A breeze rustled the leaves as it blew through the densely growing bamboo grass, making the spots of sunlight that managed to filter its way down to the ground dance across the leaf litter. Scattered amongst the bamboo, the weathered signs of what might once have been a great mansion could be seen covered in moss. A grey brick foundation that was mostly gone outlined where it had once been.

Just in front, in what must have been a grand courtyard to welcome all who visited the magnificent estate, was a large statue of a wide figure sitting on a plinth. An intimidating face with a mouth filled with fangs and a set of long, curving tusks below a bushy, flowing mustache, large nose like a dog's, and large eyes with eyebrows just as large as the mustache. They had a mane like that of a lion made of slightly curly, long, flowing hair. This was a statue of a Koma Inu, a Liondog, one of the many yokai found in the Crescent Isles.

The statue was covered in moss, whoever's likeness had been carved and placed in this place's courtyard forgotten to time just like the remains of the mansion behind them. They must not have gotten the message, as they still sat there with a smile on their face almost as if caught mid-laugh, their arms crossed in front of their chest. The statue was incredibly life-like as it sat there for who knew how long.

Trying to find a home in the Crescent Isles was not difficult. There were plenty of nice, newly built homes to choose from, but Cirice Lunestre doesn’t want something new, she wants something with history. A home that she could put effort into to reclaim from the wilderness and turn into a perfect place for herself and her friends. She had been touring several old abandoned mansions along many of the disparate Isles, but so far none had felt right. Coming up the the sixth such great mansion that had fallen into shambles she hummed in thought.

It was certainly old, and the thick moss gave it a very earthy smell and vibe. But what really caught her eye was the jovial statue in the courtyard. Large courtyards had always been something she adored, and the smiling Koma Inu was very welcoming, even if he was all alone. She got closer to the statue, tracing the fine detail of the craftsmanship. Clearly a lot of love had gone into the creation of this piece of art and the moss that covered it should be washed away. Unfortunately she didn’t have a spell to make quick work of the cleaning, so for now all she could do was scrub the bits of moss off the face of the statue, smiling back at it before traipsing off to look at the rest of the mansion. As she explores, her thoughts continue to linger on the lone lion-dog, standing in silent jovial vigil.

With how old and long-abandoned the mansion was, there was little left for Cirice to explore. A worn stone stairway suggested there once was a second story, but there was no longer. There was barely anything left of the first story. Most of the walls were completely gone, all of the wood rotted to nothing. Only the stone foundation was left where the mansion once stood, filled with cracks and covered with moss.

With all of the wear showing on all of the stone scattered around, the statue of the Koma Inu out front was in remarkably good condition. It was almost uncanny how well preserved it had remained in contrast to the rest of the ruin. The rest of the brick-paved courtyard was in disrepair, broken in many places, the encroaching bamboo slowly breaking and pushing the bricks out of its way as it grew up through the cracks.

The statue looked like it had sat and watched as the mansion eroded, laughing at its destruction, until the moss had covered its eyes. Thanks to Cirice's scrubbing, it could see clearly again as the sunlight flitted through the canopy of bamboo leaves and across the courtyard around it.

Her curiosity sated, Cirice returns to the ruined courtyard with a sigh. “Well I like this place, but the best part about it is you, buddy. All alone, standing guard.”

She pats the shoulder of the statue, “Not even a friend to stay here with you… Wait…. Not even the ruins of another…” She trails off, looking around with a furrowed brow. “Aren’t you guys supposed to come in pairs?”

She remembers something her father once told her about the guardians of homes always coming in pairs, the fact this one was all alone was very odd, that paired with the supremely skilled craftsmanship raises red flags in her mind.

“....You’re not…. Real are you?” She whispers to the statue, biting her lip. She’s going to feel really stupid if she’s wrong. But no harm in checking, is there? Not like anyone else can see her out here being weird and talking to inanimate objects. No one here to see her try to remove condition on the statue on a whim¹. Totally normal behavior, that.

---

1 Remove Condition

As the spell was cast and the magic took effect, there was a short moment where it seemed as if she was just imagining things. It was just a normal statue that its creator must have strayed a ways from tradition to make, a Koma Inu without its partner. Odd, considering how traditional the clothing of the statue was, a yukata and wooden sandals.

