~To My Shooting Star~

~Camp Start!~

The sound of Masaru's alarm clock rings early in the morning. It was 6am. Masaru got up and turned off his alarm. 

"Yahoo! orientation camp!" Masaru jumped in the air with joy. He took out his phone and searched for the packing list on the school website. Soon, Masaru was all ready to go. Just as he was about to step out of his house, his phone vibrated. Masaru took his phone out and he saw a message coming from Hina Hasegawa.

"Good morning! what are we supposed to pack for today? ;>:" Hina messaged.

Masaru gave a warm smile before sending Hina the packing list on the school website. Hina thanked Masaru profusely. Afterward, Masaru walked to school thinking about all the fun he might have in orientation camp. Soon, as Masaru was almost in front of his school gate, he heard footsteps quickening behind him. Masaru turned around and saw Hina, she was panting and sweating. Her hair looked partially combed and her clothes wrinkled. 

"Good morning [pants] Masaru, you excited?" Hina asked with a glimmer in her eyes.

Masaru looked away and nodded his head, He could not bring himself to talk to Hina. He was too awkward, too shy to respond.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Hina said giggling at her own joke.

Masaru looked at Hina and gave an awkward smile. Hina then looked away feeling awkward, her face flustered with redness and embarrassment. She then started fidgeting with her fingers. The two of them walked side-by-side, there was an obvious awkward silence that none of them decided to break. Masaru kept giving Hina glances of curiousity but Hina was too focused fidgeting her fingers to notice his glances. 

After that, both of them arrived in school and made their way to the assembly point that was shown on a sign.

The assembly point was in the hall, there were tons of people from secondary 1 to secondary 4 all waiting for the announcements when the school bell rings. The atmosphere was really lively. Giggles and laughter could be heard from various angles with people smiling and joking around.

"How has everyone made friends with people in a day??" Masaru thought to himself as he searched for his class. 

"Hey Hina," a voice could be heard from the back. Masaru turned around and saw a guy his hair was curly and he was quite tall.

"oh hey Daiki," Hina replied in a monotonous tone as she looks away.

"Um what happened yesterday, you weren't replying to my texts and you didn't talk to me yesterday is there something wrong?" Daiki looked at Hina with a worried expression. 

"Daiki-kun!" a female voice could be heard yelling his name. 

Both Hina and Masaru looked in the direction. They saw a girl with blond tied up hair who was waving towards Daiki, she has a really big and warm smile. Then the girl walked up behind Daiki and jumped on him. Her arms wrapping around Daiki's neck. The sight was a horror for Hina. Hina bit her lip and clenched her fists. Her heart palpitated within her chest. Hina immediately looked towards Masaru and grabbed his arm, hugging it. Trying to inflict the feeling of jealousy in Daiki. Daiki did not react, instead he smiled at Hina feeling happy for her. Hina had a pouting expression on her face. Masaru also noticed that Hina looked worried, her breaths were short and fast, Masaru could feel warmth coming from Hina's head. Then the blond girl hugged Daiki's arm after seeing Hina hug Masaru's arm which made Hina even more upset.

"Daiki-kun who is she?" The blonde girl looks at Hina, looking up and down. Clearly she's judging Hina.

"Oh she's my childhood friend, Kane chan. Hina chan, meet my new girlfriend," Daiki exclaimed with a huge grin on his face

Hina was at a loss for words. Hina was quite hurt as she heard Daiki's words. Daiki did not like Hina the same way. Hina got rejected before even asking. Hina, trying to hold back tears, rushed somewhere as quickly as she could. Masaru saw her reaction and followed after her. Daiki was slightly worried for Hina's condition and also followed after her shortly after. 

Soon Hina was crying at a secluded stairway far away from all the hustle and bustle. Masaru saw Hina crying. Masaru went up to Hina, who was sitting on the stairway, and sat beside her. For a while Masaru did not say anything. He then took a deep breath and spoke.

"A-Are you okay H-Hina?" Masaru stuttered with obvious nervousness in his voice. His body was quite stiff because he did not know how to react. He was biting his lips in awkwardness and clenching his lips together trying to manage his awkwardness.

"I'm [sniffs] fine, I always thought Daiki liked me the same way I liked him," Hina mumbled with a soft smile appearing on her face as a mechanism to cope. Hina then hugs her legs and rests her cheeks in between her knees. 

Masaru looked around trying to gather his thoughts. He was nervous, he was hesitant to reply because he was terrified he might hurt Hina's feelings

"W-well, you can't control who likes who, which is quite sad," Masaru mumbles as he slowly starts getting quieter. Hina looks at Masaru and giggles because Masaru was too socially awkward. Hina sees Masaru fidgeting with his fingers, it was clear that Masaru was nervous.

"You're a funny guy Masaru," Hina chuckles as she punches Masaru on the shoulder.

"Thanks for making me feel better," Hina stands up, stands in front of Masaru and gives Masaru a smile. Masaru blushes slightly and looks away feeling quite shy. 

"Come let's get back to the Hall shall we~?" Hina tilts her head. Masaru's heart was touched when she tilted her head. He clenched his trousers while looking down at the ground.

Masaru was blushing too hard. His face was pure red, his head turned hot and his heart rate increased significantly. Hina noticed it and poked him on the cheek, smiling at the same time, giggling. Masaru was so flustered he was feeling quite dizzy afterwards.

Masaru then stood up and looked around. After seeing no one, he replies.

"Y-yes lets return back, I'm excited for camp!" Masaru said, his shyness disappeared for a brief moment showing a glimmer of confidence and determination. Hina looks at Masaru in surprise. She never expected Masaru to be so confident in his words. Hina blushes slightly. Smiling softly at his confidence.

Both of them slowly made their way to the hall. Hina asking Masaru questions with Masaru mumbling to himself and looking away. Rushing footsteps could be heard coming closer. It was Daiki, drips of sweat trickling down his forehead, he was gasping for air, his hands placed above his knees as he looked down tired. Hina and Masaru were shocked when they saw Daiki appear out of nowhere. Daiki looked up and said

"Hina... Are.. you.. okay?" Daiki asked as he gasped for air, his face clearly in an expression of worry and confusion.

"yeah I'm fine Daiki, lets go Masaru," Hina replies as she tugs Masaru's sleeve and walks off, avoiding Daiki's questions.

After returning to the hall, the students were allocated into groups of 10. Ms Kataro then spotted Masaru and Hina walking in the hall.

"Oh great, you guys came just in time! So Hina, you're in Group 3 while Masaru is in group 4," Ms Kataro replied enthusiastically. Masaru's heart sank, he wanted to be in the same group as Hina. He did not know anyone except Hina, he was quite hesitant to make new friends. As Ms Kataro walked off, Hina said.

"You'll be okay right? In a group of strangers?" Hina asked Masaru with a questionable tone. 

"I-I'm sure I'll be fine. Besides, it's not like I've never made friends before." Masaru stutters and stumbles over his words while looking at Hina. 

Hina gave Masaru a warm smile. Masaru's heart became warm and fuzzy, his hands started to sweat. Her smile made Masaru feel so warm, he returned a warm smile back to Hina which made her blush.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~To My Shooting Star~

"No matter how much I look at you when you smile, you heal my pain and my struggles. It's like a moment of peace in a war of love,"

~Author, 11:42pm 3 October 2024