The Moon (Part 1)
—Gaby Mochizuki
[HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT I'M IN SPACE—NO YOU DON'T GET IT, I'M IN SPACE RIGHT NOW. LIKE LITERALLY.] The comms crackled to life with Evelyn's shock voice, She probably didn't realize she spoke her mind out
"Evelyn, we can hear you." I spoke, dry and amused.
[Let her have her moment] Nicole added.
[She's not wrong though] Amane said quietly, before speaking in a rather sarcastic manner [We are in space.]
[It's beautiful] Mahiru whispered—Well tried too, for context Bronya herself had made sure we can communicate with each other privately or let it be public, and let's be honest whispering makes no difference? Well except showing awe.
And she was right. It is beautiful. The moon itself had changed quite drastically to. What was once a rather desolate place had turned quite lively. The stars were still shining brightly, on one end you could see our blue earth
Silence
Hummmmmmmmmmmmm
Well except for the fan of the life support system in a low humming voice, making sure we won't suffocate to death, but then again, with Klein and Bronya here—I doubt anything of the kind will happen.
The comms settled into a comfortable silence as everyone adjusted to the weightlessness. The moon's surface stretched beneath us—gray, silent, and transformed. But my attention was elsewhere.
"Alright," I said, my voice cutting through the quiet. "Everyone, look up."
[Hm?] Evelyn spoke as she looked at me, her right hand still fiddling with the visor on her left hand
"Bronya designed these suits with a zoom function for the visor. I'm syncing all of you to my feed now."
Click
The visors flickered once, then expanded
The sky was jet black. Not the deep blue of a moonless night on Earth—true black. The kind of darkness that doesn't exist on earth. And against that perfect void, the stars light up the pitch dark void.
It was night on Earth—but here, the stars didn't care. They shone with a brilliance that you could only see outside of earth.
[The stars...] Evelyn's voice was barely a whisper. [They're not twinkling.]
"No," I said. "They don't. Not here."
"On Earth, stars twinkle because the atmosphere bends their light. Here, in the vacuum of space, there's nothing between us and them. Well technically our suits but eh minor details" I said while giving a slight shrug
[Look at the Milky Way...] Mahiru said with awe
The galactic core stretched across the sky like a river of diamonds—blindingly bright, detailed, colorful. On Earth, the atmosphere blurred it into a nothing, Here, it was alive—clouds of purple and blue and gold, studded with countless stars.
[It's... so much clearer]
But the stars weren't what held their attention. Not for long.
[Oh...] Evelyn's voice was soft. [Earth...]
Earth hung in the sky like a massive, dark sphere—a shadow against the stars, outlined by a thin crescent of brilliant blue-white light along one edge. The sun was somewhere behind it, casting that a brilliant glow around the rim.
[It's... dark,] Mahiru whispered.
"It's night there," I said. "The Earth's night side is facing us."
[So that crescent...?]
"That's the edge of the day side. The sun's light catching the atmosphere."
Earth was enormous—roughly four times larger in diameter than the Moon appears from Earth. Even mostly dark, it dominated the sky, a massive presence that made the stars around it seem small.
Scattered across the dark face of Earth, tiny clusters of light flickered into view. Not uniform. Not random. Patterned. Like constellations made by human hands.
[Are those... cities?] Firefly asked, her voice filled with quiet wonder.
"Yes," I said. "The night side of Earth. Those are cities. Towns. Highways. All the lights of human civilization."
[They look like stars,] Mahiru said. [Little stars on the dark Earth.]
[Can you see specific places?] Evelyn asked.
I adjusted the zoom. The visor's magnification increased, and the clusters resolved into finer patterns—webs of light, connected by thin golden threads.
[That's... that's Japan,] Amane said quietly. [I can see the shape of it. The lights along the coast.]
[Where's our house?] Mahiru asked, her voice soft.
I smiled behind the visor. "Somewhere in there. Too small to see from here. But it's there."
[It's weird,] Evelyn said. [Knowing everyone we know is down there. Sleeping. Living. Going about their lives.]
[And we're up here, watching,] Nicole added.
[It's so big...] Evelyn continued
"Always is," I said. "But you get used to it."
[I don't think I ever could,] Nicole chuckled softly.
[Why isn't it moving?] Evelyn asked.
"The Moon is tidally locked to Earth," I explained. "The same side always faces it. So from here, Earth just... stays. It never rises or sets."
