Momiji glared over the waters towards the island their ferry was heading to. "I can't believe we slept until noon."

"We did leave at three in the morning," Sanae replied with a yawn.

"At least the bakery was fully stocked," Alice said.

Momiji looked over at the magician with concern. She was paler than normal, and still seemed constantly hungry, but the woman was more awake then she'd been at the Ramen place. Apparently she'd gotten enough magic to keep herself going.

"And soon the amount of magic won't be a problem," Momiji muttered as she turned back towards the island.

Alice nodded. "I'm surprised," she said softly. "The magic we magicians use is tied to dreams, but also to birth and death. Don't they keep people from being born or dying on the island as much as possible? It should be sterile to people like me, but the magic here is really strong."

Sanae leaned against the rail. "Yes. They prevented humans from dying here. But not the gods."

"Ah." Momiji looked again at the island. Now that Sanae had explained she could feel the melancholy from the island herself.

Perhaps this journey was closer to her heart then she'd thought.

After Alice had bought more bags of sweets then anyone had any right to, they'd taken the skylift up to the top of the mountain. Sanae looked over her map, then nodded. The map hadn't changed since she'd first come here, which meant it was likely all the shrines were in the same places.

"Where are we going?" Alice asked as Sanae started up to the mountain's true peak.

"There's a shrine I want to visit," Sanae said. "One I found here back when I first visited the island."

Momiji raised an eyebrow. "Did you come here often?"

"Not really," Sanae said. "It is a bit out of the way. And I spent a lot of time at my own shrine, trying to get more faith. Still a miracle worker is pretty rare, so I did some touring. This was actually one of the last places I visited before we... moved."

"Hm," Alice said as she ate a pastry.

Right before the temple at the top of the mountain Sanae turned and headed onto a dirt path. It was almost completely overgrown now she noticed. Weeds and rain had dislodged a number of the stones. But the path was still obvious compared to the underbrush around it.

Momiji growled as they edged past a thornbush. "There's a shrine down here?"

"Yeah," Sanae said.

"You'd think people would take better care of the road then," Alice muttered. "Who comes here anyway?"

"No one," Sanae replied.

Her friends fell silent at that.

The journey was short, though the poorly kept path slowed them to a crawl. Still, just as Sanae was getting worried they may have gone the wrong way, the brush faded away. They had reached the rocky cliffs on the far side of the island. There was nothing here but the ocean far below, a few rocky islands nearby, and three beaten and worn shrines facing the blue water.

Alice and Momiji moved beside her, looking out over the vista. After a long pause Alice took a few more steps forward to look at the shrines. "So... the gods here."

"They passed away," Sanae said quietly.

"I can feel it." Alice brushed some dust off the closest shrine. "I can't explain. But it's something in my soul. I wonder why..."

Momiji softly walked before the three shrines before clapping twice and bowing. Sanae felt a trickle of faith, but she'd learned before there was nothing here to accept it. "I've never seen you pray earnestly before, Momiji."

The wolf tengu nodded solemnly. "I have little need for gods. But any life deserves some respect." Momiji sat down and looked back over the waves. "Especially since their fate was cruel. For humans to make, then discard them..."

Sanae pulled out the rag she'd bought for this trip and began to clean the shrine. "I want to blame people. But it's hard to keep faith in this era."

"You managed," Alice said as she moved to help.

"It was easy for me." Sanae sighed. "Ever since I was a child my parents told me about Lady Kanako. And I could see my goddesses. They gave me power and comfort. How could I not believe? To me they were undeniably real."

Momiji stirred and started rustling through her bag. "Believe yes. But belief isn't faith. You could have abandoned them at any time. Embraced your own power and cast them to the wayside."

Sanae gasped at the thought. "What? No! I would never do that to my goddesses!"

The wolf tengu pulled out her shower cap, then smiled at Sanae. "No. No you wouldn't."

It took most of the afternoon. But together the three of them removed most of the dirt from the shrines. They were still ragged, and lacked even a torii gate or a donation box. But they were clean. Sanae briefly prayed for the gods' souls before sitting down and breaking out a bottle of water.

"So, how did you get here the first time?" Alice asked.

"I was young and stupid," Sanae admitted. "I said I would visit every shrine on the mountain." She pulled out the map and pointed to where they were. "And while no one goes here, it's still marked on the maps."

