3/15

"Seiga Kaku?" Yuyuko asked.

"Yes, indeed," I nodded. "That is our next target." I was seated with Yuyuko at a tea table at her palace, at the suggestion of Youmu, who believed that her mistress might have information on her.

I took a sip of tea. "Recently, we took on another batch of Ethos targets. Among them was Mononobe no Futo, whose shadow indicated that Seiga was a 'wicked hermit' who she claims is an evil influence on her master. Her name yielded a result, but so far we only have her name." I presented my key. "To access a fortress, we need three things: a name, a location, and a distortion representing how they see that location."

"I see," Yuyuko said. "As an example, what were my keywords?"

"Your keywords were this palace, Hakugyokorou, and Castle, as you subconsciously viewed this place as your own private castle, where you were queen and all of your servants bent to your gluttonous will."

Yuyuko lowered her head. "That sounds very accurate. Looking back, the way I used Youmu…" She shook her head. "A long story, for another time. So, you are trying to figure out these keywords, and want to hear what I know about Seiga?"

"That is correct," I replied.

"Hmm. To be honest, I cannot say much about her. My domain is over the spirits here in the Netherworld, where spirits eventually drift back into the Sea of Souls." She paused. "Truthfully, I only learned of the Sea of Souls recently as the place the spirits eventually go; up to this point I was led to believe they were eventually just reincarnated. The Ministry of Right and Wrong normally refuses to disclose the topic, but they did to me since the cat was out of the bag already, and the nature of this incident means I would have eventually found out on my own anyway. They only forbid me from discussing it with people who do not already know." She took a sip. "In any case, while Seiga is a wicked hermit, as long as she has not died, I only know what Youmu knows about her. I feel you should probably take this discussion to the Yama herself. I can call and ask for authorization for you to do so, if you would like."

"Please do," I said.

"Alright." Yuyuko reached into her clothes, pulled out a smartphone and dialed a number.

I pointed at it. "Er… is that a…"

"We're not backwards," Yuyuko smiled. "We keep up with technology." The phone rang for a second, before being picked up just after the second.

"Good morning, Shiki-sama. I have Akechi-san with me… He and his group are investigating Seiga Kaku… He is wondering if you are free to speak… Oh, you already know him? Why didn't you tell me?... You are free tomorrow? Excellent. Where can he… Oh, alright. You'll send her to meet him at the head of the path to the river. That sounds like a good… yes, tomorrow at noon sharp. I will tell him. Thank you… yes, thank you very much… Alright, goodbye." She hung up and looked at me. "She has to stay at Higan for the next few days, but she has time tomorrow to speak. You will go to the head of the Road of Liminality, the path leading to the Sanzu River, the river souls must cross to be judged. She's sending an employee to guide you along it."

"An employee… a shinigami?" I asked.

"Indeed, although you will obviously not be dead or judged… at least, for now." She chuckled. "I kid." She took another sip. "The employee is a recent hire. Actually, she's coming up on one year since they first started training her. Gensokyo's route is a fairly light one, so they've been training her on that, mostly by the shinigami they've had on that route for centuries now. Her name… I can't remember her full name, but I think Shiki-sama referred to her as Yoshizawa-san."

I instantly perked up. "Yoshi…zawa-san?"

"Oh? Do you know her?"

"Well… I used to know someone by that name," I said. "We were never close friends, but we did meet a couple of times for lunch, once with Ren, whom she had started dating. Her sister was a rising gymnastics star, but was killed when she was hit by a… truck…" I shook my head. "I'm getting off-topic. Thank you for arranging the meeting for me."

"You're very welcome," Yuyuko smiled. "If you need to, I can have Youmu guide you there."

"I appreciate it," I smiled back.

As I traveled back to the Village from the Netherworld, my mind remained fixated on the name of that shinigami. Of course, Yoshizawa wasn't exactly a unique family name, but I couldn't help but entertain the thought that it could be her. Particularly since Yuyuko had mentioned to me that she started training about a year ago, right after, well, she died. I wasn't part of the police response, but I did see it on television, heard officers at the station talk about it, and I eventually managed to review the case, how she died protecting her suicidal sister Sumire from killing herself. I had suspected something happened to Sumire after that which caused her to act like her, but it wasn't until later, when Dr. Maruki told me himself that he put a cognitive overlay onto her, that I confirmed what had happened.

But, that was just wild mass guessing on my part. There's no way she could just be resurrected and put to work ferrying people across the Sanzu.

Right?

3/16

It was a foggy day today, and as promised, Yomou led me to the start of the Road of Liminality. There was a sign warning mortals of danger, and the fog obscured the path leading further into the ravine. Despite this being a business visit, I couldn't help but feel as though I had actually died, and was awaiting a shinigami who would emerge from the mist and ferry me across the river to the Yama.

Frankly, given my rap sheet, I didn't want that to happen anytime soon.

I looked at my watch. It was noon. Hopefully the shinigami will be here soon, I thought. It'd look bad if she wasn't punctual, even if she was just a rookie.

