Blue Blood

I walk down the slope, wondering if I'm healed enough to fly. I transform into a raven as my magic sac shrinks until its wrapped on one of my claws. I fly higher trying to see the bamboo forest from above, there's a decently thick part of the forest in the path between the human village and Eientei.

I land and start playing my flute reactivating my healing spell. While I don't need Mokou's guidance I wan't to give her some cake as a house warming gift and ask her some questions.

Arata:"It's you."

Mokou:"You know of me?"

Arata:"I don't know your name but I heard you listening to me play at Eientei."

Mokou:"My name is Fujiwara no Mokou, I guide the lost out of this forest."

Arata:"My name is Arata Shinohara, a mana drinking Vampire and I came to ask the residents of this forest if I can move in, I don't want to be rude afterall. I brought cake for everyone as a welcoming gift."

After trying the cake her eyes light up, I guess even Immortals that want to die can enjoy life.

Mokou:"As long as you don't harm the forest and can find your way I don't see why anyone would care."

Arata:"You saying that puts me at ease, I wanted to make a cabin with a hot spring and couldn't find any other forests with a hotspring underground. I could make one but natural hot springs hold healing power I can't create."

Her eyes light up again when hearing about the hotspring.

Arata:"Since you'll be my new neighbor if the others let me move in, you're free to use it whenever you want. I'm going to make it rather big and enchant the steam to cover below the neck on everyone inside it afterall. Just go through the arches since I will put a barrier up."

Mokou:"Since you're becoming my neighbor I'll accept your offer and use it every now and then."

I'm not worried about this one stealing from me so seperating from her I fly to Eientei and they tell me the same as Mokou.

Flying back to the point between Eientei and the human village, thinking of pushing back the influence of the forest just enough to build a small log cabin with my herb garden around it (though the fence around it will need to be enchanted since the rabbits lurking around aren't normal.) I touch down from directly above so I won't get lost and start laying a spell circle around me. I can feel the magic clouding my sense of direction fading, though I can only find my way in a 90 foot circle (30 yards). I can even feel the hot water underground. I take out Kanshou and start cutting down all of the bamboo in the circle.

It sounds like a big part of the forest but this forest is massive, I couldn't cut it all down if I wanted. I don't have nearly enough mana to keep more than a 90 foot circle permanantly gone, unless I wan't to create an enchantment that needs recharged. I cut the bamboo into pieces that will work well as shingles over the bath, an open air one is best afterall. I create a bamboo clacker, that makes a sound everytime it fills with water to put in the hot spring and lined all of the bamboo up.

Taking off as a raven again I fly over the human village into the forest of magic, I pick a bunch of good sized trees and transform back to cut down 20 of them. You normally need 75 logs for a log cabin but this forest is magic, the trees grow really big.

Using Kanshou which glides through them like scissors through rapping paper I cut them into perfect 10 by 16 inch boards and lay them in a stack. I then use magic cure all of the wood and turn some of the tree limbs into 8 inch long 4 inch circ.u.mference cylinders to use instead of nails, nails are expensive afterall. I then use a large flat piece of log I saved and cut out two doors and four shutters for the windows along with enough boards for a knee high picket fence to surround the 90 foot circle.

I absorb all of the mana in the leftover leaves and branches, including what I cut from the boards with Kanshou. After it all turns into ash I purify the mana completely, sending all of the impurities into the ground as potent fertilizer. I then release most of the pure mana I recieved and pump it back into the forest, I don't want it to be angry afterall. It should all grow back within a week if the forest wants to regrow that area so it shouldn't get angry, it gained more mana from our transaction afterall.

I carry two logs over each shoulder, making 14 trips on foot to carry all of the logs with the doors and shutters (there are more boards created than trees cut down), summoning Ravens to lead me through the Bamboo forest from above. (Remilia can summon bats) After piling the logs up I use magic to turn the dirt in a 30 by 15 foot area in the center of the clearing into 5 foot thick rock and enchant it to purify the surrounding earth and strengthen it. I still have mana leftover from what I gained in the forest of magic.

