Chapter 23

"I may not know what will come in the future, but I know that I love you more and more each day."

Sakura had never imagined that when she said those words ten years ago, just how true they would be. Even when that same day, the love of her life had ended up going into a coma to save her.

No one else would have risked so much for me, yet you didn't even hesitate.

She had heard the story from Rio, and that night had cried herself to sleep. Just as things seemed to be going so well in her life, fate had one last cruel joke to play.

The following months had been the hardest test of her life, having to simply sit by his side hoping that today would be the day that he would wake up.

When Christmas began to roll around the corner, she had prayed and wished for just one miracle, the only present she truly wanted. Her spirits had soared when the nurse told her that he might be finally waking up.

But perhaps Sakura had wished for one too many things in her life, and Haruki stayed in the coma. Sure, the doctors gave her reassuring words about how his condition was improving, but she wouldn't be happy until he opened his eyes.

It wasn't until a year after they had first encountered each other at the hospital that her wish finally came true. Perhaps it was some irony from a God long forgotten, having the boy named after Spring returning to his cherry blossom.

-

"What is happening?"

I stood to the back of the room as a team of doctors hurried into the room. Some began checking the machines that Haruki was hooked up to, as others began taking vitals. A nurse came up to me and gently pulled me from the room.

"My apologies, but the doctors need to do their work. It seems that he is finally coming out of the coma. Did you do anything different today that may have triggered this?"

I recalled exactly what I had been doing. "I was sitting by his side, holding his hand. I was talking to him about how much had happened since that day we first met, and how it was the happiest day of my life."

I didn't tell the nurse everything I had said, some things were better kept personal. The nurse, as expected, had written everything down.

"You'll be able to go back into the room momentarily, please take a seat and one of the doctors will come for you when they are ready."

The nurse gestured to one of the seats outside the room before entering the door, closing behind her leaving me alone with him. Taking a seat, I was too stunned to even think of calling anyone. Before, I had always thought about who I would contact first. But all my planning was for naught, and in a daze I missed when the doctor came out and spoke.

"Miss are you feeling okay?"

The doctor had squared down, a look of concern on his face. I sat up straight, finally focused. "Yes, sorry I was just lost in my thoughts for a moment."

The doctor nodded, understanding. "Would you like to see him?" I stood up, a bit too fast as I soon felt a bit lightheaded from the sudden movement.

Following the doctor into the room, my eyes were glued to Haruki as he weakly smiled back at me. "I'll give you two some time to yourselves, if anything happens please press the button by his bed and we will be back in an instant."

The doctor left the room, and I was finally reunited with the person who had saved my countless times over.

"This is real, right? I'm not dreaming am I?"

Haruki smiled, his voice a bit harsh from a lack of using it after so long. "Well I was the one that was dreaming for a long time, so I think I know the difference by now. Did you miss me?"

Sakura smiled and shook her head at the memory, noticing some tears had fallen during her remembrance. Mai would have to come back in and work her magic once again, and Sakura would have to hold her emotions in check for a bit longer.

-

A knock at the door shook Sakura from her thoughts, and she turned and yelled out "who is it?" The door opened and Kyoko peaked her head in, before entering the room. As the door closed behind her, Kyoko smiled warmly.

"You look incredible, but your make up is a bit messed up now. Should I call for Mai to come up?"

Sakura nodded, standing up to quickly embrace her long time friend. "You look just as beautiful, you'll be turning plenty of heads today."

"Not as many as you, besides there's only one head I want to make turn today." The two girls shared a knowing smile, it had taken forever for Kyoko to finally make a move on G.B. but now they had been going steady for a few months.

"Say, how did you know that you first loved him?"

Kyoko sat in one of the open seats of the room, a faint blush on her cheeks. Sakura chuckled and took her seat once more.

"Haven't I told you the story before? If you want to hear it one more time I suppose I can say it again."

-

A knock at the door caused Haruki to raise his head from the book he was reading.

"Come in." Glancing at the clock on the desk, he sighed in relief that he wasn't late. I'd never hear the end of it, especially if she knew the reason was because I was reading.

Sakuta entered the room, closing the door behind him. "Hey big guy, how are you holding up?"

Haruki just shrugged, standing to greet his close friend. "I guess it hasn't really hit me yet, though partly because I had some time to read so I kinda lost myself in the book for a bit."

