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The Blooming of the Cherry Blossom

Within the bosom of a passage embraced by the forest of oldened trees, whose branches spring forth a white screen. Beneath the canopy of a white sky stood the trunk of a tree whose flowers had blossomed before, descending on a passing wind, drifting aloft like drifting snow.

Falling and falling, the white flowers lie atop the ground, stealing from it the color of life.

Thus, beneath the canopy of this tree, winter remained eternal.

Forever lost, the colors of spring, as the white flowers blanket the earth below.

Oh, but how the world wept at the sight of such a color, for how lonesome and bereft of life is the hue of those fleeting flowers.

A hundred years of a white summer, a hundred more to pass, the princess silently weeps.

Her tears are as endless as the falling white flowers.

The princess laments the blossoming of the trees, for something that was stolen, something long ago that was taken, and in its absence, that beautiful color she loved disappeared forever.

 “Another year has crept along, and I have been forsaken once again to the sight of an empty world where life is cruelly suffocated beneath this colorless abyss. Alas, I need not look far to find such a thing. As the princess of death, I am bound to the inevitable end that all must face. Why should I lament such a sight? And yet these tears do not cease at such a loss.”

And so, the princess cried. For two hundred years, her tears would remain unanswered, falling onto the earth below, yet the earth, powerless to soothe her troubled heart, remained silent.

Three hundred years have passed since the tree first blossomed. The princess once more sits atop the oak veranda of the mansion, Hakugyokurou, overlooking the netherworld, tears dripping from her cheek. Alas, this year they land not atop the silent earth, but on the white bangs of a young girl who had joined the princess's life some sixty years back.

Sensing her august mistress’s sadness, the young girl turns to face the princess, her brow furrowed in lament for not being able to recognize why it was these precious tears were being shed.

“Since I have entered your service, I have been made to bear the weight of your sadness sixty times over. Even if I may incur your anger, I cannot go another year having to feel your tears run down my own cheeks, knowing not what I can do for my mistress. Miss Yuyuko, I plead as a retainer who prides themselves in serving their mistress, tell me what it is that has ailed you for so long. Otherwise, how can I face you with any sense of pride at all? Indeed, even if I did not shed the tears that fall down my cheeks today, they are my own nonetheless."

The princess, moved by the sincerity of her venerable retainer, passed to her the troubles that festered within her heart like a sickening growth.

“Oh, my sweet Youmu, how your words have moved my fractured heart on this day of the dreadful blossoming of the white tree, and how cruel and careless it was for me to force such a generous child to endure these years of helplessness. Oh, how cruelly I have forgotten how your youthful eyes have forever been robbed of the sight of that beautiful shade. Indeed, my heart is weary of the eternal winter that has cursed the world since I arrived at this mansion. Perhaps it is unfair, but alas, how can I not blame myself for such a thing? Could it be that this happening is no mere coincidence? If so, then it must be that my own existence is the very source of my sorrows.”

The princess wept at such a conclusion. To think that what had saddened her for centuries was because of her very own existence was a terrible revelation, and what of the young girl under her care who was also affected by her curse? Was it not because of her own mistress, whom she swears fealty to, that the sight of spring was stolen from her?

Thus, with these horrific thoughts swirling within her mind, Princess Yuyuko embraced the young girl, her hands soothing her loyal retainer’s white hair.

Embarrassed by such treatment and ashamed by her mistress’s sadness, the young girl, Youmu, her face reddened with embarrassment and her eyes steely with heartfelt determination, pulled away from the princess’s embrace.

“I refuse to let such a conclusion fester and poison your thoughts! At once, I, Youmu Konpaku, granddaughter of Youki Konpaku and loyal servant for sixty years to the lady of death, Princess Yuyuko of the Saigyouji family, shall venture forth to that tree that has wept many tears from my esteemed mistress and bring back that which has been taken from you! I swear on the ancestral blades of the Konpaku family, which I wield in your name, I will cut down these evil doubts that plague your mind!”

The girl stepping away puffed out and pointed at herself with great enthusiasm.

“B-because, the things that cannot be cut by Roukanken, forged by youkai, are close to none!”

The princess, now understanding the steadfast loyalty and determination of her retainer, closed her eyes and took out from her sleeve a purple flower and two paper seals lined with red ink. 

“How wrong it would be to turn away the profound earnestness of this young girl. Therefore, I will bid you to go at once to that forest and rid us of the pale tree’s curse, but before you go, take with you these three charms so that my mind will be at ease.”

Tying these three items around the sheath of the Roukanken, the princess saw her retainer off in the palace courtyard.

Thus, charged with the mission to rid the world of the eternal winter, the young girl atop a renowned white steed rode out that day wearing a white ‘hitatare’ and a set of green armor ornamented with ghostly shapes. At her side, she carried the longsword ‘Roukanen’ in a black lacquered sheath with a ghostly tail sticking out from its pommel, and the short sword ‘Hakurouken,’ also black lacquered and adorned with the konpaku crest on its handle, was nestled above the longsword. In her quiver, she held twenty-four arrows feathered with white, and under her arm, she carried a black lacquered bow bound with red bands.

For forty cho, she trekked across foggy mountain passes, often only able to see the head of her white horse through the thick mist that cloaked the path. 

Upon her arrival at the base of the mountain, she was pestered by a mischievous kitsune, who frolicked around and teased the young girl on her mission. 

“How quaint it is for a young girl to wander the forest alone in such a dreadful fog. Dost thou not fear the monsters hidden beneath the bark of this white forest? Or is it possible that this child was born afflicted with a dull mind? How tragic, I will eat you at once and spare you from the fate of growing up to be a stupid adult!”

The kitsune charged at the young girl, who, despite still being mounted on her horse, quickly subdued the troublesome fox by grappling it out of the air and pinning it against the pommel of her saddle.

"Oh, how rude it is to call one such as myself dull! Had you known any better, you would've done well to stay far away, for my blade's edge could cut away even the bothersome slander from a kitsune’s tongue. Now, I will send you to nirvana so you may tell the Buddha of your grave misunderstanding."

The kitsune, her head firmly placed against the saddle, beseeched the girl to reconsider.

“How foolish I was indeed! It would be right for you to take my head here and now, but alas, how unfair it would be to those devoutly devoted in faith for you to allow a wicked creature such as myself to bypass the cycle of rebirth and be sent to paradise! Yes, it would indeed be a great stain on your prestige for you to send a sinner to rub shoulders with the likes of saints!”

The young girl pondered the kitsune's words. Indeed, there is some truth to their pleas.

“Aye, you may be correct. I would dare not besmirch my name, which is bound to my august mistress. In that case, I will use my dirk instead of the Hakurouken to take your head.”

Relinquishing her grasp on the shortsword by her side, Hakurouken, which bears the power to send those slashed by it to nirvana, she reaches instead for a plain dagger tucked into the obi that wrapped around her body armour. 

“Ah, but hold your hand for a moment! I see you are on a trek. If you may, please spare me a moment of your time so that I can hear the reason for your travel. Perhaps even I may be able to assist you in your journey. Since the pale tree’s blossoming three hundred years ago, the world has become a dangerous place. Foolish it would be to set out without any knowledge of it; yes, it would do you no good to travel onward with such ignorance. Such a folly would lead only to your ruin and the failing of whatever you have come for.”

Once more, the girl ponders the words of the kitsune, but her grasp on the scruff of the kitsune remains unwavering despite this.

“Hmmm, perhaps there are merits to what you say. Though you may be a kitsune, how crass it would be for someone such as myself, who was raised by the princess to the highest standard of chivalry, to make such horrible presumptions of someone hoping to aid me. Yes indeed, though being the royalty of death, her kindness betrays such morbid thoughts one would have of her. Thus, I will take your warning to heart and inform you of my mission: I am to reach the center of this white forest, to the pale tree, and bring an end to this eternal winter.”

The white kitsune’s face alighted with a large smile upon hearing the girl’s mission. 

“Ho, ho, ho! So, you seek the pale tree!? Then it is indeed fortunate that we have crossed paths... Even if it is in such an unbecoming manner… Alas, it appears I may be of great assistance to you, for I have been to its trunk and have met its presiding master! Therefore, I humbly ask you to gently release me from your grasp.”

The young girl, considering the kitsune’s words, scratched her nose as she ruminated on the knowledge that was given to her.

For a brief moment, no words were uttered between the two. 

“So, there is a villain that is behind my mistress’s tears?!”

“Yes, yes, indeed! Deep within the maze of the white forest at the base of the pale tree lies a powerful monster who has subjugated the world to an eternal winter! Luckily for you, I have been hither and thither, having found my way around that labyrinth. However, such an accomplishment unfolded over two decades. I do not mean to make presumptions, but I do not imagine that you have the time to spare to navigate that forest on your own.”

“Hm, yes, that would be so. I cannot allow the pale tree to reap my mistress’s tears for even a second longer.”

Having made up her mind, the girl relinquished her hold on the fox. The Kitsune, having been released from the girl's grip, floats alongside Youmu, rubbing her hands together as a wily smile encroaches on her face.

“This mistress you keep mentioning, I dare imagine, is someone of great renown. Now this may be very forward of me to ask, but perhaps in light of my assistance to you, it is possible I should be rewarded?”

“Of course! Lady Yuyuko will no doubt recognize your efforts and reward you in kind.”

“Hmmm, is that so?”

“Indeed, it is so! As long as I can remember, Lady Yuyuko has solely looked after me until I reached an age where I could return the kindness she bestowed upon me. Even though I am just a simple retainer, not quite a century old, she still bestows upon me that same affection, nonetheless. Oh, how difficult it is to return her generosity."

The fox, having heard the girl’s praise for her august mistress, scratched the bridge of her nose.

“Oh, it might not do me any good to ask of you such a question, for it seems you conflate her motherly doting for wealth.”

Youmu, turning to the floating fox by her side with a slight frown, responds to her doubts.

“I do not understand what it is you mean by motherly, but to receive Lady Yuyuko’s kindness is indeed a form of wealth in and of itself. Now, if it is material wealth that you desire, then that can be arranged as well.”

 The fox’s eyes brighten upon hearing the girl confirm the possibility of such a reward, and with a spin in the air, she moves to place herself ahead of the girl.

“If it is as you say, then without haste, let us continue, and I will guide your mount to the pale tree!”

Thus, the two, now joined in an alliance of a peculiar sort, made their way down the fog-covered path, with the white fox to guide her reins.

Now, having forged a great river that separates the mountains from the land of the white trees, the two made their way onto the long-unused road that led into the heart of the forest. 

As they encroached upon the thickets, a strong gust of wind shot upward, taking with it many flowers before transforming into a pillar of white. 

Then the pillar burst apart, sending a gust and wave of white petals, and standing at its center was a phantom troupe of sorts. 

“What is this? A mounted warrior coming from the direction of the mountains? And a girl of a young age to add as well? It has been a long time since we’ve last seen a single soul step foot into the forest; it would do us best to heed them with caution. What do you think, Sister Merlin?”

“Perchance such a meeting is not a coincidence, sister Lunasa? Having been robbed of our energy over the course of three hundred years from the eternal winter, is it not rather a great sign of fortune for this girl to appear before us? I say we make haste and act in this moment, lest we look back on it in regret. What have you to say, Sister Lyrica?”

“I verily agree with Sister Merlin. Therefore, without haste, you two must go right away and deal with the girl before she prances by during our deliberations.”

“And what of you, Sister Lyrica?”

“Do not fret, sister Lunasa; I will watch your back and ensure no trickery will be had.”

The three sisters spoke among themselves before the girl, who sat atop her mount, irritated by Lyrica's words.

“I, Youmu Konpaku, granddaughter of the venerable Youki Konpaku, retainer and representative of the Saigyouji family, will not allow such impure thoughts to be had of my visage; you will find no trickery on my part! I say if it is a fight you seek, I only ask of you to act in the manner of chivalry and speak aloud your name and exploits, and only then may we cross blades.”

The two sisters, Lunasa and Merlin, shook at the booming declaration that had come from the small girl. Thus, having been beckoned, the two approached the armored girl.

“Aye, we are the sisters Lunasa, Merlin, and Lyrica, and together we form the Phantom Troupe, the Prismriver sisters! It is with great shame that we are forced to consume the living, but alas, such circumstances have driven us to such means! Henceforth, you will face me, Lunasa Prismriver, violinist and soloist of the Prismriver sisters!”

The phantom, Lunasa, floated towards Youmu and summoned a small violin before immediately breaking into a crazed song of wild and evil notes. 

Through her senses alone, Youmu sensed a danger emanating from the phantom's instrument and immediately nocked an arrow from her quiver, sending the shaft through the air with its tip aimed not at the phantom but at the sky itself. 

Though much to the girl’s surprise, her arrow struck nothing and continued to sail through to the white sky above, while a terrible sound hit her in the chest plate of her body armour.

“Forsooth, I had thought I struck down that wicked note!? Though my eyes may not see it, my ears can hear the ringing of evil that emanates from the sounds that come out of her instrument!”

Bringing her horse about, the girl prepared to string another arrow to her bow but was stopped by the kitsune, who floated alongside her. 

“While none will deny that you have shown great martial prowess as expected of a renowned retainer, you have yet to display the rationality of a mature and reasonable warrior; thus, I ask of you to consider what it is you plan to do. It will do no good for you to send another arrow into the sky; such an act will surely bring about defeat.”

The girl, considering the kitsune's words, placed the arrow back into her quiver and maneuvered her mount to avoid the notes that were being thrown at her. 

“Yes, it is as you say; to repeat something that has failed once already would turn one mistake into a foolish demise. I dare not besmirch my mistress’s name by tying it to a fool, but alas, I am unsure of what to make of this; I know not what to do against such a foe whose blows I cannot intercept with my bow. Perhaps it is indeed so that I am a fool.”

The girl's brow furrowed, no doubt weighted with self-doubt. 

“Fret not For it is quite the opposite! Yes, you were indeed wise to allow me to accompany you, for I, having been to and fro throughout these lands, know well of the magic these sisters employ. Yes, your instincts did guide you down the right path, but your youthful eyes lack the experience to see the trail at your feet.”

The kitsune says, her fingers tapping against each other as the girl frantically moves her steed back and forth to dodge the volley from the phantom’s violin. 

“Make haste with your words, for I have not the time to parse them through for their meaning!”

“Very well, to counter their magic, you must employ an attack that matches the same note as the one they play.”

“Ah, very well, in that case!”

Youmu brought her mount around, strung an arrow with a whistling head to her black lacquered bow, and thus waited until her ears had seized the right moment to strike. 

The whistling arrow collided with the invisible note and, in their joining, created a dyad. Thus, negating the note and destroying it in mid-air, resulting in a shower of bright sparks. 

