Kaoru planted his feet, hands on hips, striking a pose that screamed "ultimate shonen hero about to drop a plot twist." He inhaled so deeply it was a wonder he didn't suck in the curtains. "Listen up, peasants! I, Kaoru Kagami, the genius behind many mangas that's me, by the way, am hereby declaring a temporary hiatus on my manga! Because..."
The room froze. Aya's typing halted mid-keystroke, her eyebrow arching like a bowstring ready to snap. Emi blew a massive bubble that popped with a wet smack, splattering gum on her chin. Kaede paused her game, her character comically dying on screen with a sad little chime. Takeshi just blinked, his coffee cup hovering halfway to his lips, as if the universe had hit the pause button.
Aya was the first to recover, her voice dripping with the exhaustion of someone who'd dealt with this nonsense a hundred times. "Seriously? Another hiatus? Kaoru, we just got back on schedule after the last one."
"Hey!" Kaoru jabbed a finger at her, his face flushing like a tomato in a microwave. "I haven't had a hiatus in months! That last one was barely a blip!"
"Your last hiatus lasted twelve hours." Aya deadpanned, crossing her legs and snapping her laptop shut with the finality of a guillotine. "You decided to 'recharge' by binge-watching Gund@mn until you passed out."
"THAT STILL COUNTS AS SELF-CARE!" Kaoru bellowed, throwing his hands up. The others exchanged glances. Emi smirked, Kaede giggled, and Takeshi just sighed, the eternal voice of reason in a storm of idiocy.
Aya leaned forward, her gaze locking onto Kaoru's like a laser sight. Her tone dropped to that quiet, dangerous level that made even the boldest otaku sweat. "Okay, spill it. You're putting everything on pause... just to fulfill your grandpa's wish and build a telescope? Kaoru, we're talking about your career here. Deadlines. Fans. Money."
Kaoru's dramatic flair deflated just a tad, his shoulders slumping as he rubbed the back of his neck. But then he grinned, that infectious, boyish smile that could charm a rock. "C'mon, Aya! It'll be fun! Grandpa always said he'd build one with me someday. I don't wanna break any promises, especially not to him. Plus, think of it as a team-building exercise! We'll bond over optics and stars and stuff!"
'But in truth.. even when we finish the telescope, there will always be a empty heart inside me, waiting for someone, anyone that could atleast fill it back where my grandpa always.. made me so... Happy.' he spoke within his mind, the thought was heavy even depressing and his tone was indescribable even to the narrator.
Aya exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of her nose. She could see the sincerity in his eyes the way they lit up like a kid on Christmas. "Fine. It's true you should rest while you're on hiatus anyway, 'Erebus-sensei.'"
Kaoru choked on air, his face turning beet red. "D-Don't call me by my pen name in public-!! What if someone hears? I'll die of embarrassment!"
"Back then you were clearly fine being called by that.."
"I was different back then!"
Kaede, still on the floor, raised a lazy hand like she was in class. "I vote we make the telescope so I can spy on UFOs. Maybe I can finally meet the alien husband I've been waiting for. You know, the one with tentacles and a spaceship mansion?"
The room went silent for a beat. Takeshi stared at her, his calm facade cracking. "Kaede, what the hell. Aliens? Tentacles? Do I need to call child services?"
Kaede stuck out her tongue. "I'm just saying! Earth boys are boring. All they do is play F0rtn1te and forget anniversaries."
Emi snorted, wiping gum off her chin, as she started worrying about kaede a bit. "Kaede, not all boys play f0rtn1te or forget anniversaries… Sure, some do, but there are also those who always remember. They may not be perfect, but they can still be the perfect ones for you. Take Takeshi and me, for example…"
"But.. Aliens are bette-"
"No buts."
Takeshi patted Kaoru's back with the resigned air of a dad at a kids' party. "Well... guess we're building a whole telescope today. Hope no one dies in the process."
"HEY! No one's dying!" Kaoru protested, but his eyes sparkled with excitement. "This is gonna be exhilarating! Get excited!"
With the decision made, Kaoru dragged out a massive whiteboard from the corner, flipping it open like a mad scientist unveiling his doomsday device. He uncapped a marker with his teeth spitting the cap across the room, where it bounced off Kaede's's head and started scribbling furiously. "Ladies and dumbasses, behold. Grandpa's Telescope Project! Phase one.. Planning!"
Aya massaged her temples, already regretting her life choices. "This is going to be a disaster."
