A Sunday Afternoon
Warning: The Awesomeness of Ginko.
Mushi-Shi © Yoshiyama Yuki
Sunako/Hotaru © Creators
-/-
Ginko sighed as he stared out the window of the house. It was a Sunday afternoon, and not many people were dropping by his shop. That didn't bother him, really. Who'd want to have a conversation with a mental case? Well, in the normal people's opinion, that's what Ginko was. However, he noticed that two college students, both young women, who would curiously come by. They never directly approached the place, but occasionally peer in the windows. He thought about talking to them, but then that would possibly scare them off.
Maybe coming to this country was a bad idea, he told himself. The people here don't even seem to recognize the Mushi that live among them… the Mushi must be another myth – a fantasy. His one good eye glanced out the window, the sun was coming in, lighting up the front of the house-turned-shop with the brilliant colours of the jars and Mushi that lived inside. He exhaled the smoke from his cigarette, and saw the pair again. They hadn't noticed him staring at them, so Ginko took his time to study them. He remembered them from before, during his random moments of boredom, Ginko had named the black framed young woman Sunako, and the other Hotaru.
They were about the same height, one of them slightly shorter. They both wore glasses, one's frames were thick and black, the other thin and a brown. The one with the thick frames had her hair held back, and the one with the thin frames had her hair loose, which from Ginko's standpoint, extended down past her shoulders. Yet, I think these two see them, the Mushi. Finally, he stood, and they started, noticing him for the first time. The one with the thick frames backed away, dragging her companion with her, when he realised that they looked similar. Could they be twins? He opened the door, and he looked at the pair curiously.
"The shop's open you know," he said, and the young woman with the thick frames blinked, and her companion smiled brightly.
"May we come in then? We're always looking in the window to see the creatures you have in the jar!" Ginko blinked, so they can see the Mushi. He stood back, and held the door open a bit wider.
"Come right on in. I don't bite, but be careful: don't touch what you don't know." The young woman who asked the question whirled to her companion.
"Comon,' let's go take a look!"
"But –" Sunako was interrupted by her companion.
"We don't have anything, to do today, do we?" Sunako sighed.
"You're right… it's just that I don't know… how do we know you," Sunako directed her attention to Ginko, "won't murder us and use our bodies on the black market?" Ginko blinked, and shook his head, smiling. The imagination of young people, but she had a point.
"Good point, how can you trust me?" Ginko spread his hands. "All you know is that I could be a murder and sell your bodies on the black market." Here, Ginko raised a hand before Sunako could reply back, "However, I am not. I am merely a Mushi Master, who found his way here to this country. I will not harm you while you're in my shop; that I do promise." Sunako narrowed her eyes at the Mushi Master, trying to find something wrong with his words, and visibly relaxed.
"Alright, I believe you, Mushi Master." She held up a finger, a hand on her hip, "but if I find one thing wrong with you we are out of here, got it?" Ginko chuckled.
"If you say so," she scowled, but before she could say anything, Hotaru was dragging her into the store.
-/-
"So what are these creatures anyways?" Sunako asked, peering to a jar with kunohami inside. "Are they like some kind of unknown life form?"
"Yeah, I've seen some floating around campus, didn't you?" Hotaru asked from across the room, where she was examining a hadumagri. Sunako had nodded.
"Oh yeah, you're right." To Ginko's confused look, she explained, "people on campus think we're crazy, well, specifically, my friend here. We're the only ones who can see the… what you called them, Mushi?" Ginko nodded, "We can see them, apparently. They're rather harmless though, but on numerous times I've stopped Ms I-Want-To-Chase-Them from touching them because I figured they were probably deadly."
"But the sparkly things were cute and you know it!" Hotaru had retorted, and Ginko laughed.
"The Mushi you see are harmless alright, just don't agitate them and definitely don't chase them." He looked briefly at the sunlight in the room, and looked at the pair. "Listen, it's getting late and I don't want you two having to walk alone in the dark. Perhaps I should walk you back to your campus." They blinked simultaneously.
"Sure," Sunako said, wary. "Just don't –"
"Murder you and sell your bodies to the black market?" Ginko teased, earning a half-jesting glare. "Just kidding," he assured her.
"Yeah, whatever." She muttered, and walked out, Hotaru following.
-/-
"So what brought you to the States?" Hotaru asked, walking alongside him eagerly, Sunako trailing along with an unenthused look on her face. Ginko sighed, and then shrugged.
"A change of scenery, perhaps; or just possibly wanting to see the world," he shrugged. "In any case, it was time for me to move on. The people from where I lived didn't have any problems with the Mushi anymore, and there are newer Mushi Masters who can do the work that I did in half the time if there were any problems." He looked up at the sky, which was dimmed from the street lights. Before, he thought, I could see the sky just full of stars… nowadays, I can barely see them. He stopped abruptly when a hand was waving in front of his face.
"Yo, you there Mushi Master," Sunako asked, breaking him from his train of thought. He nodded, slightly disconcerted. "We're here at the dorm," she added, noticing that Ginko seemed confused.
"Yeah, sorry; I got lost in memories." Sunako nodded.
"Understand how that feels."
"Goodnight Mushi Master!" Hotaru beamed, and Ginko nodded.
"Goodnight to you two as well." He turned to leave, but then paused. "By the way, the name's Ginko. Don't hesitate to come around if you need anything." The pair blinked, and then nodded. "Alright, you two take care now." He left, walking down the street, hands stuffed in his pockets, his cigarette already lit. Perhaps they'll come around more often. It does get lonely in that place, and they have an eye for Mushi. Maybe they'll end up becoming Mushi Masters, just like myself.