Chapter 4 – Meeting Gensokyo's Heroines
As they started marching to the lake again, Kyouichi just shouted out of the blue: "Do you perhaps know someone called Yukiyama?"
The men suddenly stopped, as if they just hit an invisible wall. The leader turned around to face Kyouichi again. He looked a bit surprised at the mention of that name.
"Well, do you?" asked Kyouichi again.
"I AM Soujirou Yukiyama." answered the leader. "But I don't think I have seen you before, stranger."
Kyouichi smiled. "Where are my manners? My name is Ishimaru, Ishimaru Kyouichi."
"And where do you know my name from?" asked Yukiyama.
"From one of your friends, Naota Tanisake. He told me that he could arrange you to accompany me if I needed to travel outside the village."
Yukiyama slightly opened his mouth and nervously scratched his head and Kyouichi could only wonder what could possibly make such an authoritative man so insecure. He muttered something inaudible under his nose and then looked up to Kyouichi.
After a heavy sigh he reluctantly replied: "Alright! But only because you're a friend of Naota's."
Kyouichi smiled smugly. "You're all heart, Yukiyama-san."
"Yeah, whatever. Just follow us and don't drag behind or get in our way! Understand?"
"Absolutely."
With that said, the Ryuuken marched off from the Human Village, followed by Kyouichi. The road had a slight uphill rising. Kyouichi looked around to admire the beauty of Gensokyo as he walked. The landscape was quite diverse, ranging from vast plains through hills, forests to the mountains far in the distance. The tallest of these mountains was the Youkai Mountain, towering above Gensokyo. It was so huge, that its peak was hidden, somewhere above the clouds. The road slowly sloped down again and stretched several hundred meters before them until it gradually blended with the land in the distance. A nice fresh breeze was blowing and pleasantly cooled Kyouichi while swaying his hair. The warriors marched on without saying a word. They walked for about a half an hour until Kyouichi recognized a familiarly looking crossroad with a wooden signpost. Just a few dozens of meters from that crossroad was a set of stone steps leading up a tall hill where the Hakurei Shrine was located. Although he couldn't see it from where he was now, he knew that it was there somewhere behind the blooming sakura trees. The group marched until they finally stopped at the crossroad.
"Well, here we are." announced Soujirou Yukiyama. "But I don't know who's going to escort you back to the village."
Only now did Kyouichi realize that he didn't think his plan completely through.
"Oh well," he shrugged, "if I made it to the village yesterday, so I can make it today…"
"What are you talking about?" asked Yukiyama curiously.
"I'm an outsider. Just yesterday, I found myself in Gensokyo and found the road to the village by chance."
"An outsider? And you dare to walk back to the village on your own? You are either extremely bold or foolish. These lands are teaming with youkai. If they see you, you'll end up as their snack."
"But as long as I'm at the shrine, I should be safe, right?"
Yukiyama put his palm on his forehead and sighed. "Listen… when we replace the men at the lake, they will return to the village taking this road. It will take a few hours before that, however, so you just stay here at the shrine until then. Ok?"
Kyouichi nodded.
"I'll inform them that you're here, so don't wander off anywhere."
"Alright," replied Kyouichi with a calm voice as if to soothe Yukiyama's anger, "you're the boss. I'll wait here for the relieved guards."
Yukiyama turned to his men. "Ok, let's move! We've wasted enough time already."
Kyouichi stood on the crossroad for a while and watched as the four men became tiny dots in the distance. He then turned to the stone stairs leading to Hakurei Shrine and slowly walked up. He passed under the torii, cleansed himself by the temizu and walked along the paved road to the shrine yard sprinkled with fallen cherry petals. His heart started thumping a bit faster as he saw two persons sitting on the shrine's porch. They were still too far for Kyouichi to see them in detail. All he could figure was that one of them was wearing black clothes and the other one was dressed in red. They were apparently in the middle of a conversation. As Kyouichi got closer and closer, he noticed that both of them were young girls. They could be in their mid-teens. The one in black dress and white apron was dressed like a witch, complete with a black witch's hat. She had blond hair tied in a braid on one side of her face. She held a cup or something and listened to the other girl. The other girl was wearing red and white, although somewhat unusually styled miko outfit with detached sleeves, revealing her shoulders and a yellow neckerchief. Her long black hair was tied in a ponytail and decorated by a large red ribbon. She was talking to the witch-like like girl with excitement and happy expression on her face as if she had just won in a lottery.
"…I couldn't believe it at first and thought that it was just some kind of prank." she said.
The witch girl replied: "I guess even miracles happen sometimes, ze." and she sipped tea from her cup.
"But something like that should happen regularly and not be classified as a miracle." said the black-haired girl. "This is a shrine after all, and at shrines people leave donations."
"That's not the main reason why people visit shrines, you know." replied the blonde.
"The problem is that people don't even come to this shrine in the first place…"
Kyouichi stood about ten meters away from the two girls who didn't even notice him and listened to their conversation with amusement. Finally, after a while the witch looked at Kyouichi and asked her friend: "Hey, Reimu, is that a friend of yours?"
The girl in red-white turned her head to Kyouichi and gave him a confused look.
"Eh? He looks like one of the Ryuuken, but I don't know him…" she muttered.
Kyouichi politely greeted, bowed to the girls and introduced himself.
