Sakura POV

 

“Yuto, when did you become friends with Ryosuke?” Since Yuto introduced Ryosuke as his best friend, I thought he might have known him long enough.

 

“Hmm… When he got transferred here half a year ago, he was always so anti-social, but I see a sense of loneliness in his eyes, so I decided I want to be friends with him… hehe~”

 

“... transferred here? where did he come from?” Could he be…

 

“... he said he just came back from the United States if I remember correctly…”

 

United States… my feelings that he is Yamada Ryosuke is getting stronger…

 

“I see… Do you know about his family matters?”

 

“Not really, he doesn’t like people to mention about his family. And Sakura-chan, why are you asking so much about him?”

 

“Erm… because he’s your best friend right? We should help him since he looks like he cannot manage himself properly.”

 

THAT WAS EXCUSE. I wanted to dig information from Yuto on whether he is Yamada Ryosuke…

 

“Oh yes… he wanders around everyday, and always got himself into troubles. Now he has even dragged you in.”

 

“It’s a small matter, and to be honest I think Keito isn’t exactly bad as well, just that they both are problem kids who cannot manage their emotions properly.”

 

“WHAT?” “WHAT?”

 

Apparently Keito and Ryosuke both heard my last sentence, and they replied together again. HAHA! This is too amusing, it’s been so long since I’m feeling so happy…

 

“You two should look at each other, one is the mirror of the other. HAHA!” I continued making fun of them.

 

“HUH!!!” “HUH!!!” Both of them reacted at the same time again.

 

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” I cannot stop laughing, it’s been very long since I last laughed this much…

 

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Ryosuke POV

 

………………

 

Sakura looks cute when she laughs…

 

*PUMPS*

 

……………. Why is my heart pumping so fast? And… I feel my face getting warmer and warmer……. What is this feeling…….?

 

“Sakura-chan, I’m sorry for what Chinen and Daiki did to you. I’ll go teach them a lesson now.” Keito went up to apologize to Sakura.

 

“Ahh, it’s nothing, really. Don’t take it to heart.”

 

“No, please accept my apologies, I’ll make sure this won’t happen again.” Keito kneel down on one knee like a prince proposing to his princess. I ALMOST PUKED.

 

“Stop being so mushy and disgusting, you little fake gentleman.” I am using my evil mouth against Keito.

 

“HAH?!?! Calling me little? I wonder who is the shortie coward here who cannot admit to his mistake.” Keito rebuked me.

 

“HAH??! WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORTIE?!?! YOU WHITE-FACED BASTARD!!!”

 

“WHAT?!?! YOUR COURAGEOUS IS NOT EVEN HALF OF SAKURA’S!!

 

*BEATS*

 

“GET OUT NOW!” Sakura whacked us with her hammer balloon again and chased us out of the store.

 

“Don’t come in again if you just want to quarrel.” Sakura raised her voice on us, and we both kept quiet again.

 

“Sakura-chan, I’ll go teach my guys a lesson first, see ya soon!!!” Keito said and left.

 

“Ryosuke, what about you? Are you staying here?”

 

“I………….” I felt my heart pumping way too fast, “I’ll go home first!!!” I quickly dashed out of the store, heading towards nowhere……..

 

What is that……..? Why do I feel like this when Sakura speaks to me………?

 

I wandered around to a playground and lied on the bench for I don’t know how long………

 

“Ryosuke! Come here! Look at this puppy!! It’s injured, shall we treat its injuries?”

“Ryosuke!! Look over there!! There’s a huge rainbow!!!”

“Ryosuke, I’ll be with you, don’t worry………”

 

“RYOSUKE!!! WAKE UP!!!”

 

I heard someone calling me and shaking my body, I opened my eyes and saw Sakura’s face.

 

“AH!!!” I quickly sit up but my movement was too fast that my head knocked into Sakura’s face.

 

“AHHHHH!” Sakura’s voice was heard.

 

“AH SORRY SAKURA! Are you alright?!?!” I went up to see if her face was alright.

 

“Ahh, I’m fine… Why are you sleeping here? I thought you said you wanna go home?”

 

“I……. accidentally fell asleep here…”

 

And I even had a weird dream, in the dream, there was this girl who was always calling my name and playing with me… I felt warm around her, I felt like I wouldn’t need to be afraid of anything if she’s with me… But… I can’t recall her name, I can’t even visualize her face clearly in my dreams…

 

“You’ll catch a cold here, quick, go home now.” Sakura is showing her ‘motherly’ side again.

 

“I’m fine… I think it’s more likely I’ll catch a cold if I stay at home too long…” That icy cold house…

 

“I guess you haven’t had dinner right?”

 

“........I’m not hungry *growwlllll*” AH! My stomach really loves to go against me…..

