A Moonlit Dance Festival - Vocaloids

💜💗💜💗💜 Story 💗💜💗💜💗 When the first drumbeat rang out, a real fox emerged from beneath the torii gate. It padded over the red leaves scattered across the stone steps, its russet-orange fur glowing softly in the lantern light. Its creamy-white chest rose and fell with each breath, and its bushy tail swept lazily over the ground. At last, it stopped before the stage and looked up at the ten figures waiting in their festival finery. On the other side of the square, the bushes rustled. A brown-gray tanuki emerged with a leaf larger than its ears balanced on its head. It lowered its head to clamber over a root, then hurriedly steadied the leaf before it could slide off. Only after a considerable fuss did it lift its chin and march over to the fox. Len could not hold back a laugh. “It looks more nervous than we are.” Rin nudged him with her elbow, the white bow between her golden fox ears bobbing. “You were fussing with your tail a minute ago.” “That was to make sure I wouldn’t step on it!” As though it understood, the fox glanced back at Len’s long tail. Then it took a graceful step to the side and neatly swept its own tail out of the way. Luka laughed behind her hand. “It seems our dance instructor has arrived.” Beside her, Gakupo looked down at the fox, his purple fox ears turning slightly toward the sound of the drums. The night breeze stirred his haori and the two long purple locks that fell from in front of his ears all the way to his waist. “Then we mustn’t disappoint our instructor.” The fox lifted its head and gave a short cry. The tanuki puffed out its chest and patted its belly twice with its front paws. Thump, thump. The lanterns around the square brightened in a perfect circle. --- Mio stood just left of center on the stage, checking the fox mask at her waist. Its white face and vermilion markings faced outward, the cords secured firmly to her pink-lavender sash. She raised a hand to straighten the bow beside her black cat-ear cap. Her short silver-white hair rested against her cheeks, its pink-lavender tips fluttering in the breeze. On the pink lace eyepatch covering her right eye, a yellow heart caught the lantern light and shone brightly. “It won’t fall off like this, will it?” “It’s secure.” Miku leaned over to check, then gently freed a fold of Mio’s sleeve that had caught beside the mask. Her teal twin-tails fell behind her shoulders, with rounded brown-gray tanuki ears peeking through her hair. The leaflike layers of her skirt swayed as she moved, and the short, thick tail behind her waist gave a little swing. “You don’t need to keep checking it,” Miku said with a smile. “When you hear the final chime of bells, look at me.” Mio raised her visible violet eye. “Do you remember all the steps?” “Most of them.” “…Most of them?” “For the rest, we can just follow those two.” Miku pointed toward the fox and the tanuki in front of the stage. She looked so earnest that Mio could not immediately tell whether she was joking. A cheerful voice came from behind them on the right. “Then I’ll follow along too!” みお approached with one hand on her dark beret, its blue decoration brushing against her fluffy silver-white hair. Beneath the pale pink-lavender tips, both violet eyes curved with her smile. Her white cat ears stood alert, and her heart-shaped curl bobbed with every step. She patted the tanuki mask at her side. “We might both be cats, but tonight I’m on the tanuki team.” Mio glanced at her, then at her own fox mask. “Then I suppose I’ll have to uphold the foxes’ honor.” “Let’s get one thing straight,” MEIKO said, laughing as she adjusted her sleeves. “This is a festival, not a contest to see who can scare the other team away.” Teto was already stepping to the beat, her red twin-drill curls bouncing. “We know! It’s a contest to see who has the most fun!” KAITO hung the last round lantern back on the festival pavilion and turned to join the others. “That might make it rather difficult to choose a winner.” --- As the next run of drumbeats began, the fox lifted one front paw. It took a small step to the left, paused, and looked back. The tanuki shuffled to the right in imitation, its paws still resting against its belly. But the leaf on its head slipped sideways. It hurriedly reached up to catch it, while the fox seemed content to wait, tracing a leisurely curve with the tip of its tail. This time, even Mio laughed. The tension eased from her shoulders, and she lifted her arm with the first clear beat. Her ivory-and-blush sleeve unfurled as Miku stepped in the opposite direction. Their movements answered each other at the center—one drawing an arm inward as the other extended a sleeve. They caught each other’s smiles as they turned, then each yielded half a step to make room. The fox team joined in from the left. Gakupo’s long haori swept above the stone, its gold foxfire embroidery flashing as he turned. Luka moved beside him, her skirt opening like petals in the breeze. Their fluffy tails fanned out separately behind them without touching. Farther back, Len and Rin stepped in opposite directions, then turned toward each other on the next beat. Len raised his hand, about to flash a triumphant grin, only to find that Rin had already drawn her sleeve back half a beat ahead of him. “Too slow.” “Didn’t you just say this wasn’t a competition?” “I was only reminding you.” They looked at each other through their fluttering sleeves, then burst into laughter together. On the right, the tanuki team picked up a livelier rhythm. MEIKO clapped twice before sweeping her arms outward. KAITO turned with her, his indigo hem lifting in a soft arc. Teto landed every step crisply, the little bells on her outfit ringing clear. At first, みお had only hoped to keep up. After a few measures, however, she began to relax. Her white cat tail lifted behind her, and the tanuki mask at her waist swung gently with her steps. When she turned her head, she met Mio’s eye. She grinned and raised her eyebrows at her. Mio stopped concentrating solely on remembering the steps. She lifted her chin and let her next sweep of the sleeve open wider. --- The fox trotted into the space between the two teams. It did not