Date: 08/27/23
Weather: Clear skies.
Dear Diary.
No weird dreams of me of alternate realities, got my phone all charged up, body feels slightly stiff, but it feels good to get back into the groove of things. Taking a long bath and a shave after a week of not really having the option to clean up felt heavenly as well, though I would much rather shave face without cutting it up. And speaking of cutting I need should get a hair cut soon or something, its gotten a bit long enough for it to just cover my eyes and get in the way, and it also has split ends too. When was the last time I got a hair cut? Like two months ago from Flandre? I should probably ask Izayoi when I get the chance. There was one more thing that I did get to check very properly after the bath.
The scars that I got during my near death experience with the Youkai. The scars were deep, like physically deep as if chunks of my muscles were scraped off my body and my skin was desperately trying to cover it up... Pretty sure the entire event cut me deep psychologically too, but my brain's just repressing that into the deepest subconsciousness or something. The good news is that even though the scars look like it would hinder my ability to physically function, but it almost feels like I can move around like I don't have any deep scars at all.
That aside, clear sunny skies feels almost welcoming for the morning exercise and sparring with Meiling. Man it felt almost nostalgic getting my butt kicked by the Gatekeeper but it honestly felt good. I think Meiling seeing me put her in a good mood too, but a quick back track. How exactly does my dream thing work? Can I just call on them? Do they call me when they feel like it? I remember them saying something about not giving out too much details, so how much information can I get before I create a time paradox? Well when I go to bed I'll find out I guess.
...
The Shift though wasn't as excitement filled as I wanted to though. Not to say that it was boring or anything, I just wanted to push the momentum and ask Flandre if she can throw some Danmaku bullets at me for me to dodge and block. The little Vampire was ecstatic to see me; here bright red eyes wide open seeing me after a week, well a few days since she did visit me during my stay at the Eientei, but the excitement wasn't enough for Flandre to agree with a little one sided Danmaku duel. I think Flandre is still shook from me almost dying. Thankfully the Gatekeeper was there for the rescue. Well... Kind of... Meiling did offer to sub in for the little Vampire but there was a couple issues.
First it wasn't my job to dodge and block Danmaku, it was to look after Flandre, second if Meiling and I were doing our own thing, nobody would be watching the little Vampire, which goes back to the first point. So we had to put the momentum on hold for a little. Instead of a little light show in the middle of the day, I did offer the little Vampire half way through the shift to go to the library to read a some books indoors where it was nice and cool. Flandre wanted to bring Meiling along but she declined. Since you know, the Gatekeeper had to keep the gate... In the end, Flandre decided to stay out and play with both Meiling and me.
While playing I did get a bit of an idea, if I couldn't participate at least I could watch one right? And since Meiling is exponentially tougher than I am she can duke it out with Flandre until one gives up. That way I can at least observe how a Danmaku battle would go about and I can try and learn something. The little Vampire and the Gatekeeper seemed to like the idea. It's been a while since I've seen those colourful bullets fly about in every direction. Flandre naturally had a bit of a handicap due to her having to hold her sunbrella, on top of the equalizing effect that the rule of the duel had. But even with the handicap Meiling did lose in the end. Both had fun and I got to enjoy the show... I forgot to take notes for the duel... Maybe next time.
...
Man everything sort of has a feel of nostalgia, even the library. The little Devil seemed surprised to see me, I guess she thought I died or something? What, didn't Izayoi, Big Boss or even Flandre let her know that they visited me or something? I guess she's on a need to know basis or something. A part from one surprised little Devil, I got something of a playful scolding from the librarian for almost dying. I could tell that she was some what joking since she ended her little lecture with "Keep up the good work on looking after Flan." Never thought I'd hear a compliment from the deadpan librarian, even Koakuma seemed pretty shocked any more she'd get a heart attack. Can Youkai get heart attacks? Probably not.
Today's I held off on the 'Might' aspect of the Might and Magic practice to let my body rest a tad, doctor's orders. So it was just mostly Magic review. I've been hospitalized for like a week and wanted to see where I was at, if my prowess has diminished or anything. Basic magic seemed pretty good, but my flying felt a bit off. Maybe its the stiffness maybe its the lack of practice, probably both. So that's what I focused on. Starting slow I managed to get back to the my previous 'flying level' after a few hours, still very afraid of uncontrolled falling though...
...
For the end of the day I just hung out with Meiling, making small talks here and there, With the days getting shorter, leaves slowly starting to change in colours, and very slightly cooler it was rather peaceful... It almost hurt to think that I was on a one year timer... When it's over, whether I live through the incident or not... I'm going to miss this...
Date: 08/28/23
Weather: Hot day.
Dear Diary.
