> "Sure thing."
> Head on home. (Unless we're stopped again...)
> Mention,and rembember to ask about when we arrivere there, that we(Murasa) once reached Myourenji should also ask about that "Noted Delivery with Note" of,what we later discovered to be,that Bottled Evil Spirit from... fairly likely our Storehouse trough the Underground to the Myourenji Underground"Clinic",to the Palace of earth Spirits and to Satori
>You return to the shrine, worn out after the long evening. Tojiko joins you, claiming that she’d rather have supper there than deal with whatever leftovers are at home. You find the excuse dubious, but you certainly aren’t in any kind of mood to probe it. The rest of the shrine greets you warmly, dinner is set out and ready for you both. Everyone crowds around with questions, eager to hear your story. Thankfully Tojiko is there to handle some of the retelling, or add an outside perspective, and give you time to actually enjoy your meal. All in all, it is a pleasant time, Nue even restrains herself from needling Tojiko… for the most part.
>However, you are deeply tired. As much as you’d like to stay up with everyone, you are quite pleased when Byakuren reminds everyone that it is time for bed if everyone intends to be rested for tomorrow’s devotions. You’re well aware that it’s rare anyone goes straight to bed, but this evening you make an exception. You’re out the moment your head hits the pillow.
>The next day, you awake slowly. Judging from the sunlight shining in the window, it seems everyone decided to let you sleep in. LYing there, you very nearly feel like yesterday was but a dream. But you can still vaguely feel that memory of an ocean within you, feel that North no longer unnerves you as it once did.You force yourself up, and find a light breakfast had been left for you in the kitchen. Perhaps it is not the most monkly thing in the world, but you help yourself to it before hastening off to morning devotions, deciding it is better late than never.
>This comes to you with surprising ease today, you find yourself able to meditate without nearly as much distraction as you’re used to experiencing, focusing more easily on the proper sutras. While holding the positions are a bit irksome still, it doesn’t bother you as much. You find yourself feeling more calm and less distracted by unwanted thoughts. You can vaguely feel the ocean swirling within you, but it’s almost trivially easy to push that sensation away.
>The day wears on. Tojiko rejoins you as you venture out to visit Eirin once more. She examines you again, and reports nothing unusual. When the subject of memories comes up, she can only repeat that she hasn’t found anything new, and assures you she still hasn’t found anything wrong or concerning. What is concerning, however, is on the way back home, when you hear a doorway open behind you despite being in the middle of the bamboo forest moments before you’re grabbed from behind and drug backwards.
>After regaining your bearings, you’re not surprised to find yourself back in Okina’s domain, being led down the halls by her dancers as they helpfully tell you that Okina demands your presence, and then nothing else. Though there isn’t much time for them to say more before Tojiko follows them in, and fills the corridor with lightning danmaku. The ensuing tussle ends more or less in a draw after a couple minutes as Okina makes herself known, none too pleased about the fighting in her halls (an irony Tojiko is all too happy to point out, and is ignored). Eventually things are smoothed over, and you are brought to a sitting room, served a nice tea with lavender, and then questioned at length about the experiences you had in the flooded world. Soon, a much recovered Doremy is brought in to assist with the questioning and in interpreting your answers.
>Ultimately; you, Okina, Doremy, and Tojiko come up with nothing new. The consensus is, essentially, that you probably don’t bear anything left of the dancers’ memories. Which leaves an open question as to where they are. The best any of you can come up with is out there, somewhere. Okina, in particular, is unsatisfied with this. But for now, there is little for it. Clearly in a crabby mood despite attempting to be polite, she lets you and Tojiko go. You decide not to bring up the argument from the prior evening. Doremy follows you out, and quickly leaves to go her own way.
>You attempt to visit Mayohiga later that day, in hopes that Yukari might offer some insight. This hope is quickly dashed when Ran informs you that she came home last night and fell straight into bed, and will likely be there until next spring. Ran does suggest that if Yukari has closed down for the year, she considers the matter to be well settled and there likely isn’t any residual danger for Gensokyo or for you. Dhe does take the time to reassure you that Yukari wouldn’t just leave you out to dry, after you’ve been so helpful.
>And the rest of the day is surprisingly normal. You drift back back toward the better traveled parts of the Gensokyo with Tojiko, and end up having a pleasant lunch at Mystia’s stand. Eventually the two of you part ways, and you gravitate back toward the temple and find the residents were a little worried when you didn’t come home as soon as expected. But the worries are set aside, and things proceed as they usually do.
>The days stretch on into winter. Life is normal again, you are no longer haunted by feelings of oddness, or being pulled into other worlds, or anything like that. In some ways, it’s easy to forget it ever happened. But, the North no longer bothers you as it did. You have a somewhat easier time focusing, you find yourself more difficult to perturb. You feel a kind of peace in the wake of everything.Some nights, when you lay in your futon, you feel as though you are adrift in the waves, blanketed in comfortable currents carrying you heavens know where. You can feel the memory of the ocean within you, a strange new part of yourself. Did it fill in something that was missing, you sometimes wonder, or have you simply grown from its presence? There’s probably no real way to know. But you feel at peace with life, or afterlife as it were, in a way you simply could not before. Perhaps you could journey northward now, step upon that boat and cross the final river? But you’re in no hurry, even if the thought no longer paralyzes you. It would be a terrible shame to leave Tjiko on her own so soon after making a ghost friend, after all.
>You have gotten a Happy End!
>Let us ponder that which reached the stars.