I use kanshou to cut notches at the end of each log so I can stack them on eachother at the corners and stack the logs, forming the cabin. I use Kanshou again to cut out the two windows with a door between them on the front and back of the cabin, putting the wooden cylinders in the logs in the areas I cut out windows and doors, keeping them together. I stack the logs for the roof at a 45 degree angle, creating more headroom inside.

I take out the door hinges, doorknobs, bolts and window panes I bought when In the village and finish my house, putting in the doors windows and shutters. After surrounding the whole clearing in picket fence leaving 2 7 foot high 5 foot wide arches, one facing the human village and one facing Eientei, It looks very homey. I've gotten good at creating that feeling in my 200 years of running from Vampires.

I start pouring my leftover mana into all of the already magic wood, purifying it and laying an enchantment using languages mostly forgotten in the outside world while turning the house into a single piece of wood. My enchantments are stronger in Gensokyo since more people remember the magical languages. I make a bubble that covers the clearing, my house and everwere someone can stand inside it with a minimal amount of open air inside. I don't need to make a needlessly high barrier afterall.

The barrier only opens at the two arches in the fence, even I can only go through them. The arches can only be entered when I control them to let someone in and they absorb the mana naturally given off by someone so passing through it forcefully will leave their identity/mana behind. It doesn't let smells in or out so the rabbits and other animals don't smell my herb garden and I can't smell them. It's just strong enough that it would be more of a pain than could be gained breaking it. While It also nourishing the earth air and mana inside.

I create a 10 foot by 10 foot smooth rock underground pool 8 feet behind my back door that when sat in while full of water the water would reach between my belly button and lower c.h.e.s.t. I create a hollow tube of white rock shaped like Yggdrasil coming out between the bath and my cabin leading to the underground hot springs and place the bamboo clacker under the stream coming from Yggdrasil, it pours it's contents into the bath after filling up letting the bath fill up while I enchant the pool and Yggdrasil to purify the water and those inside it, healing their mind and body in the process.

The bottom of the pool is enchanted to always stay at the perfect temperature to keep the water steaming without burning those touching it and also connect it to the underground hot spring with another tube, cycling the water purifying and strengthening the entire underwater hotspring as the water cycles.

Taking the bamboo I create four poles going 10 feet high a few feet past the edges of the bath, two of them touching the back of my cabin. Creating crossbeams at the top of the poles and placing the bamboo shingles on top creating a T shaped roof with the cabin that will keep the rain out of the bath and have it pour on either side of the back door. I place 2 bamboo at 45 degrees at the top of every pole to keep the whole thing squared.

The enchantment I put on the bamboo Is the same as the bath, purify all inside and heal those in the bath. The bamboo is spiritual so the enchantments are strong, though nothing compared to Eirins healing abilities. It's just enough to make it super comfortable. After enchanting the bamboo to keep a ring of steam that will wrap around the edges of the bath hiding everything below the neck of all inside I absorb all of the mana in the leftover bamboo and once they turn to ash I feed most to the forest with it to apologize while blowing the ash away.

My house is completely finished, lacking only furniture after I plant most of my herb seeds to grow. Leaving a path from the front gate to the front door and from the back door around both sides of the bath to the rear arch and creating underground rock pipes that carry the hotspring water to all of my garden and then enchant them to purify the earth and water around them.

I pull out the leftover cakes I made and some sake and place them on wooden plates enchanted to float and not flip. I strip and enter the bath, the enchantments work perfectly and I release a sigh of relaxation. I hear Mokou come close to my barrier so I pull out some more sake and cakes and have the arch close to her deactivate and let her through, remembering her mana as I let her in so she can come and go as she pleases, she won't steal anything from me afterall. I don't bother looking at her as she enters since the enchantments wont let us see anything below eachothers necks.

Arata:"You came so soon? It's a good thing to enjoy the first dip in such a great hot spring."

Mokou:"I didn't think you would finish so quickly and create such a nice house."

She releases a sigh as she enters, going quiet as she enjoys the hot spring. We enjoy the rest of our bath making smalltalk, mostly her asking about my race and me explaining.

