Chapter 7 – A Girl who Forgot to Forget
"Umm, hello?" he called out. "Is this the village archive?"
In a room with one table and many shelves filled with books and scrolls he saw a little girl turned back to him as she was leaning over some book with a writing brush in her hand. As Kyouichi called out, the girl seemed a bit jumped by this unexpected visit. She put down her brush and turned to see who just barged into her house and asked if this is the archive.
"Ah, someone who came to seek knowledge." said the girl as she stood up from the table. "Yes, this is the village archive and my home. I am Hieda no Akyuu and I'm pleased to meet you."
"I'm Kyouichi Ishimaru, and it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Miss… wait a second…" Kyouichi suddenly paused himself as he realized something. "You're Hieda no Akyuu?! The village chronicler?"
He truly couldn't believe his eyes and ears, since the girl who was standing before him didn't look much older than 10. She was short, barely exceeding half of Kyouichi's height. She had short purple hair and eyes of the same color. She was wearing a kimono-like outfit with a green vest with yellow, flower-patterned sleeves and a dark-red shortened version of hakama with a red-white laced obi sash. Her hair was decorated by a light pink flower-shaped ornament, which looked exactly like the flowers on her sleeves. Despite her childlike appearance, she radiated a very mature and intelligent aura, which Kyouichi couldn't even explain. His first impression of her was: "This girl is a youkai… probably."
"Yes, but I'm not just the village chronicler, but Gensokyo chronicler." answered the girl.
Kyouichi just silently stared at this child for a couple of seconds before he spoke again. "I… eh, no offense, but I imagined you somewhat… older. Are you a youkai then?"
The girl giggled and shook her head. "No, no. I'm a human, don't worry."
"But I guess you're not so ordinary human, right?"
"Well, we all have our abilities, don't we?" answered Akyuu with a question.
"And what's your ability then, Akyuu-san?"
"To remember everything I see and hear and an inability to forget anything… even from my previous lives. Though the memories are limited to the relevant information to the Gensokyo Chronicle."
"Whoa!" exclaimed Kyouichi. "That's quite something. But isn't it… you know… too much to bear?"
"Indeed it is." nodded Akyuu. "As a Child of Miare I started working on the Gensokyo Chronicle more than 1200 years ago and I remember everything since my first incarnation's birth until now. Even this conversation will be forever recorded in my memory. It really is a bit too much for a mere human…"
"Child of Miare? Are you referring to Hieda no Are? That oral historian who helped to compile Japan's first written historical record - the Kojiki?" asked Kyouichi as he recalled something he learned at school. "He really was famous for the ability to remember all sorts of stuff."
"Yes. And I, Hieda no Akyuu am his child. The ninth incarnation to be exact." replied the chronicler. "You see, the names of my previous incarnations were all puns on numbers: Aichi, Ani, Ami, Ayo, Ago, Amu, Anana and Aya. So as the ninth incarnation, my name is Akyuu, whereas Hieda no Are is a pun on zero."
"But isn't 1200 years longer than 10 generations?"
"That's right, but a Child of Miare is born in the Hieda family only once in a hundred years, give or take a few decades… But I still remember the events that occurred even when I wasn't physically here. From my informants, that is. I'm the first of the incarnations born after the barrier's creation."
"Amazing…" whispered Kyouichi. "Then you're just the person I'm looking for."
Akyuu smiled. "If it's about history, then I certainly can help."
"Then please tell me everything you know about the Great Boundary, or more importantly, about Yukari Yakumo." requested Kyouichi.
"Hm? Yukari-sama? And why are you so curious about her?"
"Because I'm an outsider and she might be my only way back home."
"I see…" muttered Akyuu. "In that case, I got good news and bad new for you, Ishimaru-san…"
"Oh boy…"
"The good news is that I've known Yukari-sama personally for quite some time… The bad news is that I've only seen her once as the ninth Child of Miare and I don't know when or even if she'll appear next time. I may not even have to live long enough to see her again in this life…"
Kyouichi sighed, because he heard the same thing about that youkai from several different sources.
"Yeah, I heard she appears only once in a few months or so, but if you are her friend or whatever, then why shouldn't you live long enough to see her again?"
