Lethal Liquor of Seventh Heaven II: Youkai Mountain
Six days later...
"Hey! I'm back!" Sumireko called out, sliding the door open to enter Mokou's home. Kicking her shoes off at the doorstep, she stretched her arms up and out to her sides. It was a bright and early morning for her, as she had just returned from Eientei after being away for nearly a week. "Oh dear, the things that I have to go through..." Sumireko thought to herself. "Anything for Mokou, though..."
"Welcome back, Sumi." Mokou had poked her head from around the corner of the room at the end of the entryway, leading into the kitchen. Acting fully mobile, Mokou had returned to cutting the fruits she had gathered before they had gone bad. There were still some patches on her body, mainly on her arms, but she had made a full recovery nonetheless. "How did the trip go?" She asked Sumireko, who walked into the kitchen area behind her.
"It took six whole days to get to and from Eientei, but... I managed to get the attention of both Reisen Udongein Inaba and Eirin Yagokoro." Dropping a cleanly cut apple into the nearly full basket, she set the knife down on the counter and turned to face Sumireko. "Additionally, they're..."
"Where is she? Where is that human girl!?" A voice could be heard shouting outside of Mokou's front door. They both looked toward the door, and then at each other. Mokou flashed Sumireko a disturbed glance, and Sumireko returned it with a bleak smile. Mokou moved to the door, sliding it open slowly with Sumireko hiding behind the corner of the kitchen wall.
"Well, speak of the devil." Standing at the door before her were the two expected guests: Eirin Yagokoro, a seasoned doctor with centuries of experience under her belt—as well as being the creator of the Hourai Elixir—and Reisen Udongein Inaba, one of the legendary moon rabbits hailing from the Moon itself. However, she seemed to have been drenched in water for some reason... soaked through and through. She was shaking and clearly angry.
"Ah, Mokou. Sometimes I forget you live here," Eirin smiled. "Still as alive as ever, hmm?" Mokou shrugged at her, nodding.
"Clearly, as I'm standing in front of you," Mokou replied.
"Enough of these formalities," Reisen grumbled, shaking the water off of her undulating rabbit ears. "Where is the human capable of ESP usage? I can sense traces of her hydrokinetic powers from here, so don't try to hide her." She pointed two fingers at Mokou, shaping them like a gun. As jokingly as it appeared, Mokou knew very well that Reisen can fire magical bullets straight from them.
"Hands down, rabbit," Mokou said, narrowing her eyes before looking to Eirin. "So, I can only guess that you're both here to discuss the missing princess?" Eirin nodded back in affirmation. Mokou nodded back to the two, stepping to the side to allow them in. Out of respect, they both removed their shoes the same as Sumireko did. As they both entered, Sumireko nonchalantly emerged from the kitchen, waving to them.
"Hey, you two!" She smiled. "My name is Sumireko Usami—" Reisen immediately lifted her fingers up to Sumireko and took aim, and not even a second later, she immediately fired a large bullet that flew past her. It flew right into the kitchen and out the window, hitting not a single thing within the house. The bullet, however, did end up exploding outside, and it could be heard from within the house. Nobody in the house moved a muscle, especially not Sumireko, who was the target.
"I don't miss a second time," Reisen growled, blowing the smoke off of her fingers. "Please do not dump water on me ever again." Sumireko dropped her arm, her mouth agape as she was caught off guard.
"Right. Fair enough," she replied with a mumble. Mokou put Reisen's arm down, gritting her teeth.
"Anyway," Mokou forced, "Let's get to conversing. Keine should be returning from the human village eventually with more medicinal herbs... that I do not need." She sighed. "Regardless... you two. How the hell were neither of you aware of her returning to the Moon? She had to have talked to you both about this before coming to me." Mokou gestured to Eirin and Reine, before pointing at Eirin directly. "Especially you, Eirin, given your 'hyper-intelligence.'" She put air quotes around her words, and Eirin merely ignored the tactful rudeness.
"Well, typical Kaguya," Eirin said. "As I serve her, she never wants to speak to me too eagerly. The abrupt silence is the only thing that kept me wondering what was wrong with her, but it wasn't until that human... Sumireko, was it? It wasn't until she informed me that I knew something had gone wrong."
"Why the Moon, though?" Reisen asked, pressing a bent finger against her chin. "She's exiled from there, just the same as us."
"If it helps any, I'll tell you what she told me before we fought. She mentioned that the Lunarians—your race—have stopped hunting her. She said that she would also return to the Moon and claim what was 'rightfully hers...' And something about a throne."
