東方プロジェクト二次小説・オリジナル小説サイト
Chapter 3: Immaterial and Missing Power

—7—

The little oni girl was squinting up at us with a distrustful expression.

"I've been wondering about you two for three days now," She said. "Especially that fake Yukari."

"Fake Yukari?"

Being mistaken for Gensokyo's Administrator was becoming commonplace at this point. I was beginning to get the feeling that it was something I'd just have to get used to.

"I don't think a regular human coulda found me after I turned into mist, especially not just by looking around. It's your eyes, isn't it? They're weird."

The girl had approached as she said this and was now staring directly into my eyes. Between the uncomfortably intense eye contact and the eye-watering reek of strong alcohol that came off her breath, I had to blink and look away. Not that I would have liked being stared at intensely by a youkai even if I could have maintained my gaze.

"Oh stop worrying, It's not like I'm gonna eat 'em." She slurred, puffing out her reddened cheeks in a pout. She glowered at me a moment longer, then reeled back unsteadily. "Oh that's right. I should give my name before asking yours. It's Suika. Ibuki Suika."

Renko snickered drunkenly. "Suika? As in すいか —watermelon?"

It was a silly question as the way the little oni had pronounced her name was more like スイカ, the old prepaid card system that had been used on commuter trains. The kanji she showed me later on were 伊吹萃香, meaning her rather unusual first name would have been written with the symbols for 'gathering' and 'fragrance.'

"Anyway, who're you two? Especially the fake Yukari."

"...My name is Maéreverie Hearn... If you're going to mispronounce it just call me Merry."

"And I'm Usami Renko, the great detective."

"A detective? Whassat? Why are there two weirdos with names and titles that don't make sense at the shrine?" Suika snorted irritably and put her lips to the gourd she was carrying. Judging by the nearly-flammable stench of the air she exhaled after taking a swig, the contents must have been exceedingly potent alcohol. She grinned devilishly at us and waggled the gourd in front of her. "You two wanna drink?"

"Umm..." I stammered, trying to thread the needle between polite refusal and offending an oni's sensibilities.

"Ha! I was kidding anyway. This is oni booze. If a human drank this it’d lay ‘em out cold." Taking a wobbly step away from us, Suika spun around and collapsed into a sitting position on the grass, laughing boisterously. Oni or not, she was clearly quite drunk herself. "So, Merry or whatever you are, how did you manage to see me?"

"I have the ability to see boundaries, and I can notice when something disrupts them. I couldn't really see you, but I could see that something was hidden. It was like a shimmering mirage."

"You can see boundaries? You even sound like Yukari now. I'll have to ask her 'bout you later."

Renko was a little slowed by the alcohol, but her detective's instincts were still intact. "So you know the Youkai Sage then?" She asked.

Suika rested her chin on her upturned fist. "She's an old friend. I wasn't hiding though, by the way. It was just that I had turned myself into a form that no one could recognize."

"That sounds a lot like hiding."

"Nah, people saw me, they just mistook me for mist."

"How do you get mistaken for mist?"

"Like this!" Suika stood back up and spread her arms over her head. In an instant, her figure faded then vanished and where she had been the same white mist that had filled this patch of forest when we first arrived had appeared in a dense cloud and began to rapidly spread and dissipate.

"I can be anywhere, so it's hard to recognize me when I make myself sparse," said an odd, reverberating voice. It sounded like it was coming from just behind Renko. I whirled around, trying to find its source. As I did so, the mist coalesced again, gathering together behind her and slowly forming the shape of the horned girl once more.

Renko nodded to herself. "I see. So you can disappear by manipulating your density."

"I can do more than just my own density." She hiccupped. She took a moment to steady herself, then turned to me. "Your black and white there is pretty smart. I don't mind smart people as long as they don't tell stupid lies." Suika smiled broadly, turning her head to face Renko. It seemed my partner was as popular with children as ever, but I wouldn't mention that. There's no telling how old this oni girl actually was, and I wouldn't want to say something to insult her.

"As a student of physics, that's a very interesting ability with a lot of potential applications." Renko muttered, half to herself. She raised her head to look straight at Suika as she spoke her next question. "There's something I'm even more curious about though. The name Ibuki is that written the same way as Mt. Ibuki? Like that mountain that Shuten—"

"Oh, that's an old story," Suika interrupted, "I'm surprised humans still know it. Yeah, it's the same but no need to spread that around," she took another long swig from her bottle.

