Chapter 70 - Finding One's True Potential

Replacing the cut section of the shimenawa fence didn't take the shrine maidens more than a couple of minutes, but now they faced the difficult question of what to do next.

"I wouldn't recommend anyone entering the quarry. It could be crawling with vengeful spirits by now for all we know." Reimu warned Tenma as well as Kazemura's elder.

"I understand the danger, but…" the old yama-bito frowned, "the quarry is our livelihood. If we can't mine here, we might as well all pack up and abandon this village."

"You could always start a new quarry nearby." Tenma said to his comfort. "This whole valley is rich with high-quality ore. With a bit of luck, you might even strike gold."

Sanae also found the situation disappointing. "Awww, I wanted to see the temple's interior. Why couldn't we just make a purification ritual in the quarry?"

"Because we'd be drained of power before we'd even begin. Not to mention, that ritual is only good if the spirits have a way to leave the area, and we just fenced them off."

"So what do we do now? Sit and wait?"

Even Reimu didn't know the answer to that, as evidenced by her absent-minded silent stare at the center of the quarry pit.

"There's got to be a way for us to drive the spirits away from the quarry…" Sanae declared confidently, but her faith alone wasn't going to figure out the solution to this problem.

"If only there was a way for us to see them."

"Can't Satori-san see them though?" the green-haired miko tilted her head.

"Hmm." Reimu rubbed her chin as she hummed. "We should go back to the tent and figure out our next step. Thanks for helping me with the fence, Sanae, but as you can see, there really isn't much for us shrine maidens to do at the moment. You can go back home."

"Are you kidding? There's tons of work for me to do here. For starters, I need to gather some faith for our shrine. The people of Kazemura should know that we've got their backs in these tough times and that the divines haven't forsaken them."

The red-white shrine maiden didn't prepare any counterargument to that kind of response. She turned around and retreated to the tent as she said. A new plan had to be devised to cope with the current problem, and so the expedition team gathered for yet another serious meeting.

And it wasn't the only serious meeting that was due to take place…

Come next morning, Kyouichi got out of his bed after barely getting any sleep. It was still dark outside, but he knew that the roosters from the farm across his new home wouldn't take long before singing their morning songs. He lit a few lanterns to see his surroundings better and absentmindedly prepared himself for an uneasy return to school after a turbulent weekend. Although "absentmindedly" was probably the wrong word, as his mind was anything but absent. It was working in overdrive, thinking of what was to come, rather than what he was doing now.

By now, no doubt everyone and their dog in the village must have heard the latest gossip about a group of outsiders attempting to leave Gensokyo while avoiding detection by the militia and failing spectacularly. Surely a newspaper article dedicated to this topic was already in the making, if not already published. It was more than certain that the teacher/principal, Keine, was going to call him on the carpet, demanding an explanation to what went wrong. And on top of that, he would have to reunite with all those people who put their trust in his plan and endure their accusing stares for days to come.

Needless to say, he wasn't looking forward to this day. He couldn't enjoy the taste of his breakfast, or his morning tea. It didn't help that he could hear the faint drumming of rain against his cabin's roof and windows. He even noticed a dripping leak in the roof, so with a sigh and a frown, he placed a bucket underneath it before he put his raincoat on and headed out. He didn't meet a soul on his way to the village gate, but once he crossed it, he could see people already up and about, either on their way to work, or in the case of children – to school. He quietly headed the same way as the children have, listening to their carefree chatter until he heard his name being called.

"Yo, Kyou-kun~!"

He lifted his gaze and saw the Saitou siblings with school bags on their backs. He wondered how they could recognize him in a crowd so easily with a hood on, but then it dawned on him that it was probably because he was wearing their father's old raincoat.

"So, what's it like living all by yourself?" Chitose started the conversation nonchalantly.

"I'm still getting used to it." Kyouichi gave a neutral answer.

"So, you're cooking and cleaning and washing your clothes and all that?"

Kyouichi couldn't hold back a chuckle at her rather redundant question. "No, I employ an army of fairy maids who do all those chores for me."

"If that was the case, you probably wouldn't have much left of your home." Tadao joined in. "Fairies have been going nuts lately. You heard what happened to the post office, right?"

Both siblings acted as though Kyouichi's attempt to leave Gensokyo never happened. Like it was just another Monday, they discussed their plans for the afternoon with seemingly no care in the world. Either way, Kyouichi was glad he could rest his worried mind over small talk with the two kids as they headed for school.

"Mom said that she'll be paying you a visit every now and then." Chitose continued, "She said you should stop by as well."

"Better not let her down then…"

As they walked and chatted, Kyouichi stole quick glances at groups of passerby in search for familiar faces, but he recognized none until he entered the schoolyard.

Near the entrance, he saw the one he probably had the most disagreements with, Yuujin Ueda. He was leaning against the wall, smoking a pipe and chatting with two other members of the Transfer Students' Club. He couldn't make out what they were talking about, but as soon as he saw Kyouichi's face, he went quiet and gave him an unpleasant glare. Kyouichi didn't expend any pleasantries either and just passed him by without even uttering a greeting. Just as he did so, he could faintly hear: "Goddamn Ishimaru…" muttered behind his back.

Being a person who normally avoids conflicts and confrontations, Kyouichi intended to ignore the remark and carry on to the classroom, but then he felt a pebble-sized object bouncing off the back of his raincoat's hood.

"Hm, Kyou-kun? What's wrong?" Chitose turned around when she noticed that Kyouichi wasn't keeping the pace with her and Tadao.

"Nothing." he brushed them off. "You can go on to your classrooms. I'm going to have a little chat with a friend here."

Both siblings gave him puzzled looks but obliged. Kyouichi then turned around, pulled his hood down and looked Yuujin straight in the eyes.

The stare-down lasted a few seconds before he spoke up. "If you have anything to tell me, tell it to my face."

"Just wanted to thank you for all the trouble you put us all through." Ueda replied sarcastically and smirked. "All that planning, all that research, all that work and money… And here we are, still stuck in this shithole. Really, good job. I really appreciate the way the militia interrogated me like some criminal."

"I've been interrogated too. What's your point? It's not like I intended to fail."

"My point is you foolishly betted everything on one plan without even making sure this shrine maiden could keep her end of the bargain. "

"Reimu WAS our backup plan, as we were unsuccessful in finding the boundary youkai. I already told you, she had already demonstrated her ability to me. I had no reason to doubt her."

"Yeah? When was that? Half a year ago?" Yuujin barked back, "You should have asked her to demonstrate it again before you led us all gullible sheep out of the village."

"You, as all the other people, have joined me voluntarily and agreed with that plan." Kyouichi defended his position,

"Yeah, trusting you! We had one chance to make it out of here without a hitch. Yet, you stubbornly insisted on delaying the day by months just for the sake of buying tons of unnecessary camping gear and food, which, by the way, we can all throw away. Do you really think we'd be that far from civilization that we'd need supplies for a week? And the best of all, now every damn Ryuuken knows of our intentions and will keep a close eye on us. Even if the barrier would let up again, we're not sneaking out of here. I doubt the time-stopping maid will bother with us again anyway. You squandered my one opportunity to see my family again."

Some of these points, Kyouichi begrudgingly had to silently agree with, but there was one point, which Yuujin was misinformed about.

"About the Ryuuken, I've actually asked them whether we'd be allowed free passage once the barrier issue is resolved. The elder gave us his word. We'll need Reimu's escort, but otherwise, he said he won't stand in our way."

"Is that so? The same elder who fined our asses for disobeying his regulations? I find it doubtful he'd suddenly have a change of heart. Sounds to me like you're just making it up in order to appease me. But let me tell you, I am sick and tired of being stuck in this place separated from my family. Sick and tired, you hear me?"

"I know you're pissed, but you're not the only one with a family here. I want to go home just as badly as you do."

"Then you should show at least a speck of shame! Instead, you casually go out on dates with the local youkai. The reason several of us have left our club. Now you're planning to settle down and betray it too… You should be deeply ashamed."

Of course, Yuujin didn't live under a rock and kept up-to-date with the latest gossip. And of course he'd bring THAT up in the conversation. Kyouichi could only sigh and chuckle at that.

"You should check your sources if you believe I plan on settling down."

"You're not convincing anyone with your bullshit, Ishimaru. We can't trust you anymore."

"If that's what you believe, you're free to start your own club. Nobody's holding you here against your will. I'm just saying that I will keep trying to find a way home."

"With a love affair on the side, right?" Ueda scoffed. It was obvious to Kyouichi that no matter what he'd say, this man would not believe him. Not that he could blame him much. Kyouichi himself wasn't sure who came out on top of their little argument, as the subway train conductor did make several valid points. He was like a megaphone for that little voice inside his head that robbed him of his sleep for the past couple of days. Their exchange would probably go on for a couple of more minutes if Keine-sensei hadn't arrived on the scene.

"Good morning. What's this commotion about?" she asked without waiting for an answer. "Please put that pipe out. No smoking allowed on the premises." she scolded Yuujin and before he could react, she swiftly snatched the pipe out of his hand.

"Hey, that's…"

"Don't worry, it'll be returned to you after school. And after you show me your homework, Ueda-san. Inside the classroom, everyone!"

"Homework? Are you kidding? I expected to be home by now. Who cares about some stupid homework?"

"Hm… Fair enough." Keine shrugged and quickly came up with an alternative way of punishment. "You'll clean up the classroom after school."

