Chapter 4
Continuing from the last time, Hikaru and
Sakura walked side by side towards the school.
“By the way, Hikaru.”
“What is it, Sakura.”
“Do you remember...the promise we made long
ago…?”
Sakura asked him timidly.
Let us explain.
Hikaru and Sakura were childhood friends, and
the most typical kind at that.
Which part of it was typical, you ask?
To give you an example, please remember what
Sakura said.
“I
bathed all the time with Hikaru in our childhood, so I’d like you to save me
from that now that I’m in high school!”
...She did say that without hesitation, but
that just about says enough regarding the kind of childhood friend she was.
They were the same age, and had been
neighbours since the day they were born.
They were together all the time; going to cram
school, eating meals, even lying in the futon.
Their relationship was well recognized by
their parents.
Rather than a typical relationship, it went so
far it could be called cliche.
And it wouldn’t take a genius to guess the
kind of promise ones like them would make.
“Of course I do.”
Hikaru replied with a smile.
“R-Really?” Sakura looked relieved, but at the
same time, acted defensive and continued, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not urging
you to do it or anything, okay? And well, it’s just a promise from our
childhood, so we could leave it at that even if you don’t remember it.”
“Hmm. Is that so.”
“And also, since those sisters appeared–all of
them cute too–and started living together with you, I felt a sense of crisis,
and you doing lewd things with them all the time piled on top of that and I
brought up that old promise - that’s definitely not what happened, okay?”
“It’s okay, Sakura.”
Hikaru gave her a nod to help her calm down.
“I am someone who keeps his promises, okay?
Even if is a thing from the past.”
“T-That’s true. You are pretty frivolous all
the time, but you have some surprisingly manly sides, too… I mean, I’m not
really obsessed about our old promise or anything! I just suddenly remembered
it so I just brought it up, that’s all!”
Sakura hurriedly made excuses.
Hikaru, on the other hand, replied in
confidence.
“Speaking of our promise, if Sakamoto hit a
homerun in the next match of the Yomiuri Giants, I’d treat you to some ramen,
that’s what it was right?”
“Like hell it was! Why did you have to go and
bring that up now?!”
“Ah, right, my bad. It was the large serving
of ramen and gyoza dumplings with half fried rice set, right?”
“Just leave the matter of treating me aside
already! And the large serving of ramen and gyoza dumplings and a half fried
rice set is something only sports-minded guys eat, isn’t it?! Like I could ever
eat that much! And wasn’t that a promise we just recently made?! I’m talking
about the one we made before, like, way before that!”
“Then are you talking about that? When I
promised I would be giving you Matsusaka beefsteak set as the year-end gift if
you could learn speaking before I did?”
“What are you even talking about?! Actually,
when did that even happen?! Is that something from when we were babies?! And
that’s not something we exchanged ourselves, is it!? And don’t you think
there’s practically zero change of me bringing that up in this situation?!”
Sakura retorted with all her strength,
meanwhile, Hikaru analyzed her in a calm manner.
“Hey, Sakura.”
“W-What? What’s with that serious expression
all of a sudden?”
“Aren’t your retorts lacking the usual
sharpness? Are you feeling tired by chance?”
“And whose fault is that?! I’m busy retorting
to those sex-crazed sisters as is, so my retorting energy is running on low!
And if I have to start playing straight man with you too they’re going to run
out in the blink of an eye!”
“I see, yeah. I can keenly feel that you are
trying to forcefully overcome that somehow.”
“Whose. Fault. Do. You. Think. That. Is!?”
Sakura started to strangle him.
Ahaha,
stop it that hurts, but Hikaru dealt with it quite
lightly.
“Well, leaving the jokes aside,” while
escaping from Sakura’s murderous neck bind, Neck Hanging Tree, Hikaru said, “By
the old promise, you are talking about our promise to get married, right?”
“Urk!”
Albeit Sakura acted in a self-assured manner,
she was quite weak when she was on the attacking end.
All her vigour from before disappeared to who
knows where at his blunt question.
“T-That’s right. I’m talking about the
marriage promise.”
She said with a snort while pretending to
brush her hair, and then hurriedly resumed her halted walk on the school route.
“...I wasn’t being serious, okay?”
“Hm? About what?”
“I’m not going to make demands under the
pretext of that old promise, is what I’m saying. That’s how it is, after all,
isn’t it? It’s just something from our childhood.”
This was that “cliche” Promise.
Something that childhood friends that were
close tended to exchange at one point in their childhood, and Sakura and Hikaru
were no exceptions to this.
“Anyway! It’s fine as long as you remember
it!”
Sakura started to get desperate bit by bit;
her face got red and she tried to dodge the topic.
“That’s all I wanted to hear. I just wanted to
confirm it. I’m not worried that you might be stolen by those sisters, or
anything like that, and like I mentioned before, I’m not going to make a fuss
about something from the past. So, just forget it. Or rather, please forget it.
...Oh god, what
was I trying to do by bringing that up? I totally look like a bothersome woman
now. I’m such an idiot.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Hikaru on the other hand looked puzzled.
“Hey, Sakura.”
“What.”
“I said this earlier, but I’m someone who
keeps his promises.”
“Well...that’s right. You are indeed manly in
the most unexpected ways.”
“So yeah, let’s get married.”
“...Hah?”
This was a route to school; A very ordinary
morning in an unremarkable residential area.
An office worker was hurrying along in his
suit, a granny was cleaning up the road which passed in front of the houses,
and there was a young lady without her makeup, who seemed to be en-route home
from a convenience store.
“...waitwaitwaitwait!”
Sakura stood there looking blankly, but
suddenly her expression changed into a faint smile.
“Impossible. That’s just not realistic. No
no…”
“What do you mean by impossible.”
