Chapter Text
Once upon a time, there was a house standing in the midst of the wilderness, surrounded by dense forest, a river flowing between. It was no more than a tiny hut, an ordinary house, and there lived Takao with his grandfather. For they lived all alone, with no other houses in sight, Takao had always dreamed of wondrous adventures on the other side of the river. However, his grandfather deemed it too dangerous, and so Takao spent all his days in the tiny hut, but never did he stop thinking about the wonders beyond home.
The surrounding forest was said to be haunted by beasts and spirits, hence people rarely set foot near the hut that stood in perfect isolation. Only once had Takao seen a figure his age near by, just on the other side of the river, and more often than not found himself wondering about the scene imprinted in his memory, the vivid image of a boy with hair that gleamed with silvery blue. Months went by, a year had gone by, yet Takao still thought back to the lone sight.
One day, he determined that the time was ripe: Takao decided to leave for an adventure. For his grandfather was old, it was not at all unusual for him to lay down to bed before sundown. Once the hut had fallen in drowsy silence, Takao packed his one and only bag with what little he felt he needed, took his cap and jacket, and stepped over the doorsill. He had left the safe warmth of the hut behind.
The air was crisp, and a faint breeze blew by as Takao approached an old, wooden bridge – the only means to cross the river that stretched infinitely in both directions, fading into the surrounding woods. Takao remembered his grandfather telling him countless stories, eerie tales of this very river: it imprisoned the drowned and never let them leave its smothering depths, their restless souls wandering in the stream for eternity. The still water looked black.
Takao was not afraid. Filled with confidence, he strode to the bridge.
But as soon as he set foot on the arching wood, a frightening sound reached his ears; a hollow voice, a voice not belonging to a human, boomed from somewhere below. That sound seemed to distort air itself, the familiar scenery around him suddenly becoming stranger, the wood under his feet was trembling.
“Get off my bridge or I will gobble you up!”
A shiver shot down Takao's spine. Yet, this was but the first step of his adventure, and he had made up his mind. His features a wee pale, Takao took another step. His surroundings turning ever so twisted, he hobbled onwards, the sky had turned crimson red above, and the voice boomed for a second time.
“Get off my bridge or I will gobble you up!”
“All I want is to get to the other side, that's all!” Takao answered the frightening command. He was scared now, yet his determination didn't falter; even if the world ended, he would not give up his resolution.
The courageous young Takao took another step on the distorted bridge; it was then that something grabbed his foot. Takao's eyes shot down, unfocused. Something hairy was sticking out from under the bridge, its blinding redness blending into the scarlet background. It was a hand.
Takao ran. He kicked the air with all his might and ran. He wasn't far when both his feet got caught in something, he could feel bristly hair against his ankles, he couldn't move anymore. His entire body now trembling in terror, Takao forced himself to glance behind his shoulder.
What he saw was not scary the least. If anything, it was a little goofy. A short creature had appeared on the bridge. Sharp, tangled hair covered it from head to toes, except for its large face resembling a human's. In the middle of its wide forehead, a patch of skin formed the shape of a star. It had large human-like ears and a human-like built, but at its behind dangled a red, hairy tail. The creature, one third of his size, was hanging from his feet.
At once, the bridge was back to how it had always been.
“Me will gobble you up, dammit!” the creature shouted, in a hoarse voice not at all like the ghastly roar from earlier. It seemed angry.
“What the heck are you?” asked Takao.
“Me is the troll living under this bridge, and me eats anyone who tries to cross it!” The creature did possess a formidable set of teeth in its wide mouth. Otherwise, its likeness was that of a small, sullen monkey.
Takao kicked his feet, sending the troll flying; it tumbled down and off the bridge with a mighty splash. Takao was already making his merry way to the other side of the river when the troll climbed back up, peeking from under the bridge with a presence much less bold.
“Wait! Don't go! M-Me wants to gobble you up!”
“If you're hungry, I can share my bread,” Takao suggested. “I bet it's healthier than eating an entire human. I don't think I taste good, I haven't showered in three days.”
