[b]Kotori Shirohane - Sadaomi Beach | Saturday - Evening[/b]

Sat at the seaside restaurant table, Kotori stifled a yawn - and not for the first time that evening. As they day had carried on - and particularly once the excitement and energy of the afternoon had started to fade much like the sunlight, the tiring effects of her rather fretful sleep the night before were making themselves known once more. With the rather cozy post-dinner atmosphere in the still-warm night, it didn't take long for Kotori's mind to wander as she thought about the events of the afternoon whilst only listening to the ongoing conversations around her with half an ear. For despite the pleasant ongoings, she couldn't help but worry about her fellow two Agriculture Club members.

As such, she'd only half-heartedly participated in most of the events of the afternoon - deigning to sit out on the fishing on account of having no knowledge thereof and not being all too eager to acquire it; even if she was somewhat surprised that someone actually managed to fish up an old boot. She declined participating in the volleyball match, too - though that was unsurprising, given that she wasn't exactly the most sporty person even if she didn't end up out of breath after just a few minutes of strenuous activity.

Still, she did enjoy the watermelon that had been brought along - even if she ended up getting some of it on her jacket in the process, albeit that not being of her own fault. She didn't blame Ryan for it either though - he seemed most surprised of everyone that his swing ended up sending watermelon bits flying all across the beach and in no small part over himself, too. Not wanting to leave her summer jacket in such a state, this did force Kotori to reluctantly doff the thin yellow garment as she gave it a quick rinse under the nearby showers. On account of it being soaked through, it left her little choice but to return without wearing it - and instead, much to her self-conscious dismay, wearing only the swimsuit she'd worn beneath all this time.

Ultimately, Kotori was almost glad for it - after all, she'd probably just been mentally beating herself up if she'd actually bought a new swimsuit and furthermore even gone to the ocean and then proceeded to never actually dip as much as a single toe into the wide blue sea. Besides, she told herself that everyone else was wearing their swimwear too, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about - though telling and believing were two different things entirely.

Still, whether true or not, she couldn't help but feel like she was drawing more attention that she liked as she quickly made her way back to the towels to let her jacket dry on the nearby warm rocks in the sun. As such, Kotori soon hurried over to, for the first time ever, actually feel the ocean waves curl around her legs - and most definitely not using the opportunity to hide herself beneath the water's surface, clear though it may be and thus doing little to actually conceal the light blue and white colored pattern that rose into a multitude of blooming summery floral prints that made up the upper half of her swimsuit. And with her glasses ever firmly in place, she didn't submerge herself any lower than her neck - though that hadn't stopped her long black hair from rising up and floating behind her.

It was quite a while yet before she actually headed back out of the surprisingly warm ocean waters, as she told herself it was purely because she actually enjoyed the gentle motions of the waves and the feeling of the sand shifting beneath her feet and most definitely not because it took her that long to work up the courage to do so.

---

With her hair long-since dried - though still feeling a little funny after both only getting partially wet and also having been in the salty seawater for some time - and once more wearing her trusty summer jacket, Kotori's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a rather unexpected sound. Blinking rapidly, her tiredness was forgotten in an instant as she locked eyes with the source - and her face grew paler yet when she confirmed for herself that someone had, in fact, just suggested a test of courage. Luckily, and to her great relief, it quickly turned out that there simply was not enough time left before the train they wanted to catch left - and as such, Kotori was unusually enthusiastic in nodding her agreement when it was decided to not conduct it after all.

After that brief shock, Megumi showed up - and once again, had managed to acquire a whole host of things from seemingly nowhere. This time, the objects in question were a few small boxes of fireworks - which were soon handed over to Rui, Ryan and a few others who began setting them up. It wasn't long before they called everyone else outside - and to the sight of neatly prepared sparklers which were soon thrust into any unoccupied hand. Kotori was no exception to this and soon found herself grasping an unlit firework. One by one, the others lit theirs and quickly the sound of spraying sparks filled the air. The flickering lights illuminated the faces of their holders, showing smiles almost all around.

But even in all the merriment, Kotori couldn't help but glance around in worry - the sun had set, yet there was still no sign of either Shizuka or Matthew. She was growing slightly restless, even though they still had more than an hour before their train left. So in thought was she that she didn't even notice someone offering to light the firework in her hand - and taking her silence as a yes. Preoccupied as she was, Kotori almost jumped at the sudden fizz coming from so close; eyes wide in surprise behind her glasses at the sparks flying off into the night and vanishing after just a heartbeat.

Her surprise softened into a more relaxed state after a mere few moments more. Watching the small motes of light break off in all directions reminded her of shooting stars, glowing brightly in a dark night's sky before vanishing forever - even if she'd never actually seen one for herself. The thought almost brought a smile to her lips as she realised how silly the comparison was - but it stuck with her nonetheless. So much so, in fact, that she tentatively wondered if someone had perhaps thought of wishing upon a sparkler before.

Shaking her head, Kotori reprimanded herself for such silliness - but that didn't stop a small voice in the back of her head being more true to herself: [color=green]"I hope those two come back safely soon..."[/color] Her voice was even more quiet than usual - and thus completely drowned out by even just the single firework in her hands. Hearing the others all around her being far more joyous - and, as she noticed after looking up from her own sparkler, sporting a lot heartier smiles - Kotori sighed at herself for always being such a downer; even if she couldn't help it.

Still, having looked for so long directly at the bright sparks that were being sprayed in all directions, Kotori fruitlessly blinked a few times to try to rid herself of the bright spot in the middle of her vision that was being rather persistent about not going away - only for her to suddenly stop mid-blink when a voice spoke up from the light-blinded darkness: [color=violet]"I-I apologize for my absence bu-but I do feel better now, thankfully. May we join in the festivities?"[/color]

Finishing her initial blink, Kotori followed it up with a few more as she turned to face the source of the sound - and once her eyes had adjusted to the actually still-light evening instead of the glowing fireworks, managed to recognise her for who she was: Shizuka. But not only that - beside her was the other missing member in the form of Matthew. Glancing between the two, relief slowly brought a smile onto Kotori's face as she nodded. [color=green]"Of course, Otonashi-san, Harvester-senpai. Welcome back,"[/color] she said, this time at least loud enough to be audible.

And though she didn't realise it herself, Kotori's smile grew softer and more heartfelt when she slowly realised that the strange and subtle mood that had been plaguing the two seemed to have finally been lifted. Perhaps, Kotori thought, there was actually something to those shooting stars.