"So when [the Brave-Awful-Possessing-Male-Deity] pursuing after him, came up with him at the Sea of Suha in the land of Shinanu, and was about to slay him, the Deity Brave-August-Name-Firm said: "I will obey. Slay me not. I will go to no other place but this, neither will I go against the command of my father the Deity Master-of-the-Great-Land. I will not go against the words of the Deity Eight-Fold-Thing-Sign-Master. I Will yield up this Central Land of Reed-Plains according to the command of the august child of the Heavenly Deities.""
-The Kojiki, page 123. Translated by Basil Hall Chamberlain in 1919.
Signaling behind me to follow I walk over the wooden floor, dodging a few people around I find a table, and sit down signaling for him to sit before me on one of these strange benches -or booths, whatever you prefer- as I remove my backpack and let my scythe rest on the table. The wolf-man -Nobuyuki, as I had learned- covered in a greyish cloth cloak and old linen mask, carefully positions himself, wiggling around in what I don't doubt is an attempt at not crushing his tail while not showing it to every human in a 20-meter radius.
"…So…" I start, but never finish.
"So what?" He asks, finally settling down, extending his arms and laying his elbows upon the table.
"What do you think about the place?" I extend my full question.
"…I wouldn't know, I've never been to the village before, no experience in the restaurant department." Makes sense.
"Never?" I inquire.
"Never." He shakes his head under the cloak, "I've heard things from some youkai but never was able to visit myself, I thought they'd catch me as soon as I came close to the gate."
"Well, here we are…" I stretch my arms up, before lowering them and moving my shoulders backwards, provoking a crack. "…And they didn't find out, I told you the guards couldn't care less as long as I moderately made an effort to hide you and not provoke a scandal."
I look around the place, trying to see if any waiters were available, but seeing nobody free of attention I turn back to him.
"What would you want to eat?" I ask, clarifying after, "Like fish, beef and chicken, all that."
"Isn't beef and all that really expensive?" He questions instead of choosing.
"It is, but it's not like I don't get bored from eating youkai, not to mention what a bomb it is for my stomach." I relax in the booth, laying my arms over the back rest, "Even after last month's taxes I can afford to give myself a little treat." I had finished the contract quickly to Akyuu's dismay, I did reap the millet when it was ready and did help the farmers around after that though, "So let us eat and drink, before it is too late, I have money today but God knows about tomorrow." Now I have to pay every time I go for private classes with Keine, but if I go with the kids in the morning I get classes for free so that's that.
In short, I had cut down my hunting practices -skipping a day after every hunt- in order to attract less attention since I had been getting into fights with stronger youkai and sometimes didn't make the cut, but I made an effort and hunted some more in order to fuel a little birthday party for myself. That day was a waste of money by the way, I wanted to make it special, so I bought some clothes and an actual clock and that was it, 5600 mon. Then by the 27th I paid like 39500 mon, by the end of the month I had 62940 mon saved up.
"What a pessimistic view of eating expensive meat, of all things." I couldn't see him through his disguise, but his voice was monotone, "How old are you, even?"
"I turned 18 last month." I look to the side, I see a waitress looking around too as she walks and I raise my hand, she nods.
"Just turned 18 and you already talk like a man on his deathbed, isn't the outside luxurious?" He pokes around.
"The outside is like an abandoned house where billions of birds willingly trap themselves in golden jails and then cry for lost freedom." I write on the table with my finger, "I want to see that house wiped out." I chuckle, haha, nothing more than a quotation.
"There is that young hatred, I almost thought of you as an old man traveling through the vanity of life." Nobuyuki has a more natural laughter in response, within the realm of youkaidom. The waitress arrives.
"I'll have the…beef cutlet bowl and a beer, so what about you, Nobuyuki?" I request and press the unanswered question after a quick recollection of words.
"Are you sure you can pay for the both of us?" He hesitates one last time.
"I'll pay for whatever you want, don't worry." I assure him.
Sighing he voices out, "I'll have the same, miss."
She plants a small dish on the table, "That will be 1064 mon." Ugh, I bring out eleven 100 mon coins out of my backpack and drop them there.
"Keep the rest as a tip, please." I heard that tipping was different in Japan, but I've been here before and the place is good so she can keep the rest.
She bows deeply, "Thank you very much, sir." She picks up the dish with care and walks to the kitchen.
"So, what were we talking about?" I know what we were talking about, of course, but I'd rather let him open the conversation.
"…What do you want?" He asks, after staring at me for a short time.
"I want many things; you'll have to specify what you mean by that." I tell him.
"What do you want from me? You sneak me into the village, you invite me to a nice place, pay for my food." He numbers out, "I want to know what you want from me, there is nobody out there who would give things out for free this way."
I take my time, removing my gloves and placing them to the side of the table, I position myself by letting my arms hold my weight laid on my legs.
"I want to be your friend; other than Marisa, a villager or two and Rinnosuke, the guy who has a store in the middle of the forest, I have no people I can actually call friends." I take a moment and breathe in, "I wake up and do things that matter very little in the long run, I go to bed and repeat the same day, I already wanted to run away from such lifestyle in the outside." I reason, "I want to be friends with you, not a mere acquaintance." Exhaling, I cease my speech for but a moment, "I do not trust Marisa's apparent goodwill, considering the fact I've given little and received much, but you have been bold and direct in our few meetings."
I cannot tell what his expression is behind the linen, but he takes his time to say anything at all, "You are really bad at making friends, you know that, right?"
"Last time I made friends it was with a gang of outlaws and extremists, I know no other way of making friends, just offering food and talking." I look at him through the mask, "At least peacefully, other than that fighting has always been a way of making friends where I lived."
"You also told me about that, yeah." He relaxes, resting his body on the seating, "…Why now?"
"What do you mean?" I question back.
"Why this attempt at befriending me?" He clarifies.
"…I'm lonely, humans are social creatures." It's the truth, "I was bored, and I like you, do I need any other reason to make friends?"
"How childish." He doesn't seem to mind it anyways.
I look to the side, slightly ashamed, "…I also wanted to ask if you wanted to come with me to the Moriya Shrine later, I have some business there and you could pray or something in the meanwhile, but I don't know if you're religious or anything."
"I have to take care of the kid later; my wife is going out with some of her friends, and I just can't leave him alone." He rejects my offer, "But I'll be fishing tomorrow at the lake, do you want to come with me?"
"Yeah, sure." I hope I don't sound too excited, but I always wanted to go fishing with this relative of mine who loved the whole thing, I was quite devastated when he died of cancer.
The wolf-man's chuckle echoes, it sounds wilder than a human one, but still more civilized than mine, it also signals that I wasn't as good at hiding my happiness as I wished. Warmth fills me as we wait for our food.
