The day starts bright and sunny, and Tsukiko hopes the weather holds until tomorrow.
“Hi, Yahisa.”
Hoshizuki greets Tsukiko and breaks her train of thought. He comments that she looks full of energy even though it’s so early. Tsukiko laughs and says he looks as non-energetic as usual, but isn’t he excited about tomorrow?
Tomorrow? What’s tomorrow…?
Uh… the school trip?
Oh yeah, that. He totally forgot about that.
How could he forget? Tsukiko can’t imagine forgetting something like that. She can’t wait! He looks amused and tells her to go ahead and enjoy herself.
Okay, while Hoshizuki may be pretty low-key about it, do you know who’s just as, if not more excited than Tsukiko about the school trip? I’ll give you a hint, his name starts with H and ends with ‘aruki-sensei’.
He gives a super excited run-down of the itinerary to the class, then warns everyone not to be so excited they can’t sleep and consequently oversleep and miss the bus in the morning. He tries to get Mizushima into helping explain but Mizushima’s his usual self and just complains a lot. Tsukiko expected this and finds their usual comedy routine amusing.
After class, she heads to the nurse’s office for a meeting about the health reps’ roles in the school trip. Since she was on cleaning duty and ran late, she arrives after the meeting is already over and only Hoshizuki is there. He doesn’t mind catching her up to speed but asks her to wait until he finishes making up one of the beds.
Was he sleeping on the job again?
No, he says, just a little defensively. Since she was late, he filled the time by changing the linens. Oh, in that case, she offers to help, and insists when he tries to tell her to wait while he does it. She reaches for the futon in his hands but loses her balance and topples over into him. In true otome game fashion they fall over into a heap but alas there is no CG for this. Why? Whyyyy? (actually I know why, we get a much better one later in the game BUT STILL)
Hoshizuki chides her and asks if she’s okay, but then he and she both realize how close they are in proximity to each other and are surprised into mutual silence. They’ve ended up with him on top of her, so Tsukiko couldn’t move if she wanted to. But more importantly…
How could I move with him looking at me like that…?
Hoshizuki finds his voice first, averting his gaze and apologizing. The slightly gravelly, emotional voice that Ishida uses here is exquisite.
Tsukiko quietly tells him not to worry about it and they both finally get up. He gruffly shoos her away so he can change the sheets, and Tsukiko takes this time to calm down. She thought her heart would stop there for a moment.
As it is, her heart beats furiously all through watching him change the sheets and the brief meeting they have after he’s done.
Between that, and the excitement about the trip, Tsukiko doesn’t get any sleep that night…
...still not better. Just the thought of getting up and getting dressed seems exhausting and she can’t quite work up the energy for it. Does she still have a fever?
There’s a knock at the door and she drags herself to her feet to answer. When she opens the door, it turns out her visitor is Hoshizuki coming to check up on her. Tsukiko knows if she admits she still doesn’t feel well he’ll make her stay in bed and miss out on the day’s activities. It’s the last day of the school trip, she wants to have fun with everyone, and… she secretly wanted to go somewhere with him…
Tsukiko: I’m feeling much better.
Hoshizuki: Liar. I can tell just from looking at you the fever hasn’t gone down.
Tsukiko murmurs an apology. At least she tried?
Hoshizuki feels her forehead and goes ‘hmm’ sympathetically. It actually feels like her temperature is higher than it was the night before. He’s sorry, but he can’t let her go out like that. She’ll have to stay behind at the hotel. Tsukiko feels her heart sink… she has the spend the whole day all by herself? That sucks.
Tsukiko: Do I really have to?
Hoshizuki: You really have to.
He tells her not to look so put out about it and she pouts that she’ll be lonely. He laughs a little and tells her she’s still a child if she thinks something like that. Tsukiko’s fever is making her feel petulant so she sulks, saying fine, whatever, she’s a child then, but she’s still going to be lonely.
He doesn’t say anything for what seems like a long moment. Tsukiko glances up at his face to see a number of mixed emotions there. Finally he gently informs her to rest easy, she won’t be all by herself. He’ll stay with her. Really?! She asks, and he answers with a soft, yeah.
Oh but wait, then she’ll feel bad for making him stay behind too.
Hoshizuki shakes his head at her. First she’s lonely, then she tries to tell him he doesn’t have to stay with her, she needs to make up her mind. In any case, it’s his job to stay with sick students.
Oh.
Right.
He’s not staying because of her, he’s staying because of work.
Tsukiko berates herself inwardly for not realizing it sooner and letting her imagination get the best of her.
Unaware of the new thing bringing Tsukiko down in addition to the fever, Hoshizuki asks her if she feels up to breakfast. She says she’ll try to stomach something, so he advises her to dress warm and go to breakfast and the morning meeting, then they’ll meet up again once everyone else has left. He pats her on the head and leaves.
As Tsukiko gets ready for breakfast, her head is full of the conflicting feelings she has about the day; she’s disappointed she can’t go out with her classmates, but at the same time, some small part of her is still excited that she’ll get to spend the whole day alone with Hoshizuki.
After breakfast and the morning meeting, Tsukiko sees Kanata and Suzuya off. They want to stay with her, but as they are sirs not appearing in this game, they can’t. Tsukiko tells them to have enough fun for her too. Haruki comes over to worry over her, but he’s sure she’ll be fine if Kotarou-sensei is with her. They part ways and Tsukiko turns to find Hoshizuki is already there to escort her back to her room.
Once there, he tells her to lie down and gets her a new cold compress. They take her temperature and he scolds her, it’s high enough that he’s almost begrudgingly impressed she tried to lie and say she was fine. He doesn’t care how much she was looking forward to the school trip, what if she’d collapsed somewhere? She apologizes and he accepts it, saying it doesn’t matter now.
Hoshizuki: Here, give me your hand.
Tsukiko, thinking maybe he remembered holding her hand from the last time she got sick, gets all flustered for a moment...until he puts water and some medicine in her hand. Way to play with our feelings, writers.
Hoshizuki shushes her when she tries to apologize again and tells her he’ll come check in on her periodically, so she should get some rest.
Wait, he’s going to leave her?
Hoshizuki points out that while she may be a child still, it wouldn’t be proper for him to stay in her room with just the two of them all day.
Okay, maybe he has a point, but did he have to call her a child again?
Oh, Tsukki.
Dear, dear, Tsukki.
