Summary: For Tsuyu, leaps of faith are a simple.
The air is red. Its thick with soaking red. She cannot breathe in without choking.
She remembers holding her breath.
The red is Mineta, caught in the jaws of death.
The red is her, held in death's embrace.
But she's not really being held. Not yet. Death looms over her shoulder. Far too close. Death waits for her, tall and shrouded in shadows.
She floats in red.
Before her, near her, close to her there is green. Glowing, soothing green. Green cries and cries, thinking it is his fault.
It's not his fault.
She reaches out to wipe away those tears. They are not red. They do not cloud around her like this billowing curtain of suffocating scarlet. They are a beautiful green, shining bright.
His hand rests over hers. She finds herself looking into eyes of emerald green.
She sees it in those eyes. Feels it stirring her fading spirit.
Hope.
Green envelopes her, replacing the horrible, horrible red. She is protected.
But death is calling for her. It wants her. It says it is her time.
Green hesitates, looking to death then back at her. His face is an open invitations to his heart. His soul dancing in his eyes.
Destiny holds no sway over him. In his arms she too is free from fate. He gives her a choice. To die as death decrease… or live.
"I don't want to die."
Tsuyu opens her eyes. The words echo in the dark of her room, the world a still quiet of the early morning hours. The barest of light touches the sky from outside, barely visible through the thin slits of her window shades.
The frog girl shifts in her bed, her bandages scratching irritably at the scared markings at her back and stomach. She feels the medicine the doctors had proscribed her wearing off, the stiff ache of her wounded torso turning into a dull throbbing. Though the pain has become more noticeable, it was not what had awoke her.
A quiet keening noise drifts across from the other side of the room, drawing Tsuyu's attention immediately. Looking over, Tsuyu can just make out the huddled form of her little sister fidgeting restlessly in her bed. The little girl tosses and turns, a distressed expression maring her sleeping face as little whimpers break from the tight press of her lips.
The small child, Satsuki, is trapped within her own nightmare. Tsuyu is a loving older sister, and loving older sisters are always going to be there for their younger siblings.
Though it hurts to do so, Tsuyu pulls herself out of bed and makes her way over to her younger sibling. The older sister leans over and gently shakes her siblings shoulder in an attempt to free her from the dredges of a nightmare.
"Suki. Suki wake up."
The small elementary student gives one last whimper before hazy eyes open and look up into Tsuyu's blank expression. Immediately tears spring to the little child's eyes and she throws her hands out desperately toward her older sister.
"Nē-chan!" The little girl cries out desperately, throwing her hands out toward her sister as tears spring into her eyes.
"Shh, shh." Tsuyu tries to comfort her little sister. She climbs into her sisters bed and snuggles close to her. "Its okay my little tadpole. It was just a nightmare."
"B-but y-you were gone and I w-was alone." Tsuyu's sister cries as she buries her head into her older sister's shoulder. "And you weren't ever coming back even though I waited a-and wai-aited. You d-didn't come h-home."
Tsuyu hugs her little sister tighter, ignoring the twinge of pain it causes her. "But I'm here now. See? I did come home and you're not alone. I'm here. Everything is alright now."
Satsuki sniffles and chokes on her tears, struggling to get her sobbing under control. Tsuyu runs her hand through her sisters silky hair and continues to whisper words of comfort to her. Eventually Satsuki's cries turn into quiet whimpers and then little hiccups as the terror of her nightmare loses its power over her because of the physical contact and soothing warmth she feels from her older sister.
"Nē-chan?" The little girl whispers between hiccups, nuzzling her head closer to her sister.
"Yes Suki-chan?" Tsuyu replies.
"Can… can you tell me the story about Froppy and Midori Yurei again?"
"The Midori Yurei, kero?" Tsuyu tilts her head and blinks at her sister. "Did you come up with that name?"
The little girl nods her head. "Is… is it good? You never told me his name."
Tsuyu simply smiled and ruffled her sisters hair. "I think that it is a good name, Suki-chan. It fits him very well."
That seems to draw a little smile onto Satsuki face. "Will you tell the story?"
"No. You just woke up from a nightmare and that story is scary."