[So it's always like this?] Evelyn conitnued
"From the near side, yes. Always hovering in the same spot. Just... spinning slowly."
[Spinning?]
"The clouds move. If you watch closely, you can see them drifting. And the lights—the city lights—they shift slightly as the Earth turns."
They fell silent, watching. Sure enough—the patterns of light were slowly moving. The Earth was turning, carrying its sleeping inhabitants toward dawn.
[Somewhere down there, it's already morning,] Nicole said quietly. [The sun's rising over the Pacific.]
[And somewhere else, it's still midnight, right Mahiru?] Firefly added.
…
[Mahiru?]
…
Turn
[Where are they?] Nicole's voice cut in, low and alert.
[Mahiru?] Firefly spoke in a worried spoke, My stomach tightened. Instinct kicked in—old habits from adventuring, from battles, from everything from the past Firefly's flames had already flickered to green only to realize..
Amane's hand was draped over Mahiru's shoulder before pulling it closer, I could see their helmets touching, but hey, in the vacuum of space there was no sound to be transferred.
[Let's let those couple have their 'alone' time shall we?] Suddenly Evelyn spoke through one of the private lines, huh. she's quite the quick learner.
[Still the moon's different now eh?] Nicole spoke, her voice sounded quite solemn
[Eh? You guys went to the moon before???] Evelyn asked with a surprised expression
"That'll be a story for next time"
[Awwwwww…]
—Fujimiya Amane
…
The earth was beautiful, so were the stars, it was weird. It felt peaceful, sometimes I wondered—What would've happened if things were different. How would our relationship have progressed. How would my parents be.
Mom… Dad…
…
[You're thinking of something again aren't you?] Mahiru spoke, her hands punching my chest in a small rhythm, her face pouting as she gave me that look.
Thud Thud Thud Thud
"I'm just thinking of the life we could've gotten if this didn't happen."
…
Silence
[Sometimes I wonder too.] After what felt like a long silence, she spoke
Squeeezeeee
—The Past
"Huh—?"
The first thing I noticed was the cold concrete beneath my back. My eyes slowly opened. The sky above me was unfamiliar. I blinked several times. Still nothing. I pushed myself up, only to realize something was wrong. My left hand was holding someone else's.
Glance.
Blonde hair A familiar face.
"nnngh—??"
Mahiru slowly opened her eyes. "What's wrong, Amane?" Her voice was groggy, but as soon as she looked around. Her expression changed.
"…Where are we?"
"I—"
I looked around again. An empty road. Buildings I didn't recognize. No cars. No people. Nothing. And most importantly—We were still wearing our pajamas.
I looked down at myself.
"…I don't know."
—
Step Step Step
It took nearly an hour before we finally found someone. A middle-aged man walking along the street.
"Excuse me."
Stops
"Yes?"
"Could you tell us where we are?" The man looked at us. Then at our clothes, He had this expression of slight confusion.
"…Are you two alright?"
"No."
Mahiru answered before I could.
The man blinked.
"…Pardon?"
"We don't know where we are."
I continued.
"We woke up somewhere nearby. We don't have our phones, money, or any identification." The man stared at us for a few seconds.
"…You two ran away from home?"
"No."
"Then where are your parents?"
"…We don't know."
That seemed to make things worse. The man's expression became awkward.
"Look, I'm sorry, but you should probably contact the authorities."
"We don't have a phone."
"…Right."
He reached into his pocket.
For a moment, I thought he was going to help. Instead, he hesitated.
"…Actually, there's a police station a few blocks that way."He pointed down the road.
"Thank you."
We bowed.
He nodded awkwardly before walking away.
I watched him disappear.
"…At least he helped."
Mahiru nodded.
"Yes."
It didn't exactly take long before we found the police station the man spoke off, what was difficult however, was explaining our situation.
"So, you don't remember how you got here?"
"No."
"And you don't know where you're from?"
"We know where we're from," I said. "We just don't know where here is."
The officer frowned.
"Where are you from, then?"
"Japan."
Silence.
"Which part?"
"Tokyo."
Another pause.
"…Tokyo—?"
"Yes."
Sigh
"Look, kids, if this is some kind of prank—"
"It isn't." Mahiru's voice was polite. But firm.
"We genuinely don't understand what happened."
The officer looked at us for a while.
Eventually, he rubbed his forehead.
"Do you have any identification?"
"No."
"Phones?"
"No."
"Money?"
"No."
"Anyone we can contact?"
"No."
The silence became uncomfortable.
