FSE

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“Sorry, can you wait for a moment?” Tohru said from behind me.

“What’s up?” I turned around and leaned closer to his ear. In the noisy street, regular people would have been drowned out by the sounds around them, unable to hear anything. But the moment I noticed Tohru’s body stiffen, I immediately stepped back, giving him some space.

“Well…” He cleared his throat and continued as if nothing had happened. “I was just focused on finding the bar quickly, and I haven’t quite recovered from the disorienting effects of stasis yet...” His behavior suggested he was trying to act normal, but the atmosphere around him became so intense that I couldn’t read it. Everything mixed into a thick wave of emotions. He was clearly considering how to put his thoughts into words, and he remained silent for a while.

“I know this might sound silly, and we’ll have plenty of time later, but…” As Tohru continued speaking, the waves of emotion began to calm, growing gentler with each sentence. “I want to take a good look at the street.”

“Oh.” I chuckled and gestured towards the edge of the railing. “It’s different from other places, isn’t it?” I remembered how disoriented I was when I first arrived at Ceres. The streets designed by the flying dragon were completely different, but I’ve heard that the structures in the Federation and the Empire are nearly identical.

The main streets on the moon were elevated, pedestrian zones on the second floor, with each intersection connected by sky bridges to the adjacent building clusters. The ground level was reserved for entrances leading to underground stations, serving passengers commuting across long distances.

“On Ares, vehicles drive down the middle of the streets,” Tohru said as he leaned on the pedestrian zone’s railing. “I never imagined… it could be designed like this.”

“Allowing vehicles into densely populated city areas sounds way too dangerous, doesn’t it?” I asked, struggling to picture it. Tohru shrugged in response.

The ground level, in the spaces between buildings, had several bidirectional moving sidewalks operating at different speeds, allowing pedestrians to ride them directly to their destinations. Depending on the street's location, the speed and number of moving sidewalks varied based on passenger volume and connection requirements.

“Maybe it is a bit dangerous. After all, we never considered that other options existed…” Tohru said slowly. “It’s not just about this difference; there’s also… the diversity.” He waved a hand over the heads of the people using the moving sidewalks below. “I thought it would just be more people of different kinds mixing together, something I could easily imagine. But seeing it in person… it’s not like that.”

I tried to figure out what he was pointing at through his actions.

“Different speeds and capacities exist side by side, catering to people with different needs—whether it’s their purpose or their physical differences—this design ensures that all residents, regardless of their differences, can use public facilities.” A new wave entered Tohru’s atmosphere—a kind of hope. “Everyone adjusts their steps to make room for more, so they can all squeeze in together and share the limited space.”

Hearing someone speak in such a tone about something I took for granted felt a bit strange. But I didn’t know what to say or what this meant to him. There was something in the atmosphere that I hadn’t seen before.

So, we leaned quietly against the railing, watching the ebb and flow of people without continuing our conversation, but Tohru’s words simmered deep within me.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head, and a smile crept onto my face.

I realized that not knowing what to say was normal; words were so limited, actions were much more powerful.

“Follow me.” I grinned, jumping onto the railing and crouching there, deactivating my magnetic boots and adjusting my goggles. The last time I did this, I was still a young pup—it brought back memories.

“What?” He clearly didn’t know what I was planning, his tone tinged with panic.

“Turn off your magnetic boots, and turn them back on when you land on the moving sidewalks.” I grabbed Tohru by the collar, lifting him onto the railing. “I’m taking you on a shortcut.” I hoped he wasn’t afraid of heights. But who knows? We all need to push our limits.

“What?” He still sounded confused, now with a hint of despair, clearly overwhelmed by the situation.

I decided that a demonstration would be more effective, so I flashed him a wide smile.

Then, I tensed my legs and jumped forward with all my might.

I made a rather flashy three-and-a-half-turn spin in the air before landing precisely on the slow moving sidewalks, taking a moment to adjust to the inertia. A few murmurs of discontent reached my ears, but the excited chatter quickly drowned them out. It’s been a while since anyone had seen a speed-run on a moving sidewalks, huh? Well, watch closely—let me show you some real skills.

