Chapter 66 – The Benefit of Failure
Marisa's return to Kazemura didn't bring much joy to her friends. Not only she didn't bring any sweets from Human Village, as Suika hoped she would, but she also had the audacity to come back with a completely shattered, useless mirror. On top of it all, her clothes reeked as if she used them to clean a chimney. The unpleasant odor quickly filled up the entire tent.
"Shards?! So after wasting two hours of time you dare to return with a bunch of shards?!" Reimu blew her gasket when the witch reluctantly unwrapped her cloth bag.
"Believe it or not, that's not the worst thing that happened."
The puzzled, but still infuriated shrine maiden shook her head in disbelief. "What could possibly be worse than your failure at running an easy errand, that even a kid wouldn't have messed up?!"
Instead of answering directly, Marisa asked: "Where's Remilia?"
"Don't try changing the subject!" Reimu barked out at her. "Take responsibility for your actions, damn it!"
Sakuya, who was much calmer at the moment, found Marisa's question mildly unsettling, so she decided to answer it. "My lady is still down in that temple with Patchouli-sama. I hope they're okay..."
"They better be okay, because what I'm about to tell them is not for the faint of heart."
"What about us?" asked the maid. "Shouldn't we also know what happened?"
"I'm pretty sure you could hear it even from here."
The girls in the tent exchanged their clueless glances for a moment. Marisa gave them a moment to guess, but when nobody was sure what she was talking about, she sighed and asked: "You're telling me you didn't hear that massive bang about half an hour ago?"
"Well... yes. I think so. I thought it was the yama-bito quarry workers firing another one of those outside-world explosives." the maid replied.
It was no wonder none of the girls thought nothing of the explosion, since all the mountains surrounding Kazemura made the sound seem like it was coming from all directions.
"Well, Sakuya, I hate to tell you this, but the echoes have played a trick on your ears. It was an explosion, alright, but it came from the mansion, not the quarry."
"O-our… mansion?" Sakuya's voice trembled as her eyes widened. Marisa gave her two silent nods.
"I must inform Remilia-sama at once!" she took a step towards the tent's exit, but the blonde halted her.
"No. I'll go and tell her. After all, I was there…"
"W-wait… you were there? What about the young mistress Flandre? Is she alright?"
"Heh!" Marisa let out an amused chuckle. "Flan? She may be a child, but trust me, she's the last person you need to worry about. Oh, and before you ask, Meiling is fine too. The mansion, on the other hand… Well… Let's just say the next time Remilia decides to have an indoor pool party in the library, all she has to do is to wait for the next rainfall. Now, if you excuse me, I'm off to break the news to your mistress. And ask her some questions…"
Moments after Marisa left the tent, the youkai alchemist, Xeng-Yao, slowly stood up, approached the unwrapped bag of mirror shards and thoughtfully combed his short beard with his fingers. "Hmmm…"
When the witch reentered the ancient temple, she could instantly notice that the place was much brighter inside than before, thanks to the large number of torches and lanterns that were placed there by all the curious and intrepid explorers. Even now the temple was crowded by the tengu soldiers and scholars of several races. They barely even noticed the witch when she walked past them and headed for the crypt. All those people and youkai made it much harder to navigate through the temple's narrow corridors. As she again walked by the iron half-circle frame on the staircase connecting the temple's two levels, she was once again reminded of the mirror that she broke. It felt like listening to Reimu's scolding all over again. Ironically, Marisa felt a slight relief only when she made it all the way down into the gigantic crypt. Even the lower level of the temple was crowded, which was no surprise after the temple's opening to the public became official. However, Patchouli demanded that the scholars, savants, archeologists and all other researchers would take turns at the portal arch, so that they wouldn't be getting into each other's way. After their turn was up, they would share their findings with the others.
Apparently, the one-week girl, as Patchouli was sometimes referred to, was waiting to get another turn to examine the portal wall from as close a distance as she wanted. To make the waiting, and generally, the whole research work more comfortable, some pieces of furniture, such as chairs and desks, have been brought all the way down there. Patchouli was just sitting on one of those chairs, and as expected, hunched over a mess of scrolls, journals and books. Remilia was there with her, but her determination not to leave Patchouli's side was starting to waver, as her expression implied. She was bored and didn't show any interest in the heated discussions that Patchouli was having with other intellectuals. Most likely because she couldn't understand them. She was sitting there with only the tips of her toes touching the ground as she kept knocking the heels of her shoes against each other and drawing some random doodles on a blank page like a schoolgirl waiting for the bell to ring. And it seemed as though that bell would be Marisa.
"How's it goin' down there?" the witch greeted them from the top of the arch.
"Marisa? Hey, look, Patchy, Marisa's back!"
The purple-haired girl instantly turned her head up, and to Marisa's slight surprise, even stood up. Both girls were looking back at the magician with anticipation. Marisa almost felt sorry for having to bring them the unpleasant news about the most recent fairy attack on their mansion, but she knew that not telling them anything would have been much crueler of her.
"Did you bring the mirror?" the young vampire asked impatiently before Marisa even made it halfway down the stairs. She didn't give any response.
"I said, 'Did you bring the mirror to place into that frame?' " Remilia repeated her question louder and made it slightly more specific.
Marisa's face was serious, as it wasn't very often. She swallowed and shifted her eyes from one girl to the other.
"Remilia, Patchouli, listen… There has been another fairy attack."
"What? Another? When? Where?" Remila showered her with a burst of one-word questions.
"Less than an hour ago… On your mansion."
With herself, Patchouli, Sakuya and Koakuma all in Kazemura, Remilia was well-aware that the security of the entire mansion hinged on Meiling and Flandre. And Flandre was more likely to worsen the security than improve it. Still, as this wasn't the first fairy attack on the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Remilia appeared calm enough in face of the news.
"Can you tell me anything more about it?"
"As a first-hand witness, I can." Marisa nodded. "There weren't too many fairies, but… there was an explosion. A big one. Both your sister and your gate guard are okay, but that explosion caused some serious structural damage to the mansion. Flan says it was one of your books that fell down and opened, Patchy… Not sure if she's telling the truth or trying to avoid the blame, but the fact is that there's now a huge gaping hole in your mansion. And it wouldn't surprise me if the place was still filled with smoke."
Remilia shifted her gaze to Patchouli. "Do you have any explosive books in the library?"
"W-well… there are some… slightly more dangerous books, but they're all secured by a strap lock, much like Margatroid-san's own grimoire, so they shouldn't open up even after accidentally falling from the shelf."
"Unless something would damage or… destroy the said strap lock, right?" Remilia asked her friend, stressing the word "destroy" for some reason.
"That's extremely unlikely." the librarian argued. "They're all specially enchanted to withstand even the harshest of physical and magical damage. The lock opens only upon saying the correct password."
Remilia slightly rolled her eyes, but still smiled as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Patchy, with all due respect, you've lived with us long enough to know full-well what my "gifted" little sister is capable of."
"Well, excuse me, Remi, but nothing in the world is completely Flandre-proof!"
"Exactly. So if there was a battle in the library, it's not that hard to envision Flan popping one of those strap locks by mistake."
"No kidding!" Marisa seconded. "She mistook me for a fairy and nearly shot me down!"
"So, how bad is it?" Remilia asked the blonde witch. "Which parts of the mansion are damaged?"
"The library took the worst of it, obviously… I don't envy anyone who's gonna do the cleanup. The explosion appeared like a one-directional blast, like Master Spark, so basically anything that was above the library, including the roof, was blown sky-high. The hole is about 5 meters wide."
"Oh." Remilia breathed what seemed like a sigh of relief. "Just that? Nothing more?"
