Burning Bright | Keigo Takami x Male Reader

Chapter 12

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6 months before the fall.

Amazing.

(M/N) held out his hand to catch the tiny iridescent shards of ice. He let out a cold breath as he observed the star-shaped snowflake. Well, this wasn't Earth, but snowflake was a close enough description. The intricate patterns shimmered with a rainbow of colours from certain angles.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

(M/N) looked up at Keigo who walked towards him with his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, it is," (M/N) said. "Where are the others?"

Keigo shrugged. "Don't know. I think Nemuri went to check out some of the other stalls. Kyoka and Denki are probably making out somewhere."

(M/N) usually would have laughed at that, but this time it brought heat to his cheeks. Because any time romance was brought up, Keigo clouded his thoughts. He tried to ignore it, but over the months his feelings got stronger. It didn't help that he saw Keigo all the time. He sighed.

"You okay?" Keigo asked.

"I'm fine." Here he was. On another planet. Out in the stars. Seeing everything for himself. Yet he was too busy dealing with his feelings towards Keigo. It annoyed him. He just wanted to focus on the exploration. He scanned some of the nearby stalls. "Did you wanna go check them out?"

The group was currently on a planet called Crystalis. They came to intercept a possible void attack, which had yet to happen. So, while they were waiting, they thought it would be a good opportunity to look around. This planet was apparently well known for its beauty, which even Keigo had yet to witness. He had only heard things from his travels, so now the group was experiencing it for themselves.

Right now (M/N) and Keigo were in the middle of what seemed to be a festival for the locals. The locals were these animal-hybrids called 'Vastaya'. Some of them looked mostly human except for a certain defining feature, whether it was animal ears or tails or some other animal trait. Others looked completely like animals, except they walked and talked like people. (M/N) moved past that part quickly, though. He had seen plenty of monsters so it didn't seem that surprising. Also, this planet really did live up to being a sight to behold. He had yet to see its real gems, but even just looking at the snow falling from the sky had him breathless. It seemed this planet was always shrouded in darkness. Eternal night and eternal snowfall. But apparently it was a special time period where a multitude of bright colours would shoot across the sky like a meteor shower, and that brought a polishing shine to the stars. The Vastaya called it the "Celestial Rhythm". (M/N) didn't know the details but they said it was caused by a sort of distortion in the atmosphere that only happened on rare occasions. He guessed it was lucky they came when they did. He wanted to see this phenomenon with his own eyes.

"I'm not too interested in this festival. I want to go explore," Keigo said.

"We can, but I want to try some of the food first," (M/N) said, pulling Keigo along. "Come on."

"You're like a child," Keigo laughed.

"Rich coming from you," (M/N) shot back.

"Just because I'm not the best at cooking-"

"You're the worst at cooking," (M/N) corrected.

Keigo placed a hand over his chest with an exaggerated gasp. "You wound me."

(M/N) shrugged with a smile. "The truth hurts."

The two walked from stall to stall. Some selling food, others selling things (M/N) couldn't even begin to describe. It was really cool and eye opening, though. (M/N) liked seeing all these unique things. Keigo just smiled at (M/N)'s antics as he was pulled around. It was one of those rare moments (M/N) could distract himself from his feelings. When he could actually focus on other things. This festival was a celebration the Vastaya held every time the Celestial Rhythm happened. (M/N) didn't know too much about this planet, but he was already taking quite a liking to it.