1
Sometimes in life, you come across some moments that seem almost too good to be true. You think to yourself:
"Do I deserve this? This moment of pure joy?"
I can't say whether we always deserve it or not, but I can tell you that when those moments come, cherish them.
There are a few things I'll never forget. The first book I read, how it felt to read the words of someone else, the wonder and excitement that it filled me with.
The first time I had made a friend.
And now, the first time I had fallen for someone.
The subject of my affection was still wrapped in my arms, neither of us wanting to let go of the other first. It was almost a contest, an unspoken agreement to see who would loosen their grip first. We may have stayed in that moment forever, had there not been a knock at the door.
Suddenly, we were both aware of reality once again. Both of us blushing, we let go and quickly stood up, I'm not sure who would have been more embarrassed had whoever was at the door decided to barge in instead of knocking.
Sakura stood up to answer the door, I stayed seated and hoped the evidence wouldn't be all over my face by the time she opened the door.
"I wasn't sure if you guys would be hungry, so I brought up some snacks."
I peeked up, catching a knowing but approving look on the face of Sakura's mother. Now that I was anchored back in reality, I realized I was feeling a bit hungry now.
"Thanks mom, though it is almost lunch time."
Sakura had grabbed the plate from her mom, looking back to me.
"Have you thought about what you want?"
Her mother covered her ears jokingly, which only caused Sakura to blush even more.
"I'll leave you two to it then."
She gave me a small wave, with that same knowing look, and left the two of us alone again.
Sakura stayed rooted where she was, still holding the plate her mom had brought up.
"I hope you're planning on sharing some of those."
That seemed to snap her back to reality. She placed it on the bed, sitting on the other side of the plate.
"Sorry, I guess this is taking some time to get used to."
She reached over, placing her hand on mine.
At the hospital, I never quite understood what Sakura meant by wanting to feel someone else's warmth. But now, with her hand on mine, I started to understand.
"I get it, you never do things properly."
Sakura looked at me, a slight flush on her cheeks.
"Are we still talking about lunch?"
She laughed, her fingers now intertwined with mine.
"Lunch, life, us. Take your pick."
I thought it over.
"Today seems like a sweet day, how about we go to Paradise?"
Her eyes lit up in excitement.
"You sure you don't want to go there just to see all the cute girls?"
A mischievous smile plastered on her face, with a matching twinkle in her eyes.
"Why would I want to do that when I can see the cutest girl right now?"
It was almost amusing to see how fast she went from that smug look to being embarrassed.
"And few months ago, you said that I was the third cutest in our class. You're not just saying that to keep holding my hand, are you?"
Her response held a mixture of curiosity and embarrassment.
"Hmmm... I might have changed my ranking after the recent events a little while ago"
I teased her a little, and she responded by doing the same.
"Then I should've just asked you out much before to hear these words coming out from you."
The smile she gave me was different from all the rest. It was like I was seeing her for the first time, the Sakura that had always been teasing but never truly revealing herself. I was forever grateful for the chance I had been given, deciding to make the most of this new journey together.
I looked down to the plate that sat between us, still untouched.
"It would be a waste to not eat these."
Sakura nodded.
"I suppose you're right."
She picked up one of the forks on the plate, grabbing a piece of one of the cake slices. I had figured she was just taking it for herself, so imagine my surprise when she held the fork up towards me.
"Say ahh…"
She was blushing slightly more than before, though I'm sure now I was in the lead. I hesitated a bit at first.
"Really? Don't tell me you added this in your list of things just now…"
"Yep!"
I giggled and opened my mouth enough for her to feed me the piece of cake.
"How was it?"
She covered the bottom half of her face with her hands, as though the embarrassment had caught up to her too.
"It was really good, I'll have to thank your mom before we leave for the cake."
A mock look of anger came across her face.
"Don't you think you're forgetting something?"
I quickly added.
"Fine, I get it! Your turn now. Don't just pout like a 5 year old."
I reached down, grabbing the other fork and grabbing a piece of the cake with it. I held it up to her, her eyes widening for a moment before dropping her hands and smiling.
"You have to say the words, otherwise it doesn't count."
I sighed, rolling my eyes.
"No way… its too embarrassing."
"Say it!"
