As if an earthquake had hit the bamboo forest, it seemed as though the earth shook.

There was no actual earthquake, of course. There was only a massive dragon, and the bellowing war cry it released at its target.

A girl in red, white, and black, once stalking the dragon, eluding its sight before the transformation and frozen in place afterwards, stood in silence even after the holler had ended. Even as the dragon stared down at her, she was transfixed on it.

After a staring match, the dragon opened its massive jaws, and the target attempted to flee. A quick swipe of the dragon's claw sent it flying into a bamboo shoot before it could go anywhere, though.

The figure rose after being flung a decent distance, with a genuinely terrified look on its face.

The dragon opened its mouth again. It spoke, its voice that of a young girl, albeit distorted and unnaturally slow.

"GO AWAY. BEFORE I HURT YOU. RUN!"

After a moment of consideration, the stalker scampered off.

Satisfied that the pursuant was gone, the dragon glowed before shifting into a humanoid form, with the wings still sprouting from its back.

It was Myrrh, and despite being in a very intense situation, she looked pleased.

"I'm glad people aren't so stubborn here. I remember when I tried to be merciful in the war, and most of the time the enemies fought me anyways…"

Furthermore, she noticed that no power was drained from her Dragonstone. Apparently, the woman from earlier was not lying.

Myrrh shook her head. After running into this gargantuan thicket of a bamboo forest without thinking, she was still veritably lost.

She had just begun to wander again when she found herself confronted with two people. The first was a short girl with blonde hair, a brown cap, and orange and yellow clothes. She held multiple round white balls in one of her hands. The other was taller, dressed in a light blue dress and had darker blue hair. She held a giant mallet that had uncanny stains on it. Both had red eyes, and curiously, rabbit-like ears.

"Well, I thought I heard a big roar, but it's just a little girl," the blonde one remarked.

The blue-haired one shook her head. "Watch yourself. We always need to be on our toes."

"We aren't exactly ready for battle here, y'know. You could relax a bit." The blonde shrugged and popped one of the white balls into her mouth.

The other saw this and turned to her in anger. "You aren't, maybe! But I am; I'm always ready. That's what it meant to be on the infiltration team of Eagle Ravi."

"We aren't in Eagle Ravi anymore, nimrod. We don't have to do anything that we were forced to do."

"As if you didn't have one of the cushiest positions in the military! You have no right to complain!"

"Um… hello?" Myrrh had been trying to interrupt their bickering, but didn't want to be rude.

"Oh." The blue one faced Myrrh again. "Yeah. Was it you that made that yell?"

Myrrh decided to be truthful, and nodded wordlessly.

"That was ridiculously loud. Can you not do that again, please? It scared off one of our mochi customers."

Myrrh hadn't understood any of their previous conversation, so she decided to ask about what the elephant in the room was, to her.

"Uh, you both have rabbit ears. But the rest of you looks human."

"Never seen a moon rabbit before, huh? Well, I'm Ringo, and this is Seiran," the blonde one introduced the both of them.

"We just sell mochi around these parts," she continued. "Surprisingly good business, really, considering the, ah, environment. Pretty confusing, navigating this big tangle of plants."

"Who are you?" The blue-haired one, Seiran, asked.

"I'm Myrrh. A manakete. Can you help me out of here?"

Ringo, seemingly a bit more easygoing, laughed. "Ahaha… Y'know, we're still preeeetty new here. We don't actually know our way around too well. We might be able to get you to Eientei from here, though. You've managed to get pretty close to it on your own, actually. Good for you."

Seiran pointed her mallet at Myrrh. "As long as you promise not to attack us. If you do, we'll tag team you, and kick your rear end. How's that sound?"

Myrrh shook her head, unamused. "Uh, sure. I promise I won't try to fight you. I don't like the thought of it much myself."

Seiran nodded. "Sounds good. Follow closely, I don't want you getting separated from us. We can't afford to spend a whole lot of time helping you, because we need to get back to business, y'know."

"Hold on."

A new voice came from somewhere.

"It doesn't take a rabbit's ears to have heard that. What in the world is going on here?"

A slender woman approached Myrrh, with ivory hair and a plain white shirt. She had baggy red pants with talismans on them, as well.

She glanced over the trio of Myrrh, Seiran, and Ringo, sizing them all up.