Kaoru ignored her, his voice booming like a narrator in a mecha anime- 'HEY WAIT! HE'S COPYING MY NARRATIVE!' "There are many types of telescopes, folks! Refracting ones use lenses to bend light. Super clear but pricey and prone to chromatic aberration, which is basically rainbow vomit on your stars. Reflecting ones use mirrors cheaper, no color issues, perfect for deep-sky gazing. And catadioptric? A hybrid, like if a refractor and reflector had a love child. But we're going classic!"
"Pick one before I age ten years.." Aya grumbled, checking her nails.
"Reflecting telescope!" Kaoru declared, slamming his fist on the table so hard the whiteboard wobbled. "Newtonian style! Simple, effective, and invented by the guy who got bonked by an apple!"
A beat of silence. Kaede blinked up from her Switch. "So like... the type Renku made in Dr. Rock? With the mirrors and the tube and the whole 'revive civilization' vibe?"
Kaoru smirked, striking another pose. "Exactly! But cleaner, safer, and without the whole dying-in-a-post-apocalyptic-world thing."
"Good." Takeshi said dryly, sipping his coffee. "I prefer living. Got plans this weekend.. with emi of course."
Kaoru clapped his hands, rubbing them together like a villain plotting world domination. "Alright, team! Here's the materials we need. I memorized this from Grandpa's old notes optics before multiplication, baby!"
He listed everything on the board with dramatic flourishes, his marker squeaking like it was in pain:
"Mirror set."
Primary concave mirror (150mm diameter, focal length 750mm) "The big boss that collects all the starlight!"
Secondary flat mirror. (diagonal, 35mm) "The sidekick that bounces it to your eye!"
Tubes. "This is.. self-explanatory, so I won't need to explain."
6-inch (150mm) PVC pipe, length 800mm. "Our sturdy body, like the spine of a robot!"
Matte black spray paint (interior anti-reflective) "To kill stray light, 'cause we ain't got time for glare!"
"Focusers!"
Rack-and-pinion focuser 1.25 inch. "For that smooth zoom action!"
Spider mount for secondary mirror! "Not actual spiders, Kaede.."
Primary mirror cell (adjustable screws) "To tweak that mirror like a pro."
Finder scope (5x24) "Mini telescope to aim the big one!"
Eyepieces (25mm for wide field, 10mm for zoom. "Your windows to the cosmos!"
Screws, brackets, rubber padding. "the glue that holds our dreams together."
Tripod and mounting rings. "So it doesn't topple like a drunk salaryman."
Red flashlight. "For night vision without ruining your eyes."
Collimation tools. "To align everything perfectly, or else stars look like blurry blobs."
Aya raised an eyebrow, genuinely impressed despite herself. "You memorized all that? Down to the millimeters?"
Kaoru shrugged casually, but his chest puffed out a bit. "Grandpa made me learn optics before I learned multiplication. Said it was more useful than times tables."
Kaede stared at him in wide-eyed betrayal, pausing her game again. "WHY DIDN'T GRANDPA TEACH ME MATH BUT YOU DID? I could've been a genius too! Instead, I'm stuck with like calculus, abstract algebra, topology, number Theory, and complex Analysis homework!! that makes me wanna cry!"
'Yes, Kaede gives herself homework, when it isn't even on her lessons which was supposed to be high school levels, The dumb genius.' (Narrator.)
"You never asked him." Kaoru smirked, ruffling her hair as she swatted at him like an annoyed cat. "Besides, you were too busy drawing stick-figures and aliens abducting cows."
Kaede huffed, crossing her arms. "Those were masterpieces! And one day, those aliens will come for me mark my words!"
Emi popped another bubble. "If they do, tell 'em to bring pizza. I'm starving."
Takeshi glanced at the list, his practical side kicking in. "Okay, but where do we get all this? We're not exactly rolling in telescope parts."
Kaoru waved a hand dismissively. "I ordered everything online last night! It's all in the backyard shed. Grandpa's old stash plus some Amazon miracles. Let's move out, team!"
'...Kaoru was lying. he made it all from scratch when gramps was alive, the worst part is that he was about to finish, until grandpa peacefully passed away. He was frustrated, angry and mad about why he died before Kaoru could even fulfill his promise. In that burst of grief, he tore every part of it apart, bit by bit. Not bothering to finish at all. He just tossed every piece of his hard-worked labor into a box he labeled 'Dying Star.' And now… after all this time, he had completely forgotten it existed until today.'
(Narrator.)
