We'll Be Counting Stars
Osamu couldn't sleep.
After lying in bed for about an hour, mentally willing his body to drift off to the world of dreams, he found that he simply could not sleep.
Perhaps it was because he wasn't in his own bed. Osamu cracked open one of his eyes, peering to his left to see Yuma turned on his side, snoring away rather happily. Replica had settled itself on the space of pillow that was not occupied by Yuma's mess of white hair. Perhaps, since they had travelled through much of the Neighbour worlds, they were used to sleeping soundly wherever need be. Osamu would guess that the beds in the spare rooms in Tamakoma were more comfortable than some of the places they had previously stayed at, as Yuma had described them to him.
Deciding that it was pointless trying to get back to sleep when it clearly wasn't working, Osamu slipped out of bed, moving as quietly as possible so as not to disturb his friend's slumber.
He decided to go up onto the roof, again, moving through the building with as little noise as possible. He was finding it difficult, as the floor seemed adamant on creaking with every step he took. The building was pretty run down, which was apparent from the chipped wall-paint on the outside of it.
He passed by the living room, glancing at the sofa where a blanket was left, void of anyone sleeping under it. Is Chika awake, too?
Climbing up the stairs, he opened up the door to find that Chika was indeed awake, and was sitting on the wooden bench that was placed right beside him. She was staring up at the sky, before she noticed Osamu's arrival.
Oh, he hoped that he hadn't disturbed her. Maybe he should head back downstairs…
Chika, however, gave Osamu a small wave. "Were you also having trouble sleeping?"
"Yes," Osamu answered, taking her wave as an invitation for him to sit down on the bench with her.
He placed his hands on his knees and looked up, too, eyes attracted to the glowing moon, one of the only bright things in the night sky. It was a shame that they were in the city at the moment. Osamu would have felt a bit more comforted if he could catch sight of a starry sky.
He sighed. "I was thinking about tomorrow."
Yes, tomorrow was the official January Border Enlistment day. He knew that Yuma and Chika had been working extremely hard over the past three weeks, and were all making astonishing progress, according to Konami and Kizaki. He wished that Karasuma could say the same about him, but his level of power was nothing compared to the others. Osamu didn't let it get him down, though – it just meant that he had to work all the more harder.
Still, he was worried because anything could go wrong. What if they all woke up late the next morning, and missed the enlistment? What if all the other trainees found out that Yuma was a Neighbour? What if they -
"What if they can't pass?" voiced Chika from beside him, her hands held in front of her eyes, imitating a pair of glasses. "That's what you're thinking, aren't you?"
"Wah – !" Actually, it was a pretty good impression of him. "Well, I can't help it."
He supposed that he was just naturally, slightly pessimistic. Or rather than pessimistic, he was just trying to think about their odds in a realistic sense. He was basing this on his own ability - he didn't doubt his friends' skill. "I was thinking…I know I've been working hard, but I still don't get why I'm the leader of our squad."
"Not this again." It was not Chika who spoke this time. "Didn't I already tell you? I won't do it if you're not the leader."
"Kuga?!" exclaimed Osamu. "Did I wake you up?"
"Kinda," said Yuma, stretching his arms out. "I'm a light sleeper."
"Oh." Osamu internally scolded himself for causing his friend an inconvenience.
"Don't worry about it, I wanted to come up here anyway." Yuma walked over to the edge of the rooftop and swung his legs over so that he was sitting on the ledge. He looked back at his friends. "Are you guys going to stay there?"
"I'll come over," said Chika, standing up right away.
"W-wait, isn't that dangerous?" Osamu eyed the ledge hastily, thinking of how they might possibly fall off it. That wouldn't be fun for any of them.
"It's fine, Osamu. You have to come over here too," urged Yuma, patting the space beside him.
He looked at Chika, who nodded encouragingly, and the two took their places on the ledge so that Osamu had both friends on either side of him.
"You're the leader type," said Yuma suddenly, startling Osamu.
"Eh?"
"You asked why we want you as our leader," he explained, "so I'm answering you. I think that despite the fact that you're weak," Osamu couldn't deny that, "I think that your resolve will be the key to getting us through whatever trials we might have to face."
