Early the next morning, I informed the tavern keeper that I would not be in my room for the week, and that I would be locking the door to keep my belongings safe. Then, after I pretended to leave, I snuck back into my room once the tavern keeper had turned his back.
Probably an unnecessary precaution – the tavern keeper was not known for ever inspecting the rooms that he kept, at least not while they were occupied. By now I had grown fond of his company, and as long as I continued to pay my weekly dues in rent, I was assured that the feeling was mutual. But one could never be too careful. I did not want him happening on me in a comatose state, and, in the assumption that I had passed on, arranging to have me buried in the village cemetery. It would be an unpleasant surprise, to say the least, if I were to wake only to find that I was soon to return to a more permanent form of sleep.
I shook the contents of the vial, then unplugged the cork and stared at the powder. The mauve glinted in the nascent sunlight, and in the red of dawn it took on a rose-colored hue. As I stared at the crystals' glittering facets, they somehow seemed to stare back, their eyes twinkling as they beckoned me forward.
In the distance, the roosters sang their song.
It was time.
I poured the powder into the bowl that I usually used to hold my evening drink, then took a match from the matchbox in the dresser and lit it. I opened my hand, letting the match sink into the powder, then closed the windows and made myself comfortable on the bed, stretching my limbs out and relaxing them to the fullest extent possible.
The smoke of the burning powder reached my nose, and with it came the smell. It was a faint, citrusy odor, with a note of lavender underpinning it, which made it seem like an incense. Yet as the aroma grew stronger, and a rapidly increasing drowsiness took hold of me, something more bitter and unpleasant came to the fore.
In my curiosity at the powder's hidden contents, I almost forgot the most important part of the ritual. I willed the familiar fox-eared silhouette to enter my head, tracing Miko's shape and color with what little of my consciousness remained. As she took form in my mind, I could not help but reach also into the memories that accompanied my vision of her. The first time we met, in the Great Mausoleum, her arrogant leering so at odds with her typically languid and cheerful demeanor. Our sojourn in the dead of night, walking alongside the lake, conversing about religion, revenge, and reconciliation. Her nods of approval as I recited the mantras she had so painstakingly taught me over the past week.
The world faded to black, but her figure remained, as did her smile. I resigned myself to unconsciousness, wondering what would await me at the end of the tunnel...
"Looks like it worked."
I couldn't believe my ears - barely any time had passed since I had fallen asleep. My eyes jerked open instinctively. "Miko?"
"You can't be serious," muttered another voice, one that was just as familiar as the last.
As my eyes refocused, I found what was now a sight I had become accustomed to. Several maidens standing over my head, gazing down at me, waiting for me to rise to my feet. Surely enough, the usual suspects were here: Reimu, Marisa, Miko… and, to my great surprise, Byakuren Hijiri.
"I… Where are we?"
"This place doesn't have a name, but we know it as the Kaian Passageway, or the Dream Passageway." A fifth maiden stepped forth, and upon seeing the rabbit ears she wore on her head, I instinctively shrunk away. She noticed my reticence, and immediately held her hands up as if to signify that she would pose no threat.
"Forgive me for startling you," she said hurriedly. "My name is Reisen Udongein Inaba. I am a scion of Eirin Yagokoro and the princess – I was sent here to assist you in your endeavors. I heard there was a skirmish at Eientei, so I understand your reluctance in seeing one of my kind."
"Were you not there that night?" I asked.
Reisen shook her head. "I was tending to milady's poppy fields. Eirin is a keen herbalist and manufacturer of medicines – you could say I am her pharmacist. I help her make and sell her products, and I was working the fields when your acquaintances arrived. She informed me you would be coming, though I must say I was not expecting… this."
Just then, Marisa marched up to me and pulled on my earlobe. I yelped, though it was more out of surprise than pain.
"What did I tell you about not keeping things from us?" she huffed.
"Uh… what did you tell me? Ow!" The vice grip Marisa had on my ears intensified.
"I don't mind you keeping secrets from me, but not if it's about something as dangerous as this." The witch let go of my ears and crossed her arms. "There's just so much that's wrong with you trying something like that I don't even know where to begin. When Miko told me what she was making you do, I almost ran all the way back down the Mountain, you know?!"
"Sorry. I just… kind of… knew you wouldn't approve."
Marisa rubbed her temples and groaned. "Of course I wouldn't approve. I hate to say this in front of Toyosatomimi no Miko, but I can't help but feel like you confide in her a little too much. Until you fully understand the sort of magic that she wants you to cast, you shouldn't be doing things out just for the sake of trying something new."
"It may sound a tad hypocritical coming from me, but Marisa is right," added the hermit. "Perhaps you should be exercising more due caution."
"That really is rich coming from you," said Marisa as she swiveled around to face Miko. "I wasn't too hot about you coming with us, and now you pull something like this. What if the traveler had died or gotten lost in the space between worlds? How would you have made up for it?"
Miko shrugged. "I had every confidence that the magic would work. Even if the traveler does not fully comprehend the extent of his own abilities, I am well-versed in the type of magic he employs, even if I do not utilize it myself. The Taoist texts speak of such a-"
"Enough bickering, please." Byakuren, whose voice I had not heard in some time, stepped in between the two maidens. "There is little time for such pettiness. The traveler is here, and we must accept the situation as it is. I do not wish to wear at Reisen's patience, not after she had shown us so much goodwill."
"Oh, no." Reisen waved her hands frantically, her rabbit ears perking up. "Don't worry about me. Milady's bidding is my command, and wherever she wishes me to go, I go."
"Eirin Yagokoro told you to help us?"
Reisen shook her head. "Not explicitly. Milady asked me to visit the Moon and check on the Lunar Capital's condition. She suspects a threat, but she did not say of what sort. In either case, she said she would not stand in my way if I decided to lead you there… In other words, she wishes for me to do so."
"Forgive me, but I still have close to no knowledge about Lunarians, or the Lunar Capital, or whatever goes on in the Moon," I said. "But if Eirin says something is wrong, then I suppose it must be important, from what little I know of her."
"Your intuitions are correct," Reisen replied. "As for the Moon's comings and goings, I shall tell you all you need to know, whilst we are on the way."