Vạn Thư: So…you wanted to interview me?
Vạn Thư looked at Aya as an unknown journalist showed up in front of her
Aya: It was no surprise that you would be a writer of the Hakoniwa Records thanks to the rumor of normal folks. As a journalist I would like to interview you!
Vạn Thư: With one condition: You must use my pen name on your newspaper instead of real name.
Aya: Erm…wasn't that it would be more beneficial for you if you use your real name?
Vạn Thư: Was it more beneficial if I could conceal my identity similar to Yokai like you?
Aya: I…
SLAM
Aya sweat dropped at Vạn Thư piercing question but then she looked at her with a cold glare as she slammed her hand on the table
Vạn Thư: Normal person would never know about my real identity unless they weren't normal human! So, Yokai, why do you need my real identity?
Aya knew that she can't play dumb anymore with her angry face so she made a more truthful answer
Aya: I already know about your past thanks to Miyoi so I think you would be fine with Yokai like us knowing more about your life.
Vạn Thư: I can't grant you that unreasonable wish…leave me alone…
Vạn Thư was about to open the door to send Aya away but she suddenly changed her mind and sighed
Vạn Thư: I changed my mind now. Will you keep me a promise?
Aya: Huh?
Vạn Thư: You will never expose my real name to the public and I will give you about some info about my life.
Aya: Deal!
Vạn Thư: Well then…do you know why that pen name existed?
Aya: Huh? You mean Chidori?
Vạn Thư: It wasn't a pen name. It was my fake identity during the Warring State Era in Hakoniwa. Long ago Sengi had been thinking how to protect me as I became a powerful advisor and a high profile target to the rivaling clan.
Because of that I changed my name into Chidori then used the Scroll of Dummy to create various dummy decoys taking shape of me to fool the enemy. Every assassination attempts always failed because they killed the wrong target.
Aya: How did you manage to hide yourself then?
Vạn Thư: I disguised as a maid along with a magical disguise by the Scroll of Disguise which made them unable detect me during the war. Working as a disguised maid allowed me to serve Sengi's high ranking generals while still being able to advise him through my servitude.
Ironically I could befriend with magical creatures lurking in the dark better than making friend with other human. Despite of that we were all united by our need of hiding our real identity despite of our difference.
Human are either random strangers or they wanted to kill me, the only exception was my old villagers but they eventually passed away while I remained immortal. In some way I could feel a sense of familiarity to those who were called as Yokai in here more than normal human because of my past attachment for the similar magical creatures in Hakoniwa.
Aya: You must have been very strong in the past wasn't it?
Vạn Thư looked at her with a surprised look while Aya had been writing down notes during the conversation
Vạn Thư: I never feel strong even once in my life. All of my magical scrolls were useless against assassins who were faster than me and it took a slow ritual to activate each of those scrolls.
After all I never meant to be in the frontline to begin with. He needed my scroll because it was effective against the enemy army who are slow but every assassin knows how to evade it thanks to their extreme speed and infiltration skill.
Worse, Sengi's used to recruit another magical librarian long ago and she had been assassinated before I got recruited into his army. I realized only a constant disguise along with a lot of decoys could save me from death.
That's why I used the name Chirdori over a long time during my disguise. Even when I came here I used my pen name as Chidori because my fake name had become my real name over decades.
Every time I wanted to allow other to know about my real name it often haunted me because every decoy with my name always failed to survive. That name had such a nightmarish reputation that I couldn't forget it!
Vạn Thư shrugged in fear when she told her about that info
Aya: I'm sorry…I shouldn't ask you more about this…
Aya gave her an awkward smile then began to leave
That night at Geidontei
Miyoi: Poor her. Can't have a nice life without being haunted by her own past!
Mamizou smoked her pipe and began to think, Aya was drinking next to her
Aya: I was about to make a reveal about her identity until I saw her terrified face. I decided to keep my promise and hide her real identity completely.
Suika: We should ignore her for a while then.
Yet Mamizou had another idea, she sent one of her Tanuki to spy upon Vạn Thư
Mamizou: She really had a fetish for paper cranes wasn't it?
