Title: Star light, star bright

Author: sllebswap

Characters/Pairing: Kobayashi Rindou and Tsukasa Eishi

Type: OneShot/Drabble Collection (InComplete)

Genre: Romance/General/Humor

Word Count: 2255

Rating: T (Contains content not suitable for children)

Disclaimer: Shokugeki no Souma belongs to Tsukuda-san.

Summary: Post-series. Chapter 264 inspired. This is an eruption of feelings. A confession. A promise. A reaffirmation. There are so many stars spread across the skies, yet I saw only you - don't you think that's amazing? I love you, because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.

Verse: Canon Divergent AU

Chapter Last Revised on: 16/07/18

"Psst. Tsukasa. Pssst!"

Lavender eyes jolted open at the sharp whisper. Eishi stared blearily at the ceiling of his tent, sleep fogged mind briefly disoriented and struggling to figure out where he was and why his surroundings were so dark.

Oh. Right.

He was on an exploration expedition…with Rindou.

What time was it right now? Dimly, he extracted his arm from beneath his sleeping bag and squinted at his wristwatch, the glow-in-the-dark hands indicating that it was early. Very early.

It had only been about three days since the team embarked on this arduous journey into the heart of the Amazon basin, and while they typically began the day just before the crack of dawn, breaking fast with a quick meal and then resuming the long, continuous trek towards the base camp located still a few days away, this was just way too early even by usual standards.

Tsukasa wanted to groan. His body ached in complaint - he was still getting used to the grueling pace of the expedition, and the balmy tropical weather was doing nothing for him whatsoever. Now, he was beginning to understand where Rindou had gotten all of her endless energy and boundless stamina from. He did not consider himself physically unfit or lacking in exercise - cooking also required a certain amount of core strength, after all – but this sort of deep jungle exploration demanded an entirely different set of endurance separate from what he was used to in the setting of a professional kitchen.

Not for the first time since their arrival to Brazil, he wondered what had possessed him to voluntarily agree to join the redhead in her biannual trips to the South Americas. He must be out of his mind.

"Are you awake?" Rindou's voice could be heard coming from just outside the entrance of his tent. Her silhouette could also be seen from where he was still lying in his bedroll.

"…I am now." He did not sound happy about his situation. In fact, he was quite glum.

"Good! Sheesh, you sleep like the dead! C'mon out, then! We gotta go!"

He lurched upright at her impatient tone, visibly bewildered. He scrubbed at his face with a bare hand, his hair tousled and standing up in places. He also felt sticky and uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do about the ambient humidity.

Rindou had run out of patience just about then; he was so slow! She pulled down the zipper that kept the tent flaps shut and ducked beneath the sturdy canvas structure unceremoniously. Her glowing golden eyes landed on the figure of her groggy, heavy-eyed friend.

"Hellooo, earth to space cadet! I've got somethin' really cool to show you, so you can go back to your beauty sleep later! Hurry up, chop chop!" She didn't wait for him to agree or disagree – she just grabbed him and dragged him out. He barely had time to pull on his boots – she was that eager to get moving.

"Wait- where are we going?" he protested. The rest of the camp was still quiet. Everyone else was blissfully asleep, except for those who had watch. One glance at her bright eyed expression and he already knew the answer to his own question. He knew that look – that was her 'we're going on an adventure and you're coming with me' look.

Rindou briskly pulled out a piece of insect repellent patch and slapped it on him even though he was already wearing pants and a shirt. She was also wearing a patch even as she was dressed similarly as he, and on her other hand, she was carrying a portable gas lamp, already lit. Her sprightly features glowed softly beneath the warm rays exuding from the lamp. She gestured for him to be quiet.

"Just follow me," she insisted, and when he waited too long to respond, she took his hand and led him off into the surrounding forests. He stumbled after her, staring at their joined appendages with the strangest look on his face, and it was just as well that she was facing forwards and hadn't seen his expression, or he would have been hard pressed to explain himself. And then there was no time to wonder what was going on or to be self-conscious just because they were holding hands – the natural terrain was rough and uneven so he had to pay attention to where he was going even with her leading the way. The small, wild game track was so narrow that it could only accommodate the passage of one person at a time, and so Rindou started to let go of him. Eishi tightened his fingers however, not wanting to be separated.

She turned her head and slanted him a curious look. He coughed.

"I can't see," he muttered, and miraculously enough, she bought his lame excuse.

"You can be clumsy too, huh?" she remarked, and the coincidence of her comment made him eye her warily, wondering if there was any other discerning meaning behind that innocuous statement. Unfortunately, it was impossible to tell; she had already returned her attention to the front, leaving him staring fruitlessly at the back of her head instead. He resignedly refrained from enquiring about their destination and the purpose of their impromptu 2 a.m. stroll in the middle of a danger laden jungle. She obviously wanted to keep it a surprise or she would have been busy crowing about it to him right from the start, and at this point, whether he liked it or not, there was no way he was letting her troop around in the dark wilderness for whatever reason that she had decided on, armed with nothing but insect repellent.

Alright. And a torch.

He had already followed her all the way to the South Americas. What were a few more steps now?

Thankfully, where she wanted to go was not far. They arrived at the edge of the river just a few minutes later, to the familiar rush of swiftly running water. It was the entire reason why they had set up camp nearby, to be close to a clean and abundant drinking source. This particular stretch of landmark was a very popular rest point because it was too shallow and rapid flowing for large predators to lurk in, which made it a safe haven for hot, tired and thirsty travelers in the area.