“As you have struck aside my song with a song of your own, I have no choice as a musician but to give you this stage.”

The phantom, Lunasa, seeing her attack intercepted by the girl, ceded the field in defeat. Seeing her sister soundly defeated, the second sister, Merlin, moved to avenge her sister's honor.

“You will now face me, Merlin Prismriver, brass instrumentalist and the most powerful member of the Phantom Troupe! You may have bested my esteemed sister, but I declare that such a feat was a mere act of luck! I will play a song that you may never match, no matter how many times you are reborn into this world!”

Now, summoning an ensemble of brass instruments, the sister played a song of low-pitched notes, their impact leaving craters on the earth wherever they struck around Youmu. 

“I have not a single tool at my hand which can match such a low and bellowing song! To think that I thought myself ready to set out on this journey! How unbecoming it is of me to be so woefully unprepared!”

Not a single arrow in her quiver can produce such a low sound. It seems that this would be as far as the young girl would go. However, the kitsune once more appeared by her side. 

“Though there may not be something at hand you can use to dispel her song, you needn’t look further than your own words.”

Youmu, now having become accustomed to the kitsune's manner of speaking, gleaned almost immediately the advice that was offered. 

“I see the meaning in your words! How embarrassing it is to lose myself to despair, but no more will I shame myself with such excuses, for you are correct! As long as there is breath in my lungs, I need not look far for a weapon!”

Turning to face the oncoming wave of music, the girl lets out a fierce roar from deep within her chest that strikes down every note from the sky, where they crash into a flurry of bright, colorful explosions.

Having been defeated in such a manner, Merlin, much like her sister, cedes the battle to Youmu. 

“Aye, now having defeated the two of you, I will now be on my way.”

Youmu, assured of her victory, rode her horse towards the path leading into the forest. However, she suddenly finds her path blocked by the third and final sister of the Phantom Troupe.

“Stay your hand, for you will now face me, Lyrica Prismriver! You have done well to defeat my two other sisters, but alas, your triumphant act will prove to be your undoing, for I have surmised your weakness! You do not have the means to counter both my sisters' music at the same time, and upon adding myself, we will play as a band and drown you in a sea of impossible songs!”

Now, having believed she had honorably and fairly won, Youmu finds herself confronted by the three sisters, their instrument floating nearby, ready to perform a deadly concert. 

The girl’s hands that were gripping the reins of her horse shook furiously with anger at this display before her.

“How cowardly to confront someone with two others by your side! What you claim as strategic acumen is nothing but despicable cheating! Say, you two, whom I have soundly defeated fair and square, do you dare sully our duels by partaking in such a farce!?”

Lunasa, the most honorable of the three sisters, lamented aloud, having agreed with the words of Youmu.

“It is truly a despicable act on our part, but little choice do we have, as the eldest, it is my responsibility to ensure we live on! Yes, even if doing so means throwing away my pride, thus I will not hold back and will play to my fullest extent so that your death may be a quick one!”

Now faced with the combined might of the Prismriver sisters, Youmu finds herself at a loss for how she may grasp the dimming rays of victory from this impending night. 

“Is there nothing we can do?!”

The kitsune, having resigned herself to stay, floated alongside the girl's ear. 

“When we first met, was it not true you claimed your blade could cut away even the slander from a kitsune’s mouth? While you showed great grace in sparing me from such a test, I must ask now in this perilous moment if such a claim is indeed true? If so, then all hope may not be lost!”

The girl, though inquired by the kitsune and in a great time of peril, returns her question with an empty-minded stare. 

“...Ah, that is correct! With the Roukanken, even if I cannot see it, there is no doubt that it will cut through such evil sounds!”

Reaching for the hilt of the Roukanken on her side, a longsword forged by youkai with a blade measuring an impressive two shaku and eight sun, Youmu drew the sword enough to reveal a few centimeters of bare steel reflecting the few rays of the sun that break the cloud of gray seas above. 

“Very well, if it is to be a contest of music, then the song of my Roukanken parting your flesh will not lose!”

However, merely unsheathing a few centimeters of steel sent the three sisters into a panicked state, as the sight of the Roukanken's exposed blade could drive even the strongest to flee. Indeed, even before Youmu uttered her declaration aloud, the three sisters had already, in their minds, imagined themselves being slashed by such a frightful blade. 

“We surrender! How foolish I was to think I could play such silly games against someone of your renown. Please, I ask of you to forgive us or, at the very least, spare my sisters and take my head alone!”

“No, Lyrica! As the eldest, I bear the responsibility for the mistakes of the youngest, so let it be my head that is taken in her place!”

“How insane are the words that come out of both your mouths! Please let us ask first to all be spared, for my heart cannot bear the thought of losing either one of my sisters, so please let us prostrate ourselves together.”

The three sisters, tears in each of their eyes, pleaded with one another. Seeing such familial compassion, Youmu sheathes her blade without a second thought. 

“Fret not, for I would not entertain the idea of tearing apart such compassionate bonds in such a disgraceful manner. Though you have tricked me, to do upon you an even graver and viler act would make me no worse than the sinners groveling in Avici. Now come, raise your heads, for I will not seek to take them; I only ask you to answer a few questions.”

The sisters, lifting their heads from the ground, burst into tears at the saintly mercy granted to them.

“Oh, thank you! Though I may never be able to repay your immense kindness, if it will aid you even a bit, I will gladly answer your questions to the best of my knowledge.”

Lunasa, the oldest, drifts to Youmu, taking and shaking her hand in gratitude, and Youmu inquires further about the sisters.

“Tell me first who the three of you are? I imagine the world isn't at a leisurely enough stage for youkai to go around performing musical numbers of sorts. Surely, your history must start at a point before this great eternal winter, seeing as I am but a child, hardly the age of sixty, I know not of the world outside the mansion my august mistress resides.”

Drifting closer to Youmu, Lunasa speaks aloud to her about the history of herself and her sisters.

“My sisters and I traveled across these lands, playing music at every venue we could find until three hundred years ago, when the pale tree first blossomed, causing this eternal winter. We were forced to wander the forest around the village in Mayohiga, attacking other youkai for their energy just to survive. Still, we know it is futile to delay the inevitable. As spirits whose purpose is to play music, we have been robbed of the joy of performing before people, and as a result, our sense of self has slowly begun to fade. It is only a matter of time before we, too, are swept away with the winds of a white blizzard.”

Having heard and sympathized with their story, Youmu asks Lunasa another question.

“Huh? You speak of a village? Perhaps there you could find an audience, no?”

“Oh, how we tried, but alas, it is guarded by a terrifying nekomata that has imprisoned its people inside to use them as cattle.”

“Hmph, I will see to it at once that this injustice is corrected, for you know, I am on a mission to end this eternal winter, but I cannot risk you three sisters fading before sunrise tomorrow. Therefore, I will head out immediately to this village and free its people. Then, come nightfall, you all can come and play your music for those weary folks.”

Now heading toward the village of Mayohiga, Youmu brings her horse to a gallop as she sets off in hopes of reaching the village before the sun sets. 

The kitsune appears alongside Youmu, her ears flopped downward, and her face showed a lopsided frown. 

“Why is it that you spared those sisters who employed such a dishonorable practice against you?”

“You should instead ask yourself why it was that I spared you.”

“Perhaps those questions are one and the same, and furthermore, we now travel to a town that is wholly unrelated to your mission, to assist people you do not know.”

“Why is it that you speak with such a wily tongue?! You speak as if you are cruel and uncaring, and yet you stood by my side and helped me even when defeat appeared certain.”

“Oh, naive girl, how greatly you underestimate my intelligence as well as your own strength. I merely stood with the side that I knew would win, as any proper kitsune would.”

“Hmph! You act as if what you are defines who you are! Indeed, Miss Yuyuko is a princess of death, so one would think of someone like that as being morbid and dreary, yet that is far from the truth! She is kind and warm, so why is it that you have resigned yourself to act as you believe you should rather than how you could?”

“Alas, I am no great princess but instead a mere kitsune; thus, I cannot afford to carry myself in any other manner.”

Having said her piece, the kitsune drifted rearward out of the girl’s sight in order to ignore whatever rebuttal Youmu may have had in store for her. 

For twenty cho they trekked, the horse and its brave rider galloping through an unknown forest. Their destination and goals are noble, but alas, such heroism invites only mischief from the realm's villains. 

“Stay! Hold your hooves for a moment!!”

The girl, bringing her mount to a sudden stop, frantically stares around the clearing in the forest she finds herself in as her horse neighs anxiously. The kitsune appears beside her, confused by what ails her. 

“What is it that seizes your reins? Yet have we come across the village, nor has any foe appeared before us?”

“Like the light that refracts from the morning dew of a damp web, my eyes have caught onto the malicious bout of woven thread that surrounds us on all sides!”

Strung below the tallest blades of white grass and hung above the shortest dead tree, countless wires shimmered in the sunlight, the strings glistening as they surrounded the pair. 

“Who is it that has come thither onto my lands? Oh, how bothersome, a mere child. It would do you no good to travel among these cold white winds; it would be best for you to return to whence you came from.”

The voice of a girl, though hidden, sounds as if she's standing right in front of the brave retainer and her kitsune friend. Now, having trekked for sixty cho in one day and facing many trials, the retainer from Hakugyokurou, not wanting to cede their journey, called out to the voice hidden within the dead branches that ensnare them. 

“I am Youmu Konpaku, a retainer for the Saigyouji family, and I have come hither in pursuit of my sworn mission to reach the pale tree at the center of this white forest and bring an end to the eternal winter! Long have I been made to bear the weight of my mistress’s tear atop my crown; however, this year will be the last that the pale tree spreads its curse.”

The hidden voice, hearing the girl's words, responds with her own. 

“If your words are true, then you are mistaken to have come here, for this path leads not to the depth of the white forest. If you continue onward, you will only find the village terrorized by the nekomata.”

“Indeed, though my mission is the end of the eternal winter, I cannot sit idly and ignore such an act of injustice. Furthermore, the very lives of three sisters depend on me to free that village. Thus, I must go immediately and subdue the villain who has seized its people. Yes, to ignore such woes and carry along my mission would only sully the graceful teachings of my mistress at Hakugyokurou.”

Snorting her nose in a disgusted manner, the girl rebukes the retainer's words with seething venom.

“Hakugyokurou, the mansion overseeing the netherworld? Oh, how your words annoy me! For what reason do you have to worry about the lives of others? If your mistress is so important, you would do well to make haste with your mission instead of coming hither and thither for such unrelated squabbles. Besides, would your mistress not be happy to have another hundred souls to accompany to the afterlife?”

“Enough of your slanderous talk! Reveal yourself so that I may thrash you and continue along my way!”

“Very well, if you do not wish to return to the netherworld, then I will have to send you there myself. Prepare yourself.”

“Come as you are!”

Beckoning to the voice, the retainer seizes her bow, and the voice, having been beckoned, reveals itself as a mere girl, no older than the retainer, with porcelain skin and fair blonde hair. Seized by such a sight, the retainer lowers her bow.

“How arrogant! You speak as though looking down upon me, and yet here you stand, a girl no older than myself, so why is it that you bring me so much trouble? How immature of you! Now be on your way!”

The pale, doll-like girl bit her lip in frustration at Youmu’s words, her fist clenched tightly. 

“Why do I bring you such trouble!? You have wandered onto my lands, and worse yet, the manner in which you speak about the lady you serve—such idolization I cannot stand! Indeed, I too am also young, but I am not so immature as to rely on another woman; thus, having survived all this time alone, there’s not a single doubt that I am mature when put next to a pampered child such as yourself!”

Ending her tirade by stamping her feet on the ground like a petulant child, the girl summons numerous flying dolls that surround the retainer. 

“Is that all your maturity adds up to!?”

“I will not hold back! You will face the full strength of the seven-colored puppeteer, Alice Margatroid, Witch from the land of Makai!”

Having been surrounded on all sides by an army of dolls wielding lances and spears, Youmu sends her horse into a gallop around the edges of the clearing, circling the Witch in the center of the clearing. The kitsune, moving to and fro to avoid the numerous strikes, made frantic inquiries to her acquaintance about what she should do. 

“Forsooth! You have gone and done it now, foolish girl! Now we stand outnumbered and overwhelmed by a flurry of enemies like a deadly wind! Oh, is it not so soon that we can prostrate ourselves and ask for forgiveness?”

“Nay! We need not ask for forgiveness from an arrogant girl, much less a witch from Makai! But alas, her words do not match her countenance. Her heart is in conflict with her actions. If we give in to her words, then we will merely be allowing her to continue down a path where her heart and mind will tear each other apart. Therefore, though she may have blemished my mistress’s name, I will show her the contradictions that bound her heart.”

Bringing her mount to a full gallop, Youmu led the dolls on a chase around the clearing in the forest, their strikes becoming fiercer and fiercer, their blows glancing off helmet and body armour with such force that she had to seize her reins with such a grip that her knuckles turned white to keep herself from being dismounted and skewered by the thousand of lances that nip at her heels. 

On her third pass around, the doll-like girl broke into wicked laughter.

“Hahaha! Have you been driven to delirious fear that you have naught to do but run about aimlessly? Very well, if that is so, I will finish this by summoning my grimoire and ending you rightly!”

The witch, Alice, summoning her grimoire, moves to open the book of spells that will send asunder the haughty girl who stumbled onto her lands. However, as her hand grasped the leather cover of the large book, her arms were seized and bound by numerous wires nigh invisible to the naked eye.

“Ah! What is this? I have been bound by something!? Could it be!?”

“Indeed, it is as you think—you have been caught in your own wires! Your focus and attention were divided in two—split between trying to defeat me and convincing yourself of your own words! In your haste, you allowed me to use those wires, which were strung to those dolls chasing me, to coil around you like a serpent, and with each pass I made, the serpent's coil became tighter.”

The witch, now hanging and strung up in the center of the clearing like an ensnared fly in a spider’s web, shook her head as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“No! It cannot be! Me being defeated by a mere girl!? Impossible! To be bested by an immature girl who relies on the warmth of another woman! There is no such strength to be found in something pitiable as that, none, I say!”

The girl bellowed out in a fit as Youmu watched, shaking her head in disapproval. 

“It is those words that have brought you ruin! The lies you tell yourself have ensnared your heart. Yes, if you truly believed in what you speak of, you would not have been played like a puppet by your own hand. Perhaps it's because you reject the warmth you crave that you've become like this—a powerful witch unable to best a mere child who embraces the warmth of her mistress. A girl from Makai is a long way from home. Surely, the contradictions between your words and your heart stem from the great distance between your home and where you now stand.”