The troll shook its red head. “Not hungry.”
“Then why do you wanna eat me?”
The troll fell silent for a moment or two.
“Because you're on me bridge,” it then said. “Nobody ever comes here.”
“I get it now!” said Takao, “You're lonely, so you don't wanna let people go! In that case, you should come with me. What's the point in brooding here under some shabby old bridge? Come on an adventure with me! My name's Takao!”
The troll gave a silent growl, then jumped on its short feet. “Me name's Daichi! Me's coming with you, Takao!”
Thus, Takao continued his journey with a new friend.
The setting sun had painted the sky with hues of orange and purple once the unlikely pair had crossed the bridge. The path was hardly visible, so seldom did anyone use it. They followed it towards the forest ahead. Takao threw one last glance at the familiar scenery he was leaving behind; the hut had become awfully small in the distance, even smaller than he remembered.
Together with Daichi, Takao made his way into the forest. He was surprised by just how many trees there suddenly were all around him, and of how many sizes, and how they all looked just a wee different from each other. Whenever he had cast a dreamy look at the forest through the hut's window, all he had seen was a wall of what looked like the same tree many times. How he had been misled by that sight!
The duo marched onwards, and once he had marveled at the wonders of the trees to his heart's content, Takao began to notice that it was gradually becoming darker. The sky far above their heads was still a shade of fading orange, but its light no longer reached them, as if the trees were trying to hide it from view altogether. The forest was swallowing the two of them whole. There was no turning back anymore.
The deeper they walked into the woods, the thicker grew the trees and the less they could see of the path beneath. Before long, Takao was no longer sure if the path even existed. It had become very silent, and every hum in the trees, every rustle nearby seemed to pierce that silence, that's how clearly Takao could hear them. It was quiet, yet the forest felt alive around them. Alive, yet somehow wrong. Something was lurking in the dusk. To banish the overwhelming silence trying to cage them within, Takao asked Daichi whether a boy with silvery blue hair had crossed the bridge. Daichi didn't recall that ever happening. As Takao well knew, humans rarely came by – they were scared away by the stories about the sinister woods and its monsters.
Takao didn't know how long they had been walking when they heard something ahead. Not a hum nor a rustle nor a buzz, it was no natural sound, it had the eerie likeness of a human scream. Takao hastened his steps a little.
He heard it again. Someone was screaming, someone not too far away. He could now hear a different sound accompanying it; a flutter of a sort.
The only means of seeing ahead in the dense woods were the odd beams of twilight that made it through the crowns of the trees, forming dimly lit patches on the underbrush. Upon reaching the cause of the miserable sound, Takao could barely see something at the base of a particularly tall tree with a crevice in its stem; but certainly, someone was pleading for help by the tree.
Daichi, with his eyes that were used to the dusk, said: “There's bats, someone's being attacked by a herd of bats there!”
Thus came clear the source of the fluttering sound: the herd was squeaking as a cloud of flapping wings. Without fear, Takao grabbed a nearby branch, one that fit his hand like a sword. He charged forward, yelling, his new weapon at the ready.
The herd let out a deafening screech, and Takao could feel them scatter in every direction in startled confusion. Once dispelled, the herd revealed a small figure crouching on the ground, shaking so violently, Takao could hear its teeth clatter against each other.
“Are you okay?” Takao asked and squatted next to the small person.
“Ye–Ye–Ye–Yes!” the other said in a high-pitched voice, and sat up. Takao could tell he was too small for a human; perhaps this creature was an elf or a sprite of some kind. The small one was wearing a cap just a tad too large for its tiny head, and its clothes seemed to be made of leaves and patches of moss. Half of its face was hidden behind its bushy hair.
“Thank you very much for helping me,” the creature uttered very politely. “Please, if there is anything I can do for you, I would gladly return the favor.”
“Well, first of all, do you have a name?” asked Takao.
“My name is Manabu,” the small creature said, a faint blush on his cheeks barely visible under his thick fringe, “but others call me the professor, for I am very knowledged for my kind.”
“Okay, Professor, if you are so knowledged, can you help us get to the other side of the forest?”
