Chapter 2

Two days after the meteor shower, the weather showed no signs that autumn would soon be on its way. In the midday heat mirages shimmered above the hot tarmac while scant patches of cloud drifted lazily across the sky.

Dressed in light summer clothing, Aoi and Subaru make their way toward the bus stop closest to their homes as a chorus of cicadas serenaded them from the trees above.

"So what kind of accessories are you thinking about getting, Subaru?" Aoi asked, her hands tucked in the pockets of her shorts.

Subaru touched her lips thoughtfully, strands of her pink hair swayed as she walked. "Hmm, my mom got me a new yukata this year. It's pink, and there are stars printed on the sleeves and hem. There's even a small purse made with matching fabric! I was thinking about getting a bracelet or new hair clips to match the yukata, but I don't have a good idea of what I should get."

Turning to Aoi, Subaru smiled shyly, "Aoi-chan, you have a much better sense of style than I do. So I was hoping you could help me pick something out today."

Aoi looked away sheepishly. "I-I'm not some sort of fashion expert or anything, you know!"

"But I think you do have really good taste. Even though you don't like to let on the fact that you like clothes, I think you have a very keen eye for putting outfits together," Subaru replied sincerely.

Hearing her friend's compliment, Aoi couldn't help but smile back. "Alright then, we'll see what we find at the shopping arcade, and I'll try to give you my best suggestions."

"I look forward to it!" Subaru beamed.

As they approach the bus stop, Aoi's footsteps came to a halt when she saw Kyou sitting by herself on one of the benches, a thick stack of papers cradled in her arms.

Kyou noticed them too, and greeted the two girls from her seat. "Oh! Hi there, Aoi-chan, Subaru-chan. Where are you two going today?"

"To the shopping arcade," Subaru answered. "What about you, Kyou-chan?"

"I'm going there too." She looks down at the bundle of papers in her arms, and Subaru could see they were posters for the hospital blood drive. "I put some up around the park this morning. I'm planning to post the rest around the shopping arcade."

"That's a lot of posters, though. Are you sure you can do it on your own?" Aoi looked doubtfully at the half-inch thick stack of posters.

Hearing this, Subaru got an idea, and she said to Kyou, "I can help you put up the posters. Then it won't take as long!"

Aoi's brows furrowed at her friend's impulsive decision. "But didn't you say you wanted to buy accessories to wear to the Tanabata Festival?"

Subaru nodded, and folded her hands behind her back. "We can still look around while we're there. Maybe we can also ask some of the shop owners if they would be willing to let us put up one of the posters in their store to help promote the blood drive?"

"That's a great idea, Subaru-chan!" Kyou smiled broadly and turned to Aoi. "Aoi-chan, will you help too?"

Seeing both Kyou and Subaru looking expectantly at her, Aoi sighed heavily and muttered, "That's what I get for being friends with you two."

As much as she was exasperated by their behavior sometimes, a part of Aoi was glad that Subaru and Kyou were getting along so well. Shrugging her exasperation aside, Aoi smiled and, taking a deep breath, said, "Alright then, I'm in!"

Once they arrived at the shopping arcade, it quickly dawned on the girls that their task was going to be a lot more difficult than they thought it would be. Everywhere they looked, from utility poles to windows and walls, there were decorations and advertisements for the Tanabata Festival, leaving very little room for them to put up their own posters.

"At least we got a few shop owners to put up a poster in their shops," Aoi sighed, fanning herself with the stack of posters she was holding. "We've been walking around for nearly an hour already, and yet look at all these posters we still have to put up."

Kyou, however, was not ready to give up so easily. She wiped her sweaty brow and raised her head up toward the street. "We've only gone through the first part of the arcade. There are still three more sections left. Let's keep going!"

"Okay," Subaru nodded, tucking a stray lock of damp hair back behind her ear as they walked up to the intersection.

"Subaru! Hey!"

At the sound of her name, Subaru snapped around and saw Hikaru, Itsuki, and Nanako running to catch up to her. "Oh! Hi everyone, what are you all doing here?"