"Please! Pretty please with a cherry on top!" Satsuki begs. "I promise not to get scared. Pleeeeeeaaaaaase!"
"Alright." A warm smile graces Tsuyu's face. She cannot say no to her little sister. There are few who can with her large unblinking eyes and porcelain doll face which their family's frog quirk had bestowed upon her.
"Once upon a time," the older sister begins, "There was a frog named Froppy who wanted to be a hero, and so went to a school that trained all the other children who lived in the forest to be heroes too. It was a good school and Froppy was very happy and learned a lot. But one day the mean animals of the woods ambushed Froppy and her friends."
"The mean animals were villains, right?" Satsuki asks.
Tsuyu nods. "Yes. They were villain animals and they wanted to hurt all the smaller animals who were training to be heroes."
"I don't like them."
"Kero," Tsuyu croaks in agreement, images flicker in her mind of the different villains she had seen that day. "One of the villainous animal who was a bird swooped down and grabbed all of the little animals and dropped them in different places, separating them all from each other. Froppy got dropped into a pond along with a small purple vole named Min.
"When the two students hit the water they were immediately surrounded by villains who wanted to gobble them up. Froppy could swim well in the water, but Min could not. So Froppy grabbed a hold of the purple vole and tried to flee with him to a log which floated close by. Froppy was sure that out of the water the two would be safe."
"But she's a frog isn't she?" Tsuyu's little sister interrupts. "Wouldn't she be stronger in the water?"
"Yes, Suki-chan. But remember there were lots of villains in the water waiting to catch her and the vole. All of these villains were very good swimmers too, even better than her since she was only a little frog who had just gained her legs. There was also Min to think of who could barely swim at all. So while being in the water usually would give Froppy more advantage than being on land, the logical decision was to leave the water as soon as possible where the evil water creatures could not reach her or Min."
"I'm glad Froppy is so smart." Satsuki smiles as she nuzzled up closer to her big sister. Tsuyu says nothing, her face empty of emotions, though the dark of the room serves well to hide the shadow which had settled in the core of her gaze.
"Froppy and Min made it to the log safely. But the mean creatures didn't give up and a snapping turtle bite into the log and broke it in two so that it began to sink."
"What did Froppy do?" The smaller child asks.
"She jumped toward the shore with Min, leaping as far as she could. But she did not make it. As they fell back toward the water Froppy threw Min closer toward the shore with her tongue hoping it would be enough for the vole to swim to safety. That turned out to be a mistake."
"But… but why?"
Red.
"Because Min was a vole. He could not defend himself in the water like Froppy could. So when a goblin shark chased after Min, he got caught and Froppy was too far away to save him."
Satsuki buries her head into her sisters shoulder, shaking her head wildly. "No, no, no. I don't like this part. Change it. Say Froppy saves him."
Red. Spilling out and filling her vision. She's too late.
Tsuyu was silent for a moment, then whispers. "I can't."
Satsuki looks up into her older sisters, little hands fisting her shirt as she frowned fiercely. "No! You can. Just say that Froppy beat the mean shark up. Last time you told the story Min died. Can't you change it this time? Please! Pretty please! I want Froppy to save the vole!"
Red everywhere. Red thickens the water. She cannot breath.
Tsuyu bites her lip, trying to hold in the tremors in her lungs that threaten to turn into sobs. "No. No I can't change it. I wish I could but I can't. Min is dead. I… Froppy failed to reach him in time. She was too small and slow and weak. She wasn't a hero after all. Just a little frog who wished to be strong."
"But she wants to be a hero, right?" The small child asks, large glistening eyes stare hopefully up at her sister.
Tsuyu only manages to croak lightly in response and nod her head. Yes she does, she wants it. To be a hero despite the red which even now settles upon her like a shroud, staining her conscious with guilt. Its stifling, its drowning her. The red is killing her.
"Nē-chan?" The little girl tugs at her sister when the silence had gone on too long for her. "Don't stop. Tell the rest of the story. Tell what happened next?"
"Fro-" Tsuyu chokes out, fighting to keep herself from falling into the red creeping at the back of her mind. "Froppy froze up in horror and shock wh-when she saw her classmate… die. So horrible- it was so horrible. Froppy could look at nothing else and failed to see a spider crab attacking her from behind. He stabbed her with his pincher, hurting her very deeply."
