Chapter One

I did make it, but I did a bad job of trekking to Reimu’s place.

Patchouli had given me a folder stuffed full of spellcards, including plenty to keep me warm in the freezing dark – but how was I supposed to sleep outdoors?

When night fell and I grew sleepy, I piled up some snow in a bank beside a tree. It felt like a very-firm mattress at first, and there were no youkai or animals around, so I could safely sleep in the open.

I woke up less than two hours later, now lying on what felt like a stone slab. My clothes were soaked through. The warming spell had been melting my snowy bed. As soon as the water drained below the effect of the spell, it had re-frozen into a solid plate of ice.

Frustrated, I got up and kept walking. There was no point in trying to rest out here.

The warming spell meant my wet clothes were uncomfortable when they would have otherwise been a death sentence. A separate spell acted like a compass and kept me headed in the right direction, which I would have been completely lost without. A third spell cast a pool of light around me, so that I could carefully place each footstep. It was pitch black, blustery, flakes of snow in my eyes, a night far too hostile to walk through without magical aid.

I wouldn’t freeze to death, and I would reach my destination if I kept going. My big mistake was overexerting myself: many unbroken hours of hard exercise, almost no sleep, no sustenance but some snack cakes and water from a flask. Pure frustration pushed me forward.

My body screamed at me to stop, even just to sit down for a few minutes, but I kept on. I must have reached the mountainside leading up to the Hakurei Shrine, because the path started going uphill. Rows of snow-caked trees scrolled by, revealed ahead of me by the light spell, passing beside me, then falling into the darkness behind.

The sky had barely begun changing from pitch black into a slate of solid gray when I passed under a torii gate.

---

I don’t remember what happened next.

I must have dragged myself across the courtyard and beat a fist on the house’s front door. I have a vague memory of seeing Reimu, dressed as if she’d just gotten out of bed, her mouth hanging open in shock.

Then I was lying down. The bottom half of my body felt especially warm. Maybe walking halfway across Gensokyo in the freezing winter night had been a bad dream. Maybe I was in my bed, half-covered in my blankets.

“Thinks she’s waking ups,” said one voice.

“Did she walk all night to get here?” said another.

I forced my eyes open. I was not at home in my own bed. The side of my face was pressed into tatami flooring. The blanket of a kotatsu hung over my stomach, covering me from the waist down. My clothes felt rough and grimy, but they were no longer wet. My whole body ached, especially my legs.

Then I noticed the smell. Someone had been cooking.

It took some effort, but I pushed myself into sitting upright.

“So you’re not dead,” said Reimu, sitting at the kotatsu across from me.

“What was the maid-girls doing out there, thoughs?” said Marisa, sitting to my left.

I had to let the grogginess clear before I could answer. It struck me how they both looked different from when I had seen them last summer. Both wore heavy house dresses, suitable for staying warm indoors. Both had their hair hanging free, no bows or braids or headwear. Reimu had grown her hair out, but Marisa’s was shorter.

It made me wonder how I might have looked different to them. I hadn’t cut my hair since the summer either, and I might have grown a little taller.

I looked down at the tabletop. Three serving mats were set out, one for each of us. The bowls in front of Reimu and Marisa were empty, but mine had a pile of rice and a serving of miso soup.

I cleared my throat, uh-hum.

“Is this for me?” I said. My voice was a dry growl.

“If you want it,” said Reimu. “It’s not much, but there’s not a lot of food left.”

“I know,” I said, picking up the pair of chopsticks beside the rice. “It’s the same for us at the Mansion. Thank you for the meal.”

I started eating. The rice and soup were lukewarm, must have been cooling while these two ate and waited for me to wake up.

Reimu tapped a finger on the table. “We haven’t seen or heard from you in, what? Eight or nine months? Why would you pick now of all times to visit?”

“I can show you,” I said. “I had a bag over my shoulder. Where is it?”

Marisa stood up and walked over to the coat rack beside the front door. My cloak hung there. Marisa pushed it aside to reveal my shoulder-bag hanging under it. She brought it over to me.

“Keep knives put aways,” she said, patting a pocket in her dress. “Got Master Sparks right here.”

I looked up, met her eyes with mine.

“I promise, on my mistress’s name, I’m not here as your enemy.”

Marisa said nothing. She sat down without breaking eye contact.

I took the bag from her and rested it on my lap. I pulled the neck open, stuck in one hand and rummaged around. I felt the leather sheath that held my knives, the airtight pack containing the snack cakes, the water flask, and the spellcard folder. Past all of that, my hand reached the small glass jar.

I pulled it out and dropped it onto the table next to Marisa with a thunk. The glowing cherry petal inside fluttered up once before settling down.

“Here,” I said. “You’re the magician. Do you know what this is?”

