Ruu sits under the stone arch of the ceremonial site, rocking side to side and humming a quiet tune to himself. Today is rather clear, weather wise. Still Ruu can almost taste the fog that used to hang over Tsurumi — after so long living under fog, sometimes the fresh air tastes funny. Unnatural.
The condition of the site, however, is something Ruu is already familiar with. He has watched as it weathered and broke down into the state it is in today. The alter is gone, corroded into rocks that are undoubtedly scattered around the area, worn down until no one can tell the difference between it and any other stone. Similarly, Ruu's blood is long since gone. It stained the ground for a while, maybe a few tens of years, before rain and fog wore it away.
As his gaze drifts, Ruu stops humming and begins mumbling to himself, reenacting snippets of conversations as he looks over where the other ghosts used to stand.
"'Whatever the case, old man, just mind your own mushrooms,' says Granny Una. 'Hey now, the Fluorescent Fungus are the good stuff, alright?', says Grampa Abe." Ruu recounts under his breath, "'Look at you, Kito-nii, you've got two guesses in a row!' says Kina-chan. 'I wonder... Does Grandpa Mata also not know about what happened so long ago?' says Kito-kun."
Ruu's eyes stop on where his dad and Chise used to stand.
"...'The Great Thunderbird will surely be pleased with the ceremony this time...'"
Ruu stops swaying and pulls up his knees, hugging them close and putting his chin on top. After a moment of silence, he looks away from that spot and starts singing to himself — the same song he sang to Kapatcir on Seirai. The song echoes across the island, sound uninterrupted by any hint of fog.
Lots of things are the same on Tsurumi Island, but lots of things are different too.
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