Arthur Kirkland walked warily in the seemingly endless forest, his every footstep making a slight noise as he made his way through.
It wasn't an ordinary forest, he knew― there was something inside it that seemed to draw him in, something that, he was certain, wasn't simply ordinary. It wasn't ordinary, and yet he knew that he had once been here... once, a long, long time ago.
When had he last seen, or trod, in a forest enveloped with the thin, slender bodies of bamboo trees?
Surely, it had not been in his home... perhaps somewhere far away, in a land lost within the Oriental seas.
But it had been quite some time since he had last set foot in that land...
Not until that incident, that was.
So why, of all the times, was he in here now...?
He tried to shake those distracting thoughts out of his mind, and instead tried to focus on the path ahead, trying to look for a way out.
...or, rather, was he looking for a way in ?
The sky above had darkened to a deep blue, and he knew then that it was already well into the night. Thankfully, the full moon overhead provided him with the slightest hint of light.
"Arthur-san...?"
A voice that called out to him made him stop in his tracks. A million memories sprang up in his head, suddenly clouding his chain of thought. It had been years since he had last heard that sweet sound.
'That voice...'
"Sakura...?" he called out, turning around. His eyes glanced around, searching in his limited view of the forest for the owner of the voice.
"Sakura..." he began once more, his voice a desperate plea. Was his mind simply trying to play tricks on him? "Sakura..."
"Arthur-san."
A faint, orange light glimmered past his eyes, slowly making its way towards him. Another set of ruffled footsteps echoed in the forest.
His mind was racing, yet his heart seemed to screech to a halt. Part of him wanted to run towards them, wanting to embrace the petite figure he hadn't seen for what seemed like an eternity. And yet, another part of him threatened him to take a step back.
Conflicted emotions welled up inside him as his mind was both in happiness and shock. Deciding not to follow either of his contradictory thoughts, he simply stood, frozen in place.
The once dim light soon began to illuminate his then dark surroundings, and the figure that was once far away now came into full view.
A small, fragile figure, nearly as slender as the trees that surrounded them, made her way towards him.
"Sa-Sakura...?" Arthur managed to say weakly. His heart seemed to ache at the mere sight of her.
Sakura simply smiled, a gentle curve gracing her face. Her short, dark hair fell into the sides of her face, the faint glimmer of both her lantern and the moon making each strand glisten. She wore a red, floral kimono, with golden chrysanthemums that adorned it, and a deep violet silken obi was wrapped around her waist. Parts of her hair was kept back by a golden hair clip.
...the same one Arthur had bought her, many years ago.
Arthur couldn't help but feel shabbily dressed in comparison to her.
"Arthur-san," Sakura repeated, gently and carefully placing her lantern beside a tree.
"I... I have missed you."
Arthur, unable to contain his emotions any longer, ran up to Sakura, and immediately held her in a tight embrace. "I... I've missed you, too..." he managed out, trying to restrain his tears. He gently stroked her hair, feeling the strands slide between his fingers.
Sakura returned the gesture, although hesitantly, shyly wrapping her slender arms around the taller man's body, standing on her toes just to try to reach his height. She buried her head on his shoulder.
It had been such a terribly long time since Arthur had held her in his arms, that when Sakura pulled away from him, he wanted to pull her back in, not wanting to let her go. He lowered his gaze, as if not wanting to look at the other's face.
"...you never got to teach me how to dance, Arthur-san," Sakura said, after a long period of silence. Her hand reached out for his, holding it in hers tightly. Arthur raised his head slowly, trying to meet his gaze with her own. "...do you still want to teach me now, Arthur-san...?"
He never once nodded nor shook his head for an answer, neither did he ask Sakura for confirmation.
He simply took her other hand, placing it on his shoulder, then placed his other hand on her waist.
"...you mover your foot here, whilst I move mine there..." he mumbled, trying to teach her the steps. "...and take a step over here, as I move there."
It took Sakura quite some time until she finally got accustomed to all the steps― mostly, it required Arthur to lift her up lightly just to put her in the proper position. Nevertheless, he was patient all throughout, giving a small smile of encouragement whenever Sakura lifted her head to look at him.
They danced, the backdrop of bamboo trees and the flickering lantern making everything feel drowsy yet romantic. They moved to the silent hum of the wind rustling the leaves, timing their steps with each other's.
Arthur allowed himself to drift in his thoughts as they moved. It had really been a well-long time since he had last caught even a mere glimpse of her. He lowered his eyes, trying to savour every second, every tidbit of this moment.
Sakura leaned onto his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him. 'She must be getting drowsy by now...' Arthur concluded. She began to hum a slow, somewhat soothing tone. Arthur couldn't help but match their steps to her humming, stepping slowly and gently. He held her closer, tighter. No, this time, he's not going to let go.
He's not going to let her disappear once more.
Sakura lowered her eyes and stopped humming, pausing altogether. "...I'm sorry, Arthur-san..." she whispered, still clinging onto him. "...I'm... so sorry..."
And in that moment, she let go, breaking away from him once more. Arthur raised an eyebrow in confusion, but Sakura kept her gaze low, never once looking up at him.
Neither one of them dared to speak. Arthur tried to rack his head for something to say, just to break the silence, but nothing came. He simply stood there, somewhat dumbfounded.
Just as Arthur was about to open his mouth to say something, Sakura shot her head up, glancing at the now brightening sky. "It's nearly morning..." she mumbled, before turning to look back at Arthur. "You're... you're going to wake up soon." She smiled sadly. Both of them didn't want this moment to end, but she knew it was nearly farewell.
"...goodbye, Arthur-san."
Arthur jerked up in his bed, breathing heavily. "It was just a dream..." he thought aloud. He wiped his forehead, eyebrows furrowed. He felt both angry and saddened. "It was... it was nothing but a dream..."
He took a glance at the small table beside his bed. On top of it lay a golden, floral hair clip. He reached towards it, grabbing it in his hands and examining it closely,
"…I can never bring you back, could I…" he muttered under his breath, frowning deeply. "I can never get you back…"
He finally placed the hair clip back on the table, then leaned back on the bed post. His head suddenly began to hurt…
"…so close…" he sang lowly, singing in the same tone of the tune Sakura loved to hum.
"…so close… and still so far."