Fushi/Plot

Nameless Boy Arc
At first, "It" took the form of a sphere that could imitate anything that existed. Sometime after being dropped onto the Earth, It assumed the form of a rock and once temperatures began to rise, It copied the appearance of moss. Before long, as snow began to fall, a single wolf came ambling from the south, and, once it collapsed, "It" took the form of that creature. Having gained a consciousness "It", now in the form of a wolf, continued walking and carving into its mind new sensations.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the wolf comes across a boy. The Nameless Boy calling the wolf "Joaan", is very excited to see it and is very happy it didn't forget about him. Noticing that Joaan isn't acting normal, the boy carries it into the house where he tries to give it food, but to no avail. Once inside, "Joaan" takes in the atmosphere of the house - observing the sounds, the smell, and the warmth. If It could speak, It would probably say "I want to stay here forever".

The next morning, after trying (and failing) once again to feed Joaan, the boy and the wolf go out to gather wood. Besides the boy, there are no people to be found and the only thing outside is houses that have long since fallen into ruin. The boy cuts and gathers the wood from a nearby house, telling Joaan it's like borrowing from other people. But he expresses guilt, saying he knows, deep down, that if the others were to come back they would probably be angry at him. He understands though that if he doesn't do this, he will die. He holds hope that the other people of his village will come back even though they've been gone for five years.

The boy tells Joaan how much he would have liked to go with them. He recalls trying to sneak out and follow them, but Joaan stopped him by biting his leg. As a result, other people found out and told him to stay put and take care of his grandparents.

After gathering wood, they head back to the house and check the fishing lines to discover a giant fish on the other end. To save fuel, they eat it raw. Noticing Joaan refusing to eat for the third time, the boy wonders if the wolf has forgotten how to eat. He shows it how to eat and the wolf immediately mimics the boy's actions and says the word "here".

Later that night, It watches the boy draw pictures of the other villagers on the wall. The boy tells Joaan he is doing this so there is evidence that other people lived here and so he doesn't forget. He then tells Joaan that he is thinking of leaving because he wants to see the world and experience new things. The boy spends all of the next days preparing for the journey and, once he is finally done, they head south. After hours of walking, they come across a marker that tells them to continue heading south and they decide to rest for the night.

The two continue on their journey, finding more and more markers. After about five days, the boy finds a bush that he says proves they are getting closer to the mountains and, just as they are about to continue, the boy slips and falls into the water, injuring his left leg. They decide to stop for the day so the boy can tend to his injury. He tries to reassure himself that it is just a flesh wound and that he can keep going.

As the days pass, it is obvious the boy is losing strength, as he cannot continue walking for long periods of time, and his injury is starting to swell. He continues to try and convince himself that turning back now would be foolish and that surely they don't have much farther to go. Just as he says this, the boy spots a marker with a crossed-out arrow, telling them that going forward will not lead to paradise. To the left, the boy sees broken down wagons and multiple headstones. The boy, trying to remain optimistic, tells Joaan that everyone got this far, which means paradise can't be far away now. Breaking down into tears, the boy asks Joaan if they can make it to the mountains but, when the wolf doesn't respond, he becomes frustrated wondering why it doesn't answer him. He continues crying even harder, knowing that Joaan can't respond and that he's been talking to himself the whole time. He apologizes and decides that going home would be the best thing to do.

Once home, the boy cries himself to sleep and awakes the next morning with a fever. He makes Joaan food and checks on his wound, which is now infected. He tells himself that his wound is healing and that once it heals, they will try to find the mountains again. However, the boy's fever is even worse the next day and he has no strength to get out of bed. Later that night, he struggles to get to his chair, saying "If I'm sleeping when they all come back, that would be embarrassing, right?" He asks Joaan to never forget about him and quietly lays back in his chair.

After an unknown amount of time, the boy's body falls to the ground. The wolf tries to get him to move but is unsuccessful. It grabs ahold of the boy's coat and immediately begins taking on the form of the boy. It leaves in search of "an even stronger impetus" and will no doubt fulfill the boy's wish of exploring the world.

Spirit Bear Arc
After parting with The Nameless Boy, the Immortal journeyed south and crossed the mountain, fulfilling The Boy's wish to go beyond the mountain toward paradise. However, he quickly met the Spirit Bear and was mauled, leaving him dead and falling from the mountain to the forest below.

In the forest, the Immortal revived and met March, a little girl from Ninannah region who was meant to be a sacrifice to placate the Spirit Bear. Though at first terrified at witnessing The Immortal's gruesome revival process, March quickly has taken a liking to The Immortal and followed him around.