"What do you mean…?" Osamu questioned.
"I think," chipped in Chika, "that Yuma means that because you're a person who 'does things for himself' that if you really want something done, even if it's to do with teamwork, you'll be able to persevere through any ups and downs we might have."
"…"
Yuma smiled. "Exactly. Giving me a goal was something Replica asked you do to, wasn't it? That's why you asked me to form a squad with you."
"H-huh? No, I just thought you would be a good person for the job," Osamu denied.
The white-haired boy gave Osamu his signature '3' expression. "Hmph, you're telling another boring lie."
Oh right, Yuma could tell.
"Sorry, Kuga," Osamu apologised.
"It's okay," said Yuma, with a more relaxed look. "It's just the sort of thing Replica would do. Replica's gets a bit too worried about me. But I'm glad that I chose to stay, I ended up having a lot of fun from coming to the Tamakoma Branch." He grinned to himself. "The day I can get more wins than Konami is just within sight."
"Kizaki's started teaching me new tactics for snipers," said Chika. "I think that we'll definitely be able to reach our goals."
"Karasuma's blunt," said Osamu, considering his mentor, "but he's a really good teacher. I think with his help, even I can improve."
"See?" said Yuma. "We don't need to worry about the Enlistment at all. We'll be fine." He pointed downwards to the building. "Besides, we've also got Jin rooting for us, and he thinks we can do it to."
That was right…Even though they first started this squad so that Chika would get a chance of rescuing her brother and friend, as well as keeping Yuma with an aim, those weren't the only reasons. They needed to get through this Enlistment because they were already part of Tamakoma. They had people counting on them.
Chief Rindo, Yotaro, Usami, Kizaki, Karasuma, Konami and Jin were all expecting them to pass through the Enlistment and to advance to B Rank.
With Osamu, they were already a third of the way. Surely, getting all of them to B Rank would not be an impossible feat. If they just took it slowly, taking each stage as a stepping stone or the next, they would be able to accomplish anything.
"I understand now," said Osamu, spirits lifting. "I'll do the best I can do lead you guys properly."
"That's more like it, Captain."
"We'll be in your care from now on, Osamu."
"R-right!" he answered, stiffly, back straightening up as he replied.
Chika and Yuma looked at each other from across Osamu and broke out into laughter.
"Huh? Kuga? Chika?"
Yuma gave Osamu a pat on his back. "You're going to need to work on your expressions, though."
As Yuma and Chika both smiled at him, perhaps maybe Osamu didn't completely understand what they were talking about, but that was alright.
He smiled back at the two of them.
They would be alright.
He looked back at the sky, unable to see the stars, but with the knowledge that they were there. He hoped he could make them into a team that would be as bright as those stars.
Little did he know that there were already sleeping stars in Mikado City.
Three stars, to be exact.
Purple, Red and Green - all waiting to be born.
All waiting for their chance to shine.
A/N: Tadaa! I am so happy right now, because I have finally written a World Trigger fanfiction. I love World Trigger so much, you don't even understand. So, one year ago, in the 11th edition of WSJ 2013, World Trigger premiered its first chapter. One year later, here we are, still going strong. Or at least, I still love it as much as when I read the early chapters.
I wasn't very sure when the first anniversary of World Trigger was exactly, but the 11th edition of WSJ 2014 is coming out today, so I'm assuming that it is today. Well, whether I'm late or early or just on time, I'm glad I've written this.
I really wanted to make my first World Trigger fic a Mikumo Squad one, because those three are just perfect as a team. I love every single character in WT, I swear.
On a random note, I added all the extra bits about stars after deciding I wanted the title of this fic to be 'We'll be Counting Stars', which I found appropriate since the song seemed to match what I wrote. Hope it didn't seem too disjointed.
Happy First World Trigger Anniversary!
- Dina (10/2/2014)
[EDIT: 6/3/2015 - Spoilers for Ch.95 - Okay, it seems that Yuma doesn't sleep, so parts of this fic doesn't really work anymore, but let's leave that aside. Or like, pretend that Yuma was pretending to sleep, so as not to worry Osamu ^-^ )