He’s only fooling himself at this point.
In any case, he’s promised to come back and the medicine is starting to kick in already, making her drowsy. Before he goes though, can she ask one favour? Sure, what is it?
Um… will he hold her hand?
“Sure, if my hand will do…”
Of course it’ll do. Tsukiko reaches out from the bedcovers to carefully put her hand in his. He fondly comments on how she likes holding hands. The combination of fever and meds lulls Tsukiko into saying exactly what’s on her mind, and she tells him that she feels he might leave her if she doesn’t hold on to his hand.
Whether this means in a smaller “this moment” sense or a broader “for the rest of my life” sense is up to interpretation. (it could be both)
(can I just take a moment to gush over Ishida a moment here because oh man oh man, every line in this scene, okay game, but especially this scene is just perfection)
He laughs a little at this and guesses that means she wants him to stay there and hold her hand until she falls asleep. Yes, but if she could have her way, he’d stay even after she falls asleep. But that’s asking too much… isn’t it? He gently tells her fine, he gets it, he’ll stay for awhile, just go to sleep already.
Tsukiko closes her eyes and, comforted by the warmth of his hand around hers, drifts off to sleep…
…
Some time later, she wakes up and he’s still by her side. She hazily asks what time it is and he informs her it’s just past noon. Is she feeling any better?
Not really…
He takes her temperature again and sure enough, the fever is still there. She should go back to sleep. She hates to admit it, but that sounds best. After all that time she spent looking forward to the trip, and now on top of missing it, she’s making him miss it too.
He pats her head when she apologizes and reminds her that he comes along on all the school trips, so it’s not like he hasn’t been here before. He’s more sorry for her than for himself. He also blames himself for not realizing she wasn’t feeling well sooner.
(He might have noticed earlier if a certain pair of idiots hadn’t gotten him drunk, sure, but then we wouldn’t have this tender scene so cut the two drunks some slack)
Tsukiko protests that it’s her fault for not taking better care of herself. He frowns at her and says she puts others first too much. It’s okay for her to complain, or say no, or be a little selfish sometimes, you know?
He’s right… she complains openly, she was really looking forward to the trip and spending the free day walking around and seeing the sights with him. As soon as the words leave her mouth, she blushes. In response, he gives her one of his rare full smiles and suggests that in that case she should repeat a year at school so they can spend next year’s school trip together. Tsukiko giggles and calls that a nice idea. The fact that she can laugh at his joke is a good sign. If her fever goes down by the evening, he says they can maybe go for a walk at least. In the meantime, she should try to eat something for lunch. Does she feel up to it? Tsukiko says she does, but then worriedly asks if he’ll stay with her again after she eats. Bemused, he promises that he’ll come back to hold her hand after lunch.
He helps her up to eat, and afterwards, they return to her room. Just like in the morning, Hoshizuki holds Tsukiko’s hand until she falls asleep…
And here, we switch to Hoshizuki’s point of view…
“Oh… she’s asleep, is she?”
“*yawn* Now I’m getting sleepy… Maybe I’ll lie down for a bit.”
Oh man oh man is that ever pretty.
I love this scene.
I love this route.
Hoshizuki shifts position to get more comfortable, and is very aware of the small, warm hand within his. It occurs to him how wrong this is, they’re student and teacher, not to mention a woman and a man, how must it look for them to be lying side by side, holding hands like this? Not only that, but once he’s on his side, naturally that puts him very close to her face.
No but really, that’s so pretty.
What a great facial expression, it conveys so much.
Okay, enough squeeing back to the story.
Hoshizuki feels so bad for Tsukiko, he saw her looking through pamphlets a lot and heard her talk about coming on this trip...only for her to have to miss it like this. Not only that, but she still has the softness of heart to feel bad about making him miss out. He keeps telling himself that she’s a child and he shouldn’t… but he finds that really sweet.
Tsukiko shifts in her sleep and her grip on his hand tightens every so slightly. This makes him smile fondly at her. There’s a lot, actually, that he finds sweet about her. How she lets her emotions show, in how she reacts, and smiles, and pouts, and defies expectations. She always seems to be living life to the fullest…
In her sleep, Tsukiko murmurs, “Hoshizuki-sensei, I’m sorry…”
Why is she apologizing, he wonders? Because she thinks she made him work more, or because she thinks he wanted to spend the day out sightseeing?
Before he realizes, he’s murmured her name and leaned forward…
Ohhhhmanohmanohman
Hoshizuki gently puts his lips over hers, as if to put her worries at ease.
Can I just say that the artist’s use of facial expressions in this scene is on point? I’m just so in love with everything about it. Look at that face. That is the face of someone who’s just realized a whole world of things and is struggling to deal with it.
Hoshizuki suddenly wants nothing more than to leave that place and forget about what he just did… but that would mean letting go of her hand.
“What am I doing…?”
He realizes he’s falling… no, he’s fallen for her. Before he realized it, it was too late for him. But it doesn’t have to be too late for her. He still believes he doesn’t deserve to be loved by anyone, because he couldn’t face someone’s feelings for him once before.
“If that was your first kiss… I’m so sorry…”
He thinks to himself that she can never know what happened. She can never know how he feels. Apologizing would be too easy, this way, the guilt will remind him and be his penance. He’ll use it to motivate him to keep his distance from her after the school trip is over. He’s surprised and ashamed of his own egoism. She looks so peaceful sleeping there, unawares, and the feel of her hand almost brings tears to his eyes.
He got too close.
At the very least, he’ll allow himself to sleep here, with her warm hand in his. He can tell himself then it was all a dream, a brief, happy moment before he woke up. He traces the memory of the kiss with his fingertips and closes his eyes…
Tsukiko comes slowly awake, aware only that something...vaguely… sad happened. Something sad and sweet seems to linger on her lips. She also comes aware of a faint warmth, and the feeling that if she’s not careful it’ll get away from her…
...this, she realizes is Hoshizuki’s hand, still wrapped around hers.
Hoshizuki-sensei’s sleeping next to me…
She watches him sleep a moment, taking in what might be the first time he looked completely relaxed that she’s seen. It’s a rare sight and she wants to cherish it… because, she realizes, she truly does cherish him. She leans forward, wondering what he could be dreaming of… and is just in time to hear him murmur the words, “I’m sorry…” in his sleep.
