It is the year 20XX, Gensokyo is ruled by The Lunarians after a war. In the present time, a lone girl rises in the depths of the mountain, with no memories of recent events.
Youmu approached the small boat, and inside lies the Shinigami, sleeping. Her head is leaning onto the shaft of her scythe, neverminding what is going on around the world as of now.
"Excuse me...? Shinigami-sama?"
"Hmm? Who's there?"
The Shinigami wakes up, and looked at Youmu.
"Ah, you're one of them half human, half phantom. It's a rare sight to see one so close. What can I help you with?"
"It's this, Shinigami-sama--"
"No need to be so formal, just call me Komachi."
"Komachi-San. I need to go to the netherworld."
"Getting you there won't be a problem considering you're half dead. However the denizens there don't accept strangers nicely... Ever since Saigyouji-Sama appointed a Menreiki as Hakugyokuro's gate guard."
"So the gate guard is the one who instructed the other spirits to look out for strangers?"
"They are. I'd suggest you head there silently after I find a suitable position for you to disembark."
Komachi then took her paddle, as Youmu climbed up onto the boat, and the former begins to row.
Youmu slept on the boat as it made it's voyage to the netherworld. After some time, Komachi poked her with the scythe which nearly sent Youmu to shriek out.
"Sorry, just a bad dream."
"We all experience it, even me." Komachi chuckled.
Youmu hopped off, onto a bed of flowers. As far as her vision goes, there are flowers all over the ground.
"So this is the Netherworld? I expected it to be more crowded."
"Just watch yourself, half phantom. I'll wait out here, until you come back. Eiki-Sama will kill me if she finds the boat harbored, but I'm sleeping in it."
"Can I trust you?"
"Well, I learned to trust you, to take you all the way here."
"I didn't even trust myself. In that case I shouldn't trust your judgement on this matter."
Komachi laughed at that, before rowing off.
"How am I supposed to signal her...? I've got those firecrackers, sure but they're too dim to be a signal because of this fog..."
Besides the flowers, there is fog everywhere, obscuring where Youmu would go. Using her intuition Youmu just went forward.
She continued to walk until she sees sakura trees in the distance, planted on cliffs, between a small wooden bridge. Beyond the bridge is a wall that leads to Hakugyokuro, if the sign in front of Youmu is not tricking her.
She took a step on the bridge, until she noticed a presence. A figure leapt over the walls, and landed on the other end of the bridge.
A woman, with long lavender hair and blank lavender eyes. She had an odd Oni mask hung on the side of her head. The woman also wears a lilac kimono with red obi, tied using a couple of rope.
"I am Hata no Kokoro... Menreiki of Hakugyokuro... You shall not pass this bridge!"
She then raised her foot up, before stomping down on the bridge which shook. Youmu quickly drew out Hakuroken and took a stance.
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The Menreiki turns out to be armed with the Naginata polearm, which is long and can reach Youmu if she managed to use it to do thrust attacks.
However, instead of thrusting, she swings it around 6 times, all of which were deflected by Youmu's fine swordsmanship.
But then she went for a sweep on Youmu's leg, which Youmu dodged by jumping up before landing a couple of kicks onto the Menreiki.
And to top it off, Youmu threw the kunai which she got from Doremy, which scratches the mask the Menreiki had a bit.
Angered, The Menreiki then went for a thrust attack which was dodged by Youmu by moving towards the polearm, and stomped on it's blade making it stuck into the bridge.
Using this opportunity, Youmu then thrusted Hakuroken through the Menreiki's neck before pulling it out as translucent blood then begins to spray out from the wound on the Menreiki.
The latter then stood back up as Youmu jumped off, and went into a praying stance, chanting as she swings her prayer beads around. She slowly disappears in a sea of fog, noticing that it's just a teleportation technique, Youmu quickly used her ghostly half to swing herself up to one of the tree branches, and jumped to the middle of the bridge where the Menreiki is still chanting.
And in a shock, Youmu kicked her in the back, before slicing her throat out using Hakuroken. This time, the Menreiki went limp and fell backwards towards the wooden boards of the bridge.
However, a centipede then dug it's way out from the Menreiki's neck, and her body stood up slowly, still holding the Naginata.
The centipede itself is wearing a Hannya mask, which symbolizes wrath.
Youmu puts Hakuroken back into it's scabbard and pulls out Roukanken this time, it's silver blade emitting light as it was pulled out.
"There is nothing that this sword can't cut... Even immortality. Soul Sign - Immortality Severance!"
Youmu dashed forward as the centipede then lurched to take a bite on Youmu, but she dodged it and stomped onto the centipede, before kicking the Menreiki's body down to the bridge, plunging the blade into her stomach, and forcefully dragging it out until the blade comes out from her heart. This expels the centipede as the Menreiki then screams out before she dissipated into ashes.
不死斬り Immortality Severed
With nobody else in her way, Youmu then walked to the end of the bridge, and walked through the archway on the wall that leads to Hakugyokuro. What lies ahead would fascinate the half dead swordswoman.