Sakuta laughed, taking a seat on the couch. "That's just like you. Here I thought Sakura was going to get your head out of the books." Taking his seat once more, turning to face Sakuta, Haruki simply smiled.

"Well, she has had plenty of time to make me appreciate the world around me. But sometimes it's nice to lose yourself in the pages."

-

"Hurry, we're going to be late."

Sakura called from ahead, as I struggled to keep her frantic pace. She does know I've only been back among the living for a few months right?

It was a shock to say the least, waking up in that hospital room. The weeks after were a blur of therapy for all that I had spent laying in the hospital bed, slowly regaining use of my body. Thanks to some new breakthroughs in medicine, I was able to recover quickly but I still had some trouble from time to time.

Namely right now. "Sakura if you keep this pace up, I might not make it to our double date." She finally stopped and waited for me to catch up, linking her arm around mine once I finally did.

"Sorry, I'm just excited. We've talked about this double date with Sakuta and Mai for so long." She smiled sweetly, quickly touching up my hair that had gotten messed up in our little chase. "That's better."

It was almost a reverse of our relationship before. Now, I was the one who needed to lean on her. Sakura had been nothing but patient, caring, and understanding with me since I had woken up from the coma.

She listened to me rage when I had trouble walking or standing for long periods of time, soothing me with words of encouragement. She went to every training session, always on the sidelines cheering me on even if I didn't make any progress.

"How have you been feeling since that day?" We didn't really talk much about it, when we did it was mainly about the ceremony before. Sakura took a moment to respond, understanding what I was really asking.

"Well I haven't had to go back to a hospital because of my illness, so I'd say pretty good. I'll have to go back for a checkup, but that's just to make sure it isn't sneaking back up on me." She leaned over, laying her head on my shoulder. "You just keep saving me, I don't know how I could ever repay you for everything you've done."

"Well you could start by walking a little slower, that would be a good start." Sakura laughed, lifting her head up and walking in pace with me. "I suppose I could at least do that."

We walked together in silence, taking in the warm summer day around us. The sounds of children playing in the nearby park, cars driving past us, the birds flying over head filled our ears with the song of summer.

"There's something I was curious about." Sakura finally said after some time. I looked over at her and she continued. "You haven't had any more, well let's call them dreams?" I shook my head.

Ever since that day, I stopped having those visions, the dreams. I assumed it was simply the end of the syndrome, gone as mysteriously as when it had arrived.

"Suppose that I had one more dream, about us. Would you want to know what it was?" I shook my head once more. "I think I'd like to live life a little blind. If we ever do get close to the day you saw, feel free to tell me about it then."

Sakura smiled warmly, a hint of mischief underneath. "I'll give you a little hint when we get close to it then."

-

Sakuta leaned up, curiosity on his mind. "What's so interesting that you'd lose yourself in it on such a big day?" I turned, grabbing the book and handed it over to him. Quickly glancing at the cover, Sakuta turned to the pages I was last reading. "Myths from around the world huh? I think I've heard of this one. I can see why you'd be reading about the Jian."

The Jian: A bird born with only one wing and one eye, unable to fly until it finds another to lean on and act as one. For Sakura and I, I thought it fit us. Before we found each other, we flew adrift in our lives. Once we began to support each other, there was no heights we couldn't reach.

"I think it describes Sakura and I pretty well. And from what you told me, it fits you and Mai too." Over the years, Sakuta and I had become very close friends. Bonding over our experiences with the syndrome and having women in our lives that we were lucky to have, the two of us had become basically brothers.

"Oh absolutely, because of her my life has become so much better. There's no way I'd be working where I am today if it wasn't for her pushing me to be the best version of myself."

Sakuta glanced down at his watch. "Speaking of the lovely women in our lives, it's time for me to head down. Don't spend too long reading." A quick hug and Sakuta was gone.

Placing a bookmark in the mythology book, I glanced in the mirror one last time. Making sure nothing was out of place, I headed out of the room to the biggest moment of my life.

Just as I saw a glimpse all those years ago, things played out just the same way. Kyoko rushing around making sure everything was perfect, a big smile on her face. Sakura's mother taking her place in the front row, having been walked down by Yuuma.

Now, the familiar song played once again as everyone stood and turned to see Sakura enter the chapel. Escorted down the aisle by her father, she was wearing a white dress that at certain angles had a pink sheen to it. Just like the suit I was wearing, which had a green hue to it from certain angles.

