1
"How did you know?"
Her voice was quiet, and I reached over for her hand. She felt cooler than before, the shock of someone figuring out the truth had clearly affected her.
"It was just a guess… but when you left your story so vague when you were telling it to Mai-san, it made me curious. I'm sorry if I'm intruding, so we can drop it and not talk about it anymore."
Before Sakura could say anything, I spoke up.
"You wouldn't have asked if you didn't have a reason, I think I know that by now. Am I right?"
Sakura looked over to me, shocked that I was allowing the discussion to continue but Rio nodded.
"I do work for a lab after all, so I hear all sorts of interesting things in my line of work. Not to mention all of the research material at my disposal. The reason I asked was to see if there was any help I could offer, if you're willing to allow me."
Sakura was silent for a moment, her hand still feeling cool to the touch.
"You can't say a word to anyone else, that's my requirement. Only my parents and my boyfriend know the truth, I don't want everyone worrying about me and treating me differently."
Rio nodded.
"I completely understand. You have my word that I won't tell anyone."
Sakura sighed, though I could feel the warmth coming back to her hand. She quickly told Rio the truth behind her illness, in case someone decided to come into the bedroom to join us.
"I see. I'll have to do some research, though I think I heard of a lab that was working on that very illness. Would you mind giving me your contact info, I can let you know what I hear."
Sakura exchanged info with Rio, and I did the same. At least that way, she'd be able to get in contact with us no matter what.
"I'm sorry for prying into a sensitive topic like that, but I hope to have some good news for you within the next few days."
She checked the time on her phone, standing up.
"It's getting a little late for me, so for now have a good night."
We stood up, following her in the living room. Sakura whispered to me as we walked in.
"Do you mind if we head out too? I think I want some alone time."
I nodded, feeling a little down at hearing that. She quickly squeezed my hand, noticing my mood change.
"That doesn't mean I want you to go too. I still want to spend more time with you, silly."
I smiled, glad that I'd be able to enjoy the night a little longer with her.
"Thank you so much for having us, but we're going to head out too. It's been a very long day, but we'd love to get together again."
Mai came up to us first, thanking us for coming.
"It was great having you guys over, we really should get together again. Maybe a double date sometime?"
We both nodded, looking forward to it.
I made my way over to Sakuta, holding out my hand.
"Thanks for everything, helping me out and having everyone over. It was really great, and I appreciate all of the kindness shown to us."
He smiled, shaking my hand.
"I'm glad to be of service, we'll link up again one of these days. A double date sounds like a fun idea."
Issei and Kyoko waved goodbye. Sakura getting in one last hug for the night from her closest friend.
Rio walked us to the front door, reminding us she would be in touch as soon as she had any news, and with that we stepped out into the night.
It was still early enough that we could spend some more time together, but I wasn't sure where to go. I asked Sakura where she wanted to go, but she simply shrugged.
"How about we just walk around for a bit? I don't want to go home just yet, unless you wanted to come over."
"I'm fine with walking around, though I did see something about a parade on the TV this morning. Maybe we could go check it out?"
Sakura quickly pulled out her phone, trying to look up where the parade was being held. She turned the screen towards me so I could see.
"Looks like it's not too far from your home, if we hurry we can catch the end of it. And it says something about a surprise afterwards, I wonder what that could be?"
There was only one way to find out. Hand in hand, we headed towards the station.
By the time we arrived in Takaoka, we had missed most of it. The little bit we did get to see was still enjoyable, I looked over to see Sakura smiling the whole time.
As the end of the parade passed by, I began to wonder what was to come. The minutes passed by, and I started to think that nothing else was going to happen.
"Oh look!"
Sakura pointed up in the distance, and I looked up to see a small light rising upward. The night sky soon began to light up, as hundreds of lanterns filled the horizon.
"It's beautiful."
Sakura leaned her head on my shoulder, and I wrapped my arm around her, holding her close.
It truly was a beautiful sight, the fireworks we had seen together was a spectacle but I knew I'd never forget this night. We watched silently as the lanterns floated away, the perfect end to a perfect day.
As the night darkened more and more, we decided to walk around the area. There was a lot of food stands, but the two of us were still full from dinner so we passed by them. Sakura had hoped to find some game stands, but they had already closed up for the night.
"We can always go to another event and visit them earlier."
Sakura nodded, smiling at the thought of future dates.
"Do you really think she'll come up with something?"
Sakura said softly as we left the area of the festivities.
"I do, I don't think she would have brought it up if she wasn't confident. She doesn't seem like the type of person to give false hope to people."
Sakura stopped walking, it took me a few steps to realize and I turned towards her.
"When I was in the hospital for this last visit, the doctors had some bad news."
A tear rolled down her cheek, her voice soft.