"Okay. Say ahh…"
Blushing madly, she took the bite of cake.
"We really need to get used to this."
I was treated with another smile from her, a smile I'm sure she only showed to her family and now me.
We finished the cake slices, alternating between feeding each other and ourselves.
"Are you sure you want to go to Paradise? Too much sweets in one day isn't good for you, you know."
I was surprised, this coming from the girl who dragged me to all sorts of restaurants, talking about eating whatever she wanted when she wanted it.
"Well, I thought you'd like it. Is the cake we just had was the deciding factor? It wasn't that big."
She shook her head, smiling.
"No it wasn't, but that wasn't the sweetness I was referring to you silly."
She reached over and held my hand, the sudden warmth making me realize I had missed this while we were eating.
"If that's the case, we might never end up going back to Paradise."
I could feel her grip tighten slightly, and I responded by doing the same.
"Even if we don't, this is already paradise enough for me."
I could feel some part of me inside melting when she said that, and I'm sure the same thing was happening to her.
Before either of us could say anything else, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out, seeing that I had a new message.
"Sorry, do you mind?"
She shook her head, moving the plate from between us so she could rest her head on my shoulder again.
I flipped open my phone, seeing it was a message from Sakuta.
"That sounds good, glad to hear you're doing okay."
I nudged Sakura, and she looked up to me. I was suddenly aware of how close together our faces were.
"So uhm… I had some people I wanted you to meet along with Sakuta."
"Oh! That sounds nice."
"Do you want to meet them?"
"Well, we certainly could."
Our faces grew ever closer to each other, our voices dropping to a mere whisper. This close to her, I could see the small changes of color in her eyes, and if I imagined it the shape of our exhales coming together in an endless dance.
"Should we stop?"
My voice barely audible, as I was lost in this perfect moment.
"O-Ok… what do you want?"
Her reply was soft as mine, as we gazed into what felt like each others' soul.
"You, forever and always."
No words came back, only the feeling of her lips softly pressing against mine.
If what I had felt before was how heaven must be, then this was uncharted territory. I had no words for the feelings I felt in that moment, simply melting away as the kiss lingered. I felt a strange urge to cry, as though all the joy and ecstasy I felt from that kiss threatened to overwhelm me.
I thought that I had actually started to cry, as I felt a moisture on my cheek. But when the kiss ended, I could see that Sakura was the one crying. I started to worry.
Was I a bad kisser? Had I done something wrong?
She must have noticed, quickly wiping the tears away.
"That was perfect."
Her smile spoke all the words that she left unsaid.
"But you shouldn't keep your friend waiting for an answer."
I had completely forgotten the text, slowly dragging myself back to reality.
"Y-Yeah. What should I tell him?"
She thought it over, placing her head back on my shoulder. No matter how many times she did it, I never quite got used to how perfect that felt, like it was meant to be.
"I'm fine with whatever you decide."
In the past, I would have gotten annoyed by her leaving things up to me. But now, I cherished it. I quickly typed out a message, letting Sakuta know we were ready whenever he was. A few minutes later, his reply came back.
"Come by around 4, everyone is excited."
Everyone?
I suppose he must have relayed the news to Rio and Mai. I showed Sakura the text, and she gave a subtle nod. I checked the time, seeing we had some time to kill until then. I was still hungry, and I wasn't sure what Sakuta and the others had planned.
"We should still go get something to eat, are you still hungry?"
Sakura nodded again, though not saying anything.
"You want me to pick, don't you?"
Again, another nod. I thought over what places we would pass by along the way, then remembering the place I had visited with Rio and Sakuta.
"I'm ready when you are Sakura."
Her hand felt slightly warmer when I said her name, though maybe it was just my imagination. I started to stand up, though Sakura didn't move.
"Is something wrong?"
She shook her head.
"I just really enjoyed sitting here with you, I wasn't ready to stop just yet."
I smiled, standing up from the bed. Sakura looked at me, almost disappointed. But I got on one knee in front of her, taking her hands in mine.
"This is a little fast, don't you think?"
We were both equally embarrassed when she said that, though mine came from not realizing how it would look to her.
"You sure do say some dumb things from time to time."
