The sun was setting over Raimon Town, washing over everything with a deep red light. Most people were on their way home from work or school. But not Kazemaru. He was still at the school's soccer field, running laps and shooting goals.
Okay, one more goal, he promised himself. He kept shooting and running, though, ignoring his thoughts. He needed to perfect his shots. Maybe just one more. Two more. Three- but with each shot, he found himself getting farther and farther from the goal. Why wasn't he improving?
Kazemaru sighed and flopped down on the ground. I need to get better, he thought. For the team, for myself... he looked up at the sky. He wasn't sure how long he had been practicing, but the sky was already midnight blue, and stars were starting to appear. His mother would be getting worried if he didn't return home soon, but he couldn't find the strength to pull himself off the ground. All this practicing had tired him out.
"It's really pretty, isn't it?"
Summoning the last bit of strength he had, Kazemaru sat up and looked behind him. Haruna was standing there, her hands behind her back and a smile on her face. "Oh, Haruna. What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question," she said. She offered Kazemaru a hand and she helped him off the ground. When she grabbed his hand, Kazemaru felt a nice, warm feeling go through him.
"Uh, well, the finals are coming up, and I just needed to perfect some shots..." Kazemaru said. He looked over at the goal. Several soccer balls were scattered around the posts, with only a few of them in bounds. "It's not going so well."
"You're probably just too tired," Haruna said. "I'm not sure how long you've been out here, but it sure seems like a long time."
Kazemaru shrugged. "I can't let the team down." he managed to walk over to a bench and collapsed as soon as he reached it. Haruna followed and sat down next to him.
"You'll be letting them down if you're too tired to play." Haruna rummaged through her bag and handed Kazemaru a water bottle. "Here."
"Thanks," Kazemaru smiled and took the water bottle. As he was drinking, Haruna smiled and looked to the sky.
"Like I was saying. The stars are really pretty. When we were really little, Kidou used to look at them with me..."
"You really miss him, don't you?" Kazemaru asked. Haruna looked down and frowned.
"Yeah... I do. But it's not as bad now, because I get to see him at school and practice all the time. I just wish we could go back to before Mom and Dad died." she said. She messed with the hem on her skirt and was quite for a bit.
Kazemaru put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you have all of us! You know, Aki, Natsumi, Endou, me... We're all one big family!"
"You're right," Haruna smiled again. "I'm really glad I joined as a manager."
"So what did Kidou tell you about the stars?" Kazemaru asked. "Stuff like Orion and the big dipper?"
Haruna nodded. "Yep! Look..." She pointed up at something – Kazemaru couldn't tell, all the stars looked the same to him – in the sky. "There's the Centaur. Can you see it?"
"Um... sure?" Kazemaru said. Haruna laughed and grabbed his hand. Kazemaru felt that nice feeling again when she did so. Haruna pointed his hand where she had been pointing a moment ago. "Wait... I – I think I see something!"
"You do?" Haruna asked. Kazemaru nodded.
"Yeah, it kinda looks like a guy with a tail." he said. "Like a horse, almost."
"That's the Centaur!" Haruna said. "Now see if you can guess that one!"
-.-.-
Quite a bit of time must have passed when the two sat on the bench, pointing out constellations. Kazemaru could finally make some sense out of all the tiny dots in the sky. He liked listening to Haruna's voice as she explained things and told stories.
"And there's even more come winter," Haruna said.
Kazemaru rubbed his head. "How do you remember all of these things?" he asked. "There's just so many,"
Haruna shrugged. "I just liked listening to all of these stories when I was little. I kind of picked up on them, you know?" She smiled. "And right after Kidou and I were separated, I would look up at the sky every night, and I'd know that Kidou was looking at the same stars. It kind of made me feel closer to him."
"Wow," Kazemaru said. "I didn't know stars could mean so much to someone."
Haruna nudged Kazemaru's shoulder. "Same with soccer," She said. Kazemaru laughed.
"You got me there. Anyway, how long do you think we were out here?" he asked. It didn't really matter at this point. He was as good as dead when he got home. Kazemaru was never out this late.
Haruna checked her cell phone. "It's eleven. I didn't think we were out here that long," she said. "Your parents are probably going to be really mad at you... I'm sorry."
"Hey, don't worry about me. What about your parents?"
"I'm worried about them too. I should have at least called them or something." Haruna sighed. "Oh well. There's not much I can do about it now." she picked up her bag and got up to leave. "I should get going."
Kazemaru stood up and followed after her. "Let me walk you home,"
"Are you sure? What about your -" Haruna started. Kazemaru interrupted her and held out his arm to her.
"I said don't worry about it. I'll be fine." he smiled. "But you shouldn't be out alone at night."
Haruna smiled and took his arm. "Thanks," she said.
"Anytime." Kazemaru said.
-.-.-
When they finally got to Haruna's house, it must have been close to midnight. Every light in her house was off, except for a faint glow in the living room. Haruna frowned and dropped her head.
"I'm dead." she sighed.
"If you're dead, then I don't want to know what I am." Kazemaru said. Haruna giggled. He walked her up to the front door. Haruna was about to open the door, but just as Kazemaru was turning to leave, she grabbed his arm.
"Um... Kazemaru, thanks for looking at the stars with me." she said. Even though it was dark, Kazemaru could see Haruna's pink cheeks.
"I should be thanking you. I had a great time." he said. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then."
Haruna stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "Good night, Kazemaru." She waved good-bye and disappeared into her house.
Kazemaru stood on the steps for a minute, his hand resting on his cheek. Did she really just do that? Kazemaru thought. He felt a goofy smile spread across his face. Oh crap... Mom and Dad! Snapping back to reality, Kazemaru turned and started running for home. On his way, he looked up to the sky and smiled.
Whatever punishment his parents had for him, it was totally worth it.