After leaving Motoori's bookstore, night had fallen. We couldn't just go back to Youkai Mountain because of how tired we were and how late it was.
So we decided to look for a place in the Human Village to spend the night.
During the night, the place seems to change quite a bit. You can hardly see anyone walking the streets. I guess it's dangerous to stay out knowing that around these parts there are usually youkai around, although I haven't seen any.
Hina and Michu were looking all around for some kind of inn to spend the night.
I really needed a place to rest. Ahhh... my body still hurts quite a bit and I can barely walk.
In the distance, Hina could see a two-story building that seemed to have a restaurant on the second floor.
"Look, we could go ask there if they know of any place to spend the night." Hina said as she pointed to the place.
"Eh...? it's about time." Michitsuju sighed.
We approached the place and upon entering we were served by a woman at a long desk.
"Welcome to the Human Village Inn!" The woman exclaimed. "Are you here for spending the night?"
"Ehm... yes, we were looking for a place to sleep tonight." Hina replied.
"Okay. How many people would the room be for and how many nights do you plan to stay?"
"There is three of us and we're only staying for tonight."
"Perfect. I just need you to write down a few details in here." Said the receptionist as she pulled out a sheet of paper and a nib with ink."
Hina took the nib and began to fill out the sheet.
"Alright, you can go ahead." "You can also go through to the dining room if you'd like to have some dinner."
"Understood."
"And this is the room key." Said the receptionist as she handed the key to Hina. "Enjoy your stay!"
"Okay, thank you very much." Hina replied smiling.
"Well, I guess we can have some dinner before we go up to the room..." Hina said as she placed the key in her pocket.
"Huh, where did those two go? They were just here a moment ago!"
Hina walked towards the dining room and saw that Michu and I are already sitting at one of the tables.
"Ah hello, Hina. We just finished ordering the food." I said while glancing at the menu with Michu.
"I see... But... what did you order? Hina asked somewhat confused.
"Since we didn't know what everything was, we ordered one of each dish on the menu fu fu fu~." Michitsuju said somewhat pretentiously.
"..."
"THE WHOLE MENU?!" Hina exclaimed as she pounded on the table. "Good heavens, how come you two can't stop eating?"
"I don't know, the food the humans eat seems to be pretty good." Michitsuju replied.
"Ah... okay." Hina sighed. "But well, what will be tomorrow's plan?"
Michitsuju stopped looking at the menu.
"Eh? Plan?"
"That's right, we need to know where we'll be heading tomorrow morning." Hina replied as she sat down with us at the table. "I guess the smartest thing right now would be to go to Eientei in the bamboo forest to continue our search."
Hina and Michu were left discussing tomorrow's plans for a bit while I leaned back on my arm looking out the window at the rain.
As time has passed I have been able to slowly regain my memory of what my life was like before I came here. Being here reminds me of the times I would go with my parents and my sister to some of the restaurants where I come from. I can clearly remember those times when I had a little more... joyful life.
I can remember that we had a wonderful time laughing at the table. But there are some things that remain as mental gaps, that no matter how hard I try, those fragments of memory I can't remember.
How long ago was that? I think I'm 15 at the moment, but I don't know for sure. I don't even remember when my birthday is.
I also have the feeling that in those memories people call me by a name that I am not able to remember. It's as if my memory is blurred in parts.
But oh well, I feel like I'm getting more and more used to this strange land and the truth is that, even though the people here are so peculiar, it's not so bad either hehe. For the first time I feel like someone really needs me....
"Hey Akumu." Michitsuju said waving trying to get my attention while still looking out the window.
"Are you listening to me?"
"HEY!!!" Michitsuju shouted as she slammed her fists against the table.
"AH! W-WHAT HAPPENED? I exclaimed in fright.
"Are you deaf or what? Hmph."
"Sorry, I was thinking about other things."
"Miss Michitsuju and I were just talking about what we're doing tomorrow." Hina said. "We'll leave early towards the bamboo forest to continue our search."
"Oh, sure."
