Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cirno huffed as we finally approached the little shack concealed within the bamboo. “Chitose! Why're we going here again?”

I glanced back at the ice fairy, hefting the load I carried in my arms. “I told you, Cirno. I was already on my way here when we bumped into you... I'll help you find Letty once we drop this off, I promise, but this is a little more important...”

Cirno frowned. “I don't even get how you find your way here,” she grumbled. “Even I can't usually find this place when I wanna prank the birdbrain. And Dai won't help.”

I rolled my eyes lightly, turning back to the shack. “No, I don't think Daiyousei's keen on helping you find and prank someone who responds to fairy pranks with fire and pain,” I pointed out, sliding the door open. “Just stay quiet... Mokou usually sleeps a lot at this time of year, and I'm pretty sure even you know how she tends to view fairies.”

Cirno huffed, but I knew she couldn't really argue with that. Mokou's dislike of fairies, and her tendency to burn them without provocation, had become something of Gensokyo legend by this point.

As we entered, I saw that, as I'd expected, Mokou lay asleep, her long white hair out of its ribbon for once and pooling on the floor around her. The third member of our group slipped past me and hovered quietly before the little stove in one corner of the shack. “... you were right, aneechan,” he called softly. “There's not even a pilot light on...”

I stepped carefully around the sleeping Mokou, setting my armload of fuel down beside the stove. “Well, that's why we brought along the 'kindling fire', right?” I teased back, careful to whisper.

Sakan smiled as I ruffled his hair, and nodded, carefully reaching into the stove and letting the smallest of flames drop from his outstretched fingers onto the sparse coals left in the bottom. As he carefully began fanning the flames, I smiled quietly down at the newborn youkai I'd been taking care of for nearly two years now. A young tsukumogami (a youkai born from an object that had been lost for over one hundred years), Sakan was quite literally a living book. While the grimoire that my magic teacher Patchouli had once lost remained his true form, with his awakening as a youkai he had gained the ability to manifest a human appearance.

Partially, at least. I'd met other tsukumogami who could take on a totally human appearance outside of their object self, but Sakan seemed content just to “stand” halfway out of his book, leaning on the edge as often as not, with his legs still inside the book as if he were perpetually partway emerged from a portal.

After a few minutes of concentration, Sakan began adding fuel from the piles he and I had brought, and then turned and nodded to me. “Fire's going, aneechan,” he whispered.

I brushed some of his long, wild red hair out of the way so I could look into his violet eyes properly. “You are such a sweetheart, you know that?” I teased. Then I hugged him gently. “You're gonna make some girl really happy one of these days.”

Sakan flushed and poked me lightly in the ribs. “Aneechan, you know most of the girls here only like other girls...”

“They like who they like,” I countered, and ruffled his hair. “I didn't think I liked girls before I got here, remember? So some of them probably like guys too.”

Sakan lit up. “And now you like Daiyousei, right?”

I flushed, and behind us Cirno broke into a fit of giggles. “Oh, she totally does. You should hear Dai talk about her all the time...”

I blinked and let go of Sakan at that. “Wait, she does...?”

Cirno burst into giggles anew. “Aha! I knew it, you totally like Dai~”

I huffed and glanced back at the ice fairy hovering behind me. As always, despite the winter weather she wore nothing but a pale blue dress, a pattern of white triangles accenting the hem, and a darker blue bow in her sky-blue hair. Three crystalline shards of ice hovering unattached behind each shoulder served as her wings. While not mean-spirited, as I knew well from the friendships I'd at least attempted to make with the fairies I'd met, she had a tendency to never think anything through before she did it, especially pranks.

That latter tendency leapt to my mind as I saw the grease pencil in her hand. “... Cirno... you didn't...”

Sakan pointed to the rather crude scribbles on the sleeping Mokou's face. “... she did, aneechan...”

Cirno put her hands on her hips and grinned. “Course I did! I am the strongest, I fear no crazy bird-lady!” she crowed.

A moment later, she let out a yelp and made a very undignified forward roll to avoid the fireball that whizzed through where her head had been and out into the snowy forest. “Can't even get any sleep in the dead of winter, huh?” Mokou muttered as she sat up.

I moved quickly to stand beside Cirno. “Mokou, calm down, please,” I urged softly.

Mokou blinked up at me, slowly getting to her feet. “Oh. Hey, Chi. Been a while, huh?” She eyed my outfit. “... a long while, apparently. When did you go miko?”

I smiled, turning back and forth a bit to let her see from all angles. I was dressed, as I always did since taking up the position, in my shrine maiden uniform, a simple white kimono and a long pleated hakama that shaded from vibrant red through warm orange to bright yellow, each shade exactly matching that of an autumn leaf. “Just a few months ago,” I said lightly. “Shizuha-sama and Minoriko-sama finally asked me to be theirs.”

Mokou grinned a little, setting her hands in her pockets. “They finally asked you, huh? Sheesh, I need to get out more...” She raised an eyebrow. “Though it seems even the most traditionally-dressed miko can't help but accessorize, eh?”

I blinked, thinking at first she meant my hair-clip. My goddesses had given it to me along with the outfit, the crossed wheat design chosen to represent Minoriko's dominion over the good harvest. Then Mokou tugged at the bright-red scarf around my neck, and I shrugged. “Well, it's winter, after all,” I pointed out, and raised one hand to show the white, down-lined gloves I wore. “Shizuha-sama made it for me.” I smiled, envisioning the elder of the two sisters I served happily, the goddess of turning leaves.

As for “traditionally-dressed”, I knew that one well. Although the other two shrine maidens living in Gensokyo had been born into the tradition, whereas I had been asked to become one, both Reimu and Sanae wore uniforms decidedly altered from the usual, including detached sleeves that left their shoulders bare. My uniform, on the other hand, differed only in the color of the skirt from any normal miko's.

Mokou nodded. “So anyway, Chi...” She glanced at the girl still fluttering behind my shoulder. “Why's there a fairy in my house?”

I glanced pointedly at Cirno. “We bumped into her in the forest, looking for Letty. I told her I'd help her once we were done here if she behaved herself.”

Mokou frowned, her focus thankfully shifting back to me. “And why were you guys coming here?” She blinked. “Actually, scratch that, who's 'we'?”

Sakan waved quietly from his place beside the stove. “Hi, Mokou,” he mumbled shyly. “I've... got the fire running...” He was always a little shy around Mokou; he'd been with me the first night I'd met her and seen the raw power at her disposal, which had left him in awe of her ever since. I also suspected he felt some affinity for her as a fellow fire-user, but... well, even I had to admit she could be kind of scary.

Mokou paused, her face softening as she moved over towards him, warming her hands at the flames. “This again?” Her voice was a lot quieter now. “I keep telling you guys I don't need a fire... it's not like even a blizzard can kill me now...”

Sakan hovered quietly at her side, hands reaching out to the fire as well. “It can't kill me either, but it'd still hurt a lot,” he said quietly.

Mokou glanced at him and shook her head. “Well... yeah,” she said quietly. “You're still young, kiddo... guess people just get used to this sort of thing after 1300 years...”

Sakan huffed and crossed his arms. “Well, so what if you're used to it? That doesn't mean you should keep letting it happen... c'mon, Mokou. Doesn't this feel nice? It's so warm and cheery in here now... I know you don't like the cold either...”

Mokou reached over and ruffled Sakan's hair roughly. “You really like living up to your name, huh kiddo?” she asked quietly. “I do like it. The fires you make are always nice and bright. I just... don't want to get used to something like that...” Her eyes lowered. “... Things change. Someday, you'll stop showing up. Maybe you'll just grown up and forget about me, maybe I'll end up having to go somewhere... even youkai don't last forever, kiddo. I'm just... tired of losing stuff, I guess.”

Sakan's face grew indignant, but I put a hand on his arm to quiet him. “Mokou,” I said softly, “Just because happiness might seen fleeting isn't a reason not to seek it...”

Mokou sighed quietly. “... I think that's why I probably hate Kaguya so much,” she muttered, tensing at even the mention of the immortal Lunarian's name. “Thirteen centuries of living perpetually, watching all the other humans get old, pass on... everyone realizing I was immortal and cursing my very name...” She grit her teeth. “... and then I met her, and she still had that same stupid, carefree face and manner as the day she turned my father down...”

She sighed, and lowered her head, letting her long white hair shade her eyes. I nodded, understanding. “But Gensokyo is a different place from the outside world,” I murmured.

Mokou's eyes peered out at me from between strands of pure white hair. “The world always changes,” she replied, her voice level. “And I'm immortal... when it does, I'll still be here to see it...”

I shook my head. “I believe Gensokyo really will be eternal, Mokou,” I countered. “It's the sort of world people in the outside world dream of... an eternal dream...”

Sakan moved in, shyly putting a hand on Mokou's shoulder. “Even if it's not going to last forever... shouldn't you enjoy it while it lasts?” he asked. “I know I might not last forever... or a time might come when we can't see each other anymore... but as long as I last, I wanna try and make you happy...”

Mokou hid behind her hair again, and gave a long sigh. After a long moment, her arm emerged from the curtain and tugged Sakan close. “... thanks, kiddo,” she whispered, her voice calmer now. “Don't mind me... I always get this way when winter comes around.”

Cirno huffed, startling me; I'd almost forgotten the ice fairy was still there. “Why?” she demanded. “Winter's the best time of year!”

Mokou glanced up, still holding Sakan. “... truth be told, it's pretty and all, but winter can be... pretty harmful to humans...” She shook her head. “... The first time I had to watch someone get old without me, it was pretty much the most important person I had back then... when it starts getting cold out, I start thinking about him...”

Sakan hugged her quietly, and she patted his back. “It was the dead of winter when sickness caught up to him,” she said quietly. “I was still young then, and didn't even know how to properly tend the fire.... soon after he died, the fire went out. It was the coldest night of my life...” She shook her head. “It was also probably the first night I really understood what it is to be immortal.”

Sakan gently slipped from her side, rummaging around her sleeping mat for something. I looked quietly at the white-haired immortal girl. “So winter reminds you of him?”

Mokou nodded, glancing to the side. “... He was kind to me,” she said. “Even when it was clear that I looked the same even after all the years he'd taken care of me...” She paused, clasping her hands quietly in her lap. “It's not that I don't have fond memories of him,” she added. “It's more... I hate remembering that I'll never have any more of them...”

Sakan looked back at us. “But there's lots of other people who want to give you fond memories of them,” he pointed out. “He may be gone, but he's not the only person who wants to take care of you...”

Mokou glanced at the rummaging youkai with a smirk. “That what you're trying to say?” she asked. “You wanna take care of me, kiddo?” She shook her head, and then blinked as Sakan flew back over with her ribbon in hand. The youkai started to carefully tie her hair back, and she lowered her head and her voice. “Don't worry too much about me. I'll be feeling better when spring rolls around and I'm not thinking of him so much.”

Sakan nodded. “Well, I want you to be feeling better in winter too,” he said firmly, giving the ribbon a tug to finish tying it. “You saved aneechan's life before... and you're just really cool... I don't want you being sad.”

Mokou looked up at him, shivering a little. I rose. “Think it's about time we got out of your hair,” I said lightly. “Cirno, c'mon...”

Sakan floated up as well, but paused as Mokou rose, hesitantly holding out an arm. “... You mind staying, kiddo?” she asked, her voice hesitant, as if unused to even asking something like this. “I wouldn't mind some company for a while... think I could use it, honestly.”

Sakan floated lightly into her arms and settled against her. “It's okay, right aneechan?”

I smiled. “What're you asking me for? Your call if you wanna stay with her... plus, it's a lot warmer here than it is back at home right now...”

Mokou hugged the little youkai quietly and nodded. “Don't worry, I'll have him home before his bedtime.”

I giggled softly, and headed out the door. Cirno stuck out her tongue and flew after me. “She still didn't notice,” she snickered.

I raised an eyebrow. “No, but she has very good hearing,” I pointed out, catching the fairy by the wrist and tugging her out of the way of an incoming fireball.

Mokou stood fuming in the doorway now, and I looked back. “Mokou, it's just pencil. It'll wipe off easily,” I said softly. “No need to roast someone over a silly prank...”

Mokou huffed. “Thought you said she promised to behave.”

I gave Cirno's wrist a light squeeze. “You did,” I reminded her softly. “When I say behave, I mean no pranks, not even harmless ones... got it?”

Cirno pouted. “Fine, spoilsport...”

I chuckled. “Spoilsport who's going to help you find Letty,” I pointed out. “C'mon, you broke your promise... and that really wasn't very nice to do to someone who's asleep... apologize...”

Cirno's wings seemed to stick straight out like a cat puffing up its fur. The ice fairy glared at me, but I simply looked quietly back at her, and after a while she seemed to deflate. “... fine... sorry, birdbrain...”

Mokou huffed and crossed her arms. “Birdbrain?”

I smiled. “C'mon, Mokou... she said sorry. Chill out...”

Sakan's voice piped up from inside. “Or warm up, as the case may be...”

Mokou blinked. Her lips curled into a smile, and she let out a single, quiet chuckle. “... heh... all right, you're off the hook, idiot fairy. Consider yourself lucky that I've got company...” She turned and closed her door, and I set out through the bamboo forest with Cirno fluttering indignantly at my side.

“I'm not an idiot,” she was muttering over and over as we reached the village. “The one who calls people an idiot is the real idiot, that idiot!”

I smiled. “Just keep telling yourself, behaving yourself means you get to find Letty that much sooner...”

Cirno seemed to brighten up at that. On the far side of the village lay Myouren Temple, a temple built and maintained by the Buddhist monk Byakuren, a kindly woman whose primary goal was to foster friendship and understanding between humans and youkai. We were headed there now; Letty hid most of the year, but I hoped that word of this youkai-friendly temple might have reached her ears, and with the time for prayer approaching, there were hopefully many youkai there who might have seen her, or even Letty herself in attendance.

As we got closer, I saw that my guess had been even better than I had expected. Out front, talking to a girl with a broom I didn't recognize, was a far more familiar pale-haired woman dressed in blue and white.

Cirno's eyes widened, and she shot from my side to hug the woman tightly from behind. “Letty! There you are!” she cried happily.

I smiled as I watched Letty turn and move Cirno around to her front for a more proper hug. “Hello, silly,” she said lightly, petting one of Cirno's wings idly.

I bowed lightly as those lavender eyes rose to regard me, their hue an exact match for her hair. The woman standing before me, despite her human appearance, was a snow youkai named Letty Whiterock. Said by some to be the lingering spirit of a woman who died of exposure, the yuki-onna was far kinder than legends tended to cast her kind, a personality reflected by her almost matronly face and figure. She generally wasn't very friendly to humans, on account of their tendency to drive her away, but through Cirno I'd been able to develop somewhat of an understanding with her the previous winter.

As Cirno slipped away from her, I got a better look at her outfit. She wore the same clothing as always, a deep blue dress with a white apron. A simple brooch adorned her collar, whose shape my studies with my magic teacher Patchouli had taught me was the sigil used by alchemists to represent silver.

“So,” she said after a long moment. “A shrine maiden... do you plan on driving me away like the red-white?”

I frowned a little, recognizing Reimu's most common nickname. “Autumn gives way to winter. That's the natural way of things. As long as you don't try and hurt Shizuha-sama's leaves or Minoriko-sama's harvest before the humans have time to appreciate them, why would I?”

Letty smiled. “Oh, so you're the shrine maiden for those two sillies,” she said softly. “You're not planning on punishing me for bringing on the frost?”

I laughed. “Not as long as you're not planning on frosting the leaves right off the trees,” I countered. “Shizuha-sama works hard on those...”

Cirno tugged Letty's sleeve. “Letty, that's Chi... remember? I introduced you guys last year...”

Letty put an arm around the fairy and held her lightly against her side. “I remember that, but she wasn't a shrine maiden last year,” she said gently. “When humans' jobs change, so do their priorities.”

I smiled as I watched the two, Cirno nestling happily against her. Daiyousei and Cirno were close, maybe even closer than the sweet greater fairy and I were. However, perhaps because she quite literally hibernated for the whole year aside from winter, Cirno and Letty were closer still.

“Chi was helping me look for you 'cause I missed you, goofball,” Cirno was saying, practically snuggling the taller snow youkai by this point.

Letty nodded. “Well then, thank you, Chitose,” she said, patting Cirno's hair.

The girl that Letty had been speaking with finally spoke up, her odd, furry ears perking up almost like an animal's. “Chitose Izumo?”

I turned to look at her. Despite the fur covering her ears, she didn't seem to be an animal youkai; hers were on the side of her head, and long, curled, and tapering like an elf's. Otherwise, she looked completely human. Her hair was a rather bold shade of aqua blue, but odd hair colors were almost the norm because of all the ambient magic; Akyu, the human village historian, had vivid purple hair. Her outfit was fairly simple, pale pink with a white dress underneath and cute blue buttons in the shape of flowers.

“I am,” I said, bowing lightly to her. “And you?”

The girl grinned. “Kyouko Kasodani's the name.” She looked at me expectantly, and after a long pause, “So...?”

I frowned in confusion. “I'm not sure I follow what you're asking...”

The shout Kyouko followed up with nearly shattered my ears. “Good morning!”

Gasping a bit, I managed to steady myself and stammer out a “g-g-good morning” in return, which drew a huff from the eager girl. “You should be louder,” she muttered.

I bowed. “Sorry if I've spoiled your fun,” I said lightly. “You rather startled me with that sudden yell...”

Kyouko grinned, and her ears seemed to flutter. “Well that's my job, after all! When I'm not reciting sutras from memory of course. I'm pretty good at that too, I'll have you know!”

I nodded. “So, what did you need me for? You asked for me by name, after all.”

Kyouko nodded. “It's not exactly me asking,” she said, starting to sweep again. “It's the lady of the temple that wants you. She said... 'Kyouko, you'll know her by the fact that she's the only girl in miko robes who will look at you exactly the same way that humans look at each other.' And that's definitely you.”

I blinked at the exactness of the quote, something suddenly fitting together in my mind. “... Oh!” I shouted, suddenly raising my voice almost to match hers. “You're a yamabiko, aren't you? And you work here?” I smiled, finally recognizing the echo youkai for what she was.

Kyouko grinned. “There, now you're getting into it!” she shouted happily, raising her broom in the air. “Good morning!”

I blushed a bit in embarrassment, but matched her volume this time. “Good morning!”

Kyouko beamed. “Much better!” She set her broom back to tile again. “Miss Byakuren always says that 'greetings are a mental oasis'.”

I nodded. “So Byakuren is looking for me?” I asked, just to confirm.

“Byakuren is looking for me?” I heard back, and rolled my eyes. Kyouko grinned. “I'm finally in a place where people don't hear an echo and just say it's bouncing sound,” she pointed out. “Don't get mad just because I'm enjoying it a little... Anyway, go ahead in. She wanted me to send you to see her if I saw you.”

I nodded, bowing to all three present as I walked carefully along the well-swept tiles. Cirno grinned as I started off. “Chi, you're all dressed for winter already, so don't even think of trying to get out of playing with us later!” I glanced back and flashed them both a smile, and then turned toward the temple.

As I entered, I heard Byakuren's voice from up ahead, along with another that, while familiar, I couldn't place. Following the two voices brought me to one of the private chambers, a sitting room that opened out into Byakuren's bedroom on the far side. I seated myself carefully outside, waiting.

After a few minutes, there was a soft giggle from inside, and Yuyuko opened the door, smiling lightly. I glanced up at the pink-haired ghost with some surprise, rising slowly. “Yuyuko... hello...” I said hesitantly, bowing.

Yuyuko laughed softly, face half-hidden behind her fan. “Ah, so you're who was waiting out here so patiently...” she murmured, turning. “Bya, Chitose's here...”

Byakuren beamed and motioned me inside. “Chitose, thank you for coming so quickly...” she said, nodding as I entered and settled myself, while Yuyuko remained at the door. “Don't worry, you're not eavesdropping... what Yuyuko and I were discussing is actually the same reason I called you here...”

Yuyuko had remained at the door. “I think I have some idea of what we're dealing with,” she said, eyes twinkling just above her fan. “But I'm afraid it's not a ghost... I don't know anything that can help you...”

Byakuren nodded, meeting the ghost's eyes for a long moment. Something seemed to pass between them... I, however, was left in the dark. After a long moment, Yuyuko's eyes twinkled again. “I'm not lying when I tell you that it isn't a ghost,” she said softly, slowly closing her fan. “Perhaps, though... it might be some sort of youkai that was sealed away, like you were, or like the youkai who were exiled underground for fear of the humans.”

Byakuren had kept her hands folded in her lap, but at these words she gave a start and they slipped free, the monk looking up at her. “Exiled... youkai?” she whispered.

Yuyuko smiled. “Indeed,” she said. “You haven't heard of them before?”

Byakuren shook her head, eyes fixed on Yuyuko's now. “I knew there were a few youkai living underground... I have met Utsuho, after all.” Her hands gripped lightly against the sides of her long black coat. “What do you mean by exiled, exactly?”

Yuyuko tucked her fan carefully into her kimono and sat down again, lacing her fingers as she looked across the room's lone table at the monk. “Yukari told me about them a few times, after that incident where all those wicked evil spirits started appearing from the hot springs...”

I tensed a little. “The incident that Utsuho caused, you mean?” I put in, hesitating.

Yuyuko nodded. “Many years before the Hakurei Border was created, there were youkai with strange and terrible powers,” she said, eyes dancing as she watched the two of us. “The oni, with their fearsome strength and literally unbreakable will. The satori, possessed of penetrating third eyes that could peer into the minds of the humans. Kappa, possessed of the power to conceal themselves from all but the most gifted of eyes. Tengu, faithful servants of the oni and faster even than the Hakurei line.”

Byakuren's hands tensed on her dress. “... It was not a good time either for humans or for youkai,” she murmured quietly.

Yuyuko shook her head. “Not at all. Especially for those born without the desire to harm others...”

Byakuren nodded. “The kappa and tengu dwell now on the mountain, of course...”

I smiled a bit. “And the oni dwell underground now, much to the chagrin of a certain deva...”

Yuyuko nodded sagely. Then she said, “I think sake must taste better underground.” She giggled. “That makes more sense, don't you think? Their leader probably figured out how much better it was and let her people underground. In appearance, a rout and defeat, but really an ingenious plan to keep the best sake to themselves!”

Byakuren blinked lightly. “... I never know whether to take you at face value when you say things like that...”

A soft voice spoke from outside. “I've known her since I was born, and I still don't know, Miss Byakuren... May I enter? I've brought the tea that you and Mistress asked for...”

Yuyuko got up and opened the door herself. “Or maybe they made a mutually beneficial agreement with the Hakurei of that time,” she added, smiling at the girl behind the door. “Tea tastes much better up here in the wide open surface air...”

The white-haired girl who entered was one I'd met briefly a few times before, and recognized by sight. Youmu Konpaku, a gardener, bodyguard, and general servant to Yuyuko, was dressed as always in a long skirt and buttoned vest, both in hunter's green, and a simple white top beneath. A pair of blades were sheathed behind her, and her arms deftly supported a wide tray bearing three cups of tea.

She nodded politely to me as she caught sight of me. “I see. That explains why Mistress wanted to have three cups made,” she said, her voice barely ever rising above a murmur. “I recall your face, but I can't seem to put a name to it...”

I smiled a little, extending my hand. “Chitose Izumo. It's nice to see you again, Youmu.”

Instead of taking my hand in return, Youmu bowed deeply, her calm, red eyes regarding me. “My apologies.”

Byakuren frowned quietly as she lifted her tea to her lips. “There were more than three varieties of youkai back then,” she said quietly. “What about the others?”

Youmu spoke this time, tucking the empty tray under her arm and cradling the thick, tapering ghostly wisp that floated around her in her hands. This I knew to be Youmu's other half, a phantom usually known as Myon. “It was war,” she said simply, holding the wisp a little closer. “Barely any that stood up to the humans, or even simply tried to stay out of the way, are with us today.”

Yuyuko nodded. “I was bowled over myself when Yukari told me that Marisa and Reimu had met a pair of satori,” she said, sitting back down with her own tea. “One of them lives in the underground now, actually... I wonder if she prefers sake to tea too...”

Byakuren tensed. “... I see... at least there are two who can enjoy the equality that is coming to this world...”

Yuyuko shook her head lightly. “As I said, the youkai underground are exiles,” she said quietly. “Remnants of once more common races were drawn underground, linked by their love of sake, fear of humans...” She paused, fanning herself lightly, and I caught a hint of a smirk behind that waving fan. “And of course their terrifying powers...”

Byakuren fell to musing, and Youmu bowed deeply again and excused herself. I looked over at the monk for a long moment, before reaching out to tap her arm lightly. “Lady Byakuren...”

The monk gave a start, before smiling widely at me. “No more of that 'lady' nonsense, please. You're a miko now... a religious figure, like me. As far as I'm concerned, we are on equal ground, age difference notwithstanding.”

I nodded. "Byakuren, I hate to change the subject, but I think we're starting to lose track of the whole reason I came... You called me here for a reason, and Yuyuko as well, it seems.”

Byakuren smiled. “That's true,” she said, taking up her tea. “And Alice as well, actually. She told me she would stop by later, once she's sure Marisa is busy on her latest project and won't disturb us. You're right, though, I'd completely forgotten with all this talk of underground youkai...” She set the tea down again and folded her hands in her lap, eyes growing stern. “For the past few weeks, I've been sensing an unknown presence somewhere in the temple, and it's begun growing in strength...”

I nodded. “And you wanted to find out what it is,” I finished. “So you asked a ghost, a magician, and a miko to take a look at it...” I blinked. “I'm not very good with seals yet, though... wouldn't it be better to ask Reimu or Sanae?”

Byakuren winced. “I don't know that it's serious enough to be an incident,” she said, hands squeezing one another. “Reimu is... heavy-handed in any case. We've no indication that it's hostile... as for Sanae, sweet as she is, I feel she would insist on getting Reimu involved anyway...”

I nodded. “I can at least try and put up a seal... having a miko around is definitely not detrimental to the sisters' faith. So, where is it?”

Byakuren unfolded her hands and stood. “We believe it's in the old mausoleum, actually... which is why I thought it might be some sort of phantom or ghost in the first place... Nazrin picked up a treasure reading from within, but when she investigated, a pair of jiang-shi showed up...”

Nazrin was a mouse youkai and a follower of Byakuren's, one who possessed a pair of absolutely infallible divining rods. If there was a reading, then there must be something precious hidden in the depths of the mausoleum. “However,” Byakuren went on, “After hearing Yuyuko's story, I thought of a task that would be perfect for you...”

The monk beamed lightly and put a hand on my shoulder. “The world is changing, Chitose. Youkai and humans don't have to fear each other anymore... you and I know that better than anyone. And that goes for the youkai underground as well.”

Yuyuko closed her fan and folded her hands in her lap, closing her eyes. I could have sworn a frown replaced her perpetual smile for a brief moment. “Underground, is it...” The smile was back now as she looked at me. “Well, Bya, I think that's a superb idea... although of course it's up to Chi if she wants to go...”

I looked up at the two girls, not quite daring to rise. “What is it you want me to do?” I asked softly.

Byakuren beamed all the more. “Chitose, how would you like to be an ambassador to the exiled youkai?”

I blinked, only now rising. “So then,” I began, haltingly. “You want me to go underground... and meet the youkai there...?”

Byakuren nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly! You think the way I do... I'm sure you can convince them that the world of the surface has changed.”

Yuyuko rose, face hidden behind her fan again. “Well then, I believe I've helped you as much as I can,” she said lightly, turning. “Chitose, dear, when you meet that satori, do me a favor and ask her if she likes sake or tea better? I'm curious now...” Giggling lightly, she slipped out of the room, Youmu vanishing in a flash after her.

I looked across at Byakuren. “I've only barely just become a miko... I've little power, and less experience. Why send me?”

Byakuren patted my shoulder gently. “I can't go myself,” she said quietly. “To Reimu, it would look like a play for more faith, and frankly, I worry sending someone of my power will spook them.” She smiled warmly. “But you, Chitose... you're a young, friendly miko who's befriended many youkai, and even yousei. You've even been raising a youkai yourself.” She smiled a bit. “You're something special, Chitose. I think you'd be an excellent choice to go and meet them.”