Tsukiko watches him closely, curiously. She doesn’t know what he’s apologizing for, but for some reason it puts a pang in her heart. Before she realizes it, this propels her forward, and she gently kisses his lips, softly, so as not to wake him. If he knew, he would definitely start to avoid her.
Tsukiko wants nothing more than to always be at his side. Even if she can never tell him how she feels...she wants to be there for him… so that, at the very least, he won’t be so lonely anymore. She loves him so much, just knowing that makes her incredibly happy. With this knowledge in her heart, she falls back asleep…
The next time she wakes, she’s greeted by a sleepy Hoshizuki, who awoke before her. By the sounds of it, not too long before her, though. Is she feeling any better now?
Actually, she is. Her head feels much more clear now, thanks to him.
He’s happy to hear that, he says, and gets to his feet. His fingers brush past hers and she tries to say something, but he brusquely tells her to get a bit more sleep until dinner time. He’ll come back and wake her then.
Uh-oh.
He’s going to leave.
She knows it would be pushing it to ask him to stay, but…
“I’m sorry you have to go…”
“I’ll stay here.”
“I wish you’d stay with me a little longer.”
This is an interesting set of choices, and if you know Hoshizuki’s character well enough, it’s easy to see how the first would be the best option.
So that’s what we’ll go with.
In response he says he understands how being alone when you’re sick is no fun and offers to ask another teacher to stay with her.
Tsukiko, still willing to be honest with herself after the little pep talk he gave her earlier, says she would prefer if he stayed. This amuses him and he calls her on it. She immediately apologizes. For a moment he turns serious and averts his gaze. She doesn’t have to apologize. But at the same time, the other students should be coming back soon and he has to help take attendance.
He leaves and Tsukiko is left alone with her thoughts.
She kissed him.
Just thinking about it makes her heart beat faster. She can never tell anyone, though.
Out in the hall, Hoshizuki dwells on the fact that he didn’t want to leave her, but being alone with her was just too much for him to deal with right now. He needs this time to sort out his feelings.
And thus begins all the real wtfery in this route but I’LL TAKE IT :D
We open today just after the students have arrived at the hotel they’re occupying for the school trip.
Haruki-sensei is trying to wrangle everyone together so he can take attendance. Next to him, Mizushima is yawning and Hoshizuki is complaining about what a pain all the preparation he’s had to do was. So basically everyone is exactly as you’d expect them to be.
Tsukiko yawns too, and reflects on how she didn’t get much sleep. That must be why she’s feeling a little under the weather, too… But she can’t let that get her down. She’s been looking so forward to this school trip, she can’t wait to make all sorts of good memories out of it!
The first night of the school trip involves everyone going out stargazing together. Tsukiko thinks it’s nice to see the sky from somewhere other than the school grounds for a change and enjoys it. The students review the 12 constellations that can be viewed in the autumn sky.
After the lesson, they go back to the hotel and Tsukiko feels a little lonely by herself. This is another one of those moments where being the only girl makes her feel left out. Because of this, she has trouble sleeping again, and when she goes out to use the bathroom later, she notices on the way back that the light in one of the teachers’ rooms is still lit. She’s pretty sure that room was supposed to be Haruki’s room… they’re still up? Figuring that maybe they’re up late planning the next day’s activities, she starts to tip toe past in an effort not to disturb them.
It doesn’t work, because Haruki finds her. What’s she doing still awake?
She admits she can’t sleep and tells him she appreciates his hard work. He asks what she means and when she explains he laughs a little and says she’s got it all wrong. But since she can’t sleep, why doesn’t she stop by their room? They have juice.
Is that okay?
Sure it’s okay, he assures her. It’s just him, Mizushima, and Hoshizuki, so not all that different from when they’re hanging out in the nurse’s office, right? He has a point, so she accepts his office and follows him into the room. There she finds that they weren’t working late into the night, they were drinking. The other two teachers welcome Tsukiko into their little circle. Mizushima asks Tsukiko to pour him a drink and Hoshizuki scolds him because that’s something he should be asking of a student.
When has that ever stopped him, though?
I mean, really.
Haruki pours Tsukiko some juice and they have a toast. Tsukiko notes that both Haruki and Mizushima instantly down their drinks while Hoshizuki sets his aside. This brings to mind an earlier conversation about how he’s not much of a drinker. Haruki complains that he’s not very good company, but Hoshizuki coolly shrugs this off and asks Tsukiko to pour him some of the juice she’s drinking.
Before she can, though, Mizushima tells her to wait.
Mizushima: >:D Hey, Haruki-sensei, you want to drink with Kota-nii, don’t you?
Haruki: Huh? O-Oh…! Yeah, yeah, I do!
“Wh-What’re you two up to…?”
You have to ask?
The two drunks tackle Hoshizuki. Mizushima holds him down while Haruki comes at him with a full glass of sake.
Hoshizuki tries to push Haruki away with his foot but it doesn’t work. They struggle like that while Tsukiko watches on, worried, asking just what the two drunks are up to. Then Mizushima gets impatient with how long it’s taking Haruki to get close enough to force Hoshizuki to drink and…
Welp.
Mizushima: He drank it!
Haruki: We did it!
Hoshizuki: I’ll get you for thzzzzzz…
The two drunk idiots are exceedingly proud of themselves for showing Tsukiko just what happens when Hoshizuki drinks alcohol. Tsukiko’s surprised, but once she gets over the initial shock, she just worries that he might catch cold sleeping on the floor where they left him. She grabs a nearby blanket to put over him and for a moment he opens his eyes to look up at her and sleepily murmur…
“Yahisa, you should sleep too already.”
She says she will and starts to insist that if he’s going to sleep he should get in his futon, but trails off when he sleepily grabs for her hand. Before she can recover from this, he’s fallen back asleep. For a moment she just stares at him. He really is beautiful… Before she snaps back to reality and hurriedly excuses herself back to her room.
We don’t hear another peep from the other two teachers during this. One can only assume they’re either a) off drinking in their own little worlds, b) watching on, amused and already more aware of what’s going on between Hoshizuki and Tsukiko than even they do, or c) passed out drunk themselves.
Back in her room, Tsukiko experiences yet another sleepless night…
Today we join Tsukiko on her way to the first health rep meeting in awhile.
She’s kind of missed meeting with Hoshizuki-sensei, but while she was still kinda-sorta avoiding him, she was also busy with both her kyudou and student council activities. Before she realized it, she hadn’t seen him since they met in the hall on the fifth floor.
