Fandom ( it takes all the stars to align ) ••• starfallen.txt & redrobinwing

[starfallen.txt]

DANCE WITH YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE
the risk is what makes it beautiful!

Chika hummed in thought, taking a sip of her chocolate milk tea before saying, "You heard of Mai? Don't really know what she looks like because of the obvious, but she sounds all... nice and sweet, I guess. Anyways, Mai introduced us to each other. She's kind of our translator sometimes, too."


Mirai nodded, smiling to herself. She can't really type anything out right now - what with holding a drink in one hand and Chika's own hand in the other, just to guide her back - but she figured she didn't really need to say anything, either.


"And you know? Mai isn't half bad at matching friends together. Ha!" Chika grinned. "And I bet she ain't half bad at matchmaking either, eh? Eh?" This time, since she knew where Mirai was, the girl playfully nudged her. "I mean, if she wanted, Mai could probably hook you up with Hi--"


A harder-than-intended punch to the shoulder shut Chika up right away.


"Alright, alright! Geez, you always punch too hard. Man." Chika rubbed her shoulder, but the little smile on her face showed Hisao that she really didn't mind. It seems like they do this all the time.


"Anyways. So, Hisao, when'd you come to Yamaku, anyways? I mean, I know I can't see anything, but Mirai can, and she recognizes pretty much everyone in the school except for you."

 

[Redrobinwing]

Again, Hisao wasn't sure how to respond to Chika's teasing. It all seemed targeted at Mirai more than him, so he figured he'd just keep quiet for now. It was all in jest anyways, she obviously didn't mean anything serious by it.

From what he could tell, Chika did most of the talking for both of them, which made sense since; as far as he could tell, Mirai was mute. Typing on her phone was probably difficult too, especially in conversation. He wondered if she knew sign language because of her condition. He turned slightly towards Chika when she spoke. "I just got here. Today's my first day, actually."

 

[starfallen.txt]

DANCE WITH YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE
the risk is what makes it beautiful!

"Oh, really? That's awesome! Welcome," Chika responded. "You like it here so far?" It was the end of the day, and Chika was almost a hundred percent sure someone else had asked Hisao this question before, but what else did she have to say? Since Mirai can't really contribute anything to the discussion in her current state, she felt the need to carry part of the conversation by herself.

Mirai only continued to walk, soon spotting the gates of Yamaku just a little farther ahead. Curfew was going to be in an hour or so, so they still had time to kill, if they wanted to. Listening to Chika talk to Hisao, she really wished she wasn't mute. Hisao seemed like a genuinely nice person, and he actually was cute and he seemed like a pretty cool person to talk to.

 

[Redrobinwing]

Hisao hid his amusement at her question. "It's cool so far. Everyone seems really nice." It had almost become a standard response whenever anyone asked the question. It made sense for people to ask, him being the new kid and all, and it was probably good that his answer was so positive. Even if he kept repeating it, it meant that the place really was nice and he wasn't just saying it to be polite. He considered bringing up the accommodations and how nice they must have been, but it might have been a bit impolite to bring up something to closely related to their disabilities. "Do you guys like it here?"

 

[starfallen.txt]

DANCE WITH YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE
the risk is what makes it beautiful!

"Mhm!" Chika smiled. "It gets a bit boring sometimes, but that just means I have to be here and spice everything up, y'know?" She placed her free hand on her hip, looking pretty proud of herself. For some reason. She really did love this school, though - sure, it was different from her previous schools, but it was the good kind of different. The kind of different where she can fit in.

Mirai only nodded at his question. She couldn't really do anything else, after all. All she could do was let go of Chika's hand, deciding she didn't need any more help after this point. They were pretty much right in front of Yamaku now, anyways.

 

[Redrobinwing]

The shorter girl earned another chuckle from Hisao. Chika seemed like the first person to have a sense of humor about everything. Not that everyone else wasn't happy or anything, just that she didn't mind making jokes about their situation. It was refreshing in a way.

Night had fallen long before they approached the gates of Yamaku. If he recalled correctly, curfew wasn't too far off, so it was probably best to part ways. He turned to the girls and gave a small smile. "It was nice meeting you guys." He waved to them. "And, thanks for the walk."

 

[starfallen.txt]

DANCE WITH YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE
the risk is what makes it beautiful!

Chika nodded, grinning her signature grin again. "Eh, don't worry about it. You're welcome to hang out with us again, if you wanna."


