It was depressing how far kids would go in the name of rebellion.
Keine lingered on the thought as she stood at the entrance to the mine. The sun had vanished below the horizon, leaving an ashen-grey sky in its wake. Given a choice she'd be holed up at home right now, passing the evening with a good book and some classy wine.
Sadly, the children of the village had other ideas.
"I could have sworn I taught that boy how to read."
Keine sighed as she picked up a sign lying at her feet. WARNING, it screamed, in a huge font that was impossible to ignore. DERELICT MINE. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT ENTER. The kappa had put it up decades ago when they shut the place down, but besides some threatening messages there was nothing to stop a passer-by from walking in.
"Oh, you kappa." Keine shook her head. "So considerate of the world around you."
She could have stood around to grouch all day if she wanted, but there were more pressing things to worry about. The hakutaku pulled a match out of her dress pocket, using it to light the lantern she'd brought along with her. She stepped into the mineshaft with slow, careful steps, holding the lamp in front of her to light her way.
"Jiro? Can you hear me?"
She called out, her voice echoing across the stone walls of the corridor. There was no reply; all she could hear was the distant dripping of water.
"The other kids are done with hide and seek," she continued. "You won! By a landslide, even. Why not come out and rub it in their faces?"
Still no response. He must have been too far in to hear her. That, or he was-no, she wasn't going to consider that option yet. She paced further down the passageway, keeping her eye out for side passages that would make good hiding spots.
The mine was as old and battered as the sign had promised. The wooden pillars were lined with cracks and rot, threatening to snap at any moment. Tools and gadgets had been tossed across the ground, their edges coated with thickening rust. The stench of mould assaulted her nose, sending a wave of bile up her throat.
"I know you're in here, Jiro." Keine channelled all her experience as a schoolteacher into her voice. "Let's make a deal, shall we? You come out and promise not to play in here again, and I'll make sure your parents don't hear about it. Does that sound fair?"
With every second that passed without an answer, Keine felt a primal fear rising in her chest. She was supposed to be the village's guardian. How could she have let this happen on her watch? What was she supposed to tell his parents? She murmured a prayer to any gods that happened to be watching, hoping she hadn't arrived too late.
Once she'd cleared out all the side chambers, the only way forward was an elevator shaft. There were hand-cranks on both sides of the pit, one for each of the two cage lifts. One of the cables had snapped a long time a long time ago, but the other still seemed in workable condition. Jiro must have used it to sneak further into the mine.
With a comfort that only came from practice, Keine stepped forward into the empty air. She floated down the empty shaft, swerving about to avoid the spikes of jagged metal poking from the walls. Her lantern was the only source of light she had now, and she held it close as the bottom of the shaft came into view.
Lying on the floor was a pile of scrap that had once been an elevator.
"Oh, no-!"
Keine swooped down to inspect the rubble first hand. The lift cable had snapped about twenty feet from the bottom, leaving the cage to plummet the rest of the way. There was no sign of the second cage that should have been down here, but that hardly mattered to her right now.
"Jiro!"
Keine dug through the heap of battered metal, only slowing down to keep from cutting herself. Drops of blood were spread across the wreckage – fresh blood, newly spilled. Holding her lamp to the floor, she could just make out a trail of crimson trickle down the passageway. The boy was hurt, but he was still alive...for now, at least.
"I'm coming, Jiro!" she called out, hoping the human could hear her. "Just hang on!"
Keine raced down the corridor, the sight of blood sending her brain into overdrive. The cavern started to split into junctions, near-identical corridors that seemed to go on forever. As morbid as it was, the trail was the only lead she had to go on.
As she plunged deeper into the mine, she felt a throbbing pain crawl along her skull. Her muscles grew stiff and heavy, to the point where even holding up the lantern became a challenge. Had she pushed herself that hard already? She continued regardless, fighting down her body's calls to retreat.
It was too late by the time she realised her mistake.
"Haah...agh-!"
Keine snatched at her throat with one hand. Her mouth hung open, sucking in every drop of air it could muster. But no matter how hard she gasped and wheezed and panted, the oxygen never made it to her lungs.
Toxic gas…!
She turned to back out of the corridor, but the strength had already left her legs. Her knees buckled inward, and she crumpled to the ground like a piece of damp paper. The lantern dropped from her hand, rolling along the ground and out of reach.
"Nng...hgg..."
Keine cursed her own recklessness. She'd forgotten that pockets of poison gas were a common peril in mines this old. Sparks and stars danced across her vision as her consciousness began to fade.
Jiro...I'm sorry…
The world around her decayed into vague shapes, then flashing colours. For a moment she swore she heard footsteps coming close, and the silhouette of something yellow standing over her.
