The earth and sky had merged into one, a swirling world of gray and white.
Rails from unknown origins converged at the center of this strange realm, and from the distance, a black steam locomotive came barreling down the tracks—just a thin black line at first, puffing smoke, accelerating faster and faster.
'Clang-clang, clang-clang...'
Countless trains charged forward, like Don Quixote charging at windmills, crashing violently into one another.
Engine to engine, engine to car. Some flew into the air, others plunged into the ground, all tangled into a chaotic mass.
The steam engines kept roaring, their screeching echoing in the background.
That was the dream Kyousuke had. And even after he woke up, it felt like those hundred trains were still rattling around in his head.
His body was drenched in sweat, even his hair was soaked.
What the hell—was this an alien invasion or something?
He flung off his blanket and scratched his head, baffled.
Reaching for his phone on the nightstand, he saw it was exactly 7:00 AM.
He got out of bed and slipped into his slippers, but the moment he stood up, his head spun slightly.
'Yeah, I probably overworked myself the past few days... Maybe I really shouldn't work more than one day at a time from now on.'
He pulled back the curtains and opened the window.
Before he could take in the view of the yard or breathe in the CO₂-rich morning air like he usually did, the sound of someone reading aloud floated up to him.
Peering down, he saw Shouko holding a book and reciting from it.
Listening more closely, he realized it was "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow" not just modern Japanese book, but classical Japanese.
It was high school-level classical literature. He hadn't expected Shouko to be previewing material that advanced already.
'Isn't she worried about messing up her voice breathing in the cold morning air like that?'
Still, seeing the focused look on her face and hearing her earnest voice, Kyousuke didn't have the heart to interrupt her.
He took a quick three-minute shower in the bathroom before heading downstairs. In the living room, Naoka was already sitting on the sofa, fully engrossed in a book.
He already knew not everyone appreciated the joys of sleeping in, but seriously—he'd gotten up this early and still ended up being the last one awake?
"Morning, Naoka."
He tried to make his entrance dramatic, but it didn't pull Naoka out of her reading. So he called out again.
"Oh? Morning, Kyousuke. You're up early today!"
Naoka looked up in surprise.
Based on how hard he'd been working the past few days, she fully expected him to be asleep until noon.
"Well, with you two studying so diligently, how could I possibly stay in bed?"
He smiled, grabbed his cup from the shelf, poured himself a glass of water, and sat down beside her on the sofa.
"Hehe~~" Naoka giggled, glanced toward Shouko—still reading outside—and then lifted the book she was holding.
"Shouko and I are not the same, okay?"
The cover showed a short-haired woman in a brown hoodie. It wasn't a textbook at all—it was BAILA, Naoka's favorite fashion magazine.
"Still counts as studying, doesn't it?"
Kyousuke chuckled. Turning a hobby into a career must be a special kind of joy—something you used to read for fun was now educational material.
"The upperclassmen are amazing... Some of them are already writing articles at this level."
Naoka turned the magazine toward him, showing him the article she was reading.
Even though the average high for the day was only 13°C, the model in the "Slim Silhouette Awards" section was already wearing a dress that looked freezing.
Below the image were descriptions of fabrics and design choices, explaining why it all worked.
'Yup, that tracks. Only high schoolers are honest enough to admit they need this stuff explained. Otherwise, who actually understands fashion?'
"You got that special scholarship, Naoka. I bet you'll outshine them all."
Though he genuinely believed it, Naoka still shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her blue-violet eyes filled with hope.
"I hope so," she whispered.
"You will."
Kyousuke stood and walked toward the sliding door that led to the yard.
As he opened it, the barrier between them fell away, and Shouko's voice came through clearly.
That silly girl—she must've gone outside to avoid disturbing Naoka.
"Shouko."
At the sound of her name, Nishimiya Shouko immediately turned, her voice full of delight.
"Ah! Kyousuke-kun, you're awake!"
She quickly trotted over from beside the koi pond, her face lighting up with a smile that melted the chill away.