It so turned out that simply getting to the other side was no easy task. They had entered the forest from the west; in the north, there were mountains too difficult for a human to climb, and the forest continued deep into the south. However, to pass through to the east, they would have to cross a cursed lake in the heart of the forest. Takao, armed with a new friend and a new weapon, was not afraid of facing the lake. He was certain that together, they could find a way across.
Professor was willing to join the two on their adventure; however, he was terribly afraid of the dark, so Takao agreed to carry him inside his jacket. Daichi, envious of the new companion, proceeded to continue the journey seated on Takao's head.
Takao had many questions to ask Professor, and Professor had much to tell; thus, it was no longer as morbidly silent as before. Professor explained that his kind lived hiding in the trees and some underground, guarding subterranean treasures. He told them about the ancient guardian spirits of the forest, and he warned them about poisonous plants and berries. Excited for his new friend's vast knowledge, Takao inquired about the silvery blue haired boy, almost certain that Professor if anyone would know – alas, even he had never come across such human.
The night grew deeper, leaving the forest veiled in thick darkness. Takao could hardly see where he was walking, relying on Daichi to show the way from time to time. Takao couldn't tell the sky from the treetops anymore, the woods had concealed the sky somewhere above and trapped them in a never ending ebony tunnel, the night was jet-black. Professor fairly warned them of things lurking in the dark.
Deep in thought, Takao wasn't paying attention to his feet. Suddenly, he stepped on something soft and stumbled, almost falling over.
“Ouch! ” came a shriek from underneath, nearly startling them all out of their remaining senses. Takao jumped back. Something, or rather, someone was rustling at his feet, covered by a blanket of dry leaves.
“What the heck?” Takao yelled himself, hastily replying: “Sorry!”
The victim of his careless footfall sat up on the stash of leaves. It was too dark for Takao to see, but the two smaller companions were able to tell this person was human in appearance, bearing much likeness to Takao in size.
“Huh, how come someone's passing through here?” the voice asked, perplexed. A pale light was ignited in the darkness; the person was holding a small lantern in his hand.
“I'm Takao the human, and I'm on my way to the forest lake,” answered our hero.
“Human?” came a surprised reply, “I thought I was the only one who'd be crazy enough to come to this place!”
Takao helped the other boy on his feet. He had fair hair and fair skin, the boy with a friendly face introduced himself as Max. He told them he had gotten lost in the dark woods after his compass broke and, not knowing which way to go, had fallen asleep.
“How dangerous, for a mere human,” dismayed Professor, “you were lucky to remain in one piece!”
“I was camouflaged,” reasoned the boy. “And unlike you, I have some light on me.”
The bright Max was welcomed to their company so he could find his way back home, and the journey continued.
They now had the light of the lantern showing them the path; however, it also cast shades deeper than pure darkness around them, only enhancing the image of the forest closing in on the travelers. Viciously dancing shadows licked the tree trunks as they passed by; Takao couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being followed by some looming presence that hid within those devilish shadows.
In his hand, Takao kept the tree branch at the ready, reacting to the faintest crackle and crinkle. Every now and again he could hear birds rustling somewhere above. In the faraway distance, something was howling into the night; it was a lonesome, frightening sound.
“I have heard of a lone werewolf living somewhere near the mountain range in the north,” Professor spoke in a shaky voice. “But I have never witnessed it myself. Many dangerous things live within these woods. There have been whispers about poison-breathing wild dogs and giant snakes as tall as the trees amongst my folk – some even talk of a wicked demon that devours human souls living somewhere deep, deep within.”
“I have heard tales about it as well,” said Max somberly, “it's a story that parents tell their children to warn them about the forest. Could it be true?”
“I would not rule out the possibility,” Professor said with a shiver.
“A demon...” marveled Takao, feeling a tad shaky himself, clenching his lone weapon, fingers sticky with cold sweat. Daichi was murmuring quietly, shifting anxiously on top of Takao's head.
“But let us lighten up the mood a little,” Max then encouraged the other three, “and not talk about such things! How about you tell us more about yourself, Takao?”