“Nay! You are wrong! I did not use my full power at all! I merely went easy on you! Indeed, it was a form of pity for a naive girl who foolishly wandered down the rabbit hole that is this white forest! Homesick? You are mistaken, for you see, this land here is my paradise! I have come here seeking to become my own person!”

Having steeled herself in her beliefs, the doll-like girl ceased her tears and stared at the retainer who had bested her with a fiery and determined gaze.

“Ah, if the words from your vocal cords had been so aligned with the ones from the chords of your heart as they are now, it would’ve been me strung up before you. Perhaps there is merit to what you say. I could not muster the power I wield today had it not been for the nurturing of my mistress. Thus, I must admit that your strength far exceeds my own.”

Recognizing the strength that resided within the girl, Youmu took the short sword, Hakouroken, from her side, and with a swift, deft movement, slashed through the numerous strings binding the witch.

“Huh? Why is it that you released me?”

The witch, now freed from her own strings, asks Youmu.

“It would be discourteous of me to leave a person strung up within their own domain, and as I am due to show you gratitude for the mercy you have shown me, it is only fair that I release you.”

Taken aback by the courtesy of the girl whom a moment ago she was belittling, the witch found herself at a loss. 

“I now see the virtues of a filial daughter. As someone who once stood by my mother’s side, I failed to recognize the motherly warmth I had long grown fond of, and, unable to see that my mother’s absence was what was truly hurting me in this self-imposed isolation, I let it consume me in contradiction. However, I do not seek to return to her arms. You and I have different ideas of strength, and so I will continue on my own path of becoming stronger through my own power.”

“Aye, so it seems, but I must concede that indeed, between the two of us, you are the more mature one. However, I must correct you, for Miss Yuyuko is not my mother but instead the lady I serve, so it would be wrong for you to call me a filial daughter.”

Confused by the girl’s words, Alice continued.

“And why is that? Nor am I the daughter of the lady I call mother, and yet I still believe myself to be one of her own. Her care and love for me have not once betrayed this sentiment. Yes, though we may not be of the same blood, the love she showed me was that of a mother, no doubt.”

Youmu, considering the girl’s words, remained silent. 

“Very well, as you are on an important mission, I will not hinder you any longer. Please be on your way. I wish you the best of luck on your journey.”

The doll-like girl floats away, leaving Youmu alone with the kitsune.

“Ah, it appears that girl has struck your tongue with her words. What was it about what she said that has now made you so silent?”

“To refer to Miss Yuyuko as my mother—such a thing is disgraceful for a retainer to utter, yet it seems so natural to me. It appears that I am the one at odds with what lies in their heart. Still, if I were to accept what my heart believes, that Miss Yuyuko is indeed like a mother to me, I would no longer have the dignity or the strength of a loyal retainer, and thus I would be unable to repay what she has done for me.”

“Why is that? To this kitsune, I can't tell the difference between a retainer and a daughter, nor did I grow up with anyone by my side. When I look at you, the way you talk about that lady, and how that girl describes her mother, they seem no different from each other. Still, lest you end up defeated in the same manner as that witch, you'd best make up your mind.”

Youmu, having heard enough, resumes her journey to the village. 

As dusk falls, the girl reaches the muddy path leading into a desolate, snow-covered village. The roofs of the many shanty-shacks are covered in thick snow that has yet to clear, and many houses lie in ruins, crushed by the weight of the snow. 

But as they approached the entrance to the village, a girl bearing cat ears and two black tails landed before them with immense grace. 

Stopping her horse, Youmu glares at the stranger who has appeared before them. The girl with twin black tails, turning to face the newcomers, speaks aloud.

“Halt! None shall enter this village!”

The twin-tailed girl shouts at them, her hand held out, a clear gesture that they are not welcome here. 

“I take it that this is Mayohiga? And you must be the villainous nekomata that has kept its people imprisoned so that you may eat them. How fortunate! Your appearance here eases things for me. I will take your head now!”

Taking an arrow from her quiver and nocking it on her bowstring, Youmu sends her horse into a gallop toward the nekomata. However, rather than preparing to fight, the nekomata looks taken aback. 

“Huh?! It appears that you have misunderstood the situation at hand. While I do not mind a quarrel, I am not at leisure to engage in such bloodshed; you see, the people of this town are in great peril. Thus, I cannot risk allowing anyone inside the village.”

Bringing her horse to a stop, Youmu lessens the tension of her bow. 

“Peril? Is it not true that you have kept these people imprisoned within this village?”

“Eh... Aye, some might say that, but please understand that three hundred years before this eternal winter, this village was abandoned, and the only place we stray cats call home. However, just before the blooming of the pale tree, a group of human hunters settled here temporarily, and we generously welcomed them. But when the eternal winter came, these humans were stranded in the village, and after a century, they began to believe that we nekomatas had caused the winter. As a result, they began to hunt us, nearly driving us out of the village. While I cannot deny that we were mischievous at times, we meant no harm to them, and yet still they killed many of us in their delusion.”

“Ah, so you merely enslaved and killed them out of vengeance? If that is what you mean to say, then you will gain no sympathy from my blade!”

“It is nothing like that at all! Though they did kill many of us, we never took a single life in return. Still needing to survive, we began to siphon off their vitality, not enough to kill them, but enough to weaken them and sustain ourselves, which is the reason we do not allow others to enter this village. Yes, it is despicable, but we tried to maintain a balance so they might survive as well. Alas, they are now too weak to hunt or farm for food, which becomes scarcer each day, and soon they will perish.”

Pondering the nekomata words, Youmu considers what she has learned of the world and those who inhabit it. It is apparent that many times before, the people she thought were villains were merely people trying their best to survive. As someone raised ignorant of the world's woes and tribulations, Youmu indeed has no right to make hasty remarks about one’s character. 

“Seeing as I have no reason to deny what you say, I can only ask how I may be of assistance. I have come hither, armed with bow and sword, with the mission to save the people of this village. However, if such an act means sacrificing someone else, then there is nothing to discuss. Such an act would be villainous.”

The nekomata, swayed by the chivalry of the white-haired girl, bowed deeply.

“Oh, how grateful I am for the faith you’ve placed in my words! Long has it been since anyone has trusted me, or rather, I became a nekomata long after the pale tree blossomed; thus, I know not of what it means to be trusted.”

Scratching her chin, Youmu shakes her head in disagreement with Chen’s words.

“Oh? Is that so? But it seems you are truly trusted, being the leader of the stray cats that once called this village home. Yes, it was you who had guided them safely through such a dangerous time, all the while being considerate of the humans who had only shown you disdain.”

The nekomata picks up her head from her bow, her cheeks flustered by the retainer's praise. 

“Your kind words soothe my troubled mind. Yes, I would like to ask for your help, for you see, I am afraid that these villagers will not see the sunrise tomorrow, the few able to stand have already resigned themselves to death, and the village head has not sent out any hunting parties in the last few days.”

“How unfortunate…to feed an entire village before sunrise…”

Turning to her kitsune acquaintance, Youmu gives her a solemn glance. 

“Sorry, I too am at a loss for what we can accomplish here.”

“Ah, you two don’t need to worry about sourcing food, since my cats have already found a nearby place where the village can gather food. In the back of the village is a frozen-over lake, but hidden deep beneath the icy layer are numerous families of fish that can be harvested.”

The nekomata's revelation that they know of a place where the villagers can gather food to survive once more sparks Youmu's suspicion. 

“And why was it that you did not tell them this? Your problems would’ve been solved if only you were caring enough to divulge such important information to them. Now, they sit, waiting to die, while all along you have been carrying their salvation in your palm.”

“I understand the words you speak. However, like the villagers, my cats and I have also reached our limit. We lack the strength or energy to break through the thick ice covering the surface of the lake. Indeed, it is just as likely that we will perish along with the humans at sunrise. Not wanting to give them false hope, I kept this information close at hand.”

Now, having understood the reason behind the nekomata's secrecy, Youmu bows her head deeply in apology.

“How ungraceful of me to make such hasty presumptions! I am deeply sorry!”

“Please! Please, lift your head! You don't need to apologize. I've come to realize that you are truly worthy of my trust. Yes, perhaps I should have been more trusting of outsiders—they could have been just like you. If there was any mistake in my leadership, it was my reluctance to rely on others. Therefore, I humbly ask, on behalf of both the humans and the cats of the village, that you break the ice.”

“Very well, I will go at once!”

Bringing her horse around to head toward the frozen lake, Youmu begins to set off. However, the kitsune’s appearance before causes her to halt. 

“Hasten yourself! You are much too naive, girl.”

“Why is it that you would say such a thing? Is this not the best thing to do?”

“If we were to give the humans of this village the means to revitalize themselves, they would continue to hunt and kill the nekomatas. Yes, you would be saving them, but at the same time, you would be damning Chen and her cats to death.”

Youmu, understanding the words of the kitsune, turned her horse about and sped off in the direction of the village. 

“I see, as Miss Yuyuko once told me, trimming the stems of a weed will do us no good. Yes, we must seize it and tear it out by its roots. Very well, in that case, I will go and speak to the village elder at once.”

After arriving at the town's center and heading toward the large building, Youmu sees tired and hungry people of all ages scattered around. 

“How horrible. Is the elder of the village present? I am Youmu Konpaku, a retainer of the Saigyouji family. I have to come to bring aid to this village and end the eternal winter.”

Having heard the commotion, the village elder, assisted by numerous men whose faces had grown pale and bony, made his way to the girl. 

“Ah, how thankful we are! Long have we prayed for a hero to come and slay the feline demons that have surrounded us. Yes, for three hundred years we have been forced to live in this tiny village, unable to return to where our ancestors came from because of this winter that never ends. It is said that we were cursed after one of our ancestors, upon discovering this village, mistakenly killed a cat that had hissed at him. Shortly after that incident, the winter that had trapped us here commenced. No doubt it is a result of their evil magic, and though we have done well to survive these last three hundred years, I fear we may not see tomorrow's light.”

“Your words garner my sympathy, elder. However, I must correct you: you see, this winter is the result of a large, pale tree that has stopped spring from arriving; therefore, the nekomata are not responsible for this winter; indeed, they too are suffering because of it. Still, alas, they have told me of where you may gather food for your people. I have come as a mediator, hoping that, once I bring you to a place where you can vitalize yourself, you will not continue to harm the village's cats.”

The village elder shakes with fury at the virtuous retainer, taken aback by the girl’s attempt to clear the nekomata’s name. 

“Preposterous words! You talk of nonsense like a great pale tree? Where? I have never heard of or seen such a thing. Nay, it does not exist, but what is certain is that right now the nekomata are using their dreadful magic to destroy our crops and make us starve, and who are you if not a nekomata in disguise!? Maybe you have come to lull us with false hope to lower our defenses before finishing us off! Your evil plans will not succeed; we will resist to the last child even, and if given the strength, we would set out immediately and skin the cats that curse us and bring an end to this winter!”

Having been moved to anger, the villagers, though weakened and most being unable to pick themselves up, push against the girl in an attempt to force her out. Though frustrated and angered, the retainer's heart wept for their plight, and thus she left them on her own accord. 

Madoka Magica Emotional Soundtrack

Yet the anger in her heart still overcame her. 

“Damn that old foolish man!”

The kitsune, taken aback by the curses that were uttered by the girl, appeared alongside her.

“Your anger is understandable, but please do not forget their ignorance is hard to overcome, for they have been forced to survive for centuries within this ruined village. That is not to say they are correct, no, not at all, for they have distilled such ignorance into bloodshed against the nekomata.”

“So what am I to do?”

“...The nekomata have sustained themselves on the energy of the invaders who trampled this village and killed its people. Alas, they did not raise their hands in anger at the humans; instead, they protected them and gave them a home in this white forest. By all rights, the nekomata are the epitome of virtue, and yet what about the humans? They do not recognize this kindness; instead, they have cursed and continued to hunt the cats who once called this village home. When we first arrived, you had come with bow and sword, ready to dispel an evil that had enraptured the village and its people, a violent yet conclusive decision, so I ask you, are these humans not the evil we come thither to expunge?”

“Aye, it is as you said. I had come to this village with a violent and brazen motive. Alas, the world is not what it appears to be. The villains I sought were nothing more than virtuous people who had allowed themselves to be hunted and killed for the sake of a people who despise them. At the same time, is the answer truly either-or? To kill the ignorant humans, thus letting the virtuous nekomata live on? How can I even imagine raising my blade to the kind and thoughtful cats? Nay, how can I imagine raising my blade against either of them?"

Now returning to whence they had come, they find the black cat collapsed at the village’s entrance. Bringing her horse to the collapsed twin-tailed girl, Youmu dismounts and crouches beside her. 

“Why is it that you lie on the ground in such a manner!?”

“Ah, it appears I no longer carry the energy to stand on my two feet, but seeing as you have arrived, I can feel just a bit of my strength returning to me. Please tell me, did the villagers understand your words?”

Slowly shaking her head, Youmu answers the black cat’s question. 

“Nay, they are stout in their false belief that you nekomata are the reason for this great winter; my words did nothing to move their hearts, and furthermore, my attempts to dissuade their delusions have led them to become wary of me. Surely, they will not accept my offer to take them to the lake where they can harvest fish. They are resolute to die and, if given the strength, kill the remaining cats in the village.”

The virtuous cat, Chen, with a saddened smile, replies to the retainer with a suggestion on what they should do.

“Then take my head and present it to them; being the leader of the nekomata, they will surely heed your words once more.”

“How could I? If I were to do such a thing, your cats, which have placed their trust in you, would perish at the hands of the humans. Would you not be betraying that trust?!” 

“You misunderstand. If it is just my head you bring, then my cats will live. As long as the humans see the sun rise come tomorrow, my cats will be there to see it as well, and though I may not stand alongside them, it is what I wish for.”

For the first time in her life, the retainer feels tears run down her cheek, for she has never seen such a virtuous person before. Yes, even in the face of death, she does not forsake those humans, though if she asked, Youmu would surely raise her sword against the arrogant humans before even thinking about turning against the nekomata. 

“Nay, I will not take your head. How could I hope to wield a blade that has cut down such a venerable woman? I will not allow such a thing to come to pass. Once more, I will ride out into the village and demand they see reason, but alas, I fear it will take only a divine will to move their hearts…”

Moving the nekomata beneath the canopy of a nearby tree and mounting her horse, the retainer turns to the villager. However, as she thinks of her words, she comes to a revelation. 

“Huh! So that is what I must do! Yes, if they will not listen to my words, then perhaps I have no choice but to cede such a task to a divine figure!”

Youmu, taking an inkstone, brush, and cloth from a bag, begins to write something down before turning to her kitsune acquaintance and confiding in the fox her plan.