She carefully reminds herself to act normal before knocking on the door. He calls for her to come in, and she breaks off mid-greeting at the state of the office. It’s even messier than usual. Is it? He asks mildly. Tsukiko scolds him and declares they can’t have their meeting until she’s cleaned up a bit. Okay, he says, go right ahead. Tsukiko need not have reminded herself to act normal, because she retorts right back that he could help.
When he doesn’t have an immediate answer, though, she pauses and gets a good look at him. He looks tired and seems distracted. Is he feeling under the weather?
No, he answers, he’s fine.
He doesn’t sound fine…
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Let me take your temperature.”
“You look a little pale.”
Personally I like the option where she insists on taking his temperature, but for the purposes of his playthrough we’re just going to double check if he’s sure he’s okay.
He accuses her of worrying too much, but with much less energy than we’d expect from him.
Tsukiko frets a little inwardly. Has he really been that busy while she wasn’t around. Since he usually doesn’t let much show, if she’s noticing this much, it must be serious. He insists that she’s worrying too much and she relents without really wanting to. Instead she focuses on what she can do and begins to clean up. She wasn’t even gone that long, how did it get so messy?
Hoshizuki: :D Are you impressed?
Tsukiko: Not in a good way.
As she cleans up, Tsukiko watches him out of the corner of her eye. He really does seem run down. But if she presses him on it any more, she knows he’ll start to sulk like a child.
But she just can’t help herself, and after she’s cleaned and they’ve had their meeting, she asks one more time if he’s sure he’s okay.
“*Yawn*... I’m just tired.”
He tells her she can head back to the dorm. He’s going to take a short nap and do some more work. Tsukiko protests that it’s late, if he’s really so tired shouldn’t he come back with her and get some proper rest? He can’t, he has work to do that needs to be finished before tomorrow. Oh… Tsukiko hesitates, is there anything she can do to help? Hoshizuki tells her he appreciates the offer but no, he can handle it himself.
Okay… Tsukiko hates to do it, but she excuses herself. She returns to her room, changes out of her uniform, and then heads down to the cafeteria, distracted all the way. She’s certain that he wasn’t feeling well, he just wouldn’t admit it. She resolves to go and check up on him after she’s had dinner.
Back at the nurse’s office, she knocks but there’s no answer. Is he still sleeping? She lets herself in and is shocked to find him collapsed on the floor. Tsukiko runs to his side and shakes him awake. He’s warm to the touch and barely responsive. She checks and he has a fever. Worried, she tells him she’s going to find either Haruki or Mizushima and to wait there.
Given the time, she accurately guesses that Haruki and Mizushima will be in the teachers’ office and rushes there. She tells them about Hoshizuki and asks them to come back to the nurse’s office with her. They rush back and the two teachers help Hoshizuki into one of the beds while Tsukiko prepares a cold compress.
Tsukiko: He kept telling me he was fine…
Mizushima: That’s just how Kota-nii is…
Haruki tells them he’s pretty sure it’s just a slight fever, and that Hoshizuki should be fine after he’s gotten a good sleep. In any case, Tsukiko can go back to the dorm now. She hesitates though, she wants to stay by Hoshizuki’s side just a little longer. At least until he wakes up. Haruki thinks it’s a bit late, but Mizushima smiles and reminds him that Tsukiko’s the health rep, so it’s safe to leave Hoshizuki in her hands, right?
Mizushima: Besides, I’m sure he’ll be much happier to wake up to Tsukiko’s face than either of ours! :D
This seems suspect, but if Tsukiko insists, then Haruki can’t think of any reason to say no. They leave her to take care of Hoshizuki and say to call them if she needs them. Tsukiko thanks them, and as they leave, Mizushima smiles at her knowingly. He tells her he’s a little jealous, but he leaves Kota-nii in her hands.
The nurse’s office seems inordinately quiet after they’ve left. Tsukiko turns back to the bed just as Hoshizuki shifts position in his sleep and one hand flops off the bed. She reaches down to lift it back onto the mattress and his fingers close around hers.
Tsukiko freezes. Did she wake him?
She peers at his face, but he’s still sleeping. His face is twisted slightly as if in pain. Tsukiko realizes she’s missed her opportunity to let go of his hand before holding it for too long and wonders what to do. It’s basically a role reversal of the last time she came down with a fever. When she was sick as a child, having someone hold her hand made her feel warm and comfortable… could she do the same for him, now?
She squeezes his hand a little and he seems to relax. Tsukiko watches him sleep and wishes to herself that they could stay like this, his hand in hers, just a little bit longer before he wakes. If she’d known it would come to this, she wouldn’t have let him convince her to go back to the dorm before him. Why did she let him convince her she was fine?
Why can’t he… be more honest with her? Why can’t he tell her when he’s not feeling well? Or when he’s tired? Or why he smiles so sadly sometimes or why he can’t fall in love… She can’t forget the look on his face as he told her he didn’t have the right to fall in love with someone.
The longer she sits there and dwells on these questions the more it becomes clear… it’s not a little crush. She’s honestly falling for him, even though she knows she shouldn’t.
After all, he’d never love her back, right?
Hoshizuki stirs and wakes up just as this thought crosses her mind. He squints up to her and asks what’s going on. His head feels heavy… Tsukiko gently tells him it’s the fever and admonishes him for not telling her. She’s so relieved she could cry but holds back her tears.
Hoshizuki groans. That’s pretty lame for the school nurse to collapse with a fever.
Wait, didn’t he realize he had a fever?
Hoshizuki: Looks like you know me better than I know myself…
Tsukiko wonders aloud if he’s just slow on the uptake. He admits that might be true, and thanks her. She wasn’t expecting him to admit it. He smiles up at her and comments that this is the reverse of another time together, isn’t it? Does she mind staying with him while he rests a bit longer? Of course she doesn’t mind, she tells him, he can take all the time he needs.
Tsukiko then notices that they’re still holding hands. She gets embarrassed and moves to let go, but he holds tight. He averts his eyes and repeats, just a little bit longer?
“Sure…” Tsukiko agrees quietly.
She watches as he closes his eyes and in an instant has dozed off again. As always, he can fall asleep at the drop of a hat. She can’t take her eyes off him… She wishes she could get to know him better… But how? She wryly thinks to herself how she chose a difficult person to fall in love with.