They kept bringing dishes and dishes from the kitchen after having ordered almost the entire menu of the place.
And Michu and I kept eating non-stop.
"Ahg, I ate too much, I can't move anymore." I said sighing.
"Me too..." Michitsuju replied.
Hina looked at the amount of dishes left on the table.
"And which one of you two is going to pay for all the food?" Hina asked shocked.
"..."
Michu and I looked at each other nervously.
"I-I thought all the food would be included with staying in here." Michitsuju said nervously.
"Ah... hahaha... I think I feel like going to the bathroom." I said with a nervous laugh.
"YEAH, ME TOO!"
We both ran off towards the stairs that led to the second floor.
"HEY, THE BATHROOMS ARE NOT THAT WAY!" shouted Hina getting up from the table.
"Would you like me to bring you your bill?" A waitress asked when she saw that we had already left.
Hina sighed heavily.
Once the three of us were in the hallway on the second floor, we looked for the room.
Hina took the key out of her pocket and opened the door to room number 23.
"Okay, this is where we're going to sleep tonight." Hina said tiredly as she opened the door.
It was a small room with a fairly large bed, a few pieces of furniture, a balcony overlooking the village and a bathroom.
"Are you sure this is the room?" Michitsuju asked.
"Hm..., yes, I don't think this key can open other doors." Hina replied looking at the key.
"And why is there only one bed then?"
"I don't know, but we'll have to sleep here."
"WHAT!" Michu and I exclaimed. "Hmph, I'm not sleeping with this kid." Michitsuju said while crossing her arms.
"Hah?" "Well, I don't plan on sleeping with this old lady either." I said while turning my back to Michu.
"A-A-An old woman...?"
"NOW YOU ASKED FOR IT!" Michitsuju shouted as she chased me with a pillow to hit me.
Hina started pulling out her sleeping clothes while Michu and I ran around the room making rumbles everywhere.
"Ah... if you guys don't behave yourselves, you're going to have to sleep outside." Sighed Hina as she settled into bed.
We suddenly stopped chasing each other and looked at each other.
"Okay..." We both said with a serious expression.
*****
The three of us settled on the bed to go to sleep. I couldn't move around much because the space was a bit cramped with the three of us lying down.
Michu and I spent most of the night tossing and turning until we fell asleep.
Hina, on the other hand, didn't seem to have much trouble sleeping.
*****
The sun was peeking through the window, illuminating the room a bit. It was already the next morning.
"Ah... I want to keep sleeping..." I said yawning as I pulled the covers back over me.
Hina had already gotten up and was arranging some things in the backpack.
"Oh my, looks like you're already awake." Hina said as she continued to arrange things. "We almost have to leave."
"I would, but a certain deity sleep as she pleases and won't let go of me." I said as I tried to push Michu who fell asleep hugging me.
"Hm... sister, don't leave me alone..." Michitsuju whispered as she was still asleep.
Hina let out a small laugh.
"It seems like she still wants to keep sleeping." "I'll go drop off the room key at the front desk, I'll be right back."
After a few minutes, Michu finally woke up.
"I haven't slept this comfortably in a long time..." She said as she yawned.
"Good morning Michu..."
Michitsuju noticed that she was still clutching my arm.
"..."
"AHH! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" Michu exclaimed as she noticed.
She immediately pushed me forcefully out of bed as she pulled the covers over herself.
"Ouch...was that really necessary?" I said trying to get up from the floor.
"W-O-Of course it was! Why are you sleeping so close to me?" she said embarrassed.
"It's not like I had a choice." "But oh well, I'm glad you were able to get a good night's rest."
"Ah... yeah." She said as she continued to pull the covers over her face.
"It seems like you were dreaming something nice."
Michitsuju thought for a moment trying to remember.
"Ah, that..." "It was just memories from my past..." She said in a somewhat subdued tone. "Sometimes I wish things were like they used to be."
"Heh... Same here." I replied.
Michitsuju seemed somewhat sad. I really didn't know what to say since I didn't know anything about her past, though I understand she spent a lot of time alone.
I approached her and patted her head.