It took some moments, but eventually I could make out a shadowy figure emerging from the mists. There was no mistaking it: a sharp-looking scythe slung over her shoulder, and a dress and hair tied into a ponytail blowing gently in the wind. As she got closer, I could make out a white dress under a blue vest, and an obi with a coin in the center of it. And her face… seemed… familiar…

We stood there for what seemed like several hours, just looking at each other like we couldn't believe we were actually meeting this person face-to-face…

"...Kasumi Yoshizawa?" I asked, breaking the silence.

She smiled. "Greetings. Indeed, I am Kasumi Yoshizawa. And you are Goro Akechi, the 'charismatic ace detective' who was actually the instrument of a conspiracy…" She bowed. "Come. Shiki-sama is waiting for us."

"Ah, yes," I said. We started down the path to the river, passing by the sales stalls operated by condemned souls paying off their debts, and making conversation along the way.

"...and that's how I ended up where I am now," I said. "Wiped from public cognition, dumped in a fantasy kitchen sink in rural Japan, and now leading a team to uncover a cognitive conspiracy while attempting to right my past sins."

"I see," she said. "And… I'm glad to hear Sumire is doing much better now. It sounds like she found a really, really good man to support her. I…" She shook her head. "I mean, I hate to say this, but I think it's going to be impossible, or at least very difficult, to repay all of your sins, even with…"

"I'm Goro Akechi," I boasted.

Kasumi chuckled. "Well, I suppose that's true." She took a breath. "Now, then, my story. Obviously, I died. The next thing I remember after that was standing on the banks of the Sanzu river, wondering where I was and how I got there. A shinigami met me, and explained to me that I was, in fact, dead. I couldn't believe it, since I was on top of the world, bringing home gymnastics medals by the dozen, only to have my dream stolen from me before I even started high school. I was devastated, and reflected on my treatment of Sumire, how I ignored her grief and depression until she tried to kill herself, basically the entire boat ride over to the other side. Once there, I found myself faced with a judge, a yama. They explained their role, read off all of the deeds and sins I had accumulated over the course of my short life, then…" She paused. "...and then they crumpled up the paper, tossed it aside, and told me that it didn't matter, because instead of getting judged like a normal soul, they dropped a revelation."

"A revelation?" I asked.

"Yes. My mother came into the room. My mother, who often spends days or weeks away from home doing 'odd jobs.' She was, of course, saddened to see me there so young, but strangely very okay with it as well, because she explained that she knew my human lifespan was destined to be short, and that it was time for me to enter the 'family business.' That is, she was actually a shinigami. Which, by extension, meant that me and Sumire are not fully human, but possess 'sparks' which cause us to resurrect as shinigami upon death. In other words, I died, then immediately came back to life as a full shinigami. They handed me the work uniform and a spare scythe and brought me here to start my training. That was a year ago. I've been working with Shiki-sama and the shinigami working on this route ever since. Who, as it turns out, is also my aunt." She paused again. "It… sounds like a bad Isakai plot, doesn't it? Getting hit by Truck-kun, or Car-kun in my case, and then turned into a shinigami, I mean…"

"I could say the same," I replied. "Instead of dying, I get transported to this place and acquire a harem." I laughed, then shook my head. "Still, that's quite the series of events. I've known your father for a while, of course, since I was a frequent guest on his show. I never could have guessed that his daughters are actually half-shinigami, who would become full shinigami upon death. The world is turning out to be stranger than even I thought."

"And I could never have guessed that you were actually a hyper-violent accessory to murder," Kasumi frowned. "One who apparently liked to fill the room with ham and do ridiculous Jojo poses while you were at it, if Shiki-sama's description of you is correct."

"Er, yes, well… could we at least not talk about the ham?" I asked her.

"Oh, well, if you insist…"

We soon emerged from the fog and made it to the bank of the Sanzu River, above which a supernatural pink sky hung, an eerie mist overlaid and where stray spirits danced and bounced. Over to the side, some ghost children stacked stones while a girl in a white dress with red trims and spotty designs interacted with them. Also present was Eiki, who stood at attention right at the shore of the river.

"Good work, Yoshizawa-san," she said. "And, welcome to Higan, Akechi-san. Or, well, I suppose technically we are still in Gensokyo, Higan is on the other side of the river." She smirked. "I hear that you and Yoshizawa-san have some history together."

"Well, I mostly knew her father, but yes, yes we do," I said.

"I see. Nice to have an unexpected reunion." She turned around. "Now, before we fly across to Higan, I do need to check on something." She walked around for a bit, focused in one direction, then said, "ah, there she is." She walked over to a tree, and the two of us followed her. Under the tree, we found a woman dressed the same way as Kasumi, but with pinkish-red hair as opposed to Kasumi's auburn hair, tied into short twintails with red baubles, arms behind her head and snoozing away while her scythe was propped up against the tree.

"Um…"

Eiki looked down at her, arms crossed and foot tapping. "It appears we have found Komachi in her natural state." She then gave Komachi a swift kick in the side.

"Mmph, umph, ugh… morning." Komachi stretched out and yawned before standing back up. She scratched her back, turned her head and saw me. "Ah, do we have a guest today?"

"That is not your business," Eiki said sternly. "We do have souls scheduled for today, and I need you to process all of them. Kasumi has already processed all but one of them this week, and she needs a break so I can have her take down some court records."

"Alright, alright, sheesh, I'll take care of it," Komachi said, cracking your back.

