taying inside and reading was something I had done for a long time in the outside world. Now that I was in a place where folklore and mythology was reality it would be stupid to not go out and witness it myself. Maybe I could become a folklorist like Yakumo Koizumi, also known as Lafcadio Hearn, and write my very own book about the supernatural. But in my case, they would be actual encounters with real Yôkai. The possibility of these encounters being of a violent or fatal nature did not even cross my mind at the time.

Thus, I set out and left the Hieda estate to explore within the boundaries of this world's humanity. I expected that the streets of the village were safe, no matter the time of the day; still, even if I did come across a Yôkai, surely it would be the non-dangerous type like Shameimaru Aya, which was allowed to be inside the human village. I could not picture myself getting into any fatal situations; after all, my story had only just started.

I looked through the estate to tell Yôko or Akyû that I would be taking a stroll in the village, but they apparently had retreated to their own rooms and were possibly already sleeping, as I found nobody. Therefore, I simply left, thinking that I would be back before they noticed my disappearance. The entrance did not seem to have a lock on the inside, so I guessed that I could come back later without needing to scale the walls. Looking over the sparsely lit village, I thought that maybe I did not need any set destination and just walking in a straight line towards the other end would be a good enough start for the first time.

Soon, I was within the rows of houses and no longer had an overview of the village's layout as I had from the entrance of the Hieda estate, allowing me to only keep a rough sense of direction. I knew where the river flowed due to the grid-like structure of the village, so at least I could find my way there. Also, whenever I looked back, I could see the wall of the Hieda estate on the elevation, which looked much less prominent from below. This also meant that unless I walked into the alleys, I would be able to find my way back. I was not a person to get lost easily, even in a city I was unfamiliar with, especially when it had a similar layout as Kyôto, but complacency breeds mistakes.

It was not such a perfect grid after all, I thought, when I found myself coming to a crossing that was a T-shaped fork. The left surely led to the big bridge in the center of the village, even if I could not see it from where I stood. The right probably led to where I had seen the most lights shining in the night when I had taken in the scenery of the village at the estate gates. I guessed that I would find the main street with shops and restaurants there, and most likely villagers who may be eager to chat. I literally stood at a crossroads and I was not sure whether I wanted to spend the time in solitude and think about all that happened so far, or meet and talk to the humans living in this world filled with the supernatural.

When I thought again about meeting people at this time of the day, I could only conjure the image of drunkards and shady characters walking the streets; they were certainly not the company I was seeking. Knowing that I most likely did the villagers no justice by thinking that, I decided to walk the solitary path towards the bridge, illuminated only by the stars and a low hanging sickle moon, as well as the occasional lamp dangling in front of bigger homes. My memory did not deceive me as the next crossing was the large main street that went over the big central bridge of the village. At this time of the day, nobody was pushing carts or carrying bags over the river and the only few people I saw were hurrying to get back home.

Soon I set foot on the stone bridge and had an open view of the river running underneath, separating the village like a stretch of no-man's land. There were lights in the windows facing the river, which caused the houses to resemble big faces, giving the impression that giant people were staring at each other over a ravine. The bridge was one of the three violations of this space of nature, as it connected both sides over this border. It was not illuminated at all and the center of the bridge was covered in the blanket of darkness, as if it was the gate leading to a world the living should not step into. The fact that the other side was very sparsely illuminated created this illusion, and a little fantasy always spiced up reality.

The gently flowing water reflected the weak lights of the stars and a streak of white denoted the moon's counterpart. I could see a whole new galaxy inside the river and did not need to look up into the true depths of space to know just how small a speck of dust I was in the grand picture of existence. The unfading memory of my last dream sprung back into the foreground of my mind as I remembered the sceneries I had seen in it. My person was too dark to be reflected as more than a black silhouette that blocked the stars in the sky. Still, I was reminded of the pair of eyes that were so much like my own, gazing deep into my soul, before our eternal separation.