Akyuu was silent and hesitant to answer for a while, but she answered after all: "Because with each time I reincarnate, my lifespan becomes shorter…"
"Does that mean that one day you will end your reincarnation cycle and finally enter afterlife?"
"That's one of the possible outcomes, yes." replied Akyuu.
"That means someone else will have to continue recording the events in Gensokyo."
"That's right." nodded young Akyuu. "But that won't be my problem anymore…" she added with a cute smile. Despite her not too pleasant fate, this girl who bore the whole history of Gensokyo on her shoulders seemed to be rather laid-back. She was even cheerful, as a child of her age would be.
"I'm not really sure if any of the historical records regarding Yukari-sama will help you, but I'll bring some anyway."
"Thanks, Akyuu-san."
In just a little while Kyouichi heard some slow and heavy footsteps coming from the hallway of the Hieda residence.
"…Akyuu-san?" he asked while peeking over the corner to the hallway. He saw a huge pile of books slowly moving towards him. Akyuu was apparently trying to bring them all in one go and Kyouichi could only see her hakama as she was carrying that half of a library to the living room.
"Are you nuts?! Let me help you with that!" said Kyouichi and took a major part of the book pile from Akyuu's overburdened hands.
"Ah, thank you, Kyouichi-san. I hope this will be enough…"
"Enough?! Are you kidding?! You brought a whole library with you! I might even figure out a way to bypass the Great Boundary by myself before I finish reading half of these books."
"Don't worry. It's not like these books deal only with Yukari-sama. Rather than that, they each contain some shorter passages about the great youkai and her deeds."
Akyuu and Kyouichi put all of the books on the table in the living room and then they started browsing.
"Hmm… Are all of these books a part of the Gensokyo Chronicle?"
"Yes, you'll find a record of every important and less important event and person in the history of Gensokyo in those books. Naturally, something about Yukari-sama too."
"Still, you can't really expect me to browse through all of these here…"
"Well no, but you can borrow them if you like." suggested Akyuu. "They're all copies, so it's okay."
"Are you really sure?" double-checked Kyouichi.
"Yes, I keep several copies of the whole compilation, so no worries." Akyuu reassured him.
Kyouichi took another look at the whole pile. "Hmm… I might need a hand cart or something to take all of these books home."
"Oh, right. I should at least give you some bags for them…" thought Akyuu and opened one of the drawers in the living room. From the drawer she took out a large, solid looking cotton bag.
It was big enough to contain all the volumes of the Gensokyo Chronicle.
"I think this should be enough." said Akyuu.
"Oh, this is perfect." said Kyouichi and immediately started packing the books in the bag.
"Say, Akyuu-san…"
"Hm? What is it?"
"I can imagine you compiling the Gensokyo Chronicle, but making copies of it… That's just… wow… I can't even imagine how much time it must have taken."
"Oh, but I don't make the copies all by myself. I just lent the original to the bookstore just across the street and they made transcriptions in case of the original being damaged or destroyed. Furthermore, they keep making more copies, so that one day, everyone will be able to buy their own copy of the Chronicle."
"So that's what I'll be doing as my part-time?" Kyouichi asked himself.
"Huh? You'll be working at the Starlight Glyph?" asked Akyuu.
"Yeah. Starting tomorrow. It was the only part-time job left…"
"That's great Kyouichi-san!" exclaimed Akyuu with joy. "That means we're like colleagues now."
"Eh… Yeah, but like I said, it's just part-time."
"But who knows…? Maybe you'll like that part-time job and start working there full-time." speculated Akyuu.
"Maybe…" replied Kyouichi uncertainly when he finally put the last book into the bag, "but I'd still prefer to return back to my home in the outside world…"
"Well then, I hope the information you'll find abut Yukari-sama will help you when you finally meet her."
"If there is a chance, then I will take it." said Kyouichi resolutely. "But even if I'm stuck here for the rest of my life, there's no harm in knowing an extra thing or two about this Gensokyo."
"No harm indeed." nodded Akyuu. "In fact, I think this knowledge may prove vital to your life here."
"Thank you very much for the books Akyuu-san." thanked Kyouichi and bowed to the little chronicler.
"The house of Hieda always welcomes everyone who seeks knowledge about Gensokyo, be they human or youkai." said Akyuu while flashing her cute smile.
