|| The Day He Woke Up (Eng Ver.) [Utapri Fanfiction] ||

Chapter 3

~A month later~

Today is April 2nd, Sunday, 8:30 am. I'm sitting on a bar chair in my apartment typing on my laptop. To my right, Camus was pouring sugar into his tea. Meanwhile, Ranmaru was sleeping on the sofa behind us.
Suddenly, Reiji came out of his room and ran towards us. "Hey, hey! How about we go see the cherry blossoms today?! I just saw on the news, it said the cherry blossoms are in full bloom!” he shouted, jumping up and down like a child. “Ugh, so noisy,” Ranmaru muttered in his sleep. Reiji approached him, then shook his shoulder. "Come on, Ran-Ran, don't sleep all the time!" he shouted again. He turned to me and Camus, “Come on, you guys too! Today is a holiday, we should use our time well, right?”

"I'm using my time finishing my work," I said without turning to Reiji. “Awh, you also need a vacation once in a while, Ai-Ai. Vacations are a part of work, you know~” Reiji persuaded. “Just go alone, Kotobuki,” Camus said.
Reiji made a sound like someone was crying, then said, “You guys are so mean…”

I thought he would give up and go back to his room. However, it turned out that I was wrong. He kept trying to force us to go with him. Half an hour later, me, Ranmaru, and Camus gave up. “Okay, okay, Reiji. We give up! We're going with you so stop whining, it pisses me off. You're not a baby, are you?" Ranmaru said as he got up from his sleeping position. I turned off my laptop, “Yeah, my work is done. Now I'm free," I said, turning to Reiji. His eyes were shining. He's happy… I guess?
"Then come on! We’re already late! I had planned this long ago, so the equipment we need is already in my car. Oh yeah, don't forget to use your disguises!" Reiji ran to his room, then headed for the front door.

Me, Ranmaru, and Camus did as he asked, then followed him to the car. According to my data, when viewing cherry blossoms, people usually gather with their closest people and have a picnic. No wonder I saw a picnic mat roll in the trunk of Reiji's car. “Ugh, why is your car so small, anyway?” asked Ranmaru. "Your body is just too big," Reiji replied with a laugh, causing Ranmaru to grumble. When everything was ready, Reiji started the car and we headed toards the park where the cherry blossoms were blooming. In the car, I sat next to Ranmaru, while Camus was in front, beside Reiji.

10 minutes and 20 seconds later. Reiji parked the car on the side of the road and told us to enter the park. My eyes widen at the sight of pink cherry blossoms. “Th-this… this…” I said. I don't know what word to use to describe it “It's beautiful, isn't it? I don't regret that Reiji invited us here," continued Ranmaru. I nodded, “Right, this is… beautiful,”
The park was already crowded, but luckily we got a place to lay out the mat, right under a big cherry tree. Reiji, Ranmaru, and Camus spread out the mat, then arranged our picnic food. Meanwhile, I just stood there, looking around me. My view was filled with cherry blossom trees and people having a picnic. "I haven't seen anything like this since I was made," I thought. I caught a cherry blossom petal falling in front of me, then I unconsciously smiled.

I saw a bunch of people who looked happy, talking and laughing with each other. “What makes them so happy, huh? Is it the cherry blossoms that are blooming, or is it because they are with their loved ones?” I thought. I suddenly remembered the incident a month ago, when Reiji said he missed his friend. "Did Reiji and his friends ever had a picnic like this too?"
My eyes roamed my surroundings and accidentally saw a familiar person standing 25 meters away from me. “I want to go there for a bit,” I told my three bandmates. "Okay, but don't take too long, okay?" Reiji said with a thumbs up. I agreed, then immediately walked quickly towards the person.

Oh, my guess was right. What is he doing here? I just met him yesterday. “Professor!” I called. The man turned, saw me approaching him, "Ai, what are you doing here?" he asked with a smile. “My bandmate forced me to go here. I didn’t regret it, though," I replied flatly. The professor chuckled lightly at my honest answer. "What are you doing here by yourself?" I asked back. “Just wanted to enjoy the cherry blossoms for a while. I haven't been out of the lab in a long time, so I think today is a good day to go out," he replied. I tilted my head, about to ask again, but he interrupted, “Don't worry, Aine is safe, really. I'm going home soon."
I nodded slightly. We were silent for a few seconds before he said again, “I would love to take Aine here someday, when he wakes up. He would be so happy. You know he really likes cherry blossoms, right?”
His words made me nod again. "I'm also going to invite his old best friend. I don't know if his best friend still remembers him or not, but if he does, I want to see them together under the cherry blossoms again like before."