I nodded. “What about the presence you felt?”

Byakuren clasped her hands lightly behind her back. “If you're still willing and able to make a seal when you return, I'd be more than grateful,” she said softly. “But this will help me too. Just think... they might know some truly amazing things...”

I smiled. “I'm always happy to meet new youkai,” I replied, clasping my own hands behind my back. “And you have a point... it's better to send someone who's not a fountain of power...”

Byakuren beamed. “I'm curious too, to be honest,” she added, voice dropping to a whisper. “There might be all sorts of strange and wonderful youkai living down there, ones that humans believed had vanished long ago... I can't wait to see who you meet...”

I nodded. “... And, of course, it should be all right for them to come out of exile and meet people now,” I said. “I mean, Yuugi comes up to the surface fairly often, or so Suika says. And of course Suika herself lives up here.”

Byakuren beamed, and slipped past me to open the door. “Then it's settled,” she said, smiling. “You may want to take someone down with you, though... although I'd advise against Sakan. It's extremely humid down in the underground.”

I cringed, nodding. I had perfected a waterproofing spell, but it likely wouldn't last for days on end, which my trip very well could take. “I'll think of someone...”

As the two of us left the room, a weather-beaten umbrella I'd noticed earlier suddenly leapt up from its position against the wall, hovering before us and opening to reveal a red, staring eye and a huge, waggling tongue. From beneath the spread cloth, a young girl dropped down and leaned towards us, hands outstretched like claws. “BOO!” she shouted, a wide grin on her face that was pretty clearly supposed to be frightening, “I got you!”

Byakuren just smiled, and I rolled my eyes, ruffling her hair gently. “Hi, Kogasa...”

Kogasa pouted. “You weren't scared?” she asked, straightening and catching the umbrella lightly in one hand. “Not even a little bit?”

I smiled. “You were leaning against the wall already when I came in,” I pointed out. “You can't scare someone if they already know you're there...”

Kogasa was twirling her umbrella on her shoulder now. “So, you weren't scared because I was too... um...” She pouted and tilted her head. “What's the word?”

Byakuren patted her shoulder. “Conspicuous,” she said gently. “You shouldn't really be trying to scare humans anyway, though...”

“It's fun, though!” Kogasa countered, pouting. “Besides, you never get mad or hurt! Or anyone else here... 'cept Nazrin, but she's a spoilsport anyway...”

I shook my head. “Just don't try it on Daisuke anymore. He was livid after the last time.. and you know he's not really fond of youkai in general...”

Kogasa nodded, twirling her umbrella. Like Sakan, the young-looking girl was a tsukumogami, though of an umbrella rather than one of Patchouli's grimoires. Umbrellas were common objects for transformation into youkai, so much so that, despite being a subtype of the tsukumogami, they had become known as karakasa.

This particular umbrella had been a rather ugly shade of eggplant... I had a sneaking suspicion that Kogasa had spent her one hundred years being deliberately thrown away rather than lost. The girl beneath, though, was simply adorable. Dressed all in water-blue colors that matched her hair almost exactly, she wore a slightly lighter skirt that fell to her knees and a blue vest over a white, puffy shirt that had been tied together crudely in the middle. One eye was deep blue like her hair, but the other was a brilliant red that matched the umbrella above her.

The karakasa tilted her head a little at us. “Anyway, I heard you two talking... something about a companion? How about that fairy girl you're always hanging around with?”

Byakuren smiled. “Daiyousei, you mean,” she said softly. “That's a thought...”

Kogasa beamed, eyes closing a bit. “She's nice,” she murmured, giving her umbrella a spin. “She doesn't even get mad when I try and scare her...”

I laughed. “She spends a lot of time dealing with three goofballs who don't see anything wrong with leading humans astray on a freezing cold night,” I pointed out, crossing my arms and grinning a little. “Someone as cute and friendly as you isn't going to get her upset unless you somehow got someone hurt...”

Kogasa nodded, letting the umbrella float lightly beside her as she clasped her hands behind her back. “Exactly. She's nice, you totally like her, she's really smart... she's perfect for going with you, huh?”

Byakuren put a hand to her chin. “... She does remember quite a lot,” she murmured. “She's lived far longer than most of us, even more than some of the younger youkai. She knows many things about Gensokyo that almost nobody remembers nowadays, except perhaps Akyu. I think she'd make an excellent guide, don't you?”

I nodded. “Yes. The only thing I'm really worried about is that she might get hurt, but...” I smiled a bit. “In a cave, there are many pools of water, and water seeps down from the surface and slowly falls from the ceiling into those tiny pools. They're not that big, and there aren't many currents, but Dai is the embodiment of ripples in water as well.”

Byakuren smiled. “So she'd be surrounded by her element...”

I nodded again. “Exactly.” I paused, glancing away. “I'm still a little worried about what you were sensing, though...”

Byakuren patted my shoulder gently. “Alice is going to take a look at it soon,” she reminded me. “If she can't solve it, feel free to try and seal it up when you return.” She tilted her head a bit and smiled. “But trust me, doing this will help me a lot too.”

I smiled, bowing lightly to Kogasa, then to Byakuren. “I'll go once I can find Dai and get both of us ready,” I said softly. “I want to do this too... there's still so much of Gensokyo I've never seen, after all.”

Byakuren nodded. As I turned and started to fly off, she laughed softly. “Well, soon you'll be one step closer to having seen it all...” she murmured, patting Kogasa on the head as she turned and headed for the main temple to begin the day's service.

Chapter Text

Daiyousei glanced over at me as we approached the entrance to Gensokyo's underground. The fairy's memory had proven as reliable as always; before us lay a broad circle of brown earth, standing out starkly from the white snow blanketing the ground. The passageway was wide, more cavelike than a tunnel, yet no cavern roof stretched over it.

I touched the bare earth carefully with a gloved hand, blinking as I felt warmth. Daiyousei floated past me, her toes just barely avoiding skimming the ground below. “Even this far up, there's still something of the old fire,” she said lightly. “It shouldn't burn your feet unless we go down to the Remains, but it's warm enough that snow simply can't hold...”

I nodded, watching as she turned around to look back at me. I smiled at what I saw; a child-sized fairy hovering at head height above the ground, her wings fluttering quietly. She wore the same long blue dress as always, white sleeves short despite the cold winter weather. Her eyes and curling hair matched, both that familiar aqua shade, tending more towards green than blue, that I remembered fondly from the shallows along Osaka's port. Those wings shimmered softly as she flapped them, each one a soft, tapering shape of gauze-thin material, the limbs trimmed in soft gold.

I stepped forward and took my old friend's hand, letting her lead for the moment as we headed down the gentle slope and into the Underground. “Guess you're my traveling companion again, huh?” I teased quietly, smiling at her.

Daiyousei simply smiled back. When I'd first arrived in Gensokyo, Daiyousei had come with me for most of the journey I'd taken, and was one of the ones present when I decided at last to remain here. Even after two years since then, she was still one of my closest friends in Gensokyo, if not the closest. It wasn't too hard to see why Cirno teased me and Sakan honestly believed that she and I were seeing one another.

But... while I'd readily trust Daiyousei as I was doing now, and I really did feel close to her, I'd spent most of my life in the outside world, a place with totally different mores as far as regarded relationships. Dating another girl still felt... strange to me.

While I was thinking about this, I almost failed to notice just how dark it was getting around us. It was midday now, and the sun shone down directly on only the earth below the rim of the passageway. As we worked our way further under the lip, that patch of brightly-lit earth faded behind us.

Daiyousei felt my pace slow, and turned, giving my hand a squeeze. “I'd almost forgotten...” She frowned, face barely visible in the dim light. “I can manage well enough, but what about you?”

I frowned, and with my free hand fumbled my grimoire from the bag hanging by my side. “Patchouli's been teaching me a bit about magician's sight, but I'm not sure how long that would hold...” I sat carefully on the smooth stone floor, the rock far cooler to the touch than the sun-warmed dirt at the tunnel's mouth.

Daiyousei nodded, and hovered a bit higher. “You get yourself started on that spell, then,” she said. “I'll go see if I can find a lantern to borrow.”

I opened the grimoire quietly, but paused before I found the right page. Daiyousei's hand had fallen on my cheek, and I let the book fall open where it sat. “Be careful,” she said softly. “And stay here, all right? I don't feel nearly as safe having you down here without me to guide you...”

I smiled. “Dai...” I gently ruffled her hair. “I'm not one of your yousei friends like Sunny or Cirno... you don't have to remind me, okay?”

“... I know.” Daiyousei sighed a little. “I just worry, that's all. Even when I know I don't have to.” She managed a smile, and ruffled my hair in return. “Now, you wait here until I get back, all right? No running off without your traveling companion...”

“Wouldn't dream of it,” I called softly after her as she turned and flew off, vanishing quickly into the darkness. I turned my attention back to the book in my lap, musing over the spell. Youkai, as Patchouli had explained when teaching these basics to me, have vision far sharper than that of a human's. To counteract this, human magicians living many years ago developed a spell to enhance their own vision. Most notably, this spell could allow the user to pierce concealment, like Nitori's cloak-like camouflage, and even see in the pitch darkness I was sure awaited me further down the tunnel.

I ran my hand over the page carefully, feeling the magic imbued into the page beneath my hands and mouthing the words of the spell carefully to myself. I did indeed find the page seeming to grow lighter and more distinct... but too light, too quickly. I hadn't even properly cast it yet.

I snapped my head up to find myself surrounded in a ring of ghastly blue fires. Eight tongues of flame floated silently in the air, not even the quiet crackle of a wood fire accompanying them, surrounding me in a tight ring.

I leapt to my feet, spinning as I did and turning the pages of my grimoire quickly. Raising a pair of fingers, I gave the order, “Douse!” and watched as orbs of water flew out, enveloping seven of the orbs and quickly shrinking away as water doused flame, and heat turned the water to steam. By the light of the final flame, I looked around for their conjurer, but saw nothing.

Even in the quiet of the tunnel, I was barely able to hear the soft whistling sound, and stepped back just in time to catch the falling object. Startled by the sudden heavy weight, I looked down and found nothing but an old wooden bucket cradled in my arms.

Confused, I lifted the bucket carefully, turning it carefully around and examining it, wondering where it had fallen from. As I went to turn it over and look inside, though, a squeak echoed out of the rim. “Stop that!”

I hurriedly returned the bucket to its upright position. From the dark well of the bucket, a glowering face emerged, green hair done up in a pair of beaded short pigtails. “Don't you know anything?” the girl complained. “You're crazier than that other shrine maiden who showed up down here...”

I blinked softly down at the girl. “What do you mean...?”

The face glowered even more at me. “You've got no idea what you almost just did there, do you?” she huffed. “Think about it! If you tip over a regular bucket, the water pours out. But I'm a bucket-youkai, not just some regular bucket from a well! So, what do you think would happen if you poured me out?”

I found myself giggling a little at the girl's seriousness. “I don't really know,” I said softly. “I guess... something else would pour out?”

The girl nodded. “Exactly! And it certainly wouldn't be water!”

I sat down, still holding the bucket carefully. “So what would it be?”

Those pitch-black eyes blinked at me. “... I dunno! I never tipped myself over to find out!” She huffed. “And I mean, that could be dangerous to test! Who knows what might come out? Maybe a creepy pink ooze that gobbles up everything it touches, or maybe a freaky monster would fall out and get up only when struck by lightning, wandering the world in search of its true creator...” She tilted her head. “Or maybe it'd just be a river of liquid chocolate that never stops pouring, on and on until the whole world fills up with nothing but melted chocolate!”

I smiled a little, reaching in carefully to ruffle her hair. “Or maybe you'd just fall out. Though I don't really want that to happen either.”

An adorable pout stole across the little youkai's face, and she rose up further out of the shadows of her bucket, revealing a kimono that glowed a pale blue in the presence of her last remaining flame. “... I like my third idea better.”

I just kept smiling, holding the bucket carefully in my lap. “So... you're a tsubure-otoshi, right?” I asked softly. “I'm a shrine maiden, Chitose Izumo... what's your name?”

The girl leaned on the side of her bucket in a way that reminded me a lot of Sakan. “'m Kisume,” she said, a nod the only reply to my first question. “Speaking of which, you cheated, by the way...”

“Cheated?” I asked, looking her in the eye now. As I'd thought, Kisume was a well-spirit, youkai fond of dropping on humans from high above to strike; although, usually tales placed them at the top of tall trees, not the roofs of caves.

Kisume leaned her chin on her arms and huffed at me, glaring a little. “Well, yeah. You totally cheated.” She snapped her fingers, another ring of those pale blue flames surrounding us, and poked lightly at one. “Humans are supposed to look at the pretty lights, either in terror or wonder, don't care which. Then I drop right on their heads and gobble them up, 'cause I'm the youkai here. Humans aren't supposed to suddenly put out the fire and getting out of the way, that's cheating!”

Mention of eating humans made me wince. Youkai were certainly said to in older tales, but the few I'd encountered that even talked about it nowadays, like the night sparrow Mystia, seemed only to do it as a joke. “You seem too nice to do a mean thing like going around gobbling up humans though,” I pointed out gently.

“What?” Kisume was looking at me curiously now. “Why would you think that? Youkai eat humans all the time.”

I shook my head, managing a smile. “Not these days. I know lots of youkai who'd never even think of hurting humans. Or other youkai for that matter.”

Kisume blinked and leaned further out of her bucket. “Really? Weird...”

I poked her nose gently. “You've never actually eaten a human, have you? Even the ones you drop on?”

Kisume wiggled her nose and gave me a pout that reminded me of Sakan. “... No,” she finally admitted. “But it's fun playing like I'm gonna! Besides, they look so silly running away once they wake up!”

I giggled. “Well, sorry for cheating at your game then... but I thought it was a rock or something, and that would've really hurt...”

Kisume tilted her head. “If I'd hurt you, you couldn't have gotten up and tried to run away,” she said matter-of-factly. “That wouldn't be fun either.” She paused. “... How'd you do that, anyway?”

“I'm not just a shrine maiden, you know,” I teased. “I'm a magician, too...” I tapped the grimoire still lying open by my side.

Kisume's eyes widened. “Oh, wow... like that crazy broom-riding girl...” She giggled. “She's kinda silly. Even if she cheated too.”

I had a feeling I knew exactly how Marisa had “cheated” in Kisume's eyes. “Well, I don't know magic like that,” I explained. “But I live with a fire youkai, so I made sure the first spell I learned was a spell to put out fires... after I learned how to water-proof things, that is.”

Kisume blinked. “Oh, in case he tries to trap you like I did and gobble you up?” she asked, wide-eyed.

I reached up to ruffle her hair. “Don't be silly, he'd never hurt me. I'm taking care of him.”

“So... it's like you're keeping him cooped up?” Kisume asked, blinking again.

I frowned. “Of course not!” I shook my head. “You're getting the wrong idea, silly... I'm taking care of Sakan. He's a newborn youkai I found and I wanna make sure he grows up safe and happy. I just wanted to make sure I had the spell in case he lost control of one of his spells and set my house on fire by accident...” I smiled. “But I haven't needed it once.”

The bucket seemed to grow heavier in my lap as Kisume settled a bit. “So... you're like his mommy?” she asked, fidgeting.

I smiled a little. “Well... I watch over him.” I giggled. “Actually, he calls me aneesan...”

Kisume nodded. “... You're a weird human, you know that?” She reached up and poked my cheek gently.

“Well...” I ruffled her hair again. “There's a lot of weird humans on the surface now, really... that's sort of why I'm down here. It's different on the surface now... might even be safe for you guys down here to come up and see...”

Kisume crossed her arms. “No way. Humans would just scoop me out of here and use the bucket to wash their dirty, stinky underwear in...”

I just laughed. “I'm a human. One hundred percent. A shrine maiden, even. I haven't done anything like that, have I?”

The bucket grew heavier again, feeling now like a human child was seated in my lap instead of an ordinary bucket. “Nope... but you're weird,” Kisume said again. She leaned into my hand a little as I ruffled at her hair. “You're like Yammy, except she's a youkai too, so her doing stuff like this for me makes sense...”

I smiled and continued playing with her hair. “Well, I'm a human that's friends with youkai. Does that count?” I paused. “Who's Yammy? Another youkai living down here?”

Kisume had closed her eyes without me noticing, and she peeked one eye open up at me now. “Yup... she's nice. If you're gonna keep going down this cave like your friend did, you'll probably meet her too.” She closed her eyes again and smiled. “Yammy and Yuugi are really nice... they take care of people down here... but like I said, they're youkai, so it's totally natural for them to wanna take care of people... Say, how come you're not with your friend, anyway?”

I shook my head. “Humans can't see so well in the dark,” I said, smiling. “It's why things like night sparrows used to be dangerous before they started just being cute and friendly and really good singers.”

I let my hand fall on my grimoire again, smiling a little as I saw Kisume looking wide-eyed at me. When first cast, the spell of magician's eyes caused the user's eyes to glow softly. “I've got a spell to help me see, but I'm not good at it yet, so Daiyousei went to look for a light...”

Kisume's reply was lost to me, overwritten by a terrified scream from further down in the tunnel. The cry for help that followed made the owner of the fearful voice even more clear to me that the scream had.

Hurriedly, I stuffed my grimoire back into my bag and stood up. “That's her... I need to hurry and help her!” I told Kisume, who was still nestled in my arms. “Can you guide me around here? I don't know these tunnels...” Shivering, I flew off along the tunnel, my eyes scanning. Kisume frowned a little, pointing out a shortcut now and then, which I gladly took.

Suddenly, I felt her hand grab my sleeve. “Stop!” she shouted.

As my eyes adjusted further to the cave lighting, I saw exactly why we had stopped. Thin, silvery strands crisscrossed one another in the air a few feet in front of where I stood, forming a network that spread across the entire width of the tunnel. The strings crossed and met all along the extent, in places bunching up into a grey barrier that looked almost like woven cloth.

Kisume floated up out of my arms and glided lightly over to the web. In places, the threads had been parted from each other, leaving an opening like a gloomy doorway. “C'mon,” she urged. “Have to be careful in the underground... if you go flying around without thinking, you'll just end up stuck...”

I stepped through, shivering. “There aren't any... r-really big spiders down here, are there?” I asked. “Like... really, really big ones?”

Kisume glanced back at me with a smirk. Another web lay a few yards further down the tunnel, and she led me through the opening again, on the other side of the tunnel this time. “You don't like spiders?” she teased.

I shook my head, careful not to even brush the threads as I stepped through. “Regular ones are fine... but this place almost feels like I'm walking through the cave of Shelob...” I paused. “... although I guess Shelob wouldn't really fit down here...”

Kisume blinked. “What's that?” The next web had its opening just to the left of its center.

I shook my head. “It's a monster that humans made up,” I told her. “It looked like a regular spider, but it was huge, even taller than an oni... Spiders are nice, and their webs look beautiful when the dew gets on them, but big ones like Shelob scare me...” I flushed, realizing I was sounding like a little girl. “... then again, the person who wrote that story wanted people to be scared of it...”

Kisume stopped just before the fourth web and turned back to look at me, arms crossed. “... Scary, huh?” She motioned to me to wait, and slipped through the web. I noticed the opening was back on the far right side; anyone trying to fly through would have to have almost perfectly memorized the 'pattern' of them. On the far side, Kisume raised her hands, and that ghostly blue flame flickered into being again.

I had noticed since I entered the Underground that the air was cool and humid, but I hadn't realized just how wet and cool the air was. Now Kisume was making that abundantly clear. Every single strand of silk was beaded all along its length with water, the dew gleaming brightly in the flickering blue light. In my magic-aided eyes, every drop stood out in sharp clarity. I could see even the tiny tremors within each drop as the ever-present wind picked up again, rushing softly past the web and making the strands swing in the air.

Kisume regarded me with a quiet frown. “... Not everything you don't know has to be scary,” she said at last.

I stepped through the web and took her gently in my arms. “I know that,” I said softly, hurrying on as I saw we'd cleared the last of the webs. “I'm sorry... guess I need to remember I came down here so I could meet you all...”

Kisume blinked lightly up at me. “A shrine maiden wants to meet a bunch of scary youkai?”

Before I could answer, a cry came from up ahead. “Chi!” Finally, we'd found Daiyousei.

The fairy had flown herself right into a web, her arms and legs tangled hopelessly in the clinging threads. Her eyes remained terrified even as they found and locked onto mine, the web trembling as she tried to struggle and found her limbs bound completely. As I ran over, her wings fluttered uselessly. “So much for that lantern, I guess...”

Dai trembled at my attempt at a joke. “Chi... p-please, get me down from here...” Her voice could barely rise above a trembling whisper. “I-I can't move a muscle...”

Kisume caught my arm as I went to pull at the web. “Stop that... you'll just get yourself stuck too...” She frowned. “... Guess fairies are still kinda dumb, huh? There's no way down now unless you ask the one who made the web...”

The whole web trembled, dewdrops breaking free and tinkling against the ground. “I-I don't.. want to meet whoever made this...” she whispered, pale. “I-I don't like spiders... at all...”

Kisume put her hands on her hips, glaring. “Whatcha got against spiders, huh?”

Daiyousei lowered her head. “... I was caught in a spiderweb once, when I was a very young fairy... it wasn't a very pleasant experience...” She shivered. “Especially when the spider in question noticed me and wrapped me up like it would any other fly...”

Kisume shrugged. “So?” she asked. “That's what spiders do, and besides, fairies come back...”

Daiyousei glowered. “Except for when they're not killed, but instead wrapped up and held trapped in a web for literally months... I don't know what would've happened if Aichi hadn't found me and let me loose...”

“Well, it wasn't the spider's fault you flew into its web, and it's nobody's but your own now...” Kisume had turned her head away now, still pouting.

Daiyousei paused. “... You're right,” she said softly, slumping. “I'm just remembering how awful that time was, and worried it's going to end up happening again...”

A new voice spoke up now. “Seems some of my smaller cousins have given you a hard time...” it said, sounding amused more than anything else. “But don't think that their hospitality compares to mine...”

Kisume beamed up at the source of the voice, and I looked up to see a girl standing at the mouth of a tunnel much higher up. This one looked closer to my own age, a smiling, somewhat mature young woman dressed in a puffy brown dress. Like many Gensokyo residents, the sleeves were a different color, in her case black, and yellow bands wove around her waist and thighs below three pairs of golden buttons.

“Yammy!” Kisume waved happily up at the new girl from my arms as she floated down towards us. The girl smiled at her, before turning to the web. “Now then... how to deal with this...” She pouted lightly at Daiyousei. “You went and ruined the web I went to all that trouble to set up... mm, maybe I should just finish wrapping you up and let you dangle for a bit...”

The soft patter of rain echoed through the cave as Daiyousei shook so hard it seemed as if all the dew on the web had fallen off at once. “I-I beg you, please, let me go!”

The trapped fairy flinched back as the girl reached out to her, bobbing up and down in the web... but that hand simply slid expertly between the threads and rubbed her head softly. “Trust an old earth spider to have better hospitality than that,” she said lightly. “Surely even a great fairy can appreciate a silly little prank?”

“Some pranks go too far, though,” I said softly, and stepped forward. “Don't you think it's time you stopped this one?”

The girl turned to me now, an odd look in her eye. “Oh, the prank's over, dear. It ended the moment I told her it was a prank.” She eyed me, chuckling a little. “Well, now... a shrine maiden, and down here of all places...”

“Sh-she's not the red-white meanie though, Yammy...” Kisume leaned out of her bucket a little, though she seemed content in my arms. “She's nice...”

I bowed, careful not to tip Kisume over. “My name is Chitose Izumo,” I said softly.

“And I am Yamame Kurodani,” she said, bowing in return. “A pleasure to meet a shrine maiden who doesn't introduce herself with a flurry of magic needles and sealing slips...”

I flushed a little, embarrassed for my profession. “I... think that's just Reimu, honestly,” I said softly.

Yamame laughed. “Oh, I didn't mind it in the least,” she said, reaching out to gently take Kisume from me. The bucket-youkai hugged her friend happily. “Besides, I must confess I provoked her a bit,” she added, petting Kisume's hair gently. “I misunderstood her intent, you see.”

“What did you think she was down here for...?” Daiyousei spoke up this time, still trapped in the web. “Did you really not know about the geyser, or the evil spirits being let loose?”

Yamame chuckled. “Neither of us were aware of that,” she said. “This close to the surface, we aren't much affected by the goings-on deeper down, and I hadn't visited the oni in a while...” She shook her head. “No, I was certain she wanted to take the power we youkai were feared for and sealed away because of...”

I raised my hand lightly, to catch her attention, and said carefully, “You said you were a tsuchigumo... right?” I had a feeling I knew what she meant by “sealed power”. Earth spiders were said to hold the power to bring disease with them.

Yamame nodded. “Yes... Inflict, remove, empower... I can do essentially as I please with the diseases that infect humans...” She chuckled. “Afraid, are you?”

I frowned. “... If you were the sort to actually use that power, Reimu and Marisa wouldn't have survived their encounter with you,” I said. “Besides... earth spiders are also a sign that thieves have been about... they're a helpful warning...”

Yamame chuckled. “Ohoho... you like spiders, do you?”

I smiled. “Yamame, I serve a goddess of the harvest... spiders of all sorts have always protected our crops.” I laughed. “And besides, I already have a glowing report from your friend there...”

Yamame nodded, patting Kisume's head. “I'm curious, though, as to why another shrine maiden is making the long journey underground...” She paused, and slowly a frown curled across her lips. “Have the humans of the surface decided we're too much of a threat even locked away down here?”

I shook my head, reaching out to offer my hand. “Not even remotely. The surface world is changing, Yamame, but in the opposite direction.” I paused. “I came down here because I wanted to meet you guys... all of you, the youkai who've lived hidden away down here...”

“Oh my...” Yamame looked decidedly taken aback for a moment, before breaking into a warm smile. “A human visitor who isn't looking to settle a score... that does sound nice...”

“She's telling the truth...” Daiyousei stirred in the web, shivering. “That's why I was flying around in these tunnels... I was hoping to find someone friendly I could borrow a lantern from...”

Yamame blinked. “Oh dear. You have a point there... after all, humans don't see that well in the dark...” She chuckled. “That Reimu girl seemed rather dependent on her orbs to light the way... not her companion, though...”

“Marisa's magician sight is better than mine, though,” I put in. “I can keep it up for a while, but if I want to make a journey like this, I really need a source of light...”

Yamame blinked, and a grin spread across her face as she turned to me. “A magician as well as a shrine maiden... I must say, you've intrigued me, dear. So, how about this...” She raised her hand, and tiny streams of web seemed to emerge from the air, weaving themselves into a thin, flat shape. “Just one card, dear. If you can overcome my spellcard, I'll not only help your friend free of my web, I'll give you my own lantern.”

Kisume looked up at her. “You've got a lantern, Yammy?” she asked softly.

Yamame chuckled, taking hold of the completed spellcard and ruffling the girl's hair. “To be honest, when we first came down here, I used to hope that some of the humans would want to make friends... and they certainly would need a lantern to navigate the great wind-hole.” She floated quietly into the air. “You humans are late as usual though... not that I'm truly complaining~”

Kisume caught her sleeve. “... Yammy... you don't have to fight her like we did the meanie and the crazy witch,” she said softly. “Chi's nice... she even told me she takes care of a newborn youkai... like you do with me...”

Yamame glanced in Daiyousei's direction. “She's right,” the fairy confirmed. “A newborn tsukumogami, Sakan... she found him, and treats him like a little brother...”

Yamame smiled, and turned back to me. “I just want a little friendly competition, Kisume... I'm absolutely not going to try and hurt someone you don't want me to.” She raised her card lightly. “Shall we, miko of the surface?”

I smiled. “... Well, honestly, I do have a card or two I've been wanting to try...” I drew a slip of paper from my kimono, carefully folded and marked in gorgeous penmanship. “I only became a miko last season... so I haven't really used any of the powers that come from working with my goddesses...”

Well, except one, I thought privately. Carefully, I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind. When someone is truly and officially chosen by a goddess as her miko, a spiritual bond is forged between the two. It allows the miko to call on the power of her goddess whenever she needs to, and it allows them to communicate. I'd never tested it at such a distance before, but the same bond existed between me and both of the goddesses I served.