It had originally been Sakura's idea. "Well green is a color of Spring, and sakura blossoms are pink. So wouldn't it be fun to have what were wearing symbolize that in some way?" I had agreed, and after spending some time looking around at shops, we found one that could accommodate our request.

Much of the ceremony was similar to what we had gone through all those years ago, though not as abbreviated. Finally we reached the biggest moment of the ceremony. "I understand the couple has written vows, the groom will be the first to share." Sakura and I turned to face one another, hands clasped.

"In all the years we've spent together, one thing that never fails to amaze me is how full of life you are. Sometimes I wonder how you always have so much energy, always ready for another adventure. While it may have taken me a while to get used to, I'm grateful that you've been there pushing me to be better each and every day. There's no one else I could imagine spending the rest of my life with, when you're the one who makes me feel like I can fly when I'm with you."

"I used to love the stories of the knight in shining armor saving the princess when I was younger, and I always hoped I'd find my own knight someday. You may not wear a suit of armor, but I feel safe whenever I'm with you. You've saved me time and time again, always there when I need you. All the time I searched, not knowing all I'd have to do is wait for my Spring."

We placed the rings on each others hands, smiling like fools the entire time. Then came the final moment of the ceremony. "You may kiss the bride." Just like all those years ago, we leaned in to each, lips pressed together marking us as one. As we pulled away after what felt like a lifetime of bliss, Sakura quickly whispered "I have something to tell you."

We made our way down the aisle, showered in claps and cheers from the guests. As we exited the room, we both let out a sigh of relief. Standing in front of family and friends proclaiming our undying love for one another can be a bit nervewracking. I turned to Sakura, waiting to hear what she had to say.

"Are you sure you want to hear it now? It may distract you for the rest of the night, we still have the reception to go through after all." Sakura smiled, a hint of teasing behind it. What would distract me? "Well what does it have to pertain to?"

"You did say if we ever got close to the day I saw, I could tell you about the dream. And well we're pretty close to it." I had almost forgotten about the final dream she had mentioned. It had stayed on my mind for a few years, but as time went on it slowly slipped away from the spotlight.

"If you think it's better to wait, I suppose a few hours wouldn't hurt." Sakura leaned over and planted a kiss on my cheek. "You'll be glad you waited, just a few hours my husband."

After changing into something a little more comfortable, the two of us headed into the reception. One of the first people to come up to us was Rio. "Well you guys are two for two on coming up with vows. Maybe I should have consulted you two when I was getting married."

On her left hand rested a wedding ring, the matching band currently resting on the hand of Yuuma. "You did a great job without our help, but thank you for the compliment. We should really be thanking you for helping us get the venue." We had decided to use the same place that Yuuma and her had used, falling in love with the site as we watched the two of them finally tie the knot.

"It was nothing, anything for you two. Though I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't ask how you two are doing." We immediately knew what she was talking about, and it wasn't about the wedding. "Still no dreams, though I'm okay with that." I truly had no desire to experience those again, and if losing that meant saving Sakura that day then it was well worth it.

"That's good, and how about you Sakura?" Sakura paused from taking a drink of water. "As with all the other past checkups, there's no sign of the illness returning and no signs that I should be worried about coming back. I think the time left of having those dreams is nearly over now, they've happened less and less and are harder to remember each time."

This wasn't much of a surprise to me, Sakura would mention if she had one but as we agreed she wouldn't share what they were about. If she had told anyone else or decided to write them down, I had no idea.

"I figured that might happen. Well it sounds like everything is going great, so I'll let you two enjoy everyone else coming to speak." A quick hug from the both of us and Rio headed to find her husband. The next few hours were a blur, as I soon found it hard to keep track of everyone I had spoken with.

But there was one conversation that stood out. "You know, I was wondering when you two would go through the real thing." Kyoko slide up next to me as Sakura danced with her father. Sakura had ended up telling her what we had done after the operation, needing someone to tell besides her parents.

"Were you just waiting so you could get ideas for yours?" I gestured to the ring on her hand, and she smiled. "I may have been, I figured if anyone would have good ideas it would be Sakura and you." Kyoko held out her hand, and I took it. The two of us danced next to Sakura and Sakuta, before the best man and maid of honor paired the new husband and wife together.

