With the university applications submitted, a strange quiet settled in. The immediate, frantic pressure was off, replaced by the tense, drawn-out waiting game for acceptance letters. This period, usually filled with a mix of anxious anticipation and newfound freedom, felt different for Sakura and me. The future we were waiting for carried the potential for diverging paths, adding an extra layer of uncertainty to our relationship.
We found ourselves with a little more free time. Study dates became just... dates again. We went to movies, explored parts of the city we hadn't seen, and simply enjoyed being a couple without the immediate pressure of exams or applications looming over us.
One afternoon, we were walking in a different park than our usual one, closer to the city center. It was a beautiful day, the air crisp and cool. We talked about everything and nothing – school gossip, funny moments from the club, silly hypotheticals about our lives.
As we walked, we passed a group of university students hanging out on the grass, laughing and talking. They looked older, more independent, already living the future we were only just applying for.
Sakura paused for a moment, watching them. Her expression was thoughtful, a mix of curiosity and something that looked like... wistfulness?
"Soon," she murmured softly, more to herself than to me.
"Yeah," I replied, looking at the university students. The future felt very close, and very real, in that moment.
She looked at me, her expression serious. "What if... what if one of us gets into a university far away, Hiroshi? And the other doesn't?"
The question was direct, cutting through the casual atmosphere of the afternoon. It was the fear from our earlier conversation about diverging paths, resurfacing now that the applications were submitted and the waiting began.
"I don't know, Sakura," I admitted honestly. "It's... it's definitely something we'll have to figure out."
She squeezed my hand. "I don't want... I don't want distance to change us, Hiroshi-kun."
"Me neither, Sakura," I said, squeezing her hand back. "Whatever happens... wherever we end up... I want us to still be us."
We talked about it for a while, sitting on a park bench, watching the university students. We didn't have answers. We couldn't promise that distance would be easy, or that everything would work out perfectly. But we reaffirmed our desire to try, to face that challenge together if it came.
Sakura talked a little more about Todai, the rigorous academic environment, the expectations. She also talked about other universities she applied to, maybe less prestigious, but with programs that genuinely interested her, outside of the family legacy. It was a rare moment of her considering paths that weren't the one rigidly set before her.
"Sometimes I just wish I could... choose purely based on what I want," she said softly, her gaze distant. "Not on... on what's expected. Or... on what might be better for... us." She glanced at me when she said 'us,' her expression hesitant.
The implication was clear. Her own desires, and potentially our relationship, were factors she had to weigh against the immense pressure of her family's expectations and the predetermined path. It was a heavy burden.
"Your happiness is important too, Sakura," I said, reaching out to gently cup her cheek. "Don't forget that."
She leaned into my touch, her eyes soft. "You make me happy, Hiroshi-kun. More than you know."
We sat in comfortable silence for a bit longer, the sounds of the park around us. The future felt both exciting and terrifying. The possibility of our paths diverging was real, a tangible threat to the unexpected love we had found.
But sitting there, hand in hand, acknowledging the uncertainty and reaffirming our commitment to each other, felt like the strongest preparation we could have. Our unexpected love story was stepping to the edge of the future, ready to face whatever lay ahead, together. The waiting game was on.