So he did; Takao began to describe his safe yet uneventful life at the small hut with his grandfather, and his dreams about leaving for an adventure, and the silvery blue haired boy he wanted to find. Nobody knew how much time passed; while chatting the time away, they kept walking on and on.
Then, wondering if his eyes were fooling him, Takao noticed a faint light ahead. However, something about it was mighty strange. The light looked strangely airy, as if the forest was suddenly enshrouded in mist that emitted a faint gleam itself. Approaching the light that now consumed their surroundings felt like walking into an opal-colored dream.
The trees grew scarce, giving way to the thick fog that obscured their path. Before he knew, Takao realized he was standing by the brink of a lake, as if the very lake had suddenly sprung up right at his feet - it had appeared out of nowhere.
The water was perfectly still, its surface crystal clear, revealing the bottom of the lake that radiated dim light itself, like a sea of stars in the deep.
“So this is the cursed lake?” Takao spoke, astonished.
“It's so beautiful for being cursed, though!” Max worded the other's thoughts.
“Yes,” admitted Professor, “but I'm certain there was something, something about this lake... Something inhabiting it...”
“But see, there is nothing here.”
Takao reached out his arms, and as he did, they suddenly saw movement on the surface. A ripple formed at the center of the lake, spreading in all directions in a steady flow. Then, another followed. The four travelers looked in astonished silence as the ripples were followed by a magnificent whirl of water that arose from the depths. In the middle of the wondrous vortex stood a person: a girl with aquamarine skin and a dress that flowed on the water's surface like a thick cloud of opaque mist.
“What do you want?” the lady prompted, her tone not at all sharing the soft likeness of her appearance.
“We...” began Takao who stood in a momentary daze, “want to get to the other side.”
“Why so?” she demanded.
“To reach the east end of the forest,” explained Professor. “I recall now what they said, about the spirit of a young maiden dwelling in the lake.”
“But miss, you look so very pretty,” said Max, “how come the lake is called cursed?”
The lake spirit placed her slender hands on her hips. “Most travelers get lost in the mist and drown in the lake in their blindness. But sometimes,” her lips were tugged into a sly grin, “it's just so much fun to lure male travelers in and choke them with my own hands. Only handsome ones, though,” she added.
The boys saw it best to not pry into the subject further.
“C–Could you help us cross the lake, please?” Professor asked timidly.
The girl contemplated this plea.
“Fine, you are lucky for I happen to be in a good mood today,” she finally said. As she was about to turn her back on them, Takao suddenly thought of calling out:
“Hey, have you seen a human my age with silvery hair around here?”
“Who knows,” answered the maiden as another whirl of water encircled her. “But if you are heading to the eastern end of the forest, look out for the demon dwelling around those parts. It lures clueless humans like you to its den and eats their souls. And my name is Hiromi, not 'hey'.”
Such were her last words. All of a sudden, not only Hiromi, but the entire lake itself was gone; one blink of an eye and the mist, the water, all of it had vanished into thin air. The four travelers found themselves surrounded by trees once more. At their feet was a form shaped like an arrow emitting the same faint light as the stars at the bottom of the lake. The arrow was, without a doubt, pointing eastwards.
“D-Did she mean the same d-d-demon that we talked about earlier?” asked Professor, burying himself so deep inside Takao's warm jacket, only the tip of his green hat was visible anymore.
“If one of the forest’s spirits herself says it's real, then it has to be...” Max marveled.
“M-Me will gobble it up if it comes near us!!” Daichi boasted, his hoarse voice shaky.
“But we must continue,” Takao decided, leading the way in the arrow's direction. “Don't let Hiromi's help be in vain!”
It felt as if they had been consumed by the blackness of the forest anew now that the illuminated lake had vanished. Takao wanted to keep his body and mind as alert as possible, but the relentless darkness was taking its toll on his nerves. Fatigue was gradually setting in. His sense of time was gone – whether they had been on their journey for two or six hours, he couldn't tell. In fact, he had a strange feeling that as soon as he had set foot in these sinister woods, time had stopped altogether.