She gave me a mock look of outrage, but only for a few moments before she started laughing. I gave her time to finish, needing the time to recollect myself.
"I really enjoy sitting here like this too. I wish I could stay here in this moment forever."
I could see tears forming in her eyes again, and I started to feel some regret.
"You really mean that?"
I nodded, not taking my eyes off of her.
"I really do."
Sakura stood up, pulling me up from my kneeling position into a hug.
"That means the world to me."
Her voice, soft and quiet once again, melted yet another part of me. No matter how many times she asked me, my answer would always be the same.
After an eternity of bliss, our hug ended. Grabbing the plate, I started to head towards the door. I turned to see Sakura placing The Little Prince back onto her shelf, so I waited for her. Flashing me another one of her heartwarming smiles, she grabbed my hand and we headed downstairs.
Her mom was in the kitchen when we made our way downstairs. She didn't say anything when she saw the two of us holding hands, simply smiling.
She reached out for the plate in my hand, and I quickly handed it over.
"The cake was very good, thank you."
She gave me a smile similar to the one Sakura gave me, as though she was giving her appreciation for my words as well as her approval of us at the same time.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it, please come back again soon. As I mentioned, you're always welcome here."
Setting the plate down, she turned back to us.
"So you two are going to eat now?"
Sakura nodded for the two of us.
"I'll be back later, we're going to meet some friends of his after we eat."
Her mother simply raised an eyebrow but smiled.
"Be safe, and have fun."
I managed to sheepishly say a farewell, as Sakura went over and gave her mom a hug before returning to me. We waved goodbye to her mom and headed outside, hand in hand.
2
The sun was shining brightly overhead, matching how I felt inside as I walked with Sakura to our lunch date. During our walk, we'd catch us looking at each other, breaking out into a smile each time. Each time, I felt more and more of the negative emotions from the past few days washing away.
"Are you sure I don't have something on my face? You seem to be staring at it pretty often today."
Sakura finally said after a while, her teasing tone returning.
"Just your cute face."
She blushed, clearly expecting something along those lines but still happy to hear it.
I was going to say something else, but then we were spotted by a familiar face.
"You two seem to be in a good mood."
Kyoko had a bag in her hand, just finishing up some afternoon shopping. She must have noticed our hands clasped together, but thankfully she didn't immediately blow up.
Sakura let go of my hand, moving forward to pull Kyoko into a hug. I stood awkwardly to the side, as I wasn't sure what I should do.
My relationship with Kyoko was a bit better than it had been previously, but I wasn't quite sure where we stood now. I'd just let Sakura handle this for now, as she was always good about being the barrier between us.
"You're not trying any funny business, are you?"
Kyoko stared at me after the hug had ended, her hands on her hips. I shook my head, hoping Sakura wouldn't say anything that would make Kyoko angry.
"I was never much of a comedian, so no. Nice to see you again."
Sakura laughed, and Kyoko scowled a bit but otherwise stayed calm.
"Well, I clearly saw the two of you holding hands, so I want to know what's going on here."
Sakura gave her a stare, and Kyoko added a reluctant "please" afterwards.
I looked to Sakura, but she merely pointed at me to break the news. I sighed, thinking that Kyoko might take the news better if it had come from Sakura.
"Well, we're dating now."
I wish I had a camera on me, a real one and not the one my ancient flip phone had. The look on Kyoko's face was priceless.
"H-HUH?!"
Her lips started to move but she merely stammered, it was as if she had so many things she wanted to say but couldn't decide what to start with.
"Sakura, can I talk to your... boyfriend alone for a second?"
She hesitated, as though saying boyfriend was painful for her.
Sakura nodded, finding a spot in the shade to wait for us to talk. Kyoko pointed a finger at me.
"You better keep her happy, or you'll have to deal with me. You got that?!"
I nodded, somewhat frightened by the idea of a vengeful Kyoko coming after me.
"I'll spend every moment I can to make her happy."
Her finger wavered, before she dropped her arm down.
"So, you're actually going to man up? I'm surprised."
Any lingering hostility was gone now, and I was now seeing a different side of Kyoko than I was used to.
"If she is happy, then I won't stand in your way. Just promise to take care of her, if you can do that then you have my blessing."
