Raising a Little Asteroid

"In 2 hours, asteroid C233 will collide with the Empire. This will be the worst disaster in nearly a thousand years, and may lead to the extinction of our planet..."

The doomsday warning rang through the skies.

Everyone prayed in despair, hoping death would not come.

The long 2 hours passed, and nothing happened.

The Empire's asteroid-monitoring instruments sent out a signal: no sign of an asteroid invasion had been detected.

Yu Ximi let out a long breath and got up to open the window.

A small pebble suddenly fell from the sky, landing at an angle on the table.

As she approached, the pebble spoke:

"Asteroid C233 at your service."

Yu Ximi: "..."

.

Yu Ximi held the asteroid, intending to turn it over to the Empire.

But C233 rolled around in her palm, resisting with all its might.

"I strayed from my course to get here, and I still have to return to space!"

To make its wish of going home come true, it began carrying out an alien-raising plan.

The plan was simple: if an Empire alien raised C233 for 1008 days, it would regain the energy to fly off the planet.

And so Yu Ximi became C233's caretaker.

She took it for an hour-long walk each day and fed, bathed, and polished it on schedule.

But as she raised it, the asteroid began acting strangely.

It took human form and clung to Yu Ximi's side, always opening its arms and asking for a hug, supposedly to absorb alien energy.

Yu Ximi: ...Pretty girl speechless.jpg.

Until the 1008th day...

Yu Ximi was reluctant to part with it, and sighed that the asteroid's day to go home had finally arrived.

When she woke up, she saw him standing by the bed with his eyes lowered, his voice hoarse:

"Mimi, I won't leave. Is that okay?"

*The blurb has been screenshotted and archived.

Theme: Living in harmony with an object from beyond the stars