Marisa let out a low whistle. She picked up the jar and turned it in her hands, eyes glued to the petal within.

“You got one of these toos?” she said. “Find it on the way heres?”

“No. China found it by our front gate. Patchouli bottled it and studied it. My mistress wanted me to let you see it. Did you find any of these yourself?”

“Just ones. Don’t still have it, thoughs. Found its on my front doorsteps. Tried to pick it ups along with some snows, but snows melted and petal disappeared in my hands.” Marisa sighed, as if recalling a happy memory. “Too bads. Felt really warm all overs. Use more of thats in winter times.”

“If my mistress is right, we could use a lot more of it,” I said. “She and Patchouli think this is spring energy.”

Reimu tilted her head at me. “Spring energy? Is that a thing?”

Marisa let out a hmmm. “Maybes. Elemental-season stuff ain’t my expertises, but every raindrops and sunny ray’s magical in places like Gensokyos.”

“I found one too, a few days before Marisa came to visit,” said Reimu. “I was out shuttering the shrine buildings when I saw a little pink glow in the snow. It dissolved in my hands when I tried to pick it up, and it made me feel warm for a bit, just like Marisa said.”

I had been drinking from the miso bowl as they spoke. I lowered it from my mouth.

“Then we have to assume these petals have been showing up all over Gensokyo,” I said. “That’s why my mistress sent me here. She wants me to escort you two back to the Mansion, so we can discuss the weather.”

Marisa smiled. “Weathers? Remis wants to small talks?”

I shook my head. My hair felt like it needed a wash.

“She suspects the long winter is foul play, the work of a powerful magician.”

Marisa’s eyebrows went up. “No ways. Never heard of mages that strongs.”

Reimu nudged Marisa with her elbow. “That’s what I thought when the red sky mist happened. Turns out there was a mage that strong, locked up Remilia’s basement.”

My gut tightened.

“This is way biggers,” said Marisa. “Flans did red clouds for a few days, not make a whole seasons stick around three months lates.”

“We’re not sure.” I tapped the cherry petal bottle with a chopstick. “These petals are the only lead we have, and no one knows where they came from.”

“Got somethings for that, maybes,” said Marisa. “Could try a cognation spells. Traces connections between things that used to be togethers. Good for finding lost stuffs. Like, get some blood or fingernail clips, could track down the whole persons they used to belong toos.”

“So you can find where the petals are from?” I said.

“Maybes, but it’s riskys. Mixing different magics could blow up in our faces. Also, cognations works both ways. Could lead us to whoever’s freezing Gensokyos, but might lead them to us. Like putting up a big Hey come kill us please signs.”

“That’s perfect,” I said. “If we bring the magician here, I don’t have to waste time hunting him down.”

“I don’t like the idea of bringing any big bad seasonal warlocks to my shrine,” said Reimu. “But... I agree with Sakuya. Try the spell, Marisa.”

I regarded Reimu through narrowed eyes. I had expected her to object.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said to me. “The alternative is sitting here and waiting to starve. If Marisa summons something nasty, I’ll just stand back and let you do the murdering.”

“It’s best if I take that as a compliment,” I said.

Reimu shrugged.

“Can do its right nows.” Marisa grasped the bottle in one fist and stood up from the table.

I held up a hand. “Wait. We’re missing something.”

Both girls paused, looked at me.

“You’re not the first mage to see this,” I said to Marisa. “Both Patchouli and Remilia studied it before giving it to me. If a simple spell could find the petal’s origin, why didn’t they already try that?”

“They didn’t mention it to you?” said Reimu.

I shook my head. “I’ve never heard the word cognation before now.”

“Probably didn’t want to risk destroying its,” said Marisa. “Lots of magic pushed through a little flakey things, gonna burn it right ups. Same things happens to spellcards.”

“And they didn’t want you to show up at my place empty-handed,” said Reimu.

I thought about it, and that did make sense. Maybe we should wait to cast this spell until the Mansion’s senior mages could be with us, but I wasn’t eager to make the return trip with two human girls in tow. If there was some chance of making that trip unnecessary, or at least to keep it from being wasted, it seemed a worthy chance to take.

“All right,” I said, nodding. “Cast it.”

---

Reimu cleared the table, taking the dishes back to the kitchen. She returned to the front room, where she and I stood to the side, giving Marisa floor space. She stood in the middle of the room, like a performer who had just stepped on stage.

“Good chances to show off latest creations.” She put a hand in her pocket, and kept it there as if holding something. “Neighbor in the Forest of Magics, she taught me some enchantment things. Spellcards’re good and alls, easy to make, but can only use each one times. Tougher stuff doesn’t burn up with castings.”

