If Winter Comes (Mushishi, Ginko, various themes)
Title: If Winter Comes
Fandom: Mushishi
Subject: Ginko, Isaza
Themes: #4 - Walk beside me, #10 - A night out, #14 - Fair weather friend, rainy day friend, #20 - Making mischief, #29 - Silver lining
Disclaimer: Mushishi is not mine, which is just as well.
(walk beside me)
"Hey," a voice says. "I'm Isaza."
It is the second day Ginko has spent with them, and only the fifth time he has been spoken to. He looks up -- a boy around his age is smiling at him. This is foreign enough an experience for Ginko to be unsure how to react; he settles for simply giving his name.
At the curt response, the look in Isaza’s eyes changes in a way Ginko cannot identify. "Here," he says, holding out a hand. "Walk with me, near the front?"
Ginko nods but does not take the offered hand. Isaza grins anyway.
(making mischief)
Summer wearies even the travelling mushishi, and one afternoon they pause by a lake. Isaza is a practical boy - he has grown up among adults, after all - but he wonders if he should try being frivolous, for the sake of their new, worryingly solemn companion.
"Hey -- do you want to, um, play a prank or something? No one's watching their supplies right now, and. Um."
He trails off. Ginko's reply, when it comes, is apologetic: "I don't mind just staying here."
"Oh." Isaza says, slightly relieved. "Okay."
They watch the ripples on the lake instead; it is enough, for now.
(a night out)
In the winter darkness, the river of light seems to glow more strongly. Ginko points this out, one night; his choice to initiate conversation is enough to startle Isaza, who pauses before saying, uncertainly, "The elders say it's weaker in winter. Since the earth is asleep. Maybe it looks brighter because the rest of the world isn't as alive?"
Ginko considers this. "Like how the sunrise looks best when you're with people, after long nights alone?"
Not quite, Isaza starts to say -- but then he notices Ginko's quiet smile, and supposes there could be some truth in that as well.
(fair weather friend, rainy day friend)
They write only when necessary, and thus not often. Isaza's notes are businesslike to the point of being terse, sometimes little more than lists of mountains that are close to dying, or rivers that should be avoided until autumn. Somewhat more often they detail rumours of cases that Ginko might be interested in. Isaza's handwriting is neat, meticulous; practical.
Yet what matters is this: that Ginko will always know where to turn, when his cases uncover questions he cannot answer; and that Isaza can ask Ginko to visit an old acquaintance two mountains away, already knowing that Ginko will agree.
(silver lining)
The summer monsoon keeps Ginko in the town longer than expected. It is just as well that compensation for the delay turns up, in the form of Isaza and the other travelling mushishi -- but along with them comes ironically clear weather.
Still, Ginko stays a few days more. "It would be nice to go with you," Isaza says, his laugh almost apologetic when he bids Ginko farewell. As Ginko leaves he thinks of Adashino and Tanyuu, of duty and commitments and how even Isaza has something to follow; the clouds above, gilded silver by the sun, drift on towards nowhere.
Fandom: Mushishi
Subject: Ginko, Isaza
Themes: #4 - Walk beside me, #10 - A night out, #14 - Fair weather friend, rainy day friend, #20 - Making mischief, #29 - Silver lining
Disclaimer: Mushishi is not mine, which is just as well.
(walk beside me)
"Hey," a voice says. "I'm Isaza."
It is the second day Ginko has spent with them, and only the fifth time he has been spoken to. He looks up -- a boy around his age is smiling at him. This is foreign enough an experience for Ginko to be unsure how to react; he settles for simply giving his name.
At the curt response, the look in Isaza’s eyes changes in a way Ginko cannot identify. "Here," he says, holding out a hand. "Walk with me, near the front?"
Ginko nods but does not take the offered hand. Isaza grins anyway.
(making mischief)
Summer wearies even the travelling mushishi, and one afternoon they pause by a lake. Isaza is a practical boy - he has grown up among adults, after all - but he wonders if he should try being frivolous, for the sake of their new, worryingly solemn companion.
"Hey -- do you want to, um, play a prank or something? No one's watching their supplies right now, and. Um."
He trails off. Ginko's reply, when it comes, is apologetic: "I don't mind just staying here."
"Oh." Isaza says, slightly relieved. "Okay."
They watch the ripples on the lake instead; it is enough, for now.
(a night out)
In the winter darkness, the river of light seems to glow more strongly. Ginko points this out, one night; his choice to initiate conversation is enough to startle Isaza, who pauses before saying, uncertainly, "The elders say it's weaker in winter. Since the earth is asleep. Maybe it looks brighter because the rest of the world isn't as alive?"
Ginko considers this. "Like how the sunrise looks best when you're with people, after long nights alone?"
Not quite, Isaza starts to say -- but then he notices Ginko's quiet smile, and supposes there could be some truth in that as well.
(fair weather friend, rainy day friend)
They write only when necessary, and thus not often. Isaza's notes are businesslike to the point of being terse, sometimes little more than lists of mountains that are close to dying, or rivers that should be avoided until autumn. Somewhat more often they detail rumours of cases that Ginko might be interested in. Isaza's handwriting is neat, meticulous; practical.
Yet what matters is this: that Ginko will always know where to turn, when his cases uncover questions he cannot answer; and that Isaza can ask Ginko to visit an old acquaintance two mountains away, already knowing that Ginko will agree.
(silver lining)
The summer monsoon keeps Ginko in the town longer than expected. It is just as well that compensation for the delay turns up, in the form of Isaza and the other travelling mushishi -- but along with them comes ironically clear weather.
Still, Ginko stays a few days more. "It would be nice to go with you," Isaza says, his laugh almost apologetic when he bids Ginko farewell. As Ginko leaves he thinks of Adashino and Tanyuu, of duty and commitments and how even Isaza has something to follow; the clouds above, gilded silver by the sun, drift on towards nowhere.