Beyond the Sky, Beyond Limits

[Scene: Cooking Clubroom, After School]

Masaki paced back and forth in the middle of the cooking clubroom, his hands gripping his hair as he muttered to himself. His normally cheerful face was contorted with stress, and his club members watched him with a mix of amusement and concern.

Masaki: "I'm doomed… absolutely doomed… She's gonna kill me. Or worse, she's already plotting something terrifying. What if she tells the principal I'm too reckless to be a club president? What if—what if she reports me to the student council?!"

A club member leaned back in his chair, stifling a laugh.

Club Member 1: "Dude, relax. If she really wanted to get you in trouble, she would've done it already."

Club Member 2: "Yeah, but man… you really did mess up. That chemical stuff looked crazy expensive. Reina's gotta be fuming inside, right?"

Daiki, the smartest member of the club, adjusted his glasses and crossed his arms.

Daiki: "It's not just the price. From what I heard, Reina's work isn't something an average student can just replicate. Her chemical formulas are precise and possibly even patent-worthy. Remaking what she lost? Not an option."

Masaki groaned and flopped onto a nearby chair, burying his face in his hands.

Masaki: "Then what do I do?! I can't exactly give her money—she doesn't seem like the type to accept it. And apologizing… ugh, I already did that yesterday, but I don't think it helped!"

Club Member 3: "Maybe we should just cook something nice for her? People like food, right?"

Club Member 1: "Yeah, but this is Reina we're talking about. She's basically a walking enigma. What if she doesn't even like normal food?"

Before they could continue brainstorming, a sudden knock on the clubroom door made them freeze.

Knock. Knock.

The room went silent.

Club Member 2: "Uh… Who's that?"

Daiki adjusted his glasses, staring at the door warily.

Daiki: "Well, considering how on edge Masaki is, my guess? Reina."

Masaki's entire body stiffened. The club members exchanged looks before slowly turning to face the door as it creaked open.

Sure enough, standing in the doorway was none other than Reina.

Masaki: ("Oh no. It's over. This is where I die.")

Reina stepped into the room without hesitation, her sharp crimson eyes scanning the space before locking onto Masaki. The air in the room felt heavier. The club members tensed, expecting a demand for compensation, a cold complaint, or worse—an execution.

Masaki gulped.

Masaki: "R-Reina! H-Hey, uh… fancy seeing you here!"

Reina: "Are you contaminated?"

Masaki: "H-Huh?"

Reina stepped closer, her expression unreadable.

Reina: "The chemical. Did any get on your skin? Any burns? Symptoms?"

Masaki blinked, completely thrown off.

Masaki: "Uh… no? I-I mean, I don't think so?"

Reina narrowed her eyes slightly, as if evaluating his condition. Without warning, she reached out and grabbed his wrist, tilting his hand to inspect his skin.

Masaki: ("WHAT IS HAPPENING—")

The club members watched in stunned silence as Reina meticulously checked Masaki's arms, then scanned his face as if looking for any sign of damage. Her movements were precise, clinical, and incredibly direct.

Reina: "No discoloration. No burns. No irritation."

Masaki: "...Yeah?"

She let go of his wrist and straightened.

Reina: "Good."

Masaki: ("THAT'S IT?!")

The club members were just as lost as he was.

Club Member 3: "...So, uh. Are you… mad? Or…?"

Reina turned her gaze toward them, making them instinctively straighten in their seats.

Reina: "No. I came to make sure Masaki was unharmed."

Masaki: ("Wait… she's not mad?")

Club Member 2: "But… what about the chemical?"

Reina: "I can remake it. The loss was unfortunate, but it's replaceable."

Masaki felt a weight lift off his chest, but before he could even process his relief, another voice spoke up from behind Reina.

Himari: "Honestly, you guys should be relieved."

The club members turned to see Himari standing in the doorway, smiling. Unlike Reina, who had an aura of quiet intimidation, Himari was warm and approachable—an immediate breath of fresh air.

Club Member 1: "Himari? Uh, when did you—?"

Himari: "I came with Reina. She doesn't always explain herself well, so I figured I'd help clear things up."

Masaki: "Wait… so she's really not mad?"

Himari laughed lightly.

Himari: "Nope. She was never mad."

Masaki: "Then… then what was that terrifying presence yesterday?!"

Himari: "That? That was just Reina being worried in her own way."