"This is your aunt," I said flatly.

"Yes. As it turns out, Komachi-oba is kind of a lazybones."

"KOMACHI IS BEING A LAZYBONES?! I HATE IT WHEN SHE DOES THAT!"

We stayed a bit longer until a soul showed up, mostly so that Eiki could make sure that Komachi actually ferried it, before flying across the river to Higan. The Sanzu was absolutely huge, and Eiki explained that shinigami could alter the speed of their boat, or in Komachi's case, change the width of the river itself, based on the soul being ferried, or if they just needed to speed through a bunch of souls because there was a backlog. Yet despite being large, it was rather empty, with a grand total of one fishing boat commandeered by a woman with red cow horns being on it at the time we crossed.

Once on the other side, my eyes were met with a still, seasonless and gently warm landscape filled to the brim with spider lilies. There was a series of gates at one location, guarded by someone with chicken wings on their back, before reaching Eiki's place of business: a temple with a large courtyard, in the center of which was her podium. A gate controlled access to it, preventing souls from entering until their time to be judged had come.

We stood at the gate, and Eiki turned to face me. "This is the place," she said. "The place where all souls in Gensokyo receive their judgment. Normally, I would not guide a living mortal to this place, but you are here on business, and I have otherwise been busy recently, so this will have to do. I do have three souls to judge today, so I will assist Kasumi here with setting up to take down records while I get myself ready to conduct trials."

I looked around. "No jury? I know this is not a mortal courtroom, but…"

Eiki smiled. "Despite your crimes, you really are a by-the-book product of the human legal system, aren't you? In the realm of the dead, one must be swift and decisive when reading out a soul's deeds, before sending them to the appropriate destination. Most souls go straight to the Netherworld, where they linger until eventually drifting out into the Sea of Souls. Their karma is considered to be within an acceptable balance." She paused. "We… didn't tell Yuyuko, the Netherworld administrator, this detail until recently, due to her mortal origin, but in retrospect we should have done so. The existence of the Sea of Souls is supposed to be top secret, in order to prevent contamination. I'm sure you know the consequences of the Sea of Souls becoming contaminated."

"Indeed I do," I nodded.

"Good," Eiki nodded. "Now, I said that the karma of these souls is within an 'acceptable balance.' An imbalance of karma, either positive or negative, will destabilize the balance within the Sea of Souls. Thus, Heaven and Hell serve the purpose of allowing those souls to shed their excess karma by allowing them to indulge in peaceful excess or forcing them to repent for their sins, respectively, before they eventually drift into the Netherworld and rejoin the Sea from there. No matter where you go after death, it is a guarantee that your soul will enter the Sea of Souls at some point, to become a new life, a new possibility, in another world." She opened her eyes, and looked at me. "I only trust you with this knowledge as you have long been aware of that realm's existence, and have your own, separate reasons for keeping it a secret. And I feel that knowing how this system works will make death easier for you to accept when it comes for its due."

I thought about her words, how her judgments worked and, especially, how life turned out to be one big, endless cycle of reincarnation. It made me realize that I might not be my soul's first incarnation. If that was the case, I thought, what sorts of lives had I lived in the past? Certainly, I wondered how they compared to the lonely, tortured life I had lived as a child.

"Thank you, Shiki-sama," I bowed.

Per Eiki's instructions, I stood aside as an observer to her trials. Just before her first soul arrived, she held up her Rod of Remorse, causing her body to be enveloped in a bright light. When the light died down, I saw that she had transformed: she was now a much taller, much more developed, sharp-faced and overall more imposing woman. As she laid out the life and deeds of the soul, she leered down at them, and combined with her voice, her biting choice of words, and her stature made even Sae-san look like a theme park mascot in comparison. This person did not lead a virtuous life by any means, and was ultimately cast into Hell, a process which took the form of a trap door opening, and a scraggly, scaly hand with sharp claws emerging from it to drag them down - my most likely fate at this point, were I to die now.

The next soul came up, and based on their list of deeds didn't appear to have lived a particularly notable life. Eiki directed them to the Netherworld, causing a line of spider lilies to emerge from the ground, guiding the soul to the Netherworld's gates elsewhere.

The final soul was one whose passing I had recently learned, an elderly farmer who was nothing but kind to the other villagers, children especially, and kept them fed and happy through the tough winter months. She decided that Heaven was where their soul would reside for the time being, causing a ray to break through the clouds and lift them up into the sky. Three different souls, three different fates, but ultimately one outcome, and it gave me some amount of peace knowing that, even if I did end up going to hell, no matter how long it felt like, it would not last forever, and I would not remember it in my next life.

…that being said, given my track record, I was probably in for several lifetime's worth of pain and suffering at this point. Best work to avoid that sooner, rather than later.

After the three judgements, Eiki invited me inside for some tea. Her office was relatively modest, but still included an ornate oak desk surrounded by bookcases and cabinets full of books, scrolls, files, and paperwork, and behind it, a window with an unobstructed view of the vast expanse of spider lilies sprawling out into the distance.

I looked around. "This is a rather nice office. It reminds me of the offices of senior legislators, or the head of the SIU."