"The time that I was supposed to have left, it got shorter. I want to believe that she'll have something, but part of me is scared to get my hopes up."
I was stunned, I had felt that there was something off about Sakura when I had visited her, but she had said it was nothing before.
"I didn't want to say anything at first, I didn't want to cause you any worry or make you feel like you had to treat me differently because of it. And now I have something precious, it's just… It's not fair!"
I walked up to Sakura, wrapping her in an embrace. She clung tightly to me, I could feel her shaking as the tears rained down. I felt powerless in the moment, what words could I say to make her feel better?
Everything I could think of would just seem hollow, so instead I placed my hand on the back of her head, stroking my fingers through her hair.
"Do you still want to be with me, even if I only have a short time left? I can understand if you say no."
Sakura spoke softly, yet I could hear the hurt in every word.
"Of course I do, how could I live with myself if I left you now?"
Her only response was to hold me even tighter, then she spoke up once again.
"About what you said at the party, did you really mean that?"
I thought back to everything I said, then remembering the embarrassing moment that had occurred.
"I do, I would never had said that if I didn't mean it."
We were both silent for a moment, and I debated saying more before Sakura spoke again.
"Can I hear you say it, to me?"
Her voice trembled, barely about a whisper. I pulled back from the hug, taking her hands in mine.
"Sakura, I love you."
The smile she rewarded me with was worth more than anything in the world.
"I love you too."
She leaned forward, and we shared our second kiss.
The passion and swirling pool of emotions behind this kiss was even more than the first. The joy and sadness we felt mixed together, her lips wet from the tears. We pulled back, smiling at one another.
"I promise Sakura, I'm not going anywhere."
"Not even to walk me home? That's not very nice."
I laughed, and shook my head.
"You know what I mean."
She smiled warmly.
"I do, and thank you. You don't know how much that means to me, to hear you say that."
We began to head to her house, trying to spot any of the lanterns from earlier but having no such luck.
"Are you busy tomorrow?"
I shook my head, somewhat surprised Sakura hadn't already assumed that I was free.
"What would you like to do then?"
I thought it over, then recalling the conversation with my mom.
"Would you like to come over? You could meet my family."
She blushed, but nodded.
"That sounds wonderful."
We turned the corner on her street, and I was dreading having to say goodbye for the night.
Sakura must have noticed, as she squeezed my hand.
"I'll see you tomorrow, and if you get too lonely you can always text or call me."
I smiled, nodding.
"You're right, it was just such a perfect day that I wish it didn't have to end."
We had stopped outside of her house.
"It really was, wasn't it? I had a lot of fun today, meeting your new friends, seeing the parade and lanterns, spending time with you. But I think every day we're together can be a perfect day, to me they always have been."
She held out her arms, and we embraced.
I promised to text her once I got back home, and she waited until I was out of sight to go inside. Before I knew it, I was in my neighborhood, my mind thinking about the day with Sakura.
As I stepped inside my house, I could hear the TV in the living room. I peeked in to see my mom on the couch, turning around at the sound of the front door closing.
"How was your day?"
I smiled.
"It was really great. About what you were saying before, I was thinking of bringing her over tomorrow."
A look of surprise came over her face, before smiling.
"I can't wait, I'm very excited to meet her."
I made my way up to my room, remembering to text Sakura.
"I'm glad you got home safe. I was thinking about you the whole time."
Her reply came fast, she must have been glued to her phone waiting for me.
"I was thinking about you too, I can't wait for tomorrow. My mom is very excited to meet you."
A slight delay, then my phone vibrated.
"I wonder who is more excited, me or your mom. Thank for you the wonderful day, it was truly perfect."
Such simple words, but to see them from her filled me with joy.
"Shall I meet you at your house in the morning? I may be a bit greedy and want to spend as much time with you as possible."
I quickly glanced around my room, making a note to clean it up in the morning before leaving.
"That does sound greedy, but I'll allow it since I want to be greedy too."
We continued texting back and forth, well into the night.
"I'm sorry, but I'm tired now. I'll talk to you in the morning."
I realized it was already one in the morning.
"I'll be looking forward to it. Good night Sakura."
I sent the text, smiling like a fool. A few moments passed before my phone vibrate again.
"Good night my love. Sweet dreams."
I could feel myself blushing, still not quite used to hearing that.
I plugged my phone in, settling into bed. The last thoughts in my mind before I fell asleep was the talk with Rio.
"I really hope she pulls through."
2
I woke up to several text messages, most of them from Sakura but strangely Sakuta had texted me too.
I had hoped that Rio would have sent one, but I guess it was still a little soon for her to have any news. I opened up the one from Sakuta first.
"Hope you two had a good time at the party, it was great getting to meet her. Mai-san is already looking forward to the next time."
