Chapter Text
The moon is a lifeless rock, floating in space, surrounding a planet but never being the one in the spotlight.
Rui laments this as he looks down upon the Earth. He has the ability to interact with humans, albeit rarely choosing to do so for any longer than necessary. What use does a god have trying to infiltrate them? He’s never going to be like them. It’s not like Rui is the god of creation, or of love or humanity. He’s the god of the moon. He has no need for humans.
However, things do get boring. For whatever reason, Rui has always had an impulse to send humans on little rocket ships to the moon. A broadway star swept away, dropping her parasol as she was whisked into skies unknown. A tired artist, frustrated at being dragged from her work but soon happy to find new inspiration. A pink haired adventurer, braided loops bouncing as she happily explored Rui’s domain. That last one was one of the most excitable guests he has had yet, but he still made sure to keep a distance despite the woman’s constant giddiness at the new adventure.
So, without really thinking of anything in particular, Rui looks down at the Earth to find his next spaceman.
Tsukasa puts the cold glass back on the table, sighing softly as he readies himself for another day of the same old. It's not that he doesn't like what he does, he is volunteering after all, so is only there because he truly wants to be, but at times he feels rather aimless. It's better than stressing out over class, he thinks to himself, as he looks back out of the large windows leading to the ground floor apartment’s backyard.
The clouds look formless and boring, not really bereft of a photo. Tsukasa takes a closer glance at the sky, trying to find anything that Saki might like. After a few moments a small bird comes to perch on their garden fence, and Tsukasa takes a quick snap to send to his sister before preparing to head out.
Stepping back into the house, Tsukasa bounds over to his large carrier bag of books, shuffling through the pile, murmuring to himself.
“A tale of two androids… The lonely pianist… Stellaluna… Oh, that one about the dogs might be good, too.” He makes sure to sort through the large stack, running back to his room to grab more books before stuffing the carrier bag to the brim and clutching it close to his side as he heads to the front door.
For whatever reason, Tsukasa feels compelled to turn one last time to the large window, taking another look up at the sky.
“Tsukasa-onii-san!”
Tsukasa grins easily at the child. How could he not return such a bright and toothy grin?
“Well if it isn't Hiroshi! I hope you're feeling well and eating lots to stay strong!”
Hiroshi shuffles as best as he can in the large hospital bed, clutching the sheets tight as he proudly nods his head. “I've made sure to eat all my vegetables! I'm gonna be as strong as Tsukasa-onii-san once I get through this!”
Tsukasa feels a pang in his chest, but flashes a smile. “Of course you are!”
Before his mind has time to wander too far, Tsukasa puts the bag of books by the young boy's feet. “So, what are we in the mood for today?”
“Hmmm…” Hiroshi dramatically holds his hand to his chin, looking intensely at the bag. “I want the story about the Pegasus Dragon and the runaway clown!”
Tsukasa smiles, fond. “That's the third visit in a row! We can continue Pegasus Dragon's adventure, but first we should read an actual book before the performance!”
The child sticks his bottom lip out, but can't stop the smile off his face nonetheless. “Okay! How about another story about dragons then?”
A moment to pretend to consider the offer, and then Tsukasa is digging through the stuffed bag again, making a show of finding the perfect book. The dragon who couldn't breathe fire. Tsukasa nods to himself, pulling the book out and holding it towards Hiroshi.
“Shall we get started then? One upon a time…”
After a good half a dozen books to as many children, Tsukasa finishes up his latest telling of A Ghostly Potato and hands the book over to the child, a young girl who he has seen a few times before. Before Tsukasa heads over to the next child, he takes a few moments out of the paediatric ward to get himself some lunch from the central cafeteria area of the hospital.
“Oh, Tenma-kun!”
Tsukasa stops in his tracks briefly, before spotting the usual elderly lady calling over to him. Tanaka is one of a group of three women who have been at the hospital for a while who often like to speak to Tsukasa during his breaks in the canteen. This time there’s a fourth woman who Tsukasa doesn’t recognise, so he smiles extra warmly at the group and sits down at their table, as he usually does when they’re around.
“Tenma-kun, this is Yamamoto-san. She’s a real hoot! Yamamoto-san, this is Tenma-kun, a young man who reads to the children.”
This new woman, Yamamoto, stares Tsukasa down intensely, before pushing her glasses further up her nose and giving a hearty grin. “Pleased to meet you, Tenma-kun! What a wonderful young man, coming all this way to the hospital.”
The response is easy, practiced. “My younger sister used to be at this hospital a lot before she got better, I know this place has a lot of specialty care for really sick kids with chronic conditions.”
Yamamoto’s stare becomes less intense, her eyes crinkling more as her grin turns into a wide smile.
“Tenma-kun! That is not enough food for a growing young man!” Another of the women chides. “Here, here. I brought you more onigiri from the stand, because I knew you’d need more!” Takahashi’s arms wobble greatly as she reaches over to the tray and pulls off two onigiri to hand over to Tsukasa. He stands up to reach the rest of the way, taking them gracefully.
“Thank you, Takahashi-san.”
“Of course, of course.”
“How have your classes been lately? You better be studying hard.” The final of the crew, Fukui, joins in.
Tsukasa feels the usual awkwardness come along when he’s asked about his studies. He nods, taking a bite out of his onigiri to stall for time, as the newcomer Yamamoto decides to follow on.
“Oh, are you a university student? Where are you studying?”
A few more moments to chew, and then Tsukasa continues politely answering. “I’m studying at Tokyo University of the Arts.” A low whistle from Yamamoto.
“Oh wow, the arts. What are you studying?”