I searched back several months in my mind to the stories Keine had told the class just before Setsubun. Unless I was getting my stories mixed up, Mt. Ibuki was famed as the birthplace of Shuten Doji, the fearsome oni of legend. When it clicked in my head I whispered to Renko to confirm.

"Are you thinking she's Gensokyo's version of Shuten Douji?"

"Maybe. She says her name is Ibuki, and she's been drinking heavily since we first met her, just like you’d expect of Shuten Douji."

Thus far in Gensokyo we had met a (self-proclaimed) descendant of Vlad Țepeș, the (self-proclaimed) reincarnation of Hieda no Are, and the (presumed) daughter of the famous monk Saigyou. To meet someone who was directly a character out of mythology, and a storied, inhuman monster at that was a new peak. If the legends were to be believed, then she had been deceived by Minamoto no Yorimitsu on Mt. Oe and still bore a grudge against humanity for tricking her.

"Don't just stand there mumbling to yourselves. Even if I didn't plan it, you discovering me is still just another reason to celebrate. Come on, sit down and have a drink with me. ...Oh wait, there's nowhere to sit. Well, have a drink anyway! Uhh, I'll have to get you something that won't kill you though. Don't worry, I'll grab it."

Suika said all this while Renko and I were whispering to each other, at no point giving us an opportunity to decline her invitation to drink. As she finished, there was a rustling sound in the grass nearby that quickly drew closer. Renko and I turned in the direction of the sound to see who was coming—

"Oh my God, what is that? It's so cute!"

Renko crouched down and looked at what had appeared from the grass. What we saw there were a number of tiny Suikas, each identical to the one we had been speaking to, except that they were each only about 20 centimeters tall. They were marching in a line, one hoisting a bottle of sake several times larger than it was over its head, another was carrying two cups it could have fit inside of balanced precariously on top of eachother and several more were carrying cushions I recognized from the shrine on their shoulders. Clearly, the little oni had managed to sneak into the party and snatch some of Reimu's things to bring out here.

The little Suikas scrambled over to us and placed down the cushions, cups and bottle before each disappearing into a puff of mist. It must have been a related ability, manipulating her own density to split into multiple parts, each one capable of acting independently. It was a convenient ability to have, I imagined.

"If she can create a number of smaller versions of herself with enough mass to pick up and move objects, then when unified into a single body she must be quite a bit more dense than might normally be expected. That's assuming the law of conservation of mass still applies, anyway. But if she's actually changing on the molecular level to become water vapor then how can she retain her consciousness and individuality? At that point wouldn't it just be like boiling yourself? Or is there some portion of herself in charge of controlling the rest?" Renko mumbled that and similar questions to herself while watching.

As a student of physics, even with all that we had seen in our time in Gensokyo and the numerous impossibilities we witnessed on a daily basis, her mind was still naturally drawn to an empirical, analytical worldview. I sighed and poured sake into a cup from the bottle the tiny oni had placed before us.

"Here, Renko. You'll drive yourself crazy trying to explain every impossible thing we've seen here."

"Ah, thanks Merry. You may be right. Trying to model an explanation for Gensokyo using classical physics would be too much even for my Planck-level brain. I wonder if Einstein or Hawking ever came to this place."

"Do you think either of them would have become youkai?"

Personally, I expected Einstein would have been more comfortable as one than he ever was as a human.

Suika dropped down on the grass and stared at Renko. "You sound even more like Yukari than the fake Yukari over there. What was your name again? Usagi?"

"It's Usami Renko."

"Alright, Renko and Merry. You two aren't from Gensokyo, are you?"

"Oh, quite right. We're Outsiders. How'd you guess, Miss Ibuki?"

Suika laughed. "I've been around a while. You're doing a pretty good job of fitting in, but if you really want to seem like you belong in Gensokyo, you should drink more. And stop being so formal."

"Well thank you. What should I call you then, if not 'Miss Ibuki'?"

"Just Suika is fine. Or whatever you want, really. I'm not all stuck up like a tengu or all craven like a kappa." She was indeed quite a bit friendlier than I might have expected of an oni. I wondered if being so close with a legendary monster like her could really be safe though.

"Well alright then, my adorable little Miss Melon, would you mind if I asked you a few questions?"