dart beneath anyone’s feet, instead following the passage they had left clear. Whenever it passed a lantern, a small flicker of foxfire bloomed on the ground. The lights gave off no heat. Like stars fallen onto the flagstones, they lit the places for the dancers’ next steps, one after another. The tanuki waddled after it. With one pat of its belly, a glowing leaf fell from the tree. With a second, the breeze lifted that leaf again and sent it spiraling beside the dancers. Teto’s eyes lit up. “That accompaniment is incredible!” She nearly took an extra step, but MEIKO was right beside her and smoothly exchanged places with her as part of the dance. “Finish this beat first.” “I know the steps!” “Then eyes forward.” Ahead of them, Miku turned her palm upward. A glowing leaf drifted slowly into her hand. She did not close her fingers around it, but carried it through her turn and sent it back into the breeze. The fox mask at Mio’s waist began to glow. Tiny flames slipped from its edges and followed her outstretched sleeve toward the center, brushing past the leaf. The red-gold and green light did not compete for space. One followed the other, circling through the opening between the two dancers. “So that’s how it works,” Mio murmured. Miku looked toward her as she turned back. “What is?” “It isn’t about one of us keeping up with the other.” Mio took half a step and stopped, leaving just enough space for Miku to turn toward her. “It’s about leaving room for each other.” Miku’s eyes brightened with her smile. She did not answer immediately. Instead, she made her next step a little lighter and landed precisely in the space Mio had left for her. --- The dancers gradually formed a loose circle. The vermilion torii gates, ancient tree, and round lanterns passed slowly behind them in turn. The foxfire and glowing leaves, once confined to opposite sides, crossed the center of the square with their steps. As they passed each other, Luka looked toward Gakupo. His gaze had been on the hem of her dress, making sure it would not catch on the edge of a stone step as she turned. When he looked up, he discovered that she had noticed. “If you keep looking down, you’ll miss all sorts of things.” Gakupo paused in mild surprise. Luka had already followed the next step into place before him. The lanterns shone in her blue eyes, and there was something mischievous in her smile. “Such as?” “Such as the fact that I was looking at you.” He gave a quiet laugh. The next time they passed, Gakupo did not look down. He met her eyes and lifted his arm to give her room to turn. Their sleeves brushed lightly in the night breeze. Elsewhere, Rin was doing an impressive imitation of the fox’s delicate steps, while Len deliberately copied the tanuki’s frantic attempts to steady its leaf. Teto almost laughed herself out of rhythm. KAITO caught the beat with two clear claps just in time, and MEIKO shook her head with a smile, her feet never straying from the melody. みお turned through the glowing leaves, her white cat ears trembling beneath the brim of her hat. She opened her arms toward Mio, and from a short distance apart, they made the same inward sweep with their sleeves. Their silver-white hair and pink-lavender tips rose together. One wore a fox mask at her waist, the other a tanuki mask. Yet both white cat tails lifted at exactly the same moment. Miku saw them and laughed, her rounded ears giving a little quiver along with her. Just then, the drums grew softer. --- A string of bells beneath the stage eaves rang out in succession. Mio looked up at once. Miku was already watching her. There was no need for another reminder, nor for anyone to count the beats aloud. They slowed their steps together and moved through the opening in the dance circle toward the front of the stage. The others heard the bells too. The circle slowly unfolded, like a fan being opened. Gakupo and Luka returned to the left and stood side by side. Len and Rin followed the last few steps of the dance onto the slightly higher stone stair behind them. On the right, みお followed Miku forward while Teto made a half turn beside her. MEIKO and KAITO opened outward, leaving enough room for everyone to be seen. The fox came to stand just in front of Mio on the left. The tanuki settled in front of Miku on the right. They, too, seemed to know that the dance was approaching its final beat. Mio lifted her left hand and extended her sleeve outward, her right hand resting naturally near her waist without covering the white-and-vermilion fox mask. Beside her, Miku opened her arm toward the other side, a glowing leaf poised above her palm. “Ready?” Miku asked softly. Mio looked ahead, the corners of her mouth lifting. “This time, I remember every step.” The final drumbeat sounded. All ten dancers brought their feet to a stop at once. Before the stage, Mio and Miku stood firmly at the center, silver-white hair and teal twin-tails still holding the curves of their final turn. A yellow heart gleamed on a pink eyepatch; a green leaf hovered above an open palm. To the left, Gakupo stood at a slight angle, his long purple hair falling past his waist. Luka was close beside him, her spread sleeve like a flower just opening. Behind them, Len and Rin held their arms in answering poses, their white bow, golden fox ears, and fluffy tails clearly outlined in the lantern light. On the right, みお’s bright smile was fully visible, the tanuki mask facing outward at her waist and her white cat tail curling behind her. Teto’s red twin-drill curls settled beside her shoulders. MEIKO held her chin high with easy confidence, while KAITO wore a gentle smile as they completed their final sweep of the sleeves together. At the very front, the fox held one paw raised, its long tail unfurled. The tanuki sat perfectly upright, both front paws resting lightly against its belly. The leaf that had slipped crookedly all evening was, at last, balanced securely on its head. No one lowered a hand too soon. No one hurried to leave. Ten smiling faces, two little dance companions, and the sleeves, foxfire, and glowing leaves that had not yet settled— all held still together beneath the moonlight, before the stage, on the very last beat.