That’s How Beautiful The Stars Looked On That Starry Night

I have a tendency to get hit in the face during physical activities such as basketball or volleyball. Last year, I was hit by a surfing board, and I nearly died because of it. I believe I just suffer from some very bad luck. That was proven to be correct when I was hit in the face during PE. I was brought to the nurse’s office to get treated by Sensei.

“This is the third time I’ve had to patch you up. Are you sure this isn’t your attempt to have an excuse to see me?”

“No. That’s not it.”

“You don’t need to get hurt to see me; you can always come visit anytime you like, unless I’m busy, of course.”

Something seemed different about Sensei today. She was talking in a more mature manner, and her touch was more soft. There was a different perfume in the air as well.

There was a distinct sound of heels clicking against the school floor, which grew louder as it approached the door. A blonde woman in a muted pantsuit entered.

“Riri-chan!”

“Hana—Haruno-sensei, in school, you should refer to me as Takanashi-sensei.”

“Awh, but Riri-chan is much cuter than Takanashi-sensei.”

This was the chemistry teacher, Haruno-sensei. I had seen her around school a few times before, but I had never interacted with her.

“What do you want, Haruno-sensei?”

Are Sensei and Haruno-sensei friends?

“Can I not come over and say hi to my friend every once in a while?”

She began to cuddle with Sensei. I felt as though I was intruding on a private moment, so I decided to slip away. My attempt to leave was futile as I was pulled back by the collar. Now I was face-to-face with Haruno-sensei.

“And who might you be?”

“Kurosawa Sozen, ma’am.”

She suddenly let go of me and collapsed to her knees.

“Ah, Sensei?”

“He called me ‘ma’am’. Do I look that old? The pain.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Get up, Haruno-sensei.”

“But…” There were tears in her eyes. She was clearly being dramatic for the sake of attention.

“I don’t think you’re old, Sensei. You look good for your age.”

After hearing me say that, she grabbed me by the hands and looked up at me. “Kurosawa Sozen, will you marry me?”

“Huh!?”

She was clearly joking, but the question still made me flustered. The melodrama ended when Sensei hit her on the head with a ruler.

“Ow!”

“Haruno-sensei, please stop harassing the student.”

“It was a joke. I wouldn’t marry a student unless they are rich. Say, Kurosawa-kun. You come from a rich family, right?”

The sound of a second slap by a ruler resonated in the room.

“I was joking!” She whimpered

“If you don’t have anything to say, please leave.” Sensei harshly said

“Fine. Fine. I was just checking if you were coming along for the third year’s next field trip.”

“Yes. I will be.”

“Awesome! I guess we can be roomies and we can share a bed.”

“I’d rather sleep on the floor.”

“How mean!”

“Field trip?” This was brand new information to me.

“Yes. Oh, yeah. We were supposed to inform you all tomorrow. I guess you’re one of the lucky few to know about it early.”

This would be our last school trip as a class. After that, we would go our separate ways. It was somewhat bittersweet thinking about it, but I was excited nonetheless.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the school day. Karou walked up to me and asked me if I’d like to walk home with her, which I agreed to. Walking home, Karou asked if we could take a quick detour. I followed her down the multitude of streets and alleys until we arrived at the riverbank. Our town had a river, which flowed through the centre of the town. Karou led me to a bench. I noticed there was a word on it: ‘Kazuyuki X Fuyumi’. Those names seemed very familiar to me.

We sat there till sundown became a starry night. When she first asked me to come here with her, I was a bit confused. But now I know the reason. Under the velvet sky, stars gleamed like precious gems, twinkling with an ethereal allure. The moon casts a soft, silvery glow, illuminating the town below. A tranquil breeze washed over us, and the river’s beautiful harmony provided a soothing atmosphere.

“You remind me of the stars. You’re so close, yet so far away.”

At that specific time, I didn’t hear what she whispered. I was so immersed in the environment that I didn’t realise that she was trying to tell me something. I only heard her when she called my name. I turned to her, and she hugged me. I could feel her warm body on mine, her heart beating quickly, and her breath in my ear. There was a heaviness to her that made me kind of understand how her current mood. She had something she was concealing from me, but it was clear she wasn’t ready to say the words. So in response, I hugged her back, letting her know that she could find comfort in me.

With her shaky voice, she whispered in my ear, “Every night, I always feel alone. But then I see you by my side, and I don’t feel so lonely anymore. Sometimes I wish upon a star that you would stay with me forever. Will you, Sozen?”

“Of course. I will always be there for you.”

She tried to thank me, but she could no longer hold her emotions in and silently cried on my shoulder. I felt powerless. She had been hurting all this time, but I couldn’t do much for her. All I could do was keep her close to me, our hearts united.

It was nearly eight in the afternoon when we returned home. Karou had calmed down before then, and she had reverted to her usual self. We were back to joking and teasing one another. But that came to an end when we discovered the door was unlocked. We cautiously slid it open and entered. Someone was inside our house. Traversing quietly through the hallway, I came across a pair of unorganised trainers on the floor. They looked like they belonged to someone with small feet. We progressed by turning around the corner and entering the living room.

Under the dim ceiling lights, we found a figure on the floor. They appeared to not be moving. Upon further inspection, I realised it was a female. Not just any female, but my sister, Reika. I rushed to her side. There was a bottle of alcohol on the floor next to her. She was completely unresponsive to my attempts to wake her up. Karou called the hospital. Again, I felt powerless. I sat there, cradling my unconscious sister, unaware of what to do in the current situation and fearful for her condition.