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

[Redrobinwing]

A quiet, light voice came from Miu's direction. Hisao could have swore that she said something, but when he glanced at her, she didn't seem to have spoken a word. Shrugging it off as a figment of his imagination, he returned his attention to Ran. "It depends on what mood I'm in. I like to read a lot, sometimes I play chess, and I used to play a bit of soccer when I was at my old school." He calmed down slightly now that Ran seemed to have done the same, though he still couldn't help but feel a bit more timid than normal. "What about you guys?"

 

[starfallen.txt]

DREAM A DREAM SO GRAND
it becomes a nightmare.

"Eh, I'm not that interesting. Maybe a bit of softball back when I first came here. Now I kinda just hang out. Not really much to do." Ran shrugged again, leaning against the tree and staring up at the leaves. The sunlight filtering through the leaves hurt her eyes a bit, but it didn't really look like she minded. "Miu likes to read too, though."

At the mention of reading, Miu seemed to perk up and listen more closely to the conversation. "What kind of books do you like to read?" she asked, this time actually looking at Hisao. Her voice was a bit louder this time, and this time she actually hoped he heard her.

 

[Redrobinwing]

Ran definitely seemed like the sort of girl to play sports. He had to wonder, though, why she was at the school, since a lot of the conditions that students had would probably prevent them from playing sports. Before Hisao had a chance to respond to Ran, though, the same small voice from before came from Miu's direction. It took the young man a second to register what she'd said, but when he did, he smiled a bit. "Oh, I like to read a lot of stuff. Some books about science, maybe some fantasy sometimes, and on occasion I'll read a horror book." He was glad to hear her speak to him, especially since it seemed like she wasn't looking to Ran for any protection.

 

[starfallen.txt]

DREAM A DREAM SO GRAND
it becomes a nightmare.

Miu smiled to herself - maybe one of the first expressions her face had made for the day. "I love horror," she said softly. "Or anything about ghosts... I'm reading something about ghosts right now." She held up the Specters of Scotland up just enough for him to see it from where he was sitting. "It's a bit hard to get through, but it's really interesting."

Ran seemed to smile at their little interaction. It wasn't everyday someone got Miu to actually talk without making her uncomfortable, and it was rarer still for her to be able to do that with someone she just met.

 

[Redrobinwing]

Hisao felt a tinge of awkwardness fade as Miu added more to the conversation. It seemed like she was opening up more, which was surprising given how he imagined her usually being. Ran seemed happy about it too. A bit surprised, but overall happy. It probably wasn't everyday that Miu spoke to relative strangers. Glancing at his watch, he saw that they had a few more minutes until the end of lunch. He tried to keep their conversation going in the hopes that he'd get to know Miu a little more. "That sounds cool. What's the book about?"

 

[starfallen.txt]

DREAM A DREAM SO GRAND
it becomes a nightmare.

"Just about some ghosts in Scotland. It's really nice so far. I'm about halfway through already." Her tiny smile bloomed into a grin. She held the book to her chest, almost looking like she was hugging it for a moment. "If you want, I can let you borrow after I'm done."


Ran only continued to listen, folding her arms behind her head and using them as some sort of makeshift pillow. It was nice listening to Miu talk for once, and this Hisao person doesn't seem like a bad person, either.

 

[Redrobinwing]

"That sounds pretty interesting. I'd be happy to borrow it after you're done." It was obvious Miu was getting excited over getting to share her book, and it made Hisao feel happy to be able to make someone else feel like that. He had never really had a friend who was into books like he was, so the thought of finding someone made him feel a bit excited too. Just as he was about to ask her more about her reading, a bell sounded throughout the campus grounds and brought an end to their conversation. With a sigh, Hisao got up and waved to both of the girls. "It was nice meeting you two, but I have to go. Let me know when you finish that book Miu, I'd be happy to discuss it once I read through it." With that, he left for his next class.

 

[starfallen.txt]

IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
and i could still breathe and survive ー

"See ya!" Ran called out, grinning. Miu herself gave a small wave, still smiling to herself.

"You're actually talking. I'm proud of you, Miu."

"Thanks, Ran."

Hoshiko route chosen!

A few days later, and it was finally the festival.

Hoshiko had promised she would come. She didn't realize how much she would regret that decision until the actual day of the festival.

