Disclaimer: Touhou, all of its characters, and musics belongs to Zun. The only things I own here is the OC named Reuel. This fanfict may or may not be canon. Besides that, I've got nothing else to say. So with that, please take a seat, grab your drink, pick your snack, and have a pleasant ride (or read).


Chapter 9 "Another Day with The Hermit"

"Ugh,….my head," I groaned as I rubbed my head, "my aching…head."

At the moment, I was laying my body on the floor inside the room that was provided by my host, The Current Child of Miare, Hieda no Akyu. I got to say, the tatami floor felt quite nice on my back that also ached for quite some times. I rubbed my eyes to ease up my drowsiness. Thankfully, the fresh morning ray had decided to help me with my drowsiness too by lighting the room slightly.

The reason I'm in that position was because of my recent experience involving a certain pair of youkai. A kappa and a misfortune goddess, to be exact. After I've left Nitori's house, I went right back to my base here in Gensokyo–Hieda's family mansion– as fast as I could because at that time, the darkness had already start to fill up the sky. Although Hina already told me the safest route for me to use, I couldn't help but feel scared.

Along the way, I used my thermal goggle much often that I needed to. By now, I probably used up half of its battery. And from the manual, I probably have to recharge them one way or another. And where can I charge this thing? It's not like my room have an electric socket. I probably have to get back to Kourindou for this. I hope he have a generator or something. If not, my choice of equipment would decrease by one. And I like this one. It is good for scouting the land.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention why I was laying down and having a headache. I was up all night transferring my work onto a book that I'll keep safe here. I know that someone might read it, but it was better than losing all of it because of something stupid like I did last time. Besides the stuff I wrote inside the notepad, I also wrote all of my last experience with my two– can I say it? – new friends. Yes, I really consider the two of them as my friend. And so far I've seen from them, they are honest and nice. I hope they will cooperate with me for my task here in Gensokyo.

"Reuel-san, are you awake?" A voice came from the other side of the sliding door. Judging from the silhouette, it was probably one of the housemaid.

"Yes, I am. What is it?" I did my best to answer her with an energetic voice, although I probably failed to hide my exhaustion.

"I just want to inform you that breakfast is served."

"Ah, really? Thank you. I love to have some."

"Then I'll inform ojou-sama that you will join her. Is that fine with you?"

"Of course, of course. I'll be right there."

"Very well then. Please excuse me." I could see the silhouette bowed to my direction and then she walked away from the corridor. Probably going to the dining room.

I guess I have to tidy up here and then join her. It is the least I could do. Besides, I need some fuel in the morning or I'll stop moving.


Ah, the air in here really do me wonder. Fresh air, bright sunlight, and sound of people working hard with the nature. I love it here! Well, not that I wanted to live here. I am after all, an outsider here. And I still have a lot of things to do back home. And I mean A LOT!

As I enjoyed my walk through the wooden floored corridor, I noticed that some of the housemaid seemed to whisper along the way to each other and they walked in a rather swift pace. And If I'm not mistaken, they looked rather uneasy. I wonder what happened? I guess I have to ask Akyu for this one.

The moment I step foot in front of the dining room, I felt a certain uneasiness struck me. I don't know what made me feel that, but at the same time, I also knew that in the back of my head that I should know the reason. Pondering for a while, someone called me from the other side of the door.

"Reuel-san, is that you?" It was Akyu's voice.

"Y-Yes, it is." I unconsciously stuttered my response. Blame my out of focus mind.

"Well, what are you doing there? Come in." She said from the other side.

"Yes, please excuse me." And with that, I slid the wooden door open. And the moment I opened it, I know the reason.

"Good morning, Reuel. Although, this was already a bit late to call it morning, don't you think so?" A familiar female voice welcomed me. I looked at the person in question and tried to look calm. No wonder I should know the reason for my previous uneasiness in the back of my head that time. I decided to play it cool and greet back the speaker.

"I was just a bit lost in time when I was working my task, Kasen-san."

"I see. You need to discipline yourself more, Reuel-san." The woman with a bandaged right arm looked at me. "Need some more training, I guess?"

"Forgive me for refusing that kind offer, Kasen-san. My work has already behind the schedule. I need to work more to make up the lost time."

"Because of your previous circumstances with a certain youkai, I presumed?" She said while raising her eyebrow to me.

She knew, eh? Not surprising. Probably from Akyu. Didn't really mind it, though.

"Yes, correct. But nothing major that I couldn't handle, Kasen-san."

"I see. Hieda-san has just finished telling me your experience with them." She sipped her tea and then continued speaking. "I must say, you are one reckless fellow."

"Please, Kasen-san. It was all in my calculation. Under control and perfectly safe." At least until she was crying. Well, I did left that part out. Don't want to have bad impression from my host any time soon, you know?

"Said the one that came back with tattered clothes and in a lot of mess." Kasen said with a sarcasm tone. She could use that kind of tone, eh? I thought she was the straight forward kind of woman and only said thing as it is. I have been proven wrong.

"Once again, it was still in my calculation." I said as I sat in my place.

"You've got to be more careful, though, Reuel-san." This time, it was Akyu that said that. A worried tone was clear in her voice that time.

"I will, Hieda-san. Thank you for the concern." I gave my reply to her with a small bow.

"You don't know how worried we were when you got back quite late at night. In a mess up condition even. I was about to send a search group, you know?" She said while looking at me with a serious face. Now I felt guilty after hearing that. Maybe I didn't consider everyone's feeling enough. I have to fix that part of mine soon.

"I'm really sorry for that. I'll try to avoid that in the future." I said to Akyu while bowing my head slightly again.

"Well, the important thing is that you're safe." She said with a much more relax tone. "But! Don't repeat the same mistake!" She added another part, complete with a pointed finger.

"Understood, Hieda-san." I said with a nod.

"Good to hear that." She seemed satisfied with my answer. Before anyone could say anything else, the sliding door slid open revealing a maid carrying with her a tray. It seemed that was my breakfast. Good timing as I was starving. Working all night long exhausted your energy and I need plenty of food to refresh myself.

"Excuse me," said the maid as she put the tray in front of me. I thanked her shortly and then she moved to whispered something to Akyu.

"I see, tell them I'll be there." At that, the maid bowed slightly and then left the room. "Well, I'm sorry that I have to leave early as I have something urgent to attend to with the villagers."