Kyouichi would find this situation quite hilarious if the previous conversation didn't already get his blood boiling. Now he wondered what the half-youkai teacher had to say about that misadventure of her "transfer students".

Once inside, Kyouichi met up with the rest of the outsiders and casually greeted them as he took a seat at his desk. As it was Monday, the first class on schedule was the history class. Kyouichi reluctantly pulled the appropriate textbook out of his bag and spread it open on his desk. Keine took a piece of chalk in her hand and turned to the blackboard. Everyone expected her to write the name of the next history topic, but instead she began to write down numbers - a date and a sum of money.

"Before we begin our history lesson, I'd like to remind you all that the scheduled field trip to the newly-built hot spring resort near the Youkai Mountain is due to next week. It's a ten-day sightseeing trip and it costs 50 000 yen per person for children and 75 000 for adults, just in case any of our transfer students are interested. It's not a compulsory trip, so please consult your parents or guardians whether you'd like to go or not. The trip will be both educational as well as recreational. You can find the details of the trip and the places we'll be visiting on the bulletin board along with a form where you can sign up." she pointed at the back wall of the classroom.

The classroom became loud with chatter as Keine announced that. Most of her regular students were excited about the idea, but there were some who questioned the whole idea.

"Keine-senei." one girl raised her hand tentatively.

"Yes?"

"What about the students who decide not to go? Will they get 10 days off?"

The were-hakutatku teacher chuckled. "I'm sure if that were the case, everyone would decide not to go. No. The students who for any reason decide not to partake in the field trip will have a regular schedule with substitute teachers until we return."

A wave of disappointed "awww"s echoed throughout the classroom.

"Of course, it doesn't mean that the students who do attend will be slacking off. I've already prepared a program filled with fun and educational activities that will help you learn more about Gensokyo."

"Like visiting a brothel?" Soudai uttered jokingly from behind Kyouichi's back, making him snicker. "That would definitely be 'fun and educational'."

Luckily for him, Keine didn't hear his dirty joke due to the clamoring of other younger students. They got so loud, in fact, that Keine had to calm them down.

"Quiet~! Keep it down, class!"

Another hand had risen up from the crowd.

"Yes?"

"Keine-sensei, is it really safe to go on this trip?" asked the boy in the front desk, slightly puzzling the teacher with his forward question.

"Why, of course it will be safe. I'll be protecting you. What makes you think it'd take you somewhere dangerous?"

"Well… The Youkai Mountain is in the northern part of Gensokyo. Dad said that the whole northern Gensokyo is not safe."

"If he was referring to the recent incident involving fairies, then I assure you, there have been no reported fairy attacks in any of the locations we're planning to visit. And even if they did attack, the mountain is home to the tengu who are more than capable enough to dispatch even large numbers of hostile fey. They will be watching over our safety as well. But if you or your parents think that you shouldn't go, it's perfectly fine. Like I said, the trip is not compulsory. Any other questions?" Keine asked as she looked around the classroom. "No? Okay. Now with that out of the way, open your books on page 82. We have another interesting and important event to learn about…"

She grabbed a sponge and wiped the field trip date and cost off the board and scribbled the name of the lecture. "The Vampire Incident."

As the students collectively readied their writing tools, Soudai whispered to Kyouichi: "Hey, how about you? Are you going on this field trip?"

Kyouichi just shrugged his shoulders. Just as when Keine first told the students about the trip in spring, he remained indecisive about the matter. A part of him was still curious about new sights to see, but perhaps the louder part of him was apathetic about it. His mind was still recovering from the failed return trip to the outside world, and wished for nothing more than to be left alone. He doubted this unnecessary adventuring was going to put him at ease.

"As for myself," Soudai continued, seeing as Kyouichi wasn't responding in any way beyond his shrug, "I'd be willing to go, but damn… 75K. That's our whole monthly salary. But if you said that you're going, then I'd sign up as well. We got nothing left to do besides killing time. Might as well spend it in a 'fun and educational' way. Hehe. Maybe there'll be some hot tengu girls in that hot spring resort…"

Before Kyouichi could react, Keine cleared her throat to get the students' attention. "Oh… And I almost forgot." She picked something up from the drawer of her desk and lifted it up for everyone to see. It was a book, and even the short-sighted Kyouichi could see that its cover was oddly familiar. "The most recent addition to the Gensokyo Chronicle has been officially published." the teacher announced, waving the book slightly. "This 166-page book written by Hieda no Akyuu-san is titled "Perfect Memento in Strict Sense"."

No wonder it seemed familiar. Kyouichi had already held its beta version in his hands, but out of all the books he borrowed from the chronicler, this was the one he got to know the least before he returned it.

"This lovely illustrated book is a simple and easy-to-read encyclopedia dealing with most of the currently-living youkai, as well as Gensokyo's prominent locations and historical events. It will make an excellent textbook, not just for our history classes. I've already ordered enough copies for all the students, but it will take a few days before they get all printed. In the meantime, I'll let you take a peek at it. Make sure you pass it along to all of your classmates, okay?" Keine smiled and handed the book over to the first student. "Of course, it's also going to cost something, but since I ordered so many, I got a bit of a discount. This new textbook will cost 2500 yen."

"Great, more expenses." Soudai "rejoiced" sarcastically.

Kyouichi turned his head over to him. "The best thing is, I already had it borrowed, but I foolishly returned all of Akyuu's books."

"Well, then just borrow it again." Soudai suggested.

"I doubt it's going to be for free this time."

"Didn't you work at a bookstore? Just have one copied on that fancy kappa printing machine you told me so much about."

"Yeah, well, I've already lost all my perks as a part-timer ever since I quit working there. And since the store changed its name, owner and purpose. I even doubt that the previous owner left that printer there. He spent a small fortune on that thing."

Soudai shrugged. "I'm just trying to help."

After a while the book that was being passed along reached Kyouichi's desk. "Ah, we meet again."

He examined the cover closely. It still had that nice smell that new books have. The image on the cover hasn't changed from the unofficial version that he had borrowed, but the book seemed slightly thicker. Understandable, since the one he had before was unfinished. He flipped through its pages and saw illustrations depicting many familiar faces. Many of whom he had already met. The entries for humans and youkai were separated and the youkai had a familiar chart dealing with their abilities, threat level, human friendship level and lastly - main places of activity, All-in-all, not a lot seemed to have changed about the unofficial book, but then again, Kyouichi hadn't seen all that much of the unofficial book either.

"Hey, are you gonna pass it over here or what?" Soudai was already getting impatient.

"Sure, here you go." the long-haired outsider shut the book and handed it over.

He briefly watched as the teacher jotted down some notes on the chalkboard that were relevant to today's lesson, when he felt the prod of Soudai's finger on his back.

"What?" he turned around in annoyance.

"Hey, found a page about your wife." he grinned like an idiot as he held the book opened on a page dedicated to Yuuka Kazami.

"Huh?" Kyouichi's eyes widened. Even the sleepiness he felt since getting up seemed to have vanished in that instant. "Give me that!" he snatched the book right out of Soudai's fingers and slammed it on his own desk so he could read the article. He did it so enthusiastically, though, that even Keine stopped writing mid-sentence to raise a confused look in Kyouichi's general direction.

"Please don't damage that book. I want it to return to me in pristine condition, understood?"

"Ah… yes, Keine-sensei…" Kyouichi sheepishly apologized and bowed. Then he adjusted his glasses and started reading.

Flower Master of the Four Seasons

Yuuka Kazami

Ability: Manipulation of flowers

"Yup, sounds about right…"

Threat level: Extremely high

"Ehe…ehehehe… damn." Kyouichi chuckled nervously and read on.

Human friendship level: Worst

"Wow…" Kyouichi stared at the chart in amusement. "If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you're trolling, Akyuu-chan."

"May I have the book, please?" Midori's voice returned Kyouichi's mind back to the classroom.

"Oh, sorry, class rep. Here you go." he reluctantly let go of the Perfect Memento. A strange surge of excitement and fear raced through his body. Those few lines he just read sounded like a gross exaggeration, and yet… they didn't.

"Akyuu really must fear her…" he quietly mused. Given Akyuu's reaction when he so casually introduced her to Yuuka the other day really provided support for such an assumption. He then quickly remembered his earlier conversation with the flower youkai herself about fear, and how it provides most youkai with sustenance and power, and how it is, according to her own words, considered a form of flattery. Certainly, Akyuu wasn't the only human to show signs of extreme anxiety in the presence of the smiling flower-loving youkai.

"Should I be afraid too?" he pondered that question for the remainder of the history class. His focus was all over the place throughout Keine's lesson, and so were his notes. The only thing he managed to memorize about the Vampire Incident was the fact that it led to the creation of the Spell Card System. Only the recess-announcing bell managed to snap him out of his daze.

As the history lesson ended, some students went over to the teacher's desk to pay for the new textbooks, others gathered at the bulletin board to sign up for the upcoming field trip.

Kyouichi's mind resembled an internet browser with 20 different tabs open at the same time. The field trip and Yuuka were merely the tip of that iceberg. Among other things, he kept thinking about his not-too-successful role of a club president. He knew that the club's regular meeting was scheduled for Tuesdays, but he couldn't wait until tomorrow. With mixed feelings of anxiety and willingness to make up for the recent failure, he stepped up to the blackboard and clapped his hands.

"Excuse me! May I have your attention, please?"