"Don't worry, now you have us hehe." I said smiling.
"I guess you're right..."
At that Hina walked in the door.
"Are you guys ready to go?"
"Almost there, still need to put a few things away."
Michitsuju got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash her face.
She stared at the mirror for no reason.
"Hm... It looks like I'm the same as I was hundreds of years ago..." "But for some reason I feel like there's something different about me, things I wasn't able to feel back then."
"Hey Michuuu~. Are you done already? We're leaving already!" I shouted from the door of the room.
"Oh yeah, I'm almost done!"
*****
We walked down the stairs and out of the building.
The day was quite cloudy and it looked like it would rain at any moment.
"Okay, we will continue our journey. Our next destination will be the bamboo forest." Hina said as she looked at the map.
After being able to rest the night before, I was already a little better from my injuries. I could at least walk on my own.
We started to walk a bit through the paths of a forest out of the Human Village. We crossed hills and meadows.
"Did you know that there is a legend that the great bamboo forest of the lost was not part of Gensokyo long ago?" Hina said as we walked.
"Hm? How is that possible, did it just appear here out of nowhere?" I asked somewhat curious.
"The legend talks about a big tsunami that hit Gensokyo. Bringing the forest with it."
"What? How could someone bring an entire forest to Gensokyo?" Michitsuju asked somewhat confused.
She doesn't know what a tsunami is.
"You don't know exactly what happened. After all it's just a legend." "But that's how "Takakusa Commandery," which was the name the forest had a long, long time ago, was supposed to appear." Hina explained.
"Ehh...? Sounds like an interesting legend." I said in amazement. "And why is it called "The Bamboo Forest of the Lost?"
"Hm... it's because it's a dense forest of only very tall bamboo trees where the terrain is almost all flat and the place in general is very similar, so it's very easy to get lost there."
"But it won't be our case fu fu fu~." Michitsuju said with a proud tone. "My tracking ability can search for exits anywhere. It's impossible for us to get lost."
"That's good to know, to be honest, I don't know where in the forest the Eientei mansion is located." Hina said with a nervous smile.
"Hey Hina, are those trees in the distance part of the bamboo forest?" I asked impressed.
"Ah yes, looks like we've arrived."
*****
We started to walk into the forest little by little. We tried to leave a trail along the way so we wouldn't get lost, but after a few minutes, everything looked the same, it was as if we were... lost.
We couldn't see exits or anything that could serve as a guide point.
"Ehm... Michu, do you think you could use your tracking ability to look for an exit? I think we got lost." I said somewhat worried.
"Leave it to me."
From the ground, a purple light began to emanate. It was like the time we got lost in the basement of the scarlet mansion.
Michu closed her eyes trying to concentrate to see if she could find a way out.
"Hmmm..." "How strange..."
"Did you find any way out?"
"It's like the whole terrain... is the same, I can't seem to identify exit points." She said somewhat frustrated.
"Wow... I think we did get lost in here." Hina said looking up at the sky.
The sky gradually filled with gray clouds and already raindrops and the smell of damp earth could be felt.
"It looks like it's going to rain, we have to find a place to wait for the rain to pass." Hina said.
"But where? There's nothing here but bamboo trees." I asked somewhat wearily.
"Hmm... I don't know, let's just keep walking."
About 20 minutes went by and everything was still the same. And it was about to start raining.
"Agh... if only I had my powers to create gaps..." Michitsuju said annoyed pouting.
"Don't worry, we'll find some way out of here." I replied with some hope.
At that, a big explosion was heard nearby in the forest. We could see fire nearby and smoke coming from the highest part of the bamboo trees.
We decided to run up there and see what had happened.
Tucked somewhere in the forest, there was a small wooden house with a food stall next to it.
Apparently someone was cooking and the food was burned.
A scream could also be heard coming from the food stand.
"AHHH, STUPID GRILL!"
With some trepidation, we moved a little closer to see what it was all about.
We could see a girl with snow-white hair so long it reached her ankles.