Momiji nodded slowly. "This is where you first saw gods could die, isn't it."

Sanae started. "Uh. Kinda." She looked back towards the dilapidated buildings. "I'd always known it was possible. Lady Kanako worried about it enough." She closed her eyes, remembering the fear and shock that had hit her when she'd arrived here before. "Before... before it was always like a house where the old residents had moved away and some new ones had moved in. There were always still people, and you could pretend the god had just gone somewhere else. Here..."

"There was nobody here and nowhere to go," Alice whispered.

Sanae rubbed her eyes. "Yeah."

The three sat there as the sun continued across the sky, sharing the water bottle and a few manju.

Finally Alice dusted herself off and stood. "Well," Alice said, "I'm out of food so we should start heading back down the mountain to get dinner."

"Right." Sanae sighed. "The shops will probably close in a couple of hours after all."

Alice made it through two teriyaki plates before the gnawing pain in her stomach forced her to recognize the truth. She was starving to death.

She'd thought that the increased magic in this place would help make up for the deficit she'd been running, but the reality was she'd been in starvation mode the last few days. The magic here was just enough to remind her body that food existed, and her body was complaining about the lack of nutrition.

As they finished the meal Alice stood. "I'm going to go on ahead and get some more snacks. Mind settling the check?"

Sanae hesitated. "Sure but-"

Alice smiled weakly. "I know. Sugar isn't cutting it. I've got a backup plan, so don't worry too much."

Momiji stared at her a bit, probably judging her sincerity, then nodded. "Okay."

She walked out and over to the souvenir shop that was closing down. They only had four bags of sweets, but she bought all the pastries. Then she walked down into an alley. Away from prying eyes she reached into her bookbag, and opened the lock on her Grimoire.

The flood of magic into her system struck her like a bucket of ice water and she slumped against the wall to stay standing. Within seconds she felt much better, though there was a lingering hunger. She didn't dare open the book though.

"What was that?" Sanae asked as she and Momiji walked into the alley. "I could feel it from the restaurant."

"I'm using my Grimoire to get magic," Alice replied quietly.

Momiji raised an eyebrow. "And the reason you didn't do this before is?"

Alice frowned. "Because having it on for more than twelve hours means we'd likely be sucked into an alternate realm at random."

"That's a very good reason," Momiji conceded. "How long do we have to wait before going back to Gensoukyo then?"

"We walk through the torii gate of the main shrine at high tide," Sanae said. "We've been permitted to use it as a gate to the Moriya shrine."

Alice gave her a questioning look. "Isn't the torii gate in the water at high tide?"

Sanae smiled. "Well, if you're going to do the impossible, it doesn't really matter how impossible it is, does it?"

"I suppose not," Alice replied. She walked towards a small park near the shore. "High tide will be around two AM, so I guess we've got some time to wait."

Momiji growled as another one of the damned deer that infested the island approached them. The deer hesitated then tried to circle around her to get to Alice's manju bag, like she was a leashed dog. Only when she flicked the creature on the nose did the beast flee.

"Someone should purge a few dozen of the things," Momiji muttered. "They're too tame. They don't even respect bloodlust."

"I'm pretty sure slaughtering the sacred deer would not be good for the island," Sanae sighed.

Momiji sniffed. "Having prey be so carefree is what's unnatural." She shrugged and leaned back against a tree. "Still I suppose there are worse fates."

Like that of the wolves.

She shook those dark thoughts free from her mind. "Alice, do you mind if I ask a question?"

"Hm?" Alice looked up and swallowed the manju she'd been eating. "Sure, I guess?"

Momiji turned to Alice. "Why did you ask us to join you? Why not your magician friends?"

"I..." She frowned and looked down at Shanghai. "Why you two...? I don't know." She sighed. "I didn't go with Marisa because this is about family, and Marisa hates her father so much she won't say a word about him. And Patchouli... Patchouli practically needs magic to keep breathing."

"But," Alice smiled, "I'm very glad you two did come along."

"I'm glad I came as well," Momiji said. She was a little surprised when she realized she meant it completely.

As the moon slowly rose in the sky Alice pulled out some of the books they'd bought and passed them about. For the first time Momiji appreciated why humans kept things like streetlights about. It did make it much easier to read.

