Chapter 3
Terra: Hey guys. So today-
Hotaru: Wait, where's Azure?
Terra: She has too much homework. Vocabulary for Japanese, projects to catch up on in art, etc. So, I am doing the introduction today!
Hotaru: But she wrote the chapter right?
Terra: Yeah. She just can't introduce and say hi, so I'm doing it for her.
Gin: I see
Terra: Do you have a problem with me?
Gin: No.
Terra: Good. Now, let's give the readers what they actually want. Do the honors.
Hotaru: *sigh* Azure does not own Hotarubi no Mori e, or any of it's characters. I am constantly in gratitude for that.
Gin: Now, on with the chapter!
Terra: HEY THAT'S MY LINE
Gin: You're so quick to anger...
The next time I woke up, it was about mid afternoon. However, I couldn't tell if a few hours had past, or if an entire day had past. Nonetheless, I felt much better than I did before. A bit warm and nauseous if anything. As I recalled that morning, I noticed something very peculiar. I felt completely fine before I had the vision. It was only minutes after the vision that I had become sick. I soon became even more confused. That was not some random memory of the past. So what was it? During the vision, I had also felt a strange bitterness and distrust. I certainly don't feel that way when I remember that memory. 'Hotaru, you're worrying too much. You're still recovering from a fever. You're thinking too much about it!' I thought and I quickly found my spirits lifting. That's right! I still must be a bit delirious. Fevers can do that!
Minutes had past before the paper door to my bedroom slid open. There stood my grandmother and grandfather. "Oh, Hotaru you're awake! You look a lot better." Cue my grandmother hustling over to my side to check my temperature. "You're still a little warm. You should be fine soon. I'm roasting some potatoes for lunch, does that sound good?" I nodded my head enthusiastically. I loved roasted potatoes, and I hadn't had any since last summer. I couldn't bring myself to eat them after Gin supposedly died.
When my grandmother left, my grandfather came up and offered me a slice of watermelon from yesterday. I gladly accepted the slice, and instantly felt cooler as the deliciously cold fruit slide down my throat. I decided to eat the watermelon on the porch at the back of the wooden house, which overlooked a dense part of the forest of the Mountain God.
I was spitting some of the black seeds out onto the grass when a familiar figure slid into view. "Gin! Mr. Fox spirit!" I exclaimed excitedly as I waved them over. My grandfather was out shopping for groceries, and my grandmother was busy in the kitchen preparing for lunch and dinner. It was highly unlikely that the two of them would see the spirits.
At my request, they walked over, the fox spirit hopping through the grass until he reached my side. "Hotaru! Gin told me what happened. You seem to be doing a lot better." The fox spirit observed as I gave an assertive nod of my head. "Yeah. I feel a lot better then yesterday. A bit warm and nauseous, but otherwise I'm doing fine." "That's good to hear. You had me quite worried." Gin said as he finally reached the porch. "Sorry about that. It was a bit unexpected..." I trailed off as I thought of my earlier theory. It would be a bit awkward to talk about the vision if Gin doesn't remember anything. Perhaps I would talk to the fox spirit later about it.
"Oh! Would you two like some watermelon?" I offered the pair as I held up my half finished slice to show them. Gin seemed to know about watermelon, since he nodded his head in agreement. The fox spirit on the other hand, delicately sniffed my slice while giving a look of uncertainty. "We spirits usually don't have to eat, but I've had a few things in my life. Meat mostly. I've never tried watermelon before." "Then stay right here while I get some for you and Gin." I told the fox spirit while playfully ruffling his head, which he seemed to enjoy. I stood and told Gin and the fox spirit to wait there as I crept over to the kitchen where grandmother was.
"Grandma, can I have two more slices of watermelon? I'm quite hungry." Grandmother looked at me with slight surprise, before going to the refrigerator to get the slices. "This is all you can have before lunch. I don't want you spoiling your appetite." "You sound like mother..." I retorted before retreating back to where Gin and the fox spirit were waiting. I held up their slices triumphantly with a wink. "Mission success!" I announced as I handed one slice to Gin - who already began chomping away happily - and then held the slice for the fox spirit. "Here you are." I said as the spirit once more sniffed the slice of watermelon. "Well, here it goes..." He says in a reluctant tone of voice, then bit the tip of the watery pink fruit. The hesitation in his eyes clouded, and soon the spirit gave a shrug. "It's not bad; it's sweet, and holds a lot of liquid. I wouldn't say it's my favorite, but it's certainly pretty good." And so, the spirit continued munching on the slice while occasionally spitting out the seeds at my reminder.