"Us yama are allowed to tailor our workspaces according to our aesthetics," Eiki explained. "I've worked here ever since Gensokyo's position was created; before that, I was a jizo statue." She took a seat at her desk and began sorting her paperwork. "My archives date back to the Hakurei Border's creation. Due to Gensokyo's unique characteristics, it required its own yama and shinigami, even though it would not normally have enough souls to justify having its own route. Gensokyo's population is mostly youkai, who die less often than humans. Because of this, me and Komachi do not work as much as our counterparts elsewhere. Tokyo alone, for example, has hundreds of Shinigami and many yamas. All of them have far more demanding workloads than we do. It's a similar story for large cities all across the world."

"Indeed," I said. I steeped my tea to my liking, before continuing, "of course, we can discuss the intricacies of the afterlife another time. This is ultimately a business trip."

"Of course," Eiki said. "So. You have established Seiga Kaku as one of your 'targets.'"

"Correct," I nodded.

"I see," she replied. "Of course, I have been watching you, and have some understanding of your methods. For these 'major' targets, you require their name, a location, and a distortion overlaying that location symbolizing how they personally view it."

"Yes," I said. "So far, though, we only have her name, and I know nothing about her otherwise, but Youmu suggested you might know more, at least enough to get one of the keywords."

Eiki whistled, then reclined back in her chair with her feet on the table. "Oh, where do I begin with her? I'll be honest, she's been a major thorn in our side for centuries, ever since she became a hermit. We deem artificially extending one's lifespan a sin, since it exponentially increases the risk of a huge karma imbalance that we have to flush out before we can send them back to the Sea of Souls, creating a massive backlog and crowding problem and adding to our overhead. We mostly gloss over minor cases; lifespans can't defy fate, but they can fluctuate based on a person's lifestyle and decisions. It's only if we become convinced that they are actively and consciously extending their lifespan by supernatural means, or any other method that cheats fate, then they become the target of our own elite corp of oni assassins known as the Kishin Chiefs."

"The Kishin Chiefs?" I asked.

"Contrary to popular belief, shinigami are not typically assigned to reap the souls of 'debtors,'" Eiki explained. "I think the belief that they do comes from the fact that they have come to be perceived as being the same thing as Western 'reapers.' Go back a thousand years and you'll find that the shinigami of back then looked and acted nothing like how they currently do. In fact, that's why they're given scythes in the first place, because people expect reapers to possess them. Now, there are exceptions to this rule, and we've been experimenting with making changes; however, the job of confronting hermits, celestials, and others has traditionally fallen on the Kishin Chiefs." She paused. "They really are the best of the best, and among the strongest warriors we can muster. They have to be, because hermits like Seiga are both powerful and crafty enough to avoid having their souls taken. There have been countless attempts on her life, and all have failed. And ever since she came to reside within my jurisdiction, she has provided nothing but an endless stream of headaches with trying to pin her down and take her soul. Now, her simply being a hermit wouldn't be so bad, if not for the fact that she is one of the most morally bankrupt individuals on Earth."

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, among her crimes are resurrecting corpses to act as slaves, using dead fetuses as tools to control spirits-"

"Ah, yes, I get the point now," I said.

"Not surprising," Eiki told me. "Most people can tell she is evil just by being in her presence."

"I see…" I thought for a moment. "Still, simply being wicked does not make one's desires distorted, at least in my experience. Especially among youkai, I've found, if one is fully set in their evil ways, and are, in a way, proud to be evil, that does not count as a distorted desire. Distorted desires are the result of someone repressing one or more feelings or traits into their 'shadows' for one reason or another, with the result being that their unconscious mind rejects what they are doing, but their conscious mind suppresses those thoughts and attempts to justify and rationalize their actions. If the gap between a person and their shadow is quite large, then they run the risk of developing a fortress. In other words, her having a fortress means that there is more influencing her behavior than it at first appears."

"Hmm…" Eiki took down some notes. "I'm glad to meet someone who is knowledgeable about this topic. Of course, we are aware of shadows as well, but how they work has long eluded even us. We simply manage the process of life, death and karma; the collective unconscious falls outside of our scope. That's a topic Doremy Sweet is likely to know more about."

"She is a confidant, and so is Yuyuko," I said. "She does indeed know quite a lot about shadows, but you know a lot about Seiga."

Eiki shook her head. "Not really, I don't believe. I oversee efforts to capture her, and have detailed records of her sins, but I don't know her as a person and have no idea what her psychology is like. I think an even better person to ask is one of her oldest friends, Toyosatomimi no Miko, to whom she taught Taoism. Miko is also a hermit, but a much lower priority target than Seiga."

"I have met her as well," I said. "She even gave me a whistle to summon her if I required her aid."

"Typical," Eiki said, "but fortunate in this case. You should use it to summon her, then request for her to take you to Senkai. There, she can-"

There was a glow coming from under my jacket. When I pulled it out, it read

SEIGA KAKU

SENKAI

We looked at the key for several moments in silence. "Ah," I said. "It seems that Senkai is the basis of her distortion."

Eiki frowned. "The realm in which hermits reside. Not just her, but all others. Just how distorted is her worldview?" She shook her head again. "Well, she sees it as something beyond what it actually is, but again, I can offer no suggestion of what that might be."

"I see," I nodded. "Well, thank you for your time. It has proven quite valuable."

