The Day Subaru Oozora Searches for the Brightest Star
Everyone in Hololive, let's become astronauts! When Subaru Oozora suddenly announces this, a strangely hilarious 'Best Item Arrangement' tournament begins. Its a contest where you can supposedly receive a star from the universe. But Subaru is actually hiding a deeply sad secret. Without knowing it, everyone's small acts of kindness end up hurting Subaru... Yet she keeps acting cheerful. But when the biggest crisis arrives, Subaru realizes she isn't alone! It's a comfy daily life story that will
The Day Subaru Oozora Searches for the Brightest Star - A Strange Strategy Meeting and an Invisible Thorn
The afternoon sun beat down relentlessly against the walls of the Soranoki Building.
Having slipped away from the chaos of the Komorebi Hall, Noel was practically dragging Subaru by the hand as they walked along Kagerou Street in front of Hinatazaka Station.
"Come on, Subaru-san, hurry, hurry! The seats are gonna fill up!"
"W-wait, Noel-senpai! You don't have to pull so hard, I'm not gonna run away!"
Noel strode forward on her long legs, her silver hair flowing behind her. Subaru had to break into a jog just to keep up with the back of her white blouse.
She was out of breath.
As they passed under the shopping arcade, the sunlight softened just a little.
They walked past the stationery and general goods store "Penguin-do." The owner, Misaki Yoshie-san, was fixing a handwritten sign out front. Subaru gave her a slight nod.
*Space Balloons, 100 yen each!*
The sign for the balloons Noel had bought out yesterday was still up.
Noel didn't look back.
They crossed the rotary in front of the station and stopped before a large, glass-walled building.
"We're here! Garden Plate, Hinatazaka branch!"
A family restaurant. Eighty-six seats, open until 2 AM. Subaru had been here a few times. The 890-yen daily lunch special was cheap and good.
But right now, she wasn't in the mood.
(*Why a family restaurant, all of a sudden...?*)
As she tilted her head internally, Noel opened the automatic door and stepped inside.
The restaurant was surprisingly empty. Noel headed straight for a booth by the window without a moment's hesitation.
"This one."
"Okay..."
Subaru sat down across from Noel.
At the edge of the table sat a menu and a small call bell.
Noel picked up the menu immediately, her eyes sparkling.
"Subaru-san, what's the daily lunch special? I'm so curious!"
"Uh, oh, right..."
Subaru opened her menu.
The letters blurred, just a little.
(*That thing, earlier...*)
The voice she'd heard in Komorebi Hall clung to the inside of her ears and wouldn't leave.
*"Subaru-chan really is always so energetic, huh. Must be nice, not having any worries."*
There was no malice in it.
She knew that.
But still.
"Subaru-san?"
"Ah, yes!"
Subaru looked up and smiled brightly.
"I think I'll have the hamburg steak! The daily special is hamburg steak! And maybe I'll add a pudding for dessert!"
Her voice got louder.
She knew it herself.
It was too energetic a voice.
But if she didn't force her tension up like this, the mess inside her heart felt like it would overflow.
Noel put her menu down and stared intently at Subaru.
Her gray eyes seemed to see right through everything.
"...Subaru-san, what do you really want to eat?"
"Huh?"
"Hamburg steak? Or something else?"
Subaru fell silent for a moment.
(*...I've never really thought about what I want to eat.*)
Had she properly tasted her food lately?
All she remembered was the bitterness of coffee.
"...Melon soda."
At the words that slipped out, Noel smiled gently.
"Then, shall I have the same?"
She pressed the call bell.
A server came immediately, and they ordered two melon sodas.
"What about the daily lunch special?"
"We'll order that later. First, a toast with these."
A short while later, two green melon sodas were lined up on the table.
The ice clinked.
Noel raised her glass.
"To the Strange Things Exhibition Match, and our strategy meeting! Cheers!"
"Ch-cheers..."
Subaru raised her glass too.
A soft *clink* rang out.
She took a sip through the straw.
It was sweet.
The fizzy carbonation went down her throat.