It took a moment for the noisy students to calm down and start paying him any attention, but soon, the whole classroom's eyes rested on him. Even Keine looked rather surprised by his sudden action.

"I'd like to make an announcement." he began, pausing briefly as he tried to string his thoughts into a sentence, "To all the members of the Transfer Students' Club, I would like to call for a special club meeting this afternoon in the library."

His sudden announcement was met with less support than he expected, though.

"Why today?"

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry, but I already have other plans for the afternoon."

"Are you going to resign?"

Those were just some of the responses of his clubmates. Even Keine disapprovingly shook her head. "I'm afraid the Literature Club will be using the library this afternoon."

"I see…" Kyouichi lowered his gaze and slowly walked back to his desk. "So much for my good intention."

"Hey, what was that all about?" Soudai asked him in puzzlement.

"Nothing… Just thought I would have a talk with everyone and help raise the club's morale a bit. Maybe try to steer it the right direction again."

"I'm sure tomorrow will be a better time for that."

"Not if I want to sleep well tonight…" Kyouichi disagreed, but he knew he wouldn't convince the unwilling club members to hold any special meetings today.

"Do you have any new plans for our club perhaps?" Midori chimed in.

"Not really…" Kyouichi admitted with a sigh. "I just have a few short-term ideas that could at least help us get some money back."

"Okay then. Write them down and present them tomorrow. I'm sure you'll have a more willing audience."

"Yeah, you're probably right, Midori."

"Of course I'm right. And you know what else I'm right about?" the class representative smirked lightly.

"What?"

"That you need a rest and a change of scenery."

Kyoichi blinked at her in confusion. "I'm not sure I'm following you…"

"Don't play coy. You know well what I'm talking about."

It took but one glance from Midori over Kyouichi's shoulder at the back of the classroom for Kyouichi to catch on.

"You want me to go on that field trip?"

"I'm merely suggesting it. Who knows, maybe you'll learn some new information that will help us in our search for the boundary youkai. Or perhaps a way to cross the barrier even without her or Reimu's help."

Even though Kyouichi wanted to say how much he doubted that, Midori effectively managed to plant a bug in his head.

He kept staring at the bulletin board, as if he hoped it could help him solve his dilemma for him. To go, or not to go? That was the question.

"Oh, what the hell… I live only once, right? I'm probably not going to have a second chance…" he mumbled as he took a pen in his hand and stepped up to the bulletin board of destiny.

A few scribbles on the paper and the decision became official. After he signed up, he noticed that Midori's name was already there.

"Oh, you've signed up, huh?" Soudai took a peek over Kyouichi's shoulder. "And Iwakami too… I guess that means I should keep my word, doesn't it? Can I borrow your pen, Ishimaru?" he asked politely, but didn't wait for an approval. He simply plucked the pen out of Kyouichi's hand and marked the paper with his autograph. "There… Bye-bye, 75 000 yen. I'll be missing you. This trip better be worth it."

The day went on as usual for the outsiders. Kyouichi's paranoid thoughts from morning did not come true after all. It almost seemed disappointing that Keine didn't call the transfer students to her office for counseling, but by the same token, none of the outsiders came knocking on her office's door once the school was over.

Normally, Kyouichi would spend the time between school and his part-time job taking a nap or hanging out with friends, but now he had other plans. His first stop on his way from school was the Hieda house. While he was well accustomed to dealing with the chronicler herself, he wasn't all that comfortable around the rest of her family. The feeling he had when he knocked on the door was akin to that when he first visited the place as a complete stranger.

Fortunately, he heard the familiar voice calling: "Come in~!" from the other side of the door.

"Good afternoon, Akyuu. Hope I'm not interrupting your work…" Kyouichi removed his sandals and stepped inside.

"Oh, Kyouichi-san. Afternoon…" the girl greeted him casually from the table. Scrolls, books, ink flasks and brushes obscured nearly all of the table's surface. She was still writing something onto one of those long scrolls when Kyouichi entered the room.

"You're interrupting, yes, but just a little…" she smiled and put her brush down. "I just have one more scroll to finish…"

"Ah, I'm sorry then…" Kyouichi apologized and rose back to his feet. "I can stop by some other time."

"No, no, you don't need to leave!" Akyuu quickly tried to make up for the misunderstanding. "Please… sit. I'll go and make some tea and…"

"I'll pass, thanks. It's not the tea I've come here for anyway."

"Oh. Right. What can little old me help you with then?"

"About those books I had borrowed from you earlier…" Kyouichi sheepishly approached the point of his visit.

"Yes?"

"Would it still be okay if I… you know… borrowed one of them again?"

"Oh, sure." Akyuu replied with a kind smile. "Provided I didn't already lend it to someone else…"

"Oh." Kyouichi figured there'd be a catch and now he hoped his desired book wasn't in someone else's hands.

"So, which book you have in mind?"

"Uh… the Perfect Memento?"

"Ah, my most recent one. I'm glad that you liked it. It just recently got published, you know." the teenage chronicler's petite chest seemed to swell with pride as she spoke. "Unfortunately…"

And here came the catch that Kyouichi anticipated, but hoped he could avoid.

"...since it was recently published, I naturally handed the original to the publishers - the Motoori family, and they still haven't returned it. Hm… I might have to pay a visit to Suzunaan, as they should no longer need it."

"So I'll go rent it from Suzunaan then."

"Well… you see…" another catch slowly made its way out of Akyuu's mouth. "They have this policy that they only rent books that are older than 3 years in order to promote the sales of new publications."

"Bummer… But it does make sense. From a business standpoint anyway." Kyouichi nodded.

"So, there's no helping it. I'll have to buy it after all…"

And as he mumbled to himself, the chronicler perked up. "You know… I would really, really appreciate it if you helped support my work by buying it. Each copy sold means more pocket money, ehehe~." she punctuated the truthful statement with a cute smile and a giggle.

"Playing the cute card… not fair." said Kyouichi jokingly.

"Well, if you're really short on money, you could borrow my draft version of Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, but it's a mess… I wouldn't recommend it."

"Nah, I'm not short on money, I was just hoping I could save some." the outsider made a shrug.

"I understand." Akyuu nodded as she pulled herself away from the table and stood up. "Here's an idea: why don't we both pay a visit to Suzunaan? With little luck, we'll only run into Kosuzu. Maybe I can coax her into giving you a discount."

"Isn't she still in Kazemura, though?"

"No, she and I both returned to the village to get Perfect Memento published."

Now that Kyouichi was again up-to-date with the situation, he responded to Akyuu's suggestion with a nod. "Alright then. Let's go."

And so they went. It wasn't much of a journey as Suzunaan was just across the street. Just as they opened the door, they were welcomed by the tunes of jazz music playing from a vintage-style gramophone. Even though the shop had a bell that rang whenever someone opened or closed the door, there didn't seem to be anyone inside.

"Uh… hello?" Akyuu gently called out, but got no response. Together with Kyouichi she slowly approached the main counter with an empty chair behind it. "Anybody home?" the chronicler tried her luck again.

Kyouichi was still trying to get used to the rearranged furniture of his former workplace when he heard some noise coming from the back room where he used to work with the kappan printing machine. A sound of light footsteps preceded the emergence of a young girl, who Kyouichi was already introduced to back in Kazemura.

"Welcome to Suzu…" she enthusiastically began a greeting when she recognized her visitor. "Oh… It's just you." She casually waved her hand, as if Akyuu was just an annoying fly that found its way into the shop.

"Not just me, this time." the 9th child of Miare corrected her, and right on cue, Kyouichi stepped out from behind one of the shelves.

"Good afternoon."

Not being possessed of perfect memory like Akyuu, it took Kosuzu a moment to connect the face in front of her with a name. She succeeded, though… with Kyouichi's help.

"Ah, yes, yes, Ishimura Yuuichi."

"Kyou… ichi. And it's "Ishimaru"." the outsider was genuinely amused how this girl butchered his name.

"Ah, sorry… I'm terrible with names." she confessed with an apologetic bow. "I heard about the setback that prevented you outsiders from crossing the boundary…"

At this point, Kyouichi would be more surprised if there was anyone in the village who hasn't heard about that failed attempt yet.

"…That's unfortunate." she tried to empathize with his plight, but stating the obvious didn't seem to help the situation by the tiniest margin.

"Yes, well…" Akyuu broke the awkward moment of silence. "…let's get down to business, shall we?"

"Oh. Yes. You must want your manuscript back, right?" she managed to correctly guess Akyuu's reason for visiting. "Just give me a moment…" she ducked behind the counter and began to rummage through its shelves. "It should be right here. Hm… no. Or was it here…? Not here either."

Akyuu and Kyouichi exchanged confused glances as Kosuzu desperately tried to locate the original version of Perfect Memento.

"I swear I had it safely put away around here somewhere, just waiting for you to pick up." Kosuzu's frantic search intensified, as now her visitors could see sheets of paper being scattered about from behind the counter.

Akyuu let out a sigh. "You know this wouldn't happen if you organized your workplace instead of just dumping everything willy-nilly onto one pile."

The sound of rustling paper was now replaced by the noise of drawers being pulled off their grooves and placed on the floor.

"I told my dad to keep it where it was..."

"Blaming it on your parents now?"

"Aha! Here it is~!" Kosuzu stuck out her hand, holding the book like a victory trophy.

"You're lucky." Akyuu took the manuscript and checked it for any signs of damage. "Your parents wouldn't be too happy if they had to pay a fine for losing it."