Oh Gog it was so hot and it still is... Isn't summer supposed to be over? Wait... I feel a bit of Deja vu with the weather. Well I didn't plunge into the lake and caught a cold or anything, so I guess there's one difference... Kind of... Anyway, it being Monday, the mansion got it's now weekly Bunbunmaru newspaper. I swear to Gog I told that Paper girl to not to write her paper basically bringing fear mongering for the Villagers, they already had to see me on the verge of death; but the article sort of retreaded the Youkai attack incident, completely blowing it out of proportion... Hopefully the Villagers don't have a panic attack... On top of that, the paper went over how heroic Konpaku was; selflessly volunteering to save my life.
The last two bits of the articles were about how the Hakurei Shrine maiden effortlessly slayed the Youkai in question. There was a brief interview segment on the extermination, and for the first time in the entire article it almost felt genuine. Well at least to me anyway, the Red and White's response to Shameimaru's question definitely seemed something the Shrine Maiden would say. All 'sounding' real annoyed. That's the one thing she doesn't blow out of proportion? The final bit of the article was Shameimaru essentially praising the Eientei's efficiency of healing the sick and the wounded. Making a brief comparison to my health care system back home.
Surprisingly enough, Meiling was mostly interested in the health care system, asking me if I really had to wait days just to get treatment. Naturally I had to explain that it was over exaggerated, but the "We only had to wait hours, not days." response seemed to surprise the Gatekeeper. That aside the Sparring match was cut short due to the heat wave that Gensokyo was dealing with.
...
The shift to my surprise was done on the outside. It was mostly to the thanks of the Witch paying a visit. Originally Flandre wanted to stay indoors due to the heat, but the little Vampire saw Marisa barging through the library doors soaking wet changed her mind. Turns out the Witch fell into the bone chilling lake and that helped her cool down and that gave Flandre the idea to do the same. Did she forget that also happened to me and I caught a cold? Wait, can Vampires catch cold? Can Youkais in General get sick? Marisa is a human right? Can she catch cold? Before Flandre dragged me out of the Library, we did get to see a bit more Danmaku spectacle. This time though, Patchouli managed to absolutely crush the Witch.
It looked like Marisa moved slower, fired off real weak looking Danmaku bullets and took a lot more hits before giving up. Pretty sure being soaking wet reduced Marisa's Dankamu performance. One reoccurring theme that I see with Dankamu battles and these girls are that they all seem to have very ill will against each other. Even after the duel the Librarian helped the Witch dry off, well she got Koakuma to help Marisa dry off. After seeing Marisa get crushed by the librarian and promptly getting dried off the little Vampire finally pulled me outside still wanting to take a dip in the lake.
So... about the dip. Even Meiling was against Flandre's take a dip idea but clearly didn't have it in her to let the little Vampire know. Instead the Gatekeeper tried to give alternatives to taking a dip, granted her 'Checking out the woods nearby, etc' and idea was instantly rejected by Flandre. Oh Gog the temperatures between the lake and the outside were real polarizing. Even if I was just dipping my feet, my entire body felt the shock from the cold and had a hard time trying to adjust to the sweltering heat of the day and the freezing cold of the lake. Flandre on the other hand just plunged herself into the lake with a big'ol splash, Meiling followed real quick floating, right above the lake with the sunbrella getting a bit wet from the splash.
I on the other hand stayed back by the lake shore dipping my feet in the lake every now and then. I still don't get how even the shallow lake shore is surprisingly cold Magic? It has to be Magic right? Well Flandre didn't seem to mind the cold what so ever. That little Vampire was flying in and out of the lake water like a dolphin and Meiling was just barely keeping up with her. If that Ice kid was here today she would have probably freaked out. While the Gatekeeper was looking after Flandre, I snuck into the mansion and grabbed a towel for the two.
The rest of the shift was just Meiling and me taking turns keeping Flandre covered when she breached out of the lake waters. If I didn't learn to fly, this would have been impossible, thank Gog that I learned how to fly and sort of get comfortable. By the end of the shift all three of us were drenched, Meiling and I were exhausted, and Flandre looked like she had a time of her life. The towels and the heat of the day help the three of us dry out surprisingly quick. Still, I really hope I don't catch another cold...
...
Well post shift I did take a warm bath to sort of warm myself up just in case. I think it helped at least a little bit. Next on the list for the day was Might and Magic practice. I skipped out on the Might aspect so I went a little hard on it with Meiling via extra sparring. The Gatekeeper thinks that I'm making a fair amount of improvements overall, and I think I'm starting to see it as well. It almost feels like I can some what guess what she's going to do next; though its still a bit of guessing game. I can assume that the Gatekeeper is still holding back a vast amount but she's also starting to very slowly put more effort into her offenses and defenses. Also the foresight that I 'ability' that I got a while back hasn't activated out of the blue on me since the accident maybe because Meiling isn't making hypothetical moves that she might do? Or maybe the ability just doesn't want to activate or something. Well it beats getting a black eye.
