The Speaking Sky
This is the first fanfiction I have ever written. I am a major fan of Mushishi and when I went looking for Mushishi fanfiction I decided that there are not near enough stories. So I wrote one. Please enjoy! Feedback and comments are very welcome.
Maybe it was a testament to Ginko's fatigue that he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary as he climbed the small hill in the daisy spotted clearing and tossed his coat to the ground. The last tendrils of smoke from his cigarette drifted into the air, seeming to blur the sky momentarily. Methodically, Ginko tossed the butt to the ground stepping on it as he moved to settle down. He sighed in exhaustion as he lowered his body and relaxed into the soft down of his coat. Around him small groups of fireflies flickered in annoyance at the disturbance.
Propping his head up with his hands and crossing his legs he stared up at the darkening sky. Ginko decided to forgo dinner as he felt the long day of trekking through mountains and valleys wash over him and leave nothing but a desire for rest. He laid in the tall grass letting the glimmer of the fireflies lull him passed the world of coherent thought.
It was one of those nights where the sky seemed to be talking to you, capturing your attention and holding it prisoner. The moon had waned to nothing but a sliver, adding just enough light to illuminate the thin, wispy clouds drifting across the emptiness. Soon however, the emptiness was disturbed by a faint sparkle as the first star of the night came to life.
Ginko slid his eye to the side to look at the newcomer glowing in the sky. What should I wish for? Maybe for Doctor Adashino to gain the ability to see mushi, that way he might stop obsessing over them. He thought with a soft chuckle.
"What do you want for yourself?"
The whisper sounded eternally far away and breathing directly into his ear at the same time.
"Common, make a wish, something that will make you happy."
Ginko stayed where he was, thinking that strange dreams must be the consequences for going to sleep without food. He watched as more stars came out of hiding, competing for his attention.
"I can make you happy."
"Yes, I want to grant your wish."
"I will give you anything to make you happy, just ask."
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Please make a wish. We want you to be happy."
Ok fine I'll make a wish. Ginko thought about it for a moment and decided. I wish for the cursed Mushi in Tanyuu's body to leave so that she is not bound to her home anymore.
"No! No! No!" The chores of whispers turned strict, and the stars flickered in harsh red. "It must be a wish for you. We only want to make you happy."
If Tanyuu is healed, that will make me happy.
"NO!" The voice was in unison now, strong and demanding. "You will make a wish for yourself. Or you will DIE!"
Ginko jerked out of the nightmare, his eye wide in the blackness. It was too dark, even for night. The air was stagnant, and the stars and moon were nowhere to be found. He just had time to start regretting his decision to not build a fire when the distinct rhythm of human footsteps motivated him into a standing, defensive position. "Who's there?" His voice echoed and then was absorbed by the thick blackness surrounding him.
"You…you can see me?" As the footsteps came closer a light materialized out of the black. Soon it materialized into the shape of a man but he seemed to be made of lights, thousands of them, millions of them, slowly swirling around inside an invisible barrier that was his body. He looked to be made of stars, like an entire galaxy existed inside of him. "Please tell me that you can see me." He raised his starry hand in a gesture of pleading.
Ginko relaxed as he slowly started to grasp the situation. "I can see you. Can you tell me who you are? And where this place is?"
A massive sigh of relief issued from an invisible mouth before the man began to speak. "You probably wont believe me if I tell you."
"Try me." Ginko said with a smile. "I'm a mushi master, and this definitely smells of mushi."
The starry man broke down and started crying, tears of light splashing to the dark ground in heavy consistency. "The stars, they told me to make a wish." He sobbed. "I thought I was in a dream so wished for everything I have ever wanted, money, a beautiful wife, power. I was born into a poor farming family and have never been able to extend passed my family name, so when all of my wishes came true I was so happy! I thought it was the most wonderful dream I had ever had." He paused a moment to compose himself. "But then I didn't wake up, I don't even know how long I have been here. And the stars- the stars keep telling me to wish more, and more. But I'm not happy any more. I just want to go home. I'm afraid, and I refuse to make any more wishes. The stars told me that that's the reason they took my body. They told me that unless I keep making wishes they are going to-"
"Kill you?" Ginko interrupted with a relaxed nod. "Yes they told me the same thing."
"Then you believe me?"
"Yes, and I know how to get us out of here." He though back to the day he had accidentally encountered information on this mushi while rummaging through Tanyuu's endless supply of mushi encounters.
"You do? How?"
"The mushi that has trapped us here is called Hanashihoshi, or talking star. They are extremely rare. They pose as stars and are usually content to feed off of the happiness people feel when they make wishes. But for an unlucky few who fall asleep while making a wish on a Hanashihoshi they trap you in the world between consciousness and dreams and force you to continue making wishes. They use the dream world to make your wishes come true and then feed off of your happiness."
The stars inside of the man began spinning faster, the equivalent of a speeding heartbeat Ginko thought. "Then how do we get out of here?"
"It's simple. We have to get them to kick us out."
"But how do we do that?"
"We make them angry at us." Ginko smiled at the thought of his plan. "You have stopped making wishes, and that has made them frustrated, but the act of taking your body away is only a threat to get you to start wishing again. We have to get them really angry at us. So angry that they don't want us here anymore."
"I'll do whatever you tell me to."
"Good. You can still hear their voices right?"
"Always. They never go away."
"Yes, so can I. Ok, we need to give them what they want. We need to start making wishes."
"But-"
"You have to make wishes for other people's benefit, not your own. Wish for the happiness of others, not for yourself."
"Like for my mother to get over her fever?"
"Yes, exactly. Do it. Wish for the happiness of as many different people as you can think of, completely excluding yourself."
Ginko closed his eye and listened to the relentless cries of the invisible stars.
"MAKE A WISH!"
Fine. I'll make a wish. Ginko wished for the happiness and safety of every person he had met along his journeys. The faces of all of them flashing though his mind one by one as the stars screamed at him. He wished not only the people he had parted happily with, but also for those who didn't get a happy ending. And most of all he wished for the protection of those who he was yet to meet who were in need of his help.
"STOP! STOP IT NOW!"
Slowly, elements of the conscious world began to touch his senses. He could feel the wind on his face, the blades of grass tickling his palms.
"GET OUT!"
The screaming was almost completely gone from his mind now.
"Thank you."
The words of the man were clear and honest, and they were the last thing Ginko heard before he opened his eyes and was once again was lying on the grassy hillside.
It was still night, the fireflies still hovered around him, the moon had hardly moved, and the stars twinkled silently above him. Looks like the Hanashishoshi have moved on. Ginko thought about the other man somewhere in the world waking up right about now, and imagined them sharing a sigh of relief.