I Do Not Dream Of Eating Your Pancreas (IWTEYP x Seishun Buta Yarō)

Chapter 15: The Greatest Day Part 2

"You won't get in trouble for cooking out here, will you?" I was out on the back balcony with Sakuta and G.B., the girls were all inside discussing whatever girls talked about. Sakuta shook his head. "It's perfectly safe, besides it was actually brought up by the realtor when we were looking at this apartment."

We, and well by we I mean Sakuta, were grilling dinner. He had picked up some steaks earlier, and the aroma of the cooking meat was heavenly. Sakuta opened up the cooler near the grill, offering us a beer but we declined after reminding him we were still a bit too young to drink. He shrugged, closing the cooler and taking a seat on it.

"So how did things go yesterday? Obviously well, but how did you manage it?" Sakuta looked over to me, finishing off with a sip of his beer. Beside me on the other folding chair, G.B. was all ears. I wondered how much he really knew, if Sakuta had told him anything after we had split up yesterday.

"I didn't exactly tell her everything, that definitely would have gone poorly. I just told her enough and Kyoko stayed with her for the day." I made a mental note to find the time to talk more with Sakura about it all, though that could wait for a little.

G.B. seemed lost though, and I realized he probably deserved to know what had been going on. "Don't tell Sakura any of this just yet, I want her to hear it from me." He nodded, and so I told him nearly everything. I left out some parts, like when I was too late to save her. Some things were just better left unsaid.

When I had finished catching him up, he let out a slow whistle. "I'll be honest, that sounds absolutely insane. But you don't seem like someone who would lie, so I'll take you word for it." He was right, I'm sure most people who heard about my experiences the past few days would be quickly calling a hospital to report an insane person.

"So because of that whole situation, that led to you two finally dating? I always knew it was coming, it was kind of obvious." G.B. leaned back, and smiled. "I'm happy for you guys, I always felt like you two had a spark, even when you said there was nothing going on."

I was surprised, had it been that obvious from the beginning? Sure, we got along and spent a lot of time together, but it had only been recently that I found myself caring and worrying about Sakura more than just a friend might. Maybe I had underestimated G.B.

Sakuta got up to check the grill, and I took the momentary lull in the conversation to gaze at the sunset. Thankfully, and I'm sure this was a big selling point for the apartment, we had a great view to admire. The sound of the sliding door opening made me turn around, and Rio stepped out to join us.

"They're busy discussing movies with your fiancé, so I decided to get some fresh air." Sakuta pulled out a can of beer from the cooler, handing it over to Rio. She leaned against the railing, doing a quick cheers with Sakuta. Then her gaze turned to me.

"So you did it, I heard a little bit from your girlfriend. I guess I was wrong." She shrugged. "I suppose it happens every once in a while." I half expected her to sound disappointed for being wrong, but instead she was happy. "You were still a big help, though I'll admit I was a little worried that you might be right."

"This isn't exactly a typical scientific problem, a lot of it is simply theoretical. There's so many things that you can chart, but somethings you can't anticipate. I don't think my theory was wrong about you not being able to get close her, I think you just had the willpower to overcome that hurdle."

I thought back to when I had finally seen Sakura, trying to think what I had done. I was determined to save her of course, but was there more to it? I voiced my thoughts to her, and she mused over them for a moment.

"I think you're forgetting an important variable here." I tried to think what I had missed, but came up with nothing. She rolled her eyes, smiling. "Your feelings for her. Love isn't something we can measure, despite what some online quizzes may lead you to believe.