Hotarubi no Mori e(2002)

Hotarubi no Mori e

A collection of four one shots, one for each season.

1. Hanauta Nagaruru (Overhearing a Flower Song)
At Shima's school, there is an old, abandoned building, and for the past few days, she has been hearing guitar music coming from within. The source of the song is a student learning the guitar from Fujimura, a boy who constantly gets into fights but is kind at heart. Shima is entranced by the melody and soon begins taking lessons from Fujimura as well.

2. Hotarubi no Mori e (蛍火の杜へ, Into the Forest of Fireflies' Light)
When she was six years old, Hotaru Takegawa got lost in the woods. A strange masked man named Gin led her out of the forest, but he told her that if a human ever touched him, he would disappear. She vowed to visit Gin the next day and ended up spending the rest of her summer with him. Every summer since then, Hotaru has come to visit him, and while she ages, he stays the same. But as she grows, so do her feelings.

3. Kurukuru Ochiba (The Fallling of Autumn Leaves)
Tsubaki Kemumaki has been friends with Kaede Kirisato for the past 11 years. Kaede's wealthy parents were usually away, so he was often lonely, but Tsubaki kept him company during those times. Kaede was also nearly kidnapped as a child, and since then, Tsubaki has vowed to protect him. But soon, she realizes that her feelings for him are more than just a desire to protect her childhood friend.

4. Hibi, Fukaku (Deepening the Scar)
When they were children, Ritsu Jinnai and her brother Sou were inseparable. But due to their parents' constant fighting, Sou moved away with their father. Eight years later, they are reunited, and the siblings are overjoyed, but they don't feel the same connection they did before. And what's more, Ritsu begins to feels an ache in her heart when she looks at Sou...