Tsukiko lets her mind wander, and before she realizes, she’s dozed off herself, leaning against the bed.
When she wakes up, Hoshizuki is up and changed out of his labcoat into his sweater and is getting ready to leave. Is he feeling better? He is, thanks to her. One of the tears of relief Tsukiko had held back earlier escape her and rolls down her cheek. She apologizes and hurries to get out her handkerchief, but then Hoshizuki steps closer and reaches out to wipe it away for her.
Hoshizuki: Crybaby.
Tsukiko: Who’s fault is that?
He laughs and says he really is sorry for making her worry like that. He’ll be sure not to do it again. In any case it’s late, he’ll walk her back to the dorm. When they part ways, she reminds him to get more rest, since he doesn’t seem 100% better yet. He promises and pats her on the head… and his hand lingers. Um…?
“You really did help me out today, Yahisa. Thank you.”
Tsukiko stammers out a you’re welcome, but can’t quite look up at him. He’s so close she suddenly doesn’t know how to act. They say good-night and she watches him head for the teacher’s dorm. (this is actually a plothole, Tsukiko’s room is supposed to be in the same building but whatever, adorable scene is adorable)
Once back in her room, Tsukiko gets ready for bed but finds she can’t sleep. The feeling of Hoshizuki’s warm, broad hand around hers won’t leave her mind…
At the same time, we get our first switch to Hoshizuki’s perspective. After parting ways with Tsukiko, the wind suddenly felt much colder. Unbeknownst to him, but just like Tsukiko, he can’t get the feeling from when they were holding hands out of his head. It wasn’t like him to ask to hold hands for longer like he did… He feels silly, even though he tells himself it was because of the fever.
Even so…
Having her hand in his did make him feel better, there’s no denying that.
It had stirred a memory he’d thought he had left far, far in the past. He’d never considered ever taking another person’s hand in his again in the future. It scared him too much.
Hoshizuki recalls Tsukiko’s tears and he knows in his heart what brought them on. He got too close to her. He let his guard down, thinking she was just a child...
With the school festival finished, life for Tsukiko and her classmates returns to normal…
...well, as normal as these guys ever get anyway.
Normal also means the prank war between the boys and Haruki-sensei has returned. This time the students think they have a foolHaruki-proof plan set in place. Tsukiko watches on, amused…
They do manage to trip him, with some accidentally-but-probably-on-purpose help from Mizushima. I have no idea what the total score for the year is at this point, but the students get one up on Haruki, which means they get his lunch. The utter tragedy of it.
But anyway, on to the next event of the year, which is...!
“The school trip!!!”
Haruki: Okay, you’re right, but before that we have the HALLOWEEN PARTY!!!
Aw heck yeah, the Halloween Party!
I like to imagine what all the other seasons’ guys dress up as.
I’d love for Tsubasa to dress up as Einstein just to set up a joke where Oshirou complains that he’s the wrong scientist and should have dressed up as Edison.
But I digress…
The Halloween party discussion by the way is chaos, what with Haruki being Haruki and getting all fired up, Mizushima being Mizushima and flirting with Tsukiko, only for her to bluntly turn him down and tell him to behave, which turns into the students teasing him for having sexy glasses and unruly hair.
Mizushima: ahem. The glasses have nothing to do with it.
(actual quote from the game, translation is 100% accurate)
And the students also declaring they will come up with costumes so scary they’ll scare Naoshi to tears.
But, Haruki gets the conversation back on track, after the Halloween party comes the school trip. According to Haruki the school trip is an all-important event in the storyline of their youths, are they ready?!
Yeah!!
Of course they are.
So anyway, what’s the school trip going to involve?
Haruki: We’re going stargazing!
…
You freaking nerds I love it.
So class ends with Tsukiko’s head full of all the fun things to come in her near future. On her way out of homeroom, she remembers that Hoshizuki had said he wanted to meet with her after school, something about the school trip, so she heads in his direction.
On her way, she’s joined by Haruki and Mizushima, who are going in the same direction.
Haruki: Are you going to the nurse’s office?
Mizushima: Some health rep work?
Tsukiko: Just a meeting.
Mizushima: … ah!
Haruki: What’s up? Did you forget something?
No, more like he remembered something.
What does he mean? He only agrees to tell when Tsukiko expresses that she’s curious too, because he’s nothing if not consistent.
Mizushima: Today’s Kota-nii’s birthday.
What, really?! Why didn’t he say so earlier?? Mizushima protests that he just remembered it himself, and besides, Kota-nii doesn’t like people to make a big deal out of his birthday anyway. Even so, Tsukiko says, it would be nice to do something for him, wouldn’t it? She wouldn’t feel right if they didn’t do anything.
Haruki agrees and even though Mizushima tries to wash his hands of it, they can tell he wants to do something too. They decide to just get together the four of them later for some stargazing. Haruki proposes bringing alcohol, moreso for himself than anyone else, and he drags Mizushima off to get ready. Tsukiko waves them off and says that when she and Hoshizuki finish their meeting, she’ll invite him up to the rooftop gardens.
After said meeting is finished and it’s already pretty dark outside, Tsukiko lingers in the nurse’s office trying to think of a way to get Hoshizuki up to the roof…
“What, are you going to start cleaning or something?”
Tsukiko looks around at the state of the office and admits that she really does want to clean up, but… she seques awkwardly, she also wants to go stargazing!
Hoshizuki: You do that, bye.
Tsukiko: I-It’s dark and I’m scared, can you come with me?
Hoshizuki: What? Why me?
Unable to think of an excuse she just awkwardly insists that it has to be him. He looks down at her suspiciously. She’s acting like Naoshi, that must mean she’s up to something. What? Tsukiko does an increasingly terrible job of acting innocent, no no, what’s he talking about? Come on, Hoshizuki-sensei, let’s go. Come on now, quickly! Ugh! Fine, he agrees, just stop pulling on his sleeve. Geez…
When they get to the rooftop gardens, Haruki and Mizushima are waiting with crackers, which they pop the moment the door opens. Happy Birthday, Kotarou-sensei! Happy Birthday, Kota-nii! Tsukiko looks up at his surprised face with a smile and a, Happy Birthday, Hoshizuki-sensei. He falters a bit as he says thank you, then accuses them all of having too much time on their hands.
