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| He ran. There was a full moon tonight: an inconstant, pale orb that illuminated his path from its throne on high, littering stray beams of guidance between the strangling tree branches and the shadowing leaves. Through this, he ran. Breaths heaving and lungs burning, Uesugi Eiri tightened his grip on the folded sheet of rice paper and forced his feet to move faster. Branches snapped and leaves rustled at his frenzied interruption, but he ignored it all, refusing to be deterred from his final goal. With this, he ran. Legs pumping as fast as his ten-year-old body was physically capable, he prayed to whatever divine being was listening that he would make it in time. He had to ... No, he needed to make it there on time. He couldn't fail. And so, he ran. Nature's decaying debris and surface-seeking tree roots conspired to slow him down, but blind determination and a steel will propelled him over those obstacles, not allowing him to relent until he finally reached the clearing in the woods he had been looking for. After a whole decade of living, Eiri had prided himself in the fact that he had seen and heard much in his young life. Growing up in his father's temple had exposed him to a variety of people and problems, at least in his opinion. But the breathtaking sight he encountered the moment he navigated through the miniature forest by his home was simply spectacular, even in his child-tinged jadedness. The cherry blossom tree was exactly where the girl had said it would be: tall, proud, and majestic in its cloak of pale pink blooms, the solitary wonder stood out like a shining gem amidst its green-leaf siblings, a diamond ensconced in a sea of black velvet under the white luminescence of the moon. 'Beautiful ... ' Eiri thought as he took almost reverent steps toward the ethereal sight, wide, golden eyes drinking in the pale glow of the soft petals. Once he arrived at the sturdy trunk, he looked down at the crumpled sheet of paper he had clutched so desperately, then glanced at his watch, and let out a relieved sigh. He had made it. Resolved to finish his task, he knelt down onto a bed of cherry blossoms, clamped down on the paper with his lips, and began to dig a shallow hole with his hands. And as he worked, he could hear the girl's voice echo clearly in his head, a confident voice that sounded so sure and so certain of the words it spoke. / "... if you really want to make a wish come true, you must write that wish down on a piece of paper, and bury it under the cherry blossom tree in the woods by midnight on the night of a full moon ... " / He hadn't known who she was as she walked right by him with her rapt friend; frankly, he had never seen her in his entire life, but the information he had managed to innocently overhear as he walked to school that morning had been enough to stir the kindling in his young mind. He had wanted to stop her and ask her to clarify further but when he had turned to find her, she had disappeared. Still, he was smart enough to know what to do. After returning home that day, he had carefully written his most desired wish on a delicate piece of his father's rice paper and waited patiently for nightfall. And now, here he was, dirt encrusted under his fingernails and moisture beaded on his forehead as he dug his small niche into the ground. 'But it will be worth it,' he reminded himself as he gave his project one last scoop and dumped another handful of soil onto the adjacent pile. After wiping some of the sweat from his face with his forearm, he gently placed his paper wish into the small crevice. That done, he quickly pushed the displaced dirt back into it, the barest glimpse of purest white disappearing beneath unforgiving black as his neatly written words were buried. "Please," he said in a small, breathy voice as he gave the ground one final pat. "Make sure my mother is happy wherever she is. I know she isn't here with us anymore, but I wish for her soul to be happy. I wish for her to find peace." They were childish words, innocent words, naive words that betrayed the purity of the dirtied speaker, but they were also heartfelt words that echoed pristinely through the crisp night air, and that was all that mattered. Uesugi glanced up briefly, and felt his breath catch in his throat at the soul-piercing vision that greeted his eyes. An artificial cloud of delicate pink hovered above him, the precious petals dancing and swaying to some primitive, long forgotten melody as they paid a nighttime tribute to the waning moon that peeked at him through the fringes. Yes, this place was magical enough to grant his wish ... this place was magical enough to grant any wish. Pushing himself off the ground, Eiri dusted off his hands against his pants, and then turned to retrace his earlier steps. Thus, he left the place that made wishes come true, his own humble desire nestled safely within the magical arms of the cherry blossom tree. (***) Six waited patiently as the young human boy slowly disappeared into the encompassing woods, watching the child with a fascination that contradicted every