Marisa was shocked by her reaction nearly as much as she was shocked by the explosion itself. "Nothing more?! Haha! Are you kidding? You expected more? Hahaha! I'm sorry to disappoint, but that's all the damage I was able to notice."
"Well if that's all there is to it, then it shouldn't take too long to repair. But… it will also mean that I'll have to return and leave you by yourself, Patchy."
Even as a thousand thoughts raced through Patchouli's head, her expression barely made any change. According to Marisa's report, her library had just turned into a battle zone, and yet the youkai magician strongly felt that her presence here was much more necessary than at the mansion. She understood why Remilia had to return, though. Someone had to organize and oversee the repairs that their home so direly needed. That's why Patchouli's response was a nod.
"Do you know where the mansion's blueprints are kept?" she asked her vampire friend.
"in your study's desk, bottom drawer, right?"
Another nod was given by Patchouli. "Also, if Sakuya's coming with you, ask her to do her best at cleaning the library up. She doesn't have to sort the books. Koakuma and I will handle that when our job here is done. Just rid the library of the debris and put any fallen books back into the shelves that are still standing."
"Okay…" Remilia's tone and smirk weren't very effective at reassuring Patchouli that her requests will be fulfilled as number one priority. And as old friends usually like to tease each other, the vampire added: " Though I can't say which is going to take longer: the mansion's repairs or you figuring out how to open the portal."
"What happened to your "I believe in you, Patchy!" from a while ago?" wondered the sorceress.
"Well, I can clearly see that this research is going to take you longer than a day or two…"
"Research of such magnitude is rarely a matter of a couple of days." Patchouli sounded slightly agitated by Remilia's impatience, but in the next second, an almost suspicious smile brightened up her face. "However, I've still managed to learn something… groundbreaking in spite of the short time that I've spent observing the temple's interior."
Remilia's eyes widened from surprise. "And you didn't feel the slightest bit obliged to tell your childhood friend about it?"
"I wasn't sure until I've read through the reports of other scholars exploring the temple. They've all confirmed one of my initial theories, or at least made it plausible to the point of near certainty. The truth is still a little hard to believe…"
"Aw, geez, Patchy, stop teasing me so much! Let's hear it already!" Remilia impatiently hopped up and down.
"Yeah, tell us what you've learned, Patchy!" Marisa mockingly mimicked Remilia's childish gesture of impatience.
Patchouli slowly took her reading glasses off and took a deep breath. "The temple that we're standing in… is with a 95% probability… an Atlantean temple."
"…"
"…"
Both Marisa and Remilia exchanged their mute glances with each other before turning their faces back to Patchouli.
"What's Atlantia?" the vampire finally broke the silence. "It sounds somehow familiar, though."
"Um… it's Atlantis, not Atlantia…" Patchouli corrected her.
"You really ought to try reading more books. Like me." Marisa grinned. " Besides the romance novels, I mean. You might learn something."
"Oh yeah? Then please, enlighten me, Marisa-sensei." Remilia prompted the witch with a sarcastic tone. "What is Atlantis?"
The blonde witch widened her grin. "An ocean in the outside world, of course."
Patchouli's slowly rising hand grabbed the top of her light-purple mob cap, and in equally slow motion, she pulled the mob cap down to cover up her face.
"Hm? What's wrong, Patchy?" Marisa quirked her brow.
Patchouli thought that perhaps this gesture would be more polite than saying "I'm surrounded by idiots!", so she kept her grimacing face hidden as she struggled to hold back a chuckle. But even that ended up being misunderstood.
"Oh, no! It must be this heavy, damp air. She's having trouble breathing!" Remilia diagnosed Patchouli's condition without hesitation. "Hang in there, Patchy! We'll get you out of here for some fresh air!"
Muffled chuckles, giggles and snickering was starting to come out from under the mob cap.
"Is she laughing?" Marisa slightly tilted her head.
"Patchouli? Laughing? Impossible. She wouldn't laugh even when you'd tickle her." claimed Remilia, but the laughter was gradually becoming louder.
"It certainly sounds like she's laughing…"
Finally, Patchouli's giggle fit subsided and the youkai magician showed her face again, cheeks reddened and a genuine smile stretched across her lips. A rare sight to see even for those who spent a lot of time around her.
"Sorry… but Marisa blurting that out with such a straight face… I just couldn't help it…"
"N-no. You don't need to apologize…" Remilia, who found Patchouli's expression of amusement heart-melting, shook her head.
"Oh… Did I mess up again?" Marisa asked. "I would have sworn that…"
"It's okay." Patchouli interrupted her. "To be fair, you weren't that far from the truth. The Atlantic Ocean in the outside world, as well as Atlantis, both share the etymological base, most likely derived from the name of titan Atlas. Although, the alleged first king of Atlantis was also named Atlas."
"Yeah, that's very interesting, but what exactly is it?"
"A mythical city state of a powerful and very advanced civilization for its time. They were described as a naval superpower. Supposedly the Atlanteans were also very skilled metallurgists, capable of working a metal called orichalcum, which was said to be second in value only to gold, and which they had abundant natural deposits of. I think that's what those statues in the main hall are made of. Many still believe that Atlantis was the cradle of all other civilizations that inhabit the world, and the symbols that are written all over this temple only strengthen that theory. That's why I found similarities between these symbols and hieroglyphs, runes, the alphabets, Chinese characters and Arabic script… According to the legend, the whole city, which was situated on an island in that ocean, disappeared under the surface in a cataclysmic event during just one night. The whole island sank just like that, as far as the legend goes. Nobody really knows the cause."
"A legendary city? So, you think a whole city lies buried under Kazemura?" asked the blonde.
"I don't know. And I'm afraid I have no other way of knowing as long as this anti-magic field is in place. Though I could try running some deep-earth readings around the village… The Atlantic Ocean is basically on the opposite side of the world from Japan, so it's still a big question how the temple from the sunken city ended up here."
"Probably the same way as your mansion, heh…" Marisa let out a chuckle.
"Hmmm… things that are forgotten and thought of as only existing in legends have a habit of appearing in Gensokyo, true… But that wasn't quite the case of the Scarlet Devil Mansion."
Remilia hasn't seen her friend this excited since moving to Gensokyo, but she felt the need to remind her that she was here to resolve an incident.
"Patchy, please stay focused just on figuring out how to open the portal. You can do your deep-earth readings later."
"But… they're not even that time-consuming…" the bookworm mumbled with a pout.
"Whatever…" Remilia breathed a sigh. "I need to go back to the mansion. I doubt I'd be able to help you with the research anyway. I'm more familiar with the Norse mythology than… whichever mythology is Atlantis a part of… Greek?"
"Partially… It was mentioned in Plato's works: Timaeus and Critias. But I'd say that the myth of Atlantis is a category in and of itself."
"Ah, that's right," Marisa snapped her fingers, "you like Norse myths, Remilia…"
"Well… it's not that I like them in particular… I'm just more familiar with them."
"Riiight…" the witch smiled wryly. "Spear the Gungnir, Laevateinn… Hmm, seems like both Scarlets are into it. Coincidence?"
"About that…" Patchouli spoke hesitantly.
"You don't have to tell her everything, Patchy." Remilia interjected with a reddish tint in her cheeks.
"But now I'm curious~." pleaded Marisa. "Don't worry, Remilia. When you'll go back to your mansion, Patchy will tell me anyway."
"Hmph… it's not like I'm keeping it a secret or anything." the vampire crossed her arms and averted her gaze. "When Reimu came up with the Spell Card System, I was struggling with giving my cards some interesting and cool-sounding names, so I asked Patchy to help me out. She gave me a bunch of books for inspiration… Of course, reading through them all would have been too much of a hassle, so I grabbed the one with most pictures in it and skimmed through it until I came across a name most suitable for my mighty spear attack."