Underneath the cold exterior I had always seen, there was a nice girl simply putting up a tough front for the people she cared about.
"I promise I will. If I wasn't serious about her, I wouldn't have gone through everything I did just to save her."
Kyoko was silent, no cutting remarks or outbursts. She tentatively held out her hand.
"I'll hold you to that promise, so no slacking."
I reached out, taking her hand and shaking it.
"Of course not, and I don't think she'd let me slack anyway."
A small smile came across her face.
"No, she wouldn't."
We walked over to where Sakura was waiting, I was feeling even better having cleared this latest hurdle. Sakura held out her hand to me, and I interlocked my fingers with her.
Kyoko made a noise, but didn't raise a fuss over it.
"I'm not going to get used to this anytime soon, but if you're happy Sakura, then I won't complain."
Sakura smiled, holding her free hand out towards Kyoko.
"I get to see two of my favourite people getting along, why wouldn't I be happy?"
Kyoko grabbed her free hand, only to be just as surprised as I was when Sakura pulled us into a group hug.
"I want all three of us to get along, okay?"
Kyoko grumbled at the sudden group hug, but the two of us nodded.
After extracting herself from the hug, Kyoko gave the two of us a look.
"I guess I'll leave you two to your plans then."
She started to turn and walk away, but then I realized there was something I should say before she left.
"Are you going to be free later?"
Kyoko stopped, slowly turning back.
"I might be, why?"
I mentioned the plan I had with Sakuta and the others, it wouldn't be right to not invite her after the help she had given.
"I'll think about it, though I don't exactly know anyone else other than your weird friend that tagged along yesterday."
I shrugged.
"You were still a big help. It wouldn't feel right not having you there."
She blushed slightly, before shaking her head to get back to her senses.
"It was all for Sakura, but I guess it would be nice."
Sakura was typing something on her phone, it wasn't until a ringing noise came from Kyoko that I realized she had texted the info to her.
"We'll see you there."
Sakura said with a smile, and I could tell that any resistance to the idea was gone with that simple action. We waved goodbye, though Sakura couldn't resist getting in one last hug.
We both went to Fujisawa and were close to the restaurant when we had run into Kyoko, so after a few more minutes of walking we were seated inside.
Unsurprisingly, Sakura ordered a plate of Offal. I simply kept things plain, though I was sure she would still try to give me some of her food. Sure enough, she placed a few pieces on my plate, humming to herself in excitement.
I stuck a piece of my order on my fork, holding it to towards Sakura. I half expected her to make me say the magic words again, but she simply took the bite and smiled.
"You sure seem to be a natural at this, are you sure you've never dated anyone before?"
I nodded, recalling our conversation long ago.
"I have no actual idea what I'm doing, I'm just hoping I'm doing a good job."
She gave me one of her award winning smiles.
"You're doing a great job. I couldn't hope to ask for anything better."
I gave in and smiled back, thinking to myself how good it felt to be complimented by her.
We continued eating, though I could feel Sakura staring at me more than the food in front of her.
"Is something on your mind?"
I had finished eating, so I finally was curious what kept her looking at me. She pushed some of the food around on her plate, thinking over what to say.
"I was just thinking how lucky I am. To have someone care about me as much as you do, and isn't afraid to show it. You even smoothed things over with Kyoko on your own."
I was about to hesitate but then she laid her hand out on the table, and I placed mine in hers, our fingers forming what felt like an unbreakable bond. No matter how many times I held her hand, I still never got used to the feeling of joy that I felt at such a simple act.
I looked down, realizing both of our plates were empty.
"Shall we head out?"
Sakura nodded, standing up but never letting go of my hand. I joined her, making our way to the counter.
Sakura had started to reach for her wallet, but I quickly handed over the money for our meal.
"Are you sure? You don't have to pay for mine you know."
I nodded.
"I want to pay, seems like the right thing to do for our first date after all."
She blushed at that, the price of the meal was worth it to see something that beautiful.
We stepped out of the restaurant, and I checked the time on my phone. We still had some time to kill before we were expected to be at the apartment, so I asked Sakura what she wanted to do.
"Hmmm, how about we just walk around for a bit? I just want to spend time with you, it doesn't matter what we do as long as we are together."