March was disturbed from the Immortal's lack of humanity, though that feeling quickly turned to sympathy after seeing how The Immortal can't even eat properly and doesn't have a place to belong. She decided to become the Immortal's mother, naming him Fushi from the word Fujimi ''(不死身 lit. Undying Body/Immortal). ''

A day after they met, the escorts led by Hayase finally caught up to March and took her. Fushi wandered the woods until he met Parona who asked if he had seen the little girl. Fushi then led her to the sacrificial site where March was tied to an altar, soon to be consumed by the Spirit Bear. After seeing March and Parona being attacked by the bear, Fushi turned into Wolf and fought the Spirit Bear, ultimately felling the monstrous beast. In the aftermath of the battle, March gave him a fruit and he responded with his first words, "Thank you"

When Hayase took March and Parona, Fushi came with them to Yanome. During the journey, he became closer to March to the point where he would only follow her and was taught about how to eat and bathroom manners. At this point, his mentality was that of a dog, unshakably loyal to his mother figure and not knowing the ways of humans. In Yanome, they ate many delicious foods and ended up being poisoned with Western Morning Glory by Hayase.

Fushi woke up in a cell with Hayase introducing him to people who are presumably the high-ranked officials of Yanome. Another man was let into the cell, saying that he will go free if he can kill Fushi. After Fushi attacked the man back though not to the point of death, Fushi learned his second phrase "It hurts.". When Pioran came in and tried to kill him as well, Fushi didn't resist and only said "It hurts" over and over. The moment the guard lowered their guards, Fushi tried to escape by turning into a wolf but stopped by Hayase's arrows. He was placed in the same cell as March.

From that cell, Fushi dug a hole beneath the wall to where the Spirit Bear was kept while repeating "It hurts", presumably feeling the bear's pain. He didn't stop saying this phrase as he accompanied March healing the bear's wounds. When March comforted the dying bear and hugged it, Fushi abruptly stopped saying "It hurts" and instead looked at March and said, "Thank you.".

When Parona carried out her escape plans with Pioran and March, Fushi went with them. However, Hayase quickly chased after the group, telling them she will let them go free if they leave Fushi behind. They refused and the altercation broke into a fight, ending in March being shot to protect Parona.

Angered by this, Fushi leaped out and turned into Spirit Bear, wreaking havoc in the city and almost killing Hayase. He was stopped by Parona who cradled March's dead body, thanking him for fighting for March's sake. He turned back into human form and then stopped Parona from killing herself.

Turning back into Spirit Bear, Fushi took March's body and Parona to Ninannah.

Afterward, Parona told him to keep going because the Yanome would continue chasing after him. He complied and escaped through the forest. The Beholder commented that Fushi is not alone because March's spirit continued to accompany him through his journey.

Post Spirit Bear Arc
After leaving Ninannah, Fushi continued to wander until he met Pioran. Having nowhere to go, Pioran followed him and after a while started teaching him how to read and write. Pioran claimed that she will teach Fushi how to become human if he followed her and started to teach him about many things until Fushi can pass as a human and hold a conversation though choppy and awkward.

While on a boat toward Pioran's ex-lover's house, Fushi proclaimed his wish to grow up and reminisced about The Nameless Boy, saying that he remembered The Boy's smell, sound, and form but not his name.

After landing and camping for the night in a forest, Fushi was attacked in his sleep by a Knocker. A man in black hood appeared and told Fushi how that Knocker has stolen something precious from him, being The Boy's smell, sound, and form. Angered by this, Fushi fought the Knocker and managed to defeat it, reclaiming his memory of The Nameless Boy.

The man in the black hood introduced himself as The Beholder, Fushi's creator. He explained that the Nokkers are beings created to hinder them from their goal of preserving the world. After telling Fushi about this, he disappeared, prompting Fushi to say he didn't really understand what happened but that it was weird.

Takunaha Arc
This arc starts off not with Fushi, but with the two siblings Gugu and Shin, who live in poverty in a small tent in the forest. They work on a field and sell the produce in the nearby city to save up money and one day build a large house. One day, Gugu comes home to find that his older brother is talking to some strangers and, after they leave, that a string of money is missing from their normally buried box of savings. Shin assures Gugu that neither he nor his "friends" took any, so Gugu puts the blame on "questionable people" rumoured to be in the area. Later, he meets a dog while eating. He feeds it some bread and sure enough, the next morning he meets it again at the market place. Just then, he hears a girl that he usually sees walking around the market place call out a name, realizes it's the dog's name and brings it to her. As a thanks, she gifts Gugu a ring and tells him that he would never have to sell vegetables again for the rest of his life if he sold it. Meanwhile, Gugu is overjoyed that the girl recognizes him.

