Kaito hadn’t slept as good as he did that night in for as long as he could remember. He woke up feeling refreshed and ready to take on anything.

He jumped out of bed, grabbed a curtain with each hand and spread them apart in dramatic fashion, revealing a dazzling sunrise, which rose from behind Mount Hakone.

Kaito stood there momentarily, taking in the view, and it soon dawned on him that he was completely nude.

Shocked, he turned around so fast that his right leg didn’t have enough to catch up to him, so he tumbled forward and met the floor with his face.

OUCH!

Okay, okay, I guess I deserved that one.

He pulled himself off the floor, got dressed, and made his way down to the kitchen, which was soon filled with the smells of bacon, egg, and coffee.

Then, just as Kaito had planned, his aunt and sister appeared out of nowhere, still dressed in their nightgowns with crazy-wild hair that adorned their zombie-like faces.

“What’s happening?” Kanna mumbled.

Kaito couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m making breakfast, DUH!”

“Does this mean you’re not a sad panda anymore?” Yui yawned.

“This means that you guys deserve breakfast, and so much more for putting up with me these last few months!”

“So we’re getting Kaito’s breakfast every morning now?” Yui asked excitedly while taking a seat at the counter.

“Hey! What’s wrong with my breakfast?” Kanna asked with a frown.

“N-nothing… It’s just—”

“I’m listening!”

“You’ve only been making healthy foods recently! And some of them are… Yucky!”

Kaito smiled. “It’s probably because she was worried about me. But, I promise that I’ll be the one making breakfast from now on… at least, until I leave.”

“Leave?! Where are you going?” Yui asked alarmed.

“I have to go to university, Yui, but no reason to worry! I’ll come and visit you guys all the time!”

“Have you decided where you are going?” asked Kanna.

“I think so. But for now, enjoy some breakfast.” Kaito filled their plates with buttered toast, eggs, and crispy bacon. “I’m sorry, you guys, for everything—”

“Don’t even mention it,” Kanna interrupted.

“Yeah! Don’t sweat it, bro!” Yui said with a goofy smile on her face.

Surprised, Kanna and Kaito looked at each other and then at Yui. “What did you just say?” they both echoed, and then all three laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation.

Kaito thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his aunt and sister; he had missed them terribly, but there were two more faces he couldn’t wait to see again. So, after breakfast, he headed out and texted his friend on the way to the train station.

KAITO: Touma! Where are you right now?

TOUMA: I’m at Himari’s, everything okay?

Kaito decided that he would surprise them, so he put away his phone and jumped on the first train he could find that went to the station close to Himari’s house.

When the train came to a halt, he got off and made his way to the closest shop where he took a big, brown paper bag and filled it with various chocolates and sweets.

This should help with getting their forgiveness!

VZZZT. VZZZT.

Kaito pulled his cell phone from his pocket and saw Touma’s face pop up on the screen.

TOUMA: ????

TOUMA: Why did you ask? Are you okay??

Kaito paid for the sweets and made his way to Himari’s street—the same one he’d walked with Yui and Touma when he needed to apologize to her.

He didn’t have to walk for long before he saw Touma storm out from one of the houses, “I don’t know! But maybe he needs—” He stopped in his tracks when he saw Kaito. “Kaito?”

“Hey,” Kaito said, waving awkwardly at him.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to… well, uh...” he stretched out his hand, gesturing Touma to take the bag from him, “A peace offering.”

Himari came running from the house and crashed into Kaito. “Kaito!” she cried and hugged him tightly.

When she finally let go, she revealed a tear-filled face and grabbed the paper bag of sweets from Kaito. “Yes, this should just about do it. Come!” she turned around and walked back into the house.

Touma, on the other hand, still stared at Kaito.

“I’m sorry, Touma, I really am...”

Touma took a step forward, and for a second, Kaito thought he might punch him. But instead, Touma wrapped his arms around him, hugging him so tight that Kaito thought his back might break.

“It’s Himari you need to apologize to. You made her cry way more than she deserved.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“And, Kaito...”

“Yeah?”

“It’s good to have you back, buddy.”

He gave Touma a pat on the back. “Don’t get all emotional on me now,” Kaito smiled. “I’ve had more than enough of that recently.”