"What, are you that surprised to see me? Gonna say I'm a lazy bum who oversleeps?"
He couldn't help teasing her when she looked so cute.
"N-no, not at all!" Shouko shook her head vigorously, even though she knew it was a joke.
She looked down shyly, then glanced back up, her soft brown eyes sparkling in the morning light.
"Even though I know I'll get to see you every morning now... I still can't help but feel happy every time."
"You're such a dummy. Don't come out to the yard to read in the morning—it's too cold. Take care of your voice. If you want, you can use one of the spare rooms on the third floor."
"Okay~" Shouko nodded cheerfully.
"Come inside and have some water. I'll start making breakfast."
He reached out, ruffling her fluffy brown hair. Her silly smile made it impossible not to.
"Maybe I should make breakfast today?" she offered.
"If you really wanted to, you'd have done it already," he said, playfully flicking her tiny nose.
"Hehe~ That's because your cooking is too good, Kyousuke-kun." Shouko stuck out her pink tongue.
Even though he'd gotten used to eating rice for breakfast back in Itomori, Kyousuke still preferred something simpler.
Today, he made thin pancakes—just flour, sugar, and water, spread thin on a lightly oiled skillet. Sweet and tasty, perfect on their own or with a bit of blueberry jam.
They were still using store-bought jam for now, but Shouko had planted a blueberry bush in the corner of the yard.
With any luck, they'd be eating homegrown blueberry jam by the end of the year.
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Tokyo Medical University Hospital
In a private room labeled "Yamauchi," Sakura stared out the window, lost in thought.
Her phone screen still displayed a LINE conversation.
She'd just sent a photo of blooming cherry blossoms to the other person according to her story, she was supposed to be out walking by the Kamogawa River with her grandparents, enjoying the flowers.
In reality...
"Sakura... Are you really not going to tell Kyousuke-kun?" Yamauchi Makoto finally asked after much hesitation. It was already 8:30.
Her daughter would be heading into surgery any minute now.
She believed that if Kyousuke were here, he could give her daughter the strength she needed.
"Haha, Mom, you know how Kyousuke is. If he came to the hospital, he'd probably wear such a serious face the doctors' hands would start shaking."
Sakura turned from the window and replied with a breezy smile.
"Hehe, what nonsense are you talking about? Kyousuke-kun has a very gentle smile, doesn't he?"
Even as she said that, Yamauchi Makoto had to admit—when that boy Kyousuke got serious, he could be downright scary.
But it didn't happen often.
In fact, the last time she remembered was back when Sakura was in fifth grade.
She had gone out to buy snacks and got hit on the head by a group of boys playing baseball.
Kyousuke was visiting their house at the time, and when he heard about it, his expression darkened immediately.
Still, he only smiled and gently comforted Sakura, saying, "Don't worry. I'll get back at them someday."
That "someday" came sooner than expected.
The very next day, Makoto saw a crowd of angry parents gathered in front of the Hojou family's home.
Kyousuke stood expressionless in front of his mother, calmly handing out his father's old business cards back when his father was still a practicing lawyer—to each and every one of them.
Remembering that, Makoto began to understand why her daughter had gone so far as to say, "If you tell Kyousuke, I'll never forgive you."
To Sakura, disrupting her everyday life with Kyousuke was like the end of the world.
And for Kyousuke, if he ever learned the truth about Sakura's condition… it really would be the end of the world.
As memories of their joyful past came flooding back, tears welled up in Yamauchi Makoto's eyes.
She quickly turned her head and wiped them away before they could fall.
Yamauchi Yasushi, standing nearby, let out a heavy sigh.
To have such a wonderful, capable young man so deeply in love with his daughter—he had been happy, even eager to someday discuss marriage with the Kyousuke family.
But now… everything had changed.
"It's okay, Mom. The surgery's going to be a success. Don't worry so much." Sakura gripped her mother's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
She was filled with confidence, unafraid.
Her high school life with Kyousuke hadn't even started yet.
There was no way she was going to miss out on her once-in-a-lifetime "JK" (joshi kōsei) experience.