Next stop was the library once again. This time I thought I'd try learning a new spell on top of practicing more flying. There's an interesting spell that I found in the 'Fundamental Arcane' series called the 'Recall' Spell. It essentially works similar to the teleport spell that I've been using, but the difference is that the spell can teleport an object from point A to B. Lets say that I put myself as the Point B, or the Recall point more specifically my hand. If I marked an apple with the Point A spell circle and cast the recall spell I can bring the apple to my hand. There is one other difference for the recall spell from the teleport spell. Where the teleport spell technically don't need a spell circle for both point A and B, the recall at least needs a circle for point A, to sort of 'mark' whatever object that I want to recall. Due to that it does sort of have some form of limitation in usage but it looked handy enough at the time so I thought I'd give that spell a go.
Maybe it's my effort of learning spells before really helping me out or something but I think I sort of got the spell down. Now all I need to do is master it enough so I don't have to draw the spell circle on my hand. Topping off the Magic aspect of the practice was the flying lesson. Predominantly my fear of falling and to lesser extent, speed. It feels like the more speed get during flying the more scared I get, which is strange since I never really had any issues with driving in the highway at highway speeds back home. I guess it's because driving is only on the X and Z axis and less on the Y axis. The flying practice did got okay, but I'm still not used to flying at fast speeds and big heights just yet. Hopefully, more practice is all I need.
...
Topping off my day was drinking with Koakuma. While I was practicing my magic the little Devil paid a little visit and asked me if I wanted to drink today. Since it's been a while I accepted Koakuma's little invitation. The drinking club was nice. The sense of nostalgia that I've been getting, the cozy little room and just chilling with Koakuma, sipping on wine. The little Devil did mention... Complain a little that she wasn't a fan of being not informed about the going ons on the mansion saying that she thinks that she works hard enough to at least be acknowledged by her peers and superiors. I can sympathize with Koakuma; back home I was more or less on a need to know basis for my jobs as well. I let the little Devil know that I think she was doing a great job and I think that cheered her up. All in all a good way to end the night.
Date: 08/29/23
Weather: As about as hot as yesterday.
Dear Diary.
Well the good news is that I didn't wake up with any cold symptoms, but the bad news is, its so hot... Pretty sure I had a mild hangover from drinking with the little Devil last night but the heat made it the least of my concerns. Due to the heatwave the morning exercise was real brief with no sparring. Meiling was working up a sweat to a point where she had to dunk her face in the lake to cool off momentarily. I find it rather surprising that supernatural creatures with unfathomable lifespan and power is still effected by something like the weather. Before I headed into back into the mansion to get myself ready for the shift Izayoi payed a visit to the front gate.
She apparently came by to check on Meiling; the way she worded it made it sound almost like she was doing it out of professional obligation, but I think the Gatekeeper's smile would say otherwise. Speaking of professionalism the I think the Head maid tried to put on a good front on her not looking that effected by the heat, but I think anyone with a functioning pair of eyes could see that even her elegant composure was being swayed by Mother Nature turning up the heat. Also speaking of Izayoi I asked if she could give me a hair cut and she let me know that she can get that done after I finish looking after Flandre for the day. More on that later for the continuity of my entry's sake.
...
Flandre didn't go outside to take another dunk in the lake, in fact the little Vampire looked a little out of it off the bat. Like when I first got to her room she was still in her coffin, on top of her bed which I still find very strange; messy bed... coffin hair, still in her sleeping clothes and like a full second before she makes a response to anything that I say. Taking her out of her room Flandre lagged behind to a point where I had to stop several times to see if she was even following me which is quite literally the opposite of the norm. Also while walking out of her room Flandre asked if she could just go to the library and hang out there. Asking the little Vampire if she was feeling sick I never got a conclusive answer due to not even Flandre knowing what was wrong with her. My guess is that of a combination of the heat, sun and the bone chilling lake on top of her being locked in a basement for five hundred years that sort of weakened the little Vampire.
I guess even supernatural Vampire can get sick after all? The shift was quiet, and a tad troubling. Flandre had a bit of a shiver, and a fever? Kind of? When the little Vampire is... Healthy, her body temperature is on the cooler side, but today her body temperature was slightly warmer than her regular cool body temperature. Luckily she didn't have any other cold symptoms like coughs, stuffy nose and sore throats. Thank Gog Koakuma was around to lend a hand. Because Patchouli basically lives in the library day in and day out, she had some spare blankets that I borrowed to cover up Flandre. The little Vampire and I stayed in the library quietly reading books, and finishing up the shift I had to carry Flandre to her room and put her in her coffin to rest. Okay honestly that was a very strange feeling, I get that the coffin is her bed but seriously it feels real weird putting a kid in a coffin... Before I left she did ask if I could come visit, I didn't make any promises but let the little Vampire know that I would at least put an attempt to visit her.
...
