=====
Inari Shrine, Kyoto – Dec 31, 23:54
=====


I stuff my phone away again after checking the clock one last time. The breach is predicted to happen shortly after midnight, so I still have a few minutes. I’m already done preparing for a change, so there’s not much else for me to do other than relax and wait.

I’m ready for whatever it decides to throw at me today.

It’s New Year’s Eve with only a few minutes remaining in the year. Off in the distance I can hear the cheer of people as they enjoy their festival. Their laughter as they play at the booths with their friends and/or companion. A few cries of frustration can be heard as they lose at a game only to try again until they either get it, run out of money, or decide it isn’t worth it.

I’m a little ways off the beaten path between the shrine and the festival. From here I can see each and every person passing through the tunnel of tori. Of course they might see me as well, but it’d be a little harder as I’m concealed by the shadows of the trees and the illumination from the path blocks their view this far into the darkness.

I’ve placed myself in a small patch of trees away from the path to the shrine. It’s part of a small groove of willows which surrounds the shrine grounds. The area where I’m working tonight isn’t too dense; in fact I’m in a pretty open area.

So I can just sit here and browse people. Watch them as they walk past with a smile that says they don’t have a single care in the world. Truly, this is my favorite way to pass time. To see their joy filled expressions is the best kind of pay for my work, because that means I’m doing it right.

By now there’s a steady stream of people going from the festival to the shrine to get a good view of the fireworks. Families, friends, lovers, you name it. All of them happily ignorant of the danger I’m about to face. Exactly the way I want it.

I’m dragged out of my thoughts by the collective shout from the shrine. It appears they’ve begun the countdown already.

I ready my stance and conjure up the formula I’m going to use, and maintain a perfect image of it frozen in my mind.

Six

Five

Four

Three

Two

One

With a loud cheer a rocket is sent flying high in the sky before disappearing. Less than a second later it explodes with a myriad of colors.

However, that’s not what I’m looking at. No, I’m more interested in the cracks that just appeared in the air. I know how it sounds, but there’s no better way to describe it. It’s like a cracked window, but without the frame, just floating in the air.

And that’s my cue.

I raise my hand to activate the spell I’ve prepared. A barrier immediately surrounds the area and seals it off from the outside, confining me with whatever's going to cross the breach this time.

And just like that, the air shatters. A familiar sensation rushes over me as I’m pulled from the world I know, a hollow and lonely feeling aching throughout my body. A feeling of abandonment, as if the world itself is denying my existence.

But I’m not alone. With me is a youkai with a strong desire to leave the sacred land; an ice-based youkai in the shape of a big porcupine. How fitting of an opponent. Here I am at Inari’s shrine in the middle of winter fighting a blue hiwatari.

Without wasting any time it lowers its body, connecting each of its tails by the tip. The air itself starts to freeze, turning into a sharp crystal made of clear ice. The moment it finishes shaping it, the tails burst apart violently, launching the ice at me with deadly precision.

I turn slightly, letting it pass by. The cold air that trails after it brushes against me, sending shivers down my spine. As it crashes into one of the trees it leaves a fine mist of ice crystals floating in the air. The area where the ice hit has been left with a hole, covered by a thick layer of ice.

That’s bad news. There’s no telling what it’ll do if it hit me. I just have to avoid getting hit then, but that’s easier said than done.

The temperature drops a few degrees as a faint mist starts to surround the beast. The mist collects itself on the spikes, turning each of them into ice similar to the one fired at me. It bristles momentarily before launching a flurry of ice spikes at me through the air

I bring my hand up in front of me forming a basic seal. As I whisper a prayer, I focus my spiritual power to the tip of my fingers. I draw a line through the air with them, leaves behind a glowing trail which immediately spreads, creating a radiant wall of light.

A fine dust of crystals form as the shards of ice crash against my shield. But strong as it may be, it’s not impenetrable, as proven by the shards that manage to make their way through. If I could use my left hand I would be able to stop those as well, but alas, I can’t.

Cold air brushes my neck as a shard flies by. A moment later, I realize what just happened as a biting cold sensation spreads through my body. Distracted, I let another shard slip by, cutting into my shoulder. I flinch in pain as I lose concentration and drop the barrier entirely. A few more shards tear past my thigh, forcing me to the ground.
Seeing my weakened stage, it stops the barrage and begins to cautiously make its way towards me. The wounds made by the crystals have frozen over with a thin layer of ice. It’s going to slow my movement a nudge, but it won’t keep me from fighting. Compared to what I’m used to, this bare registers as a flesh wound.

