At the Mercy of the Sky

After having moved away several years earlier, Saku Oyagi returns to his hometown to begin his high school life. Saku has always enjoyed simply staying home and reading books, but his childhood friend Mihoshi Akeno used to forcibly take him outside to take part in various activities. On their last day together, Mihoshi fell out of a tree, causing Saku to go to the hospital with a broken arm, and since then Saku has never wanted to see Mihoshi again. However on his first day at high school, he meets Mihoshi as she is trying to recruit members into the astronomy club. Saku attempts to avoid her as well he can, but after Saku realizes that the reason Mihoshi did not see him off years ago was because she too was in the hospital, Saku makes up with Mihoshi, and joins the astronomy club.

No one besides Saku has joined the astronomy club, so recruiting tactics are still going on. Hime Makita from Saku's class is annoyed that Mihoshi and other astronomy members come to their class so often when she would rather spend some time alone with Saku. Hime met him on the bus to take the entrance exam of the school they now attend, and was thrilled to see they were put in the same class. After Hime finds out that Saku and Mihoshi are not dating, Hime joins the astronomy club, which finally becomes officially recognized. Another day, the astronomy club members go stargazing far from the city's lights.

Mihoshi has been bothering Saku too much lately so he takes a break from the club and goes to the library where he meets the student council president Fumie Kotozuka by chance. After talking with her, Saku realizes Mihoshi is merely expressing her feelings honestly like she always has and Saku agrees to accompany her with stargazing. However, the rainy season begins causing Mihoshi to get very depressed over the cloudy skies. With Saku's suggestion, the astronomy club goes to the planetarium and are shown the summer constellations. After the rain ends, Mihoshi wants the club to go on a summer stargazing camp.

The president of the astronomy club organizes the stargazing camp, but before they go, Hime becomes agitated that Mihoshi is all over Saku, and she yells out asking what she thinks of him. Mihoshi replies that she loves him, but follows it up saying that she loves everyone else too. After they arrive near a lake in norther Japan, they find the literature club also came for a camp, and while they get to stay in a large resort-type building, the astronomy club members are left to stay in a run down place. Mihoshi cleans it up and the members take a nap so as to wake up at night for stargazing. Saku and Hime are still concerned about what happened earlier, but they later clear it up between each other. The astronomy club spends the entire night stargazing and watch the sunrise.

Fumie finds the astronomy club members sleeping in the same room after they collapsed from exhaustion the previous night, and she forbids them from taking part in club activities for one night. The next day, three guys hit on Hime and two literature club members, and Fumie tries to interfere at first, but when Saku goes to help, he trips and falls into the guy's fist. Mihoshi and Hime manage to take care of the three guys, and Saku is taken inside and cared for, though he only has a small cut. While the other astronomy club members are taking a bath, Fumie talks with Saku about the astronomy club's activities and they decide to invite the literature club members the next night to show them what the astronomy club does at night. Hime takes care of pointing out several constellations and the Milky Way, and everyone enjoys the night of stargazing.

The new semester starts and on the bus to school Saku notices a tall man also getting off at the school. During the welcome back ceremony, the man that Saku saw earlier is introduced as a new teacher named Nozomu Soma who is in charge of Saku's class and world history. Mihoshi calls him "So-nii" in front of everyone and rumors abound as to what their relationship is. Later, Soma becomes the astronomy club's adviser and he explains to the others how Mihoshi's father was his professor at college and also the club adviser for their astronomy club. Soma wants the club to do a planetarium for the upcoming cultural festival and they get in the top three in a popularity contest in exhibits, the club will get more funding. Saku becomes annoyed at Mihoshi's and Soma's relationship and is approached by Fumie to help with the literature club.