I had managed to say some sweet things to her, but it was effortless for her. I'd clearly have to practice more to reach her level.
We found ourselves wandering the area, peering into stores but never going in any. To the rest of the world, we were simply two young lovers on a date. For the first time, I didn't do my usual wondering about how others viewed me in that moment.
To be completely honest, I simply didn't care. No matter if it was a stranger or someone I knew, I realized it didn't matter what anyone else thought. The one person whose opinion mattered was by my side, her hand in mine.
Part of me wished that we could just walk together for the rest of the day, but we had plans.
As the time for the meet up drew nearer, we began to head toward the apartment. I quickly caught Sakura up on the people that she would be meeting.
"You waited this long to tell me you were living under the same roof with one of the most famous celebrities?! I'm a little disappointed now."
Sakura pouted, but only for a moment.
"I'm excited to meet them, I have to thank them for taking good care of you."
I felt a little flustered, but I was slowly getting used to it. It almost felt like a game, and I was determined to catch up eventually.
"I'm sure they're just as excited to meet you, after all they've heard."
Now it was her turn to be flustered.
Sakura kept asking what all I had said to them about her, but I was determined to not give in.
"You'll just have to find out, I promise it was all good things though."
She mock pouted again, though the fact she never let go of my hand let me know she wasn't actually upset.
We walked through the park near the apartment, enjoying the peace and quiet.
"Can we go on a park date sometime?"
Sakura looked over to me, a twinkle in her eyes at the thought of another date. I nodded, basking in the warm smile she gave.
As we reached the end of the park, I could see Sakuta up ahead carrying some bags. I waved, and we headed towards him. I reached out, offering to take some of the bags.
He shook his head,
""Ah! You guys are finally here. I got it, it's not too heavy. Shall we head up? Everyone is excited to finally meet you."
We followed Sakuta into the elevator, and soon found ourselves on the fifth floor.
Since Sakuta had his hands full, I opened the door of the apartment for him. From inside the apartment, I could hear some familiar voices. Mai was the first one that we ran into, as we followed Sakuta into the kitchen.
"You made it, welcome back."
She looked over to Sakura, holding out her hand.
"I'm Mai Azusagawa, it's so nice to finally meet you."
Sakura reached out, taking Mai's hand.
"I'm Sakura Yamauchi, t-thank you for having me. Wow! I-I can't believe… the Mai Sakurajima is standing in front of me…"
"Oh, you don't have to get so tensed up. I'm just like other normal people. Make yourself at home please."
The two of them giggled, probably more due to sharing the same name.
"Are you guys hungry or thirsty? We have some snacks now but we'll start cooking dinner later."
The two of us shook our heads, still full from lunch.
"I'll take some water though, if you don't mind."
Mai filled a glass, handing it to Sakura. She looked to me, but I shook my head once again.
I had a slightly mischievous idea to have some of Sakura's glass, but before I could she held it towards me. I half expected her to hold the glass to my mouth, thankfully she didn't go that far.
I took a small sip, ever aware that I was drinking from the same glass as her. Somehow, that made the water seem sweet.
I handed it back over, as Mai simply smiled at the two of us.
"I can see why you worked so hard, you two look great together."
Equally embarrassed, the two of us just awkwardly smiled. Our romance being as fresh as it was, it would take some getting used to.
Rio peeked her head around the corner, spotting me.
"Well congratulations are in order."
She made her way into the kitchen, one hand leaning on the counter. She was dressed casually, I half expected to see her wearing her usual lab coat.
She glanced to Sakura.
"I'm Rio Futaba, I'm guessing you're the one we've all heard so much about."
She smiled.
"Take good care of each other, and I'm sure you two will always find happiness."
Sakura finally let go of my hand, moving to introduce herself to Rio.
Mai took the opportunity to pull me into the living room, where Sakuta was now resting on the couch after his shopping trip. I took a seat on the opposite couch, while Mai settled in next to her fiancé.
"So, you never mentioned that you two were dating before."
Mai had a curious look on her face, matching the one Sakuta had. I cleared my throat.
"Well, that was a more recent development."
Almost in sync, their eyebrows raised up.
"How recent?"
Sakuta asked first, beating Mai by mere moments.
