JapanxReader: 'What Sarah Said'

~!WARNING!~ If you're looking for a fluffy story with a fluff-filled ending (With rainbows and kisses And kittens) then go ahead and click the back arrow and forget that you ever saw this. FOR YOU WILL NOT GET ANY SUCH FLUFF FROM THIS STORY!

You have been warned. So don't complain to me in the comments. =_=



You adjusted the heavy bag on your sore shoulder, the sparse relics of your old life jumbling within.  With fear of the unknown showing blatantly on your face, you stared up at your new home.  It was a simple place out in Japan's countryside area, unlike your old home in the city of Nagasaki.  You had been anticipating the stark change from urban to rural, though.

"Welcome, ________-chan.  This is your new home!" Your uncle said.  You liked him; he had a round cheerful face that made you want to smile.  His wife, your aunt, was waiting inside the house for you both.

"Thank you, Ojisama."  You said, going into a deep bow.  

"It's no problem, ________-chan."  Your uncle replied.  You heard the steady sound of his footsteps retreat inside the house.

You slowly came up from your bow, the tears your uncle had failed to see streaming down your face.  The tears were for your parents, the loss of your old life, and everyone else who had been affected by the dropping of the atomic bombs.

You quickly wiped your tears and followed your uncle inside.

~~~~~~

You quickly adjusted to your new life.  Your aunt and uncle were nice, stable people, and you enjoyed their company a lot.

Most people you came across were sympathetic with your situation.  Though, there were two certain people that remained completely apathetic.  The couple lived in the bigger house next door with their older son and nephew.

You met their nephew, Kiku Honda, accidentally one day, when you were both taking a walk outside.  It turned out that Kiku's parents had been killed by the atomic bombs too, and he had been carted away to his nasty relatives.

"It is better than living in ruins."  Kiku admitted one day.  "But my aunt is an evil woman... She calls me a 'disgusting freeloader'."

You and Kiku often left together and explored the countryside.  On one exploration, you found a clearing in the forest that was surrounded by sakura trees.  You and Kiku just stared in wonder at the beauty of the place as the sun shone down through the branches.

Afterwards, that clearing became 'your spot'.  You and Kiku would escape there from time to time.  Lying with the soft grass cushioning your backs and a tree trunk behind your heads, you and Kiku talked about anything and everything.  Sometimes though, you both just liked to sit and stare at the beauty of the world.

"Do you think of it often, ________-san?"  Kiku asked during one of the times in the clearing.  He was the only person permitted to ask you such questions.

"Yes."  You replied, feigning calmness.  "I dream about it a lot."

Kiku had simply nodded in reply.

"It's like reliving it all..."  And even as you whispered that, the images of destruction you'd seen that day were playing over in your mind.  Tears escaped your eyes and slowly made their way down your cheeks.

Kiku just grabbed your hand, which  was almost on the level of kissing to two twelve year old kids.

"It's okay, _______-san."  You heard him whisper.  "I'm here for you."

~~~~~~

From then on, you always went to Kiku whenever anything upset you.  Kiku would always listen to you with an understanding smile, and then offer comfort by holding your hand or hugging you.  

You always asked your friend if something was wrong, but he'd always reply with, "Nothing" or "I don't want you to worry".  You knew when something upset Kiku, though.  Usually it was his aunt, who treated him as though he were dirt and forced him to do all the work in place of her husband and son.

The only reason you were aware of this was because you'd gone over to visit Kiku once.  His aunt had seen him slacking off on his chores and immediately thrown a fit.

"My husband and son work and earn money, so they deserve the meals that I cook.  What do you do? Nothing but leech off of my family and slack off!" she had yelled in Kiku's face.  You stood by him, intimidated by her red face and screeching voice.

When she rounded on you, you squeaked in terror.  "You're distracting this boy from his duties and being a bad influence.  GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

You fled the house as fast as your little feet could take you.  Needless to say, you never went back.

When you saw him later that day in the clearing, he was holding the side of his face.  You could see the red skin that his small hand failed to cover.

