Burning Bright | Keigo Takami x Male Reader

Chapter 9

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9 months before the fall.

"You still thinking about going up there?"

(M/N) turned to look at Nemuri, who was lying on the ground next to him. They were currently out in the middle of a giant meadow. They were basically guarding the place, since Keigo apparently felt an evil presence here. The First Star was strange with its communication.

"Yeah," (M/N) lifted his arm towards the stars. He caught a glimpse of his Star Guardian uniform. "I wonder what other civilizations there are out there, if any other Star Guardians are nearby."

Nemuri followed his gaze. "Oh there are plenty of both. As a group we've only been out there a dozen or so times, excluding Keigo, but I've seen more than I could have ever imagined. It's all so incredible."

"Has Keigo been out there more?" (M/N) asked.

Nemuri nodded. "He was a Guardian for longer than any of us, so it's only natural he would have seen more."

(M/N) looked over at Keigo who was twirling a feather in his hand absentmindedly. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. (M/N) noticed that Keigo had been a lot quieter in recent weeks. Some days he would rarely interact with them. There always seemed to be something bugging him. No one knew what it was, though. He had a sombre look on his face as he observed the feather, before going back to twirling it.

"What do you think is going on with him?" (M/N) asked Nemuri.

"Keigo? I'm not sure. I've never seen him act like this before," Nemuri said. "Whatever it is, it must be pretty important."

Pretty important. (M/N) observed Keigo for a few more seconds, trying to understand what was going through his head. Was it something to do with the First Star? If it was, why didn't the rest of them have the same problem? Maybe he had seen something? Something in person or...

A dream.

(M/N)'s eyes widened in realisation. Had Keigo been having dreams like (M/N)? Or was he thinking about the dream (M/N) told him about. The dream with that girl. (M/N) had experienced it a few more times since he brought it up to Keigo. It scared him, but what scared him more was the possibility that it also worried Keigo. He had originally brushed it off after Keigo reassured him it was fine, but now he was starting to suspect the blonde knew more than he let on. That he was hiding something. (M/N) hadn't told the others about the dream. He saw no point in it before. But now he wasn't sure. He looked over at Denki and Kyoka. They were sitting closer to Keigo, lost in their own conversation.

"Hey Nemuri."

Nemuri eyed (M/N). "Hm?"

"Do you ever have Star Guardian related dreams? Like the ones Keigo talked about?" (M/N) asked.

"No, I haven't," she said. "Why?"

"Well, I was just wondering if it would be possible to see the future in those dreams," (M/N) said.

Nemuri hummed. "Well, I wouldn't know personally. But I've heard that there are certain Star Guardians who have a particularly special connection with the First Star."

A special connection? (M/N) was intrigued. "How so?"

"You see, most Guardians don't have direct connections to the First Star outside their oaths to become Star Guardians. Again, this is just something I've heard - mostly from other planets or even another Guardian I met once, but apparently the First Star hasn't been whole for a long time," she explained.

"What do you mean by whole?" (M/N) questioned.

"I mean it's starlight. The light that brought about the universe. That and its physical form have apparently been scattered for quite some time," she said. "Not even the outer Guardians know why, but the most common guess is the darkness broke it apart, and that's why it began using its scattered light to recruit Guardians before the darkness could destroy it completely."