東方プロジェクト二次小説・オリジナル小説サイト
Chapter 1:Imperishable Night

𝐿𝑜𝑛𝑔, 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑔𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟. 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑑, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒.

𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑜 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡, ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑎 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑚 ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑠. 𝐻𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑤𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑙, 𝑛𝑜 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑛.



—1—


It is slightly controversial among those with interest in such things to claim that 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘰 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 is the oldest known science fiction story in Japan. To begin with, there is some contention over whether or not such a story can be classified as sci-fi, arising as it does from a time and place before science, as it is now understood, had been conceptualized. If we were to take the themes of sci-fi more broadly and claim that any story examining the implications of an interaction between a human and non-human intelligence qualifies, then certainly any of the stories from the age of the gods related in the 𝘒𝘰𝘫𝘪𝘬𝘪 would be far older.

So let me instead say that 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘰 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 is the earliest known story about first contact between humans and aliens from an extraterrestrial body in Japan.

Or perhaps, if you read it from the point of view of a lover of mystery fiction, you could say it's one of the world's earliest known mysteries. The mystery in the story is of course "who is Princess Kaguya?" and "Why does she reject marriage proposals from all of her suitors?" In the perspective of readers of the time, the thought of a being who would willingly reject even the emperor's proposal would indeed classify her as an ‘alien intelligence', something with truly incomprehensible values and morals. The answer to both of these questions, as presented in the story, is that Princess Kaguya is a princess from the moon which explains her otherwise incomprehensible refusal. This is evidence that mystery and science fiction are closely related as genres. Probably.

Of course, the children in my literature and composition class had no interest in such obscure and nuanced discussions. To them, the 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘰 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 was merely the latest volume to be taught as a text for reading and composition practice.

—

"Um, Miss Merry!"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Is Princess Kaguya a fairy?"

To an Outsider like myself, this question would seem odd, but to the children of Gensokyo, it's a perfectly reasonable assumption. In fact, if someone were to find a small child dwelling inside a glowing stalk of bamboo here, it might not even seem unusual.

"Nooo. She's a youkai! If she were a fairy she'd never grow up, everyone knows that."

"Nuh-uh. She came from the moon, I've heard this story before."

"That’s where youkai come from, isn’t it? They get stronger when the moon's full. She must be a youkai."

"Yeah, and that's why she can't marry the emperor."

To the children of my class, the solution to the mystery of Princess Kaguya's identity was obvious, but the conclusion was much different than I might have expected. To them, Princess Kaguya was a youkai and the 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 itself could be read as a polemic against interspecies marriage. It was not the lesson I had intended to teach.

"What kind of youkai was Princess Kaguya though?"

"A bamboo youkai!"

"No, she's a moon youkai!"

"She's a rabbit youkai, cause the moon is full of bunnies."

"My dad saw a rabbit youkai in the bamboo forest once."

"Maybe it was Princess Kaguya!"

"All right, everyone. That's enough shouting, please." I clapped my hands to command the children's attention. "Miss Keine would probably yell at you for talking during class but since you’re all showing so much good imagination, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear. Let’s get back on topic though, shall we?"

"Teacher, what's 'imagination?'"

"Well, it's the ability to picture something that you've never seen or done, and figure out what it would be like. The purpose of this class is not only to teach you to read and write but also to ensure you learn how to think and create worlds of your own in your heads."

"I don’t get it."

"For example, have you ever imagined what you might like to do when you grow up, or what your life would be like if you could do something you can't do right now?"

My thoughts were interrupted by the noisy clattering of Keine hammering on the iron bell that dismissed the children for lunch. "That's all for today!" I shouted over the commotion. "Your homework for next class is for everyone to use their imaginations and be prepared to tell the class what you want to do when you grow up!"

"Yes, teacher," the children droned in unison.

