U-Um... is this all I need to sign up for the club?
Yeah.
Takatori Kotori-san, right?
Y-Yes!
Are you all club members?
I am.
Just joined today myself, though.
Oh my!
What a coincidence!
I'm a first-year, Takatori Kotori!
I may be not be experienced, but I hope we can get along!
Hey.
Your boobs are friggin' big!
What's the deal?
S-Stop it!
I'm sensitive about them!
Listen up, Kazumi.
Huh?
You go around charging boob fees, but the only boobs worth paying for are ones like he—
Stargazing
You hit way too hard!
Shut your mouth! I bet my nipples are way prettier than hers!
E-Excuse me...
Is she a member as well?
A-Ah, well...
Oops, forgot to put her away.
Don't treat me like a piece of furniture!
I don't go to your school, but I'm like this club's mascot.
And naturally, as the mascot, I don't move around.
Coddle me accordingly.
O-Okay.
And lastly...
Kuroha Neko. Nice to meet you.
S-Same here. It's a pleasure to meet you.
By the way, what kind of things does the Astronomy Club do?
Not much, I suppose. We just look at the stars from here.
The people who were here last year led some stargazing expeditions too.
Ooh, that sounds like fun!
Definitely something I'd like to do.
Right.
It's been one crisis after another lately.
And with the pills running shorter and shorter, we may never get another chance.
Now that we've gotten more members, why don't we have a stargazing expedition tomorrow night?
Are you free tomorrow?
Yes, of course!
And you don't have anything better to do.
Sure, I'm free, but I ain't interested.
I couldn't care less about stargazing.
Oh, stop it! You're all going!
Come or I'll throw you out!
I'm not taking no for an answer!
Get off yer high horse.
All because you ran your dumb mouth.
What a dummy you are.
Why?
When a man and a woman get together at night, the stars're the last thing they should be lookin' at.
There're way better things down here on Earth.
Hey, stop fooling around.
I'm always serious.
Wanna test the waters with a kiss?
Huh?
Wh-What happened?
I wasn't trying to use it, but my magic just...
Wh-What was that just now?
Well, they do say this place is haunted...
Haunted?
A-Anyway, we're holding a stargazing expedition tomorrow night.
The mountains are cold at night, even in summer.
Make sure you all come dressed snugly.
What do you mean "come"? We live here.
I really should be getting home soon.
Okay, then let's meet up here tomorrow night at six.
All right.
Sorry, Neko. I need to use the bathroom.
Oh, sure.
I see you had your eyes glued to Kana.
You really wanna see her pee that bad?
What? How'd you come to that conclusion?!
I want to help shoulder Kuroha's burden, but there are some things I just can't help with.
Well, no duh.
Anyhoo, if you're into that kinda stuff, I can give you a hand.
Hey...
Every other sentence you've spouted since yesterday's been dirty talk,
but aren't you a virgin?
So what?! You gotta problem with virgins?
Not particularly.
I'm just saying, you don't need to overcompensate.
I'm not overcompensating.
I'm just trying my best.
Trying your best to do what?
Forget it.
Oh yeah, there's something I wanted to ask you.
What is it? My cup size?
I don't need to ask to know that.
A-cup.
Maybe a B-cup with pads.
Kana told me earlier.
That when Kuroha uses her magic, she loses something important.
She was talking about memories, right?
I don't know exactly how it works, but for the most part, we just lose random pointless memories.
But sometimes when we're unlucky...
When you're unlucky?
...we lose the memories we treasure most.
Neko underwent so many experiments that she can't remember a single thing from her childhood.
Not even what her parents looked like.
So she can't remember anything from her childhood?
The sky's perfect tonight. You can see everything clearly.
You could've left me behind.
Huh? Why?
Aren't I heavy?
Not really.
I've already gotten used to this.
It's not much different from carrying a backpack to school every day.
Are you planning to carry me on your back forever?
Hmm? Whatcha lookin' at?
The Summer Triangle.
Triangle?
What's that?
That's Vega from the constellation Lyra, Deneb from Cygnus,
and Altair from Aquila.
Vega is Orihime from the Tanabata story, and Altair is Hikoboshi.
You can see them separated by the Milky Way.
Vega is the brightest one.
Deneb and Altair are first-magnitude stars,
but Vega is a zero-magnitude star that's even brighter than them!
Huh? Why do I know all this?
Isn't this proof that Kuroha is Kuroneko...?
What the heck?! It's freezin' up here!
I thought I told you to dress snugly.
Tell me harder!
Well? Can you see?
Yes. I see Saturn very clearly.
