Chapter 1: An Auspicious Birthday

Princess of Phantasms
Chapter 1: An Auspicious Birthday
I
Excitement brimmed from Kotoha’s head and to her toes. She unfurled the sheets from her body and jolted upward in her pink frilled nightgown. The young mistress strode to the bathroom of the giant Japanese-style manor to perform her morning ablutions. She didn’t powder her heart-shaped face, though she washed and cleaned the pores on her beautiful white skin that shone with an inner warmth befitting a princess. Once she finished, Kotoha strolled down the open hallway, where giant scrolls of kanji symbols rolled out and portraits of ancestors in gold-gilded frames bedecked the walls.

She headed outside, the sun warming her forehead and lancing into her crimson eyes. A giant cherry blossom graced the manor’s middle ground, a portrait of pastel pink and white. The koi pond teemed with delightfully multi-colored fish whose scales glittered in the baking sun, swimming in the decorative waters lined with smooth, polished stones. While she enjoyed the sunshine, a hand pressed her shoulder. She glanced behind her to look upon a lovely black-haired woman in a white kimono with light blue embroidery around the edges. She could’ve been a courtesan of the emperor in the olden days. Her beauty surpassed that of most women, leaving men slack-jawed at her ovular face, her frosty blue eyes, snow-white skin, and cherry red lips which she distinctly used to cover the blue tinge. Her long-fingered hands wielded a particular, masterful grace when working at the loom. She wished to garden, though every time her hands touched plants, it would leave them in wilted frost.

“Ojou-sama,” the woman in the white kimono said. “I know that you’re excited for today.”

Kotoha’s eyes crinkled toward the woman in the white kimono.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Forgive me for being so straightforward, though I’m a practitioner of orthodox medicines and chiropractor as well as being a physician. Please consider your health.”

“It’s all right, Fuyuki,” Kotoha bowed, folding her hands demurely in front of her. “You don’t need to worry about my health so much.”

“I do need to worry, Princess. Your health is of the utmost importance. It would bring shame and dishonor to my Youkai clan if I let Haruka Himemiya’s daughter pass away on the most auspicious and fortunate of days!”

“I’m definitely in better shape than I have been, and training underneath Kasumi has led me to be hearty and hale. So I’m fine, really.”

“You are strong, little Kotoha,” Fuyuki said. “Though sometimes you push yourself harder than necessary when you really shouldn’t. At least let me brush your hair—there are some tangles in it.”

Kotoha pouted a little, staring at Fuyuki with red eyes. “I’m not a child anymore. This is the day that I grow to adulthood!”

“You will take your mother’s place, “Fuyuki said mildly. “We have every bit of confidence and faith in you, Ojou-sama.”

Kotoha looked away with a huff, arms folded across her chest.

“Could you stop mother-henning me, Mama Goose?”

Fuyuki smiled. “You must keep in mind that your powers are growing at a rapid pace and it can put a strain on your body. This will be the day that your mother will unleash the Flame Deity seal upon you and you will become the leader of the Youkai clans throughout Japan.”

“Yes, my body has become stronger from when I was a little baby,” Kotoha said. “I’m not going to collapse all of a sudden from a seizure or something. You really worry too much, Fuyuki.”

“She has a right to worry,” another voice said.

Kotoha turned and spotted Kasumi tiptoing from behind Fuyuki. The two purple cat ears upon her head matched her long banner of lavender hair, swiveling and twitching. Her cat tail was also purple, splitting into two at the ends. A black bow holding her lavender hair in a fluffy ponytail matched a ribbon on her tail, near where the tail split.

“Fuyuki-chan is just a regular worrywart.”

“I’m a professional doctor. I’m attuned to the Miss’s biorhythms and know her B/W/H measurements and—“

Kasumi slapped a hand against Fuyuki's back, causing the Yuki-onna to quiver with barely restrained anger. The nekomata then turned to Kotoha, giving the birthday girl a wink, displaying one of her slightly different heterochromatic eyes—one a lilac similar to her hair color, and another a very subtle lavender pink.

“Though to be honest,” Kasumi said with a grin, showing a bit of fang and rubbing a hand behind her head, tail swishing to and fro. “All of us were worried the day you were born and you had so much magical power flowing in your Flame Deity blood.”

Kotoha groaned. “You told me this so many times, Kasumi!”

“…Your mother needed to seal the power you held in your tiny body and wait for the day that you’ll mature and become strong enough to handle that much power inside your body.”

“…A good morning to you, too. Would you like to practice some sparring with me?”

“That should wait till later,” Kasumi chuckled. “Your Mother is making preparations for all the Youkai coming to the manor today. It’s going to be a grand celebration!”