Before me stands this villager lady lazing in front of this sort of aerial tramway or cable car, just on the feet of the mountain. I'm supposed to take that way to the shrine by paying a small fee, or so I've heard. When she sees me, she fixes her posture and waits with apt attention.
"Is this the line to the Moriya Shrine in the Youkai Mountain?" I lean slightly forward and question as soon as I get close enough.
"Yes, would you like to employ our services? Each travel costs 200 mon, but we are currently offering a monthly pass which will let any honorable customer to travel at will, just by paying 850 mon!" Though her mannerisms are clearly practiced, it also seems like seeing another person is something she did not expect, I think I remember reading neither the Moriya nor Hakurei were popular so it might make sense for such thing to occur.
"I will take the monthly…service, thank you very much." I smile a friendly smile and nod, my employment of "service" should be correct in this case, I was trying to say "subscription", but I didn't remember any words that fit the criteria well enough. While I bring out the coins, the lady seems to be bringing out some sort of small wooden plaque and a small knife herself, "Here you go." I hold out my hand with the money as she settles down on what objects will be apparently needed.
"It is our pleasure." She grabs it and stores it in one of her pockets, "May the customer present his name?" She tightly holds the small piece of wood and the knife in one hand each.
"Focalor, my name is Focalor." Her hand twitches.
"Pardon us, honorable customer, but this humble servant is not capable of using western alphabets." She bows her head.
I hold up my hands, "Don't worry, let me tell you how it is written." She comes back up and I show her my notepad as I take it out of the backpack, then open a blank page, "Here F-O-C-A-L-O-R, is this sufficient?" I write and explain.
"It is, we apologize for the inconveniences." She bows again, I feel the need to tell her that it's not a big problem, but I decide to let her do her thing instead.
She carves out the name in the wood, looking up and down to imitate it as faithfully as possible, and then she puts a small sign on one of the corners. As soon as she's done, she hands it out with both hands, carefully, and I grab it with tenderness too.
"Thank you." I nod towards her, "Can I go in now?"
"The honorable client may do so." She moves out of the way before bowing down deeply, "We pray that you find the experience satisfying and for your continued patronage to be fruitful."
I walk up to the metal door and open it gently, before bending a little and stepping in. Closing the door, I figure out that there is a little lock on the handle, so I press it, and soon enough the vehicle starts moving. I wave at the lady as I move away, her mask cracks and she appears to chuckle, though maybe I am seeing things because the windows are covered in filth, I would like to think I made someone even just a little bit happier.
The view is beautiful all the way, even if my vision is muddled by the dirtiness of the glass I can appreciate the flower-covered fields and the great forests. From this point over the earth I doubtlessly am gazing at a land between describable and indescribable, with recognizable features in-between trees and rivers, yet also a great amount of fantastic characteristics.
After this, I must press diligently and learn how to fly, if only to witness this world in all its glory.
There isn't much to describe, other than the fact that the seating inside doesn't look very comfortable so I'm not sitting there, but the speed of the trip is quite impressive, all things considered. The machine swings very lightly as it suddenly ceases all movement, and I unlock the door as soon as I can, setting foot upon the dirt.
Looking around I can see vegetation all over the place, but the path towards the shrine is well placed and maintained, looking upwards one can easily notice however that the outskirts of the shrine's grounds are devoid of most showings of nature beyond the mount on which the structure is placed itself. Bamboo can be seen here and there, and some flowers do sprout, but this void feels peculiar to me.
I walk towards the main attraction, and as one gets closer the path gets better. Soon enough there is a stone path and wooden signs, but they stop when I reach the torii gate.
The stairs are well made, but they are also clearly not of the greatest quality possible, if anything they seem like the work of a man who wanted to do something but was unable to accomplish it by mere material means, instead pouring his spirit into the art of architecture.
I cross myself as I walk under the gate as I do not fully understand what I am walking towards, up and down, then right and left. I tried to correct myself once upon a time and cross from left to right, but our band of misfits also included those Romanians and Armenians who so stubbornly clung to life at the borders of society, and as a demonstration of love I couldn't change directions, I pray that they pray for me in this very instance.
I briskly take steps upwards to that sanctum on the hill, the sun still glows bright and sometimes my eyes strain to see, but I find a way. The temple is not greatly decorated, and the most eye-catching feature is nothing more than a giant cord with decorative papers, the shimenawa and overall appearance of the temple greatly resembles Suwa's autumn shrine, how quaint.
I plant a final step. The front is loosely kept also, with nothing other than the two pillars and a tall yew tree present at the shimosha akimiya left to signal who is venerated here, I guess Kotoshironushi is not kept here if I remember correctly, unlike Yasakatome and Takeminakata.
Walking over the empty path towards the donation box I cross myself once more, and bow my head, stepping over the wooden stairs carefully I take a 100 mon coin and deposit it, before crossing myself for a third time.
The wood used here is well treated, it is something that I can enjoy as my knuckles knock on the space just to the side of the paper doors. I'm quite sure I can't knock on those, and it also tells me this is not the original shrine, since the one on the outside lacks these doors.
…A minute passes while I pray in silence, and the sounds of insects and birds around keep me company.
I knock again, "Is there someone home?!" Silence answers me.
Well, there was an attempt at not trespassing, but if I remember correctly there was a sort of "layered" system at Moreya's shrine, so maybe I can find someone responsible inside?
This should be understood as a justification for my trespassing, for all my knowledge I do not find that a legislative body is present in Gensokyo beyond the Hakurei, therefore all is well with the world, right?
…Just as a precautionary measure, let me walk around the veranda for a moment, before walking inside.
Though I was being as silent as possible at first in order to not bother anyone inside, I now walk boldly, and the creaking of the planks under my feet announce my presence with haste. At the left side of the shrine there is a small flower garden, but no one to tend it now, so I continue on to the back.
This side is much more spacious and kept so I get down from the veranda to look closely. Bamboo and flowers sprout all over the place with a pond in the middle, a table with various tools for gardening is near and an unused shishi-odoshi is propped at its side, it appears like a hasty setup which was left behind and never taken up again.
A loud clack strikes behind me, and I jump startled, looking around there is a small woman standing with her right hand on a door. As soon as I see her I kneel on one knee upon the grass and dirt.
Her hair is golden. Where I would call Marisa's and mine a natural blonde, this one is unnatural, in fact this woman's whole appearance is utterly alien.
Her blonde hair which lays between medium to long is like pure gold -actual gold threads in fact- and her pale skin is almost as pale as an eucharist's white, in my eyes it is clearly closer to a shut-in human's skin, but this paleness does not come with that characteristic "see-through" appearance which reveals veins below, it is as solid as a farmer's tan.
