Snapshot (Haikyuu Fanfiction Series!!!)

61. To Forgive

Sakura POV
(At the front of the karaoke)

Yuu and I go to the karaoke building and head to the room that Shiro was in. I take a deep breath and stare at the door in front of me. I always remembered coming here often in middle school with Mihane and her friends, but now I'm here for a different reason. To confront Shiro.

I exhale out and tightly clench my fist. It's been a week since I saw Shiro and it's almost 7 pm. Time goes by fast and I still can't get rid of my fear, but now I can at least face it. I know that when I see her, I'm going to settle things right.

"Sakura," Yuu looks at me with a worried expression on his face. "Are you okay?" he asks me as he takes a hold of my hand.

The warmth of his hand spreads to mine and I tightly squeeze his hand back and nod my head. "I'm not alone," I tell him with a smile and look ahead. "It's because I'm not alone that I feel like I'm able to accomplish anything," I pull Yuu's hand and grin, "I can do anything with you."

I turn the door knob and open the door. My eyes widen seeing a surprising scene in the room. I thought it was just going to be Shiro and I, but it seems that Mihane was there, and it wasn't exactly a happy reunion.

"Get off of me!" Shiro screams as I watch Mihane tackle Shiro. Yuu and I stand there in shock watching Mihane and Shiro fight in the karaoke room. What's going on?

"Mihane, what are you doing?" Yuu shouts trying to break up the fight between the two of them.

"Nishinoya! Take the bracelet!" Mihane shouts. "She's not going to give it back to Sakura!" Mihane says trying to snatch the bracelet away from Shiro's hands. Shiro shoves the bracelet into her pocket, but Yuu catches sight of the bracelet, before Shiro could hide it.

"You're Shiro right?" Yuu asks with a serious expression on his face.

"So what if I am?" Shiro says, clearly not frightened of Yuu.

"Hand back the bracelet. It belongs to Sakura. I gave that to her as a gift. It's not yours," Yuu demands from Shiro, but she just glares at him then turns to me.

"Wow, Sakura, you couldn't even come here by yourself so you had to bring Mihane and your boyfriend here to save you," Shiro says in a sarcastic tone and my eyes widen, noticing that something's off about her, like she's not her usual self.

"Why you--!" Yuu says, but I stop him.

Alone. Shiro's eyes reflect the same eyes that I used to have. Filled with hatred for people. Knowing that there's no one there for you and you harden your heart. It's like looking at a mirror from the past. I don't know what happened to her this week, but she's broken.

I'm different from her. No longer afraid, no longer going to hide myself. I will stand up for myself and for those around me. "Shiro, that bracelet is important to me," I tell her and look her in the eye with a fierce gaze, "Mihane and Yuu are the two people who changed my life for the better. I will not allow you to talk down on them," I sternly tell her, "You act all high and mighty, but you don't have anyone you can truly call your friends."

Shiro lets out a forced laugh. "What are you talking about? I have a ton of friends compared to you. Everyone knows me and thinks I'm great. You're the one that's all alone!" Shiro shouts in pride and I shake my head.

"No, Shiro, you're alone. You hurt others to feel good about yourself. You're lonelier than me. I never noticed it before, but you bully others to keep yourself away from being alone and being the victim," I extend my hand out to Shiro.

"W-what the--" Shiro stares at my hand as if it was foreign to her and immediately slaps it away. "Why would I shake hands with a bitch like you taking everything from me?! I picked on you and bullied you for a whole year, yet you easily forgive me! Have you lost your mind?!" Shiro angrily shouts, making me flinch.

I quietly take a deep breath and exhale. I need to say what I need to say. Yuu is here, Mihane is here. If I don't tell her how I feel then I'm never going to move forward.

"They say forgiveness is the hardest thing to do. To apologize to a person who can never see eye to eye with you is difficult. Yet being able to forgive makes you stronger," I extend my hand out to her. "Right now I'm not sure if I can forgive you for what you've done to me...The constant bullying and terror I had to face everyday by myself," I shiver in thought. "However, what you've done to me gave me different opportunities. I got to join the photography club and was assigned to the volleyball club. I made new friends and got to meet Yuu. With Yuu, I was able to gain the courage to talk to Mihane again, and now with Yuu along with Mihane, I'm here. It's because of those terrible experiences you gave me that I'm able to treasure every second of my daily life with everyone and the person I love," I passionately state.

"Sakura..." Yuu mutters and I continue.

"I will only forgive you for your actions if you are willing to acknowledge them and learn from them," I look her in the eye. "To never hurt anyone else for your selfish pride, but instead try to find people who you can truly call your friends. Those are people who are willing to help you no matter what, those are friends. It doesn't matter whether someone is more popular or has the most friends. What matters is the people you're with, whether they can make you genuinely smile," I tell her.

Shiro stares at my hand in silence. "I hate you, why are you being so nice...?" Shiro mumbles, "You're just like Amu, someone I believed should be below me, inferior to me...Yet the two of you can easily strive to look at the future..."

"It isn't easy," I interrupt and think back to all my friends, "I'm able to get this far with my friends and those willing to by my side. With them, I'm able to stand in front of you." I keep my head up proud.

Shiro doesn't say a word and grits her teeth. "...I made mistakes...Many of which I knew were wrong, but didn't acknowledge them," Shiro goes through her pocket and takes out my bracelet.

"With Mihane here coming over, I realized that I was jealous of your happiness. I thought to myself, 'How can she be happy when I did so many terrible things to her?'" She hands me my bracelet. "What you said...I now know happiness doesn't come easily and it never does. I believed that my happiness was to be popular with others...Yet it was temporary...I see that having a few friends that are willing to tell you your mistakes and willing to stay by your side are the true friends," she looks at Mihane, "Thank you Mihane." Shiro then turns to me. "...I'm sorry, Sakura...If I acknowledge all my mistakes, will you truly forgive me?" she asks me.

To forgive someone is one of the hardest things to do.

A gentle hand falls on my shoulder. I turn to see that it was Yuu, who's trying to give me all the support he possibly can. I take a deep breath. "It will take time to forgive, and the things you did will not be easily forgotten, but I know that I'm willing to move forward today if you're willing to move forward," the two of us reach out and shake hands. All my memories from the past flashback as I shake her hand.

The things she did to me...To officially move forward. I need to look forward and not to the past because the past can never change, but the future can. Happiness is something I decide for myself and no one else.

I let go and turn to Mihane. I notice the small scratches and bruises she got from her fight with Shiro. I don't know what happened, but Mihane was always on my side. I pushed her back in middle school, and that's my biggest regret. "Mihane, I've always wanted to say that...I'm sorry. Because of me you were hurt. I never replied back to your letters that you took the time to write...I--"

"Don't apologize," Mihane interrupts and pats my head. "I should be thanking you, instead. You never talked bad about me and did everything for me as a friend." She pulls me in for a hug. "Sakura, what you've done is truly amazing. I can never do the things you did today," she says and I give her a hug back.

"You're the one who changed my life from the quiet girl I used to be to who I am today," I tell her and the memories of the past with Mihane when I first met her flash in my mind.

"Thank you."