It happened in a forest so dark, that it could almost match that of the total darkness one would see when closing their second eyelid. In that darkness the trees and plants glowed a radiant emerald, lighting the path of a weary traveler. The man knew it was only mushi that could light the forest in such a peculiar way. A mushimaster, who possessed pure white hair and one eye a green that reflected what little light glittered around him. The night's cool air clung to his skin as he stumbled over the tree roots bulging from the earth's soil.
Few people ever passed through these woods. They were very dense, and said to be protected by an angry god that did not take well to humans. Though he was not sure if a god dwelled within the forest or not, there was a plentiful supply of mushi and a thriving forest that surrounded it. The mushi in the area seemed to keep the area healthy indeed. It would be safe for the mushimaster to take refuge within the forest, at least for one night. Or so he thought.
The mid of night was fast approaching, and all light would soon be blotted out by the trees overhead, save perhaps a few stars peaking through the branches. The man set down what little supplies he possessed and leaned against the base of a large tree for support, trying to make his stay as comfortable as possible. He glanced at the ground around him, catching glimpses of mushi slipping past him. Letting his body fall back against the tree, he stared ahead of him, waiting for sleep to come.
It was then that he saw it, a mass of light heading directly towards him. The mushimaster rubbed his head, thinking his weary mind to be playing tricks on him. Yet closer the mass of light drew, illuminating the blackened forest. The man covered his good eye, the bright light blinding him slightly. As his eyes adjusted he could make out the figure of what seemed like a large dog with bodies of light tangled around its body.
A deep voice drifted from the dog-like figure, "Do not feel flattered that I have approached you as such human, as you can see there is no need to sneak up on you."
The mushimaster lowered his hand to view the speaker. He scanned the figure, realizing that it was not a dog at all but a wolf, with a mass of mushi clustered around its body. He could just barely make out the markings on the wolf. Most unusual indeed. Its muzzle seemed almost as if it had been splashed with a light green and its eyes gleamed a bloody red. "Ah so you can speak, can you? Are you some sort of mushi then? Although I must say I've never seen one quite like you before."
The creature stared hard at him for a moment then snorted lightly, "Mushi you say? Hmph, you humans always assume that the names you bestow upon the world are the correct ones."
The mushimaster shrugged, "Well I don't really have any way of knowing now do I? I'm talking about all those creatures that are floating around you."
" I've met very few who can see the little ones…I do not believe I have met any humans before who have been able to."
"Huh…so that means you're not a mushi?" the man asked, his tone hinting an air of surprise.
"Correct, human. I am not one of these 'mushi' as you call them. I was however, touched by a certain type of these mushi. Wherever you see that my fur has mimicked the color of the forest…it has altered my body in some ways. For example I have been given the gift of tongues, and thus I am able to speak to you human."
"So you're saying that wherever your fur is green….you've been touched by this mushi. And that in those places you've changed in some ways?"
"That is right"
"What kind of mushi was this exactly? Could you show it to me?"
The wolf gave a low threatening growl, revealing some of her teeth. "It matters not to you, human. I merely came here to give you a warning. I wish not to have quarrel with you…so I will allow you to stay in my forest for the night. However, I expect you to be gone by morning."
The man grinned, "Don't worry, I was planning on leaving first thing in the morning anyway."
The wolf slowly stood up and turned to leave, "I am glad to hear it, human."
"Call me Ginko." The mushimaster mentioned suddenly.
The wolf stopped and glanced back at the man curiously. "Very well…Ginko. And 'goodnight' as you humans say." And with that the she-wolf dashed off back into the darkness, leaving a trail of light behind her as she ran.
"H-hey! Wait a minute!" Ginko called out to her. He heard no reply as the light grew dimmer and dimmer.
Ginko pouted to himself and slumped back against the base of the tree. He had been excited at the thought of discovering a new species of mushi, not to mention the unusual event of speaking to a wolf. He thought for a moment to ignore her warning and set off in search of the mushi but eventually dismissed the idea. He hated letting the opportunity pass, but he hated the thought of an angry wolf on his heels even more. Curiously, he took out a few of his books to see if there was any such mushi that was yet known. After a few minutes of flipping through the pages, he finally drifted off into sleep.
Ginko woke late that next morning, to find the light of day already seeping in between the leaves of the forest sky. He rose and cautiously looked around, half expecting to find the black wolf inches from his face, baring her fangs and growling at him to leave. But there was no trace that the wolf had been anywhere near him since last night. Ginko rubbed his eyes and started rummaging through his things and putting them away to get ready for his trip through the forest.
He stood up and took another look around, almost hopeful that he would get one last look at the strange she-wolf. He had grown fond of her within his short meeting and had wanted to at least speak with her once more. After a few moments, he finally started walking forward. It would probably take him half of day to get through the wood. There was always a chance he would see the wolf again.
He walked for what felt like an hour through the forest, and little changed. The quiet noise of the forest echoed around him, and every now and then he would catch a glimpse of a scurrying creature on the forest floor. It was a little after sun-high that he reached an area where the mushi seemed to be dancing around nervously. He noticed their numbers increasing rapidly as he walked, glowing radiantly with light. Is it the wolf? The thought passed through his mind as he walked.
Not long after, he heard a faint whimpering noise. Startled, he darted forward through the mass of mushi, the noise getting louder with each step. Finally, he reached a clearing to find the same wolf tangled in a net hanging from a low tree branch.