"Well, first of all, the Lunarians have not stopped hunting us," Reisen said with her hands on her hips. "That can't be true and she knows it."
"Still, throne...?" Eirin said, looking to Reisen, who exchanged a look with her. "Lord Tsukuyomi owns the throne, unless... she means something different."
"Might she be speaking metaphorically? I get that Kaguya is very powerful, but Tsukuyomi has lived for millions of years. Given the opportunity, regeneration or not, he would see to it that she would be very easily destroyed." The two continued to murmur amongst each other, thinking of probable reasons as to why Kaguya fled to the moon without reason. Mokou tapped her feet impatiently, folding her arms.
"Anyway," Mokou intervened, "regardless of the reasoning... we need to get her back." Eirin stopped mid-conversation, looking to Mokou with stunned silence before raising an eyebrow.
"...'We?'" Eirin accentuated. Mokou felt her heart jump a little bit.
"Er, by 'we,' I mean you guys." Mokou fumbled her words a bit. "I'm just helping to... uhh..." Turning her attention to Sumireko, she wrapped her arm behind her back. "Help Sumireko finish a school project. What was it again, Sumi? 'Lunar Capital Architecture'?" Sumireko looked at her, then to the other two weakly.
"Uhm... yeah! But I can't go through Youkai Mountain alone... it's scary and they'll eat a human like me up!" She managed to say through her teeth, gritting them slowly. Reisen sneered at her, as if that was exactly what she wanted.
"...Very well. I'm not sure what your true intentions are, Mokou, but I'm glad you're going to help us locate Princess Kaguya. Just a fair warning, however... I won't tolerate you hurting her anymore." Mokou nodded… as she secretly wished the same.
"I'm back, Mokou!" It was Keine's voice this time, as she was right outside. Sliding the door open, she had two small basketfuls of herbs, specifically for medicinal purposes. "I've brought back the herbs for your rear and—" She stopped midsentence, noticing that Eirin and Reisen were there. She paused all motions, save for the small blush on her face.
"...Medicine for your rear?" Eirin said with narrow eyes, as if she were disgusted. Mokou clenched her teeth.
"Listen, if we don't leave in the next five minutes, you will," Mokou replied sternly.
Arriving at Youkai Mountain
After about a day of travel, Mokou and the party nearly arrived at the base of Youkai Mountain. With it being Gensokyo's largest mountain and volcano, it was impossible not to notice it. The base of the mountain, which was adorned with waterfalls and trees, almost made the rocky area impossible to see without actually going inside. The only person unfamiliar with the zone altogether was Sumireko. As she was a human, she was most unwelcome to Youkai Mountain, where—as the name implies—only youkai are permitted to trespass the land, and even then, they are running a risk if they are not native to it.
"Ah, I love it." Mokou inhaled sharply, taking in the atmosphere. "Cloudy weather, crashing waterfalls, the stench of youkai blood... it's nice to take a vacation." It was hard to tell if she was being serious, or if she was being facetious.
"We will have to tread lightly," Eirin spoke softly. "Youkai or not, the creatures in this forest pose a great threat to humans." She gestured to Sumireko. "I don't know why you bothered to take her along, Mokou, but..."
"You worry about me too much," Sumireko said. She flicked the brim of her black hat with her index finger, scoffing. Her large high-collared cloak, littered with runes all over the red interior, helped to channel her ESP (extrasensory perception) into many different and unique psychic powers. "I can handle my own quite well, Lunarian."
"We'll just see about that," Reisen mumbled. "You're lucky Mokou's here with you."
"Anyway," Keine cut in to derail the conversation, "we should progress while there's still daylight, before any youkai show up." She took approximately two steps forward before coming to a halt. Looking ahead, the trees began undulating, but there was no wind blowing through them. They shook as if somebody was shaking them by force, but there was nobody near. Finally, after some time, the trees stopped, and their lustrous green colors had begun to change to a red-orange coloration, as if autumn was taking place right before their eyes.
"Well, that didn't take long, did it?" Mokou said, looking at the surrounding trees transform in color as her arms flared up in heat. Eirin drew her bow through the use of magical summoning, Reisen readied her hands to fire, and Sumireko prepared her Zener cards; cards that she used to channel her ESP. Keine reached for her hat, ready to transform into her were-hakutaku form at a moment's notice without the moon's guidance.
"Look, look..." A voice echoed from the trees. "It's them, the trespassers!"