By the way, why did you decide to join the Astronomy Club?
I suppose I wanted to meet aliens.
You believe in aliens too?
I don't just believe in them. I know they exist.
I've seen them myself.
A harness!
You're a...
Come here, Murakami!
This isn't the time!
Shut up and come!
What is it?
Come closer.
I saw a forecast.
Neko's going to be killed by that Kotori girl.
How does she kill her?
I don't know. It wasn't clear from the forecast.
Damn.
That seriously cuts down on what we can do.
At the very least, I need to buy them a little more time.
What's the matter?
I saw a forecast of Kotori killing you.
What'd you say?!
You mean the laboratory sent her?
What kind of magic does she use?
If she uses offensive magic like Saori...
Excuse me, is something the matter?
You're a magician, aren't you?
H-How do you know that?!
I saw the harness on the back of your neck.
H-How do you know about harnesses?!
And you know they'll kill us all if they find out you know about magicians!
A-Aren't you here to kill magicians yourself?
I-I'm not! Besides, where would I even find a magician around here?!
Just sayin', but all three of us are magicians.
What?!
Seriously?!
I-I can't believe it!
What a coincidence!
Huh? Is she playing dumb or what?
That can't be.
Show us your magic, then.
If you're not here to kill us, that shouldn't be a problem.
Sure! Watch me closely!
My power is teleportation!
Teleportation?
Here I go!
They changed places!
What do you think? Aren't I amazing?
So plain.
It always hangs up when I use my magic though...
So useless!
How does someone like her manage to kill Kuroha?
Maybe she's a hybrid hidin' her more deadly power.
I'm not going to kill anyone!
Why won't you believe me?
But...
We shouldn't doubt her.
How can you say that?
It's your life we're talkin' about!
It's fine.
You're fine with that?
I want to use the telescope.
Oh, sure.
G-Go ahead.
Kuroha...
She'd rather risk her own life than hurt someone's feelings.
That's just like her.
All right, let's get back to stargazing.
Now's not the time for that!
She hung up.
We don't have anything to worry about if she can't use magic.
Let me point it at the moon for you.
Is Neko the only one who dies?
Neko's the only one I saw die.
That's fine, I guess.
I still don't completely believe her, but I'll stop questioning her for now.
It should be good now.
Wow, amazing!
The moon looks so close!
Huh?
But the image is reversed.
Telescopes flip the image vertically.
Oh, really.
Kana-chan!
The moon's amazing! You can see the craters and everything!
If she really were Kuroneko, there's no way she wouldn't know how a telescope worked.
It's really pretty! Kazumi-chan, come look at it with us!
No, maybe she just forgot that too.
It's fascinating stuff!
Maybe for you.
Not interested.
What?!
It's so pretty!
I thought it'd be really dull and stuff!
Whoa! There's a rabbit! A rabbit on the moon!
Kazumi, where'd you pull that rabbit from?
Oh, come on! I can totally see it!
I want to see too!
I knew they'd get into it.
You stand back!
Hurry up! It's my turn!
Just a little more!
This is like a dream.
I'm actually getting to go to school, be in a club, and make memories...
What's wrong, Kana-chan?
Don't mind it.
It's nothing.
That was fun.
We should do this again sometime.
Murakami.
Drag behind a little.
Hey.
What's more important to you, your life or Neko's?
I don't know if I could bring myself to choose one.
But if it's to save Kuroha...
The forecast changed.
Neko won't die.
Instead, the person Kotori will kill...
...is you.
What?
Two down...
I'll stay here tonight.
I wonder how Kazumi and the others are doing.
Oh, you're just a little kitty-cat.
You're out on your own too?
Okay, got it.
Let's run away together.
Is school over already?
Yeah. I got on an earlier bus than usual.
Tell me more about the forecasts you saw yesterday before everyone else gets here.
Fine. You do have a right to know.
First, where did you see Kuroha killed?
It was next to a large lake.
Probably somewhere nearby.
I can't see events that happen far away.
There's only one lake around here.
Next to Neko's dead body,
Kotori stood there smiling.
And what about the second forecast?
Same lake.
Neko was alive, but dying in her place...
...was you.
So it's one or the other?
One of us has to die?
When will it happen?
Probably this evening.
Got it.
We just have to stay away from the lake today.
So, I'm pretty set on staying away now.
Did the forecast change?
Not at all.
It seems as though something will happen and you'll have no choice but to go to the lake.
I probably don't have to tell you, but make sure you keep the second forecast a secret from Neko.
If she finds out, she'll try to save you.
Then the forecast might change again.
