Autumn had begun, and as October gave way to the first chills of November, the Oogawara Space Center was giving in to effervescence and frenzy. It was fortunate that the director was attracting all the attention. A certain lawyer had business to do with a certain astronaut who was in the premises... and press butting in to this particular conversation was the last thing he would want to happen.
Memories and flashbacks came rushing the more he got close to the doors.
That place... it hadn't changed at all...
Everything was set as it used to be.
He inhaled deeply as he made his way in and the visitor badge was affixed into his jacket by Ponco. There was no one looking, so the little courteous, thankful nod he gave the robot didn't embarrass him much. His cheers echoed behind him as he finally got into the main lobby. Ponco was sure as loud as he was useful!
Looking to the sides, he had even caught a glimpse of a familiar face -answering questions in one of the screens- that made him grin side to side.
"Oh no, he didn't" he chuckled to himself. Hopefully the fame hadn't gone to his head that quickly?
"I knew you'd come!" came a yell at the end of the space lounge.
He had been prepared to find Aoi Daichi in high spirits, but man, was he positively beaming! If it wasn't for his height and attire, one could say he was the same kid he had befriended one fateful night in middle school - just considerably happier. He didn't remember seeing him in a prouder mood - but of course... that was to be expected!
"You were there for me when I was jobless. No way I was gonna be anywhere but here when you got your big break, man!"
"C'mon, you would have done the same for me, don't make it sound as so much of a deal!"
Being out and about as a lawyer had limited Hosuke's social interaction, and he was reportedly a bad newspaper reader, but he never stopped checking on his friend's progress. The exam and subsequent picking as part of the Space Center were right at the front and center of his thoughts.
"Space at last, eh?" he added, lifting his hand to catch Aoi's in a friendly slap-and-grasp.
He had come prepared for the mandatory greeting pat in the back, but it was more like being slapped by a whale fin! Hosuke almost fell over, the junior astronaut's strong laugh making the windows around him vibrate. The lawyer straighthened up, grinning cheesily. Of course, he couldn't put it past Aoi! He had always been loud and bubbly, but how could he blame him? It was a dream cherished for so long, after all!
Hosuke knew how much the HAT-1 experience had shaped his friend's view of space travel. He had been an unofficial part of that group, and in the weeks that followed, he had been collecting press clips and news about the now-labelled 'Miracle'. Aoi was as passionate as before, but he could see cautiousness and reserve at times that wasn't usual in his previous juvenile excitement.
They were sure getting older, the lawyer thought, but he shoved that thought aside. No court room could compare to space and its immensity. How could he fathom what could be running through his mind, as he was so close to achieving his dream? A dream so full of dangers as it was of wonder?
Was there an equivalent for him?
He tried bringing to his mind the moment where he started working with Kirihito Garyuu... but all he could think was his big break with Ryuuichi Naruhodou. And that being the case... he could understand perfectly well... he had felt that kind of joy before.
"How do I ask this? Oh well" Hosuke assumed his reflexive pose "how about... d'you feel ready for this?"
"So far, everything is prepared for the launch" Aoi posed one gloved hand on the window. He had turned off the image effect so he could look directly out to the grounds. "But of course... we have to sit it out... just for a little bit longer!"
"Nerves?" grinned Hosuke. he would have expected Aoi to be jumping on his toes out of excitement. Yet he seemed a tad more composed than he had imagined.
"Me? Nerves? No way, I've been waiting for this my entire life! Y'know me... I'm fine!"
And they both laughed in unison. As old times past!
"I saw you onscreen earlier" Hosuke chuckled at the memory. "So I´m friends with a famous man, eh? Was that an interview?"
"Ah... not really. They were after my mentor, not me... so I just had to tell the reporters that he wasn't - ah - receiving the press... not for the moment anyway..."
Was it him, or had he ever seen Aoi twiddling his fingers before?
"Say, speaking of which... I haven't seen Hoshinari-san in a while..."
"Well... he's better off away from all of this..."
"But hey, he IS a space hero, after all!"
Aoi gave a sideways glance that was slightly cryptic, the corners of his mouth suddenly tense. "Don't say it aloud if he's around... You have no idea what a hard time he has with that label."
Wow, that was a serious statement. Was this insightful young man his middle school friend?
"Besides" he puffed his chest importantly, a wide grin in his lips " how about a new hero for a change? This time will be different - I will be by his side, so... he'll be fine, too!"
It was so like him, to try and put people he liked at ease. Even if it meant going all the way out of his comfort zone.
Because only Hosuke knew that Aoi was still rather timid with other people, something his eager self never showed.
"The launch and everything around it seems to be attracting plenty of attention as it i..." Aoi dropped the phrase and his face showed tension. The bracelet in Hosuke's hand started vibrating and pressing into the flesh of his wrist.
He didn't need to ask what happened.
Two figures were clearly visible behind the Center's fence, in the same place where he and Aoi had found themselves so many times when they were high schoolers.
With the ease of someone who knew the Center by memory, his friend had already vanished down the corridors, towards the launch site.
He ran just in time to see the astronaut halt in front of the structure that sustained the rocket prior to launch.
There was no mistaking Aoi Daichi's raised shoulders and fisted-up hands. He curled his own fists in balls almost automatically.
The intruders... were already inside the fence.