“You, being a kitsune with a clever tongue, should be able to persuade the villagers to head to the lake; therefore, I will leave this village at once to prepare and then meet you there before midnight. Please take this note, as I trust you can fulfill this request.”

“Huh? Would you really trust me that much? A kitsune of all things? 

“Of course, I would trust an ally who has stood by my side through these trials I have faced. How precarious, for such an intelligent person you say the strangest things sometimes.”

The kitsune, with a disapproving shake of her head, admonishes the girl.

“Oh, how naive you are to place your hope and the lives of so many in the hands of a kitsune. It is truly the height of foolishness, but alas, since you have sworn to reward me for my service, it would do me no good to fail such a simple task. Hmm, yes, as a kitsune, I would not gain anything from that; therefore, I will follow my nature and go along with your plans, which will bring me more benefits in the future.”

Nodding her head, the retainer rides off in the direction of the river while the fox opens and reads the note left behind for her.  Now, having finished reading its contents, the fox is taken aback. 

“To think that such a girl could come up with a plan like this?! However, I have fewer doubts now. Yes, if I play my part as she hopes, both the humans and nekomata of this village, as well as the sisters from before, will survive.” 

Now knowing what she must do, the kitsune sets off.

In the village hall, the number of people who can remain standing has dwindled since the girl departed. Despite being advanced in years, the elder remained barely upright, watching as the people he led began to succumb to the beginning stages of a morbid fate. 

Now seeing the dreary faces of both the young and old, women and men, and boys and girls. The elder wearily picked himself up from his stoop. 

“I can't bear to look at this any longer. Yes, it would be a great and selfish sin if I let my role lead all of you to death. How cowardly I have become, or maybe it's because I was born in this trapped village that I've developed a craving for death, hoping it will free me from these shackles I was born into. Still, that doesn't give me the right to let you all fall with me, so I will go out immediately to meet the nekomata and offer myself as a sacrifice, hoping they will release us.”

Hearing their elders' words, the villagers protested back and forth. 

“Nay, elder! Even if the nekomata were to free us, we would not survive the journey back to where our ancestors had come from! It is unlikely that we will even survive to see this morning; therefore, we should not waste these last moments in regret, much less begging. It is said that long ago there was a season when bright, colorful flowers sprouted from the ground, now coated in a sheet of white, but those days have long passed. Thus is the journey of life, for all things must come, and all things at some point must also pass. It is not something we can deny any more than those flowers.”

Unable to rebuke the words of the villager, the elder sets himself down onto the floor once more. 

“You speak with the wisdom that has eluded me. Very well, when our ancestors arrived at this village, it is said that it was empty and filled with stray cats; thus, in the end, our time will now come to an end, and this village will return to the state our ancestors found it in.”

The village hall grew quiet as each person resigned themselves to their fate. However, a great booming voice called to them from above the rafters atop their head.

“Do not set your heads onto the cold earth in resignation, my children; your struggles, though great and long, have been acknowledged."

“Ah? Who goes there? Is this not a voice that calls out to us from the sky? If so, then I pray you declare who it is you are?!”

Calling out to the mysterious voice, the elder demands they identify themselves. The voice, having been beckoned, continued to speak to the villagers. 

“I am the god of this here forest, long have I watched over you, but unable I have been to assist you, for you see, my energy has been stolen by this eternal winter, and the spirits that have resided within the trees have slowly dwindled with every passing minute, but as I cannot bear to watch you all perish in the same manner, I now use the last of my energy to talk to you and beseech upon you a means in which you may all survive.”

Intrigued by the words of the voice, the elder inquires more from the proclaimed god. 

“If what you say is true, then pray tell how we can save ourselves!”

“Behind the villages lies a frozen lake. Head there at once, and I will summon one last miracle to save this village, but be fast, for I fear my power dwindles quickly.”

“Ah, it is just as that girl says! Then perhaps! Perhaps she did speak the truth. If that is the case, and what you say is no lie, then it must be that I have been led astray by my own arrogance. Very well, we will head there at once, even if we must crawl!”

Now, making their way to the frozen lake, the few villagers capable of moving find, at its center, surrounded by a dense fog, a girl bearing two tails, her arms crossed, her face pale yet wearing a broad, proud smile, though her legs tremble from fatigue. 

“Ah! It is the leader of the nekomata! Such trickery! We’ve been led to a trap!”

Furious at what seemed like a betrayal, the villagers picked up stones and prepared to toss them at the girl. However, despite the villagers' frantic plight, the nekomata remained unwavering. 

“You misunderstand! For you see, I am indeed the god of this forest; hardly can I stand, but I present myself before you all nonetheless.”

The voice that came out of the nekomata's mouth was indeed the same voice that had led them here, and the villagers, surprised by this, stayed their hands.  

“If that is indeed so, then why is it that you take the form of a nekomata, the same creatures that are the cause of this eternal winter, which has trapped us here!”

“Once more, you misunderstand. The cats who wander this village are also children of the forest, and thus I have charged them with protecting you all from the evil that wanders just outside these village walls. Yes, for centuries, they have held fast against the hordes of monsters lurking in this forest. Take a look around.” 

The nekomata, with a wave of her hand, clears the fog around her, revealing the remnants of a battle with both cats tired and exhausted, surrounded by numerous lance-wielding dolls scattered all around. 

“W-what is this?!”

“It is, as you see, a battle.” 

“A battle? Between the nekomatas and the monsters of the forest!? For what reason would these two beasts fight!?”

“It is as I said, the nekomata charged with defending the people of this village fought to ensure that you may arrive at this lake and feed your people; thus, with your arrival, their efforts will not have been in vain.”

“So it is as you say! These creatures have been protecting us for so long, and yet we only hurled insults and violence after settling in their homes! How could we ever hope to repay their kindness!?”

The nekomata slowly shakes her head. 

“You need not repay them; instead, take from this lake and feed your people. Through that act alone will these weary cats be able to lift their heads once more." 

"But how!? We do not have the energy to break through this ice to reach the fish below.”

“Fret not, for I will muster one last miracle using the remains of my power; I will call upon the heavens to send this ice asunder with a bellowing roar.”

Now raising her hand to the heavens, the nekomata summons a choir whose songs fall toward the earth like rain, showering them with angelic harmony. With one final flick of her wrist, the powerful horn of a trumpet shatters the ice, revealing a surface of blue water teeming with schools of fish beneath.

“Ah, it is as you say; you really are a god!

“I did not lie once; however, having used the remains of my power, I must go, and no longer will I be able to watch over you, but I trust that these cats will not falter in their mission.”

A great foggy wind sweeps across the now unfrozen lake, taking it with the nekomata and the battle that had once marked the shores of the lake. 

The villagers run to the shore, prepared to harvest the food now given to them. 

 “Come, everyone, we must make haste and prepare a great feast for our people!”

From the tree line, a white-haired girl watches in approval, her kitsune ally suddenly appearing by her side.

“To think that a girl like yourself would resort to deception—perhaps you have spent too much time with a kitsune.”

“Perhaps it is as you say, but even lies can serve a great purpose. Yes, even the cunning tongue of a kitsune can save lives.”

The kitsune’s cheeks turn a cherry red from the girl’s words.

“I suppose you may be correct this time around; however, do you not feel that you’ve done yourself a great disservice by having to resort to such trickery? What would your mistress say?”

Not needing a moment to think about what Miss Yuyuko would do, Youmu immediately replies to the kitsune’s question.

“Shower me with praise, of course!”

“Ah, I guess I shouldn’t have expected any other answer.”

Regarding her companion with a raised eyebrow, Youmu, accompanied by the kitsune, set off towards the pale tree, but just as they reached the outskirts of the village, they were joined by guests. 

“To think you would depart without even a goodbye, how are we supposed to show our gratitude if you make yourself so scarce? It’s been so long since my sisters and I performed for an audience! I feel like I could live on forever just from that alone; we have only you to thank for it!”

“Likewise, I owe you a great debt, for now my cats and humans will live together peacefully, and we will no longer have to isolate ourselves or siphon energy.”

“Hmph, I have only managed to dirty my precious dolls, but I suppose we are even now.”

The sisters, the nekomata, and the witch have come to see her off. Youmu, thankful for their appearance, dismounted from her horse and shook each of their hands, causing them to redden in the cheeks. 

“Thank you all! It is only because of the trials you’ve made me face and the knowledge I've gained from them that I've made it this far. Forthwith, I shall head out immediately to the tree and bring an end to this winter.”

Waving goodbye to the group, Youmu sets off, her journey taking her through the night with the kitsune guiding her to her destination. 

Having stopped to rest at the base of a mountain, the girl does not close her eyes; instead, they remain fixed on the sky above. 

Beneath the starry canopy, the retainer marvels at the heavenly spectacle above. Like drifting snow, white stars cover the black canvas above, and in the center of this otherworldly kaleidoscope is a white crescent moon. 

The kitsune, noticing that the girl was awake, turned on her futon to face her. 

“Pray tell, why is it that you remain awake during this vexing hour? Soon we will be upon the pale tree, so you should rest now and regain your strength.”

Understanding the words of the kitsune to be sound, the girl can merely respond with a frown.

“You are right, but how wasteful it would be to turn away from such a sight… How silly it is to have only realized this now.”

The kitsune, confused by what she meant, turns to face where the girl was looking.

“And what is that you now realize?”

For a moment, the girl remained silent, but alas, she answered her companion's question.

“Just how beautiful the moon is.”

The girl, speaking earnestly, gave a small smile, and the kitsune frowned at her response.

“Such a foolish revelation, for the moon has been there all along and will remain there long after we are gone. I am afraid it is much too late to realize such a thing.”

“Oh, so you agree?”

The kitsune, stumped and flustered by the girl’s words, scratched her bright cheeks.

“Of course, I agree; I just wish to know why such an obvious thing would so suddenly preoccupy your mind.”

“Hm… Perhaps because this is the first time I have rested my head beneath the stars… Yes, that is it. I was fortunate enough to have lived with a roof above my head and an assurance that there will be a tomorrow.”

“...Maybe it would do us good to have a girl like you around… Someone who still knows the joys of life… Yes, someone like you still remembers what has long been lost in this world.”

The kitsune says, yet her words are teeming with contempt, and with that, the kitsune and the girl rested at the end of this long day. 

At the first rays of the morning sun, after traveling a great distance and arriving at the wall of a great hedge, the kitsune stopped and turned towards the girl. 

“I must ask once more, do you believe yourself truly capable of subduing the pale tree? Though the trials you faced to this point were difficult indeed, they are naught but trivial compared to that which you will face.”

Now, having traveled far to reach this point, Youmu asked her companion why she would ask such a foolish question. 

“Why is it that you ask such a thing now? We have come so far; turning back out of fear would be the greatest act of cowardice that one could disgrace themselves with. If I am to be overwhelmed and defeated, so be it; it would be easier to perish having done all I can than to return empty-handed to my mistress.”

“If that is what you believe, so be it. Come along, the trunk of the pale tree is just beyond this hedge.”

Now going through the hedge, the retainer expected to come across the villain at the trunk of the tree, but as they rode into a large clearing, they found neither tree nor villain; instead, in its center was a white-haired woman wearing a white and blue dress, and on her head was a white cap.

“What is this? Have we gotten lost?”

“Nay, you have come exactly to your destination, or rather the destination that kitsune had in mind.”

The kitsune who was once at Youmu’s side now appears alongside the mysterious white woman. 

“I am Letty Whiterock, a yuki-onna of this forest.”

Confused as to why this woman stands before her and why she was led here, Youmu asks the woman to continue. 

“Pray tell, why is it that I face you and not the villain at the pale tree? Why would the kitsune lead me hither?”

“Are you not already aware? Oh my, how naive you must be, but I take pity, as you still carry the innocent mind of a child, for you see, you’ve been led astray by the kitsune.”

With a solemn shake of her head, the yuki-onna, Letty Whiterock, tells the girl that she had been deceived. The girl, being pure of heart, however, is incapable of comprehending such a possibility. 

“Surely you jest! For the kitsune is my comrade!” 

“Nay, I would not dare lie to a child such as yourself. I have charged this kitsune to lead any who carry aspirations to end this eternal winter to me, where such aspirations wane before the might of an icy cyclone. For you see, I am also the guardian of the fairy that protects the pale tree, which is responsible for this eternal winter. Thus, as her guardian, I bear the responsibility of not allowing anyone to bring her harm.”

Her heart nearly shattered, the retainer asks the kitsune to explain herself. 

“Is it true? Did you lead me with the intent to betray my trust? Did our hardships and time together mean nothing to you? Speak now! Even if you lie and say it is not as she says, I will believe you, and we will continue on our way! So I pray to you to please declare what the truth really is!”

The kitsune, with a troubled expression fraught with self-contempt, replied to the girl.

“It is indeed as the yuki-onna says. Yes, though our time together was unexpectedly longer than I would have liked, this conclusion was inevitable nonetheless. If you were born a less naive girl, you would have never placed such immense faith in a lowly kitsune.”

“But even so, to think that you would even turn your back on a promised reward—is this not a contradiction of your nature as a kitsune? For what do you have to gain by siding with this woman?!”

“I will live. You yourself have seen how the people of this world struggle to survive. Yes, Miss Whiterock, being a goddess of winter, carrying bountiful power from this endless blizzard, offers to me her energy in exchange for my wicked tongue; it is the only way a weak and wily creature such as myself could hope to survive in this forest. 

Her ears slightly drooped down, and she could hardly face the girl for some reason. 

“Listen, girl, you would do well to heed my warning. I have accompanied you through this journey, and I know you are hardly capable… Nay, you are incapable of defeating Miss Whiterock, and if you cannot defeat her, then you will stand no chance against the fairy who protects the pale tree.”

“You know nothing, though I have sought solace in your wisdom many times during our journey together. I cannot deny the foolishness in the words you now speak! Indeed, though you may believe what you say to be true, what you know and what is possible are not the same! If you believe me incapable of defeating the fairy that guards the tree, then my only response is to prove your delusions to be false!”

“I’m sorry, there is nothing that can be done now. Many times I have led brave adventurers astray to this clearing, but for some reason, my heart quivers this time. Why is that? Is it because, of all of them, you were special, perhaps…? Nay! That cannot be, for it is in my nature to trick such virtuous people, so for what reason would the heart of a wicked kitsune tremble at such a thing!?”

Her face fraught with growing conflict, the kitsune, having felt an ache in their heart that stems from their treachery, flees into the forest. 

Turning to the yuki-onna, Youmu's hands gripped her reins with tremendous fury.

“Do not waste your anger on the treachery of a kitsune, for they are naturally disposed to such mischief.”