“Mother is really devoted to this.”

“So, Ojou-sama,” Fuyuki said. “It’s time I brush your hair and put you in more appropriate clothing.”

“Do you want to put on cat ears so we match, twin-sy?” Kasumi said with a gentle laugh, bumping hips with Kotoha.

Kotoha shook her head.

“Maybe some other time.”

Fuyuki smoothed over her expression into its normal cool demeanor after Kasumi’s jocular antics. “That orange yukata with the yellow embroidery seems like it would be most fitting, wouldn’t it?”

“Whatever you pick out, Fuyuki, I’m sure it’ll be the best choice.”

“Come, come, we need to make sure that you’re presentable to the rest of the Youkai clans that your mother leads.”

“All right.”

Kotoha then followed Fuyuki into the changing room, where Fuyuki picked out the yukata that flattered her curves the most. Fuyuki did the sash around the waist, and Kotoha examined herself in the mirror. Long brunette hair flowed past her shoulders and down to her waist when it wasn’t bound up into an intricate ponytail style or in ringlets or braids, though Kotoha wanted her hair this way—in a long flowing banner, with no decorations or hair clips. The frills and lace and embroidery dressed her up as finely as a porcelain doll and Fuyuki styled her hair in whatever manner she thought befitting for a princess.

The Flame Deity Princess figured the most natural look was one that suited her best, much to Fuyuki's chagrin. Though as Kotoha did a half-twirl in front of the vanity mirror, she caught her breath catch as a flush reddened her cheeks like apples. It really was becoming, and Fuyuki certainly had a refined sense of aesthetics when it came to clothing and fashion. Fuyuki then proceeded to brush the tangles in Kotoha’s hair until it was silken and shone with sleek glossiness.

“Thanks, Fuyuki.”

“Do you wish to have your hair styled in any particular way, or leave it as is?”

“You don’t need to do it up in ringlets or any fancy hairstyle. It’s fine as is.”

Fuyuki nodded with a slight bow, before saying. “It’s no problem at all. I remember doing all these things for you when you were very small. Ah, it brings back memories.”

“Let’s go out and meet the others,” Kotoha said. “I’m sure that they’ve been waiting all this time.”

They made their way to the Main Hall of the manor, and Kotoha saw a white-haired male with wolf ears, pale skin, and silvery blue eyes while a blond-haired male with curious crimson eyes similar to Kotoha’s red ones stood like bookends by her mother’s side. The white-haired male, Yukio, didn’t seem to look comfortable in a suit. His ears twitched uncontrollably as tremors shook his body, as he handed out pamphlets to the guests that would come to the auspicious birthday banquet. The blond-haired male, Shigure, seemed more at ease in professional attire, and his two-piece suit hugged his slender form quite snugly on his slender body, long blond hair draping past his shoulders to complete the look of a charmer and rogue. When they saw Kotoha, they immediately left Haruka Himemiya’s side and then positioned themselves beside Kotoha.

“Ojou-sama,” Shigure said. “Today is a day of great reverence. You look lovely in that orange yukata.”

“Thank you,” Kotoha nodded.

She stole a glance toward the white-haired male. His two wolf-like ears perched on the top of his head twitched, and she wondered why he seemed so flushed. “Do you have a fever, Yukio?”

“What’re you talking about?” Yukio said. “I’m perfectly fine!”

“He’s just admiring how beautiful you are, Ojou-sama,” Shigure said with a mischievous smirk to Yukio, to which Yukio’s cheeks reddened further and his two wolf ears stiffened.

“Tch,” Yukio said. “I’m perfectly fine!”

“Your ears are twitching,” Kotoha noted.

“Never mind about my ears!” Yukio said, clearing his throat. “You look…uh…”

“Ravishing?” Shigure suggested. “Stunning? Maybe a beautiful would suffice?”

“Damn it, Shigure,” Yukio stuttered, snapping his teeth toward the Shinigami. “You wanna fight?”

“Thank you,” Kotoha said before she fully addressed her mother. “Good morning, Mother. How are you doing?”

“No need to be so formal around me,” Haruka said with a smile. She resembled Kotoha in many ways, with her long dark brown hair and red eyes. She wore a ball gown that was black and frilled out into three tears of laced edges, with pink ribbons adorning and festooning the sashed area and around the neck where her lovely throat and back was exposed. “You will be introduced to the other powerful clans of the Youkai and see which one will be suitable for marriage.”

“Marriage?” Kotoha said, with a faint flush on her cheeks.

She didn’t have time for marriage! She wanted to accomplish her own goals, such as inheriting her mother’s Flame Deity position and taking territories under control to lead the Night parade to show her wealth and status to her enemies.

