The suggestion came tentatively, wrapped in shyness and delivered through text messages late one evening.
Sakura-san: Um... since the project is over... and we're... you know... now... Me: Yeah? Sakura-san: Do you maybe want to... go on a date? A real one? Not for the club? Me: ๐ณ Me: Yes! Definitely! Sakura-san: ๐ Okay! Where would you want to go?
Deciding on our first real date felt like a monumental task. No longer bound by the necessity of promoting the club or appearing a certain way for the public, we were free to just... be us. But who were 'us' outside the context of the clubroom and the contest?
After much awkward texting and a few shy conversations at school (careful to seem natural to others, but filled with private meaning for us), we settled on a simple plan: a Saturday afternoon at a quiet cafe near the park where we had walked that one awkward-but-then-not-so-awkward day. It felt like a nice, subtle callback to a moment where the lines had first started to blur.
Saturday arrived, bringing with it a fresh wave of nerves. This was it. Our first date. No fake agenda, just... getting to know each other as a real couple.
I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to pick out what to wear. Kenji offered questionable fashion advice involving too much hair gel. Aiko, sensing my anxiety, simply gave me a gentle, encouraging smile and told me to just "be yourself, Hiroshi." Easier said than done when "myself" felt incredibly average compared to "Sakura Yamato's boyfriend."
I arrived at the cafe a few minutes early, my heart pounding. I chose a table by the window, watching the people in the park outside.
And then she arrived.
Sakura-san, not in her school uniform, but in casual clothes. She wore a simple dress and a light cardigan, and her hair was styled loosely. She looked... different. More relaxed, more approachable, but still undeniably radiant. Seeing her outside the school context, just... being, was another layer of the 'real' Sakura I was getting to discover.
She smiled when she saw me, a genuine, soft smile that immediately calmed my nerves a little.
"Tanaka-kun," she said softly, sliding into the seat opposite me.
"Yamato-san," I replied, feeling myself blush. "You look... nice." Nailed it again, Hiroshi. groundbreaking conversation.
She chuckled softly. "Thank you, Tanaka-kun. You too."
We ordered drinks โ I got a regular coffee, she got some fancy fruit tea. The initial conversation was a little stilted, filled with polite questions about our weekends and the weather. It was weirdly more awkward than planning the fake relationship had been. That had a clear purpose. This just had... us.
But then, the conversation flowed more easily. We talked about the contest win again, the reactions from our families (my parents were bewildered but proud, hers were apparently pleased the club was saved, she didn't go into detail about their reaction to us), and the plans for the club using the new funding.
Then, we moved onto other things. Our hobbies (beyond the club). Our favourite foods. Movies (not just classics). Books (not just for the project). I learned that Sakura-san secretly loved cheesy action movies and had a terrible fear of spiders. She seemed genuinely interested in my slightly mundane hobbies and my opinions on things unrelated to school or the project.
It was comfortable. It was easy. It was just... talking. But every shared smile, every moment of laughter, every time our eyes met felt significant. It felt like we were building something new, layer by layer, completely separate from the foundation of the fake relationship.
We talked about Akane-san's reaction to our win. Sakura-san sighed. "She was... surprised, I think. And maybe a little disappointed her club didn't win. But she was happy the funding is going to a good place. We've been friends for a long time. She's very protective."
"She confronted me," I admitted, telling her about the hallway incident with the guys and Akane-san's intervention.
Sakura-san's expression turned serious. "She did? I'm sorry about that, Tanaka-kun. She can be... intense. Especially when she thinks someone might hurt me."
"She didn't seem to think I was hurting you this time," I said. "Just... watching. And making sure I knew what I was getting into with the attention."
Sakura-san smiled faintly. "She sees things. Akane has a good heart, but sometimes she expresses her concern... forcefully." She reached across the table and briefly covered my hand with hers. It was a simple gesture, but incredibly warm and reassuring. "Thank you for handling it, Tanaka-kun. And for not letting it scare you away."
Her hand on mine felt incredibly real.
We spent a couple of hours at the cafe, the conversation flowing easily. Time seemed to fly by. It was nothing dramatic, nothing that would make headlines. It was just... a date. Our first date. And it was wonderful.
As the afternoon drew to a close, we walked together through the park, the same park we'd walked through when Aiko and Kenji had found us. It was quieter now.
We stopped by the pond, near where Sakura-san had mentioned the small shrine and the legend about wishes.
"The shrine," I said softly, looking towards it. "The one where you make a wish about something you truly desire."
Sakura-san looked at me, her expression soft. "Yes."
"Did your wish ever come true, Yamato-san?" I asked, remembering her wistful tone that day.
She smiled, a private, knowing smile. She didn't answer directly. She just held my gaze, her eyes shining in the late afternoon sun.
In that moment, standing by the pond, with the quiet promise of a real relationship blooming between us, I felt like I already knew the answer.
The most unexpected wish of all had, perhaps, just started to come true.
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