Chapter Three

Of any time for Gensokyo to suffer a supernatural weather attack, this was the best season. It was warm out, but the red mist kept the day from getting too hot. Marisa and I had little gear to carry. No heavy clothes, coats or cloaks. Just a couple days’ worth of food and water, which we could replenish on the road.

I got dressed in my best traveling clothes: a red hakama-style dress and a white blouse. These were open and flowing, designed to keep me cool on the road. Under this I wore a sturdy pair of bloomers and a cloth sarashi under my shirt.

Lastly, I tied a simple red sash around my collar and a red bow atop my head. No woman goes out without headwear in Gensokyo.

I carried no real weaponry. My only armament was my gohei, a miko’s sealing rod with paper streamers trailing from one end. I had the S I knife tucked into a leather fold on my waistband, but I didn’t intend to use it in combat. I had it only because I didn’t feel right leaving it in my home.

Once I was dressed and ready, I met Marisa in the courtyard. She had shouldered a pack as large as mine, full of supplies taken from my house. In her right hand, she held something else of mine.

“What are you doing with my broom?” I said, stepping up to her.

“Figureds should hang onto this,” she said. “Can’t be a witch withouts a brooms. Saw yours and realized: didn’t have ones! Imagine my horrors. Reputations is tainteds.”

“You don’t have a broom of your own? How do you sweep your house?”

That stopped her for a second.

“Sweeps?” she said.

“Never mind,” I said, walking past her. “You can keep it. It won’t be inconvenient at all to make a new one. I’m a miko, after all. I just pull bamboo brooms out of my butt.”

“Goodie Reimus!”

She caught up and fell into step with me. We walked to the entrance gate of my shrine. Marisa kept going, but I stopped and looked back at the place.

“Reimus? Come ons. Daylight fritters.”

I gave my shrine one last look, then turned and walked after Marisa. We reached the bottom of the stone steps, then started down the bendy mountain path that led to the valley floor.

“I’ll miss my home,” I said.

“We’re gone only a few days,” said Marisa.

I said nothing.

“Ah!” Marisa reached into her apron. “Almost forgots. Hard times sleeping last nights, so made these.”

“Please don’t tell me it’s… oh no.”

She held out three scraps of paper, each covered in old language writing.

“I appreciate the gesture, Marisa, but keep the spellcards. They’re more your style than mine.”

“Made these for yous!” She pushed the cards at me. “Not as neat as Master Sparks, but you’ll like thems. It’s guided shot-style projectile spells. Just cast, focus on the targets, spell does the rests. Take ‘ems!”

I took the cards, but only to shut her up. I took a quick look at the spell’s name. Spirit sign: Fantasy Orb. I didn’t care to read the incantation below it, so I jammed the cards into my belt and kept walking.

“You wrote these last night?” I said. “Where did you get the ink and paper?”

“Stole thems when Reimu’s back was turned, making dinners last nights.”

“Of course. Any chance I’ll get them back?”

“Maybes. Let you knows after get a chances to use new brooms.”

I couldn’t help laughing. It was a good laugh, better than any since the mist covered the sky.

“Fine,” I said, catching my breath. “Thanks anyway. I hope I never need to use these cards.”

“Youkais more dangerous since mist cames,” she said. “Don’t be scareds to shoot things.”

---

Gensokyo is beautiful... or at least it’s supposed to be. As Marisa and I went down the mountain path, I spent a long time looking over the valley. The landscape looked duller than usual, with the sun blocked out. It was heartbreaking to see my homeland like this.

We passed a bank of evergreens, briefly blocking our view of the valley except for glimpses between bark and pine needle.

“Should we stop by your place on the way?” I asked her. “Any gear you need to pick up?”

Marisa shook her head. “Gots my spellcards. That’s all we needs.”

We walked on for a minute.

“Okay,” I said. “What I really meant is if you wanted a change of clothes. You’ve been wearing that outfit since yesterday morning at least. I don’t want a stinky traveling companion.”

“Both us be pretty stinkies after walkings, but fines. Can pick ups more spellcards while we’re theres.”

“Please don’t.”

She grinned. “Can’t haves it both ways, miko-girls.”

---

We hit the valley floor a couple of hours before noon. If we had kept following the main path, we would have gone to the village where I had shopped yesterday. Instead we took a branch left, toward the Forest of Magic.

Those woods have a dramatic name, but it’s not because a lot of youkai live there; the same can be said for the rest of Gensokyo. The Forest is known as a dwelling place for hermit magicians. Marisa was the only one I knew personally, but there were others.

Even considering the reason for our trip, it felt good to be out walking. We met a few people on the way, traveling townsfolk and merchants. We exchanged pleasantries, but we kept moving as quickly as politeness would allow. We never said where we were going or why.

We reached the Forest that afternoon. The daylight was dying sooner than it should have for this time of year. The sky was already dim, and would be dark in another two hours. I hoped to be under Marisa’s roof before the moon came out. We might have to spend the night there.

We were soon under the forest canopy. It was dark under here, like going from afternoon to dusk in one step.

“Hey Marisa,” I said. “Do you think we….”

My voice trailed off. I stopped walking.

“Do you hear that?” I said.

Marisa didn’t answer. I strained my ears, held my breath, tried to focus on the strange noise that had brushed by my ears a second ago.

I heard it again. A soft whimpering sound, like a puppy moaning, small and far away. I could tell it came from the woods beside us.

“Hold on Marisa,” I said, stepping off the path. “I’m going to see what that sound is.”

Still no answer from her, but it didn’t matter. Neither did my senses shutting down, closing off the world. I couldn’t hear the birds in the trees or the wind through the leaves. I could see only ten feet ahead, as if the night had sneaked up on me.

Whimpering. It became louder, clearer as I went deeper into the woods. It sounded like a little girl crying. After another few yards, I stepped into the clearing where she sat on the Forest floor.

“Hey there!” I ran across the clearing to her. “No need to cry, sweetie. Are you lost?”

The child looked up at me, face wet and eyes red. Even like that, I was stunned at how pretty she was. She wore a pristine schoolgirl’s outfit, a black vest with a red ascot over a white long-sleeved blouse and a long black dress. She had short blonde hair, tied on one side with a red bow.

I knelt down beside her, put a hand on her arm to comfort her. I pride myself on being able to calm children away from tears, as miko have to deal with kids when their parents come to the shrine. Some kids get upset when they loose festival games.

The girl sniffed, looked at me with wide and innocent eyes. She was relieved to see me. I was another human being, an oneesan who would rescue her.

“Um.” The girl sniffed again, wiped her face dry. “Yeah, I’m lost.”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “We’re close to the forest’s edge. I’ll lead you out of here and take you back home. Can you tell me your name?”

“I’m Rumia,” she said, looking down as if ashamed.

“That’s a pretty name.” I took her hand in mine. “Come on, Rumia. Let’s get you out of here.”

She stood up with me, but wouldn’t move when I tried to pull her along.

“Wait,” she said. “I want to ask a favor before we go.”

I looked back at her. “Sure. What is it?”

She pointed to the ribbon on her head. “This thing. It’s too tight and it’s hurting my hair. I can’t untie it.”

“Uh oh. Let me see. Hold still.”

I laid my gohei down, bent over and tried to undo the bow. I expected to have better manual dexterity than a child, this ribbon defied me. The knot was done solid, as if the cloth had been melted together. It couldn’t be untied.

“Careful,” Rumia moaned as I tugged on her hair. “It hurts.”

“Sorry,” I said. “I can’t undo it, but I can cut it out of your hair. Is that okay?”

She said nothing, so I took that as a yes. I pulled the throwing knife off my belt and carefully brought it to her head. I held up the lock of hair and pulled the blade through it. Strands of hair parted at the blade’s edge. It was poetic to use a killer’s weapon to relieve a little girl’s pain, a thing of evil used for good.

Then, done. The bow was out of the girl’s hair.

“There you go,” I said. “Sorry for the haircut, but at least I got this thing off your head.”

I held up the girl’s hand and dropped the bow into her palm. She screamed in pain, geeyaaah!, dropped the bow to the ground, shook out her hand. She stepped back, an angry sneer on her face.

“You idiot!” she yelled. “I wanted you to get it off me, not give it to me like a piece of candy!”

I stood there, shocked. Rumia shouting surprised me, but less than her sudden change in appearance. Her hair was brighter, going from blonde to white gold. Her eyes were brilliant red, but not like the puffiness a girl gets from crying. The irises in her eyes were like crimson lightning.

“You….You’re youkai!”

“Well duh.” Rumia kicked dirt over the bow on the ground. “What gave it away? I’ve seen some gullible humans, but you made it easy.”

I looked around, and for the first time I noticed: it was too dark, like there was nothing but infinite space outside the clearing.

“I don’t….” I said, trying to understand. “I didn’t….”