“Mother, I don’t know about this. I mean, I think that the other princes of the other families are such bores. I want to maintain a position of power without having to rely on age-old traditions that I have no interest in.”

Haruka smiled a bit before she put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. “You are sixteen, about to be Heir to my Flame Deity position. You need to mingle with the other clans and make friends to unite them together.”

Kotoha puffed her cheek out. She had no interest in such things She was not a mere decoration to be hung off another man’s arm like some trophy wife! “I will attend the banquet, but I make no promises about making nice with any of the princes of the other Houses.”

Shigure bowed towards Kotoha, taking her aside before whispering to her. “Ojou-sama, perhaps it is not to your liking, but this is an important political event.”

Kotoha sulked.

“I know. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“As much as I hate the thought of handing you off to another strange male, it’s unfortunate that this is what your mother and father wish for you.”

“I want nothing to do with it,” Kotoha said with an injured sniff.

Then, an idea brewed in her mind about what could happen at this event. She would attend all right, without actually being there. All it involved was having a body double to replace her.

“Kotoha-chan?” Kasumi gesticulated with her hands wildly. “You want me to pose as you then?”

Kotoha grinned. “That would be most welcome. I would rather that I have you replace me as my body double while I’m off gathering information about something…about one of our opponents.”

“You mean Tenzen, right?” Kasumi said.

Shigure adjusted his hair, running a hand through shimmering golden locks.

“Precisely, we need to figure out his weak points and shut down his campaign before he gathers more followers to his side in his Night Parade,” Shigure said.

“You’re more of the strategist and schemer, Shigure,” Kasumi said with a laugh. “What do you propose that we do?”

“In order to gather information about our opponent, Kotoha will travel to his manor of residence and take pictures of the inside. To send a message.”

The trio huddled closer in their conspiratorial whispering, enjoying the scheme that Shigure cooked up.

“Go on,” the two girls chorused.

Shigure’s eyes crinkled fondly toward Kotoha. “She will steal a priceless heirloom inside that holds the Tenzen family’s generation secrets of their techniques. They kept it a closely guarded secret. But I’m sure with a little finesse and fine cracking our beloved Princess will be able to master their technique and unleash it against them a thousandfold.”

“He’s the guy that wanted to ask your hand in marriage a couple of times, hasn’t he?” Kasumi said thoughtfully. “Our Princess is very fetching if I do say so myself.”

“Stop it, Kasumi,” Kotoha said, though she couldn’t help but invest in Kasumi’s playful demeanor. “Okay, so Kasumi is going to disguise as me at the political meeting while I’m infiltrating Tenzen’s house.”

Shigure smiled. “As quick as ever, Kotoha. When you’re not busy running away from political meetings, I do find it commendable that you have a good head on your shoulders.”

Kotoha flushed a bit. “Please, Shigure, don’t be such a flatterer. You’re a dreadful tease and menace to women.”

Shigure bowed. “I aim to please. Using this body double scenario, I will instill fear into our opponents and they will desperately try to counterattack against this ploy.”

Kotoha snapped her fingers. “Kasumi can mimic me perfectly thanks to her training in the secret arts of Nekomata ninjutsu.”

“Hmhm,” Kasumi said. “You know, Kotoha-chan. It’s always fun playing dress up as you. Though the one thing that separates the two of us is a little hard to contain—and that is our breast sizes.”

“Yes, that is a limiting superpower,” Kotoha said. “But luckily our chest sizes are about equally matched with one another. Though, unfortunately, you can’t disguise yourself as every person that you want to, Kasumi.”

Kasumi winked. “All it takes is engineering a little illusory ninjutsu or something to change my bust size and tail and ears. That shouldn’t be a problem. Though of course people can always try to cop a feel or whatever and then they’ll find out.”

Shigure coughed while Kotoha smirked at Shigure.

“Were you thinking of trying to do that to Kasumi, Shigure?”

“Never, Ojou-sama. My heart only belongs to one person in this personal harem that your mother has created, and that is with you. Please don’t think my heart would be led astray.”

“Uh oh,” Kasumi said with a toothy smile, flashing ivory. “Every time they try to cop a feel I can’t help but break their arm, you know?”

“Well, you’ll have Shigure around to watch over you,” Kotoha said with a smile before Shigure pouted a little.

“Ojou-sama? You do not wish to procure my services for scouting the land of Tenzen’s manor?”

“Shigure, it’s best that you stay with Kasumi,” Kotoha said while putting a finger to her lips. “I feel that would be best.”

Shigure bowed.

“As you wish, Ojou-sama.”

Kotoha smiled.

