"Well thank you very much for that, captain. That was very informative," Renko said with a nod of thanks as Ichirin rose to collect the empty teacups.

"You're welcome. I don't mind answering questions, but I'd prefer to talk about something happier now that we've reunited with mother Hijiri. Like you, maybe, Renko. Have you ever considered making Buddhism a part of your life? You seem like someone with a lot of unfulfilled desires gnawing at you. I can say from experience that religion can help to sate that hunger."

"Oh, that will have to be a discussion for another time I'm afraid. For the moment I have Merry with me, that's enough to address any desires I might have."

"Do you have to phrase it like that, Renko?" I asked, glaring at her.

"See? It's time for me to go now," Renko said, grinning like an idiot and rising up to head for the door to the wheelhouse. "If I don't give Merry some attention then unfulfilled desires won't be the only thing gnawing on me."

I followed her out of the door, intending to berate her further, but just then we saw Byakuren, Suwako and Sanae coming up the stairs from the lower deck and walking towards us. "Ah, are you done with your discussion then?" she asked, spotting us walking toward her. "Could you send Murasa and Ichirin my way? I want to discuss some of the details of the interior of the temple with them. Also, could anyone check to see if Shou has finished with her sutras yet?"

"Oh, she should have by now. I'll go look for her," Ichirin said as she came out of the wheelhouse behind me.

"Actually, I'll go get her, if you don't mind" Renko said, turning back toward her. "I need to talk to her anyway. You go talk to Byakuren, Ichirin."

"Oh, thank you. If she hasn't finished yet, she'll probably be in the statue room at the far end of the hold, right near the bow of the ship. We set that up so that she'd have some place to pray to Bishamonten."

Thus, we all headed back down the stairs Byakuren had just ascended, with everyone except Renko and myself heading back to the saint's cabin to talk while my partner and I made our way through the hold in search of Shou. With the hull of the ship newly patched and repaired, there was far less light down here than there had been on our previous visit, with the only illumination being the sunlight streaming in from a latticed grate set in the upper deck close to the bow. The hold was divided into several chambers and mostly empty, with the occupants of the ship having little need for food or other stores. A few barrels of rice, a few more of water, a large box of charcoal and a score of long oars mounted in brackets along the walls were all we saw stored there as we made our way to the front of the ship. As we drew closer to the upward-curving far chambers of the hold, the sound of a voice chanting the heart sutra came to our ears.

The final chamber at the bow could hardly even be called a closet. It was a space perhaps a meter and a half deep crammed up against the curvature of the hull, with just enough space to wedge a small statue of Bishamonten into one side and place two cushions in front of it. Shou Toramaru knelt on one of these cushions, with her head bowed and her hands clasped in front of her, chanting. The only light in the room was what little bit of illumination bounced through the doorway and the faint glow of a stick of incense smoldering at the foot of the statue. It would have been rude to interrupt a recitation of the sutra, so we stood politely by the side until she finished her current repetition of the two-and-a-half minute verse. Renko called out to her before she could begin her next recitation and she looked up in surprise, apparently not having noticed us approaching.

"Oh! Miss Merry and miss Renko, I didn't see you there."

"My apologies for interrupting you, miss Toramaru," Renko began, "but Byakuren asked us to fetch you. She's having a discussion about the setup of the temple."

"Ah, I see. Thank you then, I'll go to her," Shou said, unfolding herself and rising to her full height. We stepped out of the doorway so that she could exit the small room. Once she had stepped through though she turned and bowed deeply to us both before leaving. "My apologies for yesterday. I never did get a chance to thank you properly, much less to apologize for the trouble Nazrin caused you. Thank you once again for everything you did to free Murasa, Ichirin, and this sacred storehouse from the Underworld as well as for your assistance with liberating mother Hijiri. I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make up for the damage to your office."

"Well I appreciate that very much, but for the time being, I'd actually like to ask a small favour of you. After you're done talking to Byakuren, would you mind if I asked you a few questions?"

"Questions? What you would want to know about me?"