“Oh, shut up.” Rumia folded her hands behind her back and stepped towards me. “I know the drill. Your intentions were all good, and now you’re my dinner. That’s why you’re my dinner.”

Reimus! Can hears mees? Snap out of its! You’re under glamours! Reimus!

I shook my head. I was hearing voices.

“The world isn’t fair.” Rumia stepped closer. “Might makes right. Good deeds will be punished.”

I fell to my knees, my shoulders hanging. She was right. The world was a horrible, cruel place. There was no point in trying.

Get up, Reimus! Don’t listens! Can’t blast hers while she’s got your tranceds. It’ll break your minds. Reimu! Heaven’s sake, wake ups!

“There’s nothing to wake up to.” Rumia now stood over me. “You did take that stupid sealing amulet off me, so I’ll repay you by taking you out of this world. You’d like that, right?”

“Yes,” I said, holding my hands to my head. “I’m so sick of being afraid. I don’t want to be scared anymore.”

“Then don’t worry.” Rumia lowered her face to mine. “It’s almost over.”

Rumia’s mouth opened. I could feel the warm moisture of her breath. She was about to set me free, and I welcomed it. I needed it. I almost had it, until Rumia got hit in the head with a broom.

A thunderclap of pain split through my head. White pools of light exploded in my eyes, a screaming ring in my ears. It was the same blow that knocked Rumia off me and sent her sprawling to the dirt.

A pair of hands grabbed my shoulders, shook me hard. Someone was yelling into my face. I could almost see her, a transparent silhouette on the black background of the real world. It was a girl about my age, nowhere near as pretty as Rumia. Her clothes were dirty and her face was lined with worry.

Reimus! she screamed into my eyes. Come backs!

Rumia recovered from her broom-beating. She made it back to her feet, unsteady.

“How dare you,” she said. “It’s rude to interrupt someone when she’s eating.”

Who was she talking to? The imaginary girl in front of me? Strangely enough, the imaginary one seemed to notice Rumia too. She turned to face the smaller girl.

“Then again,” said Rumia. “A double course would hit the spot just fine.”

The imaginary girl got her broom off the ground and held it up like a weapon.

Come and gets it, devil-girls! Beat you bloodies until Reimu gets enough headcrackers to wake ups.

Rumia bore her teeth like an angry animal. She ran at the imaginary girl, holding back a fist as if to punch her in the gut. She never made it. The broom swung down and clipped Rumia upside the head again, except it felt like my head that the broom hit. Another skullquake ripped through me, turning my brains into slush. My eyes wanted to pop out of their sockets and run for freedom.

Some clarity returned to my senses. The forest didn’t seem so dark as before. I could hear birds singing and the wind blowing. Best of all, I saw Marisa pounding the snot out of the youkai who had nearly killed me.

Marisa looked at me. “Back with the livings?”

I wanted to respond, but my head was pounding too hard. I felt like throwing up.

Rumia was on the ground again. She crawled away from Marisa to the nearest tree, using its trunk to stand.

“It won’t end like this!” she yelled. “Not right after I’ve been set free!”

Darkness gathered around her, collecting to her like water at the deepest part of a basin. She was casting.

“I will eat you both!” Her voice was deeper than before. “Your last living sight will be me feasting on your hearts!”
The darkness grew thicker, thrumming with power. Marisa dropped her broom and pulled a spellcard from her apron. She held it at her palm, ready to fire.

“Love sign!”

The spell didn’t activate instantly. White energy gathered at her hand, opposite the dark power forming around Rumia.

“Your human magic is nothing!” the youkai yelled. “I’ll show you the power of youkai!”

Rumia’s spell activated. Dark tendrils snaked towards Marisa, as to bind her and squeeze the life out of her. Marisa didn’t flinch. She stood still, gathering power to her spellcard. Rumia’s black tentacles closed in.

Rumia laughed. “It’s over! You’re too late!”

“Nopes. Never too lates to beat darks. All dark’s gots is nothings.”

Marisa’s confidence made Rumia look uneasy. Her spell slowed.

“Is that so?”

“Yeps. Master Spark!”

The energy gathered at Marisa’s hand suddenly expanded, as if it had been compressed until now. A blinding spire stabbed out from Marisa’s spellcard, piercing through Rumia’s spell and slamming into the youkai herself. The force knocked her back like a battering ram. She flew back into the woods, her limbs spread like a discarded rag doll. Her head hit a tree, sending her into a lopsided spin. Even at this distance, I heard the crick! of her skull breaking.