I quickly bring up my hand and bite into it until the taste of metal fill my mouth. I clench my hand before slamming it on the ground. A dim green circle lights up from underneath the snow before a trail shoots along the ground towards the youkai.

As the trail approaches the icy beast, it splits into two, encircling and trapping it. The faint jolt passing through my arm signifies the completion of the preparations, and I initiate the spell. I start pouring in spiritual power while mentally reciting the formula.

As quick as it came, the light disappears. In its place a wall of jade-colored fire appears, surrounding the beast.

I can’t help but smirk as I stagger to my feet. It was a rough start, but I have more than a few cards up my sleeve. Just because I have next to no mana doesn’t mean I can’t use spells of my own.

The beast looks afraid of the fire surrounding it, furiously swinging its body in hopes of finding a small opening.

A familiar noise drags both our attention towards a rift in the larger barrier I created, one that quickly grows and spreads throughout its entirety. Quickly looking back at the beast, I see that it’s covered in cracks similar to those of the rifts. The repair is done. We’re being sent back. I won.

In a last stand, the icy youkai ignores the flames and charges head first. By reflex I assume a defensive stance. It leaps, and just as it’s about to hit me, it shatters. Along with it, the barrier collapses and everything fades to black.

After a moment, the surroundings fade back in. The pressure of rejection lightens, allowing me to relax again.

I let out a sigh and collect my thoughts again. Checking my phone reveals that nearly half an hour has past. To me it felt like nothing more than two minutes at most. Well, the barrier behaves weirdly, so it’s not really surprising. This just means that I spent yet another New Year’s battling it out.

The good news is that this was the last breach for now, so I can return home again. Bad news is that Doc is going to tear me a new one for getting injured by a small fry.

“I think it came from over here.”

“Are you sure you didn’t just imagine it? I didn’t hear anything.”

“I’m sure I heard something from over here somewhere.”

…

Shit. Don’t tell me they heard the barrier. No, that’d be impossible. Calm down. It probably wasn’t me they heard. If I just stay here they’ll pass by. You can’t see this place from the main road after all.

But of course fate is out to prove me wrong. Two girls catch sight of me. Both freeze for a moment, trying to understand the sight before them. Given my state, I guess it really isn’t that strange.

“Holy shit, are you alright? What happened?” The red haired girl runs up to me.

The blonde girl with twin tails follows right behind. She doesn’t say anything though, just keeps her distance as she eyes me carefully.

“It doesn’t concern you.” I turn away from her, scouting for my bag. It’s still near the rock I rested on before the fight; seems like it didn’t get dragged in this time.

“Professor, I don’t think we should get involved with him. I have a bad feeling,” her blonde friend speaks her mind.

“What are you talking about, Chiyuri? You should always help someone when you see them in trouble,” the ‘professor’ says. Though, to me she doesn’t look like much of a professor. Maybe it’s because of her young appearance, or maybe the fact her yukata doesn’t exactly scream ‘esteemed person’.

“But-”

“You should listen to your friend.” I cut her off before she gets to correct this ‘professor’. “You shouldn’t get involved, so just leave and forget you saw anything.” Just as I start making my way over to my bag, my legs decide to remind me of the wounds I earned by giving in and forcing me down.

“See, you can’t even walk by yourself.” She places her hands on her hips, taking a pose of confidence. “You should just accept the help of two pretty girls when they offer it.”

What kind of reason is that? Just accept the help of someone because they’re pretty? That just sounds like an excuse a back-alley brothel would use to reel in foreigners. Could it be she’s trying to rob me? The only valuables I carry would be a debit card and phone, both easily replaceable.

This girl is not about to give up, despite her friend’s clear protests. The way I see it I have two options: waste energy trying to convince her to leave me be, or go along with her and disappear when she’s not looking.

I let out a sigh as I once again stagger to my feet, hearing the obvious protest my by legs. “Sure, I’ll play along for now. Just tell me one thing. Why?”

“Why?” She shoots a quick glance over her right shoulder before she turns to face me. “Let’s call it the kindness of my heart. It is New Year’s after all. We should spread joy wherever we can.”

Yep, going along would be the right choice. With an answer like that I know she wouldn’t have given up easily.