fiber of his being. / "... I wish for her to find peace ... " / The boy's softly spoken words still rang clear in his ears, his heart touched and moved by such a selfless desire. And those eyes ... such innocent golden eyes that carried with them a world of idealism and youthful wisdom. For a fraction of a second back there, Six had thought the boy might have actually seen him with that piercing, unearthly gaze, and he had been extremely relieved when the blond child had gotten up to leave. Pushing himself off his high perch on the cherry blossom tree, Six landed nimbly on his tiny feet and immediately started looking for the boy's piece of buried paper. It didn't take long for him to find it, childishly neat letters painstakingly written on the thin material, the care with which it had been transcribed clearly evident as if the writer was afraid the words would be misunderstood. / " ... I wish for her soul to be happy. I wish for her to find peace ... " / Six traced each carefully selected word with a gentle finger. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what he was feeling, nor could he explain why he felt so connected to that young blond boy. All he knew was that the boy deserved more than the fairy tale he carried in his head, deserved more than this impermanent thing he now held in his hands. And so, like the magical creature he was, Six created a star for the boy, a young star in the endless night sky that would always listen to the pure, beautiful wishes of that child. It would be his, and his alone, and it would shine strong so long as the boy believed in the words he spoke. Six smiled as a sense of fulfillment flooded through him, happy that he was able to do something for the boy. It couldn't be defined, this ... this feeling for a mortal child. An elf ... a sprite ... a fairy ... the human realm had many names for his kind, and even an unending supply of stories as to where he might have come from or what he was precisely. But Six wasn't concerned with the speculation of that world. In fact, he wasn't even too sure where he had come from himself, but that didn't bother him much. He simply existed, and that was enough for him. "Six! Where are you?" Turning his head in the direction of the voice, Six saw his best friend, Three, wading his way through the fallen blossom petals toward him. "Over here," he said, and moved to meet his friend halfway. Three smiled. "What were you doing? We're late as it is." "Nothing." Six shrugged and tucked the boy's wish away into one of his many pockets. "What are we late for?" The new arrival let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. "Music practice, you idiot. And we both know you desperately need the practice." Six looked at his friend with an expression of mock hurt, but he knew Three was telling the truth. He did need help in that discipline - especially singing - but he absolutely loved music and gladly suffered the endless practice sessions to better himself. "In that case, let's get going. We don't want to keep Maestro waiting now, do we?" Reaching out, he grabbed Three's arm and began trudging through the sea of fragrant petals. But even as he walked away, he couldn't forget about the beautiful blond boy, and those golden eyes that had almost seen him. (***) Slowly, the years passed. And each year, Six would wait by the sakura to see the boy visit with one of his paper wishes. The child never disappointed. Every year, when the cherry blossoms bloomed and when the moon was full, the boy named Eiri would bury one of his wishes beneath the tree, face full of confidence that every single one of his desires was being heard. Like the very first wish he ever made, Eiri never asked anything for himself: it was usually prosperity for his father, happiness for his older sister, or health for his younger brother. And every time the young boy made his wish, Six would look up at the night sky and see Eiri's star burning bright, its undying light feeding off the wisher's blind trust and innocent hope. Strangely enough, Six looked forward to the boy's arrival every year, his anticipation at the prospect of being near the human baffling his mind completely. And when that special time of year arrived and he sat idly by as Eiri made his wish, he would feel such an overwhelming sense of peace, something he had never felt in his entire mystical existence. But then, one year, the boy didn't come. That was the night Six found himself panicking at the inexplicable absence. Legs dangling from his habitual tree branch, crystalline tears traced a path down rosy cheeks from sad eyes as he stared at the empty spot the boy usually occupied that time of year. He felt so ... so hollow. Scared - for both the boy and of his own feelings - Six was determined to rid himself of his unknown emotions. He didn't venture out near humans often but in this case, he was willing to make an exception. In the end, he was glad he did. A whole day spent hovering around windows of the nearby temple caused blessed relief to course through his body. Eiri Uesugi had been sent to a place called 'America', Six learned. The boy was studying