Sakura POV

 

Miki stopped with her harassment after that day. Soon, it was summer holidays for Ryosuke, and we are departing for Nara tomorrow morning.

 

“Sakura, I can’t sleep…” Ryosuke said while lying beside me on the bed.

 

“...Why…?” I turned over to look at him and his face.

 

“I’m excited for tomorrow… Yet I’m scared…”

 

“.................”

 

I sort of understand what Ryosuke means, he is going back to a place where he was supposed to have memories of, yet he doesn’t remember a single thing right now. He must be feeling really uneasy.

 

“Don’t worry, Ryosuke… I’ll be with you… It’s alright if you don’t remember now, because I’ll remember them for you…” I want to assure Ryosuke, and not stress him to recall his memories.

 

“Sakura… I want my memories to be back… I feel like a part of me is missing if I continue like this…”

 

“I’ll make up for the missing part then, Ryosuke…”

 

“Sakura…”

 

Ryosuke hugged me and kissed me on the forehead, before landing another kiss on my lips. I placed my right hand on the back of his head and his hairs to pat him to sleep…

 

The next day, we left early for the station and boarded the train towards Nara. I sensed Ryosuke’s uneasiness, and was holding onto his hands throughout our trip.

 

After arriving Nara, I brought Ryosuke to the place where we first met.

 

“Ryosuke… This was where you first banged into me on a rainy day when you ran out of your house.”

 

“.............” Ryosuke was taking a look at the surrounding, he looked like he is trying hard to recall his memories.

 

“...........And this place become where we would always meet and play around…” I continued saying.

 

I recited many of our past incidents to Ryosuke. Like, how he used to stick to me so much, asking me not to leave him, and how I always assure him that I won’t leave him, or that I will protect him…

 

Throughout my recitations, Ryosuke listened attentively. But he wasn’t smiling at all, he seemed troubled by not being able to recall his memories. I held his hands, tightly, looked into his eyes and smiled at him. I pulled him towards me, gave him a hug and told him,

 

“Ryosuke… It’s alright… Everything would be fine… Don’t worry, I’ll be with you...”

 

“Sakura… I had a dream before, and in the dream a girl was telling me the same thing that you have just said… I think that person is you…”

 

“.........Really???” I was delighted upon hearing that.

 

“But that was in my dreams, I still can’t recall anything now…”

 

I moved away from Ryosuke, and held his face,

 

“Ryosuke… I’m bringing you here not because I want you to recall your memories. I just want to share with you… The past that you are supposed to know… I’m really fine if you don’t remember anything, because what’s more important now is the present, isn’t it? I want to be by your side and protect you before anything else. We can create new memories from now. So don’t force yourself to recall, ok?”

 

“.........Alright....” Ryosuke finally showed his first smile of the day.

 

I’m relieved, I rest my forehead on Ryosuke’s, moving my hands from his face to his neck. I like the distance between us now, we have gotten much nearer to each other, thre is no sense of awkwardness, only sense of peace and happiness…

 

Next, I brought Ryosuke to where I used to stay, the house has been transferred under my name two years ago when I finally become an adult. I still come back occasionally to clean my house.

 

“..........This place feels familiar…” Ryosuke said after entering my house.

 

“.............. You often come here when you were young. My parents were always at work, so since young I’ve been taking care of the house chores, and learnt how to cook myself.”

 

“............ And you make the world’s best omurice…” Ryosuke smiled and said.

 

“Hehe~ Stay there for a while.” I went to my luggage and took the ingredients I had bought to make omurice for Ryosuke.

 

“..........What…?” Ryosuke was still puzzled.

 

“I’m making the world’s best omurice for the person I love the most in this world.” From the kitchen, I smiled and replied Ryosuke who was sitting in the living room.

 

I started the preparations for the cooking, back-facing Ryosuke. Suddenly I felt sensations around my neck, it was Ryosuke, he had walked over and hugged me from the back.

 

“Ah! Ryosuke?” I turned my head slightly to look at Ryosuke who was resting his head on my right shoulders.

 

“Sakura… This scene of me looking at you cook is so familiar, I already felt so when you first made omurice for me few months ago. But when it’s over here, the feelings are much stronger…” Ryosuke spoke gently into my ears.

 

“Ryosuke…” I turned my head fully to look at Ryosuke, the distance between our face were very close.

 

“I love you, Sakura…” Ryosuke’s lips reached for mine, a gentle yet sincere kiss…

 

We let go of each other after a long kiss.

 

“Ryosuke, go take a seat, I’ll be done soon…”

 

“I don’t want…” Ryosuke hugged me even tighter.

 

“...... Then I can’t cook…”

 

“Cook in this position…”

 

“......... Ryosuke, Ah! Umm…” Ryosuke sealed my lips before I could speak further.

 

Ryosuke turned my body over and kissed me even deeper, I tried to push him away but he was hugging me tightly and I can’t move my hands.

 

WAIT.

 

DON’T TELL ME RYOSUKE WANTS TO DO IT NOW???