Eishi was not sure what they were here for. They had been by earlier the day before to draw water for the camp, and he had already seen all there was to see when the local guide gave them a quick tour. Besides, it was pitch dark right now. There was literally nothing to see. If not for the light from the gas lamp, he was very sure that he wouldn't even be able to find his own hands even if he was waving them in front of himself.

But Rindou was a woman with a purpose, and she would not be stopped now, not even for common sense. The redhead held the gas lamp aloft before her and continued to lead the way forward with unerring hesitation, carefully picking a path along the river's edge, towards where there was a sharp bend in the topography…and the water there was flowing slower closer to the shore. There was a rock outcropping too, and they headed for the large and relatively flat structures, climbing them with only slight difficulties. Eishi stared at his companion when she suddenly plopped down and took a seat on the ledge hanging slightly over the water. She set the lamp down on one side, and then wordlessly indicated for him to join her on the other. He slowly sat down beside her, and once he was settled, she dimmed the light and switched off the lamp completely, dousing them in darkness.

His confusion was growing by the second.

"Rindou," his voice was a whisper. It felt like he should be whispering, because he still had no idea what was going on. Were they here to catch breakfast? Were they here to feed the mosquitos? Was she trying to use him as bait again? "What exactly are we doing?"

Even though he could not see her features, he could still hear the mischief in her lilting voice.

"It's dark and we're alllll alone – what do you think~?"

"…If you dragged me all the way out here just to tell ghost stories again…" He did not sound pleased at all, especially since there were much better things that he could be doing right now – like sleeping, for one.

"Of course not! Who do you think I am? Am I the kind of person who would do this to you, my precious best friend whom I love and adore?"

Yes. "Yes, you would," he deadpanned, even as his heart briefly stuttered at her choice of wording. And despite his vague disgruntlement, he made no further fuss over his predicament, nor did he demand to return to camp. Instead, he only shifted and made himself comfortable.

"Hmmph. Well, you're wrong this time!" She stirred too, and he could hear the acoustics of her reply clearer as she sidled nearer. The casual brush of her arm against his. The sides of their thighs touching as they sat side by side on that ledge. He could not see her, yes – but he could sense her vibrant presence acutely. It had always been this way.

This encounter was becoming unexpectedly thrilling…for very troubling reasons.

"You see, we're here because…I'm about to make you see stars." The warmth of her breath puffed against the side of his neck – she was that close, now. The fine hairs at the back of his nape stood up with hyperawareness; he shivered at the exciting sensation.

Eishi was suddenly, fervently thankful that they could not see each other…that she could not see him. His face felt unbearably warm – he was pretty sure that he was blushing furiously.

"W-What?" What on earth did she mean by that? Even though he knew that he was grossly misconstruing what she was actually saying, the rest of him could not help but want to continue this misunderstanding.

He was a masochist, he really was.

She had shifted away again, her voice tinged with faint amusement, and glee.

"Look around you, dummy~"

Confused and flustered, he heeded her directions and raised his head. Even though he had already ascertained earlier that there was nothing to see, he still glanced around cursorily.

…Only that there was actually something to see now. A lot of somethings, finally revealing their presences, hidden all along beneath the cover of dusk.

His eyes slowly widened.

All around them, tiny little dots of light were beginning to flicker to life. The minuscule, living, blinking sources of bioluminescence flanked the entire stretch of river for as far as the eye could see, quietly flashing intermittently…and more and more of them were joining in, drawn instinctually to participate in this grandly clandestine, magical soiree of the night.

"Hotarubi…" he breathed, and he was filled with pure wonder. He had never seen this many before, all gathered together like now. They filled his entire field of vision; many resting on the lush, abundant foliage that filled their surroundings, even more gracefully taking flight, floating through the balmy air, gracing the darkened land with their whimsical, mesmerizing light.

It was almost as if they were nestled amongst the Milky Way then, awashed in the soft, ethereal glow of tens of thousands of stars.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Rindou murmured beside him, and her admiration mirrored his own. "They attract their mates by exuding light with all of their entirety. Even though it is dangerous and may attract predators to them, even though it is scary because their world is so dark and uncertain, even though it takes up so much of their energy to do so, they still always give it their all…because that's the only way they know."

"You remind me of them," she continued musingly.

He was still gazing at the exquisite sight before him, when he felt the soft pressure brush against his cheek. So feather light, he could have almost imagined it.

He stilled completely, forgot to breathe altogether.

She slowly withdrew, softly exhaling.

"You're so brilliant," she confessed candidly. "And no matter what, to me, you always will be."

He didn't think he could speak, then. His chest ached at the unforgettable quality of her voice, so inexplicably tender with affection.

The only thing missing was her face, which he could not see. But he could imagine well enough, had memorized her so well he could conjure her image just by memory alone.

The brightness of her gaze, earnest and entrancing. The faint smile tugging at her mouth, so endearingly lopsided.

He reached out blindly, fumbled, found her hand. She was right there, of course. She had always been right there.

Shyly, he laced their fingers together.

"Your light draws me too," he whispered.

There was no need to say anything else. She understood his powerful sentiment wholly, squeezing his hand with her own. Reciprocation. Resonation.

And this time, because she was the one who tightened her grip, he felt so filled with blinding elation that he might just burst from it all.

They sat there, side by side, palms clasped together, heart to heart, watching the ephemeral dance of the fireflies.

This bright, precious happiness, he was never going to let go of it.

::owari::

Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:

Hotaru translates to 'firefly.'

Hotarubi translates loosely to 'light of a firefly.'

Fireflies bear several meanings in Japan. Their light is a metaphor for passionate love in poetry since Man'youshu (the 8th century anthology - the oldest collection of poetry in Japan) - so the firefly symbolizes love.

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-sllebswap