Echoes of the Mountain [End of Prologue]

Hale opened his eyes.

The snow blinded him, and again a dull headache throbbed in his skull, but his thoughts were clear, his memories intact.

No storm, no fog, only the crisp, cold air of morning.

Slowly he pushed himself up, blinked against the light, and finally recognized the Shintō shrine, or rather, what was left of it.

The stone was split, as if something had burst out from within.

“Neko-gami?” His voice echoed faintly between the trees, but no answer came.

He looked around, but the slope was silent.

No trace of the cat, only forest and snow.

Then his eyes fell to the ground beside him.

Where Koori had lain, there remained an imprint and a trail of delicate, barefoot footprints leading down the slope.

Hale frowned.

“Where did she go?”

He struggled to his feet and followed the prints, the snow crunching softly beneath his boots.

The sky was cloudless, and a cool wind drifted down from Mount Fuji, tugging at his jacket.

Everything feels so… normal. Almost too normal.

The tracks led through a patch of open forest, past frozen streams, until the snow thinned.

At last he reached a small rise.

And there she was.

Barefoot, her arms hanging loosely at her sides, her gaze fixed on a mountain road.

Asphalt, lane markings, a bus stop, a sign with Japanese characters.

“Koori!” he called, stumbling toward her.

She turned her head slowly, as if she had been expecting him.

“You’re awake,” she said softly.

Hale stopped beside her, gasping for air.

“That cat, Neko-gami, I think she used me to break something open. Koori? Are you listening to me?”

She smiled faintly. “The air smells different here.”

“What?”

A bus approached from the distance, rumbling along the road, and Koori followed it with curious, sparkling eyes.

Finally she looked up at him.

“I'm sorry, what did you say?”

Hale rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “The cat... she said she would help me…”

Koori flinched and her expression darkened; for a heartbeat, her eyes flickered with fear.

“The cat? I told you not to listen to her,” she whispered.

Yet there was no anger in her voice, only a trace of sadness, as if she blamed herself.

“I know,” Hale said quietly, almost ashamed. “Do you know what happened?” 

“The seal,” she whispered. “I could feel it shatter. She is free now.”

Hale hesitated. “What is she? And what does she want?”

“My mother always warned me about her. That’s all…”

Her mother? Konohana… whatever?

“And where were you all this time?” Hale asked.

Koori turned to him. “I don’t know.” She lowered her gaze. “I only remember the cave. Then I was lying beside you in the snow.”

She doesn’t know?

For a moment they stood in silence, only the wind sweeping over the road.

Hale rubbed his forehead and took a deep breath.

“Okay. First things first.”

He raised his arm, showing the shimmering mark on his wrist.

“So this thing isn’t actually going to turn me into an ice sculpture?”

Koori blinked.

“An ice sculpture?” She tilted her head slightly, as if she had to think about the word. Then she giggled and shook her head gently. “Of course not, don’t be silly!”

“Then… what is it?”

Koori looked at his hand, almost reverently.

“It’s the mark of the mountain. Half of it.”

“Half?” he echoed.

She suddenly seemed embarrassed and uncertain.

“I think… I gave it to you. By accident.”

“By accident!? How do you even do something like that by accident?”

Koori didn’t answer right away and her gaze drifted up the slope, toward the white summit.

“When I warmed you, I shared half of my power somehow. A piece of me is now a part of you.”

Hale stared at her in disbelief, then at the mark.

“So that means… you have the other half?”

Koori blinked, thought for a moment, then suddenly unbuttoned her blouse and flung it open.

Between her half-exposed breasts glowed the same spiral-shaped symbol, only mirrored from his.

“Yes, see?” she said, unconcerned.

Hale’s face turned red, and he turned away instantly.

“W-what are you doing!?”

She looked at him, surprised. “You wanted to see it.”

“I meant… I didn’t know it was… there!”

Koori glanced down at the mark on her chest, then at his.

“They belong together,” she said calmly, then tilted her head curiously. “Are you alright? You’re all red.”

“No! I... uh...”

“Then you don’t want to look at it anymore?”

He sighed and muttered under his breath, “please, just… b-button it up again, okay!?”

She did so, still watching him confused, as if she couldn’t quite understand his reaction.

A gust of wind carried snowflakes across the slope as Hale took a deep breath. 

“So… what now?”

She was silent for a while, then said softly, “I don’t know. But I can feel that Fuji-san no longer holds me here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Something has loosened. The task I was bound to… has fallen silent. I used to hear the mountain breathing,” she whispered. “Now there’s only an echo. And…”

She briefly touched the mark over her heart. “…a faint connection. To you.”

Her gaze drifted toward the bus stop below the road.

Then she turned back to Hale; her eyes sparkled.

“Can I ask you something?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“Would you take me with you? Please!?”

The words came out like a plea, soft and sincere, leaving him momentarily speechless.

“Take you… with me? You want to go away?”

She nodded eagerly, determination in her eyes.

“But… don’t you have to guard the mountain or something?”

For a moment she was silent.

Then she slowly lifted her head, as if listening to something far away. “I already told you, Fuji-san no longer calls me,” she said quietly. “Since I shared my power with you… it’s been silent.”

Then she shook her head vigorously, as if to drive the thought away. 

“Also, I don’t want to go back!”

Hale looked at her in surprise. “You… don’t?”

“I’m tired of the snow! I want to meet people, make friends, hear their stories, I want to…”, her voice grew small,“… I don’t want to be alone anymore...”

Hale looked at her for a long time, uncertain yet moved.

“You really want to come with me? Where do you want to stay?”

She nodded. “At your place of course.”

He almost choked. “M-my place!? Do you even know where I’m going? I live in Tokyo, in a tiny apartment. There’s barely enough space for me.”

Koori smiled. “I don’t need much space.”

“And I have to work. All week. I barely have any time, and…”

“Then I’ll just wait for you,” she said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. “I can read books while you’re gone. Please!”

Hale sighed. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

She nodded.

He wanted to say something else, but when he looked into her starfilled eyes, all resistance faded.

I can’t just abandon her here anyway...

“Well… alright then, I guess you can stay with me for a while...” he muttered at last, glancing down at her bare feet. “But you’ll need shoes.”

“Shoes?” she asked, puzzled. “What for?”

“What for? Well… because that’s what people wear in the city.”

“I can try,” she said hesitantly, as if it were some kind of experiment.

A faint, uncertain smile crossed Hale’s face. “Alright then… let’s see when the next bus comes.”

They followed the path down to the bus stop.

Some time later a deep rumble echoed as the next one approached. It climbed up the mountain road, squealed to a halt, and stopped right in front of them.

Hale exhaled in relief. “Perfect timing. We’ll take this one.”

But when the doors hissed open, he froze.

The driver looked at them with yellow eyes, gray fur glinting under his cap. 

On the seats behind him, dozens more.

Cats.

Upright, with bags, headphones, smartphones.

Not a single human among them.

Hale stared into the bus, unable to speak.

Beside him, Koori tilted her head curiously.

“Hale?” she whispered. “Is something wrong?”

“Uh, well…”

The driver grumbled, “well, in or out, human? Don’t got all day… nya.”

Mechanically, Hale stepped inside, bought two tickets, and sat beside Koori, who looked around with bright curiosity, not the least bit surprised.

The doors closed with another hiss, and the bus slowly rolled forward, the cats eyeing them critically.

A mother cat took her two kittens and moved further back, as if the presence of humans bothered her.

Then, almost whispering, Hale said:

“I think we’d better find Neko-gami… soon.”