Ludus (one shot)

Ludus

"I hate the headlines and the weatherI'm nineteen and I'm on fireBut when we're dancing I'm alrightIt's just another graceless night"

!: In this one-shot I use Simon's japanese name due to the character's relationship with japanese culture.

The jingle of small bells and the tapping of bare feet on the ground echoed throughout the Shinto temple. A gentle late-summer breeze stirred the colorful glass on the doors, and Athena paused for a moment to watch those ladies, the Miko, dance to celebrate the matsuri like every last week of summer. There were few people visiting the temple, not counting her guardians, because of the location quite far from it ... but she believes that it was on purpose that she was cited there. There were Shinto temples located in other areas that, at that time of year, were much more crowded. But this one, despite being somewhat apart from the centre, was Yugami's favourite. There were a couple of trees surrounding the area, some crickets chirping after sunset, and a couple of fireflies floating above the rooftops. The dance was soon over and, as the Miko bowed to the delighted applause of those present, Athena entered the temple and walked at a leisurely pace toward the backyard.

That morning, after a whole day of searching and her nerves on the edge because of her meeting at sunset, she managed to buy a kimono full of warm tones, orange and yellow together, something perfect for her. She expected to feel uncomfortable wearing that garment, but it turned out to be quite comfortable and not as warm as she initially expected. She knew that Yugami-kun knows her with her extravagant clothes and her complete disregard for the rituals of ancient Japan but, for once, trying to reconnect with her roots is not going to kill her.
Athena knew that her plan was a success when that afternoon, and after saying goodbye to the rest of her co-workers who were going to the downtown parade, she found Yugami's eyes shining when he saw her appear with a kimono, a mixture of surprise and grace although he himself was well dressed for the occasion, with a black and white montsuki. He took traditions very seriously.

"You look beautiful, Athena-dono." She would have given anything to stop him from referring to her in such formal ways, but the black-haired man seemed more than comfortable with those gestures. At least he no longer used her last name to refer to her, but melting the ice walls that surrounded the prosecutor was a time-consuming odyssey, and she's still doing it. She is sure that no one within the Agency will forget the squeal she gave upon reading his message asking her out that weekend. A date, and from him. She had to read it another hundred more times to convince herself that it was not a delusion of her mind in love and restless.

"Thank you." Smiling and nodding a little to cover the blush on her cheeks was all she managed to do, and soon the two of them marched in the direction of the Shinto temple that Yugami-kun seemed to know so well.

That had been in the afternoon, ready for a long series of visits to small food stalls, before the Miko show. They seemed to not care about the relatively small number of visitors to the temple, because the dances, the theater, and the puppet show were, in Athena's eyes, spectacular. His companion seemed to be known in the temple, and the Miko let him inside without asking too many questions before Athena went to get something to eat. But now, entering the temple on the steps that he had walked minutes ago, she cannot help feeling an annoying but at the same time curious nervousness bubbling in his belly. Because yes, they have been together all afternoon but surrounded by other people. Now there, in the courtyard of the temple and illuminated by the hanging candles that the Miko had left hours before, there was no one but him, sitting on the wooden boards of the portico and staring at the trees illuminated by the moonlight. She paused in the exit frame, flustered in a way that seemed unlikely, until she was almost able to hear a small smile form on his face.