Mirai gave a little wave back, and for a second she looked like she was about to start walking back to her dorm, until she pulled her phone out. She tapped a few things on it, before taking hold of Hisao's sleeve and tugging gently on it. The girl then held her phone out, hoping he would get the message and type his number in.

 

[Redrobinwing]

Hisao was about to walk towards the boys dorms, but stopped when he felt a slight tug on his sleeve. He turned to see Mirai holding her phone out at him, the 'Contacts' page open with his name typed in at the top. He froze for just a moment, unsure of what to think. He almost looked to Chika for some clarification or help, but realized that she probably didn't know what was going on. Instead, he simply said, "Oh, sure." and typed his number into her phone. Thoughts of Chika's teasing came back to him as he finished. Maybe she was onto something... With that, he waved to the girls and started heading back to his dorm, rather confused as to what he'd just done.

 

[starfallen.txt]

DANCE WITH YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE
the risk is what makes it beautiful!

Mirai smiled, the faintest of blushes on her face as she bowed gratefully. She then turned around, grabbing Chika's hand again and leading her back to the girls' dorm. "What'd you do? I couldn't see anything!" the shorter girl cried. Mirai only smiled to herself, and she would have giggled if she had the voice to do so. "Wait, seriously, what'd you do? Come on!"

The pair disappeared behind the doors of the girls' dorm, just a little while before curfew started.

The next day...

"You both woke me up so eaaarly. I barely got any sleep last night."

"You barely get any sleep every night, Hoshiko."

"Airi's right, you know. You need to stop practicing guitar so late. Did you even do the homework?"

"We had homework?"

Mana sighed. She loved Hoshiko, but she really needed to start putting in effort in school. It was the last year of high school, too; not to mention it was nearing the end of it.

A few moments later, and the three girls soon reached the bleachers near the track. Mana and Airi both sat, while Hoshiko stepped up to the row above them and lay down on the seats. "So why'd you wake me up so early, anyways?" the orange-haired girl asked, looking at both Mana and Airi. "We gonna watch Airi do her morning jogs or what?"

Airi giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "Just hanging out, silly. The track field feels nice in the morning." This whole thing was obviously her idea. She was right, though - it was just the slightest bit chilly in the morning, despite it nearing summer. It felt relaxing, and the chilly air even woke Hoshiko up a bit.

"...Eh, sounds nice enough, I guess."

 

[Redrobinwing]

Hisao let out a small yawn and stretched his arms out as far as they would go. It was a little early in the morning for him to be awake, but the school nurse had recommended that he start jogging every day to help strengthen his heart. It seemed like a good idea, and the nurse was rather forceful about it, so here he was, dressed in his old gym clothes and stepping foot onto the school's track. His sleepiness was evident from the bags under his eyes, and his movements still a bit sluggish. Still, he was about to get into a ready position until he noticed a familiar face sitting on the bleachers. A perfect opportunity to procrastinate. Hisao smiled and walked up to the group of girls and gave a wave to Hoshiko. "Hey Hoshiko."

 

[starfallen.txt]

ONE IN A MILLION I MAY BE
but i'm also a million in one.

Hoshiko already looked halfway to falling back asleep when Hisao came up to them. She blinked a few times, trying to get herself fully awake again, before deciding to just sit straight up instead of just lying there. "Hey, Hisao." She smiled, giving him a little wave. She still looked immensely tired, though.

"Hey, now, who's this?" Mana piped up, an almost mischievous grin on her face. "You been making friends without my help? Actually making progress here, aren't we?"

Hoshiko huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yep. Don't need you anymore, Mana!" For a second she looked totally serious, until she let her arms back down and gave a little grin of her own. "Nah, just messin'. Anyways, hey, Hisao, meet my friends! This is Mana." She gestured towards the brown-haired girl, who raised her hand and waved towards Hisao. "And this is Airi."

"Hey!" The jacket-clad girl smiled. "Why're you up so early? Going jogging or something?" Come to think, she herself needed to do her morning jogs, too. She hadn't actually been doing them for the past few months. Oops.