I smiled, quickly typing out a reply thanking him for yesterday, and letting him know I'd talk to Sakura about getting together again in the future. Pressing send, I backed out and started from the first of the texts from Sakura.
"I woke up super early today, I'm really excited and nervous about meeting your family. I hope this doesn't wake you up."
"Oh sorry, good morning by the way. I guess I should have said that first."
"Thank you for yesterday, for everything. It was a great day, I really enjoyed meeting your new friends (so proud of you btw!). I hope we can see them again sometime."
She was always a hyper texter, but never like this before.
Was the change in our relationship making her flustered?
I debated whether I should say something later, but decided I'd let her bring it up. I didn't want to put her on the spot in case I was misreading things.
"Well good morning, I hope you're a little less nervous now. I'll get ready and then head over if that's okay with you."
I sent the text, wondering if I should have said something sweet, though it was still a little early for my brain to come up with something.
I made my way to the bathroom, turning on the shower. The cool water woke me up the rest of the way, though as it heated up, I felt very relaxed. I finished my shower, quickly brushing my teeth as I dried off.
I wondered if Sakura had replied, but I had left my phone in my bedroom.
Finished in the bathroom, I made my way back to my room. I stood in front of my closet, unsure of what to wear.
"Should I wear something nice?"
It's not that every day that I get to introduce a girlfriend to my parents.
"Girlfriend…"
I thought back a year, before Sakura and I had first met.
Would I ever have imagined a day like this would come?
Hypothetically, sure. Relationships happen all the time, you never know when you might find yourself getting into one.
But if you had told me everything that would happen in a year's time, I would have never believed a single word of it.
A sudden vibration in my pocket pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked down to see that Sakura had replied.
"Whenever you can head over is fine with me. Looking forward to seeing you!"
I could have sworn I felt my heart skipped a beat as I read the text. Such a reaction over something so simple, I shook my head and smiled.
"So am I."
I thought to myself.
I quickly put on a simple button up shirt, nice enough but nothing too fancy. That with the black pants I was wearing already would hopefully be fine for the day. I grabbed my wallet, put on my glasses, and headed downstairs.
It's been a while since I wear my glasses last time. Maybe I should surprise her with my new look.
My mom was at her usual spot on the couch, looking back as she heard me coming down.
"Hey mom, will you and dad be free today?"
She nodded, looking a bit confused at first before smiling.
"Today's the big day then? We're both looking forward to meeting her."
I blushed but nodded.
"I'm looking forward to it too."
I waved goodbye, promising to let her know when we were on our way over, and headed out.
By now I was used to the route, and made it to Sakura's house in no time. I half expected to see her waiting outside, but the front of her house was empty. I made my way up to the front door, ringing the bell.
A few moments passed, and the door opened.
On the other side was someone I had never met, though I recognized him from the photos I had seen the last time I was over.
"Can I help you?"
The rough deep voice shocked me for a moment, but I bounced back.
"I'm here to see Sakura."
The man looked me over, simply nodding.
"You can come in, she should be down shortly."
I followed him in, closing the door behind me. He gestured towards the table I had previously sat at, so I grabbed my same seat as before. As expected, he took a seat on the other side.
"What is the nature of your relationship with my daughter?"
I nervously swallowed, not expecting a talk with her father when I had left my house.
"We've been friends for a while now, and recently we started to date."
A simple "Hmm" was all he said in response.
I wondered if I should have held off on the later part of my explanation, but then he finally spoke up again.
"Do you think you can make her happy every day?"
I simply nodded, still taken aback by the whole situation.
"She can be a handful to deal with at times, are you sure you can handle that?"
I nodded again. He crossed his arms, rubbing his chin with his left hand.
"She's very precious to us… and while I could never tell her who she can date, I still worry about her."
He lowered his hand from his face.
"You can relax, I already knew who you were before you came to the door. I just wanted to have a little fun, see the kind of person you are for myself. For a while now, she's been a lot happier. Anyone that can make her smile as much as you have, well how could I object if that's who she decided to date."
I let out a sigh of relief, realizing I had been holding my breath.
It seemed that her father might have more to say, but the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs drew his attention.
I looked over to see Sakura, wearing a dress with flowers scattered around as the design. As our eyes met, the two of us smiled.
She looked over to her father, slightly blushing.
"I hope you weren't too hard on him, I'd hate you to scare off my boyfriend, dad."
He let out a hearty laugh, standing up to pull Sakura into a hug.
"Not to worry, he doesn't seem to be too scared. Unlike the last boy I met, this one has some guts."
Last boy?
She quickly replied.
"He was just a friend, until I realised he was a real jerk."
Her father laughed and hugged her.
"Haha. Okay, I'm sorry. Fine now?"
Oh, I realized. They must have been referring to Takahiro. Since after that incident when Sakura defended me from him, he avoided coming near to both of us.
