Castaways at the Crossroads of Time

After Naoe spoke, the group all stood and helped Naoe and Hazuki up from the ground. Nature had calmed and now the forest was quiet. Behind them, the ancient tree watched. Once the two of them were steadied, Hazuki noticed that Guji’s face was blank. Something did not feel right. All of them sensed it when he did not immediately speak.

“Guji, what must she do to end this cycle?” Shinji asked.

There was a pause.

“It is not that easy,” stated Guji.

Naoe let out a sigh of exhaustion.

“What do you mean?” asked Hazuki, whose voice was already elevating.

Guji faced Naoe.

“Your village put all of their problems on you. It wasn’t quite a curse, but it was a strong amount of spiritual energy that you carried while you were alive. When you died and you made your pact with your tree, that energy carried over. That was what tethered you to this near-eternal state. Unfortunately, it cannot be undone so easily.”

“But, I can’t do this anymore! What happens if I just accept fading away?” pleaded Naoe.

Guji hesitated.

“You will likely become a ghost. A Yūrei that wanders the world for all time, unable to remember who you are. Unable to rest,” he said.

Naoe let out a whimper of near defeat and exhaled heavily. Sayane and Matsumoto gasped. Hazuki’s rage began to build.

“Why?! How is that fair?!! She’s given hundreds of years to that burden! Why isn’t that enough?!!!” Hazuki demanded.

“Because that was what she held in her mind as she left the physical world. Her sorrow and sense of self echoed through time and bound itself into a twisted story that she did not deserve such things as rest or love. Naoe, if you try to fade away, that story will haunt you and turn you into something that even Hazuki cannot reach,” said Guji.

Naoe held back tears.

“But I know more now. I know I deserve love. I know I wasn’t a monster. Why can’t I release that?” she begged.

Guji, to their terror, merely shrugged a tired, defeated shrug.

“The spiritual world does not move by our rules or logic. We do our best to explain it and make it digestible in our daily life, but it is not something we can ever assume to fully explain,” he admitted.

No one in the group spoke. Naoe quietly cried to herself.

“I’m sorry, everyone,” she whispered.

“No. Do not apologize,” Hazuki said with a steady voice as his eyes stayed locked on the ancient tree.

In his heart, Hazuki knew that Naoe was not going to pass the burden to him. He feared that if she stayed on this path, she would exhaust herself soon and become something far worse. As he stood there listening to Naoe’s sniffles and the rustling of the trees, ideas began to form in his mind.

“You say the ‘curse’ of her village carried over along with Naoe’s self-hatred and lack of self-worth?” he asked Guji, who nodded.

“Naoe, you will never pass the burden to me, correct? Even if it meant you would become a Yūrei?” Hazuki asked Naoe.

“I will never subject you to this. No matter what it means for me,” she quietly responded.

Hazuki returned his gaze to Guji.

“Naoe knows she has worth now, and knows she deserves love. She has healed that part of her curse. If the only part that is left is the burden from the villagers’ damnation on her, what if that could be erased? Even if it couldn’t break everything fully, could that be enough to at least allow her to fade away in peace?” Hazuki asked Guji and the great tree.

Naoe understood and a sense of dread began to crawl through her chest.

“Hazuki, please no,” she whispered.

He shook his head.

“We had a deal. You agreed to it,” he said sternly.

“No... I don’t… you have so much left…” she whispered as she held his hand.

“Please,” he whispered back.

“Hazuki, what are you talking about?” Arthur asked in a concerned voice from behind them.

All the while, Guji was silent as he eyed Hazuki’s spirit.

“To do so would require an immense sacrifice…” was all Guji answered.

Naoe’s heart sank when Hazuki smiled slightly at the answer.

“Hazuki?...” Sayane asked in an unsteady voice.

All of them began to understand.

“No! Hazuki my boy you cannot be thinking that!” Matsumoto called out.

None of their words reached him. Hazuki’s focus was only on the great tree and its avatar.

“If someone were to sacrifice their life and love to wipe out the damnation from the village, would that be enough to be a net equal for Naoe’s spirit? Would that be enough to let her fade? Even if it meant fading for good. Would that at least be enough for that?” demanded Hazuki.

“To do so would mean the sacrifice would be accepting the void as well. Only an offering of one’s complete self, even your spirit, would suffice. You would be wiped from all existence.”

Naoe was crying now. Isolated snowflakes began to fall and settle around them as she sat in quiet sadness.

“Hazuki…” she whispered.

Her words finally broke his focus from the tree and he looked to her with gentle eyes.

“We made a deal. You know there is no life or future for me here without you. I don’t want it. And I would never be able to forget you. And the idea of you wandering forever as a ghost? To hell with that! This is my story. My heart. My choice. I choose to give it to you. You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me,” he said softly as he held her chin and wiped her tears.

After several moments of reflection and remembering their talk and her visions of him alone as an older man, Naoe came to a realization: Once, he was a vibrant, happy child running through the park and bumping into her. Life had robbed him of that vibrance, but now, for the first time in a very long time, that vibrance and purpose had returned. He had never cared about school, or careers, even when they first knew one another. He had only cared for the trees. Only for her. 

In her heart, Naoe knew this was what he wanted. She wanted him happy and at peace. If she was a ghost, that would never be the case. For her, she knew her spirit was failing and would soon vanish at the expense of her becoming a lost soul. That would damn them both if that were to happen.

Naoe accepted and agreed.

“I don’t deserve you,” she whispered.

“Yes, you do. You were doing the same for me,” was all he replied.

“Hazuki?” was all Arthur could ask.

Hazuki chuckled and limped to face the tree once more. Something in his smile revealed his plan was not finalized yet.

“I will happily make that sacrifice. I give up my body and spirit to absolve hers. I would gladly join her in the dark. We can be alone together for all time,” he said with unblinking certainty.

Guji hesitated.

“It will be extremely painful. You must understand and be ready,” he replied.

Hazuki smirked.

“Oh no… not pain…” he snarled in sarcasm as he rattled his cane.

Guji almost smiled but stopped. Before he spoke again, Naoe looked up.

“How much time do we have?” she asked.

Hazuki understood that she did not want to vanish here and spoke up to join her.

“I transferred some of my energy to Naoe to save her yesterday. You can likely sense that. I want her to have some time to enjoy the remainder of her days. I would like to be there with her. How much time did my energy buy?” he asked.

Guji closed his eyes and focused on Naoe’s spirit.

“The connection is ongoing. You are giving your energy to her even now. I imagine you each have a few months left like that before it breaks you both,” he said.

Naoe sighed and clasped Hazuki’s fingers.

“You must complete the ritual before her spirit gives out. Otherwise, she will become a Yūrei. Heed the timeline,” commanded Guji.

“When the time comes, can we hold the ceremony at the grove? I’d like it to be there, not here, if possible,” asked Naoe.

Guji accepted and bowed. Then his eyes turned white once more. His voice transcended into hundreds of other booming voices once more and the great tree bent forward ever so slightly.

“We have heard your pleas and seen your past, Caretaker of the Ume. You have until the last petal falls to live your days. Then, the sacrifice must be made, or you will never know rest. This is as it must be,” said the roaring voices of the tree.

“Until the last petal falls,” repeated Hazuki with a sigh of relief.

“We have time. One last spring together,” sighed Naoe in gratitude as the two of them embraced once more.