Suika, who was just climbing back to a sitting position as Renko said this, went suddenly wide-eyed at Renko's question. "Little Miss Melon?" She burst out laughing, tilting her head back and opening her mouth wide without a care in the world. "You ARE a strange one, human. I can't remember how long it's been since I took this name, but I'm sure that in all my years, no human has ever dared call an oni an 'little Miss Melon.' You really have no problem with risking your life, huh?"

"I'm surprised that you're surprised. You went to the trouble of making yourself appear so cute but didn't expect anyone to treat you like a little girl?"

"Just be careful not to be so fearless you get eaten.”

"It's not that I'm not careful, I'm just more curious than I am afraid."

"There's a fine line between courage and stupidity, but I have to give you credit, no human’s ever done something that reckless before. Sure, go ahead and call me that if you’d like. But what was it you wanted to ask?"

"Well I'm glad you're in such a boisterous mood. I hope you're feeling up to answering several questions, since I've actually got a bunch." Renko looked straight at Suika. Her face was still flushed from the alcohol, but I had been around her long enough to know the sparkle in her eyes was from curiosity rather than liquor. "Let's start by getting right to the heart of the matter. It was you who started this party, wasn't it little Miss Melon?"


—8—


"Eh? Whassat?" Suika lowered the gourd from her lips and swayed slightly, narrowing her eyes as she tried to focus on Renko. "That's a weird question. This party was organized by that black and white magician, right?"

"Oh sure, Marisa is the one who invited people, but you're the one who put the idea in her head, aren't you? Are you two working as partners, or are you simply using her to carry out your plans?"

Suika leaned forward, still sitting cross-legged but resting one elbow on a knee and leaning her weight over it. Her face was still flushed and her breath still seemed likely to be flammable but all at once much of the drunkenness seemed to have fallen away from her mannerisms. Her speech was no longer slurred and the look on her face suddenly seemed more cagey than confused.

"For the sake of future studies, what makes you think I'm the one giving her the idea?"

Renko met Suika's suspicious stare with an easy grin, her fingers playing around the brim of her hat as she spoke. "Well, the first thing was that the whole thing was happening for no reason. If that happened once, it wouldn't be so unusual, but for it to be held again just three days later is strange enough that if a human were to do that, they'd at least try to come up with a reason for it."

"Heh. Maybe, but maybe people in Gensokyo just like to party more than people from the Outside World."

"Well, I might have believed that at one point, but we’ve been here for a year now and this is the first time the parties have been this frequent. There’s also the question of why people who have no reason to associate keep showing up. The people from the Scarlet Devil Mansion don't know the Hakugyokurou crew, and while they both like the Prismriver Ensemble, Rinnosuke doesn't seem to be a fan of lively music. Alice knows everyone here, but she doesn't care much for wild parties. Despite that, she's shown up twice."

"Well sometimes people just feel like it would be nice to get people together."

"Yeah, I'm betting that's how you felt. That's why you used your ability to bring everyone into one place, right?"

Suika's eyes widened at the accusation.

"You can manipulate density, and you said yourself that you're not limited to just manipulating your own density. That means you can diffuse or condense energy and matter, or to put it another way you can increase or decrease the entropy of a system. Regardless of the mechanics, you used that ability to take things that were scattered and draw them into one place —in this case gathering everyone together at this party, whether they wanted to come or not, right?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Well, to have a party, I'm guessing. You wanted a party so you pulled together some attendees. Since you didn’t really have a good reason for people to come though, you knew that people wouldn’t just show up on their own. You had to draw everyone together, regardless of their will. Though as to why you wanted a party so badly in the first place I couldn't say. Maybe you can tell me? What's an oni that's supposed to have vanished from Gensokyo intending to do by bringing a bunch of the most powerful people they can find together in one spot?"

Suika smiled. A ferocious smile, all teeth and fangs. She took another pull from her gourd. As she did, she began to grow. Becoming larger bit by bit in perfect proportion as every bit of her expanded, flattening the grass and closing the distance between where we were sitting and where she was. She continued to gulp from the gourd and to grow for several seconds before clearing her throat and exhaling a cloud of reeking breath that stung my eyes with alcohol vapor. I gasped and scooted back, but Renko stayed in place, even though her knee was now nearly touching Suika's. The oni across from us still looked like a little girl, but she was now an enormous one. All at once I understood why humans had feared the oni of legend. She may not have resembled the hulking brutes in storybooks, but I had no doubt that had she wanted to, this childish creature could have smashed both of us flat in an instant.