"But still… Don't you at least want some cash for me borrowing those books?"
"Well I could ask for money for borrowing the books, but I think that you'll need every single coin as an outsider here, so you can borrow the books free of charge. Besides, I think you have a right to borrow them for free, since you'll probably be helping with making more copies."
"Alright then. I appreciate it… Thanks."
Kyouichi then picked up the bag and was about to leave.
"What, are you leaving already?" asked Akyuu. "Won't you at least stay for a cup of tea?"
"I thought you were busy, so I just…"
"Busy? You could say that I work on compiling the Gensokyo Chronicle in my leisure… I have lots and lots of free time. So, how about some tea?"
"Alright, I guess…" shrugged Kyouichi who didn't want to bother Akyuu too much, but he also had no real plans for today.
"Great! Please wait a moment."
Akyuu again disappeared somewhere in the back of her house and let Kyouichi waiting in the living room. As he waited and waited, he took a random volume of the Chronicle from the bag and browsed through its pages. He briefly read one random passage in the book; "Year 124 and the Flying Palanquin Ship Incident…"
"Year 124? That was one year ago… So this volume must be dealing with recent events." thought Kyouichi. As he was about to read the article about the incident, Akyuu returned to the living room with a platter with two cups of tea and a tea-pot.
"Sorry it took so long…" she apologized.
"Oh, that's ok. I'm not in a hurry or anything." said Kyouichi. "Say, Akyuu-san, where's your family?"
"I'd introduce them to you if they were here, but both of my parents are out at work right now. It's just me and my pet cat here." she beckoned to the corner of the room where a black cat was lazily lying on a pillow, occasionally swinging its tail.
"Alright, I was just curious…"
"So, um… how long have you been here as an outsider?" asked Akyuu as she was putting sugar in her tea.
"Today's the third day." answered Kyouichi while closing the book he was holding and putting it back into the bag.
"Really? And I thought that you've been here for at least a month or so…"
"Why would you think that?"
"Well, you're wearing clothes like people from Gensokyo, you got a part-time job and you came asking about the Great Boundary and Yukari-sama, so I thought that you must already have some experience with life in this place." deduced the 9th Child of Miare.
"I barely have any experience, though. I've just heard some rumors here and there, but I don't really know anything about Gensokyo." replied Kyouichi and took a sip of the hot tea.
"So you'll be learning everything from scratch…"
"Pretty much. From tomorrow on, I'll be also attending the Kamishirasawa School…"
"Keine-sensei will be your teacher for most of the subjects." informed Akyuu. "She's also an old friend of mine."
"And what about Yukari? What is she like in person? Can she be reasoned with or should I just give up on my crazy dream of returning home?" inquired Kyouichi.
"Of course she can be reasoned with. She's not like most youkai. Some say that she's mischievous or even dangerous, but she's got a really good heart. She may cause some trouble for humans from time to time, but she'd never go as far as directly harming anyone."
"Maybe not directly, but it still hurts when you're forcedly separated from your family."
"Well, one thing I can tell you with certainty, Yukari has done many seemingly incomprehensible deeds during her looooong existence, but know that there was a reason for each of them. You'll find out if you read about her in the books I gave you."
"A reason?"
"Like purposefully losing duels or even wars in order to achieve some greater goals… That is the way Yukari-sama thinks and acts. She may be really carefree and whimsical, but she is also extremely intelligent and cunning, as you'd expect from such an ancient being. Even if she can overcome everything with her sheer power, she often chooses to rely minimally on that power and rather use her deception. She can easily tell what effects will certain actions have even in distant future. In a sense, she's almost like a prophet."
"So, have you got any advice as to what should I do when I meet her by any chance?"
"Hmm… Well just greet her politely and act like a gentleman and you should have no problems with her. She's very friendly for a youkai. She's got lots of friends among youkai and humans alike."
"Yeah, I've already asked the local shrine maiden to talk to her about my problem. She also claims to know her personally."
"So, you've already met Reimu Hakurei? That's good for you, but she's just one of her friends out of many… You see, Yukari-sama's influence reaches far and wide and many of the most important, prominent and powerful youkai and humans are her good friends."
"So, she basically has the whole Gensokyo under her thumb…" stated Kyouichi.