"Hold on! I'll get you down from there!" Ginko yelled as he raced over, climbing up the tree and over to the branch from where the net hung. He carefully untied the knot and lowered the wolf to the ground, then rushing over to cut the net and let the wolf loose. As soon as there was room enough for the wolf to escape, she launched herself from the net and pinned Ginko down hard. Snarling she let loose a deep growl in her throat, "How dare you imprison me human?! After I lent you the hospitality of my forest! I knew I shouldn't have trusted a human, I should have killed you the moment I saw you!!"
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Ginko shouted, "Is that any way to talk to someone who just saved your life?"
The wolf stared down at him, unresponsive, as if waiting for an explanation.
"I couldn't have come here and gone back in one night. And if I really wanted to trap you I wouldn't have let you go, right?"
The wolf looked startled and immediately released Ginko, backing up a few feet. She bowed her head and spoke softly, "Forgive me, you are right…I overreacted…"
"Now, now," Ginko muttered, sitting himself up, rubbing his head. He grinned at the wolf and added, "No harm done, I'm still in one piece."
"Although I am curious as to who did in fact set up this trap…the scent is human but unfamiliar…"
"It doesn't surprise me. I heard a lot of the nearby villages talking fearfully of the god that lives in this forest. Some of them probably want you dead so that they can use some of the land."
"Disgusting…and what of you, human? Did you come here to steal my land from me? Why are you here?"
"Easy…I don't even have a home you see." Ginko murmured quietly as he slipped the cigar in his mouth. "I'm a traveling mushimaster. And I came here hoping to observe the mushi that live here. But seeing as in I'm not welcome, I don't mind leaving."
The wolf's ears perked up and she sat silently for a moment, "You are…not like most of the humans I have seen."
Ginko smiled lightly, "It's only natural for you to feel distrust towards humans, I understand that. But not all of us are alike you see."
The wolf nodded and sat in silence for another few minutes. "I owe you my life, human. I feel as though I can tell you about the mushi, or anything else you would like to know."
The mushimaster sat down, now eye-level with the wolf. "I'd like that…why don't you start from the beginning, tell me what happened? Oh and call me Ginko please, it feels kind of weird being called 'human' all the time."
"Very well human, I will tell you my story." The wolf sat down quietly, readying herself. Ginko sat, patiently staring at the strange she-wolf.
"You are wrong about one thing, I am not the god of this land, I merely protect it. It was many years ago that the god dwelled here, though it was in the form of a wolf. An enormous, black wolf with a single white paw. My pack and I served the god, and did whatever we could to carry out its orders and protect the land. One of its commands had been to never touch the red water, which ran through one of the streams in the very center of the forest.
I believe it was when I was about two years old that my mother gave birth to a second litter of three pups. I was so happy for her… and so fond of the pups…I volunteered to watch over them often, so that my mother would be able to go out and hunt with the pack every now and then. One day though, I lost track of one of the pups and he ran away. I followed his scent, which lead to the center of the forest. When I finally caught up to him I saw him leaning over the stream of red water, sniffing at it. When I called out to him, he got startled and slipped…and fell in. I rushed over as fast as I could and plunged my head into the water, trying to pull him out but…he had vanished without a trace.
Wherever the water touched me, it turned my fur green, and my eyes became red. When the god found out, he was furious and banished me from the forest. But I just I couldn't leave my pack. I stayed and watched over them from afar. It was then that strange things began happening. I could understand the speech of humans that passed through, I began to see these strange creatures all around me, and my heartbeat began to slow. After a few days, the creatures I saw began to mass around the forest in extraordinary numbers, it seemed as if they were the forest.
Not long after, the god of the forest simply disappeared. No one knew what had happened, it had spirited away just as the little pup had that day in the river…with the god gone, my pack moved away, fearing the forest would die. I have watched over this place since then, trying to find some way to make up for what I've done…"
When the wolf had finally finished she looked away from Ginko, unable to face him. "I see…I'm sorry to bring up such a painful memory. But if you don't mind, may I ask if anything else out of the ordinary has happened since then?"
"Well, yes…the forest is nearly covered in mushi for one and I've noticed that most of the animals seem unable to produce. All of them eventually died out or left. And I have lived far past that of my natural life span. I'd guess I'd be near your age."
"I see…this is the work of a gogyou-gosai." Ginko muttered, deep in thought.
"A…what? You know what's happened?" The wolf asked, dumbfounded.
"You see, gogyou-gosai literally means 'red water'. It's a type of mushi that exists in liquid form. Not much is known about it, but I have heard in some cases, its turned animals into mushi."
"Into…mushi?"
"That's right, if it is consumed, or if it engulfs the entire body of an animal, that animal is turned into a mushi. I'm guessing that in your case since the transformation was incomplete, you took on certain attributes and became a sort of mushi-magnet."
"You mean it's because of me that all of these mushi are here?"
"I'm sorry if this is hard to hear, but that's most likely what drove your god away. I bet if you'd left, the number of mushi would return to normal, and your god wold return."
Ginko could have sworn he saw the wolf smile. "I'm glad to hear it…there's finally at least something I can do."
"Yeah? But what will you do when you leave? If you're any sort of mushi-magnet like me, you can't stay in one place for too long."
The wolf sighed, "I'm not sure, I've been here all this time without a purpose…maybe travelling would suit me well. I thank you for your help, Mushimaster, I finally know the truth of what has happened."
"I don't really feel like I did all that much though…"
"Heh you said you're a traveler as well? Maybe you could show me a thing or too."
Ginko smiled at the wolf, "Yeah…I could use some company."