After that quiet but eventful shift I had to look around the mansion for Izayoi so she could give me my hair cut. I probably should have asked where I should meet her so neither of us... Mostly I wouldn't have to wander around a big mansion so I can find one person to get a hair cut. Hind sight I suppose... Eventually though I did manage to find the head maid and she lead me to a small guest room to get my haircut done. I'm glad that Izayoi asked how I wanted to get my hair cut instead of just taking the lead. Cut short on side and back of my head and a bit of a long cut for everywhere else. I gotta say that the more I see Izayoi work the more impressed I get. Not only is she good at being a second in command for the mansion, overlooking all the other employees, being a maid to the mansion and Big Boss, she can also cut hair effortlessly with just a pair of scissors no less. Barbers and hairstylists back home needs to take notes. What can't Izayoi do? While getting my hair cut I asked the head Maid if she noticed anything different about Flandre in the morning when she was delivering the little Vampire her breakfast. Surely enough Flandre skipped out on breakfast and even lunch just sleeping in bed all day.
...
After getting my hair masterfully cut by Izayoi I got my laundry done. On my way to the Lake, Meiling did ask if the little Vampire was alright since she didn't see Flandre today. I let the Gatekeeper know not to worry too much about Flandre and she just wanted to hang out in the library. I think Meiling sort of took the bait, she had that some what suspicious look in her eyes while acknowledging what I said. The whole thing was done fairly quick since I didn't have much to wash and dry, though I could have done without the peak summer heat in the later days of August. After putting the clothes in my room to dry I spent some time to cook up a real easy soup for the little Vampire. Nothing too fancy, just a little Vegetables, spices, seasoning, a little bit of aromatics, but no Garlic, all in chicken broth and chicken. Got some bread for Flandre to dip in her soup as well.
Poor thing didn't eat any meal for the entire day and she was feeling under the weather. I couldn't offer my blood to the little Vampire since she'd drink me dry, but the least I could do was cook her up some soup. The little Vampire seemed pretty happy to see me but did mistake me for Izayoi, initially turning down the offer. A good rapport with the mansion crew which includes Flandre is paying off. The little Vampire took her time with the bread and soup. And as I was about to leave she asked me to stay a bit longer and I didn't have it in me to say no; eventually the cute and sick sounding "Can you stay a little bit longer?" basically lasted the entire night. Or at least I think it did. There are no windows in Flandre's room. Thank Gog I had my phone with me to write my entry. Also I can't let that become a habit for Flandre.
Date: 08/30/23
Weather: Cooler but barely noticeable,
Dear Diary.
I woke up with a bit of a stiff body from sleeping on a chair in the little Vampire's room. Much like the time I woke up a little confused in the Eientei I was equally confused waking up to Flandre staring me down. Thankfully the little Vampire was back to her usual cheerful self as if she never had that 'cold' from yesterday. Must be nice to have some of that Vampire recovery perks. So I wrote my entry on my phone last night while the Flandre was passed out in her coffin, about me making sure Flandre not wanting me to stay with her for an extended period time. Yeah I really need to make sure, because the little Vampire sort of wanted me to stay in her room for like... Ever. Gog trying to explain in a way she would understand and not get upset on why I couldn't stay with her was like trying to defuse a bomb with literally no training or guidance.
One wrong move and Flandre would take it the wrong way and at best she would get real upset, at worst the little Vampire would probably blow me up. Thank Gog I had two best friends anyone can ask for in a time of crisis Lady Luck, and Deus ex Machina. Telling the little Vampire that a human couldn't stay in a basement for extended periods of time without getting sick and eventually dying was met with "Then you can just go out with me from time to time so you can get some sunlight right?" I had to add that Flandre's room was too cramped for two people to live, I even had to tell the little Vampire a little white lie saying the gradual discomfort would lead me to an early grave. And I think the little white lie was the thing that made Flandre concede the fact that she almost lost me on a few occasions before. Metaphorical bomb, successfully defused.
Thanks to that little escapade, I was late for the morning exercise. Telling Meiling my little morning troubles she got a good laugh out of it... While I was still mentally shook. Seeing my sparring performance drop thanks to me getting over what I had to deal with Flandre in the morning and the still warm morning, I think the Gatekeeper got the picture and tried to sympathize, points for trying Meiling. On a completely different note, still no dreams of the alternate me's little club. Maybe I was just tripping extra hard during my stay in the Eientei.
...
I honestly thought the shift was going to be sort of awkward with Flandre realizing that I couldn't live in her room without dying, but thankfully the little Vampire seemed pretty understanding. The shift at the start had a bit of forth, not the argument kind but like literally traveling back and forth. Flandre wanted to spend the day outside, found that it was just still a bit warm but cool enough to read under the shade, so the little Vampire and I went back to the library and asked Patchouli if we could borrow some books to read outside. The Librarian was naturally hesitant at first, since you know; the Witch had a knack for 'Borrowing books.' It took a little bit of convincing but she did allow Flandre and me to grab a single book on the condition of her going outside to also read, but mostly to supervise IF we were actually going to return the books. The little Vampire grabbed what looked like a kid's fairy tale book I think the entire Grimms fairy tales in a single book; while I grabbed my go to Arcane study's book.
