Day 4 - III

Ran Yakumo tilted her head up to see the sizable hole in the middle of the Border of Life and Death. The only thing in-between Gensokyo and the realm of the dead, it used to serve its purpose to divide the two, with good intentions. Until one day a certain red and white shrine maiden forced her way in, little contact was made between the two worlds. Not that the hole made it any better now, no sane mortal would want to venture into the Netherworld, and interestingly enough the spirits that lived in there had no intent haunting the sad and boring realm of the living.

The fox youkai sighed, shuffling her nine golden tails behind her back. The hole's been there for years. The Border of Life and Death was once thought to be near impenetrable, designed by a team of collaborate youkai. Now it was utterly violated, a humiliated shadow of its former self. Ran wondered who was really stronger, her ever mysterious and work-evading master, or the cheap shrine maiden who did this. Yukari, by the frequent requests of her longtime friend Yuyuko, was supposed to repair the hole. It's not like it was a tedious task either. With her powers, a swipe of her hand would mend it in no time, but apparently that is too much for Yukari. For years the border stood in ill repair, her master always neglecting the work. But Ran knew that if the Great Hakurei Barrier was involved, it would be a different story.

She floated towards the hole, a simple yet unique ability to the youkai, and went through the it in a steady pace. Flying was something of a gift to the youkai. Almost all of them could lift themselves up in a moment's notice and soar through the skies. Unfortunately the humans were left out. For thousands of years they watched them gliding across the grand blue sky with envy.

Despite that, there were always the few exceptions. The shrine maiden is one of the few pure blooded human that could fly in Gensokyo, but Ran heard through her master humans in the outside world all could fly if they wanted, with the aid of an invention called "airplane". In a way she felt proud for them. Those humans who just didn't fear youkai anymore managed to accomplish such an achievement. The outside world, once dominated by the youkai, now had changed its rulers.

Ran concentrated on what's in front. The ever-so gray stairs leading to Hakugyokurou welcomed her. The snow in here was more calmer than the blizzard outside, and the cool, wind felt pleasant to her face. She reached the peak in no time.

At front the only household servant, Youmu, was sweeping the ground. She noticed Ran.

"Ah, welcome, Lady Ran. Would you like to have dinner with us? They'll be finished soon, once the soup's done."

Ran smiled at her, shaking her head politely. "Thank you, but I'm here to check on my lady."

Ran had been watching the group of fairies over the past few days. She once thought there was benefit in doing so. That turned out not to be the case, unfortunately. Ran's excuse for Youmu on checking up her master was conceived on the spot. There was no need to check when Yukari is still drifting off in a dream that perhaps involved some of her more spiritual misadventures in the outside world. Coming here to Hakugyokurou was simply a much needed respite from watching the fairies, which she deduced that every second spent observing them wasted away her brain cells. It was a huge waste of time.

"Oh." Youmu said. "Lady Yukari was awake not too long ago. She's by the Saigyou Ayakashi right now, talking to Lady Yuyuko."

"Oh?" Ran perked up her ears. That quite a surprise. She did not expect Yukari to be awakened this soon. It must had something to do with this abnormal snow, she told herself. "Is that so? Thank you Youmu, I'll be sure to see her right away."

The white haired girl nodded and watched Ran went behind the Japanese styled mansion of Hakugyukurou before resuming her task to sweep the front yard clean of the fallen cherry petals.

Ran arrived at the cliff. The two in mind were standing several meters away from the dead youkai tree, as if aware of its former sentience.

But it was dead. There was no need for all the caution around it. Her master, Yukari, held a closed paper fan to her lips, whispering to Yuyuko, who too owned one but did not wave it around as fondly as her friend.

"...but is it, really? Yuyuko, you don't know what you are talking about." Ran heard Yukari speak.

"I can feel it. I can...hear its faint whispers." Yuyuko replied, staring absentmindedly at the hallowed trunks of deceased tree. "You sound not convinced, yet you stand here with me. If it's dead, surely you can touch it without anything to happen."