I stepped out of the classroom as the children began to unwrap their lunches, wondering for the thousandth time this week if I was really qualified to be teaching a classroom full of young, impressionable minds. I sighed as I began to walk down the hall, then looked up to see my partner, Usami Renko, leaning up against the wall.

"I was listening," she began. "It was a little hard to hear over the noise, but it sounded like Miss Merry the teacher was giving a good lesson. Telling the kids to use their imaginations is good. Telling the children they should be exercising their creativity sounds obvious to us, but this is elementary school. Where better to learn obvious things?"

"I just said whatever I was thinking at the moment, Renko. It wasn’t anything profound."

"Well if you can say things like that off the top of your head then you’re starting to sound more like a real teacher." When she looked up from under the brim of her hat and patted me on the shoulder, I felt a shock of embarrassment rush through me.

"Sweet talking me will get you nowhere," I said as I brushed past her.

"Well then, how about the honest truth? You're doing a good job."

"An honest compliment from Renko?" I asked, willing myself not to blush. "I wonder if we'll get snow tomorrow."

"Gah, I hope not. The Spring Snow Incident is over, and we've already had more than enough snow for a year."

She turned to walk with me down the hallway while we enjoyed such pointless banter.

At the time, I had no way of knowing just how critical both a strong imagination and the 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘰 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 would be to the next incident.


—2—


"I'm going to make dinner for Mokou tonight, would you two like to join us?"

This was the fourth or fifth time Keine had been kind enough to invite us over for a meal after a day's work at the school. Without a moment's hesitation, my partner raised her hand, saying "Make double for me, I'll want seconds!"

I reached out and pinched the back of her hand. "Show a little restraint, Renko."

"Ow! You show a little restraint, Merry! That was my hand, and this is food! We can save a little money and get a tasty meal this way."

"We'd love to join you, Miss Keine. Please forgive my partner's lack of common decency." I nodded slightly to Keine, ignoring Renko's outburst.

"It's alright." She replied with a laugh. "It's good to be honest and it's nice to know someone appreciates my cooking. I'll come by and pick you up later, I assume you'll be at home?"

We nodded and Keine smiled, then turned to walk out the gate and into the bustle of the village streets, probably off to go check in at the neighborhood watch office as she did most days. After seeing her off, we then turned and headed for the detached storeroom that had become our home and office.

Next to the door, the ink-on-wood sign that read "Hifuu Detective Agency" was slightly crooked. It had been more than a year now that the two of us had been living in this 8-mat room. You would think after that long we would have made some improvements, making it look a bit more like home, or an office, or something in between, but the only change the place had seen since we had put up the sign was the magnificent nest some birds had built on the roof and laid their eggs in.

As I reached up to fix the angle of our sign, my partner extracted the rolled up newspaper that had been wedged between the door and the frame. It was the 𝘉𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘶 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴, the somewhat irregularly published newspaper put out by the tengu Shameimaru Aya, with whom we were acquainted. We had never signed up for a subscription or paid for a copy, but every now and then a promotional issue or special extra edition would find its way into our office.

As I finished with the signboard and was wiping the dirt off of my hands, I entered to find my partner sprawled out on her stomach on the tatami, with the newspaper spread open in front of her. Even the children in my class could be counted on to reliably display better manners and posture. By this point, I had lived with Renko long enough to know that criticism would serve no purpose.

"Any good articles today?" I sighed, taking off my cap and cloak and hanging them beside Renko's hat and coat.

"The top story is that a new 'Insect News Service' has just been launched."

"What's that?"

"Apparently it's a service you can hire that will deploy insects to carry messages at specific times. For example you can ask for a wake up call, and in the morning a large number of bugs will gather on your bedding and wake you up by walking all over your face."

"Ugh! Stop! I don't want to imagine that!"

"This is Gensokyo, Merry. Between ghosts, youkai and fairies there are all sorts of different values and systems of beliefs you might run into."