Feeling a slight satisfaction at the praise made by her father, I got up from the table.
I made my way over to the father daughter combo, a few feet away as their hug ended. I introduced myself once again, giving him my name.
Just like his wife, he gave a knowing smile.
"I can see why the two of you get along, it must be fate."
He leaned him, dropping his voice so only I could hear.
"You better take good care of her, though I get the feeling you will. As long as you can do that, you have my approval."
I nodded.
"I promise I will, it's the least I can do for her."
He leaned back, a big smile on his face.
"Well I won't keep you two, you've got yourself a good guy Sakura. Will the two of you be coming back for dinner?"
I looked over to Sakura, and she shrugged.
"We haven't really discussed our plans for today, but I'll be sure to let you know dad."
One final stern look, and we were headed out.
"Sorry about that, I was still getting ready otherwise I would have saved you sooner."
I shrugged, reaching over to take her hand as we walked.
"I was kind of expecting that to happen at some point, it just took me by surprise at first. He cares about you a lot, and I think he could tell that I do too."
The warmth of her smile matched the warmth of her hand.
"You do have that in common. I'm glad that he likes you, you made a good impression on him."
I did?
I didn't really say much or do much, and quickly said that.
"The simple fact that you didn't back down and cower, and that you were honest means a lot to him. I'm sure he can be very intimidating, but you kept your head up the whole time."
I looked over to her.
"The last time he met Takahiro, it didn't go over very well. He never told me that I had to end things, but I could tell that my dad didn't like him."
She glanced over, a pained smile on her face.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to point out that you did really well today. The fact that both of my parents approve of you means a lot to me, so thank you for being so wonderful."
I still felt that I hadn't done much of anything, but those words of praise lifted my spirits even higher.
"Does he know that I know?"
Sakura shook her head.
"Like I said before, they try to pretend everything is normal, so mom would have kept it to herself."
She sounded sad as she spoke, the reminder that her time was limited dampening the mood. But then she bounced back, smiling once again.
"I'm still a little nervous to meet your parents, this is a first for me."
I was surprised, I had assumed that her nervousness from the earlier text was simply from meeting my parents, not meeting parents for the first time.
"You've got nothing to worry about, I know they'll love you."
A sly smile came across her face.
"I wonder who will love me more, you or your parents?"
I felt my cheeks burning as I tried to speak, but she simply laughed.
"I'm only teasing, I already know the answer to that."
I raised an eyebrow, but before I could say anything I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I pulled it out to see that Rio was calling.
"Are you with Sakura?"
Before I could even say hello, she was already speaking.
"Yes, I'm heading to my house with her so she can meet my parents."
Sakura looked over, and I mouthed "Rio".
Unfortunately, my phone was too old to have a speaker option, so I held the phone between us.
The scent of her shampoo distracted me for a moment, as our heads were close to one another.
"Can the two of you hear me?"
"Yes we can, hey Rio-san."
"Hello Sakura, sorry to interrupt your date. Do you two have a minute?"
I looked to Sakura, and she nodded.
"Yes we do, does this mean you have some good news?"
"I think I do. I was talking with some other labs in our online chat, and one of them mentioned something that I think could be of help. It's an experimental procedure, but there's a chance it could work."
"How much of a chance?"
I stayed silent, as this was a discussion for Sakura to have.
"I won't lie, the chance for success is around 40%. I can send over the information for you to make the decision."
"Please do, I'll talk things over with my family later, at least to let them know it's something I'm considering."
"Will do, when you make your decision just let me know, and I'll reach out to the lab."
We ended the call, silent for a moment.
"What do you think I should do?"
I looked over to Sakura to see her biting her lip.
"You're asking me?"
She rolled her eyes.
"No, I was asking the tree over there, of course you silly!"
"Well if it can make you better or even cure your illness, then of course I'd say yes. I'm surprised you're even debating this."
A sad look came across her face.
"I know that I don't have a lot of time left, not like you or Kyoko. But if this doesn't work, I might not have any time left. Procedures like this, when they say it only has a 40% chance of working, they really mean there's a 60% that I could end up dying."
A sudden chill entered my chest, an icy grip around my heart.
"Sakura, I..."
She looked over, a sad smile on her face.
"Even if I decide to do the procedure, it would take time to prep everything. And if it does go badly, I want to at least make more memories with you. So don't worry, it's not like I'd be going for the procedure tomorrow or anything, we still have time together."
I tried to smile but failed, the thought of losing her was in the front of my mind.
She leaned over, giving me a kiss on the cheek.
"Relax, for now let's just be happy and enjoy this day. Those are worries for another day, I'd much rather see you smiling."
The feeling of ice in my chest thawed slightly, though still lingered as we made our way back to my house.
