Mokou opened her eyes as a thin beam of light shone through the windows of the shrine and landed on her face warmly. With a quick stretch, she pulled herself from the futon and threw on her clothes before leaving the room and brewing a cup of tea to have with some biscuits. Finishing her food Mokou closed her eyes for a quick prayer and was startled to see Reimu lying on the table, and through her tea, when she opened them.

"Eh, Reimu, what the heck!"

Reimu rolled over on the table to stare up at Mokou, and only then did Mokou realize that Reimu was wearing only a sarashi, which made her fairly happy that below Reimu's hips, was mist. "What, I can't lay down now?"

"I didn't say that, but you're in my tea."

Reimu sat up and looked down with a snicker. "Heh, I guess so, sorry."

Mokou waved her hand. "Don't worry about it."

"So where will we go next then? The SDM? Hakugyokurou? Eientei?"

Mokou shivered as she heard the last option. "I was thinking of hitting Hakugyokurou and Higan today and then Makai tomorrow." Mokou explained as she finished her tea, thankful there was no odd taste from Reimu phasing through it.

"Oh, great." Reimu said sarcastically as she turned away from Mokou. "Two places in one day that will be able to see me, greeeeeeaaat."

"How do I get to both of them anyway? I wasn't able to go to either before so . . ." Mokou asked, ignoring Reimu's sarcasm.

Reimu turned around and floated before Mokou while puffing out her chest, not doing it any justice wearing only her sarashi as she did. " It's not really hard to get to Hakugyokurou. You can just walk in, though its stairway is a hassle. Higan will be slightly more annoying though."

"Why is that?"

"Because we cannot enter Higan. Only those being judged can, so we'll have to get Komachi to fetch Eiki for us."

" . . ."

"What?"

"Is fetch really the right term to use when talking about the Yama?" Mokou asked in a worried tone.

"Ehh don't worry about it. Besides being the Yama, all Eiki has going for her is her ability to lecture people, so where to first then?"

Mokou stood up and stretched as bit before walking over to the shrine's door and looking back at Reimu. "Aren't you forgetting something, Reimu?"

Reimu looked at Mokou for a second before letting out a giggle. "How could I have forgotten something when I'm a spirit?"

"Clothes?"

Reimu stared at Mokou for a second before looking down and promptly covering herself with her arms in a panic. "Perv!"

Mokou glowered at Reimu as she snapped her fingers creating her robes in an instant. "Ready now, Reimu?"

"You could have told me I was nearly naked." Reimu grumbled as she followed Mokou out of the shrine and into the sky.

After a short flight that was not nearly long enough for Mokou's liking, she landed in front of the stairs to Hakugyokurou, and could only marvel at them. "I can't see the top!"

Reimu floated beside her, arms crossed. "Yeah, hence why most people just fly to the gate. But being as this is your first time here, tradition dictates you walk it. All of it!"

Mokou looked at Reimu to find her grinning like an idiot, obviously enjoying the entire predicament. "Then I may as well start climbing." Mokou commented casually as she began the trek up the great flight of stairs. As she walked the staircase, seconds becoming minutes and minutes becoming moments all to themselves, she could not help but notice Reimu out of the corner of her eyes, a look of worry painted across her face. As they neared the top of the stairs, the gate finally being in sight, Reimu's look of worry had evolved from a look to an aura that was giving Mokou the chills. "What's wrong, Reimu?"

Reimu turned to Mokou as she floated beside her. "What? Nothing's wrong?"

"You look so worried your making me nervous! Something is definitely wrong, so what is wrong?"

"I told you nothing is wrong!"

"Just like how nothing was wrong all of last night when going back to the shrine from Alice's huh?"

Reimu froze in place for half a second and then kept floating beside Mokou, her look of worry now worse than before. "I don't know what you're talking about. Let's just get your blessing and hit Higan already!"

Mokou watched as Reimu sped away from her, only to run directly into the gate of Hakugyokurou, not having phased through it. "What was that all about?"

"I forgot that spirits can't go through this door, or over it!" Reimu stated as she held both of her hand over her nose. "Just knock on the bloody door already."

Mokou nodded, knowing she wasn't going to get an answer out of her anytime soon, and rapped on the door three times before waiting. And waiting. And waiting. And waiting some more. Finally Mokou could not stand it anymore and rapped on the door once more with a near growl. "How long does it take to open a gate?"