She was wearing a white button-down shirt, somewhat puffy red pants and a white bow tie with red lines on the top of her head. She also appeared to have like ofuda seals stuck on her pants.
For some reason she was engulfed in flames as she stomped around and waved her hands somewhat angrily.
"Hina, do you know who this person is?" I asked quietly.
Hina stood there thinking for a bit as she watched her carefully.
"I think I've seen her somewhere, but I don't think I've talked to her before."
We slowly approached towards the food stall where the girl was.
She was very upset, so she didn't notice we were there.
"Ehm... Good morning." Hina said behind the girl."
"WAA-W-WHO ARE YOU?! She exclaimed in fright as she turned around.
Hina was also a bit startled by the reaction and backed away.
"Aww, sorry for scaring you, we were just walking around in the forest and saw a big explosion, so we came to see what had happened."
"Oh... so you were lost in the woods, huh?" replied the white-haired girl.
"Yeah, but thanks to your explosion we got here hehe."
"I see. I'm glad I helped ya." Said the girl with a somewhat disappointed tone. "So what can I do for you miss, were ya lookin' for my food stand?"
"Not really, we were just looking for a place to stay until it stops raining."
"Ah yeah, look, it's raining. Hopefully and these flames go out faster, heh." Said the girl grinning.
Michu and I were still a little afraid of how intimidating the girl looked, so we stood further back watching Hina.
The girl glared at us.
"Hm? What about those two? She asked Hina.
"Ah, they are my traveling companions." "Akumu, Miss Michitsuju, come here!"
We stopped shaking and decided to approach.
"Fellow travelers huh? What are you two up to?" the girl asked.
"It's kind of hard to explain, but I'll sum it up for you." Hina replied.
In came a loud flash of lightning and more and more raindrops began to fall.
"Tsk... it seems like my smoke provoked the clouds hehe..." "Come on inside, y'all can wait inside till the rain stops."
We entered the wooden hut where the girl lived. It wasn't very spacious, but I guess it was fine if you were the only one living here. It appeared to be two stories and a few rooms like a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom and upstairs a bedroom.
We sat in the small living room.
"Make yourselves at home." Said the girl as she laid comfortably on the couch.
"Thank you very much... uh..." Hina thought to herself.
"Mokou. Fujiwara no Mokou." Replied the girl.
"Oh, thank you very much, Miss Mokou hehe."
She looked like a nice person. She had a rather carefree attitude, as if she didn't expect anything from life, but at the same time, inspired confidence.
"So, what brings you here, travelers?" asked Mokou.
"Oh right, Akumu is a human who came to Gensokyo by accident. And we find ourselves in the middle of a little adventure trying to locate a hidden cave where his friend is. We're trying to free her so they can both return to the outside world." Hina quickly replied.
"Eh, I think I get it..." Mokou said still somewhat confused. "And who's this ghost?"
"I'm no ghost!" Michitsuju exclaimed. "My name is Michitsuju Yakumo, and I'm an ancient deity of Gensokyo, hmph." She said as she crossed her arms and turned her face away.
"Yakumo... For some reason I'm familiar with that last name." Mokou said trying to remember. "Anyway, I didn't know of any deity that looked like a ghost."
"What you see in front of you is a visible representation of my spirit. Since my physical body is chained somewhere in Gensokyo." Michitsuju replied.
"So, from what I understand. Y'all searching all over Gensokyo for the location of the ghost's body so you can return to the outside world? Mokou asked.
"That's right." Hina said.
"Damn... sounds like a complicated task."
"It partly is, that's why we're going around looking for someone to help us interpret an ancient map we found that shows the locations of Gensokyo thousands of years ago. Maybe we can get a hint that may lead us to the right place."
"Hm, I've lived even before Gensokyo was created, but despite that, I don't know what ya talking about." Mokou replied.
"Before Gensokyo existed?" I asked in amazement.
"Yeh, that's right little man. I am a human who has lived for a long time. Though at this point, I wouldn't know if I can still consider myself 'human'..." Mokou said while laughing.
"How does a human get to live for so long?" I asked.