Tsukiko: It’s your birthday, though! That only comes once a year!
Hoshizuki: Yeah, yeah, calm down.
Haruki: Try to act a little more excited, will you?
Mizushima: I told you guys he’d be like this
Hoshizuki: wow i’m so happy guys thanks… Happy now?
(Ishida’s deadpan delivery of that line is A++)
Well, anyway, he’s here now and it’s a party. Haruki declares it’s time for a toast (read: start drinking). Hoshizuki immediately shoots down the idea of alcohol, since Tsukiko’s their student and that’s bad form, plus he still has work to do. Haruki counters that he’s only going to make Mizushima drink with him so it’s okay. Mizushima was not aware of this plan.
The pour some drinks and Tsukiko is enjoying watching Haruki and Mizushima interact when she feels Hoshizuki’s gaze on her. What’s up? He (accurately) guesses that this was all her idea. She admits that it was her who first brought up wanting to do something for him and he gives her a wry smile.
Did he...really not like it?
His tone is soft as he answers that he didn’t say that.
How did he know it was her idea though? He smirks, who else would have thought of it? Although, he wouldn’t put it past Naoshi, he could tell right away it was her. As he says this, he looks up at the stars and looks so beautiful that Tsukiko’s heart skips a beat.
This quiet moment is broken when Haruki suddenly raises his voice. What’s up all of a sudden? He just remembered that the planetarium has a new program. Why don’t they go watch it? They all agree this is a good idea, and head over to the school’s planetarium. Haruki turns the program on, and as Tsukiko’s watching, she feels a sudden weight on her shoulder… in the dark she realizes Hoshizuki’s fallen asleep and slumped over to rest his head on her shoulder.
I’m sad there’s no CG for this.
Tsukiko wonders momentarily if she should wake him, but in the end decides to leave him be. In fact, having him resting against her is so comfortable the sound of him breathing starts to lull her to sleep as well…
Before she knows it, she’s being woken up by the equally sleepy voice of Hoshizuki. She blinks in the light and wonders for a second when the planetarium show finished.
Hoshizuki huffs good-naturedly. Honestly, what’s he to do with her? He’s one to talk, she points out, he fell asleep first.
“Ah, you noticed? Planetariums are pretty nice, aren’t they? They’re pretty to look at and great for a nap.”
Tsukiko: I’m pretty sure something you said isn’t quite right, there.
They leave the planetarium and emerge under the real stars, where it’s noticeably gotten colder. They can definitely feel the change of seasons in the air. Haruki points out that Tsukiko and Mizushima should enjoy feeling the seasons change while they can, since they’ll be adults and notice it less in no time.
Mizushima: Thanks for ruining the mood, Haruki-sensei.
Haruki: I’m going to make a proper adult out of you before your student teacher time here is up!
Hoshizuki: Please do.
Mizushima: Being a proper adult sounds awfully boring.
That’s like, the most true thing Mizushima has ever said.
As she, Haruki, and Mizushima are talking, Tsukiko notices Hoshizuki hanging back and watching on with a look on his face she can see means he’s having a good time.
But anyway, it really is cold. Haruki suggests they break the party up for the night. As Tsukiko gathers her things and prepares to follow him, Hoshizuki tells them thank you.
Back at ground level, he offers to walk Tsukiko back to the dorms while Haruki and Mizushima lock up. For a while the pair of them walk in silence. Tsukiko’s just trying to think of something to talk about, when…
“...thanks.”
He says it so quietly you almost can’t hear it.
For the party, she asks. Yeah, he admits, he doesn’t know what to do in situations like that, and it makes him uncomfortable, but all the same he admits it made him happy. Hearing this warms Tsukiko’s heart. She wishes him happy birthday once more, and he pauses, only to change the subject by comment on how the moon looks pretty.
Then the writing gets really awkward so we’ll just end here like the writers should have done :D
Today’s a Saturday, so it’s very quiet at Seigetsu Gakuen. What’s Tsukiko doing on campus though?
Tsukiko’s a busy girl. She had kyudou practice in the morning, and from the afternoon she came in to the nurse’s office for her medical check up. Hoshizuki’s pretty hands-off about it, leaving most of it to Tsukiko to do herself, while he sleepily sits by and asks if she’s done weighing herself yet.
Tsukiko’s at that stage some girls go through where this is a point of contention for her. She asks him to wait a moment and he keenly points out that no matter how many times she rechecks the numbers aren’t gonna change. She tells him to shush and let a girl be.
Hoshizuki: Just write whatever you want then.
Tsukiko: I am not going to lie.
She comes out and they move to measure her height. Hoshizuki apologizes (probably for not the first time) that they don’t have the means to get a female doctor to do this. Tsukiko admits it’s a little embarrassing, to which Hoshizuki shrugs and says she’s still a child so there’s nothing to worry about, really. Tsukiko takes offence at being called a child. She hates it when he does that!
Hoshizuki yawns and doesn’t take the bait. It’s the weekend he wants to sleep.
Tsukiko: You always want to sleep.
That said, he does seem more tired that usual lately…
Really? Hoshizuki asks. It must be her imagination, it’s nothing she should worry about.
That’s the wrong thing to say, really. Tsukiko thinks back on how long she’s known Hoshizuki. She only became the health rep for her class this past spring, but when she was a first-year student she often came to the nurse’s office with Kanata. That said, Hoshizuki’s always been pretty elusive, and she wishes she could get to know him better…
Hoshizuki notices her looking at him and asks what she’s making that face for. Is there something she wants to tell him or something?
Well, since he asked…
“What do you usually do in your free time, Hoshizuki-sensei?”
“Do you have someone you like, Hoshizuki-sensei?”
“Do you know Mizushima-sensei personally, Hoshizuki-sensei?”
If you ask me, the only natural question out of these three is the first one. The last one is out of left field, the middle one is… odd coming from Tsukiko, since it’s not really in her character to ask that out of the blue. She’s a shoujo protagonist but not a romantic, per say. This is also waaayyyyy before her love epiphany. Like, wayyyyy before. Or even his. So the only question that makes sense given the flow of the scene and both characters’ personalities is the first one, but alas, that’s the choice for Naoshi’s route.
So Hoshizuki, you lazy bum, do you have a crush on anyone because we all know you don’t have a girlfriend?
“No...I don’t. I have no need for nor the right to have someone.”
