Kitsune no Yometori (a Touhou LW original) refers to rain falling while the Sun is shining. This is the temperament of Ran, who is trying to end the Lost Word Incident as the Youkai Sage's shikigami. She always carries out her work diligently (Metal Phase), is both a youkai beast and a shikigami (Moon Essence), and is willing to accept all that befalls her (Earth Phase). The cold and silent Metal Phase resists Earth Phase, because earth bears metal, but it is weak to Fire Phase, because fire refines metal. The cooperative and indecisive Moon Essence resists the alluring and arrogant Sun Essence, but it is weak to the diverse and uncooperative Star Essence. The encompassing and regenerative Earth Phase resists Fire Phase, because fire produces earth, but it is weak to Wood Phase, because wood parts earth. The combination of Metal Phase and Earth Phase cancels out any resistance or weakness to Fire Phase.

The ability of Ran Yakumo, who has almost reached the end (a Touhou LW original). Ran completely lost this ability due to a Lost Word. She is currently regaining it little by little, though not through restoring or replicating her old ability, but with a newly constructed original ability that formed a core to build upon. She has continued to travel across worlds to try and end the Lost Word Incident. For Yukari Yakumo to appear, one condition seems to be absolutely essential: you have to encounter Ran Yakumo first. Ran is special in that she is a shikigami who controls other shikigami, like Chen. But even putting that aside, the fact that she serves the Youkai Sage said to rule over Gensokyo, makes her an extraordinarily rare individual. Nine-tailed foxes like Ran are powerful youkai capable of using devastating magic. So what kind of being must Yukari be if she can keep her as a shikigami? The true data has yet to reveal how they met, but it has confirmed that Ran used to live in the Animal Realm. That means that after leaving the Animal Realm, Ran eventually found her way to Yukari, though the details are unknown. Shikigami are often compared to computers. Yukari herself views outside world computers as a kind of shikigami. So, if shikigami really are that similar to computers, how would you go about perfectly restoring one that was lost? Try to picture it. Any device with a computer inside will do, but perhaps something familiar is easiest to imagine. A game console. A mobile phone. Your favorite laptop. If it broke, or if you lost it, how would you get the exact same one back? One thing's certain: you'd need to restore the data perfectly. All of it. Saved photos, app settings, personal customizations, you name it. Even if you bought the exact same model, without that data, it would never truly feel like the same device. Then again, even if the data were fully restored, would that really be enough to call it the same device? We're talking about Yukari Yakumo here―a terrifying greater youkai who manipulates boundaries. There's no way she'd keep a shikigami at her side without some kind of contingency in place in case she lost it. At the very least, you'd think she'd have a backup. With that backup, she should've been able to bring Ran back immediately after losing her. But in reality, Yukari didn't do that. The question is why. The feel of the keys. The tiny scratches on the screen. Part of loving something is cherishing all the little details. Just like two people with the same appearance aren't the same if their thoughts and feelings are different, two people with the same thoughts and feelings aren't the same if their appearance is different. Think of a stuffed animal you clung to as a child, a blanket that made you feel safe, a keychain you always kept in your pocket. Their appearance was just as important as their function, right? Data isn't just a collection of ones and zeroes stored internally. Anything that can call up memories in your heart, or serves as the key to unlock them, is precious data too. So what's the solution? Activating the "Find the Ran I Lost Somewhere" function. That should allow Yukari to recover the exact same Ran she had before. However, the function is predicated on Ran being out there somewhere, calling for help. Shiki Beasts Part shikigami, part beast youkai. Ran used to live in the Animal Realm, and these special items encompass her past and present. They could also be described as manifestations of the collective consciousness of Chen, Zenki and Goki, and the other unnamed shikigami in Yukari's service. It also seems that some of the animal spirits who Ran once cared for in the Animal Realm are in the mix, too.