"Moon rabbits." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Why don't you scurry back to Eientei? I am the guide of this forest. Although it's pretty obvious this isn't any regular lost child we have here." The woman, who seemed to have a rather rough personality, looked to Myrrh.

Taking the cue, the Manakete responded. "I'm Myrrh. I'm a dragon, that normally takes a human form. Which makes me a Manakete. They already know," she said, pointing to the rabbits.

"Whatever. Not really that important, whatever you are. Seems like you're lost, though?"

"Yeah…"

The white-haired woman snorted. "Why don't you just fly over the bamboo with those wings of yours? Should be pretty easy for you to find your way out."

"Well, I'm not very good about heights. Oh, and I was getting chased by someone that was wearing black, white, and red, and I scared them off."

"Pfft! You can fly and you're scared of heights? What an interesting fellow you are. And the roar I heard was you scaring that person off, I take it?"

Myrrh nodded. Something about this woman seemed off to her. She wasn't really being friendly, but she wasn't exactly rude, either. She also seemed to walk a balance between logic and emotion when she spoke, and she had a very casual posture but somehow seemed stiff. She was clearly acting indifferent. It was almost as if she was bored by the situation, which was opposite of everyone else's reactions to her. It was somewhat of a breath of fresh air for Myrrh.

"So you've got some guts to you, then. Well, that's good. I'm not one to get along with cowards. Speaking of me, I should probably introduce myself to you, little dragon. I'm Fujiwara no Mokou. Guide of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, yakitori grill owner, victim of Hourai." Mokou held out a hand to the moon rabbits, who seemed to recognize her, and started waving it at them, motioning for them to scram. They seemed surprised and maybe a little in awe, but obliged.

"Pfah. Moon rabbits are so pointlessly obedient. They need to learn how to grow a pair and think for themselves, you know?"

Myrrh didn't really follow, so she tentatively nodded. The woman still had that strange aura to her.

"Quiet, aren't you? Well, suits me. I'm being a lot more chatty than usual, myself. But if you really need me to lead you out of the forest, it'll be a bit of a walk. I hope you don't get bored out of your mind. Well, follow me."

Mokou began walking in a seemingly arbitrary direction and Myrrh scrambled to follow.

Reimu was flying around Gensokyo, looking for anyone who had seen a purple-haired girl with dragon wings.

Nobody had at the Moriya Shrine, nor at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, nor at the Human Village, nor at the Myouren Temple.

Now, Reimu was figuring she was going to have to go to places that she didn't really want to. The Underground, with its legions of nasty, aggressive youkai, Hakugyokurou, which was just really far out of the way, and the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, which was so ridiculously labyrinthine and confusing that one would have better luck looking for a single particular grain of sand on a beach than someone lost in there. There was also technically Senkai, Miko's weird hermit world, but she thought that was more than unlikely.

She didn't really want to have to wait for Aya to publish that missing notice in the newspaper, so she needed more immediate action. She needed other people to help her search.

For that reason, she found herself again at the Myouren Temple.

She knew one of its residents excelled at finding things, but also that it would require some convincing to actually get that help.

Landing in front of the place, she ignored the yamabiko Kyouko's greeting and hurried up to the temple proper.

After a few minutes of searching, she found the first person she was looking for off in a side courtyard, presumably doing some sort of Buddhist training, even though it was darkening outside; Reimu didn't really know or care what it was.

Byakuren Hijiri immediately sensed the shrine maiden's presence and stopped what she was doing.

"Ah, Reimu. Back again already? Need something?" the monk asked.

"You know that girl I was looking for earlier, with the dragon wings? I need the help of one of your followers to find her."

"I think I know where this is going. You want Nazrin, correct? She is excellent at locating things. Normally, it's treasures and the like, but she does have a mouse network she could probably use to help."

Reimu nodded in relief that she wouldn't have to explain. "Yeah, you got it. Doesn't she work for Shou or something, though? I figured I'd have to ask you to get Shou, and then she'd have to call Nazrin."

"That is true. She prides herself on working for Bishamonten, but she isn't actually all that involved in matters relating to the Temple." Byakuren paused for a few seconds as she thought. "As you say, you will probably have to speak with Shou in order to get Nazrin's help. But Nazrin ultimately serves her, so if you just convince the master, the servant will be obliged to help." Byakuren smiled, hinting. "Shou has a generous heart, so you shouldn't have any problems."