Shizuha-sama, I thought carefully. Can you still hear me?

A light giggle sounded in my mind, and the image of the goddess appeared to my closed eyes, grinning. As always, she wore a deep red dress, shading to yellow, mirroring all the colors of the changing leaves she presided over. Of course we can, Chi, she said softly in my mind. Our powers aren't that weak...

I managed a chuckle myself. Well, then... you don't mind lending me a bit of faith, do you? One of the residents wants a duel...

Shizuha beamed all the more. Are you kidding? I've wanted to do this for ages!

It had been a very long time since the two autumn sisters had actually had a real miko. I nodded, then paused as another image appeared to my mind. This one bore a simple dark dress with white sleeves, flaxen hair covered by a mob cap and adorned with a bunch of grapes. Chitose, dear, her voice said softly in my mind. Why on earth aren't you asking me about this, hm? She spread her lips into a warm smile.

She only wants one card, Minoriko-sama, I thought back. Besides, I have to pick one of you two to call on first, and Shizuha-sama does have senority... I opened my eyes, smiling still.

The harvest goddess just chuckled softly in my mind. I couldn't help a giggle of my own; I remembered how often I'd mixed the two up myself when I first reached Gensokyo. Despite Minoriko's calm, almost motherly demeanor, she was actually the younger, though compared to Shizuha's far lighter and playful attitude, it was easy to lose track.

Yamame tilted her head lightly. “Are we going to duel, then?” she asked softly.

“Just making sure the goddesses don't mind loaning me a little power...” I raised my slip, the paper glowing brightly as I floated off of the ground. “But they're both as eager for this as I am. Ready, Yamame?”

Yamame grinned, her own card flashing white. “Here I come, then. Trap Sign: Capture Web!”

Streams of slim, rice-like danmaku spread out radially from the earth spider, though each, when it reached its place, instead of flying off, it remained still and did not dissipate. One stream arced straight for my head, and I rolled quickly to the side. Yamame grinned, shifted lightly to her right, and suddenly the frozen shots began to pour back towards her, spiraling in on themselves before unraveling in a wide spray of attacks, even as a second “web” rushed out.

I winced a little as I dodged back to the left. I could see the purpose of this card now; it was quite literally a web to trap opponents and overcome them with the other shots now pouring down. I bit my lip as I cast my own card. “Whirling Leaf: Autumn Dervish!”

I could feel a little of Shizuha's joy and energy as the card released, sending small, leaf-shaped danmaku flying out from me as I dodged among Yamame's webs. Just as I had envisioned the card, the leaves shone in all the colors of autumn, every shade of red and orange and yellow shimmering together, and took on the shapes of many different trees, from oak to elm to beech, and even a few deep red maple leaves.

As the leaves raced away from me radially, Yamame beamed all the more and twirled gracefully right and left, weaving between them. I just grinned, though, watching as a ripple of magic shot through each and every leaf, the whole group starting to curl around as if caught in a whirlwind. The earth spider beamed all the more, webs shooting out towards me. As time passed, each web flowed back into the center and then rushed out past me, but Yamame always had another to try and pin me down, sending me dodging wide each time to keep the lanes wider.

The duel finally came to an end as Yamame slid too close to a lone golden oak leaf, and the magical object grazed through her arm. With a snap and a final burst of magic, her webs shattered into tiny specks of light and faded out, leaving the girl panting softly but grinning hugely. “Well, it seems an old earth spider like me isn't much of a match for a shrine maiden after all... perhaps it's for the best I came underground with the others...”

I landed gently beside Kisume, and Yamame floated down to the web, her hands starting to deftly pull strands away from the web holding Daiyousei. “Stop struggling, dear, you'll make it take longer and do even more damage than you already have...” she said quietly. “Chitose... whose miko did you say you were?”

I blinked at the sudden question. “Shizuha and Minoriko Aki,” I said after a moment's pause. “Er, why...?”

Yamame chuckled softly. “Aha... native gods gaining a miko, and those two in particular, how interesting...” She shook her head. “I'm glad you chose that card, really... it's been such a long time since I've seen leaves like that...”

I beamed. “Then you should come to the festival next year... it's winter now, but come the next equinox we'll be doing it again... Shizuha-sama's going to be putting on another display of the leaves...”

Yamame tilted her head. “I'm underground for a reason, dear. Youkai spiders who can cause disease aren't generally welcome among humans.”

Daiyousei shook her head, fluttering her wings anxiously as they were released from the webbing. “Shrine festivals are neutral ground,” she said quietly. “A number of youkai and humans were both there last time, and things remained mostly peaceful. Even the fairies were... relatively well-behaved.”

I nodded. “Besides, it's our shrine. The only ones with a right to say who can go or not are myself and the goddesses.” I smiled. “And I invite you, so there.”

Yamame laughed, and gently pulled the last of the webbing free, watching Daiyousei dart quickly to my side. “Well, perhaps Kisume and I will consider it,” she said gently.

I nodded. “At least come aboveground for a little while when I head back,” I said. “The monk who asked me to come down here, Byakuren Hijiri, would love to meet someone as interesting as you...”

Yamame smiled. “Hmm... a monk who wants to meet a youkai...?”

I nodded. “She believes that humans and youkai can and should meet as equals... she was even once sealed away in Makai because other humans saw that she had been helping protect youkai being persecuted...”

Yamame gave a long pause. In the end, she simply laughed and said, “In any case, I believe I owe the winner of our little duel something...”

She slipped off down the tunnel, then soon returned bearing an absolutely beautiful antique lantern, a wispy thread of a wick rising up in the center. “Here,” she said, smiling. “This lantern's been around for a while, but I've taken good care of it. The thread is my own silk... it will burn for hours on end without burning down.”

Kisume slipped to her side and whispered softly. Yamame blinked, then nodded to her with a wide smile. Kisume snapped her fingers lightly, and one of those haunting blue flames sprang to life at the tip of the wick. “And this should keep on burning even if something happens and you drop the lantern,” she said with a smile, bowing gently from her bucket.

Daiyousei blinked. “... hellfire... oh my...” She watched worriedly as I took the lantern. “I didn't realize someone so young could use it...”

Kisume shrugged. “Well, Chi's got that spell if it gets outta hand anyway... she used it on my stuff earlier just fine...” She grinned. “Gonna get you back for cheating one day, goofy miko...”

Yamame blinked. “You put out Kisume's hellfire? Well, now, no wonder I lost...” She grinned. “Just how deep are you two heading, anyway?”

I blinked. “As deep as we can, really... I want to meet as many youkai as I can...”

Yamame smiled, and pulled the hem of her dress to the sides in a rough curtsy. “I wish you both well.” She grinned. “And, little fairy... no hard feelings about the web, mm?”

Daiyousei shook her head, dropping a more graceful curtsy in return. “My own fault for running foolishly into it,” she said quietly. “I'm sorry for being so frightened, and for ruining it.”

Yamame giggled. “Don't worry about it. I'm an earth spider... spinning a web is as natural to me as architecture...” She waved lightly. “Farewell, you two... and do drop in on your way out, hm? I wouldn't want to miss a chance to meet this monk friend of yours...”

I laughed, and waved back to the two as Daiyousei and I flew off down the tunnels again, the blue lantern burning brightly.

Chapter Text

“The great wind hole,” Yamame had called it. After half an hour or so of travel, I had a pretty good grasp of why.

“It's a good thing you didn't try and bring Sakan along,” Daiyousei remarked, as the great tunnel finally began to show signs of leveling out. “Where is he, anyway...?”

I smiled. “We brought Mokou some fuel for her stove this morning,” I called back over the roaring wind. The cold air from the caves above rushed constantly downward here in a roar; I suspected the caverns ahead of us were far warmer. “Sakan decided to stay and keep her company for a while...”

Daiyousei winced noticeably at the mention of Mokou. “I see,” was all she said.

The tunnel continued to level out, the ceiling above soon lost in shadow despite Yamame's lantern still burning brightly. Far ahead of us, we could see a single light, like a lone, faint star. The light slowly began to spread as we walked onward, until it was a warm, distant glow.

“A city?” I murmured. The floor had been sloping upwards, and now we at last topped the rise. Four new lights appeared, far closer to us than the glow. By their light, we could see the outlines of a deep chasm, and a single old wooden bridge crossing it. As Daiyousei floated to the chasm's lip, I took her by the arm. “Let's cross by the bridge,” I said softly. “Better to not upset anyone's customs right off the bat...”

Daiyousei nodded quietly, and I landed carefully on the cold stone, walking to the head of the bridge and looking across. Up close, it was easier to tell the color of the flames, a pale greenish glow from a small torch bracket mounted at each end of the railings. Resting my hand gently on one of the rails, I started carefully across.

Daiyousei fluttered quietly at my shoulder, but as we reached the halfway point of the bridge, she suddenly wrapped her arms around mine and tugged. “Stop,” she said softly. “Someone's here...”

“Oh, you finally noticed me,” a voice from the end of the bridge replied. “How nice of you.”

I raised the lantern hesitantly, and the owner of the voice came into view. At the far end of the bridge, between the two flames, stood a young woman with bushy blonde hair. She was a rather odd sight even by Gensokyo standards of dress, dressed all in muted, dark colors. Her dress, where it could be seen, was black, and appeared to have no sleeves. Over it, she wore an earthen-brown vest, bordered along the edges in a deep navy. White lines crisscrossed over the navy, separating it into diamond shapes. Around her waist, she wore a white sash, from which trailed a short length of pale blue cloth, edged again in white. Red lace dangled in elegant patterns from the hem of her short dress, and she wore a white scarf and white detached sleeves that barely reached her elbows.

The thing that struck me most about the girl, though, were her eyes. Even though the ghostly blue of Kisume's flame easily overpowered the sickly green that lined the bridge, the girl's eyes glimmered a brilliant, almost acid green in the flickering firelight. The eyes regarded me for a long moment.

Daiyousei seemed to quail as those eyes moved to her. “Who... who are you...?” she blurted out.

I laid a hand gently on her shoulder. “Manners, Dai,” I reminded gently, and bowed softly to the girl. “My name is Chitose Izumo... a shrine maiden from the surface... and this is Daiyousei, the last of the great fairies... who are you?”

The girl raised an eyebrow. “Don't worry about forgetting your manners. Nobody else does with me.” Her voice was dull. She spoke again as she stepped quietly towards us. “I'm Parsee Mizuhashi, the guardian of this bridge...”

My eyes widened. When crossing a bridge guarded by a youkai or haunted by a spirit, tradition was to bring an offering for the guardian. “I-I'm sorry,” I stammered. “I didn't know this bridge had a guardian... I didn't even know that there was a bridge in this place...”

Parsee's eyebrow vanished beneath her hair. “Huh. Forgotten, eh? As expected...” Her eyes seemed to glitter again.

Those eyes seemed to haunt me. “B-but I promise I'll bring you something to atone for my ignorance,” I continued. “Whatever you like.”

Parsee crossed her arms, but said nothing. “How about...” I nodded. “You're an exile, like Kisume and Yamame are, right? What if I told you stories about the surface?” I began to relax a little, smiling. “Surely you're eager to know about how things have changed up there...”

“Tales of the surface, huh.” Parsee's voice was cold. “Well, you're right about that. I'm an exile too. Not even allowed to see the rest of my prison like those two are, either.”

“The rest...?” Daiyousei had moved out from behind me now. “You don't even know about the underground?”

Parsee's mouth twitched. I could almost swear she was grinding her teeth. “No,” she said, curtly. “I don't get to go gallivanting around here like the rest... like that stupid Yuugi, always coming and going even though she's supposed to be an exile like us... no, I'm bound to stay here day in and day out, guarding this old bridge nobody even uses anymore...” The flames behind her seemed to billow for a moment.

I nodded, an idea striking me. “Then, for your offering... I'll tell you tales of the surface now... and when we pass by on the way back, I'll tell you everything we saw on our journey through the underground... Would that be something you'd like?”

The girl fixed me with a long look. I was certain it was a trick of the light, but both her eyes and the flames seemed to grow a deeper green. “So. When you come out, you'll tell me stories, huh. And then go off again to have even more adventures I won't get to see or hear about... It must really be nice to be you two, huh?”

I frowned. “... I know it can't really replace seeing them, but... at least give it a chance, right? You can at least take some pleasure in hearing about things... I mean, I can't go see things that happened in the past either... but it's still nice to hear stories about them...”

Daiyousei smiled a bit. “Chi's pretty good at storytelling, too...” She paused. “Why don't you tell her about what happened to us up in the tunnel?” She smiled a bit. “Even if it's a bit embarrassing for my part...”

“What?” I grinned. “Got a problem with being the damsel in distress, being saved from the horrible spider's web?”

Dai punched my arm playfully. “Yamame is not horrible and you know it, Chi.” She stuck out her tongue.

Parsee frowned, and the flames were definitely a deeper shade of green now. “Where did you get that lantern, anyway? I didn't think humans could use fire like that...”

I looked down at it, surprised at the sudden change of topic. “Oh... Yamame and Kisume gave it to us. I can't see well in the dark, so they loaned it to me so I could light my way...” I paused. “... You know those two, right?”

Parsee smirked. “The bucket-dwelling child and everyone's favorite friendly neighborhood spider-girl... Should've guessed they'd forget me too. Didn't even mention to you to beware on the bridge, did they?”

Something about her phrasing made me pause. “Well... no... but why would they tell me to beware?”

Parsee now began to stride purposefully towards us. I was sure now that it was a trick of my fear, but the flames seemed to burn greener and higher with every step. Her voice cut into us, bitter. “Nobody told you to beware me? The spiteful, jealous namahage of the bridge who everybody hates and nobody will dare approach? Nobody even remembered me that much, to remember their fear of me?” She closed her eyes, and gave a long sigh. “... Typical.”

I stared, trembling. “... wait...” Realization finally dawned on me. “Parsee... are you a hashihime?”

“A-a h-hashihime?” At my side, Daiyousei had gone white and rigid, staring at the girl in abject fear now.

I wondered what exactly had frightened her so much... Hashihime were frightening on their own, youkai driven by jealousy and rage. Their prototype had been a woman who had meditated and prayed for vengeance beneath a bridge for twenty-one days straight. But Dai knew just as well as I how few youkai really lived up to the tales humans told about them.

Parsee frowned. “Yeah, I'm a hashihime all right. But what's that to you...” She paused, eyeing each of us quietly, and then her eyes narrowed. “... Oh.” She stepped forward again. “Now I get it.”

“Get what?” I took a step back, nervous. Then a thought occurred to my mind. Was Dai thinking of... that story about the hashihime?

I shook my head. That was ridiculous. More to the point, Parsee was floating now, and glaring. “... have to say, I'm a little impressed,” she muttered. “I don't even have to make up a single reason to want to attack you two...” Her eyes narrowed further, and those green irises seemed to glow as the four torches leapt up into an emerald blaze. “I've got all the reasons I need right in front of my face!”

Dai let go of my arm as we both jumped back. Parsee had a spellcard out already, and I drew one of my own hesitantly. “Parsee, wait... I'm not here to fight...”

Parsee smirked. “Yeah? Good.” She clenched the card, and the same green flames began to consume it. “If you'd never been in a battle you didn't want in your life, that'd be just one more reason to envy you! Grandfather Hanasaki: Jealousy of the Kind and Lovely!”

Dai and I scattered to either side as a shimmering green bubble flew down towards us, both of us taking to the air. I knew this type well; though larger than any other kind of danmaku, the magic they were formed from faded near the surface. If you were quick about it, you could slip by just beneath the surface and avoid taking a hit.

I paused as I passed around the bubble and focused on Parsee. Most danmaku-bubbles didn't trail flower blossoms in their wake, though. Five-petaled pink blossoms hovered in the air where the bubble had passed, completely still. Parsee raised her hand towards me, and I rolled back the way I'd come to avoid a second bubble.

“Sakura in the underground?” Daiyousei mused. “What a strange sight...”

I nodded. “But beautiful...” Another bubble whizzed by me as I fumbled for balance, trying to understand this card before spending concentration on my own. I looked back, and saw that first row of flowers looking withered, but still in place. My room to dodge was getting smaller too, and I looked to the flowers anew as the fourth bubble rained down.

Parsee shook her head as she saw my gaze. The flowers had changed again, a twilit red, and their shape was ragged now, but still they remained. “Only with the passing of four seasons does time wear away the heart's pain... don't you humans say something like that?” she called. There wasn't more room now, and I knew it...

As that fifth bubble bore down on me, though, I saw Dai waving frantically to me out of the corner of my eye, and suddenly I saw it. I rolled, angling myself through a tight path among the flowers, and dodged to the open air again, fixing eyes with Parsee. “I get it now...” I raised my own card at last. “So now, here goes. Last Gift Sign: Autumn Sunset!”

Calm flowed through me as a red glow mingled with Parsee's green; this was Minoriko's card, and she laughed gently in my mind as I cast it. My turn, then, Chitose?

I shook my head, dodging another bubble, watching the second row of flowers wither away. I don't think I can banter with you this time, Minoriko-sama...

Minoriko's voice was calm in my mind. Yes... you've upset her quite a bit, I'm afraid. You two will just have to ride things out until her jealousy ebbs... but don't worry, I'll be with you.

The warm glow around me brightened, and in all directions red lasers slowly spread out, thin and glowing softly. The lasers remained, forming the rays of a painted sun, and I could see the frown on Parsee's face as she realized she had been hemmed in. As I moved about to dodge, slim, curved lengths of light began to float down, speeding up and taking wide curves as they neared Parsee to swipe through her “lane”.

Parsee began to dodge nimbly as well, face locked in a deep frown. Her moves were more nimble and practiced than Yamame's; she was dodging my attacks easily. I had found my rhythm now, though, and with each bubble I slipped carefully to the side, streamlining myself and slipping through the crooked paths in between the bright and withering flowers. I began to smile after a moment, able now to admire the elegance of her attack.

After half a minute or so, the “sun” faded out, replaced by a new set centered on my new location and with the lasers sweeping out a different orientation. Surprised, Parsee dodged just barely to the side of one laser. As she turned to look at it, her attention stolen, one of the curved lights swept in from the other side and through her. The hashihime let out a gasp as her card broke, flowers vanishing in a single bright instant. She frowned, looking at where they had been. “... Born, withered, and forgotten in four simple seasons... Humans are this way too, aren't they?”

I looked at her, not quite understanding. She sounded almost... wistful. “But we youkai don't forget nearly as easily...” Her eyes flicked over to fix Daiyousei in their gaze. “... nor yousei, at least the ones that don't have fluff for brains...” she added, in an odd tone of voice. A slight grin stole onto her face.

“... Is that why you attacked me?” I asked after a long moment. “So you could tell me that?”

Parsee shook her head. “No... but it is something to think about, isn't it?” She pointed at me. “So frail, and so quickly gone... while all those youkai you call 'friend' remain young, and strong... They do not wither as these flowers do.”

“No...” I found my eyes drawn to hers as I listened to her words. They felt so... certain. Truthful, even. I shook my head. “... I'll grow old... but Patchy, and Nitori, and all the rest... even Dai... they'll stay just as they are...”

Parsee grinned, raising her hand. “... Not very fair, is it?” Her eyes seemed to glow softly as they regarded me. “Not fair at all...”

I slowly nodded, looking over at Daiyousei. “... No. It's not fair.”

Parsee nodded in return, watching the worry on Daiyousei's face and the growing discontent in my own. “So now you get it. Why I'm attacking you.” She raised her hand again, glowing softly. “... Malice Sign: Midnight Anathema Ritual.”

A stream of needles slid from her hand and flowed towards me, but I didn't care. My eyes were on Daiyousei now... my closest friend, who would always stay the same youthful fairy she was now... but I could see it now, myself grown old and white-haired, and Daiyousei happily going about her life completely unchanged...

Daiyousei frowned and suddenly shot towards me, tackling me away from the needles. “Chi, let me take this card,” she said firmly. “You rest and sit this one out.”

“Why? Because I'm one of those frail humans, and you're an undying fairy?” The words were out of my mouth before I thought about them, but they felt absolutely right. “I'm not old yet, you know. I'm not some old grandma you need to worry over!”

Daiyousei shook her head. “You're not thinking straight,” she said quietly, floating up to hover level with Parsee now. “And besides, I just watched you sit there and do nothing while a stream of needles flew right at your head. You don't even seem to care about winning right now, so leave it to someone who does.”

I grit my teeth, but there wasn't much arguing with that. I landed, watching as Daiyousei spread her wings and locked eyes with Parsee. The hashihime watched her quietly as a new stream of needles flowed out. “And what about you, little fairy?” she called. “Your friend there gets to escape into death... and here you'll be, just the same as always, still living on...”

Her voice seemed different from the annoyed tone she had taken with me. Daiyousei just nodded. “It's not really fair at all, is it?” she asked lightly. “Not to either of us...”

Parsee twitched lightly. The needles struck against the edge of the area and burst into blue motes of flame. “... so why are you still looking at me?”

Daiyousei narrowed her eyes. “Sort of hard for there to be jealousy when something isn't fair to either side, Parsee,” she said softly. “I'll lose her... but she'll lose me as well. And if you weren't manipulating her feelings, she'd tell you this as well... Humans and yousei are the same. Different beings, but neither one is better, and neither has a reason to be jealous of the other...”

As I listened, I began to find it hard to understand why I was mad at Daiyousei in the first place. Just because she'd get to live on without me? Was that even something worth being jealous of...? I gasped as I realized Daiyousei hadn't seen Parsee's strike from behind. “Dai, look out!”

Daiyousei twirled in midair, dodging nimbly between the burst of flames and grazing past the next stream of needles. “... See? Even she recognizes it,” she said softly. “Now stop trying to fan the flames in our hearts, because there are none... not for each other...” She raised a card of her own. “And fight properly!”

Parsee's eyes grew round. “No reason to be jealous... how stupid can you get? There's always a reason to be jealous of others! Money, fame, status... even the simple act of being remembered... or the ability to forget...” She was trembling now. “How dare you suggest none of those things exist... What the hell have I been stuck living with all these years, then?”

Daiyousei shook her head. “I'm tired of your petty reasons for wanting to hurt Chi,” she said quietly. “It's my turn now. Ripple Sign: Rain-Shivered Lake!”

Silver danmaku began to fly past Daiyousei, slim and glowing softly. “The art of danmaku is often likened to trying to dodge the raindrops in a storm,” she said softly. “Let's see if you're capable of such a feat, Parsee Mizuhashi!”

As Parsee smirked, sending yet another stream of needles against Daiyousei that forced the fairy to dodge in among those strange blue motes, the silver shots began to burst, each one sending out a perfect ring of danmaku that overlapped one another in a familiar pattern... I smiled softly. “Rain...”

Parsee snorted, dodging her way through each ring in turn. “Is that it? You're going to put out the fires of my jealousy with a little drizzle?”

“Yes.” Daiyousei's answer was simple, a calm smile spreading across her face. Parsee stared at her, raising an eyebrow. Then she saw what Daiyousei meant, and gasped softly. One of the silver danmaku burst in the middle of her stream of needles, and not only did another ring of shots flow out, but a few of the needles were pushed aside, splitting off and flying harmlessly off to the side. “My ripples will push away your misguided jealousy, Parsee.”

Parsee twitched, sending stream after stream of needles at Daiyousei, but the fairy nimbly dodged in among them, slipping up close to her opponent as the “rain” grew stronger, ripples crossing and recrossing in patterns that were beautiful to watch from below... but distracting and even in places impassible for someone actually facing her. With a groan, Parsee slid too far, one of the raindrops striking straight through her, and her card broke.

Parsee landed at the same time Daiyousei landed beside me. “Are you all right?” Dai asked softly, hugging my arm. “You're... yourself again, right?”

“Figured it out, huh?” Parsee didn't even seem annoyed, just watching Daiyousei with one hand on her hip. “Looks like she doesn't get it though...” She shook her head. “You snapped her out of it anyway. You two are lucky, you know... very... very lucky...” Her hands clenched at her sides.

I looked at Daiyousei, still uncomprehending. The fairy sighed gently. “A hashihime is a youkai embodiment of jealousy,” she said softly. “Parsee can fan the flames of jealousy in a person's heart... as she did with you...”

Parsee shook her head. “Would've been pretty effective if you didn't take over for her like that...” she muttered.

“So then...” I looked at her quietly. “We've won, Parsee. May we... please pass over your bridge?”

“Pass?” Parsee trembled. “... I really don't get you two. You're so close... but...” She looked slowly back and forth. “You'll die, you know? You'll die and pass on, she'll still be alive and just as young as ever... and you... you'll be stuck with memories of her for always even after she's gone...” She shook her head rapidly. “Yet you both say you're okay with that? You're not jealous of each other at all?”

Daiyousei took my hand in hers. “I've accepted that Chi is a human,” she said quietly. “It's not fair to either of us, no... and we both know we'll be separated eventually...”

“But we'll both enjoy what time we have together no matter what,” I finished, giving her hand a squeeze. “Being jealous of each other will just sour our memories when the time comes... Neither of us wants that.”

Parsee stared at us, trembling all over now. The flames behind her billowed an acid green. “... How dare you...” She raised her hand, another flower starting to form in it. “Losing someone you care about... separated from them forever, and forgotten... Y-you're not allowed to be all right with that! It's not fair!”

I took a step back as Parsee's hand glowed violet, the flower this time a deep, rich black. It had at least a dozen petals, all delicately folded around the center. It seemed familiar to me, but the name escaped me... Daiyousei gasped, clinging to my arm. “P-parsee, what are you planning to do with... with that?” I had a feeling she did know what it was.

“It was... bad enough,” Parsee mumbled, holding the flower higher as it, too, began to glow violet. “You came down here... made me remember that nobody cares enough to remember me... made sure every single thing you did just made me more jealous of you...” To my surprise, tears began to roll down her face. “... but then... you just had to go and make me jealous of this too... you had to... to go and be totally accepting of your coming separation... It's not fair that you get to be accepting of it... when I... when I...!”

The flames reached their peak as she clenched her hand around the flower, the violet glow vanishing into sparks. “Well then...” She trembled heavily, staring at me for a long moment. “... if you're so... okay with death separating you... if you really don't care... then I'll just hasten it right along!” She drew back her hand, and Daiyousei gasped, tackling me to the bridge.

A brash, mature voice broke in on us as Daiyousei lay atop me, trembling. “Sheesh... c'mon, now, Parsee. You don't really want to be doing that.”

I managed to move Daiyousei's arm off of my eyes and sat up to see an immensely tall figure holding Parsee's wrist in a firm grip, stopping her from throwing. “Drop it,” the tall girl said lightly, smiling down at her.

Parsee's head whipped around. “Who the hell...” She stopped. “... Yuugi. The hell do you want this time?” She wiped her eyes quickly on her sleeve. To my surprise, her voice had fallen from a wild yell to a quiet, bored deadpan.

Yuugi grinned, patting Parsee's head lightly. “To stop you from doing something that'll really put a bee up the red-white's ass, of course,” she said. “C'mon, Parsee. Killing an honest-to-goddess miko wandering around down here? You'll get yourself properly exterminated in a microsecond if you do that.” She grinned wider. “And I already told you you're not allowed to do stuff that'll get you killed.”

Parsee slowly opened her fingers, violet and black fragments falling to the ground and dispersing in the wind. “She... she made me jealous. On purpose.” She pointed to Daiyousei, who was now huddled in my lap, almost frantically holding me. “Especially that one...”

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. “I doubt it was on purpose, Parsee,” she said, that same warm tone never leaving her voice. “And admit it, you know it too... You're just fired up and looking for someone to vent all that jealousy on, aren't you?”

Parsee drew back her free fist and slugged Yuugi right in the stomach. The girl just grinned, not moved even an inch. “... maybe,” the hashihime muttered. Behind her, the fires seemed to be dying down, the green tinge fading.

Yuugi motioned to us, and I stood, still holding Daiyousei. “I'm safe,” I whispered softly to her, starting to walk gently. “I'm alive... and I'm not going to die any time soon...”

