Chapter Text
Aoi had been on the train for five hours when it reached Irokara. Outside, the world was in bloom. Pink petals fluttered off of cherry blossom trees into the small town she would soon call home.
It was much smaller than Tokyo, where she had lived before with her father, but they had moved there so he could get a promotion. Aoi had only two options: stay with him, or leave the country to be with her mother. She chose the first. When the train finally pulled to a stop, Aoi stood and stretched. Irokara, here I come.
Her father was waiting for her outside. He was a tall man with black hair that was beginning to grey around his temples. He wore glasses, but not his usual suit. Today, he was in a relaxed pair of jeans and a button-up shirt, untucked. Aoi was surprised at the change. It was different. She liked it.
He smiled when his eyes found hers across the emptying platform. She smiled back; she couldn’t help herself. Aoi ran over to him, carefully avoiding a young couple strolling across her path. Her father enveloped her in his arms.
“Aoi, it’s good to see you,” he said.
“Good to see you too, Dad. I missed you.”
“Missed you too.” He released Aoi and walked her to the car. “How were your friends? Three days is a long sleepover.”
Aoi shrugged. “It was good. Kimi had lots of movies, and Yukiko did everyone’s nails.” She flashed her own blue nails as proof. Nail polish wasn’t really her thing, but it was like her friends were still with her. She’d keep it on. “Did you get everything unpacked?”
“Almost.” He grinned. “But I think you’re going to like this house.”
They got in his car and he drove to the edge of town, where her new home was waiting. It was a simple, two-story building, with porches on both the first and second floors. It was painted a pale blue with white roofs. Trees and flowers grew in their yard, making it feel even more like home.
Aoi got out of the car. “So this is our new place. It’s . . . pretty, I guess.”
“It is, isn’t it? I made sure to get the one farthest from town so you wouldn’t feel so pressured to go out.”
They laughed. Both knew Aoi felt more comfortable inside than out. Her father had made sure to choose a house away from the majority of Irokara, for Aoi’s sake. Too many people around brought on anxiety attacks. It had taken her years to make the few friends she had. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to start over in a new town, especially with the luxury of living so far away from everyone else.
Behind their house was a deep forest. Aoi made a mental note to explore it later. It wasn’t nature she had a problem with; it was crowded cities. It was people. Ironic, coming from a girl born and raised in the capital of Japan.
They walked inside and her dad showed her around the spacious rooms, finally stopping in the living room on the first floor. Aoi’s laptop was waiting for her on the couch. A wave of relief washed over her as she picked it up. She didn’t know what she’d been thinking when she decided to pack it instead of keeping it with her over the weekend. She gave it a gentle squeeze.
“You’d better tell your friends you made it,” he said. “They’re probably worried.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Probably.”
Aoi sat down, started up her computer, and opened a chat program. Yukiko was online. At once, her fingers began pecking away on the keys.
.
Blue: I’m here. Are you excited about school?
Snow: Not really. You?
Blue: No way . . . I’m gonna be all alone . . .
Snow: Oh, that’s right.
.
She said it like she forgot. How could she? Aoi had just been at her house. They’d given her a going away party and everything. She and Kimi and Hana were the only parts of Tokyo she was truly sad to leave behind. But Yukiko changed the subject before Aoi could say anything about it.
.
Snow: Hey, Kimi and Hana just got here. I gotta go! We’re going shopping!
.
Aoi’s hands faltered. Shopping? She didn’t remember them talking about shopping that morning before she left for the train station. It was like they really didn’t care that she was gone. But that couldn’t be right. Maybe they’d just had this planned, and didn’t want her to feel left out. Maybe they were shopping to keep themselves from missing her.
Yeah, that had to be it.
Even so, Aoi’s eyes blurred with tears. Hesitantly, she typed a reply. When she looked up, she was greeted with another message.
.
[Snow is now offline.]
Blue: Have fun.
.
She had no doubt they would. With a sigh, she took off her headphones.
Her father paused behind her, a box in his hands. He glanced over her shoulder for a moment before continuing on his path. “Talking with Yukiko?” he asked.
Aoi managed a small smile. “I was, but she went shopping with Kimi and Hana.”
“Ah.” He put the box down on a table and made his way to the couch, glancing over Aoi’s shoulder at the screen. It was still on the chat program. A few tears glistened on the keyboard. “Why don’t you go outside? No use being cooped up in here if no one’s online.”