"Well, where is she? I don't have all day, you know."

"She went into the Human Village, to speak with the humans who worship here, but she'll probably be returning sometime soon as night falls. As for Nazrin, I do not know. She can sometimes be found at Muenzuka, but that is just a possibility."

Reimu nodded. She could just barely be heard by Byakuren when she said "Thanks," as she sped off.

"Who are you?" Myrrh asked.

"Not really important. I'm just a loner who lives in this forest. I lead people out when they get lost. It's how I give back to this world, I guess. I normally only deal with humans, but meeting a youkai like you every once in awhile is an inevitability."

"Well, you did say it would be a long walk. Maybe you can tell me more about you, to fill the time?" Myrrh really was just curious about the residents of this new world, but did not want to come off as pushy. This one especially intrigued her because of that strange feeling she gave off.

Mokou sighed. "I don't really enjoy talking about myself."

Myrrh decided to keep prodding. Shy as she was and despite being a bit of a loner back in Magvel, she did still have allies - Saleh and the people of Caer Pelyn, and of course the other Manaketes in the Darkling Woods. More recently, Ephraim and Eirika joined that list. Now, though, she hadn't known anyone more than a day. She figured she would have to get some friends while she was here, in case anything got too dangerous.

So, she went further. "Please? This walk is pretty boring, isn't it? Maybe I can tell you about me, too."

"I don't need or want your life story, kid. Not many people will, so get that through your head."

"I'm not a kid, you know…"

Mokou gave a questioning glance to the Manakete. "Oh, really? You look it. Can't be older than me, though."

Myrrh gave out an obviously exaggerated huff and responded, "A bit over 1200. But you look like you're in your mid thirties at oldest."

"Now you hold on! I do not look thirty!" the white haired woman retorted. "I think about eighteen to twenty is much more accurate."

"And how old are you actually?"

"Over 1300. I can't remember the exact number anymore, though. Things like that have lost meaning to me."

Myrrh was taken aback. "Y-you're even older than me!"

"Told you I've been around longer."

Myrrh decided to take her chance and get Mokou to talk about herself. "How'd that happen? People don't just stop aging. I age very slowly, but something tells me it's different for you."

"Nice try, little dragon, but I see right through your meaning. You still want me to talk about myself. But if you're gonna be so annoying about it, I guess I'll have to humor you.

"Actually, maybe you can relate to me a bit. Maybe you can learn from my mistakes, and I can rest easy knowing I've done some good today. Or maybe it's too late for you. Doesn't bother me one bit."

Myrrh internally congratulated herself. That was way out of her comfort zone, even socializing with a single stranger, and she actually got this stubborn "Mokou" to speak with her? Incredible, for her.

Of course, Mokou didn't exactly have much of a social game herself, but Myrrh didn't know that they were both in the same hole.

The guide cleared her throat. "I'm immortal now. When everyone I know is dead and gone, as well as their children, and their children's children, all the way down, I'll still be here. When humanity itself is wiped off the face of the Earth, I'll still be here."

This comment got Myrrh thinking. "You said you were a 'loner'. I'm kind of one, myself - I've lived nearly alone in a forest for as long as I can remember. Is it because you don't want to care about people and then watch them all die? I've had to think about that myself, recently…"

Mokou didn't immediately respond. She then shook her head.

"No, I just don't really get along with people. Anyways, my immortality. It's all thanks to one arrogant woman, Kaguya. I'd be dead and much happier for it, if she didn't cause my father's death and the humiliation of my family."

"She killed your father?" Myrrh asked, starting to think that this woman may have more than a few similarities to herself. "What happened?"

"Long story short, my father had the hots for her and wanted to marry her. She told him to bring her a treasure and she'd agree to it, knowing that it would be impossible to do. He died trying, and she just laughed when she was told about it. Needless to say, I was more than a little pissed when I saw that. I wanted revenge and stole the Hourai Elixir that gives immortality, because she was gonna fly up to the moon.

"Not proud of how I obtained the Elixir. I deceived and betrayed a kind man, Iwakasa, who was trying to destroy it by throwing it in a volcano. Snatched it from him and pushed him right down the mountain to his death, so he couldn't stop me. Turns out he had the right idea, though. That thing is a curse.

"So, I rushed to find Kaguya. Thing is, I didn't actually catch her in time. She up and vanished not long after she caused my father and some other men to die, you see.

"So I just existed for hundreds of years, yearning only for revenge on Kaguya but unable to have it. As time grew on and I still did not find her, I realized my mistake. My life lost all meaning when I started thinking she was just gone, and I'd never get my revenge. Started trying to kill myself after that epiphany. No matter what I did, I just came back, good as new, though. It sucked. I hated my stupid action of drinking the elixir, I hated my situation, I hated myself. I couldn't end it, no matter what I tried. So you know what I did?"

Mokou stopped walking and just turned expectantly to Myrrh. The Manakete was surprised by the past of Mokou and was thinking about how she could have gone down the same road, or might still in the future. She had the same set-up, after all, with a long life, her parents dying, and then Morva's recent death…

She didn't answer, and Mokou grunted.

"Well, I kept trying to kill myself. But, like I said, it never worked. I just can't die and stay dead. I can feel pain, though. So, I started doing only the most painful suicide method, to remind myself that I was stupid.

"What always hurt the most was burning. Stabbing yourself, poison, hanging, falls? Those can be pretty quick. Burning lasts a long time, and every moment of it hurts, if you do it right. You start with small fires on the fringes of your body, and it slowly crawls up to the rest of you. Every breath you take hurts because of the smoke. Hours of pain later, it's gotten to your heart, and you've truly died. That's what I did to myself very often, for about a hundred years, I guess.

"Well, it turns out that after burning myself to death for so long, I started becoming resistant to it. It still hurt, but not as much. And one day, it didn't kill me. Despite happening centuries ago, I remember that day crystal clear."

Mokou looked wistfully at the ground, and then locked eyes with Myrrh. She raised both of her arms, and they spontaneously burst into flames. Myrrh, panicked at the sudden fire on her guide, moved to try and help her put them out. She stopped, however, when Mokou shook her head and put the flames out.

"I figured out that I had somehow started to be able to control fire. Don't know how it works, but it's a part of me. It initially was terrible. I had burnt myself to death thousands of times, like a ritual, because I deserved it. And I couldn't do it anymore? Oof. Not what I wanted to hear. But then, I realized its other uses. Fire itself became a purpose for me. I still use it for grilling today.

"Back to my life story. One day, wandering, I just so happened to stumble upon Kaguya. She was bathing in a pond or something like that, I think. I was amazed, but I didn't let that get to me. I took my chance to kill her, and it was the most satisfied I had felt in my whole life. The only thing I wanted anymore was to kill that slimy crone, and now I had the chance to. Since she was immortal, that also meant I got to do it over, and over, and over again. Oh, I loved that. I felt so alive every time I killed her. She started killing me in return, and now it's something we both enjoy.

"When everybody we know is gone and there is nothing left to do anymore… we'll probably still be killing each other. She's like a toy that never gets old and will never get lost or broken, no matter how many times you smash it to little tiny pieces. I'm the same way to her."

"That's so sad… I can't imagine having nothing to do for the rest of my life but kill someone over and over again." Myrrh looked very melancholy at what she perceived to be despair from Mokou.

"Aww, you don't need to pity me. I've gotten over it, mostly. She's given me a new purpose, and I'm finding ways to kill time. I don't try to commit suicide anymore. Of course, I'm still looking to figure out a way to die, but I'm not running my head into a wall over and over again with pointless repeated suicides, you know? As for Kaguya, we've also found a few other ways to settle our feud, that don't involve messy fights to the death. And despite how much I've always hated her, recently…"

Mokou shook her head. "Well, we should probably get going again. Maybe you can tell me about yourself? This is the most I've talked at once in years, and I'm not enjoying how hoarse my voice is now. Wonder how you got me to do this to myself."

Shou had just gotten finished speaking to an anxious temple-goer, the last person that was waiting in line for the chance, when someone tapped her shoulder from behind.

"Who is it?" She asked in a pleasant tone, before actually turning her head to see who it was.

She was taken aback when the scowling face of Reimu Hakurei looked back at her.

"Ah, Reimu…! How nice to see you. What can I do for you?"

"Enough chitchat. I need Nazrin's help for something, and Byakuren told me to talk to you. It's important, so I think I'll like the answer you're about to give me."