As we passed them, Yuugi let go of Parsee's hand and patted her heartily on the shoulder. “Now, I think you have something to say to our visitor, right?” she asked lightly.

Parsee twitched. Their lips parted, but they said nothing.

I looked at her. “... Parsee... I was asked to come down here to meet the youkai exiled here. All of them, not just the ones that you think got remembered...” I shook my head. “We want to meet you. All of you. There may even be humans coming down here to meet everyone sometime soon...”

Yuugi grinned. “Sounds like a nice idea. You're going to tell them about the bridge guardian, though, right?”

Parsee crossed her arms, that bored tone growing stronger. “Of course. She'll tell them all about the terrifying youkai that nearly took her life here for her foolishness...” She snorted. “Get a sense of reality, Yuugi.”

I laughed. “No, I'll tell them there's a forlorn hashihime who guards this bridge... and that they should have an offering and a story ready for her. I'll leave out the part about our fight... that was our fault, even if we didn't realize we were upsetting you, and it'd just make Reimu go nuts anyway.”

Parsee gave me a strange look, then turned away. Yuugi patted her head, then tugged her into a hug, the girl so tall Parsee's head ended up against her stomach, cushioned above by a soft and... rather sizeable chest. “I like that idea. You?”

“... sorry,” I finally heard, muffled heavily by Yuugi's hug. “I... went too far.”

I smiled gently, watching the flames die down again to almost nothing. “Parsee... May Daiyousei and I please pass over your bridge, to the path beyond? I'll tell you absolutely everything I see when I return... so will you accept my offering and grant us passage?”

Parsee tensed against Yuugi, wriggling out of her hug. “F-fine, just go already!” She huffed, crossing her arms and turning away from us.

Yuugi nodded. “Yeah, let's get going. Plenty of stuff you haven't seen yet.” She put a hand on her hip. “I'll guide ya from here. The path's a little crooked, and there's a fork or two you probably shouldn't take.”

As I turned to follow, Daiyousei fluttering beside me now, Parsee spoke up again. “... listen, um... those stories... that sounds like a nice offering... so, I'll accept it...” She sighed.

I nodded, turning to look at her. “I promise I'll come see you before I head back up the Great Wind Hole.”

“... heh...” Parsee shook her head. “Don't bother with promises. Luxuries like being remembered... being feared... getting to come and go as you please... I don't get to have those. Those are for other people to get... and jealous hashihimes like me to covet...”

Before I could speak further, she took flight and vanished beneath the lip of the chasm, the green flames going out entirely. Yuugi motioned to me, and we followed her down the path.

“... So! What brings a miko and a fairy down to the underground in winter?” she asked cheerfully after a while.

Daiyousei blinked. “We... told you already,” she said. “Trying to meet with the exiled youkai...”

Yuugi grinned. I took a moment to look at her. Yuugi Hoshiguma was an oni, and a very obvious one at that. Even to a normal-sized human like me, she was very tall, and strength seemed to radiate from her perpetually grinning face. She wore a simple enough outfit, a white blouse with red trim over that distinctly heavy chest and a long, slightly translucent blue skirt. Above that grin, red eyes twinkled at me merrily, and out of her long golden hair rose her most striking feature, a single red horn adorned with a yellow star. “That really all of it, though?” she asked, grinning. “It was a little more than idle curiosity that brought a miko down here last time, after all...”

I rolled my eyes. “I'm not here trying to resolve an incident, no... perish the thought... It's just Byakuren and I thought it might be a good time to try and bridge a relationship between surface humans and underground youkai...” I paused. “The surface world is changing, a lot, and...”

“Yup, I know.” Yuugi cut me off with another grin. “I come up often enough... heh, Byakuren's that monk that started herself a temple for youkai, right?”

I smiled. “Youkai and humans,” I corrected lightly. “Byakuren hopes to one day help youkai and humans to live in understanding and friendship. And, well...”

Yuugi nodded. “So this little trip was her idea, huh?”

“Well...” I frowned. “It's true she asked me, but after hearing Yuyuko talking about all of you down here, I think I would've come regardless... It's definitely something I also wanted to do... And I really do make more sense.” I smiled. “Sending a powerful and well-regarded monk down here would be heavy-handed... and it'd make Reimu suspicious. But a low-power newbie like me...”

Yuugi laughed. “Hey, now. I thought the whole point of danmaku was so the weakest fairy could overcome the strongest of opponents?”

Daiyousei smiled. “It still looks like less of a play for power if Chitose comes here... and she's far less likely to spook the locals... From what I heard, you all reacted pretty strongly to Reimu and Marisa appearing down here last time.”

Yuugi let out an even louder laugh, and clapped Daiyousei firmly on the shoulder. “Hey, I was just looking for a fun fight,” she said. “Anyway... so, 'course I recognize you, Daiyousei. Been a while since I bumped into you, but...” She grinned, arching an eyebrow towards me. “How about your friend, though? Feel like I've met you once or twice too, but...”

I bowed, smiling. It really had only been a few times, but the oni was a hard one to forget. “Chitose Izumo,” I reminded gently. “We've seen each other at the Hakurei festivals a few times...”

Yuugi nodded. “That's right, that girl from Outside...” She laughed. “What'd you go changing professions like that for? I didn't recognize you for a sec in that getup...” She scratched her head. “So, what down-on-their-luck goddess got lucky enough to have you take up the slack?”

I couldn't help laughing; Yuugi's cheer was infectious. “The Aki sisters,” I said, smiling. “So you can see why I'm still not really much of a power player yet...”

Yuugi blinked, then suddenly I found myself picked up and nearly crushed against the oni's chest. “No kidding? Someone's actually taking care of those two? You're a heck of a kid, Chitose, y'know that?”

My panicked struggling eventually got her to let go, that big grin still on her face. “Well then, I'll be happy to show ya around. Been ages since we had a human in the Ancient City that wasn't trying to just blitz through...”

Daiyousei shook her head. “Humans don't exactly feel at ease around oni, after all,” she pointed out gently. “Frankly, I think most of them would be terrified... and when you throw in all the evil spirits floating around, well...”

“Evil spirits?” I stopped in place, looking back and forth between my two companions.

Yuugi shrugged. “Hey, relax, they're under control. They wouldn't hurt a fly, and definitely not a human.” She grinned, and cracked her knuckles with an audible series of pops. “They know they'd have me to deal with if they even tried, after all...”

Daiyousei looked at me curiously. “You didn't know about it?” she asked gently. “Well... no, I guess not... I'm sorry, I should have told you about this before we started...” She tilted her head. “The Underground is the former site of one of the Hells, the old resting place of Jigoku.”

Yuugi nodded. “They moved it a while back to some other place, probably across the Sanzu,” she said lightly. “But when we came down here, this was literally Hell. Though it's not like we got tormented too or anything, we were just residents.” She chuckled. “The deal we ended up making was, that we oni would help to contain the evil spirits dwelling in Hell, and in return this would be our place to dwell and rest.” She smiled. “Pretty good deal, really.”

I nodded. “But you said they moved Jigoku to another place? Why did the spirits stay?”

Yuugi grinned. “Well, actually they moved Jigoku because it was literally getting too crowded,” she confided. “But in the meantime, well... The place allotted to us oni to dwell in, the Ancient City, was the capital of Jigoku. So there were a lot of evil spirits for us to keep an eye on...” She laughed. “Thing is, well, after all those centuries of keeping them in check, we and the spirits got pretty fond of each other. So when Jigoku was moved, well... we petitioned the Yama to let the spirits who'd made friendships with the oni stay here.” She laughed. “The really bad ones went with her to the new Jigoku, but the ones who we'd made friends with? She judged that this was a sign of them reforming and repenting, so she let 'em stay. So now the old Capital is a hangout for oni and evil spirits alike.”

I nodded... then looked down at myself. “They won't be... upset about a miko among them, will they?”

Yuugi shook her head. “The spirits might be a little jumpy, but you'll be with me. They won't be too mad.”

I blinked, and started to walk again. “They'll find your presence that reassuring?”

Yuugi let out a single peal of laughter so loud it dazed me. By my side, Daiyousei wobbled back and forth dangerously in the air for a moment. “Kiddo, you're forgetting something. I'm in charge of what goes on down here. Everything. That includes trouncin' uppity mikos who try and cause a ruckus with the spirits.” She grinned and clenched a fist. “They may be spirits of criminals, but they're repentant these days. If you actually did do something, they know I'd kick yer ass in a second.”

I nodded. “You're really responsible for everything down here?”

Daiyousei laughed, a little woozy-sounding as she righted herself in the air. “Chi, you're forgetting, Yuugi is one of the Four Devas...”

I paused. “... that's right... like Suika...”

Yuugi chuckled. “Exactly. But Suika lives aboveground with you guys now, and the other two of the Big Four haven't shown their faces in decades. So I'm the last remaining member of the Four Devas living underground.” She grinned. “There's a reason it was me specifically coming to stop you guys from getting hurt by Parsee, y'know.”

“... speaking of which. What'd you guys do that got her so riled up, anyway?” Her eyebrow arched as she glanced back at us, still leading us up a gentle hill.

I shrugged a little. “Seems like the usual, really. Um... she seemed pretty annoyed that Yamame and Kisume didn't mention her when we passed by.” I paused. “... then again, she also seemed like she was expecting that...”

Yuugi nodded. “I'll have to poke my head in and remind 'em,” she said lightly. “They may not talk to her much, but they're pretty much her neighbors; if she thinks even they've forgotten her, well...”

I nodded. “She seemed pretty upset about it, even though she was expecting it...”

Yuugi raised a finger. “Not mad,” she said. “Parsee never gets mad. She gets jealous. Kind of a fine distinction, I know, but she's a hashihime after all. She attacked you because you were makin' her jealous, and she wanted you to go away and stop making her jealous.”

Daiyousei winced. “She... also didn't seem very fond of how close Chi and I seem,” she added. “But she's a hashihime after all... I'm just glad she didn't go the traditional hashihime route for what she probably thought we are...”

Yuugi grinned. “Oooh, yeah, not good for couples to go near a hashihime normally. Parsee's jealousy didn't stem from being jilted by a lover or losing them to some sexy number...” She shook her head. “Hers is a lot more reasonable, really... she's the bridge guardian, so she can't really leave it.”

I nodded. “Which is why I offered to tell her stories about the underground I saw...”

Yuugi grinned. “She may be acting all tsun about it, but she'll love that. Make sure you don't forget to drop in.”

Daiyousei rolled her eyes. “... Yuugi, how much time have you been spending around Sanae?”

Yuugi just let out another of those deafening peals of laughter. I shook my head. Well, she'll certainly get along with Kyouko... I paused. “... She started to get really mad near the end, though... when she realized that Daiyousei and I have come to terms about being... well, a youkai and a human with a friendship...”

Yuugi blinked. “... oh.” She shook her head. “Yeah, that'd set her off all right. Though I'm probably the only one around who remembers this...”

Daiyousei nodded. “Something happened, didn't it? Something to make her far more jealous of our friendship than anything else we did or said...”

Yuugi grinned a little. “Sharp as a tack, eh? Then again, you wouldn't be the only great fairy still around if you were a fluff-head like the rest of 'em...” She patted her back lightly. “It's probably why she's acting like she doesn't want you coming by to tell her stories, Chi.”

As we both fell silent, Yuugi came to a stop. We'd reached the top of the rise, and dozens of paper lanterns lit the way before us, a complicated tangle of old-style buildings with smooth stone paths between them spread out before us. “Heh... here we are. The Ancient City.” She paused. “... She used to come here a lot too. Though I think it was more excuse than anything else...”

Daiyousei blinked. “I thought you said Parsee couldn't freely leave her bridge...”

Yuugi grinned. “Nah, Parsee's only been here once or twice, before she started losing it. I'm talking about the kiddo that used to come see her...” She grinned. “Heh, she might've visited us oni a lot, but it was really Parsee she was interested in...”

I blinked. “Someone... used to visit Parsee?”

Yuugi nodded. “All the time. She'd come with all sorts of crazy stories about the surface world... even made pictures for her sometime...” She grinned. “Parsee used to tell me some of the stories too. You humans can be a really wacky bunch, y'know that?”

“Yeah, we can...” I caught my breath. “... wait... you said human?”

Yuugi nodded. “Yep. A medium from the surface... she used to come down and learn from us about the evil spirits, so she'd have an easier time protecting people from 'em up above...” She shook her head. “But she met Parsee her first time down. Nearly had the crap scared out of her...” She laughed. “Parsee was already starting to get jealous in those days. I mean, seeing people go by you every single day who all get to go look at your home, and you don't? That'd make anyone crazy after a while...” She shook her head. “Things sorta got crazy after that. Parsee got mean, people stopped bringing her offerings, she started attacking... it wasn't a pretty situation. She went after the medium, too...”

She stretched lightly, grinning. “She wasn't expecting a human with actual powers. Kiddo caught her off guard and kicked her ass, left her tied up by the side of the road. Weird thing is, though...” She turned her gaze to the city as a soft mote of white drifted down and touched against her cheek. “Well, when she headed back up to the surface a few days later, she went specifically to talk to Parsee. Said she wanted to 'give her a visitor, not just another pilgrim'.”

I caught my breath at that idea, and as I realized what that little white mote was. I looked up to see soft white clouds rolling against the cavern ceiling high above, and held out my tongue to catch a few more of the white flakes.

Yuugi chuckled. “Yes, we're really that far down here,” she said quietly. “With the old fires of Hell put out, it gets cold down here underground... and where there's cold, and a big enough room, there's clouds...” She winked. “Anyway. After that, the medium started visiting all the time. She'd come down sometimes just to talk to Parsee, and then head back to the surface instead of coming down here to see us. Parsee, well... she might not have shown it much, but she loved every minute of it...”

I nodded. “... but she was human,” I finished sadly, giving Daiyousei's hand a squeeze.

Yuugi nodded. “They were pretty dangerous times back then. And humans... were even less trustful of us youkai then they are now. So there's no real way to say what happened. But one day, she just stopped coming. And Parsee, well, Parsee assumed the worst.”

“... the worst being that she had gotten tired of her,” Daiyousei finished. “No wonder she reacted that way to seeing us so close...”

Yuugi smiled. “Yeah. It's nice seeing humans getting along with someone other than humans again, but, well...” She grinned a little. “You guys know the story behind the original hashihime, right? Parsee certainly isn't a jilted lover, but she's lost someone special to her just the same...”

“And seeing people getting on happily in that way too... gods, that must be the ultimate jealousy...” I finished. “No wonder...”

Yuugi grinned, and ruffled my hair. “Listen though, Chi. If you're gonna make promises to her, you'd better make sure you keep 'em. She'll expect you not to, but keep 'em anyway.” She smiled. “I'm the last deva left down here since Suika left, so taking care of this place is all on my shoulders. That includes Parsee. So if you make things more painful for her, well...”

I gulped. “N-no need to warn...”

Yuugi laughed, and patted me lightly on the shoulder. “Yeah, I figured as much. You're a miko, after all.” She shook her head, then bent a moment to examine my lantern with a grin. “And not a half-bad ambassador, either,” she added, turning and heading down the hill as the snow began to fall around us in earnest. “C'mon, you two. I figure you're bound for the Palace, but there's no way I'm lettin' you two leave without a tour of the Ancient City first!”

Daiyousei and I exchanged a glance and a laugh, then hurried down the rise after her.

Chapter Text

Gensokyo is a fairly quiet place, all told. Even with fairy and youkai mischief, there's not much in the way of major settlements. The largest human concentration is in the village, and even it doesn't have enough people to even be called a town. Things supposedly get pretty lively for a while after most incidents, either from the panic the latest youkai plot causes or the days of tea-fueled revelry that follow, but I arrived in Gensokyo immediately following the quietest incident in years and at the start of a period of calm that continues to this day.

Needless to say, two years of living in the village without even one incident hadn't prepared me in the least for the Ancient City.

The three of us entered the city, flying a short way above the ground so as not to disturb the new snow collecting on the stone paths. Paper lanterns hung everywhere, illuminating the city in a soft glow. As we neared the first crossing, a trio of oni children shot past, chasing after a group of shining spheres. Yuugi rolled her eyes. “Guess they're 'it' today,” she murmured.

I floated up and watched the flying spheres as the oni chased after them, all three laughing heartily. Even my novice level of training was enough to recognize the glowing lights as evil spirits. “... You weren't kidding about them,” I said at last.

Yuugi grinned. “Heh, you ain't seen nothing yet, either. C'mon, you two. And try not to end up too plastered.” She flew further in, her loud, hearty laugh echoing back to us.

As Daiyousei and I followed her along the main walkway, I realized the lights were getting a lot more numerous, and from up ahead there was a clamor of noise. There was a lot to see even with the noise so far off, though; restaurants, karaoke bars, and sake houses dotted the streets, in between hundreds of oni houses, most with at least one of the tall, horned youkai standing out front with a grin and a wave for the passing deva. I shook my head. “You guys really like your entertainment, huh?”

Yuugi grinned. 'You kidding? We're oni, kiddo. You guys got that much about us right, anyway. Heck, the kappa were working on some stuff earlier.”

I nodded, looking over the houses. “... There's so many of them. I had no idea there were this many oni left...” I paused; most of the houses were dark, despite the new-looking streamers and lanterns decorating the curved roofs. “... Are many of these actually occupied?”

Yuugi grinned. “Course they are. Mostly. They're just all out partying right now.”

Daiyousei smiled. “Chi, it's the solstice. You don't think shrines are the only places that have festivals on this day, do you?”

“Heh, there's nothing an oni takes more seriously than an excuse to party,” one of the oni called from her seat at one of the restaurants, grinning at us over a bottle of sake.

Yuugi rolled her eyes. “You know Suika, kiddo, she should be proof enough of that one.”

I nodded, scanning the softly lit streets as we continued on for several minutes. “... I can't believe there are so many youkai left down here,” I said after a long while. “I would've thought... well...”

Yuugi nodded. “I know what'cha mean, but you'd be surprised how many of us even back then just wanted to live in peace.” She grinned, waving to a pair of gaki spirits preparing food, a lone inugami observing them as he set the restaurant's plates, growling every now and then as his black-furred, pointed dog ears caught wind of something.

“Is it wise to let 'hungry ghosts' prepare food for everyone?” Daiyousei fretted quietly, glancing back as we rounded a corner. “I mean...”

Yuugi laughed. “Eh, I know what you mean, but that was ol' Shiki's idea, really.” She grinned. “Those're the only two gaki left down here, she took the rest with her when they moved Hell, but she always used to put them to work in restaurants. I remember she'd always tell them, 'You once derived pleasure in life from consuming all you could. Now you will see the pleasure others derive from a good meal, and from this you will surely learn your error in keeping that joy solely for yourselves.'” As she quoted, her voice suddenly grew low and pompous, and Daiyousei began to tumble in the air from her giggling. “I mean, it only really worked so far on those two, but she figures the rest will come around eventually...”

Daiyousei shook her head. “H-how on earth do you get away with mocking her like that?” she gasped out around giggles.

“Who, ol' Shiki?” Yuugi grinned. “You really think she's gonna get mad about someone cracking a joke? She knows it's all in good fun... hell, there's not a living or dead being down here who doesn't respect her.”

As the lights drew nearer, on either side of us a group of girls spun past, each standing on a spinning white disk that hovered above the ground and propelling themselves forward by beating the ground with some strange, long implement. Loud giggles came from each as they passed us, heading onwards to the festival.

“What are those?” I asked Yuugi softly, watching each one in turn spin past and feeling slightly dizzy myself.

Yuugi grinned and caught one lightly by their pole, stopping her spin almost instantly. “Late to the party as usual, eh girls?” she teased. “Been trying to drink some of the others under the table first?”

The girl staring back at us had blazing red hair that tumbled down over her shoulders and back, and a drunk-blush across each cheek to match. Her robes were pure white and far too big for her, pooling on the floor of her support, which I could now see was a giant sake cup; her “implement” that had pushed her along was a sake ladle. “Oh, hey Yuug',” she said, voice wobbling as much as she was. “Who's the new girl?”

Yuugi grinned. “Miko from the surface. She wants to meet the youkai who ended up hiding out down here. Says she wants to help the humans try an' patch things up with us, since there's not really a war going on anymore.”

I flushed just a little. “And, well, I've never seen a youkai like you before...” I paused, taking her in again. Red hair and face, oversized robes, sake paraphernalia... “... but come to think of it, you're a shojo, aren't you?” I finally asked.

The girl nodded, pulling one heavy fold of cloth aside to reveal what was very obviously a sake jar at her side. “That's me,” she said, twirling her ladle idly. “What, you think a drunken sea spirit gal can't hang out with oni?”

“Ah, go party with the others,” Yuugi teased, giving her a hearty clap on the back that sent her spinning faster than ever. “Besides, us oni need to have someone around who can actually sometimes drink us under the table. If they get lucky, that is.”

The shojo huffed, setting her ladle against the ground and pushing herself off along after the others. “I'll get you passed-out drunk one of these days, miss hot-shot deva!” she called back.

Yuugi burst out laughing. “Ah, man, those guys are a riot to be around...” She shook her head. “Kinda surprised you know about 'em though, I thought you guys decided they were actually those monkey things.”

Daiyousei shook her head. “Humans do conflate the two, but I've heard plenty of stories from Rinnosuke that humans used to tell about them...” She rolled her eyes. “Besides, you're talking to a shrine maniac here, I'm sure Chi knows all sorts of youkai...”

“Well, and...” I blushed a bit. “I've been getting Sanae to teach me a bit about youkai and about shrine maiden traditions too... I'm kind of a novice, after all, but she's been a miko all her life...”

Yuugi clapped me lightly on the shoulder, and this time I managed to stay standing. “Nothing wrong with getting some teaching. 'Specially not if it's from the 'good girl',” she pointed out. “Anyway, c'mon, let's join the fun for a while. If you wanna meet other youkai you've never seen before, this is definitely the place to do it!”

Yuugi had a tendency, I'd noticed by now, to seriously understate things. Even by her standards, that last claim was an enormous one. The Former Capital held four large town squares set off-center to each point of the compass, and each one was packed with youkai from all over the city. We entered the southernmost square to a blaze of three different colors of lights; the warm, red glow of ordinary fire, the softer white sheen of enchanted lanterns, and the pale, dusky hues of the spirits, so numerous it seemed as if they could outshine the moon.

Youkai danced and sang all around the square, sake jars and platters of steaming food literally piled all around on the tables that had been set up. Oni were the most numerous, of course, at least among the ranks of the living. Ghosts of nearly every description I had ever heard of floated along the streets, the sheer number of beings whose legs faded into wisps before reaching their feet unsettling, and all around the square the formless flames of evil spirits hovered all over the place. Neither kind of spirit was eating, of course, but they seemed to be making quite merry with their youkai neighbors all the same. Overhead, meanwhile, I saw a group of girls flying in a whirling sort of dance, long tails coated in fish scales sprouting from behind them and a fearsome tiger mask on each one's head, fangs to match in every mouth and robes in tiger patterning shrouding most of their bodies. These were shachihoko, Daiyousei told me, youkai with the power to manipulate rainfall, though humans had somehow corrupted their image into a mystical animal rather than the cute girls I saw flying above us and intensifying the snowfall over the square.

In the press of eager youkai and obake, Daiyousei and I ended up swept in opposite directions as we danced. The minutes passed by in a whirl, and suddenly I found myself dancing rather gracefully with Yuugi, the tall oni grinning down at me. “Having fun, huh?”

“Yeah, but I lost track of Dai,” I said, trying to clear my head by shaking it. “You haven't seen her, have you?”

Yuugi laughed. “She got herself into a drinking contest with three of the other oni and one of those goofy shojos you saw,” she said. “Once a fluffhead, always a fluffhead, I guess, eh? Eh, but don't worry so much about her, fairies sober up pretty fast. Specially if someone swats 'em.”

I winced at the idea of that. “... it's pretty amazing down here, though... I've never seen so many youkai in one place, even up in the kappa village...”

Yuugi smirked. “Well, duh, they're kappas. You don't see kappas if they don't want you to...”

I shook my head. “Still, this is amazing... it's like being right in the middle of the hyakki yagyo...”

Yuugi laughed. “Sorta, kiddo. Except it's not nighttime, there's a lot more than a hundred youkai here, and we're not really parading either so much as partying.” She clapped me on the shoulder. “But hey, where'd you think humans got that crazy idea from? It's not like we didn't party back when we lived aboveground too, after all...”

I nodded. “Well... anyway, I should probably find Dai...”

“Ah, don't worry yourself over her.” Yuugi had me by the shoulder now, steering me firmly through the shifting, dancing crowd of youkai. “Even a smart thing like her's entitled to be a Cirno every now and then. Especially if they're a fairy.” She grinned. “Besides, even Cirno knows better than to interrupt oni and shojo at a drinking contest. And anyway there's someone I want ya to meet, so c'mon...”

Yuugi, predictably, continued to dance with me as she led me through the crowd. At the very center of the dancing crowd, a small circle was left empty, a heavy, carven chair settled in the very middle with a table set neatly beside it. In the chair sat easily the oldest woman, human or youkai, that I had ever seen. Long, tangled white hair ran down over her lined, peaceful face and almost completely enveloped the back of her chair. Her kimono was as old as she was, patched and frayed, yet still somehow remained beautiful. As we approached, she opened her eyes and smiled warmly at us.

“Heya, Yama-baa,” Yuugi said lightly. “Enjoying the Solstice so far?”

I blinked, and winced. “Yuugi... shouldn't you be just a little more respectful...? I mean, it sounds like you're calling her a...”

“A mountain crone?” The old youkai spoke, her voice deceptively young and gentle. “My dear, she's only calling me what I am. It's not disrespectful in the least...” She laughed. “... my, now. Yuugi, have you brought me someone new to meet? A human, even... how rare and lovely...”

I felt my heart skip a beat. “... you're... a Yamanba?”

The old youkai blinked, and then let out a hearty, croaking laugh. “Ah, Kansai... how long has it been since I heard that old twang? Osaka, isn't it?” She smiled. “... dear me, you're not afraid of this old youkai, are you?”

I felt my cheeks grow red, my fears disarmed by the kindly voice. “I'm... sorry. It's just, I grew up with all sorts of stories about the lady of the mountain, and... I guess I sort of got frightened on reflex...”

The old youkai laughed again. “Oh, dear... do they still tell those silly stories?” She shook her head. “But yes, dear. I am Yama-uba.” She paused, and smiled brightly at my confusion. “The one and only Yama-uba,” she added.

I glanced away. “... I see...”

Yuugi grinned. “Hey, don't go getting some wild idea in your head...”

“She's right.” Yama-ba smiled lightly. “I'm not 'the last'. I was the only one there ever was, dear.”

Something clicked in my mind, and I stared into those ancient eyes. “... But then... that means you would know Sakata no Kintoki, surely...?”

Yama-ba let out another of those hearty, croaking laughs. “Little Kintaro! Of course I remember that darling boy...” She winked. “I hear he went on to be quite a famous warrior... though it seems he didn't forget his old nurse back on the mountain heights, hm?”

I paused. “... well... no, he didn't, but there are other tales told about you too... um...” I shook my head. “Tales get changed in the telling, but there's always a truth they start from, so...”

“Sheesh, just come out and say it.” Yuugi patted me on the shoulder. “You wanna know where those stories about her eatin' human kids came from, right?”

I bowed my head. “... sorry... but I can't help but be just a little worried...”

Yama-ba nodded. “Dearie, you have every right to be worried, growing up with stories like that. To put it simply, well...” She smiled. “I wanted such tales to be told. Humans are far less likely to come looking for a child they have reason to believe is no longer among the living. And one grows tired over the years of humans bursting into one's home and stealing away the child you lovingly raised, only to take it back to their village so their own children can look down on and mistreat them... oh, yes, I saw that happen quite a few times, when I was a few years younger and more foolish...”

She shook her head. “I've never eaten a human child. But I threatened to quite a few times, if they would not leave me in peace to care for those who fell into my lap.” Her eyes were stern now. “I wanted to care for them, and I knew that any human ever in my care would be regarded as 'tainted' and 'unnatural' by their peers. I would not permit those I cared for to be stolen back to such a life. So I encouraged the stories... though your Kintaro learned soon enough how hollow they were...”

