was. He expected it, but it still stung when she asked him who he was. But he did not falter and continued to meet with her. Before he knew it, he had become one of the people closest.

He has committed many sins in his, and he knew well of them. When he looked in the mirror, he would see them like bold letters. Words are written in red, the colour of blood.

He saw the world in color; he saw peoples' words and thoughts as letters on a page. He saw them as different hues and colors dancing around in the air.

He does not know how to describe it, but he has frequently asked people around him. 'Can you see sound?' It was a peculiar question that nobody had ever been able to answer.

Rather the few people who did reply to him would always say, 'You can't see sound; you hear it.' They would give him the average and boring response.

People always gave him odd looks whenever he talked about it. But that did not stop him from asking the next person he met on the streets. It does not stop him from listening and watching the colors whenever somebody speaks.

What did people call this again?

Right, synesthesia.

There was a time when Ki was concerned, and they went to see a doctor about it.

'You do not have to worry; what you have is a safe neurological condition in the brain where the sensory paths lead to the other parts of the brain. This is a common condition, and around 20000 people have it. Although it is more common in women than men, it is nothing unusual.'

He followed this up with an underground doctor who told him.

'It's probably more powerful with you because of your powers.'

His powers, huh? Mamoru extended his hand, and a beam of light appeared in his hand. If a normal person goes by, they will see this as a ball of light. But it looked different for him.

It looked different to him because he could see sound. To be accurate, he could see the different colors or light swirling around inside this ball of light. It's moving fast per second.

'What color is my voice?' Ki asked him after they left the doctor that day.

It seemed odd that would be the first thing she asked him. Then again, Ki is not exactly normal.

Strange enough, Ki's voice is the one he has a hard time seeing. No, it's more like the color changes exactly like sound. One second it is blue, the next it is green or red. But the color he frequently sees is yellow and purple.

A bright yellow suits her bright smile exactly like the sun, a deep purple resembling her jewel-colored eyes.

Right now, her voice is yellow.

Alto Mikaze did a good job cheering her up, but earlier, it was grey. A dull grey expressed how dark her emotions were.

Being beside Ki is interesting because he can see many different colors. She is unlike people who have a fixed color. As long as he remains by her side, it feels like he can see and do anything.

That's why he thinks he can achieve what he plans to do. He thinks of it as the red that clouds his vision, and he's fully aware. If that mark represents his terrible deeds, who's to say they don't represent what he will do as well? He thinks he might as well live up to fate.

But whenever he talks about his cruel fate in front of her, she would turn to him and puff her cheeks. 'Who says you can't change fate?'

It was something so simple, and anybody could say those words. But when it comes to her. It seemed so genuine and so real.

…

Mamoru's house.

He doesn't dream much, but they tend to be dreams about her when he does. So he would wake up with the largest grin on his face. It was the same this time, too; he dreamt they were holding hands and having a date in that nice park that is popular with couples.

His gaze fell on the girl who was fast asleep in his arms. Mamoru blinked. When did she get here? He remembers not bothering with returning to class and wandering around town for hours before heading home.

'Ki has this bad habit of falling asleep beside me when she is in a weak state.' He remembers the first time it happened all too well; it felt like his heart would rip out of his chest.

She probably has no idea how many people would misunderstand this situation if they knew. So he sat down with her and had a talk. 'It's okay to do this, well it isn't, but I understand why Ki. Just don't let people know.'

If the other guys heard about Ki sleeping beside him, they would surely misunderstand.

To be honest, he still hasn't adjusted to it yet. It was fine to do this when they were kids, but now that they are much older.

Mamoru felt heat creep onto his face. Why is she so pretty? It has to be a crime being this beautiful.

'I have the privilege of seeing her sleeping face and sleeping next to her.' No matter how strong he is, he is not an idiot who would boast about it. Besides, it didn't have to be him.

He knew that whenever Ki got lonely, she would have the bad habit of going to dangerous places. She would either cause chaos, beat people up, or latch onto weird guys.

Thankfully because Aki has put a guard on her, none of those guys can get away with doing anything with her.

However, 'I am sorry, Mamoru-san, but I lost her at the casino, and she didn't return home. She told Nao to come get her in a residential district; what if something happened?'

He recalled Asahi's words from the other day and frowned.

If something happened, but Ki managed to return safely, that guy isn't a bad person. But she stayed out late; she had never done that before.

He just wants to ask her, but she probably does not want to talk about it since she hasn't told him yet. He will wait until she is ready, even if she does not tell him it is okay.