"Are you having fun? I can see all the practice is paying off." Sakura whispered to me as we danced together. Realizing well in advance that my skills in dancing would need some work, the two of us had practiced for months. Some nights we'd go out to local dance halls, other nights we'd twirl together in our living room, a slow song playing just like the one currently playing in the reception.

"Of course, I get to see everyone that I care about and right now I get to hold the person I care most about in my arms. What could be more fun?" Sakura laughed, waiting as I spun her around before continuing. "Not even reading would be more fun? I'm surprised, who are you and what did you do with my husband?"

I laughed, leaning in as Sakura rested her head on my shoulder. "No, not even reading would be more fun than this moment. Besides I got some reading in before the ceremony, so I'm content." I could sense Sakura rolling her eyes at me.

"Why am I not surprised that you found time to read? Though that is part of what I love about you so I can't really complain." The dim lighting on the dance floor as we danced together made us feel like we were in our own little world. "So I suppose I did say that I'd tell you later, and now seems like a good a time as any."

I nodded, her words from early still ever present on my mind. "So what was it about?" My words barely a whisper, keeping the illusion of the moment. "Well you know how I'm an aunt and you're now an uncle right?"

Her brother had a daughter, who we had spent plenty of time watching her grow. I did my best to try and get her into literature, finding children's books she might enjoy at the nearby book store each time we would go over to visit.

"Of course, I do wish they had been able to make it to the reception. But that was a big job offer so I can understand why they had to leave after the ceremony." I could feel Sakura smile, the moment she had waited years to finally tell me.

"Well you might want to start thinking of some names, before long our niece will have some cousins to play with." It took me a moment to realize what she was talking about, as I had tried to think who in her family would be expecting.

"You mean?" Sakura nodded, kissing me on the cheek. "Not right away, but sooner than later. I could tell that much from what I saw." She smiled at me, so full of joy in that moment that I knew I'd never forget such a sight for the rest of my days.

-

As I laid in bed that night, three things dominated my mind. One was the sounds of breathing next to me as my soulmate slept soundly by my side. We had agreed to keep things to ourself for now, waiting to share the news for when we were actually expecting.

The second was, like she had said, names. Countless ideas filled my head, but none seemed right. Maybe something relating to a combination of spring and sakura blossoms? Akina if we have a daughter. I realized I didn't know if we'd have boys or girls, but maybe Itsuki if we had a boy. All I knew is we had time to figure it out, and I'm sure Sakura had been thinking of names for a while.

The third thing that I thought of before falling asleep was how we had come to this day. I leaned over and opened the drawer of my nightstand. Inside sat an outdated phone, kept simply for sentimental value. I flipped it open and powered it on, waiting for it to come to life. Opening the messages, I scrolled down to what felt like the most important message I had ever sent.

The message was still there, saved over the years since that day. To think, all of this came from just six words. To most, it would come off as a strange proposal. Perhaps a dark joke, a sign that the person saying the words may have a taste for human flesh.

To Sakura and I, those words conveyed more emotion than we could ever describe. A story of love, loss, joy overflowing, and pain that sears to the core. Words that brought the two of us together, flying alone with one wing throughout life simply adrift before that moment.

I turned the phone off, closing it back up and placing it back in the nightstand. Turning over to face my everything, I smiled as I whispered the words on the screen to her as she slept. "I want to eat your pancreas."

The Author's Desk

And so we've reached the end of this story. I had a few different idea for what I wanted to put into this final chapter, some of them made it while others I couldn't find a good spot to add them in.

Originally I had thought to end it with the grand reveal of the wedding, trying to keep it secret that was what was happening while the characters had their final moments to appear. I tried to keep that idea, but then the thought came to mind about the possibility of the future and children for our couple.

I never quite imagined this would be the outcome when I wrote that first chapter, all those months ago. All I had in mind was that I really wanted to see a happy outcome for Sakura and Haruki. To this day, I still find myself thinking of the source material from time to time. It just sticks with you, and I'm sure years from now I'll still think of the story of a girl dying from a disease and the boy who becomes close to her, fated to meet and be torn apart.

To those of you who have followed along on this journey, thank you. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't doing this for myself, but it was also for each of you. I hope you have enjoyed the story, and maybe I'll see you back someday. Would I ever come back to this story one day? Who knows. Maybe I'll get inspired to write about the couples future, or part of what they went through together in those ten years. I have some rough ideas flowing, for this story as well as other stories from other series.

So with that said, thank you for reading and I'll hopefully see you in the next story.