"I'm only doing so because you are." The gap youkai flicked her fan open, waving it anxiously. Yukari at the moment didn't realize with Yuyuko being a ghost, and essentially the overlord of the Netherworld, she is immune to whatever effects of the tree she was wary of. Having noticed this flaw in her master's way of thinking, Ran decided to do Yukari a favor and change the subject.

"I see you have awakened, Lady Yukari," she called to her and bowed to both of them when they turned around, "I have come with reports from Gensokyo while you were asleep."

"That could wait til later, Ran." Yukari shut her fan and pointed it at the tree. "Do you know what that is?"

"Is that not the Saigyou Ayakashi? The same tree that..." Ran glanced at Yuyuko, hesitant to continue. Yuyuko however encouraged her to go on with a sincere smile. "...The one Lady Yuyuko tried to revive years ago at the expense of Gensokyo's spring, which ended with as an utter failure with the Hakurei shrine maiden's intervention?"

"My, Ran, that is a bit way too precise, but you got that right. Who taught you all that, I wonder?" Yukari said, thought her nine-tailed servant is unsure whether or not that was sarcasm.

The Spring Snow Incident, it was called. The result of Yuyuko's dangerously tenacious resolve and intrigue to revive the Saigyou Akayashi. The process to restore the tree to its former glory was deeply complicated. Having skipped an essential prerequisite, the tree, when encouraged to regrow, decided to steal the essence of spring in Gensokyo, where life energy was rich. That meant taking away the season of spring quite literally, forcing the land to revert back to a harsher winter. Everywhere was encased was snow for months before the rudimentary incident was finally resolved.

Ran thought about the past and the role she and her master played. They lent Yuyuko a hand in the scheme, and got busted for it all the same. A beating by Reimu was something to be remembered. Judging by the fact that the two mistresses were debating about the current state of the tree, Ran couldn't help but scowl at a certain thought.

"It appears," Yuyuko noticed her expression, "that she had figured out what was going on."

"Of course. She's my shikigami after all." Yukari replied with an edge of pride behind her voice.

"Is the tree getting revived, mistress? Again?"

"Yes." "No."

The two said in unison. Yukari glared at Yuyuko, but without genuine hostility. She frowned. "Well, I would wish it's a no. You knew it failed last time, disastrously."

Yuyuko kept her smile. Ran found it somewhat condescending. "May I ask," Ran stuffed her arms in her large sleeves, "how and why did it become so? Is there a," she chose her words wisely, "firm plan this time?"

"Actually Ran, I haven't done as much as to touch the Saigyou Ayakashi. It began to bloom by itself, just some time ago." Yuyuko answered, her hair fluttering in the calm breeze. "In fact, I took the liberty to wake up Yukari to ask if it was her doing."

"Which wasn't," Yukari shrugged, "I don't have a clue on what is going on. The tree, based on Yuyuko said, started to revive itself."

But she did have a clue. She knew why the previous attempt all those years ag failed badly, something Yuyuko herself is not aware of. Even though the knowing potential catastrophe the tree could cause by sapping away the essence of spring in Gensokyo, Yukari never bothered to step in and stop it. She knew the plan would never succeed. Something critical was lacking.

"Mistress," sensing her master's thoughts, Ran walked up to her and whispered, "the last time it failed because Lady Yuyuko didn't know what she was doing. It was a reaction the tree was forced to create. But if this time it went on by itself..."

For a moment Ran thought she saw her master's face pale, but Yukari composed herself before responding rather loudly. "I know what you are saying, Ran. You are talking about the 'ingredient', yes?"

"What ingredient?" Yuyuko's eyes were suddenly lighted with excitement.