“Good. Anyway, I’ll be off. Kasumi, I want you to pose in my place in your ninjutsu disguise. Something is bothering me about the Tenzen faction of Youkai, and I want to investigate them. Could you do that?”

Kasumi bowed. “Please return safely, Ojou-sama.”

Kotoha smirked before she went off on her little escapade to explore Tenzen’s manor. Little did she know that tragedy would strike.

II
When Kotoha explored the manor, the massive gates and shrines gathered around the area loomed above in palatial grandeur. As a deity of sorts, Tenzen liked lavish places and several followers and acolytes following his faith. Kotoha wanted to touch the various artifacts like swords, gemstones, and priceless coins that he kept stored in his treasury, then thought better of it. She was here on a mission, and that mission was to discover what his plans were.

She heard rumors Tenzen planned that opposed the Goddess of Pandemonium. Her mother. Haruka Himemiya would often have long yawn-inducing political talks with the other factions of Youkai who gathered for their meetings, though honestly, Kotoha would often run away from these political talks and didn’t pay attention to them. Because who could blame her? She was sixteen years old, though her mother would often remark that the Princess of Phantasms should be more aware of the goings on between the various factions of each Youkai and what each clan did.

She evaded the sentries with ease. She ducked behind terraces, embraced the shadows and used her illusory magic to run throughout the manor undetected. She eventually wandered into a room in the manor where there was a beautiful treasure beyond imagining. Kotoha found herself lured to it. Since when did Tenzen have such a treasure?

He harbored a lot of priceless relics within his massive treasury. Kotoha mentally noted down the treasures within his treasury for the time being, before she silently sneaked her way out. There didn’t seem to be anything particularly suspicious that she could find. She wanted to find something out of the ordinary, something that would pin Tenzen as a criminal, because she had her suspicions about him, but could never quite confirm this. No forbidden scrolls, no out-of-the-ordinary substances, and certainly no dead bodies. Kotoha thought she was in the middle of something important, but it seemed like everything was fine for now. Kotoha slipped out using her illusory magic before she began the trek on the way home.

However, while she was in the manor, she heard someone approaching.

Heart pounding in her throat, she slipped away, keeping in mind her escape routes, and found a moderate place to hide within. She cramped herself into a fancy closet and cursed her hiding place as she bundled in her long orange and black scarf around her neck and closed the cabinet door quietly.

She heard murmurs drift throughout the room she was in, and Kotoha held in bated breath when she heard them speak.

“This would be the perfect time for Tenzen-dono to gather his followers,” she heard someone say through the crack in the cabinet door. “That damnable Goddess of Pandemonium isn’t going to suspect a thing, is she?”

“It’s not time to do so yet,” one of the servants said. “However, the Goddess of Pandemonium isn’t an easy target. Perhaps we should go after someone more vulnerable. She has a soft spot for her daughter.”

“The little Princess of Phantasms, you say?” the servant said in consideration, and Kotoha’s eyes widened as she muffled a surprised squeak underneath her hands and muffled it underneath her scarf.”A fine young thing. She would fetch a pretty price.”

Kotoha stood still, waiting with bated breath. Were they planning an attack on her village and the manor? She had to go back and warn someone of this! Though she couldn’t move from her hiding spot, as the servants lingered right by the cabinet and any movement in her cramped position would surely give her way. Any sound. Kotoha held her breath as the servants continued to speak again.

“If Tenzen wishes to strike…the time should be now.”

A servant’s voice lowered and Kotoha had to strain to catch the words whispered.

“Someone is here,” they whispered. “A rat is among our midst.”

Kotoha felt the cabinet door open and she found herself being manhandled to be brought before Tenzen.

“Why, a hostage has come willingly into our midst,” the servant said with a crooked smile on his face. “Well, Princess? What do you say that we hold you hostage and your mother pays back for your life with a ransom, hm?”

Kotoha spat in his face. The servant snarled and slapped her across the face, to which Kotoha’s face stung with humiliation. Yet she would not cry, she held her head proudly and glared at him for daring to hit the Princess of Phantasms.

“You will regret this,” she said in a low tone.

“I would like to see you try, little Princess,” the servant said with a nasty smile on his face which grew onto a full-on simper when Kotoha wavered. “Did you think that Tenzen-sama would not foresee this? Your mother is a soft fool. She should’ve gotten Tenzen when she had the chance to, and now this would ultimately prove to be her downfall.”

“My mother is stronger than you think,” Kotoha said with a proud tilt of her head.

“Ah, but when it comes to you, her daughter, that is where her weakness is evident. She will come to get you, once she has supplied a handsome amount of money for Tenzen of course.”