"If it's their fault, it's their problem. I know where I leave my stuff. Anyway," Kosuzu straightened up again, "You're already making a killing with that book of yours even without us having to pay you any fines."

Akyuu's lips parted in surprise. "Huh? So someone already bought it?"

"Well, yes. Someone indeed…"

"Let me guess: Kamishirasawa-sensei?"

"Whoa! How did you know?" Kosuzu sarcastically pretended to be impressed.

"Of course she'd buy it. But how does one sold book constitute "making a killing"?"

"Well, the thing is, she's planning to introduce Perfect Memento as an official textbook. Once she collects enough money from the students, she said she's going to order the book in a bulk. That could be a couple of hundred copies easily."

"A-are you serious?" Akyuu stuttered in disbelief. "That… That's amazing!" Even though a few hundred sold copies would barely satisfy any author in the outside world, by Gensokyo's standards Perfect Memento would be considered a bestseller.

"Did you hear it, Kyouichi? The school bought my book~!" the young chronicler hopped excitedly.

"That's. uh… great, Akyuu-chan~!" he tried to share her enthusiasm, but he knew about it all along, just never really mentioned it to her.

"It is~! And you're attending that school, right? That means good news for you too~! You can order a copy from Keine-sensei."

"Riiight… I forgot to mention that's the reason I've come to visit you in the first place…" Kyouichi admitted with a sense of guilt on his chest. "After I found out that Keine wants us to use Perfect Memento as a textbook, I instantly remembered how you let me borrow all those volumes of Gensokyo Chronicle for free and I thought…"

"You thought you'd just borrow it again." Suzunaan's little clerk finished the sentence for him.

"Well, yes." the outsider shrugged. "Or at least that I'd get a better offer."

"In that case, you're going to have to ask the author. We don't usually rent books that aren't at least…"

"Three years old, yes, Akyuu already told me. And she also told me she'd appreciate if I actually bought a copy rather than just borrow it."

"Of course, if you wish to buy it, that's a whole different story." Kosuzu pointed at the top shelf behind her, where new books were neatly stacked. The price tag for the Perfect Memento read 2999 yen. Almost 500 more than what Keine said it would cost.

"At this rate, I'm really better off ordering it from the teacher then. Unless…" he stole a pleading glance at Akyuu, who took a while to catch on.

"Ah, yes… Unless Kosuzu-chan here offers you a better discount, right?"

"It's not really in my competence to tamper with the prices that dad puts up…" Kosuzu tried to squirm out of haggling. Which would probably work on Kyouichi, but Akyuu was there with him and she knew the redhead far better and for far longer.

"Nor are you in competence to dig through his collection of occult books and study them in your leisure."

Kosuzu's eyes widened in disbelief. The deer in the headlights had no room for evasion.

"You wouldn't rat out your bestie, would you, Akyuu?" she asked pleadingly, her voice hushed and her gaze nervously darting all over the room, as if to make sure no eavesdroppers were around. "Would you?"

"I'll think about it." the "evil" chronicler smirked back.

"Occult books?" Kyouichi nonchalantly inquired. "What sort of occult books?"

"Y-you didn't hear anything."

"Oh, but I did. She said 'occult books', right?"

They both had her cornered. And even though Kyouichi had no idea what books Akyuu mentioned, he pretended like he did and decided to play along. "Like books on witchcraft, demon summoning rituals, black magic, necromancy…"

Kosuzu gasped. "How do you know?!" Then her eyes reverted to Akyuu. "You told him about them?"

"I didn't." Akyuu responded truthfully, but not convincingly enough.

"Liar!"

"No, seriously, I didn't."

"So this is what it's come down to? You're going to blackmail me? You're going to betray all those years of friendship for the sake of doing your boyfriend a favor?"

"W-what?! No! Look, we're not really dating…" Akyuu's cheeks were in full blush mode as she tried to explain and clear things up. And Kyouichi just stood there, smiling and enjoying the show.

"Where is popcorn when you need it?"

After a brief soap-opera moment between the two friends, Akyuu finally managed to calm Kosuzu down.

"…so you can relax. We're not here to blackmail you."

"Wait, we're not?" the outsider looked at Akyuu.

"Kyouichi, please…"

"Okay."

"Well then, if I can trust your word, I ask that nothing we just spoke of leaves this shop." Kosuzu knelt down and pulled a book from one of the counter's drawers. Leather-bound, old-looking. Its cover was inscribed with a bunch of unknown characters, the like of which Kyouichi had never seen. Not even on the ruins in Kazemura.

Both he and the young chronicler leaned over to look at it.

"What's this one about?" Akyuu inquired, tilting her head to the side. But no matter what angle she looked at the fading letters, she couldn't make them out.

"Can't you read?" Kosuzu smirked provokingly.

"Not this gibberish, I'm afraid."

"And how about your boyfriend?" she joked about it, even though Akyuu had already made it clear enough.

Kyouichi squinted his eyes, looking just as puzzled as Akyuu at the short text. "Hmm, let's see… Ash nazg durbatulûk..." he jokingly started a line from the inscription on the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings, but then he quickly dropped the act and shrugged. "Nah, I got nothing."

"Hmm… So it really is just me." Kosuzu muttered to herself and nodded. "Interesting…"

"Just you…? What do you mean, Kosuzu?" Akyuu lifted her gaze off the book to look her childhood friend in the eyes. "Are you saying you understand what it says?"

"I'm honestly surprised you can't. Weird…" Both Kosuzu and Akyuu wore similar puzzled expressions on their faces, and Kyouichi, though maintaining a nonchalant demeanor, likewise couldn't make heads or tails of the situation.

Akyuu thought that Kosuzu was just pulling her leg and was just pretending to understand the unknown language, so she decided to test her.

"So what does it say?"

Kosuzu put her finger on the beginning of the book's title, reading it from left to right, tracing her finger along the name as she read: "The Doors to the World Beyond."

Kyouichi could see from Akyuu's face that she wasn't buying it. The chronicler was well-aware that the Motoori family owned quite a number of occult books, but she wasn't ready to believe that Kosuzu just suddenly and inexplicably learned to read the enigmatic symbols written on the book's cover.

"Is that right?"

"You don't believe me, do you?" Kosuzu sighed in disappointment, but she couldn't really blame Akyuu's skepticism.

"Well… You could have just made that name up on the fly…" the purple-haired girl smiled and shrugged. "What about the author's name?"

"It isn't mentioned anywhere. Whoever wrote this book wanted to keep their identity unknown. I've already skimmed through the book and as the name suggests, it deals with spirits, binding rituals, protective rituals, summoning and spirit travel."

"Care to read us a passage?" Kyouichi too wanted to see a more convincing proof that Kosuzu could indeed understand the text. Anyone could think of an occult-sounding name for a book in a few seconds, but coming up with actual content on the fly would be a lot trickier.

Akyuu, however, wasn't as thrilled about the suggestion. "I'm not sure this is the best idea."

"No problem." Kosuzu smiled and opened the tome on a random page. It was filled with the same strange-looking characters as written on the cover with a disturbingly detailed illustration of an entity that resembled the grim reaper. It was draped in a tattered robe and had skeletal features with no legs as it floated above the ground. In its bony hand, it wielded a staff of some sort and wore a thick-chained medallion around its neck. Just the picture alone was enough for Akyuu to take a cautious step backwards and gulp. The sinister background of a graveyard on a moonlit night wasn't helping it.

Kosuzu appeared unfazed and put her index finger on the beginning of the text. After clearing her throat she began to read: "Of those seeking eternal life on earth, many a mortal had been tempted by the idea of lichdom. Rather than facing judgment that would have them sent either to Heaven, Purgatory or Hell, these souls would remain bound to their own mortal remains, forever to roam earth as restless wraiths that came to be commonly known as liches…"

After a brief demonstration of Kosuzu's reading skills, Kyouichi slowly shifted his glance at Akyuu. "You know, I don't think she's just making it up."

Even Akyuu had to acknowledge that the wording wasn't the typical way her friend spoke or wrote. "Kosuzu, you're starting to scare me."

Kosuzu widened her smile, obviously enjoying the awe of her visitors and continued reading.

"Unlike the mindless re-animated skeletons and corpses raised by necromancers, who rarely used the original body's spirit, if any spirit at all to bring them to life, a lich is a fully sentient, autonomous undead entity retaining the knowledge, intelligence and memories from its mortal life. And unlike an earthbound spirit, it can physically interact with its environment with far greater ease. To this day it is considered among the highest forms of undeath and was often chosen and performed by the most powerful and knowledgeable of black mages or kings, as it allowed them to carry on their studies, rule posthumously or exact acts of revenge from beyond the grave. A lich doesn't need to be bound to the will of any necromancer, (although several documented cases when a master necromancer directly controlled several dozen of these entities exist) and many dark art practitioners prefer lichdom over vampirism as the former option is not dependent on regular doses of fresh human blood and doesn't come with a plethora of other weaknesses that plague the vampires.

