Kyouko Kasodani : Way of Life

December 15

The trees look empty, ridden of leaves. Cherry blossoms brighten the ground that makes it pretty. The days are also getting colder and shorter. Each day seems like a cloudy day that passes as soon as I finish with my chores. The breezes also make it hard for me to sweep the leaves as they keep flying everywhere. All signs that winter is near.

Today is no different from the rest. I wake up and head towards the Myouren Temple. There I meditate for a while before doing daily chores and activities.

Sometimes, I like to wander off into forests and explore out of boredom, but I usually just stay at the gates of the temple and sweep the continuous pile of leaves. For every five leaves I sweep off the path, five more slowly fall from the sky.

At least when winter hits, I'd be free of brushing leaves to the sides. But then again, I have nothing else to do in my spare time. All the other people at the temple are always busy with religious activities or other things. They are never free enough to just talk of go do something fun.

I sighed as I sat down on a rock. What should I do today? Well, if it is like every other day, then I'd be dying of boredom in about thirty minutes.

If only I had someone next to me to keep me from falling into a state of one, two, three. One, meditate. Two, do chores. Three, repeat. It feels like a ceaseless order in retrospect.

I always believed that there were paths to take in life, a series of numbers; each path is represented by a number which leads to other paths. Starting from a sprout, and growing into a tall tree with each choice chosen. All the other roads will become branches as you ascend.

In this endless process I am in, my tree isn't normal. Never will this tree grow tall if I keep repeating this procedure. I just hope there is an end.

"Kasodani," someone said in a quiet voice, "Are you getting bored?"

I looked up at the individual in front of me. At first glance, people would be scared just because of her ghostly form. Minamitsu Murasa stood in front of me. Her ladle was not in her hands so she looked empty-handed.

There was just something about her that made her look ghostly. Not to mention that every once in a while, she would flicker like a hologram. Everything about her was scary in its own way.

Now, she looked curious as I'm just sitting on this rock doing nothing. The leaves seemed to have stopped falling which allowed me this rest.

"Yeah, it does get boring around here," I explained to the phantom. I don't know what she's doing here; shouldn't she be fixing the ship from the last crash. It was actually a funny story and didn't follow the pattern of an ordinary day.

Basically, we were out flying on the Palanquin Ship which is part of the Myouren Temple. I stood by the gates like I normally do, and I heard yelling and screaming from the control room. Next thing I knew, I saw a tall mountain and we were heading straight for it.

Minamitsu had to turn sharply and we all fell to the starboard. The ship somehow survived even with a broken keel. It wasn't funny at first but we all had a good laugh after we got back safely.

"I'm done fixing the ship," Minamitsu assured me like she read my mind, "Isn't it boring doing the same thing every day?" she inquired from me.

"It does get repetitive," I agree, "I have all this extra time, but nothing to do." It was true; I usually just sit down and talk to myself.

The phantom sat down beside me. We both sat there for an eternity before she asked, "Don't you want to do something else for a change? Something fun?" She looked concerned for me somehow.

I took a deep breath. "I've always wanted to have someone besides me, someone I can talk to all day," I spilled everything on my mind.

"I see…" Minamitsu commented, "I want to help you, but sadly, I'm almost always busy. Even now, I was supposed to be helping Byakuren with moving boxes." The ghostly figure stood up quickly, "I need to get going now, before she yells at me." The phantom waved before she sped off into the temple.

I do appreciate the thought, but she's always busy. I need a friend who can stay by my side. I stood up as the leaves began falling again. I grabbed the broom and began sweeping leaves off the path again.

~Sometimes, all you need is a simple friendship to have happiness~

Night falls and ends a day of common procedures. The round moon shines down on the now lit path.

I remember the Eternal Night incident. The real moon was hidden and a fake moon appeared in its stead. Then one night, time suddenly stopped, and I observed as a miko and a witch flies past the Youkai Forest. It was interesting to say the least.

The full moon might also just absorb your will and strength if you stare at it. I don't often look towards the moon because of these rumors, but when I do, I do feel like the moon is radiating a dangerous power.

Sometimes, I look towards the moon and pray. I wish for many things but never something unreasonable. It always calms me down when I share my mind with the moon. It's like the friend I never had.

Tonight, I also pray. I pray for someone to come and rescue me from this ceaseless cycle, just one person that can take me away and explore the world. I close my eyes and try to imagine a happy scene. I whisper to the moon in the softest voice possible.

Opening my eyes, I look around the temple, hoping that tomorrow will be different. I walk away from the gates slowly and head towards Youkai Mountain.

~Sometimes, all you need is a simple friendship to have happiness~

I usually live in the Myouren Temple or somewhere near there, but I find the sounds of the waterfall really relaxing. I usually fall asleep by the river.

In this place of serenity, falling leaves don't bother me. The dark blue skies contrast with the light aqua color of the river which gives the place more lifelike in some way. The landscape here seems to glow with an aura that always pulls me back here. Even at the dawn of winter, the trees didn't seem abandoned just yet.

As usual I walk to the preferred spot by the river and sat down beside a tree. I look around and take in everything that happens around the area. It was a hidden area where I could glimpse at the Kappas and look up to see the tengus flying around. They never seemed to stop with what they're doing, even at midnight.

Occasionally, you could hear and see a danmaku battle above. The shrine maiden and the white wolf tengu battling it out before a crow tengu comes out from its hideout and attacks the intruder. The site of bullets crashing into each other and figures swerving right and left to dodge the bullets is quite marvelous.

A while back, the shrine maiden also attacked me because of spirits popping up. Then after defeating me, she apologized for accusing me. She didn't even falter at my echoing ability which would have made a normal human mad.

But enough of that, I wonder what the kappas are constructing today. I crawled behind a tree and poked my head out from behind the tree and glimpse towards their direction.

Weird, the kappas weren't anywhere to be found. It was unusual unless everyone just so happened to go off finding materials at the same time and left all the constructions in a huge mess. I would've been wondering for a long time, if it weren't for a voice from behind me.

"What're you doing?" the voice inquired. I freaked out and jumped around.

I looked towards the crowd of kappas that were now right in front of me. Now, I felt a bit guilty spying on them and getting caught in the act.

"Umm… Nothing." I managed to get that much out of my mouth. I was nervous to see what they had in store for me. I don't think spying on people is exactly a good act. It's basically like invading someone's personal space.

"Tell the truth." The leading kappa commanded. It didn't sound threatening per se, but it also wasn't too friendly.

"Fine, I was hoping to see what you kappas were building…" I gave in guiltily. My face turned red with embarrassment as everyone was now whispering towards each other and looking at me. They were talking about me.

After a long conversation, the leader announced, "You don't need to spy, you know. We always appreciate visitors." Every kappa nodded in agreement.

It felt nice to hear that they weren't angry. They were actually inviting me to their property kindly. "Thank you. I might take up the offer another day." I commented in a grateful tone. I was indeed grateful for them being so kind to me.

"Well, you don't need to spy anymore, just remember that." The kappa said before the whole group started walking back to their hideout.

This winter seems to be my lucky season. I might just make a friend this month or the next. Maybe, just maybe.