ã€ŠTouhou - Journey to the Eastã€‹


 Chapter 1 - The Sealing Club

    he Ky?to University is ranked among the top universities of the world, but classes became considerably more boring after just a few weeks of adjustment to the new environment. Japanese literature is, after all, not a very demanding subject and requires only interest and the willingness to have read a library¡¯s worth of books at the end of one¡¯s life. Thus, for a person who already started reading many of the required books from a young age, out of pure interest, the course offers plenty free time. There was the option to skip ahead in the curriculum and try oneself on the required readings of the coming years, but few were willing to do so. Acceptable results in exams could be achieved without preparation at all and when studying for them, the outcome was almost always a perfect score. However, that results in a slump; interest in the academics begin to decline and one soon starts to look for excitement outside one¡¯s own field of study. Oftentimes that marks the beginning of when one''s grades drop, as the dwindling amount of interest is proportional to the time spent studying for exams.

    I was in this kind of slump after only three weeks into the first term, something that usually took other people much longer; either it was proof that my personality lacked the diligence oftentimes ascribed to the Japanese people as a whole or I was that much of a genius ¨C at least I seemed to have the inborn attribute of a genius to slack off whenever it was important. It did not help that I actually came from T?ky? and did not know anybody in my courses; nobody would straighten me out like my friends did in high school or my parents did at home. In either case, I was aware of the upcoming exams and doing my best to ignore them while pursuing my hobbies.

    Ever since I was small I had an interest in the supernatural, especially in Y?kai and Y?rei; the stories my grandmother had told me when I was just a little child had instilled fear but also excitement in me. From Manga to modern books and soon classic literature, I was soaking up the knowledge about the spiritual world instead of the uninteresting things taught in school. I could be considered an expert in the field of Japanese mythology and folklore, but nowadays only black on white grades and certificates counted; therefore, my parents forced me into a field of study in which I could turn my excessive ¨C and probably useless to the modern society ¨C knowledge into a profession. Obviously, my interests lay elsewhere, as I did not feel that I had to prove anything to anyone; I was simply interested and wanted to know more, preferably down to every single detail.

    However, I had no illusions about the world I was trying to explore; Y?kai and Y?rei do exist in reality and are but means to explain phenomena in an age when science was still insufficiently advanced to do so. With the scientific revolution of humanity came the decline of mythology and folklore, and as an interesting concept I pursued states, ¡°as less people believe in them, their powers dwindled and soon they vanished into their own world¡±. The romantic implications of this statement were not lost on me, despite my sober understanding of the fact that it was but wishful thinking. Even if they left to their own world, as long as it had no interaction with the human world, their existence had as much impact on reality as the existence of aliens who avoided Earth¡¯s detection.

    Certainly, I was stupefied to read about the ¡°Sealing Club¡± in the list of extracurricular activities, when I was looking for something to do to lift me from my understandable but unnecessary slump. The club description read that it was a club for necromancers, and I wondered why the university would allow for the existence of something that sounded so fishy. Yet, I felt attracted to the idea and there were little other choices of interest; even though I liked sports, I did not feel like joining the competitive clubs that chanted about winning ¨C and nothing else - and I was already in a literary field of study, so the literature or cultural clubs were, despite meeting my interests, not a choice I would consider. Due to my excessive free time after class, in which other people had to quickly skim the books I had already read many years ago, I decided that taking a look at the ¡°Sealing Club¡± would do no harm. I could always walk away if it was a gathering of weird people who tried to summon an army of skeletons or believed that Aleister Crowley could be found in their family tree in the form of a name blotted out by a coffee stain.

    The club room was at the end of a hallway, which resembled a gallery of rejects; all the clubs were lined up in descending popularity, starting with the Traditional Art Appreciation Club, followed by several avant-garde topics with the word ¡°club¡± attached to it, no matter how unfitting that seemed. Finally, I stood before a door which looked like it led into a broom closet. There was no classroom sign adorning the wall but instead what seemed to be a piece of scrap paper was pasted onto the door to signal to the unlikely seeking that this was indeed the room of the ¡°Sealing Club¡± they were looking for. This certainly made a bad first impression and I had to wonder what kind of people would lower their standards to accept such an environment to spend their extracurricular activities in. Though, somehow I was not surprised that the club in question did not provide any humane facilities, considering its description.

    However, I was wrong about the people attending the club, just about as right as my first impression of the room had been. Upon knocking on the door, a female¡¯s voice answered and I turned the doorknob that had - judging by the creaking sound it made - completely rusted hinges, to find exactly what I had expected about the room; it seemed to be a better broom closet, only that there were no cleaning utensils. The owner of the voice that had answered the door was a blonde girl wearing a purple dress with white frills and a bonnet. She was sitting on a standard issue university chair and reading a book of which the content could not be judged by the cover. Her appearance was normal, as opposed to expectations; in fact she was quite beautiful and as a foreigner was instantly engraved in my memories. She continued to read the book without looking up at the person who had just entered the room, apparently not interested in whoever it was. My first thought was that she was the sole member of the club, but a club could not exist on one member alone, unless that was the explanation for the clearly lacking facility she had been given.

    Despite the size of the room, it was full of books, folders and files, many of them labeled with names of places or mythological beings. It instantly piqued my interest, considering it was my field of study; the club¡¯s description appeared to be misleading, since not a single object of occult could be found in the room. Sometime after my eyes had been wandering about the backs of the books and compilations found on the cramped shelves, the girl closed her book and turned her purple gaze towards me. Our eyes met and without a word, she stood up from her chair and walked over to the only table in the room, on which an ancient monitor, the likewise ancient desktop and an old printing machine shared the space with piles of unsorted loose paper sheets and two cups of cold coffee. From this observation, I concluded that there might be at least one more member in the club. The blonde girl lifted a few sheets of paper and folders before finding what she had been looking for; approaching me unabashedly, she held out the single sheet of copy paper, filled with lines of printed text. Apparently it was the club application form, as her formerly expressionless face lit up in a slight smile when I took the paper in a dumbfounded manner.

    Again, without a word, she sat back down on her chair and picked up the book at the same place she had been reading previously. The whole chain of actions had taken less than a minute, but I felt overwhelmed by what had happened just now. Lifting the white sheet of paper to take a closer look, I realized that it was not an application form; it was a questionnaire, in multiple choice format no less. The questions and possible answers were more than curious and I found myself reading them all, disregarding the occasional glance from the blonde girl.

    They read:

    1. If you could travel back in time, to what time would you go?

    [a.] Asuka Period.

    [b.] Heian Period.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.[c.] Kamakura Period.

    [d.] Edo Period.

    2. If you could choose to interview a mythological being, which would it be?

    [a.] A Vampire.

    [b.] An Oni.

    [c.] A Y?kai.

    [d.] A Kami.

    3. If you found a mythological being, would you:

    [a.] Create a cult around it

    [b.] Try to make society accept it

    [c.] Make it into a pet

    [d.] Begin a friendship with it?

    4. A nearby shrine is torn down in your neighborhood, what are your thoughts?

    [a.] I am sad for the historical and cultural value that disappears with it.

    [b.] I feel sympathetic for the Kami who loses its place of worship.

    [c.] I fear that it will invite ill fortune into the neighborhood.

    [d.] I don¡¯t feel anything in particular.

    5. If you knew there was a world different from ours, what would you do?

    [a.] Try to go there.

    The last question was especially interesting, considering that it spoke volumes about the creator of this questionnaire. From this sheet alone I had been captivated by this ¡°Sealing Club¡± and decided to join it, but first I would have to seriously consider everything I read so far and choose the answers.

    While I made my choices, I stopped feeling the glances of the blonde girl, as she returned to being immersed in her book again. When I finished, I handed over the sheet and was met with a purple gaze; the girl looked as if she was assessing me before turning to look at the answers I had provided. Her eyes skimmed the page and it seemed that she came to a conclusion from the information she gained through my responses to the unusual questions. She walked over to the cramped table and pulled out another sheet of paper; this time it was the club registration form.

    ¡°Hello, my name is Maribel Hearn. As the president I welcome you to the Sealing Club.¡±

    I had not been able to hear her voice clearly earlier when it had to pass questionably solid wood, but she finally spoke in a neutral-cheerful tone. It had a ring to it that could not be found in people who had grown up with the Japanese language from birth, even though she spoke free of any accent. I found it to be enjoyable and did not mind listening to it some more, as she continued.

    ¡°Please fill out that form; then we can start with the club activities. Ren-chan will be coming soon.¡±

    For one reason or another I felt that her way to pronounce words and phrases reminded me of somebody, but I simply could not put my finger on it; maybe it was just my imagination or I was over-thinking things. I quickly filled in the registration form and handed it to Maribel, confirming my enrolment in this small but surely interesting club. The blonde girl took the sheet and once again skimmed it, like she had done with the questionnaire before.

    ¡°So your name is Kagami Ky?ma. It¡¯s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, I¡¯m looking forward to your contributions to this club.¡±

    Fitting for her apparent foreign nature, Maribel did not bow but instead gave me a charming smile and held out a hand for me to shake. Before I could do so, the door behind me was slammed open, causing the door knob to hit me in the waist full force. It propelled me forward and sent me falling right toward the blonde girl before me, but no comical scene where I would push her down or bury my face in her chest occurred; she sidestepped skillfully and I dropped to the floor without anything to hold onto.

    The person who had just entered the room causing the unfolding of this unfortunate event was a girl around the age of Maribel. A black hat was adorning her dark brown hair and she wore a white shirt, tied with a red necktie, and a black skirt with white frills. Her black leather shoes stepped into the room resolutely and very nearly trampled me.

    ¡°Huh, weren¡¯t you just talking to somebody, Merry?¡±

    Her words implied that she had not noticed me in my miserable state, lying on the floor holding my painful waist. Before she could step onto me, Maribel stopped her and pointed down at me; from the astonished response from the other girl I gathered that she really had not realized that she had just knocked down the latest member of this club. The newcomer held out her hand and I took it; she pulled me up with more strength than I would have expected of her slender body. Her demeanor showed that she was an energetic girl and probably less composed, compared to the club leader.

    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Usami Renko. Nice to meet you! Sorry for that, does it hurt?¡±

    The girl finally introduced herself and performed a quick bow, during which her hat swayed dangerously but did not drop off her head. Renko then proceeded to greet Maribel with a hug, which was accepted reservedly with an apologetic smile directed at me. Replying with a resigned sigh, I gestured that I was fine.

    It seemed that all members were now gathered and would begin club activities, whatever they might be; I half expected it to be a club that read obscure literature and gathered little known sources about Japanese folklore and mythology. However, reality betrayed my expectations, as the three of us would set out to visit a location dubbed by Maribel and Renko as ¡°a point of interest for the supernatural¡±. In fact, they provided me with a choice among several of such places. It appeared that my preferences were being tested.

    The choices lay between the H?ry?-ji, Kasuga Shrine, the T?dai-ji and the Hashiderah?j?-in, all of them very old Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines. I realized that all choices were in places that took at least an hour to reach, but it was still not that late a time to wonder about heading out to somewhere far away. Especially since we were students, whom I assumed were all living on their own and had no curfew to observe.

 Chapter 2 - Sightseeing

    he decision was not an easy one, as all of them were sites that held important meanings in folklore and mythology. I determined that the H?ry?-ji, allegedly the first temple in Japan, founded by Sh?toku-taishi, would be a good place to start. After a short while of pondering, I presented my response to Maribel and Renko, upon which they exchanged a look between themselves before turning to face me with vacuous smiles. Apparently the decision served no other purpose than to decide on the club''s next destination. Any answer would have garnered me the same response and I felt stupid for having expected something more. Then I felt stupid for feeling stupid in the first place.

    When we left the university building, we were greeted by the cool air of Ky?to nearing the evening hours. I watched, with a little frown, as both of my upperclassmen put on jackets, mostly due to the fact that I had not considered the cold that accompanied the sunset. I would have to make do with my short-sleeved shirt and the T-shirt I wore underneath. Luckily - or unluckily, depending on how you looked at it - classes of the day had started at an hour in which I had to seriously consider how much I would wear for the weather that had greeted me upon opening my room''s window. If I had judged that day by the hours I later spent in a hot and steaming seminar with a broken air conditioner, I might have been walking around in clothes that were satisfying my rediscovered basic desire of keeping myself warm even less than the current ones did.

    Putting my free hand into a pocket and holding my backpack with the other, I followed Maribel and Renko to the Demachiyanagi Station. At that point I learned that our trip to H?ry?-ji would not be until the next day, as the sun was already beginning to disappear behind the mountains. With a single train ride being over an hour long, I approved of that decision. Since I had submitted my university schedule along with the registration form, Maribel already knew that I was free the next day. I realized that my hopes had been unnecessarily high, although I also felt relief; I would not have to suffer in the cold much longer than the walk from the station to my single-room home.

    Strangely, Maribel and Renko were getting off at the same station and seemed to follow me all the way home. My mind was drawing question marks until Maribel finally split from our group and went a different way, into a district of bigger houses in which people with proportionally bigger numbers in their bank accounts lived. My first impression of her had been that of a foreigner with a strange love for Japanese occult, but now I had to add the adjective "rich" before her undefined nationality. Even then, Renko was still with me and went all the way to my apartment. Finally I decided that it was time to ask what she was doing.

    "Why did you follow me all the way home? Now don''t tell me..." My mind could not finish the sentence, due to not wanting to sound rude, but more likely because of not knowing what to say exactly.

    "I live here," Was the matter of fact answer from Renko and I blanked out for a moment. Then I thought that this kind of coincidence seemed too unlikely to be true, but it did not matter what I thought. A moment later, she had produced her keys and unlocked the door right next to mine, which earned her another unbelieving look from me.

    "You have been living here..."

    "Ever since I started university," Renko finished my question with her statement. "Tomorrow, I will wake you up, if you are sleeping in... but don''t count on it." That was all she had to say before she spoke her good evening and vanished into her room with a wave of her hand.

    I was left in front of her door with an empty look, while my brain sorted things out. Why had I never seen her before? The next moment I realized that I could answer that question myself: She simply had different class attendance times and we miraculously kept missing each other that way. Being a dorm-like building that housed mostly students, nobody felt the need to greet their neighbors. Thus, I had not seen any of them even once, although I knew that the one living on the other side of my room was a musical student playing the guitar.

    Having Renko as a neighbor only meant that from now on we could walk home from club activities together and if she came over to bring me the latest news or wake me up for club meetings, it could only benefit me.

    Or so I thought. Not only did I sleep in, but I even had to go and wake Renko up, who was still sleeping even though the meeting time was fast approaching. She seemed like a person who was weak in the mornings and I learned the reason why; since class usually started at least two hours later for her than for me, she could take her time getting ready, including sleeping and making coffee.

    I had to bang on her door that I feared that all the other neighbors must have been awakened, until one of them actually opened his door and gave me a bloodshot glare. Luckily, Renko had, despite her sleepiness, the presence of mind to remember our appointment and when she came out half an hour later, she appeared, aside from a big yawn and drowsiness in her eyes, to be her usual self, albeit slightly toned down.

    When we finally arrived at the T?fuku-ji train station, we were an hour late. Maribel looked like she did not mind, or rather like she was used to such procedure with Renko, but the glances she shot at me, accompanied by an unidentifiable smile, made me feel uncomfortable. She could have yelled at me and it would have made me feel better than the silent looks. I pitied the fool who would make an enemy of her. We boarded the Nara line to the eponymous city.

    However, all was well when we had finally found seats in the train. It would be a ride of about forty minutes to the Nara station before we would have to switch to the Kansai main line, which would take us directly to the H?ry?-ji station. From there the actual temple would be a half an hour walk away. Renko had regained her usual cheerfulness, thanks to the coffee she had bought at the station, and Maribel had stopped her sniping glances. I assumed that the train ride would be just as uneventful as the field trips in my old school had been, and I hated myself for being right, whenever it was better to be wrong. The only conversations we had were things one would forget within minutes after their conclusions.

    It was almost noon when we finally arrived at the gate leading into the vast temple grounds of the H?ry?-ji. The first things to catch my attention were not the old buildings but the roaming deer. I had heard about the Shika deer in Nara, but had never seen them live before. Seeing as Renko simply went up to one and started to stroke its fur, I guessed that she was either used to them or just really proactive. Maribel did not seem too fond of the hoofed animals and took care to not approach them further than five meters. When I watched her getting distressed over a curious deer approaching her instead, I smiled. However, I made sure that she did not notice it, as I assumed that she did not like that trait about herself; her slightly embarrassed  glances directed at people who were watching her were quite telling.

    "So, what are we going to do here?" I asked and turned to Renko instead, leaving Maribel to her newfound four-legged friend. Maribel spoke and then gestured to show that she did not have any deer treats, but the luckily antler-less deer was persistent, as if to say that it did not believe that this surely kind-hearted foreigner would not go out of her way to buy any overpriced feed. The deer proceeded to follow her until we had to climb some stairs; Maribel hurried to reach the top, as if she feared that the deer would suddenly decide that she was worth the trouble. It did not and she could finally take a breather - or so she thought, when upon turning around she found that the path before us was practically paved with deer.

    "I''m not sure myself, we''ll have to ask Merry," Renko had answered and given the person in question a look of sympathy. We would not be able to ask her until we were safe from deer. I wondered why she had presented choices for temples and shrines in Nara in the first place, if she had a fear of deer. When my thoughts strayed in a direction that suggested a failure on Maribel''s part, she suddenly turned around as if she had read my mind. The destructive force of her glare instantly wiped my mind of any such thoughts.

    "We are here for sightseeing, nothing more." We had found our way inside the main temple grounds before Maribel was finally able to relax at the absence of four-legged monstrosities that tried to bereave her of all her food. They might as well have been Eldritch abominations; she could not have shown any more fear for them. "I have never been here before and felt that it would be nice to see a temple that defined Japanese culture."

    I was unsure how to take the fact that she simply wanted to sightsee. Maribel had answered with a straightforward smile, which also seemed to suggest that any follow-up questions would be unwise. Surely enough, I had none to follow up with and left it at that. It was my first time in Nara, too, so I could not complain about walking around to take in the sights.

    To any person studied in Japanese history, religion and mythology, H?ry?-ji held a special meaning. The temple was among the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan and had been erected as a monument to the up and coming Buddhism in a time when Shinto was the only accepted belief. This temple was also among the biggest temples in Japan and had remained untouched by the later Syncretism of Buddhism and Shinto.

    "But really... you can''t go into any of the temple buildings," Renko complained. "The sun will soon become unbearable." It was true that none of the buildings were accessible to the public, but I had a different reason to be dissatisfied with that fact. However, it seemed that Renko was less affected by the blazing sun than I was, so my mind, after the initial disapproval of my upperclassman''s reason for complaint, leveled with it. I found that more than craving to be able to enter the temple buildings, I soon craved for any form of shade. That was only increased by Maribel suddenly producing a parasol from somewhere. Due to its design, I could not ask to join her under it with good conscience, even if my consciousness depended on it.

    "We''ll just have a look around and then find a place to sit down. I brought some lunch for all of us." Maribel pointed at the big bag she was carrying. I had wondered why she would bring such luggage on a trip that required plenty of walking, but now I scorned my previous self for thinking she should have brought less. "I think that when you have seen one Japanese temple, you have seen them all."

    Maribel dared speak what I tried to suppress in my innermost self - that I felt disappointed. Even if this temple had been founded by Sh?toku-taishi and was among the first in Japan, it only proved that those that followed had taken the good example and built their temples in similar fashion. Thus uniqueness could only be found in details that were mostly inaccessible to the public, a fact not really helping the case. Even if the layout was different, the buildings were mostly built in the same shape and sometimes even size. The only interesting, but just as inaccessible, buildings were the private palace of Sh?toku-taishi himself and the pagoda, cited to be one of the oldest wooden buildings in existence. The latter stood before us and was awe-inspiring; the former was a good walk away from the main temple grounds, but it did not dampen my eagerness to visit it after lunch.

    "Merry, are you not going to show him?" Renko asked when we finally found a place in the shade that also presented acceptable conditions to sit down and eat. I turned to Maribel with a questioning look, before returning my gaze to the one who had spoken first, wondering what she meant. "You showed me the first time we went out together, too." All kinds of questionable images popped up in my mind, but I mentally waved my arms to disperse them.

    "I think we should wait until later, when it''s darker," Maribel answered and took out the lunchboxes, handing one to Renko and another to me before settling down with her own. That statement immediately conjured the previously discarded images into my mind and they seemed dead set to stay this time, since the blonde did not elaborate on what she wanted to show me. On the one hand, I wanted to know badly, so I could finally settle down my mind; on the other I did not want to push Maribel and get an unfavorable result.

    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    A few seconds passed without either of the two making any move to continue the topic, and my curiosity reached its peak. I just had to know, even if asking may come with a cost.

    "What is it that you want to show me?" I asked, trying, unsuccessfully, not to sound as curious as I actually was. "And why does it have to wait until when it''s darker?" When I spoke, I realized that it was not only limited to the inappropriate thoughts my mind had conjured up, but the possibilities also included shady business. I regretted bringing it up again immediately; however, the damage was done and nothing could reverse it.

    "Well, we can''t do it with people around and when we tell you about it, you wouldn''t believe us," Renko said and showed me an uneasy smile, as if the topic was uncomfortable for her. Maribel''s expression did not change when she proceeded to eat her boxed lunch. She had prepared sandwiches for all of us and somehow I had expected it already. Judging by her looks, she did not look like a person proficient in the art of cooking Japanese meals. I would have never dared to say it out loud though.

    "You know you can tell me. I''m already a member of the Sealing Club,"  I argued and turned my gaze back at Renko. The way she had said it, I was convinced once more that under the normal-looking facade of the club lay a predictable facet of any student organization with a name like this. Namely that of a collection of grown people who had not graduated from their 8th-grade-syndrome, even upon graduation high school and entering university. "If you''re going to show me later anyways, you could as well explain it now and leave the demonstration to later." My hopes were certainly not up.

    "Eh... but," Renko started, but Maribel suddenly stuffed a sandwich in the former''s mouth and proceeded to answer in her stead.

    "Very well, there are no people around here on such a day anyway, so might as well do it now," Maribel spoke in a relaxed tone as she looked around. "Hold my hand."

    Without waiting for my response or action, both delayed by my "huh?", Maribel took my hand and closed her eyes. Before I could even think that her hand was warm and soft, and whether I should close my eyes, too, I suddenly felt as if my seat had been pulled from under me. However, I did not drop onto the dusty floor but rather on soft grass. When I fell, I had blinked in shock and the surrounding scenery had already changed the moment my eyes had opened again.

    I found myself on a lush pasture bordering on a forest in the distance, with the horizon mostly occupied by a single mountain that parted the sky. My body went slightly numb when my mind tried to explain what had just occurred to me with rationality. The rationality I had trained myself in ever since I had gained the realization that the supernatural could only be found in fiction. That same rationality was overwhelmed at the improbability of my current situation. Then I noticed that the feeling of Maribel''s hand had disappeared from mine. I spun my head around frantically, but to no avail. I was alone.

    Apparently  I had just experienced some kind of space-displacement phenomenon, something people also simply called teleportation. At least that''s what my mind calmly analyzed, abandoning the attempt to explain it with science; technology taught us that it was an impossibility, for now. There was no doubt that I had been teleported somewhere, or maybe it was more appropriate to call it "spirited away". Shaking my head to free myself from such idle thoughts, I proceeded to walk in a randomly selected direction. I had based my decision on a feeling, something I thought I would never do. With the little information I could procure from my surroundings, there was no way to rationalize my decision. In fact, maybe staying in place and waiting for the perpetrator of my current situation to come and get me would have been the better choice.

    Of course, the better choice was not always the most interesting one, as curiosity won over rationality. If this was a dream in which I could consciously decide the next steps, a paradox in itself, I wanted to explore as much as possible. But if I had really been teleported to an unknown place, from the looks of the scenery somewhere in the Japanese Alps, returning to civilization was my primary goal.

    "She said that it was around here somewhere..." Suddenly I heard the voice of a girl behind me, which compelled me to spin around on the spot to see the person it belonged to. I was relieved to find that I had not ended up in some uninhabited place that humans would not traverse for decades to come. Just when I turned around, the owner of the voice had reached the top of the hill from where I had walked down only moments earlier. One look told me that she was not normal.

    She wore a red and white dress and had relatively short, black hair, but the real points of interest lay parallel to her red eyes. Her ears were especially large and elongated, and most of all, covered in brown hair. My eyes were fixated on them, as they seemed to move with a mind of their own, twitching from time to time, turning and perking up in response to the noises of nature. The pair of what I identified to be clearly animal ears approached, until they were right in front of me.

    "Have you seen a human suddenly appear out of nowhere around here?" The girl asked me, unaware of the fact that I was the person in question. Only now that she was much closer did I realize that she had long crimson fingernails that looked like vicious claws and from behind her back two tails waved into my field of vision. Her choice of words led me to take a little time and consider how I would answer her.

    In this moment my oftentimes superfluously crystal clear mind proceeded to gather the information provided into a profile and found the best match. I recognized the characteristics of the girl before me and associated them with a Y?kai from the library that was my extensive knowledge of the supernatural. This girl looked like what a Nekomata would if it existed, a black cat that lived so long that it turned into a Y?kai, featuring a split tail and human features. I just had to assume that this girl was a cosplayer, although why she would be here was not answered by this assessment.

    "Hm... wait, could you be that human...?"

    "Ah, yes. I think you''re looking for me, but I''m not sure if I appeared out of nowhere," I said and looked the cat-ears girl in the eyes. She looked back up at me and there was a short moment of silence between us, leaving me to wonder if it had been a mistake to tell her the truth. Then her expression brightened and she turned around, ran up to the top of the hill and cupped her mouth with both hands.

    "Ran-sama, I found him!" She yelled down the other side of the hill and pointed in my general direction without looking back. It did not take long for the person named Ran to appear next to the young girl with the two tails, which were swaying left and right in excitement. At first a strangely shaped bonnet covered with what seemed to be paper strips appeared at the top of the hill, followed by a face rimmed by blonde hair, featuring sharp eyes and a thin-lipped but wide mouth. She reminded me of a fox and once I saw the multiple fluffy tails sticking out from behind her blue and white robes, I felt something like certainty encroach on my mind.

    "Well done, Chen. Yukari-sama is sleeping, so there is no way to send him back for now. At least he was lucky enough not to appear in the forest or somewhere where Y?kai lurk during the day," The woman named Ran said to the cat-girl while staring straight at me, seemingly to gauge me. From her aura I was convinced that she was not just a cosplayer who was unable to differentiate between fantasy and reality and who just happened to be able to make a really elaborate costume - several of her tails were moving seemingly independently.

    "We don''t have the time to deal with him and since Yukari-sama doesn''t seem to be waking up anytime soon..." Ran considered, all within earshot for me, while narrowing her eyes to the point where her face truly resembled that of a fox as it was usually depicted in art. "Human, we will tell you where the human village is, but you will have to get there yourself."

    Without waiting for my reaction, she turned to her right  and parted her arms that had been crossed in front of her and hidden under wide sleeves, to reveal a slender hand with exquisite long nails. She pointed in the direction she was looking and explained that there was a human village about an hour away. Apparently her job was done with that, as she simply turned around and walked away, followed closely by the cat-girl named Chen. The pair of animal-like females walked up and over the hill, leaving a dazed me behind. When Ran''s tails disappeared from view I finally woke up from my slightly disturbed state; however, it was already too late and when I ran up the hill to follow the two beings that were clearly not human, they had already vanished.

    Looking around, left alone once again, I felt lost. Maybe the only choice I had was to go in the direction Ran had pointed towards, where supposedly a human village lay. Her words implied that humanity was not the only species that had created a society here, when one could speak of a human village, as if to differentiate from a Y?kai village. I started heading in the alleged direction of that village, watching my surroundings carefully and taking in all of the unfamiliar scenery. Even the air smelled differently from what I was used to, suggesting that I had at least travelled a great distance, away from the polluted air of urban regions, if not to a completely different world.

    The most urgent issue at hand was the absence of Maribel, even though she had never said that she would be accompanying me; Renko and she had spoken about "showing" me something. It was indeed something unbelievable that one would only come to accept as reality when one had experienced it, but no matter how incredible it was, I felt anxious at the prospect that I had no control over when I would be able to return to anywhere familiar.

    I found my direct path blocked by a forest - despite the fact that I had seen it from far away, I had delayed my decision regarding how to deal with it until it was unavoidable - that was less than inviting. Judging with my instincts, I did not even want to enter the shade of the trees before me, but from afar it had not looked like I would be able to round the forest that easily. Thus, the only way led straight through it and I decided that I would not stray from the direct path. Ran had said that the village was an hour away, so the forest surely could not be deep enough for me to get lost in so easily.

    I was lost. I had to face that reality when clearly more than two hours had passed and I was still within the forest with no exit in sight. I did not need a watch to be able to guess the time fairly accurately, but that only added to my despair. Not only did I not cross through the forest, but I seemed to be walking deeper into it. My mind had reached the point where I seriously considered to climb the tallest tree to use it as a lookout. However, if I were to fall and hurt myself I might really meet my end in this foreign place. Thus I could only hope to come across somebody, no matter how unlikely the chance was for such a convenient thing to happen in the depths of the forest.

    At this point I did not mind if one of the Y?kai Ran had spoken of were to appear before me. If they were all like her and Chen, I would not mind their company. Of course, I could still not completely believe that the two females I had met earlier were Y?kai; a part of me kept denying it. However, if they were indeed real, I would have to thank Maribel and Renko for giving me the chance to see something so amazing.

    With such unrelated thoughts swirling around unchallenged in my head, I sat down on a tree that lay toppled over from a lightning strike or undermined roots and rested. I did not have water and food on me, so the longer I walked, the more unfavorable my situation would become.

 Chapter 3 - Purple Eyes

    was walking in circles. I became aware of that fact when I came upon the same toppled tree on which I had sat down for a break before twice within an hour of walking. How I knew it was the same tree? I had marked it with a sharp rock and left my name in it, jokingly under an umbrella with Maribel. The fact that I had still been able to make such jokes an hour earlier seemed so much more foolish now that I became direly aware of my situation. Thus, I was left with no other options.

    Climbing was mostly about being sure of the security of one''s footing, which people oftentimes disregarded. Most falls resulted from carelessness in choosing the proper branches, but mostly due to over-confidence in one''s own abilities to keep one''s balance. I was a careful person and one of my greatest traits was humility, so I would not make such simple mistakes. Soon I found an acceptable tree I believed towered above others; the space between this one''s trunk to others around it was exceptionally large and its width was nearly double that of any other I saw so far. Thus, I began to climb.

    When I had reached a point where I could finally see above the tree line, I knew that I had made the right decision. The branches above me were still thick enough to support my weight and I climbed a little higher to get a better view, taking extra care not to break my footing or slip on a piece of loose bark. Soon enough I felt that the view would be acceptable and stopped, sitting down on the thickest branch I could find while shading my eyes against the dropping sun. Letting my gaze move over the scenery, I almost despaired at what lay before me. A seemingly endless ocean of green extended to the mist-covered horizon, from which a rugged mountain range met the blue sky. When I turned around, almost the same view greeted me, only served to dishearten me even more; the only difference was the lone mountain I had seen before from the place I had started out at towering in the distance.

    However, I saw smoke rising not far from my position, right in the middle between the mountain range in the one direction and the tall single mountain in the other. I thought that I could make out a chimney through the swaying trees, when I realized that a strong gust had pushed them aside slightly. A strong gust that was clearly heading my way. Before I was even able to think of how to brace myself, the force of nature already reached the tree I sat on. The vibrations felt as if a giant had grabbed the trunk of the tree and tried to shake off a bug sitting on a little branch. And I felt like that bug, only that I had only four limbs, of which only two were made to grab onto something. Coupled with a bad reaction time and I felt my whole body hurled straight out of the tree and into freefall.

    I found myself falling right into a gap between trees, where no branches would break my fall. It was a height that would surely end in at least broken bones, if not outright death. I had enough time to think that before I shut my eyes and felt the impact. However, it had not been as great as I had expected it to be and when I opened my eyes, I found myself sitting on the floor next to Maribel. Apparently I had fallen from the bench we had been sitting on and my hand had let go of hers. I stared at her, unbelieving of what had just happened, while she showed a similarly bewildered expression.

    "Welcome back, you two," Renko greeted the two of us with a smile, as if we had just been gone. I stood up and sat back down on the bench before finally blurting out the questions swirling in my head.

    "What did you do? Did you really send me to a different world?" That was the most obvious question, although I felt that the answer was just as absurd as self-evident. "Were the people I met there really... Y?kai?" I was reluctant to speak the word since I could still not be sure about their existence from what I had seen alone. It could all have been a hypnosis-induced dream, but I believed that dreams were not as vivid as what I had seen. On the other hand, I realized that I had basically woken up when I had fallen from the branch, maybe an extension of falling from the bench in reality. There had been a movie about vivid dreams, in which the people would always wake up when they felt the sensation of falling. With this coming to mind now, I could only think that maybe it had all been just a dream.

    "The way you describe it, what you saw must have been real... However, I did not do anything," Maribel answered with a concerned expression on her face as she looked me deep in the eyes, as if to determine the truthfulness behind my statement. "Before I could bring us there, you already disappeared from my grasp. When I arrived on the other side, you were not with me." Renko turned her eyes to me, a worried expression on her face. I could only stare at my fellow club members in silence.

    We cut our day trip short and talked to analyze what exactly had occurred. However, since Maribel was not sure about her ability to go to that other world herself, we came to no conclusion. On our train ride back we were tired from all the walking and nobody made an attempt to break the silence until we arrived at our station. We conversed normally until Maribel split from our group in the direction of her own home, when once again silence fell over us like a suffocating blanket. Unsurprisingly though, Renko had been the first to break it, asking me the question that I had felt Maribel was avoiding to ask.

    "How did you get over there on your own?" She had walked a few steps forward, turned around and stopped before me, forcing me to do the same. Our home was only a few more steps away, but it seemed that Renko wanted her question answered before I had the chance to flee into my own apartment. However, the same question had been fermenting in my own head; how had I done it, considering that I had not even believed in supernatural powers until then moment. Therefore, the only answer I could give was unsatisfactory.

    "I don''t know... I really don''t." I was seeking the answer to that question surely even more than Maribel and Renko were. I was aware of the fact that thinking about it alone would never bear a conclusive explanation. At the same time, I was not sure anybody could help me in this case. "I want to know, too."

    It was enough to stop Renko from inquiring any further and soon we parted with common phrases as each of us entered their own apartment. Inside, the first thing I did was put my bag next to my desk and drop onto my bed, feeling dead tired. However, even then I had the presence of mind to gather some clothes and make myself a quick dinner while waiting for the water to fill the bath tub.

    An hour and a half later, I dropped onto my bed again, this time with the intention to stay in it until the next  morning. Intentions of such a kind were rarely shared by others, or at least it felt like there was something out to keep me from fulfilling my own. Not long after I had closed my eyes and only moments before I was about to fall asleep a sudden voice woke me from my drowsiness. It had been a female''s and it did not resound in my head but rather in my very room, from the general direction of my desk. I opened my eyes and turned my head only slightly as to not expend any unnecessary energy, only to suddenly jolt up when I saw a blonde woman in a purple dress sit on my chair.

    "Maribel? What are you doing here...?" Just when I asked that, I realized that the woman before me looked more mature than my fellow club member. Her overall appearance was stunningly similar to Maribel''s but this person had longer hair and a more curvaceous figure. Her eyes were the most telling factor, showing an unfathomable depth I could lose myself in for eternity. She wore a bonnet tied with a thin red bow, a purple dress with an exceptionally wide cleavage laced with white frills and white gloves that extended up to the elbows, as well as white stockings. Even though she was in a - my - Tatami room, she wore purple high heels and a white folded umbrella rested next to her legs. A distinct atmosphere surrounded her that radiated wisdom, mischief and... danger.

    "Good evening. When I woke up today I was told by my cute Shiki that a human had entered through the Great Barrier and that she had sent him to the human village. But when I went to search for him, I found evidence that not only did he never arrive in the human village, but he had even disappeared from our world without a trace." That had been more than enough information to deduce that she was clearly talking about me. But I was cautious as to why she used such a roundabout manner to address the matter of my sudden appearance and departure from what she called ''our world''. A neutral smile graced her face, into which I could not help but project my fears; thus, it appeared to be a coercive, almost intimidating expression. "So I was wondering, how exactly did he do that, hm?"

    I forced myself not to flinch at the sound she added at the end, as I was overcome with a sudden surge of primal fear. I could feel that this person before me was not to be trifled with, somebody I certainly did not want to anger. However, I could not answer something I did not know the answer to; it was not only a simple but also dreadfully infallible logical conclusion. "I... don''t know." I just hoped that she would not insist on getting a response, since I was sure my whole demeanor left no doubt in the truthfulness of my statement.

    "I thought so much, that''s why I am here." The blonde did not change her expression and simply proceeded to explain. "You somehow were able to cross the border between this world and ours, but you did it in a dangerous way. I can see a crack in your existence." At the last statement the smile disappeared from her lips and she continued. "If you ever cross the border again, it will be your last time."

    I did not understand what she meant, but I felt that it was something regarding the very safety of my life. Thus I could do nothing but listen to the mysterious woman''s following explanation. She told me that she saw a crack in my soul and that when I had traversed the dimensions to enter her world, it had torn at my existence to a point that it had been unable to withstand the strain and ripped open at one point. I imagined it like a thick rubber band being pulled, when some fibers started to give out and tore, resulting in an overall loss of strength in that section until soon the whole band would rip apart. I shuddered. Apparently I had been lucky to return to this world before it had broken apart completely. "You could have died."

    My mind went blank at these words and I was unable to even think about anything other than the implications of that cruelly direct statement. However, a part of me still clung onto what I had seen in that world, an intriguing place of possibilities beyond my current understanding. "So this means I will never see that world again?"

    "You could, but it would be the place where you die." The coldness in her voice upon making that statement left me in shock. "If you really want to, I could take you there. But you would have to live the rest of your life in my world, and would never be able to return to this one." She was leaving me with a choice, with the consequences being irreversible.

    The mysterious woman stood up from my swiveling chair and paced through the room, leaving me to my thoughts as my body was frozen in place, my eyes seemingly staring into nothingness. "I do not want to force you into action, but it is better to make a decision now, as long as I am awake. If you were to make a mistake and cross the border again while I am asleep, the pull from your original world might compel you into returning, which would mean..." She did not have to finish the sentence to make an even greater impression than if she had gone into details. So, I had to make a choice now, which would result in two completely different paths for my future.

    I felt that I could not decide on something so important on such short notice; I needed time to think things through, maybe speak to Maribel and Renko about it and hear their opinion on the matter. They were the only other people I knew who had crossed the border to the other world and pretty much the only two people in this world who would believe me, if I told them about my circumstances. Looking up at the blonde, I wished my eyes would be burning with determination for having reached a decision; however, I could only ask her to give me more time.

    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    "I can''t decide something so important right now... I just... shouldn''t cross the border again, right? Then please let me think it through a little longer," I pleaded. The purple-clad woman remained silent for a moment, staring intently into my eyes as if to read my mind. She closed her eyes and sighed while turning away to look out the window, up into the sky.

    "I understand. Then take this charm, it will prevent you from accidentally slipping through the cracks of the border again. Always keep it on you, even in your sleep. This charm also functions as a communications tool. Just put your mind into it and I will know about it... as long as I am awake," She finally spoke and handed me a little bag like the ones found in souvenir shops in Shinto shrines. It was an Omamori, a protective charm for various purposes, depending on what was written on the slip of paper inside it. I guessed that this one said something like "avoid dimensional rifts". The part about it being a communications tool left me skeptical, but I was not one to question a person with such an immense aura of the supernatural; if she said this charm could be used to communicate, it must be the truth.

    "During your daytime I am usually asleep, although my sleep periods can take much longer than... a day or two. Even if you come to a decision and call me with the charm, I might not learn of it for a while. Be patient," The blonde explained, her expression adding that I should not do anything stupid if she did not answer immediately. "Well, if you decide that you want to stay in this world, there is no need to call me again. The easiest way would be for you to keep the charm and forget about the other side."

    It was obviously not as easy as she put it, or else I would have already come to a decision. The woman looked me in the eyes to see whether I had understood her explanation and would be acting in compliance with her warnings. "Thank you," I said and was met with a slightly surprised expression, as her purple eyes widened slightly. Then she smiled with an inexplicable glint in her eyes, before swinging the umbrella through the air behind her. I was stunned at the sudden gesture, but it had not been a random one. Space ripped open and countless purple eyes stared at me from the colorful and psychedelic nothingness within. A searing pain shot through my temples and I averted my gaze and pressed my eyes shut. The shock soon subsided, but when I turned to look again, the woman had disappeared along with the tear in the fabric of space.

    I was left alone in my room, with burning questions replacing the earlier headache; the blonde woman''s appearance had served to completely shake me awake. "I don''t think I''ll be able to sleep tonight..."

    A beam of light touched my face and woke me from my deep, dreamless slumber. I seemed to remember that the sun only shone into my room in the afternoon, and I was wide awake. The alarm-clock on the nightstand, which had not been set at all, showed that I had gloriously missed the last class of the day by two minutes. However, at the same time I felt no guilt for having skipped mandatory classes, as all of my thoughts were focused on one thing. I had to go to the Sealing Club and see Maribel and Renko to receive the answers to the questions that I thought would be keeping me awake all night. It seemed that the previous day''s activities had been more exhausting than I had been aware of.

    I quickly prepared myself to be presentable when stepping out of my home, was soon on my way to university, and confident steps led me towards the room of the Sealing Club shortly after entering campus. Not forgetting my manners, I knocked before opening the door, considering that aside from myself the only two other members in the club were females. Luckily, I did not comically walk into a situation that would have unforeseen consequences, as I forgot to wait for a response first; Renko was sitting behind the completely overloaded desk and seemed to be working on the computer, while Maribel was reading a book, as usual. The former stretched her neck to look over the monitor and greeted me with a grin that extended to her eyes - since they were the only features of her face that I could see . The latter did not even bother to look up and proceeded with reading her book.

    "There is something I need to talk to you about," I began, making clear that I was talking to both of them by not looking at either one in particular. I tried not to sound too somber, but the topic was, if I could believe the mysterious woman from the previous night, certainly a serious one. "It has to do with the other side." This had their attention, as both stopped their respective activities and looked up to me. Suddenly, I felt pressured in their stares, but bracing myself, I proceeded to tell them about my experience from the night before.

    "So I was wondering, what might have gone wrong," I concluded with an indirect question directed at Maribel, as she had been, in a way, the medium for my walk in wonderland. The person in question remained motionless and seemed deep in thought, making me wonder whether she had even heard my inquiry, but her eyes suddenly turned to stare into mine. For a split second, I felt like looking into the infinite wells of the blonde woman from the night before, but it passed so quickly that I dismissed it as an illusion.

    "When I was about to take you with me you had already disappeared..." Maribel could only repeat what she had told me before, but then she continued. "I cannot explain it well, but it seems that you... have an innate affinity with the other side. It''s like something over there pulled you in, the instant the opportunity arose for you to be able to cross the border." The implications of her statement left me speechless; I had an affinity with the supernatural and something on the other side had acted on that affinity and pulled me through?

    I assumed that having spent so much time of my life on the research of the folklore about the indigenous supernatural beings and occurrences may have affected me beyond mere accumulation of knowledge. Maribel had made clear that she had a power like dimensional travelling, even if it did appear to be not as simple a matter as the words would suggest. Apparently she could not just travel to another dimension whenever she wanted to; there were many factors to be fulfilled, for which Renko''s presence was, in most cases, of utmost importance. The two told me that the temple we had visited the previous day had been a place where Maribel''s powers manifested in a stable enough state to be wielded. Usually, Renko would perform calculations of the present location, the exact time and the approximate destination on the other side before Maribel attempted anything. This suggested that the former held some kind of power that complemented the latter''s.

    "We cannot say for sure without testing it out, but considering what you were told... I would not try to do anything before we have certainty," Maribel proceeded and stopped my derailing train of thoughts. "Maybe Renko and I could head over there and try to meet that woman you told us about..." Her suggestion sounded like a plan, but I was not sure if they could find that mysterious woman so easily. We did not have a single clue about her whereabouts on the other side, so even if they crossed the border to look for her, it would be like a wild goose chase.

    Suddenly I touched the charm the blonde had given me, when I put my hands in my pockets, and noticed that for some reason I had forgotten to tell my club-mates about it. She had told me that if I willed so, I would be able to communicate with her, even though I was reluctant to "call" her during the day; maybe I would disturb her sleep, and since I knew how some people were when they were disturbed from their slumber, I decided to wait until nightfall before activating it. However, I took it out to show it to Maribel and Renko, so that it may act as a clue to what the woman had meant with her explanation for my inexplicable condition. Just then, Maribel''s face distorted in a grimace of pain and she held her temples, as if a hot needle had been driven through them. She managed to point at the charm in my hand and pressed out a few barely audible words. "That thing... I feel... something from it..."

    I was unable to understand the situation, but Renko had the presence of mind to quickly take it out of my hand and throw it on the table. It appeared that this action removed whatever affected Maribel; she relaxed and breathed in deeply before opening her eyes again and looking at the now harmless charm on the table. Renko and I followed her example, staring at it as if it might grow legs at any time and run away if we were to leave it out of our sights. Finally, somebody broke the silence and I was astonished at the serious tone of the voice. "This thing is dangerous... where did you get it?" Maribel asked without averting her eyes from the charm. I told her that the mysterious woman had given it to me and that it would keep me from crossing the border again.

    "Now I''m not too sure about her anymore..." I concluded and put a hand to my chin, sinking into my thoughts. She had appeared strangely trustworthy, despite the air of danger she had permeated, but now that the charm supposedly meant to protect me had caused harm, my trust in her was gone. "Maybe she was a Y?kai and simply played a prank on me..." I thought that maybe none of her words could be trusted and that there was actually no danger for me to cross the border again. I was aware that this was wishful thinking and that I should remain cautious, but my adventurous spirit had been awakened by the short trip into an unknown world.

    "We cannot be too sure about this... if it was indeed a prank, then it was not directed at you but at me. Since neither Renko nor you were affected by it," Maribel brought up a valid argument, seeing as I had been holding onto the charm for a while already and felt nothing from it. "Maybe... it was a warning for me, to not go over there again and for some reason she could not tell me in person." Her speculations sounded plausible and since I was not versed in this area of the supernatural, I was unable to comment on her words.

    "For now it might be dangerous for us to go to the other side, as we surely attracted the attention from somebody or... something over there," Renko argued and turned to look at me, finally removing her cautious gaze from the charm on the table. "Let me keep the charm, please. I will ask a friend of mine about it and see what it contains." I agreed to Renko''s request, especially since surely I would not be crossing the border to the other world again for a while. I only needed to be careful not to tread on any grounds that could be spiritually connected to the other side, like a shrine or a temple.

    Thus, the club was adjourned and each member went their own way; Renko went to meet a friend, Maribel wanted to buy something in the city and would go a different way, too. This left me to go home alone, with nothing to do for the rest of the day, making me decide to go and stock up on some groceries, especially snacks, and read some books on the spiritual world.

    When I finally arrived home about an hour later, for some reason I felt strangely tired, as if I had missed a night''s sleep. Maybe it would be better to take a nap, as I felt that it could impair my focus while reading. Then again, it was probably just the stress of the crazy things that had been happening these couple of days. I could disregard the signals my body sent me and try to stay awake until it was time to sleep, to maintain a healthy rhythm. After all, it was only late afternoon.

 Chapter 4 - Place of Illusions

    ltimately, I could not force myself to stay awake much longer and lay down in my bed, firmly deciding that I would only sleep for a couple of hours. I set the alarm clock to wake me up in two hours, and just when I was done, my eyelids seemed to close like two heavy bulkheads, blocking out the invading light. For a moment, I imagined the sound of two gigantic gates approaching the respective other wing before closing with a reverberating sound. Before I could begin to muse about this interesting imagery, my mind had already drifted into the sweet oblivion of exhaustion-induced sleep.

    Or so it should have been, but rather than a welcome nothingness, purgatory awaited me in the depths of my subconscious, as a lucid dream of a shattered landscape played before my eyes. The sky was a vivid vermillion, accompanied by clouds of scarlet and a sickly, barely glaring red sun. My bare feet touched the warm and smooth ground and when I looked down, I noticed that I was standing on glass, seeing my own distorted reflection. Shocked, I stepped back and cracked the surface on impact, scattering the glass into the air as if gravity had no effect on the fragments. The broken glass cut my naked feet and legs, but I felt no pain as I watched my blood join the reflective pieces dancing in the air. An overwhelming calm  suddenly washed over me, as my eyes scanned the landscape while watching the world move in slow motion. There was no visible life, but I felt the presence of something extremely familiar, as if I was staring into an opaque mirror.

    I raised my hand and accidentally brushed over the rusted mountains in the distance, breaking off their summits, upon which they became volcanoes. The whole landscape was illuminated by the crimson outburst, as the blood of the earth spew forth at my gentle touch. I took a step forward, shattering the ground beneath me, as a fine web of cracks expanded toward the horizon in all directions. With my next step, the world shuddered and the glass fell toward the sky like snow, cutting into my skin and drawing blood, with droplets flying up to join the scarlet clouds. I felt a strange excitement at the thought that my presence was ravaging the lands and I spun around my own axis with my arms outstretched. A whirlwind of glass shards formed and the distant elevations were ripped and broken at my whim. Laughter formed in my throat as I looked up to let its sound devastate the world, but suddenly I was looking into a person''s face, a featureless visage that only had a pair of eyes, which stared into mine.

    Laughter was replaced by the excruciating urge to scream at the top of my lungs, but I felt no air in my chest. I could only continue to stare, as I drew short, scorching breaths as the diamond dust of the shattered world entered my trachea and destroyed my insides. Unable to scream, I could only see as the eyes seemed to take a mocking form, reflecting my terrorized face in their glossy surface. The pain was unbearable but without an outlet, my mind was nearing self-destruction for self-preservation. I tasted blood...

    ... and jumped up into a sitting position on my bed, gasping for air, bringing salvation to my craving lungs. I must have bitten the inside of my mouth, as I could still taste blood, but it did not seem too bad. I was soaking wet and still sweating profusely, as my ragged breath caught and choked on the scream I had been unable to release in the dream. However, I was in my room and safe, so I suppressed the urge and coughed it out instead; the neighbors would surely be disturbed and possibly even call the police. The dream was fading from my memory with every passing second and I felt reality taking over my mind again. However, one detail remained burned into my mind as if it had been done so physically: The eyes of the otherwise featureless face had reflected my own and in the recursive reflections, I had been able to see that my eyes were the same as my counterpart''s.

    I had expected to find that the alarm clock had not done its work again, but I had actually woken up a few minutes before it would have roused me. My mind was finally back on normal levels, but I did not feel like reading yet; aside from the temporary aversion of the supernatural, I had to take a shower and change the blanket, as well as hang out the soaked futon, lest I had to spend a night on the floor. Since I had taken a bath and already let out the water earlier, I decided that going to a public bath would save me the hassle to refill my tab, and serve as a change of pace. The least I wanted to be right now was left alone with my thoughts.

    Soon, after thoroughly washing myself, I relaxed in the hot water of the practically empty public bath. I had arrived at the time when younger and middle aged people were not yet back from work, while the elderly had already left for home to watch their series or to pursue a healthy lifestyle of going to sleep and waking up early. Sinking deeper into the water, I closed my eyes and let the warmth soak into my very depth to replace the chill that was now plaguing me, as the single most disturbing memory of the nightmare remained. When I was thoroughly satisfied, I opened my eyes and stood up from the water to leave, back home to the books that were calling.

    "Well..." A familiar voice resounded through the otherwise empty bath hall. "Did I not tell you to always keep the charm on you?" I spun around and found the woman in purple, sitting on something my mind was unable to fully comprehend, basically floating in midair above the hot water. Her eyes scrutinized me in my completely stunned and naked state and seemed displeased with what she saw. "You really did not bring it... I cannot sense it anywhere nearby either." She seemed to be undisturbed by the fact that this was the men''s bath and that I stood before her in my birthday suit. "I can see that it is too late now... your soul, and thus, your life, literally hangs on a tiny thread."

    As I had been shocked by her sudden appearance and her shamelessness before, I found myself at attention now. "What do you mean by that? The charm you gave me caused a friend of mine a headache when she saw it..." I sunk back into the water and spoke to the mysterious woman in a somber voice. "So..."

    "It was not meant to be seen by anybody but you alone," Her voice sounded harsh and her expression was one of disapproval, but I tried to stand my ground. "Why did you even give me something that had such an effect on other people?" I asked in response, but it only garnered a dangerous flash in her eyes, which silenced me instantly.

    "Now that it has come to this... However, I don''t understand why you are still so lively. At this point, you should already be seeing the Sanzu river." The blonde showed a troubled expression and looked me in the eyes, as if to find the answer inside my head. I did not exactly understand what she said, since I could not see my own soul, but I assumed that the situation looked extremely dire. "You crossed the border again, but somehow were able to survive. I can guarantee you, from the look of things, that you will die the next time."

    For some reason, the heavy words did not shock me as much as they did the last time, considering the fact that they were much more dire than the last time. I felt strangely detached from my problem, as if I was watching a movie with the protagonist experiencing the things I was, rather than experiencing them myself. The divergence would come the moment the movie took a turn to the supernatural, while my life would surely continue normally. However, no matter how much I was, likely guided by my subconscious, telling myself that, I had a perfect case of the supernatural, staring down at me, floating in midair sitting on something I could not comprehend. "What should I do?"

    "Now is the time to make the decision you put off yesterday night. If you decide to stay in this world, I will have to change your memories. If you wish to come with me, your existence will irrevocably vanish from this world. There is no turning back. Which will it be?" The woman''s expression made clear that I could not take the easy way out by saying that I needed more time to think; it was time to make a decision and stand by it.

    There was one thing that had to be done first though. "Could you let me get out of the bath and get dressed first, please?" I said, sheepishly, but also in an attempt to disrupt the blonde''s countenance by making her aware of the situation. "Please, go ahead," She answered plainly and continued to stare at me. That attempt had failed miserably and made me feel even worse than before. Thus, I quickly got out of the water and proceeded to rinse myself again, all the while feeling a pair of amethysts boring into my back. The uncomfortable stare continued, until I could finally return it comfortably, now fully dressed. In the meantime, my mind had been running at the top of its capacities, thinking about the decision I had forced myself into.

    "At least let us return to my home first. By the time we arrive there, I will tell you my decision," Was all I could conjure in the short time that the mysterious woman had given me. Her face showed clear disapproval, but she complied and finally came to stand on even ground with me, as the thing she had been sitting on disappeared into nothingness. She was wearing a dress that looked almost the same as the one she had been the previous day and it was clear that the purple color was her trademark. When we walked outside the bath house, she opened her parasol and walked ahead of me, as if she knew the way to my home. Not thinking too much of it, considering her capabilities, I followed behind her. We walked through the empty streets, tinted in the red of the setting sun, as my mind raced towards either a conclusion or self-destruction. The time of the decision was approaching and I was unable to make a definite choice.

    I mulled over the choice presented to me, thinking of any and all reasons for either option. If I chose to stay, I would forget everything about my dream and continue to live out my life in this world I myself had dubbed boring. On the other hand, I would be able to see the people who were dear to me and have a definite lookout on the future, and with it the chance to find something in the world to make it less boring.

    The reason for me to go was that in my pursuit of knowledge and the unknown, I had the chance to go to a place where all I wished to be real was real. If I took my chances and ventured into that world I would be able to see the dream I had almost completely given up during my studies. However, this meant that I could never return to this side again and lose all I had built up here. In either case, I wanted the decision to be based on all these rational reasons, but I knew that ultimately I would let my feelings decide.

    We soon arrived in front of my door and I stopped, my brain basically overheating, as my heartbeat increased in frequency; both thoughts and feelings were jumbled and I was unable to make a decision like this. Maybe upon entering my room, I would see a sign that would point me in the direction of the choice I should pick, like people did in games or movies. The door opened, seemingly in slow motion and I stepped into my house, followed by the mysterious blonde. It felt as if there was a weight added onto my shoulders with every step I took and when I finally reached the middle of my single room from the entrance, it had appeared to me as if a millennium had passed and the whole world was on my shoulders. It was time - and there was no sign that told me of the path I should take.

    The decision came to me as I, for the last time, pondered the reasons that kept me in this world and those that enticed me to leave for another one. Even if the other side was not safe and I knew nothing of it, it meant following my dreams. Maybe I did Columbus'' and Magellan''s motivations for their respective world-changing endeavors no justice when I compared myself to them, but I felt like an explorer who had learned of the possibilities lying beyond the horizon. Not grasping it would be to waste an opportunity that would never come again. Humanity saw its final frontier in space, but if I could trust my feelings, they told me that I had possibly found a new one and would be a pioneer like those of the old days, when the world seemed so much bigger.

    However, the real reason for choosing the treacherous, yet to be illuminated path, stood right before me, when I turned around to face my companion. A single look into her face told me what my answer should be; she stood for all the things I had almost given up due to the overbearing reality of the world I lived in. If I did not grasp this opportunity, I would surely regret it for the rest of my life, and the fear in that overpowered all rationale. There are many things one can regret, but one should never regret choosing the path of following one''s dreams and ambitions.

    With what I believed to be determination I turned to the lady in purple and presented her with my decision. "I will go with you to the other side," Was all I said. Her expression did not betray her thoughts as she looked me deep into the eyes, as if to judge my resolve. Certainly, if it had been any less than absolute resolution, she might have scolded me. But it seemed that she did not find any trace of doubt in my unwavering gaze. The blonde closed her eyes for a short moment and opened them again, an expression on her face that I felt represented resignation.

    "Very well. Then prepare to depart," She said and proceeded to sit down on my swiveling chair to wait for me to pack my things. I thought that I needed more time for this kind of endeavor, but I had none to waste; for every single grain of sand in my hourglass was more precious than a diamond. I quickly packed the most important things one needed for camping out without carrying too much. Coming from T?ky?, I had participated in a few survival camps to prepare for natural disasters such as earthquakes, and being a diligent person, I had items such as flashlights, a small first aid kit and an all-purpose pocket knife.

    Shouldering my backpack, I finally came to stand in front of the woman, signaling that I was ready to go. I had written a letter to explain my circumstances for all those I would leave behind, still harboring the hopes for a possible return to this world, and had sent a short mail to each Maribel and Renko, telling them to come to my room later to pick it up. With this little bequest, I left no regrets behind; I saw it as going to a distant country in which I would be unable to communicate with the people here, but from where I would eventually return.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Close your eyes," The blonde said and stood up from my chair. I did as told and suddenly felt something touching my hand, before I realized that it was the feeling of her hand, now no longer covered in a glove. With this, I felt a slight tremor like from a tiny earthquake, but nothing more, before I heard the woman''s voice again as the feeling from her hand vanished from mine. "You can open your eyes again."

    I did as told and found myself in a traditionally styled room covered by Sh?ji on all four sides. It reminded me of the house of my grandparents'', but I was too excited to feel nostalgia; the paper screen before me suggested that there was daylight on the other side. Thus, if I were to slide it open, I would get another glimpse of the world that I had reached over the danger of breaking apart my soul. Parting the Sh?ji in the middle, I slid both open at the same time and stepped outside onto the veranda and looked up, expecting a dazzling sun in the blue sky. However, I was welcomed by a purple sky with inky black streaks that seemed to be in constant motion while also standing still. Sometimes giant purple eyes would open, creating a stark contrast with their white sclera on the dark, infinitely distant surface that seemed to loom right overhead. A cold shiver ran down my spine and it felt as if my brain was on fire, when I was unable to comprehend the otherness of this sight. I was frozen in place and cold sweat started to form all over my body, when I heard the steps of the blonde approaching from behind.

    "It might be a little late, but I forgot to introduce myself. I am the overseer of the border between this world and the one you just came from," She said, her voice coming from directly behind me. "They call me the Y?kai sage. My name is Yakumo Yukari."

    Maribel received the mail from Ky?ma the moment she was walking up the stairs to Renko''s apartment. From it she gathered that he was doing something rash and quickly rushed up the last few steps and up to his door, which was next to hers. She almost slammed it open as she noticed that it was unlocked, and shouted his name, but nobody was inside. "That idiot..." She muttered with a strained expression on her face. However, she found that the room was not only devoid of human presences but actually devoid of everything. There was no furniture and it did not look like somebody was living in it or even had lived there for a while; Maribel walked into the room and checked the kitchen and bathroom, to find the same sight repeated. Of course, the letter Ky?ma had mentioned that was supposed to be on his desk had vanished, along with said desk.

    Uncontrollable shaking overcame Maribel as she considered the implications of this phenomenon and she opened her cell phone. Repeatedly going through her data, she grew more and more desperate with each passing second. After a while she sank to her knees, the phone clenched tightly in her hand, as she finally discontinued her futile efforts to find any hint of Ky?ma''s existence in her mail history. "That... idiot..."

    It felt as if an icicle was boring into my back as the voice of the Y?kai sage pierced my mind. She stood right behind me and I could perceive her overwhelming presence more than ever, as it exercised an almost tangible pressure that seemed to grip my heart directly. The eyes in the sky unanimously turned to look at me for a split second before continuing their irregular movements, but it had lasted for so short a period of time that I was unsure of whether it had happened at all or it had all been just a hallucination from the fear that was gripping me with all its might.

    However, when I gathered all my courage and turned around to face Yukari, a wave of relief washed over me; it was audible to me in the form of blood rushing to my ears. Before me she stood with a beautiful and pure smile, betraying no ill will, as she continued to speak. "Welcome to Gens?ky?, welcome to my home," She said, as her purple eyes were unclouded by the knowledge of eternity, showing a girlish side to her I had not witnessed before. When she noticed my expression, mischief returned to her features as she eyed me with a smug grin. "Oh, were you possibly afraid that I had brought you to some strange place just to devour you?" For a good reason that clearly non-serious question did not appear to be a mere joke, but I tried to brush off the thought nervously. "If anything, I would be feeding you to my Shiki instead." With this statement, my body tensed up again. Seeing the mischievous grin defiling Yukari''s face I understood that she was playing a macabre prank on me.

    "Really, as a Y?kai you shouldn''t be joking like that. When you say it, it doesn''t seem like a joke at all," I said and sighed, garnering a giggle from the blonde as she hid her lips behind her fan. "Well, let me introduce you to my Shiki. Ran!" Yukari said and called out to somebody. From one moment to the next, I suddenly felt a presence behind me where there had been none before and spun around in response. Before me stood the blonde I had met before when I had ventured into this world with Maribel. Now that I saw her, I remembered that she had mentioned a Yukari-sama when talking to a girl with cat ears.

    "So you are the Yukari she was talking about?" I turned around, back to Yukari, who only smiled knowingly. Remembering my manners, I returned my attention to the fox-like woman and bowed to her. "Nice to make your acquaintance, I am Kagami Ky?ma," I said and showed her the warmest smile I could afford in my still slightly confused state. However, Ran returned it with a look of disapproval before turning to face her master, now concern mixing in with her previous expression.

    "Why is he here? This is not a place for humans," She said while having basically banished me from her perception, as she proceeded without paying me any attention. "His presence could have an adverse effect on the great border and after all, he is..."

    "I am well aware of that, Ran," Yukari cut in and the seven, eight,... nine-tailed fox closed her mouth immediately. "Then you should understand why I brought him here all the more..." I thought that I had glimpsed a hint of loneliness and sadness in her features for a moment but I could not be sure about it, since it passed quickly. "I will examine the tear in his soul before I bring him to the human village," She continued with a definite expression and turned to look at me.

    Considering the strange sky above us, I did not even need to ask to know that this house was certainly not close to the human village. Ran showed a skepticism at Yukari''s words but did not object as she bowed to her and left, without deigning to look at me again. Pushing aside the former''s cold attitude, I looked the latter in the eyes and raised an eyebrow, trying to communicate my confusion at the one-sided decision to make me live in the human village. However, it was obvious when looking at the outside, that I could not stay in such a psychedelic place for too long or I would develop mental health issues.

    "Even if I say ''examine'', there is not much I can do. To me, it looks as if even staring at it alone could cause the tiny thread that holds the two pieces of your soul together to rip apart," Yukari explained and sighed. "I cannot illustrate it to you in a better way than this." If she felt something because of my state, she did not show it, but I thought that there was a feeling of regret mixed into the blonde''s voice. "I can only give you another charm and tell you not to try and cross the border again. I am aware of the possibility that what you are doing is caused by your subconscious, but if you keep the charm on you, it should not happen on accident." She handed me another charm, one that looked exactly like the previous one. This time I would heed her words and actually keep it on me; I put it around my neck like a pendant and hid it under my clothes.

    With this, Yukari requested me to close my eyes again so that we could move to the human village. However, I did not immediately heed Yukari''s request as I still had some questions left that needed answers to. Among the first was the pressing question regarding how I would live in this world; specifically how I would be able to make a living here.

    "How will I live in this world?"

    "Gens?ky?," Yukari interjected.

    "How will I live in Gens?ky?? I''m completely new here and I don''t suppose I will be simply accepted into a household like an exchange student, right?" The latter part was spoken half as a joke, but the issue at hand was obvious; I had no established relationships other than with Yukari, with whom I could not stay due to apparent reasons. I looked outside the room and into the purple sky, quickly averting my eyes again. Either I would get used to it over time and lose a part of my human self, or I would go completely insane; I could practically see my SAN points dropping whenever I looked into the sky that looked back occasionally.

    "People from the outside world are usually quite welcome in the village. You bring knowledge from the outside world and until the things you can talk about run dry, you will be well received by the people. I do hope you have prepared such things," Yukari said with a mischievous smile. I started to suspect that it was all just an amusing pastime to this Y?kai sage, abducting people from the human world and setting them free in this unknown place and then watching them struggle like mice in a maze. For obvious reasons, I did not voice my train of thoughts, as I returned Yukari''s purple gaze.

    "I happen to know a certain chronicler of Gens?ky?''s history who owns a huge mansion. There are plenty of spare rooms for you to stay in. In exchange for that, you will have to be entertaining in your knowledge," Continuing the explanation, Yukari walked past me onto the veranda. "As long as you are in the human village, you will not meet many Y?kai. You could see some if you wander into the forest, but I would advise against that before paying the Hakurei shrine maiden a visit first."

    "I think that in a world where Y?kai exist, it is common sense to not go into a forest where you might be attacked by them and get eaten," I remarked, but it ellicited an amused expression from my benefactor.

    "You should not use too much common sense here. This is always the hardest thing to learn for people who come from the outside world, but also the first thing they learn to accept," Yukari commented. "Even before accepting the fact that they are inferior to the beings here in basically all regards." The latter part was muttered behind her fan but most likely intentionally audible to me. I did not see the need to say anything about that and instead proceeded to ask the next question.

    "What kind of Y?kai are you?" I asked with a straight face and was met with a clearly surprised expression; possibly the first honest emotional response I had seen from her. She was so taken aback that her mouth stayed open, while her purple irises were fully visible. After a moment of silence, in which my expression did not change - it had been a serious question and I demanded some kind of response - Yukari finally started to laugh, hiding her face behind her fan.

    "This is the first time somebody asked me that with such a straight expression," Yukari answered, still wearing a wide smile on her lips. "People either asked me that when sitting on the floor, completely terrified by my appearance, or as a mere joke." She closed her fan and showed me her smile behind it, her eyes glittering with mischief. "Well, what do you think I might be?"

    Even with all my knowledge of the supernatural, I was unable to recall any being that controlled dimensions or borders as Yukari did. On the other hand, Y?kai stories - by now I was convinced that some of them were in fact actual records of Y?kai appearances - only came into existence when there was a survivor to tell of them. Therefore, those that killed their victims without ever letting anyone go or those that could not be perceived as Y?kai certainly were never recorded. Now I had to wonder what type the one before me was, hoping for her denial of being the former type. That she did not entirely fit into the latter type was painfully obvious; while she appeared human, the air surrounding her was clearly something beyond that. Few would dismiss that feeling as mere imagination.

    "I''m not sure. I have never heard of any Y?kai like you before," Was my honest answer. Yukari commented on that with a confident smile and her fists on her hips. "That is because there are none like me." Now it was my turn to laugh, not at what she said but because of the completely out-of-character pose. For a moment, I thought I had glimpsed the true character of Yukari, a woman like any other, as young in her heart as her appearance suggested. While my laughter lasted, I tried to observe the blonde, as she acted hurt, an exaggerated pout on her lips. In this moment I thought of her not as a Y?kai but a normal girl, and it felt like no mystery would be able to create a rift between our relationship as people. Even if it may be only one-sided, it made me feel that being able to think so meant that Gens?ky? could not be a bad place.

    "I''m feeling tired. Usually I don''t stay awake at this time of the day," Yukari remarked with a suppressed yawn, after we had finally calmed down. I took that as the sign that she wanted to conclude the question and answer session and finally bring me to the human village.

    "Let''s go then," I said, ready for the next step in my adventure.

 Chapter 5 - New Beginnings

    almost missed the opportunity for another pressing question that had crept up from the corner of my subconscious where I had banished it to due to its implications. It was the striking resemblance between the blonde before me and the one I had left behind in the outside world. However, I did not find the right words to voice the nagging thought that there might be a connection between them in one way or another. Maybe there was a bond of karma that connected their existences in an inexplicable manner, but it was not something I, a mere human, was able to perceive. It was strange how quickly I accepted the possibility of such metaphysical concepts, considering that I grew up in a world that was going down the path of science as the only valued, and thus considered valid, explanation. When I reminisced about the common sense that I grew up with, I understood that not knowledge but in fact ignorance had stifled the people''s imagination and led to the decline of acknowledgement of the supernatural that permeated the world. Trusting in science''s "there is a rational explanation for everything" blindly led to an arrogant and self-imposed limitation of the people''s receptivity to things that could not be explained by it. This was successful in diminishing not only the cultural worth held by folklore but also the very spirituality that had defined the Japanese people.

    However, the latter part was but a thing of the past and people who believed in something other than science were shunned by society at large. Even I, who studied the supernatural solely out of my sheer interest in them, had not believed in their existence. I had to admit that they held a bigger part in my life than just interest, but I had no illusions about the fact that they were stories to explain many formerly inexplicable phenomena. Yet, a part of me had been holding onto the dream, that maybe there was some truth to the stories. This small, but considerable part, had ultimately led me to where I stood now; I could finally see that common sense dictated and muddled our perception of reality. Thus, I took Yukari''s words to heart and decided that in the circumstances I had found myself in, common sense was but a shackle of the outside world.

    "There is one more thing, but I don''t know how I should put it," I started, unable to formulate the issue that I felt was an intrusion into Yukari''s privacy. "Do you know a person called Maribel Hearn? She told me that she came here a few times already and sometimes brought another girl, Usami Renko."

    "Yes, what about them?" Yukari''s expression revealed nothing upon answering with what seemed to me was a rebuttal. "I have watched their conduct but they have never caused any problems before, so I did not find it necessary to do something about them." It may have been just my imagination, but it seemed that she was not interested in discussing this topic any more. I decided not to press the matter and simply put it into another corner of my mind; I would find out whether there was any relationship between the two or not when I would.

    "Ok, then we can go," I concluded and held my hand out to Yukari. She looked at it with a smile and took off her white glove before taking hold of it, as I closed my eyes upon the sensation of her soft hand. Once again, all I felt was a slight tremor, before my guide''s voice reached my ears to tell me that it was ok to open my eyes. I found myself on an engawa, the veranda spanning the outside of a traditional house, and was looking into a perfect Zen garden with streams made of white pebble. The sun hung high in the blue sky dotted with the occasional stubborn white cloud. Tranquility was the first word that came to mind upon beholding this scenery in the glory of its purity, untarnished by anachronistic appearing gadgets such as a rooftop dish or electric lights. There were no brightly colored plastic-looking items that caught one''s eye, making the sight calming to the modernity-ravaged mind of a person who grew up in a big city of the present.

    "This is the Hieda residence," Yukari remarked and turned around to open the sliding door before which we had appeared. It revealed a young girl in a kimono, sitting in seiza at a table and writing with a calligraphy pen. The blonde entered the room and I followed, upon which I got a closer look at the girl; she had purple hair and wore a flower ornament in it. My guide sat down on something I could not identify without losing some of my restored sanity and I proceeded to sit down formally, across from the girl who seemed to be engrossed in her work.

    It took a few more minutes and many elegant pen-strokes before she finally put down the calligraphy pen and sighed while turning her purple eyes to us. I thought that there was a similar glint to Yukari''s in them, but they seemed to reveal wisdom rather than mystery. She appeared to be in her early teens, yet her eyes suggested that she was much older than I was.

    "Yukari-san, what do you want from me this time?" The girl''s bell-like voice rang out and addressed the blonde beside me, who hid her lips behind her folding fan. "I know your unreasonable ways, but at least knock before entering a person''s room. More so if you bring a man with you." Her gaze turned to me and scrutinized my appearance before returning her attention to Yukari, who paused before responding to her inquiry.

    "He came from the outside world, but I think he should introduce himself," The blonde answered, completely disregarding the purple-haired girl''s remonstration. With these words, the latter once again turned her eyes to me, awaiting my self-introduction with an expression I could not read in the slightest.

    "My name is Kagami Ky?ma," I gave my name and bowed to the girl. "Yukari-san told me that you would be so kind to provide me with temporary lodgings. It is nice to make your acquaintance and I shall be in your care." The girl''s eyebrows curved up into a light frown and she turned to Yukari with a clearly displeased expression.

    "I would appreciate it if you informed me of such things before deciding on it," She said and her frown became more definite. "This is not an inn."

    "Then you will not accept him into your needlessly expansive mansion?" Yukari asked with a rhetorical undertone so distinctive that it could not be called an undertone anymore. Upon those words, the girl sighed and turned back to me, her purple eyes now piercing me as if to see directly into my soul.

    "I am Aky? of the Hieda. I am the Chronicler of Gens?ky?''s history and it appears from today on also, once again, an inn-keeper," The girl introduced herself with an ironic remark, but I felt no animosity from her, as it seemed that all of it was either swallowed in resignation or, in all its impotence, directed at Yukari. "I will have a servant show you to an empty room later." With these words, she bowed slightly before me and returned to write on the scroll she had been working on before our disturbance.