Shou had been on the receiving end of an attack from Reimu before and did not particularly want to experience it again. After all, Reimu's current presence was oppressive over her. Something told Shou she should be very agreeable lest she face Reimu's wrath again, this time with bystanders around.

"Yes, I had given her leave to do whatever she'd like. A day off, really. I don't actually know what she's doing, since it's her free time and all, but I could try to summon her."

Reimu grunted in response. "Just do whatever you think will get her here the fastest. I'm looking for someone."

"So that's it, huh? Need Nazrin to help you find a friend?"

Reimu nodded, still with that scowl on her face. "What are you looking at me for? Didn't I just ask you to summon her?"

Shou smiled despite Reimu getting on her nerves a bit. "I'm an avatar of Bishamonten, whom she serves. Bishamonten will have already heard my request, and may pass it on to Nazrin if he so chooses. We won't be waiting long, if she has received it."

Reimu crossed her arms and leaned against the wall behind Shou's seated position. "Alright. I guess I'll wait."

Shou nodded and waited alongside Reimu in hopes Nazrin would come.

"I come from a place called Magvel. There is a large forest called the Darkling Woods within, and it's where I've always lived."

As it was now Myrrh's turn to explain her story, she talked as she continued to follow Mokou out of the forest. Mokou seemed much more comfortable listening to Myrrh than talking herself.

"A lot of people like me - Manaketes, I mean - live there, as well as a few monsters. We're always keeping the monsters from getting out of hand, but nobody really knows about the Darkling Woods and what's within except for the people that live there."

"Sounds a bit like Gensokyo, actually," Mokou interjected.

Myrrh shrugged, even though Mokou wasn't looking at her to see it. "I don't really know. I guess?

"I'll start at the beginning. Early on in my life, and lasting a while, I didn't really understand humans. I didn't really understand why people from the nearby town, Caer Pelyn, regarded us so highly. Why they called our leader, Morva, the Great Dragon. Why he helped them out when they were different from us.

"About 400 years into my life, so 800 years ago, there was a war. The Demon King Fomortiis was terrorizing the land, and there were a lot of monsters. Much more than normal, and they were everywhere. All of the Manaketes were helping the humans fight the monsters, and we ultimately won. But… in the fighting, both of my parents died, and I was stricken with a terrible depression for a time.

"That was when Morva came to me. I already mentioned that he was the leader of us Manaketes. He had never had any children, so he adopted me, and he helped me through my real parents' death. He was such a kind man."

Mokou, still walking and making haphazard turns through the thicket - at one point, six straight right turns - was silently absorbing everything the Manakete had to say. She didn't make any noticeable reactions that Myrrh could see, so the Manakete decided to just keep talking.

"I'd always been sort of a recluse, but that war changed me. It was then that I took lives for the first time. They were evil monsters, but it still felt wrong to me, somehow. Even still, after the war, I was heralded as a hero who contributed greatly to the defeat of Fomortiis. Just like Morva, the humans of Caer Pelyn started to refer to me as the Great Dragon. It just felt wrong, at first, to be congratulated for bringing death. But I've grown past it. The monsters I fought were undeserving of life in the first place as embodiments of evil.

"Not much happened in my life until just a few months ago, besides meeting Saleh, my first human friend and a protector of sorts. But then, there was another war. In this one, I had to kill people. Not monsters, but actual people. It wasn't often that an enemy soldier tried to capture me, but each time I had to kill them. It was a shock, and I never wanted to, but I had to live with it or die myself. There was one enemy who was kind… her name was Selena. I did not have to fight her… I couldn't have brought myself to.

"The war dragged on, and I made many new friends, like these two siblings, Ephraim and Eirika. There was also a funny little man named Dozla, and other people too. But I also saw many people die, and it saddened me. Then, at the end of the war, I ran into my father, Morva. But he wasn't the same. The enemies… they killed him… and made him into a slave of a corpse. I had to fight him again, my father. I didn't… I couldn't…"

Hearing Myrrh's voice grow to a whimper and then trail off, Mokou stopped and looked back at the dragon girl.

"You okay, little dragon? You don't have to talk about anything that gets you upset on my account, you know." Despite not really letting anything show throughout Myrrh's recounting, Mokou now had a distinctive look of concern on her face.