The room fell silent.

Masaki: "...Huh?"

Club Member 3: "Wait. Wait, wait, wait. She was worried?"

Himari nodded.

Himari: "Yep. She wasn't upset about losing the chemical—well, not as much as you think, anyway. She was more concerned about whether you got hurt."

Masaki's brain short-circuited.

Masaki: "She… she was worried about me?"

Reina: "...Yes."

Masaki turned to look at Reina, who still had her usual stoic expression, but now that he actually thought about it… there was something different. The way she had carefully inspected him. The way she had asked about contamination.

Masaki: ("She really was just checking if I was okay.")

Club Member 2: "Dude… she scared us half to death yesterday, and it turns out she was just worried?!"

Club Member 1: "That's kinda wholesome. In a terrifying way."

Daiki smirked, shaking his head.

Daiki: "She's unpredictable, that's for sure."

Masaki, still struggling to process everything, scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Masaki: "So… uh. Thanks? I guess?"

Reina simply nodded.

Reina: "Don't be reckless next time."

Masaki: "R-Right… got it."

Himari giggled.

Himari: "See? That's her way of saying she cares."

Reina shot Himari a brief glance, but didn't refute her words. Instead, she simply turned toward the door.

Reina: "I've confirmed your condition. My business here is done."

Without another word, she exited the room, her presence vanishing as quickly as it came.

The club members all let out a collective breath.

Club Member 3: "That was the scariest concern I've ever seen in my life."

Club Member 2: "At least Masaki survived."

Masaki sat down, rubbing his temples.

Masaki: "...Man. Reina's something else."

Himari, still standing by the door, smiled softly before following after Reina.

As the club members processed everything that had just happened, Daiki chuckled.

Daiki: "You know… I think we just learned something important today."

Club Member 1: "What's that?"

Daiki adjusted his glasses, amused.

Daiki: "Reina Saeki isn't heartless. She just has a very interesting way of showing she cares."

Masaki, staring at the door Reina had exited from, exhaled.

Masaki: "...Yeah. No kidding."

Masaki and the rest of the cooking club were still recovering from the whirlwind of Reina's unexpected visit when the door creaked open again.

Reina stepped back inside, this time with Himari beside her. The air in the room shifted once more—not tense, but filled with curiosity.

Masaki blinked. She came back?

Before anyone could ask, Reina spoke, her voice calm and direct.

"I'm not joining your club."

The club members exchanged glances. Some of them had been half-joking about recruiting her, but hearing her say it so bluntly still stung a little. Masaki scratched his head awkwardly.

Masaki: "Uh… yeah, I kinda figured. But… why, exactly? Not that I'm, you know, trying to pressure you or anything."

Reina paused for a moment, her crimson eyes seeming to drift beyond the walls of the room—as if she were staring at something far, far away.

Reina: "Because I have no time for distractions."

Masaki: "Huh?"

Reina: "Ever since I was a child, I've had only one goal—to leave this world and explore the vast space beyond it."

The room went silent. Even Daiki, who usually had something witty to say, remained quiet.

Reina continued, her expression unwavering.

Reina: "That's why I work as hard as I do. That's why I push myself beyond the limits of what's expected. People call me a genius, but titles mean nothing to me. A title is just a label. What matters is accomplishment."

Masaki felt his breath hitch slightly. There was something about the way she said it—so resolute, so unwavering. She wasn't just dreaming. She knew this was what she was meant to do.

Reina: "I don't want to become an astronaut."

Masaki: "Wait, what?"

Reina: "I won't rely on others to take me there. I will create my own spaceship and venture beyond the sky on my own terms."

For a moment, no one spoke. The weight of her words settled in the air. It wasn't arrogance. It wasn't a wild fantasy. It was pure, undeniable determination.

Masaki finally let out a small chuckle, shaking his head.

Masaki: "You're really something else, you know that?"

Reina didn't respond. She simply turned toward the door, her black and crimson eyes gleaming with the reflection of a dream far beyond anyone's reach.

And then, without another word, she walked out—her coat fluttering slightly behind her, leaving an almost cinematic afterimage in their minds.

Masaki stared after her, letting out a slow breath.

Club Member 2: "...Damn. That was cool as hell."

Himari smiled softly as she followed Reina, leaving the cooking club with an unforgettable impression of the girl who never looked back—only forward, toward the endless sky.