The group migrated outside to the studio's backyard a patchy grass lot sandwiched between urban sprawl and a chain-link fence. The sun beat down like an overzealous spotlight, and Kaoru set the PVC tube on the ground with a thud. "First step.. Spray-paint the inside pitch black. No stray internal reflections allowed! This bad boy needs to be darker than my soul after a deadline crunch!"
Kaede snatched the spray can like it was a grenade. "I GOT THIS! Watch me channel my inner graffiti artist!"
Kaoru's eyes widened in horror. "No, you don—"
BAHHHHHHHHHHH—! The can hissed like an angry snake, and in her enthusiasm, Kaede swung it wildly, coating half her arm in glossy black paint. She froze, staring at her limb like it had betrayed her. "Uh... oops?"
Takeshi burst out laughing, clutching his sides. "You damn octopus! Now you're part squid!"
Kaede wailed dramatically, waving her painted arm. "It won't come off! I'm turning into a shadow monster! Like I'm being 'Arise.' help!"
Aya calmly stepped in, prying the can from Kaede's unpainted hand. "Give me the paint. Sit down. Breathe. And maybe think before you spray next time."
Takeshi held the tube steady, as Kaoru took over the painting. He worked methodically, angling the can to coat every inch of the interior without a drip. The group watched in relative silence broken only by Kaede's occasional whines and snickers or a full hour until the tube was a void of blackness inside.
"Done!" Kaoru announced, stepping back with paint-speckled hands. "Now it dries. No touching, kaede I see you eyeing it."
Kaede pouted, her black arm dangling like a limp noodle. "Fine.."
Aya checked her watch, tapping her foot. "Do we just... wait? This hiatus is already eating into my schedule."
Kaoru rubbed his hands together, undeterred. "Nah, next stage! Mounting the primary mirror. This is the heart of the beast!"
He unpacked the 150mm concave mirror from its foam cradle, holding it gingerly like it was a newborn baby made of glass. The surface gleamed under the sun, a perfect parabolic curve that promised wonders. "Grandpa taught me. 'Never touch the reflective surface with bare hands.' Oil from your skin ruins it faster than a bad plot twist."
Just then, the backyard gate creaked open, and Naoki strolled in, arms laden with a bag of video games and snacks. His glasses glinted in the light, and he blinked at the scene like he'd walked into an alternate dimension. "Uh... are you guys making a bomb or something? Cause that tube looks suspicious.."
Takeshi's face lit up with relief Naoki was back from his mysterious "long month" absence. "NAOKI!! How's your long month 'dat—'"
Kaede cut him off with a booming shout, jumping to her feet. "SCIENCE! We're building a telescope to summon aliens! Wanna join? You can be the nerdy sidekick!"
Naoki adjusted his glasses, unfazed. "Aliens? Cool. As long as it doesn't involve math. Wait, this is optics that's math. Damn."
Kaoru chuckled, focusing back on the mirror. He slid it into the primary mirror cell, a sturdy holder with three adjustable screws and locked it in place with precise twists. The cell fit snugly at the tube's base, rubber padding cushioning it against vibrations.
Aya leaned in, her curiosity piqued despite her skepticism. "So these screws adjust the angle of the mirror? To make sure the light paths align?"
"Yep!" Kaoru beamed, tightening one gently. "Collimation is key. If it's off, your stars look like squished donuts instead of pinpoints. It's all about focusing that light perfectly at the eyepiece."
Emi nodded sagely, blowing another bubble. "Cool... so basically it's like eye surgery but for stars. Poke it wrong, and boom blind telescope."
Kaoru froze mid-twist, imagining a mirror shattering. "...Sure? Let's not poke anything."
With the primary secured, Kaoru wiped his brow. "Alright, time for the secondary mirror and spider mount!"
Kaede grabbed the spider mount, a thin metal frame with four arms like a starfish and held it up like a shuriken. "Kaoru! Can I throw this like a ninja star? It'd be so cool!"
"Nah." Kaoru said, snatching it back. "You'll just destroy it and probably take out someone's eye. Sit."
He crawled into the tube headfirst, butt in the air and positioned the spider carefully, screwing the arms to the inner walls. Then, with tweezers for precision, he attached the diagonal secondary mirror at a perfect 45-degree angle.
Takeshi peered over his shoulder. "Angle's gotta be exactly 45 degrees, right? To redirect the light sideways to the focuser?"
Kaoru nodded, emerging sweaty but triumphant. "Ten billion points! We're basically building a light-bending machine here."
