Chapter 3: Off to Tokyo

The day finally came where Sakura decided to leave the house and go after the college of her choice that is located at the heart of Tokyo.

She was originally rooting to go to Yancy State University, a local state university that is only a few walking distances away from her house, thus she listed it before as the first school of her choice-- only because she was planning to be with her ex even after college at that time she wrote it down.

However, since she and Ryuuji are not in good terms anymore, Sakura immediately decided to change the list of the universities that she wanted to enroll to a few days before their scheduled graduation.

One week after she marched on stage, the national universal test was held, an academic event in which Sakura had prepared all her life.

As a result, a month after the said exam, she got the results and saw herself being the second-highest scorer, not bothering to look at the person who got the first place.

And so with that astonishing exam result, different schools from different cities had sent her application letters, persuading her to join their institution.

However, among the schools that persuaded her, only one got her attention… a school that was not even on her list of universities that she wanted to apply to.

Hirosaki University-- the very well-known school in Tokyo, tagged as one of the prestigious universities which are very picky when it comes to admitting students in their institution.

And she can't believe the school did invite her to be part of them as one of their scholars.

This is good, she thought. She could be away from here like what she had been planning all along.

Finally, another week has passed after she was able to pass the exam. It was time for her to move out of the house, find a cheap place to rent while she was studying in Tokyo, and also look for a part-time job to keep her alive during her stay.

In short, she needed to go to Tokyo as soon as possible to know the ways of adult life.

Her father, Mr. Hayashi Akito, who is a well-sought after carpenter in their place, was in tears seeing her daughter all packed up and ready to leave.

Despite his masculine and intimidating features, he was actually a soft-hearted person especially when it comes to his family.

Sakura's mother, Mrs. Hayashi, Amelia who was born and raised in the Philippines but chose to marry here in Japan after meeting her father, was also in tears as well seeing her daughter need to go away for college.

In the first place, she was hesitant to send her daughter away to Tokyo, but she is also perfectly aware that her daughter is already old enough to decide for herself.

And so she has no choice but to let her daughter go to the university of her choice, provided that she has a guaranteed scholarship in that particular school.

Seeing that she already had her things with her, Sakura turned to her parents, a big backpack strapped on her back and a small hand-carry bag clutched on both of her hands (which mostly contained her precious books that she plans to bring with her to Tokyo.).

"I'll be on my way now. I should leave early if I wanted to catch the first train going to Tokyo." Sakura said in her gentle, meek voice.

Her father, being an emotional man he was, suddenly pulled her daughter in a quick tight hug that nearly surprised the girl.

Finally, after pulling away, her father said, "Promise me you'll always look after yourself and stay away from danger as much as possible. Okay?"

Sakura can't help but smile at her father. Though he's like this, Sakura still loves him so much.

"I will, father. Don't worry about me."

"I am still reluctant for you to go to Tokyo, though." her father added. "We have a local college here, you know that, right?"

"I know. But I changed my mind and instead decided to attend school in Tokyo. The more prestigious my school is, the more opportunities I will receive after I graduate college." She tried to reason out with her father.

But Sakura surely can't tell her parents that the main reason why she suddenly opted for a university in Tokyo is to actually stay away from her ex (since she kept their relationship a secret from them.)

"That's right. Your daughter is all grown up now, sweetie." her mother chimed in. "She can already live by herself."

And that's why Sakura loves her mother so much. She completely understands her and trusts in all of the decisions she makes.

After one last goodbye, Sakura left the place where she grew up and went to the train station to catch the early morning trip going to Tokyo.

With the delays she experienced packing up her things plus having to deal with emotional parents, Sakura almost missed the train if it hadn't for her exceptional running skills in situations like this.

She was able to slip herself in before the doors of the bullet train closed by themselves.

Panting, Sakura craned her head once she regained her strength after the adrenaline rush that possessed her earlier slowly faded.

A triumphant smile immediately escaped her lips as soon as she spotted an empty seat next to an elderly man wearing a brown trench coat and brown leather hat.

"Thank goodness I made it just in time," she said to herself and comfortably rested her back while her backpack was sitting on her lap and her hand-carry bag on the floor.

Trying to find something to do to keep her from falling asleep on the trip, Sakura decides to get a book from her hand carry bag and starts reading the first book in the Percy Jackson series that she loved so much.

Surely, this would be enough to heighten her senses all throughout the trip.

"Percy Jackson, eh?"

Huh? Did someone pay attention to the book that she is currently reading?

She slightly lifted her book and tried to peek through it and see who this person was who dared to interrupt her reading experience.

But the moment she did that, her lips parted, her eyes almost went round, and the blood from her face had drained in an instant.

For the guy she saw seated across her was none other than Mori Ken, Yamamoto Ryuuji's best friend…

… and her former childhood friend as well.