 

“Ummm!!!” I was trying to speak but wasn’t able to.

 

Ryosuke started pulling up my shirt, this is bad, he really wants to do it.

 

“UMMM!!!!” I was still trying to speak, finally Ryosuke let go of me.

 

“Ryosuke. Wait. Not now.” I said while panting heavily, I was out of breath from his long kiss.

 

“........... I don’t want…” He gave me a puppy look face which made my heart pumped even faster. I realized I was about to give in to him… He came seeking for more kisses...

 

*DING DONG*

 

Someone rang my doorbell!!!

 

LUCKY!!

 

“Ryosuke! Wait! I’m going to see who’s that.”

 

“Ignore it!” Ryosuke pulled my hand to prevent me from going to the door.

 

“I’ll be back fast, stay here, ok?” I patted Ryosuke on his head.

 

“.............ok……” He said while pouting his lips.

 

I went to open the door, and I saw someone I really missed.

 

“Ah! Obasan!!!”

 

The person at the door was Ninomiya-san, she was my neighbour who manages a small store in the shopping streets. She took great care of me when I was young, and even after my parents passed away. I haven’t seen her since I moved to Tokyo four years back.

 

“So it’s really Sakura-chan!! I saw the lights were on so I came knocking at the door. Hope I didn’t give you a scare!”

 

“No Obasan!! Come in!! It’s been so long since I last chatted with you!!”

 

“Is it convenient?”

 

“Of course!!”

 

“Then I’ll bother you for a while… Oh who’s this…? He looks familiar… Is he… Ryosuke-chan?”

 

Ah! Ninomiya-san recognized Ryosuke at first glance? I can’t believe it… Even I couldn’t recognize Ryosuke when I first met him near my workplace.

 

“Ah… Yes, I’m Ryosuke…”

 

“Ryosuke-chan! How have you been?” Ninomiya-san went up and gave Ryosuke a light hug.

 

Ryosuke and I used to help her around in her store, so we were very close to each other. Ninomiya-san knows of what happened to Ryosuke, so she spoke really gently, reminiscing our common memories to Ryosuke. Ryosuke seemed to enjoy listening to her storytelling. I went back into the kitchen to continue making omurice for all of us.

 

After our dinner, Ninomiya-san bidded goodbye to us and went back.

 

“Ryosuke…?” Ryosuke seemed quiet.

 

“Sakura… Thanks for bringing me back here… Though I still couldn’t recall my past, I could piece my lost memories together through the stories I’ve been listening to today. From you, and from Ninomiya-san. It seems that I was already in love with you since young… Right?”

 

“Silly boy… You missed out something very important too…” I Ryosuke’s hair gently.

 

“....... What is it…?” Ryosuke looks puzzled at my reply.

 

“..........That I’ve fallen in love with you long ago too…” I smiled back to Ryosuke.

 

“.............Sakura……”

 

While Ryosuke was sitting on the dining chair, I was standing beside him, and hugging him tightly. I was fondling with his hairs, patting him to give him as much warm as possible. Gradually I layed my head on the top of his, just a simple hug like this was enough for me.

 

“Ryosuke… Tomorrow I’m bringing you to two more places…” One is Ryosuke’s house… Another is… Ryosuke’s father’s tombstone…

 

“...... I got it…” Ryosuke smiled while looking up to me.

 

We both had a good sleep with each other’s warm. But I was still feeling a little worried for tomorrow. As I know it is going to get emotional for Ryosuke…

 

The next day, I brought Ryosuke to his house in Nara. As soon as we reached, he stood still outside, and seemed to be in deep thinkings.

 

“Ryosuke…? Are you alright…?”

 

“This is… my house… right?”

 

“.........!! How did you know…?”

 

“It’s giving me the exact same feelings as what my current one is giving me…” Ryosuke said with a really sad expression.

 

I held Ryosuke’s hands tightly. He is probably still sad over what his mother had done. To be honest I want to fix his relationship with his mother… I know very well that Ryosuke’s mother did everything because she loves Ryosuke too much. I love Ryosuke, that is why I understand the exact same feeling that we just want the best for Ryosuke.

 

“Looking at it makes me shiver, not only the house is cold, the heart of my own mother is cold as well.”

 

“Ryosuke… Don’t say it that way. Your mother does love you a lot…”

 

“....... I don’t know… Her love for me is suffocating… I don’t know if I want that kind of love…”

 

“Ryosuke… Everyone makes mistake, we should learn to forgive, only then we can live with less burdens…”

 

“..................Sakura… give me some time… I need time to figure out how to face my mother again...”

 

“...........Sure……”

 

Ryosuke has grown up, he understands exactly what I am saying… I’m really really glad to see that. Now what I can do, is to stay by his side while he manages his own feelings. I’ll make sure he won’t be alone to handle all these anymore…

 

The last place I’m bringing Ryosuke, is his father’s tombstone.

 

“...........Father……” Ryosuke was on the verge of his tears when he saw his father’s tombstone.

 

I held Ryosuke’s hands tightly, and stayed quietly beside him.