"Kyouichi Ishimaru?" asked the black haired girl. "Are you with the Ryuuken? Is there something wrong in the village? Are there problems with youkai?"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down." interrupted Kyouichi, "I'm no Ryuuken; just a human from the outside world."
"Eh? Really? An outsider?" the girl looked even more surprised. "Outsiders are usually dressed in weird clothes, but you look pretty normal to me."
"I'm an outsider, alright." acknowledged Kyouichi. "I just got here yesterday. As for my clothes, they're brand new."
"And where did you appear?" asked the curious girl.
"I don't know exactly. But it was approximately a few kilometers that way." he pointed in the direction away from the shrine. "I was lucky enough to find a path to the shrine, but since there was nobody here I just prayed here and kept following the road to the village."
"You were here?" she asked with a raised voice, as if Kyouichi just said something bad.
"Yes, it was already evening. I thought that this shrine was deserted, so I prayed here to find some shelter for the night and what do you know… It actually worked."
"So it was you who put all those coins in the donation box?" she asked while standing up.
"I think it's already obvious enough that it was him who left the donation yesterday." answered the blonde witch instead of Kyouichi.
"Well, yeah, I did." confirmed Kyouichi, not too sure what to think or say. "I always had my pockets full of change so I just put all the coins right in… I hope that's not a bad thing…"
The black haired girl stepped forward to Kyouichi so quickly, that he thought that she was going to attack him. He took a step back but the girl suddenly stopped and bowed.
"Thank you very much for the donation!"
Kyouichi was confused by her strange behavior and just said: "Eh... you're welcome."
"Oh come on, Reimu." the witch shook her head. "He donated to express his honor to the shrine's god, not his love for you."
The girl in red-white blushed and quickly straightened herself up again. "I know that. It's just… it's just been so long since someone actually visited the shrine to pray here and leave some donation."
"Isn't that what shrines are for?" asked Kyouichi.
"Usually yes." replied the witch, "But rarely anyone visits the Hakurei Shrine so it's quite understandable that it doesn't get much, if any donations."
"Yeah, cause the roads are all dangerous for normal people to travel and the Ryuuken have more important business than escorting villagers to the shrine." reasoned Kyouichi.
"Yup, that pretty much sums it up." nodded the blonde girl. "But how did you get here? Don't tell me you went alone."
"Not really. I just tagged along with one of the Ryuuken patrols on their way to the lake."
"A wise move." said the blonde. "Now that I think about it… I think we forgot to introduce ourselves to you. I'm Marisa. Marisa Kirisame, an ordinary magician."
While Kyouichi wondered what could be "ordinary" about being a magician, the black-haired girl bowed again. "Reimu Hakurei, the shrine maiden of the Hakurei Shrine, pleased to meet you."
"Likewise." said Kyouichi to both girls. "Now to the reason why I'm here… I want to get back home. I asked a few people in the village about this place and they told me about the Great Barrier and that one can't or shouldn't be able to cross it. But sometimes it happens anyway, and so, people from the outside world sometimes end up here. I don't really care to know how or why I managed to get here. I just want to know if there's a way out. And the people recommended me to ask you, Hakurei-san. So I ask you: Is there a way back through the Great Barrier?"
As he asked that question, he felt his heart beat quickly in anticipation. He swallowed his saliva and prepared himself for the answer which would determine his immediate future. He could feel that he was nervous and he started to sweat. Reimu just stood there for a while without words, without motion. Then she finally spoke: "First of all, you can call me by my first name. As for your request... Yes, there is a way to the outside world."
Kyouichi's heart made a summersault upon hearing the positive answer. "T-there is?"
"Yes. I've already helped many lost outsiders who were lucky enough to get to the shrine. You see, this shrine lies on the edge of the Hakurei Border. Although we can't see it, the barrier stands right here and separates Gensokyo from the outside world. The shrine is something like a gateway. The only gateway…"
Kyouichi bent down and begged: "Could you please take me back to the outside world?"
"I can." smiled Reimu. "Do you want to go now?"
"Yes! Please." urged Kyouichi.
He completely forgot about his injuries which needed at least a week to heal up and insisted on returning home, even without saying goodbye to all the people he met here and who helped him.
"Very well," said Reimu, "then please step inside the shrine."
"Oh, Reimu, Reimu!" called out Marisa. "Can I come too? I knew about the shrine being a gateway, but I've never actually seen the outside world before. I want to see, I want to see!"
"Well, I guess you can…" shrugged the shrine maiden. "Then go into the shrine with Kyouichi and wait until I prepare for the ritual… It's been a while since I checked on the donation box in the outside world too."
As Reimu walked somewhere behind the shrine to prepare, Marisa grinned at Kyouichi. "Oh boy, I'll get to see the outside world! Yay!"
They both stepped into the shrine. It looked like an averagely furnished house on the inside. There was a small table in the middle of the large room, a futon, a couple of wardrobes, commodes with drawers, a byoubu folding screen and a small furnace for heating and cooking.
They sat down on the floor next to the table and waited until Reimu was prepared.
Finally, they could hear her footsteps getting closer and soon after, she entered the shrine.
She held some strange box in one hand and a gohei wand in the other one. She put the small wooden box on the floor and from it, she took something that looked like incense sticks and small circular stands. She gave some of those incense sticks to both Marisa and Kyouichi. "Here, put these incense sticks on the stands and then arrange them in a circle."
