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The tranquil atmosphere of the last lesson on a spring afternoon is something truly unique. The warm air and gentle light peeking into the classroom from outside, the leisurely murmurs of the students, to which the teacher pays less and less attention with every passing minute as she looks through some papers, the quiet scribbling in the notebooks of the most diligent members of the class who still insist on taking notes...
How interesting that at the very same moment, beyond the calm school grounds, the exact opposite was happening. The revving of machines, smoke and dust flying high into the air, the marching of soldiers and the combined voices of myriads of passing civilians... It sure is peculiar that Gannon City, the bustling capital of the Illumina Federation, could contain a place as peaceful and quiet as the Central Illumina Academy...
But, alas, it is destiny for even the calmest of classes to be disrupted by the bell, which seemingly rang out of nowhere.
Soon after, the room was filled by the sounds of students packing their things. The rustle of books and notebooks, the cranking and shrieking of chairs and tables being adjusted to face the chalkboard, and the footsteps of those who finished. One by one, or sometimes in groups, they gradually left, walking impatiently, only to speed up to a sprint after reaching the school gates.
Most of them, at least.
Some would take a moment to look at the cherry blossom trees in the front yard.
Among those students was a certain girl. Her name was Sariel, but she was known to most as the Pride of the Civilian Class. A mysterious, stoic beauty with a gentle, ladylike demeanor and a solemn expression on her face at all times. Always prim and proper. Seemingly absent-minded in conversation, yet strangely intelligent.
Asking anybody from the Academy what they think about her would have one confident answer:
"Perfect in every way!"
Sariel sat herself down on one of the benches. Countless figures and faces flashed before her dark eyes. Some familiar, some not. Some would glance back at her, then turn to their friends with a "Guys! I think she saw me!". The truth was, she did; but she paid them no mind. Her gaze was fixated upon the pink petals.
Soon enough, all the students left. It was just her, marveling at the cherry blossoms.
"They're so beautiful...", she said to herself.
"Back in my hometown, there was always plenty of sakura blossoming in quiet times."
Sariel almost jumped in shock upon hearing another voice. She turned her head to see who was the person she had been unknowingly admiring the flowers with.
It was a girl, a little shorter than her. Judging from the red accents on her uniform, she was a member of the Combat Class. On her head was an Illumina military cap and she also wore a brown cloak with a Far East-style pattern on the hem and a crimson scarf tied around each sleeve, which matched the uniform's stripes nicely. A long katana hung on a long strap behind her back.
Her serious, yet calm aura was disturbed only by the sparkle in her eyes. Deep dark brown fading into a rosy hue... Sariel had never seen a face quite like this. But the part that intrigued her the most was the girl's hair. It was a hue similar to the blossoms, but much more... alive. The blossoms themselves paled in comparison.
In the very same moment, the wind picked up, sending thousands of petals into the air. It looked like a blushing snowfall.
And in the middle of it, this stranger looked even more beautiful. Her long pink braid and the crimson scarves waved in the gale like flags.
"So majestic", Sariel thought.
The stranger spoke once again.
"The cherry blossoms here are nice, but they don't hold a candle to the ones back home."
Sariel mustered all of her bravery to respond.
"Then, I wonder just how magnificent they must look... And where such a place exists... You must be very lucky to call it home..."
"Oh. I'm from Cloud Island in the Far East, and..."
The pink-haired girl paused the moment their eyes met.
"Oh, I think I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Sakura Hiiro from Combat Class 2-A. And you... you're..."
"Sariel, from Civilian Class 3-C."
"3-C? Sorry, I didn't realize you were my senpai."
"Senpai?", Sariel asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Back on Cloud Island, that's how we refer to our seniors.", Hiiro explained in her usual straightforward manner. But... anybody who knew her well would instantly notice that something wasn't quite right.
Normally, Hiiro kept a straight face at all times, her eyes were on whoever she was talking to, her arms were crossed below her chest and her voice had a serious, strict tone to it.
But this time, her head was hung low, her gaze was seemingly focused on the ground and her she kept her arms behind her back, fingers tightly interlaced. Her voice was quieter, and more gentle-sounding. As if she couldn't bring herself to say what she wanted to say.
But most of all, she was blushing.
"Get it together, Hiiro! You can't lose your cool like this!", she scolded herself under her breath.
Hiiro gathered all of her courage, focused, inhaled, and exhaled. It's the perfect moment. Now or never.
"I've seen you on campus before, and I've heard the rumours, the tales and the stories told about the legendary Sariel from the Civilian Class, and now that I know that Sariel is, in fact, you..."
Hiiro paused.
"Hm?", Sariel uttered, once again tilting her head to the side. "Adorable...", Hiiro thought.
That single faint sound was like a gust of wind, passing through Hiiro's heart and blowing away her doubts.
She resumed.
"Sariel-senpai, the rumours they all told about you... they were all true. You're very pretty, like a cerulean rose."
Hiiro paused once again.
"I think... I like you. And I want you to be happy, so I want to make a promise."
