Sunlight Under the Stars

Nine: Ultimate Astronaut

Okay, maybe I was being a little overdramatic when I said this would take a miracle. It'd take a whole lot more self-confidence than I currently possess, which is kind of on par with a miracle, but still. There'd be a whole lot of unlikely things that would have to happen, is what I'm saying.

Kaede and I have a date scheduled for next week. Seven days until I have to undergo this hell again. Do I make up a game plan, brainstorm ways out of this? No, might as well resign to the pain this situation will inevitably bring me and just go about my day.

There's not too much to do on campus, so I spend most of my time in the library. Reading cheesy old mystery novels and stuff like that. It's not too exciting, but it's comforting. Helps me take my mind off things.

"Hey, Shuichi!" I look up from my armchair to see Kaito running towards me. "Thought I recognized you! Come on, training tonight!"

"Huh?" I look at the clock, and sure enough, it's well after 9 PM. "Oh, yeah... I guess I should go, huh?"

"Come on!" Without waiting for a real answer, Kaito grabs me by the arm and drags me outside.

"Ow! Hey, let me go!"

He doesn't. I'm not too surprised. Even if he is an idiot, he's probably the most single-mindedly determined person at the whole school. If he wants to get me outside, I'm going outside, no matter what I have to say about it.

He releases my arm a little bit when he realizes I'm following him on my own. Even so, he doesn't let me go completely, practically dragging me all the way out to the courtyard.

There's someone waiting for us there, and the first thing I see is a pair of eyes staring out of the blackness with murderous intent. I jump a little before realizing it's just Maki. Not totally sure why she's here...

"Oh, hey, have you met Maki?" Kaito asks brightly. "I invited her to train too because she seemed to be having a lot of trouble making friends."

"Do I look like I came here to make friends?" Maki redirects her stare towards Kaito, who doesn't falter under it. After a few seconds of that she sighs and gives up. "Geez, you really are an idiot. No survival instinct whatsoever."

"Hey!" Kaito's expression turns angry. "Who are you calling an idiot? Just cause I won't back down to a girl?"

Maki looks at the ground. "Whatever."

"Anyway..." Kaito shakes his head, looking a little like a dog trying to shake off water. It's kind of cute... no! Stop! I thought we covered these weird thoughts! Gah, I really hope I don't have to revisit that. "We came out here to train, so let's do that! Time for some push-ups!"

"Again?" Maki asks, sounding upset but resigned. "Push-ups and sit-ups are literally all we've done, and he's dragged me out here every night for a week straight."

Oh no. I should've seen this coming. I should've realized that this 'training' would include some kind of exercise. "Hey," I say nervously, "I'm not sure if I'm cut out for this..."

"Nonsense!" Kaito waves a hand at me dismissively. "That's the whole point of this – so we can get stronger! Cause a working body is a working mind, right?"

Maki shakes her head at him. "You don't know what you're saying."

She's probably right about that. But looking at him... there's something that makes me want to go along with it. His completely unearned confidence and overwhelming enthusiasm is infectious, and I'm about to comment on it when Kaito speaks up again.