And in the backshine of departing stars, the rabbits fancied they had an understanding.

The veil fell.

Whilst futo's old english and way of talk is one of her charms, One dost not wish nor hath time to write a entire story in it for my sake and thy time's sake, please understand.OK its because am lazy alright
--------------------------------------------------------------------

"... A world where every human may take a chance to cling onto their own density, a world where humans may explore this wonder world to their hearts. YES Hijiri that is the world I desire! Under Taoism of course." The elegant and charismatic one and only Crown Prince exclaimed!

Art thee words that were most likely being said in the room behind me. As for I, thou might wonder? hmph! The most brave and courageous job, of guarding thy door! yes this noble job of mine, is however in constant threat. As right beside me is a fearsome yokai. Or should I say YOKAIS, yokies?... THE POINT BEING the nerve of this despicable temple have brought two beasts to this meeting of thy's, THAT THEE CALLED FOR, is utter BULLSHIT

But if its thine own fate to be fallen in this hallway protecting the Crown prince's chamber THEN IT SH--" soooo hey Futo." huh?? Thy Yokai with blue hair and for some reason cloth covering thine beautiful sky texture haired is speaking to one? Thy other Yokai which seems to be asleep to A UNTRAINED EYE hast not moved a muscles, or more to be precise not moved a cloud.

" Thou wishes to speak to me?"

"..."

"..."

Lesson 1: Cirno

Hello, and welcome everyone. This is the first colloquium I will be hosting for my research into the ecology and lives of youkai and related beings. Thank you to the village elders for sponsoring this research. Before I begin with the first lecture, there is some organizational topics I need to discuss.

First of all, each lecture will be some fifteen to thirty minutes, maybe more depending on the amount of content I’ve prepared, and the number of questions asked. Please ask questions, I have not covered everything. Each lecture will be held here in the public school on Saturdays in the early afternoon by announcement, so it will not be every week. I thank Miss Kamishirasawa for allowing this to be held here. And no, I’m not technically a teacher yet, so I don’t have the right to come in here on my own authority.

For those of you that do not know me, my name is Tanner Regas, an outsider who wandered in. I’m attempting to make a curriculum for the public school that is more focused on some basic sciences and mathematics. Reason for this is that I was a high school physics teacher… someone who taught young individuals their basic curriculum, and I saw that there was an opening for such a position here.

A: “How come you aren’t dead if you’re from the outside?”

I was left in the village proper. I don’t know why I was in the village proper to begin with, but whatever.
So I went for the position, after I got dumped here, that is.

Any further questions about me personally can be held until after the colloquium. Transcripts of which will be recorded by the servant of Lady Hieda present. Thank you for your hard work.

"It's kind of weird looking, ain't it?"

It found the final, coveted vestiges of its slumber cruelly wrenched from its weary mind, as its senses were filled with uncomfortable heat and the varied din of a surrounding mob.

"I've never seen a lizard get this big, do you think it's some kind of youkai?"

"Of course it's a youkai! There's no way a lizard could grow to this size."

"You don't think it eats flesh, do you?"

"What else could those teeth be for?"

"I hope it isn't dangerous.."

"How did it even end up here, anyway?"

Depending on who you ask. You’d get a lot of different opinions on this fantasy land called, ‘Gensokyo.’

If you were to ask the folks in the Human Village, they’d say that the land is nice so long as you stay inside the walls of the village. But if for some unfortunate reason you’d have to travel out of it, they’d still say the land was mostly fine so long as you’d stay within the well-traveled roads.

And avoided the enormous Forest of Magic.

Stayed away from any large fields of sunflowers.

Kept your distance from any large patches of spider-lilies.

Took care not to attract attention from the Tengu from the mountain

Made a large detour around the lake and avoided the scarlet mansion.

Oh and if you somehow had the ability to do so, stayed away from the big hole in the sky over yonder unless you want to visit the netherworld early.

(A short outside of /shorts/.)

A loyal host of Mononobe men-under-arms made midnight march for Iware.

[u]Sup Anons, had this idea for a while now and after some years of just reading stories here and being a part of the cyoas.
I figured I'd try to take my own swing to it as well![u/]


The sun rises, some bird chirps and as far as you can see there are no intruders in the sky or on the ground,
though you aren't certain if any are hiding behind the gravestones or trees surrounding you

But if they are then you won't spare them your wrath!

You are an Jiangshi, you are to PROTECT the graveyard from INTRUDERS.

Why is that? Because the master told you to. See even your talisman says so

[b] -Do not allow anyone to enter the graveyard
-Do not allow anyone to steal from the graveyard [b/]

The ominous gong of the church bell sent vibrations through the slim, tensed body of the blonde heroine. Her journey would end inside the cathedral before her: one of black, spike-like towers and cold, metallic trusses — a holy place captured and twisted by the legendary demon, Melog. It was a fate she had been prepared for ever since she took up the blessed sword, Fortuna, said to slice through all probability. There was always a price to be paid for defiance.

A firm hand slapped her back, sending a wave of force through her leather armor and into her shoulder blades. She steadied herself and looked up at the offender: a man whose shell of gray plate armor revealed only his cold, dark eyes.

“Don’t lose your nerve,” he said through his visor.

She forced a smile as her heart fluttered in her chest. “You should know by now that my nerve has only ever faltered once: when we first shared a bed, and I gazed upon your—”

He turned away. “That’s precisely what I mean.”

She silently apologized. Even as a heroine, inappropriate humor seemed to be her only talent. Perhaps if she had any real skills — sorcery, medicine, peddling, or even farming — she would not have been forced to take up the holy sword. He would also have been spared.

Her legs pushed her forward, to the large double-doors. There were no locks, no barricades. She placed her hands on the door and struggled against its size.

Then he appeared beside her, adding his own weight to her efforts. “I have never regretted my decision.”

Rice and Rain >>/shorts/2209

Inspired by, or shamelessly stolen from. Take your pick. Mibya wrote that (>>/gensokyo/15535).

Thread 1 >>41060

Previous thread: https://www.touhou-project.com/shrine/res/38956.html

It's been a while, but I'm back with a sequel to the Hakurei Apprentice. Enjoy!
_________________________________________________________________

Leaves blow in the cool wind. The red blends with the yellow, sticking to the grooves and cracks of the stone pathway leading to the shrine. A familiar sight each and every autumn morning. It was as much of a part of my routine as making breakfast and doing laundry. It’s what my Master often called ‘shrine maiden training’ when it was just daily chores. I’ve done this so many times, it’s as if the days bled into months bled into years.

It seemed like only yesterday that Yukari brought me across the barrier into the Hakurei Shrine. Despite my life in the outside world, I’d like to say that, overall, coming here was an improvement. I’ve been able to form relationships with people that I would have never dreamed of meeting. Well, people being the operative word, but… they’re still ‘people’ all the same. Thoughts, feelings, hardships, desires.

Humans, youkai, gods, fairies, spirits -- all of them are different, but they can still exist in the cut-off world of Gensokyo. Despite their eccentric personalities, I really wouldn’t have it any other way.

Master hasn’t let up in the years that I’ve been here, always being hard, always expecting more out of me than she was going to get. I know that should be encouraging, but I’m just not as gifted as she is. Tapping into her innate powers as the Hakurei shrine maiden seems as easy as breathing for her. For me, it’s a struggle -- considering I’m still having a hard time grasping the basics even after four years.

I struggle with the thought that Reimu might not be a good teacher. I’m still not entirely sure myself, but the fact remains that I live here, that she’s helped me, and that because of her, I’ve found a place to belong. There are moments where Master’s intuition and guidance are something to be admired, truly. I wish that I--