"You are quite welcome," Eiki replied. I got up to leave, but then a thought crossed my mind.

"By the way… during those trials, you…"

"That's what I 'normally' look like, yes," Eiki said. "This is a power-saving form for when I'm not judging souls. It helps me 'give it my all' when passing judgment."

"Ah, interesting. This place never ceases to surprise me."

"I'll have Kasumi guide you back once she is done with her tasks. This is not a place living souls should wander around without a guide."

"Thank you, Shiki-sama," I bowed.

3/17

Throughout the morning, as I worked for Masato organizing the shop and running his errands, I thought about what my next move should be. Calling upon Miko, to whom Seiga was an old friend and associate, was certainly an option, but I had to be careful not to make her suspicious of my activities - she was able to hear people's desires, after all, and what if she let slip the keyword and caused us to get thrust into a fortress with no preparation? I could also meet up with Byakuren, as she had offered, to hear what she knew from their history with each other, and try to brainstorm ideas with her and her followers. There was also the option of seeking out the woman herself, but that carried the most risk, since I didn't even know what Seiga looked like, much less how she behaved, plus I couldn't risk the target knowing anything about our operation.

I loaded up a cart with groceries and started making my way back from the main marketplace. As I towed the cart behind me, a figure, off to the left side, caught my eye.

It was a small, white fox, with a black-tipped tail.

At first, I just ignored it, as small animals wandered into the village all the time. This fox, however, seemed to take an interest in me, running up alongside me and trying to jump into the cart. I shooed it out, of course, as I didn't want an animal getting into the food. But even when I arrived back, it just patiently waited for me outside while I put away the groceries, pawing at the door every once in a while to remind me that it was there.

I took the cart back around the shop to put it away, and the fox kept following me. Persistent little thing, isn't it? , I thought to myself. For whatever reason, this fox was very much interested in me. I decided to humor its curiosity, hoping that I could get it to leave me alone eventually.

I decided to head back to the market to have lunch, and the fox followed. I wasn't sure what foxes liked to eat, so I just ordered some fried tofu, going with the old superstition that foxes liked that. I set the tofu down for it, and it just scarfed the tofu right up like it was going out of style. Some villagers thought it was cute, others were a little annoyed that a wild animal was in the establishment. I simply focused on eating my lunch in peace.

After lunch, I found a quiet corner and cracked open a book, since I was still uncertain how I wanted to proceed with the investigation and wanted some time to continue contemplating. I hoped that the fox would eventually grow bored and leave. Instead, it jumped right up onto my lap, curled up and promptly took a nap. I was surprised at how aggressively affectionate it was, and somehow, I couldn't bring myself to push the warm, fluffy white ball of fur off of me. So for the next hour or so I read, the fox sleeping peacefully on my lap.

After some time, the fox woke up, stretched out and yawned. It hopped off of my lap, trotted toward the side, then turned back and looked at me, as though it wanted to show me something. I realized then that this fox was smart, and it wouldn't leave me alone until I gave it what it wanted, so I put my book away and started following it.

The fox led me out of town, up the path toward the shrine. It was fast, but I was easily able to keep up with it; not just by flying, but my running speed and stamina had also noticeably increased recently, almost supernaturally so, which I chalked up to my constant exercise in the Metaverse. Eventually, the fox led me to the bottom steps of the shrine, before darting up them and disappearing from sight.

Cresting the stairs, I was met with silence. The fox was not there, and neither was Reimu, the Fairies, or even Dr. Maruki. I was confused. Why had the fox led me here, only to run out of sight? Was this some sort of prank? Was this possibly a trap?

I slowly walked forward, until I was about halfway down the path. Suddenly, a wall of laser bullets encircling the shrine quickly rose up and cut off any escape. I drew my pistol, slowly backed up and looked around.

"Good afternoon, Goro."

I jolted around, and saw Reimu with both yin-yang orbs orbiting her and spinning her gohei around. She giggled. "You know, I was getting a bit bored, sitting here at the shrine, praying and creating ofuda. But you just so happened to drop by for a visit. So…" She rose up into the air. "As long as you're here, let's play a game, shall we? I have some new techniques I've been wanting to show you…" She smirked and glared. "...you've been a bad boy, and bad boys need to be punished."

I thought for a moment, then tipped my hat. "Well then, challenge accepted."

As expected, Reimu put up a tough fight. I could tell she was holding back still, but even then she apparently decided that I now knew what I was doing enough that the training wheels came completely off. Waves of amulets and needles fired in all directions, testing my superior agility to its limit as I dodged and weaved, attempting to find an opening in which to strike.

I decided now was the time to reveal my newest trick. I removed my hat, then flung it like a discus, causing bullets to spew from the brim as it closed in on Reimu. She was able to counter the hat, causing it to return back to me, but not before one of the bullets struck her, forcing her to use a spell card.

