It was the captivating circumstances that made him see it. The beauty that comes but once a year. Caught in the whirlwind of the cherry blossom petals, she stood there. He could distinctly see her smiling sweetly at them, breathing in the fresh spring breeze.

He didn’t think so much about it, just appreciated the traditional beauty. All in all, Sanada Genichirou was a traditional person. Cherry blossoms and spring, that’s really traditional, right?

That’s why he was surprised, when she showed up a few weeks later during lunch, one of the few moments he had to himself without being bothered by his fellow teammates. He usually ate his lunch alone in the classroom, without any interruptions. Even the Trickster knew that he did not want to be disturbed during lunch.

“You’re Sanada-san, right?” she asked with a cheerful grin on her face.

“Yes. What is it?”

“I… I…” Suddenly she looked down, as if she was unsure of what to say. Then the teenager looked up at him, and her clear, green eyes were solemn.

“I like you.”

Inwardly Sanada groaned, noting that this was the umpteenth time he had been confessed to. He wasn’t all that interested in girls, but they were too interested in him.

Perhaps she sensed his stern and unrelenting gaze, for her head tilted, and the next few words that came from her mouth surprised him a great deal.

“I-I’m going away really soon, and I didn’t want to leave without ever having told my feelings to you. I didn’t want to leave without giving it a shot, at least.” she said, her eyes brimming with something akin to sadness. However, he could also sense a strong will behind it, for each word left her mouth resolutely.

“Please!” she begged, pressing against his chest, “Go out with me, just for a little while!”

“Eh…” Sanada decidedly looked uncomfortable, as he racked his brain for an answer. He knew he had fangirls, but most of them kept some distance from him since they knew that he preferred it that way. This one was a novelty, even though her desperate behavior was far from the beauty he had glimpsed earlier.

Suddenly the girl broke into a grin, letting go of him. “You believed me! I was just kidding!” Mirth crept into her voice, and the air exploded with laughter.

“…a joke?”

“ Well, don’t take it all so seriously. My feelings for you are real, though. Let’s just start off as friends.”

“…friends?”

“Yup. My name is , don’t forget that. You can call me if you want to. See you later!” exclaimed, skipping away from the table where he was seated and into the hallway.

The very next day she returned.

“Hello, Sanada-kun!” beamed. “I’ll sit here and eat lunch too, if that’s okay with you.”

He was silent, and stunned at this uninvited intruder. took his silence as consent to sit down, and she continued.

“Sorry about yesterday. I was just kidding, you know. Wanted to see your reaction.”

“Oh.”

“Do you always eat alone, Sanada?” inquired curiously.

“I usually do not want to be disturbed, -san.” he replied as he opened his lunchbox. She eyed him curiously and followed suit.

“But you know,” said, between the bites of her celery stalks, “You’re really popular among all the girls. If you’d just be a bit more social you’d be a great hit. Oh, and please, do call me .”

“I leave that for other people,” Sanada said, though he was surprised at how carefree was. Seeing a hint of a pout on her face, he added, “-san.” in order to humor her.

“See, that wasn’t so bad!” grinned. “If you just keep working on that, you won’t end up like moldy old fungi!”

“Old fungi?” The words led his thoughts to a green, slimy, rotten tennis ball-like thing. noticed a small smile establishing itself in the corner in those otherwise stern lips. She felt a tinge of success. She had gotten him to be a little bit more cheerful!

* * *

After making sure that everything was in its proper place in the facility, he left the tennis courts and was stopped by a familiar figure.

“Good afternoon, Sanada!” cried out as she impulsively ran towards him.

“Good afternoon, -san.” he replied politely. Sanada could hear Niou snickering and Renji flipping open his notebook rapidly.

“I’ll escort you.” said, grabbing his arm and relieving him of the company that he was starting to find annoying. They walked at a brisk pace, and as he exited the campus of Rikkai Dai, he cast stole a glance at his confused teammates. Renji was frantically scribbling down stuff, as Niou loudly discussed the incident that just had occurred with Yagyuu and Akaya. Marui just seemed faintly amused, though, blowing on his bubble gum. He could hear Jackal muttering something about “Sanada-fukubuchou has a life too, you guys.”

They left the school, and Sanada tried to avoid all the stares they were being given. It was when he looked at the girl beside him that he realized their arms were still entangled.

“Hey, how about going to a karaoke bar?” asked.

“Karaoke bar?”

“You’ve never been to one?” asked incredulously. “Then you’ve got to try it!”