“Nay! You are wrong! I have traveled long enough to see the harm brought about by this pale tree. I have seen people struggling to survive, doing everything they can just to see tomorrow! You say her treachery is a part of her nature as a kitsune, I say you are wrong! It is you who is at fault! You prolong this winter that starves the land, and you force others to do as you ask so that they may survive! Yes, you have fooled that girl into thinking that she must do such wicked acts to survive, and for that I will never forgive you!”

Youmu, bringing her horse to a gallop, charges at the yuki-onna, and her left hand, wielding her longbow, unleashes a flurry of silver-tipped arrows at the white lady. Several arrows are shot, and with a simple toss of her short white hair, Letty Whiterock sends them away with a powerful icy breeze. 

“Let us be done with this, for it is only a matter of time before another adventurer harboring similar foolish ambition arrives.”

The yuki-onna summons a whipping white blizzard teeming with a wind mighty enough to rip trees with their roots from the earth. 

“Out of mercy, I will make this endeavor a short one. When you awake from this thrashing, return homeward, child.”

The yuki-onna brings a violent, freezing blizzard upon the young girl, sending her spiraling into the air, helpless. The girl is flung hither and thither, crashing into numerous tree trunks, her mind fading and her fingers growing numb. 

Soon, the cold will take her into a deep sleep, and her fading thoughts are of the kitsune's conflicted expression and the tears of her august mistress. 

Slowly succumbing to the icy air of defeat, her eyes begin to close, her journey now coming to a close. 

“What is this!?”

These are the words that come out of the yuki-onna’s mouth. Why would she, who was on the verge of victory, utter these words of exclamation? Youmu, hearing the yuki-onna's shock, opened hers and found that her body was warm and shielded from the howling and freezing winds that enraptured her. 

“Ah! The charm!”

Tied around the sheath of the longsword, Roukanken, by the princess of the netherworld, was the stem and head of a flower that never wilts, even when faced with the might of the harshest winter. The charm bestowed on her mistress glows with a radiant warmth, melting the snow and wind that fill this clearing, revealing green grass. The girl, having landed before the powerless and stunned yuki-onna, inspects her sheath. 

“How shortsighted of me not to notice! How beautiful your colors are, even in this cold and bitter world. Had it not been for this charm given to me by my mistress, I would have surely been defeated.”

Now, upon hearing the words of the girl, the yuki-onna collapses onto her knees.

“A charm given to you by your mistress, you say? If that is indeed true, then how hypocritical I have become! To think I, in defense of a girl I see as my child, would harm another’s child—how could I ever be forgiven for such a selfish act?!  How shameful I have grown to become!”

The yuki-onna weeps in sorrow at the revelation that she is forced to face.

Youmu, confused by the woman’s words, asks her to explain herself.

“A girl you see as your child?”

“Yes, the girl who lies beneath the pale tree is a child I have raised for many years. But alas, as someone capable of existing only during the winter months, the time I was able to spend with her was short. Three hundred years ago, when the eternal winter began, my child happened across a lady trapped within the pale tree at its center and vowed to protect her so I could continue to exist year-round. Now, as a guardian, it is my duty to repay my child’s kindness. Thus, I have turned away many weary travelers from reaching the tree and ending this winter, but I have become ignorant of how many mothers around the world have suffered for my sake.”

Youmu, taken aback by the yuki-onna's honest words, feels sympathy overtake the anger she had felt a moment earlier.

“Please lift your head. Can't you see? Even though your time with her was brief, the girl still found those fleeting moments valuable enough to change the world itself just to keep you by her side. You need not do anything else, for you have already done enough.”

Placing her hand atop the yuki-onna’s, the retainer softly asks her to hold her tears. 

“Oh, how pathetic of me to try to harm a kind girl like yourself! I have already shamed myself greatly today. Continue on this path behind me, and you will come to the pale tree and that girl, but be careful, for that child is the embodiment of the cold itself. All I ask is that you treat her kindly.”

“I understand. As a child who also seeks to bring a smile to someone I care deeply about, I understand that girl’s plight. I will do my best to convince her.”

The girl, leaving the Yuki-onna, Letty White, behind her, travels onward to the end of her journey. 

Through the hedges and down the crooked, narrow path, the dead branches overhead protrude outward like a disfigured ribcage, entrapping the girl. Having crossed into the very heart of the forest, no matter where she goes, all paths will lead to the pale tree at its center.

For fifteen minutes, she trekked alone along this narrow passage, with the path flanked by disfigured, tightly packed trees; hardly could she see beyond them, and after another five minutes, the path grew narrower and narrower until she was forced to cover her eyes from the branches scraping against her helmet. 

Reopening her eyes, she finds two things.

Nay, it is closer to four.

An ice fairy collapsed at the roots of a very large, pale tree whose branches tower over the mountains. Within the bark of the tree was a figure, a lady who looked as though its trunk had swallowed her, and lastly another woman, with long blonde hair, wearing a purple dress, sat atop a torn piece of the sky where many bloodshot eyes festered and lurked; in her hand she held a parasol and a thin, cruel smile as she gazed at the woman in the tree.

“Huh? What is going on here?!”

Youmu, startled by the scene in front of her, stopped her horse and looked up at the floating lady with an expression like a landed fish. 

The purple woman, having noticed the arrival of Youmu, glanced over her shoulder to the newly arrived guest.

“What is this? Another troublemaker? I pray, do tell, who might you be?”

Intimidated by the aura that emanated from the woman, Youmu kept her reply short.

“I am Youmu Konpaku… I need not tell you any more than just my name; just from sight alone, I know you to be evil indeed, for what reason would you thrash a girl so mercilessly?”

“How rude of you, child, to not even properly introduce yourself and move to interrogate me? Very well, as an adult, I should set an example for the rowdy and rude youth. I am Lady Purple, the overseer of this world you rest your head on. As for the matter pertaining to the ice fairy, it was simple; she was pestering something that belonged to me, and she was annoying, and for what reason would a young girl such as yourself find herself here?”

Now, having determined the woman before her to be an enemy indeed, Youmu resolved herself for a battle. Up until this point, the people she had met were those dealing with their own struggles, yet they were still amicable. That is unlike the situation here. This woman carries a different presence. Youmu can already tell: this woman inherently does not respect her as a person.

“I’ll keep it short. I have come to cut down this wicked tree, and if you stand in my way, I will send you to the Sanzu with your head atop your lap!”

Lady Purple's brow furrowed at the girl's words, and her lips curled into an expression of dismay.

“Cut down this tree? And what right do you have to do such a thing? None whatsoever.”

Gripping her bow and nocking an arrow along its string, Youmu glared at Lady Purple. 

“The promise to my mistress and the suffering of the people are the only justification I need to tear out this evil overgrown weed.”

Her eye twitched at the girl's words, and the sky rippled with the frantic quiver of an anger-induced wind. Sparks of purple magic broke into a wild dance above, and with a wave of her gloved hand, the sky was punctured by numerous gaps filled with nothing but dreadful and vacant bloodshot irises.

“Fine then, whelp! Come as you are! You’ll sooner awake in hell before I allow your snot-covered fingers to touch what is mine!”

An unleashed purple rain of piercing light fell upon the girl, and having noticed her deadly intent, she moved her horse to and fro to avoid the impact of numerous falling stars, at the same time unleashing a flurry of arrows at the wicked purple woman. 

A horrible collision sends pieces of the ground into the skies, where they brush the clouds above. The impact of the purple light shakes both heaven and earth violently, yet the girl remains mounted, unleashing arrow after arrow. Still, despite her unrelenting assault, Lady Purple mercilessly casts Youmu’s efforts aside by creating a tear that swallowed all ten arrows that were unleashed against her.

The ground crumbled beneath the hooves of her mount, the sky turned a dark purple, and the few rays from the sun that pierced the cloud became bright white. The falling white petals blend with the storm of deadly light the woman sends to sweep her asunder!

Noticing the overwhelming strike about to be unleashed, Youmu brought her leg over the saddle in preparation to jump from her horse.

“It is too dangerous for you to stay. Go now!”

Dismounting from her steed, she demands the horse cede the field as she takes the woman on foot, letting loose four arrows at once.

With a scoff, the woman creates a wide gap in front of her and swallows the flung arrows. She immediately prepares to berate the girl for such a foolish act. She sends away the gap, but as she does, she comes face-to-face with the silver-tip point of another arrow. 

Youmu, having fired four arrows in such a wide arc, knew that the woman would meet her challenge and summon a gap large enough to take in all four; however, such a gap would obscure her view, and thus, knowing that Lady Purple would have to set down the gap before her, she sent out a fifth arrow. 

By the time the woman had noticed this, it was too late to set up another gap; the arrow would strike her right in her forehead in the next moment. 

SNAP!

However, the shaft is instead received by the flesh of a palm; a white hand has grabbed the arrow mid-flight, its tip mere centimeters away from Lady Purple’s forehead, and with a slight clench of their grip, the black lacquered shaft, measuring fifteen handbreadths and three fingers in length, was easily snapped in two.

There, floating alongside the purple woman, stood a mighty beast youkai, her golden divine tails numbering nine, her yellow irises silent and unwavering. A youkai so powerful that it needs not utter its name to instill terror. Or rather, its presence alone and the strength that radiates off its golden form are enough to recognize its beastly might.

“That was much too dangerous, Lady… Purple.”

Scolding the purple woman, the nine-tailed fox slowly descended. 

Lady Purple, summoning a fan to cool herself, responded to the beast youkai with a small smile 

“Do not fret; with a shikigami such as yourself in my service, what is there to fear? Now, let us be done with these flea…”

Lady Purple, holding the fan in her hand, flicked it and pointed it at Youmu.

“Together now, Ran! Let’s put this rude child to bed!”

The nine-tailed fox glanced over towards the girl at her master's command and slowly pulled her hands out from within her large sleeves. 

“Youmu Konpaku, was it not? You have done well to draw me out, but it will ultimately be your own undoing. Now you face Ran Yakumo, Shikigami of Lady Purple, and the legendary nine-tailed fox of myth.”

Upon finishing her introduction, the golden fox appeared before Youmu and, with one blow, sent the girl's bow and left shoulder pauldron of her armour asunder, sending her flying into the air!

Youmu, having received such a mighty blow, feels air being forced out of her lungs as she lands on her back some few meters away and rolls across the earth. However, bearing such tenacious will, she rights herself into a crouch position, her soles still digging into the ground as she slides, and with a slight of her hand, draws her shortsword, Hakurouken, to parry the claws of the kitsune who had chased her down to finish her off!

Sent away to the sky are the bright and glowing sparks of the clash and the outstretched hand of the shikigami from the blow it received from the short sword. Youmu glares at the nine-tailed fox and, with such beautiful and swift deftness that the air stood still, brought her sword about to cut into the shikigami’s naked neck. 

The nine-tailed fox, having made a grave mistake by underestimating Youmu’s steely determination, finds herself caught in the maws of a deadly counterstroke, with her exposed neck openly inviting the return stroke of Youmu’s short sword.

However, just as Youmu was about to step in to make the strike, the soles of her feet touched nothing but empty space, and a moment later, the sight of the tree in front of her was replaced with the stare of a thousand bloodshot eyes.

“Huh!?”

Lady Purple, acting alongside her shikigami, tore open a gap beneath Youmu, swallowing the girl into the black abyss that lay within. 

An unending labyrinth unfolds before her very eyes as she falls into a bottomless well of darkness. Though she swings her legs and arms about her body, it will not right itself. 

The end of this journey encroaches on her from every direction, yet the girl still does not give in to it. Many times before has she faced certain defeat, and not once has this certainty come to pass, even when her mind resigned itself to such a fate. 

Her hands reached out for something, and nothing reached back; her legs swung, and yet they did not touch solid ground. 

The situation she finds herself in is…

英霊

“Perfect!”

No one was around to hear her declaration of certain victory, yet she spoke it aloud nonetheless.

“I will not falter in the face of this darkness. I have grown much since I set out. Yes, these doubts…”

Her hand reached for something at her side.

“I will cut these doubts asunder!”

The ancestral blade, folded by demonic hands and righteously wielded in the service of her master, unfurls itself, emitting a light along its polished steel length that cuts away the darkness around her.

“For the things that cannot be cut by Roukanken, forged by youkai, are close to none!”

Youmu twisted her body about and, at the same time, drew and slashed the space before her with the mythical weapon! Her strike was as steady as the horizon skyline, her speed swift enough to catch lightning, and her blade’s edge sharp enough to cut this false dimension into reality!

The girl burst out into the clearing, where the pale tree lay, her blade glowing bright red from the speed with which it was wielded, the cold air turning to steam upon touching it, and yet, despite this sudden reversal.

“Huh!?”

Lady Purple had already opened many gaps in preparation for the girl’s escape, her hands weaving a deadly thread around Youmu as more and more gaps tore open the sky, and with one flick of her wrist, she would unleash the might within each one upon her. 

“Typical, you must think yourself clever, foolish child!”

Having landed and taking in the horrifying sight of the trap set before her, Youmu raised her sword to her shoulder, ready to block as many of the woman’s attacks as possible. Still, she knows that she will be likely be overwhelmed by the countless gaps now aimed at her. Despite recognizing this inevitable outcome, Youmu goads the woman into striking. 

“You’re an adult, so act with more haste! Earlier, you said you would impart a lesson upon this rude child! Now I ask, what lesson do you seek to instill in me? How to be a feckless woman!?”

“You whelp, prepare yourself—”

Having already been prepared to send the world crashing down on the girl, Lady Purple, now enraged by Youmu’s provocation, immediately moved to fire her gaps, but in that very moment, her arms were seized and spread apart by numerous wires!

“What is this!?”

The wires dug deep into the woman’s forearm, not allowing her to move. 

“It can’t be!”

Youmu, having recognized the wires binding the woman, turns over her shoulder, and there, standing in front of the tall hedge, is a blonde, doll-like girl, her expression bored, as if handling a tedious chore.

“You’re the Witch from Makai! Alice!”

“Aye, while we did break even and I do not owe you any favors, I would much rather have someone in my debt than not.”

Youmu, ignoring the arrogance in the girl's words, gave her a broad, shining smile. 

“Thank you, Alice!”

Alice looked away dismissively, but her cherry-red cheeks on her pale face betrayed her gesture. 

“Do not smile at me so absentmindedly! That tree has yet to be cut down, now go!”

With a groggy and annoyed expression, the witch demanded that the retainer put an end to this cursed winter, as she sent out a wave of dolls to attack the shikigami.

“You’re right, for the sake of my mistress—nay, for the sake of everyone, I will bring down this wicked tree!”

Picking herself up off the ground, Youmu dashed into the air, sword at her side. Despite being bound by multiple wires, the Purple Woman still launched numerous silver carts at Youmu as she flew.