She glanced down at her screen again. He was right.
“Okay . . .” She turned her computer off and put it aside. “I guess I could take a look around.”
Her father pulled out a dusty blender from the box. “Don’t go into town alone today. I’m not sure yet how safe it is for a young girl. There could be yankii.”
Aoi rolled her eyes. From what she’d seen driving through town, Irokara was nothing like the back alleys of Tokyo. It was just like her father to worry about punks stalking the wide, clean streets of a small town. But she was okay with this request. She didn’t feel like meeting anyone today anyway.
“I won’t. Don’t worry. I’m just going to explore the woods. See you later!” With a wave, Aoi slipped out of the house and headed into the sun.
The few houses around had space for grassy yards. Their inhabitants were businessmen—the busy kind, lucky for Aoi. They wouldn’t be the type of suburban neighbors who invited themselves over for dinner or intruded too much.
Aoi headed into the forest clearing, following the dirt path for a ways until it stopped abruptly. Seemed no one thought anyone would want to go this far into the woods. She looked behind her, at the distant light-filled opening she’d come from.
She wasn’t ready to go back, so she turned her gaze forward. There was no path to follow anymore, so she headed straight. If she pretended the path was still there, it would be easy to go back once she was ready to return home. Light filtered through the leaves in a mottled green mosaic, dancing off her skin as she pushed deeper into the trees. A squirrel ran along the branches above her for a while before scurrying away. The air was filled with a buzzing that created a peaceful hum for Aoi. They kept her moving.
The forest around her wasn’t scary. Not at all. Not like people. Not like the thought that school would start soon and she wouldn’t have any friends, and the only friends she did have were off shopping without her, even though she didn’t like shopping. No, the forest wasn’t scary at all.
Wait. What’s that?
Something shiny caught her eye, breaking her thoughts. She looked in the direction where the shine came from, but there was only a large, dull rock.
She stared for a moment, then there it was again. A small, blue shimmer coming from the base of the rock. She knelt down. The rock’s bottom didn’t quite reach the ground, leaving a small, dark space of shade extending down. The shine had come from there. Aoi leaned forward and reached her hand out, then paused.
Maybe it wasn’t the best idea, pulling something out from a hole under a rock. There could be spiders down there, or other creepy crawlies. More importantly, it could be glass. Aoi needed to be careful.
She needed to be, but curiosity got the better of her. She’d find out what it was in a moment. She’d know if it was glass then.
Aoi slid her hand under the rock and took hold of a hard, cool lump of something in the moist dirt. It didn’t cut her hand, and she couldn’t feel any bugs crawling on her skin. All the better.
She withdrew her hand and stood, holding her hand out to a patch of muddled light. She gasped. In Aoi’s hand was a large, beautiful blue gem shaped like an oval. It left Aoi with a sense of awe and confusion. She couldn’t understand why someone would leave a sapphire—she assumed that’s what it was—alone in a place like this. Why would someone just throw away an expensive-looking jewel—in a forest no less?
And then she felt it. A burning, pulsing, horrible pain. Her hand was forced shut by that pain. It stemmed from her hand and swam throughout her body, filling her until she could do nothing but scream. The pain forced her to her knees, then to the ground. She curled up, her eyes shut tight, tears flowing into her open mouth. She couldn’t take it. She couldn’t stand another second of the pain.
Then, as quickly as it had come, the pain was gone. Her screams ceased. Her tears slowed to a trickle, then a stop. She took a moment to just breathe and catch her breath.
It was over. The pain was gone. And she felt . . . fine.
Her throat was sore from screaming. Her cheeks were tear-stained. Her heart was racing from whatever just happened. But the pain was gone. All things considered, she was just fine.
Aoi sat up slowly. What on earth was that? Was it the gem?
That was the only thing that made sense. Hesitantly, she unfurled her fist, afraid the pain might come back when she exposed the gem. She looked at her palm, and her gaze fell upon . . . nothing. Nothing at all!
“It’s gone!” She sat up straighter, trying to make sense of things. Her brows furrowed. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Weird gems were not supposed to suddenly cause pain and then disappear. And yet that was exactly what had just happened.
She sighed, dropping her hands into her lap. Whatever it was, the gem was gone now.
A blue shimmer from her lap caught her eye.
That’s—! The gem wasn’t gone. It was right there, on the back of her hand, embedded deep in her skin. How’s this even possible?