“How about a piece of free advice?" Suika boomed. Despite her size, her voice was unchanged, still a childish, drunken girl's voice. "Don't be too smart for your own good. Knowing things you aren't meant to know rarely makes you any happier."

Renko looked up from where she was still sitting to meet the oni's eye. "I'll try to keep that in mind. So why'd you do it? What did you really want out of this party?"

"Oh you really are a funny human!" Her fearsome grin softened, the muscles around her eyes slackening, until it was just the innocent smile of a little girl again, albeit one that towered over us. "The winter was long this year, wasn't it? When spring finally came, everything bloomed, then fell off in the blink of an eye. Usually there's a whole month of flower-viewing parties for me to sneak into, but this time there were barely any."

Renko's eyes dulled and her shoulders sagged. "That's it?"

"Oni aren't like humans. We do what we want when we want to do it. We can party for days when the mood strikes us."

"Then you intend to keep throwing parties like this for no reason for as long as you feel like it?"

"Well that depends on how long it takes the others to notice me, I guess." Suika looked toward the shrine where the party was still going on with a grin, then raised one eyebrow, seeming to notice something. "Oops, it looks like that witch is looking for you two. I better send you back. You run along, I'm gonna get misty. And don't tell anyone about me, y'hear?"

"Oh! One more thing! Before you go!" Renko was climbing to her feet, waving as Suika began to shrink back to her original size.

"What is it?"

"Where did all of the oni who left Gensokyo go?"

At this question, Suika suddenly got a sad, forlorn look on her face and turned away from us.

"To a place that used to be worthy of being called Hell," she said.

With that, her body dissolved into mist and dissipated, billowing out into a thin cloud that spread among the trees.

—

I called out to Marisa as we emerged from the forest behind the shrine. She regarded us with a quizzical expression on her face.

"Hey, where did you guys go? We were just about to go looking for you."

"Ah sorry, we were just in there."

"What were you two sneakin' off into the woods together to do?"

"Secret stuff. You won't tell anyone about it, right Merry?" Renko asked as she threw her arm over my shoulder.

"What are you talking about, Renko?" I wish she'd stop saying things to give people the wrong impression. Marisa just tilted her head and raised an eyebrow in response, but maybe she's a bit too young to have picked up on the innuendo. Not that there was actually anything happening that would be worth making innuendo about, of course. I wasn't thinking about anything like that, and if I had been it would have been solely as a result of Renko's influence.

"Well, whatever, you'd better act fast. We're almost out of food and if you don't grab some now, Rumia and Yuyuko are gonna eat your portion." Marisa waved dismissively in our direction then turned back toward the circle of other revelers enjoying their drinks.

As we walked toward the mostly-picked-over food table, I lifted my gaze to stare at the night sky. The moon was floating in a sea of haze, a soft mist veiling everything. I wondered if the mist was natural, or if Suika could be watching us even now.

"Hey Renko?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you think she’s keeping to herself and just hanging around the edge of the party? Wouldn’t that be lonely?"

"Little Miss Melon, you mean?"

"Yeah. If she wanted to have a party, why not have it with the other oni? Why make a bunch of strangers have a party just so she can crash it? Why just become a mist and hang around rather than actually join in the festivities?"


—9—


The next morning, I awoke to find Renko strangely excited.

"Good morning," I mumbled, rubbing sleep from my eyes. Renko was already dressed and standing by the door, almost vibrating with anticipation, like an elementary schooler on the morning of a field trip.

"Come on, sleepyhead. We're already running later than I had planned."

"What do you mean?" I yawned. "The school is closed today, isn't it?"

"Exactly. And that’s why it's the perfect day to engage in an official Hifuu Club activity. It's been a while since we've done one, eh?"

"Club activity? Aren't we supposed to be a detective agency now?"

"Detectives solve cases for clients. We don't have one this time, so we'll have to investigate as the Hifuu Club. Since coming to Gensokyo we've seen so many wonders that defy scientific explanation that I almost didn't realize we were looking at an unexplained phenomenon."

"What are you talking about, Renko?"

"I'll explain on the way, now hurry up and get dressed or we'll have to reveal the secrets of the world with you in your nightie!" Renko was grinning from ear to ear.