"I see. That's fine, Hieda-san." I said to her.

"But what–" before Kasen finished her complaint, Akyu stopped her.

"We'll continue when I've done with my work. Aren't you the one that lectured me to be more serious about my work, Ibara-san?" It was a sentence filled with a slight irritation and sarcasm.

Hearing that, Kasen let out a small sigh. "Very well. We'll continue later." She gave up just like that? Wow, got to hand it to her for able to deal with the ever lecturing hermit there!

"Good. Then, please excuse me, Ibara-san, Reuel-san." She bowed toward us, stood up and then left the room in quite a hurry, leaving me with the hermit.

"Well, I'll be eating my breakfast then, Kasen-san. Already had yours, I presumed?"

"Yes, you're correct." She replied.

"Okay then. Itadakimasu!" I said as I clapped my hand together. After that, I proceed to devour my food.

Wow! No matter how many times I eat the food here, they always taste heavenly! Maybe it was due to the pureness of the ingredients. Back in my world, I guess the food there were treated with too much chemical and such that the taste and the nutrient inside it was changed. I know that country food taste the freshest, but not this fresh. As I enjoy my meal, I looked at the hermit that just sat in front of me drinking her tea. I could detect some sort of irritation started to show on her face. Better start a conversation or she might start a lecture session.

"So, Kasen-san. What brought you here?" Better start small.

"Well," she put down the tea cup and then looked at me seriously, "I was going to continue my discussion about her chronicle."

"Hmm? The chronicle?" Oh no. Don't tell me.

"Yes, I was going to ask her to add more detail about my reason for constantly giving lecture." She said with pride in her tone. Knew it. This woman never know when to give up.

"I see." I said shortly then proceeded to drink my miso soup. Smooth and savory. Love the taste.

"Why did you sound like you don't agree with me?" She glared at me. Did I really sound like that? Maybe she was just overly sensitive. Well, might as well discuss it with her. Not the best of topic to accompany a meal, but that will do. Besides, this might prove to be useful for my future interview with her.

"I didn't disagree with you." She looked quite pleased hearing that answer. "But I also never said I agree with you." And then she looked grumpy all over again. She was just too straight forward.

"You're a confusing fellow, aren't you?"

"A realist, Kasen-san. I am merely a realist. That means I agree that ideals are good to have, but I disagree that anyone have to force any ideal to someone." I then put the grilled fish inside my mouth. Oh, grilled to perfection! Compliment to the chef.

"Huh? Are you saying that I forced my ideal to anyone here?!" And there goes her temper. I got to say, she looked intimidating right now. But I have no hostile intention when I said that. I just have to present it easier for her to understand what I mean.

"Never, Kasen-san. I'm merely telling you my attitude toward anything in the world."

"I just don't get you." She was literally puffing with anger.

"Calm down, Kasen-san. I am not arguing with you here, please remember that." I put the chopstick down as I finished eating my last grain of rice. "Gochisoosama!" Simply delicious. Full and satisfied, I now have to deal with the fuming hermit in front of me. My only complaint about the meal here was the size. Probably too used with the large portion at my world. But strange enough, it was quite adequate to fuel my whole day. Wonder why?

"Surprisingly, you have quite a good manner." She teased me. Although she just did that, she still looked far from calm. I could swear she will pop her vein one of these days.

"Thank you, then where were we just then? Ah yes, as I was saying, I've never said anything about you forcing your ideal."

"Huh? You're still confusing. Don't twist your word!"

"Then tell me, what did I say about myself just then?"

"You said that you are a realist, which means you agree that ideals are good to have, but you disagree that anyone has to force any ideal to someone."

"Correct and perfectly recited, just like reading a book." I clapped my hand slightly, which resulted in a scowl from her. But I ignored that and continued. "So where exactly in that sentence that even mention slightly about you being forcing your ideal to anyone here?"

"Huh? The fact that you disagree–"

"To the fact that anyone have to force any ideal to anyone." I cut her sentence short while emphasizing on each word. "And you come in where exactly?" I said as I looked at her, slightly tilting my head to the side.

"Uhm…" She thought to herself for a few minutes. As she was trying to think up an answer, I called her again.

"I'm still waiting for your answer, hermit-san."

"Okay, okay," she raised her hand, showing her answer, "You didn't say anything about me forcing my ideal to anyone here. Satisfied now?" The last word was delivered with a glare and irritated tone. Already expecting that from her.

"Very, Kasen-san. Now pray tell, how did you even came to that statement? The statement that you are forcing your ideal to anyone?" This time, I directed the question to another subject.

"Your statement, of course. That just came up all of a sudden."

"Hah? How random. Besides, I don't think that you are forcing your ideal to someone else." I said as I sipped my own tea.

"Really?" She looked at me with disbelief. "You're just twisting your word again. Just like what you always did." She stated that as if that was indeed everyday fact about me.

"Such high praise, thank you." I said to her sarcastically. "But really, I don't think you are forcing your ideal to someone else." When I said that, she still had that look of disbelief. "Shall I explain my reason?" I guess I have to, eh?

For a few seconds, she just looked at me. Well, glaring to be exact. She then gave a small sigh and then replied. "Go on. I'll be a good listener."

"Okay. Where, oh where should I start?" I said that in fake amused tone.

"Just do it, Reuel-san."

"Geez, no patience." I sighed at her reaction at my try to lighten the air. "Okay, let's start with this. Do you know that fire is hot?"

"You're making me angry, Reuel-san." I could see vein began to popped on her forehead. But I expect that. If not, she would not be the hermit I know. Hey, didn't that make it as if we're longtime friend? Quite interesting that she managed to be such a memorable person. Well, aside from the lecturing part, she was nice and interesting.

"Please answer the question, Kasen-san." I tried to act calm as I sipped my tea again.

"Fine. But if this was just playing around, we'll need some time alone."

"HURG!" I accidentally choked on my tea right away after hearing that.

"Huh?" She looked at me as if looking at something strange due to my reaction. Dear lord! She didn't realize that? She has the tendency to say such misleading statement all of a sudden.

"Uhm, sorry." I said as I wiped my mouth. "Kasen-san, could you repeat your last statement?" I hope she would understand where I was going with this.