I don’t have any problem with diversity of thought as a concept, but I’m not sure I’d want to have anything to do with anyone who would want to be woken up by bugs crawling on their face. Some things are just too horrible to consider. "Well, if that's the top story, then it must mean things are peaceful in Gensokyo. That's good at least."

"If Gensokyo is peaceful, it means we don't have any work to do, though."

"It's not our job to solve Incidents, Renko. That's Reimu's line of work, or the neighborhood watch's if something happens here in the village. We take cases from clients. There's no relationship between the peace of Gensokyo and the idleness of our business. In fact neither the Spring Snow Incident nor the Night Parade of One Hundred Oni Every Three Days Incident has brought a single coin into our office."

"That's not true! Ran paid our standard rate to find Chen, even if that was only slightly related. More importantly, I got beans and a coffee set!"

"Which only served to remind us how much of a pain it is here to have to go boil water first thing in the morning."

"It's not my fault we don't have the convenience of boiling water at the flick of a switch here. Getting back to the topic at hand though, I'd like it if something strange happened again soon."

"Renko, it's only been a month since the end of the incident with Suika. You don’t really want something like that to happen again, do you?"

"Oh I envy you, Merry. My grey matter is constantly hungry, always searching for new mysteries to bite into."

Our first six months here had been a bit more hectic, what with getting used to how different everything here is and starting a new job on top of dealing with the aftermath of the Scarlet Mist Incident. Even with the two Incidents since then however, things had gotten more predictable. We had a routine now, and established patterns in our daily life. If things continued this way for much longer, my partner might consider starting an Incident herself.

"I wonder if I could start an Incident myself?" she said.

"I can't believe you actually said that. Aside from the obvious conclusion that inviting Reimu to exterminate you is not a great idea, there's also the issue that the two of us are just ordinary humans, Renko. You can't wrap the world in red mist or prolong winter by stealing spring or even force acquaintances to gather up without them knowing it."

"Well not with an attitude like that, I couldn't. Humans solve problems using tools and ingenuity, Merry. I'm sure I could come up with something."

"Why bother though? There's no mystery to uncover if you're just causing it yourself, right?"

"Well that depends on how you do it, doesn't it? If, for example, I were to manipulate Ran and Chen into doing something that caused an incident, I might be able to use that to get to the bottom of the biggest mystery of all: What is fake Merry, the great Youkai Sage up to?"

I was about to tell Renko not to call the great Youkai Sage, Gensokyo's Administrator, 'fake Merry' when our conversation was interrupted by a third voice from outside the office door.

"What's this about me and Chen?"

Both Renko and I jumped up in alarm as the door slid open to reveal Yakumo Ran. Renko and I had already seen her conceal her presence and go unnoticed even when she was in the same room as us, but popping up suddenly like that was still unexpected.

"M-Miss Ran!" Renko stuttered, "when did you get here?"

"I told you I'd be watching over you two."

I tried to focus on her face as she spoke, but predictably my eyes were drawn to the nine golden tails swaying gently behind her. After all of this time apart, the floofy floof had returned to me.

Renko climbed to her feet and clamped one hand around the collar of my dress as she greeted Ran. "Try and show a little restraint, Merry. I know it's hard for you, but this is a paying customer."

I twisted and groaned, trying to shake my collar free. I debated the merits of just taking my dress off.

"You'd do well to show a little restraint yourself, miss Usami. It would be better for you if you didn't say dangerous things so lightly." Ran's glittering, mischievous eyes fixed Renko with an appraising stare.

"Please excuse us, it was just idle chatter." Renko said, nodding her head. "It's not like a young human like me could easily deceive a nine-tailed fox anyway."

"You almost sound like you're planning to deceive Chen instead." Ran's tone was unchanged, but her eyes were no longer smiling.

"Well, if Chen told you that she wanted to cause an incident, what would you do?"

There was a momentary pause before Ran answered "...I'd tell her to stop." It was an unconvincing rebuttal.