"Ah, I see now." Marisa nodded understandingly. "So you're actually NOT familiar with Norse mythology; you just skimmed through the book as you looked for inspiration."
"Actually…" Patchouli continued in Remilia's stead. "After reading about the Spear of Odin, the book piqued Remi's curiosity, and she eventually read it all."
"And Flandre?"
"As you can imagine, whatever the older sister is doing, the younger one wants to try out as well."
"Yeah, that's how she named her card Laevateinn. But Flan took most of her card-naming inspiration from Agatha Christie's detective novels."
"Oh… so she doesn't own the actual mythical artifact…?"
"Of course not." Patchouli replied.
"But I've never seen a staff like that before."
"What she has is an alchemical stirring rod. It's a bit too heavy an unwieldy for me, so I use a wooden one and let Flandre keep the old one, as it became her favorite toy."
"If it was just that, she wouldn't be able to turn it into a huge flaming sword, would she?"
Patchouli gently tilted her head and raised one eyebrow, as if she couldn't believe Marisa just asked that. "Ahem… Do I really need to explain the basic principles of danmaku to you?"
At that moment, Marisa burst into laughter. "Ahahahaha!" she cackled and exaggeratedly planted her palm on her forehead in a "silly me" gesture. "But… of course… Danmaku… Though you may want to give her a quick recap of its basic principles, because sometimes it seems like she forgets that it's supposed to be non-lethal."
"If only sometimes…" Remilia muttered quietly.
"So, an alchemical stirring rod." Marisa still chuckled and shook her head in disbelief.
"It can also be used as a fire poker." Patchouli added another piece of trivia.
"You know, when I first met her, it looked as though she had ripped off a clock needle from the mansion's clock tower and bent it."
"That does sound like something she'd do," the elemental sorceress admitted, "but no. Like I said, I gave her an old stirring rod to play with. I believe no other toy in her possession has managed to stay intact for as long as her precious "Laevateinn"."
"Speaking of which, I really need to get going! The mansion won't rebuild itself. I've already wasted enough time chatting with you." said Remilia and flapped her wings. "Good luck with your work here, Patchy."\
"Thank you. And good luck with the repairs."
"If anything important happens, let me know as soon as possible. And if even one evil spirit comes out of that portal, get the hell out of here."
"Anything else?" Apparently even Patchouli's patience had its limits, when it came to Remilia's bad habit of patronizing.
"That's all. Until next time…" With just one stroke of her wings, the young vampire flew across the crypt, landing on top of the portal arch. One last wave of her hand, and she disappeared in the tunnel leading to the staircase.
The two magicians kept staring at the tunnel entrance for a moment, even after Remilia's departure.
"So…" Marisa resumed the conversation. "A temple from a fabled city that sank…"
"I can hardly believe it myself, but… I suppose stranger things have taken place in Gensokyo."
"But you were the first one to make that revelation."
"Being a former outsider and having access to the greatest library far and wide has its benefits."
"And I got to learn something new about the outside world today, as well as something about Flan. Now I'd just like to know the story behind her colorful gemmed wings."
With the mystery of the temple's origin and Flandre's Laevateinn revealed, Marisa felt the need to share the information with the rest of the self-appointed archeological expedition team. Just as she was about to scale the stairs, Patchouli halted her.
"Before you go, Remi mentioned something about a mirror…"
"Ah, I was hoping you'd forget about it." Marisa giggled sheepishly.
"Judging by your reaction, I suspect something went wrong." Marisa could feel Patchouli's purple-eyed gaze piercing through her very soul and revealing every lie and half-truth that the witch might muster. Even Satori's stare felt more comfortable in comparison.
"H-hey, it's just something Aya came up with on the spur of the moment as something that might open the portal. Just a theory, you know… Nobody can tell if it's really going to work."
"I know." Patchouli replied. "Remi already briefed me on that. And if it was just a baseless theory, someone like you would hardly bother making the effort of retrieving the said mirror all the way from Human Village."
Patchouli's meek voice and appearance indeed masked her razor-sharp wit. Her spot-on deduction and suspecting look in her eyes gave Marisa's stomach the same unpleasant tingling as Reimu's earlier scolding. She didn't even have to raise her voice.
"I broke it, okay?" Marisa finally spilled the beans. "But it wasn't my fault! If Flan hadn't blown the mansion's roof up, I would have delivered an intact, spotless mirror!"
"So, you're saying Flandre broke it…"
"W-well… not directly, but… you know… one thing led to another and… somewhere between all those events, the mirror ended up in shards."
"That's… unfortunate." Patchouli's piercing gaze turned into a slightly disappointed one.
"But not everything was in vain." Marisa quickly tried to make the librarian see the brighter side of her failed mirror delivery. "Dad promised me to stop by tomorrow. He's bound to bring all the stuff needed to make any number of mirrors that might be necessary to open the portal."
"Almost as if he had predicted you'd smash the mirror he gave you today…"
"No, Patchy, he's genuinely interested in the mechanism that supposedly opens the door to other worlds. That, and he wants to lend us a hand. But once he gets the word that the temple used to be a part of a fabled city that sank, he'll be so beside himself that having a normal conversation with him will be difficult."
"I see… That's good news. And perhaps… it's better that we are yet unable to open the portal at this moment."
"Huh? Why so?" Marisa blinked in surprise.
"Simply because I'd rather know what the writing on the arch says before Reimu and company dive into the unknown. Or would you be willing to take the risk of using a portal that opens only once in a hundred years and closes as soon as someone enters it?"
"I… I never really thought about that possibility. That would really suck if that happened, ze. Good thing you thought about everything, Patchy."
"I hardly could have thought about everything, but making sure that a portal is a safe two-way passage is the most basic rule of portal usage. Just think back a few years when Reimu was stuck on the Moon for a month."
"Yeah, I remember, and I see where you're coming from. I really ought to tell Reimu to wait until you translate the text."
"That would be appreciated. I'll do what I can to understand this writing."
"Okay, but don't push yourself too hard. Don't forget to come up to eat every now and then. Or are you determined not to eat before you solve this puzzle?"
Even though Marisa was merely joking, Patchouli's face remained stoically still.
"I consider that a challenge." she smiled faintly. "But now that I know what civilization we're dealing with, the translation process should take us much shorter."
"Heh. I can see that you're on the roll today. Decipher those scribbles and meet us in the tent for dinner. I'll even warm up your bedroll for you, if you want." Marisa gave Patchouli a smirk and an elbow nudge.
"You're the worst…" the youkai librarian spoke out her mind without batting an eye. "But thank you for your work. Your help is always welcome." She added with a soft, but honest smile. Enough to make Marisa weak in the knees.
"Eh… um… I… Of course you can count on me!" the witch nervously stuttered out, trying to hide the tremble in her voice. She hurriedly ran up the stairs, almost tripping on her way to the top. She was simply excited about Patchouli's discovery and couldn't wait to tell Reimu about it.
"If Reimu hears about this, she'll forget about that whole silly mirror accident."
"Like hell do I care where the temple comes from!" Reimu insensitively burst Marisa's positive expectations like a bubble. The witch's glorious return to the tent and her grand announcement apparently failed to impress the grumpy shrine maiden, who was running out of patience.
"But…"
"As long as the portal is sealed, I can't go through, beat up the culprit and return to the shrine for some refreshing tea afterwards."
"But Patchy said…"
"That you'd need a mirror! The one you so carelessly shattered!"