“I mean, you just said to get married. That’s
basically a proposal, isn’t it. But thinking about it normally, I probably just
misheard it, right? Am I still half-asleep, I wonder?”
“You are probably not. I mean, I did say to
get married.”
“...waitwaitwaitwait!”
Sakura further hastened her pace and hurried
ahead.
However, Hikaru closely kept up with her
speed.
“No wait. Really. I’m lost here.”
“I think it’s quite simple, though? I’m just
saying to get married.”
“Wait wait! That’s definitely not something
you ‘just’ say, is it? Do you even understand what that means? We are talking
about a marriage here, you know? It’s something where you submit the marriage
registration, enter your name in the family register, change your surname, hold
the ceremony and greet each other's parents, you know? Do you really understand
that?”
“How rude, of course I do. I’m not that much
of an idiot.”
“Actually, is that something you say at a
place like this? It’s just a normal morning and a situation that happens
everyday? When it comes to this kinda thing, you would usually, you know, make
preparations beforehand or set the right mood for it and do it after that,
wouldn’t you? Isn’t that how one usually proposes?”
“But wasn’t it you who suddenly brought up the
old promise, Sakura?”
“Ugh… Well, yea! Yeah, but still! Or rather,
it’s just impossible if you think about it! We are just 16 years old yet! We
can’t even marry!”
“Even if it’s legally impossible we can still
do it with our feelings, right? We could just leave it as an engagement for
now, and marry when we legally can. Simply confirming each other’s feelings
would be enough now. So then, Sakura, is it a yes or a no?”
“...Wait wait! waitwaitwaitwait!”
Her face became redder by the second and she
continuously shook her head as she kept her quick pace.
“Wait a minute. Halt. Warte eine Minute. Don’t
drag me into your own pace. It really troubles me if you bring this kind of
thing up so suddenly.”
“Sorry. But well, I thought this was the best
timing for it.”
“...I’m not sure what kind of world you live
in if you thought this was the best timing for it…”
“So? Is it a yes or a no?”
“No, wait. This is just weird. This whole
situation is just weird.”
“A boy is proposing to a girl and is waiting
for the answer. I think it’s quite a common situation you can find just about
anywhere in the world.”
“That general theory of yours is a bit too out
of the norm at least for the present world… Or well, you know what. Let me just
ask this just in case.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Hikaru, uhh, how should I say this… D-Do you
really...like me?”
“How many years do you think we’ve been
together,” Hikaru made a rare exasperated expression and continued, “Of course
I do. I like you, Sakura.”
“Ahwa!”
Sakura became at loss for words, and leaked a
strange voice.
“I naturally mean that I like you as a woman,
okay? It’s not a simple respect towards you as a person, nor is it intimacy as
a friend.”
“Uh...Ah... Yes. Thank you. Okay.”
“Do you not like me, Sakura? You know, I’m not
an idiot here, so I think you do like me as a man.”
“Ahwa!”
She was overwhelmed. However Hikaru wasn’t
actually being pushy; he was being his usual carefree self even now and was
calmly talking to her, just like how he usually would. There wasn’t a hint of
pushiness or coerciveness. But even so, Sakura was in a one-sided defensive
battle.
“H-Hey,” Sakura kept fastening her pace and
continued, “You know, this is the first time I heard about that.”
“You mean about me liking you?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“I mean, you’d usually notice that. We’ve been
together for sixteen whole years already, and we live next to each other and go
to school together, and you come storming with a yell in my bath if something
happens. That’s the kind of relationship we have. If I didn’t like you, it
wouldn’t continue like that.”
“Eh, ah, yes. Kinda sorry about that.”
“And to begin with, I did actually promise to
marry you. Even if we were kids then, I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t
like you, would I?”
“Yes. I can’t say anything to that. You’re
right.”
“So there you have it. Now I’d be grateful if
you let me hear your answer.”
“Waitwaitwaitwait.”
She turned beet red.
“Whatever’s the case, choose a better timing,
will you? You need to create a proper mood for this stuff, right? Like,
creating a situation where you’d be getting a definite yes.”
“...Hmm, I see. I was certain that the best
timing would be when you brought up this topic. I was under the impression that
I’d get a definite yes since both of us liked each other, and I was basing it
on the promise, too.”
“Ugh. Sorry about this.”
“My bad, Sakura. It seems I put you on the
spot.”
“No, not at all! I’m really happy! My mind is
simply in a mess right now! My heart was simply not prepared for it!
Sakura desperately corrected herself, while
Hikaru kept nodding.
“I mean, look. A lot has happened lately,
right? Kako-neesan, Ima-san and Mirai-chan came to my house and my life changed
in a big way.”
“...Well, you have a point there. No one would
expect that the actual goddesses would get involved into their life… Even now,
I sometimes suddenly realise just how crazy this all is…”
“I love you, Sakura, and you love me. It was
something obvious to me, but unless I said it out loud, you wouldn't realise
it. So I wanted make it clear.”
“I wasn’t as confident as you, you know… It’s
like, you sometimes look so...I don’t know...really mature and collected.”
“Okay, then let’s do this.”
Hikaru stopped, and Sakura followed the suit.
And then, he said in a formal manner.
“Before we get married, would you please date
me as a lover?”
“Ah, yes. Gladly!”
And thus, the situation concluded as such.
Incidentally,
“...Actually,
why didn’t you just make that confession in the first place?!”
It was five seconds after they formally
started dating when Sakura made such retort.
And incidentally again,
“Actually, Hikaru.”
“What is it, Sakura.”
“If you like me as you say, then I wish you’d
stop doing lewd stuff with the goddesses.”
“Well, let’s just leave that aside.”
“It seems like we need to have a proper talk…”
The future for these two didn’t look so
promising, after all.
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