I try to break away from my staring, removing my gaze upon her and bowing down, "Lady Moreya…"
Her voice rings softly through the air like small bell, "Hm? Are you done staring?" I'm not…probably.
"…May I?" I seriously question.
"Ahahaha!" Her laughter is joyous without constraint, "Of course, of course!"
I look up at her face once again. Her irides are a metallic greyish color, it would be closer to call it a solid silver as opposed to my own grey eyes, which are naturally surrounded by a ring of hazel. Her face is perhaps the most indescribable part of her as her features are neither old nor young, I used to know a girl that had a similar face structure and nobody could place an age to her -we tried asking around in fact, just for fun, and the ages guessed would range from 16 to 50 years of age-, but upon observation one can see the great differences between the two, this woman is clearly not human.
Not her cheekbones or her nose, not her chin and jaw. Nothing can be described as normal unless you take the very base platonic idea of a human bodily part and pair it with the most striking adjective of such part eternally present.
"…May I rise?" I ask again, after a moment of silence.
"Rise." She commands, though her tone is as light as before.
"Thank you, I'm quite glad you were the one to find me." I bow my head slightly as I stand up.
"Nnn. It's fine, it's been a long time since I got to give anyone permission to do something." She stretches and then crouches down like a frog before sitting in the veranda, looking down at me, "Are you a thief? Do I have to throw you down the mountain?" Her movements are graceful like cats', but unlike a feline she is greatly intelligent, her movements are not only graceful but fully calculated.
"I-No, I was looking for someone to attend me, a shrine maiden or the like." I deny, "I knocked at the front and called out, but nobody came, so I went around to see if there was anyone preoccupied in the surroundings." I explain my intent, "It was never my intention to cause harm upon anyone or steal anything."
"Good, good." She nods graciously.
"In truth, I came to seek you, I'm not too fond of Yasakatome and Takeminakata." I continue on by branching into a tangent, "I am fond of you as an opposite, because of your rural yet regal ways, as opposed to that of those casted down by the spirits of heaven." They always reminded me too much of demons, unlike the eight million, so similar to fairies and spirits of the forests.
"Talking so casually of hating Kanako, should I curse you instead?" I consider my honesty one of my greatest virtues even if it might not be well met in this society, she closes her eyes and "looks" upwards, "Well, I'm still a little angry at her so maybe I'll let it pass." She looks like she has something else to say so I wait, but then she takes a deep breath and opens up her eyes, "You have no faith in me, despite talking about me like you do, so what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to make an…accord." I start, "As you might have already noticed, I'm an outsider, I lack any sort of great power, but I'm diligent and hardworking." I present like a job interview, "I want to help the people in the village but my human body limits me, I was wishing that you could aid me in this matter through whatever way you may find convenient so I may find a way in turn to perform works of charity, if I mention you as my associate it will certainly bring an image of goodwill to your name."
"I thought you were an arahitogami or priest considering the holiness around you." What do you mean by that, "But still, that only makes it worse, does it make sense to you that I lower myself to someone as unknown as you for what is little more than a promissory note?"
"Please do not misunderstand my intentions, if it appears to you that this is such an injustice I'm willing to do anything that you may want like a subject to you as a servant would a prince, faithful until death, as long as what you ask of me does not transgress upon my faith." I attempt to appeal to her.
"You give me little to draw out here." She seems to be getting bored, "What makes the difference between you and a villager?"
"What am I supposed to do? Is the knowledge that I hold knowledge greater than any villager not good enough? Is the knowledge that I will be loyal, and fight and die for you as a friend not sufficient? Is the knowledge that if nobody fights for these villagers, they will continue to live like zoo animals, and everyone will see this as good living because they are sometimes given enough food to eat and to hold a sustainable life as long as they live for their entire lives in fear?!" This land is as bullshit as the outside one.
Moreya looks at me, but I give it little care in my anger, "IS NOT THE LIFE MORE THAN THE MEAT?! IS THE BODY NOT MORE THAN THE RAIMENT?!" I shout out, "CAN YOU GO INTO THE FIELDS AND SEE THE ELDERS AND CHILDREN TOILING UNDER THE SUN AND SAY TO EVERYONE THAT THESE PEOPLE LIVE WELL WHILE OTHERS LIVE IN TEMPLES AND MANSIONS?! CAN YOU ENTER THROUGH THE GATES TO THE CITY, SEE THE STARVED VAGRANTS AND SAY TO THEM "A CITY SEATED ON A MOUNTAIN CANNOT BE HID"?!"
Non nobis Domine, if I ever manage to live virtuously without intervening, "AND THE YOUKAI AND MANY SPIRITS LIKE YOU, DO THEY LIVE WELL WHEN THEY DESCEND UPON EACH OTHER AND BARE THEIR TEETH CITING CLAIMS OF RULERSHIP BY PURE POWER AND NOT VIRTUE LIKE MERE ANIMALS?! DO YOU NOT NEED A SOCIETY AND SOCIALIZATION, DO YOU NOT WISH FOR A TIME OF PEACE AND OF PLAY?! WHAT ARE YOU IF NOT JUST LIKE A HUMAN?!"
"YOUR HIGHNESS! LADY MOREYA! SHALL I NOT CRY OUT FOR THIS INJUSTICE AND APPEAL TO YOU, A RIGHTFUL RULER, THAT YOU MAY GRANT ME THAT WHICH IS INSIGNIFICANT IN YOUR EYES, THAT WHICH MIGHT BE NOT EVEN DIRT UNDERFOOT?!" I cry out to the king of Suwa. Of hunters and nature, of vengeance and curses, of agriculture and farmers.
Moreya has lost her façade of childish indifference in the midst of my appeal her face has become like a nobleman's, even in her humble clothing such expression of displeasure and contemplation cannot be masked.
She looks at me with an indescribable expression, once again, and though I should be terrified my heart pumps with a mix of joy and nervousness which wracks my stomach.
She opens her mouth, "Hide, now." She commandingly appoints, signaling under the veranda.
I do not know why she asks that, but I do not hesitate to get under and control my breathing.
I receive a reward for obedience like a dog by hearing a yawn followed by talking, "Lady Suwako? What's up with all the shouting?"
"Hehe, there was a youkai doing some mischief, but I scared it off, we should really set up that shishi-odoshi." Unlike me, Moreya clearly does not care about honesty all that much.
"Agh, I don't wanna…" A thudding sound follows through the wooden planks.
"Are you going to nap on the hard floor too? Wouldn't it be better if you went back inside?" Moreya questions.
"…Yeah, I might, but I don't want to leave you alone now with some youkai out there."