3
To say I wasn't nervous would be a big fat lie.
Things had gone pretty well at my house, yet the thought of meeting his parents had me worried.
Would it all go well?
Oh I'm sure it would, but part of me still worried they might not like me. It was the first time I actually was meeting my lover's parents, and the idea that they might disapprove rattled me.
"Is everything okay? You don't seem as chatty as usual?"
I turned to my boyfriend, putting on a smile.
"Of course, just a little nervous. No biggie."
Of course he would have sensed something was up, he always had a way of knowing. The time in the hospital showed me just how much he really paid attention to those subtle signs.
The warmth of his hand in mine made me melt as always, I wondered if it was the same for him. I never asked, feeling as though it was a silly question.
I attempted to calm my nerves, focusing on the feeling of him. It worked, though how effective it would be once we got to his house was yet to be seen.
Despite my worries about meeting his parents, I was still excited about today. I had always wondered what his home life was like; how his room looked, how he was around his family.
Despite all the time we had spent together, there was still so much I wanted to know about him.
We finally reached our destination, and my worries began to creep back in. Even as we entered the house, I could feel the inside my mouth begin to dry up.
"Welcome back, who is this that you brought with?"
The woman on the couch stood up. I could see where the boy I had fallen for, had got some of his good looks.
"Hey mom, this is my girlfriend Sakura."
I gave a polite bow.
"Thank you for having me over, it's a pleasure to be here."
I managed to get my words out, though I'd need some water before long if I was to keep talking.
His mother smiled, noticing how close we stood together.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Sakura, I had assumed the two of you were close but he never admitted it."
Beside me, my boyfriend blushed.
"It was a recent development."
It was honestly so cute how flustered he got, some girls might find it annoying but to me it was endearing.
We entered into the living room, taking a seat on the open chairs.
Oh no, I can't hold your hand like this, what are you doing to me?
"Would you like something to drink?"
I quickly nodded.
"Water please."
His mom began to go fetch it, but he quickly got up from his chair.
"I can get it mom, you can rest."
A sweet smile passed over her face, and I was left alone for a moment with his mother.
"So how long have the two of you known each other? I can take a guess but he never tells me anything, I feel like I could get answers from you at least."
Oh, so we're chatting right away then.
"We met earlier during this spring, at the hospital by chance."
Just stay focused, I can do this.
"Ah yes, he did seem a bit different after that day. I'm assuming it was when he was getting his stitches pulled out?"
Wow she was good, though she was probably used to noticing small changes in the son that kept his life private.
Then I caught the first part of what she said.
"I'm sorry, you noticed he was different on that day?"
His mother nodded.
"He seemed a little off balance, but not in a bad way. Like something had happened outside of his usual routine. He seemed a little… happier."
I could feel the sensation of my jaw dropping, though I had enough sense to not actually do that.
From the start, he had been an enigma. Sure, no one really knew him. But the thought I had in those early days was that I was a bother to him. He never came out and said it, he was too polite to do that.
But his mannerisms, the way he spoke, it all pointed to me being a nuisance.
I smiled, happy to hear out those memories to rest.
"You're not telling embarrassing stories of me, are you?"
He had finally returned, handing me a glass of water.
His mother and I simply smiled at each other.
"I would never embarrass my son like that, but she was telling me all sorts of interesting tales."
He looked over to me, but I simply gave him a smug smile with a wink, hoping he got the message. It seemed like he did, as he simply relaxed in his seat.
"We were just talking about how the two of you met, but if you don't mind leaving the room I'm sure I could think of a few stories."
I wasn't sure who blushed more, though I gave the award to him this time around.
Had the roles been reversed, I would have happily hid my face, or rather hid myself away in embarrassment.
"That won't be necessary, I'd rather just tell her myself if someone had to talk about them."
"Well, another time then."
His mother gave me a conspiring look, and I simply smiled.
"I'm sorry, but his dad is busy and won't be able to meet you today. Though I'm sure he'd be very happy with you."
Now it was my turn to blush, and I nearly did hide my face though stopping myself in time.
"That's a shame, I'm sure the two of them would get along well. Same sense of humor and all."
His mother nodded.
"Yes, he does love his jokes. Although he inherited my seriousness. Sorry about that dear."
She giggled at Haruki and then looked over to me.
"I wanted to thank you, for coming today as well as being close to my son. As you probably know, he's kept a solitary life for a while. You don't know how happy I am that he has a friend, and a girlfriend on top of that."
I could sense the utter sincerity of her words, and it was true.
Before I had stumbled into his life, I had never seen him interact with anyone at school, well outside of Issei trying to give him some gum.
"It's my pleasure, and thank you for having me here. I'm sure you think I've done a lot for him, but the same is true for me. He's been a pillar of support for me, and I treasure all the time we've spent together."