Youmu flipped over one and twisted in the air to dodge another, her reflection facing her from its silver body and glass windows, and, with a single stroke, cut another down the middle!

“Huh!? What sort of contraption is this!?”

Being distracted by the sight of such strange machinery, Youmu was too late to notice the gap opening before her and the lights of an incoming metal carriage racing toward her. 

“Huh!?”

But as the lights grew bright, an icy sloped wall formed before her, and the carriage was sent just over the top of her helmet, grazing the ghostly tail ornament on top. 

"This is the magic of the Yuki-onna!"

Indeed, Letty Whiterock, standing at the base of the tree holding the ice fairy in her arms, was responsible for the ramp that had diverted the strike, which surely would have struck true. 

Invigorated by her arrival, Youmu moved with more swiftness, jumping from carriage to carriage, slowly getting closer to the purple woman and the body that was enshrined within this evil tree.

Now, Ran, having been pestered and held up by the numerous dolls of the Makai Witch, had only just noticed the sudden arrival of the Yuki-onna, who now stands deflecting her master's strikes against the swordswoman. 

Sensing her master's struggle against multiple foes, Ran swiftly destroys the dolls swarming around her with a single powerful swipe of her claws!

Alas, though wishing to aid her august master, the nine-tailed fox’s attention was stolen from them by the bone-shaking roar of an ensemble of mighty trumpets.

BA BUMMMMMM!

From the treeline, an army of stray cats lined up in formation at the mouth of the clearing before the nine-tailed fox, and right in the middle of the pack of strays stood their commander, the black cat, Chen, her arms crossed as she stared down the legendary beast.

“Though it is bad manners not to show respect to one’s elder, I cannot allow you to hinder that virtuous girl. Thus, I will give you a thorough battering, nine-tails!”

“What an impudent child! You dare think you, a mere nekomata hardly bearing two tails, are capable of taking on a legendary kitsune such as myself?!”

“Aye! Prepare yourself, Ran, Shikigami of Lady Purple! Let us see which will fall first, your nine tails or my nine lives!”

“Well spoken, child! Come as you are!”

BA BUMMMMMM!

The horn bellows out once more, the sound waves smashing into the fox once more, but what seizes the fox’s soul is instead the furious cry the nekomata unleashes as she charges her troops.

“EI! EI! OH!”

With a deafening shout, the cats lunged at the nine-tails, which was still being attacked by the horns of the Phantom Troupe. The black cat, dodging a strike from Ran with the agility only a cat could muster, seized the shikigami’s arms and began to grapple with the legendary nine-tails!

Moreover, her free arm had begun to be encased in a growing hunk of ice as the Yuki-onna turned her attention towards the shikigami. Yet, despite facing so many enemies, the nine-tails remained vigilant.

Elsewhere on the outskirts, a lone kitsune is approached by a galloping horse that stops before it, neighing endlessly. 

“What is this!? You're the steed of that girl?! From where did you come from?”

The horse pointed its snout towards the great tree, and the kitsune stood surprised by the horse’s gesture.

“You mean that girl reached the tree!? But if you are here without her atop your mount and in such an anxious fashion, then that must mean she’s in danger!”

The kitsune's ears drooped downward, her thoughts conflicting with her history.

“Though my nature should tell me to run the opposite direction from such certain dangers, I have felt hollow since I departed her side. Yes, that wicked natural instinct I believed existed has extinguished, and I feel naught but ash in its place…”

The kitsune’s thoughts are interrupted by the horse grazing on her hair, which neighs anxiously.

“You really think I ought to go!?”

Nodding its head in reassurance, the horse prances around the kitsune, who wonders whether she should seek the girl. Her worries are justified, even if her sly nature as a kitsune has faded since she betrayed the girl; anyone would avoid such a dangerous place. 

“V-very well! Take me to her!”

Mounting the horse, the kitsune is led deep into the forest, where she comes to the giant hedges just before the pale tree.

Taiga Theme

Jumping off the horse into a sprint and crawling into the thickets, the kitsune watches the unfolding battle, where her eyes are caught by something that immediately seizes her attention. 

Fighting with great abandon, a kitsune, no different from herself, wards off multiple enemies, her right arm encased in ice, while her left arm wrestles with a black cat, and all around her is surrounded by dolls, ice, and the overwhelming ensemble of the Phantom Troupe’s song. 

“A kitsune with nine tails?! And more than that, she faces numerous enemies! Though indeed wielding mighty strength, she is hopelessly outnumbered, so why does she not retreat!?”

The kitsune watched in stunned silence as the nine-tailed fox desperately fought to break free, her yellow eyes flicking over to her master, still bound in wire. Seeing this, the kitsune hidden in the brush fell to her knees.

“She stands and fights for her master?! A mere kitsune?! To think there are such virtuous foxes as her in this world! But what does that mean for me—I've long acted in such a despicable manner, telling myself it's simply in my nature! Oh, how it wounded me to betray that girl! Then is that not a sign!? Maybe... Yes, maybe that girl was right!”

Stepping out into the clearing, the fox gazed up at the girl, who was still struggling to reach Lady Purple, jumping hither and thither atop a wave of steel-skinned beasts. 

Sensing her allies' struggle against the nine-tailed fox, Youmu hastens her movement even faster, her leaps becoming quicker and quicker, going further and further, until she had become a mere blur that danced alongside the falling white blossoms. 

A train comes from her left side, and with a flip, she lands atop its metal hide, running along its length upward. Another train appears from her right side, and she slides as it passes overhead! Stopping her slide, she spins to her feet and cuts down the train coming from behind! Another screams toward her, and with a jumping kick, she shatters the front window, enters inside, and runs through it before jumping out the rear window. She appears with her once-broken longbow, now mended by the witch's wires, in her left hand, with three lacquered arrows already nocked on its string. She fires all three at Lady Purple, still struggling against the wires!

Summoning a gap in front of her to swallow the arrow, Lady Purple gathers all her strength to tear through the wires just as Youmu had sliced the enormous gap with her sword. Youmu had come close, but she was still too far to slash the woman, and worse, Lady Purple's many open gaps that were created earlier, just before her arms were seized, remained present. With a flick of her fan, she will unleash a point-blank barrage of deadly light at the girl. 

“Turn to dust—AGH!”

Just before her declaration, at the very apex of her victory, the administrator of this land, Lady Purple, is abruptly grappled in mid-air by a mere kitsune! The fox pushes the woman’s cap down onto her head, covering her eyes and blocking her view of Youmu!

Youmu’s eyes widened and sparkled at the sight of her companion. 

“It’s you!”

“N-never mind such greetings! Fulfill the promise you made, Youmu!”

With merely a nod, Youmu passed alongside them as the kitsune struggled to restrain the woman.

“A mere kitsune places their filthy paws on me?! How dare you! Who do you think you are!?”

“A kitsune, of course; however, this predicament is your fault, for it was the nine-tails that gave this kitsune the courage to become so bold. Now watch as a righteous girl brings an end to these three hundred years of suffering!”

“I—I can’t let that happen. Long have I waited for her to return to me; I won’t let you touch her!”

Youmu brings the sword down and to her side, preparing for a rising slash, and the woman, still restrained, reaches out for the girl enshrined, and the girl within the tree responds to her plea.

“What!?”

Youmu, having prepared her strike to cut down the tree, is pushed back by a mighty and icy gust that is littered with a million white flowers that strike her armour.

“The woman inside the tree is resisting?!”

The wind becomes so fierce that it threatens to blow her away, and the resistance to the cold winds from the flower tied to her sheath begins to weaken as the freezing cold starts to seep into her skin. Still, the girl keeps struggling forward, slowly but surely getting closer. 

Then suddenly, the wind ceased, and the white flowers all around froze. 

A moment like eternity passes, and suddenly the million flowers that surround the girl transform, giving up their petals in place of wings. 

Lady Purple, upon seeing this, hesitated for a moment before calling out to the girl with a cry.

“Those butterflies! Don’t touch them!”

Lady Purple, recognizing what now surrounds the girl, screams a warning; alas, it is much too late; the girl has been cornered on all sides. 

A million monarchs carrying the poison of death fall upon her. It is the only defense the tree has, its only action of self-preservation—those white petals that take life. Death has arrived, and her blade will do her no good. 

Even so, she prepares her attack even as death approaches; her reason for this is not suicidal. Youmu does not think of herself but instead recalls the kind words of Miss Yuyuko. 

“I will never die!”

The girl proclaimed in defiance of the fate that has been given to her, Youmu denies the possibility that death will sweep her away. 

“As long as Lady Yuyuko is by my side, death will not so much as look my way!”

And death responds to her shouts; the two talismans wrapped around her sheath burn, and with their ashes, they summon a swarm of a million pale blue butterflies that crash against the white butterflies racing toward her!

Having witnessed this sight, Lady Purple remained motionless as she beheld the pale-blue monarchs, and the kitsune that had held her at bay cried out for the girl to end this eternal winter.

“GO FOR IT, YOUMU!”

Twisting to her right, the wind from her turn swept alongside the white butterflies. Her sword came around from overhead, and with one last turn, the legendary blade of the Konpaku family slashed the tree down from its branches to its roots!

The girl within its bark disappeared as the tree crashed to the ground, its massive trunk fading into smoke, leaving only the stump, and the sun, once hidden by the gray clouds and the tree’s canopy, shone into the clearing as the countless petals that covered the world in a blanket of white burned away, revealing the colors of spring beneath.

掴み取った愛

A world of warm green stands beneath their feet. The once-chilly air has turned to a warm breeze, and the sun has been freed from the gray sea that once hung above their heads. Youmu, having slain the tree, landed softly atop the earth next to the kitsune and Lady Purple. 

Having never once seen such a sight before, the girl was mesmerized by the beauty of a blue sky teeming with ghostly white wisps of clouds. Though being of high renown, her mouth hung open in awe at such a sight. 

But, despite her wonder, a frown encroached upon her face.

Turning to her kitsune ally, she asked her a question, but this time the girl's eyes were solemn, as though saddened.

“Such beautiful blue skies—was the world really robbed of such a thing? But having done my part, and having completed my mission, I feel not a single shred of joy, though I stared amazed at what was taken from us. Why is that?”

The kitsune, understanding the girl's sorrow, answered her immediately. 

“Many times throughout our journey, we faced foes for whom we felt sympathy. Yes, evil is a fickle thing, for how easily we can cast such a title upon someone to cut them down without remorse, but you understand that where there is evil, there can be good, for that is your strength, and it was that same strength that saved a wicked girl like me.” 

“Then you mean to say it was wrong to cut down the tree?”

“Nay, it was the right thing to do, for too many people have suffered because of its curse, but in our haste to cut it down, we failed to understand it; we failed to learn from it as we did our foes before, who now stand alongside you as allies.”

As she looked around her at the Witch mending her broken dolls, the Phantoms worn and weary, the Yuki-onna holding in her arms the unconscious ice-fairy, and the Nekomata held by her scruff by the nine-tailed fox, Youmu understood the kitsune's words. 

The girl who had cut down this tree pressed her hands together and began to pray for it.

“Perhaps in another life, you may bloom beautiful, warm flowers, and on that day we will dance with joy beneath your colorful canopy.”

Moved by the sight of the butterflies and the girl's compassion, Lady Purple noticed the crest on the handle of her short sword.

“Ah! The crest of the Konpaku!? But how!?”

Youmu, surprised by the recognition of her family's crest, turned to Lady Purple. 

“Do you know about my family?”

“Of course, the Konpaku disappeared three hundred years ago from the earth, but I know them indeed, for they are the loyal retainers of the girl who was enshrined within that very tree!”

The girl, realizing who was within the bark of the tree, stood in shock, eyes widening.

“Then that means! That lady in the tree is no other than—!”

“Yes, that lady was none other than my close friend and the woman your clan served, Yuyuko Saigyouji, or rather, her remains that were taken within the tree when she took her life beneath its canopy.”

Now, having heard that the tree she had cut down was none other than her mistress, Youmu’s hand shook with regret and sadness.

Lady Purple, sensing the girl’s regret, dissuaded them with her words.

“Do not shake with regret, young one, you have done the right thing, for despite my selfish wish to keep her, I know that her heart would have wept had she known of the pain the tree brought upon this world.”

Taking the woman’s words to heart, Youmu realized something that she mentioned a moment ago.

“H-huh? You said you were her close friend. Were you close to Miss Yuyuko?”

“Yes, Yuyuko was my closest friend, but how great her burden was, for she was cursed to kill all those around her. However, being such a kind and virtuous woman, she could not allow herself to bring harm to others, and thus, despite my pleas, she took her own life to spare them. No more would her curse touch the people close to her, but I, having lost such a close friend, retreated into isolation. For three hundred years I slept with tear-covered lashes, resigning myself to death, until yesterday, when I awoke and sensed her presence once more in this world.”

“And it brought you to this tree?”

“Indeed.”

The woman’s sadness is not wrong, nor were her reasons for trying to defend the tree, for they were no different than Youmu’s own. Together, all along, they wanted to protect someone precious to them.

“Miss Yuyuko is not gone; she is still here! It was because of her that I am here… Yes, all that I am is made up of what she has given to me.”

Lady Purple looks up at Youmu, who is now crouched before her.

“My life, my pride, my strength, the words I speak...”

Youmu turns to the kitsune.

“The friends I make, I owe it all to Miss Yuyuko… Thus, I will ease your troubles, as she did mine many times before. Because the kindness within her heart deserves to be spread.”

The woman slowly shook her head. 

“Silly child, that kindness was always in your heart, still… I cannot deny her kindness… So Yuyuko is still here, but if that is true, then it is likely she would have no recollection of me.”

The woman lowered her head in sadness. Many years have passed since they last saw one another, and it is unlikely that the Yuyuko that exists now will be the same as the one she knew. Yes, though she may bear the same name, it will not be the same woman she knew.

These thoughts are reflected on the woman’s face, and seeing them, Youmu’s fist clenches tightly.

“It doesn’t matter! Whether or not she remembers you means nothing! If the feelings you felt for her were real, then losing a few years, even decades, is nothing when compared to the future you will make together!”

Understanding the girl’s compassion and knowing her own hesitation to be merely an act of cowardice, Lady Purple picked herself off the ground. 

“It is as you said, the Yuyuko I know is gone, but my feelings remain, so it would only be right for me to direct them to the Yuyuko that is here. Thank you, Youmu, for your kindness, which has brought warmth into the eternal winter that resided within my heart.”

A warm breeze picked up across the ground, swaying her long blonde hair, and as Lady Purple stared at the girl radiating in the sun’s bright yellow rays, she realized something. 