"How big should that circle be?" asked Kyouichi before he even put a single incense stick on a stand.
"Big enough for the three of us to stand in." specified Reimu.
In less than a minute, Marisa and Kyouichi affixed 8 incense sticks to the wooden stands and arranged them in a circle which could have about 3 meters in diameter.
"Good, now, each of you take one incense stick to hold during the ritual and sit in the circle, facing east." Reimu instructed.
Kyouichi and Marisa did as the shrine maiden said and waited for what would come next.
Reimu again took something from the wooden box and she closed the sliding door of the shrine. She then stepped forward and started lighting the incense sticks with matches that were apparently not of Gensokyo origin. The order in which she lit them seemed to play an essential role in the ritual of passage to the outside world. Finally, she lit Marisa's and Kyouichi's incense sticks and took the gohei in her hand.
"Okay, now close your eyes and breathe slowly, as if you were meditating."
Kyouichi closed his eyes and took slow, deep breaths. He could smell the strong scent of the burning incense and hear Reimu's rhythmic footsteps and rustling of paper on the gohei wand.
Reimu was probably performing some sort of ritual dance, but Kyouichi didn't want to mess the ritual up by opening his eyes, so he just concentrated on his breathing instead. After about a minute, Reimu's footsteps stopped somewhere within the circle. A long silence followed. Kyouichi could only hear the faint sounds of breathing. He still didn't open his eyes, even though he thought that the ritual had ended. At last, Reimu spoke: "You can both open your eyes now."
As Kyouichi opened his eyes, his jaw dropped… He and both girls were still sitting in the middle of the circle. However, the shrine's interior changed beyond recognition. All the furniture was gone and it looked like the shrine suddenly aged a hundred years. The floor was covered with a thick layer of dust and there were spider webs all over the room. A few rays of sunlight were shining through the holes in the roof.
"What the hell happened to the shrine?" asked confused Kyouichi.
"This is the Hakurei Shrine, as seen from the outside world." explained Reimu.
"So it's really true… I'm back where I belong…" thought Kyouichi to himself and watched as Reimu opened the aged sliding door of this falling-apart shrine.
"Gee, Reimu, this place needs some serious cleanup." stated Marisa. "It's almost messier than my home."
"Well, it's not like I come here every day… Besides, it would take more than just a broom to return this place to its former glory." replied Reimu and stepped outside of the shrine.
Marisa and Kyouichi followed her. The outsider took a long look around, trying to figure out where he was.
"So, that's it?" asked Marisa with disappointment. "This is what the outside world looks like? Boring~!"
The surrounding area of this shrine was remotely similar to that of Hakurei Shrine in Gensokyo; hills, forests, mountains… and not a single sign of human civilization in sight.
In place where the Youkai Mountain would stand in Gensokyo, there was only a range of some smaller mountains. As Kyouichi made a slow 360 degree turn to look around for the second time, he stopped and looked at Reimu and Marisa with a questioning expression on his face.
"So… Does anyone know which way to Tokyo?"
…
"Tokyo?" asked Reimu as she looked up at Kyouichi after checking the empty donation box. "I've heard of such place, but I have no idea where exactly it is. I think it was called Edo once…"
Kyouichi's hopes suddenly diminished as he figured out the truth. "This is bad…"
"Eh? You're from the outside world and yet you don't even know your way home?" asked Marisa.
"You don't get it, Marisa!" shouted Kyouichi back with his voice full of frustration. "The outside world is thousands of times larger than that Gensokyo you live in. I don't even know where we are! Tokyo might as well be hundreds of kilometers away and I don't even know in which direction."
"That's right." confirmed Reimu. "The outside world is huge and one could get lost here quite easily."
"Alright, alright. I was just asking, sheesh. You don't have to yell at me." said Marisa. "But doesn't this place remind you of Gensokyo?"
Reimu nodded. "Yes, this is what Gensokyo looks like from the outside world. The barrier separates the two worlds and this shrine is the gateway."
"So where's the Youkai Mountain then?" wondered Marisa.
"According to one legend, there was once this tall mountain called Yatsugatake. It was a home to a goddess named Iwanagahime. It was supposedly taller than Mt. Fuji, which is said to be the home of Iwanagahime's younger sister, Sakuyahime. When it became known that Yatsugatake was taller, the goddess of Mt. Fuji, Sakuyahime, tore it down out of jealousy." explained Reimu.
Marisa started snickering for some reason. "Sakuyahime… So the goddess now works as a maid, huh?"
"Konohana no Sakuyahime is her full name." said Reimu to be more accurate.
Kyouichi wondered what could Marisa be referring to and laughing at, but he still didn't quite understand one thing.
"But the mountain stands tall in Gensokyo. It would only make sense if Sakuyahime tore the mountain down AFTER the creation of the barrier. The mountain in the outside world would be gone, but it would still remain in Gensokyo. But Gensokyo was sealed off only some 125 years ago and the legend is most likely much older than that." Kyouichi began questioning the legend.