"Mr. Fox Spirit, I have a question." I exclaimed just as he was finishing his last bite. "Mm? What would that be?" His voice was slightly muffled from the unfinished food in his mouth. "I know Gin is an exception, but do spirits like you have names?" The fox spirit thought for a bit before swallowing the last bit of watermelon. "Um, usually not. We just kind of refer to each other by our spirit type. So, like you call me Mr. Fox spirit, that is usually what other spirits would call me. Why do you ask?" I jumped a bit at his question, before answering him back. "Well, until now I didn't know that what I called you is what others call you. I felt kind of bad for calling you "Mr. Fox spirit" all the time, so I was thinking that if you didn't have a name like Gin, we could give you one. What do you think Gin?" I asked while turning to face the entity, who had just finished spitting out the last of the seeds from the watermelon. "I like that idea. I feel a bit guilty calling you "Mr. Fox spirit" as well." The said spirit gave almost what seemed like a grin before nodding his head. "That sounds nice. I'm alright with anything." As I thought, Gin seemed to be blurting out all the random names he could think of out of the top of his head. At the mention of "Haru" which means "Spring", an idea dawned on me. "How about Natsume? Gin? How does that sound?" Gin stopped talking for a bit, and gave a small smile. "Natsume. I like it. It reminds me of Natsu." "Which is why I chose it." I said with a smile as the fox spirit was deemed "Natsume". I chose Natsume since "Natsu" means "Summer"; since I only see the fox spirit during the summer, I thought Natsume was the perfect name. "Alright. Natsume it is then." The spirit said with a smile.
Just then, grandmother called from the kitchen. "Hotaru! Hotaru?! Lunch is ready!" I froze in a panic as I quickly looked toward Natsume and Gin. "I have to go. It would be bad if you were to be seen. I'll see you guys later perhaps?" "We'll try to come late dusk or evening." Gin told me as he ran off with a wave with Natsume following behind him. They disappeared into the forest just as grandmother found me on the porch. "My goodness, you managed to eat all three slices? I hope you have room for lunch..." She began with a scolding tone as I rolled my eyes. "Growth spurt Grandma. It happens. I'm sure I'll be able to eat." This I held true, since in all actuality, I only had one of the three slices. But grandmother didn't need to know who ate the other two slices.
Grandfather had returned from his errand, and had brought back more watermelon, as well as a few extra things for dinner and meals in the future. I had finished my lunch - an excellent meal of roasted potatoes, pickled vegetables, and a bottle of melon soda which was a treat from grandfather. After lunch, I help grandmother clean the dishes and tidy up the kitchen. Next thing I knew, dusk had already approached. My grandparents kept roaming around on the porch for unknown reasons, so I knew that Natsume and Gin wouldn't be visiting until later. So in the meantime, I decided to hang out in my room.
I plopped down on my futon, and stared up at the ancient wooden ceiling. I remember when I was little, I had found a pattern in the wood that looked similar to Gin's painted mask. I tried looking for it again, and sure enough, it was still there, staring back at me. 'If only I had the mask with me now...' As much as I loved the item, I knew that I had to give it back to Gin. It was his after all. I know he doesn't remember the mask, but it just... didn't feel right if he didn't have his mask. Despite how handsome he was underneath it.
A smile found its way onto my lips at the thought, and I could feel my cheeks gradually getting warmer at the thought. That scene had never left my mind. All of a sudden, everything went white before it revealed another vision.
It was that fateful day. The vast sea of wildflowers dancing in the summer breeze, and the walls of trees surrounding us. I remember this day all too well, but this seems... different. It was in a different person's point of view. I was seeing everything from a whole new perspective.
I watched as my young, childish self ran and skipped happily in the flowers. A warm and pleasant emotion soon filled my body upon the sight of myself playing in the field. And soon I found myself chasing after me. As we played tag, I picked up a long twig when we ran near some trees, and the chasing continued. It was... surprisingly quite fun. It felt like I hadn't had "fun" in a while. Wait... Why is that? 'I feel... free.' A voice whispered inside my head. Free? Why would I feel free? Had I never felt free before?
We continued tag for hours. At one point, I had chased myself around a tree numerous times before I tripped on a tree root. I was stunned for a second, and I watched as my six-year-old self jogged up to me worriedly. I don't know why, but I jumped up and gave a playful roar, as if trying to scare myself. Sure enough, it worked, as I gave a shriek of fright before running away again.
It was mid afternoon when exhaustion finally caught up with me. We stopped the tiring game, and I decided to rest in the field of flowers. The sun felt strangely nice as I bathed in its golden rays. It was almost impossible not to feel drowsy with such rare summer weather like this.