I looked away, ashamed. “... I'm sorry, Yama-ba,” I murmured.

Yama-ba laid a wrinkled hand on my head. “Dearie, how many humans do you know who would have even asked that? Who would have wondered even to themselves if the kindly, soft-spoken, ancient youkai before them could really have stolen and eaten human children while nursing others?”

“... More than you would think, Yama-ba,” I replied, my head still bowed and my voice reverent. “Humans are changing, up there on the surface. There is even a temple that holds service for both humans and youkai alike... That's why I'm down here now, because there are some of us who believe it's time to end this old exile and forget the old strife.”

Yama-ba beamed. “I see... and is that your wish for this year, then?” She moved her hands back to her chest, lifting something that had lain hidden in a fold of kimono... a flower, its blossom singular but massive. The species was distinctly alpine, but I couldn't place the pure white blossom specifically. She bent her head, murmuring softly to it. “And speaking of which, what might yours be for this year, Yuugi?”

I looked questioningly at them both. Yuugi grinned. “Same as always, of course. Make our parties bigger and louder and more fun every time!” She cocked her head. “... that -is- what I said last year, right?”

Yama-ba chuckled lightly. “Mostly. And a little bit about that dear Parsee girl too...” She glanced up at me, smiling. “It's a tradition they came up with down here. Each year, on the solstice, I come and sit here in the very center of the party. And one by one, each youkai makes their way to me, and they tell me their desires and plans for the upcoming year. And I remember them, every single one, and remind them each year of what they told me the last year...”

Yuugi grinned. “Yeah, the Parsee thing definitely goes double for this year. If more people are gonna start coming down here, there's got to be the right girl for her among 'em...”

Yama-ba shook her head lightly, a gentle chuckle escaping her lips. “And you, child?” She looked at me, those eyes quiet and calm once more. “What is it you desire to bring about, by yourself and for yourself, in this coming year?”

I blinked. “What I want to bring about...?” I shook my head. “I want to make friends with more youkai, of course... There are so many amazing people here I never thought could exist two years ago...”

Yama-ba frowned. “Two years ago? What was so different back then? Surely there were youkai about... I remember Yuugi telling me about quite a number of those 'incidents' far longer than two years past.”

“Yeah, but she wasn't around for it.” Yuugi grinned and clapped me on the shoulder. “This kiddo's from Outside, y'know? Our old friend who's even older than you thought she'd do something to annoy the Hakurei right before another incident started...”

Yama-ba paled lightly. “No wonder, dear... oh, my, I'll have to remember that wish fondly, then.”

“One other thing...” I glanced down at my outfit with a bit of a smile. “My goddesses, the Aki sisters... I want to be able to earn a lot of faith for those two, as well... I'm their miko, after all, even if I'm still not completely sure how to be one.” I paused, and glanced up at Yama-ba's inquisitive face. “I only was asked to become their miko a few months ago... I wasn't born into the tradition and trained like Reimu was.”

Yama-ba nodded. “Well, I shall remember that desire as well, then.” She smiled. “I trust you'll come back down here next year for our next little celebration?”

I flushed. “More quickly than that, I should think.” I paused. “... I hate to say it, but we should probably get moving on, though. There's a lot more to see, and we got... held up a bit back at Yamame's webs...”

Yama-ba laughed. “I saw her earlier, and that adorable little tsubure-otoshi friend of hers as well...” She tilted her head. “Who's 'we', though? Neither you nor Yuugi seems the sort to be hindered by an earth spider's webs...”

I flushed. “Um, Daiyousei was with me too... she got caught up and separated in the dance, though...” I looked around. “Where did she go...?”

Yuugi laughed and slipped off. “I'll go get her... even if the shojo get kinda pissed at me for it...”

Yama-ba shook her head quietly. “There are many strange things in this world, dear,” she intoned. “Including a pair of youkai species that somehow function better while drunk... I doubt even an old mountain crone like me will ever understand them...” She smiled. “Kintaro did always love the drink himself, though... ah, many's the time he and the other woodsmen would get drunk, and on clear nights you could hear the sound of their shouts and laughter and songs from one side of Nippon to the other...”

She fell into a series of happy reminisces about Sakata-no-Kintoki, and despite my worry about Daiyousei I found myself listening intently. It was only when Yuugi returned, holding a struggling fairy lightly by the arm, that we took our minds off of the great hero.

“I was winning! C'mon, lemme go finish those lightweights off!” were the first words out of Daiyousei's mouth.

Yuugi rolled her eyes. “You started off sober, and they started plastered,” she countered. “Now they're still plastered, and you're even more so.”

I shook my head, moving closer to the fairy, a little worried. “Dai?”

Dai huffed and wrapped her arms firmly around me. “C'mon, let's go... finish drinking those morons under tha table...” she slurred, pouting.

“Gotta admit, she holds her liquor better than I would've thought...” Yuugi was grinning as she gently tugged me free of her vicegrip. “But I guess even the last greater fairy can do stupid things every now and then... like trying to drink an entire group of oni and shojo under the table 'stead of three or four of 'em...”

Daiyousei huffed again. “... mmph... we're going on, aren't we Chi?” She looked up at Yuugi slowly. “... 'm gonna wanna be sober for this... y'mind? Chi won't...”

Yuugi blinked. “Well, if you're sure.” She shrugged, then brought one clenched hand down in a blur that struck Daiyousei square on the head. I winced and turned away as she suddenly burst into wisps of smoke and vanished.

“...mmph... well, seems I traded sobriety for a splitting headache... I wonder if this is what humans call a hangover...” Daiyousei shook her head as she reappeared a minute or two later, simply popping back into existence where she had been. “You didn't have to hit that hard, Yuugi...”

I sighed a little. Yousei, even the greater type like Dai, were essentially immortal; fatal damage would simply cause them to fade back into nature for a short time while they regenerated at a rate that would make a Zonder jealous. Because of this, residents of Gensokyo tended to be fairly cavalier about “killing” fairies. (Not that the fairies weren't mostly cavalier about getting blown to bits themselves.) As an outsider, I'd yet to really get used to the idea.

“Wanted to make sure I didn't have to hit again.” Yuugi was saying. “Anyway, if you two think you've seen enough of the Night Parade, you'll probably want to hit up the Palace of Earth Spirits next. I mean, you may not have -met- 'em, but you're at least known by this point to a good chunk of the Ancient City. You're known by the stragglers up top, and a girl like you'll make good gossip for the city dwellers... so 'less you want to go traipsing into one of the other two's domains, and I don't recommend that seeing as how Suika and I haven't seen 'em in years, the palace is where you'll want to finish up your journey.”

Daiyousei frowned. “... if I remember correctly, those who built and held that mansion no longer remain there...”

Yuugi nodded. “Yeah. You'll see, though.” She smiled. “Honestly, I can't see you two saying you accomplished your goal in comin' down here if you don't at least meet the new owners of the Palace...”

I nodded. “Do we need to ask for an audience or something...?”

“Chi...” Daiyousei was struggling not to laugh. “It's not like royalty live there... for goodness' sakes, you don't go around asking for an audience when you go see the vampire and her household...”

Yuugi grinned. “Yeah, we call it a palace for old time's sake, but it's really more like a Westerner's mansion. I mean, you can't just barge in, it's someone's house, but I'll bring ya in, I'm welcome there.”

The sounds of the party dimmed away as we walked onwards, mostly dark streets greeting us past the main square. We walked in silence, though I noticed a lot more disused and collapsed houses as we continued. Yuugi told me quietly that not a lot of people liked living near the palace, especially since the owner seemed to like keeping mostly to herself in any case. Above the old, crumbling homes, a tall structure slowly came into view.

It was another half-hour or so before we finally stood beneath the high walls of that building and were able to properly see it. Those walls were of carefully quarried stone, each stone irregularly shaped yet fitting in an elegant fashion with each of its neighbors. Each wall boasted a number of windows, each one done in stained glass and some of them very large indeed. It reminded me of pictures I'd seen in college of the great basilica of St. Peter's in Moscow, and I found myself admiring the feats of masonry and engineering that had gone into constructing the building, taking the rough stones and shaping them into an arrangement that never seemed to rely on the mortar to fill in the spaces between, and that had set such large windows, each little piece perfectly placed...

I shook my head. I was perhaps a little overly proud of my engineering background, but I'd come here as a miko to speak with the youkai underground, not spend all day analyzing the architecture or to wonder how and where magic had been used to craft it. I could indulge my engineering instincts another day. For now, I stood quietly by as Yuugi walked up and... predictably banged loudly on the door with one fist. I winced as I noticed the dents all over the heavy doors, though at the same time I marveled at the way they had apparently stood up to centuries of abuse by the tall oni.

After a moment, the handle slowly turned, and the door opened. I peered in, wondering what sort of youkai lived in such a lonely yet beautiful place, but inside I could only see a small cat peering quietly up at us with unblinking eyes. Yuugi grinned. “Heya. The lady of the house's got a few visitors, mind seeing us in?”

The cat let out a long mew that carried far into the house, and began making its way deeper in. As it turned, I caught sight of two long, black tails waving slowly, and I blinked. “Chen...?”

“Chi...” Daiyousei shook her head as we followed. “That's definitely not Chen... trust me, I would have told you if I thought -any- of the Yakumos were here...” The cat took no notice of us either way, however, and simply led us along deeper in.

Most of the rooms we passed through were surprisingly well maintained, though empty of human or youkai presence. Only animals lived here, and the occasional fairy flitting idly around. In fact, there were quite a number of animals in the rooms, far more of the Underground animals than I remembered seeing in any other part of the trip down. There were the usual sort of animal: small rats with sleek, dark grey fur ran about underfoot, though not many, as the blaze cats, long-haired felines with black and red coloring, were probably the reason for. In a few of the rooms, dogs lay almost as if on guard beside the doors; thin and limber hounds with close-cropped, pitch-black fur, they made no sound or even a twitch as we passed them, but their eyes watched me closely, alert and wary but for the most part simply curious.

A few of the rooms held odder creatures. One room was almost completely lightless, and even with my magician's sight I could barely see a foot in front of me. Overhead, however, I could make out a squeaking and flapping that made it all too clear what sort of creatures were inside; Daiyousei grabbed my hand firmly almost at once, and refused to let go until she had led me after the other two all the way out of the room. Another room had somehow had its floor lowered; water inside kept a few fat, blind white eels wet and happy. A handful of odd white lizards eyed us as we passed, as well as a much larger one with black scales and clear, piercing eyes. I idly made a mental note to tell Patchouli the next time I saw her; surely my magician teacher would be interested to know I'd seen a living salamander. And in the last room, stands made of metal that had been twisted into such curious shapes and forms I felt sure magic had played a part in their creation supported literally dozens of pitch-black birds that cawed at us as we entered: hell-ravens, Daiyousei whispered to me.

Another of the black hounds also lay in this room, but as I approached, it suddenly jumped up with a snarl and positioned itself in front of the door, eyes focused on me as it let out a long, quiet growl.

“Well now. That's not too friendly.” Yuugi was grinning again as she leaned down, hands on her hips, to look at the hound. “Not very good manners either. Three years, and you still don't even say hello before gettin' right to the growling? You just that stubborn of a pupil?”

With a snort, the hound suddenly reared on its hind legs... and kept on rearing, growing taller and taller as I watched, fascinated. The muzzle shrank, fur gave way to skin and cloth, and soon enough a young man with wiry black hair and a pair of definitely canine ears poking up out of it was standing in front of me. Yuugi went right on grinning. “That's better,” she crowed. “Been a while, Ereb, eh? What's got your fur so ruffled?”

The inu winced. “Would you quit it with that nickname, Miss Yuugi? I told you, I picked my name to be Inuka.” He huffed, and his eyes focused back on me, a deep, focused red. The boy had only a loose vest and a pair of ragged shorts on, and I could see a small black tail swishing slowly behind him. “Anyhow, Miss Yuugi is always welcome, but who's this human girl doing here? I remember the last time there was a miko bursting in here...”

Daiyousei raised an eyebrow. “But Chi isn't bursting in here, and there isn't an incident going on anyway...”

Inuka shook his head. “Just because she's not doing anything right this second doesn't mean I can just...”

He trailed off, and after a moment I saw the cat had returned and placed a paw on his foot, looking up at him quietly. Inuka blinked. “... wait, you sure?” The cat just fixed him with a steely stare. “Well, if you say it's okay...” Inuka sighed and stepped to the side, nodding. “Go ahead in... I've been officially outranked here...”

I blinked, but Yuugi had already stepped up, patted Inuka as if he were still a dog at her side, and passed through. I bowed slightly and hurried after the others into a much larger room than I had yet seen. From up ahead of us, a voice spoke quietly. “Well, now. When Rin told me she was bringing a miko to visit me, I must admit I was expecting the red-white menace...”

I shook my head at Reimu's nickname. Easily one of the most powerful women in Gensokyo, Reimu Hakurei was the best known of the three mikos within the border, and easily outclassed Sanae, let alone myself; as such, she was the primary resolver of 'incidents”, with a characteristic style that had not endeared herself overly to most of the youkai population. “... I see.” The girl who stood before us now, holding our feline guide in her arms and gently stroking her back, was somehow familiar to me. She wore pink, a blue vest with three yellow heart-shaped buttons covering parts of it, and her straight pinkish hair curved down with the contours of her form until it almost reached her shoulders. A trio of slim, red strands, almost like arteries, floated lightly around her shoulders and hips, converging in a dark red orb that gave me a soft, involuntary shudder as I looked at it, and it looked back with a single unblinking eye. A third eye, making the girl before me a satori, youkai with the power to read thoughts...

“One of the last, in fact. Humans tend to be rather aggressive when their privacy is threatened.” Satori's voice was quiet, but I still started at the sound of it. I'd yet to say anything, after all. “Surface thoughts are rather simple to see,” she continued. “Your own eyes perceive simple things, even when you don't focus on the object. Color, distance, perhaps a rough approximation of shape. My third eye sees surface thoughts in the same way. It's not something I can simply turn off...”

I shook my head, and took my eyes away from the third eye. I'd come here to meet with this girl, not to insult her the instant we met. Even though she did feel a bit familiar. “I'm Chitose Izumo,” I said quietly, bowing deeply to the girl. “I'm from the outside world, but as of the end of last summer, I'm now the miko of the Aki Shrine...”

The girl bowed lightly in return, careful not to dislodge the cat from her arms. “Satori Komeiji,” she said softly. “Exile, and one of the few remaining satori... and yes, you feel a bit familiar to me as well... may I?”

It took me a moment to realize what she was asking. “I thought...”

She cut me off, though gently. “I can perceive surface thoughts, I said. You cannot tell two people apart at a distance until you look closely. To see where in your memories you have come across me, or something that reminds you of me, takes conscious effort. I'd like not to start off our conversation by gazing into your thoughts without asking first...”

I considered for a long moment, but I definitely couldn't place where I had seen the girl before. She was right, though, that she seemed very familiar. “Okay,” I finally said. “Go ahead... I can't remember where we met...”

Satori nodded quietly, stroking the cat in her arms quietly. “... remind me to ask you who this 'Bond' person is later, please,” she remarked suddenly. “And why I have a rather strong urge to slap him.”

After a moment, I felt a sensation I couldn't properly place. The feeling of unquiet that it brought with it was definite, though. Satori gave a quiet sigh, before slowly nodding. “... the festival, I see... two years ago now... at the Hakurei shrine... and I see you met my pets there as well...”

I nodded after a moment. Now I remembered, vaguely, speaking with the girl. That had been my second day in Gensokyo, the day after Yukari had pulled me in from the modern world. That week had been... a whirl, to say the least, though in the end it was what convinced me to stay and make Gensokyo my home.

Satori pondered for a long moment. “I'm curious now,” she said after a long moment. “To be honest, I looked at a bit more than strictly necessary... and what I saw intrigues me...” She paused. “... The human mind is a curious thing, Chitose. Even when you offer to let someone look, even if someone literally cannot defend themselves, the mind still conceals certain things, on instinct... The only time the mind of a human is truly open is in battle.”

I blinked. “... are you asking me... for a duel? I'm not all that good still...”

“That doesn't matter.” Satori held a card now, totally blank. “My goal is to see into your mind, to understand who you are and why you have appeared before me. For that, your skill does not matter... all that matters is that you face me...”

“Couldn't you just... ask?” Daiyousei spoke up this time, hovering a bit worriedly beside me.

Satori smiled, just a little. “Even a perfectly truthful human conceals things, great fairy. You should know that well. Errors of omission, slips of the tongue, simple forgetfulness... I am a satori, not a human. I know people by seeing their minds, not hearing their words. And, I confess freely, yours is a mind I wish to see more clearly...”

I pondered for a long moment, before drawing out a spellcard of my own, this one shaped like a playing card with a single symbol marked on the back. “It'll give me a chance to try this out, after all...”

Satori nodded, floating lightly into the air. “I'll let you begin, then,” she said softly.

I rose quietly as well. “Giving me a change of pace, are you?” I asked lightly, remembering my other two duels. “Well then, thank you.” I smiled. “Here I go, Logic-Defying Sign: Mercury Flow!”

I couldn't really call this card original. At its heart, it was a spell taught to me by Patchouli. And I could see the recognition in Satori's eyes as rings of blue and yellow orbs flew out, alternating between the two colors. Patchouli's specialty was elemental spells, and this one melded water and metal together to craft quicksilver... which technically was an element itself, but I hadn't really brought up the periodic table with the youkai who was trying to teach me magic.

Satori nodded quietly. “... I see. The reclusive magician who assisted the black-white before... and she is your teacher, at times, though perhaps not as often as you would like...”

I blinked at that. “She's sickly. And not... all that used to visitors besides Marisa...”

Satori raised an eyebrow. “I didn't say she wasn't. But you certainly wish she weren't unavailable quite so often...”

I frowned. “... maybe so, but I'm not about to force her... she's being generous already by teaching me at all...”

Satori fixed me with all three of her eyes. “... I know that. But, this is what it means to let me into your mind, Chitose Izumo. Are you certain you're okay with that?”

I snapped my fingers lightly. As I did, the orbs suddenly shifted their movement. In Patchouli's own card, the two types simply spiraled out in different directions. I, however, had opted to mix two different movement types. My own skill being weak, this thinned out the density a lot compared to the original card, but now the yellow orbs were radiating outwards in ruler-straight lines, while the blue orbs fanned out and curved across in a wide flow.

Satori nodded, passing the blank card before her eye. “Very well. I'll make my move, then. Recollection: Mercury Poison!”

I caught my breath at the all-too familiar name, and sure enough, those opposing spirals began to fly out from Satori as she flew in toward me, exactly like I remembered. I shook my head as I darted in, dodging between orbs curling in from both sides. “How do you have this spell...? This is Patchouli's...”

Satori shook her head. “A recollection, constructed from your memories of her. I told you I would be seeing your mind...”

I shook my head, and lapsed into silence. This spell was familiar to me, it was simpler for Patchouli to use and I'd seen it many times... there was little in the way of a blind spot, but the trails of yellow and blue were simple enough to dodge in between and evade. Satori, on the other hand, seemed a bit confused by my twist on the spellcard's movements... and as I suddenly pointed down, I grinned a little. I had one last little card to play here.

Several of the yellow metal orbs had been released directly behind me, spreading out in lines just like their blue counterparts. However, as they got far back enough, starting to reach the “boundary” of our fight, they suddenly changed direction, descending vertically in perfectly straight trajectories.

Satori nodded. “Your own personal take, though that vertical fall looks familiar...” She had focused on me the whole fight, making only the minimal movements needed to graze by my shots... or maybe that was just her fighting style. After a moment, though, her eyes went wide... and she came to a stop, looking straight at me even as two orbs curved in, one from each side, and arced through her.

I frowned as I floated back down and landed, watching as Satori picked the cat up again and stroked her back. “Why did you throw the fight...?”

Satori raised an arm, cutting me off. She shook her head slowly. “You... surprised me. So much so that I lost all track of the battle...” Her eyes regarded me quietly now. “... I admit, I looked perhaps deeper than might have been necessary... but you fascinate me, Chitose. Deeply.”

I shook my head. “I don't see how...”

Satori gave a slight smile at that. “To you, perhaps it is not so amazing. But to an old satori like me, who can still remember the days when we lived on the surface...” She shook her head. “... you would be completely fine with me living up there, among you. Even knowing that I could with a moment's exertion know your darkest secrets...”

I shook my head. “Having power doesn't mean that power will be used,” I said softly. “I may not be able to read your mind, but I can still understand you, at least a little. After all...”

Satori nodded. “I came down here, yes. As you presume, without fighting, simply wishing to find a place to live peacefully... and to answer another question, it is the same reason I've turned this old palace into something of a menagerie...” She looked down to the cat in her arms. “Animals don't have the same instinct to protect their secrets that humans do. To them, having someone who can understand their thoughts, who can tend to their needs and know their desires, is a blessing...” She looked up, all three eyes regarding me quietly. “... to have a human want me around, the same way my pets do...”

I smiled. “I'm not so unique, Satori,” I said quietly. “Humans aren't like what they were, back then. One of the nice things about our lifespan is, we change quite quickly...”

Satori chuckled a little, watching as the cat suddenly jumped down and began to rub against my leg. “You're more unique than you think, Chitose,” she said softly. “But if you insist... I'll try and put in an appearance, here and there. I at least owe this Byakuren of yours a visit, if only for giving me the pleasure of meeting you properly...”

I looked down, petting the cat at my side softly. “... So... is this as far as the Underground goes?” I asked, glancing over to Yuugi.

The oni grinned. “Not quite, but you have met almost everyone down here...”

Satori rolled her eyes. “While true, Yuugi, there's a bit further down...” She shook her head. “You've come all this way down, though. I think you and I both know you'd like to go to the very bottom, if only to say you did. You're not only here as ambassador, after all, are you?”

I didn't even get a chance to fully nod before her eyes darted to the cat at my side. “Well then, you'll need an escort down there. Would you?”

The cat had vanished from beside my leg, and suddenly I felt two arms catch me tightly around the chest and squeeze, drawing a hot blush to my cheeks as a tail each tickled at both sides of my ribs. “Hm, I dunno... she never did notice me...”

The pressure on my chest withdrew, and I turned to see a girl with fiery red braids dressed in a long black dress, two long black tails swishing eagerly behind her and a pair of ears poking up out of her hair. “And that wasn't 'punishment' already just now?” I asked, trying to carefully adjust my sarashi after the girl had disordered it.

Daiyousei fluttered up behind me and hugged more gently around my neck. “Honestly, Rin, I sometimes think you're an even worse prankster than the trio...”

Rin just grinned, showing a pointed pair of canines. “She says, while hugging the girl those idiots led into the bamboo field on a cold spring night...” she pointed out, giving the girl a light prod. “I led you two all the way here, even got the inu-baka to let you pass, and you didn't recognize me even a moment? I think I get to punish you a little for being so mean to me...”

I shook my head a little. I knew Rin was just teasing. Albeit rather physically. “Rin, I'm sorry,” I said, after I'd finally fixed my clothing. “Will you guide us? Please?”

Yuugi clapped a hand on the nekomata's shoulder. “Just 'cause she mistook ya for Chen is no reason to be stingy,” she said, laughing. “I gotta get back to the party anyway, so do this as a favor to the gal who keeps things in line around here, eh?”

Rin smirked. “You mean the -other- girl who does that,” she said, sticking out her tongue. “But sure, c'mon... besides, you-know-who would be awful sad if you came all the way down here and didn't visit her...”

I blinked. “Wait, she's down there right now? Even when there's a party going on down here?”

Rin shrugged. “Well, Mom's not going...”

“I keep telling you, you shouldn't call me that...” Satori smiled a bit. “And I think I'll join you, Yuugi, if that's all right. I believe I should practice a little bit if I'm going to go visit that monk...”

Rin grinned lightly at that, and caught both me and Daiyousei by the hands. “Well then, c'mon, you two. Otherwise the featherbrain's gonna get it in her head to follow Mom and you'll miss your chance to visit!”

I turned to wave over my shoulder to Satori and Yuugi, but all I caught was a quick glance of a floating red eye and a slight smile; the doors to the room had already closed, and Rin quickly led us around a corner and out of sight, deeper into the earth.

Chapter Text

As we proceeded downwards, through the passageways beneath the palace, I found the chilly air of the great cavern, dragged down by the howling winds of the surface, starting to fade away and give way to the natural warmth of the underground. Rin grinned a little at me as she saw me loosening my scarf. “You should feel this place in the summer,” she said. “Really starts to feel like the Former Hell then...”

I glanced over at the kasha walking between us. “Hey, Rin? What'd you mean about being the other girl that keeps things in line down here?”

Rin tilted an ear. “Did I not mention this before?” She raised a hand, a shimmering wisp settling in it, before moving to float beside her shoulder. “I have the power to control evil spirits. It's how I got Reimu and Marisa's attention back in the day...” She grinned a little. “Useful if the spirits start causing a ruckus... not that many of them try it anymore these days...”

I nodded, tucking my scarf away now and loosening my kimono a bit. “It's getting really hot down here now... how does it stay so warm in the winter...?”

Rin just smiled. “Ask Okuu when we get there, it's not far now... and she'll be quite happy to have someone to explain all that stuff to that might actually understand it...”

We had reached a stone doorway, of sorts, and Rin reached up to roll it aside. “Here it is,” she said, grinning. “The deepest part of the underground, and your last stop...”

As Rin moved the stone, a blast of hot wind met our faces. The dim light of Kisume's lantern was suddenly washed away by a bright, hot presence in the room just beyond. Daiyousei and I both took a step forward, then stopped dead in the same instant as we saw what lay inside.

The sun. Big as a house, burning a bright, fiery orange, it hovered in the midst of the room, above a sea of blazing flames. Around it, plates of metal floated in slow, lazy circles as if in orbit, though my mind was too distracted to puzzle out their use. It was a long moment before I saw a dim black shape amidst the fires.

As I watched, the shape began to move around, silhouetted in perfect blackness against the powerful light beyond. As it rose away from the surface and towards us, I could see wide-spread wings behind, and caught a glimpse of something flapping behind. It was... very definitely a girl's figure, that much I could tell, and I felt sure as it neared that I'd seen it somewhere before.

That suspicion was confirmed when the silhouette paused beside one of the large metal panels, looked at me, and almost instantly made a beeline directly before me. A second later, I found myself being hugged with incredible strength against an incredibly soft surface. “Chi! You came to visit!”

I found my efforts to reply to the girl holding me to be completely muffled. The girl sounded puzzled. “Chi? How come you're not answering? Did I make you mad?” I heard Rin sigh, then a sharp rap and an “unyu!” from above. “Okuu, you're gonna have to stop using your chest as a weapon of mass destruction before she can reply...”

The girl let go, and I gasped softly, looking up at her. '... wouldn't be the worst way to go,” I teased, with a soft smile. I could hear Daiyousei huff softly in the background. “But yeah... humans weren't made to handle talking and being hugged by you at the same time, Utsuho...”

I smiled quietly as I looked up at the girl. Utsuho Reiuji was, like Rin, an animal youkai; in her case, a hell-raven. Her height dwarfed me easily, and with her usual green ribbon missing today it was harder to say whether her long, fluttering black hair, massive black wings, or the galaxy-patterned cape behind her was the most imposing. She wore a short, ruffled green skirt and a tight white blouse with a glaring red eye emblazoned in the center that made me constantly have to bite back jokes about Barad-Dur. It also made very clear that Utsuho was, well... more generously endowed than Daiyousei and I put together. The adorable, innocent look that was constantly on her youthful face made it all the clearer that she had no idea the sort of effect she had on people.

At the moment, Utsuho's face was also confused, which just made her more adorable, and I hugged her tightly. “Great to see you again, Utsuho...” I smiled. “Been busy down here?”

Utsuho hugged me back, more gently this time. “Yeah, Nitori and I were working on some new refinements to the reactor, and they weren't working quite right at first...” She smiled. “Glad we got them fixed when we did though, otherwise Mom wouldn't have let you down here to see me...”

I realized something as Utsuho began to hug me tighter, and glanced down. Sure enough, as always, the girl's left foot was encased in a shapeless lead boot, and her right bore a pattern of lights that recalled the Bohr atom. But her arms... Before Utsuho could resume hugging me to the point of speechlessness, I gasped out, “H-hey, Utsuho... where's your third leg...?”