Kotoha gritted her teeth. Her four servants would probably be about to intervene right now, shouldn’t they? But then Kotoha decided she must take matters into her own hands and she kicked the servant in the unmentionables, to which he let out a squawk of surprise. Kotoha then used her illusory magic to hide herself and deceive her opponent’s senses as she dodged punches and kicks and grasping arms that tried to restrain her.

“I’ve heard enough. Wait till I report this news back to my mother. We’ll see how merciful she will be then when you’ve threatened her daughter.”

Kotoha slipped through the manor and ran as though her life depended on it. She couldn’t stop now, especially not after what she’s seen or witnessed. She would go back to her mother and tell her about what she’d seen and witnessed at Tenzen’s manor—she could not let this go unpunished! Tenzen was a slimy, writhing little worm that would be crushed underneath the talons of her mother, and when her mother was through with him, he would be tried as a criminal for his misdemeanors.

Kotoha’s heart leaped in her throat. She hoped she was not too late. The assassins that were pursuing her on her way to her mother’s territory were close by. She could sense them.

It was either do or die here.

But before Kotoha could reach the boundary between her mother’s country and Tenzen’s, something grabbed her long silken banner of hair and pulled her back.

Kotoha cursed and whipped a kick in that person’s direction, causing the assassin to go flying.

However, when Kotoha ran far away from the assassins and took the long roundabout way back towards her manor, a sight before her took her by surprise. The ceremony that her mother was opening in her honor was a bloodied mess. Several servants and her mother were fighting, and Kotoha came to her mother’s aid when her mother used her Phantasm powers to overwhelm whole hordes of enemies at once.

“What happened here?” Kotoha cried out to her mother.

“You must run, Kotoha,” her mother said, looking her daughter deep in the eyes. “This may be the day that I will die. But I want you to promise me…promise me that you will survive. Survive and lead the legacy of taking charge of the Night Parade and inspire awe in people’s hearts as the True Leader of the Phantasms, as the Goddess of Pandemonium!”

“Mother, I can’t leave you!” Kotoha cried, though Shigure came forth and took her away while her mother continued fighting more hordes of monsters that came attacking her at the manor.

“It is not safe, Ojou-sama!” Shigure said.

“What about Mother?” Kotoha cried out before Shigure took a firm grip on her.

“Our orders are to protect Ojou-sama. That is what the Queen has decreed, so you must survive at all costs to carry on Haruka Himemiya’s legacy!”

III
Kotoha struggled against Shigure in vain, who manhandled her to a safer place, away from her mother, who was fighting. Tears brimmed in Kotoha’s eyes, knowing that she couldn’t help her mother, but the sentiment to help her mother was there and she could’ve done something like fight with her. She felt like a coward, running away like this, even though she knew someone had to live on to carry her mother’s legacy. The disruption that Tenzen caused on such an auspicious day would be remembered as a dark mark on Haruka’s celebration, and it would instill the seeds of doubt in the people. If the Goddess of Pandemonium fell during an attack such as this, wouldn’t that make Tenzen reign supreme over all of them? Tenzen was nothing more than a Tyrant, though he was powerful and he had a certain ruthlessness to him while her mother believed in mercy and kindness when it came to ruling. She didn’t realize that Tenzen amassed so many followers in a short span of time.

She never trusted Tenzen. Her Mother truly was a good-hearted person for believing Tenzen would reform himself, though he honestly took advantage of her kindness and seized power for himself when the opportunity was available. Kotoha also felt a lingering sense of guilt that she wasn’t powerful enough to amass more followers and put a stop to what would be the end of her mother’s peaceful reign.

If only I were stronger… Kotoha thought to herself. I would have the power to protect everyone that I care about. I would protect my followers and rule them fairly. But Tenzen…Tenzen, that coward. That awful bastard! I will never forgive him!

Once Kotoha and four of her servants made it to a safe area, they wandered towards the Forbidden Forest that was as of yet left unexplored, as dangerous creatures than just humans and Youkai roamed there. Kotoha had no choice but to go to the likes of this forest and find shelter there, whose reputation might provide them temporary protection against Tenzen and his followers for the time being. Kotoha had a feeling that Tenzen would stop at nothing to make sure that no loose ends remained in the open, and she was the missing factor that could prevent Tenzen’s reign. Her mother foresaw this, perhaps, though Kotoha wished there was another way other than this. A path of bloodshed and war, which was what Tenzen wanted.

“Shigure,” Kotoha said dejectedly. “You can put me down now. I won’t run off.”

Shigure reluctantly put her down, and her other servants gathered close to see how the Princess was faring.

“Haruka-sama told us to protect you,” Yukio said softly. “Her beloved treasure. Because she wished for us to protect you, we now serve under your allegiance. Whatever you may order, we will follow. We will go to the depths of hell and back for you, Kotoha-sama. For now, we must recover our strength and think of a plan to strike back against Tenzen. Though for now, he’s influenced and bribed a lot of influential people, so we have no choice but to lay low and survive whatever assassins or goons that he will send at us.”

Kotoha pounded a fist in the ground. She hated feeling so powerless to do anything! And leaving her mother to her Fate. She wanted to go back and run towards her Mother’s arms, but she also understood that dying uselessly there would undo everything her Mother worked so hard for in the Youkai world. She couldn’t let that happen!

“Tenzen got us good,” Kotoha murmured as she ran a hand through her long brunette hair. Her red eyes shimmered with tears as she clenched her hands into fists, cursing her own powerlessness. She didn’t have the followers that her mother had, except the servants that were beside her now. Tenzen made sure to assassinate and kill whoever was a follower of her mother’s and left Kotoha weak on the faith she needed to provide for them. Even though Kotoha had a lot of power within her body and magic potential, the faith amplified by followers would make Tenzen a destructive force to be reckoned with. Kotoha reasoned that if she could find more followers and take Tenzen’s followers away from him, then perhaps she could regain her Mother’s legacy like she always wanted. Her Mother never would’ve wanted there to be war among the various factions of Youkai. Never. They needed to be united underneath all this, but with the confusion and dismay that was brought about on the auspicious day of Kotoha’s birthday, Kotoha would forever remember it as a day of a bloodbath and murder.

She would never forgive Tenzen for this.

“Your orders, Ojou-sama” Shigure said, holding out a hand towards Kotoha as she daintily took it.

“We make our way to the Human World,” Kotoha said with a sense of finality to it. “That should be a neutral area where we can possibly think of gathering some followers along the way. Unfortunately, without my mother, a lot of my reputation and status is lost. I’m an untested young Princess who had several people following underneath me killed by Tenzen’s power and followers. If they follow me and don’t follow Tenzen, then they could possibly follow the same fate as well. Why do you…my precious servants…why do you still follow me, knowing that this marks for you to death by Tenzen himself?”

Shigure cradled a hand against her cheek before he said. “Because we love you, Mistress. We will follow you anywhere and everywhere, to the ends of the earth, as Yukio has mentioned. Get some sleep, Ojou-sama. We will watch for intruders or wild animals that may come upon us. Perhaps you will think of a plan when you’re more clear-headed and have some time to grieve.”

“My mother…” Kotoha said in a small voice. “What made you follow her?”

Shigure thought for a moment before he stated honestly. “She believed in kindness and mercy above all else. The four of the servants that you see before you—we’ve committed petty crimes against her that she forgave and eventually made us into her most loyal followers that she could depend on. We then extend that same loyalty and love and care towards her daughter as well…and if someone like us could be reformed from the people we had been before, then we will make sure that we pay Haruka-sama’s kindness in full by protecting her daughter. No matter what it takes.”

Fuyuki fretted. “Oh dear…we have some time to rest at the moment, though Tenzen is probably making an announcement to the Youkai world. Submit or die. He’s always ruled through fear rather than notions such as kindness or the goodness of one’s heart.”

“Then I will inspire through awe,” Kotoha said softly for a moment before she spoke louder. “I will not submit to him. I will not cower back in fear. I will fight against him, and stand up against his tyranny. Seeing the underdog fight against the powerful tyrant should inspire people to fight back. Even if I have to fight alone. I wouldn’t ask my Servants to participate in a battle that could cost them their lives.”

“We will follow whatever decision you make, Kotoha-chan,” Kasumi said.

IV
“I will try to gather what followers are left and haven’t submitted to Tenzen,” Kotoha said as she thought about the way that she would go about her plan. “I will go to the neutral territory of humans and live my life as a human rather than a Youkai.”

Shigure looked surprised at this, though he thought this would make sense to hide from Tenzen. “Sealing your Flame Deity Powers and living your life as a human in the human territory? Tenzen probably won’t detect you as the Princess of Phantasms, though to be honest, how are you going to gather your followers if you don’t have proof of your lineage and as the daughter of Haruka Himemiya?”

“I’m going to build from the ground up,” Kotoha said. “As someone with a different identity and someone with a more normal life. Maybe one day I will return to the Youkai world…but right now, I need to find someplace where I can gather more strength. Tenzen wants me dead…I’m sure he’ll stop at nothing for that. However, if you send me to the Human World and I hide there, then Tenzen will have a harder time manipulating his forces and coming after them in the open. After all, there are paranormal forces that humankind isn’t inclined to believe in even after we’ve co-existed all these centuries together with them.”