Everything else in this forest had been odd, impossible even. But the impossibilities kept piling up, leaving Aoi more and more confused. The world swayed around her, her focus blurring as her thoughts scrambled around her mind. She could feel the panic bubbling, threating to break the surface.
She shook her hand, but the gem wouldn’t come off. She tugged and twisted at the gem, but it wouldn’t come out.
Desperate times… Aoi bit the gem. She tried to pull her head away from her hand, but it still wouldn’t budge.
Aoi yanked again, but her hand slipped off the gem’s smooth surface and she toppled onto her back. Her mind swam, the dappled leaves suddenly too bright. Aoi took a deep breath and laid there in the leaves with her eyes closed, her bejeweled hand resting on her chest.
Nothing made any sense. A weird blue gem wasn’t supposed to be in the middle of a forest. It wasn’t supposed to cause great pain all of a sudden. The gem certainly wasn’t supposed to embed itself in Aoi’s hand.
It was too crazy to be real. But it was, somehow.
This isn’t supposed to be happening.
Maybe if she just thought long and hard about this, it would make sense, or maybe it would just go away altogether. So she tried. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. She slowly breathed out.
It’s gotta make sense. It’s gotta.
But a laugh interrupted Aoi before she could think too hard about any of this.
A chill ran down her spine. She jumped to her feet, eyes wide. She thought everything would be just fine, that she could enjoy the peace and quiet of the forest by herself. She was sure she’d been alone, too—she hadn’t heard any footsteps following her.
Clearly, she’d been wrong.
There was no one in front of her, so she turned around. Before her was a woman dressed in traditional Chinese clothes. She wore no makeup and her dark brown hair was pulled into a loose ponytail.
“Who are you?” Aoi asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest.
“Forgive me for startling you,” the woman said with a smile. She gave a polite bow. “My name is Hua Mulan.”
Add that to the growing list of things that didn’t make sense.
“Hua… Mulan?” Aoi was sure she’d heard that name somewhere before. After a few moments, she remembered. “You mean like from the Disney movie?”
Mulan furrowed her brows in confusion. “I’ve not heard of this Disney… My legacy did live on in a ballad. Perhaps that is what you’re thinking of? And, apparently, my spirit lives on in a gem. Funny how these things go sometimes.”
Aoi shifted her weight nervously. “What do you mean, your spirit’s in the gem?”
Mulan answered, “It means exactly what it sounds like. I reside within the gem.”
Aoi looked down at the gem in her hand, then back up, then down again. “You…. live in there?” Yet another thing that didn’t make sense.
“I do,” the woman replied patiently, but not unkindly. Aoi appreciated that. Then, in a blink, Mulan vanished. Not a trace of her remained.
Aoi stood in the forest, alone. A breeze rustled some dead leaves by her feet.
Am I…. hallucinating? That was the only thing that seemed to make sense. The woman had been there one minute, then gone the next. Or maybe she was dreaming.
But then she heard the woman’s voice from behind her. “Because I’m not necessarily of this world anymore.”
Aoi spun on her heel, coming face to face with the woman. “How did you do that?”
“As I’ve said, I’m a spirit of sorts. And you are the holder of the blue gem.”
As if that made any sense at all. “The holder?”
Mulan’s brows furrowed as she frowned. “Yes, the holder. My inner world is in that gem, and you hold the gem, making you the holder of the gem. I see that the legend of the gems was not as popular as my ballad.” Her eyes shone with pride for her ballad, but her reply didn’t answer Aoi’s question at all. Aoi was still confused. Nothing continued to make sense. She just wanted an actual answer.
“We’re connected, you and I, as holder and spirit.” She spoke slowly, her voice reassuring. “I suppose you could say we’re both linked.”
Holder, spirits, linked—the pile of things that didn’t make sense was growing.
“I… can’t say I really understand,” Aoi admitted with a sigh.
None of this was normal. None of it should have been happening. But it was. And Aoi didn’t have enough time to process anything new before the next confusing thing was shoved at her.
“I suppose I am a bit eager,” Mulan said with a small laugh. “It’s just…” She took a deep breath of air. “I’d forgotten how crisp everything is in this world. It’s been a good thousand years or so since I’ve been on this side of the gem.”