"Uh, this morning actually."
They both smiled, though Sakuta seemed a bit disappointed. Mai quickly explained why.
"We had made a challenge, Sakuta bet that you two had been dating longer, I figured it was more recent or had yet to happen."
"To be fair, you'd have to be madly in love with someone to go through what you did."
Seeing the look on my face, Sakuta added.
"Well, I know that's why I did bet on that. You do love her, right?"
I thought over everything, every moment from the first day I had met Sakura to now.
"I'm not exactly an expert in any of this, but I suppose you have a point. If I had to give an answer, then yes I do love her."
Sakuta and Mai shared a look, and I didn't quite understand it.
"That's a little embarrassing you know."
I turned around to see Sakura and Rio standing there, Sakura was blushing so hard I was worried she might be stuck permanently blushing.
I felt my face warming up as I realized that she had heard me say I loved her.
"S-Sakura I... uh…"
She held up her hand, not finished.
"I was hoping to hear you say that to me first, before you started telling other people."
She moved closer, sitting next to me on the couch.
I tentatively held my hand out to her, and she placed her hand in mine.
"Next time, maybe say it to me first. Though give me a warning before, okay?"
I nodded, determined to stay quiet for now so I avoided saying anything else too embarrassing.
Rio took a seat in one of the chairs, probably feeling too uncomfortable to sit next to one of the couples. She looked over to Sakuta.
"We may have a seating arrangement issue once the others arrive."
Looking around, I realized there was only one open chair, after that it was just the couches which the couples had occupied.
Mai thought for a moment, then smiled wickedly.
"Not a problem, we can always just put Sakuta in the corner. He did lose the bet after all."
Sakuta pouted, and Mai pinched his cheek gently.
"I'm only kidding dear, after all you're not getting off that easy."
I could tell without even looking that Sakura was enthralled and amused by their relationship. I'd have to do my best to make sure she didn't pick up any bad habits while we were here.
She smiled mischievously looking at me with as side-eye.
I understood what she was thinking and then I remarked.
"Please no. Don't try it on me."
She replied.
"Just for once."
She came close and pinched my cheek gently by giggling just like how Mai was pinching Sakuta.
Others were chuckling as well, but then came a knock from the front door. Sakuta stood up to go answer.
"Hey, glad you guys could make it, come on in."
I turned around to see Kyoko and Issei walking in behind Sakuta. He gave me a quick wave, and after noticing Sakura was next to me, flashed me a not at all discrete thumbs up.
"I always knew this was coming, congrats."
He held out his hand, two pieces of gum on his palm. I reached out, taking both and offering one to Sakura. Thankfully, she took it with her hand, saving me the embarrassment of feeding it to her in this room full of people.
Issei took a seat in the open chair, and Kyoko sat on the other side of Sakura. Sakuta sat back down next to Mai, looking to her and Rio to see who would say something first. Neither of them spoke up, so he got things started.
"I just wanted to bring everyone together, I know some of you may not be aware of all the events that have transpired recently. But despite that, I wanted to throw a celebration for the two of you."
He looked to me and Sakura.
"We may have just met, but I think I can speak for Mai-san and Futaba that it feels like we've known you for a while."
He looked over to Kyoko and Miyata before continuing.
"I know you two may not know the whole situation, but you both helped tremendously that this celebration simply wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for your help."
He looked over to Mai, and she nodded.
"I appreciate everyone for taking the time to come here today, we may not know each other but I consider all of you to be friends. I hope we can continue to get along."
Kyoko looked a bit embarrassed, and Issei seemed to be confused. But despite that, they both nodded.
I looked over to Rio, expecting her to say something profound as a continuation. Apparently, I wasn't the only one.
"Why is everyone looking at me? You two took all the best lines, anything I say would just fall flat after."
We all laughed, and with that, the celebration truly began.
3
"Mind if I help you?"
I was in the kitchen with Sakuta and Issei, the girls were all inside discussing whatever they talked about. Sakuta shook his head.
"It's fine though. You're our guests… but if you wanna help anyway, then help me with the barbecue here."