"Oof! Not bad," she smiled. "But you're not the only one with new tricks up your sleeve." She took a card and crushed it, dissolving it into wisps which converged behind her to form a shape, until…

"...I don't believe it," I said, in awe. "Is that-"

"Thought you were the only one who could use Personas in real life?" she taunted. "Well, guess again nerd! Temperance Sign: Mediator of the Creator Gods!" Just like that, the illusion of Kikuri let loose with spiraling flames and a torrent of bullets which came at me even faster than Reimu's regular needles, forcing me to think fast before I became overwhelmed. I decided to counter with an Empress card of Santa Muerte, my strongest Ice-based attack, but she was also weak to Bless, meaning that Reimu could effectively counter with her homing amulets, turning the duel into a game of rocket tag. Regardless, I went after her, our attacks colliding and canceling until I finally got a hit in, breaking it and another card, before she instantly retaliated and did the same to me, breaking two of my cards and knocking me down to the ground.

Reimu floated down, put her foot on me and pointed the gohei in my face. "Oh me, oh my, how sad. Just one more hit and I win the game. Anything to say before I defeat you?"

I thought for a moment, then swiped the gohei out of her hand and shot what looked like an ice bullet out of it and into her face, causing her to stagger back.

"If you're going to finish off someone, just do it, don't stand there and gloat about it." At that moment, a trail of light came out of the gohei, then formed into the likeliness of Trump Frost.

"He's right, ho! Stock futures are decided in milliseconds, not that I care because of all my shady tax write-offs! All's fair in business and war!"

Reimu didn't have the energy for a retort.

"She's always been like that?" I asked.

"Yeah, Rei's always had a weakness to sucker-punches," Marisa explained. "Get her cocky enough and she's more likely to mess up."

We were seated around the table drinking tea. Reimu still had a surly look on her face from losing earlier, and Marisa decided to come by because Marisa.

"Hmph." Reimu took a sip, then tried to change the subject. "So. Have we found out anything regarding Seiga?"

"I met with Shiki-sama yesterday and discovered the location of her distortion, Senkai," I explained. "Now all we need is the distortion."

"Senkai, huh?" Reimu said flatly. "Interesting place for a distortion."

"Why is that?" I asked.

Reimu sighed. "Let me explain. Senkai is… well, I suppose it isn't really a place, per se, but instead more like a concept. Its existence is based on the principle that every crack, every hole, every egress in just about any location is a portal to an infinitely large space full of nothing, where hermits are able to train and meditate away from earthly distractions. Each hermit creates their own 'Senkai' within this space, although I guess you could say they're all connected by the central concept of Senkai. What form the space takes depends on the hermit who creates it; for some, it's an escape from the rigors of the material world, while for others it's a place to train and experiment. Miko's, for example, takes the form of a large temple called the Divine Spirit Mausoleum."

"Bein' a hermit's a lotta work, and not just because of all the religious trainin' 'ya hafta do in order to become one," Marisa added. "Literally everythin' is tryin' to kill you, not just the oni from Hell sent to assassinate you every once in a while. Animals and youkai both seek out hermit flesh. Animals who consume hermit meat become youkai, and youkai who do the same become more powerful, sometimes turnin' into godlike beings." She reclined back. "Honestly, I don't see the point. I mean, why go to all that trouble to achieve immortality only to spend all that time either fightin' away assassins, animals and random youkai, or trainin' to do the same? Especially if you're someone like Seiga, who's so fulla sin that those oni line up like kids at a carnival for the chance to rip her a brand new a-"

"Oh, don't knock it until you've tried it~" came a voice.

We jerked around. "Who said that?"

A hole spread open in the middle of the floor, through which a large, golden pin shot up. A figure then jumped out of the hole to catch the pin in midair, and landed just as the hole closed. She was a woman in a primarily light blue dress, with blue hair tied up in two loops through which she stuck her pin back into.

"Speak of the devil and she appears," Marisa said calmly.

Seiga chuckled. "Ohoho, now that wasn't very nice… I thought I heard my name being whispered, and how hard it is to be a hermit, so I thought I'd drop by for a friendly visit~"

Reimu got up and glared at her. "Get your filth away from my shrine at once, you dirty, wicked hermit."

"My my, so rude~" She walked up to me and dissected me with her eyes. "Hmhm… oh my, you must be the famous Akechi-san I keep hearing about~"

"I get that a lot," I said, unamused. "Now then, what is your business here?"

"Oh?" Seiga feigned innocence. "Well, golly, I mean, if you're talking about me, then that can only mean you're jealous of my charming demeanor and skill as a hermit. Indeed, it is hard work, but, you know, kill or be killed, am I right~" she shrugged. "But, I suppose proles who accept life's mortal coil surely would not understand… one mustn't allow the world's possibilities to slip by them, am I right?"

"The world's… possibilities?" I wondered.

Reimu shook her head. "Regardless, don't you have a regularly scheduled duel with a kishin or something today? We don't have time for this."

"My, my, so pushy," Seiga said. "No wonder your creaky shrine has no visitors. And besides, I brutally mangled the last one that they sent and have preserved all of his organs already~"

"Gch," Marisa winced. "It's sickening how casually she mentions that."

"She's not even trying to hide how vile she is," I said to her.

Reimu summoned her orbs and pointed her gohei at Seiga threateningly. "This is your last warning, wicked hermit. Your taint is not welcome here, and I'm not afraid to use force in order to-"

"Stand down, Reimu," came a voice. "We don't need any more blood on the shrine grounds."

We turned around and saw Kasen, arms crossed, coming into the room, frowning at Seiga. "You know better than to be here at the shrine, but I will admit coming here while both Reimu and Marisa are here is admirably bold."

