it. Right in front of him were a bunch of vines covered in bright, garish
flowers. The vines spread out and flexed like the legs of a cephalopod or
some such creature. The tendrils were feeling out their environment like a
blind man using a cane to navigate his surroundings. Little by little, the
vines stretched toward him.
Chūjō jumped into the air.
In that same instant, a vine that had raised its head for the attack
wrapped around him. It all happened in the blink of an eye. Chūjō grabbed
the vine, wanting to tear it off, but another one quickly snaked around his
arm, as if it knew exactly where to aim. On the tips of the vines he could
see mouths that looked like suction cups. They writhed around, exuding
some sort of mucus.
A vampire plant! The suckers were trying to drink his blood. Right away,
a group of vines began slowly wrapping themselves around Chūjō’s body.
Using what little remained of his freedom, he managed to move his fingers
far enough to press the button on his chest.
By the time the other members of the expedition came rushing to his aid,
the vines had completely encircled Chūjō, who was gazing up at the flowers
in a sort of daze. The upper part of his body was swaying as if he were
intoxicated—the work of the vines, no doubt.
“Chūjō!” Harada exclaimed. “What happened?”
Chūjō tried to explain that he had been struggling against the
bloodsucking plant this whole time, but he was so exhausted and weak that
his story came out in fits and starts. “But if those small, strange people
hadn’t appeared, I would’ve been a goner.”

The Luminous Fairies and Mothra
A Lovely Song from a Little
Beauty in the Grassland