"Fuku-chan?" A familiar voice broke into Satoshi's thoughts.
He gave a start and turned to look at Mayaka, the owner of the voice, who was sitting on the chair next to him, slightly in his shade.
"What are you thinking, Fuku-chan?" She inquired softly. The early afternoon sun broke through the club room's window, and she couldn't read his expression as well as she pleased.
Satoshi gave a cheerful laugh before giving his honest answer,
"I was thinking about the sun, Mayaka-san. Of course, I'm not the first. People have been thinking up their own theories about why light exists for centuries. Of course, it can be explained scientifically, but, on a sunny day it's nicer to think about why and not how the sun shines."
"That's true!" She paused for a moment before going on to speak enthusiastically and honestly, "I always wonder at the fact that the sun has been around for centuries, from the first man and woman, through the decades and now, it shines for us. It feels like the sun started shining and the Earth turning when we were born but, of course it shone for our parents as they grew up and fell in love too."
Satoshi broke into a smile at hearing this. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment before opening one eye in Mayaka's direction and grinning slightly.
Mayaka kept her blushing head down. She hadn't meant to make it sound as if they were in love. It would be selfish for her to assume he was in love with her. Just because she felt as if she might be in love with him, she shouldn't impose upon and attempt to influence his feelings in such a way. A voice in her head whispered urgently to do something, anything that would make her affections known without words being involved.
Faithfully, the sun shone on Mayaka holding a bewildered Satoshi close to her body. His arms moved to encircle her and they stayed, in their embrace for what seemed like a long time, each listening to the inhaling and exhaling of the other.
After some time, Satoshi retreated from Mayaka's arms.
"Mayaka?" He whispered, attempting to sound calm and collected, when he couldn't put his own thoughts in order. He had next to no idea of what was happening. His voice came out shaky and at a higher pitch than he originally intended. Mayaka released her gentle hold and sat back on her chair, head down, facing the table, trembling slightly.
"Mayaka, didn't we talk about-"
"Fuku-chan, I want to tell you something." Her heart felt like it was giving off sparks of high voltage electricity like an out of control Van de Graff generator. It felt like her heart was passing the bright sparks directly to Satoshi's.
"No-one else means more to me, Fuku-chan. I'm sorry if you don't like what you hear or what I've... just done... but you need to know. If you asked me why the sun shone, I'd consider it a plausible explanation to say that it shines so that I could find you.
It feels like you reach toward the light, Fuku-chan. I feel like I could watch you from the shade forever. You are a sunflower, Fuku-chan. You reach for the sun, and even if you find yourself in the shade, you still have the impression of the sun upon you. People can see it in you.
At least, I can." She gave an awkward attempt at a short laugh. She had never felt so nervous before. Her throat felt dry. So did her hands. As they sat in silence, she wondered if Satoshi could hear her heart thumping. Her throat felt dry. She wondered what made her feel compelled to hug him so suddenly.
Satoshi's pleasant voice replayed in her head:
"It's nicer to think about why and not how"
Sometimes it just cannot be better to think about why. She needed answers from deep with herself on how she came to feel this way.