there and would not return home for a while. The mystical creature didn't know where 'America' was, but from the way the human's spoke of it, he knew it must be far, far away. Although Six was disappointed at the separation, he knew it was for the better. His attachment for the boy was unnatural, and never heard of before among his kind. He was truly happy for Eiri, and hoped the young man was enjoying himself wherever he was. Besides, Six had a feeling that everything was fine, for Eiri's star still shone bright, its glow a constant reminder of the boy's infinite desires and unerring dreams. In fact, as time passed, Six had accepted that he would never see his beautiful blond boy again, and even though he was saddened by the sudden absence in his life, he consoled himself in knowing that the star he had created for Eiri all those years ago would guide the boy true. Then, one fateful day, as Six was hopelessly trying to write one of his infamously horrible songs, he was struck by a pain so great that his knees buckled and he doubled over on the ground gasping for air. Almost immediately - although he couldn't explain how - he knew it was not his pain he was feeling but Eiri's. Eiri. His beautiful, golden-eyed human. Six was worried, frantic, and desperate to be near the boy. But that wasn't possible … not when he was so far away … not when the magical limitations of his world and the mortal world separated them. There was no way to breach those barriers unless ... unless ... "Six, no. Don't you even think about it." Three's calm voice cut a cold swath through his irrational thoughts. So distracted had he been that he hadn't even realized that he was no longer alone. Not surprisingly, Three read everything on his face as a best friend would. Somewhere along the line, his companion had learned about his unnatural obsession with the blond boy but had never said anything about it. However, the direction Six's intentions had just taken prompted Three to become more vocal. "Six, please don't do it. It's too dangerous." Said being looked pleadingly at his friend. "He needs me. I can hear him crying and he's hurting so much, Three." His voice cracked as he spoke but he had always been an emotional thing so it couldn't be helped. "But to become human ... " The words hung in the air unfinished, but the meaning was clear; intangible, spindly webs of consequences that could easily denote the end of one of their kind's existence. And yet, aware of all the dangers, Six nodded. "I have to. He needs me ... " Three didn't say anything, the determination on his impulsive friend's face enough to silence him. Finally, he nodded too, relenting. "You understand that you only have seven years in the mortal world?" "That's all I need," Six replied quickly as he made ready to leave. "But you'll lose all your memories of our world once you go over. Are you sure?" Again, Six nodded. He knew that in order to keep their existence a secret, all memories had to be forgotten - an unfortunate side effect, but a practical one. "I'll find him by then. I'd know him anywhere." Three sighed forlornly. "Very well. Let's go find you a body." Six couldn't help but smile at his friend's reluctant assistance. He knew how much this was costing his companion: Three wouldn't be the only one losing a friend. He was too. "Thank you," he said, gratitude shining on his face. "Just make sure you come back in one piece," was the reply he received. "I will. I promise." That said, they began their search. Six knew that for one of their kind to enter the mortal realm, they had to find a body that was no longer being used. In other words, they had to find a human walking the fine line between life and death, a soul just about to depart the earth but still had a physical connection strong enough to be re-established by another. It didn't take long for them to find one: a twelve-year-old boy, whose fresh-faced innocence was marred by the ravages of a strong, debilitating fever. Six felt a moment of sadness and doubt as he watched the youth struggle to live, breaths harsh and eyes shiny with unshed tears of pain. However, soon, everything became too much for the young soul. Tired and exhausted, the boy eventually gave up the fate-determining fight, opting instead for the eternal rest that existed far beyond any known plane. After only a flicker of hesitation, Six moved, quickly and determinedly, into the briefly empty husk that was known as Shindou Shuichi. (***) Somewhere in the distance, across fathomless oceans and foreign lands, another boy curled up into himself and cried hot, branding tears of shame and hopelessness. "Why does it hurt so much? Yuki ... Sensei ... Why? I don't want to hurt anymore. Please ... I don't want to feel like this anymore ... I wish the pain would stop ... I wish to never feel again ... " And in the deep velvet sky, a star that had once burned so bright flickered and died a little at the words of that boy, a boy whose innocence had slowly began to wither and whose wishes had now become nothing more than mere whispers in the wind.
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