"Well, I've heard the captain's and miss Ichirin's tales about what they've been doing since they fled the temple, but I haven't heard yours or Nazrin's. I'd like to know what you were doing for the thousand years you were living on the surface."

Shou's eyes narrowed at Renko's question, but my partner stared back at her with an innocent smile. After a brief pause she bowed her head to us and said simply. "Of course. I'll come find you later then," and walked past.

She had only taken two steps before she stopped and turned back towards us, smiling awkwardly. "...Um, where did you say mother Hijiri was having this discussion?"

"In her cabin, down the hall."

"Ah yes, of course." With that Shou marched off, slightly hunched in embarrassment.

-.-.-.-.-

We had some time to kill at that point before the others got out of their conference, so we lounged around on the deck with Sanae and Unzan, both of whom had also not been included in the discussion. Unzan never spoke, of course, and kept the same taciturn expression throughout, but seemed happy enough to demonstrate some of the seemingly infinite number of shapes he could contort or expand into as well as give Sanae rides on his back despite the fact that she could fly perfectly well on her own.

"Look at me!" Sanae cried, as she zipped in circles around us standing with her feet spread to balance on Unzan's shoulders. "I feel like I'm in Dragon Ball!" Seeing him play with her was charming, like a grandfather shamelessly doting on a favorite grandchild.

Eventually, Byakuren emerged from the lower decks, with Suwako and Murasa following behind her.

"Alright Sanae, time for us to get going," Suwako called, looking out toward where Unzan was flying around the mast.

Sanae instantly hopped off of the nyudo's back and floated down to join us on the deck. "Ah, are you all done with the discussions, Lady Suwako?"

"All the important bits are agreed on. I'll start construction in the next few days."

"Thank you very much for this generous gift. None of this would have been possible without your kindness," said Byakuren, bowing deeply.

Suwako waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine. Almost no one asks me to do big projects like this any more and it's been a long time since I got to test my godly powers. It feels good to flex my muscles again."

"Well then, if there's nothing else, I suppose we can go home." Sanae said, looking towards us. "Merry, Renko, do you need a lift back to the village?"

"No, we'll be fine, Sanae," Renko said, waving her off. "There a few more things I wanted to look into here anyway."

Sanae looked a little hurt at that, no doubt suspecting that she was once again being left out of the mystery, but she nodded and turned to Suwako, who leapt into the air beside her then promptly vanished. Sanae waved to us one last time then flew away, heading north toward Youkai Mountain. Renko watched her go for a bit, then turned toward Shou, who had followed Byakuren up out of the hold.

"Do you have time for those questions now, miss Toramaru?" Renko asked with a grin.

"You're questioning Shou too?" Murasa asked, turning towards us. "What's all of this about?"

"It's just my curiosity at work, captain. Nothing to worry about. I'm sure this will all be old news for you though."

"Come along captain, it's not nice to pry into someone's private conversation," Ichirin said, hooking a finger into the back of Murasa's collar and dragging her away towards the wheelhouse.

With just myself, Renko and Shou standing on the deck alone now, she gestured towards the short flight of stairs that lead up toward the wheelhouse. "If you want to ask about the last thousand years, I imagine we'll be talking for a while," she said.

"Thank you," Renko said, easing herself into a seated position on the steep stairs. "Perhaps you could start by telling us how you came to meet Byakuren?"

Shou looked down for a moment, seeming to consider her words, then began to pace back and forth in front of us as she spoke. Well, to begin with, before I met mother Hijiri I was just a stray youkai living deep in the woods where the Myouren temple would eventually be built. I call myself a tiger youkai for simplicity's sake now, but in truth I was never actually a tiger. I'm a youkai that was born from the human fear of the idea of a tiger that people in this land had after hearing stories of such creatures in China."

"Ah, that explains a bit. There wouldn't have been any tigers anywhere in Japan at that point I don't imagine, and you don't really look much like the other cat youkai we've met."