"Well many, many strange things happen in Gensokyo." Reimu speculated. "It could be that the goddess of Mt. Yatsugatake was merely hiding the mountain and as soon as the Great Barrier was created, she saw Gensokyo as a sort of refuge where her mountain could stand proud, without fear of being torn down again by her envious sister goddess… It's possible that it appeared in Gensokyo just after it was sealed. After all, even the Scarlet Devil Mansion appeared in Gensokyo suddenly one day…"
"Wow! Reimu, you never cease to amaze me." Marisa admired Reimu's logic. "But… what are you going to do now, Kyouichi?"
Kyouichi was silent for a few seconds, trying to consider all his options. Trying to walk from here in hope of finding some settlement was out of question. Furthermore, he was still injured after his tumble down the hill, so he wasn't even in condition to travel long distances. Since neither he, nor Reimu and Marisa knew which direction leads to Tokyo, Kyouichi's only option was to return back to Gensokyo. There he had a place to stay and basically free food, at least for the time being.
"I…."he stuttered, "I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused, but I don't know how to get home from here..."
"Don't apologize for something that's not your fault." Reimu comforted him. "I am the one who's sorry. This is the only location in the outside world I can go to from Gensokyo."
Marisa looked at Reimu with a confused expression. "Reimu is apologizing? Now that's something you don't see every day. You're not feeling sick, are you?"
Reimu didn't seem to pay attention to her friend's sarcastic remark. "Come, I'll take you back to Gensokyo. That's the best I can do for you now. If you need a place to stay, there's plenty of room in the shrine…"
"Oh, no." Kyouichi objected. "I'm already in custody of the Saitou family in the Human Village. But I thank you for your kind offer."
"Saitou? Wait… Saitou, Saitou…" Reimu was thinking hard, trying to recall any association with that name. "Oh! You mean that lady who has a textile shop in the village?"
"Yes, and her husband who's a fisherman…" Kyouichi completed the information.
"I see… Well, they are a good family."
The trio entered the old shrine again and closed the door. Marisa and Kyouichi again sat down in the circle formed by eight incense sticks on stands. They repeated all the procedures of the ritual of passage and within a few moments, they found themselves back in Gensokyo, inside the Hakurei Shrine.
"We're back. You can open your eyes." announced Reimu.
Everything looked exactly the same as Kyouichi remembered. As Reimu was putting out the burning incense sticks she muttered: "The only one who could possibly take you exactly to where you lived would be her…"
"What, you mean Yukari Yakumo?" asked Kyouichi.
Reimu gave him another surprised look. "Yes. How do you know about her?"
"The village is apparently full of legends about her… Some say that she disappeared forever after the creation of the barrier, others say that she's still around and even that she's the one who brought me here. I'm not sure what to believe myself…"
"Well, me and Marisa can assure you that she most certainly hasn't disappeared."
Marisa nodded. "Yukari can appear whenever and wherever she wants. She's really impossible to predict. Once she suddenly appeared at my house… without knocking… scared the hell out of me, ze. She's the most powerful youkai, if not the most powerful being in Gensokyo."
"Ha! I already defeated her more than once." said Reimu with pride.
Marisa turned to Kyouichi, covered her mouth with her hand and whispered: "Or in other words: Yukari let her win…"
"I heard that, Marisa!" Reimu threateningly looked at the witch.
"But it's true." Marisa continued. "Yukari didn't even try to win that time… In fact, she never does and yet, her attacks could overwhelm even an army of youkai."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Kyouichi halted the conversation. "You got me lost there… Are you trying to tell me that you fought her?"
"I did, and I won fair and square." replied Reimu while crossing her arms and slightly tilting her head up.
"But why?"
"Because the world would be a better place without youkai. They're nothing but trouble."
"That's a bit too harsh." stated Kyouichi. "No, seriously, what did she do?"
"More like what she didn't do. You see, there is this barrier that separates Gensokyo from the Netherworld and that barrier once weakened so much, that it became possible to cross from both sides without much effort. That's not a good thing. I later learned from one of the ghosts that her friend, that is Yukari Yakumo, is the only one who can fix this problem…"
"Go on…"
"So I searched high and low to find this Yukari, but I only met her shikigami. She insisted that I couldn't see her mistress because she was sleeping. But since this was an urgent matter, I had no choice but to force my way to her."
"So you fought against her shikigami?"
"Yes. It was a longer battle than expected, but in the end, I won. The shikigami told me that her mistress is active during night, so I tried again, looking around the Netherworld, this time at night. Of course, the shikigami was there again but this time I made short work of her. Soon after, her mistress Yukari showed up. She didn't seem to be in a hurry to fix that weakened barrier even if I told her about it, so I just gave her a slight… motivational push in the right direction."
"By attacking her?" asked Kyouichi in disbelief. "Weren't you afraid at all?"
"Well, not really." answered Reimu calmly. "I knew that I was facing a powerful youkai, but I didn't know that she was the most powerful one… I've fought many strong youkai before, so I was quite confident about my victory."
"But you could have died!"
"Oh, you meant if I wasn't afraid of dying… Not since I introduced the Spell Card System of battle."
"The what…?"