A mechanical whirr resulted in tugging his arm harder. “Let’s hurry and catch the number 8 bus!” She started a sprint towards the bus stop, trying to catch the bus that was already whizzing past them.

watched in wide-eyed amazement as her companion started to run, and overtook her. As he passed her, she unconsciously let go a little bit. She could see the athlete in him, trying his best to catch up to the bus. As the distance between them widened, her grip on him loosened.

Just as thought she was about to let go, she felt Sanada hold onto her and giving her a gentle jerk in the right direction. He was truly a kind person beneath that cold exterior, just as she had suspected.

She gave him a little smile, and they made it to the bus as the last passengers.

* * *

After that incident, they did a lot of little things. would always wait for him after school, and whisk him away to do one exciting thing or another. After that afternoon at the karaoke bar, in which proclaimed that it was scandalous not to know whom Gakuto the great idol was, they had done a lot of other things.

It was who walked around the park in where he had seen the tremendously beautiful moment, telling him all about the plants and the flowers. For such a chatty and cheerful girl, it was surprising to see her describe each of the floras as a dear friend with a dreamy voice.

Sanada figured that was more complicated than she appeared to be. Occasionally he could see her being serious, if he observed intently. Most of the time was bubbly and always had a lot to talk about. Even though she was often the one to initiate the contact, he found it easy to keep up with her, and didn’t feel that it was troublesome beyond the first few meetings.

In fact, she was becoming rather close to him. was probably the closest person he had been to ever since Yukimura-buchou had been hospitalized with restriction on visitors.

* * *

“You!”, a blonde third-year yelled at .

“What is it?” asked, stopping in her tracks. She saw the sour expression on the third-year’s face, and many similar ones around her.

“You’re , right?” the blonde asked. After a few seconds of silence, realized that she was talking to Nagasaki who belonged to Umeda-sensei’s class.

“Yes. And you’re Nagasaki-san, right?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Nagasaki said coldly as she walked up to . Instinctively the girl took a step back, and found herself trapped between Nagasaki and the wall. “We’re from Sanada-sama’s fanclub,” Nagasaki announced. “You hang around Sanada-sama too much.”

blinked. “But it’s a free world… He has the right to choose what he wants to do.”

“Don’t destroy Sanada-sama’s image!” the blonde girl snapped, as her followers gathered around her. They all eyed menacingly.

“Sanada-sama! His handsome features, silent disposition, athletic build…” the girl beside Nagasaki started, her eyes shining fervently.

“Look, but don’t touch! We are all reverential to his attitude of loneliness… But now you’re ruining his entire image!” Nagasaki carried on. “Don’t you see? Get away from him, or you’ll suffer the consequences…”

“I have the right to choose who I want to spend time with.” replied quietly. Mentally she shook her head. Fangirls…

“You…!” Nagasaki cried, raising her left hand.

SLAP!

felt the sharp sting of pain on her right cheek, and she quickly raised her arms to make a semblance to protect herself. The girls all jumped on her at once, and endured the ugly torrent of words that came out of their mouths as well as the pain they dished out.

She felt the light flicker and disappear from her view, as open palms with sharp, metal rings hit her again and again.

No, not yet! I can’t! I still have to…

And then it stopped. When dared to open her eyes again, she saw an empty hallway. With her freshly ironed uniform in shambles and every inch of her body filled with hurt, drew a quavering breath, lifted her head bravely. A few tears rolled down her face, partially because of pity, but also relief.

They were gone now. She could cry, without those awful girls watching and perhaps doing something even more awful. hugged herself and wept, the tears interspersed with occasional coughs and hiccups.

* * *

“You’re a bit late.” Sanada commented as sat down on the bench that they had almost labeled as their own after visiting the park so many days.

“Some things happened on the way.” said. Judging by the way she looked, Sanada figured that it hadn’t been anything good. He also realized that she was wearing a soft cashmere jumper and a long, flowery skirt, exactly the same clothes as when he first saw her.

“What kind of things?” he asked. Their hands touched, unnoticed by . Sanada raised the pale, fine hands and eyed the bruises on it. “What happened?”

“It’s not that big of a deal…” started to say, but gasped in pain as he squeezed her hand softly.

“Really?” he eyed her solemnly. “Let’s see.”

Carefully Sanada peeled away the jumper from her arm, and was surprised to find more scratches and bruises. Looking carefully at some of the skin that had rubbed raw, he noticed flecks of a familiar nail polish. Those pairs of hands had waved in front of him every so often, asking for a signature and sometimes attempting to grasp him.

“It was Nagasaki-san, wasn’t it?” When didn’t answer, Sanada realized what it must’ve been. “The so-called fanclub they had for me… They were bullying you.”