"Huh? I said that if this was just playing around, we'll need some time alone," said the hermit with a straight face. She didn't realize!? I face palmed my head mentally.

"Uhm, repeat again?" I looked at her with one of my eyebrow raised.

"What is it with you? Are you deaf or something?" Oh, she's mad now. "I just said that if this was just playing around, we'll need some time alone. Understood?" Still don't get it!? She's hopeless! And she even raised her voice more this time!

I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I somehow lost all my urges to explain my reason for my statement because of her obliviousness. One last tries then. "Please repeat again, this time, focus on your last word."

"What are you sa–" Before she could finished her words, she stopped and her eye widened in surprise. Yup, she got it. Ah, her face blushed really hard, even her ears turn burning red. Better take some distance away for safety. But before I could move or do anything, she exploded.

"I DIDN'T MEAN THAT!" Argh! My ears! Being shouted in such close proximity really hurt your ear. Especially when the one that does the shouting was doing it with all her strength. She shouted that as she slammed the tatami floor and leaned forward toward me.

"C-Calm down, Ka–"

"YOU! I DIDN'T MEAN THAT!" She said as she glared with all her might.

"D-Deep breath, now. Deep breath." I said as I waved my hand in front of her. Now I was quite in a panic after being shouted at by her. I got to say, if before she looked intimidating, now she looked deadly. And unfortunately, if anything deadly happened, I'll be the first one to taste that. Not a good future, I assure you.

She took a couple of deep breath. For a while, she starting to look calm, but her bloodshot eyes betrayed my wish. I think I'll wait for now.

"Uhm, t-tea?" I said as I picked up the tea pot.

"…" She just nodded and put forward her cup. I poured the tea slowly while assessing her, ready to run away if needed.

The moment the cup was filled, she chugged the content instantly. Isn't that hot? But she looked fine. I gestured the tea pot again, asking her the same question. And she answered with the same reaction too. After 3 times, she finally put the cup down.

As I fixed my sitting posture, I tried to establish the conversation again. "Calm down, Kasen-san?"

"…I have," she said followed with a sigh. "Sorry for that, you're not at fault."

"Don't worry. But I got to say, does this, uhm…happened often?" I braced myself as I said something that might anger her. But my curiosity over that bothered me so much.

For a few seconds, she looked at me with her now normal looking red eyes, not the bloodshot ones. Then she sighed rather loudly.

"Honestly, I hope not. But as I make them same mistake with you twice already, I began to wonder." Then she pointed at me all of a sudden, startling me. "Yes, I only did those mistakes when I'm with you."

"Really now?" When she said that she only made mistake when she was with me, I had 2 hypotheses. One, she actually done that quite often. But seeing that she was the rumored hermit, no one have the courage to tell her or the other might take her mistake as a kind of physiological trap. You know, like she was testing them or something. And the second one, she really only did that when she's with me. Maybe she feeling stressed out or nervous when talking with me. I know that I'm not the best person to hold a conversation. For now, let's just write that on my mental note. There's no use saying that out loud.

"Yes, really!" She nodded at me. "Did you do something strange to me just then!?" She said with a raised voice.

"Err, Kasen-san."

"If you said honestly what you've done something to me, I'll forgive you." She crossed her arm and said that to me with a voice full of authority. I have nothing against that attitude of hers, but the way she worded her intention was kind of ambiguous and prone to make misunderstanding.

"Kasen-san, I don't know how to say it but, you did it again."

"Huh? What?"

Hearing that, I sighed rather heavily. She noticed that, thus she looked at me in displeased.

"Let me explain it then. You just asked me 'Did you do something strange to me just then?' just then."

"Yes, I did. What about it?"

"That itself is not wrong, but then you said 'If you said honestly what you've done to me, I'll forgive you.' after that, right?"

"So?"

"Let's combine the sentence like this. Try hearing this from me." She nodded at my strange request. "Kasen-san, did you do something strange to me previously? If so, just said it, I'll forgive you if you said it honestly."

"Okay, that's a bit different but–" And she understood once again. I know that she didn't mean that. But there's a slight chance that other who heard it may interpret that in a different direction. "D-Did you just said that I–"

"Yes, there's a slight chance that what you said might be understood that you'll forgive me for whatever I've done to you. And the thing that I've done with you, uhm, was weird. And weird might be understood as–"

"STOP!STOP! DON'T GO THERE!" She flailed her arms forward in a panic state. Her face reddened, her breathing went all over the place, and her forehead started sweating. Heck, even describing her that way was bound to be misinterpreted.

"I say, Kasen-san. If this goes on, your reputation might be affected." I said to her with a slight teasing tone.

"Don't you dare!" said the hermit with a low growl. At that, I just shrugged a little.

"Shall we continue on to my explanation then?"

"What more do you want to explain?" Sour, aren't we now?

"About my view as a realist? Or did you forget already?" Hearing that, she had the look of someone that remembered something.

"N-No, I didn't." She was trying to deny that. Fine, I'll buy it.

"Okay then, please answer my previous question." I smiled at her.

"Question?" I face palmed myself. She forgot!

"Argh, this going nowhere." Still failed to remember the question, she looked at me. "Okay, okay. Once again, do you know that fire is hot?" I asked her the same question.

"Fire is ho–Oh, yes, yes." She remembered. Seeing that she was found out forgetting the question, she coughed to herself, trying to calm herself and hide her previous reaction. "Yes, of course, I know that fire is hot."

"Good. Then do you know that you can cook water using a pot if you placed it on top of the fire?"

"Of course, I know. What do you think of me?" She gave her reply with a bit of irritation. A reaction I've expected.

"Good, now we're on the same page. Now, what do you think if you said the same thing to, oh let's say, the maid here?"

"Huh?" She raised her eyebrow, showing her irritation with my question. "They would probably think that I am bothering them."

"Good, good. Now do you get what I'm saying?"

"Huh?"

"Probably not." Hearing that, she pouted a little. But I ignored that. "What I was saying was that the content of your lecture was not something that they deny. Not at all. In fact they understand that all too good."

"So? Where are you going with this?" She looked at me with another look of confusion and a slight feeling of impatient. This was getting frustrating. It seemed I need to present my idea in a much easier way.

"Okay, it's like this. Almost everyone here agree that you are a hermit with a knack for lecturing."

"Hey! That's mean!" She shouted when I said that.

"Oh come on! Don't deny that! Am I right or am I right here?"

"…I know, I know. But," she paused for a while, "It's kind of hurt when you said that so bluntly." She grumbled with a little pout.

"Okay, so at least we got to the same point here." Decided to ignore that, I continued on my explanation. "The thing is, they knew very well that your lecture was correct, true, and spot on. Got that for now?" Now I've to stop at every sentence to make sure that she followed me.

"Of course I'm right! Why would I tell someone misleading stuff?"

"Yes, yes, of course." I answered rather half-heartedly. Thankfully, she didn't notice that. "So, consider this. If you were telling them nothing but the truth, why did they dislike that? Are you going to dislike someone for telling the right thing to you?"

"They are just ignorant!" She said with a rather angry tone, but then she looked at me. "But I'm sure you have a different explanation." Oh, an improvement. Got to note that.

"Ah, yes, I have." I shifted my sitting position so that I leaned forward a bit, but still maintain a relax position. "When you talk, no. When you converse with someone, I myself consider a few different points."

"And those are?"

"First," I raised one finger, "is the speaker. Surely you would have a difficult conversation with, let's say, your enemies. The first thing I got in my mind when I talk with someone I dislike personally would lean to the negative side. If they said that I'm good, I would interpreted that as flattery or maybe even lies. If they said I'm bad, I would interpret that as their own negative view on me, failing to see my good point in whatever things I did."

"Okay, logical and natural. Very logical and natural way of thinking." She said with a nod.

"Second," I raised another finger, "is the content of the conversation. I think I don't have to explain this, right?"

"Yes, of course. The content is the main part of the conversation after all." At that, she sighed heavily. "So it was because of my own self that they said that." She looked somewhat depressed, but she tried to hide that. Feeling that she missed the point, I continued.

"A few questions then, Kasen-san." I looked at her.

"…Go on." She lacked her usual vigor, but I ignored that.

"Have you ever done any bad deed in the village?"

"Bad deed?"

"I don't know. Thievery, slander, arson, molestation, murder. Well, any of those will do."

"W-W-Wh…" She gasped in surprise. Expected that from her. Again. "I WOULD NEVER DO THAT!"

"So? Done any of those recently?" I asked with calm tone although I'm aware that I'm talking about rather horrible things.

"HOW DARE YOU SAID THAT?!" Ow! That hurt! That made it, I don't know. Three times? Yeah, three times.

"Then I supposed you didn't do anything like that," I rubbed my ear to ease the pain, "Geez, you have to shout. A simple no is fine, you know?" I say, I'm getting used to her way of acting. Each time I talk with her, the more predictable she became for me.

"You! Of course not! Of course I have to shout! You just–"

"Then why are putting yourself down like that?" I cut her sentence short and asked her reason for saying that it was her own self that they resented.

"…." She became quiet and calm all of sudden, realizing her own error.

"Then that leads me to my third and final point." I said as I put out three fingers toward her.

"There's a third one?"

"Correct. There's a third one. The presentation." I said confidently toward her.

"Presentation?"

"Yes, yes. I mean the way you give the content of your conversation. The method, the way you talk, the way you approach your conversation partner, and your body language. Those kinds of thing." I listed each of the things that came into my head.

"The way you give your content?" She tilted her head. "Oh, you mean the way I gave them lecture. Is that what you mean?"

"Ah, there's your first mistake, Kasen-san." I waved my finger at her answer, which result in a slight displeased reaction from her.

"Then, care to tell me what mistake that is, Journalist-san?" said the hermit while crossing her arm in front of her chest.

"You immediately said 'lecture', didn't you?" She nodded. "Usually, no one would willingly heard a lecture if they don't have any interest in the content of the lecture itself. Even you don't like it if someone just barge in on you and said something like 'Hey, you are wrong and you should do it like this!' all of a sudden."

"…" She went quiet, but her eyes still showed that she didn't want to admit that. Another way of explaining it then.

"Okay, how about this? If I'm not mistaken, this village has a school teacher right? What's her name? Kamishi, ehm, Karimisha, errr…" Man, her name is very mouthful!

"It's Kamirishawa Keine, Reuel-san."

"Ah, yes, her. Quite hard to pronounce her name. Well, she's a teacher right? Based from the chronicle, the two of you have a very fundamental similarity."

"And that is?"

"You both want everyone else to live in the right path and not afraid to say it to them and also never hesitate to tell them when they did something wrong."

"Yes, she is a very strict and discipline person. I like her."

"Now, think about it. What made the two of you different from each other? Beside that the two of you are a different person, that is."

"Hmm, let me see," she closed her eyes and touched her chin for a while. She looked to be thinking very hard. She opened her eyes and said, "She has a school."

"Correct. Although not the most important thing, but that is indeed correct. Now then, consider this for a while. She teaches everyone in school, well mostly children though. And you lecture the villager. The two of you are basically doing the same thing. Conveying useful information."

"So you said that I should open a school?"

"Heavens, no!" I shouted immediately. Seeing her glaring at me, I coughed to regain my composure and then continued, "I mean, not exactly. What I'm saying is try to adopt her way of approach toward the other in your lecture. In this case, her teaching method. See the difference in my way of pronouncing the two of your activities?"

"Hmm," she looked at me and gave a reply, "you saw her way as teaching and my way as lecturing."

"Correct, Kasen-san. The main difference is that in her case, the recipient, uhm, I mean the others are willing to learn from her. In your case, well….should I even mention it?" I smirked at her.

"…I see." She rubbed her chin again and then asked me a question, "So what your saying is that I should learn her way so that the villager will learn from my lecture?"

"Even better, talk with her and then discuss it with her the best way to approach the other. You might ask her to help you to make a join class or something. But the thing is, you must make your listener have the will to hear you first. If not, then you will pretty much waste your breath." Wow, that was a long conversation.

"I see, I see. That's a good possibility, if so then…" She mumbled to herself. It seemed she was convinced a bit.

I looked to the outside and realized that I have spent almost the whole morning talking with her. It was already nearing lunch time.

"Well, take your time in thinking what I've said, Kasen-san." I said as I lifted my body up to a standing position.

"You're going somewhere?" She asked, still sitting in her position.

"Yes. I'm planning to visit Kourindou. I need something from there."