    Yukari gestured for me to follow her and we left the room and the young girl behind, and walked through the expansive mansion. Its size reminded me of the house of my grandparents way out in the countryside, in a village of fewer than a thousand souls. In fact, the lack of modern technology and the well-kept ornamental paper sliding doors were almost the same. We soon walked through the entrance area and opened the front gates, upon which the sight of the village opened up before me.

    My first impression was that it was clearly bigger than the hometown of my grandparents, but it could not be called anything else but a village. The buildings looked like those seen in photographs of the early Meiji era, when foreign influences had not yet begun to influence Japanese architecture. It made me think that the whole of Gens?ky? was suspended in a time before the Black Ships under Commodore Perry appeared in the bay of Edo and while Japan was still culturally isolated from the rest of the world.

    The Hieda estate was located at the edge of the village and on a slight elevation, so I was able to see the entirety of what the humans had built in this fantastic world. There was a palisade wall surrounding the village and a small river ran through its center, giving me the impression that I now found myself in the Sengoku period, when many villages had built fortifications against raids from deserters and bandits.

    "What do you think? This will be your home from now on," Yukari said and closed her fan. Her eyes showed a hint of weariness as she let her gaze sway over the village, witnessing the bustling life of humans in their natural habitat. "Now, if you would excuse me, but I do need my beauty sleep."

    "So that''s the secret to your otherworldly beauty, huh?" The words slipped out before I actually thought about them and I turned my gaze away from the blonde. I felt her eyes on me and was pressed to look back, astonished to see a slight blush on Yukari''s cheeks as she covered her lips with the fan, her eyes smiling at me. "Th-thank you for bringing me here, Yukari-san. I hope I can see you again." I stuttered away to avoid an awkward silence between us. Finally, she lowered the fan and gave me a heartfelt smile, one so bright that I could only stare at her, bewitched by her beauty.

    "You will, Ky?ma-kun," Yukari stated mysteriously and took a step towards the village. In the middle of it, she simply vanished. I could not comprehend how she had done it, as I had not blinked. When I shifted my point of view slightly I was just able to see a rift in space as it closed before my eyes. I sighed and smiled, feeling that the rightness of my choice to enter a world of the unknown which could astonish me on so many occasions had been confirmed once again.

    Just when I thought that, a gust of wind blew up the dust from the street before me and forced me to cover my eyes. Suddenly I felt the presence of a person and when I opened my eyes again, a girl with deep red irises stood before me, a victorious grin on her lips, a notebook in her left and a ball pen in her right. She wore relatively modern clothes, including a short-sleeved white shirt with an autumn-leaves print and a short black plaid skirt. The most notable features of her outfit were the single-toothed red Geta, which elevated her to my height despite her otherwise only medium height. A red armband adorned her right sleeve, reading "Collecting Material" and a red Tokin hat sat on her shoulder-length jet black hair. A reflex camera was dangling from a strap around her neck, as if to mock my previous thought about the time period this world seemed to be frozen in. Her appearance screamed to me "abandon your idea of this world to be a uniform place set in an age before Western influences", and only served to crush my initial image of Gens?ky?.

    "First on site, like always! I''m the Traditional Reporter of Fantasy, Shameimaru Aya, and I''m here to write an article about you!" The girl introduced herself with an upbeat attitude before inching closer and staring me directly in the face. "Shall we start the interview right away? Please tell me your name, what you did in the outside world, how and why you came to Gens?ky?, and what you intend to do from now on." She spoke like the whirlwind she had appeared in and I noticed the professional glint of a journalist who found a scoop in her eyes, something I had seen a few times when I passed sites of accidents or other situations of interest. Up until now, I had never wasted a thought on such things, but now that I became the target of it myself, I felt like I wanted to avoid the whole situation.

    "I... I''m Kagami Ky?ma, nice to meet you," Was all I could muster up in my confusion. I was not sure if I should disclose anything to a person I just met, especially somebody who gave off a light aura of the supernatural such as her. From her appearance alone I would have only been able to say that she was human, but the windows to her soul, her red eyes, betrayed her nature. Alongside the professional glint, there was something distinctly otherworldly in them, which raised my suspicions as to her humanity. However, a wide innocent appearing smile, especially accompanied by the questioning expression on her face upon my continued silence as I scrutinized her, easily distracted from that fact. She looked like a girl who was having fun at what she was doing.

    Still, I found that her pushy attitude did not sit too well with me and decided to subtly excuse myself and return inside the estate to ask Aky? or a servant to show me my room. Just when I was about to speak, I heard footsteps behind me and turned around to see a woman in a rather plain Kimono and a similarly plain face coming through the gate behind me. Her clothes suggested that she was not a member of the Hieda family but someone in their service, so I felt relieved when I did not have to make any excuses to Aya.

    "Good afternoon, Shameimaru-sama. Thank you for always bringing us the newspapers," The servant greeted the journalist and beckoned her to come closer. I was astonished to see that this girl seemed to be well regarded in the Hieda household as the two started to chat away, completely forgetting about my presence. Basically, they were gossiping, but I noticed that the one named Shameimaru Aya was writing in her notebook occasionally without looking at it. I assumed that even when it was idle talk, her professional attitude did not easily change and compelled her to take notes, so that she may be able to find something useful in them later. It did not take them too long to finish their chat and both turned their attention to me, who was standing next to them in awkward silence.

    "Kagami-sama, I am to show you your room as per Aky?-sama''s orders," The servant girl was the one to speak up. Suddenly, Aya''s eyes were beaming and she stared at me with rekindled interest, as if she had spotted a big scoop. "You are going to live here from now on? Could you have been chosen to be the head of the house''s next partner to preserve her line of blood?"

    I was completely taken aback by that question; not only was I unaware of the practices of the Hieda household, but I knew that Aky? was, despite her apparent age, the head of the house. Asking whether I and a girl in her early teens would...

    "No, he is only staying here for a while, as he just came from the outside. Until he establishes a livelihood in this town, we will provide for him." I was saved by the servant as my mind deliberately derailed the previous train of thought to stop it from crashing into my rationality. "But who knows how the head will decide after a while?" That was an unnecessary addition, but I regained enough composure to change the subject while clearing my throat.

    "Well, could you please show me to my room? I feel quite tired..." I said and did not even need to feign drowsiness; the outside world seemed to be in a different time zone, as it had begun to get dark when I had left there, while it was barely afternoon in Gens?ky?. Aya did not seem to be convinced, but let the matter go; however, she followed me into the house and continued to chat with the servant all the way until we reached the main building. There, she split up from us and proceeded in the direction of where I remembered the room of Aky? was.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "My name is Suzune Y?ko, the housekeeper in charge. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me," The servant finally introduced herself when we were alone, and gave me a charming smile, which added several levels of beauty to her otherwise plain face. She seemed like a nice person and I felt reassured, knowing that she was just a human like myself. The reason for why I was positive about it was that she did not have any supernatural presence at all, something I seemed to have become sensitive to. "This is your room, if you need any special items, please feel free to request them. I will make sure that it is delivered to you as soon as possible." We came to a stop in front of a room facing the inner garden, right across the one in which Aky? was working. I could see the sliding door to her room closing, catching a glimpse of jet black hair and a fluttering plaid skirt before they disappeared behind the colored paper screen.

    The room given to me was slightly bigger than the single-room studio I had lived in up until less than an hour ago. In proper Japanese fashion, the interior was pretty much empty and only minimalistic streaks of subdued colors adorned the otherwise white paper sliding doors and walls. A low table with a seat cushion stood at one end of the room, and I assumed that the oshiire, the paper sliding door leading to a closet let into the wall, housed a futon set.

    "Thank you very much, Suzune-san," I thanked her, but she gave me a warm smile and corrected me. "Please call me Y?ko." Surprised at the comfortable familiarity she asked for, I did as I was told and continued. "I happen to have a request already, Y?ko-san. Could you bring me books about Gens?ky?? I heard that Hieda-san is a chronicler, so she should have many books that explain this world and its history."

    "Very well. I will bring them over later," Y?ko complied and stopped to ask me something of a different matter. "Have you already eaten lunch?" I was reminded of the time difference between Gens?ky? and the outside world once again and remembered that I had not eaten dinner before leaving with Yukari. In fact, I did feel slightly hungry, but the tiredness that had piled up on me due to all the occurrences so far was stronger.

    "I haven''t, but I''m really tired now. I would like to sleep a little." Even though I had slept before going to the bath house, after meeting Yukari and coming to Gens?ky? with her, the sleepiness had returned and been clinging onto me. I guessed that it was the effect of what Yukari had explained to be the pieces of my soul hanging by a tiny thread. Maybe I had to mend it through plenty of resting and by keeping the charm on me at all times; I put a hand to my chest where the little cloth bag rested under my shirt. "Could you wake me up before dinner?"

    "As you wish. Have a nice rest, Kagami-sama," Was all Y?ko responded with, not showing any thoughts about my choice to sleep during the day on her face. She left the room and closed the sliding door behind her and soon her exceptionally silent steps completely vanished down the hallway. I found a futon in the oshiire, as expected, and laid it out on the floor. I sat down on it, put my backpack next to me but felt too sleepy to take out a pajama set and change into it. I lay down and thought that since it would only be a nap there was no need to get changed. This was my last thought before my eyes fell shut and I slipped into the welcome darkness of sleep.

    However, once again I did not find peace in slumber. I found myself wandering through a world of black and white plagued by gusts of wind that eroded my body and caused pieces of it to crumble away into dust clouds. When I became aware of my present situation, I understood the fact that this was nothing but a dream, which enabled me to keep my composure. My steps were slow but I felt like crossing worlds with every single one, crushing insignificant landscapes underfoot. However, I came to realize that size was truly just relative, as when I looked up, I witnessed the depths of space, with shattered celestial bodies and bright dots that signified a distant stars covering the sky. Their twinkling was too vivid to attribute to just increased activity and soon I noticed that some of them flashed up brightly once, before disappearing completely. The realization that maybe I was seeing eons passing within seconds hit me, as a celestial body came crashing down in the distance and shook the universe. Cracks ran through the ground I stood on and I felt them extending into my body, as worlds were crushed and ground to dust right before my eyes. An exceptionally strong blast of air blew over me, followed by a wall of dust that completely robbed me of my vision.

    When I could see again, there was only stillness, an infinite white plains under my feet and an unfathomable darkness stretching into eternity overhead. No wind blew and no motion occurred as far as I could see and even my own body seemed to have vanished, leaving only my thoughts in this duality of colorlessness. I closed my eyes and felt my body, seeing deep into myself as I followed the electric impulses running through my nervous system in stunning explosions of beautiful colors. Upon opening my eyes again, the duality had made way for an inverted landscape of twilight. The ground was pitch black and my shadow stood against it in pure white, as the dull white sky was adorned by a blindingly black sun. I felt that I was a part of this world just as much as it was part of me and closed my eyes once again, the scenery staying burned into my retinas.

    Opening them one more time, I noticed that a rift had formed at the horizon, which was neither black nor white, but simple nothingness. It was that I simply could not grasp what it was and looking into it made me feel that it was looking back into me. Its existence was wasted on the human perception, as it could never be comprehended by beings that could only see the physical world. Nothingness was neither the colorlessness of white nor the extreme saturation of black, but rather the perfect center of either side, something that could not be understood by mere thoughts. As this rift grew bigger, the world retreated towards me, forming an island in the ocean of non-perception. I looked up to see whether it had happened with the sky as well and once again stared into the featureless face with my own eyes staring back at me. I felt familiarity emanating from it and my mind was tranquil, unlike the first time we had met.

    There was no need for words, as I could feel my thoughts flowing into the one standing on the opposite plane of existence to my own. Similarly, its thoughts flowed into my mind, causing me to learn that it had a feminine alignment; alas, in this plane that concept was meaningless. She extended her arm and I did the same, and our fingers touched, when I suddenly felt something pull us down. The distance between us grew, the lingering feeling of having touched upon the soul of a lover separated by worlds remaining in our fingertips as we could only watch the nothingness close the gap between us and obscure our views of each other in impotence. Thus, we fell like drops in a mirror, the distance widening irrevocably as duality turned into singularity...

    ... and I woke up. I felt completely relaxed and my body and mind was cured of the weariness and sleepiness that had plagued both equally. However, when I sat up from the futon, I noticed that somehow my field of vision seemed to be smaller than I remembered, especially on my left side. I lifted a hand to my left eye and noticed that it was closed, and I was unable to feel the touch of my fingers, as if my nerve endings had stopped working. I was unable to will it open and it remained firmly shut. The eye was not moving under the lid, even as I moved my right one, suggesting that even the muscles surrounding it had ceased their natural functions. However, for some reason I did not panic at the apparent loss of an eye, as I still remembered my dream vividly. Maybe, I had lost something more important than half of my vision. When I lowered my hand from the blinded eye to my chest, I could not feel the presence of the charm Yukari had given me. Maybe it had come off in my sleep, but no matter how I searched, it was nowhere to be found. The loss of the charm would explain the revelations in my dream and the implications thereof; maybe the tiny thread that had held my soul together had finally snapped - in the visually most spectacular way I could imagine.

    And I was still very much alive.

    "Kagami-sama, are you awake?" Came the voice of Y?ko from outside my room. "It is time for dinner, please prepare yourself." I could see the shadow of her silhouette through the sliding door''s paper, as she stood there and waited for a response.

    "Yes, I just woke up," I answered and was mildly surprised by how emotionless my voice sounded. In fact, it seemed that I was too calm for my situation, as if I felt no urgency even after losing half of my soul. On the other hand, I analyzed coldly that probably exactly because of this loss I had also lost half of my feelings. I stood up from bed and checked my hair by running my hands through it, making sure that it had not been disheveled in my sleep. I decided that I was presentable and opened the sliding door, before which Y?ko stood. She looked up at me with a smile but it froze instantly when her eyes looked slightly above.

    "What... what happened to your hair?" She asked and pointed at the hair on my left side. I assumed that it was sticking up and I had not felt it before, so I ran my hand through it again. "Does it look that strange?" I gave her an awkward smile, but she shook her head.

    "No, the left half of your hair... is white."

    Y?ko brought me a hand mirror and I finally gained certainty that I had lost more than just the vision in my left eye. The hair on my left half had turned completely white, leaving me with a black and white head, as if trying to go for a Yin-Yang style. I acquired more certainty as to my theory that the previous dream had not been just a dream but rather a vision from my subconscious, telling me that half of me was now gone. Even then, I did not feel strong emotions about that and was able to smile and reassure Y?ko that I was, despite appearances, alright.

    "If you say so... I guess it can''t be helped," Was all she said and did not press further, as I returned her hand mirror. "Are you feeling well enough to eat dinner?" She continued with the original reason she had come to my room and added another not-so-indirect question regarding my well-being.

    "Yes. In fact, I''m really hungry. I''m looking forward to your cooking," I said and smiled, earning a slightly bashful smile. "I''m not the one who cooks the meals, I only oversee the preparations." Y?ko led me along the corridor towards the sliding doors on the engawa perpendicular to the one before my room, also overlooking the central Zen garden.

    "Excuse us," Y?ko announced us and opened the sliding door, revealing a relatively large dining room, which more resembled a traditional dining hall in which banquets would be held. However, there were only two present, both people I knew; Aky? sat in the seat of the host, while Aya sat to her right, in the seat of honor. The former noted my changed appearance with a raised eyebrow, while the latter stared at me with obvious interest.

    "What happened to your hair?" Aky? was the first to speak up, instantly inquiring about the issue of everybody''s attention. "I don''t know, when I woke up, I was like that," I answered, hiding my hunch, which had almost become certainty due to all the evidence I had. For absolute certainty, I would have to ask Yukari about the details, but until then I did not want anybody else to know. "I guess this only adds to my character."

    "What''s wrong with your left eye?" Aya asked about the other eye-catching condition that had appeared on my features since our previous meeting. "It has been like that since I woke up, too," I proceeded with my explanation, and to my astonishment, she simply swallowed this answer and fell silent.

    This silence lasted until we began our meal, during which Aky? became a little more talkative and explained her relationship with Aya, as a chronicler and an information-gatherer. She also explained that the latter was a crow Tengu of Y?kai Mountain, but came to the human village frequently to sell her newspapers. My whole picture of Tengu was shattered at that moment, as I knew them only as red-faced, towering men with long noses and sharp fangs. This modern girl in her short skirt was clearly not what I had expected a real Tengu to look like.

    During our talks, Aya remained unusually silent, especially compared to when she had approached me the first time we met. I assumed that she knew something about my condition, but decided not to ask her directly, seeing how she did not seem to find a way to properly express her concerns. In fact, my mind was so tranquil and unbothered by my new condition - I wondered if it had anything to do with the possibility of only possessing half a soul - that I did not feel the need to concern myself with it at the moment. We finished our dinner accompanied by meaningless chatting and scattered to our rooms afterwards, with Aya following Aky? to hers.

    I decided to explore the estate a little while digesting the abundant dinner, and walked through the garden as well as the long but empty hallways. I realized that there were only few people in the Hieda estate and that aside from Y?ko and the cook who made the meal, there could be no more than three other servants. Aky? looked too young to live alone, but as the head of the house, it meant her parents were no longer alive. Her appearance suggested that she was only in her early teens, but her composure and eloquence belied her age. I guessed that there was something more at work that I could not fathom with my limited knowledge.

    When I returned to my room, I found that there was a batch of scrolls and bound books on the table. Apparently Y?ko had brought what I had requested while I was eating or during my stroll, giving me enough to read that I did not have to brood over the vision-like dream from before. On the one hand, thinking about it might cause me to realize the gravity of what had happened; on the other hand, I did not consider it something to lose sleep about. I found myself in good health and felt no ailments other than the slight lack of emotions, which in turn cause me to feel even less urgency about my situation.

    I did not feel sleepy at all, even though night was falling over Gens?ky? and laid its blanket of darkness over the village illuminated only by candles and lanterns. This included my room, as it was illuminated by a paper lamp in one corner, which did not provide enough light for reading. Thus, I somehow came to the decision that I wanted to take a stroll through the neighborhood, and see more of the village.

 Chapter 6 - Y?kai of the Human Village

    taying inside and reading was something I had done for a long time in the outside world. Now that I was in a place where folklore and mythology was reality it would be stupid to not go out and witness it myself. Maybe I could become a folklorist like Yakumo Koizumi, also known as Lafcadio Hearn, and write my very own book about the supernatural. But in my case, they would be actual encounters with real Y?kai. The possibility of these encounters being of a violent or fatal nature did not even cross my mind at the time.

    Thus, I set out and left the Hieda estate to explore within the boundaries of this world''s humanity. I expected that the streets of the village were safe, no matter the time of the day; still, even if I did come across a Y?kai, surely it would be the non-dangerous type like Shameimaru Aya, which was allowed to be inside the human village. I could not picture myself getting into any fatal situations; after all, my story had only just started.

    I looked through the estate to tell Y?ko or Aky? that I would be taking a stroll in the village, but they apparently had retreated to their own rooms and were possibly already sleeping, as I found nobody. Therefore, I simply left, thinking that I would be back before they noticed my disappearance. The entrance did not seem to have a lock on the inside, so I guessed that I could come back later without needing to scale the walls. Looking over the sparsely lit village, I thought that maybe I did not need any set destination and just walking in a straight line towards the other end would be a good enough start for the first time.

    Soon, I was within the rows of houses and no longer had an overview of the village''s layout as I had from the entrance of the Hieda estate, allowing me to only keep a rough sense of direction. I knew where the river flowed due to the grid-like structure of the village, so at least I could find my way there. Also, whenever I looked back, I could see the wall of the Hieda estate on the elevation, which looked much less prominent from below. This also meant that unless I walked into the alleys, I would be able to find my way back. I was not a person to get lost easily, even in a city I was unfamiliar with, especially when it had a similar layout as Ky?to, but complacency breeds mistakes.

    It was not such a perfect grid after all, I thought, when I found myself coming to a crossing that was a T-shaped fork. The left surely led to the big bridge in the center of the village, even if I could not see it from where I stood. The right probably led to where I had seen the most lights shining in the night when I had taken in the scenery of the village at the estate gates. I guessed that I would find the main street with shops and restaurants there, and most likely villagers who may be eager to chat. I literally stood at a crossroads and I was not sure whether I wanted to spend the time in solitude and think about all that happened so far, or meet and talk to the humans living in this world filled with the supernatural.

    When I thought again about meeting people at this time of the day, I could only conjure the image of drunkards and shady characters walking the streets; they were certainly not the company I was seeking. Knowing that I most likely did the villagers no justice by thinking that, I decided to walk the solitary path towards the bridge, illuminated only by the stars and a low hanging sickle moon, as well as the occasional lamp dangling in front of bigger homes. My memory did not deceive me as the next crossing was the large main street that went over the big central bridge of the village. At this time of the day, nobody was pushing carts or carrying bags over the river and the only few people I saw were hurrying to get back home.

    Soon I set foot on the stone bridge and had an open view of the river running underneath, separating the village like a stretch of no-man''s land. There were lights in the windows facing the river, which caused the houses to resemble big faces, giving the impression that giant people were staring at each other over a ravine. The bridge was one of the three violations of this space of nature, as it connected both sides over this border. It was not illuminated at all and the center of the bridge was covered in the blanket of darkness, as if it was the gate leading to a world the living should not step into. The fact that the other side was very sparsely illuminated created this illusion, and a little fantasy always spiced up reality.

    The gently flowing water reflected the weak lights of the stars and a streak of white denoted the moon''s counterpart. I could see a whole new galaxy inside the river and did not need to look up into the true depths of space to know just how small a speck of dust I was in the grand picture of existence. The unfading memory of my last dream sprung back into the foreground of my mind as I remembered the sceneries I had seen in it. My person was too dark to be reflected as more than a black silhouette that blocked the stars in the sky. Still, I was reminded of the pair of eyes that were so much like my own, gazing deep into my soul, before our eternal separation.

    I shook my head and the thoughts disappeared into the mist of my deep consciousness; I had come out into the village to explore, not to brood, which I could do back in my room at the Hieda estate. I turned around and leaned on the cool stone railing, looking at the scenery of the riverbanks and the houses aligned atop of them. The more I saw of this human bastion, the more I was reminded of Ky?to and how it must have looked like in older times, untainted by synthetic structures and colors. As I reminisced, my mind started to wander into places, imagining the rest of Gens?ky? and its pureness, in contrast to the modern days where I came from. Aya and her reflex camera was already forgotten.

    Therefore, I only noticed the presence of another person standing on the bridge when my gaze swept over the scenery. At that moment a cloud slid in front of the moon, so in the darkness I could only make out a shadowy, vaguely female figure. It was unmoving and I felt a pair of eyes staring at me, as the person stood about a dozen steps away. Only when the cloud passed did I get a closer look at her; she wore something that looked like a Kimono, but which exposed her shoulders, and a short overskirt extended from underneath her Obi. A bonnet tied with a bow sat on her light-colored hair, of which the exact color I could not make out in the darkness, but which might be light-blue under normal light. She seemed to hold a bundle of cloth in her arms, but upon closer inspection it looked like it might be a wrapped up baby. Her eyes were staring into my single open one and her face did not betray any thoughts as to my surely strange appearance of a black and white color-set. I happened to wear a monochrome shirt and black pants as well, so there was no arguing that this seemed deliberate. It had not been my intention to make myself into such a character, though.

    "Err... hello?" I tried to strike up a conversation as the silence between us grew uncomfortable even for me, in my relaxed mental state; somebody staring at you in the darkness without uttering a word surely did not leave many people unperturbed. "Beautiful night, isn''t it?" The other person''s countenance did not change in the slightest upon being addressed so suddenly. I was about to speak up again, when her voice reached me. "Should I give it to him...? But I don''t want to give it away..." She muttered to herself while her eyes looked down at the baby in her arms. I tilted my head in confusion and wondered if this woman was not completely sane; maybe she had been left by her husband with a child she could not hope to raise on her own. But maybe, I was just overthinking things.

    Just when I thought that, the woman turned her attention back to me and her eyes showed a hint of animosity. She tightened her grip on the baby so much that I thought it would begin to cry, but nothing could be heard from the bundle, as her whole expression turned into one of anger. Before I could wonder what had triggered this sudden change of emotions, her eyes, now clearly showing hostility, stared into mine. "You will not take my child away from me!" She screamed and extended a hand towards me as if to push me away. For a second I wondered whether she might be a Y?kai and just used some invisible force to actually send my flying backwards, but no such thing happened. However, even then I was disturbed by this sudden outburst and reflexively stepped backwards, fearing that she might jump at me.

    But my feet did not move. Actually, I could feel my feet moving, but it was as if my shoes were glued to the ground and would not budge in the slightest. Due to this I almost fell over but could steady myself against the railing in the last moment. I turned to look at the woman, but she had disappeared without a trace, leaving me standing in my cement-boots. Apparently, this had been an encounter with a Y?kai and I had been lucky enough that it had not been a man-eating one. When my shoes did not seem to detach from the ground even after waiting for several minutes, I decided to just take them off and take a closer look to see what exactly had happened.

    I kneeled down and inspected my shoes but could not find anything stuck between the soles and the ground, causing me to wonder if they had been fused with the ground. I tried to lift and push one of the shoes, but to no avail; it could not be moved in any way. This just meant that I would have to walk back home in my socks and leave these anachronistic sneakers in the middle of the biggest bridge in the village. Since there was no helping it, I decided to go back to the Hieda estate and come check on the shoes again the next day. If what the mysterious woman did was irreversible, surely more discarded shoes should be found lying around in the streets due to encounters with her.

    Luckily, on my way back, I did not step on anything pointy or dirty, or got lost, and soon arrived before the Hieda estate''s front gate. My stroll had taken longer than I had planned, and it had become relatively late; when I looked back down at the village, much fewer lit windows remained visible, most likely belonging to reading scholars and dining parties. Opening the gate quietly, I stepped into the estate, took off the dirtied socks and walked towards my room, trying not to rouse anybody. Obviously, a housekeeper had more awareness of the occurrences in the house than to simply let a person slip out and back in unnoticed; I was confronted by Y?ko at the corner to my room. She had her arms crossed and was staring down at me, despite being almost a head smaller, making me want to ask her for the trick behind it. However, her eyes blew away this idea instantly, as I was about to formulate the sentence in my head to utter the suicidal question.

    "Where have you gone, Kagami-sama?" Her tone left little doubt that my trip had been noticed and had caused her some headache. In such a situation, the right thing to do was to apologize, which I promptly did as I lowered my head and bowed deeply. "I''m sorry, I should have told you that I was going out. Next time I will make sure you know beforehand," I said and when I straightened myself, I looked Y?ko in the eyes with what I hoped to be a sincere expression.

    "Nothing happened, so it''s alright... But what were you doing out so late?" She conceded and loosened her sermon-stance, replacing the firm expression on her face with a questioning one. Obviously she would not accept some half-assed reason.

    "There''s a time difference between Gens?ky? and the outside world, so my sleep cycle is a little off. I was just taking a walk, since I didn''t feel tired. After all I slept this afternoon," I explained and hoped that it was a satisfying enough reason. Monitoring Y?ko''s reaction, I found that apparently it was, as her face relaxed. "Next time, please tell me or anybody of the household, when you''re leaving the house this late, and when you expect to return," She requested. When I agreed, she finally reverted to her usual friendly self and showed me a smile full of sincerity and devoid of any underlying threats. "Very well, Kagami-sama. I hope you can sleep now. Is there anything you need?"

    "Actually... something did happen - but it''s really nothing!" I started and had to add quickly, as Y?ko''s expression grew worried. I proceeded to tell her the whole story of the encounter and the strange power I had witnessed and been confronted with. She listened intently and remained silent for a little while after I had finished. Her face did show some worry and I underwent some more scrutiny under her attentive stare, as if she was making sure that there were no aftereffects from this encounter that I was not aware of.

    "You should talk to the mistress tomorrow, she will surely know what that was," Y?ko suggested and gave me one last lookover before relaxing as there really seemed to be nothing wrong with me. "Rest for today, a lot has happened. I wish you a good night, Kagami-sama." With these words, she left towards her own room in the back of the house and I headed to mine. It was no use mulling it over if I had no point of reference; I had never heard of any supernatural being with the power to use gravity to glue shoes to the ground. It sounded much more like a practical joke when I thought it over again, but the woman''s angry outburst suggested otherwise. She had not appeared like a prankster but quite serious about not wanting to give away her child.

    Even though my mind was clear after the previous night''s dream, it was now starting to get clouded by drowsiness. I would just do as Y?ko suggested and talk to Aky? the next day and see if she could find a solution to the loss of my shoes. With this, I changed into a set of pajamas and went to sleep, completely unperturbed by the possibilities of another nightmarish vision-like dream occurring. After all, my soul had already split apart, and as far as Yukari had told me, it had only been separated into two pieces.

    I had a dreamless night and woke up the next morning at the first rays of sunlight, even if none entered my room. I felt completely rested, so without lazing around any further, I got dressed and left my room, only to almost run into Y?ko, as she was passing by with a pile of white sheets. It seemed that the members of the staff were awake even earlier and had already started their work. I asked her when Aky? would be awake and was astonished to hear that she was weak in the mornings and usually slept until she felt like getting up. My picture of the perfect and diligent scholar was somewhat shaken, but I guessed that nobody could excel in everything.

    Thus, I had breakfast in the large dining room, which appeared even more extensive than it had the previous evening, now that I was all alone in it. Y?ko had only brought the tray with the food and left again to continue bringing the estate into perfect shape before the head of the house woke up. When I was done with my meal, I decided to carry the tray to the kitchen myself. When I opened the door, once again I almost ran into Y?ko as she was about to check up me; it just showed that she was an experienced housekeeper, being able to guess how long a person took to finish a meal.

    "Kagami-sama, you should leave such things to a servant. We cannot have a guest do our work," She scolded me half-heartedly as she took the tray from me. It seemed that she was positively astonished to find that I was not someone who would let others serve me without any regard for the added workload. I grinned and earned a reserved but honest smile in response, before she made her way to the kitchen and I returned to my room. I had already asked her to tell me when Aky? would be up and ready to see me, so until then all that was left for me to do was some self-study by reading the records of Gens?ky?, written by the many generations of the Hieda family.

    I started at the very beginning and had to find out that the Hieda line went back well over a thousand years, compiling the history of Japan. There was no mention of Gens?ky? at those times, making me think that maybe it was separated from the outside world at a later time. Reading through the records, I found that the general outline of history was the same as the one I had been taught in school, but that many differences were present in small but significant details throughout the ages. There were countless mythological events interwoven with actual historical ones, suggesting that what I thought was no more than folklore and make-believe stories of the supernatural was the backside of the coin that was written and generally accepted history. Events, such as the one that raised Minamoto no Yorimasa to fame, the shooting and killing of a Y?kai that had plagued the emperor in his sleep, had been recorded as mere folklore. In the Hieda account, the particular Y?kai was called Nue, and had actually secretly plotted the event with Yorimasa, to help him make a name for himself. The Nue had only acted dead and earned many delicious dishes as a reward afterwards.

    As I read on, I wondered just how history had been distorted in such a way in the outside world, or if the Hieda household was actually just writing folklore as factual accounts. I even found records that hinted at the existence of Kaguya-hime from the Taketori Monogatari and that a child of the famed Fujiwara no Fuhito from the same story had become ageless and lived into the present day. I learned that Mount Yatsugatake, which a folktale described as having been taller than Mount Fuji at one point, had passed into Gens?ky? as Y?kai Mountain, the towering single mountain I had seen when I had first come here, after it was knocked down by Konohanasakuya-hime, the guardian kami of Mount Fuji. Soon I started getting into the details and learned more about who and what resided in this world, but when I came to the part about the Hakurei Shrine and the importance of its generations of miko, Y?ko came to inform me that Aky? was ready for a meeting.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    "I heard you wanted to speak with me, Kagami-san," She inquired after giving the bare necessities of greetings for the morning. Apparently Y?ko had not told her what had happened the previous night, leaving her still somewhat angry at my sudden disappearance. I proceeded to explain everything and told her about my encounter, upon which her expression changed from a slight frown to a deeper one. "I have never heard of a Y?kai like that before. Of course, I am not the absolute expert, as I can only record what I learn from others or through personal experience. However, the fact that I have not received any reports of this one in particular is concerning. Usually, Y?kai are not allowed to cause problems in human village. There is an ancient covenant that forbids them from becoming violent inside these walls."

    "Maybe she is a new one who came here with me?" I said, half-jokingly, but it earned a surprised expression from Aky?. "Wait, is that even possible?" I interjected before her thoughts began to fixate on this possibility and spiraled down the wrong direction. When an investigator makes premature assumptions based on a potential but wrongful lead, the actual truth may disappear from within his grasp.

    "I will talk to Aya about this and see what she can find out. She should be coming by soon, to deliver the daily newspapers. I ask you to tell her about this incident," Aky? said with a somber expression. Speaking of the devil, Y?ko came to announce that the journalist had arrived. Aky? asked the housekeeper to invite her in quickly. I was not too comfortable around the Tengu, but decided that for the sake of learning more about my nightly encounter, I would have to endure my instinctual inconvenience.

    "Yes, you called?" Were Aya''s first words as she entered the room and the glow in her eyes seemed to gain in intensity as she spotted me sitting next to Aky?. "Oh, are you willing to do an interview with me now?" My eyes instantly suggested that I was not. "No, in fact, I need information from you instead," Was my terse response. I related my experience once more, during which Aya swiftly took out her notebook and jotted down important parts even as her facial expressions changed from astonishment to blank joy at the prospect of having found a potential scoop.

    "Certainly, I will investigate this matter. This person seems to be a newcomer, so I should report this to the Hakurei Miko," Aya ensured us her support with a comical salute and a radiant smile full of sincerity; she reminded me of a grade school child about to go UFO-hunting. "In fact, why don''t you come with me? Before meeting her, you are good game for those among us that hunt and eat humans, you know." Her expression changed to a suggestive-mischievous one as the glint in her red eyes turned dangerous. That announcement had been so sudden that I was left speechless.

    "Do not mind her, she is just fooling around with you," Aky? cut in. "Karasu Tengu don''t eat humans. Otherwise she would not be allowed into the village." Upon these words, Aya scratched the back of her head and stuck her tongue out with an expression that seemed to say "oops, I''ve been caught".

    "You should come meet the Hakurei Miko though. When I said that some Y?kai would be hunting and eating you, I was serious," Aya said with a laid-back smile. "She is the only one who can really teach you about the Spellcard Rules."

    I was not convinced, even in my exceptionally tranquil state, that I could fully trust this Tengu girl. As far as I had learned from folklore, Karasu Tengu were large humanoids wearing Buddhist priest robes and exceptionally tall, single-toothed geta - which were in fact called Tengu geta - but their most distinguishing feature was said to be their black wings and crow-like beaks. And they sometimes spirited away humans just for fun.

    I had read about the many Hakurei Miko in the Gens?ky? Chronicles and knew about their role in the stability of this world, so I would have to meet the current representative eventually. However, I was not too sure about leaving my fate in the hands of one of those supernatural beings I knew could be hostile towards humans. At least my knowledge of them warned me and even if I pushed aside common sense, there were still some reservations in leaving the safety of the human village with a non-human guide. Maybe I was thinking too much and actually acted really rude towards a person I barely knew, but I decided that I would find my way to the Hakurei Shrine in some other way. "I''ll have to decline the offer... I''m sorry."

    Aya answered with a resigning smile and shook her head slightly. "I can understand your reservations. Even with the current peace, the villagers still fear us Y?kai."

    "You will have to go see the Hakurei Miko before you can really count yourself as a resident of this world," Aky? said and drew my attention to her. I wondered why the Chronicler of Gens?ky? could not tell me herself, but maybe it was something only the Miko was privy to. Regardless of that, I did not think I would be comfortable around supernatural entities before I knew more about their habits; all I knew was from the eye-witness like accounts written in old anthologies, but after coming here, I found that many of those were from biased and skewed points of views.

    "Well, then I''ll go and see whether I can find out more about this matter," Aya said and stood up with a casual salute towards the head of the household before leaving the room, adding one more line on the way out. "Expect some information soon." With this she disappeared.

    "I will go to the Hakurei Shrine on my own then, if you tell me the way. As far as I know, Y?kai don''t show up during daytime," I turned to Aky? and explained my intention, when her sour expression stopped me from continuing. "I am sure somebody already told you that before, but you should not apply your outside knowledge in Gens?ky?. The rules here can be quite different from the ones you know," She said and looked me in the eye. "Aya is one of the Y?kai that are especially active during daytime and I know a few others here in the village." At her casual remark that there were other Y?kai within the human village, I became excited and thought that I wanted to see them - especially since it meant that they were peaceful ones who would not harm humans.

    "You should not wander outside the village yet. Maybe a visit to the My?ren Temple would be a good idea," Aky? continued and pulled on a cord hanging from the ceiling. Mere moments later, Y?ko entered and awaited her orders. "You called, mistress?" Her countenance was of a different kind when she faced Aky? as when she talked to me.

    "I would like you to show Kagami-san the way to the My?ren Temple," She requested of Y?ko. "You will find that the temple is full of Y?kai. It should be a valuable experience," Aky? returned her gaze to me and explained. "Now be on your way." With this, she picked up a brush and opened a paper scroll to begin her day''s work, no longer paying attention to my presence.

    Y?ko''s expression changed when she stood and beckoned me to follow her, proceeding to tell me what she knew about the My?ren Temple. "It only appeared in Gens?ky? a few years ago and I heard that the head priestess there is a saint for the Y?kai, since she accepts them just as much as she accepts humans. In fact, all those working at the temple are Y?kai." I could barely contain my excitement over visiting the temple and seeing different types of supernatural beings. By now I had seen a Nekomata, Kitsune, Tengu, whatever exactly Yukari was, and the strange woman from the previous night, but there were many more types to be experienced.

    Only a short walk away, at the edge of the little town, stood a small but splendid temple, marble stairs leading up to the saisenbako, the offertory box, shielded from wind and weather by the main temple building. Its style was nothing like any I had ever seen in the outside world and I assumed that this was due to the influence of the head priestess who would allow Y?kai inside. I found the very idea that a Buddhist temple was staffed by the very antithesis to monks and nuns exceedingly interesting. Y?ko told me that she would head back to the Hieda estate, but not before making sure that I would find the way back on my own.

    When I walked through the front gate a woman with her hair covered by a nun headdress and wearing the Buddhist nuns'' traditional garbs stepped in my way. Apparently she was a guard, as a single glare from her dark purple eyes was enough to halt my advance.

    "What brings you here, stranger?" She asked and her expression showed that she would not allow anyone to bring disorder to the temple. I felt that her sternness was a facade she put on in this kind of situation and judging by her features she was normally a warm and friendly person. I shook off this impression and proceeded to explain the reason for my presence.

    "I''m a newcomer from the outside world. My name is Kagami Ky?ma. Aky? of the Hieda suggested that I seek knowledge at this temple," I said and watched as the woman''s expression loosened up and her voice changed into a pleasantly soft tone. "You are welcome then, Kagami-san. Please follow me inside," She said and turned towards the stairs leading to the main temple. "My name is Kumoi Ichirin, I am a priestess of this temple. A meditation session is currently being held, but they will be done shortly."

    When we walked up to the main hall, I saw rows of people sitting cross-legged and facing their innermost selves. However, where I expected a Buddha statue to stand, what seemed to be the life-sized statue of a woman, holding a spear in her right and a jeweled pagoda in her left stood. She was wearing the clothes of a heavenly messenger - including a white shawl that floated on a divine breeze - but her hair was striped in black and orange, like a tiger''s. Her overskirt was clearly made from a tiger''s pelt. Suddenly, what I had believed to be a statue turned its head and looked directly at me, piercing golden eyes gazing at me. She was clearly not a human, as the depth in her eyes bound me like the glare of a predator. Ichirin noticed my line of sight and put a hand on my shoulder, upon which I was shaken out of the trance-like state I had entered. The look she showed me suggested that I should stop staring at the woman on the consecrated platform, but when I turned my eyes back inside the temple hall, I stole another glance at her to see that her eyes had moved on to the devoted, who had started to stand up from their positions and silently headed towards the exit on one side of the hall. Among them I spotted several who had non-human features or sported horns, but I was in no position to stop them and chat them up when they were leaving a temple.

    Soon, the only people left were the supernatural being on the platform and a woman with waist-length purple hair that gradually turned into light brown towards the tips, sitting on the floor and facing the woman acting as the symbol of worship. She stood up and turned her attention towards Ichirin and me, as we finally walked inside.

    "Welcome to the My?ren Temple. I am the head priestess, Hijiri Byakuren," The woman greeted me with a tranquil smile, which reminded me of certain depictions of the Buddha himself. However, her eyes betrayed the fact that she was not a mere human, even if I was not sure whether she was a Bodhisattva or something else. "This is Toramaru Sh?, she is a disciple of Bishamonten." The woman I had thought was a statue let her eyes sway over me and trapped me in their dignified glow once again. I was barely able to tear myself from their pull and returned my attention to Byakuren.

    "I am Kagami Ky?ma. I''ve come from the outside world," I introduced myself and bowed to Byakuren and Sh? each in turn. "I would like to learn more about the relationship between humans and Y?kai here."

    "Then you have come to the right place. Please follow me," The head priestess said and walked towards the side exit. I heeded her order, leaving Ichirin and Sh? behind, as they began to speak among themselves. "Unfortunately, I have something to attend to now, but I will find someone who will introduce you to the Y?kai of the temple."

    I wondered whether Byakuren was human, but knew that it was rude to just ask her before learning more about her. As I was thinking that, a person came from the opposite direction of the corridor and stopped to greet Byakuren. I looked up to see a woman dressed in an ecru shirt, a brown skirt and standing barefoot, greeting the head priestess in a not as respectful manner as one would expect a disciple of this temple would. She had reddish-brown shoulder-length hair, featured a large green hat that looked like a giant leaf, adorned by two bells. The most distinguishing feature I instantly took note of was the glasses, through which her brown eyes, which had a certain ever-present mischievous glint, looked with a friendly gaze. Suddenly, my attention was pulled towards the giant fluffy light and dark brown striped tail that came into view from behind her.

    "Oho, who may thee be?" The woman asked, using archaic language I had last heard in history classes. Even my grandparents did not speak like she did, suggesting that despite her rather modern appearance, she must be older than her looks let on. That was leaving aside the fact that she evidently had a tail and, upon closer inspection, furry ears barely sticking out from under her leaf-like hat. "I''m Futatsuiwa Mamiz?, tis mine pleasure to make thy acquaintance."

    "My name is Kagami Ky?ma," I introduced myself with a bow. She showed a satisfied expression at the respect I displayed before her.

    "Mamiz? is a Bake-danuki and would surely love to help you out with gathering more knowledge about the Y?kai of Gens?ky?," Byakuren said with a smile towards the person in question, who seemed to be taken aback by the thinly veiled order. However, the head priestess continued, showing me that something deeper was at work here. "And maybe I will stop trying to look for whoever seems to be inviting Sh? to drink sake... for a while." At these words, the Bake-danuki flinched and became exceedingly cooperative as she took over from Byakuren and was suddenly very willing to show me around the temple.

    "What art thee looking for?" Mamizou asked as Byakuren left, going back to the main hall.

    "I would like to know more about the workings of Gens?ky?. I was told about Spellcard Rules and that the Hakurei Miko would be able to tell me more," I started, ignorant about the ongoing cold war between Shinto and Buddhism in this world. "Do you know what they are about?"

    "The Spellcard Rules, huh? Well, tis a simple concept. Listen well," The Bake-danuki answered as we walked through the corridor towards the back of the temple. "These rules exist so that humans can square Y?kai equally and makes battles non-lethal. However, I cannot tell thee how they work. Those with spiritual powers all eventually develop their personal skills." This meant that as long as the Spellcard Rules were in place, the physically inferior humans could survive Y?kai attacks by using this non-lethal method to fight. "But thee should not go around challenging Y?kai recklessly. The violent ones wilt eat thee when they win in a square." I instantly abandoned my initial idea about this system.

    "I can sense that thee possesses strong spiritual powers, but their nature eludes me," Mamizou continued. I was surprised to hear that, considering I only had half a soul, and spiritual power supposedly came from there. "What else would thee like to know?"

    <hr />

    Sorry it took so long, been bogged down by the Kantai Collection Event until 3AM last night.

    Well, what do you expect of someone who likes Touhou, which could just as well be called Y?kai Collection? Of course I''ll be playing Kancolle.

 Chapter 7 - The My?ren Temple

    was playing with the idea to ask about Byakuren''s identity, but found that it may be rude to pry into someone''s private life like that. Therefore, I thought that inquiring about what kinds of Y?kai lived at the temple was less intruding and could possibly reveal her nature, assuming she was one of them. Mamiz? herself was intriguing enough, and the casual remark at her species that the head priestess had made only left me wanting to learn more.

    "Very well, follow me then," The Bake-danuki responded, when I voiced my wish. She lead me out of the temple into the back garden, where wooden geta appeared on her feet as she stepped down from the wooden veranda. Another pair appeared before me and Mamiz? signaled me to wear them with a wink. Excited to see this casual display of supernatural powers, I did as suggested and followed her into the garden.

    On our right was a cemetery with many rows of headstones displaying posthumous Buddhist names, most written in what I assumed to be Sanskrit. Among them I saw the swaying figure of a green-haired girl in a pale pink dress holding a broom, who appeared to be sweeping the grounds. Mamiz? lead me in her direction and the closer I came, the more I could make out her appearance. She featured two patches of dark brown hair around where her ears would be, which looked like the fluffy ears on some species of dogs. They twitched and moved slightly when we approached and I was instantly convinced that this girl was another Y?kai. I had already met two such individuals before an my current guide was one, too, so I was not surprised to see more anthropomorphic animal-type Y?kai. I only wondered what type she was exactly, although my first guess was some kind of dog.

    "This is the temple cemetery. Unlike what thee would come to expect, tis not haunted," Mamiz? explained as we walked up the stairs to the row the girl was in. "And this is Kasodani Ky?ko, a Yamabiko." I remembered their animal-like features as they were depicted in books about folklore. Assuming she was one, she must surely wish to echo whatever one shouted her way, as was true with their mythological counterparts I read about in the outside world.

    "Yahoo!" I felt compelled to yell, triggering Ky?ko''s ears to flap up in excitement, before she echoed my greeting with a higher-pitched response. I smiled at her reaction and was met with a radiant grin from the girl named Ky?ko, as she walked towards us. "Thee art an interesting one, Ky?ma-dono," Mamiz? said with amused expression on her face.

    "Hello, I''m Kagami Ky?ma," I introduced myself and bowed to the petite girl, who followed my example. "Hello, I''m Kasodani Ky?ko!" She deliberately used the same words as I did, only changing the name in the sentence. Her bright and innocent demeanor warmed my heart, making me forget the fact that to humans most Y?kai were dangerous. And there was the saying of "beware of the cute ones"; I just hoped it did not apply to this individual before me. An uncontrollable urge to pet her overcame me and I gave in to it by touching her hair. She flinched at the sudden action, but did not shy away, as I started to massage her ears; in fact, she seemed to enjoy it as she closed her eyes and smiled blissfully.

    "Thee really art interesting..." Mamiz? muttered and looked upon my actions with a warm expression. She took out a pipe from somewhere, lit it and took a puff from it. I suddenly became aware of the fact that I was being disrespectful to a person I just met and stopped, upon which the little girl looked up to me with what could be best described as puppy eyes, clearly asking for more. I turned to the Bake-danuki with a helpless look, but she only gave a hearty laugh, as she sat on a gravestone. Her mannerisms reminded me of a feisty old man.

    "Go ahead," Mamiz? spoke with a heartfelt grin, leading me to believe that maybe all Y?kai at this temple were as friendly and likeable as these two. I felt attracted to the warmth their presence radiated in this world that was so foreign and unfamiliar. We decided to part with Ky?ko, who still had to sweep the cemetery, and proceeded back towards the temple, where my guide wanted to introduce me to another resident of the temple. She described this person as somebody who only came by sporadically and was mostly a freeloader, but felt indebted to Byakuren''s saving kindness. We walked along the engawa towards the housing for the temple residents, which was hidden behind a group of trees.

    "Urameshiya~!"

    Suddenly, something dropped down from above and my vision was covered in purple and red, followed by blue and white stripes. I stopped in my tracks and found a girl holding an umbrella with a single eye and a huge red tongue protruding from its painted mouth, hanging upside down from a wooden beam, looking at me from a little below me. Apparently she had miscalculated my height and was hanging lower than planned. Instead, her slightly exposed belly was right in front of me and I looked up to see her skirt flipping downwards due to gravity, seemingly in slow motion. She noticed where my eyes were fixated on and detached her legs from the beam, in an attempt to deny me the view and make an impressive landing - only to fall flat on her face.

    "This is Kogasa, she is another freeloader at the temple," Mamiz? explained, completely unperturbed by the little girl''s sudden appearance. "She is an old-fashioned Y?kai, who has to surprise humans to be able to fill her stomach." In other words, she fed on the fear of humans, making me wonder how she could have lived to this day. I looked down to see a childish looking girl with two differently colored eyes, the left one red and the right one turquoise, rubbing her nose with a painful expression. She noticed my gaze and instantly jumped up and back a few steps, swung her umbrella around and pointed it at me. Her eyes looked into my single open one for a moment before she could not bear it anymore and in a swift motion disappeared over the roof, the umbrella''s giant tongue trailing behind her being the last thing I saw of her.

    The encounter had been so bizarre that its shock value had instead caused it to be pushed aside from my conscious thoughts; I looked at my guide and shrugged. She suggested me to follow her and we walked all the way to the small separate building where she would introduce me to this mysterious freeloader that was in the head priestess'' debt. The moment we entered the house, a wave of vertigo assaulted me, as my depth perception became even worse than it already was with only one eye. My surroundings seemed to grow dark and I felt a pair of eyes glower at me, filled with hostility. However, Mamiz? extended a hand into the darkness and pulled hard, upon which all the strange feelings that assaulted me disappeared as if they had been switched off. The Bake-danuki had grabbed onto the collar of a girl with black hair and red eyes, wearing a jet black one-piece adorned with a crimson ascot. The girl looked at Mamiz? expressionlessly, remaining silent for a moment to process what had just happened.

    "Mamiz?! I wanted to scare him, don''t get in my way!" When it finally clicked, she struggled and yelled at the woman holding her up, who immediately dropped her without a word. Unexpectedly, this girl did not fall on her face or butt, but landed safely on her feet, upon which she turned to me and looked me deep in the eye. Unlike with the previous freeloader, this one was not easily shaken and only stopped staring when she felt that she needed to say something.

    "So, who are you?" Was all she asked, as she made no attempt to introduce herself first. This earned her a light, reprimanding blow on the back of her head from Mamiz?, who expected her to show some respect to a guest. "What?!" She yelled, apparently unaware of my guide''s intentions. She reminded me of a cat, who did not understand the concept of punishment.

    "Hello, I''m Kagami Ky?ma. Nice to meet you," I said in response and smiled, disregarding the fact that she had just tried to break my mind a little. She was taken aback by my straightforward expression and did not answer at first. Silence prevailed in the corridor for a few seconds, and Mamiz? seemed like she was about to say something, when the girl finally opened her mouth.

    "I''m H?j? Nue..." She said and turned to run away. Mamiz? reacted quickly and grabbed onto Nue''s collar again, this time causing her to lose balance and fall on her bottom. "What are you doing!?" She yelled and looked up at the Bake-danuki begrudgingly. The latter only showed a stern expression, which pacified Nue''s outbreak immediately. I motioned to help her stand up, but she refused the hand and got up herself. "... it''s nice to meet you, too." With this, she pattered down the hallway and disappeared around the corner. It seemed that all freeloaders at this temple were unsocial and when I turned to look at my guide, her expression seemed to confirm my thought.

    "She is the one I meant. Nue is what her name suggests, a Nue; she used to gallow humans for food, just like Kogasa does now, but people with stout spiritual powers hunted her. Byakuren gave her sanctuary at this temple, so she feels indebted to her," Mamiz? explained with a sigh. I was reminded of the Nue from the Heike Monogatari, which was shot dead by Minamoto no Yorimasa, after it had caused nightmares to the emperor. From the Hieda chronicles I had learned that it had not died, but had been scheming with Yorimasa. Whether the Nue from back then and this one were one and the same was unknown. In either case, she was doing a better job at scaring people than Kogasa; however, from her earlier behavior I gathered that she was what popular culture referred to as a "Tsundere".

    "The other two permanent residents art out right now. Thee will be able to see them some other day, as today they are out on an errand," Mamiz? said, suggesting that there were no others to meet for now. "Thee may stay for lunch, if thee desires so." I was unsure if it was alright to accept the proposal and eat at the temple, considering I was not a devout Buddhist. On the one hand, I felt that this was an opportunity to socialize with Y?kai and find out more about the workings of the relationships between the supernatural and humans in this world; on the other hand, I wondered what kind of food would be served, especially for man-eating Y?kai.

    "I would love to eat with you," I said and tried to ignore the mental warning signs that popped up one after another. This was the human village, so I expected that there would be no problems; most human-looking people who had been meditating in the main hall earlier had been elderly ones, making me believe that they had in fact been normal humans. Mamiz? apparently noticed my uneasiness and took a puff from her pipe with a grin. "This is a temple, Ky?ma-dono, no meat will be served here," She said, reassuring me of my security. "Well, it will be a little longer before lunch, since today we are having a newcomer cook for us. I will introduce thee to her during the meal. For now, thee can go and take a look around the temple." With this, the Bake-danuki nodded in a gesture that suggested a temporary farewell and left towards the main building.

    The one inhabitant of the temple who had struck me the most had been the one acting as a symbol of worship in the main temple hall, Toramaru Sh?. Her air of dignity and majesty had left a deep impression on me and I wanted to see what kind of person she was if she was not acting like a statue. I returned to the main hall and found that Sh? had not left her position but was sitting on the pedestal cross-legged, her eyes closed, the spear resting on her thighs as she meditated. She seemed to notice my intrusion and opened her eyes to look at me. For the first time I realized why they had seemed like those of a predator; her pupils and irises looked like those of a cat. Combined with her striped hair and her name, and considering that this was a Y?kai temple, I assumed that she was a tiger Y?kai.

    Suddenly I was at a loss for words, as I had only wanted to come see her again. I had not thought of striking a conversation, and her dignified appearance only further strengthened the feeling that she was not the kind of person one could talk to easily. Thus, I stood there, at the side entrance to the main hall, staring at her without moving an inch. Sh?''s eyes met mine and again I felt the chill prey felt when staring their predator in the eyes. However, this time there was nobody to stop me from keeping eye contact; for what felt like an eternity, I was caught in her gaze. Then she closed her eyes and continued meditating as if my presence was of no significance.

    I walked into the otherwise empty hall, sat down before her and closed my eye. It had not even been one day, but for some reason I had already gotten used to having only access to one eye. Even if my depth perception was now lacking, I did not think this sudden physiological change to be an impediment to daily life. And I certainly did not worry about it, even though I was sure that my former self would have. My new black-and-white hairstyle seemed to be an indication to my mental state, which seemed to be in a deep equilibrium. Therefore, I felt no need to pray to a higher power or meditate to face my innermost self, and opened my right eye again.

    I caught Sh? staring right at me from the consecrated platform she sat on, her eyes exposing a glint of slight curiosity. However, this impression only lasted for a split second, as in the next moment that glint had vanished and returned her eyes to two golden windows to the unperceivable nature of her soul. The way she looked down on me no longer gave me the feeling of a tiger watching cattle and a smile appeared on my face. Sh? responded by closing her eyes and submerging herself in her meditation again. I did not know whether she was shy and only keeping up appearances as the symbol of worship, simply disinterested in humans or disliked me for one reason or another.

    Before I could continue thinking about this problem, Mamiz? came into the hall from the side entrance and called out to Sh? and me. Apparently lunch was done and everybody was waiting for us. I stood up first and offered the symbol of worship my hand to help her down from the elevated platform. This gesture earned an expressionless stare from her as she floated down, seemingly unfettered by gravity. Shrugging, I followed her, as she passed Mamiz?, who had been watching with an interested expression on her face.

    "Oh my, thee art trying the same magic thee used on Ky?ko earlier?" She asked as she walked next to me, clearly audible to Sh?, who was only a few steps ahead. For a moment I considered her words carefully, thinking that maybe due to my current condition, I had spontaneously developed some magic that I subconsciously cast whenever I met people that were interesting. Then I disregarded that possibility and responded with a non-committal smile which only earned me a suspicious grin.

    "I''m hungry! Let''s eat already!" Came a voice I felt like I had heard before from the dining room. When I entered after Mamiz? and Sh?, I found that Ichirin, Byakuren, Ky?ko, Nue and the little umbrella Y?kai, Kogasa, were sitting on the tatami floor, each with a legged tray sporting various vegetarian dishes, miso soup and a bowl of rice in front of them. "You''re hungry because you can''t scare people. Why are you even eating, it won''t fill you anyways," Was Nue''s rebuttal to Kogasa''s outcry. When they noticed that I seemed to be joining them, they went silent and stared at me, each with a different emotion; Nue''s eyes were filled with something unidentifiable, while Kogasa''s gaze was of unease and caution. Ky?ko''s eyes lit up as her ears twitched.

    Sh? walked through the room and sat down at the far end of the dining room, in the seat of honor next to Byakuren. I purposefully placed myself right next to Kogasa, causing her to tense up, while Mamiz? sat on my other side. Turning to face the umbrella girl, I looked into her eyes and gave her an ambiguous smile, meant as a tease. Her slightly panicked expression showed that it had the desired effect, and I turned around to find Nue doing the same to me. When I simply smiled back, she seemed astonished and looked away in embarrassment, a light tint of red on her cheeks.

    A girl, by apparent age bordering on being considered a young woman, came into the room carrying a legged tray. She had light brown hair and wore a white Kimono adorned with a pattern that I considered to be clearly in bad taste; there were splatters of bloody red as well as gaping mouths lined with sharp teeth all over the hem and sleeves, and her sash was the dark red of dried blood. However, her straightforward smile showed me that she, unlike her taste in clothes, likely had an agreeable personality. She placed the tray in front of me, stood up and left to bring more for the others. When she turned around my eyes were drawn to the headphones she wore, on which the word "Eat" was written. Leaving aside the fact that Gens?ky? seemed to be in an age in which such electric applications should not yet exist - once again pushing the existence of the reflex camera I had seen on Aya the first time I had met her out of my mind - she seemed to have an overall theme of "eating" to her. On the back of her head, attached to the over-ear headphone-like apparatus, was a broad metallic looking piece and I assumed that it might be more of a fashion apparel than actually functional.

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    "This is Kamitsuki Senka, the newcomer who made today''s lunch," Mamiz? explained, while the girl in question continued to bring in more trays until everybody but her had one. However, she did not leave again to get her own and sat down in Seiza, across of Byakuren and Sh?. The head priestess initiated the lunch and everybody started, with only Senka sitting still and waiting, not watching anybody in particular. She seemed to be well-behaved, like a girl of good upbringing, despite the fact that she was most likely also a Y?kai.

    "So far, she has never eaten anything," Mamiz? told me during lunch. "Maybe she is also the type that feeds on the fear of humans, like the one next to thee." I turned to Kogasa, who was wolfing down her food with a disappointed expression; most likely, there was no feeling of fulfillment. She noticed my gaze and froze in her motions, before slowly turning away and continuing her assault on the food. Across of me Ky?ko was eating with small bites, befitting of her stature, never noticing that I watched her for a little. I looked to Byakuren and found that, as expected, she was eating in a refined manner. When I turned to look at Nue, I noticed that she was copying the head priestess. It did not take her long to notice that I was watching her, which caused her to stop completely, as a shocked expression appeared on her face. She soon blushed and returned to eating in a more natural manner.

    "Oh my, she seems to have taken a liking to thee, Ky?ma-dono," The Bake-danuki next to me said and played with the sake bottle in her left hand. Apparently Nue had heard that comment, because she flinched before starting to choke on her food. Ky?ko fretted over her and did not seem to know how to help, but Ichirin patted Nue''s back and offered her some miso soup, which the latter quickly gulped down. I smiled at the sight and continued my meal. Even though it was a temple, it seemed that everybody was laid back and were not too strict to observe all sorts of mannerisms. I could feel the warmth of what seemed to be a family rather than a brother-, or rather, sisterhood.

    Soon one after another they were done and carried their trays away on their own, as they scattered to wherever they spent their time. Mamiz? remained with me, taking her time enjoying the cold side dishes of her meal, as she finally procured two Sake cups from an unknown location, handing me one. The only other people in the room were Nue and surprisingly, Kogasa, who had been done first. Maybe she was waiting for an opportunity to scare me, so I did not pay too much attention to her presence, intentionally letting my guard down.

    "Here, ''tis some good sake," Mamiz? said and I took the offered cup. I was just barely of legal drinking age, so it was acceptable, but I knew my limits and would take care not to overstep them. "Thank you," I said as she filled my cup from her bottle. We clinked glasses and I watched as she swallowed the content of her cup in one go, before I tried the same.

    Suddenly, something poked both my sides and I spun my head around, having enough presence of mind not to spit directly in the face of Mamiz?. However, Kogasa, the perpetrator of the poking attack, was just in front of me as the sake escaped my mouth. It sprayed directly into the eyes of the little umbrella Y?kai. The Bake-danuki and Nue watched the spectacle seemingly unfolding in slow motion. Kogasa fell over and held her face as if acid had been poured over it. I did not know how it felt to have sake get into one''s eyes, but judging by the aftertaste, its alcohol content was quite high.

    Mamiz? laughed at the dictionary example for the word "backfiring" without restraint, as I tried to help Kogasa in any way I could. Senka came to our help as she took the little umbrella girl outside to let her wash her eyes at the well. I sighed and noticed Nue''s stare from across the room, her expression showing a mixture of astonishment and caution; apparently she thought that it had not been mere coincidence but rather a natural defensive mechanism of mine that had resulted in Kogasa''s miserable state. I gave her a resigning smile, upon which she snapped out of her staring, quickly took up her tray and hurried out of the room.

    Finally, only the Bake-danuki and I were left and we engaged in some merry drinking. I noticed three things at my eighth cup: Her bottle appeared to be holding an infinite amount of sake; it was only noon and we were already drinking heavy alcohol; I did not feel any effect, while from the mannerism and speech of my drinking buddy I gathered that she was getting a little tipsy.

    "Thee can hold thy liquor well, Ky?ma-dono!" Mamiz? said and poured me another cup. Maybe not getting drunk was another effect of the state of my soul being only half-present. This theory disregarded the physical effects of alcohol, which clearly went against common scientific knowledge.

    We stayed for a little longer and enjoyed a nice chat about nothing in particular while indulging in excessive amounts of sake. Senka returned in the middle and carried off our empty trays, leaving behind a scent of flowers in the room. Even as the alcohol showed absolutely no effect, I could feel that my stomach was being filled by it. When we concluded our drinking party, Mamiz? already had a red face and swayed slightly.

    "I cannot believe that thee could drink me under the table," She murmured and lay down on her side. I could see that she was still awake and apparently only shifted to a more comfortable position. "Art thee really human?" I understood that it was a rhetorical question, but smiled and answered with a definite "Yes, I''m just a normal human". Laughing, Mamiz? stroked her fluffy tail, causing me to look at it in envy.

    Suddenly, a loud noise, as if stones ground against each other, reached us from somewhere inside the temple. Mamiz? looked in the direction it came from and immediately stood up before swaying dangerously, compelling me to quickly motion to steady her. However, rather than falling over, she used the built-up energy to propel herself out of the room, towards where the sound came from. I quickly followed her, out of the dining room and into the hallway, towards the main temple hall. As we entered, it became clear where the noise had come from; Sh? was wielding her spear, Ichirin held golden rings in her hands, while Nue wielded what looked like a twisted black trident, the three of them surrounding Senka in a half-circle. Behind her was a giant hole in the wall, which seemed to have been cleanly ripped out without leaving behind any cracks.

    "What happened?" Mamiz? asked as she walked up to Byakuren, the only one who did not threaten Senka with a weapon. "What did she do?"

    "I am not sure, but the wall behind Senka-san just disappeared," She explained, only creating more questions. "Something on her back did this," Nue said and pointed at the perpetrator, who looked shocked at the accusation. "I didn''t see it clearly, but it was her, no doubt!"

    "Slowly turn around," Ichirin said with a firm voice, even harder than the one she had used when calling out to me for the first time. Senka did as ordered, a confused expression on her face, and showed her inconspicuous back, revealing nothing out of the ordinary. From my vantage point, standing a little behind Sh?, I saw her face suddenly contort into a malicious grin.

    "Get away!" I screamed and grabbed Sh?''s shoulder to drag her back. Mamiz?, Byakuren and Ichirin jumped back, while Nue disappeared in a cloud of black mist. Then the metallic looking part attached to Senka''s headphone-looking ear covers opened to reveal a serrated jaw, and in an instant, along with the crunching sound, the ground behind her was gouged out in an oval shape. The jaw closed again and Senka turned around to see the result, glancing at each of the people present. Nobody had been hit, but their expressions displayed shock at the destructiveness of the attack.

    "Aww, and here I thought I could eat some Y?kai meat again," She said with a deep and scratchy voice, completely unbefitting of her appearance. However, her lips had not moved. She turned her head slightly and revealed that the jaw was the one actually speaking. "I just couldn''t hold myself back... Come on, let''s finish what we started." "No, next time," Senka spoke, now moving her own lips. They were still curved up in a sinister smile, the beautiful voice befitting her looks belying the evil in her eyes. Before anybody could react, she turned around once again and from the metallic jaw on the back of her head spew forth a great mass of debris.

    When the dust finally settled, Senka had disappeared, leaving behind the temple in a mess. Everybody was still too shocked at the suddenness of the incident, but Mamiz? was the first to talk. "So she was a Futakuchi-onna," She said, finally explaining the newcomer''s origins as a Y?kai. "I heard they had a second mouth on the back of their heads, but I never expected them to wield so much power with it."

    "I thought her abstinence of food showed her determination for the frugal path of Buddha, but to think that she had such a violent and gluttonous disposition..." Byakuren commented as she looked at the hole which Senka had undoubtedly disappeared through. "This is awful."

    "Could you... please let go of me?" Sh? said and turned to look at me with an emotionless stare. I noticed that I was still holding onto her shoulder and quickly let go, as if I was touching something hot. She looked at me for a moment, her feline eyes piercing mine, before she went to Byakuren''s side to speak to her.

    "Don''t mind her, Ky?ma-dono, that''s how she is," Mamiz? said as she walked up to me. She had reverted to her usual cheerful looking self, considering this incident as nothing special or rather an everyday occurrence. "But really, thee art quite daring, to grab our little symbol of worship like that." The way she talked about Sh? made me reconsider Mamiz?''s status as a Y?kai, since she could call this disciple of Bishamonten "little". I realized that despite what had happened, I did not feel much of a shock.

    "Hm... I smell sake?" Byakuren suddenly said, her voice sounding like always, but somehow possessing an incredibly scary undertone. Mamiz? flinched, turned to look at me apologetically, and disappeared in an explosion of white smoke. As the cloud cleared, the head priestess was standing before me with the expression of an angry Buddha; a smile that did not extend to her eyes.

    Thus, I received a lecture in Mamiz?''s stead, cursing the Bake-danuki for leaving me to hang. When Byakuren was done, she sent Ichirin to call the carpenters to begin repairs immediately, and excused herself from our presence. Sh? held her spear and the jeweled pagoda as if standing guard inside the temple, while Nue never appeared again after her initial disappearance with Senka''s first attack. Seeing that my presence would only get in their way, I said my farewell, with a promise to Ky?ko to come visit again soon.

    Thus, I spent an exciting afternoon at a Y?kai temple and met many different kinds of beings and personalities. They were all so much like humans, while at the same time I knew that each one of them could have eaten me if they only wanted to - except for Kogasa, who I considered too innocent, or maybe too incompetent, to harm anybody. I decided that on my way back I would take a look at the bridge where I had lost my shoes to the strange woman with the strange power to glue shoes to the ground.

    Unlike at night, the streets were bustling with people coming and going, and while I half expected Samurai walking around among the villagers, there were none. It seemed that either Gens?ky? experienced no wars, or despite appearances it was not in the feudal age. Instead, there were many people who looked like merchants and farmers, carrying bags or pushing carts along the streets. Some stalls offered a variety of food and snacks, others were displaying toys or jewelry, while vendors with portable stalls sold fruits and dango on skewers. The atmosphere was something that could never be found anywhere in the outside world again.

    As I reveled in a nostalgia I should not even be able to relate to, I took detours in the city while walking in the vague direction of the bridge I had gone to the previous night. I found many facets of everyday life in Gens?ky?, the freshness as well as strange familiarity only serving to strengthen the feeling that my decision to come to this world had been the right one. Even though my future was still very uncertain, I felt that this was where I wanted to be; I would only have to find my own place to live in this world.

    When I reached the bridge, I saw from afar that my shoes were no longer there. Sighing, I walked up to the place I had to leave them behind at and looked around, for the very slim chance that somebody had only accidentally kicked them away. My eyes swayed over the moving masses of people until they fell on teal hair within those of black and dark brown. I reacted instantly and pushed towards the person, who was standing still with her back to me, watching the flowing river under the bridge.

    "Excuse me..." I said and tipped her on her shoulder. She slowly turned around, a melancholic expression on her face and eyes that looked as if they had cried only recently. I was taken aback by her vulnerability and realized that she was actually really beautiful - something I had not been able to notice in the darkness of the night when I first met her. "Err... are you alright?" I asked by reflex and earned a teary-eyed lost puppy look, her cyan eyes featuring impossible sparkling bits that revealed her non-human nature. She was no longer holding the bundle of cloth, upon which I assumed that somebody had taken her baby.

    "She took it from me," The woman confirmed my assumption and showed me her empty hands. She looked at me with a pitiful expression, then turned away, unable to bear letting somebody see her in her current state. "Can I... can I help?" I mustered my courage and asked, but unsure how I could be of any help to her. She responded by walking away a few steps and stopping, with her back to me, as if hesitating about what to do next. When she turned around, I could see a plea in her eyes, as she opened her mouth to speak.

    However, no sound escaped her lips, and I finally noticed that the surroundings had become eerily silent. The bustling street had become completely deserted and only the woman and I were standing in the middle of the bridge. Her expression changed to that of fear, as she looked around, then turned to me frantically. "She is deceiving us and will bring ruin over every-"

    Her words were cut short when a giant wooden wheel coming out of nowhere ran her over. Within a single moment, she disappeared from my view and I was stunned at the suddenness of the occurrence. I turned around to see the wheel standing on its own, before it spun around to reveal a girl holding onto it. She had flaming red hair with two horns sticking out from between them, which turned out to be two strands of hair sticking up upon a closer look. Her jacket was missing the left sleeve, had rugged edges as if torn up and underneath she sported bandages tightly wrapped around her chest. A studded leather belt was loosely coiled around her hips and she wore a very short torn up skirt. Anachronistic heavy black leather boots covered her feet, but her most striking feature was the broken wooden wheel with metal spikes embedded in her left shoulder.

    "Yer talkin'' too much! A''ve been told ta take ya back," The girl spoke in a crude dialect and walked up to the woman she had just run over. The latter was lying on the ground, unmoving and barely breathing. The brutality of the scene overwhelmed me and caused me to remain motionless, as if frozen to the spot. The girl with the wheel picked up the teal-haired woman onto her free shoulder and turned around to reveal the four Kanji for "Night Road Death Suffering", read as Yoroshiku, on her back. It was the wordplay biker gang members in Japan used to write on their coats, meaning "nice to meet you", but composed of edgy sounding Kanji. She stepped onto the giant wheel, which lifted into the air and turned her head to look at me over her shoulder. Sneering, she finally took off with the wheel covered in blazing flames.

    Dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events, I was left behind staring into the sky, so much that I did not notice how life returned to the streets and people were crossing the bridge as if nothing had happened. I did not know what exactly to do, but I knew that what happened was surely not normal; even if Gens?ky? lacked common sense, a Y?kai appearing in the middle of the day and kidnapping somebody was surely not something that could be easily overlooked in the human village.

 Chapter 8 - Omens of Change

    he first thought that crossed my mind was to return to the My?ren Temple and tell them about what I just witnessed. Considering the occurrences from earlier maybe it was no mere coincidence for several Y?kai with violent tendencies to appear in the village in quick succession. Hurrying back in a more direct way than how I had come to the bridge, I ran, noticing that a month earlier I would have been short of breath after only a few hundred meters. Maybe it was due to the air in Gens?ky?, which was much cleaner than anything I had ever breathed before, but once again I had to wonder what other kind of physical changes the condition of my soul had brought with it.

    Thus, I soon returned to the front gate of the My?ren Temple and found it deserted; Ichirin was either still out to call the carpenters or inside and helping with cleaning up the mess Senka had left behind. From the outside, the temple did not seem to have experienced any disturbances just recently and a false sense of tranquility lingered. Just as there had been no indication as to what had transpired on the bridge, as no tension or anxiety hung about the people of the village, there was no busy bustling around the temple either.

    Maybe I was simply too used to modern society, in which information travelled faster than the feet and voice of people. If something had happened in a temple of the world I came from, minutes later the police would have arrived, along with a crowd of curious onlookers, journalists and photographers. On the inside I felt that I preferred this kind of place, where everything was less busy and more personal. I had planned to move to the countryside to concentrate on my research and studies after graduating from university.

    Then I reconsidered the nature of the temple before me and thought that maybe this was simply due to the fact that not many humans would visit it and even fewer would think it strange that Y?kai were running wild inside it. As I proceeded through the gate with this line of thought, a feisty sounding voice called out to me from behind. I turned around to see two girls approaching, one carrying what seemed to be a giant anchor. The former had dark blue hair and ultramarine eyes and wore something I would describe as a parody of a Japanese white navy uniform, with short sleeves and shorts instead of long pants. However, unlike what her clothes suggested, a captain''s hat adorned her head, denoting her status. I only had to wonder if that was simply a costume worn as a hobby, since from the records of Gens?ky? at the Hieda estate I came to understand that it was landlocked. From the fact that she was casually carrying an anchor I assumed that she was no human.