I shook my head and the thoughts disappeared into the mist of my deep consciousness; I had come out into the village to explore, not to brood, which I could do back in my room at the Hieda estate. I turned around and leaned on the cool stone railing, looking at the scenery of the riverbanks and the houses aligned atop of them. The more I saw of this human bastion, the more I was reminded of Kyôto and how it must have looked like in older times, untainted by synthetic structures and colors. As I reminisced, my mind started to wander into places, imagining the rest of Gensôkyô and its pureness, in contrast to the modern days where I came from. Aya and her reflex camera was already forgotten.

Therefore, I only noticed the presence of another person standing on the bridge when my gaze swept over the scenery. At that moment a cloud slid in front of the moon, so in the darkness I could only make out a shadowy, vaguely female figure. It was unmoving and I felt a pair of eyes staring at me, as the person stood about a dozen steps away. Only when the cloud passed did I get a closer look at her; she wore something that looked like a Kimono, but which exposed her shoulders, and a short overskirt extended from underneath her Obi. A bonnet tied with a bow sat on her light-colored hair, of which the exact color I could not make out in the darkness, but which might be light-blue under normal light. She seemed to hold a bundle of cloth in her arms, but upon closer inspection it looked like it might be a wrapped up baby. Her eyes were staring into my single open one and her face did not betray any thoughts as to my surely strange appearance of a black and white color-set. I happened to wear a monochrome shirt and black pants as well, so there was no arguing that this seemed deliberate. It had not been my intention to make myself into such a character, though.

"Err... hello?" I tried to strike up a conversation as the silence between us grew uncomfortable even for me, in my relaxed mental state; somebody staring at you in the darkness without uttering a word surely did not leave many people unperturbed. "Beautiful night, isn't it?" The other person's countenance did not change in the slightest upon being addressed so suddenly. I was about to speak up again, when her voice reached me. "Should I give it to him...? But I don't want to give it away..." She muttered to herself while her eyes looked down at the baby in her arms. I tilted my head in confusion and wondered if this woman was not completely sane; maybe she had been left by her husband with a child she could not hope to raise on her own. But maybe, I was just overthinking things.

Just when I thought that, the woman turned her attention back to me and her eyes showed a hint of animosity. She tightened her grip on the baby so much that I thought it would begin to cry, but nothing could be heard from the bundle, as her whole expression turned into one of anger. Before I could wonder what had triggered this sudden change of emotions, her eyes, now clearly showing hostility, stared into mine. "You will not take my child away from me!" She screamed and extended a hand towards me as if to push me away. For a second I wondered whether she might be a Yôkai and just used some invisible force to actually send my flying backwards, but no such thing happened. However, even then I was disturbed by this sudden outburst and reflexively stepped backwards, fearing that she might jump at me.

But my feet did not move. Actually, I could feel my feet moving, but it was as if my shoes were glued to the ground and would not budge in the slightest. Due to this I almost fell over but could steady myself against the railing in the last moment. I turned to look at the woman, but she had disappeared without a trace, leaving me standing in my cement-boots. Apparently, this had been an encounter with a Yôkai and I had been lucky enough that it had not been a man-eating one. When my shoes did not seem to detach from the ground even after waiting for several minutes, I decided to just take them off and take a closer look to see what exactly had happened.

I kneeled down and inspected my shoes but could not find anything stuck between the soles and the ground, causing me to wonder if they had been fused with the ground. I tried to lift and push one of the shoes, but to no avail; it could not be moved in any way. This just meant that I would have to walk back home in my socks and leave these anachronistic sneakers in the middle of the biggest bridge in the village. Since there was no helping it, I decided to go back to the Hieda estate and come check on the shoes again the next day. If what the mysterious woman did was irreversible, surely more discarded shoes should be found lying around in the streets due to encounters with her.