"We shall destroy them, and relish in an endless autumn!" Another voice echoed. Eirin sighed, releasing her bow as it vanished back into magical aether.
"Oh, it's just the Aki twins," Eirin stated. Shizuha Aki and Minoriko Aki, who have total control over autumn weather, were trying to intimidate them at the foot of the mountain. "We would be fine just pressing on."
"Better idea," Reisen chuckled, pointing her fingers at the trees. Light charged up in her finger, ready to fire off a powerful bullet.
"Wait, wait!" Shizuha fell from one of the trees, still managing to land on her feet. "W-we're not being serious! Please don't shoot my trees! It took forever to get these painted properly for my sister!" Reisen, who noticed their appearance, uncharged her bullet slowly upon their request.
"...My aim was in the right place, too. Shoot." She put her arms down, and Shizuha let out a sigh of relief. In response to that, everybody else resumed a normal stance, with Mokou dusting the flames off of her arms. Approaching the crowd, Shizuha—along with Minoriko, who descended beside her slowly—met them with a smile on their face.
"Ah, Eirin Yagokoro..." Minoriko spoke, bowing slightly. "I have been doing my best keeping your peony field tended to. They have blossomed quite well."
"It is for that reason that a youkai such as yourself garners a fair amount of faith," Eirin replied. "In any event... has Princess Kaguya crossed through here? Have you seen her?" The two girls looked to each other for a moment before turning back to Eirin and the others, nodding simultaneously with serious looks on their faces.
"Yes," Shizuha replied. "Princess Kaguya travelled through Youkai Mountain, stating that she would return to the Moon through the mouth of the volcano."
"How long ago was this?" Reisen piped up. "I know there's been some activity with the mountain recently, but I chalked it up to Momiji tossing humans into it." She chuckled to herself.
"It's been a few days since Kaguya actually managed to flee to the moon," Minoriko said, in response to Reisen's question. "This is, of course, what I managed to hear from that odd engineering kappa named Nitori."
"So, she's already gone," Mokou grumbled, her hands in her pockets. A forlorn expression was drawn all over her face.
"Not necessarily," Shizuha said cheerfully.
"That's right," Eirin chimed in. "Kaguya has manipulation over eternity. As she created this portal to the Moon, she had to have left some residue; a tear, as one would call it, that would allow for 'shared travel.'"
"So, we have to actually climb Youkai Mountain?" Mokou groaned. "I swear, princess, you're more trouble than you're worth..."
"If she means that much to you," Sumireko finally spoke up with a smile, "then we'll get to her together." Mokou nodded back to her, smiling weakly.
"If you want to follow us," Minoriko nodded to the group, "we can guide you as close to the summit as we can. We're not permitted to go very far before the tengu catch up to us." After finishing their conversation, the Aki sisters motioned for them to enter the forest, allowing them to follow behind. They entered the forest, leaving the clearing behind them.
Lunar Capital, The Moon
"You shouldn't have come back here."
The Lunar Capital, located on the far side of the Moon, is a metropolis—the only metropolis known on the Moon—is far more advanced than that of the Outside World, where Sumireko hails from. The capital is protected by a barrier that blocks outside access, but it can be bypassed through the Moon's oceans, which are both vast and deep. Gensokyo inhabitants are well aware of the Lunar Capital's presence, as the war that had taken place involved the Lunarians and Gensokyo natives.
Kaguya Houraisan, who returned to the Moon quickly through Youkai Mountain, was immediately met with apprehension as she was surrounded by soldiers of the Lunar Capital; weapons were drawn and blades were protruding out towards her. To subdue her and prevent her from using her manipulation of eternity, Sagume Kishin was called to stop her. Placed and cuffs and brought to her knees, Sagume stood before her, her hand close to her own face.
"Oh, do not dare act all high and mighty because you have 'caught me,' amanojaku. You and your kind are not even fit to be on my Moon." Sagume laughed at her, her hand to her mouth to cover it.
"And yet, I am already here." That was Sagume's solitary reply, as she did not speak very much. She beckoned one of the guards over with a finger, who marched over with a clean paper in hand.
"Lunar Capital Rule 3C, Subsection D1; residents banished from the Moon must not return, regardless of social stature or status. Failure to comply will result in execution." Kaguya scoffed at the guard.
"Oh? Well, what an unfortunate turn of events... do you know who I am?" Kaguya raised her voice. "I am Princess Kaguya Houraisan, Eientei's guardian and Lunar Capital resident. I shall not be going anywhere with the likes of you, and—" