If the residence of the Hieda family's look real grandiose from outside, from the inside it was simply too regal to tolerate and yet, at the same time it exudes a very traditional kind of feeling -- the Japanese sort of 'traditional', that is. We were at Akyu's room, a small room that didn't seem very old compared to the rest of the house, with the four treasures, some pencils and erasers as well as paper nearby; the room oversaw a large pond of sorts, and occasionally the family servants would be spotted walking from one end to the other, carrying trays of tea or rolls of cloth.

The "Child of Miare" Suika spoke of, though, was really a "child" in the truest sense of the word. It was surprising to see a real human child in this strange little world, but then again, I got a gut feeling the "child" must be something real special if Suika and four other girls had to introduce me to her just to know more about the Konpaku family, of which I am alleged to be a "last surviving male member" of.

"The 'Child of Miare'… so, uh, can you tell us more about the Konpaku family?" Suika asked.
"I do believe I have a small mention in my Memento, but about the Konpaku family, there's some stuff that cannot go to print. Including where they were, this of which I know from my previous life."
"No, no, we don't need to know that one, Miss Akyu. We need to know just the family itself."

The child slowly rose from the chair that more than towered over her, and then began to speak in earnest. As most of her speech was in Japanese, I had to rely on the horned girl's translation for help.

"She says… uh… the Konpaku family are a family of half-ghosts, half-humans. Right, kinda obvious back there."

Huh. You guys haven't told me anything about this before, how did that suddenly qualify as 'obvious'?

"…The current member known to Akyu is Konpaku Youmu, a young girl who serves as the gardener of the two-hundred-yojana courtyard of the Hakugyokurou, roughly translated as… uhh… hang on… ah, 'White Jade Tower'."

"Hold on a moment. What the hell is a yojana?" I was trying my darnedest not to associate 'yojana' with an oft-repeated Russell Peters joke, but I kept right on going back there.

"I do believe a yojana is about the distance an army could move in a day, on foot," explained the oni.

I assumed that figure to be somewhere along 10 kilometers at the most modest estimate. Then it struck me that two hundred yojana, if it's about 10 klicks, it's going to be the same as the distance between Chicago and L.A.; I quickly shook Suika, who was surprised that I was grasping her wrist real tight and taut (that being something I realized later, too).

"No shittin' me, that sorta distance? Could you ask again? Two freakin' hundred yojana?"

"The Child of Miare usually doesn't get her words wrong, and neither do I have problems with my hearing."
"Is anything the matter? Has the kind sir a question?"
"Uh, no, just that he could not believe that the courtyard was two hundred yojana long."
"It is the truth. Reimu brought me there on a visit, on a week when I felt exceptionally healthy. Reimu herself did comment that the place tire her out if we travelled by the long perimeter of the courtyard, but as her company I just feel really blessed, even though the Netherworld isn't usually a placed one will be happy to reside in…"

"She says it's the truth. You can drop my wrist now," Suika blurted. It was then that I realized that the shock of hearing all that really caused me to sweat and go all shocked, and do stuff I know I'd never have done under normal circumstances.

"What's with you? You weren't even that surprised when I told you about Rinnosuke!"
"Ugh, I don't know. But how the hell does anybody keep track of a garden that big?"

"I sense the sire doubts the ability of the Konpaku, even though I could feel a faint resemblance to the family in his being. Might he be the last male Konpaku, Suika, the last one that could be traced?"
"Very much so, Miss Akyu. I was the one who brought him in."
"I see… well, let's not waste more time on this issue. I will also send a message to Miss Yagokoro regarding my latest batch of capsules. I hope that will aid you in your cause."
"Thank you, Miss Akyu."

I could see something of a beam of happiness shooting out of the horned girl, as though she was waiting for Akyu's response like a fish to water.

What the hell was she getting so excited about, I wondered aloud.

""""""

After a lengthy discussion which lasted from brunch time to around high tea, we were gifted some steamed buns from the family servants. What I did appreciate at the end of our trip to the Hiedas', whilst rocking back and forth in the bumpy roads back to the Shrine, was the amount of information that has thus far come through, mostly through Suika's translations.