Luckily, on my way back, I did not step on anything pointy or dirty, or got lost, and soon arrived before the Hieda estate's front gate. My stroll had taken longer than I had planned, and it had become relatively late; when I looked back down at the village, much fewer lit windows remained visible, most likely belonging to reading scholars and dining parties. Opening the gate quietly, I stepped into the estate, took off the dirtied socks and walked towards my room, trying not to rouse anybody. Obviously, a housekeeper had more awareness of the occurrences in the house than to simply let a person slip out and back in unnoticed; I was confronted by Yôko at the corner to my room. She had her arms crossed and was staring down at me, despite being almost a head smaller, making me want to ask her for the trick behind it. However, her eyes blew away this idea instantly, as I was about to formulate the sentence in my head to utter the suicidal question.

"Where have you gone, Kagami-sama?" Her tone left little doubt that my trip had been noticed and had caused her some headache. In such a situation, the right thing to do was to apologize, which I promptly did as I lowered my head and bowed deeply. "I'm sorry, I should have told you that I was going out. Next time I will make sure you know beforehand," I said and when I straightened myself, I looked Yôko in the eyes with what I hoped to be a sincere expression.

"Nothing happened, so it's alright... But what were you doing out so late?" She conceded and loosened her sermon-stance, replacing the firm expression on her face with a questioning one. Obviously she would not accept some half-assed reason.

"There's a time difference between Gensôkyô and the outside world, so my sleep cycle is a little off. I was just taking a walk, since I didn't feel tired. After all I slept this afternoon," I explained and hoped that it was a satisfying enough reason. Monitoring Yôko's reaction, I found that apparently it was, as her face relaxed. "Next time, please tell me or anybody of the household, when you're leaving the house this late, and when you expect to return," She requested. When I agreed, she finally reverted to her usual friendly self and showed me a smile full of sincerity and devoid of any underlying threats. "Very well, Kagami-sama. I hope you can sleep now. Is there anything you need?"

"Actually... something did happen - but it's really nothing!" I started and had to add quickly, as Yôko's expression grew worried. I proceeded to tell her the whole story of the encounter and the strange power I had witnessed and been confronted with. She listened intently and remained silent for a little while after I had finished. Her face did show some worry and I underwent some more scrutiny under her attentive stare, as if she was making sure that there were no aftereffects from this encounter that I was not aware of.

"You should talk to the mistress tomorrow, she will surely know what that was," Yôko suggested and gave me one last lookover before relaxing as there really seemed to be nothing wrong with me. "Rest for today, a lot has happened. I wish you a good night, Kagami-sama." With these words, she left towards her own room in the back of the house and I headed to mine. It was no use mulling it over if I had no point of reference; I had never heard of any supernatural being with the power to use gravity to glue shoes to the ground. It sounded much more like a practical joke when I thought it over again, but the woman's angry outburst suggested otherwise. She had not appeared like a prankster but quite serious about not wanting to give away her child.

Even though my mind was clear after the previous night's dream, it was now starting to get clouded by drowsiness. I would just do as Yôko suggested and talk to Akyû the next day and see if she could find a solution to the loss of my shoes. With this, I changed into a set of pajamas and went to sleep, completely unperturbed by the possibilities of another nightmarish vision-like dream occurring. After all, my soul had already split apart, and as far as Yukari had told me, it had only been separated into two pieces.

I had a dreamless night and woke up the next morning at the first rays of sunlight, even if none entered my room. I felt completely rested, so without lazing around any further, I got dressed and left my room, only to almost run into Yôko, as she was passing by with a pile of white sheets. It seemed that the members of the staff were awake even earlier and had already started their work. I asked her when Akyû would be awake and was astonished to hear that she was weak in the mornings and usually slept until she felt like getting up. My picture of the perfect and diligent scholar was somewhat shaken, but I guessed that nobody could excel in everything.

