First breath in.
Her steps are slow. Rigid. Uncomfortable. Wrong.
She feels detached. Lost. Wrong.
Pausing outside the steps of a shop, she stares blankly at the glass doors and takes in her reflection. Brown hair. Green eyes. Wrong.
"This is not me.."
But she feels it. The answer. Somewhere in this city. Something is stirring. And for once, she knows.
Soon.
The town is bustling. Bright and colourful decorations fill the streets. The entire city seems to be especially alive tonight. Hopeful.
Furrowing her brows, the woman stares confoundedly at the rush of people here and there. The happy chatters that leaves their mouth.
A man with black hair and blue eyes rushes by. He is holding a giant sign board in his arms. For a second, their eyes meet.
His eyes are as lost as hers. Her heart skips a beat.
And then he is gone before she knows it. Replaying the scene in her head, she whispers to herself, "Mangetsuki Matsuri.."
"Is this your first time here?"
She pauses. Turns slowly to glance at the old man leaning out from the counter of a shop. His forehead is wrinkled. Hair splattered with white. He smiles gently at her.
She ponders on his question. She wonders silently, to herself. Where was she, before today? What had she been doing? Why was she here, right now? What.. What was her name?
Nothing comes to her mind. The old man continues to smile at her, awaiting her answer.
She nods.
He beams. For a second, a young man stands before instead, eyes crinkled, mouth wide with the same youthful grin.
He is gone, as well, before she registers anything.
"Well then! Do you know anything about the festival tonight?" the old man inquires happily, eyes bright.
She doesn't. But it feels as though she should.
She shakes her head slowly.
The old man nods and invites her in to sit with him. He offers her tea. Sets a plate of cookies in front of her. His actions are slow. Yet somehow excited. As if he couldn't wait to begin.
As though reading her thoughts, he smiles sheepishly, "Forgive me. I've shared this story countless times and yet the anticipation never grows old. I just know it'll happen one day."
Happen?
The old man settles down in the sit opposite her and begins.
It was a long, long time before this.
When the town was but a small village, decades ago.
His father had been the village chief. And when his father reached his eighties, he had taken over the position from him.
It was a story that begun when he was but a young village chief.
A beautiful woman; Black hair, brown eyes, had appeared before him one day.
He'd found her, unconscious on the road, on his route to the daily village meetings.
The village then, was one with many traditions and superstition. They believed in the inevitable. In the coincidence. In the fate.
Everything happens for a reason.
And so he, who found the woman, believed that it was his role to help her.
He brought her home, and nursed her back to health.
As the woman regained consciousness, he held back a gasp.
They say eyes are the window the the soul. And through hers, he saw heart break, sorrow and despair.
The woman thanked him for his help, with an attempt at a smile that had him flinching with worry.
She spoke softly. Of the world she came from.
It was so much different from his.
She had been born a in a family of love. With parents who cherished her.
She spoke of how she lost them.
How she came to meet a young boy, who brought hope back into her life.
How they were separated.
How her cowardice held her back from confessing her love to the boy who taught her to live.
They shared a promise, she said, that they would one day meet again.
Her, as a singer, and him, as an astronaut. Both of them with their dreams achieved.
And then she talked about her meeting. With death gods.
"Shinigamis.." she had whispered.
They informed her of her numbered days. Her dreams of fulfilling that promise with the boy was shattered.
But then they offered her a chance.
Magic.
She had been inflicted with an illness for years. But with their magic, she could sing.
And so she sang, each time with hopes that her song would one day reach the boy.
Throughout the days, the death gods stood by her. They became her closest confidantes. She treasured days with them, and never once blamed them for having to take her life away one day.
And then she was offered a chance. Someone had found the boy! And she could go visit him!
The death gods felt unsure. But accompanied her nonetheless.
When they arrived, they began behaving oddly. Doing everything in their power to stop her from going to the boy.
She was confused. Hurt.
But then it all became clear.
The boy had long been taken away by death.
The scent of death lingered near those who knew him, who were bringing her to where he once lived.
That very day, she cried. She cried for their fates that were never meant to be. Cried for her hopes, dreams, everything she had once thought to be true that were gone.
That boy taught her how to live. Without him, she no longer knew how.
After that day, the death gods brought her home.
One of them, a man who had became her best friend since they met.
He cared for her, took care of her who no longer knew how to do so for herself.
Slapped her across the face when she demanded to be taken away now, to find the boy who left her behind.
Begged her to live.
Taught her to love.
That man taught her to pick herself up. He taught her that even when everything seems to go wrong, theres something to celebrate in life. That life was worth living. Reasons were everywhere.
He became her reason.