“Piano.” Tsukasa really does enjoy the piano. Is it his favourite thing ever? No, not really. But he enjoys it. It’s solace. It’s home. And he knows he’s good at it, so why not study it? He was lucky enough to get into such a prestigious music school, so he should take advantage of it. At least he’s not dealing with horrible equations or English or anything. He has a wonderful junior too, who also plays the piano alongside violin.
Anywho, it’s not the degree or his studies that Tsukasa doesn’t like talking about.
“And what do you plan to do when you graduate?”
It’s the question that always follows.
All four pairs of eyes, no matter how bespectacled they are, stare back at him very pointedly. The three he’s used to most being the most discerning. Tsukasa tries to shrug, keeping a polite demeanor.
“I’ve not decided yet.”
Four frowns.
Yamamoto recovers quickly, “Well, you’re still so young! You have plenty of time to decide!”
Tsukasa forces out a chuckle, and the women continue their grilling in the typical grandmotherly fashion.
“Tenma-kun, do you have a girlfriend yet?”
Tsukasa nearly chokes on his food.
Carrier bag a few books lighter, Tsukasa takes a large breath as he leaves the hospital for the day. Another good deed done. He takes another look at the sky, still bright in the summer afternoon.
The moon looks just a little brighter than usual, huh.
He takes out his phone to snap a picture. Saki will probably like it.
That makes him smile to himself more. Slipping back into the usual route home, Tsukasa hums to himself as he crosses the busy streets of Tokyo. That is, until he notices someone looking around, grumbling to himself.
Feeling weirdly wiped from the hospital trip today, Tsukasa shakes himself off before plastering on his usual friendly smile.
“Is everything alright?”
The man looks over and down at Tsukasa. The first thing Tsukasa notices are his eyes, a bright yellow bordering on orange, with just specs of what looks like teal. They appear weirdly familiar, as if Tsukasa has seen this glow somewhere before. Somehow that stuns Tsukasa long enough for it to take him a few more seconds to notice the man’s incredibly bright hair, purple with cyan. This interesting looking man only frowns down at him, the expression looking almost wrong on his face.
“Nothing I need help with, thank you.”
Thankfully Tsukasa has very thick skin by now, and is able to simply laugh the coldness off. There’s a strange unease in the air, and Tsukasa feels like he almost needs to fix this guy’s problem.
His analysis skills aren’t the best, but if this stranger was looking around so fervently maybe he’s looking for someone, or something?
Or maybe somewhere.
“Oh! Are you looking for something? I go here all the time, so I can help you find whatever you need.”
Maybe Tsukasa should really wonder why he’s that into making others accept his help. He’ll do it later.
The taller man sighs softly. “I was just wondering where I can get a good view of the sky here. I like to people watch under the moonlight.”
Tsukasa supposes that it’s a bit early but not ridiculously so for moonlight.
“Oh I see, hmm…” He takes a moment to think, before coming up with the perfect suggestion. “Aha! There’s a decently tall shopping mall around here that has a fantastic view of the main crossing. Inside there’s a high balcony with glass ceilings and plush chairs that should be open until late at night. You can probably get a good view there.”
The man blinks, understanding on his face. “That should work, yes…” He mumbles something to himself before turning to Tsukasa again. His demeanor is still cold, but maybe a bit less icy than before. “Where is this located?”
“Well we’re a bit far from the crosswalk now…” Trying to think up on how to give directions gives Tsukasa a headache. There’s a fair few turns and a train ride or two needed. “I can show you on your phone if you’d like.”
“I don’t have my phone with me,” is the immediate reply.
Slightly startled as to why someone would go about an unfamiliar city without a phone, Tsukasa takes a moment to think to himself. Oh, he has some napkins from lunch, and probably a pen in one of his pockets, right? He starts searching in his trouser pockets.
“If you tell me I’ll remember them, it’s fine.”
Tsukasa can’t have any of that! If he’s going to give this stranger some advice, he has to do it properly! He can’t have this person getting lost on his watch.
“No no it’s fine, I definitely have a pen somewhere!”
There’s a few moments of silence as Tsukasa finally finds his pen, why he thought to put it inside the tiny pocket within his pocket he has no idea, and it takes him a few tries of trying to scribble notes and diagrams on napkins before he realises that he can lean on one of the books he’s carrying.
The stranger just watches the whole time, which only mildly distracts Tsukasa from his scribblings.
“Okay, so I’ve written two different ways you can get there, as well as diagrams of what the building looks like. I think there’s also a city map outside of the shopping centre? But I could be wrong about that. Here are some landmarks that should help you find your way in case you get lost again.”
The purple haired man looks blankly at the napkin, and then finally tentatively takes it from Tsukasa’s hand. For some reason Tsukasa feels on edge, but energetic to get this mysterious person to wherever they need to be.
“I see.” He looks at the diagram, eyes scanning. If Tsukasa didn’t know any better he’d think this person’s gaze could pierce right through it, as bright as his eyes seemed to be to Tsukasa. “What is this?” He points to the star that Tsukasa used to mark the start location.
“That’s where we are now!”
“...Why a star?”
This one is easy. “Because I’m a radiant star of course!” It’s a shtick Tsukasa has had his whole life. For whatever reason he feels a connection to the stars. It’s easy enough to play into it, it’s always brought those around him happiness as far as he can tell.
“I see…” There’s another few minutes of silence before the yellow eyed person finally takes his eyes from the drawing, and looks right back at Tsukasa. He almost flinches. “Thank you…”
Oh! “Ah, where are my manners! My name is Tsukasa Tenma!”
A slight wobble of the other man’s eyebrows. “I didn’t…” another sigh. “Nevermind.” He folds the paper up, before nodding slowly. “I appreciate the help.”
“No problem.”
The other man doesn’t smile, but somehow Tsukasa still feels like he made the other happy, in whatever weird way possible.