"Don't worry, that greedy youkai left and won't be coming bad, all that is left is us three divine beings." Maybe she does care about honesty, she's just as symbolic as I am regarding truth, personal reality is such a wonder.
"Y'know you sound really serious now."
"…Yes, I just woke up from a very nice dream, and I'm feeling kinda sober now." Silence takes the floor, "I might go on a walk later and see if I can find some nice frogs for the pond or something, so don't worry if you don't find me." And Moreya breaks it.
The wood creaks once again, "I'll be going back to sleep then, good luck~!" I think that sleepy voice was Sanae.
Some seconds pass, but soon enough I hear a voice, "Come out, and get up here."
And so I do, I get up and then climb up the veranda, then sit to her side. She does not look at me.
"Pardon me for screaming earlier, it's just that…everyone I've met has been so apathetic towards everything, I couldn't take it anymore." I attempt to find penitence.
"That's fine, I can't expect every human to tremble before me, make sure it does not repeat though, or I might have to seriously curse you. By the way you do have a power, I noticed it when you were shouting, but we can talk about that later since your Japanese also needs some work." Her eyes glaze lazily looking in the distance, as if stargazing for a few moments, "You also talked as if you cared about youkai and gods, I understand what you hate about how humans are treated, but what about everything else?"
"…If I had to say, youkai and god-claimants are all also like animals in a zoo. They get treats for being eye-catching in a terrifying way, or for being beloved for whatever reason one may be beloved, but they hold undignified lives vaguely held together by threats of power." I try to explain myself, "Just today I snuck a youkai friend into the village." She looks at me now with her silver eyes, "He has a wife and a family, but he acted like a little kid when I brought him, and we explored around…and when I invited him to a restaurant he cried while eating beef and rice."
I smile, despite being a sad situation I found that to be a happy moment, it made me happy. And that made me feel like maybe I'm not such a monster, for enjoying when people cry in pain. If I can truly dedicate my life to making people happy, maybe I can turn those memories of sad tears and broken families into happy tears and full homes. She smiles back softly; she does not know who I am like I do, she does not hold those memories, but it makes me feel warm inside, just like when I talked with Nobuyuki. It reminds me of the feeling I get when I pray.
Large white sleeves wipe my eyes, "Don't cry now; it is ugly for a man to beg, but uglier it is for a warrior to cry." I chuckle.
"On the outside that would be seen as old-fashioned but, thank you." I tell her.
I sigh, "…It just reminded me of a sad memory…there was this man from a poor country I once met, it was one of the lands my nation had once conquered but had become independent a few hundred years ago and then had become poor under decades of warfare, and poor decision making." I start, "He had managed to get to our land by crossing borders and making claims, I was driving a car illegally since I didn't have the age to do so but looked old enough, I met him at the side of the road near an airport so I let him inside, we ended up stopping a few times in different cities to eat."
I gaze now at heaven, "He cried because he didn't need to eat under rations, he cried because the milk was not dust, he cried because he was able to get on a car and look out the windows without feeling like it was going to fall apart." I was able to witness such reality firsthand by living in places he pointed me to later on, "He cried because he could not show such place to his mother trapped in that jail even though he had also cried after looking at a digital camera, he cried because he was never shown true altruism, he cried because his friends hanged and shot by vague motivations of revolution in their youth would never be with him here."
"In the end we often disagreed with each other, and we screamed and fought, but I pitied that old man, and I called him my friend." I never saw him again, like a friend met while going in a vacation, or a young summer love; but sometimes I prayed to God at night, that like Ernst Jünger and the young British soldier, that sorrow I felt every time I thought of such situation would never leave me. "When I found myself here I thought of it as a true land of fantasy, but now I know it truly is still a piece of our Earth taken into another place but with more dangers than outside, if I stay still when being presented this injustice may Christ my God take me to hell himself, for this wolf dressed as a lamb will be long lost." I say, cynically.
In my peripheral vision, I can see her looking at me but saying nothing. Soon enough though, she gets up and walks inside.
A few minutes later she comes back out covered in white cloth, almost like a mix between a toga and a hood or cape, her face now has left all seriousness behind and sports a smile.
"Alright, I'll accept your request, now carry me on your shoulders and let's go to the village!" She exclaims, though not too loudly, "I'm going to put that altruism of yours to the test."
"Are you saying you're going to rob me blind?" It sounds like you are.
"Yep!" She says, shameless, "Now get down quick, before we end up waking every napping being in this shrine of mine."
I can't help but smile back, I slide down into the dirt below with my boots and position myself with not much care beyond not cutting myself open with my scythe -but it has just become a part of me by now so there is basically no need to even take heed-, the little king puts her legs over my shoulders and sits on me while holding herself straight by grabbing unto my head. She's surprisingly light.
I walk by the side into the front, look at the shrine and cross myself one last time, walking down the stairs.
"You know, you're not supposed to walk through the middle of the torii, it's disrespectful since it's reserved for gods like me." Moreya informs me.
"Don't I get a pass or something since I'm carrying you?" I laugh a little.
"Hmm, well I'll think about it." She jokingly says, acting innocent.
"I'm thinking now, since I came in the tram, can you go down for free?" It's a legitimate concern, since if she can't we are going to have to go walking from the Youkai Mountain. I do get that we probably will never get attacked from her presence alone, but still.
"Hmph, of course." She tightens her hold of me into a hug, which makes the placement of her cloth quite inconvenient, "I'm the owner, would you pay for something you own?"
I snicker, "Well I wouldn't myself, but it is commonplace where I come from for people to only nominally own things, and for them to still have to pay for stuff they paid for already."
"That's horrible, maybe Kanako was right in moving the shrine here…" She rests her weight on me, apparently saddened.
"There are definitely some benefits to this place, just like there are benefits for the outside world." I talk while we approach the tram, which is now missing, "By the way, why am I carrying you?"
"I didn't want to put shoes on." Huh? I look down at her stocking covered legs and notice that she indeed is just walking around without any shoes, "Hey, don't be a pervert." I press the button at the station, which is little more than a few poles and the ropeway from one way to the other.
"Aren't you the weird one for making me carry you like a kid when you're old enough to have witnessed the Pugna Catalaunica?" If I let myself be trampled by all the cute girls and handsome lads in Gensokyo I'd call it a stampede, seriously, why is everyone so good-looking here?
She props herself up and smirks at me while looking upside down, "Don't you know it's rude to talk about a woman's age?" She starts rhetorically, "Not to mention, the moment you offered yourself as this king's personal servant you gave up any possibility of protest to my whims, or does this also come to conflict with your faith?" No…if anything it is reinforced.