Well the 'supervising Librarian' didn't last long due to Patchouli not being able to take the late summer heat for an extended period of time. With in hours at most the librarian was forced her to go back into her library to cool down, and I half expected this to happen. See there's a reason why I picked the arcane book out of all the other books in the infinitely large library. I wanted to test the usefulness of the Recall spell that I learned recently and the book was perfect for the situation. By marking the book with the Recall spell circle I can just grab it from the library quite literally from anywhere. That way if I wanted to learn new spells or even review ones from the past in my own room. I can just Recall the book from the library, and neither of the Library crew would know. Now I know what you're thinking. Am I going to return the book? Naturally, I'm no Marisa, and how would I do it?
Simple. All I need to do is put the Teleport Exit Point circle on the proper book shelf where the book would normally sit and teleport it away when I'm done. And that's exactly what I did, well the first part. I made the excuse of going to the bathroom, walk into the mansion, immediately teleport to my room, and grab a pen. Walk back outside, and while reading, etch the Recall Spell circle into a corner of the back page of the book. I don't think Meiling or Flandre noticed, that or they didn't care. And just like that the shift sort of went on eventually to the end.
...
Post shift was when I enacted the second part of my master plan. Return the books to the library, etch the exit point for on the book shelf and pretend that everything was fine. The plan was carried out flawlessly, Koakuma was just happy that she got to do a little less work and the Librarian seemed disinterested in me putting the books away. Post follow through of the plan I just chilled in the library and practiced more magic mostly modifying and improving on the ones I already know; like trying my hands at teleporting without a exit point spell circle. The teleport practice some what of a success, thankfully the spell either goes through or doesn't no middle ground where only the lower half my body would teleport or any other gruesome possibilities. I think the next spell that I want to try out is a spell called Object Clone.
...
Had to rewrite this part as a P.S., due to an unexpected visitor. A knock on the door while I was just about to fall asleep gave me a bit of a spook. At first I thought it was the Paper girl wanting a late night interview, Izayoi asking me to go on an errand, or even Big Boss wanting my blood. Nope, it was Flandre of all people. I was pretty surprised to see the little Vampire in her night clothes with her beaming face. Even though I was essentially half asleep, I was conscious enough to ask how she found my room and what she was doing out of hers. She apparently could tell which room I was in based on the smell of my blood and she couldn't sleep so she thought she'd just pay me a visit.
I swear this is some kind of anime level trope. Personally I would have tried to break that trope by sending the metaphorical little sister back to her room and to make sure Flandre doesn't build any bad habits. Unfortunately, my metaphorical little sister had the power to blow me up with just a clench of her tiny hand and even if she didn't she was physically stronger than me in every way. So I let the little Vampire in and let her sleep in my bed while I once again sat on my chair to sleep. My back is going to hate me...
Date: 08/31/23
Weather: Noticeable temperature change, and rain.
Dear Diary.
I don't know if Gensokyo or I'm playing tricks on me but I got that dream again, the one with the meeting of Me's. Another hyper lucid dream where I would wake up in my old room's bed surrounded by fewer Me's this time around, mostly blue and a few greens. Something that I noticed about the Greens were that all of them looked really really tired, like they haven't eaten or slept in weeks. Most of them were just in a corner heads covered slumped on the floor. Poor me's... Must be rough being forced to live in Gensokyo not by choice. The Blues on the other hands had more varying conditions. Some looked like they were thriving while others looked like they were sort of struggling, but not to the Green's level.
I got the chance to ask how I could contact this little 'Dream Club' and one of the Blues told me "For now, don't call us, we'll call you." There was one other thing that I learned from the 'Dream Club.' They sort of watch over not just Me specifically, but other Me's that are on the same Gensokyo boat, and one of them let me know that I'm doing pretty alright all things considered. I wish I could have asked more questions but unfortunately I woke up to the little Vampire tapping my head.
Well my prediction was correct, woke up with a sore back. Surprisingly the little Vampire apparently didn't have the best night sleep either. Turns out Flandre isn't used sleeping on a soft and comfy bed and perfers the stiff board that is the coffin. I think I can sort of relate since I have also slept on the floor of my room back home. The little Vampire looked real groggy, rubbing her eyes still half asleep. While I walked Flandre back to her room, to let her sleep in her coffin I got noticed by a hand full of Fairy maids, some didn't seem to mind while others were flying for the hills seeing Flandre, though the little Vampire was clearly too sleepy to care.
On top of the Dream Club the sparring match with Meiling was equally interesting. On top of the stiff back and the puddle ridden ground from last night's rain; the Foresight returned in the middle of the match. Just what is up with this Thursday? I guessed the Gatekeeper's attack wrong and got the wind knocked out of me. Meiling definitely noticed that it was me guessing the Foresight's vision wrong since I tried to block high when I got kicked in the gut. After the sparring match the Gatekeeper let me know that starting tomorrow she's going to help me train on honing my little Foresight ability. How thoughtful of her.
...