We, and well by we, I mean me, Issei and Sakuta, were grilling dinner. He had picked up some steaks earlier, and the aroma of the cooking meat was heavenly. Sakuta opened up the cooler near the grill, offering us a beer but we declined after reminding him we were still a bit too young to drink. He shrugged, closing the cooler and taking a seat on it.
Issei watched us and was curious about what I was going through since the last couple of days, and I realized he probably deserved to know what had been going on.
"Don't tell Sakura any of this just yet, I want her to hear it from me."
He nodded, and so I told him nearly everything. I left out some parts, like when I was too late to save her. Some things were just better left unsaid.
When I had finished catching him up, he let out a slow whistle.
"I'll be honest, that sounds absolutely insane. But you don't seem like someone who would lie, so I'll take your word for it."
He was right, I'm sure most people who heard about my experiences the past few days would be quickly calling a hospital to report an insane person.
"So, because of that whole situation, it led you two finally dating? I always knew it was coming, it was kind of obvious."
He leaned back, and smiled.
"I'm happy for you guys, I always felt like you two had a spark, even when you said there was nothing going on."
I was surprised, had it been that obvious from the beginning?
Sure, we got along and spent a lot of time together, but it had only been recently that I found myself caring and worrying about Sakura more than just a friend might.
After Issei gave me a pat on the back, he went to join the others in the living room.
Sakuta got up to check the grill, and I took the momentary lull in the conversation to gaze at the sunset from the window.
The sound of the footsteps made me turn around, and Rio joined us.
"They're busy discussing movies with Mai-san, so I decided to check up on you guys."
Sakuta pulled out a can of beer from the fridge, handing it over to Rio. She leaned against the wall, doing a quick cheers with Sakuta. Then her gaze turned to me.
"So you did it, I heard a little bit from your girlfriend. I guess I was wrong."
She shrugged.
"I suppose it happens every once in a while."
I half expected her to sound disappointed for being wrong, but instead she was happy.
"You were still a big help, though I'll admit I was a little worried that you might be right."
"This isn't exactly a typical scientific problem, a lot of it is simply theoretical. There's so many things that you can chart, but some things you can't anticipate. I don't think my theory was wrong about you not being able to get close to her, I think you just had the willpower to overcome that hurdle."
I thought back to when I had finally seen Sakura, trying to think what I had done. I was determined to save her of course, but was there more to it?
I voiced my thoughts to her, and she mused over them for a moment.
"I think you're forgetting an important variable here."
I tried to think what I had missed, but came up with nothing. She rolled her eyes, smiling.
"Your feelings for her… Love isn't something we can measure, despite what some online quizzes and websites may lead you to believe it. It's a complicated emotion, with so many hints of other emotions boiled into one. Happiness, fear of losing that person, ecstasy when you see them or think about them, so many parts that come together. You may not have realized it at the time, or even before how you felt about her."
"Yes, you cared for her, or else why go through everything if you didn't? But there's a difference between doing something because you care about someone, and doing something because you love them."
Hearing Rio talk, I realized that she was right.
"You sound like you're speaking from experience, I guess things are going well with Toranosuke then."
Rio blushed, but nodded.
A sudden call out got our attention, we all looked to see Mai on the other side pointing directly at me.
When she saw that I had noticed, she beckoned me inside with her finger.
She directed me to the couch that Sakura was sitting on. Mai took a seat next to Kyoko on the opposite couch.
"If it's okay with the two of you, I was really interested in hearing your story. I'm working on a new project, and I think your relationship would make for a great inspiration."
I looked over to Sakura, but she nodded.
"I assume you wouldn't be using our names or anything, so it's okay with me if that's the case. If it's okay with him, I'd be happy to talk."
I couldn't find a problem with it either, so I nodded as well.
Kyoko looked a little uncomfortable, probably still not yet used to the change. But I had to give her some credit, despite all of our interactions in the past it seemed like she was trying to not make a fuss at least for Sakura's sake.
Mai smiled, pulling out a pad of paper and pen to write down our story. She looked back and forth between Sakura and I, waiting for one of us to start. I decided to let Sakura take the lead, giving her a little nudge before holding her hand.
"Well it all started when we met at the hospital one day, in the front lobby."
Mai began writing, but then looked up.
"Why were the two of you at the hospital?"
I tensed up, I had no issue saying my reason. But for Sakura, it was a different story.