"It's good..."
The words came out naturally.
Noel took a sip too and beamed.
"It's delicious. Is this a taste you like, Subaru-san?"
"...Yes. I used to drink it a lot with my grandma when I was little."
She said it, then caught herself.
(*I just... mentioned Grandma...*)
She hadn't meant to say something like that in front of Noel.
But Noel just nodded gently.
"I see. That's a nice memory."
"...Yes."
Subaru stirred her melon soda with her straw.
The ice rattled.
Noel didn't miss the slight tremor in her hand.
"Well then."
Noel took one of the paper napkins on the table.
She pulled a pen from her bag and began sketching something with quick, fluid strokes.
"Let's begin the strategy meeting."
"Wha— right here?!"
"Why not! Just a moment... there."
The napkin Noel showed her had a floor plan of Komorebi Hall drawn on it.
Inside a square frame, numerous small circles and triangles were arranged.
"This is the position of your duck savings bank, Subaru-san. This one over here is my celestial model. The sabotage battle the other day messed up the layout completely, but it seems like new rules have been established."
"New rules?"
"Yes. Because Yasunaga-san got angry, touching the exhibits directly is forbidden. But, apparently, messing with the area *around* the exhibits is allowed."
Yasunaga-san. That mild-mannered yet fussy-about-tidiness older man who managed the Soranoki Studio.
Subaru laughed a little.
"Yasunaga-san is definitely half-snapped, I bet."
"Probably! But thanks to that, it's become more of a game, hasn't it!"
Noel wrote more onto the napkin.
"What kind of defenses does your duck savings bank have right now, Subaru-san?"
"Well, for mine,"
Subaru leaned forward.
"I've drawn lines around the bank with glitter tape! The kind that makes noise when you step on it!"
"Oh my, how simple."
"It is simple! But it's surprisingly effective! Someone got caught in it just this morning!"
"That was probably me."
"WHAT?!"
Subaru's already large eyes widened even further.
Noel laughed without a hint of guilt.
"I was checking your defensive capabilities, Subaru-san."
"Wha— what's that supposed to mean?!"
They both laughed.
That's when it happened.
"Oh, isn't that Subaru-chan and Noel-chan!"
At the voice, they turned to see two fellow Hololive members entering the family restaurant.
Each had a paper bag in their hands.
"Ah! Good work today!"
Subaru waved energetically.
The two sat down in the booth next to Subaru and her group and immediately started talking.
"Subaru-chan, that sabotage earlier was amazing! I totally stepped on the glitter tape around your duck bank!"
"Ahaha! Noel-senpai stepped on that this morning too!"
"For real?! Noel-chan too?!"
Noel nodded with a wry smile.
The other member looked at Subaru and said,
"But Subaru-chan really is always so energetic, huh."
Subaru's smile stiffened, just a tiny bit.
"Yeah, yeah! I'm so jealous, it's like you don't have any worries!"
"Eh, that's not true at all! Even I have worries and stuff!"
Subaru deliberately made her smile bigger.
She made her voice a little higher, too.
"Ahaha, Subaru-chan having worries?! I can't even imagine it!"
"Right? Always energetic, always smiling, you're our mood maker."
All their words were kind.
There wasn't a single shred of malice in them.
But still.
A tiny thorn pricked Subaru's heart.
(*Everyone thinks I'm a shallow person who doesn't even have worries.*)
The glass of melon soda in her hand trembled faintly.
She put the straw to her lips.
The soda that should have been sweet tasted a little bitter.
"Ah, that's right! Maybe I'll order pudding for dessert! Melon soda alone isn't enough!"
Subaru raised her voice again.
She could gloss over it with this.
That's how she'd always done it.
Energetic, cheerful Subaru-chan, who never had any worries.
If they thought of her that way, no one would ask too deeply.
(*That's fine.*)
(*I promised Grandma, after all. That I'd always be energetic.*)
Subaru reached out to press the call bell.
Noel gently caught her wrist.
"Subaru-san."
"...Huh?"