"I was still a fearsome, meat-eating youkai all the same back then though. I mainly preyed on the animals of the forest, living my days in carefree isolation and stalking any humans who passed through the woods. Byakuren was one such human. She came into the woods alone one day, seeming like nothing more than a lost fool. I stalked her for a bit, but she wasn't the least bit scared when I leapt out and bared my fangs at her. She merely bowed to me and treated me with reverence and respect. It was completely bewildering. There I was, ready to tear her throat out, but she just smiled at me and said 'oh sacred beast of this forest, thank you for gracing me with your presence. Might I ask you to protect me with the power of Lord Bishamonten?"

"The power of Lord Bishamonten? Is that something you wield?"

"No! I was just as confused as you are. But she explained to me that she had just built a temple that was open to humans and youkai alike, but most youkai were too afraid to come there because of the large statue of Lord Bishamonten they had there. Lord Bishamonten is known as a protector of Buddhists and slayer of monsters, so most youkai make a point of avoiding areas consecrated in his name. Her solution to this problem was to replace the statue with a youkai who could act as a proxy for Lord Bishamonten and receive prayers directed to him in the statue's place. Then youkai would see it was safe to come into the temple but she could still continue her religious practices."

"Hah, I see! Well she did say that humans worshipping gods while persecuting youkai was an unnecessary and arbitrary distinction, but I guess she was determined to put that theory to the test. A youkai acting as a proxy for a god, eh? How interesting."

"Yes, worshipping an unimportant, stray youkai like me as one of the mightiest protector gods is the very crux of her philosophy. She saw neither myself nor Lord Bishamonten as being any more or less worthy of veneration. Though I am ashamed to say that my initial response was to laugh at this proposal. The very idea of a religion that catered to both humans and youkai was unheard of and mother Hijiri herself had a scent that seemed equal parts human and youkai back then. I thought perhaps she was a newly born youkai, just barely risen from her previous existence as a human who sought to make all youkai as tame and weak as she was. Or maybe she was a human who had been rejected by other humans and thought to use youkai as her weapons of revenge. Her statement that she wanted humans and youkai to live as equals seemed like utter madness. In my short-sightedness, I thought her either a fool or a troublemaker and likely a good snack in either case. I attacked her without any provocation."

"And she fought you off?"

"Not at all! I bit her right on the neck, but she didn't even flinch. Try though I might, I couldn't so much as scratch her skin. I had never seen a magician before at that point, and I've still never met another as skilled as Byakuren. I had my teeth wrapped around her throat and was perching on her shoulder, trying to tackle her to the ground and she was just smiling at me, saying 'there is no need to be afraid. Let me show you a way of life with a greater sense of purpose than merely obeying your animal instincts. Will you lend me the power of Lord Bishamonten that I may teach you?' Eventually I had to give up. Nothing I could do would move her an inch from the spot she stood on. The power that she wielded inspired a sense of awe in me then, much as her grace and kindness does now." Shou had stopped pacing as she said this, and was looking up to the sky, with a wistful nostalgic expression on her face.

"I agreed to follow her back to the temple," Shou continued. "And at first, I hated it there. I ran away more than once, but I always ended up coming back, intrigued by her calm strength. All the power I had ever seen in the world up until that point had come from mere bestial fury, but she was something else. A power like a placid stream and a raging waterfall all at once. She taught me a nun's way of life, and how to devote myself to the worship of Lord Bishamonten. She gave me my name and deemed me a tiger, chosen beast of Bishamonten and icon of the Myouren temple. She guided me to the light of the Buddha, and while I consider myself her disciple, she prays to me as a representation of Lord Bishamonten. It's a strange relationship, I'll admit, but clearly Lord Bishamonten himself did not find it displeasing, as shortly after that he sent Nazrin to watch over me."

"Wait, Nazrin was assigned to watch over you by Bishamonten? Why does she call you 'master' then?"

"Well, to the members of the Myouren temple and within its walls, I am seen as a proxy for Lord Bishamonten himself. As such, part of her duty in serving him entails serving me. If I were not in this position of acting as a stand-in for Lord Bishamonten... well, quite frankly, I don't she'd put up with me, much less call me 'master.'"