    The latter had an even more striking appearance, as although the gray dress she wore was nothing outstanding, two big ears I could only describe as belonging to a mouse protruded from her silver-gray hair. When a naked tail balancing a basket near its tip came into view as she moved, I had certainty that this was indeed a non-human being and most likely a mouse Y?kai.

    "Hey, what are you doing here?" The girl in the sailor uniform, the owner of the voice that had called out to me initially, asked as she readied her anchor in case she was not satisfied with my answer and deemed me an intruder.

    "I just came back because I forgot something here," I answered, unsure of  the alignment of those two before me. Maybe they were also beings of a violent disposition, so I had to be careful, but in my response I assumed that they were the two other permanent residents Mamiz? had mentioned after I met Nue for the first time. On the other hand, she had said that they would not be back for the day, which was a discrepancy in facts I could not simply overlook.

    "Oh, you are familiar with the temple then. It was just because I have never seen you around here. My name is Murasa Minamitsu, I''m the captain of the My?ren Temple. Who are you?" The girl in the uniform dropped the anchor with a heavy thud and a clearly perceivable vibration, making me wonder just how much it weighted. I also was unsure about her statement that she was the captain of a temple, but decided not to think too much about it; I had to ignore common sense when it came to this world, after all.

    "I''m Kagami Ky?ma. I''m new to Gens?ky? and came to the temple for guidance earlier. I was on my way home when I encountered a Y?kai in the middle of the village and came back here to report it... since there was an attack here earlier," I introduced myself and explained the reason for my presence. Upon my last statement, Minamitsu''s expression changed to one of worry, as she excused herself and ran inside the temple, leaving me with the mouse Y?kai. "And who are you?"

    "I am Nazrin, the strategist of the My?ren Temple," She introduced herself after what I perceived to be an unnecessarily long and awkward silence. Once again, I wondered why a temple needed a strategist, additionally to a captain, but decided that thinking about it too much meant it was my loss. Nazrin proceeded to enter through the gate and I followed. We walked into the main hall to find it bustling with men erecting a scaffolding to patch up the wall, while others were fixing the hole in the ground. Byakuren was overseeing everything and Sh? was talking to Minamitsu, when they saw us entering. Nazrin approached the disciple of Bishamonten and started talking to her, as Minamitsu excused herself and left for the residential building.

    I decided to talk to Byakuren directly, as she was the head priestess of the temple, and walked towards her, under the watchful eyes of Sh?. If it was a surprise to her that I had returned after having left only a little earlier, she did not show it and only displayed the same kind of firm but expressionless face as always. Byakuren turned around to see me and the surprise was clearly visible on her face, making me wonder whether Sh? was simply bad at expressing herself or just did not care about the material world, considering her divine status.

    "Ky?ma-san, I did not expect you back so quickly," Byakuren said, but she did not look troubled by my sudden return. "Did something happen?" Her intuition was astounding, as I was sure that nothing was showing through on my face. Thus, I proceeded to explain to her what I had just witnessed at the bridge and told her about my previous encounter with the supernatural being that fixed shoes to the ground, who had been abducted so abruptly. I thought that maybe there was a connection between the cause for the carpenters'' presence in the temple and the sudden Y?kai attack in the middle of the day.

    "Maybe something bigger is at work here. Surely, it is no mere coincidence for two, possibly more, unaligned Y?kai to appear in the human village," The head priestess contemplated and turned to look at Sh?, who was still talking to Nazrin. The image of a tiger talking to a mouse was a strange one, but I shook off the thought and returned my attention to Byakuren. "I will look into it. You should be careful, Ky?ma-san. If that Y?kai with the wheel had attacked you..." She looked apologetic, maybe because she felt responsible for what Y?kai did in the human village, even if they were not members of her temple. "You do not know the rules of engagement here in Gens?ky? yet, so you cannot defend yourself. The human village should be safe, but with things as they are now, we of the My?ren Temple will have to send out patrols to protect the people."

    While my understanding of Buddhist temples had always been just about the fact that they distanced themselves from worldly matters, I assumed that because of the special nature of this particular temple traditions did not apply to them. I understood that along with the wish to protect the people, there was also a reputation to uphold, considering that there were Y?kai at this temple and the attacks could be mistaken as being conducted by them. For now, I felt the need to know about the mentioned rules of engagement, so that in case something did happen, I would not be completely helpless. In the outside world, with humans the only potential everyday threat, there was the option to just run away and lose them. I understood that Y?kai and other supernatural beings had a different concept of fatigue and would be able to pursue their targets as long as necessary, while others possessed great speed and simply captured their prey without giving them a chance to run in the first place.

    "Can you teach me about the rules of engagement? I want to be able to protect myself," I inquired and earned a worried expression from Byakuren. Maybe she did not want to involve me in any possible strife between Y?kai, but I had to do something and tried to show my conviction. She looked at me for a while in silence before she finally sighed and turned to Sh? and Nazrin, who had finished their conversation.

    "Nazrin, can you please take Ky?ma-san to the Hakurei Miko today? He needs to learn about the Spellcard Rules," Byakuren requested of the mouse girl, who nodded wordlessly and turned her attention to me. I bowed to her in thanks, but when I straightened myself again, my eye caught view of a strange occurrence, behind the two Y?kai before me. I stared, while my brain tried to comprehend it, alarm bells going off in my mind at the same time as the warning not to take everything in Gens?ky? at face value resounded in it. Nazrin was the first to notice my stare and turned in the direction where I was looking, only to see a cloud with the face of an old man floating up the stairs. As the mouse Y?kai was more than a head smaller than me, she did not yet see what I did; accompanying the cloud was a woman in nun robes, Ichirin, as well as another person. Two gray mouse-like ears protruded from that one''s silver-gray hair and she wore a simple gray dress that would not leave a deep impression. On her naked tail she was balancing a basket.

    A moment later, Nazrin before me saw that anomaly, too, and her eyes grew wide, compelling Sh? to turn and look as well. From where I stood, I could not see her face, but surely it was showing surprise. When Ichirin and the other Nazrin finally climbed to the top of the stairs, they noticed us and the latter instantly recognized herself at Sh?''s side. The symbol of veneration turned to look at the one by her side, then the one by Ichirin''s, but seemed unable to figure out the difference by looks alone. In the meantime I processed in my mind the possibility that this was just Mamiz?, who, as a Bake-danuki, had the power of transformation and was either playing a prank or tried, unsuccessfully, to use a disguise to avoid Byakuren''s wrath at having indulged in alcohol in the temple.

    "Who are you? You are not Mamiz?!" Both Nazrin said at the same time, further adding to the confusion, as they not only sounded the same but had the absolute same expression and demeanor. Byakuren turned around at the voices and noticed the two mouse-Y?kai staring each other down. Sh? and Ichirin were unable to react at the bizarreness of the situation, alternating their glances between the two, of which one surely was a fake. Everybody watched, unsure of what to do, as the two Nazrin were confronting each other.

    I noticed that the sound of the carpenters had disappeared and when I looked around, some were staring, while others were inching away. Maybe they felt that the situation was loaded and may explode at any moment, so they were trying to leave unnoticed, before a battle broke out and turned them into collateral damage.

    From the way both Nazrin had been talking to the members of the temple without either noticing anything faulty about their behaviors, I surmised that maybe even questioning them in turn would not yield any results. Surely, the fake one had done her homework and knew everything there was to know about the person she posed as. I knew that I would not be able to help in this situation, since I met Nazrin only a few minutes earlier. It would be up to the people who knew her longer to find out who the real one was.

    "Neither of you move!" Byakuren said with a firm voice, which compelled Ichirin and Sh? to take action at the same time; the former took out her golden rings and readied herself against the Nazrin next to her, while Sh? pointed her spear at the one at her side. Both mouse Y?kai looked shocked at how quickly their companions had turned against them, upon which the cloud with a face, behind Ichirin, circled around and spread out to stop either from leaving the temple hall. The tension that had suddenly spread due to the situation was almost tangible, as I could feel an unknown pressure filling the air.

    I was unsure of how this situation would be resolved and could only watch as the two Nazrin relaxed their stances at the same time, while Byakuren walked up to them. Wondering how she would determine who was the real one, the head priestess motioned for both to come to her, before she told them to sit down facing Sh?, and start meditating. Following her order, both Nazrin sat down and closed their eyes, as the symbol of worship stood before them with the spear in one hand and the jeweled pagoda in the other. I guessed that their devotion to the religion would be the determining factor, since malevolent Y?kai shunned Buddhist rituals and sutras, to the point that they would feel physical discomfort and pain upon hearing them.

    As I had expected, Byakuren started to chant a sutra in a language I was unable to identify. However, it had no effect on either Nazrin, as they kept their eyes closed and their bodies unmoving. Ichirin came up to me and whispered to me to watch the two closely for any reaction, before she sat down right behind the two, leaving enough space for Byakuren to pass between them. Sh?''s piercing eyes did not miss even the smallest motion in the two mouse Y?kai, whether it was caused by their breathing or their heartbeats, as the head priestess'' voice became more entrancing with every passing second.

    I did not understand what exactly Ichirin meant, since surely the other people present would be much more qualified to judge who was the real and who was the fake one, but I obeyed and did not avert my eye from the two mice. The pressure seemed to grow stronger, as Byakuren''s voice was lost in the silence that laid itself upon the temple; everything seemed to grow distant, as if put in scale with the result of a cataclysmic event that had shaken the very earth just moments earlier. It reminded me of the apocalyptic vision which had caused my left eye to close itself and half my hair to turn white.

    Suddenly, within this intense atmosphere, as my right eye remained closed, my left eye forced itself open on its own. What I saw was hell.

    Unable to move, I was forced to see chaos, the walls of the temple all but replaced by translucent sparks in shades of black and white. The people before me were undressed down to their bones in one second and turned into discolored parodies of their normal appearances in the other, as everything was in motion while staying still. I could see life and death in everything, the pulsating hearts of dead matter, the aging of the world lying bare in all of its twisted miserable glory. I could barely make out the five figures before me, the one standing and holding a pulsating light in one hand surely belonging to Sh?. I fixated on the light as it was the only constant in this ever-moving world. Slowly everything around the single unflinching light calmed down to a level that did not eat away at my sanity.

    The figure that was moving seemingly in slow motion belonged to Byakuren, as my vision passed through her clothes, skin and flesh to display her nervous system. The slightly taller one of the three figures sitting on what I guessed was the floor, was that of Ichirin, as I saw her blood stream and her heart pumping slowly. Then my eye finally took in the two figures next to each other, the real and the fake Nazrin, and I saw their exposed backs, vertebrae and spinal cords with the electric signals passing through them. Everything in the bodies of the two were identical, down to the very brainwaves and electric patterns running in their bodies. However, as I saw through the backs of their heads, I noticed an anomaly, or what I surmised was one, in the Nazrin that I had met when entering the temple. Something covering her face was completely still, in this otherwise disturbed world of restless immobility.

    Despite the occasional nakedness of the subjects before me, I was too confused to feel shame or arousal. And even within this confusion, my mind formulated a clear thought in face of this anomaly: She was the fake one.

    As suddenly as it had happened, it stopped. I opened my right eye at the very moment my left one closed itself again and stared at the back of the Nazrin that had displayed the anomaly. Byakuren, Sh? and Ichirin did not miss my reaction and the latter instantly leapt forward to subdue the one I had indirectly pointed out, as the other readied her spear. However, there was a sudden explosion of hot steam, which filled the whole temple hall. If I had not seen it happen, I would have thought somebody threw down a smoke bomb like a Ninja; the fake Nazrin had grabbed her face and her whole body had exploded into this white steam.

    Within the almost unbearable heat I glimpsed upon a person wearing a very short cyan Yukata, with orange hair and holding what looked to be a mask in her right hand. I assumed that this was the fake Nazrin, but before I could react and do anything, she turned around and exposed her completely featureless face. There were no eyes, no nose and no mouth, as a literally blank face stared at me with an invisible gaze. The sight was so disturbing that I could only open my mouth without formulating words. The steam shifted and I lost sight of her.

    There was a sudden gust of wind, sweeping through the temple, that cleared the mist. The shapeshifter had disappeared and left behind Sh? and Ichirin pointing their weapons towards the empty space she had been sitting in before. Everybody was stupefied by how this mysterious being had been able to disappear so quickly, when Minamitsu entered from the side entrance.

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "What happened here?" The captain asked when she noticed the situation, but Sh? reacted quickly and leapt towards her, the tip of her spear pointed at Minamitsu''s throat. The cloud with a face quickly appeared behind the captain to cut off her path of retreat, as Ichirin got into position next to the tiger Y?kai. At that moment I realized that shapeshifters in fiction were never using the full potential of their powers; their strongest card they could play, aside from infiltration and espionage, was to sow the seed of mistrust among people. Once it exposes its identity and disappears before everybody''s eyes, the people present will start to doubt the identify of every single person they meet afterwards.

    "What''s going on?" Minamitsu squealed at the suddenness at which she had been subdued and looked genuinely confused. However, even that could be a mere act by the shapeshifter to deceive everyone, if it was prepared and had learned all the mannerisms of those it mimicked.

    "Unzan, go search the temple grounds for Murasa," Ichirin said to the cloud, as she took its position behind the captain instead. The cloud with a face, named Unzan, disappeared through the side entrance. I turned to look at Byakuren, who returned my glance. I was wondering how she had known about the vision I experienced and why she had trusted that vision and my reaction to it to determine who of the two Nazrin had been the fake. However, before I could ask, she spoke up on her own.

    "I knew you could do it," Was all she said, as she smiled. As I contemplated how she had known, Unzan, who apparently had spread himself out for the search, judging by the time he had needed, returned from the side entrance and floated up to Ichirin.

    "Unzan did not find anybody else, so we will have to assume that this is the real Murasa," The nun commented as she stashed the golden rings under her robe. Sh? lifted her spear and no longer pointed it at Minamitsu, who looked relieved. Then relief was replaced by indignation, as she turned around and chose her target wisely.

    "What was that all about?" Ichirin and Unzan were the ones to bear it, as respect or fear kept her from arguing with Sh?. "Why was I treated like an enemy?"

    "Because there a shapeshifter has infiltrated the temple. She already changed into Nazrin and disappeared when we discovered her identity," Ichirin explained patiently, causing Minamitsu to regain her composure.

    "What tells me that it is not you?" The captain asked and earned a whack over her head with the broad side of Sh?''s spear. "Do not make things more complicated, Minamitsu," Sh? said, for the first time raising her voice within audible range to me. It had a nice ring and a hidden firmness that befitted her position as the disciple of the god of war and the symbol of worship in this temple. "We need to find Nue and Mamiz?. They will be able to identify the shapeshifter."

    "You trusted my judgment, but how did you know I would be able to identify the shapeshifter?" I turned to Byakuren and asked. It was bothering me that without me knowing, I apparently had performed a supernatural feat.

    "The sutra I spoke earlier is one that gives humans the ability to see through reality and falsehood, and will expose the true nature of things to those listening or speaking it," The head priestess explained, her statement suggesting that she was not human herself. "Unfortunately, it no longer works on me." I wondered what Byakuren meant by that; maybe it meant that she used to be human, but has since become something else. "... but I am sorry to show you such a disturbing sight. It is a sutra I personally do not like, as it relies on the human preconception that Y?kai are evil monsters. So when their true natures are exposed to a human, they will look like deformed monstrosities."

    I noticed a discrepancy in her statement with what I had seen. The sutra had not caused the Y?kai before me to change in appearance, but given me something I could only describe as X-ray vision. It had also been the reason why the walls and even the floor had become translucent, although it would not explain why everything, including the non-living things, was pulsating as if filled with life.

    I decided that it would be best to tell Byakuren that her sutra had not displayed its intended effect. Maybe the unexpected results were the cause of my strange condition, so just in case the head priestess planned to use me in such a way again with a different incantation, the outcome may be something similarly unexpected and possibly end in falsified results.

    "Hijiri-san, that''s not what I saw..." I started, unsure of how to properly express myself in a situation such as this one. "I could see through everybody''s insides, their flesh and blood, and I noticed that the fake posing as Nazrin had something strange on her face, which the other didn''t."

    "What do you mean?" Byakuren asked, a concerned and wary expression replacing her usually warm features. "Maybe your mind only comprehended what you were shown in things you could understand." With this valid point, I was suddenly not so sure that what I had seen had been so different from the intended effect of the sutra.

    Then I remembered something significant, that had slipped my mind so far; my right eye had been closed, but my left eye had forced itself open to show me what the head priestess now described as the result of the sutra. "Could you try to chant the sutra again?" I requested and pointed at my left eye. "This eye, in which I feel nothing right now, opened when you chanted the sutra, and my vision of everything turned strange."

    "Everything turned strange?" Byakuren wondered with an astonished expression. "We can try, if you wish." I nodded and sat down before her, as she started to chant the sutra again. However, this time I did not feel the pressure from before, and when she finished, nothing had happened to my vision. I looked up to her and she returned the gaze questioningly.

    "I didn''t feel the same intensity as before," I said and stood back up. However, it seemed that a new problem had sprung up, as the head priestess was looking at me with an unidentifiable expression. "What did you see?" She asked, not immediately betraying the tension she must be feeling at the implications of the answer that followed. "Nothing, everything stayed normal," Was my answer, when I noticed that something was amiss. Sh?, who had been watching, gripped her spear firmly as if in anticipation for any strange moves from me. I realized that being unable to utilize the sutra''s effects meant that something fundamental had changed inside me. It meant that I was not human.

    "Wait..." I could not explain myself, considering that ever since I had entered the temple, strange things had started happening. Even if it was but unfortunate coincidences, to a person holding suspicions they would appear to be clearly linked. And it seemed as if I was in the center of everything, as my appearance had caused the immediate exposure of not only one but two dangerous Y?kai. Even if they had trusted me previously, on the basis that I was visibly just human, now that this fact was being contested by the recent revelations, my position and possibly my very life was endangered.

    "Hey, what''s going on?" Came from behind me and everybody''s gaze, except for Sh?''s, moved to its source. I dared not turn around as the tiger-like eyes stayed fixated on me, unwavering and undisturbed by the newcomer. "Nue, where did you go? You disappeared when Senka attacked and never came back," Ichirin asked, identifying the owner of the voice to me in the process; I was unable to tell from the fact that I had only heard it for a little before, and while my memory for names in association with faces was superb, I was bad at recognizing people''s voices.

    "I secretly followed her, but lost sight of her when she went inside the Forest of Magic," Nue explained behind me. "But more importantly, what''s this tension? Did something happen while I was away?" I heard steps approaching from my rear, before something pointy poked me in the middle of my back, startling me. Finally, I spun around because I had to know what it was, only to see Nue pointing a trident at me, the thing she had prodded me with. "Who are you?" Was all she said, and I knew hell would break loose right then and there.

    In the next instant, there was a little smoke explosion right behind Nue and I saw a fist coming down on her head. From within the cloud, Mamiz? emerged with an annoyed expression as she grabbed hold of the smaller Y?kai''s head to make her bow down. "She''s just abusing this opportunity to play a prank on thee, Ky?ma-dono," The Bake-danuki defused the situation as she identified me properly. "She knew what was going on, we have both been watching the situation for a little while now."

    "So you are saying..." Byakuren started, but Mamiz? interrupted her and finished what started as a question with an answer. "... that while our definition of his status as a human needs to be revised, this is indeed Ky?ma-dono. There is more to thee than meets the eye, is there not." She did not avert her eyes from me as she kept holding Nue down, who was unable to complain at this point, considering that her mischievous nature nearly ignited the situation and could have cost me my life.

    "This does not change the fact that ever since you came here, Kagami-san, strange things have been happening," The head priestess argued, as she relaxed slightly. "You will have to explain to us in detail where you came from and what it is that you seek to find at this temple." Sh?''s eyes continued to watch me closely, her demeanor not showing any tension even as she remained ready to strike if necessary. I sighed, knowing that Senka, in combination with the shapeshifter, as well as my own carelessness had all contributed to the act of planting a seed of doubt within all those present.

    "He is just here to learn more about Gens?ky? and the rules that govern it. Ye can tell from his clothes and appearance that he is from the outside world," Mamiz? defended me, apparently the only one among those present who did not view me with hostility, suspicion or indifference at this point. Maybe it was due to the fact that I had drank with her merrily before and that only in drunkenness one can find truth, as some say. Then again, I had not been drunk no matter how much I gulped down, something I thought would appear unfavorable in my case to prove that I was, despite everything, still feeling very much human.

    "I know that everything looks very suspicious and I don''t have any way to explain myself. But you have to trust me, I have nothing to do with those who attacked the temple," I tried to argue, knowing full well that in this situation the members of the temple had absolutely nothing to base this trust on. Byakuren''s concerned expression remained, while help arrived from an entirely unexpected person.

    "I can find no evil in him... but it is strange, because I also cannot find any good in him," Resounded the calm, almost monotonous voice of Nazrin in the silent temple, and I spun around to look at her. She stood beside Sh?, holding what appeared to be dowsing rods in my direction, as they stood completely still. I was in no position to argue that dowsing - nothing but esoteric superstition and a way for people to make money off the gullible in the outside world - could not see into the heart of people, especially when the person holding them was a Y?kai with the ears and tail of a mouse, and stood next to a tiger Y?kai who also happened to be the disciple of Bishamonten. Considering the position I was in, any help was appreciated and I assumed that the other members in the temple believed her words.

    "He doesn''t look like a bad person," Minamitsu threw in, but was completely ignored.

    "What did you come here for, please repeat your purpose," Byakuren ordered me, possibly because Nazrin''s dowsing rods could now also act in the capacity of a lie detector. Since I had nothing to hide, I repeated what I had said when I first met her, and awaited the mouse Y?kai''s reaction. She looked at her dowsing rods intently for a little longer before silently shaking her head, signaling that she had determined a result. Judging from the reactions around me, I concluded that it must have been a favorable one, as the tension finally dissipated.

    "There were no hidden intentions in his words. But even if you only looked at him, you would know that he is telling the truth," Nazrin explained before she stopped pointing the metal rods at me and turned to Sh? to speak to her. Mamiz? patted me on my shoulder as I slumped down slightly in relief; the situation had finally been defused in its entirety. "Although the question of what exactly you are still remains, Kagami-san," The mouse Y?kai proceeded to say as she turned back to me, instantly returning all the tension to my body. "You are no Y?kai, that much we can see. But you are no human either, or else the sutra would have worked on you properly."

    "Maybe it has something to do with this," I suggested and pointed at the left side of my head, my white hair and closed eye in particular. "I woke up like this yesterday, and with the feeling and knowledge that half of my soul is gone." If this had been the outside world, I would have expected laughter as a reaction at best and people calling me crazy and beginning to ignore me at worst. Of course, I was now in a world of the supernatural and when I said something like this, people would not only believe it but also consider it in all seriousness.

    "This would explain why we cannot recognize you as entirely human. This sutra was conceived by those with sound souls, for those closest to them in nature to utilize. That means only full humans," Byakuren conjured a possible explanation to why I had shown no reaction to the magic. But this did not solve the mystery of the first time, when my left eye had in fact displayed an usual reaction, regardless of how similar it had been too the intended effect. "With half a soul, you would be only half-human. With no other half to fill it up, your existence must be very volatile. Maybe the sutra still works on you under certain circumstances."

    The matter was going in confusing directions and defied all common sense, something I had decided to abandon whenever it became necessary. I assumed that the effect''s activation worked like a sensor that registered whether the recipient was human or not. In this case, as a half-human, I was like a barely readable barcode, which could be identified by the scanner only at a certain angle. I assumed that the strange activation the first time was when it properly registered me, but due to my half-assed nature, it only gave a half-assed result. The second time my nature could not be read, and thus nothing happened.

    "Oh, I know of somebody similar to you," Nue said and everybody turned towards her. "Mamiz?, you know her, too. That half-human, half-ghost that came here a while ago."

    "I see, yes. But that one had a full soul, split in two visible vessels, which never truly separated from each other," The Bake-danuki said, apparently recalling who Nue meant. "Thou art a very peculiar case, Ky?ma-dono. There is only half a soul inside thee and the other half is nowhere near. ''tis a miracle that thou art even alive in this kind of condition." As somebody who was not in particular religious and only knew about the various concepts of the soul in different religions because of his studies, I did not really understand why half a soul suggested inability to live. In fact, there was a story of a wizard who split his soul into several parts to attain a sort of immortality, which was obviously something straight out of fiction; however, when I looked around myself at this very moment, I was surrounded by existences that I had considered fiction until a few days ago. Sometimes reality was stranger than fiction.

    Byakuren apologized as a representative for everybody present that they had so suddenly started mistrusting me, and once again welcomed me to the temple for any future occasions. Mamiz? and Nue, the only ones who had remained friendly and indifferent respectively, stayed with me, while Ichirin once again left the temple, with the cloud named Unzan, to call the workforce that had run away during the tense situation involving the shapeshifter. Sh? remained in the main hall with Nazrin, while Minamitsu left towards the living quarters of the temple inhabitants.

    Suddenly I remembered that there had been two more members in the temple, who had not appeared ever since lunch. "Ky?ko-chan and that freeloading umbrella haven''t come here even after everything that happened," I voice my concern, earning a chuckle from Mamiz? at the discrepancy in treatment of the two in the way I referred to them.

    "If anything happened to Ky?ko, we would have heard something. And the freeloader, she must be trying to find something to eat somewhere," Nue said indifferently without looking at me. "I''ll go have a look, maybe I can snatch a meal from her."

    "Thou art not honest," Mamiz? said and smiled at the girl in black, which was returned with a blushing angry expression. At this, Nue disappeared, just as she had when Senka had first attacked, leaving behind an amused Bake-danuki. "Well, I don''t think there will be any more disturbances today. Won''t thee stay for dinner, Ky?ma-dono?"

 Chapter 9 - A Slice of Life

    orry to intrude again, but I would be glad to," I answered with a smile and Mamiz? responded in kind. Sh? and Nazrin watched me even now, as if not entirely convinced of my identity, but I showed them a wide heartfelt grin. Neither reacted the way I had hoped they would and I felt too awkward to continue alone, turning back to the Bake-danuki. "Did I do something wrong?"

    "Oh, don''t mind them. They art of the quiet kind," She explained and signaled me to follow her towards the back of the temple. Looking back at the feline and mouse girls, wondering just how they could get along with those animals as their bases, I complied.

    "I want to know what''s happening to me," I murmured, thinking about what Mamiz? said earlier about me being something other than human. While I was unnaturally calm, I knew that this question needed an explanation as soon as possible; Yukari had explained to me that things involving the soul was matter of life and death. "Do you know anything?" Even as I spoke those words I lacked any feeling of urgency; I knew that half of my soul must have been torn from me and even then there were no unpleasant side-effect, safe from the fact that apparently I was not classified under human anymore.

    "I''m no expert on how souls work, Byakuren would be able to tell thee more. However, it would seem that thy soul is fragmented. Thy spiritual power is in constant fluctuation, so ''tis hard to determine anything for me," Mamiz? explained as we left the main temple building and walked through the back garden towards the cemetery. "Maybe thou can find books on the subject if thou ask Byakuren for them. What I can see is that there is a faint hint of y?ki surrounding you." Y?ki was the energy unconsciously emanated by Y?kai, and the stronger the being, the stronger the aura surrounding it. Humans would subconsciously perceive it as chills running down their spines or feeling the temperature in the area seemingly rising or dropping by some degrees.

    "Thank you very much, Mamiz?-san," I thanked her for the explanation, earning me a chuckle from her. "Just call me Mamiz?," She demanded as she produced a pipe from somewhere once again. I began to wonder whether she had hidden stashes in the cemetery, as she had done the same earlier when we met Ky?ko here.

    "It will be a little longer before dinner. With everything that happened, afternoon prayers are cancelled. Knowing those folks, they will be diligently meditate in their own rooms. Except for the two freeloaders, of course," The Bake-danuki mused as we once again walked through the rows of gravestones. I found two looking much newer than the others and apparently showed a questioning expression, as Mamiz? began to explain.

    "The daughter of a rather wealthy landlord and her handmaiden rest here. They died two days ago, one after another, due to unknown reasons. Rumors have it that the young lady''s love went unrequited and the grief caused her to waste away. The handmaiden followed her due to sadness over the loss of her mistress. ''Tis a sad story," She said and took a puff from her pipe. A nagging feeling that I had heard a similar story somewhere before clung to me, as my eye came upon the peony lantern hanging at the grave.

    "What is this? Isn''t it too early for Obon?" I inquired about the peculiar lantern usually only put on display on the day of the homecoming festival of deceased spirits.

    "This was the favorite lantern of the deceased lady and it was made by the handmaiden, so the family thought it a fitting gift to be put on the grave," Mamiz? explained. I was unable to shake the feeling that something was amiss, but I could not pinpoint the exact reason. Ultimately, I was forced to give up thinking about it.

    "It seems there was no point in worrying about Ky?ko after all," My companion said and pointed between the rows of graves. The Yamabiko in question was squatting in front of a grave and appeared to be staring at something. "That''s the real one." Mamiz?, a proficient shapeshifter herself owing to the fact that she was a Bake-danuki, seemed to have the conviction to tell with one glance whether somebody was real or in disguise.

    Ky?ko did not hear us approach despite the sounds our geta made on the path made of gravel and continued to be engrossed in looking at the ground. I peeked over her shoulder to find an ant column marching from a hole in the ground towards a grassy area. When a bigger ant, judging by its bigger mandibles a soldier morph, approached the petite girl, she fixed her eyes on that particular individual, until she noticed that the column had split and a large group was following the soldier towards her. She panicked and tried to move back without standing up, falling on her bottom in the process and leaning against my legs. Surprised, she looked up right at me, as I returned her gaze, then moved my eyes towards the approaching column of worker ants.

    "I''m sorry, I didn''t hear you approach!" Ky?ko squeaked and stood up quickly, paying attention not to step on any ants. She hid behind me, as the creeping black mandibled menace continued to approach.

    "How long have thou been here?" Mamiz? asked, her expression showing that she already knew what the answer would be.

    "Ever since lunch. I hadn''t finished sweeping and... oh," The Yamabiko responded before she recalled the fact that she had apparently left her task unfinished. Mamiz? looked up to the sky to judge how much time had passed since they had lunch, once again reminding me of the conveniences of the modern times in which a clock was almost always readily available.

    "So, thou have been loitering around here ever since lunch, almost two hours ago?" The Bake-danuki said, surprising me with how little time had passed. Then I remembered that here they were possibly using the traditional time system, in which one hour was around two standard hours, each assigned to one of the twelve zodiac signs. Then again, four standard hours seemed slightly excessive, or my inner clock was just that unreliable.

    "Err... not exactly... I mean... yes," Ky?ko stuttered to try and find an excuse, before quickly giving up before Mamiz?, who was without a doubt much more experienced in fooling people and certainly knew when somebody was lying. Taking a puff from her pipe, the Bake-danuki gave a hearty laugh and looked to me. "Can you believe that she is older than you?" I was taken aback by this rhetorical question and turned my gaze to the belittled Y?kai in question. She returned it with what I could only describe as a bad poker-face; she was unable to look into my eyes directly and the edges of her mouth twitched slightly, as if unsure whether to smile or to look sad.

    I reached out and pet her, realizing that by now all members of the temple were practically accounted for - disregarding the freeloading umbrella Y?kai. Just as before, she appeared to enjoy it, but I felt a certain apprehension in doing something so disrespectful to my senior, causing me to stop again soon after. And again, I earned a disappointed puppy-eyed look from the girl with the floppy ears. I did not dare to check whether a human set of ears were hidden under the patches of brown fur-like hair, or even take a look to see what it looked like below.

    "Would I be able to speak to the other residents before dinner?" I asked Mamiz?, in hope to meet Sh? again and maybe finally talk to her directly. "That depends on the person, as they have different attention spans for meditation," She answered, explaining what I had already suspected when watching the various characteristics of the people present at lunch.

    "And I assume Sh? is the diligent type," I conjectured, evoking a knowing smile from my tailed companion. "So she is the one thou art interested in. Thou have high standards," She remarked with an amused expression. I could not deny it and simply gave a her a non-committal smile in response. "She will be meditating until dinner, now that she does not need to pose as the symbol of worship in the main hall," Mamiz? continued.

    "You don''t seem to be very pious yourself, so what is your role in the temple?" I asked the Bake-danuki. She openly indulged in intoxicating enjoyments despite the Fifth Precept of Buddhism, so I already knew that she was not much of a believer. There must have been other reasons for her to be at the temple.

    "I was called to this temple by Nue as a... special war potential," Was the response, surprising me with the strange choice of words. From folklore and mythology, Tanuki were always shown to be tricksters that could disguise themselves and would play pranks on humans. However, since they were still physically only raccoon dogs, and judging by stories involving them, I assumed that they would be weak in direct confrontations. "Ky?ma-dono, thou seems to have a wrong impression of Tanuki." A dangerous glint appeared in her eyes as she grinned, showing her slightly elongated canines. "Well then, shall we go and play a round of Sh?gi?"

    Apparently having displayed my skepticism too openly, I could not deny Mamiz?''s coerciveness and agreed. Ky?ko decided to ditch her work and followed us as the Bake-Danuki led me towards the living quarters of the temple. We left the cemetery and rounded the main hall along the engawa, past where I had first met the little umbrella Y?kai that had tried to surprise me. Out of a whim I looked up at the place where she had so clumsily greeted me from and found it, unsurprisingly, devoid of her presence. Obviously, she did not live in that particular place, despite being a freeloader; Nue was surely still searching for her.

    When we entered through the front door, I was greeted with something soft and moist slapping directly into my face. The only surprise I felt was that there was still somebody who would play the Konjac prank in this day and age - before remembering that Gens?ky? followed different rules. I reached up to grab the piece of foodstuff and bit into it, trying to throw the perpetrator off through my mundane reaction. With a loud "Gyaah" from right above me, the thing that I had thought was Konjac was pulled upwards and in the next second Kogasa dropped to the floor in front of me, clutching the tip of the giant tongue on the umbrella she carried around. With mild surprise I was reminded of the nature of the being before me, who looked up at me with fearful eyes; she was a Y?kai and the umbrella was part of her body.

    "You ah a monfta! How fould you bife my fongue like thif?" She exclaimed barely understandably. Apparently the tongue on the umbrella corresponded to her own tongue. I held back from making a face that said "you reap what you sow" and reached down towards her. Flinching at my gesture, she looked terrified at the possibility that I would finish what I had started and eat her completely, so she looked for help from Mamiz?. The latter''s face, showing the least sympathetic expression I had ever seen, seemed to say what I had prevented myself from. "Noooo! Haaaalf!"

    Then my hand touched Kogasa''s hair and I petted her, as she continued to tremble in fear, her eyes pressed firmly shut as if it was a means to escape from her situation. She jerked at the sudden feeling but opened her eyes in surprise, when she realized that I was not trying to harm her. "I''m glad you''re alright," I said and smiled, as she looked up to me in a daze. Now every member of the temple was accounted for since the incident with the Futakuchi-onna, Senka, and the shapeshifter that had infiltrated the temple disguised as Nazrin.

    Mamiz? continued towards her room and I followed, with Ky?ko right behind me, as we left the dazed Karakasa Y?kai behind at the entrance. When I turned around one more time, I saw Nue appearing next to Kogasa from a dark spot in the hallway and glancing in my direction once before proceeding to talk to her fellow Y?kai. Mamiz? led us around a corner and I lost sight of the two.

    "Thou seems to have a way with Y?kai that makes them get attached to thee easily. Normally Kogasa would give up after failing to surprise thee once," Mamiz? explained when she opened the door to what appeared to be her room. "After all, a Y?kai who had its face seen once loses a little of the aura of fear it has due to its unidentified nature. ''tis also why Nue remains so effective."

    "Am I really that special? I think that my behavior is quite normal," I stated, unsure of whether I had just been complimented or indirectly called a weirdo. At least I did feel somewhat happy to know that my presence affected Y?kai in a positive way and that I seemed to fit in. A theory formed in my head as to how my existence was approaching that of a Y?kai: Due to the fact that I was missing half of my soul, the other half was trying to replenish itself with whatever was available. Since the supernatural beings were mostly made of spiritual energy, little by little, my incomplete soul absorbed their energies and started to turn me into a human-Y?kai hybrid. At this point everything was still only conjecture using incomplete knowledge and many unknown factors.

    Mamiz ? led us to her room, which overflowed with small trinkets, hanging scrolls and books. However, there was one tidy spot in the middle, where I assumed she laid out her futon whenever she went to sleep. The Bake-danuki sat down there and took out a beautifully carved Sh?gi board from the oshiire, one that was equally stuffed with various items. In my high school days I had played Sh?gi almost every other day, either with friends or my grandfather, so I was confident in my skills. Mamiz? was evidently much older than me, so I had to consider her in the league of my grandfather, whom I only rarely managed to beat, and only when I caught him off-guard.

    I did not expect it be so one-sided.

    " ''tis thy third loss in a row. Young''uns these days just don''t have what it takes anymore," Mamiz? proclaimed as she set down a Silver General right in front of my King and declared checkmate. The games had all been very quick ones, completely unlike how Sh?gi was usually played; it was the result of her fast and resolute moves, causing me to slowly panic and make more and more mistakes. Once again, as quickly as I could, I analyzed the board to find a way to get out of the predicament, but even with the restricted movement area of the Silver General on my doorstep, I could not escape it with my King due to my own misplaced Bishop. In fact, the Bishop had been captured from my opponent only three moves earlier, and was forced back onto the board to protect myself against a flanking move by her promoted Rook. I understood that the sacrificial move had all been part of her plan to wall in my King with my own pieces.

    "I''m sorry, I got ahead of myself," I apologized and hung my head low, invoking laughter in Mamiz?. "As long as thee realize it thyself," She began. "We still have time until dinner, so let us have at it a little more." I realized just then that the title "The Tanuki of Sado" could hold another, more obscene meaning, and shuddered but still complied. "Please teach me, master," Was all I could respond with.

    Ky?ko had fallen asleep and breathed lightly, lying right next to the Sh?gi board, while the two freeloaders, Nue and Kogasa, had entered the room silently to watch as I was being figuratively beaten senseless by Mamiz?. The atmosphere was relaxed and despite the fact that I could not get a single move on my opponent, I was enjoying my time with the supernatural beings that surrounded me.

    At one point I found an opening in the Bake-danuki''s defenses and with a triumphant "Ha!" I set down a Gold General inside her defenses, checking her King and threatening to capture her Rook at the same time. Previously we had been setting down the pieces quietly, but for once I did not mind abiding by the common convention of making an audible sound to put the newly placed piece into the center of my opponent''s attention. However, it also caused Ky?ko to jump up from her sleep in confusion as she looked around to identify the scoundrel that had so rudely shaken her from her dreams.

    "Sorry, I woke you up, huh?" I said apologetically and stroked her slightly disheveled hair, upon which she made a low-pitched sound I found similar to purring and smiled blissfully.

    "Thou art getting ahead of thyself again, Ky?ma-dono," Mamiz? said and pulled my mind back to the Sh?gi board, where she pointed at her second Bishop, which had been lying in wait within my own camp since almost the very beginning of the game. It had been unable to capture my pieces and neither had mine been able to capture it, so after almost thirty moves later, I had completely forgotten about its presence.

    "Oh..." Was all I could say as she moved her hand towards it and picked it up, moved it across the board and to my horror right on top of my Gold General. I had returned a previously so hard-won piece back to her for free, and found that with the now removed Bishop a most detrimental opening in my own defenses had been created. "I''m sorry..."

    Only four moves later I was checkmated by the very Gold General I had delivered to her on a silver platter.

    "I think a break is in order, Ky?ma-dono. Thy concentration is slipping," Mamiz? announced and produced a Sake bottle and two cups from somewhere, while I was looking at the board in despair. Nue and Kogasa had been unusually quiet throughout my games with the Bake-danuki, so I assumed that they knew the etiquette of remaining silent during a Sh?gi game. I suspected that Byakuren was the one usually playing with Mamiz? and that she had already taught the two freeloaders to remain quiet while they did, in one way or another.

    "Won''t Byakuren-san scold you if you drink before dinner?" I remarked, at which the Bake-danuki stopped short of pouring herself a cup. I was not opposed to drinking, considering that alcohol seemed to have no effect on me anymore, but I did not want to be scolded again in place of the real perpetrator, who had slyly escaped and left me as a scapegoat earlier. "We-well... she shan''t notice if we only drink a little," She said, slightly flustered. I made a face at her that could only be described as skepticism mixed with criticism.

    The two freeloaders, for the first time since they entered, spoke up and demanded Sake as well. Embracing the double standard that came with alcohol on so many occasions, Mamiz? denied their demands on grounds of their lacking tolerance as well as inability to keep secrets. "Well, look on the bright side of things. You won''t be scolded if we are found out," I said, knowing how unpersuasive I appeared to be as I somewhat reluctantly accepted the cup. Ky?ko had laid back down but watched Mamiz? and me as we wittingly broke the rules of Buddhism, while on the grounds of a temple, while denying it to two others.

    Just as Mamiz? poured the fourth cup, the little Yamabiko''s ears twitched and she sat up from the floor. The Bake-danuki''s face turned white as she quickly gulped down her cup of Sake, hid the evidence and looked towards the sliding door anxiously. Another second later it was opened without warning and Ichirin stood there, her eyes scanning the room. They stopped at me and the Sake cup I was still holding.

    "Did sister not scold you just earlier?" She said, closed her eyes and sighed. "But I have to assume that it was Mamiz? who forced you into this." Taken aback by that statement the person in question showed a shocked expression, as if she had been falsely accused. I was too amused to feign anger at the fact that she was trying to make me take the blame once again. "Sister will hear of this. Now, come eat. Dinner is ready."

    "Who made it?" Kogasa asked in excitement. Forgotten was the fact that she would not get full from it.

    "A laywoman who entered our temple recently. I do not know her name, but sister speaks highly of her," Ichirin responded and turned away, expressing that she wished for everybody to start moving toward the dining hall. We complied and followed her, in the direction where a strange smell wafted from.

    As we entered the hall in which I had previously eaten lunch already, we were greeted with the smell of something burned. However, it was not just that, but rather something that must have been drowned, dried and left to rot for a few weeks before being directly thrown into a fire and scorched into half-raw and half-charcoal. Put in fewer words, it smelled ungodly.

    "What happened here?" Mamiz? asked as she held her nose, alternately shooting glances in the direction of Byakuren, who already sat in her place, and the kitchen. I was not sure if I only imagined it, but there seemed to be purple steam drifting from the latter''s direction, through the open sliding door. The head priestess made a serene face and there was no indication that the smell bothered her. Sh? and Nazrin both seemed to be deep in meditation and had their eyes closed, but Minamitsu clearly expressed her disgust. "How was she able to cook something that smells like it died and been forgotten from vegetables alone?" The captain pressed through her lips trying not to breathe in the foul stench. She then turned to Sh? and Nazrin, since she did not dare to speak against Byakuren directly. "They are actually practicing endurance and haven''t taken a single breath since starting to meditate!"

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    The two accused did not react at all and continued, while Minamitsu regretted that she spoke so much and had to take a breath. Ichirin remained expressionless as she walked into it, while Nue, Kogasa and Ky?ko showed tortured faces as they crawled to their respective seats. Mamiz? looked at me strangely, surely wondering if I had anything to do with the chain of strange events throughout the day. From her eyes I could tell that she did not mean it negatively or that she even suspected me, but maybe she half-jokingly considered me a bringer of misfortune.

    "What did you do?" I heard Ichirin speak in the kitchen, but no audible answer reached me. Then there was the sound of plates clattering, before I heard the nun''s voice again. "Wait, that''s dangerous!"

    "The meal is done!" Another female''s voice, arguably belonging to a young girl, came from the same direction as the chemical weapon-grade fumes. Suddenly a swaying tower of stacked food trays came into view, carried by who I assumed to be the owner of the voice. I already expected the worst when the girl, with little regard for the dangerously heaped health hazards, skipped into the room and started to hand out trays one by one. Ichirin ran after her, taking care that nothing would be dropped; her worries were unfounded, as the girl skillfully dropped one tray in front of every person or the empty seat cushions thereof while sometimes randomly spinning around her own axis or hopping from place to place, without spilling anything.

    When she was done, she walked up to me in a beeline without looking in the direction she was going, before coming to a stop on the tips of her toes a few inches in front of me, coming so close to me that our noses almost touched. A pair of strangely empty and eerily glowing green eyes stared into mine as I could make out a similarly empty smile under her nose - which was clamped shut with a clothespin. There were just too many things for me to make a retort at, but before I could decide what exactly, she spoke.

    "Hey, you are a human!" She exclaimed. "Or are you?" Producing a black hat from somewhere, the girl spun a few steps away from me and put it on, before skipping past me back into the kitchen. All I could make out from her short appearance was a yellow long- and wide-sleeved top with a green collar, and a knee-length light green skirt. Then she disappeared through the open sliding door and more sounds of plates and tableware hitting each other emerged from the kitchen. Soon she came back, carrying a single tray for herself as she hopped into the middle of the room and sat down right in front of Byakuren. Ichirin, following the girl back into the dining room, showed a devastated expression at what I assumed to be what was left of the kitchen after creating something as dangerous as the unidentifiable matter on the plates in front of everyone. In fact, I felt as if my eyes were playing a trick on me, since for some reason the food of doom seemed to be actually covered by a mosaic. Maybe it was a natural preservation reflex of my brain, which activated to shield my sanity.

    "Let''s eat!" The girl said and picked up her chopsticks, when Byakuren finally spoke and interrupted her. "Koishi-chan, you cannot sit here. Your place is there, next to Ky?ko. And you should not wear your hat indoors," She scolded the girl, whose name appeared to be Koishi. The latter looked up to the head priestess with an empty face for a longer period than I thought was necessary to process the information, before she took her tray and stood up wordlessly, spun around in place a few times and stopped when she fulfilled a turn of at least 1980 degrees, facing me. Once again, she made a beeline towards me, but passed me without even looking up, came to a stop right next to Ky?ko and sat back down.

    "But I won''t take off my hat. It''s my friend, it helps me relax!" She proclaimed and motioned to start eating, when Byakuren interrupted her again. "Please wait until everyone has taken a seat, Koishi-chan," The head priestess said patiently, and surprisingly, the chaotic little girl held herself in check until Ichirin, Mamiz? and I had finally sat down, in the seats we had taken at lunch.

    "Now, let us eat," Byakuren proclaimed and as if it was a race, Koishi instantly gorged herself on the unidentifiable biomass that filled her plate. Unsurprisingly, nobody else actually started and everybody just eyed what was on their trays with well-founded suspicion - except for Byakuren, who actually picked up her chopsticks, took a piece and ate it, wearing a serene expression that seemed to emulate Buddha at the moment he reached enlightenment. I assumed that she had to shed her worldly thoughts to be able to survive the relentless annihilation of her taste buds.

    I looked down and had to tell myself that it was just my imagination when I thought I saw something move on the plate. Picking up the chopsticks, I wondered whether my current condition, what with the peacefulness in my mind, could help me withstand what I assumed would be pure torture to my senses. At least I was able to somewhat disregard the horrid smell, so maybe, just maybe, I would at least be able to leave with a full stomach.

    Thus, I took my chopsticks and picked up a piece quickly, fearing that the content of my plate would retaliate against me if I stayed too close to it with my hand. Looking at it and suppressing the feeling that it was staring back, I motioned it to my mouth and finally put it in. For a moment, I thought that maybe the sorry excuse for food that Koishi had brought into existence did not taste as bad as expected, as there was not much of taste to it in the first place. When I finally bit into it, feeling the strange texture of an octopus mixed with that of a dry sponge, the taste finally settled in.

    "That was really reckless of you, Kagami-san," Byakuren reprimanded me, as I came back to. I found myself in a lying position and when I looked up, found Koishi staring down at me very closely, her strangely empty green glowing eyes sparkling with curiosity. Then I noticed that this angle held a significant meaning and felt the softness of something other than a pillow under my head; I was resting in Koishi''s lap.

    "I must have blacked out for a moment there..." I murmured and got up quickly, startling the starry-eyed girl. I looked through the room to find that everybody was still present after this display. Some were watching me with curiosity, others with concern and a certain umbrella-toting freeloader was showing me a grin filled with malicious glee. I turned back to the head priestess, who was viewing me with patience as I regained all my senses, except for the feeling in and around my mouth. I remembered what happened and sighed, once again reminding myself of the clause concerning common sense. Koishi had been able to create lethal food from the same ingredients used in making vegetarian dishes and I had actually eaten it - some commendation was in place for both of us.

    "I''m sorry, Koishi-chan, I don''t mean to say that the meal you made is..." Byakuren started, but was interrupted by her opposite. "I know, it tastes awful! I was wondering why anybody even considered eating it." The head priestess was totally taken aback by that direct response and her face flushed red, while I watched Ichirin and Minamitsu dropping their chopsticks. I turned to look at Koishi, who showed an empty expression as if she was wondering why everybody reacted so strangely.

    "She really got us there, huh?" I said and slapped my thigh, breaking out in laughter at the absurdity of the situation. The other members of the temple could not be angry at the young girl with the eerily emotionless smile, and followed my example. Mamiz? looked in my direction with what I assumed to be a gaze of affection reserved for a likeable idiot, while Koishi stared at my face as if I was a rare curiosity.

    "Hey, what are you? I''m a Satori," She suddenly asked and revealed her identity. I looked at her while trying to remember what exactly a Satori was, searching through all the knowledge I had at my disposal. The information in the outside world concerning Satori Y?kai was that they can read minds, and that this ability apparently shares a root with the power of Yamabiko to return sound in folklore. I glanced in Ky?ko''s direction before returning my attention to the girl before me. Then I finally found the indicator to her inhuman nature: A number of blue cords, which I had somehow not noticed all this time, was floating around her, attached to unseen places on her body, but all running towards the front of her chest, where they came together in a blue ball roughly the size of a closed fist. There was a slit in the middle of it, which had an alarmingly resemblance with a closed eye, including eyelashes.

    "I have my third eye closed so I don''t need to read minds anymore," Koishi explained and showed a smile devoid of any warmth, but not really cold either. My heart felt like it skipped a beat at this sight, but I was unsure what exactly it was that I had felt in that instant.

    "She has sealed her consciousness and lives in the subconscious now. That''s also why-" Byakuren began to explain, but was once again interrupted by Koishi. "I have no worries! Yaay!" She exclaimed and stood up, her empty eyes looking nowhere in particular, before she spun around towards the kitchen. "I''ll go and remake dinner! I''m sure my second time will be much better!" I assumed that living in the subconscious came with the complete lack of an attention span.

    Sh? was the one to stop Koishi, by grabbing the blue cords attached to her closed third eye and pulling her back. The young girl almost fell on her bottom, spun around graciously and almost kicked Kogasa in the face in the same motion, before she stopped facing the disciple of Bishamonten. Her empty expression did not reveal if she was angry over the rude manner in which she had been stopped, but her words made clear that she understood annoyance.

    "What are you doing? That''s dangerous!" And with these words she twirled around to leave again, when she was once again stopped by Sh? in the same manner. "Please, don''t cook anymore." Was all the woman with the striped hair said, before she let go and returned to her seat beside Byakuren. Koishi stood there, her emotionless smile the same as before, seemingly contemplating Sh?''s words. Then she returned to her seat and sat down, eyeing the lethal weapon she had created for a moment. Everybody was watching her actions, unsure of when her attention deficit hyperactivity disorder would kick in again. Not even three seconds passed, when she suddenly stood up and stared into thin air, while apparently addressing nobody in particular.

    "I''m hungry! I''ll go make something!" With that said, she ran into the kitchen before anybody could do anything to stop her. Everybody in the room exchanged concerned glances, while I stared in the direction Koishi had disappeared to, wondering why a Satori Y?kai had willingly abandoned her ability to read minds. I decided that I would ask Byakuren after dinner, if we ever obtained something edible from the noisy rummaging in the kitchen that had set in.

    Surprisingly, everybody was waiting patiently, despite the chance that the next creation Koishi was conjuring up had the real chance to cost their lives. Sh? and Nazrin had returned to meditating, as the lingering foul stench of Koishi''s previous meal was as persistent as a tomato sauce stain. Nue had decided to open all sliding doors and the cool evening breeze was doing its best to disperse what could only be described as a crime against the sense of smell.

    I was greeted with another surprise, when the wind had finally been able to blow away any traces of Koishi''s wrongdoings;  the smell from the kitchen was not only suggesting that whatever she cooked was palatable, but it also gave me an image of something tasty. However, it also caused me to wonder how she made it smell like grilled meat all of a sudden, despite the ingredients still consisting of only vegetables. A while passed and I became too concerned at the mouth-watering smell that wafted into the dining room from the kitchen, that I decided to take a look. Byakuren had already begun to seek Nirvana again while emptying her thoughts of the possibility that meat would be served, while the others, besides Sh? and Nazrin, clearly showed temptation in their eyes.

    Before I could walk into the kitchen, Koishi came from the other side, carrying another haphazardly stacked pile of food trays. I barely dodged her as she twirled around me to deliver the food in the same manner as she had before. While before it had looked like it was created in a failed alchemy experiment, this meal looked normal - safe for the fact that it seemed to glow, much like its creator''s eyes. I was still skeptical, but at least it smelled good.

    When everybody had their tray before them, Byakuren finally opened her eyes again and looked down, to find that the food was not something that had lived before, and most certainly had not come to life inside the pot. Even if the smell was misleading, it looked like vegetables with sauces in various colors, normal white rice and an aromatic Miso soup with tofu cubes and seaweed. While I did not dare question what kind of vegetables had been used, when the head priestess initiated dinner, everybody picked up their chopsticks and cautiously tried a bite the same way I had previously.

    When I came to, the plate before me had been wiped clean and when I let my gaze sway through the room, I found that the same kind of annihilation battle had happened on every other tray. Not a single trace of food was left and everybody looked beyond satisfied, despite the fact that the meal had been quite simple. I looked in Koishi''s direction, who was staring into thin air again, not noticing that everybody was done.

    "Now that was a glaring difference..." Minamitsu commented and earned a harsh look from Ichirin. Sh? and Nazrin had their eyes closed and seemed to meditate again, possibly trying to seek forgiveness for having eaten in a most graceless manner. While Kogasa showed the same expression as she had after lunch, there was a hint of satisfaction that came with tasting something extraordinary in her eyes. Nue hid her emotions well, but surely she felt the same as her fellow freeloader, while Mamiz? and Ky?ko wore their thoughts on their faces.

    "Some Sake would have-" The former said carelessly and was shot down by Byakuren''s surging "punishment"-aura, as she smiled an Asura''s smile. I turned to look at Koishi again, who puffed herself up haughtily, wearing a grin as emotionless as ever, and emulated an expression of triumph. The sight made me chuckle and resulted in me being rediscovered by the Satori Y?kai, as she snapped her head in my direction, still displaying her triumphant smile.

    "So what are you? A human? What is a human doing here?" She suddenly inquired, taking me by surprise. I was unsure of whether I was still human or not, so my answer could only be as ambiguous as my nature had become. "I''m not sure what exactly I am, but it appears that I''m no longer human - at least not completely," I responded, knowing that it was an unsatisfactory answer. Koishi tilted her head and stared at me expressionlessly, before she blinked once and a glint I had not seen before appeared in her eyes. However, it only lasted until she blinked again, upon which she turned away from me as if she had completely forgotten about my existence.

    "How was the food? I gave it my all again!" She exclaimed, and obviously did not expect an answer; she stood up from her cushion and carried her tray into the kitchen. Byakuren sighed and gave the signal  that dinner had concluded; in the following everybody would get ready for evening practices, wash themselves and then go to sleep. Once again, Mamiz? and the other not so diligent Y?kai remained in the room, while Koishi went back to rummaging in the kitchen; she seemed to be washing the dishes. I missed my chance to inquire about the circumstances surrounding the closing of the Satori Y?kai''s third eye when Byakuren left, but maybe I could ask the person in question directly.

    "Art thou interested in her, Ky?ma-dono?" Mamiz?, who sat next to me, stated without looking at me. She took out her pipe without lighting it, respecting the ban on drinks and tobacco inside the temple for once. "Her and her sister''s story... ''tis the usual with Satori Y?kai who art born with human appearances. They can live with humans but soon their mind-reading powers surface and they are shunned and hated by everybody. Even with Y?kai, Satori are feared for they can discern thy innermost fears without even looking at thee. However, as their names suggest, they art very close to Buddhist enlightenment as all-seeing existences." The Bake-danuki took the time while Koishi was working in the kitchen to explain how her kind is viewed in the world of the supernatural. From the point of view of humans, mind-readers surely would not be welcome, as they would know everyone''s deepest thoughts and maybe expose some secrets that are deemed unacceptable by society.

    "It appears that Koishi and her sister have exiled themselves to the underground, to Former Hell. But Koishi went a step further and sealed her power to read minds by closing her third eye, which resulted in the sealing of her consciousness," Mamiz? continued somberly. I understood that the two sisters had lived a tragic life and that the one currently working in the kitchen while humming without a care in the world had been willing to go as far as abandoning her very own nature to escape from having to continue living a life being constantly hated and feared. "Byakuren says that Koishi is very close to enlightenment even for a Satori Y?kai. According to Buddhist teachings, emptying one''s conscious mind will open it for the truths of the world. Now she only needs to accept those truths, and she will be the first Y?kai to achieve what humans spend their whole lifetime to find."

    "Accept what truths?" The voice of the person in question resounded from behind me and before I could turn around I felt a weight on my back; Koishi had thrown herself onto me from behind and was now resting her head on my right shoulder, with an arm slumped over the left. "I''m tired..." She was surprisingly light.

    Mamiz? lifted an eyebrow in surprise at the sudden physical intimacy. However, before I could comment on the situation, she already stood back up again, walked around me and sat down right in front of me. She closed in on my face with her own, staring at my one eye intently with her glowing green ones, once again with our noses almost touching.

    "You''re... strange... but interesting," She stated and retreated, stood back up and merrily skipped out of the room. Everybody left behind was stunned at just how arbitrary Koishi was, as they looked in the direction she had disappeared to. I could still see the lingering image of her intense but empty eyes before my own, stirring something I could not explain deep inside me. I decided to go after her, since I wanted to know more about her nature and why she behaved the way she did.

    "Please, excuse me," I said to nobody in particular, stood up and followed Koishi out of the dining room. However, when I came to the corridor, there was no sign of the young girl, even though she could not have been so quick to round the corner of the hallway. I turned back around into the dining hall, then decided to just run after her, when a realization hit me.

    "What was I doing again?" I spoke out loud and scratched my head.

    Since I could not remember regardless of how much I tried, I returned to the dining hall and sat back down. Mamiz? looked at me curiously before she returned to her usual self. Nue and Kogasa looked at each other for a moment and turned their attention to me, while Ky?ko was staring at me with an expression I could not discern.

    I knew that I would have to return to the Hieda estate before it became too late, lest Y?ko chewed me out for it again. Considering the fact that the members of the temple were getting ready to sleep to wake up early in the morning, I could not stay much longer either. From Mamiz?''s behavior I assumed that she was the type to go out into the village at night, disguised as a human, and find some drinking buddies, while Nue and Kogasa would surely try to find a poor lone human to feed off of in the abandoned streets later.

    "Care for another round of this, Ky?ma-dono?" The Bake-danuki asked and waved the Sake bottle she seemed to carry with her in a hidden place at all times. Ky?ko frowned, concerned about the very likely possibility that either Byakuren or Ichirin will find us indulging in the forbidden pleasure again. "And this?" She produced the Sh?gi board from seemingly thin air, and set it down before her.

 Chapter 10 - Back to the Temple

    f course I wished to stay a little longer and learn more about the Y?kai of the temple, but I could not abuse the goodwill of my hosts of the Hieda household, whom I owed a roof over the head and a warm bed to, any longer. If I were to arrive at the estate much later, it would cause worry and earn me a scolding from Y?ko again.

    "I''m sorry, but I told my hosts I wouldn''t be back home too late. I can''t betray their expectations again," I responded, expressing my regret in being unable to remain in the company of these lovely Y?kai any longer. Ky?ko''s drooping ears seemed to droop even more, and I seemed to see a hint of disappointment in even Kogasa and Nue. "But I''ll come again soon. After all, I still need to beat you in Sh?gi once." The last part was obviously directed at Mamiz?, who responded with a sneer. "Thou art a hundred years too early to beat me, kiddo. Maybe, with that change in thy makeup, thee may challenge me on when that time comes." I understood that the possibility existed, in this world where words like fantasy and reality did not hold opposite meanings.

    I walked through the whole temple to find the various members to say my farewells and express my gratitude for having me over for the day, before I finally left to return to the Hieda estate. As I passed through the front gate, a young girl carrying a large peony lantern, and two steps after her a woman with long flowing open white hair approached. They bowed to me in passing, and a suddenly chill ran down my spine; the atmosphere they emanated triggered a familiar feeling, but I could not pinpoint it at that moment. The moment passed and they entered the temple, leaving me outside, alone and wondering.

    "At least you didn''t come that late," Y?ko commented when I came through the front gate. Her standing before me the moment I returned caused me enough of a surprise to shirk back. Either she had been on her way out or had been waiting for me for a while; in either case, I was wondering just how much she had been worrying. "I assume you are hungry. I will make you something."

    "No, thank you, I already ate at the temple. It was..." I paused for a moment as my mind went blank and my gaze turned into a distant one. Something subconsciously blocked my attempt at recalling part of the dinner, so I could not say with conviction how it had been. "... filling."

    Y?ko raised an eyebrow but decided not to inquire deeper into the matter, courtesy of my deadpan expression. She accompanied me to my room before excusing herself with her household duties. I went in and dropped onto my futon, suddenly feeling all the exhaustion that had built up during the events of the day washing over me in an uncontrollable wave. It was still early by my university-student standards, but my body felt too heavy for me to even sit back up. I decided that it would be better to go to sleep and wake up early to welcome the new day fresh and rested.

    With these last thoughts, I practically blacked out.

    I lay on the futon, my eyes suddenly wide open as I stared up at the wooden ceiling. My mind was perfectly awake. There was no recollection or even a hint of whether I had dreamed in my sleep or not, but I was well rested and my body was under my control again. I sat up to hear the songs of early birds and turned towards the paper sliding doors of my room, through which I could guess that once again I had woken up at dawn. Noticing that the clothes on my body were still the same as the ones from the previous day, I decided to take a bath before meeting anybody from the household. When I turned around to grab a change of clothes from my backpack, suddenly a pair of eerie green glowing eyes stared into mine from too close for comfort. At the sudden shock I jumped back, then sighed in relief when I realized who the eyes belonged to.

    "Don''t scare me like that, Koishi-chan," I commented and resumed my endeavor of finding a change of clothes. "Why are you here?"  For some reason a question I was unable to grasp began to nag in the back of my head.

    "Why, indeed? I wonder, why are we here?" She answered in a monotonous voice. "Sometimes I fear that there is no meaning to our existence at all and I get anxious. I lie in bed and can''t fall asleep, when I think about it... But then I find something else to think about... Oh, what''s this?" The Satori Y?kai spotted something in my backpack and, before I could react, had already picked out the flashlight I had brought along on a whim. I knew that in this kind of place, I would not be able to replace the batteries once they were used up.

    "It''s a flashlight. You can light dark places with it," I explained, as Koishi fumbled around with it, unsure of how to use it. "You press this button here and-" She sunk her teeth into the handle and accidentally hit the switch, causing the flashlight to shine directly into my eye. It was quite the strong one, since I had used it for disaster training during my school field trip. While I was temporarily blinded, Koishi took the device out of her mouth and observed the shining end directly.

    Somebody entering at that moment would have found two people holding their eyes and crying out "my eyes!", defeated by modern technology. When I regained my eyesight shortly after, I saw Koishi reaching back with the hand holding the flashlight. Once again, before I could react, she flung it right at me. The metal-encased device missed my face by a hair''s breadth and ripped through the paper sliding door behind me.

    "That thing is dangerous!" She yelled and jumped up, still half-blinded, and ran right towards me hazardously. However, before she crashed into me, she spun around her own axis and somehow skillfully sidestepped me, seemingly losing control right after and spunning right into and through the already damaged sliding door. I could only bring a palm to my face at the devastation she wrought. She came to a stop somewhere in the middle of the formerly beautifully arranged Zen garden, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

    I stepped out of my room onto the veranda to examine the damage the Satori Y?kai had done. "Koishi-chan, you should be more careful... How will I explain this to Y?ko..."

    "How, indeed," An intimidating voice came from my left, causing me to breathe in before closing my eye. I turned around to face the devil I had summoned by speaking of her. "Well..."

    "Well?"

    "..."

    "..."

    "I don''t know," I said and attempted a charming smile.

    I lowered myself into the hot bath water I had helped to heat up, with the wood I had helped to chop, and let my mind drift away. Once again I had the nagging feeling that there was something important eluding my mental grasp. But no matter how hard I tried to remember, it slipped away repeatedly, like attempting to grab a tiny piece of paper floating in the water, until it was gone completely. Only the knowledge that I had forgotten something remained.

    "If it was something important, I''ll be able to recall it eventually," I thought out loud and sighed, letting the heat of the water soak deep into my body. My arms stung from the impact of the wood-cleaver on the logs I had to chop in punishment. It had been work I had never done before in my life; I knew that coming to Gens?ky? would give me insight into many new things, but I had not expected to be doing something I had only seen in traditional bathhouses in the countryside, while I was on vacation.

    Sitting in the hot water, I felt my stomach growling and remembered that I had chopped wood without breakfast. I would ask Y?ko to fix me something right after my bath; or, in light of the recent events, ask her where the kitchen was so I could cook for myself. Thus, the feeling of having forgotten something slowly faded away in favor of more pressing concern over the course of my bath time.

    Just when I stood up from the hot spring sized tub, I noticed something at the small window of the bathroom; a face, framed by light green hair, peeked in from the outside. The empty glowing green eyes were an infallible indicator of the voyeur''s identity. I could only see the upper half of her face, but I stood there in all my naked glory, half turned in her direction. For a moment we looked at each other, then her eyes moved slightly, as if assessing me from head to toe. Eventually, she disappeared from the window, leaving me slightly disturbed and confused as to how to interpret the absence of any reaction on her end.

    Sighing, I realized that I was gradually getting used to being seen naked by women or girls I had only known for a day, as well as to accepting their respective antics. I began to believe that I could make out a pattern in Koishi''s erratic and random behavior, while I dried myself and got dressed. Outside the bathroom the girl in question sat, seemingly waiting for me, but most likely just busying herself with watching ants moving about. I wondered how she could have stayed focused on a single task for as long as I had needed to come out of the bathroom, but I did not question it openly in fear of being proven completely wrong.

    "So, Koishi, why are you here?" I asked, instantly regretting my wording.

    "Why, indeed? I wonder, why are we here?" She answered without looking up from whatever she was seeing on the ground. Piquing my curiosity, I motioned around her to see that she was observing a half-squashed earthworm writhing on the ground. It was fitting for the child-like Y?kai girl to concentrate on something so mundane for a long time. I accompanied her until the movements slowly died down and finally stopped for good. At that point she shot up and looked right at me with her empty eyes. I might have been deceiving myself, but I thought there was a hint of curiosity in the otherwise emotionless windows to her soul.

    "That is death, right?" Her inquiry was as child-like as expected, but the issue was nonetheless a grave one, despite the fact that it had only been an earthworm.

    "Yes, everything that lives will die like that one day," Was my somber answer, as I pat her on the head, with her hat still on. Koishi allowed it for a moment, then slipped away under my hand and spun around me, stopped at exactly ninety degrees to my left and for the first time seemed to show the hint of an expression on her face, as she asked a question that pierced my very soul.

    I was walking along the engawa of the Hieda estate absent-mindedly until I almost ran into Y?ko, who was carrying a tray of food. She looked up to my face and appeared shocked, alarmed at the expression I must have been making. "Ky?ma, what happened?" She sounded concerned and I finally snapped out of it.

    "No, it''s nothing... Sorry to worry you," I responded and tried to smile, but I was sure that my expression was a far cry from a reassuring one. "Is that for Aky?-san?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

    "This is for you, I knew you haven''t eaten breakfast yet."

    "Thank you, but I''m not-" I began but my stomach made a noise with comically perfect timing. Thus, I had to admit that I was hungry, even if I did not really want to eat anything at the moment. At least, to ensure the proper functionality of my body, I had to ingest the necessary nutrients. However, everything seemed so inconsequential compared to the question occupying my mind.

    One that I was unable to recall.

    Ultimately, I found that my new mental state was quite a simple one, as it appeared that having food could lift my spirits back to normal levels. Then again, maybe the question had not been that important, if I could just forget about it so easily. Thus, the next thing occupying my mind was how I would spend the day, considering I was practically a NEET here. I knew that I could not spend the day lazing around, especially since I was a freeloader that held no merits for the household I was burdening. At least I could help in housework, but knowing Y?ko, she would not allow me to do anything - aside from when punishment for my reckless behavior was in order. I stole a glance at the woman in question, and noticed that she was observing me closely - and returned the gaze. Stunned for a moment, I was unable to react, but finally made my move.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "Is there something I can help out with? I don''t feel good being a freeloader," I asked her directly, apparently taking her aback with the seriousness of my tone. The housekeeper thought for a moment while looking at me in a gauging manner, as if she wanted to read my capabilities. "I cannot have a guest working in the household, other than when something like earlier happens again," She finally said, sending me a sharp gaze in the process. "But I''m sure if you go down into the village you will be able to find something. Just know that we do not wish for any recompense for your stay; you are an honored guest."

    "I thought so. Thank you," I responded with a smile. "Still, I cannot just sit around and watch other people do work. I''ll see what I can find in the village. I''ll be back before the evening." With this, I stood up and motioned to carry the food tray to the kitchen, but was stopped by Y?ko, who reacted quickly enough and already held it firmly in her grasp.

    "You''re forgetting your place, Ky?ma-dono," She stated with an expression of playful anger, and left the room before I did. I felt a smile forcing itself onto my face at her behavior; similar to the My?ren Temple, this household held a warmth different from yet similar to my home in the outside world. The ease I was at here, despite having only been to this world for a few days, let me rest assured at the prospects of the future, even if it was actually a very insecure one. For now, I would take a step to achieve at least some stability and establish my existence in this world.

    I felt the need to revisit the My?ren Temple after all that had happened the previous day, and after telling Y?ko of my plans for the day, I departed from the Hieda estate. It was still considerably early in the morning, but having learned about the temple residents'' sleeping habits, I assumed that they had awoken even before I had, and were surely already actively at work. The streets of the village were bustling with people on their way to their varied workplaces, giving me a guilty feeling that I was neither in employment nor proactive about seeking it.

    Within the crowd I spotted somebody whom I was convinced of was not human; she was a tall woman with long silver hair and blue highlights, wearing a strangely cubic hat ornamented with runes. She was approaching me, carrying a small stack of documents and books under her arm. Our eyes met, and I noticed that her gaze moved up to look at my hair, surely assessing me as something other than human, the same way I did about her. Yet, we passed by each other and neither of us decided to initiate a conversation.

    A shadow passed by overhead and I looked up to see Shameimaru Aya, a pair of jet black wings sprouting from above her waist, flying past. A bag was hanging from her shoulder, most likely filled with newspapers. She appeared to be on her way to deliver them to subscribers within the human village, most likely heading in the direction I came from. Seeing a humanoid soar effortlessly through the skies, I was once again reminded that this was a world of fantasy turned reality, eliciting a smile to spread across my face. When a villager passing by me looked at me strangely, I was reminded of how stupid I must have been looking, with an eye closed and smiling to myself. I hurried onwards, slightly embarrassed.

    I soon saw the front gate of the temple and found Ichirin sweeping the ground in front of it. I greeted her with a light bow and continued up the stairs to find the temple under construction. The builders who had run away the previous day when things had gotten dangerous were working on restoring the main hall to its former glory.

    "Kagami-san, what a nice surprise," Byakuren, who was overseeing the activity, greeted me as she noticed my approach. "Those two children would not stop talking about you after you left." She turned in the direction of Kogasa and Nue, who were hiding behind a pillar, with varying grades of success; Kogasa''s umbrella with the giant tongue was sticking out from one side, and some red and blue appendages, seemingly belonging to Nue, whose hair antenna was clearly visible, from the other. I scratched my head in confusion at those appendages, closed my eye for a second and looked again, to see that the unidentifiable Y?kai now no longer had them. The two mischievous girls noticed my glance and quickly disappeared towards the back of the temple.

    "Just now... what were those red and blue... things on Nue?" I asked Byakuren, who smiled understandingly at my confusion. "I don''t know why, but it felt like I''ve seen them before. Although I also think I haven''t."

    "That is her ''seed of non-identification'', you can never be really sure about whether her appearance is her real self or just a transformation. Unlike with Mamiz?, who I can usually identify in disguise, as long as she stays humanoid, Nue is impossible to see through," Byakuren explained, her expression resembling that of Buddha teaching a disciple the principles of the world. "Then again, I am not necessarily an authority on the area of transformations, that falls under the expertise of Bake-danuki."

    "Thee called?" The Bake-danuki in question asked, as she came from the hallway the two traditional Y?kai had escaped towards moments earlier. "I only heard of my species, so I presume thou art talking about me."

    "Yes, Kagami-san was wondering about Nue-chan and her ''seed of non-identification''," Byakuren stated. Mamiz? did not instantly respond with an explanation, as I had expected her to do, but sighed with one eye closed, as if contemplating whether to tell me anything or not.

    "I believe women need to have a few secrets. That''s what makes us so interesting, won''t you agree, Ky?ma-dono?" She finally said with a mysterious smile, before leaving without waiting for my response. I looked at Byakuren and earned a similar expression, as she returned to supervising the construction work with a bow to me. As I looked in the direction she was going, I spotted Sh? and Nazrin talking to each other with the giant hole in the wall as the backdrop, accentuating their silhouette against the bright outside. My eye changed focus and in the distance, among the gravestones of the cemetery behind the temple, I noticed a figure in a pale pink dress, with green hair swaying in the light breeze.

    The beautiful and serene scenery seemed to blend out the noises of the ongoing construction work, as I watched Ky?ko''s figure disappear behind some larger headstones. Then I was reminded of what I actually came to do; I needed clarification in the case of my strange feeling that had occupied the other half of my mind since I had woken up in the morning. I walked through the hallway onto the veranda, entered the stone path and went towards the cemetery.