After the bath I seperate from Mokou and fly to the human village to buy furniture and take it all back to the cabin, filling it out. Though I'll have to either get new books or write down the ones I've memorized to fill up the bookshelves. I then fly to Rinnosuke's shop and buy magical appliances like a stove, sink that changes water temperature without the need for a water heater. Good new pots and pans with knives and utensils, I'll enchant them for durability and the skillet to show the lowest temperature of the thing inside of it later.

After I finish all of my trips to and from Rinnosuke's store my home is complete and will be truly finished in about a week and a half when all of my herbs bud due to the supernatural forest and formations aiding plant growth. Remilia still hasn't shown up so I don't think she'll eat me, and all I need to do now Is find someone to man an Inn so I can build it and have an income.

Sitting in a rocking chair on the rock ground in front of my house I think of the Ravens that have been with me the longest. Summoning the 7 of them that are as smart as humans I pour mana In them, trying to invoke the change that happens in me when I change to and from a raven. Succeeding all of them change into nude cute 12 year olds or almost equal gender, I'm going to need more clothes.

Arata:"Do you think you guys could replicate that?"

They transform back and forth to a Raven and Human again.

I didn't know we would be able to do this after getting stronger in Gensokyo.

"Arata:"Then when I finish building my inn, you 7 will run it. You decide your hours within the opening and closing time and whenever your not working the inn you can read the books in it's library or do whatever you want."

Familiers:"Yes boss!" (dannra, sometimes used to refer to a husband but here it's boss)

They look happy they have such easy jobs when it's usually helping me dodge vampires.

(their names arent important but their named 1-7 but in japanese, with -gu afterwards since their like Raven tengu. So Ichi-gu Ni-gu Yon-gu Roku-gu etc. though if I call them i'll just call them 1 or 2)

After carrying trees from the forest of magic and paying the forest with more pure mana and mana fertilizer I complete the inn's. Their are two Inn's, one closer to the human village for the humans since they fear yokai, and one near the bamboo forest for yokai. Each inn with two LARGE baths covered the same way the one at my cabin is after I paid the forest for bamboo. The same enchantments, though the human baths are weaker since humans are weaker.

After enchanting the libraries to keep intruders out all I finally have a place to store all of the books that only exist in my head. Now all I need to do Is buy a bunch of empty books, copy my knowledge down, fill the Inn's with comfortable furniture and futons, and buy my familiars some clothes. After buying all of it along with ingredients for desserts to sell at the inn's I'm out of money and I start enchanting the furniture and futons to be more comfortable. After placing all of the furniture and leaving copying the books for later I make more cakes and start eating one while thinking about how to advertise, then I hear a sound everyone but me would find annoying in Gensokyo.

Aya:"Woah! Three buildings sprung up in an afternoon!"

Arata:"A crow tengu? Do you wan't to be the first customer of my hot spring? We have sake and sweets as well."

Aya:"I'm Aya Shameimaru! The fastest person in Gensokyo as well as the best reporter!"

She looks so proud.

Arata:"If you're a reporter, will you report on my Inn if I let you stay a night for free?"

Aya:"I'll report on your Inn, but if it isn't any good I'll make sure to let everyone in Gensokyo know about it!"

After telling her how the inn's are seperated as a human inn and yokai inn and that I only own them, not run them Aya asks about my species since she's never seen someone like me. After grilling my for my racial abilites with me telling her all of them she relaxes in the hot springs, (I'm not worried about her telling lies about Blue Bloods to make her news more interesting since she doesn't seem like the type to harm my entire species that way) ordering sake and desserts from my familiars (though she has to pay for any she gets over 1)

I start copying down all of the knowledge I know twice so that If one library gets raided/damaged I still have other copies. I fill the libraries and organize them in a way that would bring a happy tear to Patchouli's eye, then create an extra copy of my favorite books, bringing them to my home.

It's already late afternoon and when Aya leaves in the morning everyone in Gensokyo will know about my inn's. Most of them will come too, if only to be able to laugh at Aya if she reported fake news. I crawl into bed after such a hard days work. Even though I don't need to sleep since I can recharge my mind and body by absorbing mana, I wan't to enjoy my first night in my first permanent home to the fullest.