Hello peeps! Thanks to all those who reviewed last chapter. I was a bit hesitant as to how it would be received, but it seems that it turned out well. This chapter marks the start of a new 'arc', as it were, and you've got a lot of drama to come. A new character is mentioned/introduced in this chapter.
Anyway, I should stop rambling. Please enjoy, and review. I love you all!
Chapter 14- Fresh Air
As time passed, the cold months were upon us, and it was time for one of the most surreal times of my life- the day Gin would graduate high school.
The crowds were bigger than expected. We lived in a town with several high schools, but I still hadn't expected so many people. More than just the third years' parents, but also the first years and second years. Even some middle schoolers. I supposed that, since little happened in our area, that this was an exciting event that everyone could go to. It certainly was important to me, but my mother was working and so I had to go alone with Gin. That was fine by me. I could comfort him without worrying about showing affection in front of my mother.
Gin was extremely nervous. Each time we walked past a window or any reflective surface, he paused and observed his appearance, hastily adjusting his necktie and flicking sections of his hair.
"Are you sure that I look alright?" he asked, not looking at me. Instead, he was squinting and fixing his fringe in front of a car window.
"I told you, you look fine. Stop worrying about that. This is your big day! Just concentrate on what will be by the end of today- by the end of today, you'll be a member of society!"
He gulped. "A member of a society I hardly know… Hotaru, how am I even supposed to find a job? I can't give any information about myself at all. I am very old, you know."
"I know that. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Just try to stay positive, okay?" I smiled, trying to be as encouraging as possible.
I could see that it wasn't working terribly well, but there was little I could do under the circumstances. Everything he was saying held truth. How was he to find work? Nobody would take him into a decent job without knowing a thing about his family. Then there was the fact that he was- technically- mooching off of my family. He faced so many obstacles.
There was a faint breeze in the air, and with a rush of optimism, I felt a hand rest on my shoulder- a gentle, loving hand. Since our parting after the night at my house, Ran had been in regular contact, overjoyed that we still accepted him.
"Ran!" It was not me who spoke, but Gin. He swivelled around, seeming delighted. "You came."
Ran smiled widely. "Of course. Now there are not secrets to be held, I just want to be there for you. It's your graduation day. I couldn't miss that part of your life."
"You're like a loving father!" I joked.
"In a way. But in some ways I think I might be his brother, or his son, or anything like that. I don't know. Being a human is confusing. It's like there is a constant weight on my chest."
"But you decided that you wanted to stay here, living, as a human, right? You should embrace it," I laughed.
Gin laughed too. "Hotaru is being so positive today. I think we should all learn from her optimism."
With that, the three of us were off to experience Gin's rite of passage- together.
It was something I never dreamed I would experience. Despite the emotion, the drama and the pain, I sometimes wondered if the life I was living right now was real. It seemed too dream like. Especially now, when everything seemed to have returned to normal. I couldn't shake the feeling like something was going to go wrong at any moment. Maybe that was why I refused to stop smiling like a fool.
The school was packed, and we had a hard time getting through. As it turned out, Ran was able to touch people. He told us that he only refused to touch anyone because he feared it would make him too attached to the human world, when he only meant to be here to observe. It was a silly reason- I thought so, anyway. And so, I showed no sympathy towards him when I looked back to see Ran hastily dodging the passing people. I raised my eyebrows. At least he was agile. Gin often looked back and glanced at Ran's antics with amusement.
"It's good to see all sides of his personality now, isn't it?" I said quietly to Gin, smirking.
Gin nodded. "Yes. We have kind, innocent and hasty Ran. But there's also the God part of him that is old and wise, too. I suppose that is how the divine are able to adapt, by adopting different attitudes. But still, I agree with you." He grinned. "It may only be one friend, and he may be a God, but it feels great to have a friend, doesn't it?"
Ran caught up with us, breathless from trying to dodge the crowds of people. We heard a command, coming through on the announcement broadcast system. Gin gulped with anticipation.
"Third year students please make their way to the backstage area. All visitors and family members, please take your seats in the auditorium. Thank you."
I was waiting with Ran, sat down in the seats facing the stage. We were in the middle, in the very centre of the third row back. As a student of the school, I was allowed prime seats. Ran, on the other hand, was busy avoiding questioning glares from my fellow students. They scrunched their faces in irritation, but I only smiled at them. I was far too used to bullying to care. Ran, on the other hand, looked rather nervous.
As they began announcing the names, I grew increasingly nervous. Gin was registered at the school under the name 'Gin Takegawa' to avoid confusion. His name would not be announced for a long time, and so the tension built up, gradually tying a knot in my chest that wouldn't subside. They were hitting the 'Rs' and 'Ss' and I bit my lip in excitement.
There was Sasahara, Sakagami, Shinsei, Soutaru, and then…
"Takegawa, Gin!"
As Gin emerged onto the stage, looking shell-shocked, I burst into applause. The crowd applauded, but I grabbed Ran's hand and we stood up. Ran stayed quiet, only clapping, and I threw a hand up in the air and cheered my lungs to exhaustion. Gin bowed to the principle, bowed to the audience, and walked off the stage, his knees quaking slightly.
When the last name, Yuuzora, was called, and the commotion died down, we went outside, behind the main building, to wait for a very embarrassed but proud Gin. When he arrive to our meeting spot, I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest.