The main area was already filling up with students. The stands were everywhere, and the scent of various food wafted through the air. It was noisy with the chatter of students, too. This was her first festival, and Hoshiko already kind of hated it. Maybe if she could find Mana or Airi, or anyone else she knew really, it would get better, but...

She found herself strolling around, looking at the various stands. She could buy something, but...

Ah, screw it. Why not?

The girl approached the origami stand, looking over the little paper creations. Damn, these were expensive. Maybe not really, but for someone who was barely scraping by, damn, these were expensive.

She didn't bring her wallet, anyways.

Hoshiko sighed, deciding to just not buy anything. Technically, she had gone to the festival. She could just go back to her dorm or go to the roof and just chill, and technically Mana wouldn't get on her case for not attending.

She turned away and was about to make her way to the roof until she spotted someone familiar in the crowd. She watched for a second, tilting her head, making sure it's who she thought it was. Hoshiko approached him soon enough, tapping on his shoulder to get his attention.

"Hisao?"

 

[Redrobinwing]

As he expected, Hisao ended up going to the festival alone. Most of the people who he'd met so far were working at one of the booths, and he hadn't been able to ask others. That left his roommate, who was a mess on quite a few different levels. So, in the end, he ended up going alone. Not that he cared, it was kind of nice to have a bit of time to himself.

Most of the booths were actually rather impressive, which was kind of surprising considering that most of them were student-run. The food looked delicious, the items on sale were neat, and the decorations were pretty nice too. He made a mental note to compliment Mai on her work whenever he saw her. He'd just finished playing one of the games when he felt a light tapping on his shoulder. He turned, curious to see who it was, and smiled. "Oh, hey Hoshiko." Truth be told, he wasn't sure if she would come, but obviously she proved him wrong. "You ended up coming, huh?"

 

[starfallen.txt]

IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
and i could still breathe and survive ー

Hoshiko shrugged, one of her hands moving up to rub her other arm nervously. "I guess I did, yeah." She was starting to be all awkward again - there was no Mana or Airi to be here with her to talk in case she didn't know what to say. She considered making up a weak excuse to get away, but at the same time, she did enjoy spending time with Hisao. Not to mention she hadn't been able to talk to him since last time. Plus, it would be rude. Right? Right.

She decided against making an excuse, and instead tried to continue the conversation. "What game were you playing?" she asked, shooting a curious glance towards the stand he was just facing. She... couldn't really tell what it is. Wow, Hoshiko, you idiot. Can't even tell what kind of festival game you're looking at. Go outside more, shut-in.

 

[Redrobinwing]

Hisao's smile faltered slightly when he noticed Hoshiko rubbing her arm nervously. She was getting anxious again, which made him feel a little disappointed. She had been doing really well when he spoke to her at the track field, but the way she was acting now pretty much confirmed his suspicion that she had an easier time when Mana and Airi were around. Still, she wasn't trying to get out of the conversation, in fact she seemed to be trying to keep it going, which was definitely a step in the right direction.

He glanced back towards the game he had just been playing. "Oh, just a ring toss game. I was one ring off from getting a prize." He shrugged in indifference towards his loss. He'd never been very good at games like that. "What have you been up to? Are you enjoying the festival so far?"

 

[starfallen.txt]

IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
and i could still breathe and survive ー

Hoshiko glanced at the stand again. Yeah, it did look like a ring toss game now that she knew what it was. "I was, just... walking around, I guess. I can't really do anything." She laughed nervously, looking away for a second. "I'm actually not enjoying it as much as I thought it would. I thought maybe if I could just tag along with someone I knew for a while, I'd start to actually have fun, you know?" She smiled, hoping he would get the idea and let her come along. (Or maybe she can just go and find someone else. Or better yet, just go back to her dorm. After all, why would anyone ever willingly let a mess like her come along? Damn, Hoshiko, you're asking for too much.)

"Only if you want to, I mean," she suddenly added, without even waiting for a reply yet.

 

[Redrobinwing]

Hisao could be a bit clueless at times when it came to hints, but luckily, Hoshiko was pretty obvious about what she was implying. He smiled again. "Sure, that sounds fun actually." It'd be nice to explore the festival with another person tagging along. The company would certainly be nice. Plus, they could try their hand at some of the games that required partners. If Hisao recalled correctly, there had been a group game only a few stalls away, but he was getting ahead of himself. He didn't want to just drag Hoshiko around to the places that only he wanted to go to, that'd make it boring for her. "Is there anything in particular you wanted to do?"