Then the only thing she saw was a sea of black.
"Mmrrngh..."
Keine woke up to the faint smell of mildew tickling her nostrils. A wretched haze still coursed through her brain, and she blinked rapidly in an effort to dispel it.
Where am I…?
She pushed herself up to a sitting position, feeling like her arms had turned to stone. Metal bars encased her from all directions. A jail cell? No, that wasn't right. It was an elevator cage, like the one she'd found crashed on the floor of the shaft.
There'd been an effort to refurbish this one, though. A bed of straw and feathers ran across the floor, and one side of the cage was devoted to a collection of beautiful crystals. There was a poster on the far wall proudly declaring it had been eleventy days since the last mining accident. And most importantly, there was a small body huddled up in the corner of the room.
"Jiro!"
She stumbled across the cage as her strength returned to her. Jiro had a bandage wrapped around his leg, carefully tied to stem the flow of blood. He was unconscious, but from the peaceful look on his face she'd have sworn he was just sleeping.
"Thank the gods you're alright...!"
Keine wiped a trail of tears from her face. It was only once her relief had passed that she started asking the bigger questions. She hadn't been the one to find Jiro, or the one to treat his injury. In that case, who was?
"Oh hey, you finally woke up!"
A beam of light poked through the bars of the cage, blinding Keine for an instant. She strained her eyes to make out a figure standing on the other side, something sharp and metal resting in her hands.
"Who's there?!" Keine braced herself for combat, grabbing a spellcard from her pocket. "If you're here for the boy, you'll have to get through me first!"
"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" The outside figure backed away with a frantic chirp. "You've got it all wrong, miss! I'm not gonna eat anyone! Heck, I'm not even that hungry!"
Keine hesitated. Her eyes acclimated to the light, and the stranger outside became fully visible. It was a bird youkai of some sort, her yellow wings coated with a layer of soot and dirt. She gripped at a pickaxe in both hands, too unwieldy to be any use as a weapon. A miner's helmet covered her ruffled brown hair, its lamp firing a guiding light inside the cage.
"Who are you?" Keine raised an eyebrow. "And what are you doing here?"
"My name's Nakari Kirohane, miss." The youkai bowed to Keine, almost losing her helmet in the process. "I'm here 'cause there are shiny things in the walls, and I wanna dig them out."
Keine frowned. "But this mine's been closed for years."
"Really? Guess that explains why I've got the place to myself, then." Nakari kneeled down in front of Keine. "How're you feeling? I got you out of the gas pretty quick, but even a little can mess with your head."
"I...think I'll survive." Keine rubbed at her eyes as she started to piece the facts together. "Were you the one who rescued me?"
The bird girl rubbed behind her neck. "I guess you could call it that, yeah."
"And Jiro?" Keine motioned to the human on the floor. "You found him as well, didn't you?"
"I mean, it was hard not to." Nakari pouted. "I was working the walls as usual, when all of a sudden-BAM! There's this big crash from the elevator shaft. Seriously, I nearly jumped right outta my skin." She grabbed at her chest. "Lucky for him, I keep a first aid kit on hand for emergencies."
Keine's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. It seemed she'd made some hasty assumptions.
"Thank you," she said, swallowing down a hefty chunk of humble pie. "Sorry for being so aggressive before."
"Eh, it's fine." Nakari rubbed at her nose. "Mining's a harsh way of life. It's normal for newcomers like you to be on edge."
The bird flexed one arm in a transparent act of showing off. Her build wasn't much to write hom about, Keine noticed, but those arms had a good bit of muscle to them. She supposed that came with years of digging through solid rock.
"Still, how exactly did you rescue me?" Keine rubbed at her throat. "Shouldn't the gas have knocked you out as well?"
"Oh, that stuff doesn't do anything to me." Nakari smirked. "It's my secret canary superpower."
"A canary, you say?" Keine closed her eyes, searching through the archives of her memory. "Those are the birds that miners from the outside world took into the shafts, right?"
"Yup, that's me. Or at least it was until I died and stuff." Nakari spoke of the event without a hint of grief. "Then I woke up here, and suddenly those stupid fumes couldn't do anything to me. I've been working on my shiny collection ever since." She motioned to the line of rocks taking up one side of the cage. "Aren't these babies just incredible?"
Keine gave the collection a closer look. She had to admit there were some beautiful specimens here, but she doubted they had any actual worth. Most of them seemed to just be pretty rocks rather than precious ores. That was probably why the kappa had given up on this mine to begin with.
"Anyway, thank you again for taking care of Jiro." Keine looked over the boy, checking that he was safe to move before lifting him up. "That said, we really need to get moving. Can you tell me how to get out from here?"