"Alright, I get it." I sigh, "It's just…you're going to break your forehead unless we go around crouching at every doorway." She loses her smirk.
"Yeah…that's true, well, we'll deal with that when it happens." Can you care a little more about your poor forehead? "Or maybe you'd like for me to turn into a snake or something? I could wrap around your neck like a collar."
"No, thank you very much, I will crouch." I don't like snakes, by the rustling at the back of my head I can tell she finds it funny.
The tram approaches at a fast speed without anyone inside, and I grab unto Moreya's thigh with gloved hand and take a step back because it looks like it's going to kill me if I stand to close.
It does in fact not kill me however, it just stops like how it did when I came up, looks like it's more rigid than it appears.
I open the door and walk in, minding the weight in my neck as I bow and crouch slightly, then close the door.
The position we are in is quite awkward, "Maybe we should sit down?"
"Y-yeah, I thought it would be funny but now it's just awkward." Lady Moreya agrees.
I sit down at the right side, and she shuffles a little before standing on the seats, I put my scythe to rest against the wall and my backpack on my lap but then she kicks it.
"Move that thing somewhere else." I do so, putting it instead on the ground, as soon as I do this she sits and then lays down with her head in my lap.
"S-seriously, is this casual behavior normal for you, Lady Moreya?" It certainly is not for me; it feels really awkward.
She looks up at me from down below with an amused expression, "No, of course not, but as I said you are my subject." She starts, "It is only right that I use you just like it is only right you use me, don't think of this as us being close, we are far away from such thing despite you calling yourself my "friend"." Moreya goes on, reasoning, "Naturally your soul and heart belong to whatever god you pray to and over me you serve him, but you must serve kings zealously despite not worshiping them, right?"
"It is so." I answer.
"Then we can argue this is a test of obedience, of whether you value yourself over your king and view serving them as beneath you." She closes her eyes, "If someone unknown came and did the same as I've done you would have been opposed to it, but because I am me and you have accepted me as a "rightful ruler" this is no different than serving me tea or running errands, are we in agreement?"
I nod, "We are."
"Then we can only conclude that because I am me and because we have the relationship we have, despite only having met around an hour ago, this is likened to a warrior swearing fealty to his lord." She ends with another argument, "Now before we might have fought and in a different life, we might have been enemies, but you are my retainer now and part of my affinity, a noble without land who may not rise his hand over his lord and who in turn is protected by the king." She fills in despite me already knowing that fact, "It matters very little what happened in the past or in other lives, we live now and forever, nowhere else."
"Rightly so." I accept such an explanation, and we join a comfortable silence. Her sprawled hair and lazy expression does not befit the regal voice she was talking with just a few seconds ago, but I accept our reality as a truth.
From a personal perspective it still seems weird to me as a modern man, but from a feudal perspective I suppose that having your enemies set against you and having unknowns care little about you, just for them to defect to you or join your holy struggle soon after was a reality of life. In this sense, what makes the difference between a servant who might have served you for life, and your greatest persecutor? Did not even the Apostle Judas Iscariot betray Christ for 30 pieces of silver? Did not Paul the pharisee, become one of Christ's greatest servants after so much murder?
Perhaps this is not so different, or so I'd like to believe, that I'm not being used. Perhaps I have not made a mistake, perhaps I have, perhaps Lady Moreya hates me but hides it for her own benefit or perhaps she is fond of me. But that is all it is, a perhaps, nothing more and nothing else.
I close my eyes too, resting my head, and deeply inhaling just to exhale after. I will leave my fate in God's hands, as I have done time and time again, I cannot in any way find a safer way than to appeal to authorities, since I am weak in this land and not more than a normal human with some apparent power and holiness.
Indeed, I whisper, "Then said Owain to the youth, "Go back, and wherever thou findest the strife at the thickest, there lift up the banner, and let come what pleases Heaven."" I let it out like a prayer, "In manus tuas commendo spiritum meum; redemisti me, Domine Deus veritatis."
"You have done that again, whatever led to that surge of purity." She talks with eyes closed, "Don't you think it is a great dishonor that you have not even presented your name while you know mine?"
"…My name, or what I am known as?" I ask. I expected it to remain a secret, but I will tell her if I must, and when more than one knows a secret, it no longer counts as one.
"Your real one, it is only right if you keep using mine without asking." She answers calmly.
"…My name is Santiago, it means "supplanter"." I inhale, in slight anxiety, "But please call me Focalor, the "demon", while in public."
"What a joke, a demon could only hope to have as much capability for reaching holiness as it is possible for you to achieve." I pray that you are right.
At the gate there is little struggle, I hail the guard, and he lets me pass, already done with my shenanigans after a month. I carry Moreya in my shoulders, but the gate is large enough to let both of us in without crouching, inside people look at us in curiosity from time to time. I can only guess that bringing in a giant guy in black cloak and a little lady in white cloth does make people curious about what the hell I'm doing this week.
"Where do you live?" She asks as we go through the streets looking around.
"I'm homeless, I had a room when I was contracted with the Hieda, but I lost that privilege when I ended the contract." It was one of my largest concerns to find a way of getting a roof over my head, "It's not like I can't get a house, but if I want to actually help people it might be a better idea to get enough money to buy a warehouse or something along those lines in order to house those in need."
"Have you considered that you might be an idiot instead?" She raises a valid question.
"I have no need for such things as "consideration", I am a fool." I answer.
She sighs a warm breath that feels a little weird on my hair, "…Well, I can make some rocks for you when we go back outside later, help you make a house or something."
"I'd be very grateful if you did that." I hope this is not another Marisa, I don't know what she wants of me, but I don't trust her.
"Oh, don't be grateful, I'm going to make you pay for that in stuff for me." Great.
"Well, what should we buy?" We've already established that I'm going to lose money to gain power so whatever.
"Eeeeh…clothes!" Sounds simple.
"What kind of clothes?" I ask, "Fancy? Humble?" I continue, "Last time I went shopping for clothes I just bought many clothes for commoners, I alternate them when I go wash my uniform."
"Hmmm, how much money do you have?" I'm rich, lady.
"I have…ugh, how do I say it? …74926 mon" Look on my riches, ye mighty, and despair!
"Woah, you know that I could have just given you a blessing for some money, right?" Well fuck.
"I…didn't." I look upwards at her, "Does a 100 mon coin work?"
"No, but it's a good start." She smiles a mischievous smile, "Let's go to get those fancy clothes."
I sigh, I've been sighing a lot today. I walk towards the street where the clothier I talked with the last time works.
It would make things much easier for everyone if they actually named streets or had functional guilds. From what I've gathered there are guilds, they are just so powerless to do anything that it matters little, and instead of gathering many artisans into the same street they set up tent wherever they want.