She took the thing out of her pocket, held it up for us to admire. It was a small wooden octagon. About three inches in diameter and two inches deep, it fit well in the palm of Marisa’s hand. Its sides were etched with runes of the old language, none of which I could read. On each of its eight corners, thin strips of metal were bolted to the wood by tiny studs.

“Beholds!” said Marisa. “Eight-Trigram Reactors, the hakkero.”

Reimu was shaking her head. “You come up with the dumbest names for things.”

“Oh, Reimus of little faiths. Gonna use this for cognation spells. Mostly designed for combat magics, but got some utility spells baked in toos. Now give me your hairs.” Marisa held out her free hand.

Neither Reimu or I moved.

“Come ons,” she said, making a gimme gimme gesture. “Spell works betters with three people’s hearts in one places. Want to finds bad weather-mages, rights? One eaches.” She took a loose strand of blonde hair between her thumb and forefinger, tugged it free of her head. She laid the strand in her palm and held it out, inviting us to join her.

“Fine,” said Reimu. She plucked a hair of her own and laid it in Marisa’s hand.

“This better work,” I said, doing the same. I ignored the pinprick of pain on my scalp.

“Goodies,” said Marisa, now holding three strands: one golden yellow, one charcoal black, and one silver-white.

“That can’t be your natural color,” Reimu said to me. “No one in Gensokyo has hair like yours.”

“You already know other ways that I’m unique in Gensokyo,” I said, gesturing to her leg.

She scowled. “Should I regret bringing you into my home?”

“I hope you don’t,” I said. “Especially since I’m the best equipped to stop whatever Marisa might be about to summon.”

Reimu hmphed. “Just make sure you’re—”

“Stop it, you twos,” said Marisa, cutting Reimu off. “Focus on what we all wants: find where this spring-things came from so we can get warmness backs.”

She grabbed the bottle off the table. The cherry petal within was still visibly bright, but enough daylight came through Reimu’s windows that the petal didn’t light the room further. Marisa stepped back and set her hakkero down in the middle of the floor. She stood the spring jar on top of it, then she carefully rolled the three strands of hair between her fingers. The hairs twisted and braided together, like a miniature rope. She tugged it from either end, testing its strength.

“Perfects,” she said. “Nice strong hairs from healthy girls.”

Marisa worked her craft, sitting with her knees on the floor. With some nimble fingers, she tied the hair string around the neck of the spring jar. She lifted the glass off the hakkero. The spring essence hung an inch above the hakkero’s top face.

“Here goes.” Marisa took in a deep breath, let it out. Her eyes closed. She lowered her free hand to the hakkero, but she didn’t touch the magical block directly.

“Tenji kigen,” she whispered. “Tenji kigen.”

A white aura bled off the hakkero’s metal edges, and a soft ringing noise filled the room. The spring petal reacted to this new power. It leaped inside the glass, swirled around like a firefly trapped in its bottle. The petal darted back and forth, up and down, rattling the jar around it. Marisa’s hands trembled. She clenched her jaw and inhaled through her teeth.

“Hold stills!” she hissed.

The cherry petal did anything but hold still. Its light flared, brightening the room like the daytime sun. It burned an after-image into my and Reimu’s eyes before we could look away. Marisa squealed in surprise as she jumped back. The spring essence burst, shattering the bottle around it. Shards of glass flew in all directions.

I looked back to see the petal in open air, floating up near the ceiling.

---

I had no time, so I allowed no time to pass. I shifted, and the room became absolutely still.

Reimu stood with her hand over her face, guarding her eyes from the light. Marisa sat on the floor, leaning back from her hakkero, holding one hand up near her ear with her fingers splayed. Neither of them was breathing, but the looks on their faces might have been worth a laugh any other day. Some glass shards had hit our dresses, but I couldn’t see any cuts on skin. Hopefully neither of them would start bleeding when I let time resume.

Most importantly, the cherry petal hung foot below the ceiling. I stepped up to it, careful to keep my legs away from Marisa. Standing under the spring petal, I held both hands up, ready to catch it. I kept some distance, since my shift won’t freeze objects that touch me or are very close to me. The petal was lighter than a feather, and the air moved by my hands would send it fluttering around the room. I didn’t want to go chasing after it.

Posed under the spring, I let the shift go. Movement came back to the room. Reimu lowered her hand, noticing I no longer stood beside her. Marisa lowered her arm, then startled to see I had come so close.

“What just happened?” said Reimu.

No one answered. All my attention was on the petal above me. It floated higher but didn’t quite touch the ceiling. I stayed under it, taking steps back and to the side. Gravity finally took hold. The petal drifted downwards. I made a cup with both hands, and the spring settled into it.

“Got it!” I said.

I meant to say more, meant to close my hands around the petal and keep it still, but I never got a chance. The cherry petal touched my skin, and I was gone. Spring flooded in and carried me away.