 

[Redrobinwing]

Hisao let out a small chuckle when Hoshiko teased Mana. She seemed much less awkward than yesterday, which was good. Maybe it had something to do with her friends being around her. Nevertheless, he gave a wave to both of the new girls. "It's nice to meet you both." He gave them a smile. The sleep was starting to fade from his eyes, though the girls could still probably see it if they looked close enough. He looked to Airi when she spoke. "Yes, I was planning on doing a bit of jogging, but I think I'll wait for a bit." Again the young man's procrastination instincts kicked in, and he hoped that they'd continue the conversation long enough for him to not have to run.

 

[starfallen.txt]

ONE IN A MILLION I MAY BE
but i'm also a million in one.

"Yeah, that's fair. I'm supposed to be jogging, too, but I hate jogging." Airi yawned, leaning back against the row of seats behind her. "It's nice to meet you too, by the way."

"So, Hisao, you heard of the festival coming up?" Mana suddenly chirped up. She was sure he had already been asked a lot of questions that were all largely similar, so she might as well ask him something she thought that might not have been asked yet. "I heard some people are going all out this year."

"Oh, yeah, huh..." Airi tilted her head a little bit. "I wonder what people are gonna sell this year..."

 

[Redrobinwing]

Mana was one of the first people to ask him about the festival, which was refreshing considering the usual question was 'How do you like the school so far?' Again, it wasn't that he cared, just that it was nice for someone to be a little different. He gave a nod in response to her question. "Yeah, I actually helped decorate for it yesterday. A girl named Mai told me about it." It may have been a little weird that he was already helping setup the festival, but he didn't mind. "Are you guys excited for it?"

 

[starfallen.txt]

ONE IN A MILLION I MAY BE
but i'm also a million in one.

Ah, Mai! Mana didn't have the chance to talk to her that much, but from what she'd seen of her, she seemed like a pretty nice person. "You helped decorate? That's nice," she replied, smiling. One of her hands planted itself on the space next to her, letting herself lean on it. "Are you going, though?"

"You should go. I'm actually going this year, I think," Hoshiko chirped up. She had gone back to lying down on the seats, it seemed like.

Airi shot Hoshiko a surprised look. "You think? You're not gonna put it off at the last second, are you?" she asked, tilting her head to the right. "You never go."

"Yeah, well, I might go this year. Who knows."

 

[Redrobinwing]

He nodded again. "Yeah, I think I'll go. Everyone makes it sound pretty cool, and what I've seen is pretty promising." Though he hadn't heard too much about it, the students who he'd talked to made the festival sound like the event that sort of capped off the year, an end-of-the-year party of sorts. The fact that Hoshiko was going surprised him a bit too. Even before Airi mentioned that she didn't usually go, Hisao had just assumed that the girl wasn't really the type to attend those sorts of events. He was glad that she was going though, maybe they could hang out a bit at the festival. Then again, maybe she would only go if Airi and Mana went. He looked to the two girls. "Are you guys going?"

 

[starfallen.txt]

ONE IN A MILLION I MAY BE
but i'm also a million in one.

"Mana and I always go. Maybe not together, but still." Airi shrugged, smiling a little bit. It was true - the both of them always went, but in the end, they would always separate to do their own thing. Mana usually went to go check out the origami some of the students are selling, and Airi would stay with the food stands.


"Yeah, she's right. There's so much to do, we kinda just drift away from each other each year!" Mana giggled. It seemed like she didn't really care if they kept getting separated each year. It had probably happened way too much that they had both gotten used to it. "Seriously, though, you should go. You too, Hoshiko. You both have to experience it at least once."


Hoshiko groaned slightly, looking tiredly at Mana. "I said maybe, okay? Geez." The girl pouted, staring up at the sky for now. It looked like it was light enough for people to start waking up now.

 

[Redrobinwing]

Hisao shook his head in amusement at the group's banter. The more he talked to students, the more comfortable he was getting around them. The disabilities that he noticed still put him off somewhat, but he was sure that the feeling was only temporary. He'd probably get over it soon. Realizing just how long he'd spent talking to them, though, he checked his watch and let out a small sigh. He still had to go for a run, even if he didn't want to, even if it was just to avoid getting scolded by the nurse. "Well, I should probably go for my run. It was nice meeting you guys." He gave a little wave to the girls. "I hope to see you at the festival! See you later Hoshiko." With that, he returned to the track and started jogging.

 

[starfallen.txt]

ONE IN A MILLION I MAY BE
but i'm also a million in one.

"See ya," Hoshiko called out, waving in return. The faintest of smiles was on her face.