But just as it seemed nothing would happen, the sound of stone cracking could be heard from the statue as hairline fractures appeared all over the surface of the statue. Stone crumbled away to reveal bright pink hair and bluish green skin, a giant fluffball of a huge pink tail swished behind them. A blue cotton yukata with an intricate pattern printed across it was revealed and flowed slightly in the light breeze.

As the stone crumbled away from the face, the eyes blinked suddenly and the mouth widened slightly as a hearty laugh began, but it was suddenly cut short as the eyes opened wide for a second in surprise. He bent over and coughed before spitting out some stone dust and hacking up a clump of moss like a cat spitting out a hairball. He thumped his fist against his chest a few times before taking a deep breath.

"Ugh! Disgusting! Maybe I should have closed my mouth..." He mumbled to himself in a deep, gravelly voice as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve only to realize even more stone dust was coating the garment, making him spit again.

When he finished clearing his mouth again, he finally noticed Cirice standing nearby and looked to her with a smile and a hand raised in a friendly greeting.

"Yo! You the one that turned me back, Ojou-chan?"

Eyes wide with surprise, Cirice is covered in a fine layer of stone dust as the Koma Inu animates and shakes the petrification from his body.

“I… Am. Hello. I can’t believe that worked…” She blinks, mystified, “I’m Cirice, how in the world did you end up like that?”

The Koma Inu got to his feet with a grunt and started to dust the lingering bits of stone and moss off of their clothing. Standing up, it was immediately much more apparent just how large he was. He towered over Cirice, standing eight feet tall and nearly as wide.

"Hah? They didn't tell you about it when they sent you to free me? Hmph. This place is really... falling... apart..." He trailed off as he began to look around. Where was the mansion? Why was he in the middle of some ruins in a bamboo forest? This wasn't right. Did they move him while he was petrified? Where the heck was he now?

"Ojou-chan, Where is this? Where's the sorcerer's mansion? Why'd they move me somewhere else?" He asked, turning to face Cirice again, the corners of his mouth turning down, no longer a jovial smile.

“Oh um… No one sent me… I just sort of… Found you…” Cirice says apologetically, “I was touring homes to try to find one to refurbish to live in and… I thought you looked oddly detailed for a statue. And oddly alone.”

Sorcerer’s mansion? She’d never heard of anything like that around here. “Um I’m not sure, Oji-san. This has been in ruins for quite some time. Maybe I can help you?”

The gears in Yasei's head slowly grinded, trying to turn fully as he took in the situation. No one had sent her to free him. She didn't work for the sorcerer. They were in some ruins that, the more he looked around, the more familiar they seemed. Was this what was left of the sorcerer's mansion? It was nothing but ruins now?

He continued to brush moss and dust off of him. Wait. Moss? He had grown moss while he was a statue? Just how long had he been petrified!? He'd only sat there and let it happen because he thought it would be a temporary punishment for maybe a day, a week at most, but how long had he been left like that!?

He looked at Cirice with a blank face of disbelief and muttered to himself. "H- how long was I petrified....?"

“...I’m not sure… Are you alright? Maybe you should have a sit down.” Cirice suggests with a worried frown, offering him her arm to help him stay stable. “Take a deep breath. You’re free now, I’ll help you if you’d like. Tell me, who did this to you? What happened?”

Yasei took a deep breath and let it out to calm himself. This situation was a lot to take in. If the mansion was in this state, it must have been years since he'd been petrified, at least. What if it had been decades or even centuries? What happened to his family? Was his wife alright? What about his adopted daughter? Humans aged a lot faster than Koma Inu did! She might look older than him at this point! What was he supposed to do?

He took another deep breath. Panicking wouldn't help. He needed to calm down and figure out just how long it had been. Cirice had already offered to help him, so he might as well accept. There was no point in trying to refuse help right now. It wouldn't hurt his pride. He'd never been obsessed with that kind of thing anyways.

He nodded and took a seat again, facing Cirice, and took one more deep breath. He waited for Cirice to sit down across from him before he began to tell his story.

"Alright. I'll explain. My name is Yasei. I'm- Ah, I used to be, a guard here. This was the mansion of a powerful sorcerer and I was hired to help guard the place. Asshole never even told anyone his name and had a bad temper, but he paid well." Yasei shrugged dramatically before continuing, leaning closer with a hand on his knee. "He also had cruel punishments. I was punished for slacking off. He petrified me just for slacking off! Hmph! I wasn't even working that day! Some bastard framed me. Can you believe that!? I'm not even in uniform, they brought me from my house! Look! See?"