Firstly, I was here not because of some weird little drunken oni's whims and fancies at Narita Airport, but because I was apparently one of the only people left in the Konpaku bloodline who could actually be traced, contacted, and brought here. There were two more other potential Konpaku guys apparently, which then prompted me to ask why I was chosen.

Suika explained (through translation) that as an exit Konpaku ('exit' here meaning to leave Gensokyo) loses most of their powers after about two years outside (and in extreme cases, memories as well), it would be very hard to re-integrate them into a world that their ancestors had initially left behind if more than twenty-five years have passed since their initial exit; in the worst case scenario, any Konpaku could've been crushed to death one second after trying to enter the portal from the outside. Theoretically speaking, however, the borders would be moot for a trained Konpaku if it were just simple and frequently undertaken shopping trips.

Heaven bless me, I guess, for getting me past two minutes of pressurizing hell.

Secondly, the Konpaku are, as mentioned earlier, a family of half-ghosts and half-humans. On average, the lifespan of a Konpaku is about four to five times the normal lifespan of a human, and the age progression is also relatively slower, probably something like getting old-men wrinkles two-and-a-half-centuries after young adulthood. This does explain, in part, despite the roughs of being an underground fighter, why a lot of people around me call me "baby-face"; my eyes are exceptionally large and my skin, thankfully, is smoother than the coarse-paper textured skin of most people my age and occupation, though some men have approached me with lewd offers.

With the good comes the really bad, I guess.

Lastly, the Konpakus' long lifespan is due to a ritual or technique revolving the sacred family swords, which were dubbed the Roukanken and the Hakurouken sometime in the last millenia. Suika's explanation was that as this information was gathered through the observations the Child of Miare made from her incarnations two generations ago, the information on the sword names should be mostly correct; however, even when the Konpaku were a significant family near the borders between the Gensokyo mainland and the Netherworld region due to their services to a woman she called the "Ghost Princess", they were a secretive bunch; as luck would have it, whatever she has written into the Perfect Memento are all she knows regarding the family swords, the names and their purported purposes.

As though any information would really help, I asked if it was possible to obtain a copy of the Memento. It wasn't like I could actually understand Japanese, but I'm sure there're more people out there who could help me while they weren't busy with their whims and fancies, like that witch Marisa who never seems to be too far away from the Shrine. Hopefully I don't wear out everybody's welcome too soon.

"I hoped you're satisfied now by today's trip to the Hieda family residence, Pasonia?"
"Umm, pretty much yea. Though, face it already, I can't just let go of everything I already had on the outside."

If I disappear from the other side bordering Gensokyo, I'm leaving behind millions in assets, a fantastic girlfriend Nora, and my drinking buddies from the Nordhoff Fight Club. I could leave my assets with my investor friend, but I can't just ditch my girlfriend and totally disappear. Besides, the power of the Internet is scary, and the last thing I want when I return to the other side is to see a Facebook Group that says "Searching for the Missing Pasonia S. Keros".

I certainly didn't want to become the second Loch Ness.

"Oh, gee, you can leave behind all you own on the outside," suggested Suika, as though she read what I was thinking, though the tone of her voice was anything but friendly. "You humans claim to do everything you could in straightforward manners, but even a half-human like you is suspect to wishy-washy business!"
"I'm sorry --- what was that again, Suika?"
"I said, you're dragging your feet in the mud if you can't decide," blasted Suika, "since we'd be wasting everyone's time if you suddenly decide back out two weeks from now. In the outsiders' words, it's something like 'we gotta smooch you' on the rules of this world fast, before you get lost and killed by somebody who can't tell a villager from an outsider."
"Err, by any chance would that be 'we gotta school you' instead of 'smooch you'?"
"Is there a real difference to that? You're pushing me to do it now, eh? EH?"

Well, I totally wouldn't mind that… if not for your horns getting in the way. Who could resist a free smooch?

