Thank you for waiting.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Flor enjoyed this flight more than the others. Not only had the previous flights increased her tolerance for flight, but this was much more parallel to the ground. She leaned in, holding on as tightly as she could, but was comfortable enough to look off the side and towards the city.

She had only seen Sakuranoka in two postures – from the ground, where the buildings were towering fences, and from far above, where everything was a small box on a plate, but her current position was brand-new. He skirted near above the buildings, close enough that she could see the people below but tall enough that she could also see the borders of the town. The further north they flew, the more crowded the streets became, some of them pointing and likely chatting with each other about how low Ali was flying towards the ground. There was the pack of Shinjidai Mirai knock-offs, making their rounds through the city with ice cream in their hands. There were several strange creatures, most of whom she didn't get a good enough chance to see with the speed they were travelling at.

On the north side of the city were poorly lit mountains. Flor had never noticed them before, but the closer they came, the more she realized that this was Ali's intended destination. She couldn't quite see how far they went, but she found it curious that they didn't seem to have very many clear boundaries, as if the planet light from above didn't shine on them. They reminded her of the horrid creatures from her nightmares with the many arms. She did her best to shake that from her head, as it was ruining her enjoyment of the moment.

Ali landed. Flor was at first hesitant to climb off but was glad when she did. The ground was nothing more than thin grass and gravel, even if all of it was darker than night.

Ali, in a flash, transformed back to his human self, quickly shoving his hands in his jacket pockets. "You 'aight?"

"Yes, yes."

"Hey, you see that tower? The big, red one?"

She turned towards the city, sitting down with her legs folded off to the side. The sky seemed split cleanly, with the top half being the territory of the nearest planet, while the bottom half was Chitotz in all its glory. She could even see part of the river and outside of Sakuranoka, though not too far. It didn't take too long, however, for her to spot the red tower. Almost every building was some shade of blue or green, so the triangular tower stood out alone.

"I wanna go there some day. No idea what happens in there. Some people from Kiki's school said that's where Tsukuyomi lives."

Flor squeaked like a needle on a broken record. "Tsukuyomi?"

"Yeah."

She darted up, walking to him. "What do you know about him?"

"Uh..." He chuckled nervously, "I don't remember all that much, Kiki knows way more, but... He's a moon god, I think? Apparently, he was emperor for a long time. There was a big war, and he got trapped in the tower, waiting for his wife to get out of hiding. She's the sun goddess, I think. I don't remember why she's hiding, but apparently something big's gonna happen."

"What does it mean to invoke him?"

He raised his hands defensively. "I don't know!"

"Do you know someone who does?"

"I... Maybe Will? Probably Will. Maybe my dad? Maybe Kiki? They're both at home."

"May we go? I need to know."

"Can't we just enjoy the moment for a bit? You need to calm down. We've been through a lot. Just take it easy, okay?"

Flor stopped, staring out towards the city. "I... remember, when I was with Yenri..."