Thus, I had breakfast in the large dining room, which appeared even more extensive than it had the previous evening, now that I was all alone in it. Yôko had only brought the tray with the food and left again to continue bringing the estate into perfect shape before the head of the house woke up. When I was done with my meal, I decided to carry the tray to the kitchen myself. When I opened the door, once again I almost ran into Yôko as she was about to check up me; it just showed that she was an experienced housekeeper, being able to guess how long a person took to finish a meal.

"Kagami-sama, you should leave such things to a servant. We cannot have a guest do our work," She scolded me half-heartedly as she took the tray from me. It seemed that she was positively astonished to find that I was not someone who would let others serve me without any regard for the added workload. I grinned and earned a reserved but honest smile in response, before she made her way to the kitchen and I returned to my room. I had already asked her to tell me when Akyû would be up and ready to see me, so until then all that was left for me to do was some self-study by reading the records of Gensôkyô, written by the many generations of the Hieda family.

I started at the very beginning and had to find out that the Hieda line went back well over a thousand years, compiling the history of Japan. There was no mention of Gensôkyô at those times, making me think that maybe it was separated from the outside world at a later time. Reading through the records, I found that the general outline of history was the same as the one I had been taught in school, but that many differences were present in small but significant details throughout the ages. There were countless mythological events interwoven with actual historical ones, suggesting that what I thought was no more than folklore and make-believe stories of the supernatural was the backside of the coin that was written and generally accepted history. Events, such as the one that raised Minamoto no Yorimasa to fame, the shooting and killing of a Yôkai that had plagued the emperor in his sleep, had been recorded as mere folklore. In the Hieda account, the particular Yôkai was called Nue, and had actually secretly plotted the event with Yorimasa, to help him make a name for himself. The Nue had only acted dead and earned many delicious dishes as a reward afterwards.

As I read on, I wondered just how history had been distorted in such a way in the outside world, or if the Hieda household was actually just writing folklore as factual accounts. I even found records that hinted at the existence of Kaguya-hime from the Taketori Monogatari and that a child of the famed Fujiwara no Fuhito from the same story had become ageless and lived into the present day. I learned that Mount Yatsugatake, which a folktale described as having been taller than Mount Fuji at one point, had passed into Gensôkyô as Yôkai Mountain, the towering single mountain I had seen when I had first come here, after it was knocked down by Konohanasakuya-hime, the guardian kami of Mount Fuji. Soon I started getting into the details and learned more about who and what resided in this world, but when I came to the part about the Hakurei Shrine and the importance of its generations of miko, Yôko came to inform me that Akyû was ready for a meeting.

"I heard you wanted to speak with me, Kagami-san," She inquired after giving the bare necessities of greetings for the morning. Apparently Yôko had not told her what had happened the previous night, leaving her still somewhat angry at my sudden disappearance. I proceeded to explain everything and told her about my encounter, upon which her expression changed from a slight frown to a deeper one. "I have never heard of a Yôkai like that before. Of course, I am not the absolute expert, as I can only record what I learn from others or through personal experience. However, the fact that I have not received any reports of this one in particular is concerning. Usually, Yôkai are not allowed to cause problems in human village. There is an ancient covenant that forbids them from becoming violent inside these walls."

"Maybe she is a new one who came here with me?" I said, half-jokingly, but it earned a surprised expression from Akyû. "Wait, is that even possible?" I interjected before her thoughts began to fixate on this possibility and spiraled down the wrong direction. When an investigator makes premature assumptions based on a potential but wrongful lead, the actual truth may disappear from within his grasp.

"I will talk to Aya about this and see what she can find out. She should be coming by soon, to deliver the daily newspapers. I ask you to tell her about this incident," Akyû said with a somber expression. Speaking of the devil, Yôko came to announce that the journalist had arrived. Akyû asked the housekeeper to invite her in quickly. I was not too comfortable around the Tengu, but decided that for the sake of learning more about my nightly encounter, I would have to endure my instinctual inconvenience.