"I see. Then I'll go with you." She said while standing up.

"Eh?" Oh no, I'm not going to make her lecture the background music for my journey.

"Why the surprise? I'll guard you all the way there." Eh? Guard? "Take it as my thanks."

"Uhm, Kasen-san, did you just said guarding me?"

"Why yes. At this time of day is quite safe. But on the way back, the road to that place is a bit more dangerous. In fact, I'm quite impressed that you managed to get there and back in the first place."

Oh my…

I never considered that. Now that she brought that topic up, I've just realized that the last time I get there was by the help of my employer, Yakumo Yukari. And by the time I was done, it was still quite early. Is that why she asked me to be ready early in the morning? So that I can get back from there safely? As that fact seeped into my mind, my body trembled slightly, finally realizing the danger I was going to face unknowingly.

"T-Then, thank you very much, Kasen-san. I'll take that offer of yours." I smiled at her as I thanked her.

"Good. Then shall we go?" She then exited the room with me behind her.


"Ah, nice weather," said the hermit while stretching her arms while we were walking on the forest path.

"It is, isn't it?" I agreed with her. It is such a nice weather. I like it here. It's so…well, natural. Kind of obvious, eh?

As we walk to the shop, I have a nagging thing behind my head. And the reason was the way the housemaids from the mansion looked at the two of us. I could probably know the reason without them telling me. And because of that, I sighed rather heavily. I probably have to answer a lot of question to Akyu later on.

"Why are you sighing?"

"..No reason, Kasen-san. No reason at all." I envied her obliviousness.

"You're strange." She said as she turned to look in front of her again.

I just shrugged at her comment and continued walking behind her.

Step by step, we get deeper and deeper into the forest. Usually, I'm sure that I was going to be able to enjoy the cool breeze and the natural scent of the tree around me. The slightly moist ground and the fresh air would really be something I could enjoy. But, along the way here, I'm too tense to do anything besides looking around in case something jumps out. I felt jumpy because something might jumps on me. Ironic joke, isn't it?

"Hey, what's the matter there?" Her voice broke my daydreaming and made me jump a little.

"N-No reason." I said as I quicken my pace. I didn't know that I was already getting more than a few steps away from her.

"Geez, stay sharp, will you? The last thing we need is that you become careless."

"Ah, y-yes. U-Understood, Kasen-san." Stop stuttering! Ah, I'm hopeless.

What's the matter with me? I'm usually not this panicky. Where's my calm self? I did hear some sort of theory that one will be much braver when alone due to our natural survival instinct. Did I become sacred because I'm together with Kasen?

No, no, no. That just the same as blaming her. Maybe I'm just too tired.

"Geez, what's the matter with you!?" A shout came toward me as the figure of the hermit came closer.

"K-Kasen-san! N-Nothing's the matter. Really!" I waved my hand frantically, trying to convince her.

"Ah, you're making me mad!" She said while grabbing my hand. Eh?

"Kasen-san?"

"I can't afford slowing down so you just have to bear it with me!" She then proceeded to dragging me while walking quickly.

"W-Wait up! K-Kasen-san!" I could do nothing except being dragged by her.


"Ah, see? If you just speeded up a little we could get here faster than expected."

The hermit stood proudly in front of the wooden building. She looked far from tired even after walking quite a distance to the place.

I, on the other hand…

"…*huff*…w-what…*huff*…ever…*huff*…y-you…*huff…say." Air! I love air!

"Geez, you need some more training, Reuel-san," said the hermit with an annoyed tone.

Hello? I'm just a normal human here! You don't expect a normal human to cover such a distance in less than an hour without a single rest. Ugh, I just don't get her. I'll get back at her one of these days.

"P-Please…*pant*…one moment." I said while holding my hands up towards her. I need to catch my breath here before I could do anything.

"Reuel-san, I think you certainly need more training." She crossed her arms and stared at me who was still crouching down while regaining my breath. I ignored that. I was still too focused on breathing as much air as possible.

"T-Training?" Hearing the dreaded word, I stuttered my speech and quickly regained my breath. To think, that a single word contained enough power to charge me with energy. What a scary thought! But I think the scariest of them all is the one that make that word contained such power. And that is none other and the pink haired hermit herself.

"Come on, Reuel-san. I suggest you hurry up or we will have to get back from here at night." She certainly is a bossy person. But all and all, she was just looking out for me and wanting to avoid any unneeded trouble and danger. And that why I couldn't really get mad at her. In fact, deep inside my heart, I felt grateful for her concern. You know, she didn't have to do all that. In here, I'm just another outsider. Leaving me out here to die would not be a strange idea.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Her sudden voice broke my train of thought completely. "You looked pale." She said as she got near me in a hurry.

"…I'm fine." I tried my best to fake a smile. But it seemed that it was not good enough. She certainly looked far from believing my act.

"You're lying," said the pink haired hermit with a frown on her face.

"…Don't worry, Kas–"

"Stop lying." She stopped me with a firm voice. "You can't even fool me with that. And I hate lies." She looked at me with sharp eyes, demanding me to stop avoiding telling the truth.

"…Sorry." I could only apologize at her. At my condition right now, I couldn't give any smart response. My mind was too distorted.

"You're forgiven. Now tell me–"

"No." My sudden reply surprised her.

"What do you mean by that?" Certainly not pleased at my reaction, she pushed on.

"I'm not feeling fine. That's the truth." She nodded at that. "But I will refrain from telling you how I feel and why I feel that."

"Huh? What do–"

"I'm sorry." I said while lowering my head to her. Once again, this was an unexpected reaction to her. "I'll tell you when I'm able to, Kasen-san. For now, please don't push on the matter anymore." I said with a firm voice of myself. But I think I was far from sounded confident back then. I guess I was too shaken by my own dark feeling.

"…" She crossed her arms and closed her eyes. I got to say, that pose of her was very intimidating. "Very well then," she opened her eyes and looked at me, "I'll respect your wish."

"Thank you, Kasen-san." I bowed at her again.

"Don't mention it, Reuel-san." After saying that, she turned around immediately. "…still untrusting…"

"Huh?" Did she just say something?

"Hmm? What is it, Reuel-san?" She said that without looking back.

