"They are distant creatures." "Primitive and peculiar, they are things unlike any animal or plant we've grown to know." "In time and with fear, Man has come to call them "Mushi"." "I walk ten thousand miles," "Ten thousand miles to see you." "And every gasp of breath I grabbed at just to find you." "And every single step of the way," "I pay." "Every single night and day," "I searched for you." "Through sandstorms, and hazy dawns," "I reached... for you." "Someone is coming." "Someone strange is coming." "Someone is coming." "I swear I just saw something." "Maybe it was a monkey." "The greenery here is so vivid that it's odd." "This place..." "The Green Throne" "Naturally gifted..." "There are those, every so often," "who have the natural conditions to summon life — water, plants." "Dear" "I can at least write with my left hand." "The sunlight is slowly becoming more bearable, the leaves are turning red and the birds..." "I'm left-handed anyway, so it's easier for me to write this way." "Shoot, that's right." "These characters are really drawings, hieroglyphics, as they're called." "Which is nice, but..." "Hey, get back here, "bird"!" "What the hell?" "Don't wander off outside!" "Ink?" "Did you see it?" "Yeah, clear as day." "You must be Ioroi Shinra-kun." "Yeah." "Did you get my letter?" "Oh, then you must be the Mushi-shi, Ginko-san." "I was just in the act of writing you a rejection letter." "I've received several requests for investigation in the past, but I rejected all of them." "By my grandmother's will," ""Don't let others know of your abilities... and keep them hidden for as long as possible."" "As you've seen, when I make a depiction of some form, even an inanimate object comes to life." "But it is not man's place to create new beings, for that would anger the gods." "So I was forbidden by my grandmother to draw with my left hand." "Nothing happens when I draw with my right hand, but I hurt my finger the other day, and..." "Well, you saw what happened." "I see." "It sure took me by surprise." "It scared me too." "I really had no idea that even words would come to life." "I've seen some really weird things come to life." "Oh?" "Such as?" "Umbrellas, back scratchers, and..." "An investigation is out of the question!" "But that doesn't mean that I'm going to make you leave right away." "It must have been tough coming all the way up this mountain." "You should rest here for the night." "And it's been a while since I've talked with anyone, so I'd love to chat." "Here." "I made this berry wine." "I usually drink alone here." "Wow." "You live alone in this isolated place?" "Ever since my grandma died four years ago, yes." "She told me that I couldn't leave this house." "Indeed, if this kid lived downtown and accidentally brought something to life, they wouldn't let him live in peace." "His abilities are way beyond human comprehension." "Sounds like your grandmother was a wise woman." "Yeah." "She always looked out for me." "But..." "Could you take a look at this?" "Did you draw these?" "Yeah." "I sort of come up with these things when I'm alone." "I've always wondered what they were." "I always loved watching them, so I'd draw them and show them to Grandma." "But she said..." "Why do you always see these illusions?" "It must be because of your horrible powers." "You must stop seeing them." "Oh, how dreadful." "You poor child." "She never believed what I saw, even to her last breath." "So I sometimes thought that there really must be something wrong with me." "That was the one thing that I couldn't share with Grandma." "That's because... these are all Mushi." "Mushi?" "Yeah, not quite like the insects we're accustomed to." "Put bluntly, it's like this." "Say these four fingers are animals, and my thumb is a plant." "Man is here, furthest away from the heart, at the tip of the middle finger." "The lower you are on the hand, the more primitive you become." "If you trace them, the veins all converge around the wrist." "Yeah." "Bacteria and microbes are here." "At this point, it's hard to distinguish between plants and animals." "But there are things even lower than that." "Up the arm... past the shoulder... and here are the Mushi, or as others call them, the Midorimono." "They are close to being merely essences of life." "And because they are, their shapes and existences are vague." "Some people can see them, some people can't." "Some of them are invisible, like ghosts." "A lot of the so-called "ghosts" are actually Mushi." "Some can even pretend to be human." "Your grandmother just couldn't see them." "It's hard to share one's perception." "The same way it's impossible to convey how something feels without them having felt it for themselves." "It's hard to understand something that can't be seen..." "let alone the world it lives in." "But, Grandma, I can't help but be happy that such things exist in our world." "Hm, where's the washroom..." "Sheesh, this house is huge." "It's old too." "Hard to believe he lives here alone." "Hm, something just passed by." "Well, not that I didn't expect Mushi here." "Where'd you go?" "A Mushi Pin, huh?" "So you stick Mushi onto that and put them