The sun was already low on the horizon when the three of them finally took a break from talking. Kaito’s face was exhausted from smiling so much, and his stomach hurt from all the sweets he ate that afternoon, but none of that mattered. He hadn't felt this warm inside in such a long time. Kaito realized then and there that he was fortunate to have such wonderful people in his life.

“Kaito, will you stay for dinner?” Himari asked. “I think Mom is making a hotpot tonight, so there should be more than enough for everyone.”

“No, thank you, Himari, but I got one more thing to do before the day runs out, in fact, I should be off.”

“Aww, are you sure?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kaito smiled and hugged his friends goodbye.

After a sunset, phone call, and train ride later, Kaito was in front of the biggest house he had seen since coming to Hakone. It was a luxurious, three-story mansion, complete with a courtyard, fancy driveway, and even a tennis court, which towered in front of him.

Giant black gates automatically swung open, and in the driveway, Hana stood waiting for him. This was the first time Kaito saw her dressed in normal clothes, and he realized she was an attractive girl.

The school uniform definitely didn’t do her justice…

Well, here goes…

Hana’s jet-black hair hung loosely over her shoulders, and her fringe seemed just a tad longer than usual, touching the tip-top of her eyebrows. She was twirling a strand of hair around her finger while she patiently waited for Kaito to walk up the long driveway.

“Hey,” Kaito said, almost out of breath.

“H-hey”

Kaito could see in her face that she knew exactly why he was there.

“Hana—”

“Kaito, please don’t do this,” her voice cracked, and her eyes had swollen up, ready to burst.

“Hana… You...” he took her hands in his and looked her straight in the eye. “You are an amazing person, you really are… I’m not even sure if I’d be here if it wasn’t for you...”

She jerked her head away. But no matter how hard she tried to hide her tears, she couldn’t hide the shaking and sniffing.

“Hana, there is someone out there for you, I know there is! It’s just— It’s not me… And I think you know that… Right?”

“No, Kaito! No, I don’t know that!” she cried. “How could anyone ever love such a freak like me?!”

“Don’t say that! Ever— Look at me...” he squeezed her hand. “I wish you could see what I see… But you can’t, so you have to trust me! You are a beautiful girl, inside and out! And you will find someone that deserves you! Maybe not right away but maybe when you go to uni… It’s only a few weeks until you move to Tokyo, right?”

“I don’t care about that! Don’t you see?! I’ll go anywhere as long as I can be with you!”

Tears were now flowing down Hana’s face, and Kaito had to swallow hard.

“I’m sorry...”

“That’s it?! YOU’RE SORRY?! Well, that’s nice, Kaito! I’m glad you’re sorry! I’m glad I spent months of my life trying my best to be there for you every second of the day. Helped you with schoolwork and sent out University applications in YOUR NAME, all the while competing with the ghost of a girl just so that I could HOPEFULLY get just a tiny bit of affection from you! But hey, at least YOU’RE SORRY!”

Kaito pulled her close before she could say anything else and hugged her tight, Hana pushed away at first but then gave in to the affection she so desperately longed for.

“Thank you for taking care of me, Hana.”

Kaito’s shirt was thoroughly soaked by the time Hana emerged from his shoulder, where she had buried her face.

Kaito smiled at her and rested his hand on her shoulder. “Trust me, you’ll find someone that will be just as good to you as you were to me!”

“I guess…” she sighed and sniffed. “I just wished that person was you...”

“I think you and I both know my heart belongs to someone else.”

A few moments of silence passed before Hana wiped her eyes dry and planted a peck on Kaito’s forehead. “Goodbye, Kaito and… Good luck.”

“Thank you,” he smiled. “Good luck to you, Hana!”

When Kaito finally got home, he felt drained, and there was nothing he wanted more than a hot bath and a comfy bed. But, he had just one more thing he had to do before he would finally allow himself to relax.

It took way longer than he would've liked it to, but he ultimately surfaced from his room with a thick envelope, which he handed to Kanna downstairs. “Could you stick this in the postbox for me when you go to work tomorrow?”

“I, err, yeah, sure!”

“Thank you,” Kaito muttered.

“What is it though?” she asked, but Kaito had already trudged himself halfway up the stairs and couldn’t hear her.