"Isn't it every Youkai's right to cause an Incident if they like though? That's why the Spell Card rules were invented, no? So a youkai can relieve stress or settle a dispute without harming the humans of the village, right?"

"You're correct in theory, but in practice there's rarely a need to cause such a fuss. Typically, if it were just to release stress, any youkai could simply challenge the shrine maiden or that forest witch to a duel and expect them to accept. If two youkai have an issue to resolve, they can settle it between themselves with a simple duel."

"That makes sense. So in that case, large-scale Incidents like the Scarlet Mist Incident or the Spring Snow Incident only occur when someone has a strong need to change something about Gensokyo or make their presence known, right?"

"The motive varies from youkai to youkai of course, but at the end of the day there aren't that many people in Gensokyo capable of creating a large-scale Incident just because they feel like it. Those that are strong enough to do so rarely have a reason to want to."

In that case, did that mean incidents are only caused by powerful newcomers to Gensokyo who need to make their presence known and establish themselves as a force in the landscape, I wondered? I could see how that could have been the case for some incidents at least. I expect the Scarlet Mist Incident and the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Every Three Days Incident were both like that…

"For myself and Lady Yukari, our presence is already well cemented here. Lady Yukari was one of the founders of Gensokyo and I am widely known as her shikigami. There is no need for either of us to cause an incident."

"But if the need arose to create an Incident, you'd have the means and no objection to the concept?"

"I can't imagine any circumstance that would make Lady Yukari think such an action was warranted."

"Well, you never know what'll happen in this world. Anything goes in Gensokyo."

Before she could press the point further and get us in trouble I interjected. "Renko, if you're thinking of causing and resolving an incident just for the sake of the agency's publicity, don't. I won't help you."

"You're not a satori, Merry, so you should refrain from reading my mind."

I calmly stood up, pulling Renko's fingers away from my collar, then turned to face her. She was grinning in the most infuriating, confident way that she seemed to reserve only for me. As revenge for grabbing me by the collar, I latched on to both of her cheeks, stretching them as far as I could, paying no heed to the presence of a potential customer.

Ran watched with quiet amusement as Renko groaned and I twisted my hands, forcing Renko to her knees.

"You two really are good friends," she chuckled.


—3—


After that, Ran, who had stopped by our house in the middle of a shopping trip, departed. We had some time to ourselves for a bit, then, just before sunset, Keine came to pick us up for dinner.

"We got some good chicken tonight. Some eggs too, so come on over when you're ready!" Keine was smiling, holding a plucked, headless chicken by the feet. Coming from an age of synthetic foods, seeing someone holding the actual animal, skin, bones and all seemed a little barbaric to me, but that was just one of the preconceived notions from my time that I'd have to learn to let go of here.

Renko and I got our coats and headed out the door. Following Keine, we left the village, heading south through farmland before making our way to the long, quiet trails of the bamboo forest as the sun dipped below the horizon. In all of our times leaving the village, we had never once been accosted by a stray youkai who had tried to eat us. I wondered if this was due to the unseen actions of Ran acting as our escort or if the threat of lawless youkai had been exaggerated. Though thinking like that is probably exactly what got villagers eaten.

"Miss Keine," Renko suddenly began leaning forward as she walked.

"Yes?"

"We appreciate the invitation, but Merry and I aren’t intruding, are we?"

Keine turned her head to look at Renko with a confused expression. "Intruding? What do you mean?"

"I'm just a little worried that the two of us are intruding on your alone time with Miss Mokou."

Keine fiddled with her square hat, making sure it was still pinned and perched atop her head and trying to smooth out her hair as she spoke. "Please don't get the wrong idea. I'm only taking food to her to make sure she eats. If I don't feed her, she sometimes goes far too long without getting a proper meal." As she said this, Keine's eyes were cast down, a far-off, lonely look reflected in their gaze. "It's nothing more than that. Look, there's Mokou's house, let's hurry along!"

