Chapter 196: Winning your heart

A man who sticks to one woman at a time is the loyal type right? Unfortunately, her lack of knowledge regarding relationships makes her more vulnerable to being deceived. Had she noticed the signs with her ex boyfriend Nagawa Sano, then perhaps she wouldn't have bothered using him as Yuhi-san's substitute.

'It's not like he is completely at fault. If he felt the need to cheat on me, it must be because he noticed that he could never truly obtain my heart.'

With the large age difference between them, there were many occasions where there opinions clashed. Sano probably wanted more reassurance and stability. But, she didn't care about that.

She thought back to their encounter in the hospital and sighed. He truly was acting strange. During those few days she spent time with him, it occurred to her that he may still have feelings for her. But, if that is truly the case then it makes no sense for him to break up with her.

Sumire shakes her head. There is no use having such thoughts now. Right now, the one she should be focusing on is her current boyfriend.. She ought to focus on Toh.

Her thoughts break off when she noticed that Toh was staring at he. She finally decided to put him out of his misery and switched places with Ru, so she was in the back with Toh. The other two started to walk further ahead, trying to cover more ground and discuss amongst themselves. Sensing they were distracted, Toh turned to her.

"What were you two discussing? You were blushing."

Sumire blinked. How did he see that when it's so dark? What is she supposed to tell him? That they were talking about Yuhi?

"Forget it." Toh sighed. "Winning your heart will be a truly difficult journey."

Uh? Sumire looked at him dumbfounded. Today she is seeing different sides of Toh that she didn't know existed. When they first met she thought of him as a calm man with an elegant aura. He doesn't seem like the type of person who would be phased by anything.

He even admitted to her that he had never fallen in love, felt jealousy or gotten truly angry before. How he has lived his life analysing people's emotions.

Sumire's lips curved to a smile and she clung to his arm. "Dr Mashima, shall I tell you what the secret is to winning my heart?"

Toh shook his head and chuckled. "No, I do like how your a treasure box filled with endless secrets. I am confident I will have you figured out, and soon you won't be able to get rid of me."

Confident huh? To be honest, Toh isn't the first time who has tried to get close to her like this. There have been several other attempts, Atushi-kun and Arashi-senpai for example. However, those two failed and it became awkward when the two of them realized that she was only messing with them.

She has to compliment her past self for being so courageous. She wondered what possessed her to mess around and play with the feelings of two guys who genuinely cared for.

Sumire sighed deeply. It was during the darkest point in her life, and her morals were very questionable then. But she still shouldn't have done it.

She looked towards Toh. Toh has already seen her at her worst and yet he continues to remain by her. Is it simply fascination or is there something else there? He is fond of her, and he may even harbor genuine feelings of love.

Unfortunately they have only known each other for a short time frame so it is difficult for her to say so for sure. She just needs to observe him for a bit longer. Only time will tell, if he is truly genuine or just messing with her.

Still for now, she can't deny that she enjoys his company. He is certainly different from all the guys she has met so far.

Her thoughts break off when he breaks the silence. "Tsueno is more overprotective of you than I thought."

"Hm? What makes you say that?"

"Even for a case this simple he is taking great lengths to ensure that you do not actively participate." Toh trailed off. "I shall apologise in advance, but do you not think he restricts your freedom too much? You are not a caged bird that needs protection."

Sumire blinked before bursting into laughter.

Toh sighed deeply. "This is a serious question. Do you not realize how his behaviour isn't healthy? He is too worried. The underworld is indeed dangerous, and there are many unexpected aspects of this job. But, his concerns are too much when you're the second strongest person in the underworld in Japan."

Sumire tilted her head. "Dr Mashima that is some compliment. I thought you would just say I was strong, or my strength is limited to star town. The underworld is massive after all."

Toh shakes his head. "I have travelled abroad a lot, and as a criminal psychologist I have involved myself in the underworld in many places. There is nobody who fights like you."

"How do I fight?" Sumire wondered.

There are all sorts of rumors about her being scary, and fellow members of the underworld even gave her the name the demon Princess. But, there has been nobody who has analysed her fighting style. She always found that unfair since she would often hear cool compliments regarding how Ru and Aki-san fought.

"Reckless and-" Toh suddenly paused and his gaze dimmed.

Sumire's eyes brightened. "Wait, did you think of someone who fights like me?"

"No." Toh said sternly.

"No, no. Just now there was that pause and your body language says so otherwise. I know a thing or two about reading people."

After all, Yuhi-san was the one who taught her about profiling. While she still isn't that good at it, she can conduct a simple profiling and can recognise signs. Just now Toh's tone faltered when he said there was nobody who fought like her.

When he was describing, it seems he just thought of someone.

"Who is it? Is it a friend of yours? I'd like to meet them."

Toh frowned and shook his head. "Definitely not."

Sensing his stern tone, Sumire paused. "This is the first time you are denying me anything. No matter how careless I have been, you have accepted all my requests."

"That's different."

"How so?" Sumire prodded.

If Toh truly has a friend that fights like her, she wants to meet him. There are not that many people who can spar with her and make it entertaining, and even less people who would have a one on one match to the death with her.

*Unedited*

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