You just hugged him as he cried softly into your shoulder.  "Please tell me that you'll get out of there someday." You whispered as your own tears threatened to fall.

"I will..." He said, his voice shuddering.  "Don't worry.  I'll move out once I'm old enough, and move far, far away from here."

You smiled sadly.  "We'll always be together, right?" you whispered.

"Hai.  Forever."  You could hear the smile in his voice.

~~~~~

As the years passed, you and Kiku became each other's support.  You always seemed to get sick very easily, so Kiku would find the time to take care of you.

"This life is tiring."  You said one day as pain shot through your head.  You were both lying in your spot under the sakura trees.  

"I feel like there is some kind of heavy weight on my chest."  You said.  Kiku remained quiet.

"What do you feel, Kiku?" You asked, trying to encourage him to talk.

"Do not worry about it, ________-chan.  I am fine."

You glanced over at him dubiously.  He didn't look fine.  He seemed just as tired and weak as you, maybe even worse.  But Kiku always told you not to worry, and you always did anyway.

~~~~~

"Kiku?"

"Yes, _______-chan?"  He replied immediately.

You stared at the stars as you rolled the question over in your mind.  The cold air helped ease your bouts of night sweats, so Kiku always accompanied you to the clearing, even at the most ridiculous hours.

"Do you believe that there's a Heaven?" You asked, a little afraid to broach the subject.

"...Hai, I do."  The young man snuck a glance at you.  "Why do you ask?"

You stayed quiet for a long time.  You thought about death quite a bit, having seen so much of it.  But this time, it was your own death that you were seeing.  Yes, you were slowly dying, and you were well aware of it.  You knew something was not right in your body, and you knew that your health was not at the level it should be for your age... though what worried you the most was where you'd go afterwards.  

'If Heaven is real, then we'll be together again, eventually...'

You bit your lip and fixed your gaze on the moon.  "No reason."

~~~~~

"Love is watching someone die."

~~~~~

As the months passed, you noticed yourself gradually getting weaker and weaker.  Kiku also seemed to be struggling with his health.  Everyone in town commented on how skinny and tired you both looked all of the time.  And it was true.  You'd get frequent headaches, and often times, you'd randomly throw up.  Kiku didn't complain about his physical ailments, but you could tell he was hurting.  One movement would set off the audible crack of his joints.

You tried to spend as much time as possible with Kiku.  You two would sit in the clearing and just enjoy the time with each other.  You cherished those moments.

On one particular day, you were lying right next to Kiku in the clearing.  Spring was in full bloom, and the scent of the sakura trees filled your nostrils.

"The leaves are so beautiful!" You sighed.  You'd miss them.

You'd been thinking a lot about what you'd miss lately.  You looked over at Kiku, whose brown eyes were fixed on the trees.  'I'll miss him the most.'

Kiku caught you staring and smiled.  "________-chan, you are spacing out again."  He laughed lightly at your confused expression.

You laughed.  "Sorry.  I tend to do that a lot lately, don't I?"  You shifted on the ground, causing extreme pain.

"I've been thinking, Kiku...This will be my last trip here."

Disappointment showed on his face.  "Hai.  You have been getting too weak to make the walk here.  And so have I."

You smiled sadly.  "Kiku, I'm dying."  You whispered.  You turned to look him full in the face.  "Please, after I'm gone, get far away from here."

Kiku grabbed your hand and smiled.  "I am already leaving, _______-chan.  I'm dying as well."

You accepted the words pretty quickly.  Kiku had always seemed to suffer from the same symptoms as you, so it made sense that you had the same sickness and would also share the same fate.

"When I said forever, I meant it."  He whispered.

You smiled back at him, remembering the promise he made to you.  It was those words that caused the tension to leak out of your body.  All the pain, stress, and confusion disappeared, leaving only you, Kiku, and the sakura leaves blowing gently in the wind.

But soon, even the bright pink leaves disappeared, leaving everything else dark.  You started feeling lighter and warmer.  And the last thing you heard was the faint whisper of the man you loved.

"I'll love you... forever."

~~~~~

"So who's gonna watch you die?"

~~~~~