Wish Upon A Shooting Star
"Ugh… it just had to be another busy day at the student council again. And it had to finish up late too…"
The class representative of class 2-9 in Kisaragi High gave out a prolonged and exasperated sigh; arms hanging loosely by her sides with her head bowed to the ground due to tiredness. Another groan escaped her lips before she finally decided to plonk herself down on a nearby bench in the park, quickly chucking her satchel beside her before lying back against the hard wood.
Ayumi Shinozaki gave a small hum as she lazily closed her eyes, tilting her head all the way until the back of it touched the top of the wood. The only sounds that she could hear was her own steady breathing and the musical cries of the crickets in the depths of the darkness. With an exhale of carbon dioxide out of her system, her cerulean orbs had opened up again to gaze upon the night sky above that was littered with a never ending sea of twinkling stars.
"Wow…" Ayumi murmured out, adjusting herself in such a way to have a full view of the starry night above. "I've never thought that a night sky would actually look this beautiful. It's really amazing…"
And while this wasn't the first time that she had seen the millions of stars in the vast sky, it was certainly a first for her to actually take a nice long view of the scenery placed before her. On those occasions where she decided to take a look at the starlit sky, it was always in her bedroom, where she was busy setting up schedules and finishing her homework. Each glance that she took outside the pane of glass was a quick one; her eyes never lingered more than a moment on the bright twinkling stars.
So for her to finally get a glorious view of the night sky which she could fully enjoy by herself in the silence was truly a treat.
"Shinozaki? Is that you?"
Okay, maybe not all by herself.
Her eyes made a swift switch from the starlit sky to the owner of her voice, instantly pulling herself up to straighten her back and look proper like any class rep would be. Her gaze caught on a seventeen year old boy with bleached blonde hair, wearing the school uniform of Kisaragi High.
She knew that face very well.
"Kishinuma?" she uttered out before a small frown crept up on her face. "What are you doing out here? It's getting late; you should be going home."
"I could easily say the same thing to you, Shinozaki." Yoshiki smirked before halting his movements in front of his classmate. "It's normal for me to take late walks around here, but for you to do that? That's kinda strange." he shrugged, stuffing his hands into the depths of his pants pocket.
"What, am I not entitled to doing what I want?!"
"That's not what I meant!"
"Then what did you mean, huh?!"
"I meant- you know what, forget about what I said."
"I demand an answer, Kishinuma!"
"Alright, alright!" he raised his hands in exasperation before dropping his left arm to latch on his hip and feeding his right hand through his short locks of blonde hair. "What I meant is that you never have time to do things like this. Stargazing, I mean." Yoshiki added after a small hesitation, crossing his arms and sighing. "You're always so packed up in your work and helping the teachers all the time; I've never seen you take a break at least once in school before."
Her frown continued to deepen before Ayumi ran through those thoughts inside her mind. It was true that most of her days were hectic. Being a respected class rep of Kisaragi High meant that she had to fulfill her duties by helping teachers and friends alike. Which also meant that she had to assist her fellow classmates whenever they needed some help and do some errands for the teachers.
To top it all off, there was her never ending supply of homework too.
"I guess… you're right." she muttered out with a further furrow of her eyebrows before jolting up to look at him. "But that doesn't mean it's too late to enjoy it! Better late than never!"
He chuckled.
"Guess so. But really, Shinozaki." he sighed as he took a seat next to her, separated by her leather satchel. "You should give yourself breaks every now and then. And while it is your duty as a class rep, you deserve some relaxation for all the good jobs you did, you know?" he stretched briefly before leaning back completely against the bench.
"And you should know very well that I can't slack one bit in a job like this, unlike you." she retorted back with a huff, crossing her arms and glaring at the lush grass beneath her feet. "As much as I want a break myself, there are just responsibilities that I can't avoid no matter what."
Wincing slightly at the indirect remark that he was a delinquent, he decided to keep to himself for now; quietly fiddling with his fingers while giving occasional glances to the seventeen year old girl, who still had her arms tucked beneath her arms and a scowl on her face.
The golden silence remained for a minute or so, and during that period of time did the irritated expression begin to soften and wash away from the delicate face of the class rep. She, however, continued to stare down at the greenery that covered the entire park with a blank countenance. With this being the seventeenth time that he had taken a glimpse of his crush, he opened his mouth to at least start a conversation.
"Hey, Shino-"
"..! Look, Kishinuma, a shooting star!"
Shutting his mouth with a snap, he swiftly turned his head to the starry sky, and sure enough; there was a glimmering star sprinting its way across the vast dimensional plane, leaving a trail of stardust in its wake.
Having heard about this belief many times in his younger days thanks to his little sister, he gave a small snicker before closing his eyes with a hum. And as the darkness consumed him for a moment, Kishinuma made a tiny wish just for himself.
Ah, he remembered those days where he used to stargaze every evening.
Miki would drag him out whenever their parents were out or working overnight just for the sake of lying down on the damp evergreen grass to gaze at the stars to the harmonies of the crickets. They would stay out there for as long as possible; their longest time being three hours before they went back home and got a harsh lecture. [well, mainly he did; seeing how they believed he 'manipulated' her sister into following along] But on those tranquil and peaceful nights, they would spend their time making out shapes from the stars or just gazing into the eternal depths of the night sky. There were those rare times where a fleeting shooting star would dance across the starry sky and his little sister would immediately erupt into excited noises and beg for him to make a wish with her.
And then, of course, she would later plead with him to tell her his wish, to which he would he would respond with a laugh.
"Don't you remember that a wish won't come true if you say it out loud? Man, you're forgetful."
"Oniiiiii-chan! Come on! You always give the same excuse; can't you at least tell me one of them?!"
"Not a chance!"
"You're so mean!"
"Kishinuma-kun?"
Snapping out of his trance, he turned his gaze on the class rep, who had a small frown plastered on her face as her cerulean orbs stared into his own grey ones.
"Y-Yeah?" he stuttered out, shifting in his seat because oh my God, why are you so close to me?
"You seemed really out of it for a second. Are you okay?" she quizzed, adjusting herself back into her seat with her body still facing the former delinquent.
"Y-Yeah… I'm fine." he mumbled, turning his gaze upward to the sky to give himself an excuse and to hide his reddening face.
A pause.
"Hey, Kishinuma?"
"Hmm?"
Another pause.
"What was your wish?"
He smirked.
"I can't tell you that. It won't come true if I did."
"Oh, come on! You can't possibly believe that, can you?! Just tell me!"
"Heh, no way."
After a minute of arguing that he should tell her, or so God help him, because she was definitely going to get the answer, the class rep gave up with a huff and crossed her arms. Soon after looking at her watch, she leapt up with a gasp before grabbing her satchel and bowing.
"Sorry, but I really need to go! I didn't realise how late it is, and my parents are going to be worried sick!" she spluttered out before giving another hurried bow before scuttling off to the direction of her home. "See you in school tomorrow, Kishinuma!"
And with a wave of goodbye, she disappeared into the darkness that wasn't dissolved by the street lights.
Yoshiki sat there for a while, before getting up with a sigh and heading off in the opposite direction.
As much as he loved her and would do anything to protect her, he didn't think that he would ever be able to tell his dearest wish to her.
"I wish that we'd get a little closer, if you don't mind."