When Shuo woke the next morning, the first thing he saw was his hand glowing.
It wasn't the blinding golden light from a fight. It was faint, like a firefly in the night, flickering softly in his palm.
He lay there, holding his hand before his eyes, staring without blinking as that little light danced at his fingertips.
"Up this early?" Sai walked in from outside, carrying two waxed-paper parcels. Shuo didn't need to look to know they were rice balls.
Shuo ignored him, his gaze still glued to his hand.
"Sai."
"Hmm?"
"Look at my hand."
Sai walked over and glanced down at his hand, looking baffled. "What about it? It looks the same as always."
"It's glowing." Shuo held his palm up before Sai's eyes. "Look, it's lit up. Flickering."
Sai squinted at it for three seconds, then shook his head again. "I don't see it. There's nothing there."
Shuo drew his hand back and stared at it for a long while. The light was still dancing. It hadn't disappeared.
He blinked, puzzled, and couldn't help cursing. "Fuck."
Sai frowned, a hint of concern in his voice. "What's going on? Don't scare me."
Shuo didn't answer. He closed his fingers around the light in his hand, took the rice ball Sai offered, and bit off a large mouthful-it had a plum filling, sour enough to make him frown. As he chewed, Lightspeed Thinking kicked into gear.
No one else could see this light. Only he could.
What the hell did it mean? Was Kaguya behind it, or was his light almost used up?
"Is the moon still there?" he asked indistinctly around his mouthful of rice.
Sai glanced toward the doorway and nodded. "Yes. Bigger than yesterday."
Shuo slowly sat up. Sai was already standing at the doorway