At that morning she began to ask her Tanuki minion about the situation then think deeply
Mamizou: (Chidori means Thousand Birds. Having a thousand paper cranes will grant you an eternal luck. Hmmm… very fitting pen name for her…
Seeing that she acted casually to Yokai than normal human it prove that human would feel more untrustworthy for her taste wasn't it?
As for her magical scrolls, something told me it was the same type of youma book in Suzunaan even if her Hakoniwan definition was different than our standard.
Considering the fact she told me that Sengi had been corrupted by the scrolls it means he had become a Yokai, she would also be a Yokai by Gensokyo definition)
Meanwhile at Vạn Thư's room, she had been sleeping with an annoyed face
Vạn Thư: Not enough paper cranes…
The next day in Hakurei Shrine
Reimu: So you are saying that author under the pen name Chidori was a Yokai?
Marisa: That's what Mamizou told me, while she preferred to keep her identity hidden based on what Mamizou heard from Aya's words it feels like she never knew she already became a Yokai at least a hundred years ago before she came here.
Her magical scrolls had been defined as youma book by Gensokyo definition.
Reimu: So it's just like Kosuzu except she was much older than her. Still, if she didn't cause any incident then I saw no reason to exterminate her.
Marisa: Anyway, I have to collect my mushroom today so see ya later!
But just after she leave Vạn Thư showed up and put a few coins into the donation box, Reimu who are hiding behind the room suddenly jolted as she saw the shiny light of the coins felling into the donation box!
Reimu: !
But then she heard her prayer as she eavesdropped
Vạn Thư: If god could hear me please keep my identity hidden from the public and shoo those troublesome Yokai away. They are too greedy for my scrolls.
Reimu began to think as Vạn Thư leaves
Miyoi: That's what she said!?
Reimu: Exactly what she had been wishing in my shrine. She feels like you guys are too greedy for owning her scroll when she just wanted to live her normal life.
Miyoi: But we are just being curious!
Miyoi made her usual innocence face but Reimu looked at Aya with a doubtful look
Aya: Eh…I didn't do anything…
Reimu: Then how come I heard so much about her private life on the newspaper?
Reimu made a sarcastic remark while Aya sweat dropped, Suika just simply drink while Mamizou smirked. But then her smirk also gone as Reimu pointed her Gohei at her with an annoyed face.
Reimu: I don't need to say wasn't it?
Mamizou: Calm down now…I won't bother her anymore…
Mamizou made an awkward face as Reimu showed her serious face
Reimu: Look, I don't want to resolve any incident today so don't push her to do something stupid. If there aren't any problems then don't create one!
The rest of them just forgot about the whole thing earlier and keep drinking, suddenly Vạn Thư showed up but she only count her finger
Suika: What the heck are you doing?
Vạn Thư: Counting how many paper cranes I made so far, it was 82 now.
Mamizou: You seemed to have a fetish for collecting one thousand paper cranes wasn't it?
Vạn Thư: You were spying on me!
Vạn Thư suddenly looked at her with an annoyed look, Mamizou showed an awkward face as everyone looked at her as if she had done something wrong
Suika: Old bad habit huh?
Suika laughed along with everyone else, Vạn Thư simply facepalmed
Vạn Thư: Geez…for once I though the magical creatures in here would be friendly like in Hakoniwa…
Reimu: They did…
Vạn Thư: Huh?
Reimu removed her hat and revealed herself among everyone
Reimu: You just visited my shrine earlier
Vạn Thư: So you were the Miko of that shrine?
Vạn Thư looked at her with a surprised face
Reimu: Correct, and as you can see Yokai were more mischievous to normal human but they are being constrained by the agreement to protect the human in the Human Village. You are currently safe here.
Vạn Thư: Safe from what?
Suika: The Yokai ourselves of course! We could just wipe you and everyone here within a snap of finger!
Suika made a boastful look upon Vạn Thư but she didn't feel amused
Vạn Thư: Anyway I'm in no mood to talk about that today so I prefer to have a drink instead, any objection?
And then everyone forget about what they just said earlier and gone drunk for the whole night as she told them to stop asking her