"…We'll see what we can do."
It wasn't exactly reassuring.
But it was something—At least that was what we thought at the time
"No records."
"No identification."
"No missing-person report."
"Nothing."
Sighhhhhhhhhhhh
The policewomen gave another huge sigh, his eyes looked at us with a weird form of pity. Eventually, we were told to leave. Not cruelly.
Just—
There was nothing they could do as we stepped back outside.
Mahiru was staring at the ground, blankly.
"…What now?"
I looked at the unfamiliar street.
"I don't know."
—3 Days Later
We were hungry, not starving yet—But the hunger had become difficult to ignore. We had managed to get small amounts of food here and there. A few people were kind.
Most weren't.
some simply didn't want anything to do with us.
I can understand where their coming from. Two teenagers wandering around in pajamas with no identification probably looked suspicious.
Still—
It was getting difficult.
Eventually we found a small shop.
Step Step Step Step
"Excuse me."
The woman behind it looked up.
"What do you want?"
"Do you have anything cheap?"
She looked at us.
Then at our clothes.
"…How much?"
I checked my pockets.
Nothing.
"…Actually, we don't have any money."
Her expression immediately hardened.
"Then leave." Mahiru stepped forward.
"We're not trying to cause trouble. We just—"
The woman suddenly froze. Her eyes moved toward Mahiru.
Then toward me.
"…You're Remnants."
I blinked.
"Remnants?"
The woman's expression changed.
Fear.
Or disgust.
I couldn't tell which.
"Get out."
"…What?"
"Now."
"But—"
"I SAID GET OUTTTTTT"
Mahiru grabbed my sleeve.
"Amane."
—
SLAMMMM
…
"…What's a Remnant?"
Shake Shake
"I don't know."
"Do you think that's what they're calling people from Japan?"
"I don't think so."
"Then…"
She looked back toward the shop.
"…I don't know."
…
"Let's go."
"Mhm."
Step step Step Step
After that, things changed. Not dramatically. Not all at once. Gradually. People started noticing us. Sometimes they whispered. Sometimes they moved away. A passerby told us to leave when we tried to sit near a public building. Someone even shouted at us from across the street.
"Remnants aren't welcome here!"
I didn't understand. Mahiru didn't too. Remnants? what do you mean? We're humans too. But at some point—We stopped asking.
—5 Days after being 'transported'
SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
BOOMMMMMMMMMM
It was raining. We had found an abandoned building with enough of a roof to keep us dry. That was where we slept. Mahiru sat beside me, knees pulled toward her chest. She was quiet. She had been quiet for a while.
"…Amane."
"Hmm?"
"Do you think we'll ever go home?"
I looked at her.
I wanted to say yes.
I really did.
But I couldn't lie to her.
"…I don't know."
She lowered her head.
"…Right."
A few seconds passed. Then she quietly moved closer. Her shoulder rested against mine. Instinctively I put an arm around her. Neither of us said anything after that. We simply sat there.
Waiting for morning.
—6 Days after being 'Transported'.
Her blonde hair, usually so carefully maintained, was tangled and uneven. Several strands had fallen across her face, and there was still dust caught between them. Her pajamas were wrinkled beyond recognition.
The fabric stained from the roads we'd slept beside and the abandoned building we'd spent the last few nights in. There was dirt on her sleeves. More around her knees. Her face looked tired too. The dark circles beneath her eyes were impossible to miss now.
Her lips were slightly dry, and her skin had lost the healthy glow it usually had. She was the kind of person who would notice a single strand of hair out of place. Now she didn't seem to care.
Or perhaps—
She simply didn't have the energy to. I couldn't remember the last time she'd properly washed her hair.
I couldn't remember the last time either of us had taken a shower. And, honestly… We probably smelled terrible by now.
Cough.
Mahiru covered her mouth.
"…"
"You okay?"
"I'm fine." She said it automatically. She wasn't. I knew she wasn't. But I also knew better than to argue with her about it right now.
Instead, I looked away.
Snap
"Here" It was a single piece of hard bread, one that we got from the streets, snapped in half as she tried to hand one to me
"No."
"You need this."
"So do you."
"I ate earlier."
"You had half a piece."
"So did you."
"…You're surprisingly stubborn."
"I learned from you."
She stared at me. A tiny pout appeared on her face.
"…Eat."
"So are you."
Sigh
…
grab
Munch Munch Munch
It was hard. Stale. Tasteless.
…
But it was enough—For Tonight.