"I was there to get some stitches removed from an appendix surgery."
I spoke up first, giving Sakura some time to come up with an answer. I looked over to her, only to see her lips trembling. Before I could say anything, she spoke up.
"I have some problems with my pancreas, so I have to go in for checkups."
She skirted around the truth, just enough that she wasn't lying but stopping from revealing everything. I wondered if she would have said more if Kyoko wasn't there, but I doubted it. She didn't like people making a fuss over her because of it, and I'm sure Mai definitely would have if she knew the truth.
Kyoko looked surprised, but Sakura flashed her a smile.
"Sorry I didn't say anything before, I just don't really like to talk about it. It's not a big deal."
Kyoko seemed unsure, but nodded.
"I'm sure you have your reasons, if you didn't want to talk about it then I can respect your wishes."
I could feel a bead of sweat roll down my back, the crisis was averted for now. We continued telling our story, taking turns so one person wasn't doing all of the talking. When we got to the day where Sakura had almost kissed me, I wasn't sure who was more embarrassed between Kyoko, Sakura, and myself.
"Nothing going on huh? Now from whom did I hear that from?"
She muttered, just loud enough for us to hear. Sakura looked away awkwardly.
"I'm not exactly proud of what I did, I regretted it the rest of that night."
She squeezed my hand, looking over to me.
"I am sorry about that situation, I should never have done that."
I shook my head, squeezing her hand back.
"We both made mistakes that day, but we bounced back and became even closer because of it."
Mai made a little "aww" and smiled.
"That was really sweet, you two have a very touching story."
The two of us blushed. What else could you do when hearing such a compliment? I took over for a bit, and told the story of the day we saw the fireworks. I could have sworn I saw Mai's eyes misting up as I spoke, but maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks on me.
"Firework scenes are very big in romance projects nowadays."
Mai remarked as she continued writing. From there, Sakura talked about the events of the past few days, wrapping up our story. Once finished, Kyoko was the first to speak up.
"Sakura, can I ask you a question?"
She nodded, and Kyoko paused for a moment.
"When did you first start liking him?"
Sakura thought it over for a bit.
"Well probably from the beginning, but I think I realized it the night when I almost kissed him. The one thing I kept thinking was how he might hate me even after we made up, and that thought hurt more than anything."
She blushed, looking over to me.
"You didn't hate me for it, did you?"
I shook my head.
"I was a bit mad, sure. But I never hated you for it. I just didn't like being the butt of a joke like that."
She looked almost sad when I said that, but I squeezed her hand in reassurance. Kyoko coughed, and we quickly looked to her.
"Okay I get it, I get it. All this lovey dovey stuff is just a little hard to get used to, don't mind me."
We laughed, and Mai set down her pad of paper.
"Thank you for telling me all of that, it really is a great story. I hope I can do it justice, and one day show it to you guys."
I could sense Sakura becoming melancholy, as she probably not be around to see it. I caressed her hand with my thumb, trying to cheer her up. Mai and Kyoko didn't seem to notice, and didn't make any remarks.
Then, Sakuta and Issei carried the plates of cooked steaks to the table for serving, as Rio made her way to the couch.
She glanced at the pad of paper, and Mai passed it to her.
"If you guys want to go ahead and start eating, feel free."
The three of us got up, and headed to the dining table. Sakuta had laid out plates, so we quickly filled them up. The aroma of everything was making my mouth water, and I couldn't wait to dig in.
We took a seat at the table, digging into the feast. We passed our compliments to Sakuta, remarking how well everything tasted. Before long, Rio and Mai joined us.
I noticed Rio seemed distracted, not paying much attention to her plate. I decided to wait until after we finished eating to talk to her, though she approached Sakura first as we made our way back to the living room.
"Would you two mind joining me in the bedroom for a sec?"
We nodded, though I felt a bit worried as well, so we followed her out. Whatever she planned to say, I could tell she wanted the discussion to be private.
Sakura and I sat down on the bed, and Rio settled atop the chair near the study table.
"The problem with your pancreas… It's serious, isn't it?"
I felt my stomach sink, though I wasn't surprised that Rio was the one to figure it out. I looked over to Sakura, and she slowly nodded.