    I remembered the path I had taken the previous day and soon found what I was looking for; the peony lantern at the set of new graves. Approaching it, I was not sure what exactly I was expecting to happen, until I suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice ahead, reciting something in an unknown language. Taking another cautious look at the graves, I passed them by and rounded a tree to find a girl with a strangely pale-bluish complexion sitting on the pedestal of a gravestone, leaning against it with complete disregard of respect for the dead. She was staring into nothingness from underneath the strip of paper featuring runic inscriptions, an ofuda, attached to her forehead, while mumbling at times and speaking clearly at others. I did not understand the language she employed, but I knew that it was Chinese.

    The girl wore a blue cap over her faded dark gray hair, sported a red ornamented, short-sleeved Tang jacket with the characteristic frog buttons in the front. A dark blue, embellished long skirt with jagged strips of clothing wrapped around it covered her legs down to her knees. Her Kung Fu slippers added the last touch that clearly suggested that this person was from the continent, despite the fact that otherwise the whole of Gens?ky? I had seen so far was Japanese - with a few Western influences, mostly in the form of anachronistic appearing technology.

    She did not notice my presence and continued to talk to herself, or nobody in particular, speaking in Chinese. I decided to listen and enjoy its melody for a while before I would initiate a conversation, so I stood next to the tree and analyzed the girl''s behavior. She appeared absent-minded and without a care for the world, when suddenly a crow landed on her head, cawed and began to peck at her face. The girl did not seem to realize it at first, compelling me to help her out, but a tugging on my shirt stopped me. I turned around to find Ky?ko looking up at me with a serious expression, as she shook her head.

    Hearing panicked cawing from the crow, I spun my head back to the girl, just in time to see that she had taken hold of the bird. It struggled against her hands but was unable to free itself. Looking at it for a moment, the girl''s expressionless face did not show her thoughts. Then she bit the crow''s head off. Shocked, I stood there, watching as the girl proceeded to eat the rest of the bird, leaving only a few fallen feathers behind on the ground before her. Then, she went back to speaking to herself again, staring into nothingness, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all. Ky?ko pulled me away from the scene, as I looked at her dumbfounded.

    "What... was that?" I asked, confused and disturbed. Of course, I was aware of the fact that Y?kai were violent beings that would eat humans, so seeing one eat an animal was nothing to feel uncomfortable about. However, we were on the My?ren Temple''s cemetery and I had assumed that all Y?kai within the temple were either members or initiates, and abstained from eating meat.

    "That was Miyako Yoshika, a Kyonsh? that has been stalking the cemetery for a while now. It''s better not to get too close to her, she''ll attack you unconditionally, as long as you enter her range," Ky?ko explained. "She''s protecting the entrance to the Hall of Dreams'' Great Mausoleum that lies underneath the temple."

    "So she is not a member of the temple?"

    "No, she''s from the Taoist faction. I don''t know too much about them. You''ll have to ask Hijiri-sama, if you want to know more," Ky?ko responded, turning to look behind her as if she feared that the Kyonsh? may be following us. I tried to remember what a Kyonsh? was, but it was part of a different culture and harder to recall than even obscure Y?kai of Japanese folklore. As far as I knew, they are called Jiang Shi in China, literally "stiff corpses", which are revived through Taoist spells and turned into mindless minions doing their masters'' every bidding - as long as the seals remained attached to their foreheads. I assumed that a Taoist master was in that Hall of Dreams'' Great Mausoleum and had ordered this Miyako Yoshika to guard the entrance to it.

    "I guess you saved me there, thank you, Ky?ko-chan," I finally said, as we left the cemetery behind us. The little Yamabiko stopped pulling me along and turned around with a serious expression. "You should be more careful, Ky?ma-san," Ky?ko seemed to be genuinely concerned, compelling me to extend a hand to pet her head. However, she dodged it and ran back into the rows of gravestones, leaving me behind in the breeze, my hand still outstretched.

    "I guess thou have been dumped, Ky?ma-dono," A familiar voice behind me stated in the accent I had grown accustomed to and come to like. "And thou have been acquainted with that Kyonsh?, I assume. Is she not lovely?" The sarcasm in Mamiz?''s voice could not be missed, as the wooden clatter of her Geta slowly approached me. I was still staring in the direction Ky?ko had disappeared to and contemplated everything that had happened in a quick review; I had been protected on several occasions, and stumbled into trouble time and time again.

    "Mamiz?, I think I really need to learn how to defend myself. I can''t rely on other people all the time," I eventually remarked after a moment of silence. Turning around with what I hoped was a serious expression, I asked for the thing I had initially come to the My?ren Temple for. "Please bring me to the Hakurei Miko."

 Chapter 11 - Signs of Collapse

    amiz? looked at me for a moment as if to consider the reason for the conviction in my voice, as she took a puff from her pipe. She breathed out the smoke quietly and finally closed her eyes, sighing. When she opened them again, they showed the usual windows to her inscrutable soul, an ever-present sparkle of amusement in her brown irises.

    "Thee wishes to see the Hakurei Miko, huh? Very well, ''tis still early in the day and few Y?kai roam the roads," The Bake-danuki remarked, approving of my request. "We shall depart right away."

    We said our farewells to Byakuren and the other members of the temple, and quickly departed towards the bridge in the center of the village. Mamiz? explained to me that it was the one of the only three man-made crossings over this river that flowed through the exact middle of Gens?ky? and separated the almost perfectly circular, closed-off world in two pieces in a gigantic S-shape. Seen from above, Gens?ky? would resemble a Yin-Yang symbol, with the Y?kai Mountain visible in the north-west and the Misty Lake in the south-east acting as the two counterweights to each other.

    Our path brought us through the rice fields surrounding the village, as we walked towards the east. The plains continued on for a few hours, until we finally came upon a large forest to our right, the Forest of Magic, as my guide explained to me. Luckily, we would take the road that led around it, which meandered through the opening between the Forest of Magic on the right and a regular forest on the left. Even for somebody who never studied the classification of tree species, such as myself, the difference between the two sides were apparent. It was obvious that the name "Forest of Magic" was derived from the clearly magical properties of its rampant vegetation, which appeared to further encroach upon the road we were walking with every passing step.

    Soon, we came upon a stretch where the shadow of the trees were hanging over the road. There, we encountered two men with tools, including axes and saws, sitting on a pile of chopped trees and talking to each other. As we approached, their casual exchange became audible.

    "Man, I don''t see the sense in keeping this road clean," One of the men said and looked in the direction opposite from the one we were approaching from. "There''s only that Y?kai shrine on top of the mountain over there. Nobody even goes there."

    "When the very Miko you ask to exterminate Y?kai houses some of them in her shrine, you have to question her motives," The other agreed. However, they appeared to have a reason for standing up and continuing, which they promptly voiced. "We can''t help it, mayor''s orders. Let''s just get this over with quickly."

    "Hello there, strong men," Mamiz? announced our approach and the addressed two turned around in unison at her voice. Before I had realized, my companion had transformed herself into a normal-looking  human with no animal ears, wearing a wide Kimono under which I assumed she hid her fluffy tail. "Is the road ahead safe? We are on a visit to the Hakurei Shrine..." The two men seemed entranced by her changed appearance, and even I had to admit that she emitted a mature woman''s charm - even if I would have never dared to say it out loud. However, she hopelessly crushed any and all hopes of the two when she continued. "... to pray to the Kami for good conception."

    I registered her words only a few moments later, when the men had already completely buried their thoughts of trying to woo her and were eyeing me with a mixture of envy and disbelief, but the situation demanded of me to keep a straight face. I even managed a shy smile as the final nail in the coffins of their unfounded expectations.

    "Yeah, we''re only clearing the road. Forest''s been coming closer again. Never thought people from the village still visit that Y?kai shrine. Careful when you reach it, there''s no telling what kind of monsters live there," One of the men, wearing a knotted white bandanna, responded to Mamiz?''s initial question.

    "The world has become such a dangerous place... first the shrine begins to house Y?kai, and now there is even a temple in the middle of the human village that invites Y?kai from all over Gens?ky?," The other, wearing a straw hat to shield his bald head from the sun, added. "And the shrine on Y?kai Mountain is too dangerous for humans to go to and ask for assistance." I realized that the general public was still fearful of Y?kai in this world. Shameimaru Aya flying through the skies above the village and distributing her papers, seemed to be accepted, but the  My?ren Temple seemed to cause mixed feelings. Maybe these two were just the more fearful type, but I would not have been surprised to find that sentiment among many other villagers.

    "Maybe you can try and find the Taoist hermits. I heard they are very eager to help humans against Y?kai," The man with the bandanna said to his colleague. At the mention of Taoist hermits, my right eyebrow twitched once; however, I did not say anything and looked to Mamiz?, hoping that we could continue on our journey soon. "But they only do things for the right price," He added and laughed.

    "Thou have my gratitude. We shall be on our way then," Mamiz? thanked the men for the information, and displayed what was nothing but a fake smile. With this, we rounded the felled trees and continued down the road towards the Hakurei Shrine. I looked back once more to see the two men staring after us, then noticing my gaze and returned to their work. As I turned to my companion, I noticed that she had changed back to her usual appearance.

    "Natural is best," She proclaimed and took a puff from her pipe. I was wondering what she meant, before she continued. "I prefer showing off my tail, as any other powerful Tanuki should." I understood what she meant and smiled.

    The sun had reached its zenith and we had left the forests on both sides behind us when Mamiz? finally notified me of the fact that we were approaching our destination. Judging by the position of the sun, our journey had taken almost four hours. On the way we had taken a few small breaks and sat down to talk about the nature that surrounded us, or drank some Sake to quench our thirst - as I had not considered that it would take that long and did not bring provisions. My companion pointed towards a mountain that stuck out from the mountain range behind it, signaling that the shrine was located there. The road took us over a hilly plains, as we finally approached the Torii denoting the entrance to the shrine.

    A long set of stairs lead up the mountain in a direct line, to another Torii in the far distance above. The stairs were framed by a forest that encompassed the whole mountain, but the atmosphere was the complete opposite of the Forest of Magic; there was a feeling of serenity and divinity hanging in the air. Mamiz? did not seem to care, but I felt refreshed as I stepped through the first gate towards this sacred ground.

    At least one thousand steps later I did not feel as refreshed anymore and was gasping for air, not caring whether it was divine or not. My companion appeared to be completely unfazed by the physical activity, as she looked down at me disapprovingly from half a dozen steps further up. She was a Y?kai, so I assumed that she was physically stronger than humans through some supernatural means; I experienced another aspect of where the fear and loathing for those strange and unfamiliar beings came from. It was not only that they were so otherworldly in their nature, but also because even if they looked human, they surpassed humans in many regards just by being born differently. In the end, a lot of the fear was based on petty jealousy, I realized.

    "Just a little more. Thou can do it," My companion cheered me on with a slightly sarcastic tone in her voice and walked ahead swiftly. As I looked behind me, I felt like I had accomplished something great, but the path before me was just as long, if not longer than the one I had already overcome. Unbelieving, I looked back once more and compared the distances, to resign at the fact that I still had a long way in front of me.

    What felt like an eternity later, I had finally reached the top of the stairs, where Mamiz? was sitting, smoking her pipe and looking down at me with a gleeful expression. I sat down next to her and decided to rest for a moment before meeting the Hakurei Miko.

    "I''m very sorry to tell thee, Ky?ma-dono..." The Bake-danuki started, before she paused dramatically. My mind instantly conjured up several possibilities of what she was apologizing for with her mischievous expression, of which none caused me any comfort. "But it appears that the Hakurei Miko is not home." I looked at her with a tired expression before collapsing backwards and lying sprawled on the graveled path leading up to the shrine, with both eyes closed.

    "You could have told me ear-" I began to complain and opened my one functioning eye, but stopped as I saw an upside down figure standing above me. For a moment I was stunned at this comedic situation, as the figure was wearing a skirt, which I was looking up into unintentionally. But then I realized that underneath the skirt was a blankness that belittled all shades of white. It was like a fine mist, wavering in ways disregarding the wind that played with the hem of the skirt over it ever so lightly.

    I jumped up in surprise and almost fell back down the long flight of stairs to a certain death, if Mamiz? had not caught me and pulled me back into an upright position. Only now could I properly see the person who had come to stand over me without making a single sound. In fact, she was not standing, but rather floating a distance above the ground, dispelling all doubts as to her nature. She was a ghost, her legs invisible as her existence was anchored neither in this world nor in the afterlife; something was certainly holding her back from moving on into the circle of reincarnation. The ghost sported dark green hair and wore a night blue magician''s hat which featured a golden sun. A capelet covered her blue shirt, which was tucked into the knee-length skirt - if she had knees. Her piercing dark green eyes examined me the same way I did her, but there was an inherent coldness in her gaze.

    "Heh... we met a troublesome one," Mamiz? commented as she stood up. "How art thou, vengeful spirit?"

    "I feel sleepy. I only woke up a few days ago..." The ghost answered, her eyes still fixated on me. "Surely, you, too, can tell that this one is the cause for all this?" She was clearly referring to me, but in a tone that made me think I was regarded as a mere object. However, I did not dare speak up against this ghost, whose very presence seemed to lower the temperature of her surroundings by several degrees.

    "I was not sure, but if thou can tell with a single look, it must be true," My companion stated, anxiety on her face as she did not avert her gaze from the ghost. Their conversation had completely lost me, as I attempted to piece their words together to make sense of them. Even if I did not understood what they were talking about, I instinctively felt that it was not a good topic.

    "To think the Hakurei Miko would be out when he comes here. Such fortunate timing!" The ghost proclaimed, and a horrible grin crept onto her face, sending a shiver down my spine. Out of thin air, a staff appeared in her hand, a scythe-like protrusion formed out of light on its tip, before the glow slowly faded to reveal a sickle moon.

    "Run!" Mamiz? yelled and pulled my collar, almost throwing me down the stairs behind her.

    "You cannot!" The vengeful spirit stated and pointed the sickle moon staff, which was crackling with what appeared to be high voltage static, at Mamiz?, who now stood between the ghost and me. Heeding my companion''s words, I spun around to run down the stairs we had so painstakingly climbed only minutes earlier. Taking several steps at once, I practically jumped down, risking tripping and breaking my neck; however, the danger behind me seemed much more real than being unable to watch my own step.

    Upon the first step down, a feeling of unease appeared in my chest. With the second step, it grew into an uncertain emotion of impending disaster. The third step solidified the feeling into a premonition. At the fourth step an urge to turn back formed in my mind. And when I reached the fifth step, there was a feeling of dread in my heart. I had turned my back on a companion and abandoned her, and even if I had no means to help her, I had run away.

    Just as I reached the first short flat area of the stairs with a final jump of several steps I felt static run over my body and nearly paralyze my muscles. Not even a split second later, just as I wanted to turn around to see what caused it, a gigantic beam of black light, surrounded by lightning of many colors, shot past me above my head with a deafening roar. I looked up at the top of the stairs and was unable to see Mamiz?''s back, even if I should have been able to. Then, something floating on the wind came into my attention, as it approached me, as if fate had willed it to. I reflexively brought my hands up and caught it, realization hitting me only a moment later, when the sound of bells played in the silence that followed the beam of light''s noise.

    It was Mamiz?''s leaf-like hat, or rather the singed remains of it.

    Just before I could engage in the foolishness of running back up the stairs, the shadow of the vengeful ghost appeared before the sun between the uppermost Torii of the shrine. I stopped, my legs nearly shaking at the cold eyes that looked down on me without a shred of mercy. Pointing her staff at me, the ghost appeared to be ready to shoot another beam to annihilate me, just as she had done with Mamiz?.

    "Come up," She said in an imperative tone that left no room for argument; I would be killed if I did not comply immediately. Gripping the remains of the leaf hat tightly, causing the bells to jingle, I walked up the stairs with unsteady feet. There was no doubt as to my companion''s fate, but my mind had not yet caught up to the fact; she was gone, and I had left her alone.

    As I reached the top, I was greeted with a crater from the beam, reaching from where the vengeful ghost had been standing to where Mamiz? had come to stand to protect me only moments earlier. There was not a trace of her left. Certainty hit me like a truck, and I nearly stumbled, but caught myself, to keep the semblance of countenance in this moment of despair.

    Looking past the perpetrator of these signs of destruction, I saw somebody standing before the shrine. It was a woman in the getup of an Oiran - a high-grade traditional prostitute - wearing a wide, multi-layered and mostly red-colored Kimono with the shoulders exposed. The large black geta with three teeth were almost as tall as those attributed to Tengu, but they appeared to be made of massive metal. Her black hair was put up and adorned with a whole array of golden pins and jewelry, making her head look bigger than it was. The woman was carrying a richly ornamented and exceedingly long bronze and wooden pipe. She brought the bronze mouthpiece to her lips, which were covered in a rich, crimson lipstick. The gesture was completely unlike Mamiz?''s, refined to the point of being a form of art.

    "Welcome, Kagami Ky?ma," She spoke and looked at me with sharp eyes that were framed by exceptionally long, purple-colored eyelashes. Her irises were multicolored, and appeared to swirl in a kaleidoscope motif with every slight movement. She exuded a presence of majesty, despite her revealing clothes, and there was an almost tangible aura of power beyond anything I have been able to feel before. Even then, the vengeful spirit did not appear to be perturbed and spoke to her in anything but a respectful manner.

    "You need this boy so badly that you would risk breaking the Spellcard Rules. Just what do you wish to accomplish using him?" She asked with a firm expression. Judging by her nature, killing people was nothing special to her, and her face did not show any emotions after the fact that she had just done so. My mind was, even though not easily perturbed, not numbed to the point where I could shrug off the demise of a friend. Cold sweat formed on my forehead as I faced the two women.

    "Wha..." I started but noticed that my voice was cracking. Swallowing, I felt desert-like dryness in my mouth, and my tongue was like parchment as I licked my lips. "What do you want with me?" It was all I could muster to ask, my eye moving between the murderous spirit and the woman in an Oiran getup.

    "My name is O-hakuka. Your arrival in Gens?ky? has triggered our emergence," She stated, her voice alluring and poisonous at the same time. "It would appear that we, in our true forms, have been forgotten in the outside world, when you left it behind." I did not understand what she meant, but I tried to not let it show. "Maybe you do not know yet, but some things that are forgotten in the outside world will come to Gens?ky?. Oftentimes it is by pure chance that they can arrive here, but in some cases there are those who have the power to choose." Her piercing eyes met mine. "You chose for yourself, but it forced others like me to make a choice as well. And who would willingly disappear due to such an unreasonable decision, rather than try to start anew?"

    By now I understood that this supernatural being before me had come to Gens?ky? because apparently I had been the last person in the world to know of her true form. I could not believe that throughout my studies, I had reached a state in which my knowledge was greater or more profound than that of scholars who had been studying the subject for decades. Even then, there was the possible explanation that, by pure chance, my image of certain Y?kai had hit the truth, without knowing that it differed from the understanding of those who were much more knowledgeable than I. Maybe through a perception different from that of the majority, I had been the sole person to keep the existences of those Y?kai anchored in the outside world. It was a farfetched, but logical explanation.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    "That''s... that''s an unreasonable accusation," I managed to say.

    "Whoever accused you of anything, Kagami Ky?ma?" O-hakuka responded with a sharp expression that silenced me, even as her lips were still curled up in a smile. "We actually have to thank you. In this world, we have much more freedom than in the outside one. Just like Kami, we traditional Y?kai are nourished and strengthened by humans. The only difference is that Kami need faith... and we need fear." Her lips cracked into an abysmally sinister smile at those words, sending a shiver down my spine like nothing had ever before.

    "Then why do you still need me?" I asked, gripping the leaf hat tightly. "My role must be over."

    "No, it is not. There are some things you do not know, but all in due time. You shall come with us for now," The Oiran stated and smiled. As if this had been a signal, a giant wooden wheel dropped out of the sky and crashed into the ground of the Hakurei Shrine. The dust settled to reveal the girl with the broken wheel embedded in her left shoulder, the one I had seen in the human village the previous day. She bowed before O-hakuka and spun the wheel around her, which burst out in flames, and surrounded herself with it. As the fire disappeared, a traditional oxcart missing the eponymous draft animal stood there, with the girl sitting on the driver''s seat. "Get on," O-hakuka ordered.

    "Are you sure you can do that? If the Hakurei Miko finds out that you abducted a human from the outside world, she will not sit still," The vengeful spirit spoke up and looked at the Oiran with cold, disrespectful eyes. Despite appearing to be in collaboration, they were not on good terms.

    "Don''cha talk to O-hakuka-sama like that!" The oxcart driver shouted, but was silenced by a gesture from the person she was speaking for.

    "She will not find out, so what is your concern, Mima?"

    "Surely, you must have noticed... there is somebody else here." With these words, she spun the staff with the crescent moon tip around, leaving behind balls of energy in its wake, which shot forward, past O-hakuka and directly into the shrine building. A gigantic explosion rocked the sacred grounds and the Hakurei Shrine collapsed in a raging inferno. From within, a small figure emerged, engulfed by flames and smoke.

    "Uh-oh, Reimu will kill us all when she comes back..." The figure spoke, the voice giving the impression of belonging to a young tomboyish girl with a mischievous streak. Upon closer inspection, it indeed belonged to a girl around thirteen years old. However, there were remarkable features testament to her inhuman nature; two large, tree branch-like horns, almost as thick as her lower arms, and just as long, emerged from her head horizontally. She sported orange-blonde long hair, tied loosely on the left side in the front, and the rest of her hair in the back, each using a shimenawa - Kami-binding paper ropes. Her white shirt, with its sleeves torn off, was slightly singed from the fire, and her purple skirt had a jagged rim. Her red eyes showed a level of strength I had not seen ever before.

    "An Oni," Mima stated with a cold gaze.

    "And you must be the vengeful spirit that was sealed behind the shrine. I hear you were supposed to stay there forever, what brought about this turn of events?" The girl named Suika responded with an aloof expression. She did not seem overly concerned by the presence of the other two Y?kai and focused on Mima. "Destroying the Hakurei Shrine is a no-go. This will not end well for all of us, you know..."

    "Let ''er come!" The oxcart driver announced and jumped off, causing the cart to burst out in flames and turn back into the giant wooden wheel from before. "Aye, Kurara-sama, will deal with ''er."

    "Hoh, you sure are confident," Suika responded and walked forward with definite steps. "Then let me test your strength right here." She walked past O-hakuka wordlessly, only giving her a sidelong glance, and approached Kurara; a battle was about to begin.

    From high above the Hakurei Shrine, a pair of red eyes were observing the occurrences intently. Shameimaru Aya, at the first signs of an incident, was already on scene to cover the story in her paper. At the sight of the various beings present, especially the ghost and the Oni, she was too scared to get closer and take photos with her reflex camera. She was watching the spectacle below, keeping her distance as to not get drawn into it.

    "Ayaya, this is certainly a scoop. An ancient vengeful spirit breaking out of her seal, the Hakurei Shrine getting destroyed, an Oni fighting with this group of newcomers... And as always, the sincere and honorable Shameimaru Aya is first on the scene!" She proclaimed quietly and looked on, when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Turning around towards it, she forgot everything that went on below and focused on the distance.

    "Ayayaya... this will become nasty," Was all she said, when the pressure of this new challenger''s aura reached her long before its owner became visible.

    Just when I thought that maybe it was an opportune moment to try and run away, considering that Mamiz? had sacrificed herself to give me a chance to flee, an unprecedented pressure assaulted the whole area. Just as Suika and Kurara were about to clash, it reached them as well, and the former looked up at its source, a resigning smile appearing on her face. "I guess there is no room for me to fight here," She just said and relaxed.

    Kurara grabbed the wheel in her hand firmly and looked up with a hostile expression. "Wha''cha doin'' ''ere so soon?" She spat out. "Ya were suppos''d to be out all day."

    The person in question, a girl appearing to be in her late teens, floated down from the skies above, surrounded by two basketball-sized Yin-Yang orbs orbiting her at arm-length distance. A red bow with a white trim adorned her shoulder-length black hair, with red and white hair-tubes on each side of her face. A yellow ascot tied her white collar together and she wore a red Miko top with white detached sleeves, sporting a red dotted line at their rims. The cutouts of the outfit were deep enough to reveal that she was wearing a sarashi - bandages covering her chest. Her red hakama reached down to her ankles and had a white dotted line at its rim, the cutouts at the hips revealing her bare skin underneath. Black sandals with red bands dangled from her feet. A gohei, a stick carved of ancient wood, with two folded strips of paper attached to its tip, was gripped tightly as if it was a weapon, completing the image of a miko exterminating evil spirits.

    "I felt that something was wrong at my shrine... and I return to see it in flames. So you are the ones responsible," The girl proclaimed, effectively confirming her identity as that of the Hakurei Miko. "How will you pay for this?" Her expression was filled with anger. Her unfathomable dark brown eyes were of a different nature from those of the supernatural beings living in Gens?ky?; they were human, but there was something in them that put them apart from all the ones I had seen so far. "Or rather, how will I make you pay?"

    "We have no quarrel with you, Miko of Hakurei. We will withdraw for now," O-hakuka stated, the second line delivered in an imperative tone, most likely directed at Kurara and Mima. The former complied immediately, shooting a glare at Suika and the miko alternately, while the latter looked up at the miko with an expression I could not judge. An angry stare was all she earned that way, at which she shook her head with a resigned smile and approached O-hakuka. "We will have you, Kagami Ky?ma," The Oiran said and the abyss that was her smile cracked open again, before black shadows swirled around her.

    "You''re not getting away!" The miko shouted and sent her Yin-Yang balls crashing down towards the three of them. However, before they reached their targets, they disappeared in a swirl of black mist. Only silence remained, occasionally broken by crackling of the burning shrine.

    "Suika... you were supposed to watch the house. How could you let this happen?" The Hakurei Miko said as she came down from the sky. The two Yin-Yang orbs shrank down to the size of marbles and dropped into her hands, upon which she stored them in her sleeves. Then she turned her attention towards me. "And who are you?"

    I was startled when she suddenly addressed me. "His name is Kagami Ky?ma. It appears that he is the root of this incident," Suika answered in my stead. "At least that''s what Mima said."

    "Mima..." The miko repeated the name and fell silent for a moment; it appeared to invoke complex feelings within her. "I can see that that is the case..." She commented on my identity, as her eyes looked me all over, stopping at the hat in my hands for a little longer than anywhere else, before she spoke again. "I am Hakurei Reimu, the miko of this..." She looked at the burning remains of the haiden, the front build of the shrine complex, and sighed. "... shrine. How long until it''s rebuilt this time, huh?" Even though her workplace and most likely the place she lived in had been destroyed, she remained far less perturbed than people should normally be in such a situation. It made me wonder if this had happened many times before. "The owner of that hat... it was the Bake-danuki, right?"

    "You... know her?" Then I remembered that Mamiz? had been willing to guide me, most likely due to the fact that she had some form of connection to the Hakurei Miko. "It''s my fault..."

    "No, don''t blame yourself. Nobody could have thought that Mima would break the Spellcard Rules so easily. The other two I have not seen before, either," Reimu stated with a sympathetic expression, mixed with concern. "I can''t be everywhere at once, so if people start to break rules left and right, things will get out of hand... Aya!" She yelled the name up into the sky, upon which a strong gust of wind spun around us before settling down in an instant. The crow Tengu emerged from it, notebook and pen in hand, the camera dangling from her neck. "I''m sure you have information on them. Tell me what you know."

    "Oya? That will cost yo- I''m sorry, I will tell you everything," Aya started, but at Suika''s expression, she instantly yielded and opened her notebook, wearing a rushed expression on her face. It appeared that the Tengu feared the little horned girl.

    However, the following conversation passed through my ears and mind unnoticed, as I looked down at Mamiz?''s burned hat in my hands. My psyche had overcome the initial shock, and the feeling of loss finally settled in; even though I had known her for only a few days, the Bake-danuki had been my closest friend here in Gens?ky?. I looked up into the sky, my surroundings disappearing as before my mind''s eye the time I spent at the My?ren Temple turned into pictures to paint the nothingness around me. Even then, the current state of my mind would not allow too many emotions. Mamiz? had brought me to the Hakurei Shrine due to my request to learn how to defend myself and she had given her life to protect me, showing me the urgency of my situation; to prevent such things from happening again, I could not live on the way I had before.

    "I believe that there are at least three more. They attacked the My?ren Temple yesterday," I said, interrupting Aya''s report. I earned a surprised expression from the Tengu reporter and the miko, but they did not dispute my statement. "And there may be another two. I saw two suspicious people entering the temple when I left it in the evening of the same day." Then again, those were unfounded accusations; surely, at this point, all hostile supernatural beings I had encountered were suspicious to me.

    "The Y?kai temple sure attracts all sorts of bad customers," Aya commented. "Yes, I heard of the trouble at the temple, too. What makes you think they are related to this O-hakuka?" I explained that one of the Y?kai was one Hieda no Aky? had never heard of before, and that their timings of emergence apparently coincided with me coming to Gens?ky?. Maybe some of them were unrelated individuals, but as long as there was a possibility, I could not rule out their involvement with each other. Reimu remained silent throughout as she considered my words. "But tell me more about what happened here before the shrine was destroyed. Even I cannot be everywhere at once, so I missed the beginning of all this," The crow Tengu asked of me.

    I explained the circumstances leading up to the destruction of the shrine and the words that were exchanged. Suika explained regarding Mima''s actions before our arrival. It appeared that the vengeful spirit had been laying low the previous two days, although at the time of her awakening, three days earlier, Reimu had been out of the shrine on a job for the village. The vengeful spirit had left the shrine on that day and returned a little before the Hakurei Miko had, disappearing back into the space she had been sealed in. Reimu''s expression grew increasingly displeased at Suika''s words.

    "And why didn''t you tell me earlier about Mima''s reawakening? If you observed her so much, why wouldn''t you say anything while I was here?" She snapped at the young girl, who just shrugged. "I didn''t think it was important," Was the simple response.

    "That means it really all started with my arrival..." I whispered. "If it hadn''t been for my selfishness, Mamiz? would..." Then, I caught myself before spiraling deeper into the abyss of self-accusation and despair; there was something I had to do. "Please, teach me about the Spellcard Rules and how to defend myself against Y?kai. That''s the reason why I came here with Mamiz? in the first place!"

    Reimu, Aya and Suika looked at each other at my words, as if conferring with each other wordlessly. The miko was the first to speak. "I can teach you the concept behind the rules, but it all depends on your aptitude for the spiritual... but when looking at you, I can see that you have it. You have already set a foot into the supernatural, so, surely it will come to you easily."

    "But to learn fighting with Danmaku, you will need to learn how to fly, too," Aya stated and looked at me curiously. I was still bound by the thought that humanoid shapes were not aerodynamic, had too heavy bodies and limbs with too little surface area for lift to achieve flight, and the fact that humans had no special powers that allowed them to fly in any other way than by following the laws of physics. Reimu had been flying earlier, and so had Aya; I had even witnessed the existence of a ghost with no legs, floating in midair, and seen beams of energy causing widespread destruction. I hammered into my own mind that I should unfetter myself from the shackles of the common sense from the outside world. The rules were different in Gens?ky?, and I would need to learn them.

    "And to fly, you need to be fit," Suika added, pumping her fist into the air. I looked down at the small girl with the horns and only now realized that the little arms sticking out of the shirt with the torn off sleeves were toned. Around her wrists she wore shackles, which appeared to be made of a dark metal, much like those seen in medieval prisoners.

    "Why, aren''t you a lucky one, Kagami-san. You have the Hakurei Miko to teach you Spellcard Rules, the Tengu claiming to be the fastest in Gens?ky? -" earning a protesting look from Aya; maybe because she was sure that the title of the fastest belonged to her without a doubt "- as your flight instructor, and an Oni to train your body."

    "Let''s begin with training your body, first," The Oni said with a grin.

    "Wait wait, slow down. Our living situation has just changed. We need to do something about that first," Reimu interjected and pointed at the smoldering pile of rubble that was once her home. "Let me ask our Kappa engineers-" Aya began, but was interrupted by the miko. "No, last time they built something for me, there was a ton of unnecessary gimmicks. It actually made my job harder. Marisa might like those, but I prefer normal and traditional." Sighing, she looked up into the sky as if making up her mind. "I''ll have to ask the Celestial then, I guess..."

    "Then where will we live until the shrine is rebuilt?" Suika asked, earning a chastising glare from the miko.

    "You are just a freeloader, so go back to where you usually live until then. No wait, actually, go back for good. You''re drinking away all the ceremonial Sake!"

    "But it''s just too tasty!" The little Oni objected, invoking a deadly look. "There is something inherently wrong about an Oni drinking purified Sake, which is used to chase away evil!" Reimu argued and stood tall before Suika.

    "It''s not my fault that your purified Sake and other evil banishing tools don''t recognize me as evil, hah!" The latter responded with a victorious grin. It instantly turned into horror when the miko pulled out an ofuda and slapped it onto the Oni''s forehead. Suika looked as if she had just been electrocuted as she shook violently, before almost falling over; Reimu removed it in time for the little girl to catch herself. "You were saying?" The former asked in a rhetorical tone with a superior expression. Suika grumbled, but did not say anything further.

    Watching that exchange, with Aya looking on curiously from the sidelines, I found myself relaxing slightly. The danger was over and only now did I feel how tense my body had been, exhaustion washing over me. I was able to breathe normally again and my mind began to wander. Still, I could not forget Mamiz?, and thought that I had to report the matter to the My?ren Temple as soon as possible.

 Chapter 12 - Inglorious Return and Departure

    rift in space opened right next to the group, revealing innumerable purple eyes floating in an endless sea of darkness, peering in all possible and impossible directions. Then, a blonde head, adorned with a white bonnet tied with a red bow, emerged from within. It belonged to Yakumo Yukari, who made a point of only emerging half-way and leaning onto the border of the portal as if it was a solid object, one hand holding up a silken fan to hide her lips behind. Her mysterious purple eyes were as unfathomable as always, while they displayed a wide arrange of emotions at the same time, of which the first and foremost seemed to be dissatisfaction. As she spoke up, her voice carried an undertone that served to reinforce that impression.

    "This is a big mess," Yukari said, causing Reimu, Suika and Aya to spin around; they had not noticed her presence before she made herself audible. "Ky?ma-kun, you seem to have brought an unbelievable existence to Gens?ky? with you."

    "Yukari! That''s some nice timing you got there," Reimu noted sarcastically. "Next time, try to appear before my shrine gets destroyed." The miko crossed her arms and tapped one foot on the ground, her whole demeanor radiating annoyance.

    "That woman from earlier, O-hakuka... she is an existence that poses a great danger to all pure Y?kai," The blonde stated as she folded up the silken fan in one fell swoop. Reimu had been beautifully ignored. "This will likely turn into a full-blown incident."

    "This already has turned into a full-blown incident!" The ignored miko exclaimed and pointed at the cinders that had been her shrine not too long ago. "Tell me everything you know about her, Yukari!"

    "Hm... I don''t know if I should," Yukari responded playfully. "It is not my policy to meddle in such things so much, you know?"

    "But you are also a pure Y?kai. You just said that all pure Y?kai are in danger," Reimu stated, impatience quickly making way for anger at the Y?kai sage''s apathy.

    "I wonder if that is really true for me?" Was the mysterious response, an undefined smile adorning her lips. At those words, she disappeared into her portal, waving with one gloved hand as the rift closed again. "Just remember, I will be watching. If things get really ugly, I will step in. Maybe." As suddenly as she had appeared, Yukari disappeared again.

    "Ugh, I just can''t get along with her," Reimu said, her expression the example of irritation. "Either way..." She turned around to the Tengu. "We need to do something about this O-hakuka and her group."

    "Actually..." Aya started, as she looked between Reimu, Suika and myself, wearing a troubled expression on her face. "... I have somewhere to be. Excuse me!" And in a gust of wind, she disappeared into the sky.

    "Unbelievable!" Reimu shouted and stomped her foot in impotence; it appeared that nobody could catch up once the crow Tengu decided to run away. "Suika, do something!"

    "What do you expect me to do? Should I gather her back here or what? You know that might attract something else as well," The Oni in question responded at the unreasonable order. "If you don''t mind, I can do that though."

    "No, never mind. I''ll go to Y?kai Mountain and find her there," Reimu said as she waved her hand at the questionable offer. "Kagami-san, we will postpone the matter with the Spellcard Rules to another time. If we have Y?kai running around ignoring the rules, there is no point in learning them either way." As if whispering to herself, she added. "Although I''d really like to know how they can just simply ignore one of the integral laws of this world..."

    "Well, then I''ll accompany Ky?ma back to the human village," Suika stated as she looked up to me with a wide grin. I was unsure of whether I should feel relieved or anxious at having an Oni escorting me alone. "I''ve been wanting to visit that Y?kai temple for a long time."

    My anxiety was unfounded, as the little Oni seemed to be good company, her upbeat personality and aloof demeanor serving to dispel my uneasiness after what had happened. However, I could not simply forget it all, as I tightly clenched Mamiz?''s hat in my hands. This gesture did not go unnoticed by Suika, but she did not deem it necessary to talk about it at the moment, as she turned to look at the scenery while talking to me about meaningless things. I understood it as her kind-hearted attempt at alleviating the emotions building up within me; even if her words held no deeper meaning, as long as I was not left alone to my thoughts, I would not begin to spiral into the depths of despair.

    "So, Ky?ma, what brings you to Gens?ky??" Suika finally asked, directing the topic from talk about the scenery to a more meaningful one. "People from the outside world rarely come here willingly. The majority accidentally stumbles through the border and are soon guided back out. I heard from Yukari that you decided to come here out of your own free will."

    I was taken aback by the question, as the initial reason for coming here had been my thirst for knowledge and desire for adventure. To seek adventure despite the fact that I was - or had been - a member of a proper society, with a place in its complex structure, I had decided that not knowing and not experiencing was worse than being criticized for making such a hasty decision. However, I had found that in reality this world was just as harsh, if not harsher, than where I came from. A person with no standing like myself would have to rely on the goodwill of other people; in fact, I would not have survived for as long as I had without the kindness of the Aky? household or Mamiz?''s sacrifice. My childish yearnings had hit the wall called realization, namely the realization that one could not make life-changing decisions based on desire alone.

    "What''s so wrong about that?" The little Oni said with an unexpectedly mature expression when I gave voice to those thoughts. "Wouldn''t it be sad if everyone were to make decisions based on what is best?" I was about to protest, as her statement seemed to contradict the recipe to a better world. "Because the best is not always what you yourself want. It may be the best for other people, it may even be the best course of action to make the world a better place in the long run. But if your dreams and wishes are sacrificed in the process, is that really for the best? Does the world truly become a better place that way?"

    I was completely dumbfounded by the profoundness of her words; I certainly did not expect this little girl to be able to make an argument I was unable to respond to. Her words carried a weight different from a person simply arguing for the sake of arguing; to me, they seemed to be the words of somebody who had come to that conclusion from experience. Even more than what I had learned from my grandparents, Suika made an impression that she had seen ages come and go, and possessed wisdom a human could never match. In the end, there were points one could disagree on, depending on one''s philosophy of the world, but when thinking on an individual basis, I could only agree with her.

    She was, in a sense, denying the merits of absolute altruism,  and while she may not even know the concept behind it in name, her point outlined the problem encountered in a world filled with individuals. As long as even a single member of that kind of system did not conform to its rules, it would crumble from within. The best decision only benefitted those who trod on the sacrifices of others. And the fact that I was even thinking of this problem meant that such a system was impossible; when even I could think of the possibility, I was sure there were those who would seek to exploit it.

    "That was quite unexpected, Suika-san," I said and smiled at the little Oni.

    "Suika is fine. And that''s rude," She responded, acting like she was angry at my words. "Just so you know, I''m far older than you. Show some respect, brat." I had met so many otherworldly beings so it did not come as a surprise that her outwards appearance belied her true age. Before my thoughts could go in a dangerous direction revolving around the relationship between Yukari''s appearance and her true age, I returned my attention to the conversation.

    "Thank you, Suika. I was having doubts whether my decision to come here had been the right one or not," I began and looked up into the sky. Large clouds, like mountains, towered over the real mountain range in the distance, but above me was the clear blue sky and the dazzling sun. The unfamiliarly fresh air and the largely untouched nature surrounding me strengthened the faith in my decision to have come here. "Being able to meet with interesting people like you, being able to spend my time in a world like this... it''s like a dream come true."

    "You can say some nice things too, Ky?ma!" The horned girl proclaimed and laughed, showing her sharp canines.

    I smiled, one hand gripping Mamiz?''s hat tightly. She had been one of those interesting people, for whom I believed my decision to have been right, as well. Looking at it and back up into the sky, I wondered what happened to people who died in this world, considering the fact that vengeful spirits existed, the afterlife must be something more than a mere concept that could not be confirmed by the living, like in the outside world.

    Before I could ask Suika, she motioned me to stop, as she pointed in the direction of the road ahead of us. It was where Mamiz? and I had met the lumberjacks from earlier, but there was no sign of them, except for their tools strewn across the ground. Either they had fled from something in a hurry or...

    "Something''s not right," Suika commented and signaled me to stay where I was as she slowly approached the eerie scene. "I smell blood."

    "That''s because Rumia ate a human," A childish voice resounded through the unnatural silence. Only now that the oppressing soundlessness had been broken did I notice that all animals in the area had stopped their conversations; the birds that had been chirping away happily and the cicadas'' cries that signaled summer had been gone for a while. Only the silent rustling of leaves in the wind was proof that time had not just stopped. "Rumia is not hungry right now, so you can pass."

    Suika walked a few more steps and suddenly stopped; I assumed she had seen the owner of the voice behind some trees. I could not see her expression from behind, so I came closer to see what she was had found. "Stop, you don''t want to see this," She whispered, her voice trembling slightly. However, this only served to increase my anxiety to see what had the little Oni on edge like this. When I finally came into visual range, a cold shiver ran over my back - the form my regret took at that moment.

    A tree had been hiding the little blonde girl, the owner of the voice, who was sitting on the ground next to what I thought was some animal''s carcass. The area around the girl''s mouth was covered in blood and some kind of bone, maybe a rib, was hanging loosely between her sharp teeth. Her innocent crimson eyes belied the gruesomeness of her feast; ripped meat, organs and pieces of bones were scattered all around her, staining her hands and bare feet in varying shades of red. She wore a pitch-black dress, which was surprisingly left untouched by all the gore, and a blood-red bow tied on the left side of her head.

    Suddenly the little girl lifted a round object from behind her and turned around to us, its sight instantly churning my stomach, as I finally realized what - or whom - the flesh, blood and bones belonged to. Unable to control myself, I vomited on the spot, as the memory of the two lumberjacks reappeared before my mind''s eyes vividly. The eyes of the man with the knotted white bandanna, which was now stained with blood, were staring at me lifelessly. His lower jaw had been ripped off and the tongue was barely hanging onto what remained of his severed head.

    "This is one of the best pieces. Rumia kept it for last. Rumia is such a good kid," The girl said, as she showed us the lumberjack''s head, before turning it over and chomping down on the tongue. For a split second my mind went blank, then a wave of nausea overcame me again like a tsunami. My stomach''s content, already emptied from the previous assault, burned its way up my esophagus and forced itself out of my mouth. "Stop doing that, Rumia is eating!" The blonde girl, apparently named Rumia, complained with a childishly angry face, before she proceeded to chew on the tongue with a blissful expression.

    "Ky?ma, come, let''s go," Suika said and grabbed my arm. I was unable to protest, even though this girl was eating the remains of a man I had been talking to only a little while ago. However, even if I had wanted to, I could not have stopped the little Oni, who was dragging me along with an iron grip.

    "Come again tomorrow, then there will be room in Rumia''s stomach, human!" The girl yelled in our direction, as we passed by her and walked away. I was compelled to turn around in anger, but Suika pulled me along with no chance for me to do anything against it; my perturbed mind cleared for a moment to see that the Oni was suppressing her emotions, biting her lower lip as she wordlessly put one foot before the other. I followed her example, unable to speak.

    We had walked for a while, Suika holding onto my arms and half-pulling me along all the way, when she finally stopped and let go. She turned around with an expression of anger, looking in the direction we came from; the little girl and the gruesome scene surrounding her had disappeared behind the hilly terrain.

    "I''ll have to tell Reimu about this," Suika remarked, as her face showed resignation. Turning around to me, she explained herself. "I usually don''t care what Y?kai do, but killing humans from the village is forbidden by the laws of this world. The fact that this low-level Y?kai was able to break those laws so easily shows that something bad is going on in Gens?ky?." Her initially cold words reminded me of the fact that she was not a human, much more clearly than her horns could ever do. As a non-human, her regard for the worth of a human life was fundamentally different from my own. "Don''t fret, Ky?ma, as long as I''m with you, nothing will happen to you. I''ll make sure of that."

    "That''s quite reassuring," I said from the bottom of my heart. Clenching Mamiz?''s battered hat, I recalled the scene I had just witnessed, but instead a wave of emotions overcame me. Having seen proof of the death of a person I had merrily talked to a little earlier reminded me of the fact that the same applied to the Bake-danuki. From one moment to another, she had disappeared from my life, and even if I had not known her for long, she had certainly become my friend. However, even then a part of me detached itself from the emotions and observed everything that had happened with cold rationale; there was no point in crying, since it would change nothing. It just happened that the detached part was the one in control of my body. I would not cry.

    "That doesn''t mean I''m cold-hearted..." I whispered to myself, upon which Suika looked up at me questioningly. "Oh, never mind, just talking to myself."

    "Let''s go..." She said and turned to continue on our path back towards the human village.

    Our journey back had seemingly taken much longer than when I had walked to the Hakurei Shrine with Mamiz?. Maybe because Suika had become less talkative - it did not come as a surprise after all that had happened - or maybe because I was thinking about everything so far much more seriously than I had before. Reimu had said that I had an aptitude for the spiritual, so I would have to ask someone to teach me how to defend myself. I did not want to end up like the lumberjack out in the wild, and I could not always rely on somebody to accompany me either. Knowing that as a human, I could never hope to overcome beings like Oni or vengeful spirits, I at least did not want to be completely powerless. Then again, I remembered the spirit-seeing incident at the My?ren temple, when a power had awakened inside me that was certainly not something a human could accomplish. Although being able to see the truth behind any and all existences did not add much to my fighting potential.

    When we finally arrived in front of the gate to the human village, a crowd of people awaited our arrival. At first I did not notice the atmosphere pervading the group, but Suika seemed to be aware of the tension hanging in the air. Only when I saw her shrugging did I realize that the crowd was clearly hostile towards the little Oni.

    "Don''t come any closer, monster!"

    "Stay away!"

    "Keep out of our village you monster!"

    Voices from the crowd became more and more distinct, as they pointed at her and hurled insults at her.

    "My friend was killed!""

    "You''re just a monster!"

    I looked at Suika, who did not seem to be bothered, and even appeared to be used to such treatment. However, we could not enter the village without forcing our way through this hostile environment. Shrugging, she took a step forward, when from within the crowd an object flew towards the little Oni and landed in front of her feet. My gaze was instinctively drawn towards it to see that it was a rock. In the next moment, another rock hit Suika on the forehead. She did not even flinch, the projectile bouncing off her skin as if it was made of cotton; her face was expressionless, as she looked down at the projectile.

    I took a step forward to stand between the assault, opening my mouth to protest against this unjust treatment, but surprisingly, the little Oni was the one to stop me. "Go along, Ky?ma, don''t lose your place here for me," Suika whispered, before walking forward, causing the mob to instinctively shy away. "You lot are quite courageous to dare and stand up to someone you call a monster!" Her voice boomed over the gathering of people, her face revealing an evil grin. "Then, who dares to fight this monster? Come forth!"

    "Leave us alone!"

    "We only want to live in peace!"

    Individuals hidden within the crowd gained the courage through anonymity to shout in response. Seeing the scared and frantic faces of the villagers I once more realized into what kind of world I had stumbled; this was the reality I had only ever seen in films, an unforgiving place that still followed the rule of the strong preying on the weak. People with less power would obviously be terrified by those who possessed a seemingly untouchable amount thereof, and an Oni was clearly at the very top. Even then, drunk on the feeble security that a mob granted, somebody dared to throw a rock again. It hit the little Oni square on the head, but did not seem to cause any harm. As if encouraged by her initially unresponsive attitude towards such mistreatment, others started to do the same.

    I could not watch the public stoning of a little girl and decided that upholding my personal morals was more important than comfort. I stepped up for her, knowing that she did not require my help.

    "Stop this! How can you do something so awful to a little girl like this?" I yelled and took the moment of surprise within the villagers that caused them to stop throwing their improvised projectiles, to step between Suika and the mob. "She is not a bad person and she has nothing to do with the Y?kai that killed a human earlier." I realized that my choice of words must have sounded very strange; even I did not know why I had used ''person'' to refer to Suika, while using the word ''human'' for the lumberjack. However, I realized too late that it had been an irredeemable mistake.

    "Who are you?"

    "He''s a Y?kai, too! Just look at his hair!"

    The mob grew agitated again, this time directing their hostility towards me. I understood what Suika had meant in stopping me from helping her; my appearance must have been strange enough, but the fact that I was helping someone clearly inhuman had been oil to the embers of suspicion within the people. They would not tolerate my presence within the village anymore.

    "No, I''m a human!" I argued, knowing that it was a futile attempt that only sounded like a bold-faced lie in the eyes of the people present. The chance that my monochrome hair would bring me into some sort of trouble had crossed my mind before, but never had I expected it to come in this fashion. Once again somebody decided to let actions speak instead of words, and a rock emerged from the crowd. When I noticed it, it was already too late, and it hit me in the forehead, pain exploding out in an instant as I reflexively brought a hand up.

    "How dare you!" Suika yelled and stepped forward, causing the crowd to shirk away again. The situation appeared to explode and if an Oni started to run wild, there would be corpses, I feared.

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    "I''m alright, I''m just a little surprised," I said, in an attempt to calm the little Oni, but I could feel something wet under my fingers. Looking at my hand, I unsurprisingly saw blood, and must have made an expression that agitated Suika, who turned to the humans in anger. I was unsure of how I could stop both sides from tearing each other apart - or rather, the situation ending in a one-sided massacre - but help arrived from an unexpected direction.

    "Please, everyone, calm down," A composed voice resounded from behind the mob. I identified it as the one belonging to Hijiri Byakuren, and felt relief at the prospect that this could be solved peacefully. Then I remembered what I was still gripping tightly in my other hand and surely, my facial complexion must have turned into a color that resulted in me becoming entirely monochrome. "Cease this meaningless fight." The crowd parted to let her through; she was being accompanied by Sh?, whose expression was inscrutable as ever. At the presence of a deified existence, the villagers made way in awe and instantly assumed that the disciple of Bishamonten would help them chase away the intruders.

    "If it isn''t the Y?kai priestess," Suika stated as the woman with the purple-blonde gradient hair came to a halt before her. Sh? only received a quick glance, as if she was not even worth paying attention to in the Oni''s eyes.

    "And you are one of the Four Devas of the Mountain, Ibuki Suika," Byakuren responded in kind, although her attitude was much more amiable . "You are known among the Y?kai as a troublemaker, you enjoy drinking and fighting, but you would not harm humans."

    "Why, my reputation is unexpectedly good, isn''t it now? And I was just about to do away with the last part," The little Oni responded with dripping sarcasm, before shooting the crowd a deadly glare. "They were doing their best in trying to piss me off, you know? I just wanted to give them what they bargained for."

    "It is the duty of the powerful to overlook such trivial matters, is it not, Ibuki-san? They cannot harm you, after all."

    "Oh, I would not be angered if they just threw some pebbles at me, I''ve experienced enough of such trivialities to be above them. However, I won''t just sit by and see someone get hurt for my sake," Suika proclaimed and gestured in my direction, causing me to flinch as the attention was suddenly directed towards me. The tiger-patterned disciple of Bishamonten had already noted my presence with a long look into my eye, but Byakuren seemed to realize only after I had been pointed out that I was actually there.

    "Kagami-san, I am sorry, I did not- oh my!" She finally noticed that I was bleeding from a shallow wound on my forehead, the blood slowly trickling down into my already closed eye. Her hand approached my forehead and I felt warmth seeping into my wound, upon which the pain subsided. Wiping away the blood on my face with a handkerchief, she looked at me apologetically before turning back to Suika. "I can fully understand your anger, Ibuki-san, but please do not let it control your actions."

    "I''m alright now, Suika, don''t worry about me," I said, aiding Byakuren''s attempt at pacifying the horned girl. The crowd behind the head priestess had been soothed by her presence alone, although they still glanced in our direction with suspicion. I knew that I would not be accepted so easily anymore, now that the people witnessed me standing up for a non-human with my already ambiguous appearance. Remembering Yukari''s words about how people from the outside world could make a temporary living by selling knowledge and stories from the other side, I guessed that this option had just disappeared.

    "Kagami-san, where is Mamiz?-san?" Finally, the question I had been afraid to hear ever since Byakuren had come to stand before me, was dropped on me. However, there was no point in hiding what had happened, as it would get out sooner or later; I had resolved to report the matter to the temple before coming back anyway, and would not shirk the task now.

    "The Bake-danuki was killed," Suika responded in my stead, her eyes resting on me as the bombshell of a statement detonated.

    Both Byakuren and Sh? turned to look at the little Oni, their eyes unfathomable as their faces betrayed no expressions. The head priestess was the first to speak. "How?" Was all she asked, certainly not convinced about Mamiz?''s fate. "What happened?"

    "Mima, a vengeful ghost who had been sealed at the Hakurei Shrine ignored the Spellcard Rules and killed her," Was Suika''s definitive response, as she returned the ball to me. "Ky?ma, you are still holding onto her hat, aren''t you?" My being addressed shook me from the shock that overcame me at the ease at which the Oni had reported somebody''s death.

    "Yes, this is Mamiz?''s leaf-hat..." I said and gave the Bake-danuki''s singed memento to Byakuren. "She sacrificed herself to save my life."

    The atmosphere in the temple''s main hall was filled with an oppressing mixture of emotions ranging from overt sadness and disbelief to concealed anger. Everybody was sitting in a circle for the meeting that had been convened by the head priestess. I was not surprised to see Sh? and Nazrin composed and their expressions not distorted by emotions, as they were taking the news calmly. However, it was surprising to find that the others, other than Ky?ko, did not appear overly fazed at the demise of a colleague. I assumed it was because Y?kai were generally loners, but when I noticed Nue trembling next to me, I stood corrected. Before I could try and comfort her, she got up in an explosive motion and turned towards me.

    "Because of you! Because of somebody like you, Mamiz?..." She was genuinely angry, with tears in her eyes, as she pointed at me. I was taken aback at the outburst, but there was nothing I could say in my defense; I knew it was the truth. Mamiz? had died protecting me, and surely, she could have gotten away if she did not have to help me escape first.

    "Nue-chan! Do not blame Kagami-san, he-" Byakuren tried to appease the unidentifiable Y?kai girl. But the girl in black shot me another deadly glare before six appendages, three red, scythe-like ones on her right side and three wriggly blue ones on her left side, appeared on her back. However, instead of attacking me, she jumped and flew away in a gust of wind, out of the open front door of the temple hall and into the sky. I stood up but understood that I had no means to chase after her. Looking in the direction she had disappeared into, I shook my head and turned back to the gathering, sitting down on my seat with all the eyes on me now.

    "I''m very sorry... Because she was protecting me-" I began, but was interrupted by the head priestess.

    "No, you do not have to blame yourself, Kagami-san. Everything you told us leads me to believe that the arrival of this O-hakuka has disrupted the balance of this world," Byakuren stated and made a contemplative gesture. Remembering the Oiran''s words, I was sure of the fact that my presence had caused the emergence of O-hakuka in the first place, meaning that no matter how it was turned, I was at the core of it all. Strangely enough, my current mental state would not turn that connection into a vortex of despair, into which my self-esteem would escape, as it would have done before. I was no longer mentally sound, considering the things I had experienced ever since arriving in Gens?ky?; there was only the option to move forward while bearing all the sins my existence gave birth to.

    "I will train Ky?ma," Suika suddenly stated and stood up from her position to my left.

    "Wait, Ibuki-san, Kagami-san is... he is not a Y?kai. He will not be able to handle training from an Oni," Byakuren protested with a concerned expression. The fact that she about to say ''human'' but corrected herself caused a slight sting in my chest. "He can remain at the temple and we can train him in the ways of Buddhism to deal with threats from supernatural beings." I was willing to believe that unlike Buddhist techniques in the present times of the outside world, those I could learn here would actually be of use. And even while Suika seemed to be the best choice to teach me in the physical department, I was unsure of whether I could survive an Oni''s training or die in the process without ever amounting to anything.

    However, the fact that Byakuren had a slip up like that had solidified my feeling that I was no longer welcome in the village; even if the My?ren temple accepted me, possibly as one of their kind, the humans would not. Staying here would only weight heavily on my mind and eventually cause me to become depressed.

    "I''m sorry, Hijiri-san, but I believe that it would be better if I left the village for a while. I''ll be with Suika, so you don''t have to worry," I asserted my decision and reassured her, when her expression was clouding over in concern. "She won''t let me die just like that... will she?" Turning around to her, I only saw a mischievous grin adorning the little Oni''s lips as she looked up to me, her eyes sparkling. Her whole demeanor seemed to express that she had found a new plaything, one that she would play with to her heart''s content. Sighing, I turned back to affirm my decision and assure Byakuren that I would be fine.

    "If Kagami-san is saying so, there is nothing I can do then. But you really have to take care of yourself, promise me that, please," The head priestess implored me. I answered resolutely and turned to look around. The varying degrees of shock at the message of Mamiz?''s death were still clearly visible in those who showed any expressions at all. Even though the topic seemed to have been diverted momentarily, I knew it could not be forgotten so easily. Ky?ko was doing her best to try and calm down, her effort appearing to be in vain in face of the dam of tears that had broken from the sadness. Kogasa was trying to hide her emotions, as she turned away from me, but her shoulders were trembling and her hands went up to her face to try and covertly wipe her eyes. Murasa''s expression was a mixture of anger and sadness, contemplating the implications of Mamiz?''s death, but she was not crying. Ichirin, Nazrin and Sh? remained as stoic as ever, their expressions not changing in the least as they stared at the floor before them, or at me, as they followed the conversation.

    "If there is anything I can do to repay your kindness, everyone, please just say so," I finally stated, directed at the members of the temple. I had eaten meals with them, caused them troubles and been in their care for many other things. Especially Mamiz? had been the one to take care of me the most, and she had been a member of this temple after all.

    "For Mamiz?-san''s sake, become stronger," Byakuren answered in everybody''s stead, a smile of sadness on her face. Those words surprised me, but I ingrained them deeply into my memory, as I bowed down formally. "Thank you very much for everything up until now," I said and brought my head close to the floor in a prostration, a culmination of all my feelings of gratitude towards the people of the temple, an apology for my own powerlessness, and a promise that I would come back a stronger person.

    Leaving Suika to wait outside the gate, I entered the Hieda estate to tell my host that I would be leaving the village. I hoped that the farewells would not take too long, as the little Oni''s demeanor at my suggestion for her to stay behind without coming inside had been all but a favorable one. Of course, I ran into Y?ko first, who was carrying a mountain of blankets along the corridor, working in the last rays of the setting sun.

    "Welcome back, Kagami-sama. Will you be having dinner soon?" She asked me, adjusting her burden slightly to be able to talk to me. I approached her wordlessly and took more than half of her luggage, ignoring her protests that I was a guest and doing unnecessary things.

    "Y?ko-san, I wanted to tell you that I''ll be leaving. I came here to take my luggage... somebody is waiting for me outside," I stated, interrupting the housekeeper''s rant. "Please let me at least do something at the end." Y?ko was taken aback by that statement and remained silent for a moment, her eyes scrutinizing mine as if to determine whether my words were a joke, the truth or words spoken while being coerced. After a moment, she seemed to be satisfied with what she saw, sighed and signaled me to follow her wordlessly, towards the destination for the stack of sheets.

    "I can see that you have made up your mind, Kagami-sama. I will not stop you, but please speak to Aky?-sama first," She finally said, as we entered the room in which extra items for everyday life were stored. I saw a traditional Tanuki statue between piles of boxes filled with scrolls and was painfully reminded of Mamiz?. However, I tried not to let it show on my face, as I followed Y?ko out of the room again and down the corridor, towards Aky?''s study. We passed by my room on the way, and I remembered that I still had a lot of scrolls and books regarding Gens?ky?''s history, waiting to be read. I guessed that the past would have to rest for now, as I had to forge my future first.

    "Aky?-sama, Kagami-sama is here to see you," Y?ko announced from outside the sliding screen. The Hieda family head''s bell-like voice resounded from inside the room and granted us entry. Opening the screen, I saw a room illuminated by several standing paper lanterns, with stacks of books and scrolls all over the floor, and a large pile next to the desk the young girl was sitting at. She was kneeling on her cushion, awaiting me to enter and do the same across the table. I noticed that a brush was leaning on the ink tray; she had been writing on a long scroll before my wish for a quick audience had interrupted her.

    "Hieda-san-" I started, but was interrupted by Aky?.

    "Call me Aky?, please. It makes me feel the burden of my family name," She said, a melancholic smile on her lips.

    "Aky?-san. I came here to tell you that I will be moving out. I have decided to go and train with the Oni Ibuki Suika," I restarted. The young girl''s expression was indiscernible to me, even though I had expected a more surprised reaction. She looked down at the scroll she had been working on before my disturbance and a long sigh escaped her slightly parted lips.

    "I see. Take care of yourself then, Kagami-san," She responded and looked me in the eye, a light but very warm smile extending to her entire presence. I was stunned by the beauty of her countenance and the maturity behind her expression. Her appearance belied the age of her soul, and for a moment I felt like I was seeing behind the veil of her worldly presence. I beheld the spirit of somebody who had lived longer than I could imagine, as the room seemed to disappear around us and I lost myself in her eyes.

    Then the moment passed, Aky? blinked and I was back in her study, with the little girl''s face showing surprise at my expression. "Is something the matter, Kagami-san?" She inquired as I must have been making a strange face.

    "No, everything is fine. I was just lost in thoughts for a moment," I reassured her. "You can call me Ky?ma, too. It feels too formal." However, the next thing I did was exactly the opposite of what I had proclaimed with a smile; I sat in formal Seiza and bowed my head low in gratitude. "Thank you for everything so far. I will not forget your hospitality."

    "It was a pleasure, Ky?ma-san. You will always be welcome here," Aky? said and gave me a radiant smile.

    "What took you so long?" Suika commented impatiently, when I emerged from the front gate of the Hieda estate, my bag of belongings over my shoulder. She looked me in the eye for a moment, then turned around as if she did not require an answer to her question. "Let''s go, we have a long way to walk, since you can''t fly yet."

    "About that... can just anyone learn to fly in Gens?ky??" I asked, still struggling to believe the fact that humanoid beings were soaring through the skies unaided by technology.

    "No, only those who can rid themselves of the preconception that humans can''t fly," Was Suika''s response, grasping my doubts at their core. "If you think you can''t fly for even a moment, you will fall. But for that, maybe you should consult a human who learned to fly. With me, you''ll only learn to build up the strength required for it, and for surviving in this world. If you have the aptitude, you''ll even be able to fight against some Y?kai on your own." Her eyes were saying ''but don''t count on it'' very clearly, and I wondered for the first time if it was all right to go with the little Oni after all. Then I pulled myself together, dispersing my doubts of whether it had been the right decision or not. Only time would tell.

    "You said we''re walking, but where to?" I spoke my thoughts out loud regarding the destination Suika had planned, when we left the village behind us. We had taken the western exit, which lead through the large fields surrounding the human bastion, in the direction of the tall, prominent peak of Y?kai Mountain. She seemed to ignore my question for a while, then turned around with a mischievous grin full of foreboding.

    "We are going to a place best suited for the expression ''hellish training'', Ky?ma," She said in response and looked at me with a mischievous grin. I had a bad feeling about this, but did not dare to ask about the details any more. "Either way... strip!"

    She crossed her arms over her chest to signify that the request was definite, meant as an order. My mouth hung open at the suddenness of this situation and silence followed for a few seconds.

    "I said strip!"

    "What." At the absurdity of it all, I had forgotten to even raise an eyebrow and utter a sarcastic remark. "Suika...san? I don''t think this is the right place and time for..." I stated, knowing that any place was fine for a supernatural being. She was, despite all appearances, an Oni, and could force me to heed her order if she wished so, simply by doing it herself and ripping off my clothes.

    "Do it already! If you don''t do it now, I''ll do it. I can''t guarantee that your clothes will remain in one piece afterwards. So what will it be?" Suika remarked, echoing my thoughts. She cracked her knuckles and took a step forward, a serious grin on her face.

    "That''s enough."

    She stopped me just before I was about to take off my underpants, and I felt relieved. The chance that somebody passed by this time of the day was unlikely, but I did not want a rumor about a white and black-haired man publicly exposing himself to a little girl in the middle of a field become spread throughout the lands. Well, I had already exposed myself enough at this point either way.

    Suddenly, the presence of another person caught Suika''s attention and I quickly spun around. A girl, wearing a black hat over her light green hair and eerily glowing green eyes that were completely devoid of emotion, was staring at the undoubtedly mistakable scene that was me standing in boxers in front of a teenage girl. She wore an empty smile while she looked between Suika and me, her countenance betraying no emotions. I suffered from an internal blue screen.

    "This looks like fun, let me join you!" The girl named Koishi remarked and started to unbutton her shirt, when my mind finally completed the reboot.

    "Stop! This isn''t what it looks like!" I exclaimed and jumped at her, trying to stop her from stripping as well.

    "What? You''re not going to swim in the river?" She asked and I almost tripped over the obliviousness leading up to her question. From behind me I could hear Suika''s laughter, as she discerned the cause of my distress.

    "Ky?ma, you''re still so immature," Was all she said, as she laughed without a worry about her own stature and bodily features. I would be the last to dare and point that out to her, however, as I still liked my life very much. Koishi tilted her head questioningly. "In either case, I can see that your body is lacking in everything. You will not be able to survive even a second of my training like this," Suika added disapprovingly.

    I knew that I was all but well-trained, and while I was certainly not fat, my body was not toned either. I was basically average, no more strength than required, and no more fat than what resulted from a typical city-dwellers'' lifestyle, one who would sometimes take walks but mostly spent the time indoors reading. The expansion of my mental capacity, which at this point I started to doubt again, did not magically extend to my physical abilities. It would have been too good to be true.

    "So, before we can train properly, you will have to build your body. I guess the hellish training will have to wait." I did not like Suika''s expression, and I was right as she continued. "I''ll give you nightmarish training first."

 Chapter 13 - Three Months Later

    uch..." I uttered as I sat up from the dried rocky riverbed I had found myself in after running away from a Y?kai attack while collecting firewood. It was the height of summer and even though the inside of the forest was much cooler than the outside, it was still sweltering. Wondering how the people working on the fields must be feeling, I stood up. Having gone shirtless had been the right choice, as I took note of the scratches covering my body while turning around to orient myself. These would heal, but my supply of clothes and my more than lacking stitching skills were drying up. I did not want to run out of clothes to wear and return to civilization wearing a loincloth made of some animal''s pelt.

    The Y?kai that had attacked me must have lost sight of me, as there was no sign of impending danger. However, in this forest I could not let my guard down; three months in this environment had taught me enough to be vigilant at all times. Picking up the firewood that had scattered all around me, I contemplated the time I had spent training in the forest. The results of the past months had been astonishing, putting it mildly. Not only was my progress in physical training beyond the humanly possible, but I had also reached new heights in my mental strength. Having been thrown into the forest with the words ''I won''t help you unless you''re about to be killed'', I had grown stronger in all areas, as a deep-seated survival instinct, dulled by complacent live in a well-protected society, seemed to have reawakened.

    Even though I had expected it, I was neither covered in scars, nor did I have calluses covering my palms from all the menial labor I had to put into sustaining everyday life. Collecting firewood was the least taxing one amongst the daily work. Looking at my toned body, I wondered if my development had anything to do with the fact that only half a soul was living in this mortal vessel. However, there was no other readily available explanation, considering the human body worked differently, normally. A person who never properly worked out could not achieve what I had in such a short period of time. It was as if I had lived in the wild for years and not started out as a man of an average build. Unlike power workout, which I heard Hollywood stars did within a few months to gain the perfect bodies for certain roles in films, my progress was a hundred percent functional.

    Jumping out of the riverbed, nearly my own height, from a standing position, I secured the pile of firewood in my arms and began to dash in the direction of the border of the forest. I was running at a speed I had previously only seen in the Olympic games, but unlike in the hundred meter dash, I was sustaining it over a longer period of time without feeling any fatigue. In the past few months I had already gotten used to leaving behind common sense, and fewer and fewer things happening to me had been able to surprise me, until at one point I took everything as it was, accepting that this world, Gens?ky?, was just one in which wonders were everyday occurrences. I explained this impossible development with the spiritually charged nature of the forest and the world at large.

    As I broke free from the boundaries of the forest and came out of the woods, I sprinted the last remaining few hundred meters at an even higher speed. Suika had taught me that everything could be used for training, and I had engraved it deeply into my spirit.

    "Suika, I brought firewood!" I yelled as I came to a stop before the small cottage I had finally built over the last month. It was still crude, but better than the pile of wood and planks it had been before. The Oni in question emerged, carrying a purple gourd - a treasure of the Oni, which never ran out of Sake - and looked at me approvingly.

    "You''re getting faster. I think you''re ready," She stated, as she looked at the scratches covering my upper body.

    "So, we''re going deeper in?" I asked excitedly, as I interrupted my work. I had been steadily progressing deeper into the forest over the past two weeks, where the Y?kai encounters became more and more dangerous. While at this point I could already fight with the majority of low level supernatural beings that had their own territories within the outer rim of the forest, there were always the few much stronger roaming ones that had no fixed area of activity. The one I had met earlier was one just like that, a large ox-headed man wearing a Kimono, featuring hoofs instead hands, and lacking legs. I had encountered that one several times already, and each time he had attacked me with great delight, as if it was a sport.

    "No, we''re going through," Was her definite answer, as she took a deep gulp from her Sake gourd. I stared at her, then at the house I had so painstakingly completed only a few days earlier. "Are you saying we''ll be leaving this place behind?" I asked, hoping for a negative answer.

    "Only if you don''t fail along the way," Suika stated and grinned. Now I would be considered a coward if I lost, since there was the chance that I was subconsciously clinging to this little abode I had constructed and held back while fighting or running away. Sighing, I went into the hut and packed my belongings. Before putting on a shirt I checked if I was bleeding anywhere, but the scratches were only superficial ones. My natural healing abilities were also beyond normal, and by the end of the day, there would be no signs of the scratches left.

    "Alright, I''m ready," I said, as I came out of the hut again.

    "Let''s go."

    We were hopelessly lost. Or rather, I was, while Suika was amusing herself about my orientation within this impossible forest. Even though Y?kai Mountain was towering above us as an unmistakable landmark, I had managed to venture deeper into the woods than necessary. I would look up to the mountain periodically, to find that it was getting closer, even though the little Oni had told me to go through the forest to the mountain''s left, in an as straight as possible line.

    Soon we came upon a relatively shallow river with wide riverbanks covered in pebbles, a recourse from the dense forest surrounding it. The water was flowing gently, since the elevation level of the area was still rather flat, and I decided to take a break and fill up my inner reserves with the clear and cool water. Suika did not need water, she had her Sake, which I had only ever tasted on my wounds. The fact that it had burned as if I had actually been torched was proof enough that it was potent alcohol. Not to mention that it possessed healing properties, which seemed to have seeped into my body over time; in the first month I had sustained a collection of rather gruesome wounds from encounters with the supernatural, and it was all thanks to the Sake that I was not only alive but also without visible scars.

    Just as I put my flask underwater to fill it, something suddenly shot out from the water and grabbed my wrist. Even though the river was so clear, I could not see what it was and nearly let go of my container. However, after a moment I realized that the pull was not very strong, as I barely had to move a muscle to stay on shore. Tilting my head questioningly, I inspected the invisible force locked around my wrist closer, noticing that it seemed to repel the water around it. For a split second, as long as it took for me to blink with my right eye, my left eye opened and beheld the world in its most truthful form. I had learned to use it on my own, without the need of a trigger like Byakuren''s sutra, but it was still only limited to nothing more than a snapshot-like view. In that instant, I saw that a humanoid figure, submerged underwater, clung to my wrist with one hand.

    As the instant passed, I grabbed the invisible hand and pulled, causing a great splash of water as something landed on the shore. Not letting go, I intensified my grip, pulled the humanoid in and grabbed where I assumed the neck to be with the hand that had been freed from its clutch. It missed its mark and touched upon something soft, causing the humanoid to squeal in surprise - with a female voice. In the next moment, a mass of water appeared out of nowhere and knocked me down. Despite this, I did not let go of the invisible female''s wrist, causing her to fall with me.

    In the meantime, Suika put down her gourd and watched the whole ordeal with a baffled expression, looking down at her Sake and back at the situation, maybe wondering - for the first time in her long life - if she was drunk.

    "Reveal yourself, I won''t let go!" I proclaimed while sitting up, and grabbed at the thin air before me, where I presumed the invisible female to be. It was right on the mark, but I got hold of a small hard object, which I reflexively pulled on, causing it to come undone. Looking at my palm I was surprised to see a golden key in it. Turning around, I found that apparently that key had literally been the key to the girl''s invisibility. A girl, looking to be in her late teens, wearing a blue overalls, was revealed. She had similarly blue hair, which was tied in twin-tails, and wore a green cap with a white wisp-like symbol on the front. Her blue eyes were looking at me fearfully, but also with a desperate strength, as she pointed at me with a blue, futuristic-looking rifle.

    "Give me back that key or I''ll shoot!" She exclaimed with a shrill voice and motioned with the rifle''s barrel at my right hand, which was holding the golden key. I took the opportunity to throw it up into the air, causing the girl to look at it with a surprised expression, giving me ample time to use my freed right hand to take hold of the gun and yank it from her hand. I let go of her wrist with my left and caught the key before she could fully realize what had happened, put it into my pants'' pocket and pointed the weapon at her, all in a fluid succession of moves. "Fueeeh!" Was the cute sound she made as she saw herself staring into the barrel of her own gun.

