Onmyodo Monogatari (Japanese Heian-era fantasy)

You smile at her. "I don't mind at all," you say. "And I have something for you as well." Her eyes, grow big, and you take out the poem, presenting it to her, self-conciously, with both hands. She suppresses a small squeal, and sorta stiffly bows and takes the poem with both hands. She very, very carefully unfolds it, so as to not rip any part of it by accident. She reads it slowly, and you catch fragemtns of it as she mouthes to herself. "Amber dawn… still pond.. Joyful… blessings." she mumbles as she reads, then her face lights up with joy!

She turns to you and you see her throw up her hands as to embrace you before she stops herself, and she looks down, mortified at herself - and yet you see her smiling. "Thank you," she says. "That was really beautiful." Carefully, she folds it up and puts it into her robes. You turn back to the pond, as the golden hues slowly fade away. She pulls out a small box with a few mochi-cakes and shares them with you as the sunlight fades into twilight. "I love this place," she says, then furrows her brows.

"Sunlight fades away
Covering all in twilight
Long are summer days
But they do not - What's a good word for remain?" she asks
"'Last'?" you supply, and she smiles
"But they cannot last -" She stops again. "Forever's too long."
"Eternal, perha- no wait, that's too long too."
"I think i'll have to rephrase it, she says."
As you talk, she's… leaning against you, holding your arm with hers. She thinks for a moment.
"But even long days must end
And yet their warmth still remains."

You smile and clap. "It's beautiful!," you say, and her face lights up with joy at your praise. And then you begin one, and when you stumble over words, she helps you.

How long do you sit there, Tomiko leaning on your shoulder, improvising poetry and enjoying the warm night? (note: hours in ancient japan are double as long as modern hours)

[ ]: Not very long. It's already late, and our parents will already be mad at us being out so late so far from the palace! We compose a few more poems, then i suggest we head home together.
[ ]: Half an hour, perhaps. We compose poems, laugh, talk, eat the moshi, and just enjoy the air as it slowly cools.
[ ]: An hour! It'll be pretty late then, but we can spend the time composing poems, laughting, talking having fun. I won't be back until half an hour later, and i've only rarely been out that late, and never away from the palace, so i'll probably get in pretty big trouble, but… it's so nice here, and who knows when it'll happen again?
[ ]: I stay up all night! Or at least until she asks me to return or we fall asleep! We'll definately get in trouble, of course, but we probably will anyway already, and why not enjoy this for as long as we can?
[ ]: I have some other plan! Write in.

You can ask Tomiko whatever you want.

You sit and laugh with Tomiko, your… friend? Girlfriend? You're not sure. You don't care much, either, you just enjoy her poetry and she yours as you talk and share poems.
To your surprise, and utter delight, it quickly becomes clear that she is much better educated in the poetic canon than you are - she quotes several famous poems you only recognize faintly, all of them meditations on the beauty of love, and the futility of trying to deny it. She is also the best poet you have ever heard, you're quite sure, even if she stumbles here and there. You can't help but feel lucky that she's chosen to share her time with you.

Time passes far too quickly. The beautiful orange of the sky fades to deep red, and then to nothing. You lie back, bathed in moonlight, and talk about the beautiful stars. Each of you make poetry about them, and she asks you what each star means, and you point out the constellations, among them Hokuto, the seven stars of the north star, and also the zodiac animals you remember.
She smiles, and listens, and you feel her hand against yours, and you just lie there for a while. You exchange more poetry, but you also just enjoy the beautiful night's sky and the chirping of circadas as you hold hands in the moonlight.

Eventually, you get cold, lying in the grass, and your robes get clammy from the dew. You feel Tomiko shivering, and both of you stand up. "We should get home," you say. "It's late, and we'll be even colder if we stay." Tomiko nods, but doesn't let go of your hand as you walk out.
Before you leave the shrine, you go ring the bell and bow before the god one more time, thanking them for letting you enjoy this one evening in their presence.

You walk out of the shrine and the park, hand in hand, but seperate as you step out into the city again, in the dark. Just as it strikes you that it is rather late and you are rather young, you see Ueno no Jun-dono, your minder, and the husband of your old nurse, waiting for you, smiling. He stands next to an ox-drawn carriage. You've been in such carriages a few times, with your father, going here or there, or with Ueno no Jun.



Jun-dono smiles at you. "There you are! Your mother asked me to pick you up. Time to go home, it's getting late," he says, and picks, first you, then tomiko, up, and put you both in the carriage, opposite each other. "I'll be out driving the ox," he says. "You two kids play nice." He smiles as he says it, and blinks at you in particular, then leaves you two to go drive the carriage. Tomiko quickly changes her place to sit next to you, and she leans on you, and you on her. You are both tired, after all, and the steady rocking of the carriage is almost… enough… to lull…

You notice, that the wagon has stopped, and Tomiko is leaning against you, drooling slightly.

You call out to Jun-dono.
No reply, and only few, muted noises outside.

The hairs stand on the back of your neck, and your entire body shivers. There's… something very wrong. Something out there, perhaps.

What do you do?

[ ]: I cry, and call out for my mommy. This is scary, and dangerous!
[ ]: I cry, and call out for my father! This is scary, and dangerous!
[ ]: I lean back, take a few deep breaths, and open up my second sight.
[ ]: I gently push Tomiko aside, then push the blinds aside to look outside, see what is happening.
[ ]: I call out to Tsuzura. If she really is a spirit, perhaps she can hear me and help me?
[ ]: I recite the Great Compassion Mantra, Omu Mani Padome Fumu, which is supposedly the greatest mantra and perhaps might protect us from what is out there?
[ ]: I recite the Shurangama mantra, a very long mantra which is said to protect from all harm.
[ ]: I recite the chant my father told me, to awaken the small gods of various things, to talk to the carriage itself. Perhaps it knows what is going on? Or can help us?
[ ]: I do something else! Write in!

In your inner pocket, you have a paper talisman, given to you by your father, to protect you from various things. You could give it to tomiko, if you want, put it inside her robes with little fuss.

Do you do that?

[ ]: Yes! I give my talisman to Tomiko. I'm trained for strange things, after all, and know mantras to protect myself if there is something bad happening!
[ ]: No! I don't give my talisman to Tomiko. I'm scared, this is dangerous, and i'm not very good at mantras! If i have to go do something, it'd be more dangerous without the talisman!