Airi giggled a little bit, nudging the girl a little bit with her elbow. "You're gettin' popular, Hoshi."

"Shush."

It was lunchtime again, and everything was normal.

Some students were already making their way towards their own spots for lunch. Some stayed in the lunchroom. Others, like Miu Imai, decided not to go to the lunchroom entirely.

She sat under a tree, smiling to herself as she read through the book - one of the only books in English in the Yamaku library, Specters of Scotland. She flipped through the pages every now and then, eyes flitting back and forth between the pages. It was perfect here. Absolutely perfect.

 

[Redrobinwing]

For the second time in two days, Hisao couldn't spot anyone he'd met sitting in the lunch room. Weird considering he'd met so many people already, but everyone was probably just at their own spots or doing their own thing. He didn't mind sitting alone, but the lunch room was a bit too crowded for that today. So, he brought his lunch outside in search of a decent spot to relax. It was a warm day, so any spot that he chose required shade, and sadly he couldn't find too much of it. After searching the campus for about ten minutes, though, he spotted a tree that looked to offer some decent relief from the ever-warm sun. Smiling a bit in relief, Hisao walked towards it, only noticing the girl sitting under it once he was only a few feet away. She was resting on the opposite side of the tree, and it looked like she had a book in her hand. Unsure if it was best to say nothing or ask for permssion, he went with the latter. "Do you mind if I sit?"

 

[starfallen.txt]

DREAM A DREAM SO GRAND
it becomes a nightmare.

Miu jumped at the sudden sound. She gently placed her bookmark between the pages, soon closing the book and looking up at the boy. She gave him an awkward smile, then nodded nervously. Her heart was pretty much pounding in her chest.

"Miu?"

A scratchy voice called out from a small distance away. It came from a tall, red-haired girl, soon making her way towards the tree. Once there, she looked over at Hisao, one eyebrow raised. "Who are you?"

 

[Redrobinwing]

Startled slightly by the sudden voice, Hisao looked back to see a tall red-head looking back at him. Something about the girl threw him off, she was much more... intimidating than everyone he'd met so far. Maybe it was just because of her stature, or maybe it was the strong way she carried herself. Whatever it was, it made him a bit nervous. "Oh, um, my name is Hisao Nakai. I'm a new student here. I was just asking..." He realized he didn't know the other girl's name yet. "... her if I could sit under the tree." If that wasn't okay, he was fine with finding another spot, but he didn't really see why it would be a problem.

 

[starfallen.txt]

DREAM A DREAM SO GRAND
it becomes a nightmare.

Ran Akiba still looked a bit suspicious after that. She kept her gaze on Hisao for a little bit longer, studying him for a few moments, before she shifted her focus to Miu. "Do you mind him sitting here?"

Miu only shook her head. She looked nervous still, but she was starting to relax again.

Ran nodded, sitting down between the two. She seemed a bit more casual now that she's sure that Miu's okay. "Name's Ran. This is Miu. She doesn't like to talk much. Or at all, really."

Miu peeked out from behind Ran, giving a tiny wave towards Hisao. There was a tiny smile on her face, and for a moment she almost looked cute.

"So. Hisao, huh? Nice name. Sounds cool, actually." Ran grinned, crossing her legs in front of her. "Never really heard it as a name before."

 

[Redrobinwing]

The almost instant change in attitude through Hisao off a bit. Ran was still rather intimidating, but she seemed to have backed off once Miu showed her approval. In fact, she seemed to be getting a bit friendly, which was probably even more surprising. "It's... nice to meet you both." He paused and gave a small wave to Miu, trying to hide his surprise as Ran continued the conversation. "Um, thanks." Again he paused, slightly confused by her last statement. "Where else have you heard it?"

 

[starfallen.txt]

DREAM A DREAM SO GRAND
it becomes a nightmare.

Ran thought for a second, before shrugging. "Not sure. Just haven't heard it used before in general, I guess."

"It's a nice name, though," Miu said, her voice so quiet it could have been easily drowned out in the faint chatter of nearby students. It was the first time she'd talked in a while. For a moment she hoped that no one had actually heard her, so that she could just keep reading and that Ran could just do all the talking for her.

Fortunately for her, Ran didn't seem to hear. "So, Hisao. Whaddya like to do in your spare time?" she asked, giving him a sideways glance. She wasn't really looking at him - for some reason, she thought that would be a bit awkward. She was trying to look cool here, after all.