Rin burst into snickers at that, but I ignored her. Utsuho tilted her head, and pointed with her bare right arm. The long orange “control rod” that usually adorned it stood sticking out of one of the nearby panels. “I'm just doing routine cycle maintenance right now, Chi. I've gotten good enough at it to give it a few automatic commands.” She giggled. “I was tired of hugging Nito with just one arm when she came up with some genius new idea, so I worked real hard to work out how to automate it. Then it was just a matter of getting some of the other kappa to whip up an interface that would take my imprinted mental commands and carry them out remotely, in the proper sequence, without the need for direct intervention.” She smiled. “Simple!”

Daiyousei coughed. “So simple that even Cirno could understand,” she deadpanned. I just rolled my eyes. Between my partial engineering degree and my apprenticeship under the shy kappa engineer Nitori Kawashiro, I knew enough to understand exactly what Utsuho was saying. Honestly, I was used to her talking like that when it came to the reactor. “I'm guessing you had the other kappa make the interface so you could surprise Sensei?”

Utsuho beamed. “Of course! She got so surprised the first time I got to give her a proper hug...”

Daiyousei fluttered her wings a bit. “Chi, are you going to...”

I shook my head. “Utsuho already comes up above-ground a lot, she's not really an exiled youkai like the others...”

Rin grinned. “Yeah, but...” She glanced over. “You hear, Okuu? Chitose's here to invite Mom and everyone else to start trying to come up and make friends with people on the surface... mom's even gonna go up and have tea with that monk lady...”

I was immobile and unable to speak once again in moments. “Really? You found someone who wants to meet Mom? And she's gonna have tea with her and everything?”

Rin rolled her eyes. “So what -have- you two been working on here? An actual giant robot, to make up for disappointing Sanae? You wouldn't even let -me- down here, after all...”

Utsuho let go of me again and tilted her head. “I'm immune to all known forms of nuclear radiations, and Nito's got the only magic shield that Mari didn't end up making blow up by accident... I wasn't gonna risk dousing you with the stuff, Orin...”

Rin floated lightly up to the panel. “But you said it's safe down here now, right? Even for fluff-heads?”

Utsuho nodded. “We have a sequence of shields set up that filter out alpha, beta, gamma, and neutrino radiation. That's what we were setting up. It was a little tricky getting the particle separation criteria down at first though... plus we had to up the output to make absolutely sure the shields wouldn't let trickles through if we had an over-peak demand for power or, Yatagarasu forbid, a minor meltdown.”

Rin blinked several times. “... um...”

Daiyousei shook her head. “She means they used kappa technology to stop anything dangerous from coming out of there. She's right, actually... I don't feel at all ill or weak like I did the first time I was near anything related to the reactor...”

Rin shrugged. “So I could go right down to the surface and poke it if I wanted to?”

Utsuho tilted her head. “... Rin, silly, you'd burn your fingers off it you touched the reactor. It's not like my miniature suns, those are just danmaku... besides, we can't just build the shields right next to each other, or they interfere with each other and the selection criteria gets completely skewed...” She pointed. “Each of those clusters of panels is a new shield. Neutrinos are filtered at the outside, since they're not normally harmful, but Nitori had a theory that those are the ones that were disrupting the yousei's inner magic, so Daiyousei should stay well clear of that limit. There's some experimental fields inside to catch any sort of theoretical magi-radiation...”

Rin groaned, and bonked her head against the nearest panel. “Okuu, nobody but Chi gets what you're saying! Just tell me how far in Chi and me can safely go.”

Utsuho blinked. “Oh, the three around the middle are for the most dangerous types. You could probably handle everything but gamma, really, and that's right up against the surface anyway...”

By the time she'd finished, Rin had taken off. I rolled my eyes and floated up. “So, this is the reactor that heats the springs and gives Tensoku movement...” I murmured. “Is this really the deepest part of the Underground?”

Utsuho nodded. “Well, there's an underground lake a little further on, but that's up a little bit from here. Mostly we just use it for emergency cooling... which we haven't had to so far.”

Rin was hovering a few dozen yards from the surface now, peering in. “I'm really safe this close up?” she asked, peeking around and turning. She was a silhouette herself, at this point.

Utsuho nodded. “I wouldn't go closer unless you want your dress to catch on fire, but yep!” She waved. “Even neater up close, isn't it?”

I wasn't so sure, myself. Not about the radiation, I trusted Utsuho and Nitori absolutely on this. But I had senses and a specialty of my own, and that sense spelled trouble brewing under that roiling surface. “Rin, I think you should come back this way...”

Utsuho blinked. “... Chi, c'mon, we tested that... Orin's totally safe, I promise!”

That was about the moment that a shapeless form burst from the surface of the sun and slammed hard into Rin. The impact sent her spiraling into one of the outer panels, then toppling onto the next one in. Utsuho and I darted to her side. I wasn't afraid for her life, youkai were inhumanly resilient, but the blow had knocked her out cold.

I looked up towards the still surface of the reactor as Utsuho flew over to retrieve her control rod, the hell-raven slipping her arm carefully into the opening. “What was that...?” I murmured.

Utsuho shook her head. “Whatever it is, it's... um, it's not an impurity... I can't actually detect anything...” she murmured. “I don't get it... nothing's changed about the reactor since my last scans, so nothing new could have been introduced...”

“Unless it had been there since the reactor was fired.” Daiyousei stood atop the outermost panel, peering warily in. “Chi, you know where this is, right? This is the Hell of Blazing Fires... the place where sinners were punished, their very selves used to stoke the flames that heated the Underground in times past...”

I shuddered. “... and it attacked Rin first off...” I stood and drew out a sealing slip. “... Evil spirit. Show yourself!”

As if in response, the surface of the reactor roiled, and a translucent mass rose from it. Utsuho's normally innocent face suddenly grew firm. “Anomaly in the reactor core. Overriding all automated commands.” She drew the control rod out of the panel and pointed it towards the mass. “Identify yourself.”

The mass rose towards us rapidly. I could see the impression of faces, half-formed, rising to the surface and then fading into the center again, and shivered. “... no need,” I said, floating back a bit. “I know what that is... it's an utsuro...”

Utsuho looked over at me, her face innocent again. “Unyu?”

I shook my head. “UtsuRO, not UtsuHO, silly...” I raised the slip carefully. “An amalgam of hatred, greed, jealousy... negative emotions, born from humans, woven together into a single wrathful whole...”

The mass was shaping itself now, into the indistinct form of a female with pointed ears. Her face was strangely pretty, almost to the point of making one forget about the wicked claws adorning her left arm. At first, more faces pushed out from beneath her skin and the cloak that billowed behind her, but they rapidly subsided. Daiyousei frowned. “I think this has amalgamated more than just emotions, Chitose...”

I nodded. “... I get it,” I said, approaching the figure and addressing it directly. “You're the utsuro born from the anger of sinners who would not repent. And you absorbed the very sinners who created you. Didn't you?”

The spirit hissed, and slashed at me with her clawed hand, but I dodged back. “... Yes,” she breathed, her voice a dissonant hiss. “The flames burn... ash we are... alone we were left...” She raised her head. “Punished we were... now punished you are...”

Utsuho darted down and grabbed me under her arm, pointing her control rod directly in the utsuro's face. “Punish this, you creepy weird... weirdo! Mega Flare!”

I squeezed my eyes shut as a torrent of attacks burst from Utsuho's control rod, floods of deep red orbs and larger white bubbles and, dwarfing them all, Utsuho's trademark miniature sun danmaku. I knew this card; there was no rhyme or reason or pattern to it like usual. Just the pure, overwhelming power of the Sun itself.

The card wound on, but I could feel Utsuho getting more tense as it did. I felt something cold suddenly strike through me, and with a yelp from Utsuho, the card broke. I turned to see the utsuro hovering just where it had been before, not even moved by the violent outpouring.

As Utsuho caught her breath, the spirit burst into mocking laughter. “We know... hellfire,” she spoke. “After hell's heat... the sun is but a candle...”

Her voice seemed to be growing stronger. I stepped forward. “... so you can handle a little fire. That's fine.” I glanced back. “Utsuho, make sure Rin's okay.” Then my eyes were fixed on the spirit once more. “... What do you want? What are you planning?”

The spirit stared blankly at me. “Haven't we been telling you that since we appeared before you?” It was definitely stronger now.

I raised my slip, and nodded. “... You realize, of course, that if you persist I'm going to have to hurt you, right?”

For the first time in a while, the goddesses' voices rang in my mind. Chitose, be careful. This isn't your usual sort of foe. Even Parsee didn't hold this much intent to harm you.

I shook my head. Minoriko-sama, I can't just leave it alone. I'm a shrine maiden now. Besides, there's no way Reimu doesn't know about this already. I may not be that strong, but I can at least keep it from going anywhere and hurting others until Reimu can get here.

Chi, that's really dangerous though... Shizuha's voice was worried. You'd better use the stronger version of my card then.

I blinked. Shizuha-sama, you get little enough faith as it is... if I do that, you're going to lose a lot of it...

Shizuha's voice was firm, and I could feel her power being forced into my sealing slip. And if I don't, I've got a very strong feeling I'm going to lose our sweet miko, so that's not an option...

“Are you done talking to your imaginary friend?” The utsuro sneered at me. “We are hatred. We are agony. In both, you will die.”

I shook my head at that. “... I'm not going to die here.” And I'm going to earn you back this faith... “Kaleidoscope Sign: Late-Season Typhoon!”

Autumn Dervish was a strong card on its own. With extra faith pumped into it, the card became all the stronger. I'd renamed this stronger version to reflect this increased power. Just as before, leaves rushed out radially from me, green ones mixed in with the autumn colors this time, before pulses of magic curled them around. This time, however, new pulses of magic continued racing out, sending each new set of leaves in different spirals, even sometimes changing the direction of a few stragglers whose paths the enemy had already reckoned and taken for granted.

Even amidst the blitz of leaves, though, the utsuro made no attempt to start a card of her own. She dodged carefully, but even so it wasn't long before a leaf sliced across her arm, then several more. In each place, a face rose up, screamed, and then subsided again. The caped figure hissed. “... divine power...” She focused on me. “... This is the Hakurei's power? How can such a weak spirit maintain our Border...?”

I blinked. “... I'm not the Hakurei miko,” I said. “Reimu isn't here yet. And if you don't start trying, you're going to lose before she even gets here.”

The spirit stopped dead in midair, looking heedless at me even as leaves sliced through it. “You... are not the Hakurei? Then we have no interest in you.”

Before I could formulate a reply, the utsuro rushed headlong through my spellcard and raised its left hand. I felt a line of pain, then two more, cut across my arm and spill over onto my belly. I looked down and saw red, even as the force knocked me downwards towards the sun below.

I couldn't completely process what had happened to me. I couldn't fly, and my spellcard had vanished the moment those claws had touched my skin. The reactor, I belatedly realized, had a gravity of its own, and it drew me inwards now, starting to fall past the outer shields. I tried to slow myself, but my body's only response was to fully go into shock, leaving me staring upwards.

Utsuho was fighting with the spirit again now, fending off the claws with her control rod. The spirit seemed to have ceased paying any attention to me now. Rin, I could just barely see, lay unconscious still. And that was everyone, except...

A blur suddenly pushed off from one of the panels and rushed towards me even as I fell. I winced as the familiar winged form drew nearer, and the last three shields down below drew nearer as well. “... Dai...” I murmured.

Daiyousei shook her head, even as a definite grimace stole across her features. “Don't you even say a word,” she cut me off, arms outstretched as she flew down, down towards me. “I might, in theory, be hurt, temporarily, from this. You will, unequivocably, die if I do not.”

Her arms were soon around me, and her wings beat furiously to stop our fall. Luckily, the utsuro seemed too distracted by her fun above to distract her. We came to a stop just outside the outermost of the barriers, and I looked down at the bright surface below. Under my feet, a sea of alpha radiation roiled and surged, yet here, I was safe. I knew the barriers wouldn't let even a minute dose slip through. Nitori's construction would work.

I found myself clinging more and more tightly to Dai as she began to fly me back up, her face looking distinctly pained now. It was another few minutes before she let me down on a panel, though, and slumped against me. “There. You're fine from here,” she murmured. “Just catch your breath until you can fly again.”

I looked upwards. Utsuho was being definitely beaten back now, yelling in frustration as her flames failed to even annoy the spirit. “... Utsuho!” I called, gathering Daiyousei into my arms and making a leap, struggling to take flight once more. “Dai's hurt!”

Utsuho blinked. “... But she's a fairy. She'll just poof, right?”

I shook my head. “Not after getting that close she won't. Listen... Dai's the embodiment of ripples. Bring her to that pool you were talking about before, and knock her out there. She'll be fine that way...”

Utsuho blanched. “But Chi...”

I shook my head. “Utsuho, I hate to say it, but you can't do anything to her. I'm just going to have to stall longer...” I pushed Dai into her arms, and raised another slip. “Hurry, before there's permanent damage...”

Utsuho winced. “... Chi, c'mon, you can't take her...”

I shook my head. That swipe had hurt, and shocked me to my core, but her claws were dulled in her frenzy, the cuts shallow and already starting to scab over. “Just go, Utsuho... C'mon! Treasure Sign: Harvest Twilight!”

Minoriko was the one pouring faith into me this time. The rays shot out once more, tinged with the perfect red of the final rays of sun, mingled with more rays in the amber glow of the harvest moon. The new rays kept the lanes tighter... not that it would particularly affect the utsuro, I knew. Even as I began to release those curving shafts, so like the chaff from wheat, the utsuro charged again, and I retreated, circling around the center of those mingled rays as it chased me, forcing the spirit to go through each laser to get at me.

Utsuho blinked. “... Chi, what're you doing using a spell card? Just blast her!” She huffed.

I shook my head. “... Is that how the spell card rules are supposed to work?” I shot back. “Convenient for playing, but toss them aside the first chance you get if there's someone you don't like? No way am I going to play that way. Now c'mon, get Dai out of here!”

The utsuro laughed, taking another swipe that I dodged past as Utsuho flew off towards a smaller tunnel. “Adorable. You think yourself some sort of moral authority that can dictate to us?”

I narrowed my eyes. “I'm done with that sort of thing. 'Good' humans, 'evil' youkai, the simple fact is that we're two sides that fought for reasons I doubt even Yukari can remember. Youkai need to stop thinking humans are playthings, or that they hate them and want to kill them the first chance they get. Humans need to get their heads out of their asses and realize that not every youkai out there is a murderer who wants to eat them for supper, and that anyone who fights them is some sort of righteous hero out to kill the beasts that stalk the night...” I twirled over her, letting a stream of shots pierce through her back. “And if you think I'm going to let you cause problems and make the reasonable people who're starting to finally accept the peaceful, kind-hearted youkai I've met start to fear and hate them once again, you've got one hell of a delirium going!”

The utsuro laughed even louder. “Youkai? Peaceful? Humans? Reasonable? You're the one in a delirium, girl, and your insistence on it is going to cost you your life!”

“Maybe so.” I dodged the next swipe. “But I'm not going to toss out the rules just because you broke them. Forget this whole righteous and wicked thing; the simple fact is that you're trying to hurt humans and youkai alike. And I'm going to stop you, without dropping to the level you've lowered yourself to.”

The utsuro hissed and rounded on me again, the next swipe moving faster than before. I tried to dart back, mentally preparing myself for the next blow.

“I like what you said just now, Chitose...” A familiar voice echoed in the cavern, and suddenly, before the utsuro's swipe could connect, something heavy fell on its head with a loud slam.

I blinked as the heavy thing bounced off and landed in my arms, startling me out of my spell. “A bucket...?”

A familiar face popped up out of the bucket, beaming. “Chi, Chi, c'mon, let's bash that cheater!”

The utsuro howled and took a swipe at me, but found the arm suddenly caught. It tried to charge, but limb after limb was caught in invisible bonds until it could barely move. That familiar voice laughed. “Trying to escape an earth spider's webs? Now who's the deluded one?”

I looked up to see Yamame perched near the ceiling. Even as I looked, she threw down another strand to bind the utsuro. “Kisume!” she called to the girl in my arms. “Quick now!”

Kisume nodded. “I'm gonna beat you up, you dumb cheater!” She floated up out of my arms and raised her hands, pale blue flames racing out to the anchor of each line of web. The webs quickly burst into flame, running down along the lines. I could see the anger and panic in the utsuro's eyes as the flames rushed in, then wrapped around her and set her alight like a torch. She screamed, staring out of the flames in disbelief. “Wh-what? H-hellfire?!”

“Not bad, kiddo.” I knew that voice, and I grabbed Kisume and ducked to one side as I heard a whistling behind me. Yuugi shot past, grinning wildly, and slammed her fist directly into the utsuro's stomach, right through the flames as if they weren't even there. “Someone so young pulling off hellfire that strong? Definitely not bad... and it's a good choice too.”

I nodded. “Hellfire is what punished them all these years... it's the only fire that'll hurt her, even Utsuho's can't...”

Yuugi shook her head. “Yeah... I know this one. It's been brewing down there for years, ever since the old fires went out, but Orin's always kept it in check... guess not anymore...” She glanced at me, and grinned. “... what was all that about us youkai, though? Seems like you had quite a mouthful to say back there...”

I blinked, and flushed a little. “Well, it's not like every human and every youkai is like that,” I murmured. “More and more on both sides aren't... and really, most youkai that think that way aren't... really around anymore...” I shook my head. “I just want that way of thinking to spread... for the last remnants of the old wars to finally go away...”

Yuugi patted my shoulder, softly this time. “Yeah... well, that's what brought you down here, after all...”

The utsuro gave a howl and struck, but Yuugi caught it by the arm and kicked it hard, sending it spiraling towards the ceiling. “Idiot! You've got no idea who in Hell you're dealing with, do ya?” She grinned. “I'm Yuugi Hoshiguma, one of the Big Four of the mountain, and I have the power to manipulate supernatural phenomena! Like, say... your incorporeality? I can hit you no matter how much you try to be insubstantial, so come on if you want to get hit some more!”

A soft laugh echoed from above. “... loud and showy as always.” I shivered quietly. That laugh was... dangerous, somehow. “As for you...” the voice continued, and a hail of needles suddenly cascaded down.

The utsuro hissed, glaring upwards. Parsee appeared from the shadows, a wide grin on her face. “... trapped in the lowest depths of Hell for centuries... subjected to the whims of an idiotic bird and a mere animal youkai... and now, here you are, pathetic and alone, unable to even break free, set on fire by a simple child... you don't even rate the Hakurei coming to deal with you personally before you perish...” She gave that dangerous laugh again. “Astounding. I've actually found someone that even I am not jealous of...”

The utsuro gave a scream and charged at Parsee, howling in frustration as the hashihime dodged nimbly around each stroke, returning each with a hail of needles. “Even better... even if I'm not jealous of you, you're not alive, and weren't even really ever human... not even the Hakurei can find fault with me if I neglect to hold back...” I caught a glimpse of a flower in her hand, before she suddenly crushed it in a fist and blew into it... fragments of night-black flower flowing out, before collecting in a swirling mist around the needle-pocked spirit, who screamed anew.

Parsee chuckled, floating back to Yuugi's side. “Well. That was... enjoyable...”

Yuugi patted her head a bit. “See?” She grinned, and pointed. “You done being stupid yet, you old fossil?”

The utsuro rose, glaring down at us all as the mist dissipated. “... no. I've just decided exactly what I'm going to do...” It smirked. “... the keystone... I'll destroy it...”

I blanched at that, and Yuugi's face hardened. “Like hell you can do that...”

Parsee blinked. “... what's a keystone...?”

I shook my head. “An artifact left behind by a rather... bored celestial. It stops earthquakes.”

The utsuro laughed. “Until it's removed. And then it'll let loose the biggest earthquake of them all! I'll destroy the keystone and bury this whole wretched place, and all of you wretched beasts! I'll kill every single one of you in a single fell swoop!”

I shook my head. “... an earthquake big enough to collapse the caverns won't just hit us down here...”

The utsuro cackled, starting to rise. “Exactly! Not only do I get to kill all of you, but the surface will know devastation like it's never seen! The shrine will fall outright, and not one of the humans will escape...”

“... like hell I'm going to let you do that...” I took off, trying to get above. “If you bring down the shrine, you could end up destroying the Border too... and that would be the end of Gensokyo...”

The utsuro glared down at me, speeding faster than I could reach. “And you're going to be the one to stop me?”

I frowned. “Maybe not. Maybe all I can do is slow you down until the one who's going to stop you gets here. But that's all I need.” I tried to push myself harder, managing to barely keep pace with it. “I may not be the Hakurei Maiden, but I'm still a miko of Gensokyo. And it's about time I started acting like it. I have a duty to keep the people of Gensokyo safe. All of them, human or youkai. And you'd disrupt the peace of both just for your petty hate? I'm going to do everything in my power to stop you!”

The spirit burst into cackling laughter. “In your power? What power do you think you possibly have?!” it demanded... and immediately began to slow down, looking around in puzzlement.

“Should've probably... said our power, Chitose.” Rin's voice echoed up from below, the nekomata finally conscious once more, grinning up at me from Satori's arms and holding out a hand towards the struggling spirit. “I can't force you back down yet... but I can at least hold you still...”

I rushed past the utsuro and put myself between it and the ceiling, nodding down to the others. I looked down at my foe. Dozens of hitodama surrounded the main body now, and I frowned. The spirits that had bonded themselves to it seemed to be peeling away, the mass of spirits and agglomerated hatred starting to peel apart at the seams. I had been right. Weak though I was, divine power held a huge advantage in this fight, and as a miko, I held that power.

Rin grinned up at me. “C'mon, now's your chance! Finish it off!”

Satori nodded. “... I have been observing from afar, and I heard your words... yes... that is what I saw in your mind, what stopped me so...”

I nodded as I looked down at the others who'd come to help me. Then I glared at the utsuro anew. “... I told you. I'm a miko of Gensokyo. The maiden of the Aki Shrine. Everyone out there who has faith in us... that's my power.”

Yuugi grinned. “Faith, huh? Is that what you were up to, ya sneak?” She grinned. “Because, I think it worked...”

I blinked. I was suddenly feeling... lighter. The pain from my cuts was less now, and my head seemed to clear. Even my senses seemed to sharpen, and I found myself focusing on a spirit I hadn't before, the one whose face stood out on the spirit's body. I understood now, just what I was facing, and I let my eyes narrow.

Below, the spirit seemed to be backing away from me, a look of actual fear entering its eyes. A new light seemed to be growing, starting to illuminate the spirit more and more brightly. It was a long moment before I glanced at my arm and realized that the source was me.

Oh, my... Minoriko's voice was quiet, almost reverent, in my mind. I... I haven't felt like this since... I can't remember when...

Shizuha's voice was a happy giggle. I don't think either of us have ever, sis... it might be short-term, a surge, but... this much faith...

Minoriko sounded almost like she was humming. Enough to recover what we lent you and far, far more... Before my eyes, a sealing slip formed in midair, glowing a bright, perfect white. I think it's time you demonstrated the true peak of your ability, Chitose... for gaining their faith, even for a moment, and letting us feel what it's like to be “proper” gods... we both grant you this gift...

I took the slip carefully in both hands... grinning slowly as I looked down at my opponent. “... y'know something?” I murmured. “... I'm starting to believe that I really can stop you. You might... even say I have faith that I can...”

I could feel it now too. Everyone who had shown up to help me out, everyone I'd met and spoken with, learned from, even fought, were now suddenly pouring faith into me, calling on me to protect them in their moment of dire need. Even though few, if any were likely to keep giving faith after the crisis had passed... for now, I'd just have to take what I could get. And that was enough for my tired body to call forth one final spell.

A certain class of spellcard had become the stuff of legends in Gensokyo. The supreme level of spell, surpassing everything else a person could use, so strong it could almost never be used and a person could only ever have one. Keine had managed to show me hers once. Even after years of practice, my eyes couldn't follow the incredible array of patterns; I didn't even last five seconds before being blown out of the air.

That class of spell was known as a Last Word. And I was about to use one now. The card before me was blank, but somehow I knew its name... and exactly what it would do.

“Waning Year's Revelry: Autumn Miracle!”

The glow coming off of me shone brighter as, for a moment, the image of both goddesses appeared, one at either side of me, and then vanished into me. They had given me their power before, but this felt more like their very selves had entered my body and entrusted themselves into my hands.

With a snap of my fingers, dozens of rows of green danmaku suddenly appeared, stretching from far behind me out into the distance past the utsuro. I raised my hand, eyes meeting that fearful gaze, and down each row flew a whirling sickle, slicing through and scattering wheat and chaff in all directions. Another motion of my hand, and leaves in all colors, vibrant and beautiful, began to sleet diagonally through the rows, as if borne on a brisk, warm wind. The wheat continued on their straight outward paths, but the “wind” made the path of the chaff curve around as well, a change that only confounded the enemy further when the wind's path began to shift, blowing the leaves and chaff the other way... in my mind's eye, I could see the leaves starting to form a curving, whirling path as the wind continued to turn and shift, a spiral of color and the proof of a good harvest. The red sunset and the golden harvest moon shone out as they had before, one to each side, their lasers wide and ephemeral this time but lancing out again and again to mingle their light in the rows between the crops.

“... This is autumn,” I spoke aloud, watching as the utsuro tried vainly to dodge... but even with Rin's interference, I knew she wasn't going to do much. “Even in the depths of the dying year, when winter lurks just ahead, cold and beautiful... humans and youkai alike find joy, and celebration, and song... In autumn, the toil and hopes of the long year are realized, and the world bears fruit. This is the realization of my life and my belief. I am a shrine maiden, and a magician, and a crafter. I am a friend to humans and yousei and youkai and gods, and I am one who desires peace for all...”

I knew that I'd likely never resolve another incident. I knew, as well, that my resolving this one was a fluke; if Rin hadn't recovered, if the enemy had been stronger, if it didn't have the crippling weakness to faith and divine power that it did, if the people I'd met hadn't decided to call upon me and my goddesses to help them, I would have lost. I didn't care. All that mattered to me was that I knew, with certainty, that I was about to resolve this one.

As I watched, the utsuro finally missed its first dodge, a new hitodama torn from the mass on her cloak as a single piece of chaff pierced through. The spirit gave out a yell, then another as a leaf tore through from the other side... and then the deluge came. The utsuro howled out as bullet after bullet struck through her frame, a stream of spirits being ripped away from the mass as it began to slowly lose coherency, falling apart under the barrage. She charged, a maddened look in her eyes as she raised her arm... but as she touched me, the light shone brighter, and with a screech she jerked back, straight into another cloud of danmaku.

By the time my power ran out and the card finally dissolved, the utsuro was literally struggling to hold herself together, glaring at me. “... ngh... you're... done, useless... shrine maiden...”

I shook my head slowly. “... You don't have enough power to stand up to even a yousei now, yuurei...” I murmured. “And you won't regain the strength to hurt anyone before someone comes around to finish sealing you...”

“Certainly not, considering that someone is now here, after a... bit of infuriating delay...”

Both of us turned suddenly, to see a young green-haired woman, dressed in a blue blouse that looked almost like a uniform, with white sleeves and black skirt. Gold emblems adorned each shoulder, as well as the ornate hat she wore, whose shape put me in mind of a canoe but with a temple-like shape nestled within the outer container.

In her hand, she held a slim, tapered, short marker whose shape seemed very familiar to me... but in my exhausted state, I couldn't even hear the goddesses' voices, let alone remember something from lessons Sanae had given me weeks ago. She raised that marker towards the utsuro now, blue eyes regarding her calmly. “I see what you are, spirit of humankind, and I know your sins,” she intoned quietly. “But first...”

Her eyes moved to the hitodama surrounding the injured spirit, and she shook her head slowly. “I'm disappointed in all of you,” she said quietly. “Letting yourselves be swayed by the words of one such as her...”

Kisume blinked. “... Who're you talking to? There's just the scary lady and then... us...” She huffed. “H-hey!”

I smiled weakly. “She's not talking about you, Kisume... Those hitodama, they're spirits too... ones that let themselves be fused into the whole...”

