Under the veils of pitch black skies, specked with ever-blazing stars beyond count, a black hole emerged. Dirt and rocks were sucked straight into it. A boy with fire for hair crossed his arms, squinting. Gritting his teeth, he tried to remain in place. Like any other piece of junk, he got caught in the gravitational forces.

Two sharp eyes, as black as a moonless night, saw. In an eye's blink, all movements but those of a child ceased. Floating dirt and stone smacked down.

"Hold on," yelled the redhead, stopping his tracks like a car hitting the brakes. He looked at the other child, his rival, "I kn-know I can redirect your shot's course!" The boy claimed, his voice was low and full of uncertainty.

'Hiroto...'

The boy addressed with the name Hiroto flinched and shook his head rapidly afterwards. "No Reize," muttered he, dropping a temporary silence, thoughts running through his mind. The older of the two continued; "I ain't Hiroto. He died a long time ago.", he inhaled some air, "I'm Gran, of Aliea Academy." The lad stated.

'All right, all right. But with any title comes a burden. Are you ready to accept the weight that'll be laying on your shoulders?' The boy, who answered to the name of Reize, asked, raising an eyebrow while quickly scanning the other's expressions; searching for a plausible reply.

The redhead going by the alias of Gran clenched his left arm. It was shaking. The child had been unable to control his nerves. "... Whatever may be father's wish is therefore mine." He uttered, struggling to get the words falling off his lips.

'If you say so, let us continue,' his last word collided with the air and the training resumed as if their conversation had never happened.

In possession, the redhead charged forward, head on. The other did the same, despite the difference in reasons. Both tried blowing each other back by brute force. Doing so, they continuously lost and gained ground. 

Eventually, the moon had shifted and no longer soared where it once did.

"Stop!" Gran cried out, his shirt sticking to his sweat-soaked body with mere nothingness in between. "I've had- enough! Give me a break!" The boy had a hard time catching his breath. His heart still racing, he felt the pounding in his ears.

The teen with green for hair crisscrossed his arms, no sign of exhaustion whatsoever. 'Hm, you keenly plan on becoming the captain of Aliea Academy's shining pearl, am I correct? We both know that the strongest team requires the most amazing players we have to offer.' He spoke, looking at the other Aliea student's pitiable state.

Unable to stay on his feet, Gran sat down, then let himself fall on his back. Leaf blades towered to the sky as if they were brick towers. "So?" He breathed, still fatigued.

'Just look at yourself, Hiro- err,' The boy with a ponytail cut himself off at the sight of the other's resurfacing frown. 'Gran,' emphasised Reize, 'you lack the strength to captain such team.'

"I don't lack the power; I simply have yet to develop it completely." Gran shrugged the other teen's words off.

'It means the same.'

"It doesn't, Reize. I take you for a more intelligent person, truly, I do." The redhead paused, breathing in slowly. "Anyway, I may not possess the strength at this moment in time, but I'm sure I'll achieve it." He finished.

The two exchanged glances, then Reize uttered: 'Why not use the Aliea Meteorite?'

"Because real strength doesn't come from a stone with extraordinary powers." Gran threw his arm in the air, balled his hand into a fist, "It comes from here." He laid his fist on his chest, above his heart.

Reize rolled his eyes, awkwardly while a breeze toyed around with his ponytail. 'We'll see about that when father announces the team worthy enough for the title of The Genesis.' He said, looking at a nodding boy. 'As of now, I fear Saginuma's team, Epsilon, easily outclasses Gemini Storm. And seeing as no member from Team Gaia, Prominence and not even those of Diamond Dust can make us break a sweat...' Reize cut himself short. He knew his senior was already well-aware of the situation. 'Well, simply put, are you not to improve, I'm afraid you, Reina and the others will be laughed at by the likes of Sagin-'

"Desarm, I assume you mean." Gran jumped in, ignoring all that his fellow striker spoke of.

'Y-Yeah.'

"Reize." The redhead's voice was sharp. He had folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. "You're a member of Aliea Academy now. Start acting like one, and get used to calling the others and me by our new names."

'I cannot, I have too many memories which are all tied together by a single, thin string. My name, which in turn makes me remember you and the others. Forgetting about those names would be equal to letting go of our past, the experiences we've conquered altogether.' His voice had quivered. 'So, I cannot ever forget!' The greenhead snapped, his face flushed with boiling rage.

His friend's frown intensified, and it was all that was needed for Reize's fury to cease. "If that's what it looks like from your perspective, so be it. But when the stakes are high in the close future, when whichever team represents us all, make sure to make the right call."

A sigh collided with fresh air. 'I will, Gran.'

"Just forget about the names for tonight. I suppose there is no need to act as if we've come from afar when no 'earthling' is around." Hiroto patted the dirt beside him, inviting the other to sit down next to him. 

The younger gladly accepted the invitation and lied down.

'You're right,' the young lad said, his darting to his eyes' left corners, 'but make me a promise, Hiroto.'

"Sure, what is it, Midorikawa?" Hiroto answered, staring at the starry skies.

The two sat up straight, both looking each other in the eye. 'Promise me you'll best Epsilon,' his words made for an expression of total confusion. Midorikawa frowned, shutting his eyes, then clarified: 'I can't stand the way they speak of you and your teammates. Please!' With his last words, tears had formed.

Noticing the torment in the younger pal's eyes, Hiroto laid his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Consider it done." He smiled gently. "Even if it means years of training have to pass by, I'll beat them. I'll show them how much better the manner of training Reina and I chose for is."

'Thank you,' his whisper ceasing from existence; carried away by the whipping midnight breeze. 

Many daybreaks and twilights followed that fateful day- that one night in which the stars shone exceptionally brighter. The single night in which a promise was forged between those who were once competing for glory and honour, but now, had become best friends.

Two closed eyes opened up, noticing the stack of papers on his desk. Skimming through the paperwork, a man was.

Down several pages, a name got lips moulded into a smile.

"You've done well, my son."

Heyo everyone! Thanks for reading "Constellation of Promises"... God, I think I butchered Midorikawa and Hiroto's personalities in this one-shot XD. Thank goodness it takes place x-years before season 2, so there's still a lot of time for their personality traits to develop . . . (Definitely not trying to talk my way out of this one.)

All jokes aside though, I hope you've enjoyed reading the one-shot. As always, votes and comments are much appreciated :D. Please be looking forward to future one-shots.

Hope to see you next time!

~Tieg

|| Statistics ||

|| Time of writing: December 1 - December 7, 2018 ||

|| Publication: December 7, 2018 ||

|| Last edit: December 7, 2018 ||