"Actually, that's what they say about Reimu, but yes, I believe that the statement would rather fit Yukari-sama…"
"So, maybe I should become friends with more of Yukari's friends to increase my chances."
"That is certainly not a bad idea." agreed Akyuu. "Having as many friends in Gensokyo as possible is probably the most important thing for a good life… But be warned, while it's okay to become friends with most of the humans in Gensokyo, befriending youkai is often much more tricky and dangerous. You'll learn about most of the youkai at school, so once you know enough, you'll be able to peacefully deal with most youkai even without any magical abilities. Some youkai are naturally human-friendly, but much more common are the dangerous ones. For a human trying to befriend such a youkai can be extremely dangerous, but not impossible. The best place to try something like that would be in this village. Even if the dangerous youkai often come to the village, they won't attack anyone, but you shouldn't try their patience either." advised Akyuu.
"I don't have any suicidal intentions, so I won't be testing anyone's patience."
"To become friends with a dangerous youkai is one of the greatest achievements a human can accomplish. It's nothing you should try without any experience, though."
"Do you have any friends among the dangerous youkai besides Yukari Yakumo?"
"Well, no, I don't have any friends like that. And Yukari-sama isn't really dangerous, because she's a benevolent youkai. Although she's the most powerful and therefore, potentially the most dangerous, she really hasn't harmed anyone in a worse way than spiriting someone away or by means of a danmaku duel. But she likes to tease others by pranks and so on…"
"Okay, but why are you telling me to befriend the really dangerous youkai if you don't have any such friends yourself?" wondered Kyouichi.
"I'm not telling you to. I'm simply saying that although it's very difficult, it's still possible. The more friends you have among the youkai, the lesser the chance that you'll be attacked by the youkai. Understand?"
"Ah, I see… That's really clever."
"During your life here in the Human Village, you'll be sure to meet many youkai, even if you might not realize it. Almost every human here has some youkai friends, but rarely anyone can proudly say that they have a friend who is otherwise a very dangerous and hostile youkai…"
"So the greatest chances to encounter youkai are here?"
"Not the greatest, but they come by quite often. However, the one you'd like to meet the most almost never ever appears in the village…"
"Avoiding too much publicity, isn't she?" wondered Kyouichi. "Then I guess that "Youkai Friendship Plan" is my best option, huh?"
"I believe I haven't mentioned that she likes to sleep a lot." said Akyuu in addition. "And when I say a lot, I mean a whole lot."
"Oh, right, I think Reimu or Marisa said something about her hibernating or something…" recalled Kyouichi and took another sip of the tea.
"Yes, that she does," confirmed the chronicler, "but her hibernation should be over by this time, I believe. However, even when she's not hibernating, she still usually sleeps through most of daytime. She's a nocturnal youkai."
"Well what do you know, something we have in common…" murmured Kyouichi.
"What, are you nocturnal too?" asked Akyuu.
"Yeah, or at least back in the outside world, I used to work, study, play and basically live the most during nighttime."
"Well, nocturnal humans aren't so uncommon anymore, Kyouichi-san. Even I prefer to write during the night." admitted Akyuu. "On the other hand, even daytime youkai aren't as rare as they used to be. In fact, a good 50% of current youkai in Gensokyo are active during daytime."
As Kyouichi drank the last drops of tea in his cup, it occurred to him to ask Akyuu another important question: "Did Yukari ever… send anyone back to the outside world… even if she spirited them away here?"
Akyuu also finished her cup of tea and put it on a plate with a silent chink. She looked like she was thinking or tying to recall something and after a few seconds she smiled again with her usual cute smile. "Yes, Kyouichi-san. Yes, she did… Even more times than Reimu and all her predecessors together… Although, you are right, she was in most cases really responsible for people's spiriting away."
"So she's just playing with humans like with some toys?" asked Kyouichi, who still had very mixed feelings about the great youkai of boundaries.
"Even I, a friend of Yukari-sama for over a millennium will never be able to fully understand her mind," admitted Akyuu, "but if I should sum up her personality in just a few words, I'd say that she's… mischievous, but very kind-hearted."
"Thanks, Akyuu, for at least keeping my hopes up." said Kyouichi while nodding to her. He slowly stood up from the table, this time, really ready to leave. "I'll be going now, but I think I'll be coming for a visit quite often to consult things about Gensokyo."