    I took my time to get a closer look of her, noticing that under her completely dry overalls she seemed to be wearing nothing. The suspenders, which were at least sufficiently wide, were the only thing between my view and her bare skin. Before I could get drawn in by the sight of her beautiful smooth and white skin, I noticed that she was carrying a large green backpack, apparently filled to the brink and ready to burst at its seams.

    "Now, let''s not get violent. Who are you?" I asked, reinforcing my inquiry with a little shake of the weapon. I had never fired any gun before, and I did not even know how to use this futuristic piece of hardware, but the girl before me appeared to be unaware of that. The bluff had worked.

    "I-I-I''m-Kawashiro-Nitori, I''m-a-Ka-ka-kappa, I''m-o-o-one-thousand-three-hundred-and-forty-one-years-old-and-I''m-an-e-en-engineer-of-the-Kappa-society. I''m-si-si-single, my-favorite-food-is-cu-cu-cucumber-and-" The girl machine-gunned her self-introduction, stumbling over her own words, until I felt the need to stop her. "Okay okay, relax. I won''t harm you, calm down," I said and sighed, lowering the gun.

    The tension slightly escaped the self-proclaimed Kappa, and she looked at me with suspicion. I looked back curiously, causing her to startle and look away, as if ready to run and dive into the river. However, she stopped herself and turned back, visibly gathering her courage.

    "P-P-Please, return my key and my water rifle!" Nitori stuttered and looked me in the eye with determination. Within a few seconds of my scrutinizing gaze she shrank away nervously and started to look elsewhere, apparently most preferably at my shoes or her own heavy worker boots. In the meantime I took a closer look at the gun I had taken away from her, wondering how exactly this was a water gun. Turning my head, I saw Suika looking in our direction with an amused expression, so I decided to play a prank on her, by shooting her with the water gun.

    As I pulled the trigger, incredible recoil caused the rifle to kick upwards, and what I perceived to be a white beam shot forward, tracing a line over her body and through the forest behind her. A split second later, everything that had been touched was cut in half in a violent explosion, as the little Oni was knocked back behind the split tree she had been sitting on, while the foliage behind her was blown away.

    I stared at the rifle in my hand in disbelief, remembering that it had been aimed at me only moments ago, then turned to look at Nitori, who was staring at me with a pale face and big eyes. Then I remember that I had hit the little Oni.

    "Oh shi- Suika!" I cursed and called out to her, but a hand rose from behind the severed tree.

    "I''m fine..." She said, slowly standing up. A red line had formed on her face, and just as she stood up completely, her clothes seemed to remember that they had been cut, as they chose to fall apart right then, starting in the middle of her petite body. Before I could react, Suika balled up her right fist and gathered them back together with her power. A vein visibly popped up on her forehead as she looked in my direction, seeing the weapon in my hand.

    "Yo, Ky?ma, what''s the big deal? You want a beating?" She said, a false grin spreading across her face that showed off her pointy fangs.

    "I''m sorry, I didn''t know... I mean..." I was grasping for words, when I turned around to Nitori in an effort to push part of the blame on her. "You said this was a water rifle! What''s with this destructiveness!"

    "Eeek! B-b-but, it-it is a water rifle! It sh-sh-shoots a beam of highly pressurized water from a tiny hole in the front," She brought forth stuttering, while shrinking further under my desperate glare. I turned back to Suika, who was approaching me dangerously, her right fist still balled up, grinning up at me.

    "Uhm... oops, hehe," I muttered, out of options.

    "This is Ibuki Suika, my master," I explained to Nitori, who was shaking in her boots as she stood at attention before the little Oni. The dozen or so bumps on my head were still stinging from Suika doing what she called ''cooling my head''. I was lucky she had not decided to drown me in the river or pay me back in kind with the now confiscated water rifle.

    "I-I-I-" The Kappa stuttered in the presence of Suika, even more than she had after I had threatened her with her own weapon. "I-It''s a pl-pleasure me-meeting you, g-g-great Oni!" She finally brought forth while prostrating before the little Oni. I was taken aback by the severity of her fear from her, and must have made a questioning expression, since Suika found it necessary to educate me.

    "The Kappa, just like the Tengu, used to be our servants. She must remember how it was during our reign back in the good old days, isn''t that right, Kappa-chan?" The little  Oni explained and put a hand on the Kappa''s shoulder, who seemed to solidify into stone, while at the same time flinched so hard I thought she would break into pieces. Considering the fact that I grew a number of bumps and my ears were ringing from my master knocking me around a little, I could see where the fear of the little Oni came from.

    "Don''t worry, Kappa-chan, I''m not back to take over Y?kai Mountain. I''m just passing through with this idiot here. This guy''s name is Kagami Ky?ma. He''s a human, kinda. But just call him idiot," Suika finally said, introducing me in a less than favorable manner. However, after all that happened, I knew better than to protest against such treatment, and kept my mouth shut.

    "Anyways, we are lost-"

    "You''re lost, I''m just having fun watching you."

    "I''m lost, so could you show me the way through the forest, please, Kawashiro-san?" I asked in the most amiable tone possible, correcting myself without letting any irritation show on my face at the jab from the little Oni. Nitori looked up fearfully, but seemed to pity me under the circumstances, as if I were a fellow sufferer. She placed herself in perfect seiza, opened her backpack and rummaged through it for a bit, until she pulled out a device that looked like a smart phone.

    "This device is an electronic map. It can show you your current location while updating as you move. Please take this and find your way out of the forest," She said, probably happy at the opportunity to guide Suika out of the Great Y?kai Forest and avert a possible crisis for all Kappa and Tengu living on Y?kai Mountain.

    "That''s a GPS device, isn''t it? I have a feeling that this won''t work... Are there any satellites in Gens?ky??" I cautiously inquired.

    "What''s a satellite?" Nitori tilted her head and asked.

    "I knew it!"

    When I explained to Nitori what a satellite was, her fear from Suika and me took a backseat, and her eyes began to sparkle with overflowing interest. Although I was not sure myself how the GPS system worked exactly, I could at least explain that it was done by determining your location through satellites and sending it to a device on the ground. Which also led me to believe that the device the Kappa had given us was useless in a world without satellites.

    "This satellite idea is quite interesting. It reminds me of the mission to the Lunar Capital. Nobody thought of mapping the world like this in Gens?ky? though. Maybe because there are other factors at work which can cause people to get lost," She explained, seemingly having forgotten her initial fear towards us. "No, this device, a GPS you called it? It works differently. In Gens?ky? we have several spiritual hotbeds, collections of spiritual energy, you could say. This device was built to locate these points, calculate your distance from them and find your exact position in relation to them."

    "So the principle is the same as that behind the GPS, huh?" I ignored the remark about a Lunar Capital for now.

    "From your explanation, I gather that this must be the case. In this instance, the Moriya Shrine, the city of the Kappa society and the Geyser center entrance are used to determine your position, since they are the closest," Nitori stated as she switched on the device. The screen came to life and showed an arrowhead in the middle, which I assumed determined our current position. The background started to become clearer, as the small river formed, followed by the surrounding topography. With a skillful swipe from her two fingers, the map shrunk and more of the overall area became visible. It looked like any map in geography class, with rivers in blue, low elevation in green and high elevation in brown. Right next to our position, which was in yellow, a peak of dark brown rose up.

    "This is Y?kai Mountain, and about halfway to the summit is the Moriya Shrine. The spiritual power emanated by the Kami living there makes for one point," Nitori proceeded to explain, as she pointed at the darkest spot of the elevation.

    "Wait wait... are you saying that this device uses the energy given off by Kami as a fixed point? What if they decide to take a trip somewhere?" I asked, unbelieving of the fact that this device could have such a remarkable flaw.

    "Yes, but they never leave the mountain, so it''s alright," The Kappa responded innocently and considered the topic over, as she continued. "This here is the Kappa society." She touched a macro key on the side of the screen, turning the geographical display into a political one. She pointed at the biggest red dot, at the foot of the mountain on the other side of the forest. I saw that there was a tiny dot labeled Moriya Shrine further north and a slightly bigger one labeled Tengu society near the top of the mountain.

    "Lemme see, lemme see," Suika suddenly said and easily pulled Nitori''s arm down to her eye level. Before the Kappa could react, the little Oni had already seen the locations of the Tengu and Kappa societies. I assumed that she did not really need to see the map to be able to find her way there, but it appeared that Nitori did not know that.

    "Uhh..." Was the only response she could produce, tears in her eyes at the fact that she had not only revealed her own hometown but also that of the Tengu to an Oni. "Don''t worry, I have no interest in enslaving you again," Suika stated, her choice of words clearly dangerous. "But I will visit you and ask for some Sake."

    "Uhhhhh..." Nitori made, as she seemed closer to starting to cry out loud than ever before.

    "Err, Kawashiro-san, where is the Geyser center entrance?" I asked, trying to change the topic. Sniffling, the Kappa touched another macro key, which turned the map into an economic one. I wondered just where could economy be found in a largely unpopulated forest, but I saw that there was a road leading through it and up the mountain to the Moriya Shrine, which had a torii label instead of the red dot it had had before. Surrounding the Kappa city were small sticks, and I assumed that this meant they were growing some kind of crops there. Only the Tengu society did not appear to have any label, meaning that maybe they did not produce anything. On the other side of the forest, the direction we had been trying to go in, was a black dot, labeled Geyser center entrance.

    "What exactly is the Geyser center?" I finally asked, knowing that geysers were obviously naturally formed fountains of hot water and steam, keeping in mind that Gens?ky? might have other notions of this term.

    "It''s from where the hot springs of Y?kai Mountain are heated," Nitori responded and pointed at the dot. "The main facility is located underground, the surface is a tourist spot with a large geyser shooting up periodically to let out the excessive heat from the nuclear furnace. Not that many tourists come to visit, since it''s still part of the Great Y?kai Forest." As she continued to explain, she slowly regained her composure and even returned to her previously excited self. I realized that she must really be a technophile, as she began to line out the functions of the facility, which was also used for nuclear fusion tests aimed at unlimited free energy, and... did she say nuclear furnace and nuclear fusion tests?

    "Wait, hold on. Did I get you right? Nuclear fusion?" I had to make sure I was not just hearing things. "Are you saying nuclear fusion is being performed in Gens?ky??"

    "Yes, is that so strange?" She had the nerve to ask.

    "But isn''t that really dangerous? As far as I know, couldn''t an accident from that destroy everything in a radius of several kilometers?"

    "Yes, it is, but it''s really fascinating!" Nitori was a scientist through and through - and clearly a mad one, if I might add.

    "Where did you even get the knowledge about nuclear fusion from? Even in the outside world energy creation through that hasn''t been properly researched yet. How do you contain it, so that radioactivity doesn''t just irradiate everything here?" I bombarded her with questions. I had experienced the Tohoku Earthquake when I was younger, and learned of the fear that stemmed from the consequences of having nuclear power plants that were outdated by several decades, facing a situation in which multiple such power plants could experience meltdown due to a Tsunami disabling their coolant facilities. I never wanted to experience something like that again, and wanted answers regarding the security of the nuclear fusion performed in Gens?ky?. Of course, I did not understand enough of the properties required during fusion reactions, but I knew that everything nuclear bore an innate danger to all life.

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement."The Kami of the Moriya Shrine came from the outside world, and they brought the knowledge of nuclear energy. They granted a Hell Raven the power of Yatagarasu, and she has been working part-time at the nuclear furnace. She can generate nuclear fusion inside her body and release it through a control rod," The Kappa explained, in no way dispersing my doubts and in fact increasing my worries.

    "What do you mean, inside her body?"

    "She ate a part of Yatagarasu and gained the power of the sun. Apparently the sun uses nuclear fusion to create its heat, and we only feel a little of it because it''s so far away from us," She proceeded, beginning to delve into astrophysics. "If I hadn''t experienced so many solar eclipses, I wouldn''t have thought that the moon and the sun are actually spheres in the sky. However, when I found a telescope at the border, I was finally able to verify this thesis, and-"

    "So the nuclear fusion is in fact supernatural in nature... then I guess there''s nothing to fear," I interrupted Nitori before she could go deeper into details about space, discarding my common sense in the process.

    "Yes, there is nothing to fear. If something happens, the Kami will make things right."

    Her trust in the Kami of the mountain seemed to be stronger than the fear of a nuclear meltdown basically in front of her doorsteps, but I was not one who could argue against that, considering the fact that I was arguing the merits and dangers of nuclear energy with a Kappa. Sighing, I picked up another topic, which Nitori had mentioned on the passing.

    "You said the Kami are from the outside world? When did they come to Gens?ky??"

    "They arrived about four years ago, but time doesn''t have much meaning to us," The one-thousand-three-hundred-and-forty-one-years-old Kappa responded, followed by a remark I, as a human, felt completely unnecessary. For me, four years was a considerable amount of time, as that was how long it would have taken me about that long to finish my Bachelor''s degree, if I had stayed in the outside world. The fleeting nature of human life was put into stark contrast to the existence of those seemingly eternal beings, so I understood where the envy and fear of them came from.

    "You are referring to multiple Kami, but how many are there?"

    "There are three, two full Kami and one human, who is an Arahitogami."

    Arahitogami, a human who was revered as a Kami during his lifetime, due to performing miracles on par with those of actual Kami. As long as they received worship, Arahitogami would retain a divine position, would not age and at the same time be alive per the definition of humans. Unlike Kami, who are just existing without life as long as they are worshipped, and slowly fading away or becoming Y?kai when forgotten, an Arahitogami would continue his existence as a human, once no longer worshipped. Of course, they would also begin to age again, which is why those who once tasted the fruit of eternal youth try everything to keep it. However, to me the fact that the Arahitogami came from the outside world only four years ago meant something different. I was thinking that he would be able to tell me more about his experiences in Gens?ky? as a fellow human. Then again, a person who was considered a living Kami could have a bad personality, which deterred me from explicitly stating my desire to meet him right away.

    "I''d rather not approach Y?kai Mountain. Knowing the prideful Tengu, they would try to attack me and stop me from returning to power," Suika stated nonchalantly, clearly implying that it would end at trying. She had clearly read my wish to see a fellow human from a similar time period. "That Arahitogami won''t disappear even after you''re done with your training. Then you can go up the mountain yourself. Well, that''s if you don''t die before then." She laughed off my possible death so easily, and I remembered that she was a true Oni. When looking at her appearance, aside from the horns, nobody would deduce that she was a hundred times more powerful than the strongest human. And her usual behavior, aside from drinking lots of alcohol, was also not very indicative of her actual age, which actually surpassed even Nitori''s. "Hey, just now you thought something very rude, didn''t you, Ky?ma! That look just now makes me want to cool your head again."

    "No, I just thought that you are such a good teacher, to be able to discern your disciple''s desire to meet the Arahitogami so well," I said in a nonchalant way, at which Suika shrugged with a smile and dropped the topic. "Thank you for everything, Kawashiro-san. We''ll get going then."

    "Be safe on your journey," Nitori responded and bowed slightly. Waving, I walked ahead, while the little Oni returned the futuristic water-rifle to the Kappa.

    "To beat us Oni, you will need something a little stronger than this. But you''re on the right track, this stung a little," Suika said with a menacing, canine-exposing grin. Laughing out loud, she followed me, while Nitori slumped down. The last statement had been the last straw to her fear, as her legs became unable to support her anymore. She could only watch us depart, while sitting at the riverbank, burned out as if she had just worked for a week without any sleep.

    "Ah, I forgot to return the key to her. Oh well, I''ll do it when I come back here," I murmured, as I felt the weight of the golden key, which I had taken from Nitori in our struggle at the river, in my pocket after jumping over a fallen tree. "This reminds me... Suika, could it be that we''re headed to the Geyser center?"

    "Not exactly, we''ll be going a little further than that. But you''ll see soon enough," The little Oni said and stayed quiet for a while afterwards, leaving me to use my senses and avoid any roaming Y?kai that were active at this time of the day. It was sometime between three or four in the afternoon, judging from the position of the sun, so we would have to hurry if we wanted to get out of the forest before it became dark. At dusk Y?kai activity would be increased, and at night even more dangerous nocturnal ones would begin to act.

    At this time of the day, the forest was deceptively peaceful, albeit very quiet. The sun was high up in the sky and even underneath the dense forest canopy sunspots from occasional holes were visible as beams of light, shining down like divine beacons. Within those, particles would dance as reflections, with alluring movements that appeared choreographed rather than the result of air currents.

    "Those are wisps."

    Suika had explained the phenomenon of particles appearing to be performing a dance. Those wisps would soon disappear, so they made a last effort to lure in victims and feed on them to regain some energy. Only insects and the occasional bird would be fooled, but rarely did those remnants of spiritual beings survive long enough to recover enough strength to actively hunt for prey again. She told me that they posed no threat to me and would disperse if I walked through them. I paid attention not to anyway.

    We walked for a while without encountering any wildlife, causing me to wonder about the atmosphere of the forest. It appeared that the closer to Y?kai Mountain we got, the fewer animals lived in the forest, and instead it became more populous with Y?kai. However, even those seemed to have disappeared from the vicinity, and the silence laid itself on my mind in the form of an invisible pressure that assaulted all my senses. While I honed them to their utmost limit, I continued to walk at a normal pace, not paying attention whether Suika was still following me or not. She could handle herself, and she knew the way even without the GPS device I was holding firmly; under these, and any other circumstances in which we were alone, I had to pay attention to my safety first and foremost.

    As expected, something was there.

    The moment I felt that something staring at me, I knew that it was already within my safety range. It had been able to enter that range without me noticing, and only when it directly looked at me did I realize its presence. I felt no hostility, but the nagging feeling of being watched was something that could not be simply ignored. Turning around, I saw that Suika was taking a big gulp from her purple Sake gourd, after which she looked at me with an expression that seemed to say ''deal with it yourself''. Shaking my head, I sighed and proceeded to continue our journey through the woods. As long as the owner of that pair of eyes decided not to show itself or turn its gaze into one filled with hostility, it could just as well belong to a harmless animal. Even though there was clearly intent in the stare, one that could only belong to a human - or a supernatural being - I did not feel overly concerned by it for now.

    I was considering the fact that I could feel a stare, whereas normally people would not be able to tell when somebody looked at them from a hidden position. Even when being almost breathed down the neck, as long as there was no physical sensation, one would not know that somebody was staring at them. However, I had learned quickly that apparently in the wilderness of Gens?ky?, humans developed skills that were unthinkable in the outside world, including "feeling" the presence of living beings.

    We continued on for a long time, but the eyes continued to follow us, and I could feel that it was never losing sight of me. It became quite obvious that I was the target, for one reason or another, even as there was still no hint of animosity. Maybe it was a curious Y?kai with little combat capabilities, who wanted to see what a human and an Oni were doing together in the Great Y?kai Forest.

    The device I got from the Kappa showed that it would not take much longer before we reached the border of the forest, and then it would be a short distance to the Geyser center. I assumed that, despite not knowing the exact destination, we would arrive where Suika intended to go by nightfall. I just hoped that within the next half an hour the observer would not turn hostile for one reason or another.

    My hopes were dashed, however, just as we left the forest behind us. It must have been a more opportune place than the forest, since, as if a switch had been flipped, I could feel killing intent surrounding me from all directions. Dropping my bag and taking a cautious stance, I prepared for the ambush, as a strong buzzing began to fill the air. It was similar, but different from the din of the cicada in summer, endlessly amplified as if somebody had switched up the volume. A multi-colored cloud emerged from the tall grass all around us, and swirled in intricate patterns to create an impenetrable encirclement. The noise became almost unbearable, sounding like a discordant canon of helicopter-engines. I realized that the cloud consisted of countless bugs of all kinds, including some I was almost sure did not exist in the outside world.

    "Oh, it''s that cockroach Y?kai," Suika commented loudly, so that I could hear her. She did not seem overly concerned about the mass of insects that were surrounding us, and drank some more alcohol, making me wonder how her body worked. If I had been studying to become a doctor, I would have risked my life to ask the little Oni for allowing me to do a check-up on her.

    "I''m not a cockroach! I''m a firefly!" An indistinguishable voice came from within the cloud of insects, which parted in one place to reveal a teenage kid with short green hair, wearing a sleeveless white shirt. The upper arms were human, but their color turned darker the closer they came to the insect-like elbow joint, with the lower arms being of a shiny black, like chitin. The fingers looked like insect legs and ended in nail-less claws. A black cape adorned the bare shoulders and parted in the middle, halfway down, resembling insect wings. Short black pants showed off the fact that the legs were the same as the arms, with the feet covered by sleek black boots. Two black appendages protruded from the androgynous kid''s head, which were clearly feelers. The pair of green-tinted black eyes peering at Suika possessed pupils much larger than those of a human, and glittered from the refractions of light, making me think that they were compound eyes put into human eye sockets. The boy, or girl, clearly had the appearance of an insect, but possessed a certain beauty and grace, unbefitting of a creepy crawler.

    "And you shall be our meal. Get them!" The self-proclaimed firefly ordered the swarm of insects to attack. I looked at Suika, only to receive a look that seemed to say ''go ahead, try something yourself and let me watch you fail, first''. Shaking my head, I readied myself for the myriad-legged onslaught. A shiver ran down my spine, owing to the fact that unless I was able to stop them, I would truly feel millions of feet all over my body, possibly crawling into every orifice and suffocate me. With these thoughts, I decided to try a move I thought an Oni with their pointlessly overwhelming strength would; drawing as much breath as possible into my lungs, I held it inside for a moment, before releasing it in a burst forward. With the increased lung capacity from a rigorous training in the past three month, and the near super-human strength I had gained, I was indeed able to create enough pressure to create a small wall of air in front of me, which pushed aside the army of insects assaulting me, as they passed me with no harm.

    "Wha-?" The androgynous firefly Y?kai mouthed at the impossibility of my feat.

    "I know, it seems impossible, right?" I said, knowing full well that my physical capabilities had reached a state in which they defied common sense. However, I had no time to be impressed with myself, as I took the opportunity to rush forward at the surprised Y?kai. He, or she, tried to take to the air, spreading the wings-like cape; however, the reaction came too late, even as the kid was able to get off the ground. I jumped and propelled myself forward like a cannon ball, and reached out with my hands to grab the firefly''s shoulders. Crashing into each other in midair, my weight allowed for me to push down on the Y?kai, resulting in a hard landing on the kid''s back, with me on top. The cloud of insects dispersed at this, with their control cut off from the shock the impact had caused to their controller.

    "Oh, you''re a girl," I commented, now that I was able to get a closer look at my opponent and see the barely protruding breasts under the shirt.

    "Of course I am! What did you think?! Now get off me!" She yelled from under me and tried to struggle. I simply mounted her as if we were in a martial arts tournament fight. I knew Y?kai were physically stronger than humans, but it did not seem to be the case with this one, as she was unable to lift me off of her. It seemed that I did not cause her rather petite body any harm with my weight either, though.

    "Now, tell me why you can simply ignore the Spellcard Rules and attack humans physically," I began my inquiry. I was wary of her hands, as they looked like they could cause a lot of pain when she decided to scratch me, but other than that she appeared to be powerless. "If you don''t speak I won''t get off of you." The girl struggled a little more, realizing its futility before long; she gave up and looked at me with defiant eyes. From close up I could see that the black irises had no distinction from the pupils and were indeed compound eyes. Even though the irises were almost double the size of a human''s, her eyes were beautiful in their own right. Her finely chiseled, unexpectedly mature face, was complemented by those eyes and gained an aesthetic touch that could never be seen in a human. Maybe I was simply fascinated by such a big bug, just as I had been fascinated by catching stag beetles in the forest when visiting my grandparents in the countryside.

    "You just thought something rude, didn''t you?" The girl under me commented.

    "Why does it appear as if everyone can read my mind these days? I just thought I caught myself a splendid bug," I voiced my opinion, earning me an angry glare. "Either way, behave yourself, cooperate, and I will let you go."

    "Let me go first, then I''ll talk."

    "You don''t make the demands when you''re the one lying on your back with somebody sitting on top of you."

    "Fine, but promise you''ll get off of me after I tell you. You''re heavy!" She tried to make it sound like an insult.

    "How can you say that! At least call me big-boned," I acted hurt, resulting in the insect girl clicking her tongue.

    "Anyway, a while ago the feeling of being suppressed by an invisible law was gone. Before, Y?kai had been bound by the Spellcard Rules, which means that humans were rarely, if ever, attacked. But then one day I felt that I could attack humans without using Spellcards. Since then I have been waiting in the forest for a human to come by," She explained, not giving much information after all.

    "I guess it was your bad luck to meet under these circumstances then?" I goaded her with a grin.

    "I-I was only surprised when you jumped like that. You won''t succeed again!" She argued and once again tried to push me off. This time I let her and stood up, pulling her along by one arm. Indeed, the skin around her wrist felt hard and smooth, like porcelain, but it had the warmth of a human''s skin. Keeping my hold on her, even as she tried to draw back, I turned to see what had happened to Suika after the insect storm had passed.

    "Hey, you promised you''d let me go," My prisoner complained, but was unable to free herself with her own strength. Unexpectedly, an insect the size of a human was no stronger than one, but maybe that was simply due to my training.

    "I promised to get off of you. I did," Was my response, a deadpan expression on my face.

    "You Oni!" She cursed me, looking annoyed and angry, but also helpless.

    "No, I''m just a human. Oni would be that one over there," I said and pointed at my companion, who seemed to be cleaning herself from the insects that had splattered against her impenetrable skin. She was completely unharmed, although her clothes were ripped to shreds in several places. I realized just how close a call my decision had been to divert the insects away from me instead of trying to weather their onslaught by closing my mouth and holding my nose shut.

    "That''s an Oni? She''s just a little girl," The Y?kai dared to speak out loud, as her expression was filled with skepticism. Suika stopped in her endeavors and a deadly glare was shot in the firefly''s direction.

    "Shall I squash you with the power of an Oni? Even a cockroach of your size won''t be able to stand up from that again," The little Oni murmured, loud enough for my prisoner to hear, who went pale at the sheer pressure in those words. I laughed, knowing that Suika was dead serious about it. Whenever somebody pointed out her size, she would rebuke that person in one way or another.

    "What should we do with her, Suika?" I asked the true Oni, knowing that it would distress the firefly Y?kai to have her fate in the hands of the one who had just threatened to turn her into an unrecognizable stain by the roadside.

    "Take her with us, we can feed her to the hell raven. I''m sure she never tasted cockroach before," Was the simple response, as she looked down on her clothes. "Damn, this is the second time today that my clothes were destroyed. I shouldn''t wear human-made ones, they rip so easily." I wondered what Oni in Gens?ky? normally wore, considering the fact that there were female ones, unlike in classical literature; in historical depictions, they went topless and barefoot, only wearing a loincloth made of the fur of a tiger they slew themselves. I felt that if I tried to picture Suika in such an outfit, I would be committing a crime. Just as that thought passed my mind, she spun her head around and glared at me, a reflexive action in response to my thoughts, I assumed. Sighing, I wondered if that was because I had spent day and night with her for three months, resulting in a heightened awareness of each other''s minds. After all, I was able to notice the minute changes in her attitude, especially when she wordlessly commanded me to ''deal with it''.

    The insect girl''s reaction to Suika''s words were as expected, albeit a little delayed; her face was filled with fear and she tried to struggle against my iron grip, once again with no result. Suddenly, there was a crunching sound and I felt the pull from the wrist in my hand disappear completely. Spinning my head around, I noticed that I was holding a twitching severed lower arm, with its owner staring at it in disbelief. I followed her example.

    "Waaaaaaah!!!" She cried out and slumped down to her knees. "I hate it when that happens!"

    Following the spirit of her insect theme, it appeared that this particular one would be able to grow her severed limbs back over a short period of time. I had decided to keep her right arm, which had disconnected at the elbow, as a trophy, since it was proof of the first Y?kai I had completely defeated; the firefly Y?kai had broken down crying and only after many apologies did she finally calm down to a sorrowfully sobbing state. After a while she had introduced herself as Riguru, since she did not want to be called cockroach all the time; after all, her natural base was a firefly. Obviously, knowing her name did not prevent Suika from continuing to call her a cockroach.

    I wondered if she was a foreign insect, since the pronunciation she used for her name did not sound Japanese. With my limited foreign language skills I could not even begin to fathom the actual way of writing her name. In either case, our party had gained a new, one-armed companion, disregarding the fact that she was coming along against her will.

    The way ahead were hilly plains that soon changed into a more mountainous profile, the further we progressed. Suika had told me that it was the perfect opportunity for some training, so we had been jogging up the steep mountain road for the past hour. I noticed that my breath was not running out as quickly as I had expected, and we soon reached a pass that led us deeper into the mountain range. It was linked to the back of Y?kai Mountain, although its highest peak paled in comparison to the latter. While the former could only be considered alp-like, the latter was like the peak of the K2. Of course it was not that huge a difference, but if I had been told to climb it, I would have described it as such.

    "We''ll soon reach our destination," Suika finally said, as we descended into a forest-covered valley, just as the sun disappeared behind the mountain peak on the other side. The view was beautiful beyond words, and I stopped to look at it for a while. I noticed that there was a barren area in the middle of the otherwise green valley, the size of a football field, in the middle of the forest. I stared at it, wondering what caused this phenomenon. "Try it with the other eye, Ky?ma." The Oni had predicted that I would find it strange, and told me to take a look with my truth-telling left eye. Just as I had done with Nitori earlier, I winked with my right eye and opened my left at the same time, to catch a quick glimpse of the scenery.

    The center of the barren area was spewing forth a great mass of dark spiritual energy, like a geyser. I turned to look at the GPS device from the Kappa and noticed that we had long passed the entrance to the Geyser center, so this would be something different.

    "That is the entrance to Former Hell," The Oni declared with a proud expression. "That is where you will be training from now on."

 Chapter 14 - Fall in the Dark

    e climbed down the slope, into the dreadfully silent valley, passed through the forest devoid of animal noises and approached the large clearing. Surprisingly enough, the firefly Y?kai had stayed with us, despite not being tied up or being forced to come along in any other way. She had instead been concentrating on regenerating her severed arm, which was encased in a chrysalis-like membrane, rapidly expanding in size and approaching the full length of her arm. Most likely, by the end of the day, she would be back to her previous appearance.

    Suika pointed at a small hill and as we rounded it, I finally saw the source of the geyser of spirits; it was a vertical cave with an opening of half a dozen square meters, reaching into the depths of the earth. The walls were almost vertical and the bottom could not be seen as the light of the setting sun could never hope to reach it. Looking over the edge, I felt a strange pull from below, as if the abyss was beckoning me to jump into its gaping maw. Even though I did not usually fear heights, this was something completely different.

    "Ky?ma, your destination lies at the bottom of this. Now would be a good time to learn how to fly," The little Oni said and simply pushed me over the edge. For a moment I did not understand what had just happened, as I felt gravity take hold of me, while I turned around and looked up to see Suika and Riguru growing distant at the border of the visible crimson sky. Then I turned over in midair again and was disappearing into the depths of the darkness, feeling like I was riding on an invisible rollercoaster; the sensation was similar, but indescribably more potent.

    "Damn you, Suika, I''ll remember this!" I shouted as I turned over again due to inertia.

    First, I had to find a way to stabilize myself or the fall could end worse than it needed to. Despite the fact that I was in freefall and had already left behind at least fifty meters, knowing that impacting from this height spelled death, I was not panicking. A solution to this predicament could come in the form of a lake at the bottom, into which I could dive. At least water was softer than solid rock, even if it made no difference due to the height of the fall, some might argue. Maybe I would be able to catch an odd ledge sticking out of the wall, or get close enough to one wall to kick off of and propel myself into the wall on the other side to slow my fall.

    Then again, the Oni had done this with a purpose, which was similar to how parent birds threw the children out of the nests to force them to act on their instincts, spread their wings and fly away. I wondered who came up with this myth, saying that birds would actually do such a thing to their young, but it must be a cold-hearted person. In any case, I was no bird, no wings to spread and no instincts for flight whatsoever.

    Even then, looking down below, as my eyes began to get used to the darkness, my path was just a pitch black hole into the heart of the earth, it seemed. There was enough time to think idle thoughts, such as how this cave had come to be, and what kind of training Suika expected me to do in such a world of darkness. My mind wandered, playing with the idea that maybe she wanted me to train all senses other than sight, and had thrown me into a place with no light. Or maybe the hellish training had already begun.

    "Aren''t you a little fast, human?" Riguru''s voice resounded close by me, but I was unable to see her in the darkness. "You must be looking forward to reaching the bottom."

    "You don''t have good ears, do you?" I responded with a hard to miss sarcastic undertone. "I shouldn''t have ears in the first place, so no, they aren''t that great," The firefly''s voice replied. Due to the lack of a visual reference, I was unable to tell whether that was a cynical joke or a simple statement.

    "I can''t fly."

    "That''s bad, isn''t it?"

    I tried to grab at where her voice came from, in an attempt to strangle her for such a deadpan response. However, no matter how much I flailed, my hands only connected with the same thing my whole body had been connecting with for the past minute - thin air.

    "You''re a firefly, make some light already!"

    "It doesn''t look very dignified when I do it, so I refuse."

    Again, I flailed. Again, to no avail.

    "I think you''re going to die at this rate, human."

    "I know, right?" I responded, a fake smile on my face as I held back my anger at the voice''s owner for stating things in such a matter of fact way. "How about helping me out for a bit? You can fly, so grab me and help me find something to hold onto on the wall."

    "You look heavy, so I refuse."

    "Alright, be like that. Then I''ll¡­" I went silent, running out of words to say. During our entire exchange, there was no sign of me hitting the ground. Albeit, in the darkness, I would not be able to tell until it actually happened. The hole had been going almost completely straight down, as far as I could tell, and my grasping hands and feet touched nothing even as I haphazardly spread them in all directions, risking losing them on a sharp rock sticking out of the wall.

    "You look quite pitiful."

    "Thank you, but you¡¯re not helping!"

    "Ok, grab onto this," Riguru''s voice stated, sounding like an angel''s in my ears. I grabbed in the direction of where it originated from and touched something with my fingertip. Reflexively I extended my arm as far as possible and got hold of it, only then realizing that it felt like a rope. Maybe the firefly had tied it before jumping after me, and I would be saved, even though I knew that before I would come to a stop, my hands would be a blistering bloody mess from the friction, if I did not simply smash into the wall from the abrupt stop or the rope did not simply snap from the force of my fall. There were a lot of things to pay attention to, but I had no alternatives at this point in time, and held onto it firmly.

    "Alright, I got it! Where did you tie it to?"

    "Hm? What do you mean, where did I tie it to?"

    I almost let go of the rope at those words and once again, fruitlessly, tried to catch the insolent cockroach to squash her, just as she had squashed my foolish hope that she would in any way save me. All the while, I was still helplessly falling. Her response just meant that I would have to find something to tie the rope onto myself, even though I was unable to see anything with my normal eye. Maybe this was the time to open my left eye for more than just seeing spiritual energy. I had no time to think about the repercussions of keeping it open for longer than just a split second and shut my right eye, opening my all-seeing left at the same time.

    The darkness was blown away, as I saw a world of brightness, an upwards stream in which I was the only oddity that moved downwards. My floating body was surrounded by countless spirits, illuminating the world around me, their density making them appear like a river of light. However, I had no time to marvel at the sight, as pain was starting to spread from my eye. Looking at the rope Riguru had given me, I realized that it was about half a meter long in total.

    "You damned cockroach!!!" I howled. Spinning my vision around, I finally found her among all the spirits, flying almost right next to me and trying to poke me in the ear with a twig. At my shout she jolted, but opened her mouth to respond with her usual ''I''m not a cockroach, I''m a firefly''. Before she could do so I snapped my right arm around and grabbed her upper arm, on the unharmed side. As I got hold of her, I used her as a means to maneuver and moved myself closer to the wall, which I kicked off of. Before I could feel the pain shooting into my right leg, I already found myself fast approaching the other side of the wall, my downwards momentum slowed ever so slightly.

    By repeating this process, alternating between my right and left leg, and not letting go of a screaming Riguru all the while, I was able to decelerate considerably. Even then, there was no way to stop and the relatively smooth walls would not give me any opening to grab onto.

    Then my fall was abruptly stopped by something like a net. Unable to keep my left eye open any longer, I was only able to see that it appeared to be partially made of spiritual energy, as it was glowing faintly. Then darkness returned and I found that the net was sticky and that I was trapped in it, like a butterfly in a spider''s web.

    The analogy should prove to be right on the mark, although I dreaded to consider the size of the spider, if it was able to spin a net strong enough to catch a grown human at terminal velocity. From books and television I had learned that being eaten by a spider was certainly not a quick end, and while insects lacked the capacity to feel pain, I certainly did not.

    "Do you feel like being useful now, you cockroach?" I yelled, knowing that Riguru was just as trapped as I was. After all, I was still holding onto her arm, which I hoped had not come off again. I did not want to imagine what it would look like, being severed at the human looking part. Still, at this point, some would surely argue that I was mistreating animals.

    "I''m not a cockroach, I''m-"

    "A firefly. So do as a firefly, and make some light with your ass!" I shouted, somehow imagining that Riguru was blushing furiously. However, unexpectedly, she did not shout back in a reprimanding tone, but was completely silent, her arm shaking from what I assumed to be fear.

    It appeared the owner had noticed the prey trapped in its web.

    "What do we have here? This is a rare sight. Two at once," A sultry female voice resounded through the darkness. It came from above us, and in the dark I saw four pairs of red dots coming closer, all of them blinking periodically in pairs. The fact that the spider was capable of a very human voice made me assume that she was in fact humanoid, as much as Riguru was, with multiple eyes like a spider - just as Riguru had compound eyes in an otherwise human countenance.

    Suddenly the firefly Y?kai''s shaking stopped and I felt her arm stiffening, accompanied by the spider woman''s voice. "Hm, this one is a little insect Y?kai. Just enough as an appetizer." It came closer towards the end of the statement and I felt a presence hovering right above me. Unable to move, I could only helplessly let a pair of clawed hands touch my face and trace down my neck to feel all over my body. "This is a well-built human. I haven''t had a human in a long time." The voice became heated in anticipation. "I have to control myself. The best should be left for last. But I really want to eat you!" The sensual subtext was not lost on me, but I could not bring myself to feel even slightly aroused due to the fact that I preferred not to get sucked dry in a different sense than the enjoyable one.

    Even though the pain in and around my left eye had yet to fade, I opened it in exchange with closing my right. The torrent of souls flowed upwards unabated, but it was creeping along the walls of the sinkhole, avoiding the spider web Riguru and I found myself in. Above me was the flaxen haired, eight-eyed spider woman, her face unexpectedly close to mine as it looked over my features in a more than just interested way. She had a sultry smile on her lips, which she would lick occasionally, exposing enlarged canines sticking out from the edges of her mouth, which appeared to be able to move like mandibles.

    I had misjudged her humanity; she was more spider than human. As she moved away slightly, I was able to see that she had six spider legs, extending from her waist, which were holding onto various threads with their claws. She was wearing a brown, sleeveless fur dress, with yellow bands covering it in a pattern found in venomous types of spiders. I assumed that the dress was part of her development into a human, meaning that the fur had once been, or maybe still was, part of her body. Her exposed upper arms were human, just like Riguru''s, but her lower arms were covered by chitin gauntlets, with her fingers ending in brown claws. They were larger than proportionally right for her human body''s size, but did not appear too out of place. The large opisthosoma, a spider''s abdomen, was connected to her humanoid body part''s pelvis, so she was unable to wear anything below that point; her naked human legs were dangling, slightly bent, from where her dress ended.

    I knew from various encounters with the Y?kai in the forest, that they did not possess the sense of shame humans did. The only reason they wore clothes was because they copied what they saw, as well as for blending in, rather than out of obligation born from social constraints. This particular individual seemed no different, as she turned back to Riguru, exposing her bare backside to me with no regard for her appearance.

    "Hey, firefly, you should learn from this spider, who doesn''t seem to care about exposing her bottom, and give us some light," I said, still joking around in a situation of life and death.

    "Oh, human, you can see in this dark? It''s not that I don''t mind exposing myself. It''s that you just won''t live to tell the tale," The spider woman said, unwittingly denying the theory I had built up about Y?kai and their social behavior. Then again, it could be just this particular one, being the same as Riguru not wanting to let the sun rise from her backside. "Don''t worry, I will be with you in a moment. Let me taste this firefly first."

    "I don''t really feel obligated to save her, especially after all she did on the way down here, but I''m too nice for my own good," I said with a sigh and closed my left eye, to return to a world of darkness. For what I wanted to do next, sight was secondary. I grabbed hold of one of the threads the spider woman had been moving along on, guessing that they were the non-sticky type, and putting all my strength into my body, lifted myself from the web, ripping it apart in the process.

    "What are you doing?! Stop it, you''re destroying my net!" The owner of the web whined. I felt motion and knew that she was coming down on me, so I let go of Riguru''s right arm, reached out in front of me and hit the jackpot; I got my hand onto the spider''s neck, meaning she would not be able to bite me with her venom.

    "Now, be a good girl. Don''t make me squeeze hard," Was all I needed to say to stop her from trying to fight back; I supported my words by applying some pressure on her neck to make it more believable. She was most likely physically stronger, but I had gotten into a very advantageous position and would, through the feeling in my arm, feel whenever she would try to do something. "Free the firefly, I don''t want to pull on her arm and tear it off again." It had been the reason why I had not pulled her up with me.

    "And now, Riguru-chan, please illuminate this place." I tried not to sound too commanding, all the while suppressing the overwhelming pain assaulting the left half of my head. I had kept my left eye open for too long and for too often in one day, so the repercussions were stacking. The pain would subside soon enough, but it could incapacitate me if I was not careful. And with a man-eating spider Y?kai around I did not want to let that happen.

    Unexpectedly, this time, the firefly Y?kai complied wordlessly and a glow appeared in the dark. However, the light did not appear on Riguru''s backside as I had expected, but rather from her abdomen, which she exposed by lifting up her shirt. The gesture held a feeling of sensuality, but this was not the time for that. I turned my attention to the one whose throat I was still holding. The spider woman''s expression was that of suppressed anger and indignity, but there was no hint of helplessness.

    "Well, Riguru-chan, you don''t look too bad doing that, really. Now, you, spider," I stated, not looking away from the reddish-brown eyes of the Y?kai in question.

    "My name is Kurodani Yamame, human," The spider woman introduced herself, trying to sound condescending, as if talking to a lesser being.

    "And my name is Kagami Ky?ma, spider," I replied, following her example. It earned me a glare, which I returned with a smile. "Now that we got the introductions out of the way, I''d like to propose a ceasefire."

    "You don''t understand your position, human. The only reason I''m complying with you is because I don''t want my neck snapped. But unlike you, I won''t die from it. It will only be a pain to heal back up. I''m comparing the nutrition value lost from doing so and from eating you two, and it comes out at net zero," Yamame stated, her eyes staring at mine coldly. She bared her teeth and hissed. "So to me, it¡¯s just a matter of how much I stand to gain in the end."

    The spider woman''s voice was dangerously low, and I understood that it was not an empty threat. I knew that Y?kai were very resilient, and seeing Riguru, I understood that those with an arthropod base could completely regenerate lost limbs. I would not be surprised if they could heal a broken spine, considering the fact that arthropods had no spines in the first place. If creating a humanoid body required only imagination and spiritual strength on the Y?kai''s part, as long as the mind remained, anything could be grown back.

    "This leaves us in a tight spot then¡­" I said, stalling for time while trying to find a way out. I understood that if I snapped Yamame''s neck here, I would have lost my only leverage against her, upon which she would attack me relentlessly with all her strength. If we could not strike a trade or ceasefire, the moment I let go of her, she would come down on me just the same. "What should we do in this kind of situation? What do you think, Riguru-chan?"

    "Don''t ask me, it takes my all to make it shine for so long. She''s my natural enemy, I don''t know any form of countermeasure against her," The firefly Y?kai squeezed out from between her lips. Her face showed a mixture of fear, stress and mounting fatigue.

    "You seem to be able to control insects, can''t you control her?"

    "Spiders are no insects."

    "I know, but is your power really that clearly defined?" I wondered. It was strange to think that in Gens?ky? there were clear rules to supernatural powers, as if somebody had written them down on paper. In Riguru''s case, being able to control only ''insects'' seemed to be a strange limitation, considering the fact that spiders being put into a separate definition happened not too long ago and many still refer to them as insects. However, the only reason why any form of classification even existed was because humans made those definitions. Then again, Y?kai were supposedly a byproduct of humanity, as one scholar of folklore once claimed, so they followed human rules.

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "I can''t," Riguru said definitely. "And I won''t be able to hold the light any longer. It''s starting to burn me up from the inside."

    If the light went out now, who knew what could happen. With six extra limbs to steady herself on, Yamame could spin a web around us in the darkness without me noticing. I had to act now.

    "How about we all forget about this and go our separate ways, Yamame-san?" I began, but was shot down with a deadly smile. "Oh, you seem quite desperate, human. Let me see you squirm some more before the light fades, along with your hope for survival." She was convinced that she had the upper hand, and I was aware that it was true.

    Riguru was free and standing on a non-sticky web, while there were a few strands still attached to my back. When it came down to it, they might delay me for a moment, which could make the difference between life and death. Time was running out and I had to decide what to do; it was the first time that not only my own life depended on my choice, unlike all the previous times, in which I could only be protected. It was a strange feeling, but for the first time, I was being depended on, as I could see from the firefly''s eyes. She was looking in my direction nervously, signaling me that she had to stop the glowing in her belly anytime now.

    It was all or nothing.

    In a split second decision, just as the light from the firefly''s stomach flickered, I pulled myself up with all my strength and used my left hand to push the spider Y?kai into her own web, noticing in the process that she seemed to be lighter than her appearance suggested. Riguru''s bioluminescence fully disappeared, leaving only an afterimage of her position. I let go of the non-sticky thread and used my momentum to lunge at her, while in the same motion, tearing apart the last webs sticking onto my back. I put my arms around the petite firefly Y?kai and dragged her down, passing through the opening Yamame had created by freeing the former.

    Just as I thought we had escaped, I felt sharp claws dig into my leg, ripping open my skin and piercing deep into my flesh. I suppressed a scream at the pain, hoping that there was no venom in the spider¡¯s claws. However, at the speed I went momentum and weight caused her claws to rip open the skin of my leg, and freed me from her final attempt at keeping us in her grasp.

    We were falling again, with the enraged Yamame screaming curses after us. The voice soon disappeared into the distance like an echo in the endless pit that this cave was. Our situation had improved immensely, but I was still falling, and Riguru could not support my weight, no matter how much I clung to her. I let go and decided that I had to use my left eye again; falling in the dark could only go well for so long. Opening the all-seeing eye, the flow of souls remained unabated, and once again, the sinkhole was brightly illuminated.

    Seeing that Riguru''s expression was different from her previous mischievously deadpan one, looking almost frantic to find a way to save me, I smiled.

    "You''re a good girl, Riguru-chan," I said, eliciting a confused look from the girl in question. With that, I took the first opportunity that presented itself to try the same as I had before, kicking off a wall and jumping to and fro between the opposite sides of the hole. I ignored the deep gashes on my leg and used pure willpower to continue relying on it, slowing down steadily and finally coming to a controlled descent. This time, no matter how painful it was, I kept my left eye open, and soon I saw that the hole was bending slightly.

    At one point, the sinkhole turned into a tunnel that proceeded nearly horizontally, and I finally came to a stop. I closed my eyes and fell onto my behind out of exhaustion and pain in my wounded leg. Any normal human would have broken his bones from kicking off a wall at the speed I had been going at. Considering the deep cut in my calf, the pain should have been distracting enough to make me lose my concentration and slip up. I assumed that the training Suika had subjected me to, as well as the Sake she had given me - both for drinking and healing purposes - had somehow not only strengthened my body but also my mind. The fatigue still got to me after such an eventful day, and I lay down, needing to rest for a while.

    "Thanks, Ky?ma," Riguru broke the silence in the darkness, her voice sounding much more amiable than it had before. She also called me by my name for the first time since we started talking to each other. "You saved me, even though I attacked you earlier. We Y?kai usually don''t help each other, unless there is something to gain from it. But you endangered your own escape trying to save me."

    Suddenly I felt Riguru''s claws touching my wounded calf ever so gently. She seemed to be able to see in the dark, but I was unable to tell what her expression was concerning the wound I received from Yamame due to taking the time to save her instead of simply leaving her behind. If I had jumped down without her, I would have gotten out unscathed, while leaving her as a decoy. Mamiz? must have had the exact same options at that fateful moment atop the stairs of the Hakurei Shrine, and she had chosen to protect me at the cost of her own life. Of course, I had rescued Riguru thinking that we would both be able to escape without a problem, not even considering that it could put my own life at risk. I was simply overconfident with my newfound superhuman powers, and it showed that I lacked insight into the difference of strength between me and others.

    "There might be some venom in her claws," The insect girl said, before embracing my wounded leg with her hand. I felt a warm breath on it, before her lips touched the cut and began to suck out the blood from it. I was surprised that she would go so far, but I remembered that Riguru was the type of Y?kai to eat humans. I heard a gulping sound, so I knew she was actually drinking my blood. As long as she did not start to nibble on me or bite me, I was fine with that, for now.

    "I think that should do it..." With a final lick across the entire length of the wound, she whispered with a heated undertone, as if she had entered a shark-like blood frenzy and had to bring herself back from it by force of will. "That was deli- I mean, there was no venom in it, I think." In the darkness, there was the ripping sound of cloth, and soon my leg was fully bandaged.

    "Thank you, Riguru-chan. Now, just let me rest for a little..." With these words, I relaxed my whole body, feeling like it was sinking into the ground.

    Waking up with a splitting headache, the first thing I noticed was that I was unable to open my left eye even when I tried to. Secondly, I noticed that my surroundings were no longer completely dark, but in fact slightly illuminated by a green glow that seemed to come off the walls. The third thing was that when I had laid down to sleep, the ground under my head had been solid rock, but now there seemed to be a pillow. Looking up, I saw a pair of green compound irises staring down at me.

    "You finally came to, Ky?ma," Suika''s voice echoed throughout the tunnel. She sounded as mischievous as ever.

    I found myself in the legendary lap pillow, and one by Riguru no less. Suika sat leaning against the tunnel wall, Sake and some of the dried, unidentified meat she had been feeding me the past few months, in her hands. She had been making merry while I was busy falling to my death in the darkness.

    "You were supposed to learn how to fly," She stated, clearly serious in her reprimanding tone. I knew that she wanted to teach me a lesson, and I was used to her reckless ways - which was exactly why I quickly got up and snapped back at her, like every time after she would object me to reckless dangers.

    "Do you usually push people down an endless hole to teach them flying?! There was even a man-eating spider Y?kai along the way!"

    "If you had died, that would have just meant that you were not strong enough!" The Oni snapped back. It was the usual routine we both had gotten used to. At first I had been truly upset, not only at Suika''s teaching methods, but also at my own shortcomings, which had resulted in Mamiz?''s sacrifice. But over time I had learned to embrace those flaws like creases in a sheet of steel which had to be painstakingly ironed out. And I came to understand that it took a sledgehammer to do so. The little Oni¡¯s questionable methods and my own willpower together formed that sledgehammer, so I had no real right to complain. By now it was like a play we liked to enact, since it took off tension from living at the edge of death every day.

    "I know I know. Still, you could do something about the way you teach people."

    "You should simply improve more quickly. Then I wouldn''t have to teach you like this. Just know I don''t usually teach people, you''re special."

    "Why, thank you! I feel so privileged, oh great teacher," I remarked sarcastically and laid back down, my head still slightly spinning. The casual manner in which I placed my head back onto Riguru''s lap actually surprised myself, but she did not seem to mind. In the outside world, this kind of casual contact would be considered strange. A woman giving a man a lap pillow was usually a display of affection, and I had only ever seen it between lovers, who were usually called idiot couples. Discarding another aspect of my common sense formed by life in modern human society, I simply enjoyed a moment of rest.

    "What are you getting all comfortable for, we''re moving!" Suika said and got up from her position. She had put away the food and Sake, and was pointing at the green glow around us. "This is the doing of another Y?kai. What if it was another man-eating one? You shouldn''t let down your guard."

    "How long have I been out of it and how long has this glow been here?" I asked without getting up. Suika didn''t answer, knowing that the truth would dispel my worries and undermine her attempt at pressuring me into action. I had gathered from the way she talked about the glow that she knew whom it belonged to, meaning that the owner was not an immediate danger to me. "I like it in Riguru-chan''s lap, so just leave me be for now."

    "Che, have it your way then. I won''t help you when a Y?kai attacks," The Oni grumbled and sat back down.

    "Not like you would even if I listened to you." My words left her nothing to respond with, but she sneered at me anyway. Silence fell over the tunnel.

    I did not try to sleep but instead took a closer look at Riguru''s face, especially her eyes. Her overall features were fascinating and anyone would be able to tell that she was not a human even without the feelers sticking out of her green hair. However, just as I had noticed before, she was beautiful in her own right, possessing a different kind of aesthetic compared to a human''s. I slowly extended a hand towards her forehead and touched one of her antenna carefully, but she still flinched at the sensation. It twitched and drew away, but soon returned hesitantly and began to feel my hand with light tapping.

    All the while, Riguru was looking at me curiously with her large compound irises. After a while I withdrew my hand, but she grabbed it with her right hand. The arm I had accidentally ripped off earlier had grown back completely, and looked no different to her previous one. It appeared that she wanted to continue this wordless exchange, as her feeler played over my hand, tickling my palm. I extended my free hand and got hold of her left arm, examining the wring and the claws while intertwining our fingers.

    "Way to go, Ky?ma! I don''t know what happened in the darkness, but you two seem to be much closer to each other," Suika remarked with a bemused undertone. Both Riguru and I snapped out of the trance-like state we had found ourselves in and pulled our hands away. Way to go, Oni, ruining the glorious moment, I thought.

    There was no point in dawdling anymore, and my headache would not disappear without proper rest, which I could not get in an environment where everything was out to kill a human such as myself. I knew that even with Suika and Riguru around, I could not rely on them to protect me while I was asleep; the fact that nothing had happened was purely by chance. The spider Y?kai could have freed herself and decided to chase after us, or another Y?kai could have appeared from deeper down the hole, at any time.

    "Let''s go," I said as I got up from the firefly''s lap and pulled her up by her new right hand. Suika stood up as well, watching us with the grin of an old perverted man. "Give me some of your Sake against my headache. It''s the only thing that seems to have an effect on my current self." When the little Oni had offered me some from her gourd for the first time, I had made the mistake to decline and say that I could not get drunk at all. She had proven that an Oni''s brew had a much greater effect than Mamiz?''s human-made Sake, and knocked me out with it for an entire day.

    I took the offered gourd and directly took a few gulps from it. The burning liquid flowed down my sore throat, cleared up my mind and soon dispelled the headache plaguing me. I still did not dare to open my left eye, even just as a test, but at least I could feel the left half of my face again. Then, I felt my right half going numb from the effect of the strong alcohol. It felt like an Oni''s Sake contained more alcohol than liquid, as if defying the laws of physics. Of course, a human drinking just a small cup of pure alcohol would be dancing with death, making me wonder just what I had become to chug it as a sort of medicine.

    "Can you go on like this, Ky?ma? Wasn''t that a little too much?" Suika asked, clearly not concerned but rather amused.

    "Shut up, I can take this much," I responded and felt a little tipsy. It wouldn''t impede my ability to think or walk straight with just this much, however, so I walked ahead. The wound on my leg was pulsing with a numb pain with every step, but the alcohol was doing its part in making it bearable. I knew that drinking Suika''s Sake would greatly help with the healing process, so I was not overly concerned with it. In my already very unconcerned state, intoxication had an amplifying effect on it, so there was that, too.

    "If you say so."

    We proceeded deeper into the caverns, surrounded by the soft but eerie green light. Looking back, it felt as if an invisible darkness was following us, but I knew that it was in fact the glow that was always illuminating a certain area around us, as if to highlight us for whoever controlled it.

    It felt like we walked for a few hours, through an ever-winding tunnel that never branched off, when the cave started to widen steadily. If it had been the size of a subway tunnel before, it was now becoming wide enough to accommodate a river tanker. Then we walked out into an open area, and the walls and the ceiling disappeared in all directions.

    "Ah, it''s been a while since I came here," Suika commented, and looked happy. The cave was not pitch black, as wisps were floating around in the empty space, but the actual size of the cavern was unfathomable. I now understood when the little Oni, who trudged ahead and left Riguru and me behind looking around us in awe, referred to this as Former Hell; the endless appearing space seemed to be enough to house all the people in Gens?ky?, and the flow of spirits was proof that there had been an abundance of dead in this place. The fact that the temperature was rising ever so slightly was also an indicator, although I was not sure as to what exactly it portended.

    The green glow remained on us, like a searchlight in the dark, as we followed Suika''s lead; she seemed to know where to go. The splatter of a flowing body of water could be heard ahead of us, suggesting that there was an underground river. It sounded like the Kamo river in Ky?to during summer, so it could not be very deep. I did not feel like wading through a river that flowed through a place referred to as Former Hell, though. There was just the feeling of doing something irreversible involved in that image.

    Soon, we were climbing a small hill, beyond which dim lights illuminated the endless appearing cavern like a small city at night lit the sky above it. It could have been many things, so I did not make any hasty conclusions about the possibility of a village being in a place like this. We soon reached the top and found a river below us, with a wooden bridge brightly lit by paper lanterns in various colors leading across its shallow depths. The water looked very clear, and its surface reflected and refracted the colorful lanterns to create a beautiful play of lights. In the distance, beyond the bridge, there was an actual settlement, consisting of wooden buildings, looking like they had been taken from the human village and transported underground.

    The green glow that had been following us faded away into the stronger light of the lanterns, as we approached the bridge. However, it had not disappeared, but rather, moved ahead of us, turning into glowing balls of lights that resembled wisps, as they approached a figure leaning against the red lacquered railings. It was a girl with ash blond hair, fair skin, faintly glowing green eyes and exceptionally long pointy ears that were curved downwards. A dark red scarf hid her neck, and she wore an elaborate two-colored, short-sleeved dress, of which the upper part was brown, featuring a dark blue and white cross pattern on its hem. The lower part, held together by a white sash, was two-layered, with the shorter upper layer being dark blue, featuring a white hem, and the lower layer being completely black. Attached to the lower layer''s hem were red strings, hanging down in a cross pattern.

    She did not look at us, even though our steps made dull sounds on the wooden bridge, as she was biting nail on her thumb. A faint green aura surrounded her, into which the wisp-like balls dove and separated from repeatedly. Suika passed by her without paying her any attention, while Riguru looked at her for a moment, curiosity in her eyes, but not slowing down in her pace. Just as I was about to pass her, I heard her whisper something barely audible, most likely to herself rather than directed at anyone.

    "So jealous..."

 Chapter 15 - Heaven in Hell

    stopped to look at the blonde girl, who was staring down at her feet, but decided that her demeanor could mean trouble. Something I wanted to avoid in my currently weakened state. Turning away, I walked after Suika and Riguru, who were already going ahead with no regard as to whether I was following or not. Just as I wanted to call out to the fact that they were treating me so coldly, I felt a shiver running down my spine.

    Spinning around on the spot and readying myself for an attack, I was surprised to see that the blonde Y?kai had stood up straight from her leaning position and was facing me with a glare from her eerily glowing green eyes. They reminded me of someone, but for the love of it, I simply could not recall of whom.

    Our eyes met and I could see an inherent hatred, embedded deep within the green gates to her soul, as she looked upon the world and the people in it as if she had been wronged by each and every one. However, rather than feeling fear, the only thought that filled my otherwise temperate emotional state was pity. The instant I peered into her eyes, all feeling of danger and hostility was gone from her, and I only felt an aura of weakness emanating from the girl. Even though she was a Y?kai who could doubtlessly kill a human with little difficulty and remorse, to me she appeared like a kitten that had been left alone in the rain after a bright and warm future had been promised to it.

    She appeared to have felt the change in my perception of her, as her hateful green eyes immediately displayed shock. Averting them, she built up a guard around herself, but it was too late; I had already perceived the weakness behind her fa?ade of loathing. I noticed that I seemed to be wearing an expression of pity on my face, and quickly wiped it off; however, I, too, had already been seen through, so there was no point in hiding my thoughts any longer.

    ¡°Hey, Ky?ma, are you coming?¡± Suika shouted back from the other side of the bridge, compelling me to turn for a glance. Riguru was standing next to her, wearing her casual nondescript expression. I turned back around to face the ash blonde, who was now facing away to lean on the red lacquered railings. She was looking at the river, but I could see that her eyes were restlessly trying to avoid glancing in my direction. The glowing green aura around her had all but faded, as panic was governing her emotions.

    While only moments earlier I had thought of her as a potential threat - after all the Y?kai I had met outside the human village up until now, this was no wonder, especially considering the name of the place we were in ¨C glimpsing such a human emotion in a supernatural being I had at first considered possibly as dangerous as the one I had met on my way down here left me unable to do so any longer.

    ¡°Leave her, she¡¯s harmless. Let¡¯s go to the village already,¡± The little Oni urged me on.

    Finally turning away to cross the bridge, I glanced back one more time, to find that the ash blonde was looking at me. She spun her head around quickly when she noticed that I had caught her staring. Shrugging, I finally left her behind and caught up with my companions.

    "That''s just a Y?kai of jealousy. Nothing good will come out of becoming involved with her, Ky?ma," Suika commented when we started walking again. "She''s jealous of everything, even of those who are worse off than herself. You can''t have a proper conversation with somebody so unreasonable." I understood what the little Oni meant, and stopped myself from turning around to catch another look.

    The village was brightly lit with paper lanterns, but unlike the colorful ones on the bridge, these were all white or red. I would have felt transported back to the human village, if it was not for the fact that the villagers were not human. Almost all of them were humanoid, and while I saw the odd multi-legged creature, the majority would have appeared human to me if I had not been aware of what this place was. I saw various types of Y?kai and Oni, some more obviously such than others; from the second floor of a building that looked like an establishment for men to relieve stress in, a group of Rokurokubi extended their necks down to street level to have a conversation with some young men with their backs to us. I guessed that they were not human either. As if to affirm my suspicion, one turned to look around and revealed that he only had one eye, right above the bridge of the nose.

    "What exactly will the training here be like? I mean, you don''t expect me to fight the whole village, do you?" I asked curiously, dismissing the possibility that Suika was that much of a demon with an unhealthy amount of optimism. She was the type to teach a man swimming by emptying a bucket of blood over his head and throwing him into a pool of starved sharks.

    "Well, for starters, we''ll find a place to stay. Your training starts after that," Suika answered, without giving away anything regarding in what way I would train. "And you, cockroach, will accompany him." Riguru, who had been following us, was surprised to be addressed so suddenly, that she forgot her catchphrase rebuttal at being called a cockroach. "Say that he''s your man or something, when things get dangerous. Even in Former Hell, folks are reasonable enough to not touch each other''s prey." For a moment I thought Suika meant for Riguru to play house with me, but of course that was not the case.

    Sighing, I followed the little Oni through the streets, feeling the prickling of a multitude of eyes fixed on me. While I was in the company of these two girls, nobody would attack me, but they were surely aware of the fact that I was a human, no matter how much I had progressed in the past few months and how much I had exceeded what a human body was capable of.

    We soon came upon a building that seemed to radiate the word "inn". Like in video games, where people could instinctively find the inn in a village they visited for the first time, I could tell that this establishment was one, even without reading the big sign on it, which displayed a name typical for such a business. "Goraku-in" was the name that radiated as much irony as an establishment calling itself Heaven in a place called Former Hell could. I hoped that the owners were, with such a sense of humor, agreeable folks. Then I realized that the name could hold another meaning that I temporarily overlooked due to its initial ironic nature.

    "This is an inn, right? It''s not one of those establishments, is it?" I asked. Suika seemed to be wondering as well, although her concerns lay elsewhere.

    "Who would open an inn in a place that has no tourists?" She asked, and seemed to rack her brain regarding the possible owner of the place. Regardless, she decided to give the place a chance and opened the front door, yelling "Excuse me!" into its depths.

    "Yes, coming!" Was the response, the voice belonging to a female I assumed would be around the age that Byakuren''s appearance suggested. From that, I noticed that for some inexplicable reason or another, I basically had only encounters with females since I came to Gens?ky?, causing me to wonder what the male-female ratio in this world was. Before I could try and recall the number of males in the human village, the sound of geta echoed through the hallways and an orange-blonde woman, with a bright red horn on her forehead that sported a yellow star on its underside, as if carved into it, rounded the corner to approach us. She wore a turquoise kimono which exposed her shoulders and a good portion of her excessively large cleavage. "I''m sorry, dear customer, have you been waiting for long?" Her demeanor was that of a businesswoman starving for money to balance out the red numbers in the accounting book.

    "Gross!" Suika commented with a genuinely disgusted expression. The woman realized who it was that had come into her establishment, and changed her behavior accordingly.

    "Oh, if it isn''t the fun-sized public bike, Suika," She responded in kind. I had to question her knowledge about bikes, but I guessed that it was not important in the context of this undoubtedly not very peaceful reunion. They certainly knew each other, and their relationship did not seem overly friendly, considering the first words they threw at each other were not greetings, but rather insults.

    "At least I don''t sodomize my partners when -" Suika started, but I shut my brain off to stop hearing such words from a girl who looked too young to be throwing around phrases even adults would be reluctant to speak. This went on for a few moments, in which I was unable to hear anything, but when the woman with the single red horn turned her attention to me, to greet me in a much more amiable manner, my brain reactivated.

    "Hello sir, who might you be?" She said, apparently content with raining down insults onto Suika''s tiny stature. "If you''re with this shrimp, you must have learned the convenience of those handlebar horns of hers." She exposed her white teeth and especially the sharp canines in a radiant smile full of mixed vibes, especially the one of professionalism in an attempt to dilute the malice in her voice. Only when she looked down on me did I realize that she was taller than I, and even though she was standing one step above the street level, she would still be several centimeters taller when on even ground. From close up, I noticed that the wide Kimono did a great job in hiding her strong and exceptionally muscular frame. Only her exposed neck and shoulders indicated that her body was like that of an athlete¡¯s. In fact, her presence emanated raw power, even more than Suika''s usually nonchalant displays of strength did. The horn was already a sign, but I was convinced that this was an Oni.

    "I''m Kagami Ky?ma. Nice to make your acquaintance," I responded, ignoring the remark about Suika''s handlebars.

    "My, you''re a charming and respectful fellow. My name is Hoshiguma Y?gi, the owner of this inn," The woman introduced herself, sounding much friendlier all of a sudden.

    "You must have run into various sorts of troubles, especially in your head, if you would establish an inn in a place with as many travelers as there are humans," Suika commented, earning a false smile and a knuckle to the top of her head. The impact sent her face first into the floor with an impact as if a meteor had fallen from the sky. I would be lying if my mind was not trying to post-process away the cracks that had formed around where the little Oni''s face met the hard rock of the street that extended into the entrance area of the inn. This was the last piece of evidence regarding Y?gi''s nature; she was an Oni indeed, possessing superhuman strength that rivaled Suika''s.

    "You came here to stay in a room, right? I don''t really care about your taste in children, and I''m not one to judge your approach to relationships, especially the number thereof, but please don''t be so loud to bother our other guests," Y?gi said as she proceeded to show me the way inside. She was, of course, commenting on the fact that it appeared like I was here with the two girls for not so respectable reasons.

    "There are other guests?" Suika, despite still face-first on the floor where we left her, threw in another cynical remark. Since she made no attempt to clear up the misunderstanding, I decided that it was up to me to do so.

    "It may look like that, Hoshiguma-san-" I started, but was interrupted.

    "Just call me Y?gi," She interjected.

    "Uhm, Y?gi-san. It may look like that, but you''re wrong. Suika brought me here to train me," I said, instantly realizing that this wording could be taken the wrong way, too. From Y?gi''s silent smile, I gathered that she was aware of that fact as well, but I did not try to explain myself further; anything more would look like poor excuses. "Either way, give us separate rooms, please."

    "And you can pay for that much? This establishment is not cheap, you know," The horned lady stated, glancing at me from head to toe in a gauging manner. I still wore my torn and bloodied rags, looking like a beggar who had just been robbed of his last and only coin in a violent struggle. I had no money, but I hoped that Suika had planned ahead for this matter; I could not see the relationship between her and Y?gi being so good for the latter to be so kind as to allow us to stay for free.

    "We''ll take one room, the biggest one, and I''ll pay you with this," Suika suddenly appeared between the much taller Oni and I, holding out her purple Sake gourd. I thought it was a prized item she would never give away, but I had guessed her intentions wrongly. "I''ll fill up some bottles for you with this." Despite the stinginess of her offer, considering the treasure gourd was an everflowing chalice of blessed alcohol, Y?gi seemed content with it.

    I was alright with sharing a room with Suika, considering I had done so for the past few months, but I could not take the one-horned woman''s glances, which suggested stifled but certainly not hidden interest and amusement in the fact that I seemed to be the little Oni''s plaything. Heaving a long sigh, I followed the owner of the establishment, as she led our group of three into the depths of the inn, past the inner Zen garden featuring a dead white tree. I guessed that since this place was hell, it was hard to grow things, and harder to keep them alive.

    "This is it," Y?gi announced, when she opened the sliding door to a room into which my student home in the outside world could have fit three times with space to spare. The large windows granted a view of the shallow river, of which the bridge we crossed only earlier, granting a feeling as if I was in a home at the riverbank of the Kamo river in Ky?to. If it was not for the darkness on the other side, which was only broken by the occasional wisp lighting up in the distance, it would have been a great view.

    "Try not to go overboard, dear guests," The one-horned Oni commented, with a sarcastic undertone, most likely directed at Suika, and left us to ourselves. I sighed, the third time since entering the village, and put down the little luggage I had. It was surprising that I had still been holding onto it, considering all the things that happened on the way. More surprising was the fact that I actually held onto it so dearly, even though there were few things of significance in the bag. Most of my clothes had been ripped to shreds within the first few weeks of training under Suika, and the remaining wearable clothes were not looking much better than that. At least they were better than nothing, at this point, even though the weather was warm enough to go shirtless all day long.

    I realized that my nature had been influenced by Suika a lot, especially my way of talking and my reckless behavior around beings of unknown strength. While the little Oni was certainly powerful enough to do so, I was not, which is why I retained a modicum of modesty. Even so, being with her for the past few months resulted in a most welcome change to my mental state regarding unforeseen circumstances and exceptional adversity. I could deal with anything that came along, especially dangers that would normally exceed human understanding. I reconsidered the possibility that having only half a soul allowed for the void left behind by the other half could be filled by the nature of the people I associated with the most. Of course, this was still only a theory, with barely any basis other than how my mind was coping with previously shocking situations; which could be the result of the gathering of experience and the building of self-confidence under such an unpredictable but strong master.

    I looked at the Oni in question, who produced the little luggage she had from an unknown location, and placed it on the floor. She noticed my glance and gave me a toothy grin.

    "Are you interested, boy?" Suika''s question was regarding Y?gi''s indelicate remarks regarding our relationship. Of course, she retained a level of sarcasm herself, but I could understand that she would not mind if I said I was.

    "Come back in a few years, brat," I answered, earning me an outstretched tongue. I was always happy to engage in banter with her. Suika was in no way uncomfortable with her tiny size, and having lived for so long, she was surely experienced in regard of relationships. Therefore, I could make such remarks with only reaping some playful anger.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story."So, what do you want to do, Ky?ma?" The little Oni finally inquired. She was asking whether I needed time to rest or would be comfortable with beginning the training right away. It was most likely morning on the surface, but I had not been able to enjoy a proper sleep at night, and was sore all over.

    "Let me rest for a while. This journey hasn''t been good on my body," I decided after some contemplation. I expected that Suika would consider my choice a display of weakness, but in light of my recent achievements, she only shrugged and opened the door to call for Y?gi. Apparently she had something specific in mind, and when the Oni in question arrived, I learned what it was.

    "We indeed have a private hot spring in this establishment. Would you like to take a bath, dear customers?" The one-horned woman answered in a businesslike tone and proceeded to offer us to enter the hot spring. I was delighted at the prospect, considering my baths ever since leaving the Hieda estate had to be taken in the freezing cold creeks that originated on Y?kai Mountain, the only mountain in Gens?ky? that was snow-capped year-round. It appeared that Suika was looking forward to a hot bath as well, but Riguru was not particularly interested. I assumed that as an insect Y?kai, she did not perspire and only needed to groom herself, but the little Oni would have nothing of that and dragged her along.

    "This is a shared bath, so please do not let yourselves go in there." This line was delivered with a less than professional grin, but Suika simply ignored it, prompting me to do the same. Taking the lack of reaction with a shrug, Y?gi left us to our own devices to tend to other customers, if there were any. The Oni at my side shot me a glance that seemed to suggest that doubtlessly there were none.

    "Well then, I''ll let you two go in first. I''ll go after you''re done," I said and motioned to go back to our room to rest lying around. Grabbing my arm and holding it in a vise-like grip, Suika, now with one person on each hand, cut my escape short. In the recent months I had lost a lot of my reservations, but there were still some I retained from my relatively conservative Japanese upbringing. I knew that shame originates in teachings and social norms, but knowing that and actively acting against it were two different things.

    In the end, my protests went unheard, and I soon found myself sitting in the pool of hot water, awaiting the two girls to join me. Apparently Riguru was trying her best to avoid taking a dip, so Suika told me to go ahead, as she would deal with the pesky bug. Soon after, I heard the wooden sliding door opening, resulting in my head reflexively turning around to the noise. The little Oni, in her entire naked glory, with a towel hanging over her shoulder, even though it would have seen better application wrapped around her body, and Riguru in the exact same fashion, entered. There was little steam since the air was quite warm itself, so everything was laid bare before me. Unexpectedly, I felt as much shame as they seemed to do, as they did not see any need to hide themselves when they noticed my staring.

    The reason I was looking so closely was that, aside from Suika''s expectedly disappointing body, Riguru''s had some interesting areas. For one, her small but supple chest was half-covered by the same black chitin-like skin as her hands and feet. The same applied to her hips, but a patch of exceptionally white, almost translucent skin, showing bulbous inner organs, extended from around her belly-button down to her crotch. I assumed those were the organs that produced her firefly glow. Then I noticed that she was still wearing her black cape, only to realize, when she came closer, that it appeared to be directly attached to her shoulder blades. She looked quite bizarre, but fascinatingly so, that I could not tear my eyes from her, until Suika, once again broke the magical moment.