=====
"Professor’s" apartment – 00:40
=====


“There, as good as new.” She says as she packs up her first aid kit and leaves, leaving me alone with her blonde friend.

I let my hand run over the band aid. It’s been a long time since I last had one of these stuck on me. It’s never been deemed necessary. Well it still isn’t, she’s just over reacting a bit.

“Is she always like that?” The girl nearly flinches at my sudden question.

“What’s it to you,” she snaps back.

“Alright, alright, sorry I asked.” I raise my hand to calm her, which seems to work as she just sinks into the chair she’s using.

Now that I actually take a look, this room is decorated more like a house than an apartment. I’d expect it to be more compact, but it’s quite spacious here. It makes me think of a western style, although I’ve never seen one in person.

“How long are you going to stay?” She doesn’t bother to look at me as she asks.

Returning the favor from before I answer with a “What’s it to you?”

She locks her eyes on me. “The fact you’re staying at my friend’s home. The fact I don’t trust you. The fact I want you gone as soon as possible.” If I didn’t plan on leaving as soon as possible anyway, I might have felt slightly insulted by that.

“Fair enough, I guess.” I shrug. “I’ll leave as soon as I can feel every inch of my legs again.”

“You seem to be able to walk fine as is, why delay any longer?”

“If I tried to leave now, your friend would likely come through the door and ‘convince’ me to stay.” I rest my head on my healthy hand. “Even if I’d already made it out of the door, she’d come and get me.”

The blue eyed girl sits up straight, giving me her full attention. “And how can you be so sure of that?”

“I’m quite good at reading people, you see.” I let a smirk crawl onto my face “Like for instance, I sense quite the hatred coming from you, and aimed at me."

“Oh really?” She smirks back at me. “What makes you say that?”

The red haired girl walks back into the room and stands behind her friend. “Now, now, Chiyuri, don’t be so harsh on him.” She’s changed her clothes to something more relaxed; grey baggy pants and a black t-shirt with some English nonsense written on it. It gives off a kind of makeshift pajamas feeling, if I’m to be honest.

‘Chiyuri’ stands up in protest. “But Yumemi, he-“

“-has done nothing wrong.” She cuts off her friend.

For a few moments she just stands there staring at the red haired girl. “Well, fine. I’m going to sleep then,” she says before marching off to another room.

“I hope she wasn’t too harsh on you.” She takes the seat that’s now been freed up.

“I’ve been treated worse before.” I tell her. “But to change the topic, I still haven’t heard your name.”

“Ah, sorry, it seems I got too caught up in the moment. My name is Okazaki Yumemi but feel free to call me Yumemi, I don’t really care for the formalities.” She gives me a friendly smile. “She’s Kitashirakawa Chiyuri.”

“That’s Kitashirakawa for you, you got that?” The small girl yells from her room. “Kita-shira-kawa.”

“I thought you were sleeping.” I reply.

“I am,” her yell is followed by a solid ‘thud’ sound before falling silent.

Yumemi just lets out a sigh, to which I follow suit. “Anyway, the two of you may call me Konoha.”

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” She gives me another smile. “Anyway, you should probably get some rest. I hope you’re okay with using the couch.”

“You’re probably right.” I lean back into said couch. “Traveling home will take most of the day tomorrow.”

“Traveling? Oh no, I’m going to take you to the hospital tomorrow.” She picks up on my confused gaze and continues. “It’s, um, well, your arm.” She scratches her cheek as she tries to avoid looking directly at it. Quite obviously so, in fact.

“Oh, that. Don’t worry about it.” I drag my left arm out from the shirt. “It’s been like this for a few months already. It’s nothing new.”

“I- I see. That’s, um, good?” She hurriedly waves her hands in front of her. “No, I mean that’s fine. If you say it is fine, then I’ll trust you.”

Without anything left to say, I just sit there waiting for her to continue. Although it appears she’s run out of things to say as well. After a few seconds she opts to go get a blanket for me before heading to the same room as Kitashirakawa.

I close my eyes and rest.


=====
Okazaki’s apartment, Kyoto – Jan 1, 04:45
=====


While I didn’t get to rest for more than a couple of hours, my legs have healed enough for me to walk without a problem. The lesser wounds like the one on my cheek are almost completely gone already.

The two girls are sound asleep in the next room. I didn’t even need to bother with checking as their snoring told me more than I needed to know.