“Should we take a rest?” Max suggested after a while. It was obvious that Takao was growing weary.
However, he clenched the branch in his hand and shook his head. “Not yet,” he said, “not before we get out of here. I don't want anything to happen to any of you. Can you keep going, Max?”
“Sure,” nodded Max, “but what if you collapse yourself?”
“I'm fine! Let's go, we're almost there!”
So the courageous boys and their two small friends kept walking.
And they walked, and they walked, and they walked more still. The silence had grown ever so deafening; Takao couldn't tell if it was his mind playing tricks on him, but no rustling could be heard anymore, he could hear no birds or any living soul anywhere; the only sound was their own feet trampling the dry undergrowth, and their own breathing.
The longer they kept walking, the louder became the beating of Takao's own heart in his ears. His gaze began to wander aimlessly from tree to tree, his steps growing uneven. Takao hadn't paid any heed to the mentions of the demon before, but now, as his body and mind alike felt dull and cold, he found himself plagued by the thought, and his imagination began playing devilish tricks on him; what if they had already walked into the demon's clutches? What if it was slowly draining him to death, sucking life out of him as he walked? Were they still in the real forest, or was it an illusion the demon had weaved around them, like a spider hunting for prey? It must have been so; the more Takao let his mind wander, the stronger the belief grew. The demon would swallow them all whole... It was closing in behind them, closer, closer...
Suddenly, the trees were gone. Takao took several heavy steps before he stopped. In front of him was a mat of green, a meadow that carried on to the infinite horizon, illuminated by the moonglow and countless of stars that spread above. They were out of the forest.
“We did it!” cheered Max, “We made it, Takao!”
Takao couldn't help laughing, out of immense relief and at his own frenzied mind. It was all his imagination! Fantasy! Delusion!
“What is the next stage in your plan?” Professor asked, still peeking from inside Takao's jacket. A serene view spread in front of their eyes, a moonlit meadow with nothing much in sight, except...
A curious building stood in the distance. It was an elegant, luxurious mansion, almost like a castle; nothing like Takao had seen before. It was impossible for him to picture a person living in such house. Unless, there wasn't...
“W-What if it's the demon's den...?” Professor worded Takao's very thoughts.
“It totally looks like one, doesn't it?” Max approved cheerily.
The house's demeanor was certainly ghastly enough for a demon to inhabit it. Takao swallowed loudly.
He was about to propose passing the building from as far as they possibly could, but was interrupted by a voice that spoke behind him. A voice that did not belong to any of them.
“There you are.”
Takao forced himself to turn around, slowly, every muscle in his body resisting out of fear. There, right behind them, stood a tall human-like figure, but it was clearly not human; Takao could see split pupils, sharp teeth, and large, pointed ears, before he started screaming.
“There it is!! There it is!! ” yelled Professor, tears of fear streaming down his cheeks.
“It caught us! It caught us!” cried Daichi, clutching Takao's hair painfully hard.
The unknown creature before them stood in appalled silence, staring at the screaming lot. In its right hand, it was holding what looked like a giant lily of the valley, its blossoms lit like a set of lanterns.
“What, what caught you?” it inquired once the unnerved travelers stopped yelling.
“You! You caught us!”
“Come again, why would I want to catch a human and a couple of midgets?”
“A–Aren't you a demon...?” asked Takao quietly. “The demon of the eastern woods?”
“Me? I'm but a night fairy,” the creature said.
On second glance, one that was not blinded by panic, Takao did notice how the creature had beautifully translucent wings on its back; its eyes were sharp and golden, its long hair was as dark as the night itself. It certainly bore the likeness of a fairy, if only rather somber.
“Moreover,” it continued, shifting its eyes away from Takao, “you already have a demon right there.”
“What?” Immediately, Takao cast a wild look around; but no matter what, he couldn't see anything but them, standing there at the end of the forest.
With a heavy sigh, the fairy stepped forward. Takao tensed up and took a step back himself; however, the tall creature didn't pay him any notice. Instead, it faced Max, raised its free hand and flicked his nose.