 

“HAHAHA! Your stomach is much more truthful than you. It’s still early, come with me.” Sakura asked me to follow her…. But, to where?!?!

 

My body naturally followed where she was bringing me, I raised my head and saw a five-storey apartment building.

 

!!! She’s bringing me to her apartment?!?!?! What does she want to do?!?! I don’t have any ‘experience’ yet!!! AH WHAT SHOULD I DO!!!

 

“Why are you looking so panicked? What are you thinking?” Sakura saw through me, as usual.

 

“EH…. Nothing… Why did you bring me here?”

 

“Just come up.” She didn’t answer my question…

 

I went into Sakura’s apartment, it was a small  and simple apartment with nothing unnecessary inside.

 

“Take a seat, I’ll make you some food.”

 

“HAH?!?! There isn’t a need…*GROWL*” My stomach cried even louder…

 

“HAHA! Just be truthful to yourself once in awhile. I’ll be done in no time.”

 

I sat on the floor facing the kitchen, and was watching Sakura throughout her cooking. I felt the same sense of familiarity again, it was as if I have experienced this before… But why can’t I remember it?? As she cook, I could smell the nice fragrance, this feels familiar too…

 

“Here! Eat it while it’s hot!” Sakura put the plate on the table in front of me.

 

Omurice… My favourite food… I could feel my eyes getting wet… Somehow I feel I have forgotten some things really important to me… I have not told anyone my favourite food is omurice, not even my butler, or that old lady. Why does Sakura know?

 

“Do you like omurice?” Sakura asked.

 

“.........” I was at lost for words, should I admit I like it, or should I…

 

“I thought you would like omurice…”

 

“......why?”

 

“Because you remind me of someone, I used to always make omurice for him…”

 

‘Him’?? Does Sakura have a boyfriend already? Why did she said she ‘used to’? Is ‘he’ not around anymore? As I think more, I feel my heart becoming tighter and tighter, it’s so uncomfortable, I want to know more, I want her to tell me more…

 

“Who is that? Is he not around anymore?” I managed to squeeze the questions out of my mouth.

 

“Then you answer me truthfully do you like omurice first, and I’ll answer yours.” Sakura looked straight into my eyes, I feel like she is seeing through me, she can know straight away whether I am telling lies.

 

“Yes, it’s my favourite food…” I said the truth… But I wonder why I’ve been hiding this fact from others… I feel like I had a reason for it…

 

The next moment I saw Sakura smiling at me, “then start eating, I’ll answer your questions after you are done.”

 

I ate the first spoonful of omurice, and I sensed my tears falling off my eyes, I can't stop my tears from dropping. What is with me?? Before I realised, Sakura used her hands to wipe my tears away, gently, very gently…

 

“Eat slowly... “ Sakura looked at me with a pair of very sad eyes, what exactly has she went through?

 

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Sakura POV

 

He is… Ryosuke, the Yamada Ryosuke I’ve been missing, the Yamada Ryosuke I’ve been looking for, the Yamada Ryosuke I’ve been wanting to protect, he is, my Ryosuke… The bond between us won’t lie, even if he has forgotten his memories, his body is showing otherwise.

 

He is the Ryosuke who loves omurice, who hates being at home, who, stays quietly beside me… The tears from his eyes proved that he remembers the taste of the omurice I always made for him when we were young.

 

I first made omurice for him when he had a big quarrel with his parents and he was feeling really hungry. That was the first time he had omurice and he fell in love with it. He told me it’ll become his favourite food, and in future he will only eat the omurice I make. So subsequently I have made omurice countless times for him, because I love seeing his satisfied face when he eats them.

 

Ryosuke… I have finally found you… This time round I will protect you with all I can, regardless if you remember me, I want you to be happy, I won’t leave you again, unless you tell me you don’t need me anymore...

 

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Ryosuke POV

 

This is so delicious, it’s the most delicious food I’ve ever had in my life… Though it was so simple… Yet I’m satisfied… I tried to control my tears and finish the plate of omurice Sakura made for me.

 

“Thank you…” I can't believe I said that so naturally…

 

“You’re welcome…  I’ll answer your questions you asked just now…”

 

Ah… what would she say? I’m getting uneasy…

 

“That guy, is one whom I wanna protect… Yet I’ve sort of ruined his life…” Sakura looked really really upset…

 

“...and… he’s not around anymore?”

 

“He’s alive… But for some reason, he can't remember me anymore…” Sakura looked away from me… But… I wanna see her eyes…

 

“Something happened to him? And he lost his memories?” I deduced that from Sakura’s words.

 

“Yeah… and it’s all my fault… But, I tell myself, I will protect him from now on, as long as I am alive.” Sakura turned back to look at me, as if, she was telling that to me…

 

“But how? Do you know where he is?”