 

[starfallen.txt]

IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
and i could still breathe and survive ー

Oh thank god that didn't end badly.

Hoshiko mentally sighed in relief, giving him a little grin. As for what she wanted to do, well... To be honest, she hadn't really checked out any of the games yet. The food looked good, but would it be rude to ask him for some food right away? It was only noon, too... She looked around for a second - there were a lot of games in this area. Maybe she could just pick one randomly and it'd still work out okay in the end. Sure, that could work.

"What about that one?" she asked, pointing towards a nearby stall. It was one of those scooping games, from the looks of it. Small plastic toys were floating idly inside a medium-sized water-filled tub, and there was already a few students trying to scoop even one of the toys before the fragile paper tears in half. "It seems fun."

 

[Redrobinwing]

Hoshiko pointed to a nearby stall that was hosting a scooping game. Admittedly, he was a bit hungry, but a game or two before eating sounded like a good idea. The game looked well-crafted enough, though that probably wasn't hard considering how simple it looked. Hisao had never tried it, but he'd seen people play it before. He shrugged. "Sure, that sounds good."

As they navigated their way through the crowd, Hisao attempted to keep their conversation going. If he remembered correctly, Hoshiko played the guitar quite a bit. She was pretty enthusiastic about it when they met, so that was probably a good subject to bring up. "So, Hoshiko, have you been practicing guitar at all lately?"

 

[starfallen.txt]

IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
and i could still breathe and survive ー

Hoshiko nodded. "Oh, yeah! Of course!" she replied, smiling. Maybe she had missed out on a lot of classes just to practice, but at least she was practicing, right? "I'm always practicing, actually. Don't really have anything else to do." She hid her arms behind her back, staring straight ahead towards the scooping game.

"What... what about you? What've you been doing recently? I haven't been able to talk to you in a while." Was it necessary to add that last part, Hoshiko? She looked away sheepishly, hoping the tiniest bit he wouldn't comment on it.

 

[Redrobinwing]

It seemed like she was more into guitar than he thought. It was cool that she practiced all the time though. it showed she was dedicated. She must have enjoyed it too, considering how enthusiastic her response was. Maybe he could see her play sometime, if she ever did any public performances.

Hisao gave a bit of a shrug in response. "Just going through the motions, I guess. Keeping up with school work, reading sometimes, not all that much." He'd been slacking a bit on his running, despite the nurse's nagging, mostly due to how early he usually had to wake up to do it. It was too warm in the afternoon after school, and weekends were for fun times, not forced exercising. "Yeah, it's been a while. Sorry about that, I guess I just haven't seen you around campus."

 

[starfallen.txt]

IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
and i could still breathe and survive ー

"Oh, no, it's fine! I'm barely around, anyways." Hoshiko shrugged it off. There was pretty much no way he could have found her the past few days, especially with all the places she hangs out in throughout the day. "Oh, hey, I think we should hurry up. There's a small line for the scooping game already," she pointed out, starting to speed up her walking a bit.

She had to admit, even though they haven't really done anything yet, she was starting to kind of enjoy the festival. It was nice to spend time with someone for once, even if it was just talking.

"You good at scooping games?" she asked, tilting her head.

 

[Redrobinwing]

Hisao chuckled a bit when she called it a 'scooping game'. He didn't know what the game was called, it was slipping his mind at the moment, and it seemed like Hoshiko didn't know either. It was kind of cute, actually, the way she said it. "Yeah, we can hurry." He sped up a bit and fast-walked towards the stall in hopes of getting a decent place in line, making sure that he didn't lose Hoshiko in the crowd. Luckily, they only had a few people in front of them when they reached the line. The stall was well sized, large enough to fit a few workers and set up so that multiple groups could play the game on each side. They had a couple of minutes to wait until it was there turn from the looks of it. "Just a heads up, I'm not really that good at games like this."

 

[starfallen.txt]

IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
and i could still breathe and survive ー

"Oh, trust me, I'm not either. This is my first time, actually." She was starting to relax a bit more. She peeked from behind the students in front of them, stealing a glance at the game. It seemed fun enough, and it looked like you could keep any of the toys you actually managed to scoop up. Some of the students currently playing weren't very good at it, either, while others were able to snag one or two before the paper tore.

"You think we can actually get anything?" Hoshiko asked, grinning a bit. She hoped to get at least one thing, even if it wasn't something she liked. It would at least remind her of today.