That's why the surgery had to be a success.
She was going to get better, healthy and strong again, and then go find Kyousuke. They hadn't even named the house yet.
"Yeah!" Makoto brought her other hand over, covering her daughter's warmly.
Just then, Sakura's phone buzzed on her lap.
"It's Kyousuke~" she said, waving the phone toward her parents—not to ask for privacy, just to show them.
"Moshi moshi~~ Can it be? The big sleepyhead Kyousuke is actually up early? Don't tell me you're also out walking along the Kamogawa River?"
Her cheerful voice didn't sound at all like someone about to head into surgery.
"Haha, you're the last person who gets to call me a sleepyhead. I've woken up early way more times than you!"
"Yeah, right! I've kept track, and in third year alone, there were five days when I got up earlier than you!"
"Exactly! It's because the number is so small that you can remember it. I got up before you thirty-two times in fourth year!"
"Ha! Says the guy who's also counting!"
"You know there are thirty-two stone tiles in front of your house, and from the first floor to the landing there are thirteen steps."
"So, Miss Super Memory Sakura, do you know how many steps there are from the landing to the second floor?"
"Of course there are thirteen too!" she said confidently—though she actually had no idea. Still, she never let herself lose.
"Wrong! It's fourteen."
Laughter echoed through the phone.
"Unbelievable! I'm filing a complaint with the designer. That's so unfriendly to the visually impaired. What if someone miscounts and trips?!"
"If they were really blind, they'd be using a cane, wouldn't they?"
"Nonsense! Who would walk around tapping a cane inside their own house?"
Sakura was certain of this—she had once suspected that Kyousuke could live in his apartment completely blind.
Every single item had a fixed place. Only blind people did that, right?
Time slipped by as the two chatted.
On one end, Kyousuke's gloomy mood from his nightmare vanished without a trace.
On the other, Sakura's hope for a life after surgery grew stronger by the minute.
Watching their daughter smile so brightly, laughing and gesturing as she spoke, the Yamauchis quietly turned their heads away, unable to bear the sight.
A little while later, Sakura noticed her mother discreetly pointing to the time on her watch.
She straightened up, looked out the window in the direction of the Kyousuke home, and said:
"The cherry blossoms by the Kamogawa are absolutely beautiful. Next year, you have to come see them, Kyousuke."
As she spoke, it was as if she could already see the brilliant pink blossoms lining the riverbank.
"We should bring Shouko and the others too. Then we can secretly pick a few petals and make sakura mochi!"
"Dummy, sakura mochi is made from the leaves, not the blossoms."
"I know that! But there's no rule saying we can't add blossoms too, right? I mean, how can you call it 'sakura mochi' if there's no sakura in it? That's just false advertising!"
"You've got a point, Sakura-sama. We'll pick plenty of petals then."
"Hehehe, just don't go stealing the whole tree again, Kyousuke!"
"You're the one who asked me to!"
Though Sakura's comment seemed random, Kyousuke knew exactly what she was referring to.
"Okay, Grandma's calling me. Bye-bye, Kyousuke."
"Mm. Come back soon."
"Yup~~ And miss me like you miss sakura mochi, okay? Hehehe."
She ended the call and stared at the now-dark phone screen.
"Mom, you wouldn't believe how ridiculous Kyousuke is."
"What now?" Makoto asked.
Of course she knew.
But if her equally scatterbrained daughter was calling something "ridiculous," then it must be really over-the-top.
"When I was in second year of junior high, I was staying at Grandpa's."
"I told Kyousuke on the phone how beautiful the maple trees near Kiyomizu Temple were, and how I wished I could move them to Tokyo."
"And?"
Yasushi leaned in, curious.
He'd had the same thought before—ever since leaving Kyoto, what he missed most was the way those blazing red maples lit up the view from their old balcony.
"And? Hahaha—he actually did it! That lunatic got a maple tree from Kyoto and planted it in his new garden!"
Sakura burst out laughing.
The little tree stood right at the center of the yard, where the symbolic tree was supposed to be.
