24 Cherry Blossoms 1

It was the morning after I had finished my training camp and the day of the planned outing with Mahiru. The time we chose to meet up was a few hours before lunchtime so we could have a chance to eat at the park and enjoy the scenery around us.

Mahiru insisted that she make lunch for the outing which I couldn't say no to. As I was getting ready and packed some items into my bag that I'll bring for the day, I got a text message from my phone.

I looked at my screen and saw that it was a text from Tsutomu.

[Haruto! I heard from Akane that you guys had a practice match against a strong team from Tokyo.]

[Yeah, they had really good defensive skills. Made it hard to score points.]

[Did you guys win?]

[Nope we lost in the fifth set.]

[Hold that L]

My eyebrows twitched when I saw what he sent and we chatted for a while. He told me the reason he contacted me was that near his school there was a tournament for grass volleyball and it required two people.

I asked him why he didn't ask his team members from his volleyball club and he said that they could be a bit intimidating to talk to and that he wanted to play with me since it had been a while since we last played together.

'Ushijima is on his team…' I thought in my head and became curious just how much stronger he became compared to before. I pushed that thought to the back of my head and said yes to Tsutomu's offer.

I also began to decide if I should also call Kageyama and Hinata to come participate since I feel like they would enjoy playing some more to help prepare for the upcoming inter high preliminaries.

He said that he will send me the info about the tournament and will contact me when the final date has been notified. I looked at my clock and realized that it was almost time for Mahiru and I to meet up. I quickly said bye to him and checked if I got everything.

I wore a simple white t-shirt, cream colored sweater and blue jeans with some white running shoes. I brought a black bag to carry some items such as a picnic blanket, water, a DSLR camera and some other things we might need. I walked out and rang Mahiru's door.

*Ding Dong

Footsteps could be heard from the other side and the door opened to reveal a beautiful girl wearing a white long sleeve blouse and a long red skirt. Her silky blonde hair flowed freely behind her and she held a basket that looked like it contained our lunch.

"Morning Shiina, ready to go and see some cherry blossoms." I greeted her and took the large basket that she was holding in her hands. She greeted me back with a smile and nodded slightly.

We began to walk down the stairs and took a bus to Sendai station so we could take a quick train ride to Tsutsujigaoka Park where the cherry blossom viewing was being held. A festival was also being held as it was the weekend so we decided that it would be a good day to come.

"Do you think that there will be a lot of people at the park since it's a weekend?" Mahiru turned to me and asked.

"Well I also saw other nearby parks are also having a festival too so maybe the amount of people will spread out." I said back, she took in what I said and hoped that it wouldn't be too crowded.

As we approached the entrance of the park Mahiru began to turn her head often looking at the trees around her. We haven't reached the area where the cherry blossoms were and I found it cute and chuckled.

"Why are you laughing.."

"It's just that you look like a kid who got excited to be in a new area for the first time."

Her face turned slightly red realizing her actions and gave a small cough before turning her head. I chuckled even more and told her to follow me since we were nearing the section of the park we were looking for.

*Woosh

As we entered a breeze brushed past us and the sight of cherry pink petals entered our vision. Alongside the stone path were large cherry blossoms in bloom and a decent amount of people can be seen walking and sitting down near the trees eating lunch.

A sweet floral fragrance filled the air and the many petals that floated by made the view even more wonderful.

"Woah.. there's so many trees. It's just like a painting." Mahiru admired the view and I stood alongside her doing the same. I remembered that I brought my camera and took it out of my bag.

"You brought a camera?"

"Yeah, I usually only use it to record my practices and some games so I can look back on them but I thought it would be a good occasion to use it today."

Mahiru leaned towards me and looked at the camera in my hands. She saw that it was filled with videos and hardly any photos. She turned her attention back to the trees and decided to scout around the area for any potential spots we can settle down at.

I took some quick snaps at the trees and the background as it looked very pretty at the moment. I turned around to see where Mahiru had gone when I stood still as my gaze went upon her.

She was standing near a tree with a small smile on her face. Her flowing blonde hair complemented the floating pink petals that danced around in the air. The soft sunlight casted a warm glow around her making her figure even more mesmerizing enhancing her beauty.

Unconsciously I raised the camera in my hands and took a quick photo wanting to capture this scene. I looked at the image and it was a perfect replica of what I had just saw.

"Did you finish taking photos, can I see?" As I was looking at the image Mahiru went beside me and saw a picture of her standing by the tree.

"Oh I'm in the photo. Should I have moved away?" She apologized while looking at the picture of herself under the tree.

"No it's fine, I feel like the photo is more beautiful just the way it was taken…" I said while turning my head away realizing what I said. Mahiru took a moment to understand what I said and a rosy red blush filled her face.

We stood in silence for a moment before I couldn't take it anymore and gave a small cough.

"Well we should go find a spot to eat, let's go!" I turned around and asked myself why I had to say such a cheesy line.

Mahiru saw my retreating back before giving a chuckle. A lovely smile adorned her face causing the people around us to stare blankly at her. She quickly caught up and said in a teasing tone.

"You can always ask to take my picture, you know? No need to be embarrassed."

"Shut up."

***

We found a spot under a tree which was not crowded which allowed us to set up our area for lunch. I took the picnic blanket from my bag and laid it down so we could sit.

"I'm excited to see what you bought for lunch. You didn't even tell me and said you wanted it to be a surprise." I said to her as I looked at the basket that we brought.

"Well it's nothing special but I wanted to make a lunch that can complement the view around us while we eat." Mahiru said and brought out bento boxes from the basket.

We opened it and filled it with various dishes ranging from tempura, grilled meat, vegetables, rice balls and many other foods. I looked at the bento box in awe and was excited to dig in. We said a quick thanks before we ate and I grabbed my chopsticks.

"What is this one? Is this just a wrapping of some kind?"

"Oh that one is called inari sushi, it's just sushi rice stuffed in tofu skin. I recommend trying the one with pickled radish first." Mahiru explained and I took a bite. The sushi rice really complemented the seasoned tofu skin with the addition of the pickled radish which made it very refreshing

We had our lunch while admiring the view and talked about many things while enjoying each other's company. After we were finished eating I realized that we had a lot of garbage from our lunch so I gathered them up and told Mahiru I will quickly be back after throwing them out.

She nodded her head and watched me leave. While she was alone she stared at the cherry blossoms in silence.

'Cherry blossoms usually remind me of the loneliness I felt during my time in school. At graduation and during my opening ceremony, I had no one beside me while the people around me had company…" She thought to herself while reminiscing

'These trees usually bring me bitter memories but currently…' She saw Haruto come back with a smile on his face which brought a warm feeling inside her.

'I feel like cherry blossoms may be one of my favorites after all.'

"Welcome back, let's continue walking around. I want to see more of the cherry blossoms that this park has."

***

Hope you liked this sweet chapter. Peacu.