    "You seem to be falling for her more and more, Ky?ma. I''d have said that your eyes are undressing her, but there is nothing to undress, so what else can that look mean?" She said with noticeable sadistic pleasure. Riguru, who had to be force into the water, instantly gained an absentminded look on her face, as the warmth seemed to soak in. However, she made sure that the upper half of her body stayed above the water, as if fearing she might be unable to breathe through her skin properly. Whether that was an unfounded fear, a remnant of her insect-base, or a true concern would remain unexplored, as I began to relax when I realized that there was no tension in the atmosphere. If this had been with girls in the outside world, I would have surely felt differently, but with these two supernatural beings, reservation was unnecessary.

    I lowered myself deeper into the water, and felt the warmth entering my body and washing away the fatigue that had been accumulating for a long time now. Glancing over to Suika, I noticed that she had produced her purple gourd from somewhere, and was merrily enjoying Sake in the bath. If she had been human, I would have shown concern for her health, but knowing her nature, there was no need for me to fear for her safety. Riguru, on the other hand, appeared to be getting dizzy already, as the absentminded look had been replaced by one of drowsiness. She had not had any Sake, so I assumed that the heat was getting to her. The rapidly developing red flush of her skin was another major indicator, reminding me of a lobster getting boiled in hot water to a beautiful crimson. Apparently she knew about her condition and lifted herself out of the spring to sit at the side of the pool, with only her feet dipping into the water, cooling her body in the light breeze that played through the underground at all times.

    "Hey, Ky?ma! You have me already, so where the hell are you looking?" A voice from nowhere suddenly proclaimed, before I felt arms around my neck and a pair of breasts on my back. Jerking up in surprise, I stood up from the water and lifted the assailant along with me, who, in response, held firmly onto my neck to not fall off my back. This motion not only gloriously cut off my air and blood supply, but also sent me toppling backwards. I noticed the arms disappearing the moment I hit the shallow water and my head met the rocks underneath with an audible sound that came out unexpectedly hollow. Of course, instead of wondering about whether half my brain had gone with half of my soul, I struggled to get out of the water again, only to feel something pressing down on my stomach. Luckily, the water was shallow enough for me to stretch my neck to get at least my head above the surface. Spitting out the water I had very nearly swallowed into my lungs, I took deep, almost painful breaths.

    The sudden assailant was right above me, looking down at me with eerily empty and wide open glowing green eyes. Koishi, naked except for her hat, sat on my stomach and smiled a smile that was as empty as her gaze. I pushed myself up, trying to throw her off, at which she responded by pushing me back down. Apparently she wanted me to stay this way, as she opened her mouth to talk.

    "You only need to look at me. I''m there to still all your lust," She said. I responded with a blank expression in a fashion that radiated how little I wanted to go along with her game. It was one of Koishi''s random trips into her own world, so I did not want to get dragged into it by responding with a proper reaction. Even then, there was, once again, a nagging feeling in the back of my head, which was not the result of having banged it against the rocks underwater. I felt like there was something very important that I had forgotten, but the girl''s next action presented an opening for me to take action, which in turn caused me to abandon my fruitless train of thoughts.

    She stood up and looked out into nowhere, upon which I took the opportunity to sit back up properly. The act of having the blood supply to the brain getting cut temporarily, in combination with the heat, had caused the blood to rush back into my head. My heart was pumping quickly to respond to the demand of oxygen from the increased activity. When I calmed down slightly, I looked up at Koishi, who was standing still like a statue, or like a robot whose battery had run out. Without warning, she moved again and plopped down into my lap, into a very dangerous position, with no care in the world. Suika looked over at me with a knowing grin, while Riguru was too dizzy to see beyond her own nose.

    "Hey, you should go meet my sister. She''s always so lonely, she would want some company," She suddenly said, causing me to forget the precarious situation I found myself in. This was the first time I heard Koishi mention her sister; Mamiz? had given me a little insight into their past during the dinner at the temple, so I at least knew she had one. Koishi leaned back, humming a melody apparently having concluded the discussion before it began, or simply forgotten that she had started one, but I was left thinking. I had asked Suika for a break, so I assumed that we would not be training anymore for the day. Maybe I could take the opportunity to go and meet Koishi''s sister to learn more about this interesting girl who was sitting on my lap and taking the opportunity to guide my hands around to her front-

    "Koishi-chan, you should be more aware of yourself," I stated and lifted her off my lap, dropping her down next to me. "I''m a man, too, you know."

    "And I''m a Y?kai, what about it?" She stated with a straight but empty smile. I had gotten used to dealing with her random trainwrecks of thoughts, so I was not easily disturbed by them. Over the past few months, she had frequently visited the makeshift training camp Suika and I had erected, and brought chaos with her every time. During that time I learned that there was no method to her madness and she really acted on instinct alone.

    "Yes, you''re a Y?kai, but you''re also a girl. You should take more care of yourself, You''re lucky it¡¯s me," I said, heaving a sigh and beginning to relax again. Koishi leaned against me and responded with her usual nonsense. "Like I said, I will take all your pent up carnal desires!" Bringing a hand up, I let my knuckles crash onto her head audibly, causing her to cringe and hold her hat. "You''re too young for talk like that. Come back in a few years."

    "You''re so mean, Ky?ma! But that''s why I like you," Koishi said when she recovered. I didn''t remember doing anything to warrant her affection. "I know what you''re thinking, but I''ve been watching you ever since you stripped down for that horny girl over there." She pointed at Suika as if referring to a rock on the roadside. The horny person in question looked over with a frown. "Every single day, no matter where you went, I was there, watching you." Her empty eyes, as they stared up into mine, coupled with her wide, emotionless grin, gave me the impression I was talking with someone who no longer had any sanity to lose. But I knew this was Koishi, and that when she said these words, she was simply reporting what she had been doing without any emotions or ulterior motives attached.

    "I''m sure it was boring, watching me go through my training routines, getting beaten up by Suika and running away from Y?kai in the forest, every single day," I said, realizing the contradiction in those words. Every day had been so much fun, despite the dangers to my life, so much that the time had passed by faster than I would have imagined possible. Koishi looked at me and smiled, for the first time causing me to feel like it was something coming from her completely sealed off heart.

    As if to counteract that display of emotion, she turned away from me and looked at nothing in particular, before sinking deeper into the water. I could only watch, dumbfounded by the randomness in her behavior, as she disappeared, leaving only the hat floating on the surface. It suddenly began to move, making a beeline towards Suika, who watched the disembodied hat approaching with a raised eyebrow. As it reached her, instead of Koishi reappearing, the Oni just vanished into the water without causing much of a ripple. The hat moved away and Suika jumped out of the hot water, inhaling air as if she had been close to drowning. Apparently the sudden pull had caused her to exhale all the air in her lungs before even going under. Staring in the direction of Koishi''s hat while gasping, her expression was that of a person ready to kill out of annoyance. The black headwear approached Riguru, who was still out of it. I foresaw an unfortunate accident and quickly moved to stop the submarine-girl''s random rampage. Before the hat reached Riguru''s feet, I thrust my hands somewhere underneath it, got hold of Koishi''s armpits and lifted her out of the water as she struggled like a freshly caught trout. When she noticed who it was, she stopped her pointless endeavor, so I let her down again.

    "Koishi-chan, that''s dangerous. I know Riguru-chan is a Y?kai, but if you had pulled her down there she would have hit her head against the edge of the pool," I reprimanded the green-eyed girl. Her expression did not betray any form of remorse, much like rebuking a cat which had made a mess out of the house by setting off unintentional Rube Goldberg machines everywhere. In fact, she didn''t even seem to listen, as she was staring at my exposed lower body intently; I had lost my towel when I had quickly moved to save Riguru from a possible concussion or worse, so there I was, standing in front of a girl, dressed in my birthday suit.

    "Hmm," Was the only response to the unintended flashing, as Koishi looked up at me with her usual indiscernible, emotionless smile. Without another word, she scurried away, jumped out of the pool and left through the door, into the inn, without closing it behind her. Left standing in the water, I in turn stared at her exposed backside until it disappeared, mulling over what her response was supposed to mean, and whether I should just disregard it or feel hurt for some reason or another. As I turned to look at Suika, who was staring in my direction with a lecherous grin, I realized the state I was in and sat down into the water. Even if there was no need to be ashamed, I felt the danger that this story would come to an untimely end if I let this go on.

    Sighing, I felt even more exhausted than I had been before the bath.

    As if in a mocking display of a tradition often observed in young women of the outside world, who wished for growth in certain areas of their bodies, Suika and Riguru both downed a small bottle of something I, by cultural references, assumed must have been milk. Upon closer inspection of the containers, the Oni had gotten herself a bottle of Sake, and Riguru was drinking honeydew. The former was not something I had to consciously comment on, but I was wondering where the latter got her unusual drink from. I had assumed that the firefly Y?kai was a carnivore, considering she had tried to eat me on our first encounter, and had readily drunk my blood in the tunnel, but I guessed that, just like with so-called carnivores in the animal kingdom, their diet did not only consist of meat either.

    I had no need or desire for either of the two drinks, and gratefully declined when they both produced a second bottle to present them to me. Suika shrugged, but Riguru, for some reason, showed a dejected expression, causing me to extend a hand and pat her head. "Maybe later." This was all it took to brighten her mood visibly.

    Unlike a ry?kan, a mountain guesthouse with its own hot springs, this was an inn inside a village, so the bustle on the streets was audible. And unlike those of the outside world, this one obviously lacked the obligatory table tennis room with vending machines and arcade games. Therefore, the only entertainment after a hot bath was whatever we managed to get by ourselves.

    "Don''t you want to go visit Koishi''s sister?" Suika suddenly mentioned.

    "Who is..." Before I could finish the question, something seemed to click in my mind. I had forgotten about Koishi and the conversation with her completely, but once I remembered, it felt like it had never slipped my mind in the first place. Therefore, like a machine automatically correcting itself, I disregarded the question I had begun to ask, and simply continued the conversation like normal. "I guess I could do that today. Yeah. Do you know where she lives?"

    "Komeiji Satori, her name suggesting exactly what she is, is the owner of Chireiden, the Palace of the Earth Spirits. It''s on the other end of the village, a little distance away," Suika began to explain. "She lives with a lot of pet animals, but the Y?kai, Oni and even the vengeful spirits of the underground stay away from her. If you want to go, I won''t be going with you. I can''t deal with her kind. What will you do?" She would be waiting here and enjoy herself with fighting Y?gi, most likely verbally as well as physically.

    <hr />

    I have moved to China and things are a little difficult here. I''ll try to get updates out whenever I can, but I won''t be able to post one every day, I fear.

 Chapter 16 - Satori Sisters

    ''ll go visit Komeiji Satori right away," I stated, even though I held a slight apprehension against walking through a village full of Y?kai all on my own, especially with such an exhausting journey behind me. If one attacked me, I would still be able to run away, depending on how fast it was. However, if it was the whole village, there would be nowhere for me to escape to in this underground cavern. Suika had mentioned that she would have Riguru accompany me whenever I went outside, so I looked in the latter''s direction, only to see something like denial in her otherwise deadpan expression. It seemed that even during the little time she has spent with us she had picked up on Suika and my habitual sarcasm and cynicism towards each other.

    "You''ll accompany me, right?" I asked cautiously, only to receive an answer from Riguru''s eyes, staring at me like I was out of my mind. "Ok, alright, I get it." Even though Suika could have been able to force her, she only grinned as if she understood the firefly''s motivation. I would not make her do something she seemed to be so adamant about not doing, so I decided to leave and find Chireiden on my own. "I''ll be back later." Since this was the underground, I could not even fathom what time it was, especially with my internal clock being disrupted from passing out in the tunnel earlier.

    However, there was still one problem, for which I knew no solution to at the moment. The only clothes I had left were rags, and my shoes were missing the major parts of their soles, so my appearance was that of a vagabond who had been living outside of society for a long time, putting it nicely. In a sense, that was actually the plain truth, but the biggest problem lay in the fact that I had not made any money during my stay in the human village, even though Yukari had advised me to use my stories from the outside world to make a living. Suika had provided most of the food during our training together, and she would have been able to make some clothes from me with her powers, but I did not feel like asking her for help in that regard.

    The only choice was for me to go and find a shop that would be willing to trade clothes for some of the things I had brought from the outside world that were not either broken or useless by now, such as the flashlight that had run out of batteries a while ago. After all, I was going to meet a person respectable enough to own a mansion, and feared by everyone else in the underground.

    Wearing the clothes that were the least ragged, I set out onto the streets in my disintegrating shoes, even though at this point there was practically no difference between wearing shoes and going barefoot. With my bag over a shoulder, my goal was to find a vendor or a shop that would be so kind to trade with a miserable human such as I. Instantly noticing the stares from the various supernatural inhabitants of the village, which had completely changed from when I was with Suika and Riguru, I felt several presences beginning to follow me right from the moment I set out from the inn.

    Even then, my stride was confident, as I wandered the village to finally locate what I assumed to be a tailor two streets further. Entering, half motivated by the wish to avoid the dagger-like stares in my back, I called out for the owner. It did not take long until the clacking of geta announced the storekeeper coming out of the back of the building. It was a woman in what I would have guessed to be her late twenties, wearing a beautiful dark but colorful kimono. Her incredibly long hair were in numerous braids, each featuring differently colored hair. They almost reached the floor, and I was sure that if she opened the braids, her hair would drag behind her like an extremely long dress. The multiple colors appeared to be natural; there was no hint of a different color growing out at the roots. She had the expression of an artisan, rather than that of a trader, possessing an inherent serenity in her presence.

    "Uhm, I''d like to buy some clothes," I said tentatively, half expecting her to shoo me away after laying her eyes on my miserable state of clothing.

    "Please follow me into the next room. I''ll take your measurements," Her response came with a delay of a few seconds, as she was gauging me with her attentive eyes, which appeared to be shining in the rainbow colors as well. I did as requested and left my sorry excuses for footwear behind on the doorstep, adjusting the bag on my shoulder as I entered.

    As expected, the interior was filled with clothes in the making, and there was even a weaving loom in the back. The woman told me to stand in front of a silver mirror and take off my top, as she took out a string to use as a measuring band. With the movements of a master of the craft, she quickly took my size and turned around to a shelf full of differently colored pieces of cloth.

    "Which color would you like?" She asked, as her hand hovered above the section between blue and green. I was unsure of what would fit me, but I certainly wanted to lose the monochrome color scheme, since it made me appear like I was forcing a character. "What would you recommend, madam?"

    Looking me over again, she retracted her hand and glanced over the shelf, apparently realizing that the color she wanted was out of stock. She turned to look at the weaving loom to find that the pile of completed cloths next to it also did not have what she was looking for. With a swift movement of her hand, she opened one of her braids, a straw-blond one. As the silky hair started to straighten and fan out, she caught it before it fell to the floor, and took up a silver brush from on top of the table. Watching curiously, I wondered what she was up to, but was astonished to find that with a single stroke of the brush, the hair came out in strands. The process was repeated several times, the strands of hairs falling into a basket at the woman''s feet. At this point, an absurd idea popped into my head; this woman was using her own hair as material for the clothes she created. Of course, since this was a Y?kai village, a woman with the ability to grow out hair endlessly was not an incredible stretch of imagination.

    "Please sit here and wait for a bit. I will prepare the color best suited for you," She explained, and braided her hair again once she felt like she had gathered enough to begin her work. Only now did I notice that the tips of her hair seemed to have barbed ends, in a silvery shine that suggested some kind of metal. In fact, she carefully clipped off the tips of the hair in the basket, so that the barbs would not be woven into the cloth. The weaponized hair, combined with the image of a beautiful woman in a Kimono, reminded me of the Y?kai known as the Harionago, literally ''the barbed woman''. Supposedly a frightening supernatural being that would slash at young men with her hair, I was no longer astonished to find that once again Gens?ky? had a different take on a Y?kai''s personality. Not only was she not hysterical, as described in folklore, but she was exceedingly calm, possessing a grace only a master artisan could develop.

    Watching her at work calmed me from the tension I had been exposed to on my way through the village, and I relaxed under the monotonous motion of the loom, as she wove her hair into strings and then into pieces of cloth. I could not tell how much time had passed, but she was working quickly and soon had a piece of cloth big enough to turn into several pieces of clothes.

    "What would you like it to be? A separate set of Kimono and Hakama, a single Kimono?" She asked, holding the cloth up for me to behold its color in the light. I would prefer something in which I could move around easily, since I would most likely be wearing it in violent situations. In fact, I felt quite comfortable with the simple T-shirts and short pants I had been wearing before they turned into scraps, so I was inclined to request something similar. However, I was unsure of whether she knew what a T-shirt was or not.

    It took some time of explaining, but she soon seemed to have understood my request and began cutting and sewing at an incredible speed, despite not using any machinery. While I had been lulled by her previously monotonous movements, the quick and precise motions of her slender hands now inspired awe. She took some cloth of other colors from the shelf and worked certain parts into my clothes-to-be, turning them into much more than I had requested.

    Soon, she was done, and presented me with the result, a very short Yukata that reached just down to my thighs, and a short Hakama with the pleats extending all around the legs. The upper part was held together by a reddish brown sash, much like a Kimono usually was. However, normally a Hakama was made to be worn over the Kimono, or in this case, the Yukata. This one had a fastener, made of a dark brown cloth that resembled a belt, which weaved inside the Hakama, as well as outside of it. With the Yukata and its two deep open partitions at the hip-areas, some of the fastener was visible. The Hakama barely reached down over my knees, much like three quarter pants, but left ample room for moving around, as if its creator had known that I would use it for that purpose. The fabric on my skin felt really smooth, but the outside was slightly rougher, as if it was made to withstand different kinds of weather conditions. Additionally, she presented me with a pair of straw sandals.

    "They belonged to my late brother," She remarked, a tranquil smile on her face as if she was recalling fond memories of her past with him.

    "I can''t possibly... I don''t even know how to reimburse you," I responded hastily as she presented me with the well-crafted footwear. I had completely forgotten to tell her before she started working, as I had been drawn in by her artful and charismatic presence. However, unexpectedly she was neither getting angry, nor falling back into the nature of a Y?kai to claim what she wanted by force.

    "They are a gift. To me, it is the greatest pleasure to see someone wear my work," Was all she said, and I was left speechless by her radiant smile. She was truly glowing, a ray of hope in a dark world, her presence like that of a soothing Bodhisattva. Bowing down low, I thanked her for everything, and returned her expression with a heartfelt smile.

    "That smile is payment enough. Please come again," She stated, a peaceful expression on her face. I could not thank her enough, so much that she had to usher me out with bashful laughter. I would remember to visit her again with presents, whenever I would become able to afford to do so.

    Once out on the streets, the stares were back, and even though I was wearing something that blended in with my surroundings better than previously, my nature had not miraculously changed. However, the hostility seemed to have increased, as I felt a pair of especially nasty eyes on me. No matter how much I tried to find their owner, it would just not reveal itself, so I had to live with the constant feeling of danger for now.

    My destination was the outskirts of the village, and as this underground settlement was much smaller than the human village, it would not take me that long to reach it. I guessed that the population was around two hundred, excluding wandering spirits and wisps. It was sizable enough, considering the fact that Y?kai were banding together and forming a society, much like humans. I had heard of the Tengu and Kappa cities on Y?kai Mountain, but since I did not visit them, there I could not make a valid comparison.

    "Man, I''m tempted to call out whoever is watching me and just fight," I murmured, growing tired of the shivers running down my spine occasionally, from what I presumed to be moments when I let down my guard temporarily, at which the owner of the eyes'' killing intent leaked out. I was not in a favorable position to go around picking fights though, as whoever might come along the street would more likely stand on my opponent''s side rather than on mine. Nonetheless, the pressure was tiring and even annoying; thinking like that lulled me in a dangerously false sense of confidence, as only the strong could be bold enough to feel annoyance at the prickling stares of deadly hostility.

    Soon I reached the outskirts of the village, or rather, the end of the settlement, as the road just disappeared into the dirt. Before me, a short distance away, what I assumed to be Chireiden stood somberly, a mansion similar in size to the Hieda estate, judging by its outwards appearance. However, unlike the houses in the village, which were clearly Japanese-style, this particular building had a design I had never seen before. It mixed the Japanese tiled roof with the reddish sandstone, as well as heavy wooden doors that reminded of government buildings and churches from the middle ages, found in many countries in Europe. In fact, the design reminded me of the picture of a church from Eastern Europe I had once seen, so I was wondering just who had constructed it. Once I realized that it could be a mixture of buildings from various religions, the roof began to resemble the Buddhist temple in the human village.

    The painfully obvious death-stare on my back had disappeared once I had approached Chireiden, most likely because whoever wanted me dead did not dare to act on that wish within range of Komeiji Satori''s influence. Thus, I could walk up to the front door unbothered, and knock at it using the metal doorknocker, producing a heavy metallic noise that echoed audibly into the depths of the mansion. There was no response, and I waited for a while before knocking again, once again a fruitless effort.

    "I''m sorry to intrude," I announced myself as I pushed open the heavy wooden door to peek inside. I was greeted by a beautiful red carpet that covered the entire floor, and a foyer brightly lit by two grand chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The ceiling was much higher than the outside roof suggested, but otherwise it gave me the feeling of a Western building, even though I had never been inside an authentic one myself. However, the foyer did not catch my eye as much as the hallway beyond it did; as if the mansion was made of building blocks and a giant had had his fun with creating absurd combinations, at one point the building changed completely. Where the foyer and the hallway met, the red carpet gave way to giant black and white tiles, which were interrupted in regular intervals of two tiles, by two-times-two tiles wide floor windows made of stained glass. The eerie light coming from below created a beautiful play of lights, but was unable to illuminate the ceiling, which was covered by a deep darkness. While the foyer was bright, the hallway''s unfathomable depth was accentuated by the fact that the light of the floor windows were barely visible even in the distance, asserting their presence throughout what I assumed would be the entirety of the hallway.

    "Anyone here?" I inquired, a little louder than my initial announcement, and was not astonished to hear only my echo, reverberating into the depths of the mansion. Only silence greeted me, once the echo disappeared; an ominous feeling nestled itself into my mind, as I looked around to see statues and well-maintained pot flowers, as well as leather sofa seats and coffee tables that suggested frequent visitors. I guessed there was no way around searching for the inhabitants of this eerie mansion; I had announced my presence, so they had no reason to take me as an intruder.

    Walking in the only open direction, the pillared hallway with the stained glass floor windows, I made sure not to step on them while I looked around to see if there was anyone hiding in the shadows, which were abundant due to the architecture. I realized that the walls and pillars were made of marble, belying the initial outwards appearance of sandstone. It really appeared as if the foyer and this hallway had been constructed at different times, and the architect had not cared about the clashing colors and styles.

    Suddenly I heard the flapping of wings somewhere above me, but upon looking up, I could not make out its origin in the darkness. For one, I was unsure of whether there was even a ceiling at all, since the walls and pillars seemed to extend upwards endlessly, the same way the hallway looked like it was only repeating itself at certain intervals. There were doors on either side, but they were closed and did not look very inviting, with the shadows surrounding them. Thus, I continued down the endless, floor window-lined hallway, slowly entering an almost meditative state from the repetitiveness of my surroundings.

    "Big sis is such a tease!" A voice exclaimed right next to my ear, and my heart felt like it tried to escape out of my mouth. Suddenly I felt the weight of somebody clinging onto my back, giving me a distinct feeling of d¨¦j¨¤-vu. Even in my tranquil state, jump-scares were still effective to a certain degree, as I had learned from my time in the forest, around weaker Y?kai who could not instill fear with their presence and only cause a shock by appearing suddenly.

    "Koishi-chan, stop scaring me like this!" I reprimanded the Y?kai girl clinging to my back and turned my head to look at her. I felt lips on my cheek and heard a smack, realizing that she had just played the famous game in which a person called another person''s attention to one shoulder, causing the first to turn around, only to be greeted by a finger digging into the cheek. Fights had been started because of this game, but this girl''s variation was nothing short of cute.

    "Ehehe, you finally noticed me," She said and gave me a hug from behind, before letting go and dropping to her feet; due to my height, she had been suspended from the floor. "You decided to come visit my big sis after all. But she seems to be too shy to let people see her. She activated the defense mechanism of the mansion, so that you''ll be caught in this illusion of an endless hallway." She rounded me and looked up into my right eye, her look suggesting that I had a way to break this illusion myself. I knew exactly what she was referring to, and raised a hand to touch my closed left eyelid; I had overexerted it not too long ago, but after resting in the hot spring, I felt up to the challenge of opening it again to get out of this situation.

    Smiling at the girl, I looked up into the depths of the hallway and forced my left eye to open. Suddenly, as if reality had only been suspended on a rubber band, my surroundings seemed to snap back to their original form, the previously invisible end of the hallway rushing towards me at an incredible speed, before it came to a stop a mere meter before me. Looking back, I realized that even though it had been an illusion, the hallway had indeed been quite long, with the foyer so far away that the chandeliers melted into the shapes of single light bulbs. Turning back around to the large, two-winged wooden door, I closed my eye as a test to see if I would be caught in the illusion again, but that was not the case. Apparently by seeing through it once, the defense mechanism had stopped working.

    "You did it! Now, let''s go see big sis," Koishi exclaimed and flapped her arms in a comical motion as if she wanted to take off into the air. In the next moment, she turned around to the door and threw it open noisily. "Sis! I brought my future husband!"

    I did a spit take, and so did the pink-haired girl sitting at a table and sipping on a cup of tea inside the room.

    From her reaction, I gathered that she was Koishi''s sister, Komeiji Satori, possibly the namesake of the Satori Y?kai, a being that could read minds. There was something inherently wrong with seeing a mind-reader taken by complete surprise, but I had different matters to worry about. Such as Koishi''s mindless words.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "I understand, Kagami Ky?ma. It is just Koishi saying what she wants," The girl commented, wiping away the tea around her mouth with a napkin. She had regained perfect composure and acted as if the geyser from between her lips had never happened. I had to commend her countenance, all the while astonished to see actual-mind reading in action. She knew my name without me telling her.

    I took the moment of awkward silence to take a closer look at Satori and the room I found myself in. The girl in question had an outfit that mirrored Koishi''s, but her colors were of baby blue and a light pink. Her sleeves were not as long as her sister''s, and did not hide her hands when she stretched her arm to put the napkin back onto the table. She had a complexion that was one shade lighter than Koishi''s, owing to her staying indoors and underground, while her sister roamed the surface. Instead of a wide-rimmed hat she wore a headband with a heart adorning it. Her eyes held an inherent drowsiness as she seemed weary of the world, as if she had seen the deepest pits of existence; in a sense ironic, considering where we were. While the third eye Koishi had was blue, Satori''s was red and open, its piercing gaze fixed on me without ever blinking.

    The room I found myself in was in fact more like a hall, with three doors leading out of it, one on each of the other walls. To my right was a bar, including stools and a shelf full of bottles that looked like Western alcohols. To my left were a couch and a couch chair with a wooden coffee table between them. The carved wooden table Satori had been sitting at was perfectly circular and featured seven empty chairs. It stood near the middle of the hall, albeit closer to the door I came through than to the other end. There were two more tables of the same size in the room, each surrounded by a corresponding number of chairs. The walls were rimmed with couches, giving the whole room a cozy feel.

    "Even if he denies it, it''s going to come true, sis. He just doesn''t know it yet," Koishi stated, looking up at me with her usual empty eyes. However, for some reason they held a coerciveness that could not be just my imagination. My thoughts were a mess, and Satori provided a welcome opportunity to force my eye away from the void-like green ones.

    "Do not be selfish, Koishi. Can you not see that you are bothering Kagami-san?" Satori stated and stood up to formally introduce herself with a curtsy. "I am sorry to show you such a disgraceful behavior on our first encounter. My name is Komeiji Satori, the mistress of this Chireiden and the overseer of Former Hell. Nice to make your acquaintance."

    "Ah, right... uhm, my name is Kagami Ky?ma. I just came because I was asked by Koishi-cha-, I mean, by your sister," I returned the introduction, correcting the overly familiar way of addressing Koishi out of habit, since I was in the presence of her sister. One part of me understood that making me speak out loud was a way for Satori to keep the semblance of a proper conversation, but another just wondered why she bothered with it.

    "This is unexpected, Kagami-san. I would have thought that as a human, you would be afraid of our kind. Koishi is an exception, since she cannot read minds, but to see you so relaxed in my presence is the first time I have experienced that with anyone but those I grew up with," She said. "And with my pets." She added, just as the flapping of wings announced a bird coming through above me. A raven landed on the table next to Satori, upon which her expression changed to show a warm smile, as she reached out and petted it. "Those who can voice their opinions are the ones most opposed to having their minds read, I learned. I find just as complex thought processes in those without a voice, and they are happy for someone to understand them. But where are my manners? Please, take a seat."

    She turned to look at me again and the smile faded into her previous weary expression. Something must have happened in her past that she became the way she was, as hinted at by Mamiz? upon mentioning that Koishi sealed her ability to read minds due to a heavy trauma. I could not fathom what experience would drive a Y?kai to a point where it was willing to deny its very nature to escape from it, especially since a Y?kai''s nature was more than just an identity; it was what gave them life, and in losing her nature, Koishi had risked disappearing completely. When looking at the empty girl next to me, I could not help but feel a twinge of pity, which was returned with a questioning look. I smiled and dropped a hand on her hat, before taking the offered seat.

    During all that, Satori tactfully declined from speaking and pretended to be playing with the raven, as her third eye watched me intently. However, I was well aware of the fact that she knew every thought I had, and judged me by the way I acted on that knowledge. Even when I understood that nothing could be hidden from her, there was no difference in the way I acted; Gens?ky? had given me a clean slate, and at this point, the reason for everything I did was to experience this different world to its fullest. Of course, I held a certain anxiety for the future, not knowing where things would go, and there was still the issue with the unknown enemy lurking in the shadows. My mind was not all sunshine, but I held no ulterior motives in any of my conduct.

    "As you may know already, I don''t fear anyone who doesn''t have a wish to harm me. I don''t see you as a dangerous person, Komeiji-san," I finally said, looking Satori in the eyes. Despite the fact that her third eye was the one reading my mind, the eyes in her head were ultimately those that I wished to reassure with my gaze.

    Suddenly, Koishi flopped down on my lap, despite the fact that there were plenty of other chairs available. I was well accustomed to her casual skinship by now, and I welcomed the warmth the petite girl brought, as she leaned back against my chest. If Satori thought anything of it, she did not show it on her face, as she looked in our direction.

    "I am well aware of that. Kagami-san, you are the purest adult human I have ever encountered. You are right in thinking that having lost half your soul, the missing half is being filled with the souls of those around you," Satori began to explain. I was astonished to find that this theory of mine, which came to me in passing, was actually the truth. "Have you not noticed how your nature changed to lean slightly in the direction of Oni? Unlike humans like to portray them, they are the most honest people there are." The pink-haired girl closed her eyes and sighed, before opening them again to look at Koishi, who was trying to make me hug her again, while oblivious of my conversation with her sister.

    "I am grateful to you, to bring this child so much happiness. When she left my side to roam the world freely, she was but an empty husk," Satori showed an expression I was unable to categorize; it was a mixture of happiness and sadness. "Maybe you do not know, but her expression is much more genuine now, even if you may think that her smile is hollow. Much like you, Kagami-san, she lost a part of her soul. In her case, so little of her consciousness remained that she was a mere puppet to her own subconscious."

    Unsure of how to take her words, which sounded like encouragement for staying with Koishi, I simply listened.

    "However, I cannot approve of your continued contact with Koishi. You are still a human, the cause for her trauma, and even if she has forgotten, I have not," Her eyes grew cold, a firmness in her overall appearance suggesting that she was making a one-sided demand. "Because in the end, you will hurt her, even if you do not want to. Please do not associate with her anymore, and treat her as everyone else does, like a pebble on the roadside. She is happier this way."

    I was completely taken aback by her words and formulated protest in my mind, knowing she was able to read it. The weight of Koishi on my lap felt heavier than I had ever noticed, and I realized that in the end, she was also a living and breathing being, with a heart that had been hurt so badly that she shut it off from the world. Would I be able to carry the weight of her past and keep her from getting hurt again? Without a definite answer to that question I had no right to fight her sister''s decision.

    "I see you understand, Kagami-san. After today, please forget about Koishi, as you have done whenever she leaves your sight," Satori said, the coldness in her voice slowly fading away. I immediately understood her words; whenever Koishi had left my line of sight for longer than a few seconds, I had always forgotten about her existence. Now that somebody had pointed it out to me directly, I realized that this had been the reason for a nagging feeling of having forgotten something whenever she disappeared. If I could not even remember her when she was not by my side, what right did I have to think that I could bring her happiness?

    "Please enjoy your stay for a little longer, my pets will accommodate you," The pink-haired girl said and stood up from her chair. "Koishi, come with me."

    "Yes, sis!" Koishi immediately answered. Apparently she had not listened to the conversation, or she did not think anything of it, as she stood up from my lap and followed her sister without looking back to me one more time. I was left alone in the big dining hall, when the two Y?kai sisters disappeared through the door to the left.

    Or so I thought, but unbeknownst to me, a number of animals had appeared all around me, including several black cats and ravens. There was even a deer, and I startled when I saw a large wild boar with pointy tusks. I felt two hands plop onto my shoulders, and when I looked up, a black bear''s muzzle greeted me with what I imagined to be a threatening smile. Only now did I realize that I had been surrounded by larger and smaller animals of all kinds, most of which I did not expect to be included in the term "pet".

    "Well nyow, Satori-sama doesn''t like you, it appears," A female voice came from my feet and I looked down to see a black cat with two tails and red eyes staring at me intently. I was confused and looked around to no avail; there was no human or humanoid Y?kai present to have spoken the words. I knew that with two tails, this was not a common cat, but the absence of anyone else suggested that it actually talked, and even though this was a world in which the common sense of the outside world did not always apply, I thought it would at least apply to the fact that the majority of animals did not have the vocal cords to speak the human language.

    When I looked down again, I was surprised to see that the feline had been replaced by a woman, crouching down like a cat. The first thing that caught my eye was the fact that she did not have human ears, but in their place were furry protrusions that extended up her head halfway, to end in pointy cat-like ears. I had seen something similar before, when I had entered this world for the first time, and met with a Nekomata, as well as a nine-tailed fox in human shape. This red-haired woman before me must be another Nekomata, although she looked much more mature than the other one I knew and had an evil glint in her crimson eyes. She wore a long, dark green dress, with a triangle cutout slightly above her bottom, from which two black cat tails emerged. They wagged slightly, as her ears twitched when she looked me up and down in a gauging manner while playing with one of her two braided twin-tails.

    "She did say we''d accommodate you, but you shouldn''t overstay your welcome, human," She purred in a sweet but menacing voice as she slowly stood up. The black bear lifted its large paws off my shoulders, suggesting that I should be standing up and leaving now. I followed the cat girl''s example and stood up from my seat, cautious not to startle any of the animals around me.

    "Thanks for being so compliant. Nyow, let''s go," The girl said and pulled me along by my arm. "I''ll accompany you a bit, so you don''t feel too lonely." With this, my visit to Chireiden came to an end.

    ¡°Accompany me on a shopping trip, human,¡± The cat-girl clinging to my arm said when we left Chireiden behind us. I was getting used to being called a human in a derogatory manner, and my mind was on a different issue at the moment, which I could not seem to recall, but habit had me rebuking her for it.

    ¡°I have a name, and it¡¯s Kagami Ky?ma, Nekomata,¡± I said, calling the cat in the same tone of voice. It earned me an amused chuckle as her lips curled up to resemble a cat¡¯s muzzle doing a human smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a Nekomata, Kagami Ky?ma,¡± She spat out my name in the same derogative tone as she did the word ¡®human¡¯ previously. ¡°I¡¯m a Kasha, Kaenby? Rin is my name. When you¡¯re about to die, please call upon me, I¡¯ll gladly carry your corpse here. Then again, you would do me a favor if you died somewhere around here, it would make my work easier.¡± Her sweet smile betrayed the grimness of her words, but I took it simply as the difference in points of views between a human and a Y?kai. She clearly hinted at her wish regarding my untimely demise in the near future in her words, but I would not humor her on this one.

    ¡°Sorry to disappoint you, but I don¡¯t plan on dying anytime soon, Kaenby? Rin,¡± I returned the smile.

    ¡°Just call me Orin, I don¡¯t like long names. So I¡¯ll be calling you Kagamin, too,¡± Rin said nonchalantly and pulled me along into the depths of the busy underground village. With that kind of name, any semblance of respect was gone. Not that I had earned any from my forceful Y?kai companion anyway.

    Even three months of physical training, with an Oni as a teacher no less, did not adequately prepare me for a prolonged shopping trip in the heavy air of the underground, further compounded on by the stares of the many Y?kai around me looking like they wanted to take a bite out of the human that had wandered into their midst. I was unsure whether I should count myself lucky to be in the presence of Orin or not, but she was the only thing standing between me and my very likely fate as a meal. No matter how much I trained my body, it was still in one way or another, human; Y?kai could survive and regenerate from getting torn in pieces and losing limbs and vital organs, but I was sure I could not.

    ¡°Are you tired already, Kagamin?¡± The Kasha called out to me from a few steps ahead of me. The various bags of food, clothes and other objects I was carrying were indeed weighting down on me, and the hungry stares painfully boring into my back did not help in the least. ¡°Do you need some rest?¡± Her voice was dripping with gleefulness, even as she smiled in obviously fake innocence. Even now, I was unable to grasp her character at all; she seemed to be the passive-aggressive sadistic type, but there was something else.

    ¡°Or maybe you¡¯re the type who can¡¯t be honest with her feelings and bullies the person she likes?¡± I spoke, half-jokingly. Rin stopped dead in her tracks, before approaching me with a smile on her face that looked like it was glued on.

    ¡°My my, Kagamin, you shouldn¡¯t make such jokes,¡± She said, her expression the very definition of a sub-zero false smile that could freeze over even a desert at midday. ¡°So, what shall we do next? I know, we still need some potatoes and rice.¡± The glance she shot in my direction seemed to add ¡®a year¡¯s worth of it, and you¡¯ll carry it all¡¯.

    Sighing, I submitted to my fate as a pack mule and followed the Kasha around for the rest of the day.

    When I returned to the inn we were staying at, several hours later, completely exhausted and drenched in sweat, there was nothing I wanted more than to soak in the hot spring and then drop into my bed to sleep for a couple of days. Entering through the front door, where the crater from the impact of Suika¡¯s head had been visibly fixed, I dragged my tired feet along the hallways to my room to get a fresh set of clothes. Then I remembered that the only thing I owned that could be considered proper clothes were the ones I was wearing, woven from the hair of the nice Harionago shopkeeper. I was also at a loss at how to wash them properly. They were made of hair, so I assumed that they would need as much attention as real hair; on the other side, the hair¡¯s owner was a Y?kai, and to them different laws applied.

    ¡°Oh, dear customer, you¡¯re back. I see that you met Yui,¡± Y?gi greeted me as she walked along the hallway, seemingly enjoying some downtime with a bottle, undoubtedly filled with Suika¡¯s Sake. When I responded with a questioning look, she proceeded to explain who she meant. ¡°You have a new set of clothes on you, and judging by their looks, they were made by Shinj? Yui. The fact that she actually made clothes for you means that she saw something in you. She doesn¡¯t make them for everyone.¡±

    Upon Y?gi¡¯s words I learned to appreciate the clothes even more than I already did, knowing that they were something special, not only because of their fabric, but also because of the feelings put into them during their creation.

    ¡°Do you have some clothes made by her, too?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, I do. In fact, you see one of them right before you. This Kimono is made from her hair,¡± The Oni responded and lifted a sleeve to show it off. ¡°I have a few more outfits, including my... battle clothes.¡± I did not try to question what she meant by that.

    ¡°Oh, then you can surely tell me how to wash them,¡± I said, glad to have found a person who owned several pieces from the Harionago¡¯s handicraft.

    ¡°You don¡¯t wash them. They just never get dirty,¡± Y?gi replied. At first I thought it was a joke, but seeing the Oni¡¯s expression, I knew it was the truth. ¡°Well, you wouldn¡¯t want to wear the same clothes forever, so do change them sometimes. Yui doesn¡¯t only weave her hair into clothes; she adds her nature as a Y?kai to them. And her nature is that she always has beautiful and perfectly healthy hair. Of course, she cuts off the blades, or only Oni would be able to wear it.¡± She laughed at the prospect. I could not help but marvel at the mysteries of the supernatural once again. ¡°You can check it for yourself; the sweet fragrance you smell on them will never fade, no matter how badly your body stinks.¡±

    ¡°I guess I really need to take a bath after all,¡± I said and heaved a sigh at Y?gi¡¯s hidden commentary regarding my body odor after the shopping spree with the Kasha. ¡°I¡¯ll be heading for the hot spring then. Thank you for your advice.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Please take your time,¡± With these words, the Oni nodded once and headed off to indulge in her liquid payments some more.

    <hr />

    Please do comment, I like to read what my readers think about my work. No comments or discussions makes me think that my story has nothing to talk about.

 Chapter 17 - Fire and Blood

    went back to our shared room to fetch a change of clothes; I remembered seeing some folded up Yukata for guests, and considering this was a ry?kan type inn, it made sense to provide lodgers with clothes to wear after coming out of the hot spring. I would change into that, even if it was only to satisfy my habit of always changing clothes after a bath, regardless of whether they were dirty or not.

    The room, located in the very rear of the inn, took me past the Zen garden again. I took my time, looking at its simplistic beauty, when I noticed something green on the branches of the white tree. It was a bud, suggesting that the tree would begin to carry leaves soon. Adjusting my view of the underground and its perceived infertility, I stared at the tree I had thought to be dead, to find several more tiny green buds. Spring had come to Hell.

    "No, stop, don''t touch there!"

    "Oh, it''s so soft. How cute!"

    "Wait, that''s..."

    Through the door, the gleeful voice of Suika and the distressed whimpers of Riguru were clearly audible to anyone who might pass by. Of course, at this point everything was still conjecture, but I knew what a mean drunk could do, and the little Oni was almost always drinking. I stood in front of the door, my face the dictionary example of the expression "what the f-

    "From here to here, huh?"

    "Ah..."

    "No, wait. Maybe it''s this pattern, where they are doing something completely innocent, and it only sounds perverted because of my dirty mind," I reconsidered the possibilities.

    "I... I can''t take it anymore..." Riguru''s voice grew pained, as if she was pressured into a sensation she was trying to avoid. My face went expressionless at this and I put my hand to the sliding door, ready to throw it open.

    "Wait... if they are really doing something fishy in there, I shouldn''t go in just like that," I thought, realizing the idiocy of entering without at least knocking.

    "Ahh, no! Don''t rub it!" The firefly Y?kai cried out and I threw my rational thoughts overboard.

    "Stop it, Suika! This is sexual hara-" I threw open the door and shouted, to find that Suika had stripped Riguru and was playing with her stomach; the part that was capable of emitting light through a thin membrane that laid bare some bulbous inner organs. My jaw dropped at the sight, and the little Oni spit out the Sake she was drinking at my expression.

    "Ahahaha! That''s an awesome face, Ky?ma!" She pointed at me and howled with laughter. She was clearly drunk.

    "What the hell are you doing..." I walked up to her and lifted her by her collar, away from Riguru. The little Oni let me do as I pleased, as she put the gourd to her lips. With anyone else, I would have tried to stop them from drinking even more, but I knew not to stand between an Oni and their Sake. I had made the mistake once before, and if it hadn''t been for that very miracle brew, I might have had to drink my food with a straw for the rest of my life.

    I put Suika down at the window, before returning to Riguru and putting a Yukata over her. She looked up to me with tears in the corners of her eyes, upon which I quickly averted my eyes. Her vulnerability stirred a part of me that I did not ever want to show. Looking back to Suika, I just hoped I would not become more like an Oni in that respect by filling the empty half of my soul with her nature.

    "Suika, you shouldn''t do things others don''t like!" I reprimanded her.

    "What was this saying humans had about Oni? You know, the part about... being an Oni?" She responded, a snide grin on her face. I could not find any comeback to that and sighed.

    "I''ll be going to take another bath. My journey around town was quite something."

    "Oh, do tell, how was your visit to Chireiden? Did you meet Koishi''s sister?"

    "Yeah, I..." I interrupted myself, as I remembered everything that happened involving Koishi. Suika looked at me with concern, as my face contorted into a pained expression. I had forgotten about her again, and I had not even been aware of the fact that I had until the Oni mentioned her. "How..."

    "How can I remember Koishi while you can''t?" It was not what I wanted to ask, but now that she mentioned it, I had to wonder. "Because I knew her from before she shut her third eye." The little Oni revealed an incredible fact so nonchalantly. However, her expression spoke volumes about her emotions, as a hint of sadness appeared on her features. She did not seem to want to continue talking about it and turned around to look outside the window again while indulging in her alcohol.

    I felt like beating myself up over forgetting Koishi and for letting her sister get to me by playing on the guilt from it. As a mind-reader, she had properly utilized her powers to achieve her goals. I was not angry with Satori; she was caring for her little sister, after all. I was angry with myself, for being unable to do anything about it, and for letting her simple words leave me unable to respond.

    "I have to go," I whispered, and stormed out of the room. I thought I saw Suika smiling to herself at the very end, before the paper sliding door obscured her from view. My feet carried me past the entrance area, where Y?gi sat in the reception boot, indulging in the treasured Sake she had received from the little Oni. She saw me rush past and laughed, before going up to see Suika in her room.

    I ran through the streets, dismissing the stares on me from all the supernatural inhabitants. Keeping a low profile was the least of my concerns, as I felt that time was of the essence; I had to get to Chireiden as long as I still remembered Koishi. To not forget her, I uttered her name to myself repeatedly along the way, as if my own voice was an anchor for the frail memories of the girl who had been with me almost since the day I came to Gens?ky?. The girl who had closed her heart so that she would never be hurt again, but had opened it up for this worthless me, who could not even remember her once she left my sight. The very fact that I had not even fought her sister''s decision made me an idiot, but that I had done so without asking Koishi what she thought about it made my actions all the worse.

    I sprinted with all my strength, paying no heed to all the hungry looks on me along the way, repeating the green eyed girl''s name like a mantra. All my fatigue had been blown away by this one thought that occupied my mind: I had to find Satori and convince her that it was right for me to be with Koishi. I just felt that if I did not do it now, I would regret leaving her for the rest of my life.

    Chireiden came into view, and I quickened my pace. If the illusion of the endless corridor was there again, I would break it right away. I was sure that after my training with Suika, I could handle a bear or a boar, if they tried to stop me. As for the Kasha, I would just have to find a way around her. Nothing would stop me from meeting Koishi and telling her that I wanted to stay by her side. I realized that maybe - just maybe - I was in lo-

    Something hit me from the side like a truck. I heard the sound of something breaking, was flung into the air like a ragdoll, and sent flying through a wooden window on the other side of the road. Then the world went black.

    An indescribable pain in half my body shook me awake from my dreamless oblivion. I held back a scream, as I attempted to sit up and even greater pain assaulted my right side. Something similar had happened before, when I had encountered a Great Y?kai in the forest and been unable to escape quickly enough; it had swatted me like a fly and sent me flying, breaking half my body''s bones in the process. Suika had been merciful enough to save me on that occasion, and it was her Sake that had let me heal up within a few days.

    I found myself in a dark, moldy room, into which sparse light shone through a hole, about the size of a balled up person, in the wall. It appeared that the impact had been the result of an accident of some sort, since I was still in the same location in which I had landed after the contact. If it had been an intentional assault, without the help of anyone, I would have already ended up inside a Y?kai''s stomach - or several ones.

    Checking my right half, I realized that my arm and most likely several ribs were broken; I was in no condition to fight. I was in a foreign village of potentially hostile beings with a half-broken body, and could not trust on anyone''s goodwill to call for help from those I knew. I would have to fend for myself, and even if the pain was unbearable, I had to do as an Oni did, and simply shrug it off. What good was becoming more like one, if I did not gain one of their greatest traits - that of hardiness?

    "Oi, human. Ya still alive?" A familiar voice came from outside. The last time I had heard it, the one it belonged to had been getting ready to fight with Suika to the death. A shiver ran down my spine when I pictured the girl in the gakuran and the broken wheel embedded in her shoulder, and realized that the giant wheel she carried must have been the thing that hit me. It also meant that I had only lost consciousness for a very short period of time. I quickly lifted myself from the ground with my left hand, ignoring the protesting ribs that were crying out from the unreasonable abuse so shortly after they broke. Clenching my teeth at the pain, I looked around to find that I was actually in a storage room.

    "If yer alive, gimme a holler!" Kurara shouted out in my direction, as I found a trap door directly under me. However, a wooden beam was lying over it, most likely knocked down from me crashing through the window. In my current condition, I would be unable to lift it, despite my increased physical strength. There was no other way out than in the direction I came from. "Yer breathin''... ''ight? Aye can''t ''ave ya dead, O-hakuka-sama still needs ya."

    Footsteps approached from outside, as my mind began to work in overtime to find a way out of this desperate situation. I could not hope on anyone to help me, since Suika and Riguru were most likely still back at Gorakuin. In this underground village, I had no other people who would come to my help, so I was on my own. The only thing that could save me from capture was a miracle.

    "Hey, I''m the only one who can cause a traffic accident here!" Another familiar voice exclaimed from outside, and my heart jumped. "If he''s dead, give him to me." And it dropped to my feet at that demand. The voice belonged to Kaenby? Rin, the Kasha that had abused me as a pack mule for the better half of the afternoon. I could not expect any help from her, even though hope had welled up at first.

    "Who''re ya? Don''t get in ma way."

    "Nyafu? You want a piece of me?"

    Were they starting a fight out there? I had to find an opportune moment to slip away while they were occupied with each other.

    "You don''t need him dead, do you?"

    "He shud be still alive... but if he''s not, ya can ''ave him."

    "Alright, then let''s check together."

    "Damn you, cat!" I shouted involuntarily, and exposed myself as alive and at least somewhat kicking. My discovery was inevitable either way, so I had to at least voice my frustration at the way the Kasha''s mind worked.

    "Alive, aren''cha. Aye''ll ''ave ya come with me," Kurara''s proclaimed, as she finally looked inside the room I was trapped in. Her expression was much more amiable than when she had talked to Suika and Mima before, but her eyes were dangerously focused on me. I was out of options; surely, the stupid Kasha had already left, disinterested after learning that I was still alive.

    Suddenly, an impact sent Kurara flying through the hole I made, past me and into the wall behind me, before a mischievous face, rimmed with red braids on both sides, came into view. It was Rin, who looked like she had just succeeded in a prank. "Come with me, if you want to live, Kagami Ky?ma." She made it sound like a cheesy line from an 80s movie, but I was thankful for any potential way out. I hobbled to the door and pushed it open with my body''s weight, nearly toppling over from the pain in my arm and ribs. Outside, Rin was pushing a large, black, two-wheeled wheelbarrow, which looked like it was crusted with old dirt. Then I remembered what line of work she was in and saw the stains in a different light.

    "Get on, we''re getting out of here," The Kasha said with a laugh. I looked at the discolored dark crust and was about to protest, when I heard crackling sounds behind me. It appeared that Kurara was about to explode. Without a word, I jumped on, sending a silent apology to Yui that I was literally dragging her hair through the dirt. Then Rin started pushing, at a considerable speed considering her apparent constitution and the fact that it was a simple cart. Behind us, the house exploded and a giant burning wheel came rolling out of the dust, a furious Kurara attached to it.

    "Yer not gettin'' away! Aye''m gonna run ya''ll over!" She shouted in a rage and the wheel exploded in flames to form the oxcart I had already seen at the Hakurei Shrine. However, it was burning, unlike the previous time, and Kurara was standing on it rather than sitting in the driver''s seat. It suddenly accelerated and began chasing after us. Kurara''s speed was a level above Rin''s, as the distance between us nearly closed in an instant. The Kasha looked back to find the burning cart fast approaching, and puffed her cheeks.

    "Hey, stop that! We have too many overlapping qualities already," She said, apparently unconcerned by the dire situation. The wheelbarrow I was sitting in burst in flames as well, specifically the wheels did, at which we also gained an incredible speed burst that nearly gave me whiplash. "Red hair, burning wheels... that''s already cutting it close. Luckily, you have such a stupid boondocks accent." I turned to look at Rin, who was having the time of her life, taunting the absolutely enraged Kurara right behind us. Their speed seemed similar, as we sped through the streets of the village. I found myself in a genuine "car-chase", in a place called Former Hell, which had the apparent age of an nineteenth century Japanese rural village.

    Villagers looked on, some pointing at us with amused expressions, while others did not even seem to pay enough attention to mind. I wondered if something like that was an everyday occurrence to them. At this point one part of my more rational mind had already analyzed that Kurara was most likely a Wany?do, a type of Tsukumogami resulting from an oxcart''s wheel gaining a spirit and turning into a Y?kai. This particular one, her red eyes looking like they were burning with an intense fire, appeared to be an especially passionate one.

    Suddenly a large wheel crashed into the ground right next to us and I turned around to see Kurara summoning another one out of thin air. I was about to argue that a Wany?do was not supposed to be able to create more wheels, as two floating skulls, burning with blue fire, appeared from underneath Rin''s skirt. Kasha were not supposed to control burning skulls, either. I rolled my eye at my common sense and simply enjoyed the life and death race. An exchange of burning wooden wheels flying in our direction and burning, exploding skulls flying in Kurara''s accompanied our high-speed chase, which soon took us out of the village and into the air. The wheels no longer touched the ground and appeared to speed up even more. The cart chase had become an aerial dogfight.

    "She''s persistent," Rin clicked her tongue, when several explosions did not seem to affect the Wany?do''s speed in the least, while she gained on us once again. The wheels were not very well aimed, but any one of them could take us out instantly, and I had to give credit to the Kasha for being able to weave through stalactites and flying burning wheels so seemingly effortlessly. "I have an idea." I was not sure whether I would like that idea or not, but there was no much I could do either way.

    With this, we suddenly plunged straight downwards, back towards the village, specifically the direction of Chireiden. However, apparently her aim was the large, glowing hole behind the palace, as she corrected the angle and we swiftly went in, Kurara following on our heels. Indescribable heat assaulted me just as we passed the threshold, and I noticed that underneath us, only a few dozen meters below, was a sea of magma. This looked much more like hell.

    "What''cha tryin'' to pull. This heat is nothin''!" Kurara shouted from behind us, and as if to prove a point, launched another wheel at us. Rin dodged it skillfully and continued to speed along, right under the cavern''s ceiling, as if to spare me from the hellfire below. Still, I could feel the cart heating up uncomfortably, as it was most likely made of metal. I would not be able to survive here for long.

    "A grilled Ky?ma is fine, too," The Kasha commented, a mischievous grin that showed off her canines on her face. If I had had control over my whole body, I would have turned around and hit her over the head for that. However, I was hurt and at her mercy, so there was nothing I could do to vent my irritation.

    "There you are!" Rin suddenly shouted. Something large and black flew past us, crashed into the oxcart on our tails and detonated it. I saw Kurara going down with pieces of charred wood and spiraling towards the sea of magma underneath, before she disappeared into what looked like a black hole that opened in midair and closed again once its target had been swallowed.

    Rin stopped and turned us around to face the thing that had rid us of our persistent pursuer. Only now could I make out that it was a girl with giant jet black wings and messy long hair of the same color. Her dark red eyes were glowing with an intense heat that seemed to surpass that of the magma underneath us. Half covering her wings was a cape that was white on the outside, but of which the inside had a galaxy-motif. When it fluttered, however, no folds in the fabric could be seen, and the stars and planets inside shifted as if the cape was in fact a window. The girl wore a white shirt, which seemed like it was adorned with a large, almost head-sized dome on her chest, glowing in an eerie red with what appeared to be an eye in the center. She wore a green plait skirt with black rims that reached down to above her knees. Two glowing particles circled around her lower left leg and her right foot appeared to be covered in a large and rough gray boot. Her right arm extended into what looked like a metallic hexagonal tube with a bronze sheen from the elbow down.

    "Thanks for helping me out there, Okuu," Rin greeted our savior. I could not help but stare at her. Her presence exuded a pressure similar to when Suika was being serious. "Let''s go up, this human won''t be able to hold out for too long down here."

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    The girl called Okuu nodded expressionlessly, and we made our way to the hole and back up to the above layer of hell. All the while, I could not take my eyes off the winged girl''s majestic figure, which was compounded upon by the power she seemed to emit during her flight. Her overall presence somehow reminded me of a fighter jet, especially since she flew with her wings angled backwards, cruising alongside us with a speed that seemed to not fit her physical appearance. I could imagine her easily reaching Mach velocities.

    The way back to the upper layer was longer than I could remember us having gone down, mostly compounded on by the fact that suffering seemed to change the laws of physics and slowed down time. Mine was not something a normal human would be able to bear while awake, and the last time I had a wound like that, I had instantly fainted. Maybe there was enough supernatural inside me to help me sustain my mind despite the horrendous pain. My arm had swollen and the ribs felt like they were poking into my insides. I had to get back to Suika quickly, and have some of her miracle medicine.

    I looked over the edge of the black-crusted wheelbarrow to watch the girl called Okuu, whose expression betrayed no qualms about so one-sidedly beating an opponent down as she had done with Kurara. However, there was something in her eyes that seemed to suggest an inherent sadness, deeply seated within her soul. The fact that Rin had gone into a deeper layer of Hell to find her was enough to tell me that Okuu must frequent that desolate and hostile place. As a Y?kai, the lack of humans meant lack of food, and as far as I could see, no human could survive anywhere near that sea of magma; the only explanation that was left was that she sought solitude on her own accord.

    Finally, we passed through the tunnel and emerged from behind Chireiden. I was about to ask Rin to take me to Gorakuin, when I noticed that the village was on fire. There were figures running around in the streets, shouting, screaming and apparently fighting. It did not take long to figure out that they were fighting each other, as I coincidentally spotted the Y?kai with the single eye, fighting with one of the long-necked Rokurokubi. I had heard enough about the Spell Card rules to know that they were clearly violating all of them. They were certainly not just playing around.

    There were some bodies on the streets, unmoving. I saw one Y?kai sinking her claws deeply into another one''s back and ripping out its flesh, laughing manically throughout the act. Others wielded weapons ranging from small knives to large clubs. I spotted one petite girl wielding a gigantic silver hammer, with which it crushed a Y?kai with a single swing. I finally realized that there were actually two factions, with one faction being the primary aggressor; female Y?kai were preying on male ones, some with an unholy fury while others seemed to drown in laughter-filled delight.

    A group of Y?kai stormed in the direction of Chireiden, and from our vantage point, disappeared behind its central structure.

    "Satori-samaaaa!" Okuu screamed and disappeared from next to us. A split second later, a sonic-boom and the air rushing into the space the winged girl had previously displaced rocked Rin and the wheelbarrow, sending pain into my ears and throughout my body. Rin composed herself again and quickly accelerated towards Chireiden''s roof, into which Okuu had outright blown a hole with her speed. Passing through the scorched entrance, Rin landed in the middle of the endless corridor; the security spell had been activated again. The front door, which led to the fake entrance hall, had already been blasted open from the outside, apparently not by the group we just saw running towards the estate. The Y?kai who were approaching entered, all female and wearing various levels of deranged expressions.

    At this point, I had some strange suspicion that this was the result of someone using a supernatural ability. I hoped that Suika and Riguru were safe and unaffected, but judging by the nature of this incident, it was a shallow hope. When I looked in the other direction of the endless hall, I noticed that Okuu had already disappeared in the darkness that plagued the hallway whenever the security magic was active. I wondered whether she had a way to get around it, or just charged blindly into the eternal corridor.

    However, there were more pressing matters to put my mind into than worrying about a person I just met; Rin was the only one between my broken self and a group of Y?kai, who began to charge in our direction. There were an overall of five of them, each one looking like they were out for blood. One had long black hair and an even longer tongue sticking out from her mouth that was distorted into a wide leer. Another was a girl with a red, demonic face. Two appeared to be a pair of some sort, as they both featured only one arm and were performing mirrored movements. The last one was the most terrifying, as she wielded a large meat cleaver, her face hidden behind her hair, with only two glowing eyes shining through. There was not much that I could do than sit tight and let the cat girl save me, once again.

    "I don''t know what got into you, but I''ll have to stop you," Rin said and a number of burning skulls appeared around her. They shot forward and bombarded the approaching group mercilessly, resulting in them disappearing in a smoke screen. From movies I knew that the thought "did that get them?" meant that it did not, but I hoped this was not a movie, since at the moment I could not see myself as the protagonist of one. Rin apparently did not know or care about this common trope and summoned another salvo of skulls that shot off right at the moment when the red-faced demon charged out from the smoke. She dodged the skulls skillfully and approached quickly. Behind her the woman with the meat cleaver left the smoke behind and followed. She actually cleaved one of the skulls in half, causing the two parts to fly right into the faces of the twins that just emerged behind her, detonating there. Of course the only two to make it through had to be the scariest looking ones.

    "I see nyow..." Rin''s tone changed completely when she saw the two still charging at her. The hairs on my neck stood on end when I heard it behind me and I inadvertently turned around. The cat girl''s eyes had turned into slits and she was showing off her canines in a furious snarl. Flames danced around her and two gigantic burning skulls, blazing in green fire, materialized out of thin air. They seemed to rattle in silent laughter, as they charged towards the two remaining Y?kai, growing in size as they travelled, until they almost filled out the entire hallway. The red-faced demon skidded to a halt and looked at the enormous skull with wide eyes, before thinking of turning tail and running away. However, she did not make it and the skull bit down on her, detonating the instant its jaws came together. The explosion rocked the entire building, and the heat wave scorched my face. From the flames, the woman with the meat cleaver emerged, only to be met by the other skull, which opened its jaws.

    She did not seem deterred and raised her weapon to attack it, when suddenly Rin ran past me in a ferocious sprint. The cleaver hit the skull, which instantly blew up right in front of the woman. Once again, she emerged unscathed from the explosion and charged forward, only to be met by the Kasha''s boots to the face. I imagined that if an explosion did not daunt the Y?kai, this assault would not, either. Apparently I was wrong, as it sent her flying backwards. What followed was a one-sided massacre, as claws emerged from Rin''s fingers and tore into the woman until she was only a bloody mess.

    I sat in the wheelbarrow, watching it all until the end, dumbfounded by the visceral actions of the Kasha. When she was done, she licked her bloodied hands and picked up the enemy''s remains, before returning to me.

    "Make some space for this," She said, her tone of voice so cold that the inferno that was the hallway behind her seemed to freeze over. I did not want to sit next to a corpse in that shape and climbed out of the wheelbarrow, ignoring the pain in my right side. "There are three more corpses to cart away, so either help me or stay out of my way." I decided I would rather stay out of her way, and leaned against a pillar, as she began to put the burned or dismembered corpses into the wheelbarrow. I knew that the thick dark crust inside the cart was not from hauling coal, but now I had certainty as to its true identity. I wanted to take a bath so badly that it might have ranked higher on my priority list than getting Suika''s Sake to heal my wounds at this point. I even ignored her mentioning only four corpses even though five had come for us.

    Then a pulse of pain ran through my body and reminded me of how badly I was injured considering I was still a human being, and the only thing I wanted was to pass out and stop feeling it. However, watching Rin collecting body parts and licking her fingers from time to time, I had to hold onto my consciousness, lest I would be considered another corpse and thrown into the mix.

    When she was done, she began pushing the wheelbarrow towards the exit, her mannerism reverting back to her previous mischievous and playful self with every bouncy step she took. It appeared that she was in a good mood from having collected a number of bodies. I hated to bring her down to earth, but there was a reason we had come here.

    "Weren''t you following Okuu?" I pressed out from between my lips, suppressing a tremble caused by the pain of the ribs stabbing into the lung. I needed medical attention fast.

    "Ah, I almost forgot, I need to protect Satori-sama!" Rin yelled and turned her cart around, before running towards the residential direction of the hallway. "Hm, but the defense spell is not responding. Something might have happened to her."

    I closed my right eye and opened my left for a split second, knowing that it was enough to break the spell with just this; any more than a glimpse would put too much strain on my body considering the state I was in. The hallway snapped towards us, and with it the still flying Okuu, who did not stop and instead crashed into the heavy door at full speed. In fact, she crashed through the door right at the moment the spell was deactivated, and left a hole in the wood. As if the laws of physics were delayed, the entire door disintegrated into fire a split second later. My jaw dropped at the destructive potential of this Y?kai.

    "Who is she?" I pointed at the hole.

    "Reiuji Utsuho," Rin just commented and pushed her wheelbarrow through the doorway, behind which the girl with the jet black wings had come to a stop. I pushed my protesting body off the pillar and followed them slowly.

    The room had been completely transformed. A number of animals I recognized lay motionlessly on the floor, most of the furniture had been smashed and there were marks in the walls that resembled bullet holes. One particular mark of destruction stood out from all the others, though; a crater in the floor, spanning at least four meters in diameter, was right underneath a large hole in the ceiling. Somebody or something had crashed through there and directly into the room, to cause all the havoc we now witnessed the evidence for.

    "Satori-sama!" Utsuho screamed and walked around frantically, searching for her in the rubble. Rin let go of her cart to help in the search.

    I wanted to help and thought that maybe through my true vision, I would be able to see a hint as to what had transpired in this room. I closed my right eye, ready to open my left, when a faint whisper in the depths of my mind stopped me. It must have been a single word and I had not been able to make it out on a conscious level, but it triggered a cascade of emotions unlike anything I had ever felt before. In an instant, I revisited my cataclysmic dream of a shattered, bifurcated dimension of existence and nothingness, as I felt like my soul wandered its desolate madness for another eternity. It caused me to flick open both eyes at the same time in a reaction not much different from waking up in response to the climax of a nightmare; I had broken free from it, unlike last time, when I had lost something precious. There was no feeling of loss this time.

    However, the visions of the world before me rushed into my mind, for the first time since the departure of half my soul from the temple of my body, through both of my eyes. Unexpectedly, no pain assaulted me, and an unprecedented calmness flowed into every corner of my battered body, as a feeling of warmth spread out from my left eye. All my pains gradually faded, as if they had been all just a dream, and sensation returned into my ruined right arm. The world was not a play of maddening colors and spiritual fragments superimposed on the reality witnessed by my human right eye, as I thought the result of opening both eyes would be. Instead, I could see the flow of energy in the air, footprints of the souls of the living and the dead, and the strong flames within those present and alive.

    There was no surprise in my mind, as I turned my head to look down on my right arm, to see that its discoloration from internal bleeding had disappeared. Instead, a thin glow surrounded it, prompting me to move my hand to realize that the damage had completely healed. The same must have happened to my ribs, as drawing breath no longer caused a stabbing pain in my chest. I returned my gaze to the room, to look at the fiery outline that surrounded Rin''s body, and the intense whiteness that was Utsuho''s form. It felt like I was looking into the sun and I instinctively turned away my gaze. It fell on the crater in the middle of the room, from which like smoke from a departed rocket, a trail of glittering spirit dust disappeared through the hole in the ceiling. Whatever had broken through here had gone back the same way as it had come in. Despite having never seen them, within the dust I could make out three distinct souls, of which, I somehow just knew, two belonged to the Komeiji sisters.

    I blinked, and the moment of transcendence was over. The floating feeling disappeared and I was brought back to reality by the realization that throughout the entire moment, I had not drawn breath. My lungs were burning and I fell to my knees, gasping for air.

    "What''s wrong?" Rin noticed first and turned around alarmed.

    "They..." I gasped, trying to tell her my discovery as quickly as possible. "... have... *hack*... Satori... Koishi-" Drawing in painful breaths all the while suppressing the shaking in my body from the lack of oxygen, I attempted to press out words in a coherent manner without wasting time or precious air for unnecessary syllables and repetitions. "Up!"

    Utsuho, having listened intently, was the first to react, as she shot up through the hole, once again causing a storm in her wake. After recovering from it, Rin walked up to me and pat my back, as I was coughing violently from having inhaled ash and dust from Utsuho''s takeoff.

    "How...?" Was all she asked.

    I only responded by looking up at her with both my eyes open. Through my left, which still retained an enhanced level of vision, after the peak moment had passed, I could see myself in the reflection of Rin''s eyes. And in it, my left eye''s colors had become inverted, featuring a white iris and a black sclera. I was not surprised, but the Kasha was taken aback by its appearance.

    "You were hiding something like that in your closed left eye all this time?"

    "I... never knew... it looked like that," I honestly responded. During my training with Suika for the past few months I had never had the opportunity to look into a mirror, no less with my left eye open. Or maybe it had actually been normal up until a few moments ago, when something happened, of which I was certain was irreversible. I finally caught my breath, and while the pain in my lungs was slowly subsiding, I stood up to ascertain myself of the feeling in all my limbs. I had not lost something else in exchange for becoming able to see rather normally with my left eye again, apparently.

    Suddenly, Utsuho crashed back through the hole, impacted the ground with her gray boot, causing the floor to dent, and fixed her gaze - and the bronze octagonal tube - on me. Something was burning in its depths, just like the flame in her eyes, both of which I did not like being on the receiving end of.

    "There... was nothing ''up''," She growled. For the first time I could properly make out her voice, as it was not used for screaming. Her tone was menacing, and the roughness in it, accompanied by what I could only describe as an "ashen" pitch, gave me the impression that it was not only rarely used, but that the place she chose to reside in affected her lungs. The voice, coupled with her jet black wings, reminded me specifically of a crow or raven. "You... know something! Speak!" Intense heat spread from her body and seared my face, but Rin stepped between her and me fearlessly.

    "Ky?ma was with me all the time, and he brought Koishi-sama back from the surface. He wouldn''t do anything to them!" She defended me, causing both Utsuho and me to look at her in surprise. The heat wave subsided slightly, but the intensity in the winged girl''s eyes did not disappear, as she focused on me. Her expression left no doubt as to what she thought of me, but since she had no evidence regarding my involvement with Satori and Koishi''s disappearance, she could not refute Rin''s defense.

    "I saw a trace of their spirits and another, unfamiliar one''s, leading up through the hole. I don''t know anything else," I responded truthfully, trying not to sound defensive. "But I have a general idea of what might be going on." The last line I added under my breath, and only Rin seemed to hear it.

    "I''ll see if I can pick up their trace. Okuu, please be patient," Rin quickly said and took out a bottle from the folds of her long skirt. Within that bottle was a tiny person with translucent butterfly wings and a bluish glow - a fairy. Opening the bottle, the Kasha shook the fairy out of it and grabbed it by its tiny body. "This guy here says that there are traces of Satori-sama and Koishi-sama''s spirit. Follow it!" With this, she threw the fairy towards the hole in the ceiling, where it stopped for a moment to rectify itself, stuck its tongue out to her abusive owner, before searching around her. Apparently she found the same trace I had and disappeared up through the hole.

    "Okuu!" The cat-eared girl yelled, and Utsuho instantly followed. Rin took her wheelbarrow, still filled with corpses, and moved to follow, when she realized that I would not be able to climb in to come along. She stopped to look at the pile of body parts, then at me, as if to assess whether to keep her loot or take me in. I did not plan on sitting in the cart again, now that I had seen first-hand what it was used for, and shook my head. An expression that was the mixture of relief and disappointment on her face, she took off after Utsuho and the fairy.

    I was left alone in the rubble that remained of the previously elegant living room of the Komeiji sisters.

    <hr />

    I have images (fanart) for all the characters from the original game series, which I use as guidelines for their appearances as I describe them. I''m thinking of posting them in an encyclopedia-kind of chapter, but I would like to hear your opinions on that: Do you prefer to imagine their looks yourself or do you not mind seeing pictures? I''m aware of the fact that anyone can Google the names that have appeared so far either way. But I also have some of my original characters drawn, and they''re included in my offer to post images.

 Chapter 18 - Trails in the Sky

    t this point, with my wounds healed up, all I wanted to know was if Suika and Riguru were safe. Of course, going to the Gorakuin involved walking through the village, which was torn in an all-out bloody battle. Judging from Rin''s way to deal with the five intruders I gathered that if I encountered one of those that could survive an explosion to the face, there would be nothing I could do. Even then, I wanted to know.

    Thus, I set out back through the disintegrated door, past the smoldering craters caused by Rin''s blazing skulls, and a pile of ashes that I guessed belonged to the one that had been eradicated by one of the big green ones. Remembering her destructive power, I wondered how humans could survive in this world, if the Y?kai decided to hold a feast. Not all people possessed spiritual powers like the Hakurei Miko. Even if they did, wounds that would be fatal to a human could be shrugged off or regenerated by Y?kai easily, so a battle of attrition would always end badly for the human side. And for all intents and purposes, I still preferred to think of myself as being human, regardless of whether people from the outside world would still think so or not.

    Past the broken front door, I stepped back out into the village, into the raging fires and hot-blooded battles. Seeing as apparently only the female Y?kai had lost their minds and the males had been designated as targets, I, as a human male, was doubly in danger. All I could do was try and avoid any and all confrontations and charge straight to the Gorakuin. With that in mind, I accelerated and began to sprint, faster than any human could. At this point, a person looking on would be able to tell with their naked eye that my speed was far above that of the fastest Olympic sprinter, maybe somewhere close to a cheetah''s. However, my mind was on the fact that this focused speed would also garner unwanted attention.

    Surely enough, from alleyways and broken front doors I passed, Y?kai emerged to see what had sped past them, and some began to give chase. I decided that going on a straight line to my destination was the best choice now, as statistically speaking, it would gather the least pursuers. While the path was not very complex, there were still some turns I had to take, which could lead me into the arms of Y?kai or allow ones that were simply faster than I to catch up. Luckily, there were no buildings taller than two floors in this village, so I began to jump, as if to prepare for a long jump. From my experience in the forest and the forced descent into the dark pit that led me here, I felt that I could make it.