A thousand years? Had she really been trapped in the gem that long? That had to be lonely. Aoi didn’t understand why Mulan didn’t just leave. Was she not able to without the gem?
“Were you alone?” Aoi asked.
Mulan shook her head, tinkling a soft laugh. “No, there are others with me. But no one has linked to someone on the outside before. You are my first bond, uh—?”
“Oh!” Aoi gave a quick bow. “Arisawa Aoi.”
Mulan gave another small bow. “A pleasure, Arisawa-san.”
Aoi felt her cheeks redden. A Chinese warrior thought meeting her was a pleasure. That didn’t make sense, either. “But, why me?”
Mulan took a seat on the rock—the one the gem had been hiding under—and motioned for Aoi to sit. Seemed she had plenty to say.
“You’re the only one my soul could link to, because we’re of the same mind.”
“What’s that have to do with this thing?” Aoi waved her hand and the gem sparkled in the dim light. She sat on the ground near Mulan’s feet and wrapped her arms around her knees. The more the ghost talked, the less things made sense. Probably because she was related to that crazy jewel.
Mulan took a moment to get comfortable on the rock, crossing one leg over the other and placing a hand just behind her to keep herself steady.
“In this world,” she said, “there are people whose souls live on, even after they reach their grave. I didn’t understand where I was, after I appeared in my inner world. From what the others say, our spirits have some kind of protective power that the inner world needs. We have a mission to accomplish.”
A mission? As this soul’s holder, Aoi was starting to like this story less and less.
Mulan’s tone changed, a hint of frustration biting at her words. “I’m not sure why we linked, to be honest. No one’s ever been able to leave the inner world before. One day there was just a large shake and half the town disappeared and—” She stopped herself at Aoi’s alarmed look. “The point is, I’m here.”
“But why are we connected?” Was it just because they thought alike? Or because they felt similarly about something? Somehow, Aoi couldn’t help but think that wasn’t all there was to it.
Mulan smiled knowingly, sending a shiver down Aoi’s spine. Aoi may have been on the right track, but she didn’t think she was going to like anything else Mulan said. Really, she’d stopped liking the story the moment Mulan had mentioned missions.
“I believe the spirits of heroes were put together in the inner world to hold off some force of evil. And if I’m now here, with you, then there must be something in this world you and I are meant to fight.”
Aoi had to stifle a laugh. Was Mulan crazy? It sounded more like she was talking about the plot of a kids’ anime than real life.
But she sounded serious.
“You’re not joking, are you?” Aoi asked hesitantly.
“I am not.”
No way. This was not something Aoi wanted to involve herself in. This was not the kind of mission she wanted. If she was stuck with some kind of mission, she’d want it to be making friends regardless of the century, maybe even finding information thought to be lost forever. That’s what she’d wanted. But fighting? No way. Aoi was just an ordinary, timid girl. Her blonde hair and blue eyes, courtesy of her European mother, may have made her stand out in the Japanese crowd, but that was it. Other than that, she was completely normal. At least, she was supposed to be.
Aoi hugged herself a little tighter. “I hate to disappoint, but I can’t fight.”
“You can’t?” Mulan raised her eyebrows, surely thinking she was calling Aoi’s bluff. “Anyone can fight. They simply must be taught first, as well as have the will to defend what is precious to them.”
“Okay…” Mulan wasn’t listening to her. Aoi tried again, choosing her words more carefully this time. “Maybe I can be taught to fight. But I don’t want to. I don’t like fighting.”
“You’re a pacifist, then?”
Before Aoi could answer, the woman laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. But then her giggles stopped with a sigh. Mulan’s cheery face turned serious. “I shouldn’t laugh. I felt the same way, you know. I wouldn’t have gone to battle if I had the choice. But, when they called for my father, I knew what I had to do. He was too old and weary to face the horrors of war. So I had to save him. And I did.”
That was all good and well, but what did any of that have to do with Aoi? That may have been the case for Mulan, but there was no way Aoi was the same.
“But there is no war, Mulan. And my father wouldn’t fight even if there was one.”
“There may not be a war now, but there are people in need of a savior, even if there is no war. The weak, the young, the old, the innocent—would you protect them from evil? It’s our purpose, Arisawa-san. I have no doubt that you could be that savior.”
A savior? Aoi had never thought of herself like that. There had never been a need to.
