Chapter Text
The whispers of the moon have always been an aid of sleep to Yamaguchi Tadashi, ever since he was a young boy. He's much older now, a man whose skin has sagged with time. He still remembers his first encounter with the moon, though, and what a jerk he was. Probably still is. But the moon was the most beautiful thing that Yamaguchi had laid his eyes on, apathetic and cold, but with some aspect that captivated a person to believing that there was nothing more beautiful and perfect in the world than the moon.
Yamaguchi has told the story to his grandchildren numerous times. They always loved to hear the story and loved to tell it, even if their mother lectured Yamaguchi for filling the children's head with "silly stories".
It all began when Yamaguchi was eight years old. He was short and shy with a face full of freckles and a boy with not much courage. He was bullied in school for his demeanor. His parents didn't have much time to notice that he was being picked on, any bruises or scrapes were assumed to be from falling seeing how clumsy he was or volleyball practice. They were much too preoccupied with their fighting and arguing to really notice the troubles of their son. His parents had sent him to his grandmothers for the summer while they figured out the arrangements of their divorce. Yamaguchi's parents had sat him down and explained to him their separation but it didn't bother him that much, he knew they would be happier apart. He didn't talk much, unless there was something interesting to speak about. His grandmother was the opposite however, speaking a lot in a loud voice, something not expected from a tiny wrinkled lady such as her.
She talked and talked and talked as they drove from his little town to another small town called Karasuno. She talked about the shrine she managed and the flowers in her garden. She spoke of the complexities of life and the simplicity of living. She was odd woman, Yamaguchi would always say, but not a woman without love. And she loved her shrine more than anything.
As she talked about the shrine, Yamaguchi became curious. When his grandmother paused in her ramblings Yamaguchi let a question slip from his lips. "What is the shrine for?"
Yamaguchi remembers his parents taking him to the shrine every new years. They always told him that he had to pray for another good year, but they never explained why he had to or what lived in it. His grandmother let loose a boisterous laugh.
"Now Tadashi, don't you know?" She said, shifting in her seat and glanced towards him for a second, seeing him shake his head, before she had turned her eyes back to the road. "In the shrines live gods, sometimes the gods do the little things like bringing happiness to a home but some are very powerful gods, gods that cause great destruction." Yamaguchi let loose a gasp. "Our shrine holds a very important god, the moon god. In fact, some say that in the dead of night they like to make their appearances. They never let people get close though."
"Wow! What does the moon god do?" Yamaguchi asked, enthralled by this new information.
"The moon god lights the way for travelers of the night, manages the waves of the ocean, the moon does so much and it only looks like a pretty light up in the sky huh?" She smiled.
Yamaguchi only nodded before looking back out the window and up at the sky. Before he knew it he was asleep and when he awoke they had arrived at his grandmothers.
Sleepily he climbed the steps of the shrine, dragging his luggage along a his grandmother followed close behind holding another one of his bags. By time the stood in from of the shrine he had wiped the sleepiness from his eyes and stared with curious eyes at the red shrine. Sliding doors lined the building which was built with beautiful oak floors.
As Yamaguchi's grandmother showed him to his room she talked about visitors and his attire. "While you're here Tadashi, you will have to wear the proper clothing for celebrations and for when I know I will be having visitors since it is polite and keeps up our image. Any other time however, you are free to wear what you want." She showed him where the attire was stored. "As for guests, we do have celebrations at the shrine and people come by often to ask requests of the moon god or pay their respects, just leave them to themselves or point them in my direction. Now, I will leave you to get unpacked." She smoothed his hair down before leaving the room.
Yamaguchi laid on his bed with a huff and willed the time to just slow down.
Yamaguchi's grandmother put him to work immediately, cleaning the floors and dusting rooms. People would come and go, giving their respects and chatting with his grandmother. At night she would spin tales about gods over dinner. He felt more at peace than he had for a long time.
It wasn't until his ninth night there that anything strange happened. He woke in the middle of the night to shuffle into kitchen and grab a glass of water. As he walked through the sitting room on his way to his room he tripped over a foot.
From the floor he stared at the foot before following the foot up to see it connected to a boy. A boy who sat on the couch with short tousled blonde hair. Thick rims surrounded beautiful amber eyes that stared mockingly back at him. The boy stared coldly at Yamaguchi who tried stuttering in response.
"You act like you've never seen a moon god before." The boy said, rolling his eyes when Yamaguchi's jaw dropped.
The boy stood, and he was tall, almost the size of a middle school student. Did gods even go to school? Wondered Yamaguchi as he scrambled to his feet, knocking the tv remote off the table in the process. Yamaguchi gasped in wonder as he noticed the boys skin glowed slightly.
"You're a moon god?" Yamaguchi whispered in fascination.
"That's what I said, isn't it?" The boy returned disinterestedly.
"That's so amazing!" Yamaguchi exclaimed. The boys cheeks turned a slight pink.
"I guess, my brother is also a moon god, he's really good at it." The boy said with pride.
"That's so cool! Ah, my name is Yamaguchi Tadashi, what’s yours?" Yamaguchi asked smile wide. He couldn't believe he was actually talking to a god.
"Tsukishima Kei." The boy turned to the window and clicked his tongue. "I must go."
"Wait!" Yamaguchi leapt forward, hand outreached but only grasped at empty air because the boy had disappeared.
Yamaguchi sat on the couch, in place of the boy, his mind whirling; He had just met a moon god. He felt full of energy. He sat in the seat for some time, waiting for Tsukishima's return. He fell asleep before sunrise and that is where his grandmother found him. She woke him up and sent him to his room to sleep some more where he dreamt of blonde hair and amber eyes.