Moonlight Friction

The moon looked so pretty from outside the inn’s bedroom window that Mira had decided to come outside to watch it. A caressing gentle moonlight cast down from the sky. It reminded her of that time all those years ago…

She sighed, taking in the sweet fresh air. This Beveous City had a nice charm to it. The fresh air and sent of pines brought back memories of her home back in that quaint little mountain village. That all seemed so long ago now.

Now she was on journey to climb to the top of the Ancient Tower. She never would’ve thought she would ever get anywhere close to this place.

She tapped her fingers on the spellbook at her side. Getting to the top of this tower. That had to be the way. Yes, that had to be it.

It was finally in her grasp. It wouldn’t be long now.

“Just wait,” Mira said lowly. “Just wait.”

Footsteps. Quiet footsteps came from behind Mira. Her breath caught in her throat. She thought she was alone. She was mistaken. Slowly, she turned around to face the person who had interrupted her musings.

Moonlight shone overhead as Azalea stood across from Mira, casting long shadows in the night. Azalea’s cloak blew in the wind as her nose crinkled. “Enough is enough. Why don’t you come clean already?”

Mira hugged her spellbook tightly, her chin sinking into the edges. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Quit playing dumb.” Azalea sneered at her. “That spellbook. You’re hiding something.”

“I told you what it does.” Mira turned her head away from Azalea and clacked her heels together. “And you know about who it belonged to. There’s nothing else.”

Azalea narrowed her eyes. “You’re lying.”

Mira’s shoulders tensed up. She took a few steps back. Azalea’s sharp gaze pierced right through her. Mira’s pulse quickened under the crushing weight of her accusations.

That girl…was terrifying. She could read her so easily. Mira’s stomach churned and she held the spellbook even closer.

There was no way she could tell her of all people. She couldn’t even tell Yusato. She couldn’t break her promise.

“Mira!”

Mira flinched again, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, Azalea was only a few inches away from her. “Do you realize what you’re doing here?” Grabbing the pendant around her neck, Azalea looked down at it for a few seconds. “By keeping secrets from us, you’re making yourself untrustworthy.”

Azalea took another step forward. “As far as we know, you could be an enemy.” She slowly reached into her pocket. “You keep secrets. Don’t tell us full details. You haven’t helped us fight at all. All the signs are there.”

The wind grew ever stronger, the leaves dancing through the air as they continued to fall from the trees. The crows on top of the inn’s roof cawed.

The sound of metal.

Mira’s eyes widened as she saw what Azalea had pulled out oh her pocket. Five daggers sat in between her fingers. “So, what are you, Mira Luin?”

Azalea put a foot forward, raising her dagger-filled hand. She rose it and just as she was about to launch them—

“You’re one to talk.”

She stopped. Her hand hung suspended in the air. Azalea furrowed her eyebrows and scowled at Mira. Their hair both blew around wildly in the night wind before settling down along with the breeze.

“Say that again.”

“I said…you’re one to talk.” Mira took a step forward. She lifted her chin, meeting Azalea’s face with a pointed gaze. Her spellbook fell limply at her side. “The Black Moon. You’ve barely told us anything about that special group of yours? Why is that, huh, Azalea?”

Azalea’s jaw tightened. “The Black Moon is a secret organization. I’m sworn by a code of honor. It’s not the same.”

“Not from where I’m standing.” Mira’s breath became shallow and she clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palms. “Your people kept chasing me without saying anything. I didn’t even know why they were after me at first!”

“I’ve already said it was because you stole the First Hero’s spellbook.”

“Then why…” Mira glared at Azalea through teary eyes. “Why does even that seem like a lie? After how much you’ve dodged other questions, why should I believe that?”

“Believe me or not.” Azalea scoffed at Mira and raised her daggers again. “The fact of the matter is…you’re a danger to Yusato. And our team.”

Mira’s spellbook started to shimmer with a warm golden light. The book started to edge open. The light reached around and her and framed her entire body. “There’s only one danger here. You’re definitely going to end up getting Yusato killed.

“Quit it.”

Mira and Azalea both came to a halt as they turned in the direction of the voice. Yusato was standing just a few feet away. He walked up in the middle of the two. He looked at Mira. Then at Azalea.

Mira couldn’t tell what kind of face he was making. It didn’t seem like he was angry, but he was definitely far from happy as well.

Yusato sighed and rubbed his neck. His chin pointed up towards the dreary clouds in the night sky that started to cover the moon. Long dark shadows casted over his face as the leaves kept falling.

“None of this matters to me.” Looking down from the moon and back at Mira and Azalea. “As far as I’m concerned, you both can’t be trusted.”

***

In the inn bedroom, there was a neat and tidy bed with freshly cleaned white sheets and covers. A pink lamp sat on top of the bedside table along with an assortment of snacks.

The open closet had a lot of room. Probably a walk-in closet, but currently it was stuffed with a bunch of pillows, paper towels, and shower necessities.

The ticking of the wall clock grated on Yusato’s nerves however as he tapped his fingers against his knees. He wanted to go to sleep early, but that annoying clock was making the task rather difficult.

Yusato pulled on his pants and grunted before falling over onto the bed. As he plopped down, he stared up at the white ceiling. He stared at the ceiling for so long he could start making out little designs in it.

Who designed this place? And why did they decide to design it that way with those strange shapes? And why didn’t they paint it?

Those futile questions plagued his mind as he watched the ceiling. Thinking about the architecture of the inn…He must’ve been mentally exhausted.

But with everything that had happened over the past few days, who could blame him? The Litsuria Festival and the revelation of the Sirhix. Seeing Tomoki, Azumi, and Mahina again. And the overall fact that he couldn’t bring himself to trust his own teammates.

They were acting suspicious and that didn’t help matters. But he had to admit that his own feelings played a part in it as well. It was just too hard to bring himself to trust other people again, no matter their intentions.

A knock on the door.

Yusato kept quiet for a moment. He swallowed hard. His lips parted, then closed. Then opened again.

“Come in,” he finally said.

The doorknob turned and his beat against his chest. Through the doorway, Mira walked in. She smiled wryly at him, awkwardly waving her hand. “Hey, it’s me. Can I come in?”

“Of course you can.” Yusato sat up on the bed. “It’s your room too.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Mira made a light little laugh before walking over to sit down next to Yusato.

It was quiet. For a few minutes all they could hear was the low hum of the fan. Mira leaned back, stretching her legs. Her feet dangled off the bed as she kicked her heels together. “About what happened earlier.”

“It’s fine, Mira.”

“But it’s not fine! Our team won’t work if none of us can trust each other.” She flitted a glance at Yusato before quickly averting her gaze away. “I wanted to ask…why did you say you don’t trust me?”

Should he answer that question? He’d been going along this whole time with the idea that things were fine this way. Even if he couldn’t trust others, he had a group. That was all that mattered. Everything he else he could take care of himself.

But now, looking into Mira’s pleading eyes, he felt like he should tell her everything. Perhaps she was right? Maybe they would be a stronger team if they let everything out.

“Please, Yusato. I want to know…” Mira’s hand brushed on top of his and a purple glow emanated from them both. Mira quickly jerked her hand away and stiffly held them both in her lap. “Okay…I’ll tell you. Why I have this spellbook.”