    I pushed myself to the limit and took off in a vertical line, straight over the first house, where I would have had to turn a corner. As I marveled at the impossibility of jumping that high, I realized that in all my hubris, the landing point had not been within my calculations. Before launching myself from the ground I had not known what would await me on the other side, and now that it came into view, I regretted jumping. There was a group of Y?kai running through the street, and each one of them had something pointy or sharp sticking up into the air; one featured spiny hair that would put hedgehogs to shame, another had a cone-shaped head, and some wielded spears or halberds. They were not aware that by the time I would land, they would be right underneath me, but I was aware that it would be a painful meeting for me.

    "Hey!" I shouted, and they stopped dead in their tracks to look around. In the next moment, I impacted the ground only one step in front of the first in the group, missing a deadly encounter with their individual weapons. As if in slow-motion, I turned and looked into the eyes of a female Y?kai featuring needle hair, which was that of utter surprise, before I jumped again, to cross the next building. I was sure they would follow me now, but at least it was a better fate than getting impaled right away.

    One more jump and I landed in the street leading up to the Gorakuin, where I broke out into a final spurt. Despite the impossible physical activity, I did not feel exhausted, and my breathing was comparably stable. Only two months earlier, just the initial sprint would have left me panting. Behind me, I could hear the onslaught of pursuers I had gathered on the way here, but if I got to Suika, none of them would pose a problem anymore. Crashing through the front door with little regard to causing property damage - I convinced myself that it would be forgiven, considering the gravity of the situation - I ran past the front desk, where Y?gi jerked up in surprise, the empty bottles of Suika''s sake scattered around her. Apparently she had been sleeping, and I wondered how she could have, through all this, but at the same time I was grateful that she neither witnessed me breaking down her front door, nor was affected by whatever caused everyone to go on a rampage.

    I rushed through the corridor and finally arrived at the end, where I threw open the last door, which led to our room. My insides froze when I saw Riguru lying on the floor, her left arm ripped off, with Suika mounting her. She had a hand on the firefly Y?kai''s neck, as her other hand was drawn back, ready to deliver a punch for the finishing blow. Knowing the little Oni''s incredible strength, I knew that this would most likely cause Riguru''s head to pop like a ripe watermelon hit by a hammer. That image entered my mind and I instinctively shouted.

    "STOP!"

    Suika''s fist was halfway down its trajectory, but my voice reached her in time; she crashed the fist into the ground, a hair''s breadth next to Riguru''s face. I sank down on my bottom as my knees gave out in relief. I had stopped the little Oni, literally in the last moment, from killing the firefly Y?kai. If I had not taken the shortcut, I would have arrived to one less living person in the room.

    I did not let emotions overcome me and cause me to blame Suika without knowing the full story; analyzing all possibilities, I came to the conclusion that either of them must have been affected by whatever affected those who chased me. And judging from the fact that the little Oni reacted to my voice, she was the unaffected one.

    "Suika! They''ll be here in a mom-" I started, but was interrupted by an explosive noise from the front door. They had arrived and made a dynamic entrance, I assumed, but another noise, louder than before, accompanied by the shaking of the entire building, made me think otherwise. A third one, even louder, caused me to suspect that it was building up to an earthquake, but all that followed was silence.

    "Y?gi just took out the trash," Suika commented, as she got up from her position on top of Riguru, who remained unmoving. She appeared to have passed out, the stump of her ripped off left arm bubbling to regenerate. I gave myself a moment of reprieve, as I took a deep breath. "What happened to your left eye, Ky?ma?"

    "I don''t know. In any case, this is a full blown incident," I responded. "Half the village went crazy. And I think I might know the cause."

    "That Hakuka woman," Suika simply commented. I nodded, as I approached Riguru. She was bruised, but at least still alive. I heaved a sigh of relief, when Y?gi popped her head into the room from the corridor.

    "Those damned crazies destroyed my front door!" She snarled. I flinched at the mention of the door I had taken down, but luckily it went unnoticed. "This party''s got quite rough, huh? What''re they celebrating?" Her ignorance regarding the severity of the situation reminded me of just how carefree Oni could be. Even Suika had gone back to sitting on a seat cushion and drinking Sake, despite the fact that Former Hell had turned back into real hell just outside this building.

    "Satori and Koishi have been kidnapped," I finally said. I had no time to sit around and indulge the Oni in their playful attitude regarding even the most dire of situations. Seeing Suika and Riguru safe, to a certain extent at least, I had to return to my previous primary concern. "Reiuji Utsuho and Kaenby? Rin are already chasing after them, but I''m still concerned."

    Suika and Y?gi both looked at me in surprise, when I mentioned that the Komeiji sisters had been abducted. Their expressions grew more grave, prompting me to wonder why, aside from the fact that they were in the hands of someone who could cause a whole gender to go crazy.

    "Ky?ma, do you know what the next level after mind reading is?" Suika asked me, her face showing concern. I could not answer, as I had never thought of supernatural powers as anything but "some level above me" before.

    "It''s mind control," Y?gi answered the question for me.

    "And I think I know what that Hakuka woman is, now," Suika added. "She is a Nurarihyon."

    Suika''s mention of O-hakuka''s species made me stop and search for the memory of the Nurarihyon for a moment. As far as I knew, this particular type of Y?kai had the form of a thin old man with an elongated head, but otherwise appeared completely human. They would invade houses when the tenants are out and pose as the house owners, by being irrefutably convincing in their roles. In the Hyakki Yak?, the Parade of One Hundred Demons, the Nurarihyon was depicted as the leader of all Y?kai. Piecing those images together, I gathered that O-hakuka was a Y?kai that could influence others through her mere presence. It could be seen as a sort of mind control, as per Y?gi''s response to Suika''s question, but I still wondered where Koishi and Satori fit into all of this.

    "Satori is the oldest mind-reader in Gens?ky?, and thus the most experienced with the minds of the people here," Suika explained, when she seemed to realize that I failed to make the connection. "If that Hakuka can control her and learn everything about the Y?kai of this world, she could extend her reach."

    "I''m just wondering why you two are not under her control," I stated.

    "I don''t know. There was no signal or warning. Riguru, in the middle of our conversation, just jumped up and attacked me. I didn''t feel anything at the moment it happened," Suika responded. Y?gi shrugged her shoulders as her only input for the matter. It meant that either O-hakuka''s power chose random targets, or needed specific properties to trigger. However, there was too little information available at the time, and any conclusions made now would be mere conjecture.

    "I suppose you won''t just leave the situation be, Ky?ma," Suika inquired, her expression a casual call to arms. Despite the fact that one of O-hakuka''s underlings had nearly killed me accidentally, in an attempt to just bring me to a stop mid-sprint, I was raring to chase after Utsuho and Rin, to bring the Komeiji sisters back.

    "Of course not!" I pumped a fist into a palm and grinned. Y?gi smiled knowingly, and Suika got up, picking up her Sake gourd in the process.

    "Y?gi, take care of the cockroach here, while we''re gone," She said and pointed at the collapsed Riguru.

    "You owe me one for that."

    "Yeah yeah, you''ll get some more Sake when I come around next time."

    This casual conversation suggested a long relationship that was friendlier than my impression of it had been when I first witnessed their exchange at the front door of the inn. Suika exited and I followed, nodding to Y?gi in a gesture of gratefulness. With one last look back to the regenerating firefly Y?kai, I followed.

    Beyond the front door, the street and parts of the houses on the opposite side had been transformed into rubble. Three craters, each bigger than the previous one, extended from it in a straight line, with several still twitching bodies scattered about them. So this was Y?gi''s way of "taking out the trash". I knew she was an Oni, but this was just another reminder that they were in a completely different league from anything I had encountered in Gens?ky? so far.

    "I assume you know where they went," Suika finally said. I knew that our departure must have looked as if we had a plan, but now that she mentioned it, I was not sure I knew where to go. The little Oni saw my response and shook her head with a resigned expression on her face. I looked in the direction of Chireiden and closed my right eye to focus on the vision in my left.

    "Even from here, I can still see the trails of their spirits," I said. Those were not Satori and Koishi''s, but Utsuho and Rin''s, who were giving chase. The trails led straight up and disappeared in the darkness above. "They went up. Back to the surface, I think."

    "Well, then it''s time for you to learn how to fly, Ky?ma."

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story."I''m almost there, oh great teacher," I responded, my words dripping with sarcasm. I would never forget her throwing me down the black hole, into the spider Y?kai''s trap and to my potential death. "I can run faster than any human and jump farther, but the concept of flying just won''t enter my mind..."

    "Is that how you''ve been trying to do it all this time? By thinking about it?" Suika said and walked up vertically, into the air. "Flying is just like walking on solid ground. It requires about as much energy, and it should come to everyone naturally. That''s why Y?kai can fly faster and for longer than humans, for example. They just have more physical strength and stamina." She stopped and sat down into her usual pose, and uncorked her gourd to drink some Sake, all while floating in midair.

    Maybe due to the latest change to my state of mind, I suddenly understood what she meant. Instead of picturing myself soaring through the sky like a bird, I just had to imagine myself walking in the air. It was not that common sense had to be abandoned completely, but rather, partially replaced with what was considered common sense in Gens?ky?. And being able to fly was apparently common sense here.

    "That... makes sense," Was all I said. Suika smiled, got up and began to fly away, while I started to run alongside her. "Let''s see you do it, Ky?ma!" She accelerated, and so did I, soon reaching my top speed, at which point I began to jump, just like earlier. I landed once, twice, thrice, and performed the long-jump that had taken me over a two-story house previously. However, this time I intended not to land.

    I launched vertically forward, but felt the constraints of gravity on my body disappear, as I shot up into the air in a straight line. If my mind had not been prepared for it, I would have panicked, when I looked down to see the ground getting further away. Suika was next to me, grinning. Without wasting a thought on the potential challenge of maneuvering in midair, I focused on the fiery trails of Utsuho and Rin''s spirits, which I was rapidly approaching.

    Suika was following me, at this point, as she seemed to be unable to see the glittery particles. As I nearly touched them, I turned my head upwards, and my body followed, performing a sharp turn in midair, during which I could feel the increased G-forces on my body. No gravity did not mean no physics, and inertia was still a very real thing that affected everything with mass. I shrugged off its effects; as long as I did not faint from the blood rushing from my brain to my legs, it was nothing worth mentioning. In the next moment, without decelerating, I shot straight upwards, following the path Utsuho and Rin had taken only moments earlier.

    The ceiling of the gigantic cavern seemed just as far up as the hole I had fallen in had been deep, but I soon saw a glowing hole up above. I decelerated, to prevent myself from flying into potential stalactites. Far below, the village had turned into a collection of matchboxes, illuminated by its lanterns and the burning fires, in a sea of blackness. Looking back up, I noticed that the glow was caused by melted rock, surely the result of Utsuho charging through. It was wide enough for the Kasha''s wheelbarrow, so I would fit through without a problem.

    "We''re going through there," I yelled down to Suika, before accelerating again and flying into the molten hole fearlessly. Heat assaulted me from all around and I thought I was reminded of my earlier visit of the lower layer, the sea of lava. However, this did not deter me in any way and I ascended through the path Utsuho had blazed into the solid rock, when finally a light at the end of the tunnel became visible that was different from the red glow of cooling rock that surrounded me.

    In the next moment, I left the underground behind and shot up into the air above ground, to the sun past its zenith. The blue sky coupled with the view of the landscape took my breath away, as I finally gained a sense of perspective resulting from my newfound ability to fly. For a moment, I opened both eyes and stopped in midair, slowly spinning around my own axis to take it all in. Suika came to a stop next to me and showed me a knowing grin when she saw my expression of pure marvel.

    "That''s the face," She said, a hint of pride in her voice. "I like your expression. But don''t forget what we came here for."

    "I know," Was all I said, and closed my right eye again. I was surprised to see that the trails of spirit dust split up and went in two directions; one in the direction of Y?kai Mountain, the other towards the South-West. Utsuho''s was the former and Rin''s was the latter, which was accompanied by a very faint dust denoting the fairy that could see spirit residue. I realized that once Utsuho lost the trail of those she was chasing, she would be in the blind. Having seen her destructive heat first hand, she could not be left alone and frustrated, searching for someone in a dense forest. She was a catastrophe waiting to happen.

    "They split up. Rin to the South-West and Utsuho to the North-East. Let''s go after Utsuho!" I explained to Suika, who did not have the same vision as I did.

    "I''ll go after the Kasha then," The little Oni responded and left me speechless.

    "You know Rin?"

    "Heard of her from Reimu is all. Go after the bird and do something about her temperament. She wanted to take over the surface world at one point, so give it your best," Suika dropped a bomb at the end with a carefree grin, before she shot off in the direction where I saw Rin''s ember-like spirit dust lingering. She must be able to see it herself, after all, is what I thought, when I gathered my determination and followed the light spots inducing trail that Utsuho left behind.

    Flying through the air already felt natural, but it seemed to be about as fast as I could run on the ground. I stayed only a few meters in midair, so in case I became unable to fly for any reason, I would not fall to my death immediately. However, this still meant that I would not have to do anymore parkour through the forest or avoid stepping into well-hidden rabbit holes in the field. There was nothing in midair that would hinder my movements. The distance we had put behind ourselves on foot over the course of several hours the previous day was melting away in mere minutes. I flew over the mountain pass we had meandered through, over the hills where we met Riguru and above the forest where we had to circumvent trees and other obstacles.

    I was soon nearing the gigantic mountain, where the trail of blazing lights made a sharp turn upwards. Only now that I was so close to it could I see how tall Y?kai Mountain really was. Its tip disappeared in the clouds, and no matter how I looked at it, it must have been taller than Mount Fuji. The fact that its ascent was steeper made the contrast even more apparent.

    Just as I wanted to fly up after Utsuho, something white shot out from the trees below me. I saw metal flashing and instinctively dodged with my entire body. As if time slowed down, I watched a gigantic blade cut through thin air where my upper body had been only a split second earlier. If I had tried to avoid it with the least movement possible, I would most likely have lost a limb. The moment was over and all I could think of was getting away from this position. It was the right decision, as the assailant followed up the missed vertical slash with a horizontal one, but I had already dropped down towards the trees. At the moment, I did not feel up for a battle in midair, as I had only begun to learn how to fly straight less than half an hour ago.

    The attacker followed me down, and in that short moment of reprieve, when we were both falling, I could get a closer look at him. In fact, it seemed to be a girl around the apparent age of Rin, and about as tall. She had piercing red eyes and featured short hair of a striking white, wore a white top with detached sleeves and a black hakama. From the deep cutouts on her sides I could see that she used bandages, sarashi, to bind her chest. She reminded me of the Hakurei Miko, Reimu, in many ways. However, on her head, between a pair of what I assumed to be canine ears was a red Tokin hat, from which six bonten-fusa, small white fluffy pom poms on two strings, hung. The entire outfit was a trademark of the Yamabushi sect of Buddhism, but in Gens?ky? they were more commonly associated with a very special type of Y?kai: The Tengu.

    She carried an absurdly large sword, which was almost as long as she was tall, shaped like a Katana but as broad as my hand. Even if the blade had been dull, getting hit by its sheer weight would crush bones. In her other hand, as if the sword was not enough, she was holding a large white round shield, big enough to cover her entire upper body, emblazoned with a large red maple leaf, from the Japanese maple variant, called a Momiji.

    I landed on an opening in the forest where a small stream flowed into a pond, and a moment later, she landed on the opposite side of it. The water was very shallow and would not prove an impediment to her, if she chose to charge at me through it. With the shield facing me and the sword held steadily in her right her eyes were staring me down.

    "You have invaded Tengu airspace, intruder. Prepare to be cut down!" She announced and braced her feet to charge forward. I took a second to admire the elegance and effortlessness in her martial stance, the complete opposite of the raw formless combat that Suika taught me. From where I stood, I spotted a fluffy white tail wagging rigidly, appearing on the left and right behind the shield covering her form. Due to the situation I found myself in, I could not bring myself to assume that she was a dog type, and the tail was a display of playfulness. Instead, a rigidly wagging tail in a wolf meant it was asserting its dominance and ready to attack; I gathered that this Tengu before me must have a wolf base.

    "Wait, I''m not an intruder! My name is Kagami Ky?ma, I''m here to help you!" I shouted, just as she took the first step forward. She stopped dead in her tracks, but did not lower her guard.

    "What do you mean? Explain yourself quick!"

    "I followed a highly dangerous element to this location," I quickly added. Whether I meant Utsuho or whoever kidnapped the Komeiji sisters, I was not too sure of; either seemed to be very dangerous to me.

    "All I can see is you, a clearly dangerous element. You smell of Oni," The Tengu growled, revealing her long canines, as her eyes grew sharper. I knew of the hatred and fear of Oni that all Tengu shared, and I guessed that was why Suika chose to split up with me.

    "I''m not an Oni, I''ve just been around Oni lately..." Was all I could say. It was not even an excuse. "The dangerous element has kidnapped a... a person who is important to me, and has gone up the mountain. A... companion of mine is already chasing after her. There is no time, I have to follow her!" Despite my innate calmness, I could not help but get more and more frantic; there was no telling what was going on above the clouds, but I wanted to be there to help.

    "... Is the hell raven your companion?" The girl''s voice finally lost a little of its edge. I was surprised to learn that she knew Utsuho. "We let her through since she is a beneficiary of the Kami of the mountain. She seemed to be in a hurry, even though the Kami are out right now..."

    "The Kami are out? Do you know if anyone else is up there right now?"

    "The living goddess should be there... in either case, nobody slipped by our watch before the hell raven," The Tengu girl explained with suspicion in her voice, as she sized me up again. I looked up into the sky, only to see the dying lights of Utsuho''s spirit trail; there was really no other trail. In the first place, I had come after Utsuho assuming she was going after somebody''s trail.

    "There''s no time to lose. You can follow me and watch me closely, if you want, but I need to get up there!" With these words, I jumped with all my might, and once again, threw off the shackles of gravity.

    "Hey, you!" She followed, at a speed far above mine, catching up with me in mere moments. "I will keep my eyes on you. Nobody can escape my vision." Was all she said, her sharp eyes fixed on mine with the glare of a predator.

    "My name is Kagami Ky?ma, what''s yours?" I introduced myself, turning to look at her while shooting up towards the clouds, a smile playing on my lips. Maybe I had found myself a reliable companion, considering her strong sense of duty and wish to protect the peace of Y?kai Mountain.

    "I''m Inubashiri Momiji, patrol officer of the Tengu Dominion."

 Chapter 19 - Battle of Moriya Shrine

    he thought of trying out skydiving would have never crossed my mind in the outside world, but I was now actually doing something that far exceeded my imagination; I was not falling but rather ascending towards the clouds. My trip would not take me through them, as Utsuho''s trail led me to a place halfway between the blackening clouds that spanned the sky like a ceiling, and the forest below.

    Closely followed by the Tengu named Momiji, I flew up a flight of stairs in the mountainside and approached a large red Torii, much like the Hakurei Shrine''s, but double its width. As I reached the top, I could not believe what I saw before me. Utsuho was kneeling on the ground, a circle of several meters around her melted as if it had been assaulted by great temperatures. However, she looked beat up, bleeding from a head wound that caused her to keep an eye closed. She was breathing hard, trying to stand back up, but her opponent did not care about any chivalrous behavior such as not hitting a downed person. This was different from a regulated fight in a tournament; it was a battle for survival, a death match in which the winner was decided by who was alive at the end.

    Utsuho''s opponent was someone completely unexpected, at whose sight my eyes widened in utter disbelief: She had long flowing purple hair that gradually turned into a light brown towards the tips, featured a beautiful face with the calm demeanor of a Buddha, and was wearing the robes of a Buddhist nun which still couldn''t fully hide the mature curves underneath.

    "Byakuren...?" I muttered, as the nun shot forward with blinding speed and knocked Utsuho through the air with a kick to her head. She was Hijiri Byakuren, the head priestess of the My?ren Temple, whom I had become acquainted with in my short stay in the human village, just after my journey into Gens?ky? had begun. She was completely expressionless, as her eyes viewed the hell raven as nothing but an enemy to be defeated.

    "An intruder here? How did this happen on my watch?!" Momiji growled and shot forward, sword and shield ready.

    Utsuho crashed into one of the pillars that lined the shrine''s grounds, but immediately turned her right arm, the one that had a hexagonal bronze tube attached, around to face Byakuren, a light gathering at its tip. Momiji approached, but jumped to the side when something crashed into the spot she would have stepped on a split second later. The nun, unhindered, assaulted Utsuho with a chain of palm-thrusts that scattered the latter''s focus, upon which the light dispersed uselessly.

    Momiji came to a stop and braced her shield to face the new enemy that had appeared. The object that had stopped her was a temple bell, which had dented the paved ground from the impact. However, it did not seem like it had been thrown, as the owner became visible when the dust settled around it. A woman in a Kimono that featured a large snake coiling around her body, with her blood red hair in a bob cut, was showing an extremely wide smile that did not reach her yellow eyes, as she gripped the bell''s top ring. Her irises were slits, like those of a snake, and a split tongue shot out from her mouth to lick her thin lips. The expression was one of self-confident superiority.

    "Let''s keep it fair, shall we?" She said, her cold eyes fixed on Momiji. Despite the fact that the Tengu''s base, the wolf, was considered an apex predator in some parts of the world, this snake lady seemed to think of her as nothing but prey. Especially considering the fact that Tengu Y?kai were ranked among the strongest type of Y?kai in the supernatural world, only overshadowed by Oni, Kitsune of the highest order and some individual Y?kai of lore, the confidence of this particular opponent was worrying. "I''ll be playing with you."

    Without a word, Momiji charged forward, as the snake lady was still preparing to pull the bell out of the ground, and slashed towards her. The opponent hid behind the bell and used the impact of the sword to fully pull free her weapon. In the same movement, she spun it around her own axis like a hammer throw, and swung it in the direction of the Tengu, who jumped back instead of blocking it with her shield. Even I could tell that the bell was so heavy that trying to block it was suicide. However, after the attack missed, the woman dropped the bell to the ground, as if it was too heavy for her, and her expression showed surprise that her attack had been avoided. Taking the opening, Momiji went in to attack again, who was now exposed in front of the bell and would not have enough time to round it to hide behind it again.

    From her angle, she was unable to see the woman''s expression, but I watched in horror as a smile, which caused the hairs on my body to stand on end, crept onto her face.

    "Just kidding," She casually remarked as her expression relaxed into that of a cold-blooded killer. Momiji had already swung her sword and its momentum prevented her from dodging in time. Grabbing the ring on top of the bell, the snake lady lifted it above her head and brought it down onto the Tengu, its force increased by gravity. Momiji twisted out of the way and angled her shield, redirecting the blow to the ground. However, the sheer weight sent her flying sideways, right towards me. I braced myself and caught her, the impact nearly knocking the air out of my lungs.

    "Momiji-san, are you alright?" I pressed out.

    "Don''t worry about me, human!" She snarled and readied herself, when she realized that her left arm hung down limply and the shield dropped out of her hand. Her arm was hanging at an angle that was clearly not natural. That grazing impact had broken every bone in her arm like they were dry twigs. If it had hit her as initially intended, she would have been crushed underneath the bell. Her eyes widened as she looked down at her useless arm. Momiji breathed in sharply and suddenly howled, like a wolf. It did not sound like a scream of pain, and a moment later I realized what it meant; her howl was repeated from several locations, further down the mountain. Reinforcements were on their way.

    "Oh, you''re calling your pack? And here I thought it was going to be a fair one on one battle," The snake lady remarked in a tone dripping with sarcasm. Her demeanor showed no concern at more people getting added to the fray, but I immediately understood why, when her eyes fixed on Momiji again. She was going to take her out before the others arrived, and I guessed that the purpose would be to break the reinforcement''s spirit even before the battle began for them.

    "I won''t let you do that!" I stepped between Momiji and her opponent. No, she was my opponent as well - she had been from the moment she was helping the person attacking Utsuho. I could not believe that she was really Byakuren, the gentle priestess that had received me with so much hospitality when I first visited her temple. I was reminded of the shape-shifter that had attempted to infiltrate the temple on the second day.

    "Hey, what do you think you''re doing, human!? She''s not an opponent you can take on!" Momiji pressed out between her teeth, as she suppressed the pain. I had my arm and ribs broken by a similarly heavy impact only a while ago, and I knew how painful it was. So I knew that the wolf Tengu was in no condition to continue the fight.

    "Not human... my name is Kagami Ky?ma. Remember it," I said and picked up Momiji''s shield. "I''ll be borrowing this." The impact from the bell had not dented it in the least, meaning it was made of a very sturdy material. Of course, it would not help me against my opponent''s heavy weapon, but it felt better than going into battle empty-handed.

    "Bring it on, snake!"

    "Ohh, that''s unexpected," The snake lady said, very obviously faking surprise in her expressions. "I bet you''re thinking ''I''m a high priority target'' - since that stupid Kurara let it slip out - ''so they won''t kill me'' or something like that?" She lifted the bell effortlessly and flung it over her shoulder as if it was just a jacket, holding onto the ring with only two fingers. Her snake-like smile grew even wider, as the look in her eyes changed to something sinister. "We were never told to bring you back in one piece, though. I bet O-hakuka-sama wouldn''t mind if you were missing a few limbs." She licked her lips with a sadistic smile.

    Honestly speaking, I did not think I stood a chance against any Y?kai that could beat a Tengu at the moment, aside from the fact that my opponent was physically stronger by a magnitude completely separate from human definition. The only thing I had going for myself was the fact that she looked down on me and would surely underestimate my abilities.

    However, there was another problem; I could not simply stall for time until reinforcements arrived. Even if I could keep the snake lady busy, Utsuho was being beaten up badly, and I doubted she would survive such a relentless assault much longer. From where I stood, I could see that she was barely even responding to the strikes, and was unable to make an effort to fight back. It was up to me to defeat my opponent and then go to help Utsuho.

    In the instant in which I looked away from the snake woman to see how the hell raven was doing, she charged forward. It was my mistake, to dare and take my eyes off her for even a moment despite the fact that she was clearly stronger, and she immediately took the opportunity to make me pay for it.

    But her attack did not connect, as she swung the bell down with the open side, trying to capture me. Jumping backwards, I took the opportunity of her delay from the attack to charge forward, going for a shield bash. Once again, she hid behind the bell, which was slightly buried in the ground from the impact. However, I did not finish my movement and avoided hitting the bell, and instead rounded it from the left with the shield held horizontally. My aim was to hit my opponent with the shield''s rim anywhere between stomach and throat, for an instant knockout, or, if necessary, a kill.

    She was just about to reappear from behind the bell on the side I was attacking, and her eyes widened at the fact that I had anticipated it. In the middle of her movement, she would not be able to correct her trajectory anymore; I would hit her neck and sandwich it between the shield and the bell. Then, her expression relaxed into a smile, as her body dropped down, avoiding my attack by a hair''s breadth. I hit the bell with the rim and a loud gong resounded throughout the shrine grounds.

    The snake lady shot up again, and grabbed the ring on top of the bell over my extended arm. I knew what she was trying to do: She wanted to use her entire body to break my arm at the elbow.

    "No you won''t!" I muttered and bounced off the bell with the shield, angling my elbow while spinning my body to the left. It appeared our speed was about equal, so with her physical strength she would be far ahead of me in terms of fighting power. From Suika I had not learned special techniques, but rather the form of the strong; an Oni only needed to rely on raw strength to fight battles. I filled in the blanks myself, since as a human, I could not walk the same path as she did. Now that I had a body that could perform even the most extreme athletic feats, I could try and mimic the techniques used in the few K-1 and mixed martial arts matches I remembered from watching them on TV on New Year''s Eve. Of course, I could not replicate any of them, but I at least understood the principles of using angles, joints and pivots. The rest would have to be done the Oni way - through raw strength.

    Just as her body touched my arm, I drew it back with the entirety of my body, as I dropped myself backwards at the same time. The shield was pulled into her wide open back with all my weight and power, separating her from the bell and sending her face-first into the paved ground. My body followed, the shield''s rim still in her back, and I dropped my right arm onto it with all my strength, hearing a cracking sound from beneath me. It was the sound of a vertebra getting knocked out of the spine.

    The air was knocked out of the snake lady''s body, as for the first time her expression showed genuine surprise. Her legs went limp and she screamed out in agony, ramming her fist into the ground and crushing the stones underneath. So even for a supernatural being, getting a vertebra dislodged caused tremendous pain and immobilized them. However, just as I lifted my shield to bring it down on the back of her neck to knock her out, I heard a dangerous voice emerge from underneath me.

    "Don''t... get ahead... of yourself... HUMAN!" She screamed, and in the next instant, the Kimono and her body melted together, as she became elongated. I heard a crack in her spine again, presumably from the dislodged vertebra jumping back in place, when she turned into a large serpent with a head as big as my upper body. In the same motion as the snake was getting up, its tail whipped around and came at me, ready to snap me in half. I lifted the shield and jumped up and backwards, to take the force out of the blow as much as possible, but it still sent me flying through the air. I had jumped up with a clear purpose in mind, though: Since I could now fly and fight in midair, I let the force propel me away from my opponent to gain distance. Still, the arm holding the shield went numb from the heavy impact.

    "You''re not getting away!" The serpent shouted, its voice deep and reverberating, befitting of the size of its body. In the next instance, it uncoiled itself like a spring and jumped after me, the mouth wide open in an attempt to eat me whole. Rows of teeth greeted me, something I had not expected, as I always thought snakes only had two long teeth on the upper jaw. Reacting immediately, I jammed Momiji''s shield into its jaw and drew back my right arm for a punch into its eye.

    Suddenly, a light illuminated the inside of its maw, and a wave of heat assaulted me, causing me to let go of the shield. Quickly drawing back, I had to watch as the shield began to soften and lose its form, before the serpent¡¯s powerful jaws crushed it. She spit it out again, at which point it looked like a half-melted, giant bent coin. Embers played around its six nostrils, as its yellow slit eyes fixed themselves on me again.

    Having lost my protection, I floated in midair, thinking of ways to fight this opponent, when suddenly several figures, dressed just like Momiji, flew up the stairs and confronted the enemy. They all looked very similar to the wolf Tengu, and all of them had the same ears, white hair and fluffy tails. The weapons they carried were the same as Momiji''s, too, including the large round shields. Reinforcements had arrived.

    "So what?"  The serpent suddenly growled and turned its attention to the newcomers. "You''re only going to end up as my food!"

    "Oh, scary, scary," A familiar voice, dripping with sarcasm, spoke from above me. I had not heard it in a long time, but I remembered it clearly. Turning around, I looked up to see the all-too-familiar red Tengu geta with the impossibly long single teeth, the slender legs that disappeared under a black skirt which would never fall prey to the wind to reveal what was underneath, the white shirt with the strip of red leaves print on the right side, all the way up to the shoulder, a slim neck to a beautiful face displaying a confident smile that extended to the red, predator-like eyes. The pompoms dangling from the Tokin hat were lifted into the air as she descended and came to a stop next to me. "It''s been a while, Kagami-san."

    "Shameimaru-san!" I responded. The crow Tengu, Shameimaru Aya, did not have her trademark camera dangling from her neck and was holding an orange, five-feathered fan as she crossed her arms in a domineering pose. Her eyes were looking down at her opponent with contempt and hostility, and the intensity sent a shiver down my spine.

    "Another Tengu won''t make a diff-" The serpent started, but in the next instant Aya had closed the distance and rammed a geta onto the top of its head, shutting its mouth with the impact.

    "I don''t remember giving you permission to open that filthy mouth of yours," Aya''s spoke in a tone I did not expect coming from her. Her entire demeanor radiated overwhelming power, something I would have never thought her capable of after having seen her relaxed behavior in the human village. I had forgotten a simple thing: She, too, was a Tengu, and as a crow, she was of the highest order among them.

    "Why you... I''ll-" The serpent dropped its head to open its jaws again and take a bite at Aya, but the latter avoided it by flying up, only to come down with both her feet again. She impacted the serpent''s head, but continued to force it down towards the ground, where it crashed into the paved road leading up to the main shrine building.

    "Who gave you permission to talk," Aya said and kept the serpent pinned to the ground. "Patrol squad, secure this one, I''ll take care of-"

    Byakuren appeared before Aya, ready with a palm strike to her gut. The crow Tengu''s eyes widened in surprise, but in the next split second, a mocking smile played on her lips. The palm went through Aya''s stomach, or so it would seem, but she had already disappeared. In the next instant, she reappeared behind Byakuren. "You''re a million years too early to compete with me in speed." With these words, the Tengu ground her geta into the nun''s back.

    Using the opportunity, the serpent attempted to get back up, when Aya landed on its head again and forced it down. "Patrol squad, you''re being slow!" She casually dodged the serpent''s tail as it tried to swat her off its head and avoided another attack by Byakuren while countering with a kick to her solar plexus. Aya was completely dominating her opponents.

    "Utsuho!" I remembered, and dropped down to the battered bundle of feathers, leaning against one of the onbashira, pillars carved from divine tree trunks, lining the paved road. She appeared to be breathing, but was unconscious, bruised all over and bleeding from her forehead, nose and a cut on her lips. All that strength she had shown before had been reduced to such a state in the face of the shapeshifter''s physical combat style; I was quite sure that she was not really the Buddhist head priestess, considering her position as someone who sought the path of peace. I was sure the real Byakuren would never do something so violent.

    "Aya, there''s someone at the shrine!" Momiji suddenly shouted, her eyes wide and focused on the far end of the shrine grounds. The Tengu patrol had fixed the serpent to the ground using ropes, while Aya had begun to fight Byakuren directly, when she heard it. In the next instance, she was drawn to the floor by her right hand, which was holding the Tengu fan. It crashed onto the pavement and even from where I was, I could hear the sound of bones breaking; her hand had been crushed.

    "What..." She pressed out between her teeth, surprise in her eyes as she spun her head around to the shrine building. I turned to look as well and was astonished to see another face I had seen before. A young woman with light-blue hair, wearing a kimono that exposed her slender shoulders, stood there looking in Aya''s general direction with the eyes of a dead fish. Her arms were dangling beside her as if she was a puppet with its strings cut, and her lips were forming words without making a sound.

    She was the Y?kai I had met on my first night in Gens?ky?, on the bridge, who had made me abandon my shoes as they seemed to have been glued to the ground. Apparently they had done something to her, after she had been taken by Kurara, since she looked as if no soul inhabited her body. I understood immediately that this woman was responsible for Aya''s fan becoming so heavy that it broke her fingers upon impacting the ground.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    The situation experienced a full turn, as the strongest fighter, Aya, had been taken out in an instant. The fake Byakuren got back up, looking unhurt from the crow Tengu''s kicks, while the serpent broke free of its bindings and immediately assaulted the patrol squad. I could not carelessly turn away from the newcomer, who opened up a third front in this battle, but I also could not simply sit by and watch the Tengu getting defeated one by one.

    As if to crush all hope, the mastermind behind this incident, O-hakuka herself, appeared from inside the shrine, accompanied by another familiar face: Kamitsuki Senka, the Futakuchi-onna that had first infiltrated the My?ren Temple, suddenly attacked its residents, and vanished just as quickly as she had turned over. However, my eyes were fixed on another person, somebody Senka was dragging along. Disheveled pink hair, in which the hair band adorned with a heart had already lost its purpose, a slender stature with a very light skin tone from staying indoors, or rather underground, all the time. It was Komeiji Satori, one of the two people Utsuho and I had come here to save.

    My mind went blank at the overwhelming odds stacked against us; the squad of wolf Tengu were no match for the giant serpent, Momiji was injured and would not be able to help, Aya was fixed to the ground by her crushed hand and the fake Byakuren was watching her, Utsuho was injured badly and unconscious, and I was clearly unable to fight all these monsters on my own.

    "It appears things have been taken care of out here," O-hakuka announced as she looked over the shrine grounds. I spun my head around to see that the Tengu reinforcements had been reduced to a pile of bodies, and the serpent had turned back into her humanoid form, shouldering temple bell casually. "I thought the troublesome Arahitogami would be inside, but she seems to be out." So the living goddess was absent as well, even though I had hoped that a person with that title would be able to help us and stand up against these monsters.

    "Then we can begin, before anymore interruptions happen," The Nurarihyon said with her red lips curling into a cold smile that sent shivers down my spine. Whatever she would begin meant nothing good.

    Senka pulled Satori forward and O-hakuka grabbed hold of her head with a casual gesture. The dark clouds overhead unleashed an arcing lightning bolt, followed by a roaring peal of thunder. The Futakuchi-onna walked forward and turned around to reveal the metallic jaw on the back of her head, which looked like the bow on neck-brace headphones, and with a crunching sound, several pillars simply vanished. She had pulverized them in an instant, ingested by her second mouth, over a considerable distance. Repeating that process, soon there were no more pillars in the shrine grounds.

    Suddenly, Satori''s body lit up in a bright light, but it was sucked into O-hakuka''s hand, which was firmly grasping the petite girl''s head. Satori began to scream in agony, as if the oiran''s hand was a hot piece of metal, and she attempted to shake herself free. However, since she was kneeling and her arms were bound behind her back, she was unable to move much, and the iron vise that was O-hakuka''s grip was inescapable to her.

    Next to me Utsuho stirred, as she forced herself up at the voice of Satori. Her stance was unstable and she could barely stand, but her eyes were burning with an intense flame. Lifting the bronze tube, her arm cannon, she pointed it at O-hakuka and instantly shot out a blast with the intense glow of the sun, in the size of a basketball. It approached the oiran, but was intercepted by Senka, who opened the metal jaw on the back of her head, and simply ate the energy ball.

    "Right back at you," She said and opened the jaw again, shooting the ball back at Utsuho. The hell raven was taken aback, but held out the red dome-like eye on her chest to receive the miniature sun. It was absorbed into the eye, and Utsuho stepped forward to attack Senka head on, now that her long-ranged attack was rendered useless.

    I turned around to see whether the fake Byakuren would respond, but she only stood above Aya, not letting the crow Tengu get back up. It appeared that everyone present was confident that Senka could take on the injured hell raven, who was seething with rage at seeing her mistress hurting. The Futakuchi-onna tilted her head to look over her shoulder, an unhinged grin on her face as her eyes looked at her opponent with delightful contempt.

    "Get... your hands... off Satori-sama!!!" Utsuho screamed, her ashen voice resounding with a vibration that shook the air. However, it was not her voice that was distorting the atmosphere, but rather the immense heat her body radiated. Its effect seared my face, even as she stood several meters away, and I had to turn away from it. In the next instance, the heat was gone, and I spun around to see what had happened. The aura around Utsuho had disappeared, and Senka''s second mouth was open, a tongue hanging out from it while a plume of smoke rose up like the comedic visual effect shown after someone ate something hot.

    "I do like it spicy, but that might be a little much after all," The Futakuchi-onna muttered sarcastically, as her eyes rolled up in ecstasy. Utsuho''s expression changed into one of pure surprise, but in the next moment, the second mouth snapped open all the way and an onbashira shot out from inside it, crashing into the hell raven''s stomach. It was a sight that defied logic; it appeared as if Senka''s metallic jaw led to a different dimension with infinite space, from which she could bring back anything previously ingested. This was completely different from the Futakuchi-onna''s folklore.

    Utsuho was flung through the air and pushed past the torii down the stairs, disappearing from sight. Without another look, Senka walked back towards O-hakuka, who was engrossed in her ritual that caused Satori immeasurable pain. I gritted my teeth and readied myself to go and help her, but I knew there was nothing I could do against these overwhelming enemies.

    "I wouldn''t, if I were you, human," The snake lady said, as she came up to me. "But actually... why not? Do try, please. Give me a reason to hurt you!" She was smiling, but her eyes were filled with rage, remembering our short battle earlier in which I had dislodged one of her vertebrae.

    In the next moment, Satori''s screams disappeared, as she seemed to have lost consciousness - or worse. O-hakuka let go and the petite girl dropped to the floor face first, discarded like a broken toy. The oiran looked up into the sky and lifted her right hand, from which a beam of light shot upwards in a straight line. The clouds began to spin around it and lightning arced across the heavens. Something had begun.

    To the southwest, Suika spotted her destination from far away, as she flew through the air following the scent of the Kasha. Unlike Ky?ma, she could not see the spiritual residue of other beings, but she had been able to pick up on the smell of the two Y?kai they had followed. With the general direction she had been pointed in, she found the trail of one of them leading her so far.

    Even viewed from far away, the Garden of the Sun was an impressive sight; a field of golden sunflowers stretching over an area as far as the eyes could see. However, that was not where Suika''s red eyes were fixed on; beyond it, surrounded by a cloud of mist, towered a gigantic tortoise. It was completely black and covered in spines and horns, but its most notable feature was the rugged mountain on its back, in which the general form of a castle could be seen.

    "So that''s the enemy''s base, huh?" Suika muttered as she approached the place. "What''s Genbu doing in the southwest...? This will mess a lot of things up here." The little Oni stopped to turn around and look back at Y?kai Mountain, where heavy clouds gathered. "I hope the boy''s alright..."

    With this, she continued on towards the titanic tortoise, when suddenly a beam of light shot up from the peak of the castle on its back, towards Y?kai Mountain.

    At the fully repaired Hakurei Shrine, Reimu was preparing her dinner, when she felt a tingle she could not ignore. Putting out the flame and leaving the half-cut food, she walked to her room and picked up a stack of ofuda, large sealing needles and a handful of Yin Yang orbs. She stashed the items in her wide sleeves, finally took up her gohei and walked past the living room, out of the shrine building, halfway towards the torii, before turning around.

    There was a beam of light coming from behind her shrine, extending towards the northwest. She could guess where it was coming from and going to, and she did not like the prospect.

    "Hey, what''s going on, Reimu? What''s with dinner?" A girl with starry golden eyes and blonde hair tied into a braid hanging down from her left temple, with the rest left open, asked as she followed the Hakurei Miko out of the shrine. She was wearing all black and white, and she was holding onto a pointy black hat that could only be described as that of a witch.

    "Dinner has to wait. Get ready..." Reimu''s eyes were grim and focused. "It''s an incident."

    The beam widened and encompassed all of O-hakuka, at which she lowered her hand and looked in my direction. Her entire face was filled with the confidence of a victor as she gestured to the snake lady next to me. "Take him."

    "What shall we do with this one?" Senka asked, as she carelessly lifted Satori''s limp body by an arm, the metal jaw on the back of her head licking what would pass for its lips.

    "We don''t need that anymore, do what you like," O-hakuka said without even looking. My eyes widened as Senka turned around, ready to eat Satori whole, when suddenly a raging raven roared back up the stairs. Utsuho''s entire figure was covered in hellfire, as she charged forward to save Satori.

    "You''re really annoying, just die already," The snake lady muttered, clicking her tongue. She swung the bell around to meet Utsuho, as if trying to hit a speeding baseball with a bat; however, the hell raven simply burst through it, melting the heavy metal bell in the process, sending red hot slag flying all over. Nothing would stop her on her course towards Satori now.

    "Stand down," O-hakuka ordered, the volume of her voice on its usual level. As if her words became a physical weight, the hell raven stopped in midair and crashed into the ground. Trying her best, she simply could not lift herself up, no matter what she tried. Screaming in anger, she punched the ground and dented it with her sheer strength, but it still did not allow her to even raise her head in face of the overwhelming dominance that the Nurarihyon''s influence represented. "You can eat that one, too, Senka."

    "Oh, I''ll gain weight from all this," Senka said with a sneer and turned the back of her head to Utsuho first. "Just kidding." The jaw opened and a piece of the shrine grounds disappeared, along with the hell raven''s entire left wing. A split second later, her agonized cry echoed throughout the area.

    "Wow, you have such a bad habit of playing with your food," The snake lady next to me commented in a sarcastic tone. She looked down on the melted remains of her bell and shook her head. "I''ll have to get a new one. Well, there''s a temple in the human village, so it should have one, I guess." Her aloof attitude was proof of how desperate the situation was for me. I saw no way out at all. In the background, Utsuho just lost her right wing to the same vacuum-like bite from Senka''s second mouth. "Now, human, I''ll take you along. Please make an effort and fight back. I want to have some fun after all."

    Suddenly, a basket filled with various fruits, nuts and mushrooms dropped from the sky behind me.

    "This ends now," A female''s voice resounded throughout the shrine grounds and everyone''s attention was drawn to it. In the air above the torii floated a girl in her late teens, dressed in a miko outfit similar to Reimu''s, but in white and blue instead of white and red. She sported long and straight green hair, with a frog hairpin on the left above her straight-cut bangs, a single hair tube on the left, around which a living white snake with red eyes was coiled. Her yellow eyes gave off a mysterious aura, one I had never seen before, but which I was convinced of symbolized divinity. She was holding a gohei, the variant with a rectangular piece of pure white paper embedded into the end of a straight wooden wand, pointed in O-hakuka and Senka''s direction. "After all you''ve done here, I have to exterminate you."

    "How scary," Senka said as she turned around and looked at the newcomer with a crazed smile. "I''ll eat you first!" She jumped up and flew towards the shrine maiden, who swung her gohei up above her head and drew symbols into the air at an incredible speed while chanting inaudibly.

    "Wait, Senka, get back!" O-hakuka yelled, but it was too late; the miko completed her motion and brought the gohei down, upon which a lightning bolt came down in front of Senka and crashed into the ground. The Futakuchi-onna stopped dead in her tracks and wondered what just happened, when from the dust cloud below a woman emerged.

    "Trashing my shrine... you lot have some guts," The tall woman announced as she stepped forward, residual lightning coiling around her body. She was almost as tall as Y?gi, and had a body to match the Oni''s, but her most striking feature was the large, ring-shaped shimenawa, the god-binding twisted paper-ropes hanging around divine trees or boulders, that seemed to be attached to her back, forming a big halo behind her entire upper body. She wore a dark red and black shirt with white sleeves, and an elaborately designed round mirror on her chest, a long red skirt with an autumn leaves print, similar to Aya''s shirt, and sandals bound with the same shimenawa as the one on her back. Her short purple hair was also tied with a thin shimenawa and her piercing red eyes were vertical slits, the same as a snake''s. However, her demeanor was completely different from the snake lady''s next to me, who stared at the newcomer with pure hostility. Her divinity was unmistakable; she was one of the Kami of the mountain.

    "Take Kagami Ky?ma, we are leaving!" The Nurarihyon ordered, as she was still surrounded by the beam of light. Senka clicked her tongue and turned her back on the Kami, to return to O-hakuka''s side.

    "Showing your back to an opponent?" The Kami said with her arms crossed, as she looked over the intruders with an expression you would expect to see from a host at a banquet viewing uninvited attendants.

    "Please, Kanako-sama," The green-haired miko prayed.

    "I understand," The Kami named Kanako responded. She breathed in and held her breath for a moment. "You are not leaving alive!" Her voice thundered across the whole mountain, as her previously casual countenance changed drastically, into the enraged visage of a war god.

    "Oh, but we will," Senka said, as she passed me. I saw her smile widening, as the mouth on the back of her head opened, and in the next instance another onbashira shot out, right towards Kanako.

    "Throwing my own onbashira at me? Know your place!" She responded and grabbed it with one hand, before it fully left Senka''s mouth. In the same motion, she proceeded to shove it back into the metal jaws. The snake lady quickly transformed into the giant serpent form and attempted to coil around me, now that the newcomer was busy with the Futakuchi-onna.

    Up above, the miko chanted again, this time pointing the gohei at the ground below her. She finished, but nothing happened, and I wondered if her ritual had gone wrong. In the next moment, a boulder explosively emerged from the ground below the serpent and sent it flying up into the air. The boulder broke apart and from inside it a girl barely taller than Suika emerged. She had blonde hair and featured a light brown, wide-brimmed leather hat and a short purplish-blue dress with a frog-print. As she had her back turned to me, I could not see her face, but the atmosphere around her was the same as Kanako''s. She was another Kami.

    "Suwako-sama, please," The miko prayed once again.

    "I got you," The Kami named Suwako responded. Her voice was tender and lacked the powerful, almost physical pressure that Kanako''s held; however, the tone sent shivers down my spine, as it possessed a different kind of strength.

    "We''re retreating! We can get Kagami Ky?ma some other time," O-hakuka said. The large serpent turned back into her humanoid self, as she fled to the Nurarihyon''s side. Byakuren, whose presence I had completely forgotten over the sudden events happening one after another, dashed to join them in the light, and the light-blue haired woman stepped back to them as well.

    However, Senka was being pinned down by Kanako. The Kami was grabbing the metal jaw on the back of her head with one hand, while the other was braced against the Futakuchi-onna''s neck. With a mighty roar, Kanako ripped it off Senka''s head, along with the headphone-like ear covers. An entire collection of organs followed, as the girl in the kimono with the bloody motifs collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, a large hole in the back of her head, twitching in her death throes.

    "You won''t get away," Suwako stated, as she turned around to the beam of light into which O-hakuka and her three remaining underlings huddled up. From the side I finally saw her face and noticed her grey eyes with horizontal slit irises, like those of a frog. Her hat featured two bulges at the top in which two similar eyes but in black were embedded. When I saw the intensity within her eyes, which belied the calmness in her voice, I witnessed the difference between a Y?kai and a Kami who received the faith of many people and grew immensely powerful in the process.

    Suwako clapped her hands together, and the ground around the group of Y?kai distorted, then suddenly welled up like a giant earthen maw, before crashing together to flatten them all. However, when the rock touched the beam of light, it was violently dispersed, as if blown away. Kanako pointed to the sky and then at O-hakuka, upon which a smooth and black hexagonal pillar, an onbashira, emerged from the clouds and flew towards the targets. Yet, even this was repelled by the light.

    "We will meet again soon, Kami of the mountain," The Nurarihyon announced. She looked in my direction. "And you, too." With that, they disappeared, along with the beam of light, leaving behind only chaos and destruction.

    <hr />

    Double release, since I had some time today. Almost caught up to the original, where a choice is still outstanding, just two more chapters. I may be able to do another one or two tomorrow.

 Chapter 19.5 - Girls Side

    uika hurried, when she saw the beam of light, as she could feel that it symbolized something bad. She did not seem to get much closer, while the giant black tortoise, Genbu, kept increasing in size. This was testament to its sheer size; it must have been as tall as the mountains in the north, the only ones that could be called so in face of Y?kai Mountain¡¯s overwhelming height. It meant that the castle on the back of the tortoise was of an immense size as well.

    From Ky?ma she had heard about the various Y?kai he had encountered so far, who had seemed likely to be conspiring with O-hakuka. Among them the one that had sounded most troublesome had been the shapeshifter, which even close friends could not distinguish from the original. Suika knew that being one of the honest Oni race she would all too easily fall for it ¨C and even knowing this fact, she could not think of a way to counter a shapeshifter posing as someone she knew and was close with.

    Rather than landing properly, the little Oni decided to make a grand entrance: She fearlessly crashed right into the castle wall and threw back her arm to punch a hole into it. Entering through the crumbling outline, Suika realized that the interior was indeed shaped like a traditional castle, including the wooden floors and paper sliding doors. However, due to the sheer size of this building, it would take her a long time to find what she was looking for. The scent of the Kasha had disappeared over the Garden of the Sun, understandably, as the smell of the sunflowers overpowered everything in a large area. The only reason Suika had come this far was because her destination had been obvious.

    ¡°The light is still there¡­ something¡¯s going on,¡± She muttered and looked down the empty hallway on both sides. No guards were rushing in to stop her and she could not feel any defensive spells; maybe there was nobody in and the light came from Genbu itself, or only one person was present to activate the spell behind the beam. Searching alone would take her too long, so she took a deep gulp from her treasured purple Sake gourd. Puffing up her cheeks, the little Oni breathed out tiny clouds that consolidated into miniature versions of her, all in all over a hundred. ¡°Alright, everyone, move out!¡± With this, the army of mini-Suika dispersed in all directions, opening holes in paper sliding doors to go through or helping each other up the stairs. Despite the situation, they were more comedic than serious, and would fumble around, trip each other up or roll along the floor at random times, as if having fun.

    Suika sighed at the sight, then looked up to the ceiling and jumped, crashing through it to ascend to the next floor. It seemed to be an unspoken rule that the leader of any castle was always to be found on the top floor, so that was where she was headed. It did not take her long to reach the top; Suika immediately knew without crashing through the roof of the castle, because there was a throne seat at the end of the room. Unexpectedly, the large room was completely empty.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be that the beam was an automatic spell¡­?¡± The little Oni scratched her head and looked around for any clues. Yet, what was empty remained empty, no matter how much she searched. ¡°Maybe the mini-mes had more luck¡­¡± With this she clapped her hands together, causing all the mini-Suika to disperse into mist and fly back to her. Suika began to suck in the air around her, including the Oni mist, until none was left. With this, she gained the memory of all the miniature clones she had sent out, including everything they had seen during their search.

    Apparently they had not met a single soul, but there was a suspicious place in a windowless corridor deep within the castle. If this had been a castle on the ground, it would have been an underground room, but now it must have led into the giant tortoise¡¯s body. That was Suika¡¯s destination now, into the bowels of the beast, a room sealed with a heavy lock and a large number of ofuda.

    She jumped back down the holes in the floors she created, all the way to where she first broke in, then proceeded to punch her way through like she had on her ascent, until she landed in a corridor that was build out of stone, rather than wood. At the end of it, around the corner, would be the door one of her mini-mes had found, and it most likely contained something of great importance.

    ¡°Well, maybe it¡¯ll just turn out to lead to Genbu¡¯s heart or something boring like that,¡± The little Oni muttered, as she walked forward and around the corner. The door was there and still, nobody in sight. ¡°This is where normally a guard would be waiting¡­¡± For some reason Suika looked annoyed at the fact that she had not had a fight at hand already.

    Grabbing the heavy lock, she simply ripped it off as if it was a made of paper. Instead of kicking it open, Suika rammed her fingers into the metal door and pulled it out of its hinges, ignoring the Ofuda parched all over it. From being with Reimu for a long time, Suika understood that these were actually sealing strips for Y?ki, the energies and auras of Y?kai. Looking into the room, Suika¡¯s eyes widened; within was the person she had come to find. Koishi was bound to a hexagonal pillar using shimenawa, with ofuda covering her bare body, and screaming in agony as the pillar of light surrounded her.

    There was no enemy in sight, even in this place, so it meant that this must have been a trap. However, it was not part of the Oni¡¯s nature to be careful in their conduct, and when forcing themselves to take a moment to think rather than act immediately, bad things tended to happen. Suika had lived long enough to know this from experience, and she had lost people dear to her in the process. At one point she had decided that rather than contemplating the potential risks from immediate action, dealing with them when they came up was more favorable. Indeed, this was the conclusion many of the Oni race had come to during their long lives, which resulted in the common misconception that they were a simple people who let their fists do the thinking.

    Thus, regardless of the consequences, saving Koishi right now was the priority and the sole reason she had come to this place. Without hesitation, Suika rushed forward and stretched her hands to rip off the shimenawa that coiled around the Satori Y?kai¡¯s body. However, the light surrounding the girl repelled the Oni¡¯s hands as if it was solid matter. Not wasting time on being surprised, Suika put her hand on the pillar of light and activated her ability to control the density of matter, in an instant creating a hole in the barrier. Without hesitation, she grabbed the god binding paper, which burned her hands upon contact, and tore them off, freeing Koishi from her bindings.

    The moment Suika pulled off the ofuda pasted over Koishi¡¯s body, the girl stopped screaming and went limp. The Oni was about to pull her out from the pillar of light when the enemy finally appeared before her. A woman who could only be described as white, floated in the air, blocking the exit. Her long hair was an ethereal white and her face was almost unhealthily white, with gray lips curled in a slight smile. She wore a pure white haori and a long white skirt that reached all the way down to her ankles, if she had ankles in the first place. Instead of feet extending from underneath the skirt, there was only white steam, wafting and dispersing into the air around her, causing the temperature to drop by several degrees. It was the sign that she was an Onry?, a ghost with a vengeful affixation, making her a dangerous existence to anything that was considered living. However, her most striking features, even in this assortment of the supernatural, were her hands. There was neither skin, flesh, nor muscles on them, only blank white bones, held together by some unearthly magic.

    ¡°The ritual is not over yet, so I cannot have you remove the catalyst,¡± The woman said in a bewitching tone. Suika looked up at her dubiously, decided to ignore her and proceeded to pull Koishi from the light. Seeing this, the woman stretched out a skeletal hand. Upon this, the little Oni seemed to freeze up completely. In reality, she was still moving, but had slowed down immensely, as if time had been warped. ¡°As expected of an Oni, my power cannot compare to your muscle strength after all!¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s it, huh?¡± Suika muttered. The white woman approached with a wide smile, showing off her perfectly white teeth.

    ¡°Even if I cannot stop you completely, at this level you are nothing to worry about. Well then, be patient, while I put the catalyst back in its place,¡± She said and passed Suika. However, unexpectedly, the little Oni¡¯s hand shot forward and grabbed the woman¡¯s skeletal wrist. Gasping in surprise, she attempted to free herself, but was unable to compete against Suika¡¯s immeasurable strength.

    ¡°You think playing around with some bones can stop me?¡± Suika grumbled and her grip intensified to the point that the skeletal wrist gave off an unhealthy creaking noise. Whether the woman could feel it or not, her expression was filled with surprise rather than fear. Instead of attempting the futile, she simply drew back and in the process her trapped arm detached, leaving the Oni with a skeletal arm in her hand.

    ¡°I have underestimated you, but you have wasted your hand,¡± The woman said, her grin filled with triumph.

    ¡°Ah, no¡­ you wasted yours,¡± The Oni responded and dropped the discarded arm carelessly.

    ¡°You think you have disarmed me with that?¡± The white woman remained unperturbed by the sight and from her wide sleeve a new skeletal arm appeared. ¡°I still have enough hands to play.¡±

    ¡°Ok, can we please stop with the hand puns? It¡¯s getting tiresome,¡± Suika said and in the next instant extended both her arms, gathered matter around them to increase the size of her palms, before bringing them together on the woman, as if clapping her hands. It all happened very quickly, but in the last moment the woman was able to slow Suika¡¯s momentum down enough to slip out from the attack that would have ground her entire body to dust.

    ¡°I cannot help but think that you tried to have the last word just now¡­¡± The woman muttered with an unhappy expression.

    ¡°You noticed?¡±

    ¡°That was too straightforward. But I must say, I never knew Oni could have more than just their raw strength. That is a really handy ability you got there.¡±

    ¡°Alright. That¡¯s it. I¡¯ll deck you!¡± Suika snapped.

    It was a fight between an Oni, a protector of the spirit world, and an Onry?, a disturber of spirits. From the beginning, it was one-sidedly in favor of Suika, who had nothing to fear from the woman in white, whose power appeared to be unable to affect her in any significant way. On the other side of things, the Oni could win with a single hit, pulverizing her opponent with raw strength.

    Added to the fact that Suika had already removed Koishi from inside the pillar of light and ripped off the ofuda that appeared to be part of the ritual, the winning conditions were in the little Oni¡¯s favor as well. The Onry? was surely pressed for time; with the catalyst of the ritual out of the picture, it would without a doubt collapse, if not put back in its place soon. Therefore, all Suika had to do was protect the Satori Y?kai until the light behind her disappeared. When it came to stamina, an Oni had a near endless amount of it, so attempting to tire her out would prove to be a fruitless effort.

    ¡°I know this fight is not in my favor, but whoever said I had to fight you alone? Let me introduce you to my right hand!¡± The woman in white said, earning her a growl from Suika. From behind a pillar a child, about the same height as the Oni, emerged, carrying a gigantic lantern attached to a wooden pole. Whether it was a girl or a boy could not be determined due to the child¡¯s androgynous appearance or the nondescript yukata that could be worn by either males or females. The lantern looked like the typical Ch?chin-obake, a traditional Japanese lantern that became sentient and turned into a Y?kai due to old age. It featured a single lidless eye and a rip in its side that resembled a mouth with jagged teeth, revealing a ghostly pale flame inside it.

    ¡°This one looks like a small fry, though,¡± Suika commented. Ch?chin-obake were a staple member of the Tsukumogami family, Y?kai that came to life from everyday inanimate objects such as umbrellas and pots. It also meant that their levels within the supernatural rankings were exceptionally low, to the point that they were treated as familiars by Y?kai of higher orders, such as Bake-danuki or Kitsune, like Mamiz? or Yakumo Ran.

    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s rude! I¡¯m a proper Y?kai, and I will show you my power!¡± The child said and swung the lantern around, from which a flash of light emerged, momentarily blinding the surprised Suika. ¡°Haha! How is this?¡±

    In the next moment the Oni felt a light impact on her face and reflexively swung her arm, hitting something in the process. She felt feedback from her hand on something soft that did not feel like flesh. A split second later she heard the impact of something soft against something soft, immediately followed by the crushing noise of something soft making high-velocity contact with something hard. Her eyesight slowly returned, to see the Ch?chin-obake leaning against a pillar, buried by its own lantern. Apparently she had swung the lantern against Suika while she was blinded, causing her to retaliate and punch it away, sending it flying right into its owner. The power and speed had been enough to take the little girl off her feet and send her crashing into the pillar. It had ended in the expected result.

    ¡°I¡­ have no words,¡± Suika said with a pitiful gaze, before turning back to the woman in white, who was looking between the Oni and the child. She rushed over to the lantern girl¡¯s side, leaving Suika to do what she wanted, who immediately picked up Koishi and walked out of the room. From behind her she could only hear the white woman lamenting the sorry state her right hand had been turned into. It was then that the pillar of light disappeared, upon which the entire castle shook; Genbu had begun to move.

    Leaving the same way she had come in, Suika looked from the outside to see that the giant tortoise had indeed moved from its position, its destination most likely the human village in the center of Gens?ky?. However, she felt no obligation to stop it; she had achieved what she had come for, and was heading towards Y?kai Mountain to meet up with Ky?ma. Looking at the path of Genbu, Suika could only shake her head in pity.

    It would pass through the Garden of the Sun.

    ow, this feels quite nostalgic. It¡¯s been a long time since we last came here.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not here for sightseeing.¡±

    ¡°But really, this place is as strange as always. We came down right next to the light, but passing through the barrier made us end up so far away from it.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, there it is! This brings back memories of that travel incident.¡±

    A black-haired Miko and a blonde girl who could only be described with the word ¡°witch¡± were soaring through a world of eternal twilight, bathed in a transparent purple miasma. It did not obstruct one¡¯s vision, but drained the life out of those who did not belong in this alien world. Even then, these two humans were formidable enough to defend against the poisonous atmosphere using their respective means.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°The gatekeeper was not in her usual spot. Be careful,¡± Hakurei Reimu said, her expression one of subdued anger. She was in a foul mood due to having to leave behind a dinner during its preparation and coming here on an empty stomach. If there was no food to be found here, she would likely vent her frustration on whomever caused the incident.

    ¡°You mean the gatekeeper we defeated easily last time?¡± The witch clad in black and white responded with a rhetorical question. Her expression was that of frivolous enjoyment; her attitude towards supernatural incidents was always that of a thrill-seeking adventurer¡¯s. She was Reimu¡¯s long-time friend and one of the few full-fledged humans within Gens?ky? who were able to fight against even the strongest supernatural beings. Even if so far it had been generally under the Spellcard Rules, this particular human¡¯s raw magical output could be compared to a natural disaster.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down, Marisa. Mima is here,¡± The Miko scolded her friend.

    ¡°Intuition?¡± Was all the girl named Marisa remarked.

    ¡°Intuition,¡± Reimu responded. Shrugging, the witch shook her head with a resigning smile and began to focus on the task at hand.

    The pair of trouble-solvers had investigated the pillar of light coming from the caverns behind the Hakurei Shrine and detected that the barrier between Gens?ky? and Makai, the world of demons and strong Y?kai, had become flimsy once again. During the incident with the returned Hijiri Byakuren, only the Palanquin Ship was capable of traversing the dimensional barrier that kept the two worlds apart, but now it had once again become easily passable to anyone. This alone could result in a full-blown catastrophe, but Reimu sensed that opening the gate was just a means to ends. Ends she was unable to hazard a guess at, at this moment.

    They had been flying in the direction of the light, the only thing familiar, but so out of place in this dark world, and arrived at the large city of demons they had come across on their last venture into Makai. It was here that they had met a god of a different caliber from Kami, a being that did not need faith or the affirmation of human beings to possess power and sustenance. It was a divine but unholy existence, absolutely alien to the concepts of the human world.

    ¡°You shall not pass!¡±

    A voice suddenly proclaimed and a young girl shot up into the air in front of Marisa and Reimu. Sporting purple hair and eyes, she wore a red dress with short white sleeves and a white scarf around her neck, more out of a fashion sense than necessity. Her piercing eyes were fixed on the pair of intruders, and her body language suggested that she was ready to fight.

    ¡°There she is,¡± Marisa remarked, relaxed despite the fact that a battle seemed imminent. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you remember us?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I remember you, and that is why I will not allow you to proceed into the city,¡± The girl responded firmly.

    ¡°So the usual way,¡± The witch stated with a grin and prepared herself.

    In the next moment, the gatekeeper shot forward without warning and attacked with a straight punch towards Marisa¡¯s face. Dumbfounded by the sudden physical attack, only Reimu¡¯s intervention prevented the fist from impacting on the blonde¡¯s face. Coming from the side with a kick, the miko diverted the attack, causing it to only graze Marisa¡¯s hair. The speed and strength was enough to cause a gust of wind, which blew her black witch hat off her head.

    ¡°Woah, hey! That¡¯s dangerous!¡± Marisa shouted, dropped down from her broom, holding onto it with one arm, and caught her hat with her other. Showing off her strength and dexterity in one move, she swung herself back onto it, now sitting on it in a straddling position rather than sideways.

    ¡°Makai is not bound by the Spellcard Rules either!¡± Reimu shouted and backed away from the girl¡¯s follow-up swing. Without letting up, the gatekeeper chased after the miko now, throwing out punches and kicks in quick succession. Reimu had to give it her all just to dodge the onslaught, leaving no space for fighting back. However, Marisa swooped in on her broom and prepared to ram the enemy with the tip of her ride.

    Dodging it by twisting her body, the young girl grabbed the base of the broom and attempted to knock the witch off her wooden steed, when an orange glowing square-shaped light hit her in the face and knocked her backwards, causing her to let go. The light was a barrier, thrown out by Reimu. Marisa used the diversion to spin around and shoot a volley of glowing stars from her hands at the opponent, who was unable to dodge and raised her arms to protect her face.

    The stars broke into light particles and disappeared upon hitting the gatekeeper, but seemingly did no damage. Surprised, Marisa distanced herself in the reprieve given by her covering fire and took out an octagonal box-like object from a pocket hidden inside her large hat. Engraved on its wooden surface was the Bagua, the Eight Trigrams of the Earlier Heaven, the ¡°Primordial Heaven¡±. However, instead of the Yin Yang symbol that was usually found in its center, there was a hole, exposing a red metallic sheen in its inside. This was a Mini-Hakkero, a high-power magical furnace that could generate unimaginable energies.

    ¡°Love Sign¡­¡± Marisa whispered gently, holding the box to her mouth. Reimu, who had once again become the target of the gatekeeper¡¯s physical assault, heard it and reacted immediately. Blocking an attack with an ofuda, rather than dodging it, she quickly threw out a barrier between herself and the enemy with her other hand. Kicking off of it, she gained considerable distance, then swung her gohei around and caused the barrier to form into a box shape, trapping the purple-haired girl inside.

    ¡°This is not going to hold me-¡± She shouted, when Marisa¡¯s voice overpowered hers.

    ¡°Master Spaaaark!¡±

    A gigantic, rainbow-colored beam of energy shot out of the little device in the black and white¡¯s hand, illuminating the twilight of Makai in radiant colors. In the last moment, Reimu gestured with her hand and the barrier around the gatekeeper disappeared, leaving her exposed to the light. In the next instant, she disappeared in the radiance that shot up into the darkness of the sky. When it was over, there were no signs of the opponent; either she had been evaporated completely or had been pushed far away by the beam.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. If she¡¯s still alive after that, it¡¯ll at least take her some time to come back,¡± Reimu said and flew ahead, towards the palace in the center of the city, the point from which the pillar of light they had followed extended into the infinite darkness above and into Gens?ky?. Shrugging, Marisa followed, blowing off the smoke rising from her Mini-Hakkero and placing it back inside her hat.

    he stench was overwhelming, even to those without a sensitive nose. Breathing with the mouth resulted in inhaling the scattered poison in the air, causing a prickling feeling in the throat. She did not remember how she had ended up in this place, but it had been in the wake of chasing something. Surrounded by the feverish yellow and green of poison-spewing organic growth, all she could do was try and find a way out now. It appeared that her powers could not activate properly in this biohazard environment.

    ¡°Nyaahhhh! I want to burn this place down!¡± Kaenby? Rin screamed, as she walked through the field of oversized sunflowers, the trademark of the Garden of the Sun she found herself in. The pollen scattered in the air created a heavy atmosphere and to her sensitive feline nose it was pure torture. She sneezed. Apparently she had contracted hay fever now, too. The main reason why she could not just up and fly was because of the suppressive nature of the pollen, causing her to be unable to breathe properly enough to fly.

    As if in response to her dangerous notion of wanting to bring harm to the field, the heads of the sunflowers turned towards the cat girl. Surrounded by flowers more than three meters tall, with large disc-shaped heads that seemed to stare at her, Rin shrank in fear. A rustling ran through the field and suddenly the large stalks parted to reveal a path. However, rather than meaning for the cat girl to walk down the path to potential safety, it was created solely for the purpose of letting someone approach.

    ¡°Would you care to repeat what you just said?¡± The person who came down the flowery path asked. She wore a red plaid vest over a white long-sleeved shirt that featured a yellow ascot. A long plaid skirt of the same color as the vest reached down to her ankles. She was carrying a large faint pink parasol that shielded her short leaf-green hair from the sun. Her amber-colored eyes were fixed on Rin.

    ¡°Hm? Who are you?¡± Rin looked at the woman suspiciously. There were no humans in these parts, that much even she, a dweller of the underground, knew. As to what kind of Y?kai she was, the cat girl could not tell from her appearance alone.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a flower Y?kai, tending to my garden of children. My name is Y?ka,¡± The woman introduced herself. A relaxed expression with a faint smile on her lips spoke of her self-confidence, her entire demeanor testament to an unknown power dwelling within her well formed body. Aside from the unnatural green hair color, her appearance was entirely human, testament to her old age as a Y?kai. Rin knew that the more human a Y?kai in Gens?ky? looked, the stronger it usually was, save for a few exceptions. Ironically, the physically superior supernatural beings were in an eternal pursuit to mimic the form of their prey, as they were forbidden from eating them here.

    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t have time for this¡­ I need to get to that giant tortoise,¡± Rin muttered impatiently. ¡°Tell me how I can get out of-¡± One look at Y?ka¡¯s expression caused the cat girl to stop mid-sentence and freeze up; the flower Y?kai¡¯s smile had disappeared and the look in her eyes could only be described as unadulterated killing intent.

    ¡°In what way are you related to that giant thing?¡± The flower Y?kai asked quietly, her tone of voice commanding a response. Rin instinctively knew to answer truthfully, lest she was killed on the spot for hiding intentions that would be one-sidedly judged as hostile towards the green-haired woman.

    ¡°I-I only followed the trail of my mistress here. I don¡¯t know anything about that tortoise!¡± Rin spewed out, her hairs standing on end in face of the overwhelming pressure emanating from the amber gaze. The sunflowers surrounding her appeared to bend down and loom over the cat girl, as if scrutinizing her expression to determine the truthfulness of her statement.

    ¡°Then why are you in my garden?¡± Y?ka questioned, her expression unchanged. Rin wanted to know the answer to that as well. When she came to, she was inside this cursed place, with no memory as to how she had landed there despite being high up in the air and seeing the giant tortoise in the distance.

    ¡°I have no idea how I got here,¡± She answered truthfully, causing a rustle to run through the sunflowers surrounding her. Rin looked around anxiously, unable to understand the meaning of the flowers¡¯ apparent agitation. However, there was one who understood their language.

    ¡°Hm, it would appear that something hit you in midair when you were passing above. My children just told me that. They have been worried about you, you know,¡± The flower Y?kai suddenly said, her expression relaxing once again, dispersing the pressure on the cat girl in the process. ¡°But you said such dangerous things, so they could not overlook it,¡± She added, a glint in her eyes revealing that if Rin had actually attempted to burn the garden down, she would not have lived long enough to regret it.

    At that moment a heavy noise resounded from the direction of the giant tortoise; it was the first footstep of a titan, announcing that it would ever so slowly but steadily approach their location. The earth shook under their feet and the sunflowers wobbled as if in panic. Y?ka turned to look at Genbu, unmistakable murderous intent plastered across her face. The Garden of the Sun was on the giant tortoise¡¯s path, if one were to assume that its target was the human village. With its enormous feet, it would trample craters into the field, and the flower Y?kai would not stand by idly as her children were killed.

    Just then, in a twist of fate, Rin spotted the small shape flying across the sky, away from Genbu. The only thing she was certain of was the light green medium length hair fluttering in the wind. It was Koishi, and she was being carried by a small figure with ginger hair. Her feelings for her mistress overpowered the discomfort of the pollen saturating the atmosphere and the Kasha leapt into the air, flying towards the two and leaving Y?ka behind without a word.

    ¡°Stop! You, what did you do to Koishi-sama!¡± Rin shouted when she blocked the little ginger-haired girl¡¯s flight path. Only now did the cat girl notice the two large horns sticking out of her opposite¡¯s head, clearly denoting that she was an Oni.

    ¡°I guess not even the Garden of the Sun can erase your stench completely, if you¡¯re this close, Kasha,¡± The Oni did not answer Rin¡¯s question but instead made a snide remark about the latter¡¯s nature as a Y?kai. Her expression was relaxed, but she possessed an air similar to the one surrounding Y?ka, albeit different in the fact that she obviously belonged to the immensely powerful species of Oni and exuded the confidence of inborn might. ¡°I just saved her from some ritual. She should be fine now, just lost consciousness.¡±

    ¡°Where are you taking her?¡± The Kasha was not fully convinced and remained on guard, even though she knew that Oni never lied. However, remaining on guard would mean nothing in face of an Oni¡¯s strength. She knew of Hoshiguma Y?gi, an innkeeper in the underground village, and had witnessed her fighting prowess. Even if this individual before her was small, and even if she only possessed a fraction of Y?gi¡¯s strength, Rin would be crushed single-handedly.

    ¡°I was going to meet up with Ky?ma at the shrine on Y?kai Mountain,¡± The Oni replied. Rin¡¯s eyes opened wide at the mention of that name; it would appear that Kagami Ky?ma was on friendly terms with an Oni.