"Ah... that's kind of a long story to tell in one afternoon ya know?" Said Mokou while looking out the window at the rain somewhat thoughtfully.
"Oh... I see."
"Lemme just tell ya that as cool as immortality may sound, it's a curse that chains you in time, preventing any kind of change in your body. Personally, it's not something I would wish on anyone..."
Mokou suddenly looked more serious and the mood turned a bit grayer.
"But oh well, leaving this aside. Why did y'all decide to come to the big bamboo forest specifically?" Mokou asked.
"Ah right! We decided to come here because on the map, one of the locations has similarity to the shape of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost." Hina replied. "Besides, I know that the princess has also lived for a long time, and we wanted to ask her some questions about the map."
"Ah... you were coming to see that wretch...?" muttered Mokou.
"Wait, you two know each other?" Hina asked.
"Unfortunately, yes, I've known her since I was a little brat. That is, for centuries if not thousands of years." Mokou replied with a somewhat frustrated expression.
"So do you think you could take us to her? If it's not too much to ask of course."
"Ahg... aight. I'll guide you guys on how to get to the Eientei, but I don't plan on getting too close. It just makes me want to puke just by looking at her face, tsk." Mokou said somewhat annoyed.
"These two don't seem to be getting along very well... I'd better stop talking about it." Hina said to herself.
Mokou sighed heavily.
"But well, it's not like I have anything better to do to waste my time on either." Mokou said.
"Understood, thank you very much." Smiled Hina.
Michu and I walked around the house looking at the rooms and walking around. There were several things burned like furniture or clothes. Mokou didn't tell us about her powers, but having seen her engulfed in flames I think it gives me an idea where this is going....
The ambient itself felt quite lonely. For some reason, everything felt very distant and isolated from reality.
It's a strange feeling to explain, but I guess it was simply because the hut was located deep in the bamboo forest.
We went back to the living room and Michu and I approached Mokou.
"Hey Mokou." I said to her.
"Hm?"
"How about you join us on our little trip?" I asked with some excitement.
Mokou stood somewhat thoughtfully looking down at the ground.
"What would you need me for...?"
"Mm... I don't know, always having more company is a good thing, isn't it?" I replied. "Besides, you look like a nice and strong person."
Mokou blushed a little and let out a small smile.
"Heh... I appreciate your words, kid. But I really don't know if I'm of any use to you guys. I've always had a very sedentary life and the only good thing I do is guide those who get lost in the forest. I don't know if I'm good for anything else."
Michitsuju approached Mokou with the intention of exchanging a few words with her.
"Listen here, fire girl. I know perfectly well what it is like to live in solitude for hundreds of years. Beings like you and me know very well what it's like to have all the time in the world in our hands and not wanting to do anything with it. We take it for granted that, if we don't do things today, we can do them centuries later..." Michitsuju said. "B-B-B-But things can change!" She said chagrined and mumbling.
Mokou felt something different inside her. For the first time she felt like someone understood her situation.
"So at least if you're going to live for so long, give a different meaning to your life hmph." Michitsuju said as she crossed her arms.
Mokou let out a small smile as she thought.
"Even if my future will never come to an end, and I'll always wake up to see yet another day, I guess it'll be best to leave behind the past that has haunted me for so long..."
"Everything was left in the past a long time ago. My home, my old friendships and... my father. I'm the only one who hasn't changed heh..."
"But something about this little group of adventurers makes me want to find out what the true meaning of my long-lived life is. It's tiring having to bear with this flame of anger inside me. For hundreds of years, my only purpose in life was… revenge."
I reached over and tapped Mokou on the shoulder.
"So? What do you say?"
Mokou raised her gaze slightly.
"O-Okay, I'll join ya little team...-"
Hina let out a small laugh and Michu and I smiled as well.
"B-But only because y'all insist so much and because I have nothing better to do!" Mokou said somewhat embarrassed.
Suddenly out of excitement, Mokou's white hair was covered in flames.
"Miss Mokou, your hair!"
"Somebody put it out!"
We all ran out of the house.