I don't mind if you die, but it'd be bad if Neko did.
You don't have to tell me twice.
She just can't be honest with herself.
If she really didn't mind me dying, she would've never told me about the forecast.
Telling me the forecast was her way of asking me to figure out a way to save both me and Kuroha.
Were there any other important details in your forecast?
Right. In the forecast where you die, Neko was tied up nearby.
Tied up?
You're here already?
You should've told us you were leaving early.
Sorry.
We brought Kotori.
There's a lot we can ask her.
E-Excuse me...
Everyone, sit down.
Did you run away from the laboratory too?
Y-Yes. With Chie-chan.
Oh, I know Chie.
She uses the same kinda magic I do.
How's she doin'?
Actually, she died just a while ago.
Don't tell me you killed her for her pills!
Me? Kill Chie-chan?
Kazumi-chan!
Kana's forecast said she was gonna kill ya, Neko.
I can't help but be suspicious.
I-I don't know what to say.
Why're ya still sittin' there with that goofy smile?
We're accusin' you of somethin' major here.
U-Um...
Kotori stood there smiling.
Come to think of it, if her objective was to kill them, she wouldn't have needed to transfer in or join our club.
Then maybe Kana is misinterpreting her forecast.
Who on earth could be callin' me?
Okay, okay. What's up?
Kazumi, save me!
Is that you, Shino?
Yeah, it's me, Shino.
Save me, Kazumi!
There's a AA+ after me!
Did she say AA+?!
She's killed two of us already!
If she finds me, I'm dead!
My batteries are running low...
Please come save me...
Shino-chan, we'll be right there.
Neko?!
Where are you right now?
A park by the lake.
Got it.
No!
Murakami, stop Neko!
Wait, Kuroha!
Calm down!
Out of my way.
We don't have time.
No!
Kana's forecast had you die at that lake!
That's fine.
Move.
I can't stop her.
Kuroha isn't going to leave a friend to die.
I'm sorry.
Wait... damn...
I have to follow her!
Murakami.
Take these.
I'll provide support for you.
Got it.
Kotori left too.
She's going to kill Neko!
Oh, for goodness' sake. I must've gotten soft if I'm gonna just dole out my help like this.
Now then...
I know that this is to save a girl named Shino,
but we ended up coming straight to the place Kana predicted.
Murakami, can you hear me?
Yes, loud and clear.
You won't find Shino there.
She's in the north part of the park.
Huh? You can see us?
'Course I can. Hacked into the security cameras and all.
Can you see if Kotori is anywhere nearby?
Got it. Kotori comin' right up.
If things are unfolding according to Kana's forecast, Kotori should be here at the lake as well.
Kotori, Kotori...
This is bad. Hide!
Huh?
Hide under the bleachers to your right!
Wh-What is it?
Shut up and do it!
Kuroha, this way!
I can't believe they sent her out here...
Oh no.
Neko! Murakami! Come back immediately!
The one they sent after Shino...
...is Kikako!
Sh-She's here!
It's Kikako!
The battery's dead...
Please! Save me!
Anyone...
Just who is this Kikako person?
Kikako uses bombardment magic.
She's a AA+, but she only has that one type of magic.
To make up for it, she has incredible firepower.
What's that?
Get down!
That's a military-grade weapon if I ever saw one!
We can't stay here.
My magic can't touch her unless I get closer.
Are you going to fight that?!
All of us B-rank magicians the laboratory is hunting down are weak.
That's why we have to help each other out.
Everyone understands that, even if they don't admit it.
That includes Kana-chan, and Kazumi-chan too.
We'll never leave Shino-chan to die.
Thanks for worrying about me.
Stay right there.
Shino... chan...
Shino-chan...
kagayaku hoshi miagete
We've always admired
itsumo akogareteta na
the shining stars we gazed upon.
ashita wo yume minagara
And dreaming of tomorrow,
koi wo shite mitari
we played games of affection.
nai mono nedari de
While I begged for something that wasn't there,
shiawase wa hito sorezore to
you taught me that happiness
oshiete kureta ne
was different for everyone.
sonna kimi ga suki de nee
That's why I like you so much.
watashi wa ima koi ni ochita
Now, I'm enraptured
ichibanboshi
by the first star of the night
onegai shite
so I make a wish:
douka kimi to itsumo issho ni ireru you ni
"May I get to be with you forever."
watashi wa ima hajimete shiru
Now, I've come to understand
koi wa setsunai
that loving can be rough,
kurushiku naru demo ai wa tottemo
but hard as things can get, love itself is
hora atatakai mono nanda
a very warm thing.