Red. The red ripping into her, blinding her with pain. Harsh iron bites and tears. Murky red thickens. It floats. It soaks into her clothes. Washes over her skin. Fills her nostrils. Invades her mouth. Touches upon her tongue. Floods into her lungs.
Tsuyu shudders, struggles to force herself to keep breathing. In and out. Deep and calming. In and out. In and out.
It's not helping. The red is still there. It's all she can feel, all she can smell, all she can see. Red, red, red, red. Nothing but red.
Then there is green.
Tsuyu takes a shuddering breath, filling her lungs with clean air. Not liquid. Not that horrible iron tang. Just fresh, night air. She can breath again.
Opening her eyes Tsuyu looks down at her sister. Black eyes and green hair. Tsuyu's hand travels down her sisters smooth locks, fingers feeling the different strands and memorising the texture. Not water. Not wet. Not red.
It's a darker green, especially within this darkness of night. But it's still green. Tsuyu has always loved the colour green. Her whole family is marked by that colour.
Now though it means so much more to her. Green is the colour that saved her. Green took her away from the red. Green kept her soul from slipping into deaths reach. Green is the colour of a hero.
She wants to be a hero.
Taking another steadying breath, Tsuyu makes sure she is calm and relaxed before daring to continue. Her sister has been watching her the whole time, unaware of the inner battle Tsuyu has been struggling with. But she knows her youngest sibling is smart. The little girl might not know all that is going on, but Suki knows her sister is hurt. It is why little arms encircle her, gripping tightly. Big eyes look up at her, full of concern and confusion. But the gaze is patient, letting her big sister gather herself instead of bombarding her with questions and words.
Tsuyu is thankful for that.
"Green." Tsuyu finally speaks once she feels ready. "He- he was green, the boy that saved Froppy."
"Midori Yurei!" Satsuki cries out in joy, a bright smile lighting up her face and she wiggles in the bed in excitement. There is no doubt that this is her little sister's favourite part of the story. Its Tsuyu's too. It makes telling the other parts of the story bearable.
"Kero," Tsuyu nods. "Froppy didn't know where he came from, but right in her greatest hour of need when she was sure she was dying Midori Yurei appeared, glowing brightly. It was a pretty green- his glow. It was comforting and warm. Not like the cold dark water around her."
Her green is the dark of a tranquil pond shrouded in dusk. His is the bright of a spring forest bathed morning light.
"Midori Yurei took her up in his arms and immediately Froppy knew she was safe just by him being there. He would save her. She believed it. She shouldn't have. It was illogical and impossible at that point. Death was there after all, waiting to take her. But in his arms she believed she could escape death. She felt… she felt hope."
Tsuyu pauses, looking down to her sister whose eyes were beginning to droop. "Midori Yurei carried her away from all of the villains and out of death's reach. Faster than she could imagine he flew her away from the pond and to a hospital where doctors and nurses worked to heal her and save her life. When Froppy was healed from her injuries she asked the doctors and nurses where Midori Yurei was, but no one knew who she was talking about. See, Midori Yurei had been invisible to everyone but her.
"Though Froppy did not see Midori Yurei again, she was sure that when she was in grave danger he would appear and save her. Because he was more than a hero. He was a guardian spirit."
Tsuyu waited a moment in silence after ending her story, but all she heard in the dark night was the slow breathing of her little sister now slumbering peacefully. Smiling, Tsuyu kissed Satsuki on the forehead and closed her eyes to fall asleep.
Rest came easier for her. To Satsuki, Midori Yurei was just part of a story she liked. But to Tsuyu, Midori Yurei was not fiction. His light, his green, his hope.
She believed in Midori.
Midori Yurei
Midori (緑) means green while yurei (幽霊) directly translates to dim spirit. Now don't misunderstand, this 'dim' does not mean 'dark' or 'not shining brightly or clearly.' Rather 'dim' refers more to how ghosts are see-through, how their presence in the physical world is tentative. Yurei is also the most commonly used term for spirit or ghost in Japan.