"Well, that too…" the witch admitted whilst keeping her gaze lowered. "But she'd still recommend against you entering the portal unless she was certain that you'd be able to return safely. She said she'd be able to translate the text on the arch before the end of the day. My dad will arrive tomorrow with his mobile workshop, so just take it easy."
Finally Marisa managed to douse Reimu's flames. "Also, Reimu… I'm not sure whether you, me, or Sakuya are the best candidates to go through the portal… We'd be powerless."
"Hmm… that's true. Only youkai powers work inside the temple. But to let a youkai resolve this incident…"
"We might not have a choice." Marisa also didn't feel very reassured by that notion, but she raised a finger. "However, we can still hope that there's a small chance that the power disruption field only works inside the temple and around it, but not on the other side of the portal."
"I don't like how slim that chance is." the shrine maiden sighed.
"And maybe…" Sakuya joined the conversation as she playfully rolled and flipped a throwing knife in her hand. "Just maybe… the anti-magic and anti-divine field is the reason that's rendering the portal inactive in the first place."
The attention of all the tent's occupants was now shifted towards the silver-haired maid.
"If I was the culprit, I'd certainly think of some way to prevent anyone from entering my territory while ensuring that only me or my servants are able to travel between the two places…"
"Sakuya…?" Only now Marisa noticed that she was there. "Wow… that was a pretty smart assumption for a maid."
Sakuya smiled in a chillingly sweet way. "I'm not offended, even if that sounded a bit offensive."
"Wait, weren't you supposed to go with Remilia and help her clean the mansion up a bit?" Marisa, still sporting her puzzled expression asked her.
"I asked my lady the same thing before she left Kazemura, but she insisted that I stay here and ensure Patchouli-sama's safety… and comfort. She also said that cleaning up the rubble isn't a job for my delicate hands…"
"I agree with Remilia." said Aya, who was now sitting at Patchouli's desk. "Sakuya's talents should not be wasted on such menial tasks. At least not in times like these."
Sakuya's menacing smile instantly softened up into a mellow one as her cheeks picked up a brighter pinkish tone.
"However," Aya continued, "if our negation field is generated by an object installed in the temple and not by the culprit directly, the said object is either the portal wall itself, or something directly behind it. After a little info-swapping with Hatate, she said her camera was picking up unexplained anomalies whenever she tried to take a picture of the portal arch."
"Damn… this uncertainty is killing me!" Reimu grumbled as she nervously began walking in small circles in the already cramped tent. "Patchouli better hurry up with that translation."
"That seems to be our only bet to shed some light on the origin of the field."
Despite being called "the fastest in Gensokyo", Aya certainly didn't want to rush things either. She perfectly understood why Patchouli wanted to be sure about the portal's safety.
Whereas the girls in Kazemura were eagerly awaiting Patchouli's return, the outsiders in Human Village were stuck in uncertainty about their future. Each of them fought this anxiety in their own way, and for Kyouichi Ishimaru, his remedy for negative thoughts proved to be work. Namely work around his recently renovated cabin. When focused on work, there was simply no room in his head for thoughts about failure, or homesickness. He trusted Reimu and her friends to work out the problem with Gensokyo's barrier and saw no sense in dwelling on what better choices he could have made to prevent his current predicament.
"Thanks for lending me a hand with that, Naota-san." he wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand as he lightly bowed to the old man. "The cabin looks much more like a home now, thanks to your help."
"I'm just a frail old man, kid. I can't exert myself too much. All I can do for you is to guide you. You have to do all the work yourself." Naota smiled.
"I almost feel like being your apprentice. Picked up quite a few handy skills from all this work."
"It's a good feeling. Being self-sufficient. You can save quite a few coins just by being able to fix your own door or make your own furniture."
"There's already everything I'll need for living here. Now… if only I had a shower here." Kyouich remarked jokingly.
"You want a shower? Why didn't 'ya say so? It's not like it's that hard to make? And that corner over there would be a perfect place for it."
Kyouichi was genuinely surprised by Naota's reaction. "N-not that hard to make?"
"Of course not. You want a shower? You can make yourself a shower before sundown. You'll need to nail some support boards over here, take a metal barrel, put a few small holes in it… Oh, and we could also make it collect rainwater from the roof."
The young outsider chuckled nervously. "That sounds kind of complicated, you know…"
"Hey, you lived with the Saitou family, I'm sure you've taken a bath at least once at their place."
"Wha…? Of course I have! Don't tell me you thought I've lived 6 months in here without taking a ba…" Kyouichi raised his voice, but was cut off as Naota continued explaining.
"Well, guess who built their water boiler." Naota grinned and winked.
"You did? I thought you were a carpenter, not a plumber."
"That's my profession, but not my only skill. And if I could fix up a boiler for them, making a makeshift shower will be a walk in a park."
"But it's me who has to do all the work." Kyouichi mumbled, cursing himself for mentioning a shower to Naota.
"The best teacher in life is experience. Now… let's get started."
A few sweaty hours later, Kyouichi's cabin now sported a new shower. Not the most elegant kind, but it served its purpose. Despite his earlier reluctance, Kyouichi once again had to bend his back to Naota in gratitude.
"Awesome! Looks like it works. And the mini furnace under the barrel can heat the water up any time. I need to test it out."
"What did I tell you? It's not even evening and we're done. And yeah, I better give you some privacy so you can put it to the test, hehe." the old man chuckled as he let himself out of the cabin.
Kyouichi stepped out of his cabin after a few minutes. With a clean change of clothes and his soaked long hair still dripping water, he took a deep breath and stretched his body.
"I feel like a new man."
Naota, who was waiting outside nodded at him. "You should have dried yourself better, though. You'll catch a cold like that."
"Oh, yeah. That reminds me. I should stock up on some medical supplies in case I'll need them. I doubt the potions I bought will be of any use against an illness."
"They say the best cure is prevention, right?"
"Like eating healthy food and daily exercise?"
"Well… that may work for some people." Naota shrugged as he reached into the inner pocket of his kimono. "I have my own… medicine that kept me tickin' for nearly 80 years."
Of course, the old man took out a small flask filled with some unknown spirit and took a small gulp.
"Are you trying to make an alcoholic out of me?"
"No. I don't want you to live a life like me, kid. I'm an alcoholic, I admit… But for me it's already a bit too late to change."
"When did you start to drink regularly, Naota-san?" Kyouichi asked nonchalantly. "I'd like to think that you weren't born with a sake bottle in your hand."
Naota didn't answer immediately. Instead he took another small sip of his booze and looked somewhere into the distance. Then he gave Kyouichi a surprisingly punctual answer.
"By our calendar, that would be August 17th 1976."
"Wow… How do you remember that date so well?"
"Let's not talk about that, please." Naota cut the conversation before Kyouichi started prying too much into the sensitive topic of his past.
"Alright." the young man shrugged. "I'm just surprised, that's all."
He already figured that the date must have been tied to a very memorable event. An event that took place in Gensokyo and, as Kyouichi deduced by Naota's effort to avoid the subject, an event that the old man would very much like to forget.
"I wonder if Midori has done cleaning up my house by now." the old carpenter completely changed the topic.
"Did you ask her to…?"
"No. She insisted. She said it's becoming uninhabitable in there. I hope to find my furniture in its original place when I come back home." he chuckled. "She's too nice. And too stubborn."
"Once she sets her mind on something…"
"Yeah, it's hard to talk her out of it. But I appreciate her help a lot…"
"Just as I appreciate yours."
"Glad to know I'm still useful for something, even if it's just telling you what to do and what you're doing wrong. Anyway, I'm getting hungry here. About time for me to make some dinner. Do you have any plans for the evening, Kyouichi?"