"Yes, you called?" Were Aya's first words as she entered the room and the glow in her eyes seemed to gain in intensity as she spotted me sitting next to Akyû. "Oh, are you willing to do an interview with me now?" My eyes instantly suggested that I was not. "No, in fact, I need information from you instead," Was my terse response. I related my experience once more, during which Aya swiftly took out her notebook and jotted down important parts even as her facial expressions changed from astonishment to blank joy at the prospect of having found a potential scoop.

"Certainly, I will investigate this matter. This person seems to be a newcomer, so I should report this to the Hakurei Miko," Aya ensured us her support with a comical salute and a radiant smile full of sincerity; she reminded me of a grade school child about to go UFO-hunting. "In fact, why don't you come with me? Before meeting her, you are good game for those among us that hunt and eat humans, you know." Her expression changed to a suggestive-mischievous one as the glint in her red eyes turned dangerous. That announcement had been so sudden that I was left speechless.

"Do not mind her, she is just fooling around with you," Akyû cut in. "Karasu Tengu don't eat humans. Otherwise she would not be allowed into the village." Upon these words, Aya scratched the back of her head and stuck her tongue out with an expression that seemed to say "oops, I've been caught".

"You should come meet the Hakurei Miko though. When I said that some Yôkai would be hunting and eating you, I was serious," Aya said with a laid-back smile. "She is the only one who can really teach you about the Spellcard Rules."

I was not convinced, even in my exceptionally tranquil state, that I could fully trust this Tengu girl. As far as I had learned from folklore, Karasu Tengu were large humanoids wearing Buddhist priest robes and exceptionally tall, single-toothed geta - which were in fact called Tengu geta - but their most distinguishing feature was said to be their black wings and crow-like beaks. And they sometimes spirited away humans just for fun.

I had read about the many Hakurei Miko in the Gensôkyô Chronicles and knew about their role in the stability of this world, so I would have to meet the current representative eventually. However, I was not too sure about leaving my fate in the hands of one of those supernatural beings I knew could be hostile towards humans. At least my knowledge of them warned me and even if I pushed aside common sense, there were still some reservations in leaving the safety of the human village with a non-human guide. Maybe I was thinking too much and actually acted really rude towards a person I barely knew, but I decided that I would find my way to the Hakurei Shrine in some other way. "I'll have to decline the offer... I'm sorry."

Aya answered with a resigning smile and shook her head slightly. "I can understand your reservations. Even with the current peace, the villagers still fear us Yôkai."

"You will have to go see the Hakurei Miko before you can really count yourself as a resident of this world," Akyû said and drew my attention to her. I wondered why the Chronicler of Gensôkyô could not tell me herself, but maybe it was something only the Miko was privy to. Regardless of that, I did not think I would be comfortable around supernatural entities before I knew more about their habits; all I knew was from the eye-witness like accounts written in old anthologies, but after coming here, I found that many of those were from biased and skewed points of views.

"Well, then I'll go and see whether I can find out more about this matter," Aya said and stood up with a casual salute towards the head of the household before leaving the room, adding one more line on the way out. "Expect some information soon." With this she disappeared.

"I will go to the Hakurei Shrine on my own then, if you tell me the way. As far as I know, Yôkai don't show up during daytime," I turned to Akyû and explained my intention, when her sour expression stopped me from continuing. "I am sure somebody already told you that before, but you should not apply your outside knowledge in Gensôkyô. The rules here can be quite different from the ones you know," She said and looked me in the eye. "Aya is one of the Yôkai that are especially active during daytime and I know a few others here in the village." At her casual remark that there were other Yôkai within the human village, I became excited and thought that I wanted to see them - especially since it meant that they were peaceful ones who would not harm humans.

"You should not wander outside the village yet. Maybe a visit to the Myôren Temple would be a good idea," Akyû continued and pulled on a cord hanging from the ceiling. Mere moments later, Yôko entered and awaited her orders. "You called, mistress?" Her countenance was of a different kind when she faced Akyû as when she talked to me.