 

Sakura smiled, “I believe in fate, I’ll definitely meet him, because it’s my responsibility to protect him.”

 

“................” I sort of envy the guy whom Sakura was referring to…

 

How I wish that guy was me…

 

But WAIT, HOLD ON. Why am I having such thoughts?!?!

 

… Did I, fell for Sakura too…?

 

“Ok! It’s getting late, you should get home soon.” Sakura asking me to go back to that home again.

 

“.................”

 

I don't want to go back…

 

But I can't bring myself to say that.

 

“..........If you want to stay here for tonight, then at least inform someone in your house…” Sakura saw through me again, I really wonder if she has mind-reading power.

 

“...I can… stay over…?” I don't mind her suggestion…

 

“Yeah…” Sakura was being really gentle, so gentle, that I want to stay by her side… forever…

 

“I’ll go make a phone call then…”

 

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Sakura POV

 

I must be crazy to ask Ryosuke stay over tonight, but, I miss him too much… So much, I don't want him to leave my sight… Just for tonight, can I be selfish… just for tonight? I want to protect Ryosuke, I want to make him feel being warm at home.

 

“Naito? I’ll be staying over at my friend’s house tonight.”

 

Naito-san… It's been so long since I last heard of him too. He was a really kind man who takes very good care of Ryosuke, and he was very nice to me too. I wonder how he is now...

 

Ryosuke ended his call quite fast, and I’m starting to panic… I asked him to stay over, but what should we do now… He’s ending the call real soon, what should I say……

 

“Ne, Sakura.” Ryosuke called me when my mind was still in a state of mess.

 

“Eh.. yes?”

 

“Are you living alone? Where are your family?” I got a shock that Ryosuke would ask me that…

 

“Yeah, my parents died five years ago. I’ve been living alone since then.”

 

“................I’m sorry……….”

 

“It’s nothing, I’ve gotten used to living alone. And to be honest, sometimes I feel like I’m a jinx, I always cause unfortunate incidents to happen to people around me. So it’s better if I live off alone.” First it was Ryosuke’s dad, then Ryosuke, and followed by my parents.

 

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Ryosuke suddenly raised his voice.

 

“Huh… These are facts…” Yes, there is nothing deniable about it.

 

“At least not for me……..”

 

“What…?”

 

“I mean…… at least I don’t feel you’re a jinx…. You have saved me so many times…… and every time you feed me with food, I feel the warm that I’ve never felt before…… the warm that I’ve been yearning for so much…….” Ryosuke was not hiding his emotions, not at all…..

 

“Thank you….. But I can’t guarantee I won’t bring you bad luck in future…… So I guess you better don’t come near me too much…”

 

As much as I want Ryosuke to be near me so that I can protect him, I’m afraid something would happen to him, I want to protect him from a distance…

 

“I refuse…”

 

“... what?”

 

“I…...want to be…...near you……” Ryosuke said and looked away shyly…..

 

“!!! …...Ryosuke…… I’ll…… protect you…….”

 

“........!! What… do you mean………”

 

Oh no! I’ve said that accidentally….

 

“erm……. I mean… I’ll be around to help you, from now on… Just come to me, if you have any problems… ok?” I tried to make it sound more natural…

 

“Ok…..”

 

……….. Soon, Ryosuke fell asleep on the sofa, I took out a blanket to cover him up….. I looked closely at Ryosuke’s face… He has grown up a lot, but the sadness and loneliness in his eyes hasn’t changed…. I want him to be happy, I’m willing to sacrifice whatever I have to make him happy…….

 

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to Heart - KinKi Kids

 

あの場所で　約束したよね

At that place, we had a promise right?
泣きたいくらい　君を守ると

Even if I’ll cry, I’ll protect you
せつなさの　すべてをかけて

I’ll take in all the painfulness
僕は信じる　Heartは届くと
I believe my Heart will reach you

夜は夜になるため

In order to become darkness
太陽を犠牲にするという

There’s a need to sacrifice the sun
永遠なものなんてない

There’s nothing known as forever
それでも星は二人の上で光る

Even if that’s so, the stars are still shining above our heads

君がいる　ただそれだけで

Just because you are here
壊れるくらい　強くなれるよ

I can force myself to stay strong
せつなさの　すべてをかけて

I’ll take in all the painfulness
僕は信じる　Heartは届くと

I believe my Heart will reach you
 

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Writer’s note: And so Sakura has found out about Ryosuke’s real identity. This may grow to become a bitter love, or not… I personally love sad stories, so I’ll like to insert some sad storyline in my fanfic. I’ll recommend everyone to listen to the songs of which I inserted snippets of their lyrics in my fanfic!

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