"Actually, yes. I'm expecting Soudai to stop by. Then we'll hang out somewhere in the village. Maybe do some sports to pass the time…"
"Have fun, kid." Natota waved his palm and slowly walked away, heading back to the village.
Soudai arrived before sundown, knocking on Kyouichi's door in his typical rhythm, so that Kyouichi would instantly know who was paying him a visit.
"Ready to head out?" he asked as soon as Kyouichi opened the door.
"Almost. Just give me a minute…"
It took him approximately that long to gather all of his small belongings and get ready to leave his new home.
"I told some guys in the village about baseball the other day and they said they'd like to try it out. They even made some makeshift bats, balls and gloves, so this should be fun." Soudai was already excited about bringing a piece of the outside world culture into the village, but Kyouichi looked a little absent-minded. It didn't take Soudai long to notice that.
"You're still thinking about that failed attempt to get home, aren't you?"
"Heh… Am I that obvious?"
Soudai sighed. He was a bit annoyed, but also a bit concerned with Kyouichi's tendency to return to his negative thoughts.
"You radiate despair, man. But worry not, I can guarantee you that today's game of baseball with our native Gensokyan friends is gonna fix that mood in a moment. Even Midori said she'd come join us later."
"I'm not even good at baseball…" Kyouichi mumbled, but obediently followed his friend to the village. "Now basketball, on the other hand..."
"Yeah, your height makes you an ideal candidate for basketball, but alas, we have nowhere to play it. "
"And no bouncy ball to play with."
"Baseball's a fun game too." Soudai shrugged.
"Maybe, but I suck at it."
"Even if you never played baseball before, you're still at an advantage, hehe. We're sure to have a good laugh before we teach these guys the rules. But who knows, maybe we'll even discover some hidden talents… By the way," Soudai suddenly paused himself and sized Kyouichi up as if this was the first time they met. "What did you eat to grow so tall? I mean you're not exactly average height for a Japanese."
He finally got at least a chuckle out of Kyouichi with that question. "I probably have my mom to blame."
"Your mom?" Soudai tilted his head.
"Yes, she's American, but she changed her name and nationality when she married my father. It's probably thanks to her why I'm more familiar with the "western" culture and better at English than my classmates."
"I see. I see." Soudai hummed and nodded. "Why had it never occurred to me before?"
"I'm sorry. I thought my appearance was already a good hint about my ethnicity. Most of the people could tell instantly that I'm not a "pureblood" Japanese. But, thankfully I never had any trouble because of my origin."
Soudai shook his head in a bemused expression. "I ought to ask you personal questions more often. Seems like I learn something new about you every day."
"Speaking of which, I learned something about Naota today. He remembers the exact date when he started drinking. I wonder if Midori would know something more about that."
As they kept walking along the dirt path towards the western village gate, they saw a familiar person slowly heading their way. Kyouichi was rather surprised to see her, but pleasantly so.
"Yuuka-san? Good afternoon~!" he waved at her from afar. The flower youkai gently waved her hand.
"How unusual…" Soudai muttered. "Didn't people say that she doesn't visit the village in autumn and winter?"
"Well, maybe it's because autumn hasn't officially begun yet."
Kyouichi didn't care about what people said about her. He was glad to see her, which Soudai could tell as soon as Kyouichi started jogging towards her. As soon as he got close to her, his nose urged him to sneeze.
"Well met." Yuuka lightly bowed to greet him. She smiled, as usual, not showing any signs of surprise to see the outsider still in Gensokyo, even after he formally said his farewell to her a few days ago. "I walked by your house earlier, but I figured my visit would be inappropriate, since you already had a visitor."
"Oh. Yes… Naota was here." Kyouichi replied as he sneezed again. "Sorry."
"No need for an apology."
"Umm... I guess you figured it out already, but I didn't manage to get home."
Yuuka giggled softly. "You wouldn't be here talking to me otherwise. It may sound mean, but I'm even a little glad that you failed to return home."
Kyouichi did find her honest reply a little mean, but also rather sweet. "That was mean, Yuuka-san."
"It's simply because I'm glad that someone I have just become friends with doesn't have to go so soon." Yuuka sweetened her smile and made Kyouichi's heart race.
For a moment, Kyouichi even forgot that he was with Soudai, but he soon got reminded of that fact when he caught up to them.
"H-hello, Yuuka-san."
"Greetings." the nature youkai returned the greeting while slowly twirling her parasol.
As if she had heard Soudai's remark from a couple of hundred meters away, she added: "Today is the last day I'll be visiting Human Village this year."
"Eh? Is it? So where do you go in autumn and winter?" Soudai asked.
"I roam around the northern parts of Gensokyo, tending to and admiring the seasonal flowers. Chrysanthemum flowers are especially lovely in Gensokyo. I gather and store their seeds and when spring comes, I sell the seeds to the flower shop in the village."
"I see. I never really thought about how youkai make money."
"Most of them don't need money, but for those who sometimes deal with humans, it's convenient to have some money saved up."
"So this is the second time we'll bid each other farewell, huh?" Kyouichi's rapid heartbeat again slowed down when he heard of Yuuka's intention.
"It's just my yearly routine. Meeting you, however, and knowing you'll be staying in Gensokyo for a little longer may change that."
"R-really?" Kyoiuchi's pulse experienced another surge. "Does that mean…?"
"I may occasionally stop by for a visit. If you're okay with that."
"Okay? I'd love to have you visit sometimes! Even if I can't cook too well and even if my cabin isn't anything fancy, it'd be wonderful…"
Yuuka let out a giggle in response to Kyouichi's reaction. "Those aren't even the things that matter to me."
Kyouichi didn't know what to say at that moment, so it was again up to the flower youkai to cut the awkward moment of silence.
"I'm not particularly in a hurry home either…"
"Ah, I see… Well… Me and Soudai were just going to the village to play a game of baseball and… Uh… you probably have no idea what baseball is… and… I know that you said you don't like crowded places much and…"
Kyouichi's nervous blathering was interrupted by Soudai's tap on his shoulder. "Kyou, don't be an idiot, man."
"Huh?" Kyouichi blinked at him in confusion.
"Forget the baseball. You have much better things to do." he grinned and winked slyly.
"Are you sure…?"
"You'll thank me later. Please… Enjoy the evening with Yuuka-san." He did sound a little pushy, but Kyouichi needed a push to make the right decision.
"Alright, Soudai." he bowed to his friend as a sign of gratitude. "Yuuka-san, would you like to take a little walk with me?"
The flower youkai just quietly offered her hand, waiting for Kyouichi to act like a gentleman and take the lead. There was no turning back from this situation. Kyouichi was more than happy to take the lovely lady by the hand. Soudai already took a few steps back from them, showing his clenched fists as a sign that he was rooting for Kyouichi.
"Good luck. You scored well…" and with that he went on his merry way back to Human Village. Kyouichi still struggled to process the situation he just ended up in, but he quickly began to realize how much Soudai was right. Being with Yuuka was certainly better than any number of baseball games. Still holding her hand, he smiled at her and began to lead the way.
"I'll take you for a little tour of the farm I work at. Then we'll take a little break at my favorite place to rest after work."
"Sounds nice." the youkai lady nodded and walked by his side.
There was no point going back to the village, as Yuuka had just been there a while ago and Kyouichi already knew all its streets, alleys, and establishments in and out. The farmlands, on the other hand, were vast and not as densely populated as the village they belonged to.
"So this is where you work?" Yuuka asked while looking straight ahead.
"No, I work over there." Kyouichi pointed at one particular cattle ranch further away. "But I use the field lanes as a shortcut, so I often pass through these parts to get to work faster. Not that I usually hurry to work…"
"That sounded like you don't like your work."
