The Stars in the Sky [Love is a Journey- Book 1]

The First Day Back

{Nagisa POV}

Our class vacation is finally over. It's the first day back to school, and honestly, I can't wait! Our island assassination attempt may have failed, but we still have until March. We still have a lot of time left to get even better!

I'm sitting in my room, packing my school bag, when my phone buzzes. I pick it up and see that Karma sent me a text... It says, "I'm gonna go beat up some bullies before school starts. I need someone to take pictures. Wanna come?"

I can't help it; I laugh. I reply, "Sure. Where do you wanna meet?"

Within a minute, my phone buzzes again. "The train station's good. Oh, and I used all of my wasabi on that samurai assassin guy. Would you bring that?"

"Sure. See ya, Karma!" I turn the phone off and continue packing my bag. Before I know it, I'm grinning from ear to ear. What an exciting first day back!

{Kayano POV}

Hahhhhh. The first day back to school. Back to classes with friends, back to my desk next to Nagisa... Now that my feelings for him have grown, that seating arrangement could be great for making a move... Eep! What am I thinking? I can't make a move! What if he says no? Waaaaaaa! This is complicated!

I shake my head firmly, zipping up my school bag and heading towards the door. School doesn't start for a while yet, but I can't just sit here and do nothing, or all I'll be able to think about is Nagisa. At first, I didn't have any feelings for him at all... I just needed someone with a lot of bloodlust to hide my own. But now...

"Bad Kayano!" I scold myself out loud, blinking the thought away. Maybe I'll go to the train station. After all, there's an arcade inside... That could help to take my mind off of Nagisa. It HAS to. I am NOT about to let myself fall in love. I have to keep my feelings in check... Unless Nagisa decides he likes me, too.

I dash out of the door and start running to the train station. Maybe if I run fast enough, I can leave my emotions far behind me. Maybe I can strain myself so much that all I can think about is the burning in my legs as I keep running, running... I finally make it to the station. My chest heaves as I gulp for air, bending over with my hands on my knees. Maybe I ran too fast. I'm a bit lightheaded, and I feel really weak...

"Kayano?" A familiar voice asks, "Are you okay?"

I glance up in surprise to see Nagisa standing over me. "What? Y-yeah! I just ran a little too fast, is all..." I try to straighten up, but my vision gets hazy, and I feel myself falling...

"Whoa!" Nagisa gasps, catching me. "I think you need to sit down. Just how fast did you run, anyway?"

"I don't know," I laugh, as Nagisa helps me over to a bench. He gently lowers me down, making sure that I don't fall again. I blush. He's being so nice to me... Of course he is, you're his best friend, I remind myself, closing my eyes. He doesn't like me. I need to get over him.

"Well, this just might be the highlight of the day," Nagisa jokes, sitting next to me. "Who knew I'd run into you here, huh? And to think, I thought that all I was doing this morning was taking pictures of Karma torturing bullies..."

"So that's why you're here," I laugh. "Is he gonna use the mustard again?"

"And the wasabi," Nagisa confirms, holding up the tube with a sly smile on his face. "After he beats the guys up, of course. I can tell that this is going to be good." He leans back, his smile becoming more serene. "What a crazy first day back, huh?"

"Yeah," I agree, a smile of my own forming. Maybe this is it. Maybe he's about to tell me that he likes me... That would be the best thing in the world...

"Hey, Kayano?" My heart skips a beat, but all Nagisa says is, "Do you want a water or something? You're probably really dehydrated after running like that."

"Yeah, sure," I say, downhearted. What was I getting my hopes up for?

I pull a hundred yen out of my pocket for Nagisa to pay with, but he says, "No, no, my treat. Don't worry about it." With that, he walks over to the vending machine, leaving me alone on the bench...

"What was THAT? You're not making any progress!"

I spin my head around to face the person who had just spoken. "Karma! I didn't know you were there!"

"Of course not!" Karma laughs, jumping over the bench to plop down next to me. "I was spying, obviously. Why didn't you make your move? The moment was perfect!"

I blush beet red as I stutter, "K-Karma! I can't! What if Nagisa doesn't share my feelings? Our friendship could be ruined forever!"

Karma sighs agitatedly. "Kayano, Nagisa may be a dense idiot, but something tells me he has feelings for you. He just hasn't realized it yet." He smiles kindly, sincerely, something that I haven't come to expect from Karma. It cheers me up a little.

"Oh, hey, Karma!" Nagisa's back with the water; he greets his old friend cheerfully. "You ready to go beat up some bullies? I brought the wasabi!"

"Alright, that's the spirit!" Karma laughs. Nagisa calls out a goodbye to me, then starts towards town. Before Karma follows him, he turns back to me. "Remember what I said," he whispers. Then he jogs to catch up to Nagisa, and I'm left all alone.

CHAPTER THREE IS DONEEEEEEEEE! This book is seriously easy to write. The ideas just keep flowing. I've been fantasizing about this ship for a while now, and now that I'm writing it down, it just keeps getting more fun! Maybe it's making fun of the dense protagonist cliche, maybe it's the fact that Kayano's being stubborn, but whatever it is, it's making this really enjoyable. I'll see you guys next time!