"Eh? You're leaving already?" Nakari's wings drooped. "But you're the first visitors I've had in forever!"
"I know, and I'm sorry." Keine looked down at the small boy in her arms. "But I need to get him home as soon as possible. His family is worried sick."
Nakari shot Keine the most pitiful glance she could manage. It was a look Keine had seen plenty of times before, mostly from students looking to avoid detention. As usual she gave no quarter, matching the pout with a hardened glance of her own.
"Mrr. Fine." Nakari hung her head as she pulled open the door to the cage. "Follow me."
"Thanks."
Keine made sure Jiro was safely in her arms before stepping out of the elevator, following along behind the canary. It turned out she was thankful for the guide – the lower floors of the mine were a labyrinth of twists and turns, and she'd have definitely gotten lost if she hadn't had someone to lead the way. Never mind all the gas pockets she had to worry about.
"Hmm hm hm..."
Nakari strolled casually through the passageways, whistling little tunes to herself as she went. The oppressive darkness of the mine didn't seem to faze her all, Keine noticed. If anything she revelled in it, using the rumbles and creaks around her as a backing track for her song. It was an enthusiastic performance, although Keine noted her pitch control could do with some work.
"Huh?"
As they passed by one wall, the sound of rushing water overpowered everything else. She remembered seeing a river nearby as she made her way into the mine. Had the mineshaft been built next to it?
"Ugh." Nakari's face scrunched up. "Can we hurry up a little? I don't like it here."
"I can't go any faster." Keine looked down at Jiro. "I'd rather not risk injuring him any more."
"Mrrr..."
The canary tiptoed nervously through the passageway, her wings tense and ready to flap at any moment. Keine had to wonder – what exactly was she so uncomfortable with?
By the time they made it out of the mine, the moon was hanging high above Gensokyo. It wouldn't be a full moon for a few days, but it was close enough to make Keine's blood tingle with anticipation. She fought down her beastly instincts, keeping her mind on the matter at hand.
"I can take it from here." She stepped around Nakari, savouring the fresh air. "Thanks again for the help."
"Mm."
Nakari stared down at the ground, rubbing at her forearm with an overwhelming sigh. It wasn't hard to guess what she was thinking about. Most of Gensokyo's birds were expressive and simple-minded, and it seemed like the canary was no exception.
"Um, miss?" The youkai twiddled her fingers. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Miss is what my students call me," Keine replied. "Keine is fine."
Nakari nodded. "Miss Keine, is it okay if I come with you to the village?"
"I don't think that's a good idea." Keine bit her lip. "If the townsfolk saw a youkai walking through the streets, the reaction would be...unpleasant."
"Oh." Nakari slumped her shoulders. "I guess that makes sense."
A pang of guilt stabbed at Keine's heart. Could she afford to make an exception here? No, she couldn't. The villagers were already on edge after Jiro's disappearance. Bringing Nakari along would only cause more unrest.
"I'd stay longer if I could," she said. "Don't you have other youkai you can hang around with?"
"Nuh-uh." Nakari shook her head. "Everyone says I'm scruffy and I smell like dirt."
Not entirely incorrect, Keine thought. "I'm sure a bath would-"
"A bath?!" The canary let out a shrill tweet. "No no no no no. Not an option. Trust me."
Keine frowned. "Why not?"
"Water is..." Nakari gulped. "I don't like it. I can't swim, and when it gets in my wings they get really heavy and it's scary and...yeah."
"Ah."
Now Keine was wishing she hadn't asked. She'd clearly touched on a sensitive topic, and she definitely didn't want to part ways with Nakari on such a bitter note. Especially not after everything the canary had done for her.
"OK, how about this?" Keine said. "I'll come back to see you tomorrow. You can tell me all about your favourite stones then."
Nakari's eyes lit up with hope. "Really? You promise?"
"On my life." Keine tucked in her eyebrows. "Could you maybe leave directions at the bottom of the shaft for next time, though? I'd rather not walk into a gas cloud again."
"Of course!" Nakari's wings flapped hard enough to lift her off the ground. "Thank you so much, miss Keine! This is gonna be so much fun~!"
"I told you, Keine is fine." The hakutaku bowed. "And I'm the one who should be thanking you."
Keine offered a wave with her less-occupied hand before turning forward, starting the long walk back to the human village. She looked down at the boy resting in her arms, his usual cocky smirk replaced with a peaceful smile.
Thinking about it, she and Nakari had a lot in common. They weren't the smartest, and they didn't have a shred of common sense between them. But they were passionate about what mattered to them, and pursued it with all their heart. That was what Keine had come to love about Jiro.
And maybe, she wondered, it was something she'd come to appreciate in Nakari as well.