“Ah, I did not properly introduce myself. Please call me Yukari.”

“Yukari?”

“Yes, Yukari Yakumo, that is my name.”

With a nod, Youmu acknowledges the woman.

“All right, Yukari… Phew.”

“Hmm? Why do you sigh?”

Yukari asks, now noticing the troubled look upon the girl's face. Youmu hesitates for a moment, unsure whether it's right to air her grievances now.

“It’s just, though I have stopped this winter as I had promised, I still do not know where it is that this color Miss Yuyuko longs for has gone.” 

“A color she misses?... Could it be?”

Yukari scratched her chin as she contemplated Youmu’s words.

“That must be it, that color, it has to be that one!”

Reaching into a gap, Yukari pulls out a small burlap bag, sealed with a paper charm. 

“I was planning on keeping this for myself, but because of your words, I need not hold onto it any longer. Take this to Yuyuko, and surely that beautiful shade will show itself to her once more.”

Placing the burlap bag atop Youmu’s hands, Yukari walks away back towards the stump.

“Huh? M-miss Yukari, what is it that you’re doing?”

Yukari stopped and turned to face the girl.

“As the overseer of this land, it is my responsibility to ensure that this tree is properly dealt with. You have done your part already; now it’s time I do mine. Please hurry along, for it is a great sin for a child to bring undue stress upon their parents; knowing Yuyuko, she must be worried in your absence.”

“S-so you’re not coming along, Miss Yukari? Yuyuko would want to see you.”

Yukari says nothing for a moment.

“...I still have to prepare myself… It is still scary to meet old friends.”

And with those words, Yukari Yakumo made her way to the stump of the once great pale tree.

With that, Youmu turned to face her allies, who had gathered around her. 

“Thank you all, had it not been for your strength, I would’ve surely lost.”

“Hmph, for some here, it was because of you that we could summon such strength… Not to say that was the case with me; my strength was there within me.”

“My sisters and I will play at any venue, even on a battlefield. Of course, we also owed you a great favor for the kindness you showed us.”

“It is because of you that my cats still live, and moreover, that those humans were able to leave and return to the village they had come from, so it was a no-brainer that I’d pick a fight even with such an old and mighty youkai for your sake, OUCH!”

Chen yelped as Ran, still holding her by the collar, raised her to eye level in response to her comment. Youmu let out a chuckle at the cat’s words before asking them all one last question. 

“Then what will you all do now that the eternal winter is gone?”

“Nothing has changed for me. This forest was my paradise before, and it remains so even now… Although these colors suit me better.”

“My sisters and I will continue to play our music throughout this land; no more will we have to compromise our passion for survival. We will enjoy life by playing our songs.”

The witch and the Phantom sisters make their intentions clear, and Youmu faces Chen, still held by Ran. 

“Eh? Well, this lady really wants me as her shikigami, though I was worried about who would watch over the village cats. Lady Ran promised she would still let me care for them, so, faced with such kindness, I suppose it would not be a bad gig.”

“Indeed, this child showed such tremendous courage in the face of a mighty foe. Though young and immature, I see a girl that I could nurture to stand by me alongside Miss Yukari.”

Ran says, eyes closed, with a proud smile. It appears that she had already taken a liking to the nekomata.

Everyone seems to know what they will do now that the cursed winter has ended. However, as Youmu turned to the last person, she realized something about their appearance.

“L-letty! You’re fading!”

Yes, the Yuki-onna, who has placed the ice fairy softly atop the green grass, has begun to take on a translucent state as sweat runs down her forehead.

“Y-yes, it appears I am already disappearing now that spring has arrived… Oh, how long it has been since I faced such a long slumber. Though I do not look forward to it, I also do not regret letting you bring an end to that eternal winter.”

“But… What about the girl?”

“This girl will be fine without me. She was strong then, and she will be strong when I see her again, come winter, for this girl has always waited for me; in some way, she is perhaps stronger than even myself. Now hurry along. As that woman says, there is also someone waiting for you back home.”

Taenia Memoriae

Understanding the Yuki-onna to be true, Youmu sets off, taking the reins of her horse and walking alongside it towards the kitsune standing alone near the severed stump. Her brown hair and golden eyes glowed in the sun's light as she stood, looking up at the blue sky.

The sight of her causes Youmu to pause and take it in, but eventually, after composing herself, with a slightly red face, her words come out. 

“C-come, at the beginning of this journey, when we first met, I promised you a reward for your assistance. Now that the journey has ended, let us return so that I may fulfill the promise I made to you.”

The kitsune, still staring at the passing clouds in the sky, shakes her head at Youmu’s request.

“Nay, I will not return with you, nor will I take that reward promised to me.”

Youmu is taken aback by the kitsune’s refusal to accept the reward that was promised to her at the start of their journey together.

“Huh? What do you mean? I did promise you that? How could one turn back on such a thing? If this is because of you leading me to the Yuki-onna, then fret not, such things weigh nothing upon my mind, for you saved my life.”

“It is not that… Well, perhaps a part of it is… Having seen that nine-tailed kitsune and having been by your side, I know now that what I want the most is to become a virtuous and strong person who can stand by your side. Thus, I will go and travel the world and spread your kindness as you did for your mistress. Once I’ve become the kind of person I want to be, I will return to you.”

“But that… Such a thing… It won’t be soon, will it?”

Sensing the girl's sadness, the kitsune turned to face Youmu and caressed her cheek with her soft hands.

“It is as you said, the time we will be separated is nothing compared to the eternity we will spend together, as long as you never forget me.”

Taken aback by her own words, Youmu has no choice but to accept the kitsune’s wishes.

“But wait, will you leave without even telling me your name?”

The kitsune slowly shook her head and took hold of Youmu’s hand, giving her a small smile, though her ears drooped slightly in sadness. 

“When I return, a proud and wise fox with nine tails, I will gladly tell you my name, for it will be an honored name, one I am proud of, and one shaped by your kindness.”

“...Very well… It would be wrong of me to do anything other than pray for your safe return… But must I wait until you have borne your ninth tail? Perhaps we can see each other when you’ve gotten your fourth one?!”

Youmu’s rushed, frantic words gave the kitsune pause before she broke into a small chuckle.

“We will see about that… Farewell, Youmu, and thank you for everything… I will return to your side, surely, and on that day, let us dance together beneath a beautiful and colorful canopy.”

And with that newly made promise, the kitsune walks away with the passing green leaves.

With one final glance at the tree stump, Youmu too departs the clearing, leaving Yukari to her business. 

Youmu spent the entire day traveling back to Hakugyokurou, and by the time she reached the courtyard, she was nearly exhausted and about to fall from her saddle. 

“Y-youmu!”

Yuyuko runs into the courtyard and catches Youmu as she falls from her horse, her eyes heavy from her battle and long journey home. 

“Miss Yuyuko… I brought down that tree, just like I promised you.”

“You did, I noticed that, but never mind that, are you okay, Youmu?”

“I am fine, but there’s so much I need to tell you, but first… I want to know—are you happy, Miss Yuyuko?”

Surprised by the girl’s misplaced attention, Yuyuko strips her of her armor and picks up the young girl, battered by her many battles; the bruises on her skin tell the tale of each.

“Of course, I’m happy Youmu… Huh? Youmu? Are you…”

Yuyuko tries to answer, but the girl has already fallen asleep in her arms, her face wearing a smile even in rest. The girl managed to stay awake to hear her answer, and, satisfied with it, succumbed to the fatigue that plagued her. 

Yuyuko lets out a sigh at the young girl in her arms.

“Silly, I’m happy because you’ve come back to me safe and sound.”

Softly, the mistress of the netherworld caresses the girl's white hair as she takes her inside the mansion. 

When she awakens, she is staring up at her mistress, her head resting in her lap, the pleasant dream of a reunion with a friend beneath a blossoming tree fading as she realizes where she is.

“M-miss Yuyuko.”

The girl stammered, her face embarrassed by the unrefined place she found herself in. A retainer shouldn’t rest her head atop her master’s lap; such a thing is unbecoming of her, but Yuyuko only gave the embarrassed girl a small one in return. 

“Good morning, Youmu.”

The woman greets the girl, who quickly moves away from her lap, sitting upright beside Yuyuko with her hands on her knees.

“... Good morning, Yuyuko… Miss Yuyuko.”

“Oh, come on, don’t be embarrassed; you said you had much to tell me about yesterday before you fell asleep in my arms.”

“Eh, that is correct, for many things did occur during my travels… If you are willing to listen, I will gladly tell you of them all.”

“Of course.”

The woman nodded, and the child told her of her journey, from her meeting with the kitsune to the battle between the phantom sisters, the witch from Makai, the virtuous nekomata, and the arrogant humans; how her charm saved her from the mighty Yuki-onna; and the slaying of the great tree.

Though the girl withheld some parts of her journey—the truth about who was inside the tree and the woman named Yukari—Youmu felt that such matters were Yukari's responsibility to explain. 

Yuyuko nodded to Youmu, listening to her tale with closed eyes and a smile as a warm breeze caressed her white hair.

The princess of the netherworld praised the girl for her compassion, teased her about her friendship with the kitsune, and embraced her for her bravery; however, the girl's face still turned to a frown. 

“Hmm, what is it that ails you still, Youmu?”

“It’s just… Despite everything, I feel as though I am missing something; it is as though I have not fulfilled my duties to you…”

Yuyuko frowned at the girl’s words, for she did not see Youmu the way Youmu sees herself. To Yuyuko, this girl is not a mere retainer to command but the young girl who had arrived in her arms some sixty years ago. 

Caressing the girl's white hair, which glowed in the sun's yellow light, Yuyuko continued. 

“Duties? Do not fret, for I care not for these things you believe you owe to me. Indeed, you have never needed to pay me back for the kindness I have given you, for had it not been for your existence in my life, this kindness would not exist.”

“B-but Miss Yuyuko, a retainer must always pay their dues to their master.”

“You are wrong, Youmu; there is nothing for you to repay me for.”

Youmu, taken aback by her mistress’s words, turns to face her with a bewildered expression. 

“T-that is unfair. How could I not repay you after all that you have done for me?!”

No matter what Miss Yuyuko says, it will always be the retainer’s duty to repay their master’s kindness. 

“It is not supposed to be fair, Youmu; that is what it means to be a child.”

But to Yuyuko, this girl is not just a retainer.

“When I sent you out, I felt worried, but for the first time, I also felt sadness, knowing that my child was not by my side. Now, having heard your stories, I realize how selfish that concern was. Though I have raised you as if you were my own daughter, I never saw you as the adult you wished to be, because to me, you are still the young girl I raised and nurtured.” 

“Daughter?”

Yuyuko nods as she settles Youmu's head down on her lap once more.

“To think that despite my selfish concerns, you would go on to make the world a better place—I suppose that is what it means to watch your child grow into an adult.”

“… Miss Yuyuko.”

As she lay on her lap, Youmu slowly accepted the words of her mistress, and in this brief silence, she recalled something important that had eluded her until now.

“Ah! That’s right! The bag!”

Youmu hopped away and ran back to her horse, much to Yuyuko’s confusion. When she returned, she carried the sealed bag Yukari had given her.

“What had bothered me was that I did not return to you the color you missed. Alas, I had forgotten I had carried it with me this entire time. Here.”

“That color? Inside this small bag?”

Youmu nodded in affirmation to Yuyuko’s question, and Yuyuko, with an unsure expression, opened the bag and reached inside, but what she pulled out left Youmu in shock.

“Huh?! W-what is this?”

In Yuyuko’s hand were two white flowers, the same flowers that blanketed the world during the pale tree’s blossoming. 

“H-how? How do those flowers remain? Was I tricked?!”

Youmu exclaimed, her hands shaking with anger at the disappointed expression on her mistress’s face. 

“Do not fret, Miss Yuyuko… I will set out at once and demand an explanation for this trickery!”

The princesses' cold hands stopped Youmu as she turned to leave, gripping her own and bringing them to a standstill.

“Do not go. I care not for something like a mere hue, not if it means you leaving me once more. The truth is, I do not remember the color I miss, only that it is gone, and the thing I found special about it was taken in its absence.”

“D-don’t remember? You don’t actually know the color that you miss?”

Yuyuko slowly shook her head with a somber expression.

“There was a life I once lived before I became the princess of the netherworld, but I do not recall it. Still, my heart remained snagged by something I do not remember, something important to me. If obtaining that something means casting you away, then I will choose to cast away the feelings of the past.”

Pulling her into a close embrace, Yuyuko rested her face on top of the girl’s head. 

“Whatever it is, it cannot… It will not be more important than you.”

Yuyuko gave the girl a small kiss on the top of her head as she hugged her, and the white flowers held in the princess's hand had begun to change from pale, lifeless white to warm, bright pink.

“What is this?!”

Youmu, having noticed this change, moved away, and right before her, her mistress's white-grayish hair changed alongside those pale flowers into that warm pink. 

“The flowers and your hair—they have changed!”

Now, looking at the blossoming pink flower in her hand, the princess of the netherworld’s eyes sparkled as though a fire had been lit beneath them, for she had remembered something important from her life before.

“I recall… This color, its meaning, what it means to me…. Long ago, I danced with someone beneath a blossoming tree whose falling petals matched this hue in my hand. The warmth of its canopy reflected the warmth I had felt in my heart at that moment. Yes, this must be it, that missing feeling… this is the color of love—this is the color of the cherry blossom.”

“The cherry blossom?”

“Yes, it was a tree that, for a short time, sprouted many flowers like this; however, one day its branches whitened, and its flowers wilted, and it no longer produced those beautiful colors.”

“Then… That tree I cut down! That must be the same one. I must go at once, Miss Yuyuko!”

As Youmu, clutching the flowers, steps away from Yuyuko, the princess's hand stops her once more.

“What is it that you seek to do? You have done everything I asked, so why do you wish to leave? It was your presence all along that was missing. It was my love for you, as my child, that brought this beautiful, warm color back. There is nothing left for you to do.”

Youmu slowly pulls away from Yuyuko and turns to face her. 

“It is as you say. I owe you nothing. No child carries any debt to their mother. Still, I must go, for this journey is for myself, because I promised someone I care about that we would dance beneath that same beautiful canopy.”

Yuyuko, understanding her child’s wishes, bids them farewell as they set out on their journey.

“Very well, you may go… How silly of me. I have forgotten that you have matured into a woman capable of making promises to others besides myself, though please promise to me that you will return with haste!”

“Of course! As long as you remain in this world, I will return to your side once more.”

With a wave and a promise to return, the girl sets out toward the remains of the pale tree in the center of the forest. 

After hours of travel, the girl reaches the stump of the great pale tree that had been cut down, and there, floating alongside it, is the administrator of this land… and an old friend of Yuyuko, Yukari Yakumo.