"A-Ah, nothing, Kasen-san." I barely heard that. But the words already entered my mind. The words were far from foreign in my ears. Yes, those words of hers were the same.

No, no. I shouldn't think about that now of all time. I shook my head to rid of the depressing thought. After that, I slapped my face with both my hands.

"What are you doing?" This time, she turned back to face me with a confused and somewhat irritated look. Yes, she was upset by my last comments. I expected that.

"Trying to cheer myself up." I said honestly to her. There's no merit in lying to her. I might probably get scolded and lectured by her.

"…I see." She answered unenthusiastically. I might hurt her by my last words. I'll apologize to her when I can word up my feeling completely.

"Well, let's get inside." I said as I followed her, still feeling a slight sting on my cheeks.


"Ah, welcome." A male voice came from the back of the shop as we entered the shop. The shop was, just like before, void of any customer. The mountain after mountain of dust covered part of the merchandise. He probably didn't have time to clean them up. Or maybe he was just being lazy. I would never know the reason.

"Good day, Rinnosuke-san." I greeted the shopkeeper, still trying to hide my previous dark thoughts.

"Oh, it's Reuel-san," said the man while standing up. He then went closer to the two of us. The moment his sight fell on my companion, he tilted his head slightly. "Kasen-san? Didn't see you there for a moment."

"Good day, Rinnosuke-san," she said while bowing slightly, "It seems the shop is as empty as usual."

"Such fact saddened me, but I have to accept it," said the glasses wearing man while shaking his head slightly. He then looked at me and asked, "So, what can I do for you? Or is this just a friendly visit?"

"Ah, yes, yes. I need something from you. It is for my equipment, you see."

"Oh? What is it?"

"It's this," I showed him my night vision goggle and continued, "I need spare batteries. Do you have it?"

"Batteries?" he tilted his head again and closed his eyes. It seemed he was thinking about it. Then he opened his eyes and looked at me again. "Ah, you mean those power stone?" Huh? Power stone?

"Uhm,… yes, I think." Not exactly sure what he meant, I went along with him.

"Well, please wait a minute. I seem to have some in the warehouse." He then retreated into the back of the shop, leaving me and Kasen in front of the counter.

I looked at her. Although she looked calm, I could somehow felt that she still felt a bit upset. If I stayed quiet, it will do the two of us no good. I guessed I will have to strike a conversation first.

"Kasen-san, are you a frequent here?" I asked her, trying to start a conversation.

"…I guess you can say that." She said with a tone lacking of her usual vigor.

"Shopping or something else?"

"What do you mean something else?" She looked at me with a sharp glare, clearly confused and a bit unpleased with the choice of word I gave.

"Uhm, I don't know. Maybe you are a long friend of his? Just drop by once every few days to chat?"

"…A friend, eh?" she casted her gaze somewhere around the shop, avoiding my eyes, "Yeah, something like that."

"I see." I stopped my conversation altogether. The reason? That last response of hers was one of those responses that just said something along the line of 'yeah, whatever you say'. I know that I was probably thinking too much. But her body language, her shifted gaze, her tone. It was a tone I'm very familiar with. When your conversation partner acted like that, it was time to either change the subject or end the conversation completely. Pushing it with the same subject will likely lead to a bad scene I prefer to avoid. Although that was just my experience. Different people have different way of interpreting this situation. But my experience had told me to just stop when faced with this kind of things.

And with that, I turned my gaze to the many object on the shop, trying to distract myself while waiting for the shopkeeper to return. And fortunately, he didn't take much time to return from the back of his shop.

"Sorry for the wait, I couldn't find the stuff." He returned with a bad news though.

"Ah, I see." I gave a smile at him. Well, I guess there's no helping it if he doesn't have the item. I think I need to find an alternative solution fast.

"I'm really sorry. Even after you've got here from the village and went through quite a dangerous path." Rinnosuke said while bowing to me slightly.

"Don't worry," I waved at him. "It was no problem. Besides, this time I had a bodyguard with me," I said with pointing slightly to my companion.

"Ah, yes, yes. With her, you have nothing to worry." He said with a smile.

"Well, I guess I'll be leaving then. Sorry for troubling you, Rinnosuke-san."

"Don't worry about it. I'll ask Yukari when she comes to get you another batch of supply." What a professional merchant. I respect him for that.

"That would be very helpful. I can't thank you enough." I said as the hope of getting a spare battery rose a bit.

"Don't mention it. In exchange for that, you'll have to told me quite a number of item Yukari had …how do I say it? Dumped on me?" He shrugged a little while saying that. Hearing that, I couldn't help but smirk a little.

"Well, don't hesitate to ask. As long as I know the item, I'll give you full explanation on the stuff." I pounded my chest slightly.

"Very good, very good. Then the deal is done, Reuel-san." He said while pushing forward his hand. A shake, eh?

"Done it is, Rinnosuke-san." So he's familiar with shaking hand? I guess only Nitori don't know that. And with that, I grabbed his hand and we shake to symbolize the deal we have.

I got to say, he one interesting character. I'll drop by often then.

"Well, I hate to be the viewed as being rude, but I think you should leave as soon as possible." He pointed to the window. "It is already beginning to get dark, Reuel-san."

Oh, he's right. Unlike the city on the outside where even at night the street is bright as day, here in the Gensokyo, when the night fell then the darkness will envelop every part of it without mercy.

"You couldn't get any more correct than that. Well, I guess I'll leave for today."

"It was nice seeing you again, Reuel-san." He then shifted his gaze to the hermit that was apparently staring at the two of us and added, "you too, Kasen-san."

"A-Ah, yes, yes." A bit startled that he addressed her all of a sudden, she stuttered her response.

"I hope I'll be seeing you more, Kasen-san."

"I see. Well, I guess we'll be leaving then. Good day, Rinnosuke-san." She said while bowing a little.

"Good day to you too, Kasen-san, Reuel-san."

"Yes, good day, Rinnosuke-san. I'll be seeing you!" I waved at him while walking to the exit.


After that, I left the shop, walking behind the hermit just like before. This time, not a word escaped our mouth. I know the reason far too well. I know that I was at fault. No doubt about it. The more I think about it, she was only thinking the best for me. And here I was, rejecting her offer like a piece of garbage. The least I could do was to respect that. But I failed even at that simplest thing. I breathed out as I prepared myself to at least lessen the damage.

