Disclaimer: I don't own Karekano or any of it's characters BUT I do own this story.
Cherry Blossoms
By Maya Kitajima
Chapter 4
"Thanks for not breaking your promise, Yukino." Arima said as the couple walked by the street, hand in hand.
"Of course! I wasn't planning to break it from the start." She boasted.
"Oh really?" Then they burst out laughing.
Thank you, Lord. This was what I've been asking for.
As they calmed down, Arima put his arm around Miyazawa and pulled her closer.
"I love you." He whispered in her ear and then he kissed her temple. She blushed as he did that. Suddenly, the romantic air was interrupted.
"I'm glad you two are having a good time." A familiar voice said as a familiar figure passed them. They stared after it, but it stopped. The brown-haired guy turned to them.
"Hi, Yukino. I guess you forgot all about are supposed to be DATE today." Kanata said. Yukino gasped.
"Kanata, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you that I will be going out with Arima today."
"Forgot, huh?" he muttered, and then he walked away. Yukino removed herself from Arima's grasp and started to run after him.
"Wait, Yukino."
"Arima, I need to talk to him. He's mad. I can't just leave it at that."
"But…" But Yukino was already running away.
Damn…why did I have to forget to tell him? Now he's angry at me.
She ran, not tearing her eyes off the brown-haired guy.
Kana---
She felt herself being stopped…by a pair of strong arms as it embraced her.
"Yukino, please…" The owner of the arms said.
"Souichiro. Don't. He's getting away." But he will not give in.
"Arima!" She shouted as she struggled to get away.
"Yukino!" He returned.
"Arima, I just want to talk to him!"
"And what? Fall for his charming smile and make him kiss you again?"
"What? How dare you—"
"I saw you!" Both were surprised. Yukino from his confession and him from his sudden outburst.
"Y-you did? You followed us?"
"Yes. I followed you and I did saw."
She could feel his heavy breathing as he paused.
"But don't worry. I'm not mad, or offended…if that's what you're scared of." Yukino looked down.
"I'm sorry. I betrayed you again…"
"No. Please don't blame yourself. We each had our faults. When my cousin arrived, he didn't expect me to be a good student, or a popular guy…nor did he expect me to have the prettiest girl he ever saw."
Yukino's cheek flushed pink.
"That's because he knew me to be a lowlife scum. And he got mad at me and took revenge by simply trying to take my girlfriend away from me. And I was so dumb not to do anything when my girl, who is apparently bored with me, enough that he fell for my cousin's dirty tricks."
"But now you're here with me and you chose not to break your promise. And that's why I tried to forget what happened last night. So why do you ask that I'm stopping you? I just can't simply give you up, right?"
All this time Arima was embracing Yukino from the back. And all the time he was delivering his brief speech, hot heavy tears reigned her cheeks.
She was shaking all over and this made Arima regret he said those things.
Well, I can't get it back now…
He removed himself from her back and embraced him from the front.
"Stop crying, Yukino…" But as he watched him bury her face in his neck, he can't help shedding a few tears himself.
Souichiro took a deep breath.
"Are you ready, Miyazawa?" She glanced at the girl beside her looking very nervous. He smiled lightly at her and touched her shoulder.
"Hey, calm down. I'M supposed to be the one nervous. I mean, I'm the one who didn't get into the Top 20."
"Well, yes, you have a point. But I know that's not the only reason both of us and our parents are called. Considering that Kanata and his mother was called too." He sighed.
"You're right."
They turned a corner and finally found themselves in front of the principal's office.
"Well, here goes." Arima said. He opened the door and allowed her to enter first.
They were the only ones who the principal was waiting for. All were seated. Yukino's parents sat across Souichiro's parents and aunt. Kanata sat beside his mother.
"Arima, Miyazawa, please take a s---"
"HOW DARE YOU! YOU-YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Souichiro's Aunt Eiko stomped towards him.
"Aunt Eiko—"
"Don't you dare open your mouth and let me finish!" The principal, who was about to interrupt, closed his mouth and had second thoughts.
"Now do you remember what I told you? I told you to lay your defiled paws off my son's life! But what did you do! I was told that he's having problems courting a young lady because of you!"
"But ma'am, he was courting MY girlfriend." Arima defended himself.
"YOUR, you say? Who would believe that? Who would believe that a filthy scum like you would have a girlfriend that suits the taste of my son!"
He was taken aback. Never in his life was he hurt like that. Never in his life has anybody insult him to that point.
He was hurt. VERY hurt. But he didn't cry. For the pain that he felt that moment was too much to be expressed by tears.
Suddenly…
"How brave you are to defy him!" A girl's voice exclaimed.
Yukino, don't…
"How brave you are to accuse him of things that he didn't do! Do you now that, old lady?"
"OLD LADY! Hah! In my whole life I've never seen a girl as impudent as you! Are you supposed to be the girl that my son's courting? Then hell has taken over my son! You don't deserve him!"
"Damn right he doesn't deserve me! He doesn't deserve someone who'll not love him back because she already loves someone else. But then, I remember, he doesn't even love me. He's just SO DAMN jealous of my boyfriend! Jealous that he isn't as smart as he is. Jealous that he isn't as popular as he is. And jealous that he's so perfect…despite being a reject in your family. He wanted revenge and that's why he tried to take me away from Souichiro."
Eiko's eyes flamed.
"Ugh! How annoying!" She raised her hand, ready to slap her. But someone caught it just in time. She glared at the one who stopped her.
"Mom. Stop it." It was Kanata. He looked down as he strongly stopped his mother's arm.
"Kanata!"
"Mom! Stop it! It's true! Everything she said is true. So please stop."
His mother stared back in disbelief.
"Kanata, what happened to you? Are you seriously saying that you're giving up?"
"Yes."
"Oh my Lord! They had bewitched him!"
"Stop it, mom. Please."
"Kanata…"
Yukino slipped her arm around Arima's waist. He then put his arm around her shoulders.
"What happened after I left? I'm really curious about that old lady." She said and he laughed.
"Well, she was out of it. Stared at the wall like crazy…"
"She did? Haha! She must be so surprised. I mean, I wasn't expecting Kanata would tell her to stop it. He even confessed that he was guilty."
"Yeah…well, tell ME what happened, Yukino? I was also surprised you came after Kanata when he walked out."
"Well, he said he was sorry…and I forgave him. He was human after all, like us. He also said he plans to transfer school again…back to where he was kicked out. He believes he can go back there and pass the exam. He DID get ninth place on our Math exam, so I think he can do it."
"You're right."
They stopped as the pink petals surrounded them.
"I can't believe everything's alright now. I mean, I wasn't anticipating the day when everything will finally be over."
"But I still can't believe what you did, answering my aunt like that. And God! You even cursed her!"
"Oh well, you were worth fighting for." With that, his face turned pink, almost the same color as the flowers falling from above them.
And they fell silent.
They believe that no words can describe the feeling they had for each other that time…so they said nothing.
They just stood there, admiring the big tree with pretty pink flowers beside them…
…just like him when it all started.
OWARI
Author's notes:
Hi guys! At last! The final chapter of this story! I'm so glad I finished it because I still have LOTS of other fanfics that I have to write. Anyway, please review this story. Sometimes, my reviews inspire me to write more stories…so please—a little favor from me—please please please review! Thanks A lot! Oh, another favor, please read my other fanfics…just check my profile. Thanks again!