“Now or never!” I shouted back at Tohru, cupping my hands around my mouth. At the same time, I gently nudged his aura, encouraging him. “Didn’t you say you wanted to experience the real Lunar culture?”

I didn’t usually do this—past incidents with unexpected outcomes had left me with some bad memories. But somehow, today I felt like I should let go and give it a try.

Whether it was because of my subtle push, or perhaps something else, like the cheers of the nearby spectators, Tohru finally jumped off the second-floor railing, cursing the whole way down.

When I saw that he wasn’t going to land properly, I dashed forward, catching him and placing him on the slow moving sidewalks, activating his magnetic boots. Thankfully, he was light.

“Are you crazy? What the hell are we doing?” he said, a little flustered, while the surrounding pedestrians laughed and clapped.

“Experiencing,” I explained to Tohru. “That was just the first step; now it’s time for the real deal.” I stretched my body, getting ready. “Watch my moves closely.”

Without waiting for his response, I dashed forward. Amid more cursing, Tohru followed.

I laughed—a genuine, heartfelt laugh.

I picked up speed, lengthening my strides as I flipped over a mountain goat’s head and landed on the medium-speed moving sidewalks, lowering my body to minimize the effects of inertia. I monitored Tohru’s aura, confirming that he was keeping up.

As we approached an intersection, I prepared myself, flipping onto the moving sidewalks heading in a different direction. After rolling twice on the ground, I jumped up, continuing to speed forward, occasionally throwing in some flips. The wind rushed past me, carrying all the scents it held. The hem of my clothes, the tips of my ears, and the finest strands of fur all rustled in the breeze.

Then, I noticed that aside from the slightly disheveled Tohru trailing behind me, a few others had joined in.

You want to play along?

I leaped onto the central high-speed moving sidewalks, doing a backflip to counter the inertia. As I landed, I bent my legs and crouched down, preparing myself. The others seemed to know what I intended, adopting the same stance behind me. As we reached the next intersection, I jumped up, landing on the side of a nearby building’s exterior wall. I engaged the magnetic boots, using them to stick to the second-floor pedestrian walkway’s base structure, making a sharp 90-degree turn.

Using the remaining momentum and the suction provided by the on-and-off activation of my magnetic boots, I ran along the wall for a short distance, lightly touching the wall with my right hand to adjust my balance. As my trajectory began to drop, I pushed off hard, flipping onto the high-capacity street’s rapid moving sidewalks, rolling once upon landing to maintain a crouched position.

A few shadows managed to keep up, and I felt various auras of excitement erupt around me, mixed with more protests from pedestrians.

Back in the day, wall-running onto a rapid moving sidewalks was my signature move. It seems the world won’t wait for you to catch up, will it? Interestingly, Tohru managed to keep up, though he didn’t take as flashy a route as I did.

My heart pounded faster than it ever had, even in my peak days. I guess this is what they mean when they say the body never forgets.

Following this rapid moving sidewalks, we would soon reach the main thoroughfare of this area. Once close enough, I started running again, pointing towards the main road elevated above us. The few who had been following hesitated, clearly unsure of what to do.

Welcome to uncharted territory.

The main thoroughfare connected the spaceport, airship landing zones, and underground trains, so its design was unique: a single layer of high-capacity, low-speed moving sidewalks, with the pedestrian zone’s structure completely covering the moving sidewalks’s top. The belt was always packed with commuters transferring between routes. For safety reasons, the streets connected to the main thoroughfare only had low-speed belts. The only rapid moving sidewalks nearby was the one underfoot, which passed vertically through this area without intersecting it, leaving a small exposed section.

So, just as I was about to pass directly under the main thoroughfare, I leaped to the side, grabbing onto a nearby lamp post. The metal pole provided a pivot point that allowed me to change my direction, and as soon as I aligned myself, I let go, minimizing the energy lost through friction with the pole. The sudden pull of centrifugal force made me feel like I was about to burst, but the indescribable satisfaction of soaring over a crowd of pedestrians, who had no idea what was happening above them, made it all worth it.