"The Spell Card System." repeated Reimu. "It is a form of bilateral contract between the humans and youkai of Gensokyo to resolve any kind of conflict in a sort of a duel which would allow both parties to show off their skills in a beautiful, non-lethal display of magical power. Much like a sport event. Spell Cards are special named techniques, the use of which requires a declaration of intent. Once declared, the card activates its spell and releases numerous magical projectiles in a specific pattern which we call danmaku and the user enters a sort of trance. The users can keep up their spell for as long as they have energy, but if they sustain a certain amount of hits, their spell will break. Danmaku can be also used in a non-declared manner and without using a Spell Card. This is pretty much just firing the projectiles in a straightforward manner. This form of attack is weaker than Spell Cards and is mostly used to break the opponent's spells. During an enemy spell, one should attempt to dodge all the projectiles until the spell either runs out of energy or is broken by direct danmaku fire or your own spell. The number of each parties' Spell Cards must be determined in advance of a duel. The first party to use up all their Spell Cards loses. The winner is entitled to only what was agreed upon before the duel. If they're not interested in the opponent's offer, they can refuse a duel. Winners should allow losers a rematch. And if a youkai defeats a human, they still cannot kill them."
"O-kay, so you're telling me that every single youkai in Gensokyo abides these rules?"
"More or less, yes, they should."
"But how did you even come up with such an idea?"
"Well, you see, back in the day, resolving incidents was really quite dangerous. Many times people put their lives on the line when fighting youkai. With these rules, however, I don't need to fear for my life and the youkai don't need to worry about consequences of defeating me…"
"Consequences of defeating you?"
"Well, as the descendant of the Hakurei clan, it is my inherited duty to oversee the Great Hakurei Border and to keep people in Gensokyo safe from the youkai. If I died, it could have dire consequences on the existence of the barrier. It could even collapse and that would be disastrous both for Gensokyo and the outside world alike… But that is just a theory…"
"I see… So whether this is true or not, the youkai must have quite some respect for you, right?"
Reimu smiled. "Perhaps, but they don't show it very often."
"So, let's say that youkai won't really harm you because the barrier could collapse," speculated Kyouichi, "but what about other humans who would be dueling with youkai? What prevents THEM from just being killed and eaten?"
"There's more youkai in Gensokyo than humans." she explained. "Now imagine that every single youkai would go out and eat one human every day… Then there would be no humans in Gensokyo at all. The youkai need us humans, because we believe in them… Without that their power would diminish, just like it happened in the outside world. Apart from that, they need to use their abilities every now and then, so their magic wouldn't wither away, and the most common way of using their powers is to attack humans. The Spell Card Rules offer a solution which benefits both sides and enables them to coexist here in relative peace."
"I still don't understand how do youkai live if they can't eat humans…" wondered Kyouichi.
"Oh, but they still do. Although it's rather rare." said Reimu while taking a tea kettle from the top of the furnace. "Outsiders like you are their most common victims."
"Now that's a comfort." muttered Kyouichi ironically. "Is that the reason why I was… abducted here?"
"Most likely not." replied Reimu and poured some hot tea in three cups on the table. "Youkai can't just take away humans to eat them. That's why the barrier stands in the first place. The only one who can do something like that is Yukari and she doesn't eat humans. Besides, it's not like youkai NEED to eat humans, more like they favor us as the most delicious of foods."
"Ahhh, so youkai have adopted to a new diet…" deduced Kyouichi.
"They can live without eating humans, but they still wouldn't hesitate to eat them, given the opportunity."
"I see…" Kyouichi took a sip of the black tea from the cup. "But boy, have we digressed… So you defeated Yukari in that Spell Card duel?"
"Yes, the Spell Card Rules make it possible for even weak humans to challenge even the powerful youkai, but as Marisa already pointed out, it was more like she let me win…"
"Why would she do that?"
Reimu also sipped some of her tea. "I don't know. She's a youkai. Their thinking patterns can hardly be understood."
"What happened afterwards?" inquired Kyouichi further.
"Well after I finally managed to beat her last Spell Card, which took me more than just a couple of rematches, she agreed to fix the weakened Netherworld barrier. But still, I don't think she did a thorough job about it…"
"But Reimu…" Marisa joined the conversation after a long while, "You forgot to mention the most important thing… that Yukari has become your friend after that…"
Reimu almost choked on her tea. "Friend?! More like a nuisance that comes by when you least expect her to pester you or steal your food."
"Reimu is just exaggerating." stated Marisa. "It was Yukari who helped her resolve one of the incidents."
"She was the one who dragged me out of my futon in the middle of the night, saying that there was something going on…" argued Reimu.
"Yes, and she had a good reason for that too…" countered Marisa. "She knew about the incident with the fake moon and even teamed up with you on resolving it."
"So that I would do all the work while she slacked off in the back… And YOU…" she pointed her finger at the witch, "You thought it was US who were responsible for that incident and attacked us!" Reimu pointed out.
"Maybe, but still, it was Yukari's Spell Card that got me that time, as I recall, not yours. And besides, you always complain about being bored. She just did you a favor by letting you know about an incident that needed resolving." Marisa jabbed back.
Kyouichi, who was completely lost in this conversation and had no idea what the hell were these girls arguing about, just calmly watched and enjoyed drinking the black tea. He even helped himself to refill his cup without asking. He just really liked black tea…
"So…" he suddenly interrupted Reimu's and Marisa's exchange of opinions, "you are acquainted with Yukari Yakumo."
The two girls just stared at him silently for a while until Reimu muttered a barely audible reply: "Well, yes. Acquainted…"
"I sometimes don't get you, Reimu," stated Marisa. "It's true that Yukari has a bit strange manners, but… she's one of the nicest youkai I've seen. And what's more, she really seems to like you…"
Reimu opened her mouth to say something, but she just sighed as if she lost all her arguments.
