.
.
Summer, Yuuko tells him, is the perfect time for stargazing, though he doesn't quite understand the logic in that, or why he should invite people over to the shop for stargazing. He takes the night in stride though, and looks on the bright side of being able to spend a romantic night gazing at stars with Himawari-chan (and Domeki, Himawari adds, cheerfully, which makes he curse the name Domeki).
.
He watches her count the stars by the moonlight. She's the type to do so: trace the stars with her fingers and truly believe that one day, one day she'll count them all. He knows better though. He knows that some stars you see are already dead. He watches them tinker and shine and waits until the clouds above cover them all up.
The boy beside him plays connect the dots, whispering to him that he found yakitori among the lights, and he should make it for them. She laughs from the other side as he scolds ("I WILL NOT! I WILL NOT!") and tells them that star-gazing is pointless. Domeki says that reading manga is pointless, but they all do it anyway.
Personally, Watanuki doesn't think that's the point here.
Yuuko tells them from the veranda that, when someone looks into the stars they see what they are: a hopeful, who counts the stars starting from one; a sentimentalist, who sees the things they love; a skeptic, who watches them tinker and that's all; and a mourner, who watches the stars die, silently.
Smiling weakly, Himawari admits that she never knew that, though apparently Domeki did. Watanuki, however, suspects he is just agreeing with the Witch to look cool for his beloved Himawari-chan, though Domeki thinks that Watanuki is just paranoid, and he's closer to the truth. While they bicker, the girl beside them asks the Witch which she believes herself to be.
"I'm a mourner, because even stars need someone to mourn for them."
"We should throw a funeral," Domeki says, nudging him slightly, "Make donburi and makunouchi."
"We're not throwing a funeral for stars just so you can harass me into cooking for you!!"
She laughs again, from his other side, and sings, "Such good friends~"
Beneath his breath, Watanuki grumbles and protests, though stops when it becomes clear that no one is listening to him. He watches his lazy boss drink, Mokona sing drinking songs between drinks, Domeki's eyes dart, star to star randomly drawing mental lines and Himawari's eyes slowly moving, counting the flickering lights.
Or, at least, that's what he expects to see until he realizes that her eyes aren't moving. She's not counting. From the looks of things, she's just watching them go out, like candles. He moves closer to her, anyway, and asks her what number she's up to and she replies, "Fifty-nine," and even though he has the distinct feeling that she's lying, he laughs anyway and tells her that she has quite a way to go.
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NOTES:
1. — Yakitori looks yummy. They're some sort of skewered, grilled chicken. I think.
2. — The only reference I could find for 'food eaten at Japanese funerals' was rice and bentos, so I put a rice type and a bento type. (donburi and makunouchi)
3. — Wow, way to look like your leaning to Watanuki/Himawari, self.