“Lady Yukari, I have come hither with a request!”

“Hm? Konpaku? Why is it that you have returned to this wicked tree?”

Surprised by the girl’s sudden return, Yukari floats down to see why it was that Youmu had come back to this clearing, but upon appearing before her, the young girl immediately asked her a question, her hands opening to reveal a pair of pinkish flowers.

“I have come with these flowers in hand to ask you to revive this tree.”

“You wish to revive this tree?!”

“Aye, revive this tree as it once was, and let its cherry petals blossom once.”

Yukari turned to face the stump with a solemn expression. 

“So it is the same cherry blossom tree as that time. How cruel it is that her curse had poisoned its beautiful flowers.”

The woman’s pained expression painted her lament for the fate of the beautiful tree, her hand touching its cold, whitened bark.

“Alas, though I wish to bring this tree back, the boundary of life has been severed by your blade; this tree is completely dead.”

“Then take from me my life and use it to revive this tree to its former glory!”

Surprised by the girl's words, Yukari turned to face her, the woman’s expression filled with disbelief at such a request.

“Do you not hear the words you speak?! How foolish of you to ask of me something that will result in your death!”

Though lectured by the woman, the girl remained resolute, her gaze determined.

“I have ridden out knowing this, and yet I still ask you to do so. Please, Miss Yukari, do not doubt my resolve for even a moment; this is what I want.”

“And what of Yuyuko? Do you intend to leave her by herself?”

The girl dismisses the Yukari's accusation with a toss of her hand.

“Nay, you are mistaken.”

Youmu’s gaze drifted to the stump of the dead tree as she told Yukari what she had misunderstood.

“Because I will never die.”

That is the basis of the girl’s conviction, an unwavering belief rooted in nothing but faith. Such a foolish declaration should invite nothing but ridicule, yet Yukari cannot do anything but stand in admiration. 

“I understand that I cannot convince you otherwise, and I know I have no right to judge you, so I will do as you wish. Youmu Konpaku, are you prepared to die for your wish?”

“Aye, as a girl who accompanies the princess of the netherworld, my fate has always been intertwined with death itself.”

Accepting the girl’s words, Yukari Yakumo, overseer of this world and manipulator of boundaries, took from the girl her life and the cherry blossoms she carried with her and thus revived the tree to its former glory. 

A lively trunk sprouted from the once-dead stump, and branches grew and spread across the sky like intersecting streams. In their passing, a canopy of pinkish cherry blossoms spread across the blue sky, their beautiful, colorful petals slowly drifting to the green world below. 

As the sun rises upon the mansion of the Hakugyokurou, the princess watches as the pink cherry blossom petals fall into the garden in the courtyard.

“Huh? W-what is this?”

Like flakes of snow, the pink petals fall and cover the courtyard of the mansion, and the princess, moved by this sight, slowly steps out from the cover of the veranda.

“Oh, this sight before me… I recognize this sight!”

Yuyuko rushed out in the middle of the courtyard, where the ground was slowly covered in a layer of pink flowers. 

“This is the blooming of the cherry blossom tree, but how?!”

Picking up her dress and running along, the princess chases after a fleeting petal among many.

The petal slowly drifts into her palm, filling her cold skin with warmth, and a dreadful feeling seizes her chest as her fingers grow numb.  

Recognizing this familiar warmth, the princess drops to her knees.

It was a warmth she had felt many times before, the only warmth she’d had since she was christened the princess of these hallowed grounds. That was why, upon touching the cherry blossom, Yuyuko knew her child was gone. 

The petals all around her were filled with the remains of her child’s warmth. 

“Oh, Youmu… Did you not promise to return to me?”

Tears ran down her pale face as the spring’s warm breeze passed through her. 

Despite her tears, the flowers keep falling into her lap, and the warmth that was once that girl's resting head fills her.  

【Music Box/MIDORI ORGEL】Connect【Madoka Magica】

“And I have, so why do you lament in sadness, Miss Yuyuko?”

Yuyuko opened her eyes, and there, her child, Youmu, lay with her head resting on her lap, weary from her travels, her white hair covered in small pink cherry blossoms. 

“Y-youmu!? B-but, these flowers, from touch alone I can tell, these flowers carry the essence of your life!?”

Youmu gives the princess a perplexed stare as she lies atop the princess's lap, her hands resting on her chest.

“Aye, they should—after all, I gave my life to revive that tree so that it may once again bloom those beautiful flowers.”

With a smile, Youmu answers the princess, and Yuyuko, visibly confused by how such a thing can occur, asks the girl to elaborate. 

“I don’t understand, Youmu. If you gave your life to revive that tree, then how are you here before me?!”

If what Youmu was saying was correct, then she should be dead, a spirit with no physical body; that is what it means to give one's life away. 

Youmu scratched her nose as she pondered how to answer Yuyuko’s question.

“It is because half of my life belongs to you, Miss Yuyuko.”

“Half?”

“Yes, everything I am is made up of what you gave me… Therefore, I gave to the tree the other half that belonged to me, the life and experiences I made on my own during the journey.”

A small ghost-like wisp floats by Youmu as she finishes her explanation, twirling before the princess before landing atop Youmu’s chest, where the girl embraces it.

“Huh!? Youmu, y-you’re a–”

“A half-phantom. Of course, after all, I am half dead, but like I said, I will never die.”

The girl said this to the princess with an absentminded smile, and the princess responded by pulling her cheeks.

“You reckless child!”

“Ouch! Ouch! M-miss Yuyuko! You will tear my cheeks off!”

“How could you do such a thing!? All for a tree?  Please don’t tell me you threw away your life to make me happy!?”

“Ow! You’re wrong! It is as I told you; there was a promise I made to someone, a promise that we would dance beneath a beautiful and colorful tree just as you had long ago.”

“Me?”

Yuyuko, confused by what the girl meant, released her from her grasp, and Youmu rubbed her reddened cheeks before continuing. 

“Miss Yuyuko, long ago, before you came to this mansion… There was someone that you danced with beneath the canopy of the cherry blossom tree… I simply wanted to experience what you and her shared.”

“Her? A woman I knew? Who is this woman?”

Yuyuko, with a curious and pleading expression, asked the girl to elaborate on who this mysterious woman was and all Youmu could do was divert her glance to the ground and scratch her nose. 

“It’s a secret… B-but it won’t be for long! It’s just not a secret that is mine to reveal…”

For a moment, the princess did nothing but give their suddenly unruly girl a skeptical glance before letting out a heavy sigh.

“Oh, to think that my girl would so suddenly encroach upon her rebellious age without my knowing… Very well, what’s done is done.”

Youmu, feeling relieved at Yuyuko’s understanding, let out a breath of relief; however, Yuyuko quickly continued talking. 

“But as punishment for recklessly throwing away something important to me, I will have you tend to the garden and plants of the mansion every day until I am satisfied.”

“Eh!? You want me to become a gardener?!”

“I do believe that is what they are called; do you take issue with such a position, Youmu?”

“Um… Not at all! What kind of retainer would I be if I turned away my mistress’s requests!?”

Thus being charged with a new mission, Youmu set out to tend to the plants as the cherry blossoms continued to fall amidst the spring breeze. 

掴み取った愛

Three hundred years of eternal winter have come to pass, and three hundred years have passed since the revival of the cherry blossom tree.

A girl, now a mature woman, her short white hair having grown long and reaching her waist, sweeps away the first cherry blossoms of spring from the mansion’s courtyard; a white ghost-like sprite accompanies her in her chore. 

The sound of footsteps behind her makes her turn.

“Ah, the cherry blossom tree is blooming, so I’m just sweeping the petals, Miss Yuyuk—”

Expecting to see the princess, the girl lets out a greeting before coming face to face with someone else.

“To think I would see such a brave and renowned warrior wield a broom in place of her sword.”

There, standing amid the falling flowers, stood a fox bearing four tails, her yellow eyes having lost their wily ways, and in their place were irises full of warmth and kindness, kindness that was given to her by the girl standing before her, broom in hand. 

“Ah, you are! You are! Um! …”

Youmu stood, unable to respond. Although she was indeed surprised by this sudden appearance, there was another reason that stayed her tongue.

“Y-you never told me your name!”

Youmu says this with a slight tinge of irritation in her voice, while the kitsune chuckles at the girl's frustration. 

“Heh heh, that is indeed true. Still, I am flattered that you still remembered me after all this time.”

“Of course I would! It would be unbecoming of me to forget a person I made a promise with.”

“Promise… You still remember it….”

The kitsune smiles slightly as she tucks her hand into her large sleeve. 

“Say, given you still remember that promise, would you mind accompanying me on a short journey?”

“Huh? A Journey? I mean, I would have to go ask Miss Yuyuko first.”

As the girl stammered at the words, another voice entered the conversation from the oak veranda. 

“It is fine. You may go. One day without a gardener will be fine. Besides, it is your duty to uphold the promises you make.” 

The princess gives the girl permission to leave, and with an excited nod, Youmu sets down the broom and calls out for her horse. 

“Very well, let us set forth!”

With the kitsune guiding her, the pair rode out and traveled for eighty cho, crossing the mountain passes, the roaring river, the thickets of the forest, and the village of stray cats. As dusk approached, they rode past the large green hedges and into the clearing before a large cherry blossom tree. 

A picnic of sorts took place at the base of the tree, with several familiar faces joining them. 

Amazed by the sight before her, Youmu turned to her fox companion with a surprised expression.

“You gathered everyone from the journey?!”

The fox silently nodded her head at the girl's question.

GARO Project - Boku ga Ai wo Tsutaeteyuku\ Garo project ending song

“I asked you long ago why it was you spared someone like me, how foolish I was to ask you such a question… It is moments like this that make you cherish the people who come into our lives.”

Youmu abashedly scratched the back of her head at the fox’s words, her expression embarrassed, as she elaborated on the reason she spared the fox back then.

“Well… It did help that you were quite clever in your words.”

The kitsune simply chuckled at her honest words.

“That I did… my wily ways have long since passed, but I feel as if I need one final thing before I can call myself a proper woman.”

The kitsune says, turning to the girl at her side, her cheeks cherry-red as Youmu asks her to explain. 

“Hmm, and what is that?”

The kitsune smiles and gives out her right hand to the virtuous half-phantom at her side. 

“A dance with a knight.”

And the virtuous fox asks the knightly girl to take her hand. Though taken aback and embarrassed, Youmu led her through the drifting flowers to the clearing’s center as a ballad played from the heavens above. 

The phantom sisters perform before the crowd, while the dolls of the Makai Witch serve food and drink; a gathering of stray cats lies around a young ice fairy wearing a white cap who cools them with her wings, bearing a wide grin on her face beneath the pink canopy, as a black cat sits and drinks sake from a red lacquered cup next to a nine-tailed fox. 

And right in the middle, where the cherry blossoms fall and gather, a white-haired half-phantom and a four-tailed kitsune take each other's hands into dance, their feet swaying together into a unified act of twists and turns, sweeping away the fallen petals into the air once more. 

Assured in the paths they took, placing their hopes in a future they had created, they danced within the bosom of a passage embraced by the forest of olden trees, whose branches now fostered a warm, green screen. Petals descended on a passing wind beneath the canopy of a blue sky, beside the trunk of a tree adorned with beautifully blooming flowers, drifting aloft like rays of the sun. 

Falling and falling, the pink flowers lie atop the ground, painting the world in their colors.

Rising and twirling, the pink flowers flutter about the sky, stolen from the ground by the dancing pair of feet. 

Oh, how they danced at the sight of such a color, for how beautiful and full of life is the hue of those fleeting flowers.

A hundred years of a pink spring; a hundred more will pass, and the princess silently watches.

Her smile is as warm as the flowers that land atop her head. 

The princess watches, silently enjoying the viewing of the cherry tree’s blossoming and the joy of the young girl dancing in the center of this clearing. 

At her side, a woman sat atop a torn gap in the sky, watching the festivities in silence. The woman noticed the sparkle in the princess’s eyes and commented on it. 

“I see now…. I may never take the twinkle in your eye that reveals itself when you look at the girl. Oh my, I have become really jealous, haven’t I?”

The princess slowly shook her head to dismiss her companion's words. 

“Do not fret over something so silly, Yukari….”

The bare feet of the girl and the fox slowly cross one another, their hands holding them together in unity through this flight of dance, and with each step, more and more pink petals fly up to the sky to descend once more, and the princess smiles at such a sight. 

“After all…”

The blossoming of the tree will end, as will the warmth of spring, and soon the coldness of winter will be upon them. But alas, such a thought does not frighten them, for those beautiful flowers are fleeting and will come to pass, as will the coldness of winter. The princess does not think about these things, for she has had something much greater at her side this entire time.

“That girl is my child.”

Their dance comes to an end, and with one final twist, the petals in the clearing fly and spread across the sky as though turning to shooting stars in the night sky. 

Three hundred and one blossomings have come to pass.

How strange it was, Yukari wondered as she silently stared at Yuyuko.

How strange it was indeed for her to appreciate the fleeting nature of something that will never die. 

For as long as those branches sprout those beautiful flowers that the princess loves, that girl will never die. Life may come and go; nothing can last forever. Just as spring will end, they too will also cease to exist in this world, but the feelings of love that the girl carried with her, which gave her the resolve to change the world, will last forever. 

Yes, if the love within the heart of Youmu Konpaku for the woman, Yuyuko, is true, then the tree will continue to bloom far into the annals of eternity. 

GARO: SAVIOR IN THE DARK (Symphonic Ver.)

Author’s Note

Hello, lucky recipient of this story. This is a story I've had floating in my mind for a while, but I never really had the reason to write it until now. It’s a bit unlike the other stories that I have written, given that it's supposed to be much like the old stories of yore, so I drew lots of influence from tales such as the Heike Monogatari (though admittedly I did feel myself drifting more to a writing style I am used to), while also toning down on some aspects I typically indulge in heavily when writing to make it easier for someone to read, such as battles focusing more on a legendary hero approach, ala the virtuous knight slaying the dragon, rather than one based on realistic standards for swordsmanship. I tried to keep the story simple while giving it some depth. The prompt I was given was to write a maternal/platonic story about Youmu and Yuyuko. While the story didn’t have much interaction between the two, I think the sentiment and filial/maternal love are still present throughout and ingrained within the story. Still, I apologize if this isn't exactly what was expected. Regardless, I really am glad to have written such a story. I think such tales of love that hold the power to change the world are inspiring: people forced to commit wrongdoing out of love, people being virtuous out of the love given to them, and people who finally find love and change for the better. That is the type of tale I aimed to write, and I can only hope that I have conveyed that inspiring feeling to my readers. So I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.