Reimu snickered to herself as she took her hands away from her nose, now with a small bruise on its tip. "It takes bit, be patient. Youmu will have to trek across Hakugyokurou's entire space if she's at the far end, and that will take a bit even for her."

"Why's that?"

"Because just the garden of Hakugyokurou is two hundred Yojana₁ long, that's why."

"That's, longer than Kyoto is wide! That's insane!" Mokou exclaimed in surprise "just how does she keep up a garden that big!"

"With a sword." Reimu remarked with a grin.

". . . I can't tell if you're kidding or not." Mokou said as the gate clicked and began groaning as the one side moved slowly backwards. Almost a minute later the door had opened enough for Youmu Konpaku to walk through them, her white hair swaying in the breeze just like her ghost half did above her.

"Oh, I didn't expect to see you, Mokou. Is there something-" Youmu stopped suddenly midsentence as she looked to Mokou's side and saw Reimu floating there. "R-Reimu?!"

"Hi, Youmu." Reimu replied quickly, averting her gaze as she did.

"Y-you're supposed to be dead!"

Reimu continued to avert her gaze from Youmu, but motioned to the mist below her waist. "I am."

Youmu stared at Reimu for many moments before shaking her head. "Then why-?"

"I am watching over Mokou until she is capable of preforming her job as the Hakurei Miko without my assistance."

"I- I see." Youmu said as she turned her gaze the both of them, and not just to Reimu. "Is there something you are both here for then?"

Mokou nodded. "We're here to get Yuyuko's blessing."

Youmu looked at the both of them for a full minute "Huh?"

Reimu floated forward in front of Mokou. "We need to speak to Yuyuko about a tradition that must be fulfilled. It's very important."

Youmu looked at them both for many moments before sighing to herself. "Lady Yuyuko is in a bad mood so I'm not sure how things will go, but very well, come in."

Mokou nodded and followed Youmu past the massive gates and into Hakugyokurou. Mokou had heard stories of the netherworld, of Hakugyokurou, over her long life, but none of it prepared her for what awaited her inside. All around her were cherry blossoms in full bloom despite it being the start of winter, the blossoms flying through the air beautifully. But as Mokou watched the petals fly around them she could feel the pain and suffering of hundreds of souls within them, if not thousands.

Minutes later they finally came to a series of large buildings, disturbingly similar to a noble's manor in more ways than Mokou could recall. Stepping around the first building they entered into a large garden where Yuyuko was sitting upon a stone bench in its center, her eyes closed as she sat completely still. As they stepped forward Yuyuko opened her eyes and glowered at Youmu. "I thought I asked to not be disturbed, Youmu?"

"I'm sorry," Youmu apologized with a quick bow. "But Mokou insisted the business was important.

Without looking away from Youmu, Yuyuko let out a sigh. "And what business is that?"

"The business of acquiring your blessing." Mokou said suddenly, garnering Yuyuko's gaze.

"No, I don't think I shall give you my blessing." Yuyuko stated just as quickly as Mokou had spoken up.

"May I ask why?"

"No you may not. Youmu please make them leave." Yuyuko ordered as she closed her eyes once again.

Youmu let out a sigh and turned to Mokou and Reimu. "You heard her, could you please-"

"Youmu!"

Youmu turned to Yuyuko. "Yes?"

"Force the matter!" Yuyuko commanded, a hint of anger seeping from her tone.

Youmu looked at Yuyuko for a moment before nodding and turning to Mokou. "Leave immediately or I shall resort to force!"

"Ah, alright but we'll need to come ba-," Mokou suddenly stopped as she leapt to the side, dodging Youmu's newly drawn blade by a hairs breadth. "What the heck, Youmu?"

Youmu flicked her Roukanken₂ to her side as she glared at Mokou. "My mistress has demanded I force you to leave, and I shall even if I must drop your pieces out the gate!"

Before Mokou could utter a word Youmu was a mere foot in front of her and brought her blade down, it missing again by a hairs breadth. Not giving her the chance to try again Mokou readied herself and thrust an open palm toward Youmu's gut. Just before her palm contacted Youmu, she spun to the side and drew her Hakurouken₃, swinging it in a horizontal arc toward Mokou's own belly. Mokou knew a sidestep would not work against such a swing, and instead brought up her knee, impacting with the blade's side and causing it to fly above her hair, giving her the chance she needed to leap away from Youmu's blades.

