Hotarubi no Mori e (蛍火の杜へ)

There we go...

Make sure you listen to your uncle.

Yeah.

Do you have your handkerchief?

Your ticket?

A nice pair of shoes?

Wait, don't tell me that's everything?

It's fine.

I made sure I packed the black ones.

Make sure you don't forget your luggage on the bullet train, okay?

Don't zone out and miss your stop.

Yeah, I got it!

Jeez.

I've been going there every year, so I'll be all right.

Hey, put on a hat.

You'll get heat stroke.

It's alright!

I'm fine.

See you!

The first time I met him

was when I was six.

The Light of a Firefly Forest

On a hot summer day,

I got lost in the forest of the mountain god,

which was said to be where spirits lived.

After running around searching for an exit

I became so tired I couldn't move.

When I started crying from fear and loneliness,

he appeared before me.

Hey!

Shorty!

Why are you crying?

It's a person!

I'm saved!

S-Sorry.

You're a human child, right?

If a human touches me, I'll disappear.

If a human...?

You're not a human?

I'm...

something that lives in this forest.

What?

Then...

you're one of the spirits?

But...

what do you mean by disappear?

Y-You're really not human after all...

N-No human would hit a child like that!

To disappear means to be obliterated.

That's the spell that the mountain god placed upon me.

If I get touched by a human,

that's the end.

I-I'm sorry.

Here, shorty.

Grab the other end.

You're lost, aren't you?

I'll lead you out of the forest.

Thank you!

Didn't I just tell you?

Sorry, I just...

It's just like going on a date!

Not a very romantic one...

You...

aren't afraid.

Of what?

Never mind.

If you go straight, you'll hit the mountain path.

Bye.

Are you always going to be here?

If I come back here, can we meet again?

This is the forest where the mountain god and spirits live.

Set foot within, and you'll lose your way and be lost forever.

You shouldn't come here.

That's what the villagers say, right?

I'm Takegawa Hotaru.

You?

Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow with a thank-you present!

Bye!

It's Gin.

Hotaru!

Ah, Uncle!

Hotaru, you idiot!

If you go into the forest on your own and get hurt,

what are you gonna do?

Uncle.

Huh?

Is it true that there are spirits living in that forest?

Oh, the mountain god's forest...

Who knows.

That's what they say.

When I was little, I wanted to meet the spirits,

so my friends and I often went into the forest.

In the end, I never met any,

but I had the feeling I'd occasionally spot something

from the corner of my eye.

On summer nights,

you could hear the sounds of the river coming from the forest.

And now that I think about it,

Iwa said she and her friends went and had fun

at a summer festival in the forest.

But there's no way the villagers would've held a festival in the forest.

So then, whose festival could it have been?

It started this crazy story that

they must've snuck into a festival for the spirits.

Man, that takes me back!

We were so stupid back when we were kids.

This is the forest where the mountain god and spirits live.

Set foot within, and you'll lose your way and be lost forever.

You came.

I didn't think you'd really come back.

You...

You waited for me!

You just don't learn, do you?

I was so happy, I just...

Sorry.

It's a bit hot here.

Shall we go somewhere cooler?

What?

Don't worry.

I'll see you out of here again.

Gin.

Is that a human child?

Can I eat it?

No.

She's my friend.

Is that so?

Human child.

Please don't touch Gin's skin.

If you do, I'll eat you!

Oh!

Is that a fox?

He's another one of the spirits.

He transforms to scare people, but he's all bark and no bite.

Amazing!

This is the first time I've seen a real spirit!

So they really do exist!

Amazing! So what did you think I was?

So what did you think I was?

So amazing! So what did you think I was?

So what did you think I was?

Incredibly amazing! So what did you think I was?

Gin, are you a No-Face or something?

Why do you wear a mask?

No particular reason.

Never mind me.

Tell me about yourself.

Are you curious?

That's why I waited for you.

The next day and the day after that, I went back to the forest.

Those summer days, I ran and played all around the mountain.

Over here, over here!

It's better over there.

There.

Thank you!

Even though it was silly,

it was so much fun.

Did Gin fall asleep?

It's fine if I touch his mask, right?

Ah, sorry!

Ouch!

Attacking someone while they're asleep...

You sure are a scary little lady.

I'm sorry, but

you were pretending to sleep, weren't you?

I looked normal, didn't I?

Why are you wearing that mask?

If I don't wear this mask,

I don't look like a spirit, do I?

You're weird.

Um, Gin.

I won't be able

to come here tomorrow.

I told you about it before, right?

That I'm just staying at my uncle's place for the summer?

So I have to go home tomorrow.

Will you be able to come again next year?

Yeah!

This is how summer

became something I looked forward to.

Gin waited for our promised summer.

It's cold!

You're weird.

Of course the water is cold.

Gin!

Gin!

It's dangerous, Gin.

That's a human child.

If she touches you, you'll disappear.

Thank you.

I'm fine.

Please don't touch him, human child.

Yes.

Gin.

Be careful.

The spirits can touch him, right?

Two summers passed.

Then three.

Hotaru!

Where are you?

Hotaru.