When I was a young child, I went on the town camping trip
and met a certain boy.
Hey!
What are you doing out here?
What am I doing?
Letting my anger cool off.
The lights from the campsite are interfering.
That's Jupiter.
Which one?
Here.
Thanks.
Look, over there.
Oh! The dot!
Dot...
Well, yeah.
You can't see it with binoculars,
but Jupiter has stripes and thin rings around it.
It also has about 70 moons.
You know a lot!
Hey, what's your name?
Ao.
I'm Mira!
The variable star!
Terrible start?
No, not that.
In the evening, the long-period variable star Mira of the Cetus constellation in the southwest sky will reach peak magnitude.
The variable star Mira.
It's a star in the Cetus constellation that's unusual because its brightness varies.
Wow! I have the same name as a star?
What about you, Ao?
Is there a star with your name?
There's no star with a weird name like that.
It's not weird! It's cool!
Huh?
Besides, if there isn't one, why not name one after you?
Name one?
An asteroid, maybe...
If I discover one of those, I should be able to name it.
Let's find one, then!
Huh?
Let's discover the star Ao!
That was the last time I saw that boy...
And now I'm in high school.
I'm very happy to be enjoying life together with you all here at the same school.
As we each work toward our goals and dreams,
let us study diligently together.
Starting today, I'm a high schooler!
And the one thing I wanted to do after starting high school is...
Club Listings
...gone!
Congratulations on Starting School
Huh? What's wrong, Mira?
Suzu-chan!
The astronomy club that was here until last year is gone!
I was totally set on joining it in high school! Why?!
Yeah, about that...
Oh, uh...
Endou-sensei.
Starting this year, the astronomy club and the geology club have been
merged into the earth sciences club.
Earth sciences club?
I can't believe the clubs were merged.
Maybe they weren't very popular?
That's not true!
Astronomy Club This Way
At last year's cultural festival...
She's cute!
Earth Sciences
Sexy Planetarium
Come to our sexy planetarium!
...it was a huge hit!
Maybe that's the reason?
Setting aside their chastisement for the cultural festival...
They did get chastised for it?
They lost members, and there were other issues on the school's end.
So it was merged with the geology club to form the earth sciences club.
Looking up at the sky and looking down at the ground are completely different, though.
You think so?
They're both the same when you're looking from space, aren't they?
Wow! You've got a galactic perspective!
Stop it. That's embarrassing.
Um, isn't the club room a bit far?
Its building is way out at the far end of campus.
Isn't this building kind of old?
Th-There are still a few holes that let drafts in, but we fixed the leaks.
Hey, I've brought some girls here to observe you.
Earth
Man
Heaven
Heaven, Earth, man?
Are we at war?
I don't think so.
Sorry.
We haven't really adjusted to the merger yet.
Heaven
I'm the club president, Morino.
I used to be in the astronomy club.
I'm the vice president, Sakurai.
I used to be in the geology club.
So, which are you?
Earth
Which?
Geology or astronomy! Which were you hoping for?
If you're here for the geology club,
you get this power stone set that boosts your luck! For new members only!
Vice President! You'll make us lose more members!
I'm sorry.
Our vice president's very concerned about our membership ratio.
Oh, I'm Inose, a second-year on the geology side.
I'm Manaka, a first-year. I was hoping for the astronomy club.
There are other new students here! I was hoping for the astronomy club, too!
You like stars?
I do!
And there's something I want to do!
I want to discover an asteroid!
Oh? That's an awfully big goal.
Is that hard to do?
There is a record of a high schooler discovering one in the past, but...
It's practically impossible for a tiny club like ours.
You're being too harsh, Vice President!
Yes...
But I made a promise.
With a boy, a long time ago.
What?!
I never heard about this, Mira!
Well, if I told you about it, you'd dig into who he was, right?
Yes! I'd string him up! Gimme his name!
Ao.
We promised to discover an asteroid together and name it Ao.
I never saw him again after that, though.
Oh, dear. Could that possibly be...
I think it might...
You're bright red, Manaka.
Manaka Ao.
What?!
Ao? The Ao? You're a girl?!
My name's kind of boyish, and my hair was short...
Y-Y-You remember me?!
Of course!
I've wanted to discover an asteroid ever since that day.
And this...
A whale mascot?
So you wouldn't forget my name?
Well, well.
Sounds like things are getting fun.