"Kasen-san," I called her name as I walk.

"What is it?" she replied while still walking.

"Let's stop for a while. Is there a place nearby where we can talk for a while?" Yes, I need that.

"A place to talk?" she stopped and turned her face to me, "why?"

"Because I want to have a few words with you. I've found the word I need to say."

"Found the word?" she looked at me for a while, then her face showed she understood what I meant. "Why not here?"

"I prefer a private place where no one hears me. The stuff I'm about to say might not be an easy stuff for some people. And," I looked around us ," I can only say it to someone I trusted."

Hearing my last word, she looked a bit taken aback. Yes, I purposely said that as I want to really trust her. Along the way, besides the kappa and the misfortune goddess, she was also a people I could trust. Quite surprising because of how short we've met. But I could see it in her eyes. The hermit, Ibara Kasen, is indeed a trustworthy person even if she did have a few secrets she didn't want to share with me. I don't really mind that. Actually, if she didn't have any secret in the first place, I might not be able to trust her. Confusing, eh? Don't worry. I myself still get confused by my own way of thinking.

"I see, follow me then." I nodded at her as I followed the hermit again.


A few minutes of walking and we came into a nearby opening in the middle of the forest. This reminded me of our first meeting.

I looked around and found that this place was just as I needed. It was quite secluded, but not exactly too far inside the forest. Although the sky has darkened a bit, I think it was fine since I don't want to talk too long.

"Now, what do you want to talk about?" asked the hermit while sitting on a nearby stone.

"For starter, I know that you're upset, Kasen-san." I said as I sat near her, also on a nearby stone.

"…" If someone like her who hated lies went silence like that, only one possibility came into my mind. She couldn't say no because she would be lying. She couldn't say yes because she didn't want to admit it. And then the only choice was silence.

"I'll take that as a yes then. And for that, I apologized deeply." I said as I bowed to her.

She chose to remain silence. Not that I expect her to say anything.

"Now the next thing is to explain my previous action, yes?" She only looked at me but said nothing. It seemed this will be short as I will be the only party that will do the talking all the way.

"Moments ago, the word 'death' entered my mind. And that was the very reason I went pale, Kasen-san." I looked at her with a firm look. "I was reminded about it. Very strongly, I'm afraid."

Her expression changed, probably didn't expect me to say that. But before she opened her mouth to give any comment, I resumed my explanation.

"Let's just say that I have a," I looked to the sky above me that has darkened a bit, "memorable meeting with that unavoidable fate every living being should meet." I swear I felt my voice trembled a bit when I was saying that.

"…I see." Her reply was short.

"I guess my mind was just wandering a bit too far back then. And that, Kasen-san," I looked back at her, "was the reason why my face went pale all of a sudden. Just a case of a sudden bad memory resurfacing on my mind. Forgive me for displaying such an unpleasant side of me." I gave her a smile.

A few moments of silent came over us. She was the one that started talking.

"…Why didn't you–"

"Are you asking me to talk about death all of a sudden, Kasen-san?" I cut her sentence short again.

"You don't trust me?" Although her voice was calm, a bit of pain was present in her tone. But not a pang of guilt was done to my conscience because I know the reason why I didn't do that.

"No, I trust you, Kasen-san." I said that while shaking my head slightly. "You've done everything with nothing but the best interest for me. I couldn't thank you enough." Yes, I didn't make that up just to make me look good. Even her training had done wonders for me, although it did drain my energy a lot. Her training prepared me for anything that I might encounter and readied my own body that had not exercised for a long time.

"Then why didn't you just tell me? That doesn't make sense, Reuel-san." She looked at me with a concern face.

"If I trust you, I should be able to tell you everything, right?" She nodded slightly. "Very logical way of thinking, right?" She nodded again. "But unfortunately. My experience has twisted my way of thinking."

"Twisted your way of thinking?" She questioned my own assessment of myself.

"Yes, twisted. The more trusting I am, the less thing I want to share with them. Even I am quite confused by it. I guess you could say that," I closed my eyes, looking for the right word, "my mind is sick. Probably beyond healing." Then from that statement, I probably didn't really trust both Nitori and Hina since I've told them quite a lot. Heh, I am weird.

"That's so–"

"Strange, weird?" Ah, I'm doing the same thing I've done to Hina. The moment that word left my mouth, it was already too late to regret it.

"Sad." She looked at me. I raised my eyebrow at her sudden response. Oh, I never expected that. "That's so sad, Reuel-san." She looked at me with a firm expression.

"I see." I opened my eyes and I smiled at her. "It is sad, right?"

Yes, I couldn't agree more with her.

"But it is not too late, right?" Huh?

"For what?" I asked her, not knowing what she mean.

"For your mind. I mean, if you're sick, you can heal them, right? I mean, it's not that you've lost them, right?" She said to me with a rather confident tone.

How can this girl be so confident? But I chose to keep my thought to myself for now. Once again, her intention was nice. If she could do it, I don't really mind it. If not, I will not blame her either.

"I see. That's a good way of thinking, Kasen-san." I said that to her.

"Of course it is!" She stood up and pumped her fist. "If you give up just like that, you won't see any result. Got that?" She pointed at me with her usual vigor.

Looking at her like that, I couldn't help but gave a light smirk.

"Ah, you don't believe me, didn't you?" She leaned her body toward me who was still sitting with a little pout on her face.

At that, I waved my hand at her.

"No, no. I believe you. Ah, not right." I smile at her again. "I trust you, Kasen-san."

"Good!" She nodded with satisfaction on her face. Now she has regained her usual self. The usual lecture giving hermit I knew not more than a few weeks.

"Well then, shall we get back? I don't want you to worry Hieda-san again." She gave me her left hand.

At first, I was hesitant to take her hand. But I decided to take it anyway. With that, she helped me stood up.

"Well, let's get going!" She looked so spirited. Then something struck me. Why did the word 'death' flashed over my mind. I finally get it. "What is it, Reuel-san? Are you over thinking again?" She looked at me with a worried face.

I shook my head. This time, I was much more convincing since I knew that I wasn't over thinking.

"No, Kasen-san. Don't worry."

"Geez, you really are a weird one." She looked away.

"Ah, forgot to say this, Kasen-san."

"Hmm? What else?" She turned back to me again.