...oookayyy…
Rightfully surprised by this answer, Tsukiko asks why. He tells her ‘just because’ in that tone of voice that says not to push it. He won’t tell her? He smiles and softens his tone a little, assuring her it’s no big deal. This only serves to prove to Tsukiko that it is a big deal but he’s chosen to hide it from her.
Tsukiko: How come you won’t be more honest with me?
Hoshizuki: Why do you ask? Are you interested in me or something?
Tsukiko: Yes.
Hoshizuki: You’re more bold than I give you credit for!
Tsukiko: Wait, not like that. I mean--
Hoshizuki: I know what you really meant. Even if you did have a crush on me, I’m way too old for you and kids your age usually confuse curiosity for interest.
Tsukiko pouts. Even if he does have a point, that doesn’t detract from the fact that she wants to get to know him better. But there’s something in his expression that tells her she should let it go and she stays quiet.
The finish up Tsukiko’s medical check and Hoshizuki tells her she can go. But Tsukiko, while she may have dropped the earlier question, still hasn’t given up on getting to know him. She protests that she doesn’t want to leave yet be...because there’s still cleaning to do!
Hoshizuki gives her a sidelong glance and asks why she’s acting funny.
That stings a little. How come he’s allowed to read her but she can’t read him?
The door opens and Nashimoto pops in. Is Tsukiko’s medical check finished? Miyaji’s been looking for her, you know. She wouldn’t happen to have the key to the dojo, would she?
Oops, she does! She forgot to hand it to him before she left early to come for her medical check. She thanks Nashimoto and turns to Hoshizuki, who tells her go ahead. He can tidy up the office himself. Tsukiko offers to come back after she returns the key but he frowns at her sternly. He’s fine. She can go. He reminds her that she shouldn’t put her health rep duties ahead of the rest of her life. Her kyudou teammates, her classmates and her friends… she should cherish them while she can.
Tsukiko pauses and looks back at him. That’s a rather...heavy way of wording it.
Hoshizuki is looking off to the side, distracted by whatever prompted him to give her this advice. Eventually he turns around in his chair, putting his back to her, leaving Tsukiko with no option but to leave. The abrupt distance between them stings.
Out in the hall, Tsukiko’s just about to rush and seek out Miyaji when a lady’s voice calls out and stops her.
I turned around and found a beautiful lady standing behind me. Wait, since when did such a gorgeous teacher work at this school?
Our gorgeous mystery woman asks if Tsukiko knows where Kotarou...er, she means, Hoshizuki-sensei is. Tsukiko’s flustered a moment, while she’s used to hearing Haruki call Hoshizuki by his given name, this is the first time she’s heard someone else do it, let along without adding -sensei at the end. Who could this woman be?
While Tsukiko struggles to mentally come to terms with this sudden encounter, the women begins to fret, remembering it’s Saturday so what if Hoshizuki-sensei isn’t at the school? But he must be, right? Oh, dear, she should have called first…
Tsukiko tentatively informs her that Hoshizuki is in the nurse’s office.
Oh good.
So uh… where’s the nurse’s office again? This school is so big, she always forgets where things are.
She kind of has a point. Tsukiko points out the door to the nurse’s office, since she just came from there and it’s not far.
The woman thanks Tsukiko for her kindness and excuses herself. Tsukiko watches her boldly walk down the hall and enter the nurse’s office without so much as a knock, growing all the more curious. How does she know Hoshizuki-sensei? They must be rather close if she came all the way to the school to see him.
…
For some reason that thought makes Tsukiko feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Starry★Sky in Autumn -Hoshizuki- Epilogue and Afterthoughts
Well here we are everyone, the final entry in the final route of these games! How did Tsukiko’s future with Hoshizuki turn out? Let’s take a look...
We open on the white screen of low budget, with Tsukiko’s narration commenting on how she’s coming out of a pleasant dream where she’s together with someone she loves. She comes slowly awake to the sound of birds outside and thinks to herself that the dream made her so happy she’s almost sorry to wake from it…
But then a soft, slightly bemused voice asks if she’s awake and she opens her eyes.
… to one of the best things you could possibly wake up to because that is hot. First time I played this game I couldn’t believe my eyes and it’s the only non-wedding ending that I’m a-okay with an alternative ending.
That hair, that sexy neckline, that comfortable af looking bedding, and the nice touch with the wedding ring. Unf. Also Ishida Akira because always Ishida Akira. Anyway.
Let’s calm down and keep going.
Tsukiko turns over in her sleep and gazes up at her beloved Kotarou as he calls her a sleepyhead and pets her head. She tells him she still sleepy, and he says yeah, he knows, they had a late night. (otome game code for they had sex) But they had plans today, remember? So time to get up. He doesn’t mind staying in bed, but she’s been looking forward to what’s planned for the day for a while, hasn’t she?
Tsukiko knows this, but she playfully pouts anyway. She’s still sleepy.
Oh, is she? Fine with him, he plays along. Does she want to ‘sleep’ some more then, together with him? He leans in and kisses her behind the white screen of low budget because they didn’t make an alternate CG of his kiss!face with the sexy nightshirt. (damn them)
Tsukiko knows where he’s going with this and promises she’ll get up. She’s getting up now.
“That’s too bad… I was just thinking I wouldn’t mind staying in bed all day with you today.”
She rolls her eyes at him and he laughs, yeah yeah, go get ready. It always takes her forever anyway, right? She counters that she likes to look good when they go out together and he calls her cute, pulling her in for one more kiss.
When they part, they gaze fondly at each other and Tsukiko asks if he remembers when they first moved in together. She’d just graduated university and together they decided to live together for awhile before getting married. She’d wanted to get married right away, but he had insisted they wait.
He gets a little defensive, saying he didn’t want to rush things with her.
She knows, she tells him, and buries her face in the pillow to hide her wide smile of joy out of embarrassment. She still remembers clearly when he sat her down and explained he didn’t want to get married right away because he cared about her so much. He knew he loved her, but she was still young and her feelings might change, and if they had to get a divorce or something it would just cause unnecessary strife. He could wait until they were certain. At the time she’d been happy he cared about her feelings so much, but was also a little sad to think he thought there was even the slightest chance she could ever stop loving him. He made her so happy, but always with that twinge of negativity hanging in the background.
She points this out to him and he laughs a little, remembering how she yelled at him over it at the time.
Tsukiko: It’s your fault for being such a downer.