"Ahaha, Kasen-chan," Seiga giggled. "You see, I heard the word of my name in the wind and I just had to come take a look for myself~" She looked around. "But, I suppose Yoshika isn't going to take care of herself, so I'll take my leave to maintain her and keep her in good working order. Ciao~" She took her pin and disappeared into another hole.

The room was silent for a moment, before Kasen sighed. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Goro,"

"It's no big deal," I replied. "I will admit though, she is certainly one of the most unpleasant people I have ever met."

"I'll say," Kasen said. "As a fellow hermit, I can't condone her actions." She straightened up. "But, I did not come here just to chase her out. I wanted to discuss some things with all of you. Well, I suppose with Reimu specifically, but you two are quite welcome to partake."

"Sounds good," I nodded.

"Geh, probably just another lecture," Reimu said.

We moved over to the main shrine, in view of Dr. Maruki. Reimu put on some hot pot for us in the middle of the table, as well as another pot of tea to go with it.

"So," Kasen said. "How is the prisoner doing?"

"He seems to be doing fine," Reimu said, glancing over at him. "I'll be honest, though, taking care of him is a pain. At least I can make him do all the tedious chores while I work on other things. Also, the fairies love tormenting him, which I think is good because it means they prank other people less."

"Mmh," Kasen nodded. "I can't believe it's already been a month and a half since he tried to destroy the barrier. Even if he claims it wasn't intentional, a crime like that cannot go ignored. Still, I haven't been able to get any details from anyone regarding how he did, as though I am being intentionally shut out of the loop. Ran won't say anything, Yuyuko won't say anything, you won't say anything… I am a Sage of Gensokyo, so I feel betrayed that information relating to a barrier-threatening act isn't being shared with me. Even the prisoner himself won't share any details, as though someone is threatening him to keep quiet." She looked at me. "And then we have you. It feels like things have… well, gotten interesting ever since you came here."

"Oh? How so?" I asked, suspicious and careful not to reveal anything.

"Well, for starters, you learned to fly within a couple of days and are now already a mid-tier spell card duelist despite being an outsider with no prior experience. I've been watching Reimu train you, and I'm starting to think she's gotten excited now that she's found someone she believes could actually give her a challenge and a reason to improve. I watched how she roped you into a duel today by baiting you here in her fox form."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Reimu said, sipping her tea. "He just came by and I challenged him to a friendly duel."

"Don't play dumb," Kasen grinned. "You shifted into a fox, guided him up here, and then trapped him with bullets. I wouldn't call that an honest challenge."

I looked at Reimu. "You… can turn into a fox? You never told me this."

"Who says I can?" Reimu smirked. "You don't have any proof."

"You're not foolin' anyone, Rei," Marisa said, elbowing Reimu. "Besides, I've seen you go down to the Village, waltz up to kids and have them rub your belly and scratch behind your ears-"

"I… don't…" Reimu blushed up and hid her face in her arms.

I looked between the three of them. "I still don't understand. Why can she turn into a fox?"

"Mamizou has an attack that turns the target into an animal," Kasen explained. "One side effect of it is that everyone who is hit with it gains the ability to willingly shift back and forth between their original and animal forms. For example…" She paused, then turned into light which compressed down until it re-formed into a pink snake, which proceeded to slither up me and around my shoulders, the hairs on my body standing up the entire time and causing a shiver to run down my spine. After a few, tense moments, she got down and shifted back into a human shape. "Hehe… scared of snakes, are you?"

"Well, I mean, I grew up in the city, so I've only seen them in zoos and laboratories. Also, if a living, scaly rope started crawling around your neck, I'd assume you would be uncomfortable, too." I took a sip. "Still, a woman who can turn people into animals, and those people can shift into that animal whenever they want afterwards. I know that tanuki can change their own shape - Mamizou turned herself into me in front of me, for example - but I never thought that they could force transformations onto other people."

"It's a family specialty of hers," Kasen explained. "A bog-standard tanuki can't do it."

"I see… I wonder what kind of animal I would be?" I asked.

"You'd have to go see her and get her to use the technique to find out," Kasen said. "Fair warning, though: the transformation is meant to be an insult of sorts to that person's character. Don't be surprised if you get a result that you hate."

"She uses it in battles to cripple her opponent," Reimu said. "She's not going to go out of her way to turn you into a bear or a wolf or something like that."

Marisa looked over at Maruki, who was quietly eating dinner. "Don't got anythin' to say, bubba?"

"Oh! Um…" He put down his food. "I'm sorry, I just… you expect me to contribute to a conversation where you're casually discussing an actual tanuki turning people into animals."

"I assume Japanese mythology is not your strong suit?" Kasen asked.

"Oh, I'm familiar with mythology, I just assumed it was all legend, fake." He looked around. "Still, given my profession, being in a place where myths and legends come to life, where all things forgotten fall into, is an interesting experience."

"And what is that profession?" Kasen asked.

