Ginko waved to the grandmother and grandchild as they watched him go. The two would be able to take good care of Amane. With Akako's homemade pain reliever Amane's headaches would be soothed almost instantly. "But it won't last long, Ginko," Akako had warned him, "I have to give her rather large doses to keep the pain away and I'm not sure how long if will be before her body becomes too used to the medicine. You must hurry."
The storm had passed and the forest glistened with the remaining droplets. When the cottage was out of sight Ginko paused and looked back. I'm sorry Amane. He thought somberly. Ginko took a drag on his cigarette and blew the smoke up at the treetops. The curling wisps disappeared against the lush green leaves.
Ginko rested at sundown. He was a few miles from the mushi's usual habitat. He could see the valley perfectly from his camp. A small speck in the corner of the valley marked was all he could see of the nearest village. It would take a few days to find one of the mushi.
The mushi's body had a large eye on and two 'arms' that curled around it in a spiral-like shape. Ginko took out the vial in his pocket. It contained some residue the mushi in Amane's eyes had left behind. The scent of this will attract the mushi. I should be able to just keep them in this vial until I get back to Amane. One of the spiral-shaped mushi floated by. It was too young to be of much use, but the sighting of it brought Ginko hope. I won't be long Amane. I promise. He sighed.
The new moon was a dark circle in the dark blue sky. The forest was black. Ginko nodded off eventually, the vial tight in his grasp.
One week later, Ginko noticed several of the spiral mushi in the trees. He stood and smiled briefly. Perfect. Slowly he opened the vial and a flood of mushi rushed at him. Damn, they're stronger than I thought. The mushi pushed at Ginko, eager to feed on the bait. Ginko pushed one arm through the swarm and capped the vial. The mushi stopped coming and within a few minutes floated away. Ginko looked down. The bottle jostled in his hands with the force of the captured beings. "This should do it." He smirked.
It took him another week to return. The small mountain cottage was quiet. Yukiji was sweeping the front step. "Yukiji!" He called. Slowly she turned to him. Ginko smiled and walked up to her. "Where's Akako – " He cut himself off and looked closely at her. "Is everything alright?" He asked. Yukiji looked up somberly.
"Grandma's inside." She said quietly resting the broom against the side of the house. "Come on."
They paused briefly to slip off their shoes and continued on inside.
Amane lay in her make-up cot. Ginko glanced at her in passing as Yukiji led him deeper into the cottage. "Amane," He murmured. He turned to Yukiji. "Is she – "
"Ah, Ginko!" Akako exclaimed. "Did you find what you were looking for?" Ginko held up the still jostling vial. "Lovely. Yukiji prepare some tea." Akako made her way to the main room of the cottage where Amane lay and sat down next to her. Ginko sat down as well, watching Amane to see if she was still breathing.
"Amane is still alive, Ginko, so you can stop glowering." Akako laughed. Ginko swallowed and looked away. "I don't know how long she'll last though. I can't keep giving her such large doses of the medicine. It's not healthy." Akako gave Ginko a sharp look. "These mushi must work. Her life depends on it."
At that moment, Amane sat upright gasping. Her eyes were still closed. Ginko clamped a hand over her mouth before she could start screaming. "Yukiji!" He called. The girl gave a cry of surprise. She had been standing in the doorway. "I need your help." She rushed over. "Next to me there's a vial. I need you to uncork it when I say." Yukiji mumbled a vague reply. "Good." Amane's eyelids twitched and finally opened as she began to thrash. Ginko pinned her to the floor. "Now!"
Yukiji fumbled with the cork.
"Yukiji!"
It flew off with a pop. A wave of mushi washed out over Ginko and Amane. "Amazing…" Yukiji gasped.
Amane fell silent as the mushi worked their way into her eyes and panted slowly. It took an hour for the mushi to clear out her eyes and drift away. Amane lay still for a few minutes before rising again. "What…" She raised a hand and held it out, trying to grasp something. Her fingers brushed Ginko's shirt and she turned to face him. "Ginko?"
For a moment the cottage was silent. Amane felt Ginko's arms wrap around her. He pulled her close to him. "Am I cured?" She mumbled into his shirt.
"Yes. You'll be fine." Amane looked up at him, her face glowing.
"Thank you. For everything." She brought herself closer to his face. "And now…"
Ginko pulled away. "Amane, you have to stay here."
Amane pulled back as well. "What? Why?"
"I don't know how far the mushi ate. There's a good chance they've damaged the front of your brain and your headaches won't improve for a while." Ginko put a hand on her cheek. "You need to stay with Akako and Yukiji to regain your strength." Amane bent her head but Ginko lifted it up. "I'll be back Amane." Amane leaned towards him and Ginko kissed her on the cheek and stood.
"You're leaving?" Amane breathed.
"I have to. I don't want the mushi in this area to cause any trouble from Akako and Yukiji." Ginko embraced Amane and bowed Akako. "You've been very helpful. Thank you for all you've done."
Akako have a crinkled smile. "It's the least we could do, Ginko. And I think Yukiji and I needed a little bit of drama in our lives." Ginko slipped on his pack and turned to Amane.
"I'll come back. You're quite an unforgettable woman, Amane." Ginko said softly. Amane lifted her head and smiled. He gave a leisurely wave to Yukiji and Akako and disappeared into the mountain's depths.
:::
Heavy boots crunched through piles of snow. White flakes lazily wandered through the dead branches against the backdrop of a dim winter sky. Amane rose from her bed and opened the door. Sweeping a blanket around her shoulders, she ran out outside. "Who's there?" She asked.
"And here I thought I was unforgettable."
Amane gasped and ran into the snow, the blanket slipping off her as went. She clung to Ginko, her face a mixture of sorrow and relief. "Ginko!" She cried. "Ginko!" She held him tighter and sighed. Ginko returned the embrace.
"So you weren't lying!" Yukiji called from the doorway.
"Now Yukiji don't be rude." Akako croaked. Ginko lifted Amane out of the snow and carried her back to the house. "Welcome back Ginko." Akako smiled. Ginko put Amane down on the mats and leaned towards her.
"I couldn't stay away." He grinned and he kissed Amane.