She loved him, and he, her.
Her last days were the best she had.
But departure came too soon. She was a human, with a life thread reaching its ends. He was a death god.
It was never meant to be.
That was fine. The days leading up to her death were the best she ever had. Filled her up with enough happiness for possibly the next life even.
But the man could not let her go.
Could not allow himself to watch such a beautiful vibrant soul, the love of his life, wither away into nothingness like all the other souls he had reaped.
And so he committed the worst of sins.
Sacrificing his life, he renewed hers.
That night, when she took in what she taught was her last breath, she was happy.
But the next day, when she woke up.
When she learnt of what he had done for her.
When she looked at the world he no longer existed in.
She cried.
Realised that even with enough happiness to fill her next life she didn't know how to be without him.
He had became her other half. What was the use of only just one side of a heart?
If the boy from her youth taught her life, that man taught her love, happiness, everything she had thought to be impossible.
Losing him felt as though someone had ripped out a part of her.
She cursed him. Cursed his idiocy. For thinking she would be happy with his sacrifice. Cried for him. Mourned him. Missed him.
She missed him so. Each day she felt his loss so acutely.
Her breathing became pained. Steps slow. Heart beat erratic.
This soul could not survive without her other half.
And so she gave up on her own life.
That man would probably slap her once more, she said, for being foolish enough to give up her life so easily.
But she knew, this was different from back then. She wasn't just a simple minded young girl who lost her crush anymore.
She was a woman, a grown up woman who had lost the other half of her soul, her soul mate. And whatever the sacrifice, even her own life, would be worth it, to see him again.
She didn't know how she ended up in the world of the young village chief.
"But it matters not," she whispered, "My life is ending. I can feel it."
The village chief listened, and grew to be determined.
He refused to let this woman die before him. Would save her life even if it took him his. He knew, that this was what her love would have wanted for her.
And so he did all he could. He nursed her everyday.
Had the best of their healers attend to her.
But it was all for naught.
A soul could never survive without its other half.
He realised his mistake, realised that the woman was meant to leave in the first place.
And so instead, he begun to pray.
Each night he prayed to the gods that their village had served for years, that the woman would, in another life, meet her love once more.
He shared the story with the children of his village. With the people who were willing and unwilling to listen.
Convinced them to pray together.
And so begun the festival, where the village gathered its hopes and tried to reach them to their gods.
The festival would be like any another, except that right before the night ends, the people would gather to light lanterns and pray together.
The old man, once the young village chief, presented an old tape record before her.
"This belonged to the woman. Back when I had first met her, I was awed by her beautiful voice and begged her to let me record it," the old man explained with a wistful smile, "But after she passed away, her voice faded. Only the music remains. It's the only proof I have of her ever existing. At evening today, when the full moon shows itself, everyone will pray as the music plays."
She stands there, unmoving. Its been hours.
She is dressed in an old yutaka. A traditional clothing for festivals, the old man had explained after beaming when she nodded that she would go.
She glances up at the sky.
The night is arriving. The moon begins to peek out from the clouds.
She swallows.
Feels her heart begin to pound faster.
Something is about to begin.
All of the people have quieten down. They step forward, out of stalls, shops and homes.
An unlit lantern held in all of their hands.
They move in the same direction, towards the plaza where a beautiful fountain stands. Where the woman was laid to rest.
Unconsciously, her body begins to follow.
As everyone is gathered, she sees the full moon that now shines brightly, unhindered in the sky.
Her hands tremble as she clenches them tightly.
As lanterns are lit up, the entire plaza starts to fill with warm lights. Warm hope.
Near her, a young girl whispers with a childlike beam, "I hope they'll be reunited today! The beautiful woman and the death god man! And then they'll be happy together forever and ever!"
The people surrounding her gives her fond smiles, and nod their agreement.
Their eyes sparkle, with so much hope.
She's never seen something like this before.
Her heart pounds.
And with a collected the breath, the lanterns are released into the sky.
Soft music begins to play.
She stiffens.
Her heart smashes against her ribcage repeatedly.
Her hands shakes.
Flashes appear before her mind.
A beautiful smile.
Warm arms around her.
So much happiness she could die.
Love.
Black hair.
Blue eyes.
A whisper of her name in her ears.
The press of his lips against hers.
Her mouth opens before she realises it. A whisper of a song escapes her.
"How long has it been since I fell in love with you?"
The people around her stares at her in surprise.
Her lips move without her control.
"My feelings only increase
Will you notice them
Even though I've never once put them into words?"
Memories begin to fill her mind as she remembers.
A man calling her name.
Begging her to live.
Whispering his love to her.