Maruki sighed, knowing that he had to keep secrets, especially with me and the others watching him. "I was a 'cognitive scientist.' My job was to study the ways in which we see the world, how our views, beliefs and experiences shape who we are as people and as a society, and come up with ways to 'alter' that cognition in order to solve problems, from the personal to the global. I was interested in psychology as a child, so I studied hard to make a career out of it. It's not a well-publicized field, as most 'normal' people tend to dismiss it as pseudoscience, but there are government-backed projects Outside looking into the potential benefits of cognitive psience, one of which I was involved with."

"Hmm…" Kasen took a sip. "That sounds like it could become problematic, at least for us here in Gensokyo. As I'm sure Reimu has explained to you by now, this place is surrounded by a powerful barrier known as the Great Hakurei Border, so named because its power is anchored right here at the Hakurei Shrine. It works by altering the boundary between the believable and the unbelievable, the real and the fake, of truth and lies, and of dreams and reality. In effect, it repels the beliefs of humans Outside who deny the existence of, for example, youkai, who get their power from human beliefs being attributed to them. It was created by myself, three dragons, and two other sages including Yukari Yakumo, the one who championed the project and who has the power to manipulate those boundaries as she pleases."

Maruki chuckled. "A barrier which can alter the boundaries of cognition, in effect rewriting the rules of reality… I've spent years researching this field, only to be told that there exists a woman who can render everything I and everyone else knows about cognition to mean precisely dick."

"It's not just you," Reimu said. "She can manipulate any boundary. Also, she's impossible to read and just kind of does whatever the hell she wants, and makes it so that everything you do is part of her plan in some way." She took a sip. "Speaking of which, seems like she's hibernating rather late into the season this year. If she misses Hanami, well… that's never happened before, because she always catches Hanami."

"I don't know," Kasen said. "You'll have to ask Ran about it the next time you see her. I've been seeing her out and about more often than usual lately, likely because she's having to do some of Yukari's duties." She looked at Maruki. "And, I understand that we are waiting for her to wake up before we can decide your fate. I still don't know what you did, but I'm sure we will make you answer for your actions."

"Yes, I… understand," Maruki said solemnly.

"I mentioned before that the cell you're in was meant for another person," Reimu said sternly. "Specifically, an amanojaku named Seija Kijin, who a few years ago caused a similar barrier-threatening incident. She's still on the run, but she's still wanted dead or alive and will be summarily executed if found alive." She paused, then continued, "in your case, the only things you have going for you are that your actions didn't intentionally target the barrier, and also that you no longer have the means to damage it and will most likely never regain them. Still, trials here in Gensokyo are often in terms of black-and-white, so your trial could be all or nothing. If nothing else, you are at the very least never leaving Gensokyo for the rest of your life. And until your judgment comes, you will remain imprisoned here. Got that?"

Maruki hung his head low. "That… wouldn't be the worst thing…"

Kasen crossed her arms, thought for a bit, then stood up. "Well, I'll be going. If you need me, you know how to contact me."

"Yes," Reimu nodded, then smiled. "Then again, you should be grateful. It's not often that I ever want to go find you."

Kasen chuckled. "Only because you could be doing your job better."

After Kasen left, we cleaned up our dishes, and Reimu started getting ready to bathe. As she undid her bow and hair tubes, allowing her silky hair to flow free, a thought crossed my mind.

"Oh, yes," I said. "I was curious about the other day."

Reimu looked at me. "Hm?"

"At the mansion. Your hair seemed to be brown instead of black."

Reimu grasped a lock of her hair. "Oh, yeah, that. I have Marisa help me change it to black, so that I can look like a proper shrine maiden. Actually, most of my ancestors did it, since we all want to be seen as Japanese beauties, but for some reason, brown hair runs very stubbornly in my family."

"I see…" I thought. "Let me ask you, do you like it that way?"

"Well, like said, I want to be seen as a proper shrine maiden, so-"

"Let me rephrase the question," I said again. "Do you actually prefer your hair to be that color, or are you only doing it to live up to the expectations of others which may or may not actually exist?"

"I… well…" Reimu grunted. "Ahh, what is it with you and your tough questions, seriously?"

"You resolved to be true to yourself and your feelings first and foremost," I said. "You had to, in order to awaken your Persona. I feel that part of that should involve not giving a damn about how others feel and doing what makes you feel happy. You remember New Year's Eve, and how you cried about the stresses in your life? I feel as though part of that is you putting undue stress on yourself, and it would help you to cast it aside."

"I…" Reimu hesitated. "But, what if Yukari or someone raises a fuss about it?"

"'What if?' So you are suggesting that you were never ordered to do this?"

"Well.. I mean-"

"Then why not just let your hair be brown and see if anyone actually cares?" I suggested. "The worst that could happen is you inconvenience Marisa to make it black again."

Reimu thought for a moment, then smiled and laughed. "Man, I really don't get you. You just barge into my life and hit me with question after question about everything I do, just to help me improve as a person. But I guess you're right. Change can't happen if I'm a slave to complacency, just because I never thought outside of my bubble." She reached into a closet to get a bathrobe. "Still, I'm surprised you can suggest that so easily. Even Marisa never questioned me turning my hair black."

"What can I say, it happens to everyone," I said. "I don't claim not to be guilty as well."

"I see," Reimu said. "Well, as you can see, I'm about to take a bath, so…"

"Then, I shall see you again soon." I bowed, grabbed my hat as I stepped out the door, and headed back toward the village.