I remember it vaguely - I think I was only partially asleep - but I soon felt a light draft across my face... huh? Some part of me was confused. I don't know why, but I just felt... confused. Why was I feeling the tickling of the wind across my face? I opened my eyes slightly, and I saw that my mask had been removed from my face. Well, actually, it was a few inches above my face, with small hands delicately holding the edges.
I gasped mentally. Everything made sense now.
When I fully opened my eyes, I heard a small gasp of surprise behind me. "Sorry!" Someone all too familiar exclaimed before the mask was slammed back onto my face. Ow. I gave a small shriek of pain as I sat up, holding my face - now with the mask back on - in my my hands. After the wave of agony had past, I gave a small chuckle. "So you attack people when they're sleeping? You're a scary lady." I found myself saying as my younger self apologized once more. Throughout the rest of the vision, I had felt more trust and liking towards my younger self. I can trust her. She won't make me disappear. I now have a human I can talk to. It's nice. It's... different.
My eyesight went white once more. I was only able to come up with one rational thought before everything went black.
That was Gin's memory.
"..aru. Hotaru!" Someone called out to me in a hushed and fierce whisper. I weakly opened my tired eyes to find Gin and Natsume in my face. Unintentionally, I gave a groan and swung an arm over my eyes. I didn't feel good. Once again.
"Sorry," Gin began guiltily. "but it looked like you were uncomfortable. We were worried." I removed my arm and glanced at Natsume, who gave three curt nods.
"...I don't feel well." I mumbled as Natsume looked at me in disbelief, while Gin's face showed concern. "Again? What happened?" I hesitated. I can't talk about it - not with Gin here! I waved the fox spirit over so that I could whisper in his ear. "Later. It's about Gin..." When I put back some distance between the spirit and I, he gave a nod of understanding. "What is it?" Gin asked curiously while looking over at Natsume. "It's about a loved one that... disappeared, recently." He worded carefully as I gave him a mental "thank you".
There was a bit of a silence for a while until a question popped into my mind. "When did you guys get here?" "Only a few minutes ago." Gin replied as he gave a brief look to the closed paper door for my room. "It's around midnight now, which is probably why you feel a bit tired. You're family members were up for a while! This was the earliest we could sneak in." Strange. My grandparents don't usually stay up for very long. I wonder what's wrong.
"Say, do you want some water? You look a bit parched." Natsume offered. "Yes, please. If you go into the kitchen, which is the next door to the right, the cups are in the third cabinet on the top. You can get the water from the refrigerator: there's a button where you get the water from." I informed them as they both nodded and raced quietly out of my room.
Silence once more. It was a bit uncomfortable, waiting and hoping that the two spirits wouldn't get discovered.
I was about to tear my hair out when Natsume bounded into the room and promptly sat by my side as Gin came in with a cup of water. "Finally. What took you so long?" I asked, graciously accepting the ceramic cup from Gin's grasp before taking a sip.
Gin scratched the back of his head nervously while Natsume's ears drooped. "We, uh... had some complications..." He said vaguely. I didn't worry too much about it; they were two spirits in a human's house. "Alright, but please don't worry me like that again."
They both nodded, and seemed to wait for me as I drained the cup of the deliciously cool water. I felt a bit better and a bit more rejuvenated than before, and I turned to face them after placing the empty cup on the wooden floor. "So? Did you guys need to ask me something?"
"Actually, yes, we did. We have a proposition for you." Natsume began. I stayed silent and nodded my head to let him continue. "The spirits wanted to celebrate - an, event, that has happened recently - and they felt that you should join. You would have to leave now; write a note to your folks that you're taking a long walk, or something else that will work to explain your long period of absence-" Natsume was soon interrupted by Gin.
"I have a better idea." Gin exclaimed, smiling like an idiot, but it seemed a lot more adorable than that and there was an excited glint in his beautiful silver eyes.
"What might that be?" The fox spirit asked, looking curiously at Gin's direction. Apparently, he was not informed of Gin's master plan, even though I'm assuming that they both know of the celebration.
"I can be Hotaru's date."
Azure: Another chapter! Sorry I wasn't there to greet you, but I was as quick as possible when updating! And I'll try to do more so in the future!
Hotaru: So, what's the next chapter about? If you can give us at least a summary?
Azure: Well, remember when Natsume said they had some complications getting your water? Well, the next chapter is just going to be a fun little extra about that!
Gin: Really? But what about me being Hotaru's date? ( T3T)
Azure: Don't worry! That's after the next chapter! Until next time, please R & R in the comments! Thank you!