Kanna smiled as she read the first line of the address on the envelope:

Unmei Institute of Theatre and Fine Arts

The first bulbs bloomed, and the dreary weather of winter had no choice but to give way to the start of a spectacular spring. A blissful blue sky stretched over the mountainous town of Hakone, and with the simple chime of a bell, its streets were filled with smiling students.

Kaito had finished his last year as a high school student, said his goodbyes to Professor Yoshida and his fellow classmates, and was now off on his own little adventure. He regretted not seeing more of the town and its surroundings in the last year, so he thought it’d be a great idea going around town and saying his goodbyes as he would be off to university the following day.

His first stop was Gora Park, where Kaito, Touma, and Himari went for ice-cream after passing their exams.

Hah, I barely passed that exam— Way too close for comfort!

Gora Park was as beautiful as a park could be after having just survived winter. All the plants and shrubs were trimmed, grass cut short, and barely any dead leaves to be seen. Kaito wanted to take a seat and enjoy his surroundings, but unfortunately, as this was a popular spot for kids to hang out after school, all the park benches were occupied, and Kaito was soon off to his next destination.

Kanna’s Coffee Shop. But for once, he wasn’t going to take the train; he elected to go on foot.

The streets glistened from the melting snow, and the air had an aura of positivity, along with the smell of fried street foods. People scurried up and down tiny streets and alleyways, busy with various tasks but never too busy to stop and greet each other.

Kaito paused for a moment outside of his aunt’s coffee shop. The people inside blurred away, replaced by memories of himself, Touma and Himari, rushing up and down, serving customers. He especially recalled Touma’s face glowing as bright as burning coal whenever someone complimented Himari.

Miyu would’ve loved this place...

Kaito couldn’t describe his relief when Touma told him that he would be joining Kaito at the university next month, and Himari would be studying a mere fifteen-minute train ride away from them. Not having to say goodbye to his two friends made saying goodbye to everyone else a lot more bearable.

I wonder if she’s going to uni...

Kanna smiled and waved at Kaito from inside the shop, and he smiled back at her. The doorbell chimed as he made his way inside the pleasantly-warm room where tables of people sat enjoying their conversations as much as their freshly-brewed coffee.

“Came to help out on your last day? How sweet!”

“Nope, actually just came to pick up some free lunch—”

“IS THAT SO?!”

Kaito chuckled. “Well, maybe just a coffee and to let you know that you guys shouldn’t wait up for me tonight.”

“Gonna go wild on your last night in Hakone?” she smiled, knowing full well that Kaito didn’t have the slightest interest in partying.

“I’m actually gonna make my way to the lake. Just saying my goodbyes and stuff.”

“Be safe, please! And, Kaito...”

“Yeah?”

“I’m truly proud of you!”

He gave her a hug. “Thank you for everything.” Moments later, their embrace was interrupted by a line of customers that had formed behind Kaito, led by a gentleman who seemed to have something stuck in his throat as he couldn’t stop clearing his throat.

Kaito waved goodbye to his aunt, who had a distressed look on her face when he left her alone in a shop filled with new customers eagerly awaiting their afternoon coffee-fix.

The next stop in Kaito’s little day adventure was the train station: the one place he visited more than all the others combined. Yet, today it seemed different. No longer was it just a bland, concrete cave where everyone scurried to and from on a daily basis. Rather, the station was filled with life—filled with the amber glow of smiling faces greeting family members that just arrived on the platform; or blushing lovers, meeting for the first, second, or third time; and even friends meeting up so they can take on the day together.

Kaito saw himself as he jumped off the train and almost skipped to his friends, who were eagerly awaiting his arrival, and then there was Hana, who stormed off, clearly upset at something Kaito said… or didn’t say. Kaito realized that the station was the starting point for most of the memories he made in Hakone. And the thought of saying goodbye left a sad smile on his face.

I wonder if Miyu took the same train to school...

For most of the train ride, Kaito stared out the window, enjoying the breathtaking scenery of rolling mountains covered in lush forests, which stretched as far as the eye could see. The perfectly assembled backdrop of cloudless skies afforded the view an unusual, albeit spectacular attribute. And when the train finally rounded the bend, Mount Hakone gave way to the shimmering waters of Lake Ashi.