"Shopping for the Tanabata Festival, of course!" Hikaru flashed her a grin. "We tried calling you on your cell phone a couple times to see if you wanted to come along, but you never answered."

"Eh?!" Subaru shuffled the posters in her hands and pulled out her phone from the bottom of her purse. Sure enough, there were three missed calls and half a dozen missed text messages.

Looking sheepishly at her friends, Subaru offered them a weak smile, "Sorry! My phone was in my bag, and I was so distracted I never heard it ring."

"Don't worry about it, Subaru-chan," Itsuki smiled. Her eyes turned to the stacks of posters in the three girls' arms. "I take it the three of you are putting up posters for the blood drive?"

"Yeah, we ran into Kyou at the bus station," said Aoi. "But there are so many ads for the Tanabata Festival that it's hard to find space to put the posters up."

"If there's more people then it should be easier, right?" Nanako said, and reached to pick up a portion of the posters in Subaru's hands. "It might be hard for three people to find space for the posters, but with six pairs of eyes it will be a lot easier."

Itsuki and Hikaru looked at one another and smiled. "You have a good point there. After all, 'many hands make light work'!" Hikaru said as she took half of Kyou's stack of remaining posters.

"You guys…" Kyou was speechless for a moment as the girls divided the remaining posters evenly amongst themselves. The corner of her lips pulled into a big smile, and she said sincerely, "Thank you all so much!"

"There! It's done!"

The six girls looked on with pride as they stuck the final piece of tape onto their last poster in the window of a convenience store. By now it was late afternoon and after a lot of searching, taping, and at times cajoling shop owners, the girls had managed to find homes for all of the posters Kyou had printed.

The red-haired girl turned around and said to the others with a grateful smile, "As thanks, I'll buy drinks for everyone! Pick what ever you like; it's on me!"

"Yay!" Hikaru cheered, while the others nodded their thanks and the group dispersed through the store to pick out the beverage of their choice.

Subaru walked to the refrigerated drinks isle and reached for a carton of cold strawberry milk. To her surprise, another hand also reached for the same carton, and Subaru found Kyou standing next to her.

"Oh, sorry!" Kyou retracted her hand, but Subaru shook her head, and handed Kyou one of the pink cartons before taking another one for herself.

"You also like strawberry milk, Kyou-chan?" Subaru asked as they made their way to the register for checkout.

Kyou gave Subaru an ironic smile and said, "Actually, when I was little, I thought pink-colored milk was really weird. But when I was five years old my brother gave me some strawberry milk, and I've liked it ever since."

Subaru blinked in confusion as the store clerk scanned their items. "You changed your mind?"

"You could say it's because of nostalgia," Kyou answered as they exited the store and gathered around an empty bench.

Once she, Subaru, Aoi, and Itsuki have sat down on the short concrete bench, Kyou took a sip of the pink milk and looked back at the blood drive posters they all worked so hard to put up. "When we were kids he used to tell me stories about stars and constellations while we drank strawberry milk together. So the taste of strawberry milk reminds me of the pleasant memories I have with him."

The crease in Subaru's brows deepened at those words. She touched her chest and a strange feeling bubbled up inside of her.

Stories about stars and constellations, and sharing strawberry milk… Why does that sound so familiar?

While Subaru was lost in thought, Itsuki tilted her head forward and said to Kyou, "I'm really impressed by you, Kyou-chan. You work so hard to promote the hospital's blood drive. How long have you been working at the hospital? You seem like someone who's very passionate about medicine."

"This is my second summer working there. And you're right; my goal is to be a doctor someday. But right now I'm still a long way off. I still have high school and medical school to think about, after all," Kyou replied pragmatically.

"Speaking of which," Aoi frowned disapprovingly, "how did you get the volunteer position at the hospital anyway? How did they not catch on that you're still in junior high?"*

"Ah, about that…" Kyou noisily finished off the last of her strawberry milk. When she spoke again, there was an unmistakable mischievous twinkle in her brown eyes. "When I signed up for the volunteer position they just asked to see my school ID. My ID only says which year and class I'm in, not what my date of birth is. My school is a combined junior and senior high school, and since I'm a bit taller than most girls my age they didn't bother to look too closely at my ID and simply assumed I was a high school student."