Mokou looked at Youmu as she flipped her blades around and readied herself for another strike. She knew little about Youmu but what she did know was that her sword skills were considered some of the best in Gensokyo, which meant she needed either be extremely careful or end it quickly.

As she finished her thought Youmu leapt forward, both blades to her side as she swum both at a horrid forty five degree angle. Straining her waist and hips Mokou bent backwards, barely avoiding the swing, and flipped backwards away from Youmu again. As Youmu rushed at her again, both blades to her sides and ready to strike when in range, Mokou tried to leap into the air, only to find a thick, soft spirit wrapped around her left ankle, holding her in place for Youmu's attack. She had forgotten about Youmu's ghost half!

As Youmu's blades flew toward Mokou neck time slowed to a crawl and Mokou's mind went into overdrive. From the few moments of fighting her, Mokou could now tell that Youmu's entire style was based on speed and precision, its power coming from the blades themselves. But it wasn't complete and occasionally her attacks left her wide open, and that was when she would be defeated.

As the blades inched toward Mokou's neck her eyes closed and she bent her neck back, causing the blades to miss by a hair. As the blades went under her chin she threw up her right palm and caught the second blade's side, knocking it into the air and staggering Youmu from her sword being knocked high above her.

Letting out a gasp Youmu spun to catch Mokou with her first blade, but as she did found Mokou grinning as she thrust her left palm toward her chest.

"Fantasy Sign - Spirit flare!" Mokou screamed as her palm contacted Youmu's ribs, sending her flying through the garden as a blast of flame accompanied Mokou's blow. The fire lasted only a few feet before dissipating and Youmu tumbled upon the ground, her clothing covered in ash and her legs and arms now covered in dirt.

Youmu coughed, some of the dirt on her face falling off as she did. "Reimu never had a Spellcard like that. How?"

Mokou smiled as she went into her martial arts stance, a stance that Youmu did not recognize. "I'm not Reimu!"

Youmu looked at Mokou's stance in reply trying to discern its nature. With one arm hovering in front of her chest hand open and limp, and the other arm somewhere behind her back Youmu could not tell what the stance Mokou used was, it was completely unknown to her. "What is that stance, it is strange."

"I could say the same for your sword style, it seems a bit broken."

Youmu let out a gasp and stepped back in shock. Not a single person in Gensokyo had ever realized her style was incomplete, and she hadn't thought anyone beside her late teacher would have been able to. Along with the strange martial arts skills Mokou seemed to use Youmu could only question one thing. "Just how old is your martial art and your skills?"

Mokou smiled and clenched her fists, bathing them in white flames. "A secretive style of the Fujiwara clan, combined with bits of other styles I learned of over the years, and finally crossed with what I learned recently from a Certain Ancestor of the Hakurei. I think I'll officially call it Wisteria Style."

"Wisteria." Youmu muttered to herself before looking up to Mokou and readying her blades once more. "What you call it is meaningless. My mistress has given me orders and I shall follow them through!" Youmu called as she sheathed Hakurouken and placed both hands on Roukanken, pointing it to her side. She stood there for many moments, the blade reflecting light as she held it motionlessly, until she placed a foot back and pressed it into the dirt. "Hell Realm Sword- 200 Yojana in one slash!"

Mokou could barely react as Youmu lunged forward at speeds beyond a normal humans notice, and cleaved the entire garden around them, Sakura petals and plant leaves, hung in the air for moments before crashing to the ground all around them. Turning around to look at the effects of her attack, Youmu was shocked to find Mokou still standing where she had been, her arms crossed in front of her and a cone of burnt grass behind her. "How?"

Mokou turned around and uncrossed her arms, using them to bush the bits of leaves and foliage off of her Miko robes. "I guess you'll just have to figure that out, huh?"

"There's no way you could've dodged that, or blocked it!" Youmu yelled as sweat dripped off of her face.

"But yet I did and now, it my turn!" Mokou said with a smile "Yin yang orbs- inc-"

"Enough!" Yuyuko suddenly called as she and Reimu walked (or floated) over to where Mokou and Youmu were fighting. "I've been talking with Reimu here, and after seeing you fight, Mokou, I believe we can trust the Hakurei name to you. You have Hakugyokurou's blessing."

"Huh?" Mokou said in confusion as she stared at Yuyuko.

Youmu let out a sigh as she walked up beside Mokou. "She did this as a test for you, and here I was thinking she was serious, ugh."