The newcomer shook her head quietly. “It's clear you've learned nothing from your punishment... you've let yourselves pretend that you're being put-upon, and that we are the evil ones... I'll have to keep a more personal eye on you from now on...” She raised her marker... then paused. “... where's she gotten to now...”

A very familiar-looking hole in the air suddenly opened up, and a pink-haired girl tumbled through, dressed in white with a blue vest and a longer blue skirt beneath the dress. She skidded to a stop in midair and leaned the large scythe she carried against her shoulder. “Sorry boss... your old pal held me up...” She raised her scythe. “Where you want 'em?”

The woman shook her head with a sigh. “Higan, for now. I'll come sort them out personally once we're done with the rest... honestly, reincarnation might be best for most of these, they're less evil than petty and stubborn...”

The girl twirled her scythe and raised it, a different sort of opening appearing as the tip traced through the air. “... Just how many are there, anyway?”

“... However many there are, you'll be ferrying each one as soon as I judge them. You know that...” She shook her head, then pointed her marker at the hitodama. “To Higan with you, to await judgment, o wayward souls...”

The hitodama rose at her intonation, and flowed rapidly in a stream through the rent the pink-haired girl had made, vanishing entirely. Only the female form remained now, clutching her side and glaring. “And now...” The green-haired woman moved closer to her. “... you still cling to it even now? You have lost, and you know it...”

She turned to me, and held out a gohei. “... Our... mutual acquaintance sent me on a little detour on the way here... apparently Reimu wanted to let you 'do the honors'...”

I blinked, taking it hesitantly, and looking at the spirit. “... Honors?”

The woman nodded. “You know what she is, yes? It's still part of her... and needs to be properly dissipated before I judge her.” She smiled, slightly. “You've saved me quite a lot of trouble, but she's not quite dealt with yet... you might as well, seeing as how you've done this much already.”

I hefted the gohei, nodding. “... all right. But... this really is it, right? I feel like I'm going to topple out of the air if I have to keep fighting...” I tightened my grip carefully, then charged, striking a hard blow that drew a yowl from the spirit. "And with that... I declare this incident resolved."

Smoke poured off of the figure, wisping away to leave an ordinary ghost in tattered robes who glared straight across at me. “... y-you...”

I shook my head, handing the gohei back to the green-haired woman and letting myself relax into Utsuho's arms. The green-haired woman took up the conversation. “You have truly earned this... In life, you wove black spells against your own kind... and now in death, you used those same black arts to meld yourself and your fellows into a monstrous union with an utsuro... and it was you in control, even so... it was you who guided its actions, you who tried to murder a shrine maiden and lay waste to all Gensokyo with terrible earthquakes...” She shook her head. “... there is nothing I can say that will change you, o wicked human spirit... much as I wish I did not have to hand this down...” She raised her marker again, and drew forth a mirror in her other hand, forcing it before the spirit's eyes. “Reflect upon your doings in life and in death... and fall.” She struck the spirit with her marker, hard. “... Judgement.”

A hole opened up below the spirit, and she gave a final howl, eyes glaring right at me, as she was pulled down into it, vanishing without a trace remaining.

“Who... exactly are you?” I couldn't take my eyes away from the green-haired woman now, tired as I felt. She glanced my way, and smiled softly.

“... that's a bit rude, you know... asking for what you have not yet given yourself...” She shook her head. “But, with your exhaustion, such a lapse is understandable... and I do in fact know you already...” She bowed, lightly. “I am Shiki Eiki, the supreme Judge over Paradise, for matters and beings pertaining to Gensokyo at least...” She motioned to the pink-haired girl. “And this is Komachi Onozuka, my subordinate...”

I felt my face pale at that. “... I... I didn't use up that much power fighting the spirit, d-did I?”

Shiki blinked quietly at that, and then burst into a warm smile. “Oh, no, my dear, I'm not here for you yet. I doubt I'll have to judge your life for quite a few years, unless you do something supremely foolish...” She shook her head quietly. “No, I'm only here because those spirits you managed to disperse and subdue for me were still in need of judgment and guidance...”

I nodded weakly. “... oh. So I'm not...”

Komachi grinned at me, settling her scythe across her shoulders and resting her arms on it. “Heh, not for ages, kiddo. Besides, I'm more a ferrywoman than a reaper... I just guide 'em across the Sanzu...”

“And you do precious little of that...” Shiki sighed at that. “But no, dear. We're not here for you just yet. I don't even see much to lecture you about, really...” She glanced at the others around. “... and aside from reminding Yuugi to make sure Parsee's seen safely back to her bridge, I think I'll forego my usual habit this time...”

Yuugi flashed a grin. “The Yama not taking an opportunity to talk everyone's ears off? What miracle is this all of a sudden?”

I remembered something, suddenly, that I had heard a long while ago, from Reimu. “I get lectured enough from the damn Yama, Keine, I don't need it from you too...” I shook my head. “Lecture, huh...?”

Shiki nodded lightly to me. “Well, after all, just because I judge those who've passed on doesn't mean I can't guide people in life towards a better judgment in death...” She tilted her head lightly. “Well, you could use polishing, of course, like anyone else you have your faults... mmn, but overall your karma's quite acceptable, really... though...”

I blinked as she suddenly floated up close to me, looking straight into my eyes. Her gaze was steel, yet I found myself unable to flinch from it. “Dear... you do no small disservice to yourself and to the one you care for by continuing your pretense...”

With those words, before I even had time to respond, she floated backwards and raised the Rod of Remorse she carried, the golden marker that I finally recognized. “And now, I'll take my leave... I have property of the Hakurei's to return, and quite a large number of misguided souls to sort out...” With a slight smile, she floated backwards and vanished through another hole in space. “Chitose, dear. Please try and give me a nice, long life to judge when you do come to see me at last... I think we'll both find it quite an enjoyable time...”

Komachi grinned, and gave me a thumbs-up. “The boss likes ya, I think. Seeya around... not too soon, I hope...” She leaned back, floating lazily through the tear as well... or rather where the tear had been, as it seemed to have closed back up. She gave a groan, looking around. “... damnit, Yukari!” was all she got out, before another gap opened up behind her and an arm reached out to yank her through.

I gave a long sigh, slowly looking around the chamber. “... well...”

Kisume beamed, floating up to hover just before my face. “We got her! That dumb cheater's finished!”

Yamame shook her head. “Just what was that, anyway...? You said it was an utsuro at first, but...”

“It was. After a fashion.” My body relaxed further as the tension of the battle finally faded away. “But one of the criminals who was sealed away down there, well...”

Rin spoke up, still sounding weak. “She fused herself with the utsuro somehow... rendered it under her control... she probably practiced spirit magic when she was alive...”

Satori sighed. “And then she convinced other spirits to give themselves over to being part of it as well, to increase her power...”

Yuugi shook her head. “That's my bad, I think. Should've picked up on it sooner.”

Rin smirked. “How were you supposed to pick up on me getting close enough for it to punch out the girl holding them secure? We've both known for a while that Okuu's fires just aren't the same as the old Blazing Hell...”

“Okay... I need to rest now...” I looked out over the group again and smiled softly. “But thank you, everyone... I've got something to shoot for now, in my faith-gathering...”

Yuugi barked out a laugh. “Gonna try and have that much all the time? Well, I guess there's nothing wrong with dreaming big...”

I smirked right on back. “I already expanded that rickety old place someone threw together for 'em centuries ago into a proper-sized shrine building, y'know...” I sighed a bit. “... Parsee, I still owe you some stories... but can you go back with Yuugi for now? I'll be back when I'm rested up...”

Parsee crossed her arms and huffed. “I have to anyway... I don't get to go other places like you, remember...”

I smiled. “... you're right... I'm sorry...”

Utsuho pouted and gave me a squeeze. “All right, c'mon... let's get you to the palace...”

I shook my head, “No, I'm... going elsewhere...”

Utsuho blinked a little. “Huh? Is this something to do with what that funny-hat lady whispered to you?” She tilted her head. “What'd she say...?”

I smiled a little bit. “... That's a secret,” I said softly. “But... I wanna go see how Dai's doing, so...”

Utsuho beamed. “All righty... off we go then, to the place beyond the deepest part of the underground...” I gave a soft smile to the others for a long moment, before I was carried off out of sight, along a long tunnel, towards the place I knew Daiyousei was waiting for me.

Chapter Text

Even with Kisume's lantern, the passageway seemed dark and cold as we flew along it. Utsuho held tightly to me as we flew for many long, silent minutes.

Suddenly, the tunnel ended, and we shot out into a high-ceilinged cavern, stalactites filling almost every conceivable inch of the roof. Utsuho conjured one of her miniature suns, and the cave was suddenly revealed in almost painful brightness. Almost every inch of the floor was dotted with small pools, the ground itself formed like a thousand scattered steps, each one curving to hold the water that dripped down constantly as rain from the roof above.

A head poked up out of one of these terraces, smiling quietly as water ran down her face and clung to her green hair. “I was wondering when you'd get here,” she said softly, fluttering up to take my hands. “I'll take her from here, Utsuho... please, let us have some time alone to rest...”

The hell-raven cocked her head at that, but after I nodded in agreement, she turned and flapped off again. Daiyousei led me down to the shelf, and a delighted shiver ran through me as I settled into the warm water.

The great fairy settled in beside me, sighing softly for a long moment before she finally looked up at me. “So I see you made it through just fine,” she murmured.

“... Though I thought I really was done for when the Yama showed up...” I flashed a weak smile back at her. “But she was just there for the evil spirit...”

Daiyousei shook her head. “And a lecture for you to match the one she just gave me, no doubt.” She paused, and then giggled. “She came through shortly before you arrived, ostensibly to lecture me... but mostly just to let me know you had managed to break its power and come through all right...”

I nodded. “... and you... are you feeling better after that brush with, well...”

Daiyousei winced. “I was out of it for quite a while after Utsuho... took care of me,” she admitted. “But I'm recovering nicely now. That was a good idea you had, having her bring me here. There's so many lovely ripples, and the water flows and scatters in so many different directions...”

I nodded. “... and... what did she lecture you about, anyhow?”

“... Much the same as she did you, I'd wager.” Daiyousei's eyes were focused on mine now, quiet and firm. When I nodded, she smiled softly. “And what did you say?”

I shook my head. “I didn't have time to say anything in return. She just told me to stop pretending, because it was hurting both you and me, and then left...” I slowly put my arm around her. “... but maybe it is time I stop telling myself I can't get over the mores my world instilled in me...”

I could feel Dai's small form shiver beside me. “Chitose...”

I shook my head slowly. “Dai, c'mon. Even Cirno picked up on it, and you and I both know deep down what she's like...”

Daiyousei flushed. “She's been getting better lately, you know. Apparently she even gave Marisa a run for her money recently...” She trailed off as I squeezed her softly against me again. “... right... not the point...” She shook her head. “But all the same, right back at you, as humans say... It's not at all just because of how the outside world views two girls being together...”

I blinked, but she continued without giving me a chance to speak. “You're also afraid it will shake your resolve... your decision to stay purely human in the face of everything, unlike Alice or even your fellow shrine maiden from Outside...”

I shook my head at that. “That's just it, Dai. It won't, and I know it won't. I've thought about it, a lot... and... it wouldn't...” I tensed. “So that's why... I've said until now it couldn't be possible that...”

“That you love me?” Daiyousei brushed a wing across my face. “Don't be absurd, Chitose, you do love me and we both know it... you've just also decided that you won't run from death, even for love's sake, that's all...” She placed her arms around me. “... and I don't love you any less for making that decision...”

I shook my head, running a hand through her hair for a long moment, before catching up a few pebbles and tossing them far out over the still waters. “... It's not going to be easy, you know,” I murmured. “Fifty years seems like a long time to someone like me who's got more than half her life left, but as a youkai reckons it, or a yousei who can remember that long can...”

Daiyousei shook her head, and seemed to brighten and grow a bit stronger as the pebbles splashed, sending ripples and droplets across the shelves, more water dripping over the edge where the pebbles had fallen in to fall down and create new ripples in the ones below. “Fifty years...?”

I nodded. “Humans average around 75 or so in the outside world, Dai,” I said softly. “I'm in my twenties, even if I don't quite look it yet, so I've got about fifty or so left... seventy if I'm lucky.”

Dai smiled a little. “Oh, that... actually...” She paused. “... she did say it was up to me if I told you this or not, but... Chitose, tell me again what your name means?”

I frowned, confused at the question. “A blessed long life,” I said, hesitantly. “Why?”

“And did your parents ever say why they named you that?” Dai seemed... insistent on the sudden change of topic, eyes regarding me quietly.

I shook my head. “I can't say that... well, wait...” I cast my memories back, searching, pondering. “... She said... it just sort of came to her, the first moment she held me in her arms...”

Daiyousei nodded. “... so Eiki-sama was right,” she finally murmured. “I think... you may actually have been blessed, Chi.”

I blinked. “Blessed...? You mean with a long life? I don't follow...”

Dai shook her head. “It's... something she mentioned,” she said. “Something she told only to me... and something she told me it would be my decision alone if I passed it on to you...” She shook her head. “I don't know why, exactly. And it won't be anything close to eternity... but you're likely to live much further than a regular human would...”

I shook my head. “... I don't understand...”

Dai smiled. “She didn't say why, and I suspect she doesn't really know anyway... maybe whatever god granted this to you had foresight, and knew you would do as much as you do for all shrines you find... or maybe they just saw the goodness in your heart...” She shook her head. “But that name... it's the proof that was given to you that you have this gift... You'll make a century at least, Chi, maybe a decade or two more...”

I leaned heavily against the wall, stunned. Then, slowly, I broke into a smile. “... maybe he did have foresight, then...” I murmured. “Foresight enough to know that I'd one day come here... here, to the place where that name wouldn't be a bitter irony...”

Daiyousei blinked. “Irony?”

I nodded. “In the outside world, I would've had to outlive everyone around me... All the friends I'd made over the years would pass on before I finally could rest myself...” I shivered. “... it would almost be like Mokou, but my existence would still at last end...”

Daiyousei gave my hand a squeeze. “... It's an irony here, as well, just for those around you instead,” she murmured softly. “I love you, Chi, and I'm going to go on loving you for the hundred years we have... but gods will I miss you when you're gone...”

I shifted the girl into my lap carefully, nodding. “I know...” I smiled a little. “But I'll have a far longer life than I would have... far longer to spend with you, and for you to be able to be with me... That in itself is a blessing, isn't it?” I gathered a few more pebbles.

Daiyousei gathered a few more, nodding. “More than enough time to figure out a way to get around our difficulties and start a family, wouldn't you say?” she teased gently.

I laughed. “And to make poor Akyu's head spin at the prospect of a new kind of being to write about...”

“Spin with pure excitement, you mean,” Daiyousei said impishly, tossing a pebble out into the calm waters.

I tossed one of my own. “True. But...” I smiled. “Let's focus on getting you recovered first, hm? I'm all right, I just need to rest for a long while after using that Last Word... but you've got to take your time and surround yourself as much as you can with the essence of what you are...”

Daiyousei's eyes went wide. “... Now I really wish I had stuck around to see the ending,” she murmured. “I'll have to try and pester Yukari to show me somehow, I suppose...” She smiled. “You were amazing out there, Chi. A true shrine maiden. I bet everyone's so proud of you...”

I just smiled quietly at that, and together we spent a long while tossing pebbles across the cavern floor, watching them ripple and splash across the quiet pools.

After a long while, Daiyousei slowly stirred in my lap, raising an arm to point down towards the middle of the cavern. "Wait... that one isn't a stone..."

I stood up and took Daiyousei's hand. The fairy fluttered quietly at my side as I waded through the shallow water and smiled at the trail of ripples in the wake of my bare feet.

As we reached the light, its shape slowly resolved itself. A familiar rounded shape, tapering to a waving tip that fluttered and shifted like a flame. Daiyousei reached out a hand carefully, watching it shy from her palm. "That's no evil spirit... it's a divine spirit," she whispered, eyes enraptured by the glimmering form.

"A divine spirit?" I whispered back, watching it shy from my own as well.

Daiyousei pinched my arm playfully. "A shrine maiden not knowing of divine spirits?" She grinned playfully at me, but her smile faded as the shimmering soul floated down to hover in front of me, resting there as I cupped my hands beneath it.

I did know, actually. Divine spirits were humans who had, through one manner or another, become revered kami themselves. It was not uncommon for a shrine to house one rather than a god who had been born divine. It was, however, the first I could recall seeing in Gensokyo.

The divine spirit's action was not what had startled Dai, though. As I cast my eyes over the lake, dozens of other sparkling lights began to shine out, filling the cavern from the surface of the lake to the jagged ceiling overhead. "More of them... so many..." Daiyousei breathed softly.

As we watched, the lights began to drift in a strange, wavering dance. Everywhere I looked, the tiny bundles of opalescent glow were appearing, growing brighter and brighter, and then slowly fading out and vanishing once more. There seemed to be a direction to their slow movement, though, almost like a school of jellyfish drifting on the ocean currents. Daiyousei turned to me, perhaps to make some comment on it, but as her lips moved, my hearing seemed to still completely. My eyes were drawn to the little wisp in my hands, and suddenly...

... follow ...

That single word, whispered in the back of my mind, was all. I looked to Daiyousei, then waded slowly through the water, still holding that first divine spirit close. Daiyousei followed close at hand, staying close as I followed the slow drift of the many lights.

We were forced to halt as we reached dry land once more, just before a rocky wall rising above. I paused. "... This is where the divine spirits are going," I said softly. "But how do we..."

Daiyousei moved past me, running a hand gently over the uneven surface of the wall. "... I think I see..." she murmured. "Look, here... these stones weren't always here. The wall must have caved in at some point..." Carefully, she rolled a stone away, revealing a dark gap at the top.

"Think it's safe to open it back up?" I asked, moving alongside her, holding the divine spirit cradled against me and rolling another stone aside with my free hand.

Daiyousei nodded. "The walls around it are stable... I'm not sure how it could have caved in to begin with, honestly..."

The stones were numerous but came away easily enough. Daiyousei frowned softly. "Look..." She laid a hand against the wall surrounding the passage behind. "This is solid too... it's almost like someone piled up all these stones..."

I was already walking down the passageway, letting the spirits around us light our path. "Maybe someone did... but now the spirits are coming down here, and I want to know why..."

Our path soon brought us to a small, abandoned building. I stared. "... Another lost shrine?" I looked down at the spirit held clasped in my hands. "... it's yours... isn't it? No wonder you wanted me to follow your brethren here..."

Daiyousei, however, had flown up to examine the tiny sign above the shrine's doors, carefully cleaning untold centuries of grime and dust away from the hand-carved wood, and suddenly she dropped like a stone and grabbed hold of my arm, shaking from head to foot. "... Ch-chi... wait..." She turned her gaze up to the sign again, glancing away several times as if looking away would make the writing change. "This is... the Silent Shrine..."

I looked to her, letting the spirit float free at my shoulder as I embraced the trembling fairy. "I don't know that name..."

Daiyousei shook her head rapidly. "Of course not... I doubt even Marisa knows that name, and she's been best friends with Reimu since they were both children..." Her eyes tore themselves from the shrine, fixing on my own now. "I remember... hearing it once, though. Reimu was talking to Eiki-sama about it..."

She shook her head again. "Even I don't know many of the details, but... when she was young, Reimu fought a great battle in this place... one against an enemy she could never truly overcome. Instead, she sealed away the enemy she fought within the very shrine it had tended to... the Silent Shrine..."

I took my eyes from hers, looking to the door. Sure enough, three sealing tags had been plastered rudely over the seam of the doors, the Hakurei crest scrawled in a childish hand on each one. The divine spirit now hovered before that sealed door, before passing through and vanishing inside, its companions steadily drifting through the walls from all directions now. "... This is also the place the divine spirits are calling me to," I said quietly, moving towards the door now even as I held Daiyousei close.

The fairy stared up at me in fear as she felt me move once more. "... Chi, wait... Reimu must have sealed this place away for a reason... I'd bet she created that fake cave-in at the start of the tunnel too..." She trembled. "There are legends about this place... of an astral knight who dwelt in a tiny shrine within Hell itself..."

I gave the fairy a squeeze, my hand hovering over the topmost seal. "Dai. Why did we come down here, if not so we could do this?" I countered. "Reimu sealed this person away over ten years ago, when she was a little girl... I came here to make friends with the exiled youkai, and correct some of the mistakes that we humans made in the past."

Daiyousei looked up at me, slowly letting go of my arm and floating down to stand at my side. "Chi... if whatever's in there attacks..."

I nodded. "If it harbors nothing but violence towards humans, then it can't be helped." I took her hand in mine. "I'm a shrine maiden now, Dai. If this turns out to be a mistake, then I'll accept my responsibility as one... But as a shrine maiden, I also can't pass up this opportunity to forge a friendship with another youkai. That's my responsibility too."

Daiyousei returned the squeeze, nodding and spreading her wings. "... You're right. And I'll take responsibility right along with you..."

I nodded, and reached up. The tags sparked against my hand as I removed each one, but painlessly; whether due to my also being a shrine maiden, and thus having divine power, or simply because the seals had been crudely made by a girl not even ten years old at the time and degraded with the years, was impossible to say. Soon, however, the Silent Shrine lay freed before me. Daiyousei and I each slid a door back, and we slipped inside.

The inside of the Silent Shrine lay dark and quiet. At the far end of the room, the divine spirit hovered above a lone altar, a single sake dish laying before it, empty but somehow devoid of dust. As we stepped in, the spirit moved to my hands again, floating gently between them as the other spirits gathered around in their strange, ephemeral drift.

The object they were gathering around, the center of the divine spirits' drift, was a simple cairn of stones in the exact center of the shrine. A beautiful, perfectly preserved sword stood hilt-up in the center of the stones, and more Hakurei sealing slips surrounded it in a perfect hexagram. The orderly ring clashed with dozens of other slips placed haphazardly over the rest of the cairn. I could almost see Reimu in my mind's eye, young and frustrated, simply slapping on as many sealing slips as she could... she had been young and almost as inexperienced as me back then, after all.

As I stepped towards the cairn, light and sound dimmed again, and in the back of my mind, I could hear once again.

... guardian... unseal...

I hesitated, my mind reaching out along the connection to my goddesses, still tenuous after the earlier battle. ... Do you two have an overblown sense of the theatrical, or is something else trying to communicate?

Minoriko's reaction was quiet as always. Dear, you know we both love teasing you, but neither of us would give you a fright like that...

Shizuha was a bit quieter than usual. Chi, remember... shrine maidens can interpret the words and desires of divine spirits. It looks like that one wants something from you.

I nodded. And we can trust it?

Minoriko's voice was quiet. That's your decision, Chitose.

Shizuha sighed softly across our link. Divine spirits may be gods, revered in shrines just like you revere and take care of us, but they were once human. There's no way for us to say whether this one still bears wicked desires from its time as a human...

Still holding the divine spirit cupped in my hand, I stepped forward, reaching for one of the tags splayed across the cairn itself. I heard Minoriko's voice in my mind, accompanied by quiet joy from the spirit in my hand. We support you in this, Chitose. You're our miko, and we'll stand behind any decision you make. We both trust you.

Then, an actual voice spoke in the shrine, quiet but with a force I had never encountered before even with Kanako. "Leave that..."

I froze, and I felt Daiyousei cling to my sleeve suddenly. "Who's there...?" I hazarded, looking around the room.

The voice spoke again, from beneath the cairn, as I realized now. "Who are you, then, that have come to the Silent Shrine unbidden, and try to remove my seals?"

I blinked, staring at the pile of stones beneath my feet. "You... wish to be sealed off?" I bowed quietly. "I am Chitose Izumo... a shrine maiden from the surface... and I was bidden to come here, to the underground..."

The voice grew stronger. "What business does a shrine maiden have with the former Hell? Have the humans run out of targets aboveground, that they must come here for their hunts?"

Daiyousei moved forward a little. "Neither of us are here to exterminate anything."

The voice hesitated. "... A shrine maiden traveling with a fairy. There's something I've not heard of..." A dry chuckle sounded in the room. "I haven't seen a greater fairy in general in some time, though... Tell me then, young shrine maiden. Why are you here?"

I knelt quietly before the cairn, holding the divine spirit to my chest carefully. "The surface world has changed," I began quietly. "Humans and youkai are starting to draw close, forging friendship rather than feuds. A monk who wants to see this trend grow asked me to come and meet the youkai exiled beneath Gensokyo." I raised my eyes to the blade emerging from the cairn.

The voice sighed again. "... humans changing their ways... what a strange idea..." It paused. "Still, I wish only to sleep. It's why I had that little girl seal me away so long ago..."

I blinked. "Little girl... do you mean Reimu Hakurei?"

"... heh... Reimu..." The voice seemed almost fond. "I've never met a girl that reckless or headstrong before... ours was... quite a battle." She shook her head. "... but when it was over, I saw my opportunity. I asked to be sealed away, to serve as the proof she had overcome me."

I paused. "... Astral Knight... will you tell me about yourself?" I asked quietly.

The voice let out a single bark of a laugh. "Someone actually knows that old title of mine?" It paused. "... then again, you do have a greater yousei with you... I didn't know there were any left, to be honest..."

Daiyousei nodded. "I'm the only remaining one, to my knowledge," she said quietly. "There are a few fairies more powerful than I, but they're young and haven't gained the wisdom I've built up over the years, and held to..."

The voice paused, as if its owner was nodding. "In any case... you wish to know of me. I am indeed the one once called the Astral Knight of this shrine. A swordswoman beyond any I have ever faced... which proved my downfall."

There was another long pause, and I carefully seated myself as I waited for her to speak again. "I refuse to let my own life be taken. But because of the hatred that humans bear for my kind... I have had to endure many attacks over the years. Humans attacked me because they believed me to be their enemy, and swordsmen... well, it is the way of anyone who truly follows the way of the sword to challenge those you believe to be stronger than you." My eyes were drawn to the sword enshrined in the cairn as she spoke again. "My blade has run red with the blood of challengers more times than I can count."

I looked around the shrine. "Is that why you came down here?"

The voice chuckled. "No... I came underground because my people did as well. I could not leave them... it is part of why I refuse to let my life end." She sounded almost wistful now. "I discovered the Silent Shrine abandoned purely by accident. When I came here, there was no shrine maiden, and with Hell populated by oni, evil spirits, and other youkai, humans never come down here."

I looked at the divine spirit held in my hand. "So then you're the one who's been tending to this shrine?"

The voice chuckled dryly. "Odd for someone like me to act as a shrine maiden, isn't it? Even now, I only call myself the Silent Shrine's guardian... but yes, I had made it my duty to care for and provide my little bit of faith to the divine spirit enshrined here."

I smiled softly. "I know how you feel... I did a lot of work cleaning up and taking care of shrines back home..."

The voice paused in contemplation. "Back home...?" Then, a soft chuckle. "... You're from outside the barrier. I wondered what that odd little twang to your voice was... Kyoto?"

I smiled. "Osaka. But the right region, at least."

The voice chuckled again. "I was there once or twice before the barrier went up. Nice place, if a bit lacking in respect for the sword. Is the border down, then?"

I shuddered. "... perish the thought. The outside world isn't even remotely ready for the return of beings they've thought for centuries to be only old tales. No, I was spirited away by you-know-who."

The voice sighed quietly. "Ah, that old prankster..." The old firmness crept into her voice. "Chitose, it's nice talking with you, but we've gotten off track. Understand... I am tired, more than a human could ever imagine. I asked Reimu to seal me away because I'm tired of constantly taking lives of the humans who seek my life and swordsmen wishing to test themselves against my blade... please, leave me be."

I looked up to the blade again, frowning. "Astral Knight... we were led here by the divine spirits living in your shrine..."

The voice was firmer now. "... there is only one divine spirit dwelling in the Silent Shrine."

I cast my gaze upwards, to the swirling drift of shining wisps above. "Then... what are all these other lights...?"

The voice paused for a long moment. At last, a trio of wisps drifted down and alighted on the pommel of the sword, vanishing. When the voice finally spoke again, it was far quieter. "These ones aren't divine spirits. They're vulgar spirits..."