Despite my earlier fears, I was actually pulling this off somehow. Maybe I was just being foolish earlier.
The smile I was awarded with proved me right.
"You don't know how happy I am to hear that. I'll admit, I was surprised to hear that he was actually bringing someone over. To find out it was someone as sweet and caring as you is a delight."
I could see where he got his romantic tendencies from, despite never dating he had a way with words. I'm sure some of it was from all the books he poured himself into, but some of it was definitely from his mother.
"I thought the embarrassing stuff was supposed to take place when I wasn't in the room?"
His mother and I laughed together.
"Sorry, I'm just very happy dear. Well to save you from being embarrassed, are the two of you hungry?"
I could always eat, so I nodded.
His mother stood up, and I stood up too.
Sitting around idly just didn't feel right, even if I was a guest.
"Oh you don't need to help, I can handle the cooking. Why don't you show her your room while I cook?"
My sweetheart took me by the hand, and I followed him up the stairs. I could tell he was nervous, so I caressed his hand with my thumb.
I had expected to see a lot of books, but even then I was still taken aback. He had a small library in his room. Everything was very neat, and I felt a little disappointed that it wasn't even a little messy. I took a seat on the study chair at his desk, feeling a little uncomfortable sitting on his bed for some reason.
"I hope she wasn't too much for you, sorry for taking so long with the water."
I shook my head, touched that he was concerned over something so trivial.
"I was nervous about this whole thing at first, I'll admit. But she's so nice, that all my worries went away quick."
I spun around in the chair, stopping after a few rotations to look at him.
"So did this live up to your expectations?"
I raised an eyebrow at him, such an open ended question.
"My room, I imagine you had your own thoughts of what it would look like."
I nodded.
"I had expected a lot of books, but my estimate was a bit low. Have you read all of them?"
The manga collection I had at home didn't come close to rivaling the amount of books he had here, and even among those I hadn't read all of them.
He shook his head.
"Most of them, yes. But I'm constantly getting new books from shops and online, plus renting books from the school library. I could spend my whole life reading and still not come close to being satisfied."
The conviction behind his words made me smile, and I finally found the courage to sit next to him.
"What, did I say something off?"
I shook my head, taking his hand.
"Not at all, I think that's actually pretty cool. I just hope you won't mind taking time away from reading to spend time with me."
For the time you still have with me at least.
I suddenly felt a little sad, reminded once again of how cruel life could be.
Why, why did it have to take this long to find you?
He had let go of my hand, and for a moment I was worried that he too had thought about the implication of my words. Yet he put his arm around me, holding me close.
"If it's for you, I'd put everything to the side."
One look at him showed how serious he was about it.
Do I really mean that much to you?
I blushed, leaning my head on his shoulder.
"To think it wasn't that long ago that you would have never said those words. It's funny how things can change, isn't it?"
He laughed, my head rising and falling with each chuckle.
"I suppose you're right. Now I just regret taking this long to say it."
I frowned, though he couldn't see it.
"Don't say that, sure it took a while but every step had it's purpose. Who's to say we'd be here if we had skipped any of it?"
I could sense him tensing up, a reminder of what he had gone through recently.
"You know, you still never told me everything that happened recently."
I could feel him taking deep breaths, preparing himself.
Is it really that bad?
"Are you sure you want to know?"
I lifted my head from his shoulder, looking into his eyes and nodding. One more deep breath, and then he began to tell me the whole story.
"I'm so sorry, I wish you never had to see that."
That was the first thing that came to mind when he spoke about being too late to save me. Yet I was so proud of him, I don't think I could have pulled myself together if I had to witness him dying.
I wiped away the tears that fell as he spoke, touched by all the work he had done just to save me.
What did I do to deserve someone like you?
"You truly are such a good person. I wish everyone could see you how I do."
As he finished, we simply sat in silence for a moment.
"I would have told you everything that day, but I was scared it would scare you off just like the dream I saw."
I felt like there was more he wanted to say but he cut himself off.
I didn't push him to say more, I could tell how much talking about it hurt him.
"Haruki?"
He looked to me, a look of worry on his face.
I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
How could I ever run away from you?
You saved me, not just that day but every single day. My life was missing an important piece until I met you. It only took this long to realize it.
"Words will never be enough to describe us; the struggles we've faced, the smiles we shared. Even now, when we say that I'm your girlfriend and you're my boyfriend, that doesn't help to describe what we really are. But for now, I hope these words are enough. I love you Haruki."
4
There are a lot of moments that I will never forget.
All the worries that I felt melted away in that moment, and all that remained was pure bliss. What I wouldn't give to stay in this moment forever.
Sakura started to get up, but I held her by the hand.
She looked over to me, sitting back down on the bed.
"Should I have refrained from saying that?"
