There was no doubt in Saihara's mind that he wouldn't be the person he was today were it not for Hope's Peak Academy's resident Ultimate Astronaut, Kaito Momota. Ever since meeting in their first year when Saihara had been at a low point and in desperate need of a serious pep talk, Momota was there. Saihara had never even asked him to be, had never asked him to reach his hand from above and help him do better, but he had done it anyways. That was just Momota's character, to reach a hand to anyone in need. It was what was so good about him. A carefree guy, who was comfortable just letting Saihara be Saihara. His anxieties and worries would just melt away... And he wouldn't always have to think so hard about things all the time. Momota was someone who had his back, always. Saihara didn’t mind it, becoming his sidekick.
But Momota wasn't meant to be tied to one place. Of course: he was the Ultimate Astronaut. His destiny wasn't to be stuck down here, but out in space, the final frontier. He was going to achieve great things and become a bright hope for humanity among the stars where he belonged. Saihara was so proud of him; he wanted Momota to see his dreams realized. Therefore... He was troubled. Troubled by his own selfish thoughts, that was. They were in their third year, and graduation was upon them. Soon, their carefree days as students and friends would come to an end. It was... hard to say if he would see Momota again after high school much. If even at all. Even now, it was rare to see Momota like he used to, since he was so wrapped up with special training and exams. Every day hangouts from before was more like once a week now. It was fine, but...
Well, nightly training wasn't really the same without him. Still, Saihara persisted on, with or without him. (Thank god he was at least joined by Harukawa.) It was just like Momota taught him -- his mind and body were connected. Normally he would train even during inclement weather, but tonight a nasty storm brewed over the academy. That, combined with some strange emotional turmoil of his he couldn’t really explain... For once, Saihara wasn't really in the mood to train. He could skip it just one night, right? Instead, he decided to take it easy. Just for tonight.
But then, there was a knock at his door just as he was getting ready for bed. Right at the usual time when Momota would knock at his door every night back then. But... It couldn't be, right? Momota was caught up with astronaut training these days. And Saihara was too tired to entertain the thought of speaking to anyone else at the late hour. What if it was really him, though? What if it was Momota? It was unlikely, he knew that. But...
"Sorry, but could you just come back tomorrow? It's pretty late," Saihara said as he opened the door -- before realizing just who it was. So much for unlikely.
"M-Momota-kun...?! Wait, what happened to astronaut training?"