Sasha and I followed the crystal’s guidance away from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, further and further away from the human village. We walked across a valley full of dying yellow grass. Up ahead there was a river threading through the valley. Beyond that I saw a forested mountain, which was our destination.

We walked in the slanted wintry sunlight. Sasha had her coat tied around her waist. I had no doubt that I’d be pulling my coat off as well once we started the ascent; it was unseasonably warm. Her black shirt and pants kept her warmer than me, though. Sasha would be a dark spot on the ground, just like the dark spot in the sky.

I kicked a stone on the road. The path was wide, perhaps ten feet, and there were no plants growing between the bricks.

“What are you thinking?” asked Sasha.

“Isn’t this place called the Untrodden Valley?” I asked. “Who maintains this road? Who uses this road?”

“Youkai,” said Patchouli through the crystal.

“Can’t they all fly?” I asked. I heard her telepathic sigh.

“Many youkai can. Do you want me to simply tell you the answer, or do you want to try to make inferences yourself?”

“Fine,” I said. “I’ve got nothing better to do. My guess is that it’s maintained by magic statues that Miss Yakumo or Miss Haniyasushin put in place for that purpose alone.”

I hadn’t thought of Haniyasushin Keiki in a long time. The fact that the defensive statues of the village didn’t consider me a youkai, yet, gave me some hope. Or perhaps they’d broken when Yukari disappeared.

“That’s a different road,” said Patchouli. “Here’s a hint; there’s a tengu village on Youkai Mountain, in addition to the Moriya Shrine.”

“Ah,” I said. “It’s for carts, because even if you can fly, pulling a cart is more efficient for transporting goods.”

“Exactly.”

Up ahead I saw a bridge over the river. It was made of the same thick paving stones as the road and was heavily-built. It was low to the water, which unsettled me for no good reason until I considered that every bridge I’d seen in the Outside World was designed to withstand flooding. To my eye, it looked like its strategy for floods was ‘just withstand it’ or perhaps ‘hah, floods don’t happen here.’

There was something large and green beside the road on the other side of the river. Sasha and I walked across the bridge, but before we could examine the object a youkai emerged from the water. We leapt into the air in fright, fight and flight.

“Whoa there!” said a very soaked Nitori. She shook her hair and adjusted her cap, and all of the water was magically expelled from her clothes. She had a crowbar in her right hand. “If it isn’t Mister Thorne and… a shrine maiden?”

“Nice try, but no,” said Sasha, touching the spikes at her neck. “Did you just assume my profession?”

“Darn,” said Nitori. We landed and Sasha introduced herself properly. “What’re you two doin’ here?” asked the kappa. She stuck her fingers in her mouth and pulled something out from between her teeth.

“Journeying to the Moriya Shrine,” I said. I watched her slap her other hand with the crowbar. If I didn’t know better, I’d expect a mugging. “Yourself?”

“Fishin,” she said. Nitori picked up her backpack and put it on. Her stature tripled in width if not height.

“With a crowbar?” asked Sasha.

“Well, I’m not gonna use a socket set!” She tossed it over her shoulder and one of her mechanical arms caught it and put it away. “I’m fast enough to just grab ‘em, but I think a good konk is more humane.”

“Man, I’d give my right arm for two mechanical right arms,” I said. “Those things are awesome.”

“Thank you!” She smiled at us, most of the fish missing from her teeth. “Crowbars are a great way to get food and drink, by the way!”

We stared at her. “I wouldn’t expect you to resort to theft,” I said.

“I was jokin’ ‘bout the tengu. They’ve got a bar.” She looked us up and down. “You might not fit in there ‘tho.”

“Well,” I said as we started to walk again, “I’m glad to see you, Miss Kawashiro, but we have business at the shrine, so…”

“Now hold on a second,” she said, flying for a moment to keep up with us. “I’d feel bad if I just let ya wander all over Youkai Mountain! I’d also feel bad fightin’ ya, even if I’m supposed ‘ta.”

“I appreciate that,” I said. If I had to go on a secondary expedition to get cleansed, one with six more characters to fight, I might never complete anything in Gensokyo.

“How about I help ‘ya find the shrine instead?” asked the blue-haired youkai. “If I’m with you, the tengu will ask questions first and shoot later.”

“That would be very kind of you,” I said. I knew Youkai Mountain was covered in dangers: deadly youkai, wolves, and the tengu themselves. That was redundant because I was pretty sure all three of those things were the same thing, at least some of the time. In Touhou, crow and wolf tengu were both known entities.

Even the valley we were in wasn’t safe. To the left of the road I could see a yellow discoloration: a gaggle of sunflowers. I suspected the Garden of the Sun was over that way. It was a place I needed to avoid at all costs. Unlike the rest of the youkai, Yuuka might be active during the day.