"The secret ingredient Youmu spoke of when I came in, Lady Yuyuko. She said dinner will be ready soon." Ran answered for her master. It was a clever way to distract her, even if momentarily. Yuyuko had the reputation for being a huge glutton, and it never did bite her back, as her spiritual body could not be disturbed by material indulgence.

To reinforce the distraction Youmu arrived, though unwittingly, calling them for dinner. Yuyuko ran towards her servant like an energetic child who was finally allowed to play after a boring day of tending the fields. When asked if there was indeed a "secret ingredient" for today's meal, Youmu nodded confusingly, unsure what is so special about table salt and soy sauce. Then she saw the subtle smile from Yukari. Subtle, but definitely sly. She signed. Youmu is going to have to improvise, exaggerating the dinner as if they were exotic delicacies imported from the outside just because Yukari wanted some private moment with her own servant.

The ghost and the half ghost hurriedly retreated to the mansion, one worryingly eager to do so and one somewhat reluctantly, now having realized the true intention behind it. Yukari and Ran followed behind, slowly.

"So what do you think?" Yukari asked while looking straight forward, enjoying the walk as a few stray cherry petals floated by. "If the tree is truly blooming by itself, then that 'ingredient' must have..."

Ran nodded rather formally. Despite knowing that a certain "ingredient" was crucial to truly revive the Saigyou Ayakashi to its original youkai state a thousand years ago, she never knew what actually was the secret ingredient. Yukari never spoke of it much after the previous incident, and during the rare times when she did, the shrouded vagueness makes it as informative as a brick. Surely this 'ingredient' is not some component for a rare dish?

She decided maybe now was the right time to ask. Yuyuko and Youmu was out of earshot. "Mistress, if I may, what exactly is this 'secret ingredient'? Keeping Lady Yuyuko in the dark was a wise move, but perhaps it would not hurt to shed some light to your faithful servant."

"Oh Ran, you sly fox you." Yukari sighed. She knew better than to argue. At times like this, Ran's curiosity could be annoyingly persistent. Perhaps that is where Ran's own shikigami, Chen, have gotten her naïve interest in the unknown from. "All right then, I suppose with you knowing it could help on my investigation."

Ran blinked. Investigation? Her? Yukari may occasionally assist people from one incident to another, but to actually looking into the matter herself? What could have been so drastic that she may have to be called upon?

"The 'ingredient', as you know, is extremely important, and must be present, in order to proper revive the tree. The tree was taking in lots of essence, yes, but it without the special package it might as well be a little beansprout to Reimu. Not that I could blame Yuyuko much, of course. She's not even aware that such a crucial step existed.

"Though I cannot remember my past with much clarity, I do remember the day when Yuyuko died, as well as the death of her father before. You were born much later when she died, but if you were there at the time then it wouldn't take a fool to realize it. Hm. To tell the truth, there are actually two 'ingredients'."

"Two?"

"Yuyuko is one."

"Oh."

"So that leaves out this other one. Are you...seeing a pattern now, Ran?"

"...I'm sorry," she shook her head, "please do elaborate."

"Yuyuko's corpse was integrated with the tree, as she died on top of it. Before that, her father died with a similar fashion."

It took a moment for Ran to keep up with Yukari. "You don't mean...her father is this crucial step?"

"Yes, but to be more precise, it's his soul that is required, not his pudgy body. Yuyuko's body is already well covered as part of the step. All she needs is the soul of her own father, which the poor girl doesn't even have the memory now to realize she had one."

Ran fell silent, working her mind on what she just said. They entered through the back doors of the mansion. The Youmu and Yuyuko already went to the dining room.

"So if the tree is reviving now, and Yuyuko had nothing to do with it this time..."

"Then it must mean that the tree have detected the presence of her father somewhere in Gensokyo, right at this moment. It's probably some kind of impersonator though." Yukari closed her eyes. "Now I only pray that what I exactly just said was wrong, because you have no idea what will happen if that tree was to revive to its former state. It's true state." she emphasized, suppressing a slight shudder that Ran must not be allowed to see.