Such existence, however, does not come without its price - the most noteworthy being inability to stop and reverse the decomposition process of the body. As the spirit-binding method used in the process of creating liches requires an intact phylactery, (most often the body or a specific part of it) liches aren't immortal in the truest sense of the word. Embalming techniques may be applied to slow the deterioration process, but ultimately the lich's body will forever remain its greatest weakness. This is by no means to say that they are easily destroyed. Every lich is first and foremost a powerful spellcaster, making nearly any direct attack futile. They were feared since the times of Merlin and for good reason, however even they could be beguiled and outnumbered. And nobody managed to demonstrate this fact better than the Inquisition, which nearly wiped out the entire lich population from the face of Europe. Nearly. Ever since the Great Purge, necromancy and witchcraft became a lost art, as anyone even remotely associated with these practices was usually burned at the stake and all their heretical texts along with them…"

"Alright, Kosuzu, I think I heard enough." Akyuu stopped her friend from reading any further. She really wasn't in the mood to hear every dark detail about these terrifying creatures, their origins or history. Kosuzu, however felt like a fish in the water.

"But I want to know how liches are created. Don't you find it fascinating? Not just these foreign undead creatures, but the very fact that my dad had this sort of book lying in his bookcase all this time… And the fact that I can actually understand it."

"Yes, that's probably the most disturbing fact about it." Akyuu remarked with a matching expression of worry.

"So? You believe me now?" Kosuzu smugly tilted her nose upwards.

"D-do I have a choice? Look, I don't know how you do it, but I'm honestly starting to become worried about you."

"I believe her too." Kyouichi admitted with a nod of acknowledgement. He certainly appeared to be more on Kosuzu's side in terms of fascination with the topic. "I've heard a thing or two about liches before, but only from fantasy-themed video games mostly. But to think these things are real…" he shuddered at the thought.

"Kosuzu, tell me honestly…" Akyuu grabbed her friend's hands and looked her dead in the eyes. "You weren't always able to read that book, right?"

Even Kosuzu found the intensity of Akyuu's stare unsettling. "I… I wasn't."

"So how did you learn that language?"

"I don't know. I just recall flipping through its pages as a 5-year old. True, I could barely read common kanji back then. But I really didn't understand a single letter of its text. I asked my dad about what it said, but you know how that ended…"

"Yes…" Akyuu sighed at that memory.

"How?" Kyouichi wanted to know.

"Well, basically, she got a good spanking and was told never to touch weird books. Her dad hid the book away from her. Poorly, mind you… She still knew where to find all the really juicy occult books in his collection." Akyuu summarized the history with an almost sadistic grin of satisfaction. "At least according to what Kosuzu told me. I didn't know that it was for this particular book, though."

Kosuzu frowned and lowered her head, as if ashamed of her childhood mischief. "I wonder why he was so protective of it if he knew nobody could read it."

"Unless he had a hunch his little girl would awaken a mysterious power within her to decipher strange texts and start practicing necromancy in his basement." Akyuu remarked jestingly.

"I doubt I have any such power." the shopkeeper's daughter shook her head in denial.

"We'll see about that." Kyouichi wanted to put Akyuu's theory to the test. "Kosuzu-chan, do you happen to have any other books written in a foreign language?"

"We do have quite a few scrolls and books written in Chinese, a couple in English and a handful in some unidentified languages…" Kosuzu started to point at the yonder bookshelves in the corner of the shop.

"Okay, so do you know any foreign language?"

Kosuzu's hair bells rang as she shook her head in a negative response.

"Alright, and when was the last time you tried reading a non-Japanese text?"

"About a minute ago?" the redhead grinned sheepishly.

Even Kyouichi with his high tolerance for bad jokes cringed slightly at Kosuzu's reply. "I meant the last time BEFORE you figured out you could understand it." he re-formulated the question.

The young girl hummed as her eyes trailed off towards the ceiling. "I don't know… A year ago? No, wait… it was when I visited Kazemura and tried reading the strange symbols on the ruins."

Kyouichi nodded as he was personally present when Kosuzu first arrived in Kazemura. It was the first time they had met.

"Okay, Kosuzu-chan…" Kyouichi took out an English book titled 'Steam and Clockworks' out of the shelf. Him being more than proficient in the language, it seemed like a perfect way of verifying whether or not Kosuzu could understand foreign languages. "Can you tell me what the title says?" he asked as he held the book in his outstretched hands.

The Motoori child squinted in the same way Akyuu did when she saw "The Door to the World Beyond".

"U-um.. err… S-su… Su-chiimu a-ando… ku-roku-waakusu…" she struggled to squeeze out a syllabized approximation, which sounded just as though she was reading the title in katakana.

"Hmm…" Kyouichi gave a nod of acknowledgement, but he was far from impressed. "Alright, that was easy." He opened the book in the same random fashion as Kosuzu did a while ago and put it on the counter in front of her. Here… try reading something. No, rather than reading, translate what it says."

Kosuzu hesitantly lowered her gaze at the opened page, regarded the text for a while but no words came out of her mouth. She nervously adjusted her glasses, but that didn't seem to help either. The clock in the shop ticked quietly in the background, yet not a peep was uttered by the daughter of the Motoori family. Even the record, which provided gentle jazz ambience reached the end of its cycle and just quietly spun on the gramophone and emitted a light crackling noise.

"She can't read it after all…" Akyuu concluded with a disappointed headshake.

But Kosuzu wasn't giving up yet. She took the book in her hands and leaned it slightly upwards and put her finger on the first line of the text.

"You can stop pretending like you understand it already…"

And that's when little Kosuzu began: "...the super-heated steam then pushes the piston forward. As the piston pushes, the crank and the connecting rod turn the wheels. When the piston has reached the end of the cylinder, it can push no further. However the wheels' own momentum then drives the crank further, pushing the piston back into the cylinder the way it came…"

Silence. After Kosuzu read but a couple of lines from the book, the only sound in Suzunaan were the scratches of the record player's needle against the spinning vinyl.

Not just Kyouichi and Akyuu were wearing dumbfounded expressions, but the reader of the book as well.

"I have no idea what I just read, but… I read it." the redhead finally spoke and blinked at the open book in disbelief.

"It appears to be a basic description of how a steam locomotive operates." Kyouichi explained. He was paying close attention to the text as Kosuzu read it and was stunned by her quick and precise translation. "I wouldn't have translated that better myself."

"A-amazing…" her friend only managed a one-word reaction.

"I don't understand…" Kosuzu kept staring at the page in confusion and shaking her little head left and right. "I couldn't understand the text at first glance, but then… but then… It's like it just… came to me. Like an epiphany."

"Well, isn't this a wonderful day." the outsider spoke as he regarded the young girl with fascination. "We've just discovered that Kosuzu-chan has an extraordinary gift."

"As much as I am amazed," Akyuu spoke up hesitantly, "the implications are somehow more terrifying than awesome."

"But I don't even know how I did it!" Kosuzu loudly declared as she looked at Akyuu and Kyouichi. "If I have a gift, then I have no idea how to use it. I could read that occult book without a problem, but it took me a while to read the English one…"

"Maybe you need to focus really hard…" Kyouichi theorized.

"I was focusing hard, but I honestly couldn't translate what it said right away but then… I grabbed the book and…" Kosuzu left the sentence, as well as her jaw hanging in the air upon a sudden realization. "I grabbed it… Grabbed it! That must be it! I have to try this out with another book!"

She rushed like a little steam locomotive from behind her counter to the foreign books section and grabbed the first book she saw… or that her short frame allowed her to reach. She touched the cover and… "'Curses, Blessings and Incantations'!" she exclaimed excitedly as she effortlessly shattered the language barrier. She put the book back to its place and pulled an old scroll and repeated the process. "'Earth's Healing Plants – scroll one by Eirin Yagokoro'! I've never been able to read those!"

"I'm glad I wasn't the only one." Kyouichi remarked as he tried his best to suppress his chuckle. Instantly, the memories of him working at this shop and trying to transcribe Eirin's old manuscripts from her scratchy and barely-legible handwriting to proper kanji came back to him like a flood. Apparently, some of Starlight Glyph's original inventory was left here when the shop changed owners.

Akyuu wondered why he snickered to himself when Kosuzu pulled out the scroll, but the outsider offered no explanation. Meanwhile the shop owner's assistant was far from over showing-off her new power. If Akyuu didn't stop her, she'd probably take every foreign book out of the shelf and read its translation aloud.

"Alright, Kosuzu, enough demonstrations."

"I… I really do have it… an ability to decipher any text." Kosuzu could hardly believe it herself. "Could I have really acquired that in Kazemura?"

"I'd sooner blame it on all those youma books you've touched in the last decade."

"You think so, Akyuu? I haven't touched THAT many of them, you know… But now that I can read them at last, I'm going to study them ALL extensively!" the redhead beamed and rubbed her palms against one another.

"If only her dad knew…" Kyouichi chuckled at the irony.

"Listen, Kosuzu, I know you're excited about this, but hear me out. There might have been a very good reason why most of these books were written in a way so that no mortal could read them. Namely because the knowledge within them could prove to be very dangerous in the hands of said mortal. I know I've already said this to you, but you're exposing yourself to a great risk by merely handling them, let alone studying their content."

"If they were as dangerous as you believe, something bad would have already happened to me ages ago." Kosuzu argued.

"I just don't want to see my childhood friend ending up being possessed by something."

"Hmph… Sounds to me like you're just jealous of my newly-awakened ability." the young redhead smugly turned her head to the side and tilted her nose towards the ceiling.

"My opinion of you would suffer a major blow if you truly believe I'm that petty." Akyuu frowned at her friend's childish reaction.

"Wasn't it you who threatened to blackmail me a few minutes ago?"