I ran to Gin and threw my arms around him, not caring that we were still in public.
"Hotaru!" Ran hissed, a little amused. "You call yourself Japanese?"
Despite the thinly veiled comment about my public display of affection, I stayed holding onto Gin, shameless. I wasn't going to let the fact that we were outside get in the way of me congratulating someone precious to me.
I took Gin's hand, and Ran's hand. Ran, shocked, tried to pull away. I pulled back. Tensely, I asked, "Will you both stay with me?" My voice dissolved into something tiny. "You promise never to leave me?"
Ran's forehead creased, but then his mouth spread into a wide smile. "Of course, Hotaru. I have to atone for my sins somehow, do I not?"
Gin leaned round and kissed my forehead. "What's this?" he murmured. "Why this all of a sudden?"
I shifted awkwardly. "I don't know. It just feels like there's change on the horizon. We know who Ran is, you're graduating, all this is happening, and it seems like change is coming."
"I see. At any rate, I hope the change you feel is a good one."
"We'll always be together," Ran grinned. He spoke quietly, "Even when we can't see the stars, they're still up there." He squeezed my hand. "Just remember that, every time you get lonely."
"You don't talk like a God, really."
He raised his eyebrows. "I suppose not. Maybe it's because I've been spending so much time around humans, around you and Gin. It changed my perspective a lot. This way I'm talking, the words I use, are words specially reserved for talking to humans. You heard my 'God' voice when I told you my story…"
I understood his point. I preferred him acting as a human. When he spoke to us in that ancient, musical tone, I felt shivers run down my spine, an unnatural feeling.
Gin smiled. "You know, Ran, I really-"
At that moment, at the moment my mind began to relax and fill with hopes for the future, fate found some cruel way of tearing at apart.
The air around us seemed to be sucked dry. The world in the distance was clear as day, but the area surrounding the three of us was hazed, thick and barren. I struggled to make sense of it in my mind. For some reason, I was mentally transported back to the day- so long ago now- that Gin disappeared. This was that exact same feeling. On that night at the festival, I was plagued by a sense of foreboding, like something was coming. And then, Gin left me. Why was I getting this feeling now?
"Hey, do you feel that?" I said in a small voice.
I realised that none of us were holding hands anymore. Gin's face was unreadable, and he was staring up at the sky, as if he were waiting for the heavens to come crashing down on us. I shivered, and looked at Ran, hoping to find some comfort. Instead, Ran's eyes were snapped wide open in a kind of fear I had never seen.
"What's wrong?" I tapped Gin on the shoulder, and shook Ran by his arm. "You two- answer me! Please." I grabbed hold of Gin. "Please, you're scaring me now. Please tell me what's happening!"
"I don't know," he finally replied, his voice shaking. He turned to Ran, and asked him a question in a voice that made him sound like a child asking a parent for comfort. "Do you know what's going on, Ran? Why is there this horrible feeling in the air?"
Ran bit his lip, and his face fell. "Oho-Yama…"
"Who is Oho-Yama?"
As if on cue, a voice invaded my mind. No- all of our minds. Its sharp edge penetrated my brain, forcing its way in, in such a brutal manner.
"Yamagami… or as you now refer to yourself- Ranmaru. You are in breach of divine law. You dared to step down from your station and attempt to live as a human. You made your way down from your mountain and invaded the space of a human, you interfered with your own creation- this boy here- in selfishness. You have shirked your sacred responsibilities to look after the people of your mountain forest, instead choosing to favour one creation over another. As a result, I, Oho-Yama, the Great Mountain God of all mountains, take both 'Ranmaru' and 'Gin' into my custody to await divine judgement."
"Wait!" Ran cried. "Don't be hasty! At least allow me to explain myself!" He gestured towards Gin. "This human has nothing to do with my sins." He pointed towards me. "And this girl- If you've truly been spying on my actions, surely you would know not to leave her all alone again! It would kill her to feel so alone again!"
"You have proven yourself unworthy of bearing the role of 'Yamagami', 'Mountain God', because of you erratic actions. It began when you chose to falsely prolong the human Gin's life, and it is ending here- with your wish to abandon your duties and live as a human."
"Is it wrong to want a normal life?" he pleaded. "Please, I'm begging you, let me live in peace. I want to stay and protect Gin!"
"You sound like an impudent child. You have been living for many millennia and yet you still behave in this way. Yamagami, you and your child Gin shall be taken into my custody. He is the evidence of your crime. There will be no argument."
"Just hold on!" I cried, not quite believing that this was happening. "Don't take them!" Not this again. Not my only reason to live.
I couldn't stop Oho-Yama's power. Ran was an ordinary mountain God, but Oho-Yama, the Great one, held authority over all others. Gin's skin began to take on an iridescent quality. It shimmered, glowed, and he whipped his head towards me, his eyes shining with tears.
I reached out for Gin's hand. When I touched it, a shock rushed through my body like electricity. I flailed and went to grab Ran's hand. The same again.
They were fading away before my eyes. Gin, whom I loved more than my own life, and Ran, who would do anything to protect us, both of them were trying desperately to hold onto this world. But the pull was too strong…
Before I knew it, history had repeated itself, and I was left sobbing into Gin's empty clothes.