"Like I said before it's a long story no matter how you look at it. But I can go over the basic stuff." Hotaru would admit, but nonetheless would break out in a small story. "Back in 701, in early times of Japan's history, a girl child was born to the head of the Fujiwara clan, Fuhito, and his wife. This child was headstrong and kinda stubborn, but nonetheless loved her father very much. After the death of his wife, Fuhito sought out the hand of a princess of legendary, otherwordly beauty. This princess, however, was fully aware of her desirability and played numerous suitors for fools with her so-called impossible requests to find some mythical artefacts in order to gain her hand in marriage. Fuhito of course too, fell for this, and tried to use the financial power of the clan to find these items. In the end, he could not get them, yet he tried to win the princess over with forgeries he had some artesans make, so smitten was he with this princess. Once the time came to present the items, the princess saw through the ruse and publicly humiliated Fuhito so badly that he lost nearly all credibility and honor he had as a noble and a leader of the clan. The clan started to go downhill shortly afterwards, and Fuhito was removed from his position, his house and possessions forfeit. With the dire straits the house was in, the daughter sought to get revenge on this princess, but was not sure how. But words of her father's supposed items of legend being confiscated reached her ears, and it was revealed that one of the items, the Elixir of Hourai, was the genuine thing. This item was not meant for human use though, and a man named Iwakasa was sent out to dispose of it in the fires of the great Fuji mountain. Surely this potion would help the daughter in her foolish quest to get back at the princess. Going out on her own, she stalked Iwakasa, attacking and slaying him with a sword when he refused to hand the potion of the gods to her. Then, with trembling hands, she unplugged the bottle and drank the golden elixir from within it. This would be the turning point of her life, and the biggest mistake she would ever make. This elixir truly was a divine concoction, and would endow her with the longevity, if not the power, of the divines. Her body engulfed in brilliant light, the daughter faded away, thinking it was her time to move on." she would go through the first part of the story, gripping the haft of the shovel tightly as she recalled the past.
"But... Eventually she came back to her senses, in a some unknown farmer's home... Feeling stronger and more vital than ever. This farmer would end up being her companion for years to come, the way back home now barred. The young farmer and the Fujiwara daughter would bond and live together, working the field, living the simple happy life near the farmer's village. They would see the joys and sorrows of life in the common man's existence, and the daughter would gain valuable vision into a world she had been unaware of previously. Among all of this, one thing raised questions in the man's mind. He had grown older, he was now a man in his 30s. But... the daughter was still the same as she had been before. The two went on like this nonetheless, the farmer making sure that the few suspicious villagers did not get out of line in the face of his life partner.
The two lived their lives, the man eventually reaching his 40s. The daughter... was still the same as she had been 25 years ago.
The farmer turned 50. The daughter was still the same.
Eventually... time claims it's own.
The daughter was still the same as she had been over 60 years ago when the two of then met.
One early spring morning, she dug a grave and buried the man she had loved like she had her father in the past. But even in this somber moment, she could hear them.
The voices of the villagers, calling to her.
Demon child...
Witch...
Evil spirit...
They called her many hurtful things at her moment of weakness. But there was likely a seed of truth in their words. The man had grown up, lived and died with her, and yet she was still the same after all that time...
So, seeing that she was no longer welcome, the estranged daughter of the Fujiwara picked up what little she had and turned away from the village." she would go on, stopping for a bit and let Adelle and Rose take it all in as the memories seemed to be flooding back to her mind. And it clearly did not seem to be the most pleasant of things to recall.