The stars were bright tonight.

The moon shone in all of its glory, having no clouds obstructing its glow. The pale moonlight washed down upon Mikagura Academy, illuminating the school's rooftops.

Asuhi sighed in contentment, his book of constellations by his side, along with his telescope, lying on the floor. He leaned against the railing, looking up at the sky.

Tonight was a good night for stargazing.

Asuhi closed his eyes, sliding down against the railing and sitting on the floor with a thump.

Tonight was also a good night for staying up all night.

He'd done it before- staying out on the rooftop until the sun started to rise and the sky turned a brilliant pink. His club-mates had been worried the first time he'd done it, but it became a common occurrence and soon no one bothered trying to drag him back to his room. He was grateful for that, actually. Just watching the sky change ever so slightly, without a care in the world, just being allowed to stare at the stars alone and breathe-

No expectations, no worries, no wishing upon the stars for strength to face a new day.

Tonight was a good night to just forget everything for a while and relax.

Asuhi opened his eyes, just in time to see a shooting star streaking across the night sky. A smile formed on his face, and idly he wondered if he should've wished for something.

He already had everything he wished for, now that he thought about it.

Once, he had wished for strength- to stop being bullied, and power to stand up for himself. He'd gotten that. He had wished for acceptance, after that- to be welcomed into Mikagura with open arms, with friendly senpais and classmates, none of which would bully him like his younger days. He'd gotten that, too. Recently, he wished for forgiveness- because he had failed. He had failed everyone's hopes, failed their expectations, failed even though he had the most estimation points for the rookie battles. Failed even though people believed in him.

That newspaper affected him a lot- a sixth magnitude star, it said. Maybe it was right. Maybe he'd already burned out, maybe his time to shine was over, maybe he never had a chance in the first place. Maybe he'd never glowed.

But Yuuto came, and Eruna came, and they forgave him. They told him he didn't need forgiving, because he didn't fail, and it wasn't his job to please everyone. And they shone, like first magnitude stars, and his unspoken wish was granted.

"Hey, Asuhi! What are you doing up so late?! You'll get sick!" Yuuto's voice cut through the silence. Asuhi looked back down from the sky to see a concerned expression on Yuuto's face, and Asuhi smiled (did Yuuto's face just flush or did he really need sleep), opening his mouth to reply-

"Asuhi! Are you...oh, am I interrupting something? Hehe, don't mind me!" Eruna spoke, grinning and waggling her eyebrows, standing at the doorway to the roof. Yuuto started spluttering and Asuhi turned his smile to Eruna.

Really, Asuhi thought. The stars seemed to pamper him. Because when he wished for friends, he got the kindest, best friends one could possibly have, ones that illuminated his corner of the universe.

The stars were bright tonight, and strangely, they seemed to sparkle a bit brighter than a moment ago.