""""""

"Welcome back, ze," greeted Marisa as we enter the premises of the shrine once again. Truth be told, the shrine itself grows on people. It isn't a grand or majestic place like you would expect of a Shinto Shrine, but the presence of the shrine itself seems to be like an antidote to the chaos that goes on both in the outside world and in this place called Gensokyo. Now I appreciate Suika's efforts for taking me here, apart from it being close to the border as an obvious excuse.

"Good evening Miss Kirisame," I returned the gesture. "Say, do you have time helping me out on this book?"

Marisa took a closer look at the book I was holding, and then chortled.

"Aha, so you guys went to Akyu's after all. Yea, I could help you, I'll be hanging around the shrine more for the next week or so because I'm looking for a particular type of plant that I know is around this shrine this time of the year."
"I can help you, Miss Kirisame. I don't think I'll be going anywhere much the next few days," I offered my help. "Besides, I want to know more about this place. I absolutely am confused as to my standing here."

"Your… standing?" She cocked an eye my way, in an 'are you seriously saying that' manner. "As far as I am concerned, your 'standing' in this world is determined by the amount of potential threat you possess. Right about now, you got a guide Suika, whose threat level is not to be underestimated, and if I recall correctly, the Perfect Memento stated that very clearly in an article featuring Suika. If it wasn't because of something happening at the Hakugyakurou which required your attendance, we wouldn't spend the effort looking for you."

That brought me to my next question. "Exactly what is going on at this place, the Hagukyakurou or whatever it is? I am still unclear on my purpose for being here."

"The correct pronunciation is 'Haku-gyaku-rou'; also, the Ghost Princess made a strong request for your attendance but is unwilling to say just why she required a male Konpaku. I suspect this might be something to do with your great-granddaddy Youki."
"Youki? Youki who?"
"Konpaku Youki. We know the gardener Youmu's master is this old guy called Youki, and he's pretty old by the time he took Youmu under his tutelage. After about twenty years of training, Youmu said one day he just upped and left the Netherworld completely. Youmu didn't understand why either, and up until now I wouldn't bat an eye to that sort of queer attitude that the people of Gensokyo are very fond of."
"What'd you mean by 'queer attitude', Miss Kirisame?"
"I mean, well, we didn't have to worry so much about weird incidents and 'queer' matters, since Reimu here is a very responsible Shrine Maiden who always manages to resolve such 'queer' crises whenever they pop up. Just recently, she went toe-to-toe with godlikes and defeated 'em, ze!"

Is it really the work of the Shrine Maiden, or that the godlikes have lost their faith in their own powers?

"In any case, usually I wouldn't bother, but there was one marked difference this time that made us take notice. The Ghost Princess seemed genuinely worried this time around; instead of playing around and suggesting we do stuff out of a whim or just being playful and stuff, she marked her request this time with a very stern tone. As though…"
"As though… what?"
"It's as though something massive and terribly disastrous is about to happen. Like, real massive, ze."
"If there was a crisis and since you spoke of the Shrine Maiden, why not…"

Though, even as I said so, I truly was expecting, given Marisa's manner of speech, it could be a crisis that is outside of the Maiden's ability that worries everyone in the know.

"'The Shrine Maiden of Paradise has no role in this problem,' that was what Yuyuko said. It took me a while to get that ancient language she spoke translated in the devil's tongue, ze."
"Dinner's ready," shouted Reimu.
"Just in time. I was getting a tad hungry myself, ze" remarked Marisa. "By the way, it's the first time since we knew Suika that she has maintained a sober persona for over 24 shichen. Even the oni knows it's a serious matter, huh."

"Shichen?" I swear, the measurement units they use in this world need some kinda standardization.
As though the S.I. units haven't already murdered me left and right in night school, really…

"If memory serves me right, the shichen would be two outsider hours since a day consists of twelve shichen," explained Marisa. "Now let's just chow and forget our worries for a while, ze!"

