Chapter 14
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 each other 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?" Or I guess not. 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 Kyokos face was priceless.
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 decided to start with. "Sakura, could 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, 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 favorite 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 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 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 Kyoko.
"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 were close to the restaurant when we had run into Kyoko, so after a few more minutes of walking we were seated inside. I looked around, but it seemed like Rio wasn't here. "I suppose we'll just have to wait for introductions later", I thought to myself.
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 started to raise an objection, but she wasn't finished.
"There was moments where I really felt as though I was falling for you. That night in the hotel, when you princess carried me. The night we saw the fireworks together. When you talked about your first love. So many times, I found myself drawn to you but I just couldn't find the courage to cross that line.
Part of me hoped that you would make the first move, and I was always a little hurt but relieved that you didn't. If this had happened sooner, would we have lasted this long? Maybe we would have had a falling out, and I was scared to lose you. Not as a potential partner, but as a friend.
I always heard the saying, timing is everything. But I never understood it until now. I think it was just never the right time before, but I'm grateful that we waited for the right moment. I don't get everything you went through, and maybe I never will. But I'll always treasure you for everything you've done for me.
You probably think that I changed you, from how you used to be to how you are now. But you don't realize that you've affected me just as much, if not more. Even when it seemed as though I was a bother, those early days when we spent time together are days I cherish.
Some people may dislike our relationship, and try to fight against, I'm sure you can think of a few. But no matter what anyone else says, I won't give up on this. I won't give up on you."
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 tried to find some words to say, something to give back to her after she bared her soul to me, but I couldn't. Sakura gave a knowing smile. "You don't have to say anything just yet, you already gave me your answer." Her eyes flashed down to our clasped hands.
"It was a little overwhelming, if I'm being honest. It's hard to top what you just said, but I think you know me better than anyone, outside of my family. Maybe even a little better than them. This is all so new to me, that sometimes I find myself wondering if this is even real.
If you had told me a year ago that I would be here, in this moment, well I probably wouldn't have paid much attention in the first place. I still feel as though you've done more for me, more than I could ever repay. I could spend three lifetimes working towards it and still feel that I should be doing more.
We'll face our share of problems, I doubt things will become easier for us. But I'll face them by your side, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." It was all I could manage to say, though the look on her face told me it was more than enough.
I made a promise to myself at that moment. No matter how long we had together, I would do everything to make every second count. For the girl who had affected my life in such a way, it would be dishonorable to do anything less.
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 from my classes, 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 under the same roof as an actress? I'm a little disappointed." 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 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 to him, and we headed towards him. I reached out, offering to take some of the bags. He shook his head, "I got it, it's not too heavy." He looked over to Sakura.
"I guess you're the one we've heard so much about. I'm Sakuta Azusagawa, it's nice to finally meet you." Sakura blushed, still curious about what exactly I had said. "I hope it was all good things, I'm Sakura Yamauchi. Thank you for taking care of him, it means a lot to me."
Sakuta looked down, now noticing our hands clasped together. "Of course, I'm glad things worked out. I can see they worked out rather well." Sakura and I both blushed, but I nodded. "Shall we head up? Everyone is excited to finally meet you." We followed Sakuta into the elevator, and soon found ourselves on the fourth 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 Sakurajima, it's nice to finally meet you." Sakura reached out, taking Mai's hand. "I'm Sakura Yamauchi, thank you for having me." The two of them giggled, probably 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 are 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 after his shopping trip. I took a seat on the opposite couch, the same one I had slept on, 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 bet, 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. 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. "Sakura I..." 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 first, 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 lounge 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 ruffled his hair. "I'm only kidding dear, after all you're not getting off that easy."
I could tell without even looking that Sakura was enthralled 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. I was about to ask who else we were expecting, 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 Gum Boy 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.
Gum boy 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 Mai 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 Sakura and I. "We may have just met, but I think I can speak for Mai and Rio that it feels like we've known you for a while."
He looked over to Kyoko and gum boy 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 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 gum boy 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.
The Author's Desk
I'm breaking up the party chapter, I hope that's okay. Hopefully, all the sweet stuff earlier makes up it.
I'm very excited to have reached this point in the story, bringing everyone together after all the trials in the earlier chapters. This may sound silly, but to me it's like we've finally reached Infinity War/Endgame. No, there won't be a Snap so don't worry about that. But it does feel rewarding to have finally reached this point.
This is actually the longest I've worked on a story, outside of a sci fi piece that originally started as a joke team up involving Santa, a werewolf, and other assorted characters. That reminds me, where did that story end up? I'll have to dig it up one of these days.
While I am proud of myself for sticking with this story thus far, nothing has made me happier than seeing the newest comments, or seeing that someone else has added this story to their favorites. To know that people out there are interested in my very touching, so thank you.
When I first had the idea to write this story, it was honestly just for me. The film that this story is based on just moved me so much, that I just had to write something. Maybe it was a way of grieving, though that probably sounds silly to say over a fictional story..
But that's what is so great about this story, and really anything that can affect you in such a way. I'm kinda rambling now, so I'll wrap this part up. But I just want to say, thank you.
Thank you for joining me on this journey. It may not be over yet, and I'll probably have some sappy goodbye when it is over. But it wouldn't feel right to say thanks to you readers, without you guys I might have not finished this, simply leaving it as an open tale. The reason I try to upload new chapters as soon as possible is simply because of you guys. If I was doing this for myself, I'd probably still only be up to chapter 5 lol.
Anyways, next chapter we'll continue the celebration. It'll be a bit late to bring Sakura to meet the parents, so that'll be a future chapter. But rest assured, there is more to come.
Thanks for reading thus far, and I hope you're as excited to see what's to come as I am.
