"MY PIN!! THAT BITCH STOLE MY PIN!! QINGSE!" Nicholas yelled as Tsukiyomi and Tadshi ran straight through the dance floor back to the way they came. The two turned down one of the halls by the entrance. Up more stairs and down more halls, losing the guards who chased after them as they reached the roof of the temple. Tadashi knelt to catch his breath, Tsukiyomi fell to the ground, panting. It started to sound like he was crying. "Tsukiyomi, are you okay?" Tadashi asked, but the 'crying' then turned into hysterical laughter. Tsukiyomi was laughing. Tadashi smiled. "That was amazing! I mean besides the part with Nicholas but the running away was fun!" Tadashi liked seeing him smile. It was nice. "I've never heard you laugh like that before." Tadashi said, still catching his breath.
"I never guessed you were the type to steal!" Tsukiyomi teased, "And uh..I had fun. Dancing is surprisingly really fun." The two could still hear the music from below them, echoing through the palace. Tadashi held out his hand. "Do you want to dance again?" Tsukiyomi's eyes lit up as he took Tadashi's hand. This time he didn't watch Tadashi's feet and he didn't feel nervous. He just looked and he waited and he went along with the music and the movement. The moonlight of the three moons was their only source of sight. All three were perfectly aligned and shown only on Tadashi and Tsukiyomi. But this was different. There was more spinning, more flying, more speed. Tsukiyomi's dress and hair synchronized with the slight breeze as well as the music below. Tsukiyomi was dazed as they were at the part where Tsukiyomi's back was up against Tadashi. As the music sped up, they did as well, taking bigger steps, bigger movements. Tadashi lifted Tsukiyomi up and spun him in the air. He felt free, he felt like he was flying. The music slowed as they continued doing simple swaying and slow dancing. Something sparked inside of Tsukiyomi, something warm. A nice feeling as Tadashi stared into his eyes. A feeling that began to burn and made his chest hurt. But they never looked away. Tsukiyomi felt like he trusted Tadashi. Tadashi then stopped. "What is it?" Tsukiyomi asked, seeing Tadashi's face turn pinkish. "Is something wrong?" Tadashi's face inched towards Tsukiyomi's. Maybe Tadashi felt sick? "Tadashi, w-wait!" Before anything could happen though, the two were startled by the sound of wings flapping from the edge of the temple. A figure flew up from the darkness, fairly dressed in royal gear. They were definitely demons. They spoke in a subtle voice with an English accent. "Please don't be startled. I am not here to harm you. I'm trying to help you so his highness doesn't kill you two. You can trust me. I am his highness's royal guard and squire, Qingse. I called you two a carriage so please, leave and escape quickly." The two fled quickly out of the temple and to the carriage that would take them back to whither, back to the shop with Mary. Tsukiyomi glanced out the window, ready to get out of the dress he wore. Tadashi wrote once again in his journal. Tsukiyomi kept thinking about the second dance. What was Tadashi trying to do? He shook the thought away and focused on the stars. Tadashi kept writing,
Tadashi's entry
Day 79
Location: Jasmanium, back to Whither
"It was an unexpected night. Tsukiyomi and I visited the Jasman temple. We have gotten two out of twenty-six artifacts. I taught Tsukiyomi the waltz as well as the Moon dance. He was surprisingly very good, a quick learner, more so. We succeeded in getting the rosette charm, it was rough for Tsukiyomi but everything turned out better in the end. We escaped the temple and ran to the roof, dancing for a second time since we could hear the music still playing from below. But something happened that I can't quite explain. It never seemed strange at all that he wore a dress. And I never found it strange that he looked more feminine. I took the dance further than before with Tsukiyomi. I spun him and lifted him and everything was amazing. As we danced, the moonlight had shone across his face and the light of the stars reflected off of his ocean eyes. And then everything stopped. Everything was quiet and mute. And at that moment, something sparked. A feeling that I couldn't put a name to. A feeling that made me want to be closer to him. But the night at that temple ended quickly. We're headed back to Whither."
-Okami Tadashi