"Before the pudding, there's something I want to discuss."
Noel's gray eyes were looking straight at Subaru.
Something was different from the usual Noel-senpai.
These weren't joking eyes.
"Everyone else, I'm sorry, but could you head back to the studio ahead of us? Subaru-san and I need to plan our next strategy."
At Noel's words, the two members nodded obediently.
"Okay! We'll head back first then!"
"Subaru-chan, Noel-chan, see you later!"
The two of them, clutching their paper bags, left the family restaurant.
The booth fell quiet.
Subaru was bewildered.
"Um, Noel-senpai? Strategy...?"
"It's obvious, isn't it. A walk."
"A walk...?"
Noel finished her melon soda and picked up the check.
"I'll go pay. You wait outside, Subaru-san."
"Eh, but, I'll pay my share—"
"Today's my treat."
Noel spoke in a tone that brooked no argument and headed for the register.
Subaru sat there dumbfounded for a moment, then obediently stood up.
When she stepped outside, the afternoon air was muggy.
From the Kagerou Street arcade, they returned to the station front rotary.
A bit of wind had picked up.
Subaru narrowed her eyes against the breeze that swayed her hair.
(*Why did Noel-senpai suddenly...*)
As she was thinking, Noel came out of the restaurant.
"Sorry for the wait. Let's go."
"Wh-where to?"
"Hinatazaka Central Park. You like it there, right, Subaru-san?"
Subaru's feet stopped.
"...How did you know that?"
Noel didn't answer, just smiled brightly.
The two of them started walking side by side.
From the station front, they headed in the opposite direction of the Soranoki Building.
The asphalt road gradually became greener.
The cherry blossom trees increased.
Until they reached the park entrance, the two barely spoke.
But the silence wasn't unpleasant.
Just having Noel beside her made her feel a little at ease.
(*That's strange.*)
Subaru thought.
(*When I'm with Noel-senpai, I feel like I don't have to force myself.*)
They entered the park.
The area was about 1.8 hectares. Thirty-eight cherry trees swayed their green leaves in the wind.
The blossom season was already over, but the shade was pleasant.
Fifteen benches were scattered here and there.
Noel walked straight towards the north side of the park.
It was a spot on a hill.
The sky looked wide open.
"Let's take that bench."
Noel pointed to a wooden bench under a large cherry tree.
Subaru caught her breath.
(*That place...*)
It was the bench where Subaru always sat alone to look at the stars.
It was also the bench where she had sat with her grandmother.
"Let's sit."
Urged on, Subaru sat down on the bench.
Noel sat beside her.
There was a little distance between them.
Just enough that their arms might or might not touch.
The wind blew.
The cherry leaves rustled softly.
In the distance, she could hear children laughing.
The sound of the fountain water reached her faintly.
"...Actually,"
Noel quietly opened her mouth.
"I knew you often came here to look at the stars, Subaru-san. You mentioned it in passing during a night stream a while back."
"...You were listening to that little mutter?"
Subaru's voice was much smaller than before.
"I was listening. And so,"
Noel looked up at the sky.
It was still bright. No stars could be seen.
"Subaru-san, you always cheer everyone up. With your smile, your brightness, you're our mood maker."
Noel's voice was very gentle.
"But, once in a while, it's okay for you to be cheered up by someone else, too."
Subaru's eyes grew hot, threatening tears.
(*No.*)
(*I can't cry.*)
She bit her lip.
"Wh-what do you mean? I'm just the same as always—"
"You used to search for the brightest star here with your grandmother, didn't you?"
Subaru's words stopped.
Noel's voice was very quiet.
"I knew. That you've had a sad look on your face, Subaru-san. For a long time now."
Tears spilled from Subaru's eyes.
One drop.
Two drops.
"..."
She had to say something.
She had to laugh it off, like always.
But her voice wouldn't come out.
"Subaru-san."
Noel gently placed a hand on Subaru's shoulder.
It was warm.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Subaru finally answered, her voice trembling.
"...I don't want to make everyone worry."
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