"I would like you to show Kagami-san the way to the Myôren Temple," She requested of Yôko. "You will find that the temple is full of Yôkai. It should be a valuable experience," Akyû returned her gaze to me and explained. "Now be on your way." With this, she picked up a brush and opened a paper scroll to begin her day's work, no longer paying attention to my presence.

Yôko's expression changed when she stood and beckoned me to follow her, proceeding to tell me what she knew about the Myôren Temple. "It only appeared in Gensôkyô a few years ago and I heard that the head priestess there is a saint for the Yôkai, since she accepts them just as much as she accepts humans. In fact, all those working at the temple are Yôkai." I could barely contain my excitement over visiting the temple and seeing different types of supernatural beings. By now I had seen a Nekomata, Kitsune, Tengu, whatever exactly Yukari was, and the strange woman from the previous night, but there were many more types to be experienced.

Only a short walk away, at the edge of the little town, stood a small but splendid temple, marble stairs leading up to the saisenbako, the offertory box, shielded from wind and weather by the main temple building. Its style was nothing like any I had ever seen in the outside world and I assumed that this was due to the influence of the head priestess who would allow Yôkai inside. I found the very idea that a Buddhist temple was staffed by the very antithesis to monks and nuns exceedingly interesting. Yôko told me that she would head back to the Hieda estate, but not before making sure that I would find the way back on my own.

When I walked through the front gate a woman with her hair covered by a nun headdress and wearing the Buddhist nuns' traditional garbs stepped in my way. Apparently she was a guard, as a single glare from her dark purple eyes was enough to halt my advance.

"What brings you here, stranger?" She asked and her expression showed that she would not allow anyone to bring disorder to the temple. I felt that her sternness was a facade she put on in this kind of situation and judging by her features she was normally a warm and friendly person. I shook off this impression and proceeded to explain the reason for my presence.

"I'm a newcomer from the outside world. My name is Kagami Kyôma. Akyû of the Hieda suggested that I seek knowledge at this temple," I said and watched as the woman's expression loosened up and her voice changed into a pleasantly soft tone. "You are welcome then, Kagami-san. Please follow me inside," She said and turned towards the stairs leading to the main temple. "My name is Kumoi Ichirin, I am a priestess of this temple. A meditation session is currently being held, but they will be done shortly."

When we walked up to the main hall, I saw rows of people sitting cross-legged and facing their innermost selves. However, where I expected a Buddha statue to stand, what seemed to be the life-sized statue of a woman, holding a spear in her right and a jeweled pagoda in her left stood. She was wearing the clothes of a heavenly messenger - including a white shawl that floated on a divine breeze - but her hair was striped in black and orange, like a tiger's. Her overskirt was clearly made from a tiger's pelt. Suddenly, what I had believed to be a statue turned its head and looked directly at me, piercing golden eyes gazing at me. She was clearly not a human, as the depth in her eyes bound me like the glare of a predator. Ichirin noticed my line of sight and put a hand on my shoulder, upon which I was shaken out of the trance-like state I had entered. The look she showed me suggested that I should stop staring at the woman on the consecrated platform, but when I turned my eyes back inside the temple hall, I stole another glance at her to see that her eyes had moved on to the devoted, who had started to stand up from their positions and silently headed towards the exit on one side of the hall. Among them I spotted several who had non-human features or sported horns, but I was in no position to stop them and chat them up when they were leaving a temple.

Soon, the only people left were the supernatural being on the platform and a woman with waist-length purple hair that gradually turned into light brown towards the tips, sitting on the floor and facing the woman acting as the symbol of worship. She stood up and turned her attention towards Ichirin and me, as we finally walked inside.

