Chapter Text
The sun’s rays entered my bedroom through half-open curtains, illuminating my upper body. I got out of bed and opened the window, feeling the fresh air circulate into my room. I’d woken up early, but that wasn’t something out of the ordinary. I took a moment to bask in the sun’s rays before continuing with my morning routine.
Today was the day she was scheduled to be released from the hospital. Truth be told, I’d been looking forward to the occasion.
I headed downstairs to wash my face and brush my teeth. My mind was occupied with thoughts of Sakura and, as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was relieved that she was finally being discharged. Surely, no one else in the world had ever been so deeply moved by human contact as I had been during her hospital stay.
As I ate breakfast, an idea came to me. I could surprise her by showing up when she got discharged. It was certainly a change of our plans, but a part of me felt it would be the right course of action. She’d told me that she’d be released from the hospital in the afternoon, and so I’d have to take a guess at what time to show up at. At least, if I was early, I could always bring a paperback with me to kill time while I waited.
I’d spoken briefly with my mother over breakfast, as she had asked if I’d gotten myself a girlfriend, to which I denied, and I also denied the claim that I’d befriended someone, too. I settled on saying we’d just been getting along, but even then, that label didn’t fit quite right either. In the end, I’d underestimated my mother and had been put in my place, and I couldn’t help but lift the corners of my mouth into a smile.
I returned to my bedroom in order to get dressed, changing into simple street wear. Before leaving, I checked the time, which was just a few minutes before ten. That gave me plenty of time to go book shopping before surprising Sakura.
I took my time while shopping, but I didn’t end up purchasing anything. I made my way towards the hospital just before noon. I figured it would be better to be early, than be late, and if I missed her, I’d have to walk back to her house by myself. I didn’t mind this, but I knew her parents would most likely be home, whom I've never met before, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted today to be the day that I did.
Once arriving at the hospital, I settled myself in the waiting room and pulled out my paperback, keeping to myself. Truth be told, the hospital wasn’t busy at all, and I was sure the staff wouldn’t mind my waiting since I wasn’t proving to be an inconvenience to anyone.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but I kept peering up from my book occasionally to check if Sakura had been released yet. I heard her talking to the receptionist, and I peeked over my book to see if it was really her, and it was. After she was done, she turned back in my direction, quickly realizing my presence. She seemed stunned, and all I could do was give a small wave of acknowledgement, as a way to beckon her over to where I’d been sitting.
“Shiga-kun? What are you doing here?” Sakura asked as she approached me, with a puzzled look on her face. “I thought the plan was to meet after I went home.”
“That was the plan,” I started, pulling out my bookmark and marking my place in my paperback, before putting it away. I looked back at her before speaking again. “Plans changed, so I decided to meet you here first.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie, since our plans changed because of my own decision. But she didn’t need to know that.
“Well, I appreciate the gesture. Really.” Sakura smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but give a small smile back in return. “Problem is, my mom thinks she’s just coming here to pick me up. I think she’d be surprised if I tried to bring an extra home with me.”
I furrowed my brow in thought. I really didn’t feel ready to meet her parents, not yet at least. If it was inevitable, then of course I’d be respectful, but I’d much rather delay the interaction for as long as possible. “When is your mother coming to pick you up?”
“Hmm, probably in around thirty minutes, I told her I’d text when I was released,” Sakura paused, and then her face lit up as an idea came to mind. “I could always tell her I’ll walk home today. If I pull the pancreas card, I’m sure she’d let me! Here, let me give her a call.”
And so I waited while Sakura was on the phone with her mother. In the meantime, I pulled out my paperback and continued to read, while partially listening in on the conversation. After all, it was hard not to. I only heard one side of the conversation, but what I did hear was Sakura going back and forth with her mother, almost arguing, saying things like “I want to walk home because it’s a nice day!”, “The hospital isn’t that far from home, I’ll see you when I get there!”, and “What if my pancreas were to give out and I missed this beautiful day?!”, among other things.
It took a while, but she hung up the phone and turned to me, grinning. “It took a bit of work, but she’s letting me walk home myself.”
I nodded my head, putting my book away once again. I stood up, and looked around, confused by the lack of belongings that Sakura had with her. All she had was her backpack, which I was sure contained her necessary medications. “You didn’t bring any other belongings? Surely you at least brought clothes, right?”
Sakura giggled, clearly amused by my confusion. That bothered me a bit, but I didn’t let that show. I thought they were valid questions to ask, considering I’d seen multiple bags full of her belongings during our last visit. “You’re so dense, Shiga-kun. I got my mom to take home most of it yesterday. I kept a change of clothes for myself for today.” She turned her back to me and tapped her backpack, before spinning around to face me again. I knew her medication had to be with her too, but I didn’t want to point that out.