"I see, I see," Renko said, nodding. "Thank you Shou, that's certainly a unique story. Let's switch topics a little. Can you tell me what happened on the day Byakuren was sealed away? I heard from the captain that the temple was surrounded and Byakuren told you and the others to flee and leave her behind. You and Nazrin must have left the temple with that sacred houtou in hand, correct?"

"Yes, that's right. We fled for a day and a night, then returned to the site of the temple under cover of darkness. Everything but the storehouse had been burned to the ground, and we overheard from some of the humans still milling about the rumors that Murasa and Ichirin had been captured and this ship had been destroyed. We waited for the last of the humans to leave, then decided to clean up the temple site, in hopes that Murasa and Ichirin might have survived. We didn't know that they had been thrown into the Underworld, and I believed at the time that the Holy Palanquin might truly have been destroyed. Without both this ship and the houtou, there was no hope of ever rescuing her."

"About that, how did you know that the ship and the pagoda would both be needed to release Byakuren?"

Shou looked surprised at that question, as if Renko had just asked something blatantly obvious. "Well you saw for yourself how powerful mother Hijiri is when she fought in Makai, didn't you? No simple seal could hold her. In order to imprison her, the Yama presented mother Hijiri with two options -Either she could be sealed by a barrier powerful enough to hold her, or she could give up most of her power. She chose the latter, and that power was divided and sealed into the storehouse and this sacred houtou. It seems obvious that returning these objects to her would have restored what she lost, allowing her to break free. She really is a truly magnificent magician."

"Ah, of course. Please forgive the stupid question." I looked over at Renko in surprise. Clearly the story Shou had just related differed from what we had heard from Murasa and Ichirin so far, but Renko proceeded on as if nothing had happened. "Now, if I may, miss Toramaru," Renko continued. "I have one more question, and I'm afraid it's a bit of a sensitive topic. Please understand that I mean you no disrespect by asking this and I am making no judgment. I merely wish to understand the facts surrounding these events."

Shou sighed heavily. "I imagine I can guess what you're going to ask."

"Likely so. How is it that you could have lost something like that stone pagoda if you knew how important it was and how much power it contained?"

Shou groaned and slumped where she stood, covering her face in her hands. "That was... I'm sorry... That was entirely my fault."

"How do you mean?"

"After Murasa and Ichirin were captured, I was worried that Nazrin and I might be caught too. I had pledged not to fight any humans that might try to find us, but Nazrin was under no such compunction. I was worried that if a fright broke out there was a chance it could turn deadly, and I didn't want the houtou to be lost somewhere in case Ichirin and Murasa were still alive. So, I decided to conceal it in a place that I thought no one but them would ever think to look. Beneath the rubble of the ruined temple. Surely, I thought, no human would have reason to search for it there, and even if they did, no one would go to the trouble of sifting through a giant mound of ash and burnt wood. But when we saw the Holy Palanquin sailing in the sky again after so long... well you can imagine how distraught we were to find it wasn't there any more. That's no excuse for how Nazrin acted though."

Renko smiled and stood up, extending an arm to pat Shou's shoulder. "It's alright, miss Toramaru. I don't blame you for her actions. That's plenty of information for now though. I'll leave you to your meditations. I think it's time Merry and I were going. Thank you for the interesting stories."

"It's the least I can do for you. Please come and see us again once the temple is built, I would love for the two of you to become regular visitors. It would help us to make inroads with the villagers if we had a few human parishioners in addition to us disciples."

"Ah, well thank you for that invitation, and I'm sure we will meet again at some point, but Merry and I are already regular visitors to both the Hakurei and Moriya shrines."

"Oh, that's no problem, the Myouren temple will welcome all visitors, human or youkai, Shinto or Buddhist alike. I'll let you go for now though. I still have prayers to recite for today."

With that, Shou bowed once more and descended below decks to return to her worship. As Renko watched her go, her fingers were once more dancing across the brim of her hat.