Daiyousei blinked, and seemed to wilt at my side. "O-oh... is that so?"

The voice continued. "Don't worry about that, wise little fairy. It's almost impossible to tell the difference. Vulgar spirits are born of human desire... you might think of them as human prayers and wishes given a brief form..."

I nodded. "Then... why are they gathering here?"

The voice chuckled. "A mistake... There is something or someone powerful that seeks to be reborn, and they wish to behold that resurrection. They thought my unsealing was to be that resurrection..." She paused. "... Chitose, one of those vulgar spirits I just examined came from you. It's... interesting..."

I hesitated. "... interesting how?" I finally asked.

The voice laughed a little more strongly now. "Enough that I want to give you a chance," she replied. "To trust you where I must confess I did not at first. Besides... it seems like the little one I was caring for misses me more than I thought..."

As I moved to remove the first seal tag, the divine spirit fluttered from my hand, hovering weakly over the altar once more. ~Thank you...~ I heard softly in my head.

The tag sparked as I pulled it free, and I winced as I felt a firm jolt through my hand. Reimu had clearly put a bit more energy into these ones. Still, the pain faded rapidly, and my hands moved to remove more and more.

"Remove that ring of six last," the voice remarked offhand. "Otherwise the ones inside might react."

I nodded, Daiyousei taking hold of my hand as I carefully removed tag after tag... finally the last group of six left. "Remove them in opposing pairs," she whispered quietly, as she let go of my hand. "The divine energy might become unbalanced otherwise, and end up hurting the one we're trying to unseal..."

The cairn was small enough that I could reach around to the far side on each side, and take a seal slip in each hand. Soon only two remained, and I glanced around. "Here's hoping Reimu doesn't pop in to kick me to the moon for messing with someone she sealed away," I remarked quietly.

The voice laughed in return. "I thought you were here to try and reconcile us exiles with the world above?" she teased.

I smiled. "Oh, I am," I retorted, and pulled the last two slips away. "I'd just like to get away with harassing the shrine maiden without getting peppered into unconsciousness with danmaku."

A white light burst from within the rocks as the last two seals were freed. As Daiyousei and I hurriedly backed away and watched, the cairn seemed to dissolve away. In their wake, a figure took shape that had not been there before. A female figure, tall and with power in seemingly every line of her shadowed figure. As the light from the broken seals faded, she took the sword in her hand and turned to me, holding it towards the ground for a long moment before sheathing it by her side. "... It's been a long time since I held my sword... I had forgotten how wonderful it felt in my hand," she murmured softly.

I bowed respectfully, and looked up at the figure as I rose again. There was an odd quality to her face, not quite divine but not fully human-like either. Calm eyes the deep red of garnet looked back at me, a similarly-colored ribbon holding back her black hair. The woman was dressed simply, a sleeveless red robe tied at the waist with white cord and a grey kimono beneath. "... I never did get your proper name," I hazarded at last, eyes still fixed on the thin, long red horn rising from her forehead like a spike.

The woman folded her hands and bowed politely to me. "True. Astral Knight is merely a title that was given to me after I became protector of the Silent Shrine," she said quietly, smiling a bit as she saw how taken aback I was at her making such a respectful gesture. "My name is Konngara."

Daiyousei blinked. "I feel as if I know that name..." she said softly.

My own eyes remained on that red spike. "Konngara... are you an oni by any chance?"

Konngara chuckled. "Do you think an oni cannot take responsibility for a shrine?" she asked lightly.

I shook my head. "I've met a tiger youkai who serves as Bishamonten's disciple and avatar," I countered. "I wouldn't be surprised in the least..."

Konngara turned from us and knelt slowly before the altar, her hands moving to cup the floating spirit. "Doesn't look like I've done that good of a job though, has it?" she asked lightly. "... almost fifteen years... abandoning her that long was foolish of me..." She glanced back, a light smirk dancing over her lips. "... I'd wager you fancy you could do a better job, mm?"

I chuckled. "Well, I did beat Yuugi during last spring's festival..."

Konngara let out a loud snort of laughter. "Chuckles hasn't taken a fight seriously in the hundreds of years that I've known her. Ever." She let her hand fall to her sword. "Fight me and you'll find that I always do. She's given me no end of ribbing over the years for it..."

I frowned a bit as I heard that odd nickname, my eyes turning to the floating spirits still drifting through the room. "... You must know Yuugi pretty well if she lets you get away with a nickname like that..."

Konngara laughed softly, clasping her hands before her in prayer now. "I've also never seen Chuckles get mad about anything. She really is one of the quinessential oni..." She smiled. "Giggles, on the other hand... well, just take it from me that I'm the only one who could possible get away with that particular name."

Daiyousei was the one who spoke this time. "By 'giggles', do you mean Suika Ibuki?"

Konngara glanced back. "That's the one. What sort of trouble has she gotten herself into this time?"

Daiyousei shook her head. "She caused a little incident a few years back. More of a party gone far too wild for anyone's taste than an actual danger... and then, of course, she went and settled in in the very shrine she'd caused trouble in..." She paused. "Did you... really fight with Reimu all those years ago?"

Konngara smiled tightly, and rose, pulling a small bottle from beneath the altar and carefully pouring its contents into the dish I'd seen earlier. "Yeah... apparently some uppity bastard kicked over her shrine and she got it into her head that the culprit had fled into former Hell... so of course she decided to go down and beat up anyone strong she came across until she found the one responsible." She smiled. "She was quite a picture of energy, bursting in here waving that gohei of hers around... she didn't even give me a second to explain, just shouted an accusation and came right out swinging..."

I watched as she carefully poured out half of the dish's contents over the altar, through the spirit itself, and then started to sip slowly at the rest. "What sort of spellcard did she use, anyhow? I mean, her danmaku must have changed a lot over the years..."

Konngara raised an eyebrow at me. "... that's the second time you've used that term," she remarked, setting the dish back down, still partly full. "I have to admit I don't know what it means though."

Daiyousei fluttered quietly up to my side, eyes widening. "Wait... so when she fought you..." She clutched her belly and burst into giggles. "You actually faced her back when she was still using that ying-yang orb of hers?"

Konngara chuckled, and scooped up the dish to take another sip. "Why do you think the shrine's in such disarray?" she asked, pointing to the dented walls and scattered fragments of objects littering the floor. "Did she stop using it?"

Daiyousei nodded. "I think after her fight with you," she said lightly. "We fight with a nonlethal form of magic now. Reimu drafted it a while back. Both sides are to fight with named patterns of danmaku, until one or the other is made to give way. She calls them the Spell Card Rules..."

Konngara took another sip, pondering. "... magic bullets, huh? I'm still feeling a little stiff, but I'll have to get someone to show me now that I'm out and around again..."

I nodded. "I was hoping to bring some of the youkai I met down here up to meet Byakuren, actually," I said softly. "Do you want to come?" I glanced around. "... I'd be happy to help repair this place another time, but I do need to get going... and I'm a little tired after fighting off that black witch's spirit..."

Konngara drained her dish quietly, and tilted her head. “... Huh. That brat finally did something?”

I nodded. “She melded herself into an utsuro and took control of it... then convinced dozens of other spirits to subsume themselves into it...” I sighed. “But we managed to subdue it, enough at least for the Yama to deal easily with it...”

“Good thing you were around then...” Konngara's eyes glinted with what looked like a note of respect. "Well, you're welcome to come and help, of course... we'll share a proper drink when the repairs are done." She caught Dai's concerned look, and rolled her eyes. "I'm not about to try and get a human drunk under the table, little one. I actually like to enjoy my sake properly, not guzzle it like Giggles does... I swear she's perpetually confusing her gourd for a water bottle..." She smiled. "Anyway, I'll gladly accompany you if you're headed back... I've made my offering, and I'm really not in any fit state to patch this old place up either..."

I bowed deeply to the divine spirit, watching it flicker softly, and then turned to the door. "You really seem to know Suika and Yuugi well," I commented.

Konngara chuckled, moving past me with dish and bottle in hand. "You expect me not to remember my old comrades?" she asked, pressing a finger lightly to my forehead before stepping outside.

Daiyousei took hold of my hand as I followed her out. "Comrades? So then..." I looked at her in awe as I realized. "You're one of the four devas of the mountain?"

Konngara chuckled. "Mhm. The flawless swordswoman of the four devas, Konngara. That would be me."

Daiyousei sighed quietly. "Now if I could only remember the fourth..."

Konngara shook her head. "She hasn't really worked with us in a long while anyway." She tilted her head. "I actually heard a rumor once that she took up being a hermit, but honestly I have no idea how accurate that one is..." She patted Daiyousei's head lightly, the fairy blinking in surprise as she found herself not knocked down from the oni's hand. "It's not a slight on your wisdom that you can't remember. I've no more idea than you," she said quietly. Then she was off, robe rippling quietly in the wind as she flew across the lake, Daiyousei and I following a short way behind.

Chapter Text

The time had come to head back, and I knew it. We passed by the reactor with a brief hello to Utsuho, who had resumed tending to it, and found the Palace empty save for the animals; Satori seemed to have gone out again. The Ancient City sprawled before us as we finally passed through, still bright and raucous with the sounds of the festival. Konngara blinked as she looked over it. “... So which of their hundred festivals is it today?” she asked, hiding a laugh behind her hand.

Daiyousei smiled. “Solstice. Though I suppose it'd be hard even for an oni to tell oni festivals apart...”

Konngara shook her head, still grinning. “I'm just surprised to see the old city still so vibrant... I expected us to just slowly die off down here...” She sighed. “You guys really want all this mess back up on the surface?”

I smiled back at her. “Well, I at least want the opportunity to be open to come up and look around and for the other humans to meet such amazing other races...” I shook my head. “I'm not expecting you guys to all suddenly move upstairs, the evil spirits would be all alone if you did that... but at the very least, I want you all to be residents who live underground, not exiles forced to hide in the dark...”

Konngara nodded. “Mind if we stop in first? If it's really Solstice, I should go talk to the Lady of the Mountain... it's been fifteen long years after all...”

We continued along the streets to where the dim light rose to a bright shine, Yama-ba still sitting where I had left her. She beamed quietly up at Konngara. “Well, now. And here I thought I wasn't going to be allowed to remember your desires anymore...”

Konngara shook her head. “It's been too long, milady,” she said quietly, going down on one knee to talk to her. “I've been... quite the selfish fool...”

Yama-ba just smiled quietly. “I still remember, sixteen years ago, on the last Solstice you visited me,” she said quietly. “You told me you desired to find a way that you could keep from having to fight any longer... to keep that blade of yours silver, and not red.”

Konngara nodded. “... That will always be my desire,” she said softly. “But the way I found was a poor one that kept me away from you, my comrades, even the divine spirit I wished to protect...” She shook her head. “... And I have a new plan now, as well. To restore the Silent Shrine and to make amends to the divine spirit whose guardianship I have neglected these long years...”

Yama-ba smiled softly. “A desire I shall happily remember for you, Astral Knight,” she said softly.

“Astral Knight? Yama-ba, you been at the special sake again...” Yuugi's voice broke in on us, the tall oni's eyes suddenly drawn to our new companion. “... Oh! I guess you haven't, then.”

Konngara gave a wry smile. “She has not, I can guarantee. You look as well and unfazed as ever, Chuckles.”

Yuugi laughed. “Looks like our newbie shrine maiden went off on her own and kept on being a busy bee while I was off gettin' drunk, huh?”

Konngara raised an eyebrow. “... how can you 'get' drunk if you're nevernot inebriated?”

Yuugi just grinned away. “Where've you been, anyhow? Don't tell me you and our fourth have been off having fun without me?” She shook her head. “We're supposed to be the Four Devas, y'know, not the One Deva Who Does All the Work and the Three Who Goof Off All the Time!”

Konngara rolled her eyes. “I've had less news of our fourth than you have, Chuckles, though I gather Giggles wandered above-ground to spend her days harassing the Hakurei. I've been sealed up since our friend with the bouncing ball came down, until this young lady saw fit to allow me out...”

“... excuse me.” I was breaking in almost before I realized it. “I need to take care of some things before I return to the surface. Would you mind letting Satori know I'll meet her up near Yamame's home?”

Konngara nodded. “I'll bring her myself. If the surface has humans like you upon it, with desires like the one I felt, I cannot in good conscience not come up to see.”

I smiled, bowed, and was off, flying high over the city until I could see the pale green flames burning in the distance... giving Daiyousei's hand a soft squeeze as I headed off towards them.

“... You don't have to come ask me permission to cross again, you know. I'm used to being forgotten.” The first thing I could see of Parsee was those deep green eyes gleaming in their own light. The hashihime had hidden herself in a mostly bare cave beneath the far end of the bridge, a few old and broken objects scattered around that I could only assume were offerings from days long past.

I held up my lantern, looking the girl over quietly. Daiyousei had remained outside, so it was just us two there in the dark cave. “Maybe it's time to get used to something else, then.”

Parsee raised an eyebrow. “Oh...?” She glanced aside. “Why are you here, anyway?”

I smiled. “Well, to start with, I had a question. I thought that you couldn't leave the bridge... but I saw you with Yuugi, back at the reactor...”

Parsee snorted lightly. “No big mystery there. Though honestly I'd forgotten it myself until Yuugi popped in to tell me you were in danger, and to remind me...” She sighed a little. “See, I'm a hashihime, but I'm also the guardian of this bridge.” She motioned to the broken offerings. “And as the guardian, I'm responsible for seeing that all cross my bridge in safety. And that they return across it safely as well.”

“So then...” I smiled. “That's why...” I set the lantern down carefully between us, and sat. “You all saved my life, you know... I don't think I would've been able to keep avoiding her much longer... and if it weren't for all of you, I couldn't have used my Last Word...”

Parsee sniffed. “... don't know what you're thanking me for. I just made her suffer a little, that stupid bucket was the one who knocked her away from you.” Even so, she sat quietly down across from me.

I smiled. “Parsee, I'm a shrine maiden. Did you think even a newbie like me wouldn't be able to feel the faith coming from you back there?”

Parsee coughed, eyes widening for a moment, before looking determinedly away. “... Yeah, well... maybe I just didn't want you dying and not coming back across my bridge... 's my job, after all...”

I just grinned. “Yes, you're the bridge guardian, Parsee.” I shook my head. “And it's long past time I give you the offering I owe you for your protection, and your permission to cross over...”

Parsee huffed and stared determinedly at the lantern as I began to tell her of every moment of my journey since my first steps underground. It was a tale long in the telling... meeting the strange, silly bucket youkai and finding my companion caught in an earth spider's web, descending to meet a pained, bitter soul upon a lonely bridge, then discovering a wild, active, living city of scores of different sorts of youkai all living far beneath the soil of our fields... and on the outskirts of the city, an absolutely beautiful house where a lonely young woman lives quietly with the animals she knows better than anyone else how to raise... I hesitated, as the steps of my recounting neared the reactor, and the battle within.

“... You don't even get to have things like that happen, do you?” I asked.

Parsee made no reply, just staring harder into the flickering blue flame before her. After a long moment, I closed my eyes and began again, not skipping even the parts she had been present for. She did blink lightly as I told her about unsealing Konngara. “... you unsealed something the Hakurei put up?” she murmured. “You've got guts... hell of a lot more than I have...”

I smiled a little. “You sure about that? You were pointing a handful of black lotus straight at a shrine maiden only a few hours ago... right or wrong, sorry or not, that certainly takes guts for someone who's seen Reimu in a temper up close.”

Parsee snorted. “I was just a lousy impediment to her, Chitose. She wasn't in a temper when I saw her. It was bad enough just being in her way, even I don't want to be the cause of her in a temper...”

I nodded. “... well don't take it personally. If I got wrapped up in something somehow, I have a feeling she'd treat me the same... If an incident happens, she cares about one thing only, and that's resolving it...”

Parsee's eyes were on the flames again. “... Go on.”

I smiled a little at that, continuing the last few steps that had brought me to her home beneath the bridge. “And... well, that's all the tale I have to tell about the underground,” I said quietly. “There's a little bit left, but it involves between here and the surface, I can't really tell you when I haven't done it yet...”

Parsee waved a hand quietly, but I caught it. “... Want to come see it with your own eyes?” I asked, eyes sparkling just a bit. “After all, it's your duty to see me safely back to where I came from... isn't it?”

I could see the girl was taken aback by that thought. “... Pass,” she finally said, rising and turning for the back of the cave. “You're going up there with Satori and your new oni ally... I'm not needed to ensure your safety...”

I nodded, and slipped to the cave's entry. “Then I'll see you again on the next solstice, if not before,” I called to her.

Those eyes flared green at me from the dark. “You say all those nice things, then forget what I said about promises?”

“... And when did I say anything about promising to do that? I just said that's what will happen...” When no response to that came, save for a dimming of those eyes, I bowed lightly to her and slipped out.

Daiyousei was waiting quietly for me, and slipped her hand into mine. “Seems like that went better than before...”

I looked up at the bridge, the flames a quiet, soft white. “... Yeah,” I murmured, before turning and flying off as well.

The rest of the journey proved fairly uneventful. With the lantern still burning brightly, Yamame's webs were easy to navigate, until we found the earth spider in her nest, lightly tipsy and conversing happily with Konngara about the other youkais' exploits. The oni nodded quietly to me, while Yamame beamed. “So, we going to head up?”

I nodded. “If you want to. Where's Kisume...?”

Yamame tilted her head a bit. “She's waiting up where you found her before... said something about wanting to play again...” She shook her head as I offered her the lantern. “Keep it, silly... that way you can visit again soon...”

As the four of us continued our way carefully upwards, the caverns merging into that one single tunnel, I handed the lantern to Daiyousei, then lightly slipped over a bit and caught Kisume. “I win again,” I teased softly, tickling her belly.

Kisume pouted. “H-hey, you're cheating again...”

“I can't bring you up to the surface and show you around if I'm knocked out from a cute girl in a bucket falling on me...” I hugged her bucket lightly to me. “Besides, if the human can't move or they're cheating, how're they supposed to win? It's not a game if only you ever get to win...”

Kisume huffed, but settled herself in my arms and let me carry her along, the wind growing stronger and cooler as we neared the surface once more.

Satori was already there, eyes cast up to the sky. A snowstorm seemed to have come up while we were belowground, judging from the new drifts of snow across the ground, but the clouds had almost entirely left now. Night had fallen, and the stars glittered quietly in the clear heights of the winter sky.

Yamame beamed up at the twinkling lights. “Ah... how long has it been?” She sighed happily. “Such a sweet sight... to be denied this, alone, should be considered a punishment for the most heinous of crimes...”

A soft cough echoed in the night, and I looked over to Satori, then the red-garbed girl beside her. “So... what's all of this then?”

Reimu... not the person I'd wanted to meet the moment I got aboveground. Still, I steadied myself. “A few new friends from the underground having a look at the surface?”

Satori smirked lightly to me. “I suppose you wouldn't be too fond of harassing the Hakurei either,” she murmured lightly, before turning to Reimu. “Take it from an old satori and her third eye... none of these have designs on harming humans. Which is all you're worried about, isn't it?” She smirked anew. “Now, in the meantime, I was rather indirectly invited to have tea with someone...”

Reimu sighed a little, stepping forward to eye me. A red dress, yellow ribbon, detached sleeves even in winter... Reimu really did have her own style when it came to the shrine maiden's uniform. “Seriously. What's going on?”

I blinked. “It's like I said, Reimu. I wanted to show Yamame and Kisume here around the surface a bit... Satori's intending to have tea with Byakuren...”

“Look...” Reimu grit her teeth. “I'm not saying she plans to do anything, but earth spiders can spread disease pretty much at will. I can't exactly just go around telling people not to be scared, she won't do anything even though she could plague the whole village to death in a matter of days...”

Yamame smiled softly. “Reimu, do you really think there'll be that much worry? You have quite a lot of other youkai up here already, you know...” She sighed. “And I won't go into the village at all if there's that much worry, but I'd at least like to visit the mountain shrine...”

Reimu tensed. “Look, I know you're not dumb enough to cause problems. But not everyone is gonna get that. I can't just casually let out a bunch of youkai that my ancestors sealed up... especially not if they might cause a panic...”

I crossed my arms. “... Reimu, aren't you having a little too little faith in them?” I finally asked. “They've accepted Sanae and her gods, even though they're from outside and most of their followers are youkai. They're totally fine with a shrine maiden who lets an oni live in her shrine.” I shook my head. “Heck, plenty of them actively attend services at Byakuren's temple along with youkai...”

“And if that's not enough...” Reimu blanched as Konngara finally stepped forward. “Then don't just 'let' them go out. Let it be Chitose's responsibility, just like it's hers that I'm standing here before you.” She smirked lightly. “We'll just say she... snuck them out, while you and I were... discussing a few things...”

Reimu had her gohei out in an instant. “After over a decade, you still want...”

Konngara rested her hand lightly on the hilt of her sword. “I want what I wanted back then, Reimu. To live in peace without people constantly coming for my head. But I also want to talk to you.” She paused. “I've been gone for, what, fifteen years now? I think I have a lot of catching up to do... the last time I saw you, you were still using that orb instead of this danmaku thing I've been hearing about...”

Reimu blinked, still tense. “... You... want to talk?”

Konngara sighed softly. “... you're going to end up like the rest of your family line if you keep up this way, Reimu. Come with me... we'll go have some sake together and talk.”

Reimu looked over the youkai around us. “Look, I can't just... I mean...” She sighed. “... no, you're right. They're not a danger. And maybe they won't freak out. Just... try not to frighten anyone, okay? I don't think anyone's so much as seen a tsuchigumo in over a century...”

“My, my... you found a tsuchigumo...” Byakuren had silently come up while we were talking; Satori, who had slipped away at some point, floated lightly beside her. “Reimu, you needn't worry. The world is changing... people are changing.”

I frowned. “Youkai are changing too, though,” I pointed out.

Konngara nodded. “She'd have been damned right to be suspicious a scant few decades ago,” she said quietly, eying Byakuren for a long moment. “But we're not the same as we were back then...”

Satori looked over the two for a long moment. “... Konngara. Could the phenomenon at your temple be connected to...” She shook her head. “Well... perhaps it's fine...”

Konngara looked over Byakuren again. “... There are a lot of vulgar spirits around the Silent Shrine at present,” she said softly. “Ones that anticipated my release and gathered to witness it... but I doubt that I was the resurrection they were expecting to see.” She shook her head lightly. “Make of that what you will... now, if nobody else has objections, I think I want to go catch up with the times and share some sake properly with our esteemed Hakurei maiden. The gods alone know what habits she picked up from Giggles and her gourd...”

Reimu managed a slight laugh. “I suppose I do owe you an apology or three for barging in on you when it was probably her who kicked over my shrine back then...”

Konngara laid a hand on Reimu's shoulder. “You're a Hakurei. You solve incidents. Usually by whomping on the one behind them until they can't see straight. It sort of comes with the job.” She laughed lightly. “There's a balance to it, that's all. One your predecessors never did find... but I think with the times as they are, if you can find the right people around, you'll figure something out.”

Reimu glanced up and waved to a blonde-haired blur whizzing overhead. “Well, then. Let's go grab one of those right people right now, and go relax...” She paused, and looked back at me. “... and hey, thanks. You handled that little problem so well that I didn't even know anything was wrong until Yukari popped in to tell me it was resolved...”

I smiled. “Well, it's my job, isn't it?”

Reimu smirked. “Handling incidents is my job. But you're a shrine maiden too... and there's no way I'd be able to relax like this tonight with Marisa and an oni if you hadn't stepped up when you did...”

Still smiling, she headed off, that blonde blur swooping after them on her broom with a familiar laugh. Byakuren beamed. “Well, I'd say this little journey went well, even if I've a few things to think about now...” She shook her head.

Yamame smiled lightly to her. “Well. Don't let us keep you two waiting, you go enjoy some time together. Satori likes taking things slow, so I'll have tea with you another time...”

Byakuren bowed lightly. “I'll very much look forward to it...” she said softly, as she nodded and left. Satori turned, and for a moment, I thought I saw a slight smile cross her face. Then she tilted her head. “... why on earth would you want to know if tea tastes better aboveground?” she murmured, and was gone into the night.

Yamame smiled at me, patting Kisume's head lightly as she dozed in my arms. “So then... shall we go see the shrine?”

The night air whistled softly past us as we moved along. Below us, the village was mostly dark and silent, small lights here and there marking the spots where a few worked still late into the night, beneath the soft light of the moon. Before us stretched the mountain, a single cluster of lights marking out the kappa at work long into the night. Our destination was lower, though, and we soon descended among the dark trees to the little pond. Yamame smiled as she looked around. “... It's bigger than I remember,” she remarked.

I nodded. “Someone built one long ago, but it was abandoned and mostly ruined when I found it,” I said softly. “I'm actually a pretty good carpenter, so I fixed up what I could out of what was left and then expanded it more properly...”

“Huh, you're back...” I blinked as I saw Mokou emerge from the shrine, holding a book carefully in her arms. “Took longer than I was expecting you to...”

Yamame smiled lightly. “Staying over too, are you?” she asked brightly. “I'm Yamame Kurodani...”

Mokou eyed her a long moment. “... earth spider, huh? Well...” She smiled, just a little. “Fujiwara no Mokou, a human touched by the Hourai. I have a feeling the moon quack would love to meet someone with your power...”

The book in her arms shifted, then toppled out and opened, floating towards me. “Aneechan, you were gone a long time...” Sakan murmured, rubbing his eyes.

At the same moment, Kisume stirred in my arms, rubbing her eyes and lifting her head to find herself peering at the tsukumogami. The two looked at each other for a long moment.

“... cute!” they both suddenly declared, Kisume staring wide-eyed at Yamame and Sakan up at me. “Who's this?”

I laughed, and gently let Kisume float loose. “Sakan, this is Kisume. She's a tsubure-otoshi I met underground...”

Sakan nodded. “She's cute!” he declared again. “Are you gonna be her aneechan too?”

Kisume blanched. “N-no way, I've already got Yammy...” She looked up at me now. “Is this that book youkai you were talking about? You never told me he was a boy...”

Sakan fidgeted, looking around the group. “... hey, aneechan? I think there's too many people to really comfortably all stay at the shrine tonight... um... can I take her back to our house and stay there? I kinda wanna talk to her...”

Mokou burst into a sudden laugh. “You were right this morning... he really is a charmer...” she gasped out, ruffling Sakan's hair.

Yamame smiled. “Well, as long as Kisume doesn't mind...”

I rolled my eyes. “And as long as neither of you start messing around with your fire without me around.”

Yamame giggled. “And as long as you don't go trying to scare any humans just yet, Kisume...”

Sakan and Kisume both stared at us. “... But it's okay, right, Mom?” they teased in unison.

“I'm your big sis, not your mom, silly...” I hugged Sakan warmly against me. “Well, I suppose if I can pick myself out a girlfriend, I can't really stop you from at least trying,” I whispered in his ear, grinning.

Sakan looked up at me, wide-eyed, before gasping as Kisume took his hand and the two flew off rapidly towards the village again. Yamame giggled softly. “Well, I'm sure they'll get along just fine...”

Mokou shook her head. “I should get going,” she said quietly.

Daiyousei fluttered up and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Mokou, please. You've been helping us all day... please stay. Relax... you're with friends here...”

Mokou blinked lightly, before giving a slight nod and shuffling back inside. Yamame bowed lightly and slipped inside as well.

After a moment, Minoriko poked her head out. “Chitose, you've had quite a long day, you know,” she murmured softly. “Why don't you come in?”

Shizuha peeked out. “That Cirno kept poking in to pester us today, too,” she said. “Something about you hiding from playing with her and Letty...”

I laughed. “I'll have to go find her tomorrow then... and maybe you can show off some of your colors to Yamame while I do, Shizuha-sama?”

Minoriko giggled. “Come in soon, all right? It's long past time you and your dear got some rest...”

I nodded as she ducked inside, turning my eyes to the stars above once more. Daiyousei settled up beside me, taking my hand in hers.

I smiled. “Well. I made some new friends belowground... I'd say I'm pleased, if exhausted...”

Daiyousei kissed my cheek lightly. “Definitely...” she murmured softly. We stood there another long moment more, before finally turning and heading into the shrine, sliding the door closed behind us.