"The pay is good, the boss is reasonable, and all of my co-workers are good friends, Soudai included, but… To put it frankly, it's not something I'd like to be doing for the rest of my life."
"I see." Yuuka nodded understandingly. "In that case, you have nothing to worry about, right?"
Kyouichi was mildly puzzled by her reassuring statement. Slightly frightened, even. "What do you mean?" he looked at her with eyes wide open.
Likewise, the youkai lady couldn't quite understand the reason behind Kyouichi's awkward reaction. "I thought you didn't plan to stay in Gensokyo permanently."
"O-oh…" the young outsider felt silly for thinking that Yuuka could have meant something else. Even more silly was the fact that he literally forgot about his greatest goal and challenge. To return to the outside world… "That's what you meant."
"Of course~." the flower-loving youkai again showed her never-fading smile. "What else did you think I meant?"
"N-nothing, nothing…" Kyouichi responded with a sheepish grin and repeated headshakes, only adding extra awkwardness to his behavior.
"You're a little strange." Yuuka summarized it in one brief sentence.
"I guess I am." Kyouichi admitted. Even he noticed that he hasn't been acting like himself, but he couldn't even tell why. Was it because of his failure to return home, or because he disappointed his fellow outsiders and betrayed their trust? Or was it because of Yuuka?
This strange mixture of feelings he couldn't even name caught him in its whirlwind and started spinning him around ever since he saw her at the village gate.
"Why am I acting so weird?" he thought to himself in a moment of self-reflection. "This isn't the first time I'm with Yuuka-san like this… Why is my heart pounding so hard?"
Indeed, he was well-aware that she was a youkai and he was a human. The knowledge of this fact never held him back when he exchanged the occasional small talk with this supernatural beauty from Mugenkan, but this time he felt different. And it wasn't an unpleasant feeling at all. It was simply starting to overwhelm him, and maybe that's what was adding a tinge of anxiety to his already baffled heart.
"But I suppose you wouldn't be nonchalantly striking up a conversation, becoming friends, and even holding hands with one of the most terrifying youkai Gensokyo has ever known, if you weren't strange." Yuuka purposefully spoke her thoughts out loud.
Even Kyouichi had to chuckle at that. "That strangeness of mine might have something to do with me being an uninformed outsider…"
"M-mm…" the lovely youkai shook her head of green hair. "There's more to it than that. It's your… what's that word…?" she looked lost in thought for a moment, before suddenly perking up. "Charm~! Yes, that's it."
"Hahaha~!" Kyouichi let his amusement out of his mouth in a loud, hearty laugh. "My charm? First time I heard of it."
"You should already know by now that I'm not known for being a social butterfly. Talking to or even being around ordinary humans rarely keeps me entertained for longer than a few minutes. Then you showed up, boldly calling out to me and surprising me with knowledge about flowers."
"You don't even know how coincidental my "knowledge about flowers" is." Kyouichi explained while futilely holding back another urge to chuckle. "I'm not the one to read botany books in my leisure time, it's just…" He didn't even get to finish the explanation, as Yuuka still went on.
"Then fast forward a couple of months and I accept your invitation for dinner. And now…" she lifted her left hand, which was holding Kyouichi's right. "We're walking together like this… That's quite the achievement on your part~."
Again, a wave of embarrassment swept over the young human when Yuuka flattered him like that. "E-hehe… I'm sorry, Yuuka-san. I acted suddenly without thinking. If you're not comfortable with that, I'll let… go…"
But Yuuka's hand wouldn't let go of his. It was a gentle, but a very firm grip.
"I don't find this the least bit unpleasant." she smiled ever so sweetly. "I wonder what will come next~." she said innocently.
"…"
"But I wouldn't want to rush it." she added after a pause, shifting her gaze from Kyouichi to the road ahead.
If she was teasing him, it worked. Kyouichi could literally feel how red his face must be, his heart still beating like a drum, but somehow, even if he couldn't explain why, he felt a lot calmer now. He held his eyes closed and felt the contrast of the cool breeze blowing against his face and the warmth of Yuuka's hand. As he opened his eyes, he looked at Yuuka and smiled.
"I wouldn't want to hurry either."
They silently walked on, hand in hand, enjoying each other's company. As they were nearing the Myouren Temple, Kyouichi broke the silence with a question.
"Say, Yuuka-san…"
"Yes?"
"Are you really one of the most terrifying youkai in Gensokyo?"
"I honestly don't know what gossip people spread about me in the village lately, but I'd still like to think that I'm up there in the top ten… Hard to believe?" she looked at him in a menacingly sweet way, as if she was asking for his approval to demonstrate all that has earned her such a reputation.
"But you're so nice and sweet and… beautiful."
For once, Kyouichi managed to give Yuuka's cheeks a slight blush. "Hm… flattering. But you have to understand what keeps the youkai alive."
"Fear, huh?"
"Yes. But it still feels very nice to hear that you think of me that way." she closed her eyes for a moment. "But as you know, times have changed a lot. Now the youkai have a sanctuary called Gensokyo and many of them, myself included, have lost their original purpose as well as dependence on human fear. I live for the nature and its beauty and the beauty of life itself. Spreading fear holds no meaning for me anymore, though it is a sort of flattery as well."
Even after Yuuka's explanation, Kyouichi was a little confused. "So, wait. Do you actually want people to be afraid of you or not?"
"Like I said, I don't care if people are afraid of me or not. I won't hurt anyone who respects life."
The door of Myouren Temple opened, and groups of people began to pour out, heading back to the village after finishing their prayers. Kyouichi knew how Yuuka felt about crowded places, so he sped up a little, trying to lead her away from there. However, the dirt path was too narrow for them to avoid the temple visitors. People walked by them, and nobody seemed to be alarmed by Yuuka's presence. Up until Kyouichi caught a glimpse of a familiar girl…
"Oh, Akyuu-chan, hello. On your way home from the temple, are you?"
The short purple-haired girl glanced upwards, looking surprised when she saw Kyouichi.
"Kyouichi-san?" she gave the outsider a wide-eyed look before she noticed the person who accompanied him. That's when her puzzlement gradually turned into utter bewilderment. Perhaps even a terror-induced paralysis. With her mouth ajar in a sheepish smile, she took a couple of nervous steps backwards, accidentally bumping into the people who were walking behind her. "Ah, I'm sorry…" she hurriedly apologized and immediately focused her attention back to Kyouichi and Yuuka.
"Ah," the young man from the outside world nonchalantly gestured at Yuuka and began the introduction, "this is Kazami Yuuka-san. Yuuka-san, this is Hieda no Akyuu-chan."
"Pleased to meet you~." Yuuka greeted her with a warm smile.
"P-p-pleased to meet you too!" she unconvincingly stuttered out a courteous reply, which was in direct contradiction to her true thoughts and feelings as she bowed in an exaggerated fashion.
Kyouichi could already guess that the introduction was probably unnecessary, and that the young chronicler was also one of those people who chose to believe the many bad rumors that circulated around the village about Yuuka. A part of him wished to tell her that she had nothing to fear about Yuuka, as long as she behaved herself, but when Akyuu looked so adorable when she was scared, he just stood there and watched her reaction.
"U-umm… It's getting kind of late and… and I still have a lot of things to do, s-so…" Akyuu explained hastily as she sidestepped around the human-youkai couple, so that she was now closer to the village than them. "Please excuse me! I really have to get going!" She bowed once more, almost headbutting another passerby, before she made a swift 180 degree turn and a dash for her life towards the village gate.
