Second Chance

Summary: Gin and Hotaru slowly fell in love as time passed, with her returning to the forest on the mountain every year. He had warned her when she was only a child to never touch him or he would disappear, so as time passed she had been careful not to do so, but even so he still disappeared. Hotaru was heartbroken over losing him, though she decides that the best she can do is move on. She graduates high school and moves to the village at the base of the mountain where she met Gin as she avoids going near there because of the painful memories, but that all changes when she meets a young man in the village who looks eerily like Gin did, only older. Could her wishes have come true? Could it really be Gin or just her heart wishing for the impossible?

Prologue

Hotaru stared through the holes in the mask that Gin had placed on her a brief moment before so that he could kiss her, something she felt she longed to be able to do in return. Once he started walking again, a blissful smile on his gentle face and in his grey eyes she felt like her heart would leap from within her chest at the thought of him having kissed her. But she knew how this would end, all due to it being a dream. Two children ran by only for the young boy to trip as Gin reached out to catch him. Hotaru wished to yell to scream for Gin to not touch the boy but she knew changing the outcome of a dream would not bring him back to her. She was forced to once again see Gin's body begin to glow only for her to rush to him and wrap her arms around him only for him to disappear before her eyes.

"Gin!" Hotaru yelled as she sat upright, her short brown hair falling about her face as she saw that she was not up in the forest but in her small apartment she had been renting in the village she had always loved to visit as a child. Slowly getting up from her bed she walked to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face as she closed her blue eyes as she could feel the tears beginning to brim there. 'I thought I had moved on from him…because he is gone and my time with him is nothing but a memory…' she thought to herself as she shook her head. 'But I guess I have not because my heart aches every time I think about him…' she thought as she went back to her room and sat down on the edge of her bed for several moments before deciding to try and get more sleep, not noticing the lone firefly that was in her room or that it flew out the open window seconds after she fell asleep.

/

The small firefly flew up the mountain passing by many of the other spirits that inhabited the mountain as it seemed that things had been quiet and lonely there ever since Gin had disappeared from the accident a few years before. However the firefly had no time for that, instead it headed to where the Mountain God that had placed the original spell on Gin lived. Once there the firefly told the spirit that had no form of what it had witnessed with Hotaru as the spirit decided it would allow Gin a second chance. Summoning Gin's spirit back from beyond and into a new body that would be more or less like that of a puppet, but more durable than the one he had been in before. While Gin was laying on the ground still unconscious he looked to have aged a few years so that he was now in his early twenties. Once the task was done the Mountain God called one of the spirits whom had once been Gin's good friend. Matsumino.

"You will accompany him into the world of the humans in a form that will allow you to blend in." the Mountain God said as it once again used its power to make a second human vessel for Matsumino. "If he wishes to retain this body and for it to be fully human, he must within one year's time prove that the love that was between him and Hotaru was true. If not his body will crumble to dust and there will be no returning for him." The Mountain God explained as Matsumino wanted to argue but the spirit continued. "You are not to tell him since his proving his love for Hotaru cannot be done due to a desire to save himself. But from their true feelings for one another."

Matsumino nodded defeated as he moved into the human body that had been fashioned for him, waking instantly and slowly standing as he looked down at himself seeing that he was in fact by all appearances human. It was then that he noticed slightly grown out black hair falling in his eyes as he knew now was not the time to be all but examining his new body as he knelt and picked Gin up with ease as he bowed to the Mountain God before leaving, taking his unconscious friend along with him.

A/N: This is my first attempt at a fanfic based around Hotarubi no Mori e. I watched the movie recently and loved it, only the ending made me cry. So I was thinking what if they got a second chance to be together? Would it work out? Keep reading to find out where this is going.