    ¡°Let me take Koishi-sama,¡± Rin finally said, and summoned her cart in a burst of flames.

    ¡°You mean to make a naked girl ride in that dirty thing? I¡¯m fine with carrying her like this, let¡¯s just go¡­ before the flower awakens,¡± The little Oni urged, looking down below at the sunflower field. Rin wanted to protest, but seeing the ginger girl¡¯s expression, she swallowed her response; the Oni seemed genuinely concerned at what might happen when ¡°the flower awakens¡±, whatever that may mean.

    Thus, the two set off towards Y?kai Mountain, leaving Genbu and the Garden of the Sun behind them.

 Chapter 20 - Eye in Heart

    n the wake of the monumental battle on Y?kai Mountain, in which Y?kai and Kami seriously clashed for the first time in many years, rubble and bodies lay scattered about the shrine grounds. The overwhelming divine presence of Kanako and Suwako easily dispersed the miasma of y?ki left behind by O-hakuka and her followers, returning the sacred atmosphere to the place of worship.

    I rushed to the front of the main shrine, where the lifeless body of Komeiji Satori lay, ignoring the remains of the Futakuchi-onna. Utsuho was battered very badly, but stirring weakly, so I left her for now. Kneeling beside the pale and unmoving Satori, I noticed that her third eye was closed, just like Koishi¡¯s. Praying that it did not hold the meaning I thought it did, I put my ear to her slightly parted lips while looking down her chest to check for movements. To my terror, she was not breathing. I pressed my fingers on her neck to feel for a pulse, but there was none.

    I willed my left eye¡¯s vision to work and noticed that Satori¡¯s aura was absent. Her soul had left her body and before me was just an empty shell. Without a moment of hesitation, I began to perform CPR, holding her nose closed and breathing into her soft but cold lips. Pressing down on her chest while my mind was screaming for her to live, I could feel panic taking over my very being. I could not ¨C would not let her die here!

    ¡°Kanako-sama¡­¡± I heard the voice of the shrine maiden behind me, followed by the steps of the straw sandals worn by the Kami approaching.

    ¡°Step aside, boy,¡± The firm voice of the goddess resounded from above me. I was about to protest, when she picked me up by my collar and separated me from Satori, then dropped me beside her like a sack of rice. Before I could stand up again and retaliate, lightning struck the Kami, the electricity jumping over from her causing my hairs to stand on end. Kanako put her hands on the small Y?kai¡¯s right shoulder and under her left breast, the positions used when applying a defibrillator. The electricity coursing through the Kami was transferred to Satori¡¯s small body, jolting it once. With her ear on the small girl¡¯s chest, Kanako listened for a heartbeat, but apparently found none when she immediately performed another hit. Watching her small frame jolt from the shocks was heart-breaking, but the effort appeared to be in vain. After one last time, the Kami sighed, stood up and shook her head.

    My mind went blank at the meaning of this gesture. A gust of scorching air washed over the area, and I turned to see the hell raven, now wingless and bleeding all over her body, but a blazing aura surrounding her, slowly approaching with unsteady steps. With her mouth hanging open slightly, she focused her empty eyes on her mistress¡¯ body, all the while looking like her soul had left her body as well, as if she was only driven by a memory that willed her to protect Satori. When she was close enough to see that the pink-haired girl was not moving, her teeth made an audible gritting sound, her sight gained focus and the expression on her face distorted into one of anguish mixed with impotent rage. A roaring scream rose to the skies and the nuclear fusion inside her body intensified, setting the very air around her ablaze.

    ¡°Rest, sorrowful raven,¡± Kanako whispered and walked into the radiant light that emerged from Utsuho¡¯s body unscathed and touched the eye-like dome on her chest with her palm. Immediately, the heat disappeared as if it had been switched off, and the hell raven collapsed in unconsciousness.

    I looked at Satori with my left eye¡¯s spiritual vision again, reaffirming myself of the fact that there was not a hint of a soul left in her body; she was really and truly dead, and there was nothing I could do to bring her back. As the realization finally hit home, my emotions, dulled by the loss of half of my soul, boiled over. Mamiz?, and now Satori, had both been killed by O-hakuka and her followers, and I was the reason for their presence in this world.

    I sat beside Satori¡¯s body in a daze, Utsuho¡¯s head resting on my lap as she lay unconscious, and watched the miko in white and blue heal the Tengu with her powers. A part of my mind reminded me oft he fact that this was the Arahitogami, a human revered as a Kami for performing miraculous deeds during her lifetime. Another part picked up on that thought and cynically questioned why she did not bring about a miracle and brought the dead back. Death was something final, or so common sense told me, but having seen all the supernatural occurrences since coming to Gens?ky? taught me that there may be a way. Shaking my head at these thoughts, I silently mocked myself for my immaturity.

    Suddenly, there was an uproar when the Tengu appeared to spot new intruders and went on alert despite their wounds. I looked up to see from a distance that Suika, carrying Koishi on her back, accompanied by Rin, was on her landing approach. My heart dropped when I saw that the green-haired girl was motionless, completely unlike her usual hyperactive self. With Utsuho resting on my lap, I did not move and waited for them to come to me. However, the Tengu were lined up in a defensive formation, their weapons and shields held high against the Oni. Shameimaru Aya informed them of the identity of the three, and they reluctantly retreated, cautiously watching their natural enemy as she strode through their midst and towards me.

    ¡°Satori-sama!¡± Rin shouted and ran the last few steps, when she saw her mistress lying beside me. ¡°Kagamin, what happened to her?¡± I could not look the Kasha in the eyes and averted my gaze. It appeared that this was enough of an answer for her, when she collapsed to the ground in a sitting position, her legs giving out at the news. ¡°No, tell me that¡¯s not true¡­ Satori-sama¡­¡± As a Kasha Y?kai, she was able to smell death, and she knew that the pale girl was indeed no longer among the living.

    ¡°So you were too late?¡± Suika asked, as she came to stand before me. There was no hint of blame in her tone or expression, as she looked down at Utsuho. From her appearance she could tell that it had been an intense fight. She put Koishi down next to the hell raven, and covered her with a blanket. Seeing the heaving chest of the little sister, I had to hold back my tears; she was alive, but she would wake up to find that her sister was dead.

    ¡°Don¡¯t blame yourself, Ky?ma.¡± Suika saw through my expression. ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do in a fight between Y?kai and Kami¡­ yet.¡± I was not in the state of mind to pay attention to the small but important addition at the end. Rin was hunched over her mistress¡¯ body, her face buried in the small chest, her muffled cries further serving to shatter my heart.

    Utsuho stirred, opening her eyes while blinking; when she saw me, looking down at her, her expression grew grim in realization. She jolted up and looked at the Kasha crying over the motionless Satori. Only now did I notice that the red eye on her chest was gone, a large but old looking scar remainig in its place. The hell raven stood still for a moment, processing the death of her cherished mistress, before she crumbled to her knees and tears silently began to roll down her blank face.

    Koishi¡¯s empty green eyes suddenly flicked open without warning and she sat up straight, her upper body at an impressive ninety degrees angle to her legs, the blanket covering her dropping from her shoulders uncared for. Stretching as if she just had a comfortable nap, she turned to look at me with her usual emotionless smile. For a moment, I was too dumbfounded to react, but she already stood up, noticed Rin and Utsuho crying, and looked down at the seemingly sleeping Satori next to me.

    ¡°Oh, big sis! Now we¡¯re matching!¡± Koishi was referring to her sister¡¯s closed third eye. Hearing this, it felt like a boulder clogged up my throat. I wanted to tell her the truth, but my voice would not come out. The Kasha and the hell raven were not able to speak in their current mental states, either. It was up to me, after all, but I feared the consequences.

    ¡°She¡¯s dead.¡± It was Suika¡¯s voice that finally dropped the truth. The green-eyed girl turned to look at the one who spoke with a blank gaze, clearly not understanding what the Oni meant.

    ¡°Hey, big sis, if you sleep like this, you¡¯ll catch a cold. It¡¯s quite chilly here,¡± She said, neglecting to care about the fact that she was naked herself. Picking up the discarded blanket, she motioned to cover her sister with it, but Rin was still hunched over her. ¡°Orin, can you move?¡± At those words, the Kasha looked up to Koishi with tear-stained eyes, realizing that the subconscious girl was still not able to grasp the situation. At that heart-wrenching fact, she broke out in empathetic sobbing but moved aside. Just watching it caused my heart to ache, and tears to form in my eyes, but I desperately held onto my composure.

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    ¡°There, now you¡¯ll be fine. Big sis is such a sleepyhead, to be able to sleep in front of a shrine like that.¡± After covering Satori with the blanket, Koishi turned around to me, her smiling but empty expression seemingly staring into my soul. I could not hold on any longer and embraced her firmly, a means for myself to hide my own expression from her.

    ¡°Ah, Ky?ma, you can¡¯t! Not in front of so many people!¡± She cried out jokingly, acting shy. Her behavior was only making it worse for those who understood the situation, but I would not blame her for it. ¡°It hurts¡­¡± Koishi¡¯s muffled voice came from my chest and I motioned to let go, but she suddenly grabbed onto me, burying her face in my clothes. ¡°No¡­ something in my chest hurts.¡± I looked down in surprise, but could not see her face, feeling her warm breath permeating through my clothes.

    Finally, when she separated from me and lifted her face, her expression was the same mask of emptiness as always. I took off my top and covered her with it, upon which she snuggled into the warmed fabric. ¡°What is this feeling? Why does my chest hurt? Am I sick? Can Y?kai become sick?¡± The questions were clearly written onto her face, but every word she said was spoken with empty eyes, as if played back from an emotionless machine. That she could not understand her own feelings was possibly the most painful thing imaginable, being unable to mourn the death of her sister because she was incapable of feeling anything.

    ¡°That is death, right?¡± Koishi said, turning to look at the cold body of her sister. It was a throwback to that time I found her watching a squashed earthworm die. Then, too, she had asked me that question, without the hint of a feeling in her hollowly cheerful voice. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it many times. But this is the first time I have this pain in my chest.¡± Shifting her gaze back at me, I seemed to witness a hint of something in her eyes. ¡°Can you tell me what this is, Ky?ma?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s sadness, Koishi-chan,¡± I responded quietly, looking into her eyes with conviction.

    ¡°Huh? Sadness? But¡­¡± She appeared confused, when confronted with the truth. Suddenly, tears formed in her eyes, even as her face remained expressionless. When a drop rolled down her cheek, she noticed it and lifted a hand to catch it. ¡°What¡¯s this? Did it start raining?¡± Looking up, she noticed that the sky was tinted a dark red in the setting sun, but there was not a cloud in sight. ¡°Uh, my vision is blurry¡­ I must be ill after all¡­¡±

    Watching Koishi like this made me feel like my heart was being squeezed; she was too pitiful, trying to realize the fact that emotions were resurfacing in her, despite the fact that they were supposedly irreversibly lost.

    Then, as if a dam broke, the tears started flowing freely. ¡°I¡­ I closed my third eye¡­ so that I¡­ would never have to feel again.¡± Koishi pressed out between sobs. Apparently she possessed enough consciousness to remember that she had discarded her identity as a Satori Y?kai to free herself from all the negative feelings of the world. Even then, losing her beloved sister was an impulse strong enough to awaken the last vestiges of her previous existence and invoke feelings long forgotten. She finally broke down crying, giving voice to her grief.

    The Moriya Shrine was located at more than two thousand meters above the ground, where the nights grew cold even during summer. I sat on the engawa of the residence building reserved for shrine workers, to the right side of the torii. The miko had invited everyone to stay the night after the occurrences earlier, and we had gladly accepted. Koishi had cried herself to sleep, and Rin and Utsuho were with her. Suika seemed to know the Kami and went to speak with them, leaving me to my own thoughts.

    I looked up at the bright stars in the moonless sky, thinking about all the occurrences resulting from my choice to come to this world. Clenching my fists until my knuckles turned white, I fought against the emerging feelings of regret; if I had chosen to remain in the outside world and forgotten about Gens?ky?¡¯s existence, none of this would have happened.

    Suddenly arms wrapped around my neck, something pressed against my back and a chin dropped onto my hair. From the shackles on the wrists of the arms and a sweet smell, a mix of her personal scent and of alcohol, that always surrounded her, I could tell that it was Suika. She wordlessly embraced me from behind and we remained like this for a while as I closed my eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯re still blaming yourself.¡±

    ¡°If I had known that coming here would cause all this¡­¡±

    ¡°It would have eventually happened, with or without you. They came to Gens?ky? because you were the last to know about their existence in the outside world. One day you would have forgotten about them, too, and the result would have been the same.¡± The little Oni spoke softly, soothing my muddled feelings.

    ¡°But it didn¡¯t have to happen now¡­¡±

    ¡°No, you mean, you wouldn¡¯t have had to watch it happen. In the end, that¡¯s the only difference to it; you¡¯re aware of it now, rather than blissfully living your life in the outside world, ignorant of what¡¯s happening here.¡± Suika let go and I turned around to see her expression. When I did, her hands reached out and took hold of my cheeks, as she brought her face close to mine, forcing me to look into her eyes. ¡°But you¡¯re here, so you should only think about what you can do.¡± She let go and sat down in front of me.

    ¡°What I can do¡­¡± I repeated the words quietly.

    ¡°When I saved the little sister, she was involved in some sort of ritual. I broke her out of the barrier before it ended,¡± The Oni explained about the circumstances involving Koishi¡¯s rescue. ¡°I¡¯m sure that with the catalyst removed, the ritual remains unfinished.¡± Her red eyes looked into mine intently. ¡°This isn¡¯t over yet. In fact, I think this was only the beginning.¡±

    ¡°Do you know what that ritual was about?¡± I set my mind on the future for now; there would be another time for brooding over the past.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a simple Oni. We value strength and have no need for rituals. They¡¯re performed by those who wish to obtain something they can¡¯t through their own capabilities. I don¡¯t know what exactly that O-hakuka is trying to achieve, but it¡¯s certainly a means to gain a greater power,¡± Suika¡¯s expression was serious, one of the rare times I saw her not speaking with an aloof smile. ¡°Those who usually know about these things would be magicians and shrine maidens. I already talked to the Moriya Kami and miko, and they can¡¯t tell what the ritual was about.¡±

    ¡°Magicians?¡± So there were humans who could fling fireballs from their hands or summon rain from the sky in this world. ¡°Do you know someone who could help us?¡±

    ¡°I know a few, but our best bet would be the bookworm.¡± Suika¡¯s reply puzzled me, since I assumed that all magicians were hidden away in their ivory towers, reading and writing books all day long, seeing the light of day only when it fell through their small windows.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go,¡± I said, not a shred of hesitation left in me.

    ¡°Now? Are you sure?¡± The Oni looked at me with a slightly worried expression. It seemed that she was considering my physical and mental state, but I showed her a reassuring smile.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel tired and the sooner we get more information, the better¡­ I don¡¯t want anything like this to ever happen again.¡± I was surprised to hear the resolution within my own voice.

    ¡°What about the little sister?¡± I understood what she meant by that question right away.

    <hr />

    1. ¡°Let¡¯s leave¡­ she¡¯ll be safe here at the shrine.¡±

    2. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to her about it¡­ She has to decide for herself what she wants to do.¡±

 Chapter 21 - Respite and Mobilization

    ¡¯ll talk to her about it¡­ She has to decide for herself what she wants to do.¡± After a moment of contemplation I made the choice. I understood that with these powerful kami she would be safe, but maybe the place held too many awful memories for her. Furthermore, she could decide to follow me without my knowledge and end up in the crossfire when a battle broke out.

    Standing up, I looked at Suika, who remained seated, gesturing for me to go alone while she took out her purple sake gourd. It may have been a sign of her consideration; she did not want to disturb my time with Koishi. Nodding, I left her behind and walked along the engawa, towards the room where the three from the underground were resting.

    On the engawa just outside the room I spotted the hell raven named Utsuho - an existence I had not been able to see as a girl before, due to her enormous and exceptionally dangerous powers that posed an existential hazard to those around her. However, now that she had lost her powers, the air surrounding her was completely different. I could sense her vulnerability, as she stared out at the sky blankly. When I approached, she turned to look at me, registered my presence with an exchange of glances, before returning to what she had been doing before.

    She wore a kimono lent to her by the Arahitogami and two differently sized bulges could be seen on her back. They were the uneven remains of the wings that had been bitten off by Senka. I wondered if she was able to grow them back, as many Y?kai were, but I hoped she could.

    ¡°Tell me, human... what should I do?¡± She suddenly whispered. I would have missed it if I had not been right next to her. I did not understand what she meant by that question and glanced at her face from the side. Only then did I notice that there were tears glistening in the corners of her eyes, her entire figure appearing exceptionally fragile. Before, she had appeared larger than life to me, with her large wings, the galaxy cape and the fiery aura that surrounded her. Yet, she was smaller than Orin - just a little taller than Koishi - and all the additions to her body, such as the glowing eye-like dome on her chest, the control rod covering her right arm and the cement-like boot had made her seem bigger. She was thin, her arms and legs in no way looking like they belonged to somebody who had exuded such a powerful presence earlier. ¡°I¡¯m a failure. I vowed to protect Satori-sama, no matter what... I only had my powers, there was nothing more to me. But now Satori-sama is gone... and my powers are gone, too...¡±

    She turned around to look at me, her expression one of overwhelming despair. Without thinking, I embraced her and petted her hair, something she did not seem to mind. Letting her tears flow freely, she nestled into my yukata, her pained cries muffled by the fabric. It was just like Koishi¡¯s outburst during the day and I was reminded of her unexpected display of emotions.

    ¡°Why am I even still alive...¡± I heard her whisper between sobs and immediately pushed her to arm-length, staring deeply into her eyes with a firm and decisive expression. ¡°Don¡¯t give up on living. You did your best, but the enemy was stronger. That was all. But as long as you¡¯re alive, you have the chance to change things. Koishi-chan is still here, so if you vowed to protect Satori, it should extend to her little sister as well.¡± I spoke without thinking, giving voice to my feelings in that crucial moment that was sure to define Utsuho¡¯s mental state. If I let her push herself down the spiral of despair and self-loathing, it would end in self-destruction eventually.

    ¡°But what can I do?¡± She was surprised by my words and could only mutter another question.

    ¡°Live.¡± It was nothing short of an order, demanding of the girl before me to do what any living being did not need reminding of under normal circumstances.

    Inside the room, just a meter next to them, Kaenby? Rin was lightly leaning against the sliding door, listening to the conversation with tears in her eyes. She had heard it all, from the very beginning, as she watched the sleeping Koishi lying on a futon before her. She had harbored similar thoughts to Utsuho after losing her beloved mistress, but seeing the little sister before her, the kasha agreed with Ky?ma¡¯s words.

    ¡°You have fallen for a good man, Koishi-sama,¡± She commented with a little smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m about done with cleaning here,¡± Tsubone stated and turned to her fellow wolf tengu. They were the only two of the tengu watch who had already recovered from the wounds after the battle, and had offered to stay and clean the shrine grounds. ¡°How is it on your end, Honoka?¡±

    ¡°This is strange...¡± The tengu named Honoka murmured as she looked around. She stood before the corpse of the futakuchi-onna but seemed to find that something was wrong. ¡°I could swear I saw Yasaka-no-Mikami rip out that one¡¯s organs, but they¡¯re nowhere to be seen. Did you clean around here?¡± Honoka had left the corpse for last and just covered the remains with blankets, because she had felt that something was eerie about it.

    ¡°No, we split the grounds from the main path, so that was all on your side,¡± Tsubone responded as she walked over, scratching her head. ¡°Are you sure you weren¡¯t seeing things?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s strange... But it¡¯s not like the organs would just stand up and walk away, you know? And why would they leave behind the body?¡± Tsubone asked half jokingly.

    ¡°Because that body was weak.¡±

    Upon hearing the grotesquely dark and guttural voice the two wolf tengu spun around in shock. Before either of them fully realized what they were seeing, Honoka¡¯s head disappeared with a crunching sound. The decapitated body stood for a moment longer, before toppling over lifelessly, spewing blood from the exposed neck. Tsubone sullied herself from pure fear and dropped to her bottom, looking up at the monster before her. It was a pulsating pile of organs, sprouting a number of tentacles, which it used to move around. A completely out-of-place piece of metal, shaped like a jagged maw, seemed to denote where its head was located. It opened to reveal what looked like a universe within, the same voice as earlier coming from its depths.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never tasted tengu before. Refreshingly... different. A shame that I¡¯ll only eat one for now.¡± For a moment hope glinted in Tsubone¡¯s eyes, as her absolutely terrified mind conveniently concluded that the monster¡¯s words meant that she would get to live. ¡°Now, for you.¡± The maw turned to her and her mind went blank. ¡°I like that body. But the organs are in the way.¡± The wolf tengu¡¯s mouth opened to scream in horror, but a tentacle shot out and went down her throat, sealing the sound inside. ¡°Shhh, it¡¯ll just hurt a lot for a long time, so we don¡¯t want anyone to intrude on us while we enjoy ourselves.¡±

    Tsubone¡¯s eyes darted all across the place, frantically searching for a way to survive this hopeless situation, as her body stopped responding to her commands. Why had they not noticed its approach before it was right behind them? Why did she leave her gear by the torii? Why did Honoka get the fast way out? Why... Her eyes rolled back in their sockets as she fainted, but the monster seemed to relish her fear and pain, and jolted her back to consciousness.

    Immeasurable pain spread through her insides, as the tentacle reached deeper and seemed to split up, moving into her lungs and stomach, rupturing her body to seek its way through her arteries and veins. Her thoughts became increasingly muddled as her body convulsed from the unbearable agony. She cursed her very existence, cursing that she was born a tengu and possessed a strong life force that let her survive such torture - something a human would have died to long ago. Soon, her thoughts spiraled out of control and the only wish remaining inside her was to die.

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    Then, everything went blank.

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± I knocked on the door to the room and slid it open, finding Rin standing right in front of me. Her eyes were red from crying, but a smile graced her lips upon seeing me.

    ¡°Make her happy, Ky?ma,¡± She whispered as she walked past me and pushed me into the room, before closing the door. I was not all the way there yet, or so I thought, but there was a tingling feeling in my chest upon seeing Koishi getting up from the futon while rubbing her eyes sleepily.

    ¡°Koishi-chan...¡± I was about to apologize for not being able to save Satori, but swallowed it down before my weak side could surface again. I had made up my mind to improve myself further, to live facing the future, and the reason for coming to meet Koishi was to ask whether she wanted to accompany me on that road or not. ¡°I¡¯m going with Suika, to find out what the enemy is planning. What do you want to do?¡±

    ¡°I want to be with you, Ky?ma,¡± She responded, uncharacteristically serious in her tone, after a long pause. I understood that she was having one of her rare moments of conscious thought; she looked me in the eyes, her expression firm and unclouded, no hint of her usual empty gaze and meaningless smile. She was also not clinging onto me or seeking skinship, as she had been lately, sitting in front of me almost formally.

    ¡°Alright. If you¡¯ve rested enough, we¡¯ll be leaving,¡± I simply said.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡±

    ¡°Apparently to go meet a magician.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I know one. She calls herself a witch though.¡± Koishi was quickly reverting back to her unconscious self, as she picked up on the magician part and formed her own train of thought. ¡°She¡¯s really interesting. I wonder what she¡¯s doing right now...¡±

    ¡°I wonder, indeed.¡± A witch-hat donning blonde girl responded upon her companion¡¯s question regarding the fact that the capital city of Makai seemed to be completely empty. ¡°If they were in Gens?ky?, we¡¯d have seen some of them before coming here.¡±

    ¡°I have a bad feeling about this,¡± The girl in a red and white miko outfit commented as they flew through the empty streets, not the hint of a demon in sight. The beings in Makai were different from y?kai in that they were all created by an existence that was all-powerful in this world. The goddess with the three pairs of devil wings was different from kami, more approaching the concept of the omnipotent God in Christianity. Or rather, considering what kind of place this was, the antithesis of that god.

    ¡°We did encounter that gate guard, but she didn¡¯t seem much different from last time. Well, aside from the fact that she was attacking us physically rather than with danmaku,¡± The witch remained aloof despite the tension in the atmosphere. She was used to danger and approached it with a gain of salt. Her name was Kirisame Marisa, a human seeking the path of magic, while opting to remain human, rather than transcending from it into immortality. ¡°Well, according to the pattern, we¡¯ll be encountering that maid first.¡±

    ¡°I wish I could be as carefree as you,¡± The miko stated with a sigh. However, she did not appear very tense herself, considering who she was. Hakurei Reimu, the inheritor of the Hakurei Shrine and considered the most powerful human in Gens?ky?. Her existence was something special in itself, and the fact that she was moving to discover the roots of the issue meant that a solution would soon be found. ¡°The light disappeared a while ago, so whatever it was about must have been completed or interrupted. Assuming the worst, I hope we don¡¯t return to our side to find the world in shambles.¡± Her expression suggested that she would consider it to be a great nuisance. ¡°If that happened, I¡¯ll be pissed.¡±

    ¡°Do that when I¡¯m not around,¡± Marisa muttered while glancing away, looking troubled. ¡°Oh, we should have brought Alice along.¡±

    ¡°Considering her past with Makai, we shouldn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°But she knows her way around this place better than we do.¡± Carefree was indeed the word that best described the witch¡¯s attitude towards the situation.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think she would have it in her to fight her old friends.¡± Reimu was showing slight annoyance at the fact that it was taking them that long to navigate the city. Normally, one would expect that flying above the roofs in a straight line would have saved them a lot of time. However, Makai was a strange world in which time and space was as malleable as a pure piece of gold. Reality could be warped by powerful beings, especially by the god residing in the large castle in the middle of the city. There was one path they had taken in the past, which led through the city but took them to the gates of the castle eventually.

    ¡°How long have we even been here?¡± Marisa suddenly asked. ¡°I¡¯m kinda hungry.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, there¡¯s no way to tell time here, but my inner clock says it¡¯s been at least... an hour...¡± Reimu¡¯s response drifted off as she realized what had been going on. ¡°Damn, we¡¯ve been had.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Alarmed, the witch turned to her companion.

    ¡°Time has no meaning here. The fact that we¡¯ve been here for an hour means a lot more time could have passed outside. The gate guard showing up was to confirm our suspicions that the goddess has something to do with it, so we would continue to press on into the city no matter how long it took. I should have realized sooner!¡± Reimu was angry, not just at the so far unseen enemy, but at herself for not noticing the trap. ¡°Something big¡¯s going on in Gens?ky?. Sorry, I¡¯ll have to leave you behind, Marisa. Try to go back, if you can, I¡¯ll go on ahead.¡±

    ¡°Ah, wait, Reimu!¡± However, it was already too late, and the miko seemed to disappear from existence. ¡°There it is again, her cheat... Well, she¡¯s serious now. Hope you¡¯re ready, Shinki.¡± Marisa looked towards the tallest tower of the castle from where their enemy was most likely watching them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Suika stated when she saw me and Koishi round the corner. Rin had decided to stay with Utsuho and ask the kami to return the hell raven¡¯s power. The oni floated up into the air without another word, expecting us to follow.

    ¡°Uh, shouldn¡¯t we say a word to the kami first?¡± I asked, reluctant to just leave without at least thanking them for their hospitality.

    ¡°Strike the iron while it¡¯s hot, Ky?ma,¡± Koishi suddenly interjected and I sighed in surrender. I understood the rush, but my manners from a proper Japanese upbringing clashed with the adventurous side that had been developing in me since coming here. Apologizing in my mind, I decided that I would return after all the things were taken care of and speak with them properly. Especially the fact that the arahitogami was a girl from the outside world and had come here not too long ago was a reason for me to come for a friendly visit, to talk about the things we surely both missed here.

    ¡°Alright then...¡± I floated up and followed Suika, when I suddenly felt a small but warm hand grasping mine. Next to me, Koishi had ascended as well and looked up to me with an affectionate smile. My heart skipped a beat at seeing her face filled with such an emotion, all of which was directed at me. However, once again, a certain oni decided to ruin the moment.

    ¡°My, such hot love.¡± Suika sniggered with a slightly obscene expression. ¡°What did you two do in that room, huh?¡±

    ¡°We affirmed our love for each other.¡± Koishi¡¯s face was once again her empty facade, just as her words stemmed from the world of her fantasy.

    ¡°No we didn¡¯t,¡± I immediately added. ¡°This is going to be exhausting...¡± I hung my shoulders in resignation and sighed. However, a determined expression replaced it soon after; I would bring Koishi redemption and drag O-hakuka before justice. At the time, I did not consider the fact that in this world, and among y?kai, this meant self-administered justice.

 Chapter 22 - Knowledge

    he fact that I had been awake for at least forty-eight hours now seemed to be a non-factor after what had been like a complete rejuvenation when my left eye opened again for good. In fact, all the wounds I had sustained during the day had healed, as if my natural regeneration rate had been sped up for an instant. Thus, I had to surmise that the same extended to my mental state, as there was not a hint of tiredness in it.

    When my thoughts finally reached an acceptable conclusion and I took note of my surroundings again - we were flying high in the sky, illuminated only by the stars - I realized that Koishi was sitting on my back. Suika had explained to me once that flying was about as tiring as walking, although one could reach greater speeds by doing the former. Knowing Koishi¡¯s nature, I was sure that she would not tire over the same distance I as a human had not.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I did not really mind, but it did feel a little degrading, considering she was straddling my back as if I was a horse.

    ¡°I¡¯m riding your back.¡± Her innocent sounding deadpan response was as I had expected.

    ¡°I can see that... I mean, why are you riding on my back?¡±

    ¡°Because I want to.¡±

    I sighed and resigned to the fate of being a flying horse. There was no point in arguing with her, since her inherent inability to comprehend what I considered to be common sense rendered every attempt at talking such futile. Suddenly, she leaned forward and put her arms around my neck, her slender body leaning against my back. She was now effectively lying on top of me as if I was a flying carpet.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m lying on your back.¡±

    ¡°I can see that... I mean, why...¡± I realized that we were repeating ourselves. Still, I did not mind the change in closeness, as she rested her head on my shoulder. She deserved some comfort after all that happened and if my back gave it to her, I was more than happy to provide it.

    ¡°You two-¡° Suika started, but I shot her a glare that suggested that she should not break this moment with an immature comment. Shrugging, she grinned to herself and drank some Sake. She was flying beside us in a pose that looked like she was lying on solid ground, propping up her chin on her palm as she lay in a sideways posture. I wondered whether that came with mastery of flying or was just a display of how she projected herself on the world. After all, I had seen people fly in different postures, all at similar speeds before, such as the kasha pushing her cart in a walking stance, while Utsuho had held her arms to her sides like a jet plane. I had my arms stretched forward, taking inspiration from a certain blue and red caped superhero.

    Far below us I saw some lights and noticed that they were arranged in a grid - we were above the human village. I felt a tinge of nostalgia but knew that we did not have the leisure to pay it a visit right now. At least for tonight, we had a destination to reach.

    When I looked up again, I felt that something was wrong. Ahead of us a circular part of the starry night sky seemed to have vanished, leaving behind pure darkness. Slowing down, I turned to Suika, who seemed to have noticed it as well, as her stance changed. In fact, her expression suggested some unease, which in turn caused a bad feeling to arise in my chest.

    ¡°Remember the little girl who killed the humans on our way from the Hakurei Shrine to the human village?¡± She asked, looking ahead despite the impenetrable darkness. ¡°At night, she¡¯s at her strongest. And without the Spellcard Rules, she¡¯ll be hard to deal with.¡±

    I knew from Suika firsthand that appearance did not matter when it came to strength, but I had assumed that she could deal with anything short of a kami herself. If she said that this particular y?kai was dangerous, it meant that I had no fighting chance at all.

    ¡°Let¡¯s circle around. For how troublesome she is, she¡¯s quite the airhead. She can¡¯t see outside of that bubble of darkness she surrounds herself with.¡± At those words I could not help but remember how innocent she had appeared while eating the two woodcutters. It seemed that mental age did correspond to physical appearance in this particular case, unlike with the oni beside me.

    ¡°Oh is that Rumia-chan?¡± Koishi, who had remained quiet during my exchange with Suika, suddenly perked up from my back and for some inexplicable reason decided to fly off towards the black hole before us. Before either of us could react, she had entered it and vanished without a trace. For an instant, Suika and I looked at each other, before we both wordlessly followed after her.

    The second we entered the blackness, I lost sight of my companion; in fact, I lost sight of everything, including my own body. Unlike one¡¯s own room at night, which had an ounce of light even with the curtains drawn, this darkness did not even give the chance for one¡¯s eyes to become accustomed to it. I was actually convinced that not a single photon penetrated this space. Absolute darkness.

    ¡°Hey, Rumia-chan, where are you? Come out and play!¡±

    Koishi¡¯s voice was my only guidance, as I followed it through this sensory deprivation; she seemed to have the same trouble with being unable to see. Shouting for a potentially dangerous individual inside her own territory seemed to be very foolish, but for some reason I only thought ¡°as expected of Koishi-chan¡±. I somehow felt that it would be better for me to keep quiet, and that I did not hear Suika¡¯s voice meant she had come to the same conclusion.

    ¡°Oh, a human,¡± I heard a childish voice whisper by my ear and a shiver ran down my spine at its tone. I spun around, but of course, I could not see anything. ¡°Is it okay to eat you?¡± The same voice spoke into my other ear. I swung my arm around, but it did not make contact with anything. ¡°You want to play?¡± Fear crept into my mind and I was reminded of the one time Nue had tried to scare me by taking away my vision and giving me vertigo.

    Then I remembered that I had the ability to resist this; I put my thoughts into my left eye and the world around me... remained black. The only difference was that right in front of me I could see a person. It was the same girl I had encountered with Suika that time, her eyes watching me with innocent amusement, as she seemed to gauge how tasty I would be. A more pressing fact was that she was naked underneath the blanket of darkness. However, what drew my vision was not her childish body, but the fact that the bow tied on the left side of her head had an appearance I had never seen in this mode of vision before.

    I could see the spiritual energy in her body, which could not even hope to compare in intensity to that of Utsuho or Rin¡¯s, but the bow put the darkness around me to shame in that it seemed to be a vacuum of existence. Rather than black nothingness, it seemed to defy vision itself, as whenever I tried to set my actual eyes on it, my mind¡¯s eye shut down momentarily. The more I attempted to look at it, the more I felt discomfort building inside me.

    ¡°Rumia will start with the hands.¡± The girl¡¯s voice broke me out of my absentmindedness.

    ¡°You can¡¯t, Rumia-chan! He¡¯s mine!¡± Koishi¡¯s voice came from somewhere above me and I looked up to find that she was facing our direction, but clearly not seeing us.

    ¡°Ah, is that you, Koishi-chan?¡± Rumia looked up at the voice as well and began to approach her. Even though they addressed each other with such familiarity, I did not feel comfortable with such a dangerous element getting close to Koishi. Satori y?kai were known for their ability to read minds, but nothing was noted of their physical prowess. While there were many y?kai who had spiritual abilities that did not require them to possess strong bodies, the majority was still stronger than humans. However, satori were not of that majority.

    ¡°Can you make this darkness go away, Rumia-chan? I can¡¯t see you.¡± Koishi, having found the little y?kai girl¡¯s location through her voice, asked her to dispel the power that created a space of darkness.

    ¡°Alright.¡± With a cheerful voice, the naked girl in front of me spread her arms and it was bright again. In actuality, it was still night, but after the pure blackness from before the stars in the sky almost blinded me with their brightness.

    Rumia was clad in a pitch-black dress, causing me to think that the night was literally her veil. Koishi approached her and they hugged each other. Suika came up next to me and sighed with a resigned smile, at the fact that the green-haired girl had solved the problem by not treating it as one in the first place.

    ¡°How do you two know each other?¡± I floated up to the two and asked Koishi. Not forgotten was the fact that Rumia had killed two humans before, and most likely many others during her lifetime, but due to the changes to my nature in the recent months, I did not view it in as grave a light as I had before. After all, she was also only trying to live.

    ¡°I met her once a few years ago, when I first came to the surface. We¡¯ve been friends since, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Koishi responded with the hint of a happy expression in her otherwise empty smile. I was glad to see that she seemed to regain her emotions slowly, ever since her outburst after her sister¡¯s death.

    ¡°We played around for the whole day, but you just vanished at the end of it.¡± Rumia puffed out her cheeks and in that moment I could only see her as a cute little girl. ¡°I searched for you for a long time, you know? So it¡¯s been a few years already?¡±

    I was dumbfounded by the timeframe in which these two supernatural beings thought; apparently they had only met one time, but were acting as if they had only parted for a few days. Once again I was reminded of the transience of humans and the way they considered life, and that it was completely different from beings that were virtually eternally young, as long as they wished to remain so.

    ¡°Can Rumia-chan come along to see that magician?¡± Koishi asked and looked at me with upturned eyes. At such a sight I could never refuse, and a detached part of me praised the subconscious girl for instinctively knowing how to employ the weapons she was gifted with. I turned to look at Suika, but she shrugged and grinned at me knowingly.

    ¡°Alright, but don¡¯t cause any trouble.¡± I meant the girl of darkness, but actually looked at Koishi, knowing that she was even more unpredictable than a child.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Yay!¡± The two girls celebrated in unison.

    Now in a group of four, and with Koishi flying beside Rumia out of her own strength, we approached a flat surface in the distance. It was a quiet lake, reflecting the night sky above like a perfect mirror. Suika had called it the Misty Lake, but that was only the case during most of the day, as the mist dispersed in the afternoon and returned early in the morning.

    At the edge of that lake stood what could only be described as a Western castle. Nestled against the opening of the gorge, where the lake¡¯s outflow lay, it seemed to have been chosen for its easily defendable location. Although I doubted that there were any threats from other countries, maybe its status as a foreign entity itself warranted the security. I had actually expected that the magician would be a native and be living in a cottage in the woods.

    A set of stairs was leading up to the only visible entrance to the castle grounds, a heavy looking metal gate. Inside, I could spot a flower garden and a path leading to the main building. Rather than castle, maybe it would have been better to describe it as a fortified mansion, but the fact that it had battlements and several crenellated towers suggested that its roots could be found in a country that saw periodic warfare. What I found strange was that there was a giant clock face on the tallest of the towers. It was the first time-keeping apparatus I had seen since coming here.

    ¡°The magician lives here all by himself?¡± An image of a certain magician¡¯s apprentice using sorcery to make brooms, mops and other cleaning utensils move, came to mind.

    ¡°Oh no, the bookworm is just a friend of the owner of this castle. Then again, since coming to Gens?ky? she has never left it once and I doubt she has any other place to go to either way.¡± Suika¡¯s description of that magician properly fit my image of a researcher of the arcane arts, a wizened man with a long white beard, wearing robes in blue, and brooding over massive books, never leaving his study. The fact that she actually did not use a gender-defining pronoun kept me in that illusion.

    ¡°Halt, who goes there?¡± A firm female voice resounded through the night as we approached the front gate from above. Of course, coming at such a late hour would invite suspicion, especially when it was a group of four, which included three girls of varying degrees of ¡°little¡±, and a man with half black half white hair.

    ¡°Hey, gate guard. We¡¯re here to meet the bookworm.¡± The little oni did not have any respect in her words as she stated her business. I finally spotted the person standing in our way, a woman who looked to be in her early twenties, with long flaming red hair. She wore a green dress that I positively identified as a Chinese Cheongsam, with a deep cutout on the right side, through which her entire thigh was visible. Her body was curvy, on the level of Byakuren or Yukari, but the aura surrounding her was different; she seemed to exude strength, but unlike an oni, it was one that suggested technique over raw power. She was a martial artist.

    ¡°I know you. You¡¯re that troublemaker oni.¡± Her speech had a noticeable accent, now that I heard more of it. I was convinced that she was actually a Chinese woman, although I had to wonder about her hair color. Furthermore, I could not grasp the meaning behind her presence as a gate guard to a Western castle, which was located in a piece of land that had been carved out of Japan from seemingly two centuries past.

    ¡°Your reputation precedes you wherever you go, huh?¡± I remarked cynically, but Suika shrugged it off.

    ¡°The matter is quite urgent, so if you could just let us through, it would be appreciated.¡±

    ¡°Do you take me for a fool? I¡¯m tasked with protecting this castle from people like you.¡±

    ¡°The hard way then?¡± Suika showed a fearless grin. I knew that she was not one to be overpowered by somebody who fought using physical means, and this gate guard looked that part. She lowered into a stance I had seen from martial arts movies before: She stood with her two hands extended forwards loosely, ready to intercept an attack, while tension disappeared from her body. Even I could tell that she was a master of the arts.

    Her expression suddenly changed, as she seemed to listen to something intently, before showing slight disappointment and resignation. Then she broke the stance, straightened herself, and looked at us with thinly veiled disapproval. ¡°My mistress has granted you access. Do not overstay your welcome.¡± With these words she turned aside and gestured towards the gate, which opened on her wordless command. We had been invited inside by the unseen owner of the castle.

    ¡°Oh, I forgot to tell you that this is called the Scarlet Devil Mansion,¡± Suika suddenly said, as we walked through the gate and beheld the blood red brick building behind it. ¡°And the mistress the gate guard mentioned is a vampire.¡± I stared at the oni in disbelief as she dropped the bomb on me. Just then, the metal gate closed behind us.

    Well, it was not like we could not just fly up and out of garden we were walking through. In fact, the gate guard post seemed to be pointless, as anybody could just fly over the wall and break in through one of the many windows of the castle. However, an oppressive feeling of being watched had grasped hold of me ever since stepping over the threshold of the castle grounds. Rather than a sixth sense, it was conviction that somebody was using supernatural means to spy on me.

    ¡°The vampire must have sensed that something is going on, too. This makes things easier,¡± The little oni commented as we walked towards the main door. They swung open on their own as we approached, and a luxurious lobby greeted us. Similar to the Chireiden, in which Satori and her pets had resided, this one featured a red carpet and a massive golden chandelier. However, there was no infinite hallway leading into its depths, but instead two curved carpeted stairways led up to the second floor.

    What drew my eyes was not the beauty of the marble statues or the wall carpets with intricate motifs, but the person that stood in the middle of the room. A frilly white bow adorned her silver hair that was loose except for two braids dangling from her temples. Three girls, who were clearly supernatural beings of Japanese origin but had features not naturally found in our people, accompanied me, so I was not overly quick to judge; yet, her blue eyes and facial features clearly belonged to those of a foreigner¡¯s. She wore a white apron over a black dress, which reached below her knees, looking like it was made for doing work in.

    She was an English maid. Not the Japanese pop-culture maids that one could find in the Mecca of Otaku-culture, Akihabara, but a real one that did not wear unnecessary frills. She stood with perfect grace, her face a nondescript smile as she welcomed us with a practiced curtsy. ¡°Welcome to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. My name is Izayoi Sakuya, I am the head maid of the mansion. Please follow me, dear guests. The mistress is waiting.¡± Against all expectations, she introduced herself with a Japanese name, although the fact that she was not a natural born Japanese was clear.

    ¡°Actually, we only have business with the bookworm,¡± Suika dismissed the invitation and stated the reason for her coming. I just thought that it might have been too direct and maybe a little disrespectful, considering we had been allowed in at this time of the night. Then again, the mistress was a vampire, so it was more like midday for her.

    ¡°Maybe the honored guests have not heard the first time. The mistress is waiting.¡± There was only a slight shift in the maid¡¯s tone, but a chill ran up my spine at it. As if acting as an extension for the vampire, said to be a powerful supernatural existence from Eastern European folklore, she made it clear that they had only been allowed in by the grace of her mistress. Defying her will would be unwise.

    ¡°Alright, I get it. No need to be so uptight.¡± If Suika had wanted to, she could have continued to dismiss the matter, but to speed things up, showing our faces to the vampire may have been the faster course of actions.

    Koishi clung to me, oblivious of the chilly atmosphere surrounding the silver-haired maid named Sakuya. Rumia followed her example and had grabbed hold of my other arm, although I was uncomfortable with the way she sometimes looked at my hand, while saliva was running from of the corner of her slightly parted lips. Thus, we were led up the stairs and through the hallways, encountering not a single soul along the way, until we ended up in front of a double-winged door. Swinging it open, the maid gestured for us to enter.

    Beyond was something resembling a throne room. Banners hung from the pillars that lined the hall, and a red carpet paved the way to the end of it, where a lone figure sat on a richly ornamented mahogany chair. The figure, without a doubt, belonged to the vampire, the mistress of this castle. She was small, only around the height of Koishi, and her apparent age belied the maturity of her expression, as her crimson eyes gazed at us with a look of natural superiority.

    ¡°<I welcome you.>¡± She said, speaking in English. Although my foreign language skills were as bad as any Japanese¡¯s who had no intention of leaving the country to live elsewhere, I could still understand the meaning of her words. ¡°<My name is Remilia Scarlet, the namesake of this mansion. I heard through the grapevine that you are here to talk to my friend.>¡± That, I did not understand. Luckily, the maid proceeded to interpret for us, or the language barrier could have created some meaningful trouble; Suika had an irritated look on her face at hearing an unknown language.

    ¡°Yes, we want to ask the bookworm about the ritual that was performed by a recent group of newcomers. You did the same when you first came, too, but what you did had quite obvious reasons.¡± The maid interpreted the oni¡¯s words, causing the vampire to show us a smile that put her sharp canines on display.

    ¡°<Indeed, that was an interesting time.>¡± It was a genuine smile filled with mirth, and I found myself forgetting that she belonged to a species that required human blood to live. ¡°<I will let you meet with Pache... on one condition.>¡± Even through the childlike appearance and innocent expressions, I could feel that she was far older than I. ¡°<We have not had any human visitors in a long time. My little sister is growing tired of her toys, so that half-human over there has to go entertain her.>¡± The way she worded it did not sit too well with me, but hearing about a younger sister, I instinctively turned to look at Koishi at my side.

    ¡°Alright then. I seem to be doing pretty well with children either way,¡± I scratched the back of my head as I responded. Rumia was still clinging to me, and from my experience at the My?ren Temple with the more childlike y?kai residents there, it seemed that something about me was attracting them.

    ¡°<That is great to hear. But do be warned, my little sister is truly a child at heart, even though we are only five years apart.>¡± It was a strange warning, considering the apparent age of the girl before me. The question about her age was on my tongue, but I did not dare speak it out loud. ¡°<Normally a lady does not reveal her age, but it may be of use to you. I am five hundred and five years old.>¡± It did not come as a surprise for me, considering a girl over a thousand years old accompanied me, looking just a little more than a hundredth of it.

    ¡°You just thought something rude, didn¡¯t you, Ky?ma,¡± Suika looked at me with slight irritation. I shrugged, feigning innocence.

    ¡°<Now, go and meet Pache. Afterwards, you will go and provide entertainment for my sister.>¡± Remilia Scarlet¡¯s smile exuded elegance, making me forget her apparent age; unlike most childlike y?kai I knew, she was far more mature than her looks suggested, more in line with her actual age.

    ¡°Please follow me, I will show you the way.¡± We were led outside by the maid while the vampire watched our backs. I turned to look at her one more time before exiting the throne room, to see her crimson eyes meeting mine. I could see that she seemed interested in me - in one way or another - although I was not too quick to judge it as anything but the look of a predator eyeing prey. Then the doors shut by ghostly hands, cutting our short visual connection.

    The inside of the castle was larger than the outside suggested, and held a warm atmosphere unlike the grim crimson facade had made me think. The wallpaper was of a high quality burgundy red and the carpet the color of blood, freshly emerging from a vein, fell in line with the scheme of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but they spoke of character rather than mere appearances. All the furniture seemed to be of mahogany, and their reddish brown color only further added to the shades of red. Even then, it was not oppressive, since it was not monotonous; plenty of silver and gold could be found in the chandeliers, wall lamps and doorknobs, further accentuating the luxury of the mansion.

    ¡°We have arrived. Please take care not to take any books without notifying the staff. It may cost you your life.¡± Opening a two-winged door, the maid named Sakuya led us in with this cryptic warning. As I looked inside, my breathing stopped for a moment.

    A platform the size of the main hall of the My?ren Temple opened up before us, with two mirroring sets of sofas, arranged for reading in a group, standing on either side of the door. Bookshelves reaching up to the high above ceiling, towered behind them. However, the sight beyond the platform was what had taken my breath away. What greeted me was not a room or a hall, but a space that seemed to defy the laws of physics. It was a library, that was for sure, but the sheer size of it could only be described with the word ¡°city¡±. The library occupied a space easily the size of the human village, all inside the Scarlet Devil Mansion. We had entered through the main gate, as the platform extended into a set of stairs on either side, leading into the depths of this city of knowledge.

    ¡°Can you please lead us to Lady Patchouli?¡± I heard the maid speak and noticed that a girl with red hair, in an orderly office lady like black suit had appeared. A set of black bat wings was folded on her back, suggesting that she was not human either. With a respectful nod, the girl complied and led us down the stairs, along which a bookshelf filled with ancient appearing spines of books, was nestled inside the wall. I looked around in awe, as did my companions, thinking just how many books could be found here.

    We walked through winding alleyways made of bookshelves rather than buildings, up and down stairs, always accompanied by books as far as the eyes could see. My image of a wizened man with white hair did not do this amount of knowledge justice, and I could not conjure up anything more fitting, as my mouth hung open at every corner. I found myself wishing for a prolonged life, only to be able to read a fraction of the contents of his library.

    The library attendant led us across the city, past others who looked almost just like her, all featuring the same clothes and black bat wings. We ascended and descended many sets of stairs, walked past millennia worth of knowledge in book format, until we arrived on a platform, similar to the one that first greeted us upon entering the library, overlooking the city. In the middle of it stood a table, bending under the weight of scrolls, books and loose paper sheets, surrounded by carts filled with even more books. It appeared that we had reached our destination.

    ¡°Lady Patchouli, guests have arrived,¡± The attendant announced. From beyond the pile of books the rustling of pages responded, before a quiet voice, clearly belonging to a female, spoke. ¡°Who is it?¡± At those words, the pile of books on the table began to move, floating up into the air and back down to the floor, piling onto the already carelessly discarded ones lying all around. Soon, the person on the other side could be seen, a woman in her early twenties, sitting on a large armchair, surrounded by more piles of books, wearing a loose pink dress reminiscent of a pajama. A night cap of the same color, with a large golden crescent moon stitched onto it, adorned her extremely long violet hair that was tied with numerous bows. If she had stood up, it would have become apparent that her hair was longer than she was tall, and would trail behind her when she walked.

    ¡°A half-human, an oni, a satori y?kai and a y?kai of darkness, coming to visit the Great Library of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, in the dead of night. These are strange times indeed.¡± She looked sleepy, her purple eyes drowsy from reading deep into the night. For some reason, however, I thought that this was how she always looked. ¡°What knowledge do you seek? How may I, the witch called Patchouli Knowledge, help you?¡±

 Chapter 23 - This is Danmaku

    he magician named Patchouli Knowledge was so completely different from the wizened wizard¡¯s image I had been fostering in my mind on the way here that I could not think of anything else at the moment. Looking her up and down, at least her demeanor was befitting of a wise sage who read an uncountable amount of books. Her eyes were fixated on me for some inexplicable reason, until I realized that everyone else¡¯s were, too. Apparently they expected of me to respond to the magician¡¯s question.

    ¡°Uh, yeah. I¡¯m Kagami Ky?ma, I come from the outside world. It would appear that you are aware of the occurrences in Gens?ky?, so I¡¯ll cut to the chase,¡± I introduced myself and began by quickly explaining the occurrences surrounding the group of newcomers under O-hakuka. ¡°The large-scale ritual that was performed on top of Y?kai Mountain, do you know what it was for?¡±

    ¡°I am sorry, I did not witness it. I have been in this library for the past...¡± Patchouli remarked with a neutral expression and fell into thought for a moment, before the library attendant who had led us in stepped forward. ¡°You have not left that chair for the past 271 days, Lady Patchouli.¡± Once again, I was astonished at the scale these timeless beings counted things in, but the more pressing matter was the fact that she was not aware of the ritual we specifically came to ask about. ¡°I would most likely have had an answer, if I had seen it with my own eyes, but from your explanation I cannot deduce the nature of the ritual.¡±

    ¡°Would you be able to tell, if we gave you a catalyst used in it?¡± Suika suddenly said, earning a surprised look from me. Had she procured something from the site where Koishi had been held?

    ¡°That should suffice,¡± The magician responded, shifting her gaze to the little oni beside me. ¡°Be it Western or Eastern magic, this library covers it all. My expertise is, despite appearances, Eastern magic.¡± I wondered what she meant by saying ¡°despite appearances¡±, since many y?kai that were supposedly Japanese did not look the part one bit. Then again, her name was clearly foreign, and with my little knowledge of the language, I understood that her last name was English.

    ¡°Here, this little satori y?kai was the catalyst during the ritual, but I took her out of it before it was finished,¡± The little oni gestured at Koishi, who looked at the extended hand with her expressionless smile. ¡°The ritual was meant to claim her life, so I would think that it must be somewhat incomplete.¡± Despite saying that she had no understanding of rituals, Suika seemed to display a certain amount of knowledge about their workings. Then again, she was quite old, so maybe she spoke from pure experience.

    ¡°I see. Come here, little satori y?kai.¡± Patchouli gestured for Koishi to walk up to her, which the latter did without questioning the reason. ¡°What is your name?¡± Suddenly, I could only think of the magician as a doctor who was about to examine a child and spoke to it to reassure it of the safety of the procedure. ¡°I¡¯m Koishi.¡± The response was as childlike as expected. As she came to stand beside Patchouli¡¯s chair, the magician lifted a slender hand and held it out towards the satori. A set of seven crystals emerged from her wide sleeves, each about the size of a thick marker pen. They began to circle around her wrist and a faint light began to shine within them.

    ¡°I see... that was quite a grand ritual for something so simple.¡± Apparently she had already found the answer, as mere moments later she put her hand back on the armrest and sighed, as if tired from the physical exertion. The floating crystals returned into her sleeve on their own. Turning to Suika and me, her sleepy purple eyes did not give away the direness of the words she spoke next. ¡°The satori y?kai were only two in a set of three. However, the third was the actual catalyst, while this one was an ingredient to be used up.¡± At her words I was reminded of Satori¡¯s death again. Indeed, a catalyst in a chemical reaction remained untouched, while the ingredients oftentimes underwent drastic changes.

    ¡°What was produced?¡± I asked, questioning the choice of words, considering we were talking about living beings rather than chemical components.

    ¡°Rather than produced, it would be better to say that something was shifted, just like in an actual chemical reaction.¡± Patchouli¡¯s gaze rested on Koishi, who did not seem to understand the situation. ¡°And its effect can still be found in this girl¡¯s nature.¡± I was unable to comprehend what she meant, but before I could hastily interrupt her explanation with an impatient and redundant question, she continued. ¡°The nature of the two satori y?kai were meant to be taken away and given to O-hakuka. As a nurarihyon, her existence is somewhat special among y?kai. Her nature allows her to control those of lesser mental strength and influence those who possess some resistance. However, if you were to add a satori¡¯s mind-reading to it, she could achieve unprecedented levels of control - after all, knowing a target¡¯s mind inside out can grant greater sway over it.¡±

    I was shocked to learn that the aim of the ritual had been to empower O-hakuka¡¯s abilities as a nurarihyon, and that to such an end two lives were supposed to be sacrificed. Luckily, Suika had at least been able to save one, although I now had to wonder in what way Koishi¡¯s survival had affected the ritual.

    ¡°This little one¡¯s nature was shifted slightly. If you have known her for a while, you should be aware of that more than I could be.¡± The magician was referring to the green-eyed girl by her side. ¡°As you may know, losing one¡¯s nature as a y?kai equals death.¡± I looked at Koishi, the prime example of someone who had overcome that notion, and wondered in what way she had been changed this time. ¡°But I believe you should be more worried about the third party, the catalyst of the ritual. Through this one I could only glimpse a little of its nature... but I am ashamed to say that I cannot even begin to grasp its true form.¡± Despite her words, she remained as expressionless as always, as she turned around to her attendant and asked for her to bring her a certain book.

    ¡°This means that O-hakuka has grown much more powerful in that ritual...¡± I remarked with a bitter expression. Yet, one question remained unanswered. ¡°But what for?¡±

    ¡°Those who seek power usually don¡¯t do so just for the sake of it. She is aiming to overpower someone, and apparently it¡¯s someone she¡¯s willing to make an enemy of even the mountain kami to defeat.¡± It was Suika who responded to that question, as she pumped her fist. ¡°Either way, she has to be stopped.¡± Our thoughts were in alignment in that regard.

    ¡°It would appear that we are dealing with something far greater than I first thought,¡± Patchouli¡¯s voice interrupted us. She closed the book her attendant had brought her with a definite sound. ¡°I now know the nature of that third party. It is an existence from another plane, an antithesis to Gens?ky? and the outside world. In fact, the only way I could describe it would be with the word ¡®god¡¯.¡± She specifically used the English expression, to put it into contrast with the Japanese definition of kami, which included a broad range of beings with powers ranging from far weaker than a human¡¯s, to those that were able to influence the very fabric of space and time. The English ¡°God¡± referred to something akin to a concept, beyond human notions such as life and death, or even existence itself.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I could not comprehend her choice of words, although it may have been more along the lines of refusing to accept it. ¡°She has help from a god?¡±

    ¡°Not just any ¡®god¡¯, but one that is an absolute existence within her plane,¡± The magician said and a hint of uneasiness crept into her eyes. ¡°I know three people who have had contact with that god, in one way or another. Two of which are... fellow magicians.¡± The pause before mentioning their occupation made me wonder about her relationship with those two. However, these were indeed alarming news; O-hakuka had the backing of a being more powerful than any I had encountered so far. This explained how she had dared to perform a ritual at the Moriya Shrine, despite the fact that the two resident kami could have interfered at any time.

    ¡°Now we can¡¯t just make any rash moves against her, even if we know where she is,¡± I grumbled in dissatisfaction. Suika had told me about the tortoise castle in the west during our short downtime after the battle.

    ¡°Actually, I would not count on Genbu still being there. Passing through the Garden of the Sun along its way towards the human village should mean it was either completely annihilated or has changed course before then.¡± I did not understand what Suika meant when she dismissed my statement. ¡°I¡¯ll explain another time,¡± She added when she noticed my puzzled expression.

    ¡°You should contact either of the two magicians, although I believe the best choice would be the Hakurei Miko.¡± Patchouli looked resigned as she made this suggestion. ¡°After all, she is the most connected person in all of Gens?ky?... aside from the Great Y?kai Sage herself, maybe.¡± She clearly meant Yukari, whom I had not seen since meeting Suika for the first time.

    ¡°Then I guess we should head for the Hakurei Shrine next,¡± I said and turned to the little oni beside me. Rumia was still clinging onto me, appearing drowsy as she rubbed her eyes. I had to wonder about a y?kai of darkness becoming sleepy during nighttime, which should have been her peak time, but I guessed that because she had no inkling as to what we were talking about, her attention shut down. She was a child, after all. The other child - the one with the green hair - returned to my side, appearing as much the wiser as Rumia was after the conversation.

    ¡°Please, dear guest, do not forget your promise to the mistress,¡± The maid suddenly remarked and I was reminded of the fact that I had indeed agreed to play with Remilia¡¯s younger sister in exchange for the information Patchouli had provided us with. Her tone was neutral, but I understood that if I went back on my words, she would most likely mete out punishment in place of her mistress.

    ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t forget that. Time to meet the little lady then,¡± I said and shrugged. Since it was still the middle of the night, and I heard from Suika during our training days that Reimu valued her sleep to the point where she became very cranky when disturbed, I did not want to be the reason for that. Therefore, we still had quite some time left before she would be up, and as O-hakuka¡¯s whereabouts were not entirely known, we could not do much before consulting with the miko.

    In either case, what harm could there be in playing with a little vampire girl?

    For some reason, I was made to part with the others from my group, who were led away by a fairy maid to have a midnight snack. Sakuya showed me the way and brought me deeper into the mansion. We passed through a heavy two-winged door and I noticed that the wallpaper had been replaced with blank walls of cold stone. Before me was a short corridor with something I perceived to be a guardhouse, before a reinforced portcullis blocked our way. Beyond was a flight of spiral stairs, leading down into darkness.

    ¡°Uhm, where are we going, Izayoi-san?¡± I asked with a hint of unease. I could not imagine that the little sister of the mistress could be in a location that clearly looked like a castle dungeon.

    ¡°The young mistress is waiting downstairs. Let us proceed,¡± The maid responded coolly, not letting my apprehension affect her everlasting neutral expression. With this, she walked ahead, as the portcullis was seemingly lifted by a ghostly hand, expecting me to follow - which I did, despite all alarm bells going off in my head at the strangeness of the situation.

    The spiral staircase seemed to only lead down one floor, which seemed strange in light of the security upstairs, but even stranger was the fact that it opened up to a hall large enough to encompass the floor we had come from just earlier. It was completely empty and there was only one door at the end of it, another double-winged door in crimson. As we approached it, alarm bells I didn¡¯t know had not yet begun to ring started; the door was covered in paper strips - seals written in unknown runes and utilizing western magic circles.

    ¡°The young mistress is behind this door. Her name is Flandre Scarlet, and you are to address her with utmost respect. I wish you good luck.¡± The maid bowed lightly and I thought I saw her take out something shining in silver, before the scenery around me changed from the blank stone hall to a large room that seemed to be somewhere else inside the mansion. It featured a soft blood red carpet and burgundy wallpapers, as well as mahogany furniture, of which one was a large canopy bed with heavy crimson curtains and golden trims. I noticed that there were many broken toys and stuffed animals lying around, seemingly the leftovers of a child¡¯s tantrum. However, when I saw that some of them were singed or even melted, I reconsidered the use of the word ¡°tantrum¡± to be an understatement.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    I turned around to see a double-winged door behind me, surely the other side of the heavily sealed one I had seen just moments ago. This side looked completely normal, without the hint of a sign as to what it looked like on the outside.

    Rustling behind me made me spin around again. It clearly came from the bed, which was covered in stuffed animals in various states of destruction.

    ¡°Lady Flandre?¡± I muttered, wondering if she understood Japanese.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Came the response, clearly in Japanese. I was still unable to make out where it came from exactly. There was more rustling from the bed and finally I saw something move. Something like a crooked tree branch, about the thickness of a glass bottle¡¯s neck, stood up from inside the pile of stuffed animals. Hanging from it was a set of crystals in the colors of a rainbow, reminiscent of the ones Patchouli had conjured up from inside her sleeve earlier. Then, another one came up, stretching like a pair of wings. Over the spectacle before me I forgot to answer. ¡°You are... a human?¡±

    ¡°Ah, right, um. I¡¯m Kagami Ky?ma, tonight¡¯s entertainment.¡±

    At these words, a blonde head popped up from the bed and a pair of crimson eyes stared into mine. Their sight seemed to burn into my very soul, as something disturbing seemed to radiate from their depths. However, at the same time, I was reminded of the cold green eyes of a certain other younger sister. What would otherwise have been a reaction of anxiety was replaced with a feeling of protectiveness. What had this girl lived through to look at the world with such eyes?

    ¡°Kagami Ky?ma... is it alright to play with you?¡± Flandre asked, her bell-like voice brimming of innocence. An shy smile was on her lips, but paired with her eyes, I would have turned and fled, if I had not experienced all the things I had since coming to Gens?ky?.

    ¡°Yes, what would you like to play?¡±

    ¡°... Danmaku,¡± She requested, almost timidly, as she rose from the large bed slightly. Only now was I able to see her figure, which was as childlike as her demeanor suggested. She was about the same height as her older sister, her apparent age close to Koishi¡¯s, too. Slender, almost frail-looking arms and legs extended from a red and white dress tied with a yellow ascot. The branch-like appendages were indeed attached to her back, and they swayed with every one of her movements. ¡°Let¡¯s play danmaku!¡± This time, she spoke with more confidence.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know how that works.¡± It was hard for me to deny her wish, but never having learned danmaku or the Spellcard Rules, I was unable to utilize them. ¡°I never learned it... but maybe you can teach me?¡± Children usually had a feeling of superiority when they were given the opportunity to teach an adult something new. I hoped that this one was no different.

    ¡°... teach you?¡± The vampire girl looked at me with surprise, as if it was a strange suggestion. Then her face lit up in a radiant grin, its innocence befitting of her apparent age. I found myself thinking that this was the natural state all children should be in, before the image of Koishi¡¯s empty smile entered my mind.

    ¡°Although I do have a question before that... why do you know Japanese?¡± It was a legitimate point I was having trouble understanding. From the seals on the door to the state of the room and the toys strewn across the ground I had already deduced that Flandre was treated somewhat like a dangerous mental institution patient. This meant that she had little to no contact to the outside world. Leaving aside the fact that this was far to cruel to subject a girl as innocent as the one before me to, her having learned Japanese while her sister upstairs had not was strange, to say the least. ¡°Your sister doesn¡¯t seem to know it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, sister? She¡¯s just putting up an act,¡± The little vampire responded with a slightly annoyed expression. My image of Remilia Scarlet¡¯s powerful attitude received a notable crack. ¡°Patchouli learned the language quickly after we arrived and taught everyone.¡± Now that she mentioned it, I had wondered why the magician spoke perfect Japanese despite having a foreign name. ¡°She doesn¡¯t get many opportunities to do it, but it¡¯s kind of become her hobby since coming here.¡± Flandre and her older sister¡¯s relationship seemed to be a difficult one, but I was not in a position to bring it up. Another thing, though, I thought to be important enough for me to ignore proper form to speak about.

    ¡°Why are you locked up in the basement?¡± I asked, despite understanding that the little girl before me had, to a certain degree, psychotic tendencies - enough for her to maim every single one of her toys.

    ¡°Because I can only destroy,¡± Flandre responded, an infinitely lonely expression on her face. ¡°Whenever I play, something breaks.¡± It felt like physical pain was running through my heart at the sight, and I found the determination to ease that loneliness - and not just for tonight. What had started out as a task based on an exchange of services had become so much more after the little girl¡¯s unadulterated show of emotions.

    ¡°Ky?ma, are you cheating on me?¡± An all-too familiar voice said behind me, in a tone I could only imagine being spoken with a pout. I spun around and found Koishi, with the expected pout and a rare scowl darkening her features. Patchouli had mentioned that the little satori¡¯s nature had been changed, and I finally understood what she had meant; apparently Koishi was slowly regaining her conscious thoughts and emotions.

    ¡°I won¡¯t even play along with this... In either case, this is Komeiji Koishi, a satori from the underground.¡± This was directed at Flandre, who looked at the newcomer with a surprised expression. ¡°Actually, how did you get here? I thought you went with the others to have a snack,¡± Turning back to the green-eyed girl, I asked in slight confusion. She had not been there when the maid had transported me to this room, although her appearing out of thin air was a quirk that seemed to be inseparable with her existence.

    ¡°I told you that I want to be with you. So I will never leave your side again, Ky?ma,¡± Koishi stated with a definite expression. From that I could tell that this was not her usual shenanigans and it caused a tingling feeling in my chest.

    ¡°Another toy?¡± The vampire girl asked with a twinkle in her eyes, interrupting our moment.

    ¡°Lady Flandre, you shouldn¡¯t think of living beings as toys.¡± I was reminded of how Remilia had worded my task here, adding to that fact the results of the little sister¡¯s treatment of her toys, and her statement about her destructive nature, I understood why she had been locked up here. It was cruel without a doubt, but worse was the fact that seemingly nobody was teaching her common sense. Before I had noticed, Flandre had gotten up from her bed and stood only a few steps from me. Her appendages, doubtlessly bizarre wings, were drooping slightly at my light chastisement.

    ¡°You want to play?¡± My companion asked, finally shifting her attention to the vampire. The blonde responded with a shy nod. ¡°If it¡¯s danmaku, I can accompany you.¡± I looked at Koishi with an astonished expression, but then remembered that supposedly all supernatural beings in Gens?ky? knew how to play danmaku - whatever exactly it was.

    ¡°Really?¡± Flandre¡¯s face brightened up at the offer.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go at it!¡± With these words, the two girls flew up into the air of the large room, which I only now noticed had an exceptionally high ceiling, and faced each other. I watched from the ground, a part of me noting that I could clearly see up their skirts and see the pumpkin pants underneath, while another was intrigued to finally see what the Spellcard Rules were.

    Suddenly, a storm of light orbs began to swirl around the two girls, heart-shaped red ones coming from Koishi and cranberry red ones from Flandre. These orbs began to move in intricate patterns, flying towards their opposites like a hail of bullets. As the two girls weaved their ways through the tiny gaps between the projectiles, summoning more and more lights to throw at each other, their flight began to resemble a dance. I noticed that the bullets hitting the walls disappeared, but those that came into contact with the furniture left scorching craters or exploded into smaller bullets that spread all across the room, leaving small holes everywhere. Even though I was only on the sidelines watching, I had been dragged into it and would become collateral damage if I did not actively dodge.

    ¡°In the first place, that¡¯s not playing!¡± I shouted when Flandre, who had procured what looked like a twisted clock arm from an unknown location, created a crimson laser from its tip and cut the bed in half. Koishi skillfully avoided it and continued to spread her love in the form of burning red hearts that floated around the room and started to crowd its space.

    ¡°This is danmaku, Ky?ma!¡± Koishi sounded excited as she spun around her self, avoided a curtain of bullets and released more and more hearts. Flandre¡¯s face was flushed and a wide smile spread on her face, revealing her sharp canines. Her pupils had turned into slits, like those of a cat, and her crimson irises seemed to be glowing eerily. They were clearly enjoying what I could only perceive as a life and death battle.

    ¡°Ahhh, I haven¡¯t had this much fun in a long time!¡± She shrieked in excitement and spread her twisted wings wide, bullets of various colors emerging from the crystals attached to them, creating a seemingly unavoidable rainbow-colored barrage. At the same time, Koishi threw her hat into the air, as if in celebration, and all the hearts floating in the room turned blue and pink, as they accelerated back towards her own position.

    The two girls avoided each other¡¯s danmaku in graceful moves, sometimes almost grazing them as they passed. Still, neither of the two had been hit by even a single bullet, while I had to give my all to not be at the receiving end of the destruction they spread. There was absolutely no form in my movements and I sometimes lay low, jumped up or twisted my body, looking less than graceful. There was no way I could grasp the concept behind this display of supernatural feats and learn to do it myself seeing two at such a high level going at each other with it.

    ¡°Watch me, Ky?ma! My rekindled love is only for you!¡± Koishi announced and pink glowing hearts burst forth from her chest like meteorites, a myriad of smaller bullets separating from their trail to cover the room in their radiance.

    ¡°Love is a labyrinth, it¡¯s a long and arduous path!¡± Flandre, for some reason picking up on the ¡°love¡± part, responded in kind and released a new barrage of bluish danmaku. It was so dense that I could not see any way to avoid them, but then I realized that there was a substantial hole one could easily pass through at one point within the sphere that spread out from the little vampire. Suddenly, I understood what was meant with ¡°playing danmaku¡±. Apparently it was still only a game, as the patterns of the bullets shot at each other always had openings for the opponent to slip through. The beauty was in finding them and avoiding them. But for now, I could not pat myself on the back for realizing this, as I had to do my best to avoid both of their projectiles at the same time.

    ¡°Why are you avoiding it, Ky?ma!¡± The little satori pouted, when she saw me dodging one of her hearts by a mile.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be unreasonable!¡± I shouted as it passed by me and blew up the remains of the bed.

    This continued for a while, three people performing a ballet of death - or at least I perceived it to be deadly, while my performance was certainly not worthy to be called a ballet.

    Sitting on the ground and breathing heavily, I was as exhausted as on the first day of Suika¡¯s training. The two girls lay on the ground, each with singed or shredded clothes and completely out of strength, but smiling widely. Especially Koishi¡¯s expression was refreshing to see, as it was a genuine one. Flandre¡¯s eyes were no longer the slits of a predator¡¯s, and had a glint that suggested satisfaction. They looked like girls their apparent age after playing to their hearts¡¯ content.

    ¡°Even if I almost died in the process... but everything for the little princesses.¡± I sighed and caught my breath. Walking over to the two, I confirmed that neither was hurt and sighed again. ¡°It¡¯ll be a while before I will learn how danmaku works. In fact, how do you even create it?¡±

    ¡°I just think about it and it happens.¡±

    ¡°When I think about it, they come out.¡±

    The two of them sat up and stated at the same time, with practically the exact same response and expression on their faces. Sighing for the third time, I sat down in their middle and looked at them in turn. Koishi¡¯s eyes held emotions, more than ever before, while Flandre¡¯s showed the remaining embers of excitement from the battle. There was no hint of sadness or loneliness in either of their unclouded eyes. I smiled at the sight and stroked both their heads.

    ¡°Hm, what?¡± Koishi asked, as she nuzzled into it and enjoyed my touch.

    ¡°... what... is this?¡± Flandre asked, too, but her tone was different. She blushed at the sensation of being petted, unsure what to make of it. ¡°It feels... warm.¡± For some reason the thought that she had never been caressed like this before crossed my mind. Koishi interrupted that thought by rounding me and embracing me from behind, cuddling my cheek with her own.

    ¡°Did you have fun?¡± I asked Flandre, who looked at me with a surprised expression. Then she nodded with a radiant smile. ¡°Yes!¡± It warmed my heart, even though I had not done anything at all and it had been Koishi¡¯s merit.

    ¡°You¡¯re the third person who didn¡¯t break after I played with you,¡± The vampire girl said, looking at Koishi. The way she worded it and the hopeful shine in her eyes was painful to witness, but the satori on my back responded to it in a way that answered the hope. ¡°If you want, we can play again,¡± She stated, showing a smile of her own. Her face brightening up, Flandre leapt up in excitement.

    ¡°But for now, let¡¯s do something else,¡± I added, showing my exhaustion. I was still human, to a certain degree, and did not have the immense rejuvenation powers of y?kai and most especially of vampires. ¡°Let¡¯s play something that doesn¡¯t involve the chance of dying... for me.¡± The little vampire¡¯s dejection turned into slightly apologetic bashfulness. If she could show such an expression, it meant she was aware of the fact that her playing was quite destructive. Maybe she simply could not control her powers well, although her actual age should have suggested otherwise.

    ¡°What do you suggest?¡± Koishi asked, wondering what we could do in a completely devastated room.