Fuyuki held Kotoha’s hands within her own before she said. “We will always watch over our beloved Princess, whether she’s Youkai or Human. Rest assured, I will follow you to the ends of the Earth and beyond if that means taking you back to your rightful place as ruler of the Youkai.”

“My time is not yet,” Kotoha said. “But once I’ve trained in the Human World and gathered more strength there, I want you to keep a lookout for Tenzen’s sentries and anyone that is going to come after me.”

Yukio’s ears flattened against his head, while he growled a bit towards whoever was watching them. “Who are you? Show yourself!”

The person who made their way before them tripped in front of them, her long brunette hair swaying behind her. Kotoha looked rather curious and saw that a human female made her way into the Youkai realm. How did she end up here?

“It’s dangerous here,” Kotoha said. “Though you will prove useful to me in the Human World. What is your name?”

“M-M-Miharu,” Miharu sid tentatively, before she adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose. “Ah! Now I can properly s-see. How do you do?”

Yukio sighed, before saying, “She seems too innocent and naive to be one of Tenzen’s followers or henchmen. Though the fact that a human isn’t freaking out at the existence of Youkai…I have to admire her, somewhat. Or perhaps it is airheadedness?”

“How rude, Mr. Wolf,” Miharu said, as she adjusted her glasses again. “I am an Onmyouji practitioner, so I am f-familiar with the likes of the supernatural. I was a contact that your Mother a-arranged to get you from the other side of the barrier towards the Human World.”

“My Mother..” Kotoha said, though Miharu shook her head and looked sorrowful.
“She used the last of her energy to tell me where you would be,” Miharu said. “T-This way, please.”

Kotoha, Shigure, Yukio, Fuyuki, and Kasumi followed the strange Onmyouji practitioner before they made their way towards the trees that lay the boundary between the Human World and the Youkai World.

“I h-h-have magic to disguise your Youkai features,” Miharu said. “Humans won’t react very well to you in your Youkai forms.”

Yukio scoffed at this, though none of the others supplied answers to her. She performed a magic spell on all of them to hide Yukio and Kasumi’s animal ears and tail, while Kotoha and Shigure’s eyes turned into a normal blue color rather than the red they normally were, while Fuyuki was mostly left unchanged, though her magical aura was suppressed.

Miharu nodded in satisfaction before she said. “Okay, before you make it to the Human World…do you have any things that you wish to take to the Human World?”

“Nothing but the clothes on our backs,” Kotoha said. “Let’s get out of here.”

Miharu went deep into the forest where there was a giant tree with a pillar of rope on it, that served as the vessel and dimension gateway between the Human World and the Youkai Dimension. She turned back to look at her motley crew of supernatural creatures that she was supposed to hunt down and exterminate, though something within her kept her hand from slaying them. She was too weak, for one, to slay a Youkai, and two, she wanted to have protection against Tenzen. Tenzen would have human consorts in his regal castle that he would toy around with and have as second-class citizens, and she needed the protection of a Youkai to protect her against another one. There were other Onmyouji stronger than her that could equal a Youkai in strength, but she wasn’t one of them.

The strongest of Onmyouji were the ones who spent their time cultivating and meditating their magic in the Youkai Dimension. The Youkai Dimension had different rules than the Human World, and sometimes there was something loopy in their head when they drank in the atmosphere of the place, like a strange miasma that filled their lungs and nostrils and choked them with an air that threatened to cut the breath from them. Miharu struggled to breathe in the Youkai Dimension, though she could help these Youkai escape from the Youkai Dimension To The Human World and hopefully bind them to her through her family’s help to make them her shikigami.

Kotoha remained silent, watching the other girl’s back with crimson red eyes. Miharu didn’t like the chill of foreboding that shivered down her back, as though a great predator loomed behind her and would pounce from her within the shadows and rip out her throat with a feral voracity. The Youkai reminded her of something strange, something mysterious, and something that can never be tamed—and she knew that she was getting into dangerous waters when she was summoning this unlikely crew into the Human World.

V
Kotoha went through a magical portal that the tree represented and found herself in a vertiginous tumble going upside down and every which way while being transported into an entirely different world from the one that she knew. Once she made her way to the Human World, she blinked once, twice, before she marveled at how bright the sun was and how blue the skies were.

“This is…” Kotoha said, looking up at the sky and appreciating the cleanliness and purity. “Wonderful…the Human World is beautiful.”

She was sure that Miharu wouldn’t expect a Youkai to complement the Human World. Though that didn’t matter to Kotoha. She truly found the world a marvel—it was something exciting and new, and Kotoha never made her way out of the Youkai Dimension into the Human World.