"Today's theme is oni!" she declared. "Why did they disappear from Gensokyo? Where did they go? Why has little Miss Melon now returned to Gensokyo and why is she secretly causing parties to take place? This could well be a mystery that touches the foundations of Gensokyo itself!"

"What? I thought you said the parties weren't worth investigating?" I groused as I pulled my clothes on.

"Come on, are you still asleep, Merry? That was before we met Suika. As it stands, we're already engaged in an incident that the Hakurei shrine maiden doesn't even realize exists yet! There's no time to coast, it's our duty as members of the Hifuu Club to reveal the secrets hidden here!"

"That's way too loud for this early in the morning,” I groaned, shaking my head. "All right though, I’ll go, I just have one question first."

"What's that?"

"Can we at least have breakfast before we leave?"

Renko's stomach grumbled loudly in response.

Embarrassed, she shrunk back, scratching her head. "I guess we can spare enough time for a small detour."

—

After finishing our meal, we set out in high spirits. Well Renko was in high spirits, anyway.

"So where are we headed first? To see Miss Akyuu?"

"No need this time. I already looked up everything in the 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘬𝘺𝘰 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 about oni back at Setsubun. Instead, we're going to go talk to somebody who knows a lot about oni. Or some youkai, I should say."

"Do you mean you're going to try to reach the youkai sage? Are you going to try and summon Ran to take us to her?"

"That would certainly be quicker, but I don't think it would work. Your look-alike could appear and talk to me directly anytime she wanted to, but she never has."

"So where are we headed then?"

Renko raised her arm to point to the majestic mountain that towered over the landscape. Youkai Mountain. If Renko intended to head there, she must be intending to talk to the tengu.

"You mean Miss Shameimaru again, right?"

"Yep. I figure a newspaper reporter is bound to have some information."

"You didn't mention we'd be climbing a mountain today, Renko."

"Well I sincerely doubt we'll have to climb the whole thing. Besides, the Scarlet Devil Mansion is on the way. Hopefully we can stop in and say hi."

While it was true that the easiest path to the foot of the mountain would be to follow the trail to Misty Lake on which the Scarlet Devil Mansion was perched, I wondered if it would be alright to just stop in unannounced and expect to be welcomed. Such haphazard planning was typical of Hifuu Club events though, as dictated by the unpredictable whims of my partner's curiosity. Perhaps I had become too used to her recklessness, but I didn't raise a complaint.

Passing through the village, we crossed the border between human and youkai lands and proceeded to make our way to the northward trail. It was nothing that could be called a road, but it was frequented by fishermen and their carts so it was clear enough to follow for most of the way to Misty Lake.

Just a short distance from the village an open air cemetery stood with a few dozen squarish headstones. Those that were to be honored were laid to rest, but never within the confines of the village. Honored or not, the dead of this world were on the side of the youkai.

The sun was still climbing in the sky but the day was already far too warm to be comfortably hiking over open terrain. Summers in Gensokyo weren't as bad as summers in Kyoto had been, but there was no escape here. Dry heat rose from the dusty trail with no hope of ever being air-conditioned away. I wiped the sweat from my face with a handkerchief and took a swallow from the bamboo water-bottle I had brought. "I can almost empathize with Remilia wanting to block out the sun with mist now."

Renko grinned. "That's my Merry. You can take the girl out of the city but you can't take the hikikomori out of the girl. Don't guzzle all your water so quickly though, or you'll run out before we get there."

"We're not hiking through a desert, Renko. I can get more from the river if I need to."

The clear stream that followed along the footpath was the lifeblood of the village. Fed by multiple rivers that came down from Youkai Mountain to converge in Misty Lake, it had embankments and walls closer to the village but here was just a natural stream. Merely looking out over the slow-moving but steady band of glimmering water was enough to make you feel a few degrees cooler.

"You'd better be careful. If you get too close to the river a kappa could grab you and you'd end up with a webbed hand up your butt."

"Oh you'd like that wouldn't you. It would save you a trip if you can use me as bait to meet a kappa."

"Ooo, that would be interesting. Maybe we can meet a kappa in the mountains. I'm eager to see just how advanced their scientific knowledge is compared to the humans in the village."

"Seriously Renko, don't use me as bait."

"Relax, Merry. I would never. Besides, we're here to see Miss Shameimaru today, not a kappa."