The shift was very quiet to say the least. Flandre wanted to go out and play and I let her, but she was just passed out under a shady porch for the majority of the shift. Meiling asked if something happened and I came clean on how Flandre basically slept in my room last night. The Gatekeeper giving me that smug look on her face and saying stuff like "Ohh, I surely nothing bad happened with lady Flandre. Right?" I had to straighten out the story, putting an emphasis on how both the Flandre and I had an awful night trying to sleep. Though my explanation it didn't make her smug smile go away letting me know that she was just teasing... So the majority of the shift involved me staring out in to the lake in the distance, listening to the quiet drizzle, while keeping an eye on the sleeping. All in all the shift was real quiet.
...
After carrying Flandre to her room to sleep I split the evening to Magic in the library and Might with Meiling. For the Magic aspect I wanted to to see how the teleporting the book would work. It was nice and clean. It pretty much automatically tucked itself into the shelf with every teleport. Next stop was more flying practice. I've some what gotten used to the feeling of falling my forcing myself to sort of fall after flying up to the library's ceiling. Koakuma was there to support my by catching me if I failed to recast self enchant and the flight spell. Glad that the little Devil was there to help out, otherwise it would have been another quick trip to the Eientei...
The Gatekeeper had a mix of surprise and 'I'm so proud' look on her face when she saw me out and asking her for a little extra training session. Forcing my body to activate foresight and guessing the right attack was difficult at first, even with Meiling slowing down her punches and kick on top of making sure the number of other possible attacks were low as possible. I still saw at the very least three other possible attacks with pretty much every foresight... At the end of the training session though, I think I can sort of manage to activate Foresight on command, now if I can just guess the attacks right.
...
Topping off the evening was a visit to the Village. The last time I was here I was on the verge of death, and a few folks were surprised to see me alive and well. I guess those folks don't read the Bunbunmaru Newspaper; at least most seemed real happy to see me alive and well, and the best part was that there was no panic in the streets. I think those who read Shameimaru's papers know that her articles sort of get exaggerate the truth. One thing I wish I didn't have to deal with was the Umbrella girl spooking me again. Partly it was my fault. I did hear Tatara's footsteps and I thought I'd test out the Foresight again but simply guessed wrong... I think the part time Blacksmith was surprised herself when I turned right when I should have turned left. Still, she seemed pretty happy that she got to scare enough to watch me fall on my butt... Onto a puddle... And I recently just did my laundry too... Well some day I'll be spook proof, just not today.
Other than getting spooked by a part time Blacksmith, I got to have a drink with the three Youkai Exterminator Gentlemen. Now that felt almost nostalgic, the bustling restaurant, with the servers busy at work. People practically yelling over each other having a good time. The moment the Gentleman that was sent to the Eientei asked to see me scar the two peer pressured me to show them as well. If I wasn't buzzed the entire thing would have been more awkward. The three seemed pretty impressed with my scar saying that some ladies love men in scars. Huh, I guess that's a thing even in Gensokyo? That or the three might have had a bit too much to drink. Probably the latter. While I'm writing this entry out and re-reading some of the older entries... I feel a bit melancholic that I'm essentially on a timer... I know I still have nine months left and that's a long time... but every passing day means that I'm that much closer to either meeting my end or some other fate... With the near death experience I'm less afraid that I might die, but more afraid that I'll lose this simple peace...
Date: 09/01/23
Weather: Sunny and cooler days.
Dear Diary.
Well, its the first day of September. And the first day for officially training to hone the Foresight. Starting off fairly easy and controlled. Meiling Simply throw a jab aiming high while consciously thinking of a leg sweep, and since she can easily change between what attack she wants to throw mid attack I had to use my foresight to guess which attack was actually going to connect. Safe to say that the exercise was varied, where I would guess correct attack. At the end of the exercise, the more I applied foresight the more consistent my correct guesses got where the 'incorrect' choices were much more blurry. Meiling seemed pretty impressed enough to compliment me on how quick I was adapting. As much as I appreciate the Gatekeeper I know that I still have a long way to go. After all, this little practice was done in a controlled environment on top of only guessing between two possible attacks.
...
The shift looking after Flandre was interesting to say the least. It started out fairly ordinary, with Flandre looking much better sleeping in her own room. Actually a quick side track, how would Flandre sleep in her coffin with her with sort of sticking out? I mean yeah, the wings can fold I'm sure, but wouldn't sleeping with her back to the stiff coffin be uncomfortable? Does she sleep on her side? On her stomach? Maybe I should ask her tomorrow or something. Alright back on track, Flandre looked like she wasn't going to pass out from the lack of sleep and with the days getting slightly cooler with the change of seasons, the little Vampire and I got to go outside and enjoy the view of trees very slowly changing colours every day.