She shielded her eyes from the blinding sun, which appeared just as the same when she was in the Youkai Dimension. How many years has it been since the Youkai world contacted the Human World? It seemed a peaceful realm, with no strife or worries. Though if they were going to take shelter in the Human World and make this their home, they had to make nice with the human citizens in the world.

If they knew what we truly were, though, Kotoha thought to herself. Would they really treat us so hospitably?

Shigure whispered in her ear, “Ojou-sama, what do you think of the matter?”

Kotoha cleared her throat, before saying, “I think our first order of business is to find a place to stay. We don’t want to impose too much on our human friend too much here.”

Miharu waved her hands frantically, her glasses becoming askew on her face. She took a moment to adjust them as she, flustered, continued to wave her hands. “Oh no, no! I-i-it will not be i-imposing at all! Besides, my M-Master wanted to see the Y-Youkai Princess himself.”

Yukio’s ears pricked.

“Does news really travel that quickly?”

“It’s thanks to my S-Shikigami,” Miharu said quietly. “I-I’m not a powerful p-practitioner of Onmyoujutsu in p-p-particular, though I do -k-know some things. M-Messenger shikigami can traverse boundary l-lines and get to the intended r-r-recipient.”

“I see,” Shigure said thoughtfully, staring at her with his now blue eyes. “You Onmyouji communicate with a network of Shikigami, which is probably how Haruka-sama managed to contact you so quickly.”

Miharu gave a quick nod.

“B-Believe me, I have no love for Tenzen either. Haruka…Haruka-sama…was the best chance that we had at maintaining p-peace between humans and Youkai.”

Everyone fell silent at that. It was true that Haruka Himemiya was a great ruler who would’ve brought peace not only among the Youkai world, but would’ve bridged relations between the Human World as well. Everyone’s face became downcast, a gloom hovering in the air like a choking shroud.

Tears glittered in Kotoha’s eyes. Her mother and her heroic sacrifice would be forever remembered, and those who sided with Tenzen would be crushed brutally in the fires of revenge once Kotoha gathered enough followers and power to do so. Kotoha bit her lip, wondering which of her original and her Mother’s original followers still remained, or which ones had to reluctantly side with Tenzen to spare their lives. Though Kotoha didn’t have any hope of that. They were all gone, slain by Tenzen’s hand.

Yukio and Shigure bookended Kotoha, comforting her as they sidled up next to the Princess and just sat next to her. Kasumi was a little up ahead, scouting the terrain and the place they were at, and saw an ancient temple where they stood. The overlooking knoll toward the Human Realm was a picturesque view of temples and buildings and pagoda style roofings that was distinctly Japanese in nature, which was similar to what the Youkai world had, as well, except the Human World seemed to have progressed further than the Youkai world when it came to technology and modernity.

However, the downcast air of their faces couldn’t let them marvel at the wonders and novelty of the Human World. Kotoha wrapped her scarf more securely around her neck and then continued to hug her knees to her chest while Shigure and Yukio shared their body warmth with her. Kotoha rested her head on Shigure’s shoulder for a little bit, before she eventually settled on Yukio’s shoulder gently, seeming to go to sleep as she listened to the under currents of conversation that were being carried on by the others.

“Oh poor Ojou-sama…she’s had a most difficult day,” Fuyuki fretted.

“On her birthday of all days, too!” Kasumi whispered, a vengeance in her voice that was not usually like the happy go lucky Nekomata. “Tenzen ruined something that would’ve been the most special of days for our girl!”

“N-Now,” Miharu said, and Kotoha winked one eye open to see Miharu fiddle with her fingers by poking them together gently. “I don’t know what to do about r-relations between the Youkai World and the H-Human World. Tenzen would probably s-scour it for…the Princess…”

“We won’t let him,” Shigure murmured in a voice just quiet enough to be heard by the others, though not enough that it would wake up a sleeping Kotoha, if she were truly sleeping. ‘Our OJou-sama will become the most powerful ruler of them all, even if it means coming from the lowliest of positions that are not befitting for her. We will carry her to her destined prestige and Godhood. It is inevitable.”

“How can you say it’s inevitable?” Yukio said, snarling a bit in a low rumble. “It was inevitable that Haruka Himemiya would become the greatest ruler of all time. But look what happened to her.”

Yukio then stiffened, realizing what he said, before saying, “I’m sorry…that was harsh. But I mean…Tenzen must’ve been planning this for a very long time.”

Miharu adjusted her glasses, before saying, “just rest for now. We’ll w-worry about logistics later. And to be sure, I will keep watch…unless if one of you would be so k-kind to watch with me or let me sleep?”