"Thank you. For everything until now." I said with an honest smile from my heart.

"Don't mention it." She replied back with a smile of her own.

As we walked back to the Hieda's family mansion, her walking figure that lead me back reminded me of someone. It was the figure of that person that made the word 'death' resurfaced in my own mind.

It is none other than that "her". The girl that died before my very own eyes not long ago. And now, that 'thank you' I've just gave to…I don't know to whom I said that to.


*In an unknown part of the world

N: Greeetings to all of you out there! What time is it? That's right! Once again, it is time for our small talk in the end of the show! I am your host, Mr. N.! Long time no see everybody!

R: My, you seems very energetic, N-san.

N: Oh, Ran-san. It's been a while. I presumed your mistress is busy?

R: Yes. She has been on hibernation for quite some time. And helping you here is one of the tasks she gave me before she slept.

N: I see. Very well then. So this time we are with one of Yakumo Yukari's ever diligent and intelligent, Yakumo Ran!

R: Thank you for the introduction, N-san. I have to say that you are very energetic. Are you so eager to greet the New Year that much?

N: That is one of them, Ran-san! But one of it is that our management has opened their website!

R: Website?

N: Well, not exactly a website. A wordpress site, hehehe… But a website nonetheless!

R: I see, congratulation then. So are we going to talk about the website then?

N: Oh no, no, no. Unfortunately the website is still rather empty. It still needs a couple of days to be filled. But don't worry! We'll give you the link for the website in the end of the show.

R: I see. That's good to hear. So what are we going to talk about?

N: About our human journalist there, of course! I've just seen the re-run of his previous encounter with the kappa and the misfortune goddess.

R: Oh, that? Yes, I've seen it too. I must say that he have quite opened up to them. Quite unexpected really.

N: Hmm? It as if you were expecting him to be a very closed person, Ran-san.

R: I did expect that from him.

N: Ah, but isn't that a good thing, Ran-san?

R: Depends. But I couldn't say anything more since you human are a very dynamic creature. That's why I really enjoyed his sudden change in there.

N: Yes, can't argue with that. Uhm, why are you staring at her so much, Camera-kun?

C: Eh? Nothing, sir. Nothing.

N: If you say so, Camera-kun. Oh I've also seen that the hermit had quite a change of attitude toward him. Or was it just my imagination?

R: if what you mean was her caring toward him, I think she was doing that from the start. It just that he seems to be unable to see that at that time.

N: Oh, I see, I see. But, may I ask a rather personal question?

R: Hmm? What is it? I can't guarantee an answer though.

N: Okay. If, just if, he got closer to the denizen of Gensokyo, do you think it will have a negative effect?

R: Your question is going to spark many questions, N-san.

N: Many questions? What if I may ask?

R: Negative for whom? Negative in what? How do you determine "closer" in this case? There are so many questions appearing from that one question alone.

N: Ah, it is because there are many way of viewing a single thing. Is that what you're saying, Ran-san.

R: Correct. Besides, I think Yukari-sama would actually like it if there is some conflict going on between him and some of the many denizen of Gensokyo.

N: Is that why she seems pleased that he was able to, how should I phrase it, "interact" with Kirisame Marisa before?

R: Probably. But I can't be so sure. My mistress is, after all, a very enigmatic person, if I may say so myself.

N: Can't quite point that as a compliment or a complaint, Ran-san.

R: That is because it was neither. It was a fact. You can't call a fact a compliment or a complaint.

N: Ah, yes. I agree with that. Okay, let's move to the topic of the hermit. It seems that she was trying to negotiate something with Hieda-san. Is that right?

R: From my information, that seems to be the case.

N: And it seems Hieda-san already anticipating that. I probably have some role regarding that.

R: My mistress already said that too. Well, I hope our human journalist there manage to at least lessen the negative effect of her constant…lecturing.

N: Do say nagging if you want to, Ran-san. I could see you almost made that word just then.

R: It is better to say that in moderation, N-san. Or you might have to do her training all over again.

N: Err, not thanks. But I got to say, he is quite sturdy to be able to do that kind of training and not break down.

R: He is in a better shape than you are, N-san.

N: Hahaha, can't argue with that now, can I? Hey, now that you mention it, didn't you meet that hermit, Camera-kun?

C: Sorry sir, I didn't. I never found her home.

N: Really? And no one knows her address too?

C: No, sir. I've asked the whole village and no one know.

R: Her home is not build on a normal land, N-san. I will only tell you that.

N: Oh, is that so? Come to think of it, I have no memory of her place too. Is that the reason why?

R: Hmm, I think for your case, it was just a case of extreme fatigue that led you to a memory lost, N-san.

C: I agree with her, sir. You were in bad condition. And I mean, very bad. Sorry, sir.

N: Ugh, what a horrible pain that was. Well, enough of that. Since our time is running short, we'll move on to the reading of the comment from our loyal reader, both new and old! Let's see. Ah, we've got one from GreyMan19, thank you for following the show! Oh, yes. You shared the same thought I have when watching the re-run from Yukari-san the other day. But to call it distorted is a bit hard. I prefer to call it "unique". What do you think, Ran-san?

R: Just as I said before, the human journalist there really is a very interesting person. Part of him that makes it interesting is his "unique" way of thinking. So I have to say that I also agree with you on this one, N-san.

N: Okay, moving on, we've got one from wargman. Thank you for following the show there. And yes, it did warm my heart too. I didn't expect him to be so, what's the word?

R: Attentive and caring, I think.

N: Let's go with that. I like those words. And from Jacob Fielder and illusion2438, thank you to you too. Yes, a lot of development there and also a very "unique" interaction there. Well, that's all, I guess. Want to say anything, Ran-san?

R: Yes, it is a message from my mistress. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you.

N: Ah, of course. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you from us the management. And just as I promised, we'll give you the link to our website. It is…Uhm, Camera-kun? Do you have the memo?

C: Here it is, sir. Oh, it said to look at the the profile page since we couldn't post the link here.

N: Yes, that is the address. Please visit there. We'll post a few other show there too. As usual, don't forget to send us your comment (aka Review), either here or there. Do follow us there and we hope that you have a very happy Christmas and a happy holiday. Have a happy new year too. Thank you for watching, have a nice day, and stay healthy, everyone! We'll see you next time! Bye!