The boy I met that day was actually a girl.
01. Their Promise
Good evening!
Today was a big surprise!
I never imagined you'd be in the same high school club as me!
I'm so happy we're reunited!
I'm really sorry I mistook you for a boy.
It's good to see you again!
M-Mom!
I'm borrowing a book!
Huh?
I wonder if she's planning to get a part-time job...
Mira.
What's with that look?
Hey, you were finally reunited with the sweetheart you've longed for all these years.
Smile, smile.
Sweetheart?
You're having fun with this for once, Suzu-chan.
You always do mean things to the people who try to get close to me.
Well, that's because Manaka-san's a girl, and she's cute.
If it's a girl, then I'm totally okay with it.
What?
So, what's up?
This...
Hmm, that's pretty formal.
She used to be way more frank.
I wonder if she doesn't like me now...
The only thing I can say is...
You sent too many texts.
Huh?! I did?!
If you're that worried, go talk to her in person.
The best thing about you is that you take action without overthinking things.
Yeah.
Excuse me!
At least think a little, though!
Oh, she's there!
Ao! Want to eat lunch together?
Sorry. Mira's rushing into things.
It's fine.
Ao, I'm sorry I sent you all those texts last night!
Huh?
I was bothering you, wasn't I?
I'll cut back a little next time.
N-No, it wasn't a bother at all.
Really? Oh, good!
I'm sorry, too, for not being able to send cute replies.
That's so cute!
Don't mind her.
Suzu-chan's always been that way.
S-Sure.
You're really different from when you were younger.
I thought you were pretty chatty back during the camping trip.
Now you have this mature, cool beauty thing going on.
Hey, Mira!
I'll go wash it real quick!
She should learn from your composure.
I'm not composed at all, though.
I keep panicking at my lack of words.
I'm so nervous about messing up in front of Mira.
Messing up what?
I really embarrassed myself in the past by saying the wrong thing...
So hot...
It's so wet today.
Ao-chan, don't you mean humid?
Ao-chan said something dirty!
Dirty Ao-chan!
Ever since then, I've had trouble speaking.
That changed her personality?!
I'm sure you know far more words than Mira does.
I'm her childhood friend, so I know.
You'll be fine.
You're going to discover an asteroid together, right?
Yeah...
If you share the same dream, I'm sure you'll get along in no time.
Suzu-chan, what do I do about this?
Mira!
Jeez, it would have come out if you'd just patted it with a handkerchief!
But...
I know what Suzu-san said, but I'm still nervous.
You're really different from when you were younger.
My hair and body have grown, and I speak less,
so I imagine I do seem different now.
But my feelings...
Mira
Hello?
Um, hello... This is—
Ow!
Huh? Mira?!
Sorry about that!
I just found something cool!
H-Huh? That was from something good?
Ao, can you see outside right now?
To the west! The western sky!
That's Mercury, right?
Yeah.
I got it right!
I've been studying a lot thanks to you, Ao!
Ao?
I'm fine. It's nothing.
I'm sorry for calling out of the blue.
I didn't really have anything to talk about.
Oh, that's totally fine. Let's chat.
Chat?
Hey, so, is Venus visible right now?
Oh, uh...
I think you can see it shining really brightly in the mornings right now.
It's probably around magnitude -4.
Yeah, uh-huh.
Morning.
Morning!
Hmm? You seem happy.
Yeah! I chatted with Ao a lot last night!
Oh? Good for you.
Which means...
Suzu-chan, Ao's not a cool beauty at all.
She's super cute!
Homeroom's starting.
First Earth Sciences Club Meeting!
Time for the first...
...earth sciences club meeting!
So, what are we doing?
Earth Sciences Club Activity Schedule
We haven't clearly defined what our club activities are yet.
So if there's anything you think we should do or have, we'll take suggestions.
I want this!
30m Aperture Telescope Project
The project to build the world's largest telescope with the aid of five different nations has begun
Rejected!
Huh? But you just said to say what we wanted.
You need to think of things within our club's budget.
How much is in our budget?
Making that face won't get us more money!
It's because neither the astronomy club nor the geology club have any achievements.
The clubs that are active, participating in tournaments and winning awards,
are the ones that get bigger budgets.
It's true.
So if we want to buy a great telescope...
Then do something to get results first.
I see.
So when are we having a barbecue?
Rejected!