Even someone with zero gardening sense—like her—could see how out-of-place it was.
Aunt Mikiko had wondered about it too.
She once said, "And he brought that tree all the way from Kyoto by shinkansen! I thought you gave it to him, Sakura, but I guess not?"
Of course it wasn't from her, because…
"A maple tree from that grove in front of Seiryo-ji?" Yasushi asked in disbelief.
"Yep! Right there, across from Grandpa's balcony!" Sakura confirmed.
"But I thought those were protected—non-sale trees!"
"Hahaha, exactly." That's why she hadn't done it herself, though she had thought about it. But she was a good girl—no way she'd do something as outrageous as Kyousuke.
"That's insane."
The Yamauchi couple laughed aloud, but the sorrow in their hearts only deepened.
Why—why did this have to happen to their daughter?
She had done nothing wrong.
She was just about to step into the brightest, most beautiful phase of her life, with someone who loved her deeply.
If they lost her—Makoto, Yasushi, Kyousuke… their entire world would lose its color.
The doctor and nurses walked into the hospital room.
Thanks to the generous donation the Yamauchi family had made, the hospital had assigned one of their top surgeons: Yukie Minagawa, a rare and highly respected female surgeon.
They had specifically chosen this hospital over the other two nationally renowned cancer centers because of her.
When it came to pancreatic cancer, if caught in its early stages, her success rate was a perfect 100%.
As soon as she entered, Mr. and Mrs. Yamauchi quickly stood to greet her.
Dr. Minagawa returned their greeting with a warm, reassuring smile.
She took her job seriously—not just the surgery, but also the emotional well-being of her patients.
Knowing her patient was a girl who had just turned sixteen, about to begin high school, she had met with the family multiple times beforehand, hoping to ease their nerves.
But to her surprise, the girl wasn't anxious at all. In fact, she had spent most of their conversations cheering up her parents.
"The surgery will definitely be a success," she said, her voice bright and confident.
Looking at the girl lying in the bed, as radiant as the cherry blossoms she was named after, Dr. Minagawa gave her a rare promise something she wouldn't usually say before a procedure. But for this girl, she wanted to say it.
"Yes. Thank you, Dr. Minagawa."
Sakura grinned, flashing her pearly-white teeth.
Of course the surgery would be a success.
Kyousuke was still waiting for her.
————————————————————————
After she hung up the phone, Kyousuke had stayed in the courtyard, staring up at the vibrant maple tree.
He'd already made up his mind: once all the leaves turned yellow, he would knock them down all at once.
He used to think it was cruel—stripping the tree for the sake of easy cleanup—but not anymore.
Now, he wanted every part of his home to feel alive. That's why he'd abandoned the idea of a dry rock garden.
Wabi-sabi and quiet decay? Forget that. He didn't want stillness. He wanted life.
————————————————————————
At 5 PM, Dr. Yukie Minagawa stepped out of the operating room, her face calm and glowing with relief as she addressed the Yamauchi couple.
The surgery had gone perfectly.
The cancerous tissue had been cleanly removed, and based on what she'd seen, the prognosis was excellent.
Sakura wouldn't miss a single moment of her high school life.
Yamauchi Makoto didn't even manage a word of thanks.
Tears welled up and spilled over as she dropped to her knees on the floor.
It was over.
It really was going to be okay.
That evening, Sakura slowly woke from the anesthesia.
"Hah... hah... See? Told you the surgery would be a success."
She managed a weak smile toward her parents at her bedside.
She wanted to crack a joke or offer one of her oddball theories, but her strength failed her.
"Mom, can you send the message to Kyousuke for me?"
Yamauchi Makoto nodded, picking up her daughter's phone and hitting "send" on the message Sakura had written ahead of time.
'Ding!'
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"Good night!" — Yamauchi Sakura
————————————————————————
Kyousuke, reading a novel in the living room, immediately picked up his phone.
Sakura was smiling wide, flashing a cheesy peace sign.
He chuckled softly and sent back:
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"Good night."
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