Yukari reminisced her one odd thousand years of life. Though she could not remember everything that has happened, a few events were deeply burnt inside her mind. Some a comforting memory, which she cherished them back with yearning nostalgia, and some which haunted her to an extent that her servant would never believe she was capable of displaying such vulnerability. The memory of Yuyuko's passing was something in between.

She opened her eyes back to the present. A larger problem is waiting for her, and it took in the form of the object that had once claimed her friend's life.

"So you said you had some reports for me earlier." She tried to not thinking about it too deeply. This was something direct, and if she's not being careful with this one, it would go out of control fast. "What were they about?"

"Yes, during the days in which you were asleep, a strange snow began to fall. At first it wasn't much, but gradually over the times it transformed into a storm, with no end of it coming to stop anytime soon."

Ran saw that brief paling in her master's face again, this time confirming it. Yukari quickly opened up a small gap in front of her an eye-like portal that was linked into a void of strange and violet. It was the manifestation of her natural gift to control "borders", and was called a gap. The gap was commanded by its master to show a scenery in Gensokyo, and it obeyed without question. It showcased the Hakurei shrine from the outside, a place Yukari is still fond of. She saw snow in unbelievable amounts on the shrine grounds, and even more as a huge blizzard took place. A few flakes blew into the gap, they went into Yukari's eyes, which she blinked irritatingly in response. Compared to the soft, minor snow here, the storm outside was on a level only the madness could perceive.

"This is worse than I thought..." Yukari, with a fan of her fan, flicked the gap to close. It looked like the tree had already begun its process of harvesting, and it appeared to be far worse than last time. It took months of snow from the previous attempt to even match the scale this one was going. If the tree is doing all this by itself, then there is nothing they could do to stop it.

Instead of walking into the dining room like she planned to, she walked straight past and went for the entrance. "And here I was hoping to watch the show Youmu would put up to fool Yuyuko. Ran, tell them that I have an urgent business to attend to."

"Yes ma'am." Ran bowed, hands tuckered in her conjoined sleeve, and went away. She thought of mentioning the meteorite and the other matters, but she doubt it had anything to do with the current crisis with the tree. She had to admit, she really still had no idea on what was going on. It almost seemed as if the whole thing was just a personal issue, by the way Yukari spoke.

"Now then," the manipulator of gaps narrowed her eyes, having walked out the mansion and arrived on the top of the gray staircases leading to it, "it's about time to repair that barrier."

Despite the stairs leading up to Hakugyokurou were mind-boggling long, Yukari could still see the faint, distant shape of a rectangular gate in brown, with an even smaller hole in its center. The Barrier of Life and Death. With the assistance of a gap quickly transporting her to the front of the gate, she easily mended back the large unsightly hole with a wave of her fan. The hole was quickly filled with the exact material the rest of the gate was made of, without using up any of it. Fixing a border like this was child's play, really. Yukari was one of the primary architects who designed the actual barrier, the Hakurei barrier which separated the entirety of the outside world and Gensokyo, after all.

She waited for Ran's return, in which she eventually did, drifting down the staircase with a sense of urgency she got infected from her master. The two then stepped into a large gap in front of them and promptly disappeared, seeking to find information regarding to the sudden revival of the tree, and a way to stop it, if possible. But she doubt it. Perhaps Reimu would willing to lend a hand this time.

One of the disturbing memories bothered her, and she can't get it out of her head. Yukari tried her hardest to not show the unsettling dread she had from that scene in her memory, in which the pinkish sky of the Netherworld was turned to a ghastly blue color. It was filled with countless souls of the living, getting absorbed for the once dangerously beautiful Saigyou Ayakashi, using the lives of mortal and immortal alike as its own fertilizer to attain the unachievable beauty in the territory of gods...

...as once described by the famous poet and the father of Yuyuko, Saigyou Hoshi.