"Haaah… Today was seriously so much fun." Misaki's clear voice drifted up leisurely as she breathed in the misty warmth of the hot spring pools and the biting chill of the snowflakes. She sat there smiling, her pale blonde hair catching the light in smooth, silky strands—the very picture of a young girl lost in love.
Her large, round eyes sparkled with happy laughter. Today, she'd gotten to spend the whole day with Masaru. The boy she'd just met. She'd taken a liking to Masaru the moment she first saw him, so she'd quickly befriended him and experienced a day of irreplaceable joy that only the two of them could share. She'd gone skiing with Masaru, competed in eating soba noodles, visited all thirteen natural hot spring pools... They'd melted into the everyday rhythm of nature and the people here, like wisps of hot steam floating in the air.
"Mm… it really was fun." Masaru beamed. A smile he'd never been able to smile before. For the first time in his entire life, Masaru could let such a radiant expression bloom on his face. He could smile in happiness with the girl beside him, without fearing the judgmental stares of everyone around. Somehow, seeing Masaru playing so carefree with the tourist girl, the impression he left on the villagers seemed to shift ever so slightly.
Some kept their old attitudes. A few looked even more irritated. But others, caught off guard, found themselves smiling at the sight. Most people were stunned, bewildered. Looking at that smile—the smile of a child the entire village had called a demon—it was suddenly, unexpectedly beautiful.
He had a beautiful smile—the beauty of an elegant young man from the hot spring region.
Masaru could never have imagined it. He probably couldn't have imagined in his entire life that he'd be this happy today. Though he didn't know how long it would last, the stiff muscles in Masaru's face relaxed, finally releasing a lifetime of tension. Now, that decayed heart of his was burning once more, kindled by the girl who had given him these sacred moments.
"Hey, Toyotomi." Misaki turned to Masaru, flashing a bright, beaming smile.
"What's your dream?"
The corner of Masaru's lips remained curved, but his heart slammed harder against his ribs at that question. Even though it was such an ordinary thing to ask.
A dream? Do I actually have a dream? What is my dream?
It was as if that question had always been circling inside his mind. Masaru had never thought about it. Those hellish days and months had blinded him, had obscured that deepest human longing.
Masaru's fingers tightened on the hem of his jacket, the muscles in his face twitching with sudden tension. He didn't know how to answer. So…
"Well... um... let's see… So… what's Minamoto's dream?"
"My dream? My dream is… to get into the prestigious Osaka University. Osaka University."
Misaki declared it firmly, her eyes fixed on the horizon where the blazing red sunset danced across the breathtaking canvas of Nozawa Onsen. She wanted to go further, to go even further, chasing the youthful ambition of her dreams. And also—for him. For Toyotomi Masaru. Thinking of that, her heart felt strangely, inexplicably light.
"Really…?"
"For real." Misaki suddenly scooted closer to Masaru. "What about you?"
THUMP! THUMP THUMP! THUMP! THUMP THUMP!
Masaru's frantic heartbeat blared a violent warning. It wasn't tension or fear, but sheer fluster, the blood draining entirely from his face. It only escalated as Misaki sat even closer to him.
Too close!
"Um... uh…"
"Misaki!"
A voice cut through the air, shattering Masaru's flustered haze. The strange man from earlier was now standing right behind them.
"Uncle, where did you go just now?"
"I just had a bit of business to handle. Now, it's time to go. Everything here is settled."
"Eh? We have to leave already?!" Misaki's eyes widened, glistening with a regret she couldn't quite express. She wanted to stay longer. But she'd already been here for days, and WHITE BEAR had finished his business.
Leaving already? No way.
I want to leave something behind. I don't want it to end like this.
Misaki bit her lip softly, her cheeks flushing a faint pink amidst the drifting uncertainty. She wanted to give something to the boy she liked—not just a phone number, or Facebook, or Instagram. She wanted to leave something more. Something beyond that. Something that would leave an indelible mark on the boy, an unbreakable bond. So that whenever he looked at it, he'd remember her. Remember their friendship. And... the feelings she held for Masaru that she hadn't yet dared to confess. But she believed—with a fierce, unwavering faith—that…
"Hey, hey… Toyotomi."
Misaki approached Masaru, who stood there in a daze. Every step, every breath of hers seemed to be trying to say something, something she wanted to entrust to this place.
Time and space seemed to pause for a moment, as if making room for this private exchange. The world seemed to hold only the two of them. A girl from Osaka and a boy from Nagano. Two gazes. Two people born of different fates. But now, they shared the same racing heartbeat, the same deep and earnest gaze, facing each other like betel and areca.
"Yes… what is it?"
Masaru looked straight ahead. A diffuse, inexpressible sadness welled up inside him. A feeling that couldn't be written or spoken with ordinary words. A language from the deepest recesses of the human soul. From within his scar-ridden heart.
And then, from the small jade-green bag she always carried with her, Misaki took out a tiny object. It was a charm pouch of tranquil blue—the color of hope, of the sky after a storm.
"This… is for you."
Misaki held it out, her small, delicate palm trembling slightly from emotion—or was it the cold? Perhaps both. The charm pouch swayed before Masaru's eyes, its meticulously embroidered stitching standing out against the soft fabric.
"Inside... there are three stones. I found them at Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine. They say they're the 'Five Great Powers'—the power of earth, water, fire, wind, and void. But I could only find three. For each one, I made a prayer… for one thing."
Her voice grew softer, but not from shyness—it was because she was pouring her entire heart into every word.
"One for your health. One for your peace. And one… for the most beautiful things to come into your life."
Misaki could no longer look directly into Masaru's eyes. She bowed her head, both cheeks flushed pink in the hazy steam of the hot springs. The snowflakes kept falling, resting on her pale blonde hair, slowly melting on her slender shoulders.
"Originally… I meant to keep them for myself. But then I thought… maybe you need them more than I do."
Masaru stood frozen, as if rooted to the earth. Both arms hung limp at his sides, not knowing what to do. His heart—at once decayed and burning inside his chest—was overwhelmed by a feeling so powerful it choked his breath.
"C-can I… really accept this?"
His voice was hoarse, as if he were about to cry. But he didn't want to cry. Not from shame, but because he was afraid tears would blur this beautiful moment—the first time someone had given him a gift not out of pity, but out of sincerity.
"Of course. I'm giving it to you."
Misaki took Masaru's hand and gently placed the charm pouch into his palm. Her fingers were ice-cold, but to Masaru, they felt impossibly warm—as if a tiny flame had just been lit inside a heart that had been dead for so long.
"Next time we meet, you have to pay me back, okay? Not the charm pouch. I mean… you have to tell me about all the beautiful things that have come to you."
Misaki's smile was more radiant than the sunset glow. She stepped back once, then twice. WHITE BEAR was already waiting behind her, silent as a snow statue.
"Goodbye, Toyotomi Masaru. We'll definitely meet again."
She turned and walked away, without looking back. But Masaru knew—if she looked back, she would see him crying. And he didn't want her to see that. He wanted her to remember him with a smile—even if it was the twisted smile of someone the whole world had cast away.
The blue charm pouch sat neatly in his palm. Masaru clenched it tightly, as if it were all the light left in this world.
"Next time… I'll tell you."
He whispered into the white mist, as snowflakes silently fell upon his stiff, light brown hair.
In that moment, Nozawa Onsen was no longer the place where he was shunned. It became the place where, for the first time, he was loved.