up as decorations, do you?" "Vile Mushi-shi." "Vile?" "You're one to talk, Mushi." "Wh..." "What is this smoke?" "It's a Mushi, just like you." "Cute, isn't it?" "Clings to its own kind and never lets go." "Doesn't last long, though." "Oh?" "It may be broken, but it's still a pretty wine cup." "Were you drinking under the moonlight or something?" "Shut up, and give it back." "Shamelessly intruding into people's homes." "Get out, now." "You sure are stuck-up for a Mushi." "People's homes, eh?" "Is this your home?" "Yeah, it is." "Ah, I see." "You're one of them." "You're one of those who used to be human but acquired Mushi traits." "That's why you're so weak, because you're incomplete as a Mushi." "A chipped, green wine cup." "It tells me why you're the way you are... and who you are." "Your name is..." "Renzu." "I looked into Shinra's background before I came up here, after all." "I can tell you how to fix this wine cup." "Would you like to know..." "Grandma Renzu?" "Grandma's still in this house?" "Well, not as a human, of course." "She's here as a half human, half Mushi." "How... can this be?" "There's a phenomenon known as a "Mushi Banquet"." "It's when Mushi pretend to be human and invite guests to their parties." "The guest is given a cup of wine, and when they drink the whole cup, they lose their identity as a sentient being." "In other words, they become inhabitants of the world of the Mushi." "So Grandma..." "Yeah." "But the banquet was cut short, and your grandma was fortunate enough to not turn into a Mushi." "However, Grandma, when she returned... was no longer the Grandma she was before." "She left half of herself in the other world." "Shinra, the Grandma you knew... was only half of herself." "But the other half of her was always here too, watching over you ever since the day you were born." "No way..." "I had no idea." "You can't see her because she's not a complete Mushi, but with your ability, we can make her a complete Mushi." "She won't be able to come back to this world." "You decide." "Really?" "Can I really... see Shinra that way?" "Your grandma didn't hesitate for very long." "You will help her, right, Shinra?" "Don't watch me while I draw." "Yeah, I know." "All right, Shinra." "Draw the wine cup Grandma was holding as I explained earlier, with your left hand." "Eh?" "But I don't know what color it is or what it even looks like." "That doesn't matter." "Just use your imagination." "My imagination..." "You should be able to." "The other half of the wine cup your grandmother received should be passed on to her children and grandchildren." "He told me not to watch him, but does he really think I wouldn't?" "Green." "I think it's green." "A rich, vibrant green like the green of this place." "And it's flat and round." "Bingo!" "Amazing." "It's splitting." "Renzu!" "Are you there, Grandma?" "I'm going to put them together." "What is this?" "Now, drink it, Renzu." "Grandma?" "What are you two blushing about?" "Well, you see, she was younger than I thought and stuff." "Here, have some too, to celebrate." "Huh?" "It's Grandma's memories." "I should hurry, the sun's setting." "Mushi?" "I can't get out of the line." "Now, drink, Ioroi Renzu." "This banquet is for you." "How fragrant." "With every sip," "I lose my ability to think." "Is it to your liking?" "It is a creature called Kouki." "It dwells deep in the darkness and forms an enormous stream of light." "We created for you a unique wine cup that can extract from that stream." "From the day life was born, it has existed." "Life grows strong where it is close and dries up when it is not." "In short, it is the water of life." "Nothing in this world is more delicious than this." "It is because we have a request of you that we treat you with this wine and such hospitality." "Thirty-one years from now, a grandson will be born to you, with a unique ability with which he may change the entire living world." "We wish for you to look after him." "My grandson?" "The ability will be a blessing both unto your grandson and this world." "If that is your wish, we will give you strength." "Now, finish the rest of the wine." "It's dry." "I have to go home." "Shinra?" "Huh?" "What's wrong with me?" "Shinra's tears would not stop flowing." "Renzu's senses, her emotions, had flowed into him." "She was sad." "Sad that the wine cup broke." "And, as if in sympathy," "Kouki flowed out of the cup." "Endlessly, it flowed." "Are you leaving now?" "Wow, there's moss everywhere." "Yeah, everywhere the Kouki soaked in last night." "Are you going to give up on that "investigation" of Shinra?" "I suppose." "Now that his pesky guardian is back." "You should drop by some time, as long as you don't do an investigation." "Shinra must be lonely being here by himself." "I don't think I'll have to, now that you'll always be by his side." "Huh?" "Where's Ginko?" "He already left." "Man, he didn't even say goodbye." "We didn't have a chance to thank him, either." "No, but... the green wine cup's missing." "I heard no more about the child with God's left hand ever since." "The Light in the Eyelids." "The Light in the Eyelids." "The Light in the Eyelids."