Mokou let go of her stance and looked around at the garden around them before turning to Youmu. "Sorry."

Youmu shook her head. "Don't worry about it. This is pretty normal, and it was far worse the first time Reimu came here during the cherry blossom incident."

"I- I see." Mokou said as she and Youmu walked up to Yuyuko and Reimu who both were smiling like idiots.

"I know you have other blessings to get so I won't keep you, Mokou, but do come around to play sometime, okay?"

"Err, I'll be sure to." Mokou replied as she and Reimu walked away and left Hakugyokurou.

As they walked down the massive flight of stairs to Hakugyokurou Mokou glanced to Reimu and sighed. "You did something, didn't you?

Reimu flipped herself around so she was floating backwards and placed her hands behind her head. "I just talked to Yuyuko while the two of you were duking it out is all, should I not have?"

"No, did you know she was going to do something like that?"

"I had suspected something, but with Yuyuko it's impossible to tell. So where to next? The Sanzu river? We could hit the road of Liminality₄ while we're there too!"

Mokou nodded then looked at Reimu quizzically. "The road of what?"

"The road of Liminality. It's basically a small area of shops and the like just before the shore to the Sanzu. They have all kinds of things."

"We'll go if meeting with the Eiki doesn't take too long. Will it?"

Reimu grimaced, answering the question without saying a word as the two of them reached the bottom of the stairs and flew off toward the Sanzu river.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sanae Kotiya looked around as she darted though the grounds of the Moriya shrine and toward its rear wall, leaping over it deftly without using a hint of magic. Rushing through the forest she stayed completely quiet until she came to the hole that was the great underground geyser center, and the only path to Old Hell.

"You're down in the Old Hell, then?" Sanae asked quietly.

"Yes, though nowhere near the city or palace. I am entombed far deeper, away from prying eyes." The unearthly voice replied in its usual impossible to figure tone.

Sanae nodded and jumped, allowing herself to fall a significant distance before flying and landing at the bottom and walking into the flame lit caverns. "Which way do I go then?"

"Straight away from the city and palace, away from Old Hell and into the depths of the earth where even Youkai of this underground do not dare tread. I hope you have a light." Sanae smiled as she snapped her fingers, conjuring a dozen small glowing stars that lit up the cavern as the natural fire light began to diminish.

"Not bad."

For hours upon hours Sanae stayed as silent as her invisible companion as she navigated the twisting underground cave. The walls were slick with moisture despite the heat that kept increasing as she went deeper until she came to a massive cavern filled with bubbling water. In the center of the bubbling underwater lake sat a small epitaph and as she flew over the water and landed in front of it the voice spoke up. "That's it, the vessel I am sealed in, take it and I will be able to speak to you more clearly, and help guide you to the Yakumo's destruction."

Sanae stepped up to the epitaph and looked to find a small necklace with a large and brilliant emerald pendant clasped to its center in the shape of an eye. Taking it quickly, Sanae threw the necklace over her head and placed it around her neck, having to adjust and untangle her hair after doing so. "So I can hear you better now?"

"Indeed you can, dear." A soft, warm, and motherly voice spoke from the emerald necklace. "Now that I can speak to you without worry allow me to introduce myself. My name is Granite. Now let us work for the Yakumo's destruction!"

Author's notes: okay I'm sorry for how long this chapter took to get out, but the battle between Mokou and Youmu took forever to word correctly. Now for those who don't know what a Yojana, the road of Liminality, or what Youmu's swords are here you go!

Yojana₁ - an old Vedic form of measurement equal to about 13 kilometers. 200 Yojana in one slash means that Youmu is cutting an area about 2600 kilometers long, so much greater than Mokou guessed.

Roukanken₂ - means lookout tower sword, and Youmu claims that it can basically cut anything. It was made by youkai.

Hakurouken₃ - meaning white tower sword. The Hakurouken is a ancestral sword of the Konpaku family and can dispel the confusion of what it cuts, giving instant enlightenment to the dead. Using it on humans just as is will cause discomfort and a bit of pain.

Road of Liminality₄ - a Road that leads to the Sanzu River. It is filled with merchants selling their ware to both the living and the dead. Its purpose is to help fund hell, though we can only wonder why hell needs funding.

Wisteria- for those of you wondering I'm naming Mokou's martial arts style Wisteria as a connection to her original family name, as Fujiwara literally means Wisteria Field.

Until the next time!