"And there she goes…" Kyouichi muttered as he watched her performing the most athletic feat he had ever seen her doing. It was obvious that there was more at play than strong dedication to her duties that made her dart off like that. And so the young human turned his face to Yuuka and jokingly asked: "And what have you done to poor little Akyuu-chan to scare her like that?"
Yuuka's smile faded into a frown at the false accusation. "What are you talking about? I don't even know the girl…"
"But apparently she recognized you. Once again, your negative reputation precedes you, it seems."
"I should imagine that especially children are most likely to take all those rumors as undisputed truth. But I'd never harm a child…"
"Well, I guess in Akyuu's case, listening to rumors is a part of her job."
"A part of her job?" Yuuka tilted her head.
"Why, yes. She might not look like it, but she's compiling a chronicle of Gensokyo's history."
"Really?" the flower youkai blinked in surprise.
"Yes. That's why most of the information she gathered, if not all of it, is second-hand at best. Therefore, she hears a lot of rumors, which may have nothing to do with facts."
"I wonder what she wrote about me, then…"
"Hmmm…." Kyouichi hummed as he tried to recall whatever information he might have come across about Yuuka in the Gensokyo Chronicle. "Only bits and pieces. Something about an incident from long ago… Come to think of it… I haven't really read the whole Perfect Memento in Strict Sense before I returned it to her, so… I also wonder if and what she might have written about you, Yuuka-san. She looked really frightened, though."
"To me she looked like she needed a hug~." The green-haired youkai lady smiled, as she watched Akyuu becoming an ever smaller figure on the horizon before reaching the village. "She looks so cute. Like a fairy~."
"You like fairies, Yuuka-san?"
"Yes~. Though I should say that not all of them are cute and not all of them help pollinate the flower fields. Some of them are merely harmful pests, which I just shoot down on sight… But this Akyuu-chan looks like the kind of fairy that I like. Just adorable…"
"I know, right? Well, if you catch up to her, you can hug her all you want." Kyouichi jested, as he had already lost sight of the young purple-haired chronicler.
"She's already too far away for me to attempt that. Besides…" Yuuka paused as her ruby-red eyes met Kyouichi's. "I already have someone to cling to."
The young outsider felt as though it was him, who had made the 500 meter sprint to the village instead of Akyuu, after hearing those words and seeing Yuuka's lovely smiling face. He couldn't help but to smile back. He felt so lucky for being able to share these moments with her. And as he thanked Soudai in his mind for allowing him, and even pushing him into staying with Yuuka, he gently took the lead and guided her towards the place he intended to take her in the first place.
"Let's get out of this crowd, shall we?"
"Please, lead the way."
Walking through the crop fields reminded Yuuka of one minor curiosity that occurred this year, regarding the autumn goddesses.
"And so, this year, the older sister started to work later than the younger one. Now, if I was on overreacting shrine maiden, I would already suspect an incident at play…"
"So there's more than one goddess of autumn?" Kyouichi inquired.
"Here in Gensokyo, there are two autumn goddesses, the Aki sisters."
"Aptly named, it seems." Kyouichi remarked with a joking tone, as he was reminded of a satori called Satori an a nue called Nue. Yuuka, however, didn't find the goddesses' names to be a funny coincidence. She gave the outsider the same look that Keine-sensei used to give to students who didn't answer her questions correctly.
"Do you think gods and their names are just a coincidence? You still have much to learn."
"I'm sorry…"
"The names given to gods pretty much determine their powers. Gods with names have specific powers, whereas nameless kami are free from the limitations instilled by a given name, and as such, their powers are undefined."
"I didn't know that names of gods had such significance."
"And it's not just about gods." Yuuka carried on with her lecture. "Youkai too… Even my name is strongly symbolic, if I do have to say so myself."
"T-that's… true." the outsider looked like he realized it only now.
"So, as I was saying, the Aki sisters are the embodiment of the season autumn. The older sister Shizuha paints the leaves of the trees, and the younger sister Minoriko governs the crops and the harvest. Usually, the harvest takes place before the turning of the leaves, but this year, it's reversed."
"So… you know these goddesses personally?"
"What's with that look? Of course I do. And we get along wonderfully~."
"It's just that… I've never really seen a goddess before, and if I have, I don't know about it."
Now it was Yuuka's turn to look surprised. "You've been in Gensokyo since spring and you haven't seen a single kami yet? Color me surprised…"
"Well, I had this drink called the 8 million kami, but that probably doesn't count."
"There are indeed many gods here. Like humans and youkai, they too divide into natives and outsiders who have chosen to settle here."
"I'm an outsider, so how do I know when I see a kami? How can I tell them apart from youkai?"
"Your question bares more weight than you may think." said Yuuka after a moment of silent contemplation. "Something many have spent their whole lives pondering. There's a fine line between youkai and gods. Even after centuries, I still don't have a definite answer. I can at best give you an idea on what I think sets gods and other beings apart…"
"I'd like to hear it then."
"Very well…" the flower youkai shrugged. "I think that in order to be a god, the humans have to acknowledge you as one."
Kyouichi found the answer very surprising. "Is that it?" he asked with a disbelieving tone.
"I could be wrong, but that is the closest to the truth I've been able to get on the subject. Since youkai and gods share so many similar traits, it's often difficult to tell them apart. At first I thought the difference was obvious: youkai hunt and eat humans and the gods, on the other hand, bestow blessings upon humans in exchange for their faith, but it's not as simple as that. There are youkai who don't really care about humans or who are even friendly towards them. Then you have gods who cause more harm than help. Gods who cause disasters, curses, illnesses, wars… So the difference between the two can't be in their helpful or harmful relationship towards humans. It's not in the ability to create or destroy either. In fact, it's not even in their dependence on human faith or fear. So what is the difference then? Especially when you consider the examples of deified youkai. Even humans themselves can attain divine status, complete with their own shrines and all… The amount of power also doesn't matter. That's why I think the only real thing that distinguishes gods from other beings is whether or not the humans recognize the being in question as divine."
"I find it hard to believe that we have, in a sense, a certain degree of power even over the gods and youkai."
"That's most likely how it is, though. And most likely the reason why the outside world is the world of humans. Well… mostly humans."
"I see… Now that I learned about how similar gods, youkai and humans may sometimes be, it's more than possible that I have already met some kami without even knowing it."
"Which reminds me…" Yuuka trailed off for a moment. "I was once mistaken for a human… By a goddess. In Makai, of all places. Then I shot her down, but that's a story for another time."
"Oh, yeah, I heard that you resolved a few incidents too, Yuuka-san. What you just mentioned… That was your confrontation with Shinki-sama, the goddess of Makai, right? Wasn't that what the chronicle described as the Mystic Square Incident? That was before the Spell Card rules were invented."
Yuuka appeared confused by the information. "There was an incident? Heh… I didn't even know. I was just bored and went on a stroll, that's all."
"Wow…" the outsider was truly amazed, even though he already knew that Yuuka was already responsible for a few incident resolutions and won battles against beings considered more powerful than her. "If that's all it takes for you to resolve an incident, then please get bored, Yuuka-san. Find out what's wrong with the boundary and send all those fairy-possessing spirits back where they came from."
The green-haired youkai let out an amused giggle. "The problem with that, Kyouichi, is that I'm not bored right now~."
They say time flies when you're having fun. For Kyouichi, just being there with Yuuka and making small talk, all the while enjoying the gentle warm grip of her hand was quite possibly the happiest moment of the day, if not the whole month. Yuuka seemed to be aware of how her ambiguous statements affect Kyouichi's heartbeat and behavior. The poor young human couldn't tell whether she meant those words honestly, or whether it was just a tease, and apparently, Yuuka seemed to enjoy keeping him in this state of blissful confusion. Kyouichi also made a few observations of his own. In spite of Yuuka claiming not to be very social or talkative, she sure talked a lot when she was with him.