While relaxing and getting a breath of fresh air from the outdoors Flandre asked something a kid would ask their parents, or in my case, the metaphorical big brother figure. "Why are the colour of the leaves changing?" Originally I was going to stick with just giving her a scientific answer, but in the end opted to give the little Vampire two possible reasons. First reason was the scientific reasons, but I had to simplify it not just for Flandre's sake but for my own, since I only understood the bare fundamentals on why leaves changed colours. Second was a probably reasons a bit more out there, "Maybe the fairies in the woods change the colour of the leaves so they look pretty." I also had to add that the scientific reason was more so the reason on why the colour of the leaves changed back home.
Giving my explanation on why the leaves changed colour was interesting and all, but the mid shift was more or less the main highlight, well for the shift specifically anyway. Konpaku paid a visit, a few things I noticed during the Gardener's visit. First Konpaku looked like she was on friendly terms with Meiling. They apparently have a shared interest in Gardening. Second was learning that Meiling was also the Mansion's gardener. Which sort of makes sense since the Gatekeeper spent pretty much every day outside keeping the gates. Lastly Flandre's perspectives on 'Strangers' seemed to change depending on whether the stranger was focusing on her or not. The little Vampire would be real happy to greet the Gardener but the moment Konpaku focused her attention on me, Flandre wasn't liking that.
Trying to juggle listening to why Konpaku was visiting the mansion and keeping Flandre in check was a bit challenging. But I think I got the gist on why the Gardener was here to see me which was to claim my life debt. According to Konpaku the timing was pretty much perfect with the changing seasons the leaves starting to fall and she needed an extra pair of hands to keep her boss's place free of leaves. Got to say, I was pretty surprised that's all she asked for a life debt, but I was all for it, raking up some leaves didn't sound too hard. Flandre on the other hand was against the idea. I think the little Vampie was afraid that the Gardener was going to taker me away from her or something. I had to reassure Flandre that I wasn't going to work for Konpaku permanently or anything just a temporary job. The little Vampire did eventually calm down, though I still think she's sort of against the idea; and the Gardener letting me know that she'll come to pick me up tomorrow before taking her leave some what exacerbated Flandre's mood. Hopefully the little Vampire's mood lifts tomorrow.
...
Post shift I paid a visit to the Village and got to have a drink with Mister Tailor, and no getting spooked by the Umbrella. Mister Tailor was still the same'ol sort of grumpy Gentleman. He was pretty happy to see that I was alive and well, he still badmouthed Shameimaru's papers saying telling me that she was shifting the influence of the village; though I personally think that people read Bunbunmaru for fun. And he also sort of complained about the Red and White, saying that she could have prevented me getting hospitalized. Asking Mister Tailor if he made any clothes for the Shrine maiden and he said no. From his understanding Hakurei makes and mends her own clothes and from time to time some other guy does the mending. So does the Red and White hand a significant other? I guess that's why she's busy... Wait, didn't the Exterminator Gentlemen say that she lived alone? So which one is it? Anyway, Mister Tailor also let me know to pay him a visit when i had the time so he can make me some clothes for the colder seasons. I completely forgot about that, and he basically remembered for me. I really appreciate that. What a swell guy.
...
I may have made a small mistake on trying to practice Magic... After I had a bit to drink. Practising buzzed wasn't even the issue. It was that somehow Patchouli knew about everything that I did to the book. Even though I can technically beat the Libarian to the ground in a contest of strength, she's still mighty scary when she wants to be... She opened with complimenting on how fast I was learning magic compared to other Magic users. At first I had no idea that she was setting me up so I just accepted the compliment. Then she started indirectly making some... accusations. Like how a mere human that arrived in Gensokyo by 'accident' managing to have an affinity in magic, on top of being able to learn incredibly fast, faster than someone like Marisa; pointing out if I were to keep learning more about magic I can surpass someone like Marisa who studied magic all her life, in less than ten years. Even though I was buzzed, the moment Patchouli brought something like that out I knew something was up.
I tried to make some excuse and take my leave but by that point it was a bit too late... The librarian got real close, giving a short lecture on how I should drink more responsibly, she could probably smell the booze off my body, then she started asking questions mixed with some accusations. Stuff like "You didn't come to Gensokyo by accident didn't you.", "Who sent you here? One of the many Gods? Perhaps Yakumo Yukari?" The second Patchouli mentioned Yakumo I could feel my buzz wear off instantly and my brain just went into DEFCON One. Three months in Gensokyo and I thought I blew my cover, but luckily I think her initial accusation was just a segway into what she was actually upset about.
Turns out the Librarian also knew about me marking the books too... Before I could say anything to defend myself the librarian did back off, not having that much interest in how I got here, what she was more miffed about was me altering the condition of the book without asking her. As for punishment I have to help Koakuma with more organizing for the rest of the month... I never expected that Patchouli can be that assertive when she needs to be... Scary stuff... Also on top of now helping Konpaku, I have to help around the library too... It's going to be a busy month...
Date: 09/02/23
Weather: Slightly hazy.
Dear Diary.