“What are you doing, pretending to be a human again? I was looking all over for you.”
At once, a veil of hundreds of stars was cast over Max, his visage changing as they sparkled around him: his sky blue eyes turned brilliant crimson; two pairs of pitch black, curvy horns grew on his head, two on each side; his hands were suddenly replaced by bizarre-looking hooves.
“But Rei,” he wailed, “I was just getting to the good part...”
“Like eating that human?” guessed the fairy.
“No! Or – well – maybe – but.”
Professor and Daichi, eyes wide and mouths hanging open in silent terror, made haste to back away from their vicinity. Takao, however, stood still.
“I'm sorry,” Max told the human boy sheepishly, “but you didn't see me in the dark, and you were such a fun-looking lot, I couldn't resist playing along. You didn't even acknowledge my will-o-wisps. You do have an appetizing soul, Takao,” a greedy glimmer flashed in Max's eyes for a split second, “but in the end, you're a bit too dense for my taste.”
Takao made a pouty face, but couldn't help a grin tugging at his lips. “Tch, no wonder I had a hunch that the demon was hot on my heels. But you helped us, and didn't do any harm – be a demon or whatever, you're my friend, Max!”
“I can't believe you,” stated the fairy called Rei, “befriending a human like that.”
“If you ask me,” continued Takao, “it's a little unusual for a fairy and a demon to know each other, too.”
The two explained that they both lived around the eastern parts of the forest; Rei tended to the flowers growing in the vast meadows, but only at night. Following his usual pattern, Takao asked him about the silvery blue haired boy he was looking for.
“Hmm,” Rei pondered, tilting his head, “I think I saw someone like that once. It was when I passed by the garden of that house, over there.” And he pointed at the ghastly mansion in the distance.
“Really?!” yelled Takao. For once, he got an actual clue!
“But –” Rei was about to carry on, however, Takao was no longer listening. He picked up his tiny friends – who, especially Professor, still seemed to be in a state of terror because of Max – and already made his way across the meadow mighty fast.
“Finally! Finally!” he chanted. “We're almost there, so let's keep going!”
Thus Max and Rei got left behind, at the east end of the forest.
“But he wasn't a human like you,” finished Rei with a sigh.
Unaware of the fairy's remark, Takao dashed through the moonlit greenery, blood rushing in his veins, his tired feet carrying him forward by his new-found vigor alone. Daichi was clutching onto his head once more, Professor peeking from his jacket.
“I,” the forest elf stuttered in weak voice, “I still can't believe, Takao, you just s-s-s-stepped on the demon... You stepped on the demon of the east...”
It didn't take long for Takao to reach the gates of the mansion. Too tall to climb over, he made his way to the stone wall surrounding them instead. Takao got past the walls with ease, and in front of him spread the garden that Rei had mentioned. It was visibly unattended, the overgrown plants wildly competing for space anywhere he looked; the flowers looked black in the shade of the night. However, there was nobody in sight.
The verdure rustled under Takao's feet as he made his way through, glancing around. No light could be seen in any of the mansion's numerous windows, no signs of life anywhere to be found. Even in such darkness, Takao could tell the house was ancient, run-down in its old age. Maybe nobody lived there after all. Takao left the garden behind and looked around the corner, at the back of the mansion.
It was a graveyard. Abandoned, desolate, most tombstones covered in vines that rose from beneath, standing awry. It was a hollow place, forgotten by humanity long ago. And there, in the middle of a row of graves, sat a silvery blue haired figure on a grave.
At once, Takao knew it was the same person he had seen years ago. But as he looked at him now, Takao understood the silvery glow of his hair that was burned in his memory so: the person in front of him emitted a weak radiance that shone through his lucid form. The ghost was wearing a scarf, white like snow against the darkness.
He turned to face Takao with a grim expression. “What do you want?” he asked in a deep voice.
Takao stepped into sight from behind the building. “I'm Takao and I came here looking for you!” he answered promptly.
The ghost gave him a dubious look.