Before they knew it, they have reached the ranch of Kyouichi's current employer.
"So, this is it." said Kyouichi after he and Yuuka arrived at the wooden fence encircling the pastures. "Not the most inviting of places, but since you wanted to know where I work…"
"Oh, is this not where you wanted to take me?" Yuuka asked as she showed him a slightly confused expression. "The place where you like to rest after work?"
"That's a little further ahead. On that small hill over there." the outsider pointed at the natural elevation on the northern side of the farmlands, forming a sort of milestone, indicating that the human territory ends and the wilderness begins.
"My… You're going to walk me nearly all the way to the Forest of Magic, it seems."
She wasn't too far from the truth. The small hill Kyouichi was pointing at was just about a kilometer away from the largest forested area in central Gensokyo.
"Well, almost. You can see Kourindou from there."
"I'd think you'd choose a place closer to your house to take a rest after work."
"I don't know… I just… like the scenery and the serenity of the place. I'm used to long walks anyway, so I don't mind going to that hill, even if it's further away from my cabin than the farm itself."
"I think I can relate to that." Yuuka nodded to herself. "I too can go to great lengths just to see the most beautiful places and the most beautiful flowers."
"No doubt about that. I hope you'll appreciate my taste in scenic places then." Kyouichi smiled and continued to lead Yuuka at a relaxed pace.
"What a nice view~." the flower-loving youkai slowly spun around, taking in the beautiful panorama from the top of the hill. The valley where the Human Village was nestled on the south side, the deep-green bamboo forest to the west, the tall distant mountains peeking from behind the Forest of Magic to the north… Any direction one could choose to face offered something beautiful to look at.
"I think I can even see the hill where the Hakurei Shrine stands."
"I hereby welcome you to my little retreat after a day of hard work. And this is where I like to sit." Kyouichi sat on one of the small rocks that was flat enough to provide a relatively comfortable natural chair. It was just large enough for two people to sit on, so naturally, Yuuka followed suit and took the place by Kyouichi's side. Now both of them had the same view of the forest and the tall hills on the eastern end of Gensokyo. The change of seasons has started to gradually show on the leaves and in the cooler air.
"And so, autumn begins…" Yuuka spoke softly as she gazed into the distance.
"It feels so pleasant…" Kyouichi uttered in the same dreamy tone, staring in the same direction.
"Indeed. We're lucky to have a beautiful sunny day with just a few clouds." Yuuka affirmed as she lifted her gaze to the skies above. "The wind has picked up a bit, but it does feel nice."
Kyouichi chuckled at the little misunderstanding he caused and tried to clear it up. "I wasn't talking about the weather, though. I meant the company… the company of someone I really like."
A long pause came about, filled only by the sound of blowing wind, rustling grass and the leaves of the trees. Even Kyouichi himself was a little surprised by his honesty, but it was as if Yuuka's presence was giving him courage. He felt a strange feeling of relief after saying that.
"You really… like me? In spite of being so different?" the flower master locked her eyes with him, with her usual smile now absent from her face.
"I do." the young human nodded. "For the whole time… Ever since I found myself in Gensokyo, I told myself not to become too attached to anyone, as I feared that by doing so, I would no longer have the will to return home. Or that returning home would then become a painful experience. But now that my hopes to return have become so uncertain… I'm finally brave enough to be honest about my feelings. Yes, you are different, but then again, more humanlike than you'd think."
"Humanlike? Me?"
"Why, yes. You like flowers, you like taking long walks, you like to talk about everyday things, you like watching the scenery, you respect life as a part of nature… You're powerful, but not vain. You're an adventurer and a thrill seeker who likes challenging danmaku battles, and you don't care about winning or losing. You're well-spoken and well-mannered and you treat people just as they treat you. To me you're more humanlike than some of the humans out there."
"Hmmm…" Yuuka hummed thoughtfully. "I never thought about it that way…"
"You really are a sweet-hearted person, Yuuka-san. I don't even know when or how, but I've grown to like you a lot… It's not love yet, but it could easily become that, given enough time."
The youkai beauty slowly began to smile again. "Every seed needs time to grow. And the one you planted here…" she pointed at her heart, "has already started to grow."
Even though none of them made a true love confession to each other, both of them were aware that it was starting to become serious.
"Heh… I guess I can no longer call you just a friend, can I?" said the outsider. "Leaving Gensokyo is going to be really tough for me now…"
"Regardless of how long you'll be staying here from now on… I still believe that meeting you was worth it. But I also believe that there's no need to hurry into love confessions and engagement rings and so on."
At that moment Kyouichi lost it. "Ahahahaha!" he laughed together with Yuuka. "You're funny…"
"I can be when I try."
After having a good laugh, the two of them spent the following moments watching the horizon as the sky gradually began to change its color during sunset. Both of them have already expressed their feelings for each other. Discussing the topic any further would only spoil these precious moments. The only thing worth discussing was the beauty of Gensokyo; how the autumn goddesses began to work on the changes in nature that were typical for this season.
"Shizuha-sama sure painted a lovely scenery for us, huh?" Kyouichi said as the last rays of the setting sun gave the turning leaves a dazzling bright yellow tone.
"She sure has." Yuuka couldn't disagree with that. "And she hasn't even finished her painting. She's got an amazing talent."
"And they say that fall is a depressing season…"
"Not for me. It offers some of the most beautiful flowers that I know."
"Like chrysanthemums?" Kyouichi picked up on her earlier remark about them being especially beautiful in Gensokyo.
"That's right." Yuuka nodded. "No wonder they are the national flowers of Japan…"
"Yes, those and the sakura flowers." the outsider added.
"But those aren't the only flowers that bloom in autumn. Asters, goldenrods, spider lilies, perennial sunflowers, and yes, my latest acquisition as well." Yuuka hintingly glanced at Kyouichi. "The hibiscus… I already found those seeds you gave me a lovely home~."
"They couldn't be in better care."
"If all goes well, I should be able to sell some hibiscus flowers to the flower shop next year."
"I'm sure they'd appreciate it."
"It's getting dark…" Yuuka suddenly changed the subject as she noticed the fading sunlight. The sky was now dyed a deep indigo blue. "It'd be best if we parted for now. This forest isn't exactly the safest place to be for a human after sundown."
"Agreed." the outsider gave a nod. "It was a very enjoyable afternoon, thanks to you, Yuuka-san."
"Same here." Yuuka gently bowed. "I don't think I ever stayed in these parts so late. I believe I can close my parasol now…" she stood up as she did so. The outsider followed suit and dusted off the back side of his kimono.
"As promised, I'll sometimes pay you a visit, but I don't yet know when it will be exactly."
"My doors will be open to you for as long as I'll be living in that cabin." Kyouichi felt that a parting hug would be okay, so he softly embraced Yuuka before saying farewell. She smelled faintly of flowers, which was perhaps pleasant at first, but there was something about that very scent that caused the outsider to sneeze. He still didn't lose his sense of humor, though. "Even if I'm allergic to you, I still like you, Yuuka-san."
"Thank you." she giggled.
After their brief mutual embrace the youkai and the human each went their separate ways. Even with a slight chill in the evening air, Kyouichi felt warm all over. He wouldn't mind if the day of Yuuka's next visit would be tomorrow, but he knew that he shouldn't delude himself into thinking that.
"Gotta thank Soudai for pushing me into staying with Yuuka-san today. I wonder if he's still playing baseball with those guys from the village… I don't want to go to bed just yet."