Flying with purpose PV Chiaki Hiroi Closed

Ever since that fateful autumn day in which he had knocked Hiroi off the bookshelf, he had come to realize that flying did not have to consist of only nausea and fear. Little by little, he had come to appreciate the sun on his pale skin, the air through his neatly-gelled hair. His expensive (unused) quidditch robes finally got their time in the sun, and his Silver Arrow brushed from the dust.

Although he was still not wholly convinced that flying for the sake of fun was a truly worthwhile pursuit, he was inching closer to understanding Hiroi's definition of fun. And, Akira being Akira, still had to find practical excuses to do what he was doing. "Hiroi, I think I'm actually going to try out for the broom racing team in fourth year," he announced, hoping to project a bit of confidence into his proclamation, though he was slightly doubtful as to whether it would be a successful effort. Maybe, he was just using tryouts as an excuse to continue his flying sessions with Hiroi? It made him feel like he wasn't technically wasting his studying time if he was working towards a formal extracurricular goal. He glanced to the side at Hiroi, hoping to gauge his flying partner's reaction. Would she support his decision? Would she dissuade him from even trying, to help him save face, because she felt he obviously wasn't good enough?

Only Hiroi knew how hard he'd been working towards improving his flying. It was first under the goal of raising his grades for Flying class, but it had slowly evolved into a regular activity in which he found himself enjoying Hiroi's company -- a way to catch up every once in a while. One thing he appreciated about her was how patient she had been with his assuaging his fear of flying from such a novice level, and not giving up even when he was frustrated and difficult to deal with. Not many had enough patience or kindness to deal with him, he knew.

Would he say that they were friends? No, not out loud. But, over time, he had dropped the '-san' to her name, and was comfortable enough to call her 'Hiroi'.