The thing I regret the most…

Is not trying hard enough to get you out of that house…

And bring you here…

Like I promised…

The station seemed almost deserted when Kaito got off the train. Aside from the conductor striding toward the lavatory, Kaito didn’t see any other person on the platform. This was quite peculiar at best, but it all made sense to him when he exited the train station.

The most beautiful scene Kaito had ever witnessed in his life unfolded right in front of him. An intense assortment of orange, yellow, red, and violet colors radiated from the glowing sun, which calmly crashed into the lake and illuminated a quivering path that stretched across the water.

I wish you were here to see this… Wow!

Kaito walked to the very end of the creaky pier and sat down, determined not to take his eyes off the exquisite scene in front of him, which unfortunately didn’t last for as long as he had hoped for.

A certainty hit him: he was going to miss this place dearly. Kaito decided he would return to Hakone whenever he had a break from school, not only to visit his aunt and sister but to also soak in the serenity of Hakone.

Subconsciously, Kaito had closed his eyes and was half dozed off reliving memories from the last year inside his head. When he finally came to, his eyes opened, and his heart skipped.

Kaito got to his feet and tilted his head upward, to the skies. The world around him had been swallowed up by complete darkness, and like a flickering beacon of hope, the skies were illuminated by the stars, which resembled glowing diamond dust, scattered about by angels.

This is it!

His eyes fell on the shimmering water, just a pebble throw in front of him. The reflection of the heavens above had, in fact, transformed the lake into a glittering, sparkling… field of stars.

This is what she wanted to see…

This is it…

Miyu…

AAAAAAAAAARRRGGHHH!!

Kaito belted out his voice to the skies. Screams of frustration and sadness escaped from deep within his heart and echoed across the field of stars. He wanted to let the world know of the pain he carried within him; he wanted to be rid of it, but more than anything, he didn’t want to forget.

Never!

I’ll never forget you…

What is this feeling

Of breathlessness

Whenever you’re near

What am I feeling?

“You blind my eyes,” Kaito’s voice cracked and disappeared into the cool night air.

“You shine so bright

You light up my night.”

Kaito sang with clenched fists as he fought back his tears.

“Doesn’t matter if I’m looking up at the stars

Or down at the beach…

You’re always, always

Just out of reach...”

“My sky p-princess… My star queen,” his voice dropped to an almost whisper.

Miyu’s voice, as soft as a lover’s kiss, washed over him and left his heart smiling. The memory of her felt so real that it was easy for Kaito to close his eyes and pretend she was there with him.

“Take my hand and give us a chance,” he belted out again, closed his eyes and twirled around with his Sky Princess, “Let’s shine togeeeeether...”

And then, from behind Kaito, the sweetest, softest voice he had ever heard sang exuded: “May I have this dance…”

Startled, Kaito froze, with his arms still in the air, holding on to an invisible girl. His body tingled all over while his heart and lungs raced to see which could oscillate fastest.

Miyu?

She sang again.

“Oh what I would give...”

Please, PLEASE let that be real…

Please let that be her!

“...to be close to you...”

Kaito’s arms fell to his sides, then he took a deep breath and slowly turned around.

There she stood, in her silky-white summer’s dress, as if she’d just popped straight out of Kaito’s dream world and into reality. Her angelic hair flowed down her shoulders, and her icy-blue eyes pierced his soul.

“To be the one you choose...”

The world stopped for a moment and all the pain that once was, faded away, to be replaced by delirium. The universe exploded in happiness, and both Kaito and Miyu broke into a run toward each other.

The two of them came together in a crash of love. Miyu jumped in his arms, and the two of them twirled while the stars fell all around them, like snow. The cool, evening breeze orchestrated a soft, lover’s melody.

“The one you’re scared to lose...” Miyu finished the song in a whisper, and Kaito slowly let her back down. Kaito took Miyu’s face in his hands, pleasantly surprised by her soft skin, he leaned in, and the two of them shared a long, passionate kiss, surrounded by a field of stars.

“Kaito,” she smiled with tears of happiness running down her face.

“Miyu...”

“You kept your promise!” she said with sparkling eyes.

“Huh? My wha—?”

“You promised you’d bring me here one day, remember?”

“Yeah, I do! But I didn’t do any—”

“Don’t worry about it, silly,” she whispered, “just kiss me!”

THE END