"I already told you that I was merely teasing you. Heck, do whatever you please. But if strange demons infest your home after a séance gone wrong or something like that, don't run crying to me. Call your local shrine maiden. But then again, if she catches wind of what you're studying, you'll be in so much trouble that the demon tormenting you will be the least of your worries."

"Now, now, girls," Kyouichi stepped in between them. "I don't like to see you arguing."

Both young ladies discontinued their little stare-down as they looked up at the only adult in the room, who took their momentary silence as a cue to change the topic.

"Speaking of worries… Akyuu, may I just ask why are you so afraid of Yuuka Kazami?"

The purple-haired chronicler widened her eyes at the mere mention of the youkai's name.

"I mean. I heard some rumors and all," Kyouichi continued in the same light-hearted tone, "but don't you think that what you've written about her is a bit mean?" he raised an eyebrow as he opened a copy of Perfect Memento on the page with the short article about the aforementioned youkai.

"Ah… that's right… Kazami-san…" Akyuu mumbled sheepishly, "She wasn't around during my predecessors' lifetimes, so she's a fairly new face in Gensokyo. That day when I saw you and Kazami-san together… It just… really surprised me…" she averted her gaze, clearly not comfortable talking about her.

"Eh~?" Kosuzu tilted her head, making her decorative bells jiggle. "What happened? Fill me in."

"Well… I…" Akyuu tried to string a sentence together, but Kyouichi spilled the truth without hesitating.

"She ran like a bat out of hell. And all I tried to do was introducing them to each other."

Kosuzu beamed at her older friend, whose expression was in direct contrast to her own. "Is that true? Akyuu ran away from someone she slandered in her book?" she asked with a cruelly teasing tone as she struggled not to laugh. "Oh, sweet karma!"

"I didn't slander anyone."

"Really? 'Human friendship level: worst'? What is that if not slander?" the outsider asked.

"I compile my books mostly from eyewitness testimonies and most of those testimonies don't describe her as someone you'd want to be around."

"Psh.. what do they know?" Kyouichi waved his hand dismissively.

"She really is an extremely dangerous youkai, Kyouichi. Deadly. Especially to an outsider. I don't know what circumstances led you to meet her, but for your own safety…"

Having heard a similar sentence from enough people before, Kyouichi could already guess what Akyuu wanted to say. "Oh, please, Akyuu, spare me that nonsense." he interrupted her with a sigh of annoyance. "Honestly… you sound just like old Naota. Yuuka is actually much nicer than you'd think."

"She may look so on the surface, but believe me…"

"Believe you what? How many times have you met her? How many times have you talked to her? I bet that I've done so more times than you. Besides, wasn't it you who encouraged me to befriend a dangerous youkai when I first met you? That it's one of the greatest achievements a human can accomplish?"

"I did say that," Akyuu admitted, "but I also said that it shouldn't be attempted without experience…"

"Well, don't you think I've already gained some during those 6 months I've spent here? I've met Yuuka several times already and I'm still alive. Not only that, I also believe she's a genuinely sweet person."

"Oh? Do you perhaps… like her, Kyouichi-san?" Kosuzu smirked impishly as she listened in on the conversation. "Because you sound like someone defending their lover's honor."

"Okay, let me clear that up… I haven't met her THAT many times, Kosuzu-chan." the outsider corrected the misunderstanding with a flustered look in his eyes. "But from my personal experience I can say that Yuuka has been nothing but nice to me. How's that for an eyewitness testimony?"

"Is that so?" Kosuzu asked. "Well… Regardless of your experience, it's a little too late to edit that article now."

Kyouichi let out a chuckle. "Indeed. And it's probably for the better. One might even say you're doing Yuuka a favor by spreading this intimidating image of her to the human populace. I actually wanted to tell you not to be afraid of her when I met you that day, but you're just too adorable when teased, Akyuu. Even Yuuka said so herself."

Unsure whether to feel flattered or embarrassed, the chronicler murmured something unintelligible under her breath.

"Yes, very adorable~." Kosuzu chimed, enjoying the sweet payback for Akyuu's previous teasing.

"Though, to be honest, your article is not entirely off." Kyouichi concluded as he finished reading. "She's really crazy strong. Physically and magically. And her smile looks scary sometimes, but she's a dear… I won't lie; I've grown to like her a lot."

"Now I'm really curious to hear how you met her." Kosuzu's eyes gleamed in the dim light of the shop's lanterns.

"Perhaps some other time." Kyouichi gave the article about Yuuka one last glance before closing the book. "By the way, does any one of you know where this Garden of the Sun is? I don't think I've heard about it before." he asked nonchalantly about the flower youkai's supposed main place of activity.

The still-skeptical 9th child of Miare deflected the question: "I think it's better for you not to know."

However, her cute younger friend saw no harm in Kyouichi knowing that information. "The Dangerous Area Guide starts on page 135~."

"Oh? Let me see…" the outsider's curiosity got certainly piqued. He reopened the book, flipping through its pages to find the section mentioned by Kosuzu, only to have the book snatched out of his hands by Akyuu.

"Hey!"

"Kosuzu really doesn't know when to shut up."

"Aw, come on!" Kyouichi tried to reason with the worrywart purple-haired teen. "I just want to know, that's all… Do you really think I'll actually go there?"

"…Judging from what you said earlier, I think you might be tempted to." Akyuu defiantly clutched the copy of her chronicle.

Kyouichi sighed and couldn't help but to smile. "You really are adorable when you're worried… But you do know I'm going to get my own copy anyway, right?"

Even though she realized the utter pointlessness of her action, she still refused to share the information. "I… I'm going to tell Kamishirasawa-san not to sell you the copy!"

She was grasping at straws here.

"Now you're just being silly. But have it your way." Kyouichi turned his face to Akyuu's best friend. "Kosuzu-chan, please be so kind and tell me where Garden of the Sun is."

"No, don't!" Akyuu protested. By now she had nearly given up hope that she'd keep the garden's location a secret from him. Her big-mouthed childhood friend would surely just spill it with a beaming smile just to spite her. But that's where she thought wrong.

Sensing an opportunity from Kyouichi no longer holding Akyuu's manuscript, Kosuzu's mercantile spirit had kicked in and the redhead, to both Kyouichi's and Akyuu's surprise, decided to haggle: "U-uh. Information is a valuable commodity and we don't give it away for free here at Suzunaan."

"Smart girl…" Kyouichi gave her a praiseful nod. "Very well… How much?"

"2999 yen if you want to buy a copy."

"I think you missed the part where I said Keine was asking only 2500 yen per copy. If you want to make any money here, you'll need give me a better offer."

Kosuzu sighed and giggled. "Okay, okay… You win…"

"Wait… what do you mean?" the outsider didn't quite understand her response. Was she just joking?

"I can't just haggle with customers without my dad's permission. And unlike Akyuu, I don't think you'd be stupid enough to barge into the Garden of the Sun, so…"

"Why thanks! I'm flattered you think so highly of me." the outsider coated his gratitude with an extra layer of sarcasm.

"You've been warned…" Akyuu muttered as she turned away from both of them and pretended not to care anymore.

"The Garden of the Sun is at the very center of Gensokyo." the redhead gave a somewhat unspecific, simplified answer.

"The very center…?"

Surprisingly enough, Akyuu spoke up to give a more detailed description: "It's a small crescent-shaped sunflower meadow surrounded by dense woods."

Perhaps she finally understood that there was no point in hiding the information, which was already made public anyway.

"See? That wasn't so hard." the outsider smiled at her.

"It's not easy to find, unless you're looking from the Youkai Mountain."

Kyouichi's mind returned to the memory of his first flight on Marisa's broom, and even though that memory had slightly faded with time, he did recall a streak of yellow amidst the sea of green when the witch took him for a ride.

"I think I actually might have caught a glimpse of it." he spoke with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "So that's where Yuuka lives, huh?"

"Well… Nobody really knows that for sure. She's a wandering youkai who migrates from place to place. Usually if that place is filled with flowers and she stays at that place until the seasonal flowers wilt away. That's why I rated the Garden of the Sun with a mere medium danger level. But Yuuka Kazami is very territorial, and with the exception of her visiting the village, she's merciless to anyone and anything intruding the location she's currently on."

"I see… that's why she said she wouldn't be visiting the village until spring." It was all making more sense now. "So I should be safe as long as I don't invade any of her flower fields, right?"

"In theory…" Akyuu replied hesitantly. "But I wouldn't get too comfortable even when dealing with her in the village."

"You know what, Akyuu? I have an idea. If I'm still in Gensokyo by next spring, I'll ask her to meet you the next time she visits the village to show you there's no need for you to fear her. On the contrary, I think you'll be good friends. Just don't tell other people about it. It's good that she's feared."

Akyuu shuddered at the thought. "Well… perhaps if Reimu-san was around during the meeting…"

Kyouichi laughed at her sheepish response and gave her a gentle pat on the head. "May I have another look at the manuscript?"

Since Kyouichi had already got what he wanted despite Akyuu's disapproval, the compiler of Gensokyo's history handed him the book. Let the outsider educate himself, even though he was already playing with fire.

"Let me just quickly check for what youkai I've already encountered."