After that conversation we’d decided to leave, considering Sakura’s mother was expecting her. I basked in the sun’s rays as we walked, while Sakura skipped beside me, humming quietly to herself. It seemed like she was in good health again, which brought me relief. To anyone on the outside looking in, it would be nearly impossible to guess that this girl had just been discharged from the hospital.
A part of me wanted to point out that she’d just been discharged and that she shouldn’t be so demanding with her body physically, but I realized it wasn’t my place. She knew her limits, and so I trusted in her ability to identify where those limits were.
At some point during our walk, Sakura grabbed my hand and led the way. I didn’t notice this as I’d been absorbed in my thoughts, and it wasn’t that uncommon of an occurrence between us anyway. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze, feeling a cool breeze pass by us. Today was definitely a beautiful day.
As we approached her house, I stopped, letting go of her hand. Sakura turned to look back at me. “What’s wrong, aren’t you coming inside with me? I promise I’ll be quick, I just need to drop my things off and say hi to my mom.”
As if, I thought to myself, that would put me in an awkward position. I shook my head in response. “I haven’t met your parents. I wouldn’t want to show up uninvited.” I felt that was a valid excuse, and thought that maybe, just maybe, it would be enough to get Sakura off my case, but I was wrong.
Sakura smirked. “Well then, I guess I’ll just have to sneak you in!”
“Wait, wh–” Before I knew it, Sakura had grabbed my hand and begun to drag me towards the front door. She held her finger up against her mouth, with a quick shush, before opening the door. I sighed, following, not that I had much of a choice at this point.
“Hi mom, I’m home!” Sakura called out as we began to walk upstairs, towards her bedroom. Her mother replied, but it was too muffled for me to hear. “Hang on, I’m just gonna put my stuff in my room and I’ll come talk to you!” Sakura’s replies to her mother managed to cover both of our footsteps in order to not raise any suspicions.
As we entered her bedroom, she shut the door behind us. Sakura pointed at her bed as she set her bag on the floor. “Sit there. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I complied, sitting on her bed, holding my head in my hands. Well, it’s not like I can really go anywhere, anyway. How did I get myself into this situation?
I guess these kinds of shenanigans weren’t out of the ordinary for us. After all, whenever I was with Sakura, anything was bound to happen. I didn’t expect to be sneaking in her house and hiding out in her bedroom, but here I am anyway. Of course it wasn't the first time I'd been over to her house, but it was the first time with her parents present, and I felt out of place, even while hiding in her bedroom.
I glanced around the room, taking in my surroundings. It was essentially the same as it'd been the last I'd seen it. My gaze drifted towards the bookshelf, full of various manga. I was reminded of that day, and how I'd felt after Sakura hugged me and seemed like she wanted to kiss me. I felt frustrated, angry, but I shook my head. Now wasn't the time to reminisce about that situation.
Sakura returned a few minutes later. "My mom's outside, so it should be safe for us to sneak out again."
I nodded my head in response, thankful to be getting out of that situation sooner than expected. "Let's get going then."
Exiting Sakura's house proved to be an easy feat after all. I looked over at my companion as we walked, the breeze blowing through her hair ever so slightly. "So, you still want to go to the beach?" I posed the question despite already knowing what kind of answer she’d give.
"Of course!"
As expected, of course her response didn’t bother me.
***
After visiting the beach, we'd worked up a sweat and decided to visit Café Spring, a usual occurrence for us.
Sakura seated herself as I ordered for the both of us, an iced coffee for myself and a latte for her. I waited for a moment for our drinks to be finished, before bringing them over to the table, sitting adjacent to Sakura. It looked like she had something on her mind. "What's with the serious look?"
I posed the question half-jokingly, but I didn't expect to receive such a serious response.
"I just.. I have something I need to talk to you about." Sakura looked at me, but I couldn't tell what kind of expression she wore on her face. I pursed my lips, giving her a sincere look. I could tell she wasn’t joking in this situation.
A moment of silence passed us, before she chose to speak again.
"The doctors said my lifespan has been cut in half.. I only have half a year left."
..
What?
Sakura balled her hands into fists, clutching onto the edge of her skirt as tears welled up in her eyes. I didn't want to admit I felt like crying as well, but one of us had to be strong here. "Isn't it funny..? I've been anticipating my death, and yet.. when faced with it, I get all choked up."
It's not funny. You told me you're scared of dying. I can't even begin to imagine how you're feeling in this moment.
Before giving myself the chance to think, suddenly I was embracing her, my arms wrapped around her waist tightly. Breathing heavily, I felt a few tears form and drip onto her shirt. Sakura stiffened, her voice shaky. "Shiga-kun..?" But I offered no response aside from my heavy breathing, trying to process the situation at hand. I felt her slowly reach her arms up, completing the embrace, before bursting into tears.
With both of us crying, neither were able to be strong for one another.