 

[Redrobinwing]

"I dunno, maybe. We can certainly try." He wasn't sure why, but he really wanted to get one of the toys. It wasn't like they were particularly cool or anything, in fact they were probably a bit cheap. Still, he was determined to get something out of the game Maybe he was being a bit optimistic, but something told him that they'd manage to get at least one thing between the two of them.

Within a minute or two, Hoshiko and Hisao managed to get to the front of the line. One of the students handling the game asked for some yen to participate in the game. Immediately, Hisao noticed that the student was missing one of his hands, but avoided bringing any attention to it. He was still working to adjust to the disabilities of his fellow students; it was a pretty big culture shock. Hoshiko's eye was a little less jarring, but only because he'd had a little longer to get used to it. Focusing back on the game, he handed the kid enough money for both him and Hoshiko to play. He looked to the girl and gave her a small, friendly smile.

 

[starfallen.txt]

IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
and i could still breathe and survive ー

"You didn't have to pay for me," Hoshiko pointed out, though her tone made it sound like she was relieved that he did. "Well, whatever. I'll pay you back. Come on!" Without even thinking about it, she gently grabbed Hisao's wrist and dragged him towards the tub, taking two of the paper scoopers as she did so. She let go of him then.

There were still several toys floating around in the tub. Most of them stuck to each other as they floated on the water, and trying to scoop two at a time would just lead to torn paper. There were a few toys floating by themselves, and one of them in particular caught Hoshiko's eye. She was probably going to go for that one. "You wanna go first?" she asked, handing him one of the scoopers she had taken from the front of the stand. With a little chuckle, she added, "You still look like you would do better at this than me."

 

[Redrobinwing]

Despite Hoshiko's insistence that he didn't have to pay for her, the tone in her voice suggested that she was grateful that he did. He was happy to do it though; Hoshiko was cool, and he wanted to make sure she enjoyed the festival. Before he could say anything about it though, the girl grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the game they were playing.

Hisao stared at the tub for a good few moments, trying to figure out a good strategy to actually get some of the toys. Many of them were stuck together, which made it infinitely harder to grab any of them. There were, however, some that floated on their own; those would be his target. He bit his lip in thought as he picked out which one he'd go for, but Hoshiko's voice broke his concentration. "Yeah, sure, I can go first. Trust me though, I won't do very well." He accepted the scooper that she handed him and, carefully, hovered it above the water and beside one of the toys. Once he had prepared himself to go for it, he dipped the tool underwater and managed to scoop up one of the toys and drop it in his hand just as the scooper came apart. A small wave of satisfaction washed over Hisao as he smiled pridefully. "Got one!"

 

[starfallen.txt]

IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
and i could still breathe and survive ー

Hoshiko nodded, then concentrated on the toy she wanted for a second. She thought about how to go about doing this - would it be better to go slow and steady, or as quick as possible? Going slow would risk tearing the paper, while going quick would risk missing the toy in general and tearing the paper if she was unlucky enough. After a few moments of thinking, she took a deep breath, and finally reached for the little figurine.

She dipped the scooper in the water, slowly letting the toy rest on the fragile paper. Almost immediately after she was sure she got it, she quickly moved the scooper away from the water. Before she could get it to her hand, though, the paper finally tore apart, dropping the toy right on the rim of the tub. The toy landed on the ground instead of the water.

"Uh... does that count?" she asked, bending down to pick the toy up. It was a little plastic bird, colorful and pretty cute. "I mean, it didn't fall back in the water..." Hoshiko looked up at Hisao, a nervous smile on her face. She looked like she was about to burst into laughter, though - she just got so very lucky.

 

[Redrobinwing]

Hisao watched Hoshiko's attempt. It was much more careful than his own, and at first it seemed to pay off as she was able to grab one of the toys. When the scooper tore apart, though, he held back a chuckle when she picked up the toy. He wasn't sure what the rules were for dropping one on the ground, but since nobody said anything, he assumed it was alright. "I think it does." A small laugh managed to escape his lips as he spoke.

As they left the stall, Hisao looked to the toy he'd picked up. It was a small action figure, maybe from a video game he had never played. It looked cool though, so he'd probably keep it. Once he finished giving it a once over, he turned to Hoshiko. "That was pretty lucky that we both got one." He smiled. "I told you we could do it."