“I wanted to visit the mountain gods anyways,” said Nitori. “Let’s go there together.”

“What am I, chopped liver?” came Nazrin’s voice through the crystal. Nitori flinched.

“You got mice in your device,” said the kappa. “Is that a human thing, by the way?”

“What?”

“Mice,” she said. “I was reading a book I found the other day, apparently human electronics curse mice all the time?” It took me a second to infer she’d heard about a mouse cursor.

I tried my best to explain. “I take it you’ve never used a computer.”

“Nope,” she said. “They don’t work in Gensokyo.” I made a note of this; it was evidence of Yukari future-proofing the place (for an esoteric definition of ‘future-proofing’). I explained a bit about computers to Nitori, who nodded in fascination.

“Anyway, I’m going to go home if you have a different guide,” said Nazrin.

“Hold up a second,” said Arnold. At some point he must have gone to the library. I was a bit surprised that he had the stamina after his first expedition–I’d definitely gone straight home and collapsed–but after a moment’s reflection it made sense. He had more stamina than any of us, and he’d managed to avoid breaking something.

“I’m sick of doing favors for people,” said Nazrin. I heard a library door slam through the telepathic connection, then open again, then close again.

“Are you transmitting sound effects now?” I asked.

“Only important ones,” said Patchouli. “I forgot to announce his arrival, so I decided to announce his departure.”

“Ah.” I turned back to Nitori. “Yes, we’d like your help. Especially now.”

“I’d be delighted,” she said. “I owe ‘ya one for saving me!”

“Join the club,” said Sasha. Nitori led us up the path toward Youkai Mountain.

—

We passed a burned-out building. I asked Nitori about it.

“Oh, that’s the ol’ aerial transit station,” she said. “There used to be a tram right up to the Moriya Shrine.” She pointed at a line of posts leading up the mountain. Each one was tipped in black charcoal, and had been burnt as though struck by lightning.

“What happened?” I asked with a frown. I’d hoped we’d be able to take it ourselves.

“It burned down,” she said. Nitori nervously rubbed the back of her head with a mechanical arm. “I heard it was arson.”

“Why would somebody want to burn down a tramway?” asked Sasha. “That’s just stupid.”

“You’re telling me!” said the kappa engineer. “There are all kinds of monsters in this world.”

“I’m pretty sure this is one of the ‘incidents’ that happened after the games diverged from the real Gensokyo,” I said. “A rogue tengu did it? And was punished?” Heida no Akyuu was the source of that information.

“I couldn’t tell ‘ya,” said Nitori. “It’s a shame, though. We’ll have to walk.” She was flying at the moment, but I agreed anyway.

—

We passed a fork in the trail. There was a signpost with three wooden arrows on it. Instead of text, there were pictures. The one to the left had a skull on it, while the one to the right had a picture of a shrine gate–a tori. The arrow pointing back the way we came had a smiley-face that someone had vandalized with red paint.

“The tengu village is that way,” said Nitori, her hand following the skull. “It’s a secret, so don’t go there or tell people about it, unless you don’t like ‘em very much.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Wait, then why did you tell us about it?” I asked.

“So ‘ya wouldn’t go there or tell people about it,” she said. “Are ‘ya dense?”

“I don’t think it’s much of a secret,” said Sasha. “The sign has a skull, and all.”

“Oh, I didn’t tell ‘ya the secret part,” said Nitori, waving three of her hands. Since I’d complimented her robotic arms, she’d kept one out. “If I did that, the tengu would have to kill ‘ya.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Aren’t there white wolf tengu that guard the village?”

Nitori nodded quickly. “You haven’t run afoul of ‘em, have you?”

“No,” I said.

“That’s good, ‘cause–”

“They’ll be here before you know it,” said a silver-haired, red-eyed youkai. She wore a small red tokin between her wolf ears, and a black skirt with flame. A bushy tail stuck out behind her. The youkai carried a white shield with a red maple leaf on it, and had drawn a wide sword.

I probably should have noticed the sword, first. It wasn’t pointed at me, but it was pointed at the ground in front of me, as though daring me to take one more step. This youkai was the white wolf tengu herself.

“Inubashiri Momiji,” I said, bowing slightly.

“The very same,” she said.

“I am Jake Thorne, Student of Danmaku.”

“And I am Sasha Conti, Student of Danmaku,” said my roommate.

“Arnold Thatcher, Stu–” started Arnold before the connection was interrupted. Our protocol was supposed to be that we kept Patchouli’s telepathic presence hidden in front of non-allies, but I couldn’t blame him. He was new to the expeditions.

“Inubashiri Momiji,” said Momiji. “I am a guard dog.” She said it without a trace of irony or mirth.

Nitori didn’t introduce herself; she was known by all. “I thought ‘ya said you hadn’t had a run-in with ‘em!” said the kappa.

