Chapter 6

Kojiro and I were running in the early morning. When I say early morning, I mean four in the morning. It was the day for Cherry Blossom Viewing. It meant the beginning of spring and I was excited. Kojiro held the blanket and I held the bag with the snacks. We needed to come early or we wouldn't be able to get a seat. There were a few other people making their way over. The sun hasn't even come up yet and I was wide awake. We found a place a few feet away from a tree but we were still partially under it. I helped Kojiro put the blanket down and I flattened the uneven parts. I put my bag down and we waited. Kojiro layed down and I decided to do that too. I layed down next to him, our shoulders touching. I was looking at the sky and the sakura tree above us. 

" Are you excited?" He asked. 

" I was the one that woke you up, of course, I am," I said, adding a bit of sass to it. I sensed that he smiled at that. 

More people started showing up a few hours later. The petals started to fall and I smiled and sat up. Kojiro stayed laying down with his hands behind his head. I put my hand out to collect any petals. Only a few landed on my hand but I looked around and a whole lot landed on our blanket. I felt like a kid again, getting all excited like this. 

Kojiro sat up and picked up a whole flower that landed on the ground. It was against the rules to pick the flowers straight off the tree but this one had fallen off the tree on its own. Kojiro had picked it up delicately.

" Kaoru," I looked over at him. He lifted the flower and I moved closer to him. I closed my eyes as his hands went through my hair and tucked a bit behind my ear, gently setting the flower with it. I knew if I moved too much then the flower would fall and break apart. I didn't want that so I moved slowly and carefully. 

We stayed there for a few more hours. We finished our food and put the trash back in the bag. We packed up together and left together.