Kotarou: Can’t help it, I’m an old man.
Pff, he’s like 30 at best here but then again, I know quite a few 30 year olds who bemoan that they’re old now, so I guess it’s all about perspective.
Tsukiko tells him he’s silly for always putting her happiness ahead of his to a fault. While she’s happy he cares for her, it still makes her sad to know he’s always ready to let her go. It feels like he doesn’t fully believe her.
He explains that’s just how he is, and it’s exactly why he suggested living together before they got married. And in the end, did her feelings change, even though they didn’t get married right away?
Tsukiko: Of course not! And I always want to be with y--
He stops her from saying the rest with a finger to her lips.
He playfully scolds her not to say another word and steal his thunder. That’s his line. He’ll tell her when he finds the right words, so can she wait just a bit longer?
Wait, does that mean…?
He takes advantage of her surprised silence to steal another kiss.
(Okay, I guess they aren’t married yet and the artist didn’t get the memo. OH WELL)
Wait, how much longer does she have to wait? She asks. He smiles sheepishly and says, not much longer. Just long enough, because he wants to make sure he does it right. Is that okay? She says it is, happy that he cares for her.
And that’s the important thing for these two, they’re happy together, without any of the usual trappings or formalities. Just waking up by each other’s side is enough. He tells her that every day he loves her a little more, to the point where it surprises him, and kisses her again, she’s already lost count this morning.
Tsukiko thinks to herself how glad she is to have met him, and how happy they are together.
The end.
Afterthoughts
Not sure what to say that hasn’t been said somewhere already. I like this route. It’s a good solid second favorite after Miyaji’s route, close enough that I’d almost say I like them equally. I like that Hoshizuki’s hit a lot of my fav cliches and never got too annoying or veered too far into wtfery that it prevented suspension of disbelief and reality set in that oh shit this is a teacher and student relationship that’s not cool.
Also kind of fun that we ended the let’s plays of these games on the guy who ends up running the school in the end. :D
But yeah, good route is good, gorgeous art is gorgeous, I never would have ever considered Ishida for a romantic lead role just because this is the first I’d ever encountered him in one and now I adore the idea of it.
In general, Starry Sky was a lot of fun and will always be my first deep dive into otome games. Sure it’s dated and ridiculously chaste and didn’t do enough with its chosen theme at times imho but no regrets. Fun game was fun. Fun drama CDs are also great. Someday I will find time for you, After Seasons games... someday......
All in all, thanks to everyone who read my snarky commentary and meta? fun-with-translations. If I ever do get around to playing the After Seasons games, I most likely won’t do this again because this past year or so it’s been a real struggle fitting it into my schedule. (x_x) Oh yeah, thanks again too for all your patience whenever I fell behind!
I don’t really have anything to plug, except I wrote a silly Sailor Moon fanfic that I may or may not continue, you can find it on archive of our own here if you’re interested but otherwise, we’ll leave things here. Thanks again!
Today is Mizushima’s last day as student teacher for Tsukiko’s class…
He gives a casual but sincere speech to the class that brings Haruki to tears. Many of Tsukiko’s classmates are sad to see the old git go as well, and since this isn’t his stupid route so am I, I guess.
Later in the afternoon after classes are done for the day, our usual quartet meet in the nurse’s office to say a more personal farewell. Hoshizuki tsundere’s it up and is like, yeah, glad we survived that experience, not that it has anything to do with me, but we all know that he’s happy to hear Mizushima is grateful for his time at Seigetsu Gakuen.
But now it’s time for him to go, and he politely declines Tsukiko’s office to walk him to the gate because that would be a bit too sentimental for his tastes. Hoshizuki tells him to take care of himself and he jokingly goes yeah, yeah, I’ll be fine, old man.
After he leaves, Haruki heads to the teacher’s office and that leaves just Hoshizuki and Tsukiko behind. Tsukiko realizes this is the first time they’ve been alone together since the morning after they admitted their feelings for each other and gets a little flustered. He fondly teases her about this, since she’s so easy to read. He tells her to relax a little and leans in for a surprise kiss…
Which is, of course, frickin’ adorable.
She gets even more flustered instead of relaxing because that was totally unfair. He just smiles and indicates for her to come sit on the sofa with him. She gives in because fine, whatever, if that’s how he’s going to be about it. When she does she remembers the letter and thinks this is as good a time as any to hand it to him.
“What’s this? Did you write me a love letter, Yahisa?”
Normally I’d want a cute switch to calling each other by their given names but we already had that in my other favorite route with Miyaji so I’m okay with this.
Anyway, it’s like 2009 in these games not 1909 you silly old man, no, it’s not a love letter from Tsukiko.
Tsukiko tells him no, she got it from Mizushima who wanted her to give it to him. It’s a letter from Yui.
Hoshizuki freezes for a moment. It’s what?
When he doesn’t even move to take it, she gently coaxes him into it. When he finally does, she puts her arms around him supportively, telling him it’s okay, she’ll be here for him while he reads it.
“Yeah, you’re right. I have you here with me.”
Comforted by this, he opens the letter and begins to read…
In the letter, Yui apologizes for putting him in an awkward position. She never wanted him to reciprocate her feelings, she only wanted him to know them. She was scared and knew she was dying, and he’d always been there to hold her hand and ground her, and promise that he’ll study hard to find a cure. This always made her feel better. He was so confident she could almost believe him, too, but the reality was different and her condition just kept getting worse. She couldn’t bear to have any regrets before she died, so she made the decision to tell him how she felt. Even if he didn’t love her back, she was just happy with the knowledge that during her short life she had been fortunate to meet and fall in love with someone as wonderful as him. Even though she knew that he was a serious, caring person and that it would hurt him to know he didn’t, or couldn’t love her in return, but she had to say something. And now that she’s said it, she just has one wish for him going forward…
She wishes for him to be happy, because he deserves it. He’s full of warmth and kindness, and when he finds someone he wants to share that with, he should never let her go.
Oh and please take care of Iku.
She ends the letter by telling him again that she loves him, this time as a brother, and hopes that he’ll be happy in the future. Thanks for everything.
And we’re all crying.
Yay, closure.
Tsukiko holds him close and lets him cry it out. If he’s worried about his pride, she promises to forgot she saw a single tear. Quietly, she promises that they’ll be happy together. He smiles through his tears and says that of course they will.
