The Snow Also Rises

 “Jin, I guided you once before, let me guide you once more.” said Debuu-ni, grave. “Set your grief aside, if only for a moment; together, we can end this.”

The bug and the boy exchanged a look of shared purpose. Jin stood up, Inês and Lu still on either side of him; he swallowed his ache, a determined cast on his face, and nodded to himself.

“What do we need to do?” he asked, the furrows of his dried tears carved on his visage.

“Like I said, we're going to turn you into warriors.” responded Debuu-ni. “But first, we have to make a new friend.”

And so, the trio followed Debuu-ni into the forest. Inês didn't know if it was the nerves of what had just happened, or if her mind was merely playing tricks on her, but it felt like like the trees were watching them as they passed; ever so slightly gyrating, like sunflowers looking for their mother. Other than that, the road was uneventful. Jin was focused forward, his mind no doubt rushing through countless scenarios, past and future; Lu was nervously holding Inês' hand, sometimes muttering to herself, probably in Spanish; for her part, Inês was paying attention to everything around them, worried that Truck-kun or another one of his envoys might be waiting for them around a corner.

The sun was on its way down by the time they reached a snowy glade. The silent, circular clearing was surrounded by cedar trees, the branches of which bowed under heavy layers of white shimmery snow. The sylvan dome kept the wind at bay, conferring a serene, almost churchly atmosphere upon the place. Only their steps disturbed the quietude, the powdered glass-like snow crunching beneath their weight.

Debuu-ni sat directly on the floor, in the center of the clearing; when it closed its cardinal wings, its milky body blended in perfectly with its surroundings. The bug looked up, resolute.

“We do it now, before he tries to stop us.” said Debuu-ni.

“We do… what?” asked Lu, lost.

Debuu-ni gave no answer but this: “They won't be as strong without Marcel, but this'll have to do.” Inês assumed the bug was thinking aloud, because it wasn't addressing any of them directly at that point. “Jin, you put yourself here, on the east. Lu, you're south. I'll be the west. Inês, you're in the center.”

Everyone followed the instructions, darting circumspect looks as they awaited to see what would happen.

“This is how it's gonna go.” said Debuu-ni, its tone like a teacher's during a lecture. “Jin, you'll start playing your komabue. Lu, you'll dance up a fiery storm. Inês, you'll sing from the heart.”

They exchanged another look.

“And it's primordial that you don't stop until she's back with us.”

“She?” asked Inês.

“Now!” exclaimed Debuu-ni.

The woods' shadows, cast by the blood orange sun, netted the stage. Jin sat cross-legged on the floor and raised his flute. With a slow, temperate breath, he played; his breath like smoke in the crisp wintry air. The low, ancestral notes drifted across the glade. Lu shed her straw coat, her yukata waltzing with the wind. Slowly, she engaged in an enchanting choreography, her spirals sculpting patterns in the ground as she went. After an instant of hesitation, Inês began to sing. She wove her Portuguese lyrics, messages of pain and tears, dreams and the night, with Jin's Korean melody; the result was a mournful tapestry, dim and deliberate, against which Lu's Mexican dance delineated itself. Meanwhile, Debuu-ni fluttered in place, glowing white hot.

One rhythm awakened; pulsating. The soil was overtaken with tremors, shaking the cedar trees bare. With a crackling sound, the earth tore apart. Striae of stretched void hatched the ground; not obscured, but shining blindingly instead. Debuu-ni's pompon tail twitched with anticipation, its gaze fixated on the light. A scorching warmth erupted from the rifts; like spring and summer had arrived all at once. With a deafening crescendo, a final column of light burst straight to the sky. Though they were still playing, Jin and Inês' song went unheard. Lu continued to dance, but no one could distinguish her among the effervescent radiance.

The light didn't stop, it volatilized; flowing into the air like infinitesimal fireflies. It took some time for Inês' eyes to acclimate to the evening air. When they did, she saw a blurry figure arise among silver steam from a deep crater. It was white and delicate, with long, jet-black strands of hair framing its visage. The wind found its way to the scene somehow, carrying with it the cedar trees' smell of pencil shavings and moving the silhouette's flowy dark hairs with grace. Unburdened, the trees stood taller, swaying in the breeze softly. Her eyes finally focused on the figure, that's when Inês recognized her: the late Yuki-onna.

“Yuki-onna.” said Debuu-ni with reverence. “We brought you back because we need your help... And we humbly offer you ours.”

She stood, silent and nude, watching Debuu-ni and each of the teens in turn.

“They know the truth.” continued the bug. “They know your past, as well as mine, and... his. They want to end this.”

Twilight had overtaken the ether. The cold glow of the evening blossom made her skin go from white to translucent. Her fists were balled; her inky, almond-shaped eyes laser rapt.

“I'm sorry!” Lu cried out.

They all turned to her.

“When we fought, I really believed I was doing what was right.” she said, her eyes welling up with tears. “I know it doesn't undo my actions, but I'm truly sorry. Please, forgive me.”

A cover of silence fell, heavy with the weight of Lu's words, but she wasn't done yet; with a dull thud, her knees hit the bare ground, and she lowered herself forward, pressing flat against the soil. Inês felt her heart constricted by pity. She watched the scene unfold carefully. Jin was inscrutable, and Debuu-ni hovered, its eyes going quickly from face to face.

“申し訳ありません… 本当に申し訳ありません。” said Lu.

Soaked in chagrin, her voice became but a whisper.

With a wistful smile, the Yuki-onna gazed upon the night sky. It was snowing, now, but the snow wasn't coming down, it was going up. She looked at Jin and Inês, then Lu again.

“Get to your feet.” she said firmly. “I accept your apology.”

Without another word, she started walking toward the woods, undaunted. Inês helped Lu up and they went to follow her, but Jin stopped them.

“I need to know,” he demanded of Debuu-ni. “What do we do now?”

“We make you into warriors.” the bug answered simply. "And we end this once and for all."

Then, it fluttered away, quickly catching up with the Yuki-onna's luminescent figure. Inês and Lu in tow.

Before he went with them, Jin looked up at the rising snow, the full moon reflecting in his heart.