Spring Blooms 4 (Matsu End)

Arata knew what he had to do now. That meant he also had to come up with a plan to realize the goal set out before him. The idea was simple, which is why he quickly left the elderly without saying much more else and immediately ran home. He did this to grab something important, but also because there was one major obstacle in his way. Where Matsu lived was still unknown to him.

There was little time to waste. While one might say that he could simply handle this the next time they saw one another at school, he wasn't willing to let her stew in sadness. That would be unfair to her, and he was the only one who could fix that problem.

"…" Arata stared at his phone as he waited. Her friends would likely not want him to be seeing her again so soon after what had happened. They appeared to be quite upset at him, even if to be fair it was completely normal to do what he had done given her actions. That would be the defense he would use should they still be with the girl.

Finally, the boy mustered up the courage to call her on his phone. "Hello?" He said, hearing that she had answered his call. "I, um, wanted to talk."

"Um…" There was uncertainty in her voice as they chatted on the phone. "I…" It sounded like there was murmuring in the background. She clearly wasn't alone as Arata heard the voices of her friends next to her. "I don't want to talk to you." That wasn't her talking, as he was sure her friends were directing the girl on how to reply.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry." He wasn't going to allow that wall to stop him now. "It was rude of me to push you off the way I did."

"You're darn right you're sorry!" She responded. If he didn't already know her friends were telling her what to say, then he would be certain now. "What's wrong with kissing someone you like? … Well, isn't it kind of wrong?" Her quiet voice asking her friends that question was heard through the phone. At this point, some might think that her friends were just messing with him.

"Of course it's fine!" Karino was heard yelling at her friend. "You like him, and how dare he not realize how cute you are."

"Well, I guess he didn't want to be forced on a kiss." Yumeho somewhat came to his defense. "But I think he shouldn't have pushed you."

"Yeah, if it were any of us, then I guess we'd all do the same thing." Said Hanaka.

"Um…" Arata spoke into the phone, grabbing all of their attentions. "You know I can hear all of you." They all went silent when he revealed the truth to them.

"Arata I still like you!" In a panic, Matsu screamed into the phone, nearly destroying his eardrums in the process. If she truly was in love with him, it would do the girl well to pay more attention to not cause him harm.

"Matsu, you're an idiot." Karino scolded the girl for losing control of her emotions.

"Matsu." Arata didn't want to let this go. "Please, I want to talk to you in person. Preferably alone." She was quiet after he made his request. It seemed like she was heavily weighing the options here. After all, what he might have to say to her might not be positive. "Okay, you can meet me in front of my house." Finally, he was able to get the location of where she lived. Now Arata rushed on over to where she was at as fast as possible.

After some time of running, he reached his destination. There, as she said she would be, Matsu was standing alone in front of her home. At this point, the sun was beginning to set, as the warm orange light glowed on top of the landscape. "H-hi." She greeted him nervously, something big was about to happen between the two of them. And the girl was not sure how it was going to turn out.

"Hey." He also returned her greeting with one full of anxiety. This was going to be a major step in his life. "I think you've waited for me long enough."

"Ooh, I can't hear this." For whatever reason, as if it would prevent the event to occur. Matsu covered up her ears to not hear what he had to say. The girl even closed her eyes so that she might not accidentally read his lips. "Okay, did you say your answer yet?" She yelled out loud after a few seconds.

"Matsu." He grabbed her arms and took them away from her ears. She then opened up her eyes in response, they were filled with dread from what he was going to say to her. "I… Love you too."

"Wh-what?" She was in disbelief from what she just heard. The girl was almost certain she had to have misheard him.

"The truth is… I've fallen for you." Arata realized from Hine's words how he truly felt about her. His heart had been too afraid to commit, and was keeping him away from hurting the others because of what he wanted. Because that was what he needed to be looking instead of all the analytical evidence running through his mind whenever they were together.

"You really have?" Matsu wanted to cry over finally getting what she had been waiting years for. "Oh, I'm so happy to hear that."

"Then, I hope you're ready to get this." From his pocket, Arata produced the ring that Hine had given him some time ago. "I think, no, I know I'm ready to stand by you."

"You already want to get married!?" She yelled out from misunderstanding his intention. Though to be fair, how else would someone take this offer?

"Hey now, that's too far!" From inside the house, coming from the window, Karino's voice was heard piercing into his ears. Her and the rest of Matsu's friends had actually been spying on them the entire time.

"Nice job letting him know we're here." Hanaka remarked sarcastically. They had broken the promise of having them meet privately. Not that he was going to hold it against the girls. The gardening club was simply protecting one of their own.

"I hope you're not mad at us." Yumeho pleaded that he not be angry with them. "We just wanted to be there for Matsu."

"It's fine." He beckoned them over to make them a part of this conversation. It was only fair that the ones who were always on her side to be here for this.

"So, what's the ring for?" Matsu asked, feeling sheepish after her outburst. "I guess you don't want to get married right now."

"I'm not like my parents." He was reminded of the story his parents told them back during that fateful dinner. No wonder she thought he was proposing just now. Now might think it runs in their blood. Arata would certainly avoid having a wedding in the middle of some random restaurant like how they did. "But, I do want to make a promise to you."

"Aww, that's so cute!" He was now regretting inviting the other girls to come along and watch. They were going to be cutting in with their fluffy commentary on the romance going on between the two at the moment. It also seemed they weren't going to be alone in that either as some others made their presence known.

"It is rather sweet." Hine spoke up, revealing that she and the rest of the elderly had followed him here.

"I really can't get something to myself, can I?" He sighed, resigned to the fate life had given him. "Okay! No more interruptions, just let me explain myself first." Finally, he was able to regain control of the situation to tell Matsu why he was giving this ring to her. "You probably doubt me a little that I even like you, since I've waited so long to confirm my feelings." So this ring was his offering that in his eyes, she truly was the girl for him. No matter how many others there were around him, the cheerful gardening girl had captured his heart.

"I accept." She smiled brightly as Matsu slipped on the ring through her fingers. "For as long as I live, I'm never taking this off." With that, she jumped up into Arata's arms in a surprise hug. He was happy to feel her once again doing this with him. Though this time, things were different as he now finally had realized his own feelings for her.

"Okay, you guys can all talk now." He spoke as the pair continued their warm embraced. With his permission, the young and the old gave their congratulations and commented on their feelings with seeing something so adorable unfold before their very eyes. It wasn't everyday one would witness a pair affirm their feelings for one another.

"Now, come on." Hine spoke up, grabbing all of their attentions. "How about we all enjoy a nice dinner to celebrate? It'll be on me."

"That sounds wonderful." Arata accepted the offer as he turned over to look at Matsu. It was then that the pair, while she was still in his arms, kissed romantically.