So saying, she scurried ahead. Renko was grinning, with her fingers interlaced behind her head as she walked. I poked her in the ribs. "Don’t stick your nose into other peoples’ business, Renko."

"Gah! Why not? I just think they'd make a cute couple."

"There may well be circumstances we don't understand as Outsiders. Keine is trying very hard to be a human villager and Mokou seems to have rejected the village. Not to mention the whole youkai blood thing. Maybe that sort of relationship is frowned upon here."

"Hmm, it definitely seems like there’s something keeping them apart. I don't think it's just that though."

As we were whispering to each other, Keine turned and shot us a look over her shoulder as she stood before the door, one hand poised to knock. We quickly shut our mouths. With all Keine had done and continued to do for us, I suppose it was a bit vulgar of me to entertain suspicions about her motivations toward Mokou.

Keine turned back toward the door and rapped twice neatly as the two of us caught up to her. After a few moments, Mokou opened the door, bleary-eyed and looking only half awake.

"Oh, it’s Keine. Hello."

"Were you sleeping, Mokou? I thought I'd come and make us some dinner."

"Yeah. Was just napping. Must have overslept. —Ah, you brought Renko and Merry too, I see."

"Well, it looks like you haven't cooked anything in a while. I expected as much. I brought a nice chicken. Shall we?"

"Sure, come on in. I have rice and some fresh vegetables, so we can make a hotpot, if you like."

"I thought you'd say that, so I even brought some eggs." Keine held up the basket she was carrying with a smile.

Looking between Keine, the basket and the chicken for a moment, Mokou couldn't help but smile too, her face brightening with childlike glee. "Sheesh, leave it to you to have everything planned out already. Okay, I'll go start a fire."

Watching the two of them grinning innocently at each other, it was hard to think who might be the elder. Now that I thought about it, nearly everyone we knew here who had regular contact with youkai was like that. Reimu, Marisa, Sakuya and even Keine and Akyuu were all people whose ages would be nearly impossible to guess. Keine looked to be in her thirties, but still moved with the grace and vitality of youth. Mokou looked a bit younger, but had an air about her of someone much older. Of course I had never asked either of them their age directly, but watching them set to work over the hearth and in the small kitchen, I couldn't help but think the care Keine showed for Mokou made the relationship seem more like mother and child or perhaps an older sister watching out for a younger one.

I stepped into the kitchen as Keine set down the basket. "Do you need any help?" I asked.

"Yes, would you mind washing and peeling the vegetables?"

"Renko, you help too," I called as I dug a leek out of a bin on the shelf and brought it to the washbasin.

"No can do, I'm afraid," she called back from the shack's other room. "I've a grand task of vital importance in front of me." I leaned around the corner to see her setting up a shogi board, lining up the pieces opposite her own side as Moukou settled into a cross-legged sitting position across from her.

"You still want a rematch? Have you memorized all of the piece positions from last time?" Mokou asked.

"You can't escape your fate so easily," Renko grinned.

—

The beautiful hues of sunset were long gone and the moon was high in the sky by the time we had all finished eating our meals of chicken hotpot and rice porridge.

Mokou was staring intently at the shogi board, rubbing her head in frustration. "Rrrggg, dammit! Yeah, you got me. It's checkmate." She sighed and leaned back from the board. "You're good, Renko."

"Pah, it's nothing, just a hobby of mine." Renko grinned broadly while Mokou let out another sigh. My partner happens to be an expert at all sorts of board games, not just shogi. She's quick witted, good at improvising, good at calculation and quick to see patterns. It's exactly the skill set suited to mastery over an idle pastime with no real-world applications.

"You two seem to be having a lot of fun together." Keine said with a smile. "I'm glad I introduced you to Mokou, she always looks so happy to see you. Usually Mokou stays at home and hardly ever sees anyone but me. I'd be happy if the two of you could become each other's friends without me here."