"Please do," approved little Akyuu, "…and don't think that you're a bother or something, okay?"
"Alright, alright…" said Kyouichi. He took the loaded bag in his right hand - it must have weighed at least 25 kilos.
"Umpf…. Oh, by the way, Minako-san of the Saitou family sends her regards…" said Kyouichi as he was standing in the doorway.
"Oh, thanks… But how do you know Saitou-san?"
"I live in their house." explained Kyouichi. "That is, at least until I'll have my own place to live at or until my wish to return home becomes true…"
"Well, then please send my regards to Saitou-san as well. In any case, I wish you good luck, Kyouichi-san." said Akyuu, seeing Kyouichi off. "And do your best at the school and your part-time job."
"Alright, be good, Akyuu-san."
Bidding each other farewell for today, Akyuu returned back to whatever she was doing before and Kyouichi, with his hands full had to return back to the Saitou residence to drop off the books, so he could study them later. He laboriously carried the bag all the way to the northern part of the village, where the Saitous live; ignoring all the weird looks that the villagers on the streets gave him.
"I… I'm home…" panted Kyouichi when he finally opened the door on the house of the Saitou family. The heavy bag full of books made his way home quite exhausting.
"Oh, hello there, Kyouichi-kun." Minako greeted him. "Have you been shopping?" she pointed at the bag.
"No… I'm coming directly… from the archive." whispered Kyouichi still catching his breath. "Akyuu-san sends her regards…"
"So what's in the bag?" she inquired.
"I believe it's a copy of the most up-to-date version of the Gensokyo Chronicle… and probably something more…"
"You borrowed them?"
"More or less… I simply wanted to learn about something…" Kyouichi gave an uncertain answer.
"And I suppose you'll be going somewhere else now." wondered Minako.
"Sure, it's only noon, after all." replied Kyouichi, dragging the bag to the guest room.
"If you wait 15 minutes, the lunch will be ready."
"Sounds good."
Kyouichi unloaded the books from the bag in the already cluttered-up guest room, leaving even less free space in the room. There were 21 books in total. Some of them, however, didn't seem like they were a part of the Gensokyo Chronicle. As he tried to sort them into some chronological order, he heard Minako's voice calling: "Lunch is ready~!"
"Well then, let's freeload while I can…" said Kyouichi to himself in a joking manner.
He walked into the kitchen, where the whole family including Mizuto was already gathered at the table. Luckily, there was still some room for him at the table next to the children, Tadao and Chitose.
"Ah, Kyouichi-kun," said Mizuto, waving his hand at him, "please, sit, sit." he invited, "I heard that you're already admitted…"
"Well…" started Kyouichi, but was interrupted by Minako.
"Oh, come on, Mizuto, you can ask him about that after the lunch."
"Sure, I can, but I'm curious…" opposed her husband.
"Suffice to say, that I've been admitted, but I'm still waiting for my ID." the outsider summed up.
"Oh, you'll need a photo for that too." said Mizuto as he searched his inner chest pocket on his kimono. "This is how it looks like."
He took out a small, approximately 8x10 cm lacquered paper card with his photo and basic information about him.
"You're right." said Minako. "I forgot to tell him… Yes, you'll need to have a picture of you taken as well."
"So should I go back to the village hall now?" asked Kyouichi.
"No, there's no need." Mizuto calmed him down. "You can have your photo taken at the Ryuuken headquarters. There, they'll put the copy of your ID in their database, you'll get a stamp on your card like this one." he pointed at a small red circular stamp on his ID card. "And that's all. After that you're free to go."
"So I'll go to the Ryuuken HQ after lunch then."
"Er… Well, no, you won't." objected the fisherman. "You should wait until your card arrives and then go and have your picture taken and the ID confirmed at the same time. Otherwise, you'd have to go there twice. It could all have been avoided if Minako didn't forget about it, but it's nothing to fret about."
"That's right." agreed Minako. "I could go there with you if you like."
"We'll see…" said Kyouichi.
"Mom, we wanna eat already!" Chitose tried to apply her authority.
"Ok, ok, coming right up." said Minako as she went to the stove to serve the food into bowls.