Chapter 530: Spin-off: Horizon 4_2
Uesugi Sakura listened to all this, still unsure of what to say.
But as he listened to Mr. Imanishi describe her expressions, her actions, a feeling called anticipation suddenly arose in his heart.
He seemed to have found traces, proof of her existence.
...
"Mr. Imanishi said you were naughty at school, what’s that about?"
"I wasn’t naughty!"
"It’s about you hiding the books."
Aei pouted, complaining a bit: "It’s their fault, they stepped on the little bugs I was raising."
In elementary school, there’s often an activity for kids to raise plants or small insects.
This could be considered a semester’s hard work; those two boys stepping on the bugs was like uprooting the plants, so no wonder Aei disliked them.
"Is your brother going to smack your butt when you get back home?"
"No, what you did was right."
"That’s good~"
Next, they went to Chiaei’s middle school department.
Compared to Aei, there was no need to worry about Chiaei, the classic model student.
The sisters, when together, would occasionally bicker.
Chiaei would give way to her younger sister, always taking the smaller portion when they ate.
Although Aei wouldn’t say thank you directly, she often ran to Uesugi Sakura, telling him to praise Chiaei more because her sister loved being complimented.
Having them live with him, life didn’t seem so alone.
He had promised her to continue moving forward properly in the future.
...
The soft sunset was brushed with a hint of purple.
Uesugi Sakura had gotten used to coming to the overpass at this time, taking a deep breath and casting his gaze towards the golden sunset over the city skyline.
Perhaps it was just that this rain-washed dusk was too reminiscent, making him think of the days when he held her, sitting by the bedside and looking out of the window together.
That was her sixth month of pregnancy, the eighth month after marriage.
Though not the direct cause, it marked the beginning.
Uesugi Sakura said worriedly to her, "Is your belly too big?"
Hanamaru Hanabi had always been frail, and giving birth, a difficulty that had plagued humans for millions of years, had prompted Uesugi Sakura to suggest a cesarean section for her. Although it would leave a scar on her belly... but they later discovered she was allergic to anesthesia.
Having a child at 18, Uesugi Sakura knew he had done wrong.
Hearing his question, Hanamaru Hanabi met his gaze with the clear, gentle, and loving eyes unique to a wife.
"It’s fine... you’re overthinking, Sakura-kun..."
"What if something happens?"
"Sakura-kun, don’t worry, isn’t Hanabi very healthy?" Hanamaru Hanabi smiled brilliantly.
In contrast to Hanamaru Hanabi’s calmness, Uesugi Sakura seemed rather to have developed pregnancy anxiety syndrome.
In that case, more than anything, he wished he could bear the child in her place.
Every time he heard the screams from pregnant women in the hospital, Uesugi Sakura couldn’t help but tighten his heart, imagining Hanabi going through the same.
"But..."
Hanamaru Hanabi sat on the edge of the bed with her big belly, supported by a pillow.
She pulled his hand over to her firm belly.
It was the room that was nurturing life, filled with love and warmth as his palm lay upon it.
"Doesn’t Sakura-kun like Hanabi’s belly...? You can touch it more now..." she said gently.
Then, she took his hand, guiding it softly over her round belly.
"This is Daddy’s hand, oh."
Her sweet smile and voice enveloped the entire room in an atmosphere of sweetness.
Uesugi Sakura wanted to cherish all this tenderly.
"Little Hanabi is going to become a mom."
"Mm... about to be a mom..."
Uesugi Sakura looked at her cute profile in the sunlight:
"Doesn’t it feel like I confessed to you just yesterday?"
"Mm, Hanabi feels happy every time I think about it."
"Yes, back then, still so childish, like a little kid... in the blink of an eye, about to become a mom..."
"Sakura-kun... have you ever regretted it...?"
"What are you talking about regrets now, when there’s barely enough time to cherish it!" Uesugi Sakura smiled at her tender little face, then touched her belly and said, "It’s just that sometimes I really miss it; I think, if only I could have treated you a little better before we got married."
"Sakura-kun has always treated Hanabi well."
"I used to bully you all the time."
"And that... that can’t count as bullying..." Hanamaru Hanabi’s voice seemed to remind him.
Uesugi Sakura laughed and said, "But didn’t Hanabi often shout ’hate, hate,’ ’bad Sakura-kun, bad Sakura-kun’? Are all those just lies?"
Hanamaru Hanabi, however, whispered in dissatisfaction at this point: "Sakura-kun is bad."
