Hello, I hope you enjoy this. I'm not planning to make it any longer than a few chapters at the most, but it'll be short and sweet with some cute moments. Like many, I was heartbroken by the anime's gorgeous ending, and wanted just a little more to it! Please review if you liked :)

"Gin!" I sobbed into his clothes. I was knelt on the ground, burying my face into that soft fabric, the sweet aroma he left behind. I could still feel his touch on my skin, the heat in my face as he kissed me.

Why must he have been so kind? Yes, Gin was a kind-hearted person. It was only bad luck that this kindness cost him his existence. But somehow, he knew it was our last time together. That was why… he seemed to be making the most of our fun at the summer festival. I felt it too, that he wouldn't return to our special place the next year. I felt that ache in my heart the entire time.

I'd grown up with him, he'd watched me grown from a little girl into an almost woman, and I unknowingly disregarded his feelings. If he really had felt for me all this time, he must have been heartbroken every time he saw my body change and my height increase year on year. Guilt swallowed me up as well as grief.

Still, he had been happy when he left. Smiling, even. Smiling because finally he was able to touch me, to hold me tightly and smell my hair. I was smiling too. I loved him too. He died without regrets- or at least I hoped. Because there was no doubt in my mind that he had… died.

Or maybe there was some doubt?

Because as I walked back to that house through the forest, tear-stained and desperate, I carried on gazing up at the sky as if he was there, watching over me and reaching down with his warm hands, beckoning me to join him. He was probably dancing up there right now, without that mask. That warmth I remembered still wrapped me up like a blanket, protecting me from the harm of the night.

The next year, I didn't look forward to going to my uncle's house for the summer. What was I going to do now? Sit on a rock by the water and grumble to the forest spirits? They were just as heartbroken as me. They had watched Gin grow up, no doubt, been with him much longer than I had. He had imprinted on their hearts, too.
I skipped my usual route to our meeting spot, and unsurprised at his absence, I continued on into the forest, going the path we travelled on our many walks. I began to see images of his face on the trees, in the bushes, brief flashes of the times we had together. I remembered them with a smile. Soon, I came to the place we had one fished in together, a lake with lily pads and bugs and rocks to sit on and dangle my feet in the tickling coolness of the water.

I clambered onto the rock, grazing my shin in the process, and sat there. I stared up at the sky as I usually did, and thought of him again. I never stopped thinking about him through all four seasons. This was the first time I'd returned to the forest since that night, and my heart was thumping in my chest.

"Gin… I…" I mumbled. Soon, the tears began to roll down my cheeks. "You were always my goal. Right from the very beginning, you saved me and spent time with me, and you were someone I really looked up to. You were my friend, my precious, irreplaceable friend. I wish… I wish we had been able to spend just a little more time together."

I… really need to see you.

Suddenly, it felt as though there was a voice speaking directly into my head.

I see… Your feelings are strong indeed. I put that spell on Gin… to protect him always, to help him live, but I realise now that that was a mistake. Instead of giving him life, I gave him opportunity to envy the lives of others, to know the sorrow of not being able to touch a human ever again.

"You didn't make a mistake. You let him meet me. But… I just…"

I know, dear human Hotaru. You have been faithful for this whole time. I believe I may be able to grant both your wishes, if indeed he feels the same way.

… Yes. He wants this too. He is looking forward to it. Do not waste this chance, Hotaru.

Waste what chance?

I felt the air shift behind me. I dried my tears and hopped off the rock, climbing ashore. A light was enveloping the space in front of me, soaking up all the sunlight and the spirits around me. Slowly but surely, it took the shape of a person, a young man. As the light faded, the faintly silver hair spring to life, and his deep eyes opened. He stumbled for a moment, dazed, and then his gaze descended upon me.

This couldn't be real. This stuff… only happened in dreams.

"Gin… is that really you?" I whispered. He blinked, and stammered a few incomplete words. "It is!"

He glanced at his hand, and murmured, "I'm back… I'm truly back… I guess it is me, Hotaru."

"Gin!" I cried, and I ran at him.

He held open his arms, and I fell into his chest, tears tumbling afresh; the force of my hug sent us both crashing to the ground, still wrapped around each other, with me a sobbing wreck.

"I just can't believe you came back!"

"Hey," he said gently, "You really did glomp me this time, Hotaru. I think… I think I was brought back as a human."

"But why?"

He stroked my hair. "Does there need to be a reason? I'm just happy to be back."

I smiled into his chest, nodding. It didn't matter to me now. All that mattered was that my prayers were answered in the form of Gin's return. And this was the beginning of a story of a long time.


Thanks for reading ^_^ Review if you liked and wait up for chapter 2 :)