Right, so I would hate to just leave them like this, considering the kindness they showed me. Or what the red-haired girl, Yumemi I think it was, showed me. If I leave a note telling them I’ll be back to repay them, I’ll at least feel a little better.

With a quick scan of the room I find some paper laying the table. Some of them are filled with text; others are filled with scribbles and calculations.
Though, the way it’s arranged strikes me as odd. Perhaps it’s just because they’re personal notes of some kind, but even so they should be organized in some form. I mean a bit of text written in a circle with a little doodle in between every so often doesn’t seem like the best way to make notes. The doodles are neat, though, I’ll give them that; simple yet elegant. They kind of remind me of runes; runes which are used in spell circles.

I look over the notes again.

It’s a stupid idea, but there’s no harm in trying. If I look at this as if it was a spell, then I’d connect these points here, they look awfully alike. The lines match up with a smaller circle in the middle of the ring of text. That’s a coincidence, surely. A thinner line seems to run on a skewed axis through the inner circle; it stops shortly before it reaches the text. If I draw a circle there, I should draw one on the other side of the text with the same distance.

A generic fire ignition spell; a rather simple one at that. Although the construction was weird. Normally you’d start with a circle to use as a base then add on from that, that’s common sense even if you don’t know anything about magic. And these marks were placed too accurate. I refuse to accept that as a coincidence. So why? Are they picking it apart? That’d make sense. If they started with the entire structure, and then dismantled it piece by piece it’s likely they’d end up with something that’d resemble what I see here on paper.

And I guess they used that as the blue print for this other spell circle; although I somehow doubt it is one. It’s different. The runes have been replaced by another language, foreign with roman letters. The overall shape looks more edgy as well. There’s something written in the corner of the paper, it’s been boxed in so it looks like a note or a memo.

During our escalated visit to Gensokyo in search of valid subjects for experiment ##### we were forced to field test the spell. It proved a success, although the cost of the spell increased during the fight, compared to the resources used in the lab. It’d be easier if we could tap into this ‘mana’ that’s always mentioned, but alas. We’ll need to look into a cheaper fuel for the magic in the near future, my salary won’t cut it at this rate.

Fuck. These girls aren’t normal.

They don’t just know of magic; they have developed a new type of magic. Although it's amazing, and perhaps even a little scary, it would have been something I'd have ignored, if not for what they said about Gensokyo. By the looks of it, they’ve been there. I’m not sure if they attacked, or was attacked, but I do know that they fought.

I’m coming back here, that’s for sure. These girls are now my business. But for now I should return home. I have other things to take care of.


=====
Hakurei Shrine – Jan 1, 20:35
=====


It took most of the day, but I made it back to the shrine in one piece. Quite a feat considering the entire mountain has been covered in snow since I left. I’ll need to get sweeping again soon; doesn’t seem like anyone else bothered to do it when I was gone. But not now; right now I should go see Doc and get my wounds looked at.

I slide open the door to the shrine’s main room and am immediately greeted by a new face; a female youkai fox with a golden coat and matching eyes. By the number of tails, it’s safe to assume she’s old.

I greet her with a polite bow. “I apologize for my appearance, I just came back. I’ll be able to attend to you shortly, so please make yourself at home while you wait.”

“No, no, there’s no need. The head priest is just looking into some things right now.” She pats the kotatsu a few times. “Won’t you join me for some conversation? I think it could take a while before he returns.”

I really should go see Doc. But it’s not like my wounds will get any worse because of a few minutes of conversation.

I place my bag beside the door before taking a seat. “Of course, Miss…”

“Yakumo,” she tells me, “Yakumo Ran. It’s written as Eight Clouds, and Ran is written with the same character as the color indigo. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance young Hakurei.” She gives me a small bow over the table.

“The pleasure is all mine.” I lean back into my chair. “It appears you already know my name, so let me introduce myself on by first name. I’m called Ryuko, spelled with characters for Dragon and Child.”

“Such a fierce name,” she comments with a slight smile in the eye. “Anyway, can I assume you’re the only one working here; besides the head priest of course?”

“Technically speaking yes; I’m the only other priest of this shrine. However we also have two others living here to help us do our job properly.”

“I see.” She nods. “I can imagine how much work there must be for you folks. So what about the head priest? He doesn’t look the kind for this type of work; how’s he holding up?”