Rumia’s body skid to a stop on the forest floor, some dozen yards away. Even before she lost her momentum, she was dissolving into sparkles that would soon evaporate.

---

I sat in Marisa’s home in the Forest of Magic. The lady of the house brewed tea in the kitchen, half of which doubled as the front room, which doubled as a dining room. A doorway on my right led to her bedroom, but it was blocked with books. Hundreds of books were stacked on the floor, pushed up against the walls. On the walls were shelves stacked upon shelves bowing under the weight of more books, paper leaflets, bottles, jars and trinkets.

With so much junk, I was surprised Marisa kept even this much order in her home. I was scared to speak loudly for fear of bringing the place down on my head.

I was on Marisa’s couch, which was actually a huge pile of books covered in a blanket. I stared down at her table, where a spot had been cleared for two objects: the S I knife, and the red bow I’d cut from Rumia’s hair. The lock of hair that came with the ribbon had long since dissolved.

Marisa came over, her hat in one hand and a tea tray on the other. Two teacups, a steaming teapot, a plate of crackers and some jerked meat strips. This was a sorry excuse for dinner, but I didn’t care.

“Don’t look so downs, Reimus.” Marisa used her foot to knock some books off the table, then set the tray down. She tossed her hat somewhere, then sat and poured tea for both of us.

“I’m not down,” I said. “I’m not in imminent danger of death. That’s better than an hour ago.”

Marisa handed me my tea, then sat sipping hers. She looked down at the red ribbon on the table. Her eyebrow rose.

“It came off that youkai girl,” I said.

Marisa picked the bow up and twirled it between her fingers. A few small sparks spat off the ribbon, then settled to the tabletop and faded away.

“Thought sos.” She put the ribbon down and nudged it towards me. “Sealing amulets; keeps down youkai’s powers. Probably locals put it on hers, keep her from eating peoples. Don’t want kiddies playing withs greater youkai of darknesses. Why take it off hers?”

“She asked me to.”

“No she didn’ts.”

I looked up. “How do you know?”

“Part of the spells. Can’t ask for the amulet be removeds.”

“But she did,” I said. “She said it was hurting her hair, so she asked me—”

“Sures? Said what exactlys?”

That stopped me. I tried to remember my conversation with Rumia. Did she ask me to take the ribbon off, or did I fill in the blanks myself?

I put my face in my hands. “I was so stupid I almost died from it.”

“Don’t be hards on miko-selves. Got you off guards; could happen to anyones. Probably went for Reimus cuz looks nice and innocents. Let’s go tells her problems and we’ll feel warm-fuzzies like fresh diapers.”

“Is that it?” I said. “I’m a kind fool that people can take advantage of?”

“Being nice means being vulnerables, at least a littles. Can’t have ones with others. Heads is tails if yous flip the coin overs.”

I shook my head, said nothing. I sipped the tea. It was good, some herb I couldn’t remember the name of. Marisa popped in a cracker and crunched it down.

“Can we spend the night here?” I put my teacup down. “With things like this, I don’t want to be traveling after dark.”

“Surelies,” said Marisa. “But since had to sleeps in fortune booths, your bed’s under drippy water pumps.”

“I would’ve let you sleep inside if you asked!”

She laughed, putting a hand over her mouth to keep from spraying crumbs everywhere.

“Just messin’s. Sleeps anywhere with free spaces. Sure wouldn’t walk arounds in the darks, not with scary stuffs up in the skies.”

My heart picked up. I pulled my fingers into fists, trying to keep my hands from shaking. Last night was a night I wanted to forget forever.

“Maybe Rumia attacked me,” I said, “not because I look gullible, or not only because of that. Could she taste my... what’s the word? Aura? Countenance?”

Marisa nodded. “Dark youkais are attracted to bad feelings.”

“Then why aren’t you afraid?” I said. “You saw that stuff in the sky. We don’t know what we’re up against. Doesn’t that terrify you?”

“Afraids, sures. Refuse to worrys, thoughs. Can be scareds without frettings.”

“I wish I could draw that line. They seem like the same thing to me.”

Marisa shrugged. “What’s worst could happens? We dies horrible, painful, hideous deaths.”

“You’re not making me feel any better.”

“Not so bads. Once you dies, can’t be hurt anymores.”

Silence fell on us. The daylight coming through the windows dwindled. Soon Marisa would have to ignite a sparklamp, or we would sit in total darkness.

“I hate this.” My voice was barely above a whisper. “I feel powerless, like I’m weak and gullible. Rumia used that to prey on me. I won’t let that happen again.”