 

After a few minutes, I spoke to Ryosuke’s father’s tombstone.

 

“Ojisan, this is Sakura, I’ve brought Ryosuke back to visit you… I know that you are living good in heaven… I will abide to the promise I made with you… Don’t worry…”

 

“....Sakura… What promise did you make with my father…?”

 

. I forgot Ryosuke doesn’t know about this… Should I say it…?

 

“It was…….” I stumbled on my words.

 

“Sakura! No more hiding…”

 

“......... Your father asked me… to take care of you…”

 

“...............” Ryosuke kept silent listening to me.

 

“And that has been the reason why I didn’t end my life all these years… I couldn’t bring myself to break the promise I had with Ojisan…”

 

Somehow I got emotional saying this. I recalled how depressed I was when my parents committed suicide. One day I went home from school, and saw that they were stabbed to death. At first I thought they were killed by robbers, till I found a letter they left for me. They told me they would stab each other to death, and defraud this as a murder so that I can claim the insurance savings from their policies. They wanted me to live on, to live my life happily.

 

But they forgot something...

 

How would I be happy knowing that they chose to die for my sake?

 

As I recall my past, I realized my eyes were becoming wet.

 

“Sakura… Are you thinking of your parents…?”

 

“..........Ryosuke… Sorry… I’m fine… To tell you the truth… I didn’t have much desire to live on for the past ten years… I didn’t know what I wanted, I have no one I could rely on, I was like an abandoned child, no one wants me, not even my parents… Because I was a jinx, I caused unfortunate to everyone around me…”

 

I spoke my true feelings… Probably because I got emotional seeing Ryosuke’s father’s tombstone too. I didn’t want to show such a vulnerable side of me to Ryosuke… But, I wanted warm, I wanted Ryosuke’s warm… I think I am despicable...

 

“Sakura!!! I’m not allowing you to think that way! I said before right? You’re not a jinx, you saved me, you protected me, you loved me and you gave me warm!”

 

“..............” I looked at Ryosuke, yearning for his hug.

 

“Sorry… Sakura… I kept thinking I was the only one suffering. I forgot you had suffered a lot all these years as well… Don’t worry… I’ll share your burdens with you from now on…”

 

Ryosuke came up and gave me a tight hug, it was something that I had desired for whenever I think of my parents. Finally, it came true, someone is here to warm me up. I hugged back Ryosuke tightly.

 

Our lives are bonded, tightly...

Our time has overlapped, together…

No way we would leave each other again…

Unless death do us apart…

 

We left Ryosuke’s father’s tombstone around evening time. We had a simple dinner at one family restaurant, and sat on the bench by the roadside after our dinner.

 

“Ryosuke…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“In the past we would always sit here together, and you’ll go buy ice-cream for us from the convenience store just across the street.”

 

“...... Are you hinting me to get ice-cream for you now?”

 

“Hehe~ Yes!” I smiled mischievously at Ryosuke.

 

“Silly girl! Wait for me here, I’ll be right back.” Ryosuke tapped my head gently and went to get us ice-cream.

 

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In the convenience store

 

Ryosuke POV

 

“Hmm… What flavour does Sakura like…?”

 

“Shall get chocolate chip flavour for her! Hope she likes it…”

 

I settled the bill and left the store.

 

Seconds later I heard a loud screeching sound, and soon a huge crashing sound was heard.

 

*BANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

 

Screams from passerby followed after the huge crashing sound.

 

A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT?

 

A crowd formed around the victim seconds after the accident. I couldn’t see the victim, I looked back to the direction where we were sitting just now, trying to spot Sakura…

 

BUT SHE WASN’T THERE!!

 

WHERE DID SHE GO??

 

“Call the ambulance!”

“Anyone knows who this lady is??”

 

What came into my ears were voices from the passerbys…

 

A ‘lady’ was knocked down…?

 

It can’t be…!!!

 

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Be with me - KinKi Kids

 

ずっとずっと　二人で一緒に　歩み続けたい

I wish that the two of us can continue walking together forever

隣にいる君が僕を強くする

With you around I’ll become stronger

キラキラ　輝いてる君を　僕が一番

You are sparkling, shining with charms, I’m the one

知ってるんだよ　もっと知りたいよ

Who knows it best, I want to know more about you

Be with me！

 

こんな僕が君のために できることって何だろう

What can such a useless man like me do for you

想う気持ちは　誰にも負けないけれど

Although my love for you will not lose to anyone else

 

本当は　二人で一緒に　歩み続けたい

I really hope, the two of us, can continue walking together

だけど　見えない未来が　邪魔をする

But in the unforeseen future, there are obstacles blocking us

もう少し　強くなれたなら　君に伝えたい

If I can, become slightly stronger, I want to let you know

とっておきの　言葉があるんだ

A very beautiful sentence

Be with me！

永遠の愛を　約束するよ

I promise to give you an eternity of love

Be with me…

 

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Writer’s note: Aww, I got a little emotional proof-reading this chapter before posting. I hope the readers would feel the melancholy from my simple writings as well.

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