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

Chapter 7: The Second Test

"Are you making new friends, close friend-kun?" I looked to my right where the voice came from. Sakura looked back at me, the corners of her mouth curled slightly upward in a smile. "I think so." I tentatively reached out my hand, but no matter how much I reached, I just couldn't touch her.

"There's still more work to be done, can't keep his hands to himself classmate-kun." She gave a small laugh, but underneath there was a hint of sadness in that laugh. "This is just a dream, isn't it?" I looked down, even in my head Sakura was still just out of reach.

"So what if it is? I know if you work hard, you can make it a reality." Sakura stood up and got in front of me. "You've done so much already, but you need to keep going a little longer." Her tone was more and more filled with that hint of sadness. I could'nt bear to look back up at her. "What if this all ends up being for nothing, and nothing really changes?"

I expected her to have a quick reply, but moments passed and there was simply silence. I looked up to see tears in her eyes. "Silly partner in crime-kun, it's okay." As she spoke, a teardrop slowly ran down her cheek. "No matter what, even if things don't work out, you would have done everything you can."

As she spoke, the world around us began to fade to black, the dream was ending. Her words became softer and quieter, and as the dream came closer to it's end, I could'nt hear her final words. "Sakura come back!" I cried out, but it was too late.

"Who is Sakura? Did you mean Sakuta? He's just in the bathroom." A voice called out from in front of me. Opening my eyes, I saw Mai standing close to the couch, a look of oncern on her face. "Are you a friend of Kaede? I wasn't aware she had a guy friend staying over."

Suddenly everything clicked in my now awake mind. I reached into my bag, and pulled out the three letters from the night before. Finding the one that I had written for Mai, I handed it over to her. "This is probably all really strange, but this letter is for you. It should hopefully clear things up."

She took the letter, skeptical about the situation. Opening it, her eyes scanned back and forth, before finally settling back on me. "So you met us but because of the syndrome, we technically never met yet?" I nodded. "Well you're either a very accomplished liar, or what is in this letter is true, and you don't look like someone that is good at lying."

She held out her hand. "The other two letters, am I correct in assuming that one is for Sakuta as well?" I nodded again, holding out his letter. "You're handling everything very well, all things considered." She raised an eyebrow after I spoke up.

"Well if you were an intruder, most of them wouldn't go to sleep on a couch when there's an unoccupied room. Besides, you had this look of sadness on your face for a while before you woke up." A sad smile came across her face. "I couldn't bring myself to be angry or upset after seeing that."

Folding her letter, she placed it with Sakutas. "I'll go bring this over to him. There's some coffee in the kitchen if you'd like some." I thanked her, and she headed toward her room. Stretching out, I cleared out the last remnants of sleep in my body.

"I should have asked if she could contact Rio." I thought to myself, heading towards the kitchen for the promised coffee. The aroma grew stronger as I got closer, and by the time I pulled down a coffee cup from the cupboard, I was craving it. The rich flavor of the coffee was yet another reminder of the perks that Mai had. "I'll have to ask where she got it, maybe I'll be able to get some one day."