“I haven’t,” I said. I had, however, asked Wiki to tell me everything I needed to know about Youkai Mountain, and he’d told me that Momiji was unavoidable, thanks to her powers. I’d expected to meet her.

“What is your business on the mountain?” asked Momiji.

“We are journeying to the Moriya Shrine for cleansing,” said Sasha. I nodded.

Momiji sniffed. “You need it. I can see that you have an escort.” She sheathed her sword. “Very well. You may journey to the Moriya Shrine. As long as you don’t stray from that path, you shall be allowed to traverse the mountain, as per the treaty.”

“Thank you,” I said. “What treaty?”

“A treaty between Lady Yasaka and Lord Tenma,” said the white wolf youkai. “All supplicants may pass until the tramway is repaired. That includes you. Any other questions?”

I met Momiji’s eyes. “I actually have a list, if you’d tolerate them?”

“Very well,” said Momiji, again. “I will answer your questions, but I will demand a boon in return.”

“What’s the boon?” I asked.

“What are the questions?” she countered.

“Um,” I said, flipping through my notebook. “Can you see one thousand ri?”

“Yes,” she said, simply. That was over two thousand miles. Gensokyo wasn’t even thirty miles wide.

“Can you see into the Outside World?”

“No,” said the white wolf tengu with a swish of her tail. “Unless you count that,” she said, pointing at the hole in the sky. I glanced in the air. I had no idea how far away the hole was, or if distance even applied to a metaphysical phenomenon like that. Maybe the hole in Gensokyo was like a rainbow?

When you thought about it, humans could see ninety-three million miles, as long as they were looking at the sun.

“Can you see through walls?” I asked.

“Not unless they have a window,” replied the silver-haired youkai. “Your house has a few. Your room is on the other side from here, but it hardly matters.” She shaded her eyes from the sun, which I was pretty sure was entirely unnecessary, and looked out past us. “I can see your bed reflected on your neighbor’s window, and also in a dewdrop atop a tree on the edge of the forest.”

I swallowed. “Can you perceive all of your range of sight simultaneously?”

Momiji’s eyes narrowed. “You are probing our security measures?”

“No,” I said. I wasn’t, but Wiki might have been, when we brainstormed these questions. “We want to better understand the powers of youkai.” Especially ones whose vision defied physical laws. Momiji should have needed eyes with an ‘aperture’ that was two meters wide, at least according to Renko.

Both Maribel and Renko were advisors to the Human Council in the village. Wiki had been relying upon her for her rapid mathematical abilities, but her knowledge of physical laws was also unique.

“Does your sense of smell work the same way as–” I started.

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll skip to the end of your list,” said Momiji. She didn’t say it icily, but neither was it warm. Her tone was clipped and professional, like a bouncer’s.

“Are you Canadian?” I asked. It was the question at the end of my list.

“Nice,” said Arnold, before somebody (presumably Patchouli) elbowed him and made him gasp. He’d suggested the question.

“Eh? Is that a philosophy or something? I make offerings to the Earth Goddess, as per the treaty.”

I noted that, and snapped my notebook shut. “It’s not a philosophy. Thank you for answering my questions. I didn’t technically agree to pay you, but I would very much like to if it’s within my capability.” I tried to give a friendly smile. “What boon would you ask?”

Momiji nodded and sheathed her sword. She looked at the notebook within my hands. Then she blushed. It amazed me, how the melting of an icy personality could warm my heart so fast. I started blushing too, which made no goddamn sense.

“I swear to God,” said Sasha. “If you ask him for–”

“Can I have an autograph?” asked the wolf tengu as she kicked the ground. I stared at her.

“Patchouli, is it safe to give a tengu my signature?” I asked.

“Yes,” said Patchouli. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know, giving a supernatural being ‘my true name’ might be dangerous or something?”

Momiji’s head tilted. “I should have asked for that, then. What is a ‘true name’? Is it something to do with practicing Canadianism?”

“True names are a supposed method for gaining dominance over a being, be they human or supernatural,” explained Patchouli. “A superstition made up by humans. In Gensokyo, we use danmaku for that purpose.”

“We are in a land that is ‘a superstition made up by humans,’” mumbled Sasha.

“Thanks, Patchouli,” I said. I turned back to Momiji. “I can do that.” I opened my notebook back up and flipped to an empty page. If I’d thought about it before tearing, I’d have taken the page from the spare notebook in my other pocket.

Momiji’s tail began to wag. I smiled involuntarily.

“Why do you want this, anyway?” I asked.

“I think it’ll be valuable later. I plan to trade it to a crow tengu.”

“That’s, uh, ominous.”

“Why? You’ve got fans in the village.”

“What?” I asked. “How?”

She was blushing a bit harder. “They probably read about you in the Bunbunmaru.”

“Really?” I asked. “What did it say?”