Momiji had reached a halfway point in the novel when Sanae coughed and waved to get her attention. "Um, I guess it's a bit late. But did you want to visit your old home Momiji? I mean, it wouldn't be possible right now but Lady Kanako could..."

The wolf tengu blinked in surprise at the offer. "That's... Thank you Sanae, but no." Momiji closed looked up at the moon again. "I want to go back when youkai are free to roam again. Just dropping by would take the meaning away."

"I see." Sanae looked down. The girl was too nice for her own good sometimes, Momiji mused.

Looking up at the moon she nodded to herself. "It's about thirty minutes until high tide. Do we need to do something to get ready?"

Sanae pulled out a tarp, her priestess outfit and three white cloaks. "We'll need to change. The rest of the ritual is simple for you two."

"Right." Momiji picked up her bag, then frowned as one last thought hit her. "Did you ever decide what you were going to do with your family Alice?"

The magician nodded. "Yes." She looked back over the ocean. "The Alice Vass memorial scholarship is going to get a large donation from the estate of Alice Margatroid. One that should fund it for about a century." Alice turned and began walking towards the changing area Sanae was setting up. "I hope that will make them happy."

"I think it will," Momiji replied as she followed.

Putting on her priestess robes didn't feel strange. Rather, the act of donning her robes made everything else feel strange. The electric lights, the streets filled with people instead of fairies, the constant murmur of motors. All those felt less real now that she was properly attired. She looked down at the tiny city, and couldn't help but feel it was empty.

She felt a strong hand fall on her shoulder. "It's time to return to our world," Momiji said.

Sanae nodded. This wasn't her world. Not anymore. She knew it intimately, but it wasn't her home.

She donned the pure white cloak, then stepped quietly out of the small forest area they'd hung curtains around to change. Her attire would stand out, especially at two in the morning, but that didn't matter now.

Alice and Momiji were out seconds later, the magician eating the last manju she'd bought after dinner. "What's the plan now?" Alice asked as she adjusted the cloak she was wearing.

"We walk through the torii gate, and arrive back home," Sanae said.

Momiji pointed to the giant structure. "It's got spotlights on it. Someone might notice and do something about us. Or at least wonder why three women are walking on water towards a shrine gate."

Sanae pulled out the last items they'd need for the ritual. Three small candles. "Have faith," she said.

Her friends gave her annoyed looks. But she sensed they also had faith in her. That would be enough.

She walked to the shoreline, past the sleeping deer. When she reached a dock at the water's edge she summoned up a small magic to light her candle, then passed the flame to her friends. "Follow after me, and try to keep your footing."

After they both nodded to her in understanding, she took a deep breath and stepped out onto the waves.

Walking on water was both easier and harder than people thought. If the water was willing, it would remain as solid as concrete to your footsteps. But the waves stopped for no one. If you weren't willing to accept the water's movement as you walked, you were unworthy to step upon it.

Sanae had practiced before with the wind whipped waves of Lake Suwa, and the waters of the bay here were calm in comparison. She took slow steps, relying on the water's mercy to keep her balance.

A few moments later she felt Momiji walk onto the tide. The wolf tengu's first step was out of synch, but firm, and the woman was soon matching Sanae's pace.

Alice's first step was a little gingerly, and Sanae felt the water lap at her boots in reprimand. But the puppeteer quickly accepted the water's blessing as well.

As Sanae passed the docks, all the lights along the waterfront went out. A small miracle yes, but as the moon and stars grew brighter above her she couldn't help but feel it was perhaps the greatest miracle she could show this world.

There was a commotion from behind her at the shore now. People rousing and panicking because the torii wasn't lit up. But as Sanae took each small step towards the gate the noise faded beneath the sound of the ocean.

As they started to approach the torii the light from the candle seemed to slowly spill from the flame, first to her hands, then her robes, then suffusing her body. It was a bright light, but it didn't seem to diminish the moon and stars above. It seemed to enhance them more, as if she was glowing alongside them.

The giant torii gate was right before her now, and she could smell both the ocean, and the morning mist of Gensoukyo. She smiled at the now familiar feeling of her new home.

And as she took the final step she felt a tiny bit of faith from the shoreline, like a wave goodbye.