"Renko's the kind of player I haven't faced in a long time." Mokou said as she leaned over the board to collect the pieces. "I'd consider you a friend already. Now, shall we go again?"

"Coming back for another beating so soon? Don't underestimate me, you're a thousand years too young to be my match."

As Renko said that Mokou paused, her hand frozen as she placed down a piece, a far-off look in her eyes as she stared into the distance. She stared straight ahead for just a moment then quickly shot a conspiratorial look over towards Keine.

"Hey, you okay there? Sorry if I came on too strong, it's just a figure of speech from the Outside World."

"Yeah," Mokou said, recovering herself. "Just a figure of speech. Forget about it, let's just play." She continued setting up her pieces for the game, but didn't banter any further.

—

"...Hmmm." Mokou’s brow furrowed in concentration as she stared at the board as I sat chatting with Keine in the kitchen and watching Renko and Mokou play.

Renko had just made a move she seemed rather proud of, saying "Consider your next move carefully" Then she had stood up and walked into the kitchen just as I yawned.

"Getting sleepy, Merry?"

"No," I said, stretching my back, "I just.... uuuaaahhhff."

"Ah, come to think of it, it is getting pretty late..." Keine said, with a hint of reluctance in her voice.

"Time flies when you're having fun, I guess. I'd invite you all to stay, but there aren't beds or enough space to lay out mats for four people here." Mokou said with a shrug.

"We should head out then, Mokou. Thank you for lending us your kitchen, and for the company." Keine stood up, a smile beaming on her face.

"Thanks as always, Keine. Let me taste your cooking again some time." Mokou's smile was smaller, but seemed just as earnest. "And as for you..." Mokou turned to Renko. "I'm writing down where every piece was. We'll continue this next time."

"I've memorized every position too, you just think about your next move."

We collected our things and made our way to the door. Outside the shack soft moonlight filtered through the dense leaves of the forest, covering the ground with deep, patterned bands of silver and shadow. Keine borrowed a burning twig from the hearth and used it to light a lantern before stepping out of the door.

"It's quite dark out tonight, so watch your step."

"Oh, it is rather dark. I wonder what time it is…"

Renko looked up at the night sky, searching for a gap in the canopy to peek at the moon or stars from. —Then in the very next moment she staggered back, hands clutching at her eyes as she cried out in pain.

"Renko?!"

I rushed to her side, reaching out to support her body before she could fall. Her entire weight collapsed into my arms as she groaned, her palms pressed forcefully into her face. It was as if she had been hit in the eye by a laser.

"What's wrong, Renko?"

Keine was at my side a moment later, helping to hold Renko up and shaking her shoulder. Her head lolled limply and she groaned in pain. "It's... the moon," she muttered.

"The moon?" Keine turned to gaze into the sky and her eyes widened in astonishment.

I followed her gaze and gasped as well. A dizzying, vertiginous sensation washed over me.

Hanging in the sky were two moons.

"What is that distortion? Why does the moon look so... wrong?" Keine asked, a note of fear in her voice. "Merry, don’t look at it!"

Keine let go of Renko and thrust out a hand to cover my eyes. Already though, the image of the distorted, horrifically warped boundaries ringing the moon had been burned into my mind. A fake moon, constructed of misshapen, powerful wards floated in the night sky, covering and obscuring the true moon behind it, and distorting the dome of the heavens like a sheen of oil on top of a lens.

Perhaps it was the unique ability of my freakish eyes that allowed me to see both moons at the same time. For my partner, whose eyes and brain were constantly calculating time and location through the placement of the heavenly bodies, had the distortion simply introduced irreconcilable errors into her perception? Or had she looked upon the fake moon, and somehow been affected by its maddening nature?
Either way, it was an instant and inescapable conclusion that the moon above us was not real. It was a waxing gibbous —just a week or so shy of full and wildly, ominously distorted.

—That was the beginning of the uproar that would later be called the "Eternal Night Incident." This was the beginning of our brush with immortals.