""""""

Night falls, and the Shrine Maiden had gone to sleep after making sure that the (usually empty?) donation box is still ringing with a bit of cash. Suika, who basically shared her room with me as we lit a candle up for light, explained that as a direct result of a lack in visitors, the donation boxes are perpetually empty, and Suika had had to make trips outside of Gensokyo frequently in order to try procuring practical items that Rinnosuke would want.

"If you'd informed me beforehand, I'd have brought in more stuff," I griped, in part wanting to help the Shrine Maiden a bit.
"If I didn't bring you in here, Pasonia, you would totally not take my word for it," Suika defended herself. "I'm no smarty pants, just a drunken little oni…" she hiccupped, drinking once again from her gourd.
"Say, since we've got a bit of time, let us hear a little more about you, Suika," I suggested, in part wanting to get to know my guide a bit more while also being curious as to Gensokyo as a whole.
"Me? Let's see… I'm an oni. I love parties and feasts. I like to go to places where it's crowded, and I don't really like being alone. Also, I don't lie."
"That was very candid," I remarked, gesturing for her gourd. She lent it to me, and I drank deep from it, this time being a bit more used to the power of the sake ever since I nearly got crashed by the drink the first night we met.

"How about you, outsider human?" She teased, to which I just scowled in mock irritation.
"Well, comparatively, my life hasn't been very interesting. As far as I am concerned, I am a dropout from school at the age of fifteen, and I've been fighting competitively in many places around the world as an underground big-money fighter. I got a girlfriend and a lot of buddies from the place where I first started out as a small-time boxer before entering the underground circle. I'm also quite well-off now thanks to a great friend, and I had originally decided to retire from the underground circle come December."

"What'd you want to do after that anyway?"
"I was about to decide when you dragged me in here," I remarked in monotone.

"Money again, hmm… I wonder why humans are so stuck up about money all the time. It's not like you can bring any of those when you enter the next realm of your existence."
"The sad truth is, we can't survive in the outside world without enough money," I explained. "There's a saying that goes something like being dirt poor is no longer a viable option for society. That's why I find Mister Morichiya's way of doing business quite… eccentric and unbelievable."
"Well, yea. He'd have done way better staying at the Kirisame's Magick Shoppe, but he didn't. Speaking of which, I'd like to make a visit to the Human Village sometime soon, but definitely not tomorrow. I also want some me-time, savvy?"
"… it's not like I'm in a position to stop you," I shrugged, drinking again from the gourd. "Besides, I'm helping Miss Kirisame --- waitaminute, did you just mention something about Kirisame?"
"Yea, you heard right. Marisa is the eldest and only daughter of the Kirisame family, who runs the Shoppe," Suika explained. "Aww, shucks, stop talking and let's booze, you outsider!"
"Stop calling me outsider, gee! Bottoms up!"

I'm really beginning to like this place, I told myself on the inside. Though the lack of technology is really becoming a bugbear as time went by, and in two weeks' time my investor friend would realize that I'm missing. What do I do when that happens, then?

""""""

By next morning, I was up on the wooden futon, with a major headache slamming me bad. I was a social drinker, so drinking strong liquor the way Suika does is not in my league, though letting it loose and all go just like that did feel very invigorating for some reason.

"Hey, Reimu! Reimu! Where'd the lass go, ze…"

That sharp, crisp sound must've been from Miss Kirisame. "Good morning, Miss Kirisame."
"Ohayo gozaimazu, gaijin!"
"Err, I'm sorry – what?"
"Oh, right. Good morning, outsider."

Good lord, stop harping on that already.

"I was just pullin' yer leg! Look at your face change, ze."

"I'm glad you're at least somewhat aware, Miss Kirisame," I noted rather blandly. "Could you give me a moment while I wash up? I just woke up, and the liquor that Suika had was some strong stuff. Whew!"

"Sure, go ahead," she replied, "I'll be waiting at the torii, you know, that huge red structure there outside the shrine."

I looked into my travel bag, and found that I only had one clean shirt left before I'd to do the laundry. Looks like it's time to find for the nearest body of freshwater, I muttered to myself, and I'll do it while picking plants with Miss Kirisame.

If I need to start doing some green thumb work, it's now or never.

To be continued…