Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Light's POV

I woke up earlier than I'd liked. The heat and humidity had made me toss and turn in my sleep. It finally roused me, and I wasn't very well rested. I'd always made sure to get a good night's sleep in order to ensure that my performance didn't dip, so this was especially jarring to me.

Once the night began to lift and the sun began to emerge, the temperature on the island rose significantly. As a result, the air in the cave began to smell of a revolting sweat.

I pushed myself up into a sitting position, and scanned my gaze over the beds adjacent to mine. As I looked from one shadowy outline to another, I noticed something. One of them was missing.

I turned my attention to the row of luggage that lined the opposite wall of the cave. They were all there, which meant that the person was probably going to return soon.

Making sure I didn't wake anyone, I rose to my feet and quietly made my way to the mouth of the cave. I was bathed in a golden hue as I exited, the celestial body in the sky bestowing its morning light down upon me.

I wasn't the only one. Standing still by the waterfall that crashed down the cliff face was a lone boy, his spiky hair sticking out of his black silhouette. He was simply staring up, catching one last gaze at the stars before they were banished by the day that followed the sun.

I approached him, the rhythmic padding of my footsteps the only sound accompanying the rushing water. As I got closer, the boy's shadowy figure began to come to life – its hair was dyed its usual maroon colour, and his shirt started to become white, standing out against the dark nightscape.

He seemed to be aware of my presence as I silently walked up behind him, but made no move to acknowledge me. Rather, he simply continued staring up at the heavens, watching as the stars dwindled away. I stood beside him for a while, joining him in his gaze.

After an indeterminate amount of time, a soft, gentle voice escaped the mouth of the boy standing beside me. If I were any farther away, I was sure I wouldn't have been able to hear it.

"It's humbling, isn't it?"

"I suppose it is," I responded smoothly.

A brief silence enveloped us. The boy pulled his gaze away from the night, and directed his crimson eyes at me instead.

"Stars are like people," he said.

"Hm? How so?" I asked.

"If you are represented by the earth, then all of those stars out there represent the countless people you'll meet over the course of your life." He gestured towards the vast expanse of shining sparkles above us.

"However," he continued, moving his hand and pointing towards the rising sun. "That star is special. Although it's the same as all the others in the grand scheme of things, to you it's the brightest thing in the sky. It becomes your entire world, the one that's irreplaceable to you."

I adopted a thoughtful expression as he lowered his arm. The one that's irreplaceable, huh? I wondered if I was even capable of having someone like that.

"You're quite the lucky planet, then. You've already found your sun."

He nodded. "Yeah. I've found the brightest star of them all."

I felt a warm sensation build up inside me. I suppose this atmosphere with his genuine, tender words would create such an effect on most people. Strangely enough, I didn't have any urge to suppress it; in fact, I found it oddly comforting.

"Why did you come here, Sora?" I inquired after a brief lull in the conversation.

"There is a rule at this school: 'Contact with the outside world is strictly forbidden.'"

"You came here because of that? Most people would view it as a downside." I replied in confusion.

"They would. But for Shiro and I, it was what sealed our decision to enrol." Sora spoke in a manner which convinced me he was telling no lie.

What kind of situation would cause a person to purposefully choose to enrol somewhere they would be isolated from the rest of the society? I found myself at a loss.

"How about you, Light? What was your primary motivation?"

"My whole life, I've lived for the purpose of meeting expectations. Always expected to be top of my class, always expected to be the best at sports. My coming to this school was no different." I answered with a sombre sigh.

"You've lived permanently weighed down by expectations? And you always met them?"

"That's right. I've always lived up to the expectations set on me, because there was nothing else for me to do. I found everything dull and boring, just doing those mundane things every day."

"I see... I understand now, why you came to this school," Sora said.

"You do?" I asked in interest.

"I do," he replied, locking eyes with me. "What you crave more than anything is a challenge. Something to liven up your dull, mundane life. You thought you could find that here."

"Hmm... Yes... You may be right. In fact, I've wanted nothing more than a rival I can truly battle with evenly using the full extent of my ability. Someone who could match me, and add colour to my grey world. How did you figure it out?"

"How did I figure it out?" Sora laughed. "It's because Shiro and I have been searching for the exact same thing."

A pair of shut-ins, who have allegedly never lost at anything before. While not exactly comparable to me, I noticed some similarities between Blank and I. We were both far too acquainted with success.

"I wonder if we'll find people like that at this school." I ponded out loud.

"I think it'll be amazing if we all get to fight each other someday." Sora said enthusiastically.

"But we're classmates."

"That might not be a problem. Who knows what kind of special exams the school has in store for us? There might be one where you can partner up with anyone you like!"

A special exam that I can put my all into, and still struggle in? That certainly sounds wonderful. For me, who has never struggled at anything before, it sounded like an ideal challenge.

"An exam where we can compete, huh. That does sound nice." I said.

Another silence ensued as Sora and I enjoyed the gentle atmosphere. I thought about asking him what he was doing out here, but decided against the idea. Instead, I noted the time.

"Everyone will be waking up in a few hours. We should get back to sleep."

"Yeah. I wouldn't want Shiro to wake up without me next to her, after all."

Sora and I walked back to the cave, turning our backs to the sun, and leaving it behind. I climbed back into my bundle of leaves, hoping to be well-rested enough to face the trials the day would throw at us