He rapidly flipped through the pages of Akyuu's manuscript, only reading the names. He skipped Reimu, Marisa and Sakuya, as they were humans. "The fairies - yeah of course… The Scarlet sisters - check… Patchouli, Meiling - yup. Alice… Yeah, Almost forgot she's a youkai as well. Youmu and Yuyuko, Reisen, Keine-sensei, Eirin-sensei, Princess Kaguya… Oh, that's interesting, she's not listed as a youkai and neither is Mokou-san… guess I assumed wrong. Who's next…? Yuuka, Aya, Suika, Mystia and yes, Rumia too… There are some comparatively much weaker youkai in your book that I'd fear much more than Kazami-san."

"Wow, that's quite the number of youkai you've already met. Impressive for an outsider." Kosuzu sounded impressed. "I'm a little envious…"

"And quite a few I haven't met yet…" Kyouichi said as he was nearing the end of the book. "By the way, what about the likes of Yuugi-san, or Satori-san, Byakuren-san and others? I don't see their names mentioned anywhere…"

"I… I plan to include them in my next book." Akyuu revealed a plan for her future project.

"Why not just put them all in one book?"

"To make more money from book sales, why else." Kosuzu smiled slyly as she explained Akyuu's resoning.

"Heh…" the outsider chuckled in amusement. "This new child of Miare is quite the businesswoman, isn't she? You know, when I read Aichi's book, or even books by your later incarnations, I couldn't help but to notice the stark difference between the language used in them as opposed to the Perfect Memento, which uses a… let's say a much simpler, colloquial wording. No doubt to make the book appealing to more common folks rather than just a few intellectuals…"

"That was actually Kosuzu's suggestion." Akyuu revealed another secret as she gave her best friend a wink. "If it weren't for her, I'd probably written the latest volume of the chronicle in the same style as usual. But I'm glad I listened to her advice. I've never managed to sell more copies in the first week after publishing a book in any of my nine lifetimes as I have now."

"And you won't even mention my name in the book. That just makes me sad." Kosuzu might have had a talent for trade, but her acting certainly needed some work, as nobody was about to fall for her fake frown.

"Not that you need any special mentioning. As my publisher, you're getting most of the money from the books you sell and rent. I'm only getting a small cut out of that."

"You mean my parents do." the book renter corrected her.

"Oh, so Kosuzu-chan is the business mastermind here…" Kyouichi gave the younger of the girls a scrutinizing gaze.

The redhead's face blushed slightly. "I wouldn't call myself a mastermind exactly, but my parents taught me a thing or two about running a business."

"So you're going to take over the family business one day huh? Or would you rather become a necromancer?" The outsider joked as he gestured at the occult book lying on the counter. Judging by the passion this young girl had shown in studying the occult, it really wouldn't surprise him much if she'd choose the latter.

"I want to run Suzunnaan!" Kosuzu responded without hesitation. "…and be a scholar of the occult!" she added after a brief pause.

"I hope she grows out of that phase." Akyuu muttered at Kyouichi. "Preferably before she becomes a lich or something…"

"Hey, when I was her age, my future career aspirations were a dilemma between a ninja and an astronaut." the young man confessed with a shrug.

Apparently the two of them weren't trying to keep their voices down too much, since Kosuzu puffed up her cheeks in an angry, yet adorable pout.

"Just you make fun of me! You won't be laughing when I summon a demon!"

And with the precision of a Swiss watch, just as she exclaimed that, the bell hanging over the shop's entrance chimed and a well-dressed bespectacled gentleman entered.

"I'm back, Kosuzu~! Oh, customers. Welcome!"

If a pin had dropped in the following couple of seconds, it would have been the loudest noise inside the shop. The dimly-lit, usually quiet and slightly mysterious atmosphere of Suzunaan could make one quickly forget that it was indeed a place open to public. Not that Starlight Glyph was much different in that regard. All eyes were glued to the man who had just walked in. All except Kosuzu's, who scurried in panic to hide the occult book, which lay casually on the counter.

"H-hi, dad!" she chimed with overexcitement. "You're back early…!" Her welcome sounded more shocked and accusing rather than cheerful.

"I did tell you that I was just going out to buy off some antiquities… Oh, if it isn't Akyuu-chan! Thanks again for your hard work." Kosuzu's father smiled and nodded when he recognized a familiar face. In the meantime, his daughter took his momentary distraction as her best chance to try and inconspicuously hide the heavy occult tome back under the counter.

"Hey, Kosuzu, why are you hiding behind the counter? Go and make some jasmine tea for Akyuu."

"N-no, no, thank you, Motoori-san." Akyuu sheepishly refused as she shook her open palms. "We were just leaving."

"We?" Mr. Motoori tilted his gaze in Kyouichi's direction. "Er… you're from the Hieda family, right"

"No, Ishimaru." Kyouichi didn't hide his amusement at the man's wrong assumption.

"Ishimaru…? There's no Ishimaru family in this village."

"Heh, I feel more special already. No, I'm from the outside world. I involuntarily ended up here in spring… Been looking for a way out of here ever since. And as you can see, with little success."

"Wait a minute… Are you the one who snuck out of the village with a group of other outsiders but failed to cross the boundary?"

The slightly forced and bitter smile on Kyouichi's face told a story of that failure quite well. "Yes, that one."

"Amazing! How did you pull it off?" Mr. Motoori appeared very curious to hear Kyouichi's story. Almost too much so. "I mean, it's a shame you weren't successful in the end, but… wow. For a group of outsiders to sneak out of the village undetected… that's really something. Care to tell me how you managed that?"

"I… I'm not really in the mood to talk about that."

"Ah, sorry." Kosuzu's father bowed apologetically, "I don't mean to pry."

"Let's just say we wouldn't pull it off on our own had we not been helped by a certain someone."

Kyouichi's vague reply hardly satisfied Mr. Motoori's curiosity, but he considered the topic closed and didn't push the outsider any further. Instead, he took a businessman's approach.

"So… what brings you to our humble shop, Ishimaru-san? Interested in borrowing a book or… perhaps buying some antique souvenir?"

"No, thanks; I already have quite a few souvenirs from Gensokyo. I was actually interested whether or not I could find some books on the occult here." he lied about his intention for visiting Suzunaan for no other reason than to see what kind of reaction he'd get from the owner. To his surprise, Mr. Motoori took it quite well.

"Well, look at that… And here I thought you outsiders weren't the type to believe in superstitions."

"I guess ending up in a land full of youkai and magic users would turn even a hardened skeptic into a believer." Kyouichi shrugged in response.

"Hah. Rightly so. Well, you've come to the right place…"

Indeed, Mr. Motoori appeared to be pleasantly surprised by Kyouichi's interest. It was his daughter whose reaction proved most entertaining.

"T-that's not what he said when he came here!" Kosuzu exclaimed. And even though she was true, her father reminded her of the golden rule of a salesman.

"Now, now, Kosuzu-chan… The customer is always right. We Motoori proud ourselves in owning what is believed to be the largest collection of occult books outside the Scarlet Devil Mansion."

The redheaded girl began to sweat bullets. She really didn't like the way this conversation was going. Mostly out of fear that her secret studies of said occult books would be made known to her dad who forbade her from reading them.

"We have a few occult books on display here, but let me just quickly fetch the rest of my collection from my safe."

"But dad, w-wouldn't it be better to just ask him what particular occult topic he's interested in before dragging the whole collection here?"

"Oh, right…" the shopkeeper paused. "Anything particular you had in mind, Ishimaru-san?"

The outsider smirked. "I was just curious to see what you had in stock."

"The whole collection it is then! Please excuse me. I'll be back in a minute."

Kosuzu watched with horror as her father disappeared in the back section of the shop. She tried her best to distract her dad from fulfilling Kyouichi's request to no avail. Seconds before Mr. Motoori rolled in with his almost complete collection on a trolley, Kosuzu gave Kyouichi one last glare that if translated to words would most likely say "Why…?"

"Sorry for the wait. Here it is… the rest of my collection. Impressive, is it not?" Mr. Motoori smiled proudly as he patted the topmost book of the large stack on his trolley. "From ancient tengu spellbooks and mysterious alchemical recipes to witchcraft, demonology, and of course – necromancy. We just about have a little bit of each."

He then proceeded to line the books next to each other right on top of the counter. "But be warned: some of them... umpf… are really expensive."

Kyouichi almost thought he'd say something like "dangerous to touch or read", but the owner believed the price range was the most concerning thing about them.

Meanwhile Kosuzu's breathing and expression became increasingly more panicked with each book her father put on the counter. Only a matter of seconds before he'd realize…

"Huh? Hold on a moment… It seems I'm missing one book."

"Perhaps someone already rented it." Kyouichi pretended like he had no idea what book he's talking about.

"No, no… I'd have it marked in the ledger… Where did I put it…? It was a leather-bound illustrated book on necromancy. Unfortunately written in illegible gibberish."

"Good afternoon! Welcome to Suzunaan!" Kosuzu suddenly exclaimed in what had to be her most forcefully enthusiastic greeting she ever uttered as her eyes were fixated at the shop's entrance. One quick glance, however, revealed that nobody had in fact entered the store since Mr. Motoori. But that one second was all she needed. In one amazingly swift motion, she dove under the counter, pulled the heavy tome from the drawer and shuffled it neatly into the stack on top of the counter.

"Are you feeling alright, Kosuzu?" her dad raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, hehe… guess that person was just window-shopping after all."

"Whatever… Oh, there it is!" Mr. Motoori's eyes brightened up when he spotted the book he thought he misplaced. "Hiding in plain sight all along… Well, let me put up the rest of the titles."

Kosuzu sighed the biggest sigh of relief as her dad unloaded the contents of the trolley.