Aya watched him work, her sharp eyes softening for a rare moment. Kaoru was in his zone focused, calm, like a different person from the dramatic manga artist she wrangled daily. "You were meant to be a scientist..." she whispered, almost to herself.
Kaoru paused, his hands still on the tube. He glanced at her, a flicker of vulnerability in his eyes. "I told you before, didn't I? Science is one of my passions... but drawing is the best. It's the only memory of him left that I can create with."
"And.. making the telescope will be the last ever thing I'll make that involves science."
Aya lowered her gaze, a pang of understanding hitting her. "...I see. I respect your decision."
The mood hung heavy for a second, but Kaoru shattered it with his usual energy. "Get EXCITED, people! We're getting to the focuser!"
He grabbed a power drill, the whirring blade gleaming menacingly. Kaede covered her ears preemptively. "LOUD! My eardrums are delicate flowers!"
Emi wrapped her arms around Kaede from behind in a mock hug. "Don't cry, princess. It's just a little noise."
Kaoru marked the spot on the tube with a pencil, double-checking measurements with a ruler. "Precision is everything off by a millimeter, and your views are wonky." The drill bit into the PVC with a high-pitched scream, shavings flying like confetti. He carved a clean hole, then screwed the rack-and-pinion focuser in place, aligning it perfectly with the secondary mirror's path.
Takeshi tested it, twisting the knob. The mechanism slid smoothly. "Looks... uh... dark in there."
Kaoru grabbed the red flashlight from the parts pile. "It's not connected yet, dumbass. But soon stars!"
As the sun dipped lower, casting long shadows, Kaoru ticked off the remaining steps on his mental checklist, scribbling them on the whiteboard for emphasis:
Finder scope: "Check! Mounted on top like a sniper's scope."
Mounting rings: "Check! Clamped around the tube for stability."
Dovetail plate: "Check! For attaching to the tripod."
Eyepieces: "Check! Safely boxed, ready for action."
Knobs and screws: "Check! All tightened, no wobbles."
Balance weights: "Check! To counterbalance the tube's weight."
The telescope stood proudly on its tripod, a futuristic yet handmade marvel sleek black tube, gleaming mirrors, and a tripod that looked ready to conquer the night sky. It was like a soldier poised for battle, or perhaps a mecha in standby mode.
Everyone stared in awe. Kaede gasped, her eyes wide as saucers. "WE MADE A REAL ONE! LIKE A REAL ONE REAL ONE! KAORU, WE ARE GODS NOW! I can feel the power surging through me!"
Emi rolled her eyes but smiled. "Calm down, Neptune. It's a telescope, not a god wand."
Aya stepped closer, her voice soft amid the comedy. "...Your grandfather would've been proud, Kaoru."
Kaoru didn't answer right away. His fingers traced the side of the tube, eyes distant, lost in memories of stargazing nights with Grandpa. The old man laughing, pointing out constellations, promising they'd build this together someday. "I hope so.." he murmured. Then, shaking it off, he straightened. "But we're not done yet. We'll finish the telescope at Grandpa's grave and Kaede's too, since he's our gramps. It's on that cliff overlooking the sea. Perfect spot for stargazing. Pack up, team! Road trip!"
The group piled into Takeshi's beat-up Honda. Kaoru cradling the telescope like a baby, Kaede shotgun with her painted arm still sticky, Kaede and Aya in the back debating music playlists, Naoki squeezed in with his games. The drive took an hour, winding through city streets to rural roads, the sun setting in a blaze of orange. They arrived at the cliffside cemetery as dusk fell a serene spot with graves overlooking crashing waves below, the air salty and crisp.
Kaoru placed the telescope right next to Grandpa's grave, a simple stone etched with his name and a carved star. The night sky was awakening, stars twinkling like distant fireflies. He crouched to make final adjustments, the group huddling around with flashlights on low.
"Secondary mirror... centered." Kaoru muttered, tweaking a screw. "Primary aligned... we'll do a star test later for fine-tuning."
Takeshi whispered to Naoki. "Bro looks like Renku if Renku had crippling sleep debt and a manga addiction."
Naoki nodded, pushing up his glasses as they slipped. "He's in his element. Kinda jealous."
Kaoru stood up, dusting his hands. "It's.. done."
Everyone stared at the telescope with a mix of awe and pride, a promise fulfilled, a memory honored, a dream built with friends.
Kaoru inhaled deeply, the sea breeze ruffling his hair."...Let's test it."
He reached for the eyepiece, the stars waiting above.