Yasei leaned back, his arms wide open to show off his outfit that was just casual clothes and not a guard uniform. He put his hands on his knees and sighed angrily. It usually took a lot to make him angry. He had a very easygoing attitude. Even being told he'd be petrified as a punishment for something he hadn't even done hadn't angered him. He'd sat down and smiled, thinking he'd be released from the punishment and just have to explain to his family why he was gone for a few days. But, this really was just too much. He couldn't believe the injustice that had been done to him. But, he couldn't let himself take it out on some innocent girl, especially not the one who had finally, actually freed him from his petrification. He took another deep breath to calm down.

"I'm guessing sending me back to the past would be too much to ask for, but I'll accept whatever help you can give. I don't even know what year it is anymore." He said sadly, bowing his head slightly.

Listening to his story with rapt attention, Cirice can’t help but feel terrible for her new friend. It must be awful realizing that you’ve been left alone for so long. “I don’t think that theres been anyone here for quite some time… Its nice to meet you Yasei-san. I can’t believe anyone would treat you so poorly… I’m so sorry.”

There has to be something she can do for him. Even if she can’t do much perhaps there is someone who can at the Mage’s guild. But first she’ll need more information. Maybe Kamille-senpai can help…

“Unfortunately I can’t send you back in time… I wish I could. But I’ll help however I can. I can at least offer you a place to stay and food. The year is 15251. When were you… Petrified?”

Yasei shook his head.

"There's no need for you to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm grateful for you finally freeing me, so don't apologize." Yasei said kindly, his smile returning.

He didn't want to make Cirice feel bad for him. He wasn't obsessed with pride, but it still hurt to have a young girl looking at him so pitifully.

"You don't have to call me Yasei-san. You can call me Oji-san if you like, I don't mind it." He added with a chuckle. He actually preferred being called Oji-san. He found it endearing.

Yasei blinked a few times, trying to process what Cirice had just said. 15...251... That was the current year....?

"Fif- fifteen-!?" Yasei stammered in disbelief. 15251!? That had to be a joke, there was no way it had been that long!

"11750." Yasei wheezed breathlessly, as if he'd just been punched in the gut which it felt like he had. He hadn't just been petrified for a few years, he'd been petrified for a few millennia! His family was definitely all dead by now along with everyone else he'd ever known. He couldn't even be sure if the town he was from still existed. A lot could change in over three thousand years!

He felt faint. He put a hand to his forehead. It was a good thing he'd already been sitting down.

“ELEVEN??” Cirice repeats in equal shock, “Oji-chan that-that’s like three and a half thousand years…Not even elves live that long. I mean if they’re mages they can maybe but…” She trails off in despair for him.

Her eyes were wide and she hops to her feet to do the only thing she can think of in the moment. She wraps him in a hug.

"Come home with me, we'll do all we can for you. Help you find... Whatever we can..."

"Ojou-chan..." Yasei mumbled quietly in surprise as he felt Cirice's arms suddenly wrapped around him. He was touched she showed so much concern for him, a total stranger. He also couldn't help but smile and let out a small chuckle.

"Oji-chan?" He repeated, amused. He'd said she could call him Oji-san if she liked, but he hadn't expected to be called Oji-chan. His laughter was hardy, straight from his belly. Was she calling him that just because she'd found out he was older than he looked? "Oy, don't go thinking of me as an old man now! I haven't aged a day!"

He placed a hand on her back and gave a couple of gentle pats to return her hug and then looked down at her with a smile. Even with him still sitting and her standing, he was taller than her.

"Thank you for the offer, but I have to refuse. It's been so long, I don't think there'll be anything left that I won't be able to find myself. I'll be fine. Ah, but there is one thing...." Yasei started, but was cut off by a deep grumbling from his own stomach. "I haven't eaten in over three thousand years and I didn't have my coin purse on me when I was petrified...." He finished, embarrassed.

He hadn't brought any of his belongings with him when he'd gone to see the sorcerer to be petrified except for the clothes on his back and his one prized possession, the red staff with carved and painted imagery of cherry blossom trees on it strapped to his back.