“Don't you remember me?” Takao asked in slight dismay, “I saw you by the west end of the forest, where I live.”
The other turned his head away. “That puny house?”
“Well, I guess it's puny compared to this .” Takao cast his eyes upwards at the enormous, castle-like mansion looming over him. “Is this your house?”
There was no response for a few, silent seconds.
“It used to be,” the ghost then replied.
“When you were alive?” asked Takao.
“It's where I once lived, and was once killed. Now, leave.”
Takao had no intention to leave. He took another step forward.
“I couldn't forget you, and I came all this way through the forest, and I saw all kinds of things along the way, bats and lakes and I even met a demon, but I finally found you.” Wearing a cheery grin, Takao pointed at the troll on his head. “This is Daichi, he tried to eat me but he's my friend now. And this is...”
Professor was no longer inside his jacket; he had stayed behind the corner, curled into a ball, and he was so very scared.
“That's Professor, but he probably doesn't like ghosts,” Takao concluded. “We came here together to find you!”
“Why?” inquired the ghost haughtily.
“Why, well...” The question wasn't entirely unfounded. In fact, it made Takao think, what was he to do now that he had found what he was looking for? He had seeked an adventure, and got one; he had seeked this person, and found him. What now?
“What's your name?” Takao decided to ask.
“Kai,” answered the ghost.
“Okay, Kai. I've made up my mind. Come with me and let's go home!”
Kai looked at Takao. “Why would I come with you?”
To which Takao replied, “You're here all alone, and I'm all alone at home with my grandpa, and if you're even half as bored as I am, then I know you would go through that hideous forest just to find someone to be with.”
The ghost stayed silent. He lifted the gaze of his colorless eyes to the moon that hung high on the black sky.
“I've been here for a long, long time,” Kai finally said, “since before you or anyone you have met was born. But you are the first one who has ever come to take me away from here.”
“Come with me,” proposed Takao and reached out his hand, “and you can tell me everything about all that long, long time! And I'll tell you everything about my much shorter but probably much nicer time!”
And so it happened that Takao's adventure was over, and he was ready to return home, with all his new friends by his side. The night was almost over.
Takao, carrying Daichi and Professor and followed by Kai, made his way back to where the forest began to grow. There he met Rei, who was willing to lend him his magic; instead of trampling through the forest once more, Takao found himself soaring through the sky, viewing the very forest from up high. The treetops looked like a carpet of brilliant green underneath. The terror of the woods felt so distant now, and behind them, a new day dawned in the faraway horizon.
They all landed in front of Takao's house: Takao carrying Professor – who, terrified of heights, had tightly latched himself onto his taller friend, his tiny teeth clattering – and Daichi, and Kai, Max and Rei, who had the ability to fly themselves. Together, the six formed the strangest party, a colorful sight in front of the humble shack that was the Kinomiya residence.
Takao was beyond excited to introduce all his new friends to his grandfather. However, as he so proposed, he was met with wistful smiles; Max shook his horned head at him.
“You can't, Takao – we aren't human, you aren't even supposed to see us here. Besides...”
“The night is nearly gone,” continued Rei, his wings quivering a little, ”we are not beings of daylight. We need to go.”
“But will I see you again?” asked Takao, to which they didn't answer. Nevertheless, he was sure he would. One day, he would go back to see Hiromi again as well.
The soft light of dawn illuminated the sky with blue and gold, the darkness had faded away. Takao, never so happy to be home, climbed to his bed, falling asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. And he dreamed of a bloodcurdling troll under the bridge who was actually very small and very loud, and a smart forest elf who was scared of the dark, and a playful but vengeful girl living in a magical lake; a demon that devoured human souls but was the kindest person he ever knew, a fairy whose hair was like the night sky, and a sulky ghost that had been alone for a very, very long time. And Takao knew he could meet them again any time he so wished.
Takao lived a simple life with his grandfather, spending his days helping around the house; and every evening, after his grandfather had gone to bed, would Takao sit on the porch of the tiny hut, and Kai would sit next to him, and they would talk about times long gone and times yet to come. And they all lived happily ever after.