"Welcome to the Myôren Temple. I am the head priestess, Hijiri Byakuren," The woman greeted me with a tranquil smile, which reminded me of certain depictions of the Buddha himself. However, her eyes betrayed the fact that she was not a mere human, even if I was not sure whether she was a Bodhisattva or something else. "This is Toramaru Shô, she is a disciple of Bishamonten." The woman I had thought was a statue let her eyes sway over me and trapped me in their dignified glow once again. I was barely able to tear myself from their pull and returned my attention to Byakuren.

"I am Kagami Kyôma. I've come from the outside world," I introduced myself and bowed to Byakuren and Shô each in turn. "I would like to learn more about the relationship between humans and Yôkai here."

"Then you have come to the right place. Please follow me," The head priestess said and walked towards the side exit. I heeded her order, leaving Ichirin and Shô behind, as they began to speak among themselves. "Unfortunately, I have something to attend to now, but I will find someone who will introduce you to the Yôkai of the temple."

I wondered whether Byakuren was human, but knew that it was rude to just ask her before learning more about her. As I was thinking that, a person came from the opposite direction of the corridor and stopped to greet Byakuren. I looked up to see a woman dressed in an ecru shirt, a brown skirt and standing barefoot, greeting the head priestess in a not as respectful manner as one would expect a disciple of this temple would. She had reddish-brown shoulder-length hair, featured a large green hat that looked like a giant leaf, adorned by two bells. The most distinguishing feature I instantly took note of was the glasses, through which her brown eyes, which had a certain ever-present mischievous glint, looked with a friendly gaze. Suddenly, my attention was pulled towards the giant fluffy light and dark brown striped tail that came into view from behind her.

"Oho, who may thee be?" The woman asked, using archaic language I had last heard in history classes. Even my grandparents did not speak like she did, suggesting that despite her rather modern appearance, she must be older than her looks let on. That was leaving aside the fact that she evidently had a tail and, upon closer inspection, furry ears barely sticking out from under her leaf-like hat. "I'm Futatsuiwa Mamizô, tis mine pleasure to make thy acquaintance."

"My name is Kagami Kyôma," I introduced myself with a bow. She showed a satisfied expression at the respect I displayed before her.

"Mamizô is a Bake-danuki and would surely love to help you out with gathering more knowledge about the Yôkai of Gensôkyô," Byakuren said with a smile towards the person in question, who seemed to be taken aback by the thinly veiled order. However, the head priestess continued, showing me that something deeper was at work here. "And maybe I will stop trying to look for whoever seems to be inviting Shô to drink sake... for a while." At these words, the Bake-danuki flinched and became exceedingly cooperative as she took over from Byakuren and was suddenly very willing to show me around the temple.

"What art thee looking for?" Mamizou asked as Byakuren left, going back to the main hall.

"I would like to know more about the workings of Gensôkyô. I was told about Spellcard Rules and that the Hakurei Miko would be able to tell me more," I started, ignorant about the ongoing cold war between Shinto and Buddhism in this world. "Do you know what they are about?"

"The Spellcard Rules, huh? Well, tis a simple concept. Listen well," The Bake-danuki answered as we walked through the corridor towards the back of the temple. "These rules exist so that humans can square Yôkai equally and makes battles non-lethal. However, I cannot tell thee how they work. Those with spiritual powers all eventually develop their personal skills." This meant that as long as the Spellcard Rules were in place, the physically inferior humans could survive Yôkai attacks by using this non-lethal method to fight. "But thee should not go around challenging Yôkai recklessly. The violent ones wilt eat thee when they win in a square." I instantly abandoned my initial idea about this system.

"I can sense that thee possesses strong spiritual powers, but their nature eludes me," Mamizou continued. I was surprised to hear that, considering I only had half a soul, and spiritual power supposedly came from there. "What else would thee like to know?"

Sorry it took so long, been bogged down by the Kantai Collection Event until 3AM last night.

Well, what do you expect of someone who likes Touhou, which could just as well be called Yôkai Collection? Of course I'll be playing Kancolle.