She wasn’t sure if anyone was truly being oppressed, but Mulan seemed certain Aoi was hero quality. Aoi wasn’t so sure. “I don’t know….” Aoi said softly. Her shoulders slumped. “This is all too much.”
After the pain of the gem, the surprise of meeting Mulan, and that crazy story, how could the woman just expect her to make a decision right here, right now?
“Please, I need you to do this. There could be something out there we’re meant to find. Don’t you want to protect people?”
“I thought you said you didn’t know for sure.”
“I don’t, but—” For the first time since meeting Mulan, she almost sounded… desperate. “But we won’t know unless we look. Why else would I be here?”
She sounded like she truly needed Aoi to do this for her, like no one else could do it. But what was she supposed to do? Learn to fight just because a ghost had a hunch? Aoi was weak. Even if she could learn to fight, she didn’t want to. What good was she to Mulan? That’s what the majority of her brain told her. But there was this annoying little voice in the back of her head. It asked an important question.
“I don’t have a choice, do I?” Aoi asked.
Mulan’s voice was soft. “You always have a choice, and I will always give you that choice.”
Aoi hesitated. She was sure she’d misheard. But Mulan still had more to say.
“But, I would be greatly appreciative if you would try. Just… give it a shot. Please.” Mulan stared at the ground, seeming to take an unordinary interest in the dirt.
Aoi hadn’t expected the savior of China to be this humble. She expected a no-nonsense, “you must do this and no buts” attitude from her. But that wasn’t what she was getting. Instead, the warrior was humbly asking for help. Probably because she couldn’t do it on her own.
In a way, Aoi supposed Mulan was also a person in need of a savior. Strange as it seemed, Mulan seemed powerless without the blonde, tiny girl she was talking to.
No one had ever needed Aoi before. Not even her old friends. The most they’d ever done was ask for money at the mall. She’d been happy to oblige, even if she knew they had plenty of money of their own. Deep down, Aoi guessed she just wanted to be needed.
But this was different. Mulan, the great warrior and savior of China, needed Aoi to fight. No one else could do it. Or so Mulan said.
In a small, shaking voice, Aoi said, “I can’t do it.”
Mulan lowered her head. “Are you sure about that?”
“I am.”
“I will remain in your gem, you know.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” Well, it kind of did, but there was no point saying that. So now she had a spirit following her around, wanting her to participate in some strange war. Great. Just great.
Aoi shifted, trying to find a way to make the ground comfortable. If only it was so easy. The ground was uneven and uncomfortable; rocks poked at her legs and butt.
This wasn’t the place to have an important conversation like this. But, as silence weighed heavily on them, Aoi realized the conversation was over. She’d made her not-so-heroic declaration. What else was she supposed to say?
She looked up at the sky. It was turning orange now.
“I need to go home. Will you, uh . . . will you be coming with me?”
Mulan rose from the rock and extended her hand to Aoi. “I go where the gem goes. Lead the way.”
Aoi hesitated. Would Mulan be able to touch her? Wasn’t she a ghost? She didn’t think ghosts could touch people. Or, at the very least, move other people. Certainly not help them up.
Not wanting to look stupid by swiping her hand through empty air, Aoi reached out and poked Mulan’s thumb. Her finger made contact, slightly dimpling Mulan’s cold skin. Aoi jumped in surprise.
Mulan jerked her hand back. “What was that for?”
“Nothing,” Aoi said quickly. “Just seeing something.” She smiled, extending her hand up towards Mulan. Wary, Mulan helped pull her to her feet.
Aoi pointed towards where the path had been. “My place is this way.”
“Lead the way then.” With an elegant wave of the arm, Mulan motioned for Aoi to start walking.
And she did. She headed down the path until she noticed something was off. Only one pair of feet was making the rustling sounds through the leaves. Aoi glanced over her shoulder to see that Mulan had vanished.
“Hua-san?” she called, looking around.
“Not to worry, Arisawa-san,” Mulan’s voice reverberated around her. “I’m in the gem.”
As the Chinese warrior spoke, her voice seemed to be all around Aoi, echoing. It was definitely strange. A little creepy too. She really hoped Mulan didn’t do this at night or Aoi would have trouble sleeping.
Aoi reached her house in troubled silence. She didn’t know what she’d do if a situation arose where Mulan needed her to fight. She had no support, not yet, but if she could have one man on her side, that would be more than enough.
“Mulan, there’s one last thing I want to do today. I’d like for you to meet my father.”