But the real show was just beginning. I twisted mid-air, using the sides of my chest as an axis, adjusting my angular velocity by extending my arms and tail to ensure that when I entered the main thoroughfare, completely concealed by the pedestrian zone structure, I’d land on the ceiling with my magnetic boots.

Sparks flew wildly as I landed, and the impact nearly caused me to fall, but I managed to maintain my balance, sliding upside down over the heads of the crowd below.

This time, the reactions were mostly screams—clearly, there weren’t many who could appreciate this kind of stunt. I had adjusted the output of my magnetic boots, allowing me to glide along the ceiling in a near-static balance, as long as I controlled my limbs to maintain the right posture.

I laughed out loud, unsure whether I was more filled with joy or fear. Oh my, who would have thought? I really needed this. Perfectly coordinated movements, where the slightest imbalance could bring everything crashing down. I felt like the most skilled, yet insane, artist, performing a life-threatening masterpiece.

It was then that I noticed another waveform following me, one that hadn’t been shaken off. Both surprised and delighted, I laughed even louder. Though there was a hint of tension in the atmosphere surrounding this person, a slight panic in their movements, they were doing quite well. However, I could sense a bit of disharmony—they hadn’t adjusted the output of their magnetic boots. At this rate, they might end up crashing somewhere.

At the speed we were moving, a crash wouldn’t just break bones.

I wanted to signal them with a hand gesture to catch their attention, but I didn’t have the luxury to do so. So I tried to influence their aura, helping them adjust their posture. But to my surprise, it felt like I’d hit a wall made of gel, being blocked from the outside. What... was that?

Today is really testing the limits of novelty.

Then, I received a very clear "question."

Just like the waveform they emitted, it was full of curiosity and a need for an answer, with a hint of unease.

I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to this—it wasn’t a feeling conveyed through the aura but rather a direct... communication.

Xenocultural Studies 101: What’s the most viable communication strategy in a first contact situation? Imitation—communication starts with imitation.

I kept the... connection... between us open, demonstrating the alternating rhythm of my unique steps, along with how to continuously adjust the output of the magnetic boots to maintain the balance of sliding without losing control.

I think he understood, because I received... laughter in return. It reminded me of the feeling of speeding through a moving sidewalks— that kind of thrill and release, like I could show off without holding back... freedom—the moving sidewalks doesn’t care who you are.

He responded to my understanding with a pulse of "freedom"—that was the skyhook orbiting the satellite, carrying all those who wanted to break free from their shackles, leading them on a journey to distant places.

I’d only read about skyhooks in books; Gaia and the Lunar space elevators covered most of the orbital space, and I was mostly unconscious during my trip to the asteroid belt, so I didn’t pay much attention. So... where was that?

He didn’t want to discuss it further, I could sense that. Beneath me was a smooth... something? Recognizing the scene, I was stunned for a moment, almost missing a step, and hurriedly coiled my tail to adjust my balance. The scorched glassy ground—I’d only seen records of it in the historical archives, specifically from Gaia’s first all-out war between herbivores and carnivores, and the catastrophic bombardment of the Mare Tranquillitatis base during the fight for independence.

His aura showed sparse yet sharply defined, jagged lines, as if etched forcefully into space, but no emotion was expressed through our connection.

To make up for making them recall unpleasant memories, I shared with him how I used to weave between buildings in the moving sidewalks, leaving the security guards who were desperately chasing me far behind. Interestingly, I received a knowing smile in return.

Where did he come from? I couldn’t discern his species from his scent in this situation, but these memories hinted that they weren’t from anywhere I was familiar with. And coupled with that terrifying scene, wherever they were from must still be experiencing that level of conflict—if not Gaia, then Ares.

But it was clear he didn’t want to talk about it, and I shouldn’t pry into their privacy. So for the rest of the time, we just silently enjoyed the constant shower of sparks beneath our feet, the uninterrupted screams from the crowd below, and the struggle to catch our breath as we sped through the howling wind whipping past our ears.