Myrrh nodded. "...I'm still trying to move past it. And I have to tell you the full story…"

"Alright, if you say so. We had better get a move on, though. It's night outside, and the sooner we get you out of this forest, the better. We're almost there, anyways, so let's get going."

As they continued to move, Myrrh spoke again. "... I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to finish him off. An ally had to step in, Ephraim. I was so weak. So much for the Great Dragon… neither of us were fit for that title anymore, with him dead and me mourning and pathetic…"

Mokou chuckled to herself. "Pathetic? Seems to me like you were doing what anyone would and should do with the death of a loved one. I mean, look at you. You're very functional now, so close to his passing. Were you even listening to my life? You've had three parents killed and you're still very much yourself. When my father died, I flew into a vengeful rage. Now who was pathetic and who was strong?"

Myrrh didn't have anything to say to that. Mokou, despite speaking roughly, was somehow making her feel a little better.

"Well, here we are. Edge of the Bamboo Forest. You can even see the Human Village from here. I've got a friend that lives there that I think you should talk to. Her name's Keine Kamishirasawa, and she has silver hair with blue streaks in it. Ask around and you'll find her, probably; everyone who's been in the village knows her, after all."

Myrrh nodded. "Umm… I think you're pretty nice, Mokou. Do you think we can be friends?"

"That was awkward," Mokou snorted. "But, you know what? I'd say the same about you. I've been making it a bit of a goal to be a bit more friendly, so I'll go ahead and accept. Now go on, head to the Village."

And so Myrrh did.

Shou shook her head. "I don't believe Nazrin will be coming. Seems like she's stubbornly fully intent on enjoying this day off I've given her. I apologize."

"I thought you said she serves Bishamonten? Shouldn't she be listening to all of your orders?"

"It was also my order for her to enjoy a break. She simply chose the order she was already observing."

Reimu, in response, stomped on the ground. "What am I supposed to do? I was counting on you! Myrrh could be anywhere and we wouldn't know. It's a disaster waiting to happen, is what it is! I have no leads and no good ways of finding her."

Shou sighed. "I don't know, maybe she will just appear somewhere and you just overlooked her by mistake. I cannot help you any further, so I will be returning to the Temple. May you have good fortune in your search."

With that, the tiger youkai walked off, leaving Reimu with no choice but to return to her Shrine.

Shou watched her fly away and shook her head. "Always so adamant. It would be understandable if this were a large-scale incident."

The avatar of Bishamonten continued her walk, now leaving the bounds of the Human Village. Looking at the stars, she closed her eyes in a moment of silent prayer. She earnestly wished for fortune to shine upon the "Myrrh" that Reimu was looking for. After all, Bishamonten was one of the Seven Lucky Gods. This was not something he was incapable of doing, should he feel it a worthy task.

It seemed as if he did deem it so, as Shou noticed a figure on the path before her later on her walk back to the temple.

With a short stature, Shou thought it might be Nazrin returning from wherever she was. However, she quickly realized the silhouettes didn't match up. This person clearly had large wings behind them.

"Who's there?" she called out to the person. She feared it was another short individual with large wings she'd heard about, a Remilia Scarlet. She hadn't met the vampire before, and she was hoping she would never have to; nothing good was ever said about her.

Thankfully, as the figure approached, she determined it to be someone else entirely.

The wings were draconic, and her hair was purple. She responded to Shou's question quietly, saying, "Umm… I'm Myrrh. Who are you?"

Shou stepped back slightly in surprise. She had certainly not expected Bishamonten to answer her petition so clearly, and so soon.

She regained her composure and began, "I am Shou Toramaru, a disciple of Bishamonten. I work for Byakuren Hijiri at the Myouren Temple nearby. Reimu wanted me to look for someone named Myrrh, would that be you…?"

"Umm, probably. I did run off, after all…" The girl looked rather nervous. "Did she want me to come back by force?"

"Ah, she seemed very resolute on trying to find you, but not to that extent."

"Then why are you carrying a spear while looking for me?"

Shou realized that probably did seem a little strange. Of course, there was a very good reason she had a spear on her at almost all times, but Myrrh likely wasn't acquainted with it. "I never use this as a weapon. It is just a symbol of Bishamonten, along with the pagoda in my other hand. I was visiting the Human Village, so I had to look the part of a representative. I was just walking back to the Temple from there, actually. I didn't think I was going to find you so unexpectedly."