The gentle reprimand became ingrained in his mind.
Uesugi Sakura looked at her, and she looked back at him; their gazes met, and they exchanged a knowing smile.
The sun was about to set, yet it still warmed the room.
"Sakura-kun is going to be a dad. You can’t be so bad in the future."
Uesugi Sakura placed a hand gently on her belly, leaning his head closer: "Didn’t Hanabi just say that it didn’t count as bullying?"
"Bullying is bullying, and bad is bad!"
As soon as she raised her hand, Uesugi Sakura noticed her brows suddenly furrow, and her hand hurriedly went to her belly.
"Did the baby kick you?"
"Mm..."
"Really naughty, I’ll see how to deal with the little one when she comes out."
"Sakura-kun can’t hit him! Besides... it’s still unknown if it’s a boy or girl."
"Ah, how sad, freshly married husbands get abandoned because of a baby... What’s more important, the baby or the husband, pick one, Hanabi."
"Both are important..."
"That’s not acceptable, the child or me, you have to choose one."
"I can’t choose..."
Uesugi Sakura, of course, knew he was being unreasonable, but he just wanted to tease Hanabi, to make her smile more.
Pregnancy was exhausting.
Unable to sleep at night, always being cautious about the belly; even going to the bathroom became a challenge.
That night, sleeping on the futon under the bed, Uesugi Sakura heard Hanamaru Hanabi suddenly cry out in belly pain.
He immediately awoke and rushed to her side to ask:
"Does it hurt a lot?"
"Mm..." Her forehead was sweating profusely, brows deeply furrowed.
Uesugi Sakura almost immediately picked her up, went downstairs, and drove to the hospital.
"Sakura-kun..."
She seemed in more and more pain, and Uesugi Sakura anxiously turned the steering wheel while navigating through the traffic, wishing every minute and second to hurry up.
Faster, faster, even faster.
But how could the roads in Tokyo be so smooth? The cars got stuck halfway.
Looking at the dark crowd of vehicles ahead, Uesugi Sakura had no choice but to abandon the car halfway and carry her back.
Breathing heavily, sweating, exhausted, he gritted his teeth through it all, running out of this street, until finally encountering a taxi. He quickly shouted to stop it, laid Hanabi down in the back seat on his lap, and asked the driver to take a slightly longer route to the hospital.
"It’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay."
The city’s hustle and bustle roared past the window, as Uesugi Sakura held her pained face in his arms, softly repeating these words.
He was so scared, so scared.
pm.
Uesugi Sakura waited anxiously outside the examination room.
When the doctor came out, his heart was in his throat, and he was incredibly nervous.
"Is she... is she okay?"
Thankfully, it was a false alarm.
But from that day on, she grew weaker and weaker...
Uesugi Sakura still remembered that day.
The rain fell, the wind blew, candlelight flickered dimly, and everyone was silent.
Cold winds blew in from outside, and the candles flickered with blue flames, illuminating her photograph’s brilliant smile.
No longer remembering how much time had passed, every time he thought of her weak voice calling him "Sakura-kun," his eyes couldn’t help but fill with tears, flowing freely down his face.
...
On the overpass, Uesugi Sakura held his head, trying not to think of these things.
But things always go the opposite way.
The more he didn’t want them, the more vivid they became.
He looked up at the elusive evening glow in the sky, its red brilliance seemed to cover the entire city of Tokyo.
The wind blew with a subtle autumn coolness.
Uesugi Sakura leaned his elbow on the guardrail of the overpass, put on his earphones, and tapped the recording on his phone.
Soon, a weak, soft, and tender young girl’s voice came through the earphones:
"Sakura-kun... Hanabi is here... you can listen to this when you miss Hanabi."
The recorded voice of Hanamaru Hanabi laughed, and her face was reflected in the same glow as this moment.
Uesugi Sakura remembered the scene from that day, the mountain sunlight flickering across her face, with the swaying green leaves overlapping her smiling face.
After she said those words, she turned around laughing, her white dress twirling.
She lightly stepped on the stones, quickening her pace down the trail along the stream.
...
"Sakura-kun... Hanabi is here... you can listen to this when you miss Hanabi."
The recording repeated in his ears, and Uesugi Sakura looked up at the sky, full of evening glow.
He wished so much to go back in time, to hold her shy hand, and to look at her youthful face and say:
"Hanabi... I like you, I really like you, so... please don’t leave my side, okay?"