Baychiro Pt. 3

 *There are a set of tiny, fox-like paw-prints that run across the page, smearing the ink somewhat*

So from what I've been able to put together from what the prisoner says (assuming he isn't a raving lunatic), I am on the Baychiro from the legend we heard. The prisoner, Genbo, was cursed and locked down here by Kiyonshi's "Oni Lover". Could that be Tennen? I'm not sure and Genbo's answers are hard to understand at times due to what he's been through I presume. He seems...damaged to say the least.

While we were talking I noticed a slight gleam manifest near the center of the room, heralding the arrival of warm, brilliant blue shimmer. Before I could even grasp the handle of Ashura it turned into a tiny blue fox that was staring at me and said my name excitedly. It introduced itself as Jibakurei...in a manner that suggested familiarity. Admittedly nothing came to mind (though its name did sound familiar) and I was starting to think this might be a bad dream brought on by the story Keisuke told, bad clam chowder, or a mixture of both. I mean...it definitely seemed like a bad hallucination at the time!

No, that would be too easy, of course. Turns out (from what the tiny fox said) it is one of

Jibakurei, Adorable Spirit Fox

Aiko's spirit guardians. It got more complex after that, but sounds like Aiko and Keisuke are here (kind of...and together) but in a different time planar magic rift thing. Basically what occurred aboard the Baychiro was both tragic and powerful enough it damaged not just our realm but the spirit realm sa well and we were currently on the "edge of the fringe". Jiba (as I took to calling him) knew that because his counterpart Ikiryu (another fox I'm guessing or something?) was with them and due to us being partially in the spirit realm they could communicate across it. Supposedly he believed we could impact the other realm through our own actions as well, which might explain the doors randomly opening on me.

I managed to catch most of what he said, but his manner of speaking and explaining was a bit hard to follow. I was also a little distracted as he(she? it?) really is incredibly adorable. It even allowed me to pet its fur (...whatever, I'll say it is a he) while he was talking. I'm not sure my sketch did him justice honestly but I tried my best.

Jiba also excitedly told me we could swap ourselves for one another back and forth with his (and Irikyu's) power, though doing it too often would drain them. Before I could say much Jiba decided to demonstrate this and threw himself into my back and sent me stumbling...well across some sort of boundary. Suddenly Aiko was there with tears in her eyes and hugging me. I presume Keisuke ended up where I had been. Aiko was in a familiar chamber with a spiral staircase leading up to a trapdoor, but in their instance the ship looked brand new, like it had just set sail. I winced when I saw the four guards and guard officer upon the floor, their heads recently caved in...from what Aiko explained, due to Keisuke's hammer. 

Things suddenly started to make a little more sense. I was seeing the aftermath of Keisuke and Aiko's battles and the ship in the present where it was ancient, rotting, and full of undead. Where they had been was when the ship was new and filled with a living crew. Oddly, Genbo did not exist in both versions, in theirs they could not even see or get into the cell at all. It simply appeared to be full of thick, silvery fog. So there was definitely some discrepancies between the two.

Another odd thing to note is while I'm with Aiko I can't seem to see the other spirit fox. She doesn't seem sure why that is either, but perhaps it has to do with how the present version of the ship is closer to the spirit realm or something. This isn't exactly my forte admittedly, as if that wasn't abundantly clear as it was.

It took us quite awhile to sort out (mostly) what was going on. I was so relieved to know they were both alright and to not be alone for the first time in quite awhile. Passing information between the two foxes is turning out to be a little tricky but we're managing. Genbo apparently would like to help us escape but requires his equipment and flask from the armory on the upper floor. We've decided to try retrieve that next as I believe we can use all the help we can get at this point!