It's a horrible way of doing business, and most of the artisans end up still having to go to the fields, the only one that I haven't seen working out there with the rest is Tokichiro the blacksmith -who I still believe to be carrying half of the village's economy-.
I quickly find the building as soon as we walk into the street, the sign they put up is quite easy to remember, since it is a yarn ball instead of Japanese characters.
I knock twice on the wooden door out of pure habit before opening it gently, and crouching. The little lady holds unto me by the head and gets down too, so no accidents occur.
"Welcome, welcome!" An old lady's voice rings out gently.
"Good evening, miss Satoko, I've come for your services once again." I put my hand to my chest and bow in respect, minding the extra weight.
"Ohh, Focalor! What a pleasant surprise!" She goes toward us from behind the counter giddily, "Did the clothes fit you well? Have you been cleaning them as I told you?"
"Yes, I once again thank you for your work, both the clothes and my stitches have been cleaned properly and regularly." I jest smiling, Satoko here helped me with the sutures when she had to take my measurements, it was pretty noticeable since she had to see me shirtless. I kiss her on the cheeks as soon as she comes close, once and twice.
She laughs a merry laugh and insults me in good manner, "You barbarian, you!" I taught her about western traditions and customs for her store as soon as I was able to talk a little bit of Japanese, since she apparently found my work attire to be fashionable, "And who is this cute kid you've got with you? Are the clothes for her?" Moreya slightly tightens her grip.
"I wouldn't call her a kid, she's older than even you!" I crack an amused smirk, my lady is not amused however, and I hear whispered curses -which sounds quite terrifying when considering who is uttering them-, "But yes, the clothes are for her, we were hoping to see if you could do ornamental attires such as dresses for clergy or nobles, potentially including metals and the like."
"Well, as long as you have the money…" She pats me in the arm with a smile and nearly shut eyes, "But I think I can count on that, don't I?"
"Of course, we have a budget of 70000 mon." I inform her, my budget matters little in truth since I will hunt sooner or later, "The price for a gram of gold…2300 mon, right? 26 for the gram of silver, so around 26000 and a few 100 more per kilo."
"You're blowing your money on decorations of gold?" Moreya incredulously interjects.
"Well, Lady Asoku, my people have always been obsessed with gold." I tell her, "But if you have any ideas, Satoko here is an expert."
Satoko in turn looks at her with a patient smile, Moreya rests on my head and gives little care of my obfuscation of her name through a title.
"…Iron, I want the decorations to be made of iron." That would be much cheaper than gold, yes…
"But won't that be uncomfortable?" I ask out of concern.
"At least have some faith in my strength." She lets her grip slip from my being.
"I'm saying it out of concern, if you find that to be what you want, I will pay for it since it must be only around 2500 mon for an entire dress covered in it." I repeat now on the air and try to look at her as she shuffles on my shoulders.
"You're weird." Her voice wavers as she moves.
"Sorry for all this miss Satoko." I bow my head a little, "Would you like to get down, Lady Asoku?"
I feel a nod and proceed to crouch a little, she pushes herself up with my help, and then I catch her before she falls. She instead starts floating while covered in that white cloth of hers, so it looks like I'm holding her without tiring me too much, which I must say looks quite comical and cute in a sense. I look at Moreya, I look at Satoko.
"…Unto the measuring?" I suggest, and Satoko holds an awkward smile.
"…Yeah." Moreya slumps in my hands.
"Give me a moment, and I'll come back with everything I need." The graceful tailor leaves gently. I hold the goddess-claimant closer to myself, like a very very large ventriloquist doll.
…
"Calling me an outlaw demands punishment."
"I will take it without excuse."
…
"If it makes things better, you looked quite cute right there, like a cat held by its shoulders."
"Shut up." Yeah, I probably should.
"Though, I wonder, why iron?" In fact, "Why buy new clothes at all? Surely you have more in your temple."
"Since we are working together, I will appear together with you and will become associated with your work, it should follow that my position over you must be apparent at a glance." She tells me, "The iron is symbolic of many things. Strength, determination, honor." She goes on explaining, "But it is also the latest metal we obtained during my kingship, before that we usually built weapons of bronze."
"Does that last part also have any meaning, or is it just a nod?" I'm human, therefore I am curious.
"I am the past which points towards the future." Her voice is soft, "But you are the future, which strives towards the past." And her views are true, "Denying it would be a very bad lie."
"Can the past and the present never be conjoined at all?" I would like to think of myself as a synthesis.
I can view Moreya's face while I hold her, it is impossible to not see her features with her stature, her eyes soften in gentle manner.
"I used to think that idea was nothing more than a dream, since no man like you has attempted such a radical ideal, have you?" She rhetorically adds, "Maybe what you- no, maybe what we need is to cooperate together, if we take up the present by storm there will be no way for anyone to deny the glory of yore." Then her gaze lays upon me, "And nobody will be able to tax the future."
I nod, "We are in agreement then."
"We are in a sense, we will have disagreements later on, but your words moved me since I usually never wander around." She agrees, nodding also, "I'll have to tour the village more and ascertain what I will give you as a reward, and what we should do to further our goals."
Satoko finally returns with some big boxes in one hand and a chair in the other, she quickly sets the chair down, then lets the boxes rest to the side.
"Could you get up here please?" She asks then.
I help the king who clearly did not think through the "carry me around peasant" joke to the chair, she stands upon it with white thigh highs and what amounts to a white cloak, but I also take that from her so as to not make things difficult while she turns around to look towards me.
"Miss Asoku, right?" Satoko asks with narrowed eyes, and the outlaw assents, "You look very familiar, but maybe my memory is failing me." It's good that she didn't bring her hat, or she might have been recognized by everyone. Satoko starts taking notes mentally with her measuring tape, the arms and shoulders, legs and hips.
"I don't think we've met before, maybe you saw me on the street?" Moreya smiles anyways despite suggesting a lie, I assume her childish voice and innocent expression does wonders at fooling people, I'm grateful I have as much knowledge as needed even if my memory fails me sometimes.
"Ahh, could be." Our dear tailor would talk more, but she's quite serious about her job. I will tune out their discourse anyways, I benefit little from hearing it.
The lofty spirit is as always unnatural, she does not move even a millimeter due to breathing nor does she adjust her balance, and yet nobody says anything as if she is hidden in plain view.
In a way this is both beautiful and terrifying, if we see through the mere physical realm this means that Moreya -or Suwako Moriya as she is known- can truthfully merely walk in the midst of humankind and there would be little to signal her lack of humanity, even if she could curse your entire bloodline. Verily, like a templar martyr she is both awesome and graceful, one day she will be defeated in battle and the next she will bring more fame to herself and not the victor.