No, God no. I want to hear you say that every day for the rest of my life.
"No, I just wanted to say something before we went back down."
A deep breath in and out. All the times in the past few days left my mind, the quick sweet responses leaving me in my time of need. Damn, she got me good.
"I know we've had our ups and downs, and we'll probably have more in the future. But no matter what happens, I want to be by your side."
Sakura looked as though I was saying something foolish.
"Of course you'll be, I wouldn't want you anywhere else."
She doesn't get what I'm trying to say.
But what was I trying to say?
The years of social self-isolation had taken it's toll on me, that's for sure. Now, when I needed the right words, they danced out of my reach, taunting me.
This experience, dating, I was completely out of my comfort zone.
Not that dating Sakura was bad, in truth it was so wonderful that I constantly had to remind myself that this was real. But while others may find it easy to say the right things, I had managed to skate by on mostly luck and intuition.
"It's just, sometimes I wonder if I'm really enough for you. Even when you say how happy you are, part of me still wonders if I'm doing enough."
I looked down again, ashamed to even say such things. But I had to, the feelings had been eating away at me ever since we first took the step into this uncharted territory.
"You think I don't worry too?"
Sakura's reply was so soft I almost didn't hear her. I looked over to see her looking down as well.
"I was so nervous about meeting your parents today. I kept thinking what if they don't like me? What if you get bored of me, or don't want to be with me if this procedure doesn't work? I didn't want to say anything, because I didn't want you to worry. But I'm just as scared as you are."
I was shocked, I could never have imagined that this had been on her mind since the whole morning.
I tentatively reached my hand over, afraid that she might draw away from me. But she reached out as well, our hands forming the purest of connections.
I swore I could feel the emotions swirling inside her as we touched, and I wondered if she could feel the same from me.
"I thought the same thing at first before I met your parents, especially when I met your father."
I could still remember the unnerving conversation we had at first.
Sakura let out a small laugh.
"You know, despite being complete opposites, we really are alike."
I laughed too, remembering the day in the library when we had that discussion.
"You know what they say, polar opposites attract and all that."
Sakura looked over and smiled.
"I guess that means you're back to your usual self, if you can say such cheesy things."
It had simply slipped out, but I smiled back. I realized that it was important to talk things out, for all I knew Sakura might have the same worries as me.
"Thank you for being able to put up with me. I'm sure you probably think it's easy but it really means a lot to me that you've been so patient."
Sakura gave me a smug smile now.
"Oh, it's definitely not easy, but it's worth it."
I placed my hand over my heart, pretending that her words had wounded me.
She rolled her eyes and laughed.
The sound of her laugh touched the very depths of my soul, to me it was the most beautiful sound in the world. Not that I could ever say something so embarrassing.
Well, maybe one day I will.
"Should we head back down? Lunch should be almost ready."
I started to get up, though Sakura stayed seated for a moment.
"Okay, just one thing really quick."
I looked over to her, puzzled.
She leaned over, her eyes closed as her lips pressed against mine. It's really not fair when you don't give me a warning.
I marveled at how amazing each kiss felt, and how every single time felt even better than the last. She started to pull back, but I wrapped my arms around her.
Please forgive me, but I just can't get enough of this. I half expected her to make a fuss, but instead our lips locked once again.
The taste of her lips had a faint flavor of strawberry, and I knew that anytime I had strawberries in the future they simply wouldn't match up to this moment.
As we finally pulled away, I could see that her eyes were misting up.
"Is something wrong?"
Sakura simply shook her head and smiled.
"Nothing is wrong Haruki, these are tears of joy."
That one hit deep, definitely did some damage. Not fair at all Sakura. She quickly wiped her eyes, a faint blush on her cheeks.
"We shouldn't keep your mom waiting too long, it would be embarrassing if she came up and saw that."
We headed downstairs just in time, as my mom was heading towards the stairs.
"Great timing, I just finished up."
Taking a seat at the table, we dug in. We both gave our compliments on the food, and my mother was pleased to hear it.
"You'll have to come over more, I've always looked forward to this moment."
I hope there can be more moments like this. She wasn't aware of Sakura's medical condition, and I wasn't going to be the one to bring it up.
"That sounds wonderful, I'd be happy to come back again."
Sakura smiled, pausing in between bites.
After the meal, Sakura joined my mom on the couch as I took care of the dishes. There was some fussing at first, but it only felt right for me to take care of it.
As I dried my hands off, I paused before leaving the kitchen, hoping to hear some of the conversation before I came into the room.
"So, what are your plans after high school?"
I heard my mother ask.
Oh no, any question but that one.
"Well… I think I'd like to travel a bit, see some of the outside world. Then go to college afterwards."
If I didn't know the truth, I would have believed Sakura.
"That sounds lovely, any places in mind?"