Gugu returns home with great news that day, only to find that his brother and all of their savings are missing. All that is left behind is an apology letter. Gugu continues to work on the field and sell the produce. One day, he looks at the ring the girl gave to him and remembers her words. At the same time, a cart loaded with wood logs approaches and a log falls off just as Gugu passes by. It barely misses Gugu and lands on the ground. The cart driver runs over to Gugu to check on him and put the log back on the cart, but can't with his strength alone. Thus, he asks Gugu to keep an eye on it while he gets help. Mere seconds later, the ground underneath the large log gives way and it starts rolling down the hill. At the bottom if the hill stands a girl, picking flowers. Gugu calls out to her, to no avail. In a panicked attempt to save her, he runs in front of the log, pushes the girl aside and is hit by the log, falling over the cliff at the bottom of the hill and getting his head crushed by the log. Later, an old man that regularily visits the market place and is considered a weirdo by everyone, finds Gugu and takes him back to his house. Gugu wakes up and finds his way to a mirror, where he discovers that his face has been crushed beyond recognition and now looks inhuman. The old man comes in and gives Gugu a mask to cover up his face.

Three months pass by and Gugu becomes the old man's servant, taking care of his shop. Pioran busts through the door while Gugu is cleaning up and calls out that she brought a souvenir: an immortal monster. Fushi shows off his different forms. Gugu tries to introduce himself to Fushi, but quickly realizes that he isn't quite human and unable to even say his own name. From then on, he treats Fushi like a small child and becomes much more confident and talkative. By interacting with Fushi and teaching him about his everyday routine, he also teaches him new words and concepts. Gugu soon sees Fushi as something like a younger brother that he needs to protect. He tells Fushi about his former life and how he can never go back to it, but that he thinks he can face it, now that Fushi is by his side.

One day, while Gugu and Fushi tend to the store, the girl that Gugu saved before he got taken in by the old man, dubbed Booze Man by Gugu, shows up and asks for something to treat a wound on her arm that still hasn't disappeared. Gugu is excited to meet the girl again and promises to help her. After chatting for a bit, the girl asks what his name is. Gugu tells her his name, but instead she turns towards Fushi and says that she wanted to know his name and not Gugu's. She seems completely infatuaded by him, asking him all sorts of questions and coming to the shop regularily just to visit him. She also asks him to say her name: Rean. Gugu tries to separate the two, saying that Fushi can't even take off his clothes by himself and is like a baby, but Rean isn't bothered by that. Later, Gugu is laying in his bed and moping until the Booze Man comes inside the room and advises Gugu to make himself a more interesting person instead of wasting time by crying about it. Encouraged by these words, Gugu starts training his body.

A few days later, Rean comes to the shop announcing that she wants to work and live there. While the Booze Man allows it, Gugu is conflicted. That night, while cleaning up, Gugu wants to test what else Fushi can do. Fushi shows him a Yanome spear, but can't reproduce a bowl from the kitchen. Gugu then remarks that he has never seen Fushi do something "immortal-like" and cuts him with a knife, which he can now replicate. Gugu concludes that his learning ability must be based on pain, so he burns him with a torch to find out if he can reproduce fire, which he can't. Fushi makes a sour face, but Gugu tells him that it's not like he'd kill him and that he should say so if he doesn't like it. After Gugu leaves the room, Fushi goes outside the house and towards the forest, but a strong breeze blows against him, reminding him of his fear and making him retreat to a small area between the buildings instead.

Rean returns and Gugu asks about her wound, which still hasn't healed. He goes to Booze Man and tells him the problem, to which he replies that he might has something that could help. He then extracts alcohol from Gugu's belly and reveals to him that he gave him an extra organ to store alcohol in. Gugu runs out of the shop in shock and towards the forest. Fushi notices, but simply goes back to sleep. Meanwhile, everyone at the shop is shocked by what Booze Man did. Rean demands that they need to look for him, but she herself doesn't want to. She asks Fushi, who just returned in his human form, but he says he's not worried about Gugu and declares that he will take care of his responsibilites. However, due to his lack of experience, the food he makes is terrible and he doesn't clean or take care of the field properly. Meanwhile, Gugu walks through the forest and decides that he'll continue living on his own since no one is coming to look for him. Fushi realizes that he can't do anything properly, so he asks Pioran for help, who tells him to find and ask Gugu instead.

Gugu has returned to the farmer he previously worked for and he agreed to let him work on the field again, but rumors spread quickly and he is soon called a monster by everyone. The farmer wants to take Gugu in, but after his family sees his face, they are shocked. After being harrassed by a group of boys on the way home, he becomes frustrated and throws his mask away. He continues to work, but the next night the son of the farmer comes to Gugu's tent on the forest and tells him to not bother his father anymore. He tries looking for other work, but everyone is scared of him and runs away. He runs out of money quickly until he only has Rean's ring left. He thinks about selling it, but then decides against it. While walking through the streets, he witnesses his brother Shin being thrown out of a door and decides to leave him the ring out of pity. Shin seems to recognize Gugu, who in turns says that he doesn't have a brother. At night, he gets abducted by people planning to take him to the "perfect job for a monster" like him, but Fushi saves him. However, Gugu still doesn't want to return to Booze Man's tower.