Oh Gog I'm exhausted. How in Gensokyo am I going to keep this up? Alright... From the top, the mornings started out fairly normal. Morning exercise with Meiling, and more Foresight practice. It's coming along fairly well, my body is reacting to the different possibilities and I think I'm actually seeing the improvements. Still got kicked and punched pretty hard though... Before I went back into the mansion to get ready for the shift, Izayoi paid a quick visit to let me know that the Big Boss was going to visit me to take my blood.
...
The shift was also fairly uneventful, well except Flandre being slightly extra clingy during the shift. At first I thought the little Vampire was just in a clingy mood or something but then she brought up Konpaku. Well not her specifically but if me working there was going to impact me working here. I naturally reassured the little Vampire that I wasn't going to go anywhere unless I get taken to the hospital again, and I think Flandre was pretty pleased with my response... Hindsight aside, I'm starting to second guess if what I said to Flandre would be correct...
...
Its the post shift that really kicked things off. I knew that there would be a definite clash in scheduling due to me helping the library and helping the Gardener being on the same time, and I can't just split my body in two and help both of them out. So post right before I helped Flandre to her room, I asked Meiling if she could tell Konpaku that I'll be in the library helping Koakuma out. Just like clockwork Konpaku visited the library while I was helping the little Devil sort and shelve books. Since I couldn't be at two places at once, I had to let Konpaku and Patchouli sort of figure out how they were going to share me. To my absolute surprise they immediately gave me a new schedule. They were just going to alternate my schedule. So today was working for Konpaku, tomorrow would be working for Patchouli, then Konpaku, then repeat til the month was over, then I'd just work for Konpaku til my life debt is repaid. Fairly civil those two.
Now... Working for Konpaku was absolutely back breaking but lets quickly back track a bit because I learned a lot. A LOT about what she did for her job. First and foremost I thought Konpaku worked in the Human Village, boy was I mistaken. She worked in a place called the Hakugyokurou in the Nether World... Like... Hell? Sort of, its one of many places that folks went to in the after life. First and foremost, flying to the Nether was absolutely nightmarish. I've never flown that high before, the wind, the chill it was absolutely terrifying to a point where I just looked straight up and flew up; looking down would have been a death sentence. Around half way Konpaku had to hold my hand like a child so if I fell I she would just hold me. The gate to the Netherworld was breathtaking though, still air, almost a feeling of warmth, an absolutely massive door with four super large wooden pillars and some sort of spell circle on the door. All we had to do to get to the nether world itself was just fly over the door.
An instant change in scenery with a stair case with probably a million steps, but I think that's a very conservative estimate. Thankfully the Gardener and I just flew up the stairs, well after I took a several minute break from trying to catch my breath from that flight to the gate... I don't think I'll ever forget that... Now for the Nether World itself. It feels... Calm but there's also this feeling that I can't quite put my finger on. Not the gentlest of breeze, there were... Ghosts? Floating about? At least I think they were ghosts, opaque and has the shape of Konpaku's Phantom half. Now flying up the stairs and reaching the top was where Konpaku and her boss lived. Hakugyokurou. It sort of reminds me of the Eientei, but bigger.
It also had the site that I was more or less sent to work on. The Garden. The leaves on the trees were starting to change colour to a shade of red, not all of them but it was a start. There were a fair amount of leaves that did change in colour and fell onto the ground, and it was my job to help sweep up the leaves. At first I thought the job would have been done in like an hour at most... It took several even with Konpaku's help. My hands were red from pretty much non stop sweeping and my entire body could feel the fatigue set in. Even Konpaku seemed pretty tired after that but she seemed real satisfied with the progress that we made.
The Gardener thanked me for the work that I did today and offered to help me go back to the mansion. I on the other hand had a much better idea. I could just teleport back, but before I did, I set an exit point at the front door of the Hakugyokurou so I never have to fly that high without a good reason, ever again. Before I said my goodbyes to Konpaku I just let her know that I'll come to the Hakugyokurou every other day as it was my new scheduel and the Gardener seemed pretty happy with that, and after saying my goodbyes to Konpaku I just teleported back to the Mansion, straight to my room.
...
Now what I didn't know or even expect was that the Big Boss was already in my room by the time I got back and me teleporting in gave her quite the spook. Naturally I tried my best to apologize but I was absolutely drained after helping Konpaku out... Remilia seemed fairly understanding but still miffed that I was late and I spooked her. I also had to explain why I was so late and the Big Boss got quite a laugh out of it. Telling me that I probably bit off more than I can chew. She's probably right. Big Boss may have been sympathetic but it wasn't enough to postpone the Blood donation, which is fair. She was also not sympathetic enough to go easy on the biting, and after she was done the Big Boss made her leave, but not without saying "Good luck~" Thanks Big Boss... Man... This is going to be one busy month...
Author's Note: Alright, we're fully back to our regular scheduled program. Did I say "regular scheduled program"? Sorry I meant things might get busy on my end due to some long term personal stuff that I'll have to work on, but don't worry I'll do what I can to keep the entries going! Until next time, take care!