As we chatted, we rounded a bend in the stream and Misty Lake came into view. At its far end, we could just make out the outline of the Scarlet Devil Mansion as a blot in the summer haze. When we had flown here with Ran, we had gotten here in the blink of an eye, but on foot it was a significant walk.

"What do you say, Merry. Should we stop in?"

"It's the middle of the day, I imagine Remilia will still be asleep by the time we get there. Since we've come this far though it would only be polite to stop in and say hello to Meiling and Sakuya.”

While walking along the shore of the Misty Lake we saw perhaps a dozen fairies at various points, all splashing or bathing in the water without a care in the world. The sky was still clear and the innocence of their laughter had us in high spirits as we approached the gate of the manor. Hazy mist was rising from the shimmering water, making the mansion appear as if it was emerging from a cloud of smoke. Meiling was standing slouched against one of the pillars that flanked the iron gate, her hat slumped over her eyes.

"...Is she asleep?" Renko asked, gingerly approaching. There was no response.

"She's sleeping standing up. That's almost impressive, in a way."

Meiling continued leaning against the pillar. Her head lolled to one side, then drooped. All at once it snapped back up and she sprung to attention, suddenly standing erect. Apparently even youkai can nod off.

"No, ma'am, Miss Sakuya ma'am, I wasn't sleeping at all!"

"I'm afraid Miss Sakuya's not here, it's just me." Renko grinned broadly and doffed her hat in greeting.

Meiling blinked rapidly, then let out a relieved breath. "Oh, it's you two. Well, the mistress and her sister will be sleeping now, but I can get Lady Patchouli or Miss Sakuya if you're looking for them."

"No need. We were just in the area and thought we'd stop by to say hello."

"Oh? Where are you headed?"

"We're on our way to Youkai Mountain."

Meiling's eyes went wide. "You're going up the mountain? What for? If it's just for curiosity, I'd recommend you don't. It's not safe for humans, you know."

"Is the mountain really that dangerous?"

"Not the mountain itself, but the youkai who live there are extremely protective of their territory. I went up there once at the mistress' request, but I ran into a tengu patrol. It uh… didn’t go too well."

I wondered if Remilia had attempted to conquer the mountain and sent Meiling out to scout for resistance. With the mountain having once been under the control of oni, she might have thought vampires could step in as a replacement. Knowing her, she probably got bored with the attempt half way through. Once again, I felt sorry for Meiling, wielded like a tool to satisfy the mistress' whims with no regard for her own safety.

"Well we're just going up the mountain in the hope of meeting a particular tengu, she's a newspaper journalist who often comes to the human village," I added.

Meiling sighed and tilted her head in consideration. "A tengu journalist? I wonder if it was the same one who came here to interview us about the incident the mistress caused last year?"

Renko nodded. "Probably. We don't know how to reach her exactly, so we were planning to just go up and ask around."

Meiling looked stunned. "That's really reckless. I think the white wolves would cut you down before you could even ask a question."

Suddenly a harsh voice interrupted from across the courtyard. "What are you doing slacking off over there?" Needless to say, it had come from Sakuya, who was walking toward us from the front door of the mansion.

"Ah, I wasn't slacking off! I'm awake, see?"

Sakuya drew up to the gate and regarded Meiling from the other side with a frown. "Now I know you were sleeping too. I meant why haven't you let our guests in yet?"

"Ah, yes ma'am, sorry ma'am. Right away."

Meiling moved to pull the gate aside, but Renko waved her away.

"No, no need for that now. If we come in, we're bound to end up talking to the mistress and her sister and I'm afraid we have places to be."

"Yes, Youkai Mountain, as I heard." She looked up at the towering peak with a troubled expression. "We're not the guardians of the mountains, so we can't stop you, no matter how ill-advised a journey it is. I'll give milady and the little miss your regards."

Meiling turned to Sakuya with a worried look. "Sakuya, we can't let them go." She turned to face us. "You two are just normal humans. You can't even stop time like Sakuya."

Sakuya arched an eyebrow at Meiling. "Does that make me an abnormal human?"

"No, that's not what I meant," Meiling sputtered.

Personally, I thought a human voluntarily working as the servant to a vampire was plenty abnormal, never mind her ability to stop time.

"Still, if something were to happen to the two of you, the little lady would be quite upset I imagine. Very well then. Meiling."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Escort these two up the mountain to meet the tengu reporter."

The three of us looked at her in shock before turning to all look at one another.