Myrrh seemed to relax a little at this, but still seemed tense on the whole.

"Well, night has fallen," Shou remarked, hoping to ease that tension, "so how about I lead you to the Temple? The Human Village may not be immediately friendly to you, because you clearly aren't a human. You will be welcomed at the Temple, however. Once you've gotten some rest, I can bring you to Reimu in the morning, but you look exhausted right now."

The Manakete seemed to consider this, and then nodded slowly.

Shou smiled as good-naturedly as she could and motioned for Myrrh to follow.

Myrrh was impressed by the scope of the Myouren Temple and its grounds. As it was nighttime, however, she did not see anyone about.

Shou led her through the area to a small courtyard, where there was a lone woman sitting with her eyes closed.

As they approached, the woman's eyes fluttered open, and she turned to see who it was.

"Ah, you're back, Shou. I trust it went well?" she asked.

"There were more in line today than normal, but there didn't seem to be any particular overall reason for that. It likely means that we have gained followers, I think."

"Thank you. And who's this? A new disciple?"

Shou shook her head, and Myrrh did the same in suit. "No, this is the girl Reimu was looking for, Myrrh. I happened to come across her while walking back here. But since it was already dark and she looked tired, I figured I'd bring her here to rest for the night."

The woman seemed slightly surprised, but not overly so. "Excellent work. Shou, if you'd turn in for the night? Tomorrow will be a busy day." Receiving a nod from Shou and watching her leave, she continued. "As for you, Myrrh… I simply have a few questions, and then I'll show you to a place to sleep."

Myrrh nodded. This woman seemed kind to her. She had a graceful air about her, and she spoke softly but composedly. She seemed larger-than-life.

"I am Byakuren Hijiri, a buddhist nun, and I run this place of worship. And I already know your name. First off, I'd like to know what kind of youkai you are. I imagine you've already been asked this, but I am unaware myself."

Myrrh responded that she was a Manakete, as she had before.

"I see. I consider myself to be something of an expert on youkai, but that is not something I've ever heard of."

Myrrh thought for a moment, before saying, "How about you? And Shou, as well."

Byakuren smiled. "We are both youkai, but we act similarly to humans. Shou is a tiger youkai, but she was able to convincingly pass herself off as human for a very long time. I am a magician youkai, but I used to be human. Through the study of a specialized form of black magic, I discarded my humanity. …It went against my personal beliefs, but at the time, it seemed the right path."

"Black magic?" Myrrh shook her head in distaste. "Don't tell me…"

"As I said, I do not presently agree with my past actions. I acted out of greed, then. I no longer think so selfishly, but I am still here to spread the light of dharma and the message of equality because of that black magic. Ultimately, it has given me more time to do good."

"What sorts of good?"

"I yearn for a world in which humans and youkai are in harmony and are seen as equals. I believe Buddhism to be the best method to achieve this, and so I operate the Myouren Temple.

"Now, another question for you, Myrrh. As a youkai, what do you think of humans?"

Myrrh was a little thrown off by the question, but it was easy enough to answer. "I used to stay away from humans, because I couldn't understand why they did the things they did. But, with my adoptive father, I grew to like them. I fought to protect them in two wars, one long ago and one very recently."

"...I see. Are you alright with killing, in that case?"

"I don't like it. But sometimes, it becomes necessary when the enemy is certainly evil, like with demons."

Byakuren closed her eyes in a contemplative manner. "I've met some rather kind demons, you know. Anyone can be reformed, given enough time. I know it to be true of a phantom whose restless spirit caused her to end many lives by capsizing ships. She knew nothing but a desire to drag others down to her own fate of death on the high seas, and one could have certainly called her pure evil. Now, though, she is now one of my most loyal followers and has become a very empathetic individual."

Myrrh didn't have a response to that, She knew that she was right; how could the gargoyles, cyclopes, and mogalls she fought have possibly been dealt with peacefully? This woman clearly did not agree, but she couldn't have known what Myrrh had experienced.

Byakuren opened her eyes again, and stood. "That will be all. Follow me, and I'll show you to a spare room. My apologies if you do not find it to your liking, but we do not consider comfort more important than function."

Myrrh nodded, perplexed by the abrupt ending to the questions. She had imagined more from the nun. "It's quite alright. I'm sure I've slept in much worse conditions than a clean temple like this."