Sariel couldn't believe this. Was she really being confessed to? It was like one of those Far East graphic novels that her grandfather gave her once! Everything was there, even the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind!
"A promise?", she asked, intrigued, as she once again tilted her head, which made Hiiro's cheeks go bright red.
"Yes.", Hiiro nodded, getting down to one knee and resting the tip of her katana's sheath on the ground. With her hands firmly holding the handle and her head facing the petal-covered concrete, she looked like a knight pledging loyalty to her lord."A promise."
"Sariel-senpai,", she lifted her head, "I promise you that one day, I will take you to Cloud Island."
"To let you see real sakura one day."
Sariel gave Hiiro a gentle smile.
"I... I would really like that."
Hiiro stood up and reached into the pocket of her cloak. She pulled out a red scarf, one resembling those she had on her sleeves, and made her way towards Sariel.
"Then keep this."
"So you remember my promise."
She tied it around Sariel's right arm, slightly blushing. They were so close, and she could feel the softness of Sariel's skin...
Then, she sat on the same bench as Sariel, and they talked for a while longer. About school. About the past. About their dreams. How long have they been talking for?... Is it time to leave already?... Maybe it is. But... neither girl wanted it to be over.
From that day forward, they'd meet like this on the daily.
Years have passed, and though their paths seemingly diverged over time, it didn't stop them from keeping in touch. They made so many wonderful memories, like attending each other's graduations and promotion ceremonies, hanging out together after work, or even idly messaging each other on their communicators... Perhaps it was this divergence of fates was what tightened their bond and strengthened their relationship the most. After all, one became a simple school teacher, and the other - a Legion Commander of the Illumina Federation!
Maybe fate wanted to reminisce about that beautiful day...
It was a calm spring afternoon, one quite like that fateful day. Suddenly, the tranquil scene was disturbed by the arrival of something the eyewitnesses described as "a pink flash which passed through the Academy's corridors and left behind a trail of cherry petals that gently fell to the floor".
Suddenly, this "pink flash" stopped at a door and silently read the plaque before knocking to announce her arrival and making an entrance.
"Sariel-senpai, I've come to fulfill my promise. I finally got a vacation, so we're going to Cloud Island together!"
" Commander Hiiro, I understand your good intentions, but I don't think that's possible, a trip like this has to be booked months in advance and all the costs and difficulties of the journey, not to mention the school year still hasn't finished, so I'm still on duty-", Sariel ranted, but was cut off very soon.
"First off, to you I'm just Hiiro, second off, don't worry. I've taken care of everything already."
"But the next transport vessel to Cloud Island leaves in three months, and I'm the Student Counselor! The school won't function properly without me-", Sariel panicked again, only to be silenced with a "I talked to the Headmistress, she'll make sure to find someone to substitute for you. And don't worry about the transport.".
Two hours later, Sariel was done packing and she left her apartment. But she absolutely did not expect to see a dragon before her front door. "Calm down, this is just our ride. We're going on dragonback.", Hiiro explained."Let's get going. Come on, Zakura!"
The journey took a few good hours, but Astra looked so beautiful seen from the skies high above that Sariel didn't even notice. Time sure doesn't matter to romantics... It was already dark by the time they reached the Cloud Mountain Hotel, but Sariel's excitement kept her awake. She constantly looked around curiously, her eyes wide and sparkly. Hiiro's heart started to beat faster, but she was used to this by now. Sariel had sent her into this state the first time they met, and she continued to do so with her random acts of adorableness.
The next few days were filled with a sweet happiness. Walking around the streets of Sakai and Koufu-jou, tasting the local food, soaking in the hot springs and watching the cherry blossoms...
"Hiiro, you were right. The cherry trees in the front yard of the Academy really don't hold a candle to the ones here... So beautiful...", Sariel sighed in awe.
"I must admit... You look so beautiful standing among them too, Sariel. The kimono I got you suits you so well... To be fair... I think the surname Sakura would suit you too."
"But name changes are tedious... Unless you... Unless you want to... marry me, Hiiro...", Sariel stammered, slightly overwhelmed.
"I would love to marry you, Sariel.", Hiiro said with a beautiful smile on her face, holding Sariel's hand in hers.
The talk about marriage continued throughout the rest of their day, and well into the night. They even decided to share a futon and cuddle while sleeping. After all, according to most of the romance books Sariel would often read, this was a thing married couples did!
"I'm very glad to have met you, Hiiro... Do you remember? That day, in the front yard... You made a promise, and you kept it, thanks to you I finally got to see what you called "real sakura"... Over the years, you were always there for me, and... I'm glad you want to continue doing so, this time as my wife... I promise I will stay by your side as well. You made me very happy, and... And I want to make you equally happy!", Sariel spoke, teardrops of happiness falling down her face and onto the pillow.
Hiiro had no idea what to say in this moment, so she just pulled Sariel closer and placed a tender kiss on her cheek.
"I love you so much, Sariel...", she whispered after a moment of hesitation.
By next January, the plaque on the door of the Student Counselor's Office was replaced by one that said:
SARIEL SAKURA
Student Counselor