“Jun? Well, he has different work than I do.” I rest my head in my hand. “I’m not really sure of exactly what it is he’s doing, but whatever it is, it’s keeping him busy,” I lie. I know plenty about his work; I’m just not sure how much I’m allowed to talk about.

“I see, I see.” She nods again. “Then perhaps you can tell me what it is you’re-” her ears twitch. “Looks like that won’t be necessary. The head priest is on his way back it seems.” She gives me another bow. “Thank you for talking with me, although it was only for a brief time.”

“You’re very welcome, Miss Yakumo.” I return her bow. “I hope that whatever matter you came here for will be resolved easily.” I wish her luck as I close the door to the room.

The clinic is right next to the shrine so it’s just a short walk away. On the way I notice one of the local villagers exit the building. She notices me approaching and waves with a huge smile on.

“It doesn’t look like you’re quite done yet, Akame. Someone else is on their way,” she yells through the door. “It’s good to see you back in one piece, kid, but I gotta go.” She pats my shoulder as she moves past me.

With a sigh another person steps out of the door. He gives my body a quick look over before just turning around and walks back in. I follow suit and just take a seat at my usual spot.

“Do I want to know why you’re all tattered?” he simply asks as he prepares a syringe.

“A three tailed nekomata managed to out speed my predictions; it took the seal by the way, so we’ll have to replace it.”

“If it took the seal, the healing effect should have lasted the rest of the fight,” he comments, “you must have faced some more.”

“I encountered a frost hiwatari. It overwhelmed my defense with quantity.” I pull up my sleeve so he can clean the area where the needle is going.

“Hiwatari are generally considered weak. You shouldn’t have much trouble with them.” He injects the medicine and I lie down.

It takes a moment before it takes effect. I feel my muscles tense up as it spreads up through my arm and out through the rest of my body. After a few seconds all energy leaves me and a feeling of exhaustion flows over me.

“I still can’t use my left arm.” I tell him as the immediate effect wears off. “I have trained to use each arm equally efficient, but it just feels unnatural to not be able to use my left at all.”

He holds his hands over my torso and a dim blue light begins to shine from my flesh. “Still can’t use it? It’s been three months already; Jun said it wouldn’t be more than a month.” As the wounds start to close he moves his hands over other areas. “And at that point it would be counterproductive to cancel the ritual.” He lifts his hands as the last wound is closed. “There, that should do the trick.”

“Thanks, Doc.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to get up as he pins me down by my shoulders. “Don’t thank me,” he says as he crashes his hard skull into mine. His strong grip prevents me from recoiling even slightly. “Now, let me repeat myself once again. Do not rely on my magic to heal you.” He releases me before he continues.

“I’ve told you countless times already; if you rely on my healing, you’ll eventually reach a point where I can’t do anything for you anymore. I know how it must be to be the only human around for miles, but you still have to remember that you are only human. You have limitations, even if you have pushed them quite far, they’re still there. I can only heal you as long as your body can regenerate. Once it says stop, that’s it, that’s my limit.”

I remain silent.

“I’ll go talk to Jun about your arm.” He gets up and walks over to the door where he stops. “Kohane and I are both against you leaving with that arm. You’re just not fit to fight without it,” he says without turning around, “The only reason we let you go is because you’re the only one who can wander Japan freely; Not like us youkai.” He stands there for a few more seconds before adding, “Rest here until you feel like you can move again, then go straight to bed. Tomorrow will resume as normal.” Then he leaves.

I just lay back and rest.


=====
January 12th
=====


The day that followed proceeded as normally, just as Doc said it would. I woke up and went through my morning workout. Afterwards I took care for the chores that’d been negated while I was gone such as general cleaning as well as going to the village to get fresh supplies again. The rest of the day went by with me practicing the art of fighting.

The only noteworthy thing was my talk with Jun regarding my arm. He said it was simply going to take some time. While he said that he knew it was about time, he wouldn’t tell me when it was. And as his disciple I chose to accept that; he knows best, after all.

It took only took about a week and a half before we detected new activity which requiring our attention. I was sent out to take care of it once again.

[] There’s been some unusual activity regarding the border’s anchor on Tokyo.
[] An abandoned shrine between Osaka and Kyoto is showing signs of opening a breach soon.
[] There’s been a recurring breach at Tohno cemetery, and it’s acting up again.