Kyouichi again, full of new hope turned to Reimu. "If what Marisa just said is true, then I humbly ask you to petition Yukari-sama on my behalf if you meet her. Please ask her if she could send me back home."
"Perhaps…" she started uncertainly, "Perhaps you're right, Marisa."
She seemed very reluctant to admit to have a friendly relationship with a youkai. "Perhaps she's not so bad after all…"
Her serious expression was suddenly replaced by a smile. "Don't worry, Kyouichi, we'll be sure to tell her about your problem. If she doesn't know about it already…"
Reimu started looking around herself as if she was being annoyed by some invisible insect. "Yukari? Hey, Yukari~! Are you here?" she called out loud.
But there was no response.
"Strange…" she shrugged. "Usually if you just mentioned her name, she would take it as an invitation, but... she doesn't seem to be here."
"Maybe she's still hibernating." reasoned Marisa.
"It's been long since spring started, but it would be so like her to sleep a bit longer…" added Reimu.
"Or maybe she doesn't want to show up." Kyouichi named another possible reason.
"We'll be on a lookout for her." Marisa assured him. "But it can take anywhere between a few days to several months until she might show herself. You better prepare yourself for a longer stay here, in Gensokyo…"
Kyouichi rolled his eyes and snorted. "What other choice do I have?"
"Well if you knew your way home from the Hakurei Shrine in the outside world…" speculated Marisa.
"I already told you, I don't know." replied Kyouichi and he turned his head to Reimu. "Did those outsiders you have sent back really know their way home?"
She put her index finger on her chin, trying to remember. "Hmm, now that I think about it, some of them really had no clue how to get home from there. Those who knew their way home were most likely those who actually visited the shrine in the outside world and managed to appear in Gensokyo somehow… They were the ones who appeared near the shrine here. That's why I asked where you appeared when you got spirited away."
"I don't even think I'd be able to find my way back to that place to show you…" regretted Kyouichi.
"But some of those who even knew their way home decided to stay here of their own free will." informed Reimu.
Kyouichi wondered what could make any outsider want to stay here in this strange and dangerous place. He asked another question: "Did this Yukari ever return any outsiders back to their home in the outside world?"
Reimu looked down. "That I really don't know, but she might be the only one who can do it…"
"I understand… For now, I have no other option but to settle down here, in the village and prepare myself to stay here… indefinitely." mumbled Kyouichi more to himself than to Reimu and Marisa.
"Don't worry, if you know how to stay out of trouble, you may find life here to be really splendid…" Marisa cheered him up.
"Funny, that you of all people should say that…" remarked Reimu with a sarcastic tone. "So in other words, don't act like Marisa and you should have no trouble living here…"
"And don't act like Reimu, and even youkai may be friendly towards you…" Marisa returned the blow.
Kyouichi just smiled and shook his head. "How did you two become friends anyway…?"
"By fighting against each other." answered Reimu. "But that's a long story."
"Why does that not surprise me…?" said Kyouichi.
"Hehe, it may look like we're often arguing about something, but only the best friends are not afraid to point out their mistakes and imperfections to each other." replied Marisa.
Reimu, Marisa and Kyouichi had a couple of more cups of tea and chatted randomly off topic.
Kyouichi was happy that he made some new friends today. Possibly, they could be the key people for his plan to return home one day… and if not, he at least now had someone to talk to and ask questions about Gensokyo. Since both girls claimed to be specialized in youkai extermination and resolving incidents, any outsider in Gensokyo would feel much safer by their side. As the hours went by, Kyouichi remembered his agreement with Yukiyama to wait at the crossroad for the returning patrol of Ryuuken.
"Thank you for your hospitality, but I think I should go and wait for the patrol to escort me back to the village."
"Ok, Kyouichi, please come again sometimes." said Reimu as Kyouichi was standing up.
"Yeah, come by to play sometimes…" said Marisa.
"Play? I need to get a proper job if I plan on living here." objected Kyouichi. "But if I'm not a bother to you and if I find some time… and someone to escort me, then I'll most certainly come here again."
"Of course you're not a bother." reassured Reimu. "But sometimes, it may happen that you won't find me at the shrine, like yesterday."
"Oh, and where were you, by the way?"
"Just hanging around at Marisa's place." she replied.
"I see… Well like I said, I'd really like to come again, if I get the chance."
"I also plan to shop in the village in a day or two, so I'll stop by the Saitous to say hello." planned the shrine maiden. "If you won't be working somewhere by that time..."
"No, I won't be working yet, I still need to heal up…" said Kyouichi and slowly walked along the stone paved path back to the torii with Reimu and Marisa.
"Heal up? What, you hurt or something?" asked the witch.
"Yeah, I was attacked by fairies before I found the shrine and took a tumble down a hill."
"Sounds to me like the fairies are asking for a lesson in pain…" said the magician while cracking her knuckles.
"What, you plan to shoot them down with your danmaku or something?" asked Kyouichi in jest.
"Of course! What else?" she replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Wait, didn't Reimu say that danmaku is harmless?" asked the outsider.
"I just said that it's non-lethal; not harmless." Reimu corrected him. "You know it kind of hurts to get a direct hit from such a projectile. The stronger ones can even knock people and youkai unconscious."