"Like the snow, they just
Quietly keep accumulating"
"..ki.."
"..Tsu..ki.."
"Mitsuki!"
Tears flow down the cheek. She chokes back a sob.
"Hold me tight- if this is how it feels
I didn't want to know
What it was like to be in love with someone
I love you- my tears won't stop
And so I wish
That I had never met you"
From afar, a young man watched, eyes wide. Heart pounding.
"If there was an eternally falling snow
Could it hide my feelings for you?"
She wrapped her arms around herself as she remembered. Realising that he is gone. Living life without him.
Feeling lost.
There was nothing but pain.
Without him, there was nothing but pain.
"Hold me tight- if this is how it feels
I didn't want to know
What it was like to be in love with someone
I love you- the feeling wells up in my chest
I want to shout to the wintery sky
"I want to see you right now""
She swallowed as she whispered out the last note.
She glanced up uncertainly at the crowd of people staring at her.
Left.
Right.
He is not here.
He is no longer here.
My Takuto…
Takuto is no longer with me.
With a sob, she spun around and ran.
It hurts. Her feet.
Her shoes have fallen off somewhere. Her feet are scratched.
But the stinging pain is nothing compared to the pain in her heart.
She collapses somewhere. Hugs her knees tightly to herself and cries for the love she so desperately misses.
A rustle of sounds.
Loud steps.
Belated breathing.
A whisper-
"Mitsuki."
She stiffens.
Swiveling around, she stares, her vision blurry from the tears.
The man from earlier that day stands before her. Black hair, blue eyes.
But that's not who she sees.
In his place, she sees someone taller. The gentle eyes, the soft lips. The curve of his chin.
The little ponytail at the the back of his head.
The tears welling up in his eyes.
The love he whispers with her name.
Her voice hitches in her breath. She is up before she realises it. Running.
Desperate.
She throws herself in his arms.
He catches her. Wraps around her tightly, buries his face in her hair.
She burrows herself in his arms. The warmth that she thought she had lost. Had forgotten.
She cries loudly into his arms.
She is finally home.
"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"
Her voice is thick, her vision blurry.
Her emotions are all over the place.
She's not quite sure what shes doing. She feels happiness. Anger.
She screams at him. Slamming her fists against his chest, she repeats that one word, demanding to know what on earth he was thinking of.
What had he been thinking of when he had sacrificed himself.
How could he?
He left her alone in the world and..
And believed she could be happy without him?
"You idiot! Idiot-"
Something warm presses against her lips.
She makes a pained sound in her throat. Tears begin to fall once more. Takuto..
She punches his chest weakly even as his arms hold her tightly close to him. She's not quite done yelling at him yet for being the idiot he is.
He presses even closer to her, as if trying to tell her all he never could with his lips. That he would save her again even if everything happened once more because he loved her and that's all he knew he could to do for her.
When he leans back, he rubs her tears away gently. His eyes are shining.
"I love you, Mitsuki."
Her tears fall uncontrollably. His efforts at rubbing them away are gone immediately.
But she smile nonetheless through the tears, for the first time in years. "I love you too, idiot."
His tears are falling too.
But thats okay because he is smiling too.
The couple stands together, the woman in the man's arms.
Their bodies are glowing.
The lights leave the lanterns and surround them. Like beautiful fireflies in the summer. Hope.
She takes in the scent of him deeply, hands clenched tightly around his shirt.
A sound captures her attention.
She glances up from Takuto's chest.
A crowd has formed. The people of the town. They stand from a distance, not daring to interrupt this moment for them.
Among the crowd, stood the old man. Once the young man whom she had met. Whom had gave so much to her, a mere stranger.
Who gathered the hopes of so many people and brought Takuto back to her.
Her eyes crinkle happily into a smile and she mouths to him. To the crowd of people who gave her so much unconditionally and was grateful just to see her happy.
"Thank you."
Their bodies fade into the night.
A gift from the gods of the village that couldn't last beyond the day.
But that's alright because they'll never be separate again.
Somewhere in the skies, Mitsuki slams her forehead against Takuto's and sniffs indignantly as he cries out in pain.
"Don't think I'll forgive you so easily, idiot!"
Takuto cringes, but smile nonetheless, "I love you."
"W-what.. J-just because you're saying that-" she stutters.
"I love you," he whispers to her, "I love you, I love you, I love you-"
She presses her lips against his this time.
As they separate, she frowns at him. His heart skips a beat the the sight of the the beautiful creature before him.
"I'm not forgiving you no matter what!" she huffs.
He smiles, tugging her into his arms.
"I love you."
She huffs, biting back a smile. Tears in her eyes.
"I love you too."
Fin.