Five mouths dropped open at Kyou's candid response. Mortified, Aoi stammered, "B-but what if they find you're not actually in high school? You could get kicked out of the volunteer program, and you won't be able to work there again!"

To everyone's surprise Kyou simply shrugged. She set the empty carton down on the bench and said, "I know that. This will be the last summer I'll be able to volunteer at this hospital anyway. I just want to do as much as I can while I'm still here."

"But why? " Hikaru wondered. "Short of them finding out about your age, what would prevent you from going back next year?"

Kyou stretched her arms forward and sighed. She lifted her eyes to gaze at the colorful Tanabata posters posted around the shopping arcade, and the same sober tone Subaru had briefly heard the night of the meteor shower replaced the normal good cheer in Kyou's voice.

"My brother fell into a coma many years ago after contracting meningitis while he was in the hospital. We thought he would never wake up, but last year he miraculously came out of his coma," she said, her voice brightening briefly. "He was moved out of the ICU, and has been improving steadily ever since. Now he's well enough that his doctors and our parents have decided he can be transferred to a medical facility where they specialize in rehabilitating patients with his type of condition."

Kyou's gaze drifted back to the people passing in front of her, a sad smile on her lips. "During the school year, with classes, homework, and club activities, I don't have many opportunities to visit my bother in the hospital. I wanted to spend more time with him during summer vacation while doing what I can to assist in his recovery. So when I entered junior high last year I thought I'd give volunteering a shot, and to my surprise, I was accepted!

"But the rehab facility he's going to is half an hour away by train. Once school starts I'll have even fewer opportunities to see him. I know as I am right now, there's very little I can do for him, but I want to put in as many hours as I can at the hospital to keep him company, and do what I can to help other patients who are also going through difficult times."

When Kyou looked back at the girls she saw that all of them had gotten misty eyed, and she blushed involuntarily at the sight of their empathy. "Y-you guys, don't cry!"

"Kyou-chan!" In unison, the five girls gave Kyou a collective bear hug, drawing curious glances by passing pedestrians.

When they finally pulled away and Kyou could breathe again, Subaru was the first to speak up, and she said with conviction, "I'll help you with the blood drive, Kyou-chan!"

Kyou blinked in confusion, and said hesitantly, "Why this all of a sudden…"

"You said it yourself that the hospital still need volunteers to help out with the blood drive, right?" Hikaru answered.

"But…"

Itsuki winked at Kyou, and said, "Just like you, Kyou-chan, each of us by ourselves can't do much to help patients in need, but I think together we can help out in ways that no single person can." Looking at her friends, Itsuki beamed, "Isn't that right, everyone?"

The five girls nodded in unison, and Kyou laughed, completely taken aback by the tremendous response she'd gotten from this group of girls whom she barely knew.

"You guys really are serious, aren't you?" she said quietly, a smile still lingering on her face.

Five pairs of firm, resolute eyes met her own, and Kyou nodded in acknowledgment of their support. "Very well, then! I'll meet you guys in the hospital lobby the morning of the blood drive."

Pushing herself up on her feet, Kyou held her hand forward. The other girls followed her example as they stood with their hands clasped together. "Let's all do our best!" Kyou began.

Then with six voices in unison, they shouted, "One, two, three! Let's go!"

A/N

*Age to volunteer at a hospital: this is a bit of hand wrangling on my part, since I don't know what the rules are in Japan. But based on my research, most hospitals in the US require volunteers to at least be in high school. Some children's hospitals I looked at accept volunteers as young as 13 years old, but I don't know how common these types of specialized hospitals are in Japan, so I went with the assumption that the hospital Minato is at is a prefectural level general hospital.

You can find the illustration for this chapter here (remove the space and replace the period with a dot): fav (period) me/d91milu

Thanks to Tomoyo Ichijouji for beta-ing!