"So it's still dangerous…" stated Kyouichi.
"Yeah, but the fairies, you see, they're a special kind of youkai…" explained Marisa. "Even if they are mortally wounded, they just… respawn. You can't really kill them. They are like tiny fragments of natural phenomena."
"Immortal youkai?" wondered Kyouichi.
Marisa continued explaining: "Well, they too have their lifespans, but they simply resurrect once they die."
"Yes, in general, youkai have much longer lifespans than humans and some of them are indeed immortal…" Reimu added some facts. "Their other physical attributes, such as strength, speed, vitality, perception and intelligence may differ from youkai to youkai, but are usually also better than those of humans."
Kyouichi stopped at the torii and looked at the road to the lake. The sun was already low above the western horizon. Far in the distance, he could see a few white dots slowly moving along the road towards the shrine."
"Those must be the relieved guards." he said. "Well then, I guess it's time to say farewell for now."
Marisa turned to Reimu with a determined look. "I think I'm going to do some fairy hunting." and then she walked back to the shrine. "Hey, maybe we should invite some folks for a hanami (flower viewing). It IS spring after all."
Reimu looked thoughtfully at the shrine. "Hmm, you're right, we didn't have a hanami this year yet. Although the best hanami are in the Netherworld, watching the cherry petals fall at the shrine also has its charm… Maybe sometime in the next week we could have a hanami here. You are welcome too, of course." she said to Kyouichi.
Marisa was back after a short while with a bamboo straw broom in her hand. "Well then, I'm going to ask at the mansion if they'd like to come."
"Hmph, it'd be better if they didn't come, but… whatever." muttered Reimu.
"But first," said Marisa while sitting on her broom as if she was about to take off, "I'm a hunt me some fairies! Or just any unfortunate youkai who happens to be in my way, ze."
After that she took off and soared up into the sky and into the distance…
Kyouichi just stood there, stunned by the amazing sight he just witnessed. He opened his mouth, pointed at Marisa, who was now far away and looked at Reimu with a confused expression.
"What?" she asked as if she couldn't understand what's so unusual about today's evening sky.
"She just… flew away…" muttered Kyouichi under his nose.
"Oh, that! Hehe, well, all I can say is: welcome to Gensokyo…" replied Reimu with a smile. "I can fly too… In fact, I think almost everyone can."
"Errr… Yeah… ALMOST everyone." emphasized Kyouichi, staring enviously at the tiny black dot in the sky.
"Well then, see you next time!" said Reimu and returned back to the shrine.
"Yeah, see you…" said Kyouichi and carefully walked down the long set of stone stairs. By the time he made it down, the four relieved Ryuuken guards were already waving at him from the crossroad. He hurried up a bit, so not to keep the men waiting. He sort of expected the same attitude from them as from Yukiyama, and so, he even prepared himself to get scolded for going to the shrine without any official permission. But as soon as he greeted the men, his stress dissolved.
"Ah, you're the outsider who was so desperate to get to the shrine." said a young looking warrior with short, light-brown disheveled hair. He looked like a new recruit, but he already had three golden strips on his shoulder, so he could have some skill.
"I'm Lieutenant Akiyoshi Takamori," he introduced himself, "and you must be Ish… Ichi…"
"…Ishimaru, yes, that's me." said Kyouichi, helping the young lieutenant to recall his name.
"Oh, sorry that I forgot your name…"
"That's ok, Takamori-san. It's sometimes hard to remember a name of someone you haven't yet met."
"I usually don't forget people's names." explained Lieutenant Takamori. "It's just that Captain Yukiyama was in quite a hurry to replace us in our duty so he muttered your name really quickly…"
"Sorry to cause you trouble…" apologized Kyouichi.
"What trouble? We're not currently on duty… Besides, the shrine is along the way between the village and the lake, so we would've passed by here anyway."
"I see. That's good…"
"So how about we slowly went back to the village while you told me something more about yourself?" suggested the young lieutenant.
Kyouichi and the four guards slowly walked to the village, and he told them about himself, about his situation and about his reason to visit the shrine.
"So you just wanted to get back home…" said Takamori.
"Yes, but since I wouldn't know which way to go, I just decided to settle here until my plan B works… or fails."
"Plan B?"
"To get back home with the assistance of Yukari Yakumo… Well, legend or not, she's the only one who could do something like that… or so I heard."
"Eeeeeh? So the Hakurei shrine maiden claims to know that youkai personally?"
"So she said." confirmed Kyouichi. "But it seems that she appears rather sporadically and randomly, so it can take uncertain amount of time before she visits her again… And another problem would be to convince her to help me... Truly miserable chances of success, but even if there's a tiny bit of hope, then I won't give up."
"So you'll be staying here for quite some time as I see it." Takamori summed up.
Kyouichi nodded. "Perhaps even permanently, but as I said, I still haven't given up."
Finally, Kyouichi and the guards had reached the outer premises of Human Village. As they were slowly walking down a small hill, Kyouichi noticed that the roads from the village lead to some other smaller settlements.
"I thought that Human Village was the only village here…"
"No, it's not the only village, but it is the largest one… or to be more exact, the one with the largest human population." replied Takamori.
"Are the other villages safe?"