"Nice one, Kosuzu." Kyouichi thought to himself as he gave the girl a smile of admiration and respect. She responded by pouting and purposefully averting her gaze.

Kyouichi took a couple of minutes briefly examining the covers of the books without daring to lay a finger on any of them – even those that Mr. Motoori deemed "safe". Akyuu kept her safe distance as well, but her natural curiosity compelled her to take a closer look at the books now that the full collection was laid bare on the counter.

They listened to the shopkeeper's brief summary of every book. He seemed to have a good understanding of the occult, but occasionally Kyouichi noticed Kosuzu shaking her head in disagreement behind her father's back, implying that Mr. Motoori was only pretending to know what each book was about. When they finally went through the whole collection, Mr. Motoori looked expectantly at the outsider and asked: "So… Interested in renting any of these? I'm sure we can negotiate an agreeable price, yes?"

Kyouichi, of course, had no intention of renting any of those dubious books, but he didn't want to offend the owner. He had to come up with a diplomatic response, which to his fortune wasn't too difficult for him.

"Ah… Well, that's an impressive collection indeed." He reached in his pocket to pull out a pen and a notepad and began scribbling random doodles on the paper, pretending to be making a list of books he was interested in. "There's a couple in here I found interesting, but since I'm on a tight budget here, I'll have to take some time to decide which one I'd rent…"

"Of course. That's understandable. Take your time and come visit us when you've made your decision. Don't wait too long, though. Someone else might come along and rent it in the meantime."

"They'd be the first person to rent any of them since we opened the shop…" Kosuzu remarked snidely.

Slightly disappointed, Mr. Motoori turned his hopeful gaze toward the compiler of Gensokyo Chronicle. "And what about you, Akyuu-chan? You like reading books, right? I'm sure the information in some of these could make for some interesting articles for your chronicle, no?"

Akyuu smiled nervously. "Ehehe… well… The Perfect Memento has already been released, so…"

"Oh, right, right…" the shopkeeper's eyes drooped a little. "Well, should you change your mind, don't hesitate to ask."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Kyouichi thanked the store owner for his time and willingness to bring forth his entire occult book collection and together with the young chronicler he left Suzunaan.

As soon as the door closed behind them accompanied by the sound of the bell hanging over it, Kyouichi and Akyuu felt the cold raindrops on their faces.

"Ah, it's raining again. Should have taken my umbrella…"

"What for? You live like 50 meters from here." Kyouichi retorted as the two of them walked down the empty street in the rain.

"I don't mind a bit of rain, but my manuscript…" Akyuu hurriedly folded the portfolio she held in her hand and tucked it under her kimono to protect it from the elements.

"Why worry so much about the manuscript when the book has already been published?"

"Well… yes, but… even though the book has been already published, I always keep and archive the manuscripts of my finished projects. They have a sort of… sentimental value to me, you know?"

"Weird…" Kyouichi mumbled as he trudged on along the rain-soaked dirt road which made his sandals bury themselves in the dirt with each step.

"I guess only another author will understand such a thing." Akyuu shrugged as she tried to bury her head as deeply into her kimono's collar as she could.

Kyouichi chuckled quietly. "I can understand it perfectly. I was just teasing you a bit."

"I think you've already done more teasing than just 'a bit' for today." Akyuu gave him a patronizing look. "For a moment there I truly thought you'd straight-up tell Kosuzu's dad that she'd been studying necromancy."

"Yeah, I've been a bit of a jerk there, I'll admit. The girl probably hates me now, but… I just couldn't resist." The outsider grinned self-satisfactorily.

"Well… Kosuzu and I tease each other all the time so… I guess I can understand that perfectly as well…" Akyuu copied the grin making her look both cute and evil at the same time.

"You know… One of my life dreams has always been writing a book. Or maybe even more than one." Kyouichi confessed suddenly. "Fiction or non-fiction; It doesn't matter. But I've always dreamt of leaving a lasting impact on people by the means of literature. Something that would outlast me by hopefully at least a couple of decades. But as it usually goes with me, it remained just that - a dream."

Akyuu didn't look or act surprised by his confession. She was a good-natured girl who had pretty much the same dream, but unlike Kyouichi, she was actually living it.

"Why not start today?" she asked.

"Today? Heh. And what would I write about?" the outsider asked more in a rhetorical way rather than directing the question at Akyuu. "You see, despite me having this dream in my head since my teen years, I never really knew what I'd write about… Probably part of the reason why I never got to it in the first place."

"Well, don't you think that your time spent in Gensokyo would make for an interesting story?"

"Hmm… perhaps it would. But who would be interested in reading it? I mean… all the people living here already know what it's like to live in Gensokyo. And if I were to publish such a story in the outside world, it would just be considered another one of those dime-a-dozen 'other world' fantasy light novels."

"And what's wrong with that?" Akyuu asked with an oddly encouraging smile. "You just said yourself that it didn't matter whether you'd write fiction or non-fiction. And while it's true that the native people of Gensokyo already know what life here is like, I'm pretty sure they'd be curious to read about an outsider's perspective. Sure, there have been many outsiders living here since the barrier's creation before you, but you'd be the first one to actually publish a book about their experiences. So why not start today?"

Kyouichi was honestly taken aback by her encouraging words. It took him a moment before he made another excuse. "Wow… You really think I should? I don't know anything about formatting or storytelling."

"You'll never know if you won't give it a try. I can give you some pointers if you'd like. You can start by writing a diary. That's how I got into this whole chronicle-compiling business."

"A diary, huh? A pity I didn't start writing one since the first day I ended up here. I kind of forgot about some things that happened to me during my half-year stay here and some I can remember just vaguely."

"And that's where creative writing comes in. You can make some things up, embellish some details or omit them completely. Besides, I never write down every single detail that I remember when I'm compiling the chronicle."

"So you started compiling the chronicle by writing a diary?"

"Well, not exactly. It was Yukari Yakumo who visited me… I mean Aichi, a long time ago and told me to start compiling the chronicle of the land that is now Gensokyo. She seemed to know about my ability even before I did. I didn't quite understand her reasoning behind that request, but… I was afraid of what she'd do if I refused, so that's how I started."

"I didn't know that." Kyouichi stated his surprise.

"Yes, it was she who gave me that push. Naturally, over time I learned that I had no reason to be afraid of her and we gradually became close friends. Had it not been for her, I'd probably never really use my talents for anything useful and find a meaningful purpose to my life. Sometimes people need a bit of nudge to set them on the right path. A bit of encouragement. So just like how Yukari helped me set out on my path, I would be happy to help you set you on your path of fulfillment."

Kyouichi stood in silence staring into the distance ahead. He then slowly raised his hand and used his index finger to wipe the area around the corner of his right eye.

"Are you alright, Kyouichi-san?

"A raindrop fell in my eye…" he mumbled casually, but his voice sounded a bit trembling as he turned away and rubbed the "raindrop" from his left eye as well.

"You're way nicer to me than I deserve, Akyuu." he said as he turned his face back towards the chronicler. "Thanks for the encouragement. I'll give this diary thing a try."

A charming innocent smile adorned Akyuu's face as she gave an encouraging nod. "I'm looking forward to reading it. If you allow me to, of course."

"Sure. If I manage to even start at all…"

"Yes. Beginnings are always the hardest. Even for me. Research and interviewing aside, it usually takes me several days of thinking and planning before I start writing a new volume. But once I start, the words just… flow naturally. Just like the raindrops."

The two of them stopped in front of the Hieda house to bid each other goodbye before they'd part their ways.

"Hopefully the field trip I've signed up for will give me some interesting experiences to write about…" Kyouichi mused aloud as he stood at the gateway to Akyuu's house.

"Oh? You're going to the mountain along with Keine-sensei?"

"Yes, and about a dozen noisy kids from the class as well as a bunch of us outsiders."

"Well, then I wish you a safe and pleasant trip."

"Thanks, Akyuu-chan." Kyouichi smiled and bowed gently. "Now hurry up inside before you catch a cold."

"Good idea. See you, Kyouichi-san~!"

Akyuu's jogging footsteps echoed for a while throughout the empty street before they were replaced by the sound of sliding door opening and closing, and the subsequent silence.

"Diary, huh?" Kyouichi resumed his walk towards his new home outside the village gates. And even though he'd rather spend the remainder of this dreary autumn day in the comfort of his bed, he knew he still had several hours of work on the farm ahead of him.

When he unlocked the door to the cabin and stepped inside to change into his work attire, he found a sizable pool of water forming around an overflowing bucket. The one that he put on the floor this morning underneath the dripping leak in his roof.

"Oh, damn! I need to plug that hole somehow." He looked at the ceiling whilst grabbing the heavy bucket. He then walked up to the primitive shower that he built himself under the guidance and supervision of Naota and filled its tank with the rainwater from the bucket.

At least the water wouldn't go to waste that way. Having decided to fix the leak later, Kyouichi put the empty bucket back to its original spot, put on his work outfit along with Mizuto's raincoat, and with much reluctance stepped outside into the rain, headed for yet another shift of farm labor.

He kept thinking about what Akyuu told him all the way to the farm and contemplated how he'd start writing his diary. He had his doubts and misgivings about the idea, but felt unusual excitement in every heartbeat as he envisioned himself writing and publishing a book. Just like how Kosuzu discovered her dormant ability, the young outsider felt like something new was being unlocked in his life thanks to Akyuu's words of support.