“Buy the paper if you want to know,” said the wolf tengu.

“I thought it was free?” Wiki had said (in the lore) that the youkai newspaper would be delivered to anyone outside the village that wanted it. We’d never seen a copy, even though Wiki had wanted it quite badly.

“Not to humans, it ain’t,” said the wolf youkai. “Anyway, the autograph?”

“But it’s still being released?” I asked, my notebook open in my hands.

There had been a human version of the Bunbunmaru before the first wave of immigration, but its last issue had been the day of our arrival. None of the villagers had known it was written by youkai before humans from the Outside World told them. Wiki had assumed that neither the human nor the youkai version of the newspaper were still in circulation.

“It is,” said Momiji with a frown. “I didn’t bring a copy. Thinking about it, you don’t have permission to go to a location where it is sold.” Her voice was hardening and her brow was furrowed. I decided not to push.

“Oh,” I said. “Anyway, thanks for answering my questions. We–and by that, I mean all the humans in Human Town–want to remain on good terms with the tengu.” That they were isolationist made things easier. I tore the page out of my notebook and gave it to her.

“I’m glad to hear it,” said Momiji as she took the sheet of paper. “You should know that you are still well-liked within the tengu village, even if season two’s ratings took a bit of a dive.”

“Wait what?” I asked, but she leapt away without answering me, or before I could ask whether it was humans who were liked, or me, personally.

“That was a bizarre exchange,” said Nitori with two of her three hands on the back of her head. “Shall we get a move on?”

“Yeah,” I said. We continued to walk up the mountain path. “Do you know anything about the tengu?”

“I know they hate it when people wag their tongues about ‘em,” said Nitori. “You didn’t have any questions ‘fer me.”

“You work closely with humans,” I said. “You’ve provided more answers than most.” Wiki had asked her many questions himself. He knew the extent of Nitori’s engineering prowess, even if she was tight-lipped about her water bending. Given that she was directing humans in building a power distribution system, she might have answered more questions than any other youkai in Gensokyo.

“True,” said Nitori. Wiki had reminded me that kappa were famously shy, and that included Nitori, who ran away during her first appearance in the games. Wiki had spent ten minutes trying to tell me how he determined how many questions to ask her at every meeting–he had a whole system–but I’d told him to move on.

“I didn’t want to scare you away, either,” I said.

“Aw shucks,” said the kappa. “Thanks. I’d always answer a few questions for a friend, though.”

I wrote that in my notebook–friends with Nitori. I guessed that saving her life came with benefits, even if I wasn’t her ‘type.’

“I did want to know more about how your mechanical arms work,” I said. “My theory is that they aren’t mechanical at all. They are just extensions of your identity, and thus under your control?” It would match how Kasen Ibaraki’s arm worked, (although I hadn’t met her), and how I’d seen the oni chains work, and how Reimu Hakurei’s homing tags seemed to work.

Nitori’s third arm gave me a thumbs up.

“Really?” I asked. I’d been right!

“Yep. They really shouldn’t function at all.” She looked at the arm that was sticking out over her head with a smile and waved at herself. “I’d gone through twenty different designs before they started moving on their own. I noticed, because I’d forgotten to hook up the battery and it moved anyway.”

“Fascinating,” I said, taking notes.

“Let me tell ‘ya, not having to power ‘em really opens up the space of designs. I’ve been iteratin’ ever since.”

“How long did it take before the arms first became a part of your identity?” I asked.

“Eh, twenty years or so for the first pair.” Damnit.

On the other hand, I might be faster than most at integrating things into my identity. I touched the brim of my hat. “So they move according to your will? What are their limits?”

“Well, I can’t move ‘em any better than I move my own arms,” she said. “‘Cept that they are a lot longer. And really, doing three at once is hard. I’m kinda showing off right now.”

“Three… including your two normal arms.”

“Yep. I have six spare arms now, but I can only move two at a time if I wanna be at all precise.” Her bag turned into a veritable spider when all her extra limbs emerged and threw gang signs, making me flinch. She pulled most back in right away. “I can kinda let ‘em go wild, but then they get ornery. I’ve punched myself more times than you’d believe.”

“They have a mind of their own?”

“No no,” said Nitori. “Usually it’s ‘cause I needed a punchin’. They only do it when I’m mad at myself.” She chuckled. “That’s why I haven’t made any mechanical legs yet.”

“So you’ve got extra arms that can’t move, most of the time, and when they do move on their own they hurt you?” asked Sasha. “That doesn’t sound very useful.”

I tried to tell her how wrong she was, but I was interrupted by Nitori and Patchouli and Arnold. I let them bicker as I continued to write down some thoughts.

My hat had moved on its own to find Satori. If giving it that ability was a matter of identity and not turning into a youkai… there might still be magic for me to learn that was compatible with my humanity.