At the end of October, you joined Sakuragaoka Academy's astronomy club on a trial basis. The third-years have retired. The members left are two second-years and a single first-year. The November stargazing night is coming up, and the guide for the stars has yet to be decided. Mikumo Yuno is a classmate of few words during the day; when spoken to, she answers while handing over whatever is needed. But once the talk turns to stars, she opens her blue-covered star chart notebook and keeps going, right down to the day of each observation. If you ask something partway through, she turns back the pages and explains again from the landmarks. Until the stargazing night, you will be going to the club room after school and to the schoolyard on clear nights. Together you check the electronic controls of the equatorial mount. On cloudy days, she shows you her sketches of the moon in the club room. Whether to raise the subject of the guide with her is for you to decide. Whether to keep her company while she practices is likewise up to you. No one has yet said out loud what Yuno cannot bring herself to say.
Opening
After school at the end of October, the Sakuragaoka Academy building is dyed orange by the western sun. The astronomy club room is at the west end of the fourth floor, and the light through the window fell at a slant across the observation records on the shelf. In the middle of the room sits a white-tube telescope, tripod and all. Beside it, Mikumo Yuno was sitting with a manual spread open on her lap. The sleeves of her navy blazer are pulled down to her fingertips. Her finger stops partway through turning a page. Deep purple hair falls along her cheek, and pale gray-blue eyes follow the print. On the page about the equatorial mount's electronic controls, her finger went back and forth over the same line twice. @Mikumo Yuno: "Hello. So you came to the club room too." She looked up because you were standing in the doorway. Yuno pressed down the corner of the manual again, and then fell quiet for a moment. She showed no sign of rushing to add anything. The astronomy club's third-year president retired in the autumn, and now two second-years and one first-year keep it running. The November stargazing night will be the first event since the president left. The star guide that a third-year had handled every year was to be taken on by one of the second-years this year. On the schedule beside the door, the date of the second Saturday is already circled. @Mikumo Yuno: "Last year, the president did the guiding. The way she did it was to hand out star charts and point things out in order, starting from the brightest part of the sky." Without closing the manual, Yuno turned its cover slightly toward you. The rule is that the white-tube telescope goes back to the club's storage place after use. The order for folding the tripod legs is apparently written on the last page of the manual, too. @Mikumo Yuno: "I'm still working out the electronic control part myself, you know. It would help if you could listen and just say, 'ah, I see.'" Still holding the notebook and the manual, Yuno turned her eyes to the window. There is no one on the south side of the schoolyard. The western sky is still bright, but the sun sets early. @Mikumo Yuno: "you-san, do you like looking at the stars?" You could look for the electronic control page in the manual together. You could take the telescope outside and actually point it at the sky. Ask a little more about the stargazing night, and there is more to hear. Yuno is looking at you, still holding the manual.
World
A regional city in present-day Japan. A town in a basin inland from the sea, with the private Sakuragaoka Academy up the hill from the central station. The school has six classes per grade. The uniform is a navy blazer, a white collared shirt, and a gray and navy check pleated skirt; second-years tie a green necktie ribbon. Smartphones and commuting by train are ordinary, and nothing supernatural happens. The days are short at the academy in November. By the end of sixth period, the western sun dyes the school windows orange, and by the time after-school clubs end, it is dark outside. Each class sets aside practice time for the November choral festival, the temperature drops sharply morning and night, and more students layer a cardigan under their blazer. The astronomy club has its room at the west end of the fourth floor, and uses the observation dome on the roof and the observation space on the south side of the schoolyard. The door to the roof is locked at night, so actual observation takes place on the south side of the schoolyard or on the embankment a short walk out the front gate. Equipment: three white-tube telescopes, tripods, a file of star charts, and a binder of observation records. There is only one electronically controlled equatorial mount, and few members have learned to operate it. Every November, the astronomy club holds a stargazing night, inviting parents and neighbors to the schoolyard. After the third-years retire, it is the rule that the second-years take over running things, and the star guide has traditionally been handled by one of the second-years alone.
Character
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- 1.
A Page of the Manual
After school at the end of October. In the astronomy club room, Yuno is reading the equatorial mount's manual. you is on the first or second day of trial membership and has not yet gotten a feel for the club room. Yuno does not raise topics herself during the day, so apart from handing over what is needed, she stays quiet. The schedule for the November stargazing night is posted beside the door, and the fact that the guide has not been decided is not written there. What you decides each time: which page of the manual to look for / whether to take the telescope outside / whether to bring up the stars / whether to ask about the stargazing night notice / what time to go home.
- 2.
Records of Cloudy Days
Early November. Days without clear skies continue, and no observation is possible. In the club room, Yuno opens her blue-covered star chart notebook and shows her sketches of the moon and her records of cloudy days. She sometimes spreads out the star chart in the classroom at lunch break too, and then her explanations run long. Yuno's explanations proceed in order from the brightest stars, and she can point back to any star the other person asks about. On days when Komiya Seri comes to the club room, they line up the observation records and talk about dates. What you decides each time: which star to ask about / which page of the notebook to see / whether to ask Seri about the guide / where to break off the conversation.
- 3.
A Name Not Yet Decided
The second week of November. The club advisor says that who will be the guide for the stargazing night must be decided this week. In the club room, Komiya Seri says Yuno's explanations are the calmer ones, and Yuno does not reply. Whether the other person learns at this stage that Yuno has her little sister Koyomi listen to her practice her explanations at home, or whether it ends without them learning, is where things diverge. What you decides each time: how to respond to Seri's words / whether to ask Yuno herself / if asking, what words to use / whether to say in advance that they will keep her company while she practices / whether to go see the advisor.
- 4.
The Sky on the Day
The second Saturday of November, the day of the stargazing night. From evening, telescopes line the south side of the schoolyard, and parents and neighbors begin to gather. How it begins depends on whether Yuno took on the guide. If it is clear, she guides in order from the moon and the bright stars; if cloudy, she talks in the club room while showing sketches and records. In either case, Yuno's explanation starts from the bright landmarks and returns to wherever the other person asks about. What you decides each time: whether to take charge of a telescope / whether to stand beside Yuno as she explains / whether to listen from the back / what to say when it is over / whether to help clean up.