"What you're looking at now are just small branch settlements, too small to be even called tiny villages. They're still an external part of the Human Village, but there are other remote villages in Gensokyo besides this one. As for the safety of these settlements, us Ryuuken do regular patrols, just like at the fishing colony, so they're relatively safe. Not as safe as the inner village, though. Usually farmers and woodcutters live in these settlements, protected by warriors."
The group of five men entered the village. Kyouichi could see that the campfire was already lit, and again, some people gathered around it. The sun was slowly setting behind the hills in the west. Kyouichi was already quite hungry, so he planned to go to his new "home" to have some dinner.
"Well, here we are." said Takamori and turned to his fellow guards. "Let's go to the tavern, I could sure go for a few tankards of nice cool beer right now…"
"Thanks for your protection, Lieutenant Takamori." thanked Kyouichi and bowed.
"No problem. But next time, make sure you'll be leaving the village with some sort of official permission. Ok?"
"Alright, I'll try…" smiled Kyouichi.
As they parted their ways, Kyouichi went back to the Saitou house.
"I'm back." he announced as he entered the house.
Standing in the corridor in front of him was a young girl with short, dark-brown hair, wearing a dark-blue skirt and white shirt with short sleeves, staring at him with a confused look.
"Ah, you must be Chitose-chan, right? Your mom told me about you. I'm Kyouichi Ishimaru, pleased to meet you."
Kyouichi stretched out his opened hand to shake hands with Chitose, but the girl just called out: "Mom! There's some weird guy in our house!"
"Huh?!" Kyouichi was a bit freaked out that Minako and Mizuto haven't told their children about him.
Right after that, however, the girl giggled. "Just kidding! Yes, I'm Chitose Saitou. I know about you, Kyouichi. Mom told me that you'll be our onii-chan from now on."
"That's saying a bit too much, really…" said Kyouichi. "I'll just be living here until I can be self sufficient and buy my own house... or get home."
Chitose came closer to Kyouichi and pulled his hakama twice. "Hey, hey, Kyouichi, how does the outside world look like, huh? Tell me, tell me!"
"Ehehehe… sure, but I'm really hungry right now." said Kyouichi and his belly growled.
As soon as he said that, the kitchen sliding door opened.
"Ah, Kyouichi-kun, welcome back! The dinner will be ready soon. You can wash your hands and wait in the kitchen." said Minako and disappeared back into the kitchen.
Kyouichi did as she said, washed his hands and sat at the dining table. He could see Minako stirring something at the stove and a nice smell of something delicious permeated the air.
"Today we'll have katsu curry." said Minako over her shoulder.
"Yay, my favorite!" rejoiced Chitose.
"Did you take a look around the entire village, Kyouichi?" asked Minako.
"Errm… not really. I've just been to the shrine to meet Reimu."
"Huh?! I hope you didn't go alone."
"Of course not! I just happened to catch some… errr… friendly Ryuuken guards headed to the lake."
"Oh, speaking of the lake, I think Mizuto should be back in an hour or so." she informed. "I guess he'll just have to reheat the curry…"
"Does he go fishing every day?" asked Kyouichi.
"That depends…" explained Minako, "but usually every two days."
She then took some plates from the cupboard and placed them on the table along with chopsticks.
"But more importantly, what did Reimu tell you?"
Kyouichi briefly explained everything he learned and experienced at the shrine and how he decided to stay in Gensokyo for the time being.
Minako was apparently very interested. "That's unbelievable! I've never heard that Reimu can access the outside world through the shrine and that she personally knows Yukari-sama…"
"Well, me neither, but it seems to me that I won't be seeing my home anytime soon." stated Kyouichi and watched as Minako took a large bowl with the curry and put in the middle of the table.
"Mom, can I be a youkai hunter too when I grow up?" asked Chitose while looking at her mother.
"If you study hard enough at school and practice a lot, then why not…?" answered Minako with a carefree tone. "But now you should tell your brother that the dinner is ready."
"Yes~!" called Chitose and walked out of the kitchen to call her brother.
A couple of seconds later she returned back to the kitchen with her younger brother. The boy was slightly shorter than Chitose. His hair was similar to his father's, short and black. He was wearing a brown, short sleeved kimono with some leaf patterns.
He glanced at Kyouichi and nervously greeted: "G-good evening."
"Good evening," replied Kyouichi. "I'm Kyouichi. You don't need be so shy."
"My…" continued the boy, "…my name's Tadao Saitou, p-pleased to meet you."
Kyouichi smiled to break the ice. "Same here, Tadao-kun."
"Well, now that you're all friends, let's enjoy our meal." said Minako.
"Itadakimasu~!" called everyone and clapped their hands before they started feasting on the katsu curry.
"Thanks for the meal!" thanked Kyouichi as soon as he finished his portion of curry.
"Well, now that you'll be staying here for a longer period of time, it would be good if you got registered at the village hall as a proper citizen." suggested Minako as she took Kyouichi's plate to wash it.
Kyouichi had no objections. "Alright, we can go."
"Oh, but not today. It's already closed now."
"Fine, then we'll go tomorrow."
"Are you going anywhere else today?"
"Maybe I'll go and see Naota-san, or maybe I'll check out some tavern and have a drink or two." Kyouichi considered his options.
"Okay, but please, don't try to go anywhere outside the village…"
"Sure, sure. I'll stay right here." he promised.