"I was actually thinking about a trip somewhere up North in the winter."
I recalled that she had mentioned that at the end of our last trip.
"Make sure the two of you dress warmly then, I'd hate for either of you to get sick and ruin the trip."
Part of me was surprised, I didn't expect her to be so willing for us to go on a trip together. I wonder if she knows the truth about that last trip we took together.
I took that moment to join them in the living room, taking a seat on the same chair as before.
"Perfect timing, how is your winter clothing selection?"
I quickly thought about what I had upstairs.
"I could probably use some new clothes, why?"
My mother took a sip of her tea before responding.
"Sakura was just saying that she'd like to take a trip in the winter, so you should be ready for it."
I looked over to Sakura who simply smiled.
"You did say you'd be looking forward to it, but I'd hate if you got sick because you weren't properly prepared for it. We can go shopping one of these days, I'm sure I'll need to pick up a few things too."
Another date? I have no problem with that.
I nodded, thinking over my upcoming schedule.
"Maybe we can go sometime this week then, get it out of the way early."
Before I could say anything else, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.
It was a message from Rio, opening it up I saw that it was short and to the point.
"Two days from now."
Underneath that was an address. I forwarded the message to Sakura, putting my phone back away.
"Oh, so soon?"
Sakura said as she checked her phone.
I could see my mom had questions, but I couldn't think of an excuse to use.
"It looks like I have some family coming to visit, a little earlier than expected."
Good catch Sakura.
"That reminds me, I do have some things to take care of before they arrive. I'm sorry to have to cut this so short, but I'd love to come back sometime."
I got the message, standing up with Sakura and my mother.
"It was lovely to meet you, feel free to come back anytime."
My mother walked us to the door, pulling me to the side before I could walk out.
"Sorry, this will only take a moment."
I waved to Sakura, who went to the end of the driveway to wait.
"I just want to say that I'm very proud of you, she's a wonderful girl. I do hope you'll bring her back over again, your dad would love to meet her."
I nodded, happy to hear that she was pleased.
"I will, it might be a little tough with her family visiting but I'll definitely bring her back over."
Before I could walk away, she pulled me into a quick hug.
"Now go have fun, the day is still young and you have a beautiful girl waiting for you."
I smiled and waved goodbye.
Sakura was pacing back and forth, ever restless, but quickly stopped as she saw me coming.
"So, it's happening soon."
I nodded.
"Are you nervous?"
Why did I ask that?
But Sakura nodded.
"Yes, but at the same time I'm not. I want this to work, but I'm trying to stay realistic and not get my hopes up in case it doesn't."
She smiled sadly.
"No matter what happens, as long as I still have you, I'll be okay."
You say that on purpose, don't you?
I took her hand in mine, and we headed towards the city.
"Well, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?"
Sakura thought it over, shrugging.
"I'll leave it up to you, though I don't want to stay out too late tonight. I think I should have a talk with my parents about what I'm planning to do."
I had assumed that she had already told them, but I nodded in understanding.
At the very least, they deserved to know. I just hope that they agree to it, if it's what she wants to do. I had no idea what they had already attempted to do, but I couldn't imagine that they'd say no to the possibility of her being cured.
We ended up just walking around the city, peeking into a few clothing stores for ideas of what to get for the winter trip.
I was impressed by Sakura, being able to plan for a future that might not even happen, but she didn't let that faze her.
Hours passed by, and soon it was time for her to go back home.
"Thank you for today, it was wonderful."
We were locked in an embrace as we stood along the wall that stood outside her neighborhood.
"I wish we could have spent more time together, but I should have that talk with my family and spend some time with them too."
I nodded, understanding why we had to cut the date short.
We let go of each other, heading towards her house.
"I'll be sure to text you though, I'd hate for you to get lonely."
I know I would be, but would you be lonely without talking to me too?
"I always have my books to keep my company, but I much prefer yours."
Sakura started to open the front door of her house, but stopped and turned around.
"Get home safe, okay?"
I nodded, waving goodbye as she entered her home. I made the walk back as quick as possible, not wanting to linger outside for too long.
When I made it back to my room, I sent her a quick text to let her know I was back home. I half expected to get a reply back with her usual quickness, though realized she was probably talking with her family.
Shrugging, I sat at my desk and started reading to pass the time.
Hours flew by before she finally responded, apologizing for taking so long.
"My parents were a little upset that I made the decision alone, but they agreed that I should try it."
That must have been a long talk then. Though I wasn't surprised, they would have wanted to discuss every detail of something so important.
"Sorry, I am a bit tired from today, so I'm gonna get some sleep. But thank you for everything, I can't wait to see you again."
I smiled, sending back a text wishing her a good night.
I looked forward to the next time I would see her, though I didn't know at that moment that I wouldn't see her until the day of the operation.