“It’s okay,” said quietly. “I kind of understand how they feel. To want to keep someone precious to yourself… Sometimes I feel like that too.”

She gave a weak smile to Sanada, who was looking very concerned.

“B-because I…” faltered, but took a deep breath and attempted again. “I l-love…”

The last word was choked by a string of coughs that emitted from ’s throat. She doubled over, putting her free hand over her mouth.

“Are you all right?” Sanada asked, his usually emotionless eyes full with worry. He touched her gingerly, not even realizing that he was doing so.

A trickle of something red ran down ’s chin, followed by many more tiny streams of the same substance.

“Blood!”, the tennis player cried, as he saw remove her hand away, clutching to her throat. The crimson liquid trickled down her clothes.

“It would seem that it’s time for me to go away…” whispered.

“What do you mean?” Sanada asked. “Ambulance!” he called in a panicked voice. Coldness invaded his spine, and it reminded him fearfully of the day when Yukimura-buchou had lost consciousness and was rushed to the hospital.

Suddenly Sanada remembered. The exact same words that had spoken upon their first meeting. “Going away… you mean, passing away?” he asked. “You weren’t just joking.”

“Sorry, I lied.” confessed. “But I wanted to take a chance, tell you about my feelings and live out the limited days I had left. Perhaps I was selfish, in approaching you like that…”

“Before my death, I wanted to do things, tell you… that I really like you.” ’s usually clear and chipper voice was growing raspy, as she fought to breathe. “I love you, that’s what I’d like you to know. Sorry for being such a troublesome girl. I’m grateful…”

COUGH!

“…grateful for everything. I’m so glad I met you, and got to know you…” ’s voice died as she passed out on the bench.

The darkness was suffocating. It rippled and crushed her, as felt the last remains of pain lace through her body. Was this how death felt like? An eternal clockwork of pain, repeated over and over again?

So many memories flashed through her, as waited for what would happen next. The darkness had been spreading, and it was engulfing her. Reminiscing about the precious moments she had spent with that very special person, couldn’t help but to feel some small satisfaction at that. She had been able to tell him those feelings that had been inside of her for a year, and been able to cross their paths, if only for a slice of the generous lifetime they had been given.

But at least it was something. Something of a start. Perhaps they would meet again in another life…?

Suddenly bright light shone all around her, and the beloved face she had come to view closely disappeared. Instead were two familiar figures in front of her, holding their arms out lovingly.

“Mom! Dad!” cried, running towards them. “I have so much to tell you…” she murmured as tears fell from her ethereal face.

* * *

“!” the vice captain grasped her wrist. “Don’t give up! The medics will be coming!”

But was beyond mere words, as she lay there, slumped on the green bench. As the ambulance arrived, Sanada could feel the heat receding from her body. They quickly rushed her to the emergency unit, but to no avail. The defibrillators could not revive her, and there was nothing the doctors could do for her anymore.

When the ’s adoptive father Kanzaki Ken arrived, had already been announced as dead.

* * *

It had been a week since the funeral, and three weeks since he had first met . The ten days he had spent with her were sweet, and her passing away still shocked him deeply.

He had heard the last words had uttered, and they had been a bittersweet salvation. The only thing Sanada regretted, and still blames himself for, was the fact that he did not give her a reply. He had been overwhelmed at the moment, and his feelings were still in a blur.

If only he had taken the chance to tell her his feelings. Whatever they were. Now grief marred them all, especially the ones that the first memory had evoked.

Sanada placed a branch from the cherry tree on the bench where she had left this world. The pink cherry blossoms were in full bloom, emitting a sweet scent of promise. Like she had.

“Goodbye, .” Sanada whispered, as he left the place quietly. He knew that she loved him, but also that love was boundless and not intended to tie one down. He knew that would’ve wanted him to move on, not to wallow endlessly in a cold pool known as darkness like the one he had experienced.

He sighed, putting the memories away. If he suddenly woke up at midnight, and he did, she was the first thing that came to mind.

One memory refused to be brushed off into that corner so easily. It jumped out at him.

A girl with long, straight black hair was smiling at the cherry tree in delight, standing amongst the dance of the cherry blossom petals. She inhaled the moving air, enjoying every part of the wonderful picture he had viewed.

Beauty comes but once a year, he had thought when he saw her. He had only known for so little time, yet he felt so very connected to her, especially when he looked at the tree.

Sanada shook his head. He had been wrong on that account. He should’ve grasped the chance to catch it before it slipped away.

Because… True beauty comes but once a lifetime.

Owari.

© Sia-chama