Aw...
That reminds me. Where's Suzu?
Suzu-chan won't be joining the club.
She's busy helping out at home.
Oh, that's a shame.
If she had joined the geology club side,
our club would've been evenly balanced at three and three.
Vice President...
Please cheer up!
I'll work hard enough for two people!
Thanks.
Inose, your side-steps are super slow.
[Geology Club] Mineral Observation Fossil Collection Cultural Festival
[Astronomy Club] Observation Meetings Photography Cultural Festival
I've listed our activities from before the merger for now.
We already have the equipment, so I think we can keep doing most of these.
The big problems are the ones that cost money:
our summer camps and the cultural festival.
Speaking of the cultural festival,
you aren't going to pull the same thing as last year, are you?
The same thing?
This?
You don't need to drag it out!
Going for sex appeal as a high schooler is shameful!
It was super popular, though.
Truth is, the vice president's been mad about that since last year.
Really?
Gathering customers through cosplay isn't fair!
You should have put together a proper exhibit, like us!
Geology Club
Examining the Rocks Near Us
Even though we only drew in about a tenth of the astronomy club's visitors.
Inose, you're sharing too much.
Ao, what's wrong?
We're kind of divided.
You're right. There aren't activities that our groups would do together.
I think we need some.
A joint project, huh?
We could do our previous activities together, or come up with something new...
What do you think?
How did you understand her?
It's like you're telepathic.
Um, I have a proposal.
Why don't we have our groups create a newsletter together?
A newsletter?
Yes. We'll print a sort of pamphlet introducing our club activities.
That sounds fun!
Yeah.
What's the point of a newsletter, though?
Vice President, um...
I know we didn't draw many visitors last year, but I thought we made a really good exhibit.
Look At Our Geological Map
If we make our club more well-known,
I think lots more people will to come see us.
Inose...
Ino-senpai! Can we write whatever we want for the newsletter?
Ino-senpai?
Uh, sure. As long as it relates to our club.
I could probably write an introduction to the planets.
If it has some interesting columns,
maybe more people will want to read it.
Then I'll write...
a column introducing different minerals!
Sounds good.
What should we name our newsletter?
Yes! I have an idea!
Weekly Find an Asteroid!
We'll include telescope parts with each issue!
Rejected!
That's too focused on the astronomy side!
Weekly might be impossible, as well as including extras.
What do you think would be good, Vice President?
Mica Time Kirara Carat First Issue
How's this?
No way!
I know! Aim for an Asteroid!
You girls have a lot of nerve.
Senpai, calm down!
It's going to be a challenge to get these two together.
It needs to have both the astrology and geology club in it.
That makes it worth the trouble.
This is hard.
Sorry to interrupt the fun, but it's time to leave school.
Let's all go home.
Then... Heaven & Earth.
That's not really...
Why not?
Something cuter would be better.
Cuter...
They're not listening.
Who wants a hamburger?
The stars are so pretty!
I do think something that conveys the charms of rocks would be best.
Vice President, let's just think about it while we eat some burgers!
Right.
Man, I'm hungry.
Sparkle
Earth Sciences Club Begins!
Sparkle?
Makes sense.
Both gems and stars do sparkle.
It's not weird, is it?
No! It's really cute!
It's a great kirakira name!
Kirakira...
Sorry, Inose.
I kept thinking about how to do a proper job,
but we need to get more people to understand what our club does.
Vice President...
We need to take down the barriers between ourselves first.
Right!
So, with that in mind...
How about this project?!
Don't lose to the astronomy club!
Super Sexy Stones
That awkward side of you is so...
Well?
Are you all getting along?
I was worried about Sakurai, since she's always prickly around unfamiliar people.
Inose-chan's doing a good job mediating, so they're fine.
I see.
That's good.
Oh, we have an addition to the budget.
Here, take this.
Tell everyone to make sure they're free next weekend.
You want to do this no matter what, huh?
The winter constellations are still pretty at this time of night.
Yeah.
Hey, Ao?
It's so amazing that we're able to watch the stars and chat together like this.
I'm really happy we're reunited.
Ao?
Me, too.
I always hoped I might see you again.
Yeah.
Well, see you at school tomorrow.
Yeah.
I want to find one.
I want to make it happen.
Like we promised each other.
02. The Riverside Milky Way
Next time, "The Riverside Milky Way."