mamoritai | f. megumi

四

"Where did you get that bruise?" Nanami's asks as soon as Momoka popped up from the living room, piles of books, notebooks and hand outs stacked on top of the light wooden coffee table.

"Oh- I tripped on the stairs while heading to my classroom." Momoka responded, quickly looking away in the hopes that her father wouldn't catch her cheeks turning pink when the classmate who actually helped her that moment named Megumi Fushiguro immediately came into her mind.

"Good job on today's work!" She cheerily comforted him, "Are you hungry already? I can make casse croute for dinner!" She offers.

"You don't have to." Nanami replied, taking off his glasses and placing it on top of the kitchen table, removing his coat off next before folding it and placing it neatly on top of his arm. "You've got a lot of homework to do. I'll make dinner for us." He said and with that, turned around to head into his room.

And as soon as Nanami closed the door behind him, Momoka gently layed her head on top of her textbook, staring into nothing as she's reminded of how Megumi helped her up and tied her shoe laces for her. Apart from her adoptive father, no other guy had been like that to her. Add the fact that what she feels whenever she sees Megumi is a foreign feeling.

A new, blossoming feeling. One where she could not describe what it really feels like.

What was this feeling she feels for him? Momoka couldn't really quite put it into words. It felt like she wanted to burst into a million pieces whenever the back of their hands brushed, whenever they'd talk while solving a math problem together and she felt like she wanted to sulk whenever other girls tried to approach him.

Pushing away all of her thoughts of him, Momoka lifted her head back up and resumed into working on her homework, just in time when Nanami came out of his room, already wearing his home clothes.

. . . . . . . . . . ♡

When the two hour free period came the following day, Momoka remained seated on her spot inside their classroom and placed her backpack on top of her lap, pulling out her copy of The Story of the Heavens.

"I didn't take you for one to be into space and the constellations."

Momoka lifted her head up and found Megumi sitting again in his place. A blush immediately painted her cheeks, clearing her throat, Momoka averted her eyes back to her book.

"I find the vast cosmic spaces really interesting." She replies, "Don't you think it's fascinating to know what lies beyond our reach? The deep space? Outer space? The void above?"

"No." he plainly responded to her question.

"What?" Momoka immediately answered, her eyes slightly wide in surprise. "How come you're not? Are you not interested in the dead stars?" She asks, chuckling softly as she is trying to slightly lift his mood.

"I mean, I've seen organizations show the world what the back of the moon looks like. But what if were only being fooled around and the back of the moon doesn't really look like that? What if there really isn't life outside this planet and were being trained to believe that there is?" Megumi responded.

"If someone told you that there is water in another planet, wold you believe them?" He throws another question to her.

His words had Momoka thinking. He did have a point, but his perception never made her think otherwise. "I still think that the constellations orbiting around us is still a work of art. And if someone tells me that there is water in Mars or on the moon, of course I'd believe them. Why? Because that's the whole reason why were studying them, right? If I won't believe them, then their years of searching, researching, look for an answer at some things we can't really answer will all just go to waste" She responded.