"…By the way, I brought this expensive textile that Focalor here is carrying right now, I was wondering if you could incorporate it into the dress." I tune in as soon as I hear my name.
"Hmmm…could you leave it here and come again tomorrow?" Says Satoko while writing down in a piece of paper, "I'll have a poor-quality version of the final result by then, you can choose then if you want to use it or not."
"Sure, for the patterns on the sleeves…" I tune out the dialogue once again, cold silver eyes stare at me and my heart pumps slightly faster. I try to decipher what my feelings exactly mean but find little, like trying to show cuneiform to an illiterate peasant, I cannot tell whether it is anything ranging from excitement to horror.
From the gray sludge of my emotions emerges a color that defines itself in RGB, even though I can only see in black and white, similar to that fiery hate I so commonly feel but so different at the same time.
"…Well, I think that's all, isn't it little miss?" Satoko please do not get cursed while I daydream.
Surprisingly enough, Moreya doesn't react much, "Yeah, I think that's enough at least."
"Actually, something more." I interject, "Do you by chance have any shoes or sandals?" The humanoid frog looks exasperated.
"I do have some spare sandals if you'd like, I don't plan on selling them so you can keep them as a gift." Satoko is all smiles, I cannot tell you how much I like this old lady even if I'm wasting so much money on her.
"They'd be very well appreciated." I nod towards her. She goes behind the counter and crouches with a grunt, before placing the wooden sandals over it, and slowly rising again.
"Here you go." She finally says after some winded breaths.
"Thank you very much, truly." I smile at her, and she smiles back. I let the cloth rest on the counter and take the sandals in turn.
I hand the sandals to the sitting spirit, who quickly puts them on and stands on her own, and then I move the chair into a corner. Moreya starts walking towards the door and I follow. Just before we go out, I look back and bow, "We'll be back tomorrow."
Closing the door, I follow with a sprint, before settling down on a calm walk, since Moreya's legs are much shorter than mine.
"Do you want anything else?" I ask of her, she did say she was going to drain my pockets.
"No, this will do." Is her response, which is fine by me, but it is a little weird to me.
We walk quietly between villagers.
"So why did you stare at me so intensely back there?" She comments after that period of silence.
"Hm?" What do you mean "why"?
"It felt uncomfortable because I had to keep still and couldn't avoid looking at you." Despite saying that it felt uncomfortable she looks like she found the situation funny.
"I was trying to figure out something, that's all." I'm not telling her more. We take a turn into the main "avenue" or street.
"Lame." She sticks her tongue out.
"What about you? I thought you didn't like getting compared to a kid from your reaction earlier, but you didn't react at all just now." I ask her instead.
"Well, she was quite skilled and well-spoken so I figured I could let her be, out of respect." She asserts, "Unlike you, who has only shown that he has money and some virtue."
I'm not denying that. I hail the guard at the door as we pass, and say goodbye.
"Are you going to do that house thing now?" I question, because I have to figure out where to sleep.
She looks at me from below, "Uuuu…right, homeless rich man." There are no Lamborghini in Gensokyo, "Sure, it can be wherever around here, right?"
"I don't really care where you do it as long as I don't get in trouble for it, I just want to know whether I can expect to have a place to sleep at." I could sleep upside down for all I care.
"…I'll just do it right here then." She looks away from the road, we are just some meters away from the village's fields, but not that far away from the Forest of Magic either.
The ground grumbles as if in pain, and the earth where she is looking opens up, rocks cut open the dirt and rise made walls. When they reach a sufficient height, they come together and unite, and a large rounded slab of stone is laid on the "entrance. The result is what one may expect, it looks like a Minecraft dirt shack given life, but it is sufficient to me.
"…Great."
"Is that all?"
"What am I supposed to say? It's not a masterpiece, but it works." I justify myself, "Let's just continue, it's basically already nighttime."
She doesn't argue and we take a left turn just a bit further beyond, basically parallel to the path towards the Mysty Lake, this one happens to avoid the lake though. I've walked back and forth this way a few times due to indecision, I was really unprepared for seeking any form of assistance, so while we're walking, I take heed of any changes in the scenery. The rustled bush, the grass which has witnessed someone's step, the wilted flower. It's certainly a good chance…should I?
"Hey, I'll be going fishing tomorrow with a friend in the morning, but would you like to go and grab something to eat for dinner?" I break the silence selfishly, deciding that I certainly should.
She is as incredulous as when I suggested using gold on a dress, "Are you asking out a goddess you just met a few hours ago? The very one you were groveling to help you?"
"It is said that fortune favors the bold." I smirk at her, "And I'm bold as a lion."
She shifts her expression to a smug one, "I'll consider it when you prove yourself to be less pathetic, even lions have the strength to back their boldness." My honorable enemy looks at me through the foliage, and his eyes widen, he's catching on.
"If I proved myself in battle, would you find me to be more than a mere beggar?" I suggest
"I don't know, maybe when you learn danmaku we can try to do a little omatsuri." She dismisses.
"I'll let you know that this war scythe is not for decoration, much less the blessing it has." The brown-haired raccoon man in the midst of the trees nods with a smile, "Kizumaru! You beautiful bastard, come out here!"
"H-huh? What?" Moreya is baffled.
"Humiliating you in front of an audience? You are such a treat, man." His smile is more or less a showing of teeth.
"Can you tell me what is going on?!" She righteously demands an explanation.
"Well, Kizumaru and me have a bit of a history of trying to kill each other, so when I saw him between the trees, I took the chance!" Kizumaru waves his hand goofily, "He stalks me from time to time because I managed to escape from him in our first scuffle." I whisper to her before turning back to him and walking closer, "Watch closely!" I hear exasperated mutterings that I've come accustomed to hear today, I do not turn back.
"I'll make sure to not rough you up that much." The audacity.
"Make sure to rough me up that much or you'll end up with your guts spilled on the road." I advise him.
"I'll take your threats seriously when you actually know how to speak." He smirks, do you seriously want me to kill you? I leave my backpack on the side and offer a prayer, crossing myself.
He does not expect my first direct attack, and jumps back startled, "Shit!" The scythe grazes near his jaw, "So you're serious…huh."
"My skills in Japanese do not affect my skills in killing whatsoever." His smirk wavers.
"Yeah, I've gathered." He attacks with his fists and I fully counterattack, overreaching, he turns it into a feint and goes back slightly to dodge before attacking me with his hidden dagger.
I deflect with my snath, locking his weapon on the stem I strike at his legs with steel toed kicks. He inhales with clenched teeth, jumping backwards, his attack however was not without success, my left fingers are bleeding.
I take no chances and follow after him as he tries to create space to find rest, I give him none by striking at his torso from the left, the dagger blocks my strike with inhuman reflexes but his grip falters when I press at full strength, even if my muscles ask for more oxygen and stars dance in my eyes it is worth it.
I imitate him by getting back, and he tries to find revenge by counter attacking, but as soon as I aim at his neck he thinks twice and stops on his tracks. This is a big mistake for him, the sooner I get my breathing stabilized the sooner I can defeat him.
"You've gotten much stronger compared to last month." He observes.
"I've been hanging around Nobuyuki much more than I used to, so it would make sense." Kizumaru's eyes narrow.
"Oh, fuck off." By now my smile threatens to split my face.
Now, he jumps forward without questioning it, my blade strikes and cuts lightly through his left arm. He hisses but pushes and grabs my scythe, damn, he comes close, and I try to dodge by giving up the double handed grip and letting only one hand grab the wood. It is not sufficient, and he strikes my left hand again. This time it is much more effective and now I lack a finger, another one is out of commission and the rest are uncontrollably trembling.
My smile widens despite the constant feeling of nausea and the nervousness that threatens to make me vomit in this very instant, Kizumaru laughs triumphally in between suffering, so I take the chance and pray for the scythe to glow with great brilliance, then let my right hand lose its grip. I punch him and he takes it on the jaw, dropping both his and my weapon in his blindness. In turn I grab his clothing with my right, bite his left arm and use his momentum to trip him with my foot.
When he's on the ground I jump on his torso as quickly as possible taking his breath out, then I position my knees on his arms, and start punching. For a moment I see one of hands reach out to the dagger on the ground, but I manage to grab it with trembling fingers and bloodied hand, stab his hand on the ground while I ignore his pained screams and then pull it out to position it over his throat.
"Don't…don't you think…you've already…lost?" I breath out my offer of surrender. His eyes look at me with a mix of respect, horror and pride. He nods, his mouth is bloodied, he spits at me some sort of solid, it's two of his teeth.
"Two wins…each." His chest heaves up and down as he smiles a broken grin with a missing canine, I nod back and get up from his arms, he takes very little to run into the forest leaving small splotches of blood in the dirt and a few teeth on me, I grab the canine and put it in my pocket. He didn't ask for his dagger back, so I'm taking it as a war trophy, I let it rest on my belt. I grab the scythe with my right hand so I can stay on my feet, I think I'm going to throw up.
I look back towards Moreya, my lost finger should be around there, but first she comes running.
"SIT DOWN! NOW!" No need to tell me twice, I fall on my ass.
She gives me a severed finger covered in Jomiba protective gloves, "Express lesson because you're insane." Sure, "That power of yours, it was a prayer, right?" Her voice is on the verge of breaking into screams again.
"…Yeah, I…found out-" She cuts me off.
"IT DOES NOT MATTER, PRAY FOR HEALING OR SOMETHING RELATED TO BONES!" She frantically grabs by left hand and places the finger where it belongs, she's getting her sleeves caked in blood…
"…Your sleev-"
"MY SLEEVES DO NOT MATTER EITHER! I HAVE NO USE FOR YOU IF YOU CAN'T KEEP YOUR HEALTH! PRAY!"
"Miserere mei…Domine, quoniam infirmus sum…sana me, Domine…quoniam conturbata…sunt ossa mea." I intone in-between my panting.
Flesh unites with flesh, tendon with tendon, and bone with bone. I bite into my other gloved hand amidst muffled screaming, ending in even heavier panting. Looking at my annulary I can see clear scar tissue where it was cut, and my little finger is no longer dislocated, it's a shame that now my glove is missing a finger though.
Actually, doesn't this mean I could have just prayed that youkai bite away a month ago? Let's forget my idiocy and instead focus on my idiocy.
I look up at this very angry lady from the ground.
"There's no wonder you called yourself a demon if you're having fun right now, wipe that smile off your face." Sorry, "Well, do you have anything to say for yourself?"
My smile grows again and I raise my newly sewn finger, "…So, tomorrow at seven?" I lose it and start laughing, then start coughing.
"You're crazy, you're actually mad, I made a mistake in accepting your request." Oh man don't take it back; I still need to find out what that feeling exactly is, "And put that finger down, I fear that it's going to fall off." I heed her command.
She sighs, then smiles gently like one would to a child, "…Tomorrow at seven." Two friends made in one day, great.
Her expression turns a bit sour, and she looks at her clothes, "This is going to be so hard to explain to Sanae…" My laugh is not well received if her glare is an indicator.
Kept you waiting, huh.
Really long chapter this time, I was writing and then I was like "I should post this already", but then it went on and on so here we are. According to Word this chapter has 11329 words without counting this note, so sorry, but between that and festivities I had little time to actually finish the chapter.
This one is a setup for the next two chapters, I'm going to try to do some sort of "arc" or something along those lines centered around actively furthering Suwako and Focalor's goals (even though you know his real name now). It's also kind of a centered around idiosyncrasies and word-play included in Focalor's poor understanding of Japanese, you might get some of the things I'm referring to, but the most glaring of them all is his belief in the power of names, which is why he calls Suwako "Moreya" (or "Asoku" as a different pronunciation of [Moreya no] Akuzoku, or Moreya the outlaw) in constant manner. He's a little autistic considering his lack of understanding regarding sentiments.
I think I did a pretty good job when writing Suwako, but the number of credible sources to support any form of fleshing out her character in Touhou is between three and none. So, I'm being fueled by: a few dialogues, the Kojiki, the Suwa Daimyoujin Ekotoba, and a few very poorly translated (into English that is) Chinese-Japanese letters to the Kamakura shogunate. If anyone feels like there's a better way of writing her character, just point me towards that way and I'll see what I can do. She was originally just going to fuck around with him in order to get something but is now a little more invested in his ideas.
By now you should probably see what route this story follows already, there will be failure and there will be success, but I'd like to at least make it interesting.
I'll be translating every starting poem or quote soon after posting, and I'll do a little revision regarding orthography, I was thinking of also translating every prayer he did but I'm not all that convinced.
By the way, on Marisa's "Ze" since you mentioned it, Al. The major problem with the way her mannerisms are written is the fact that they are supposed to evocate a "boyish" feeling. The "Ze" which is so often used everywhere should be used in the case of a call to action or some sort of activity as a way to complement the verb present in the sentence. I tried to write her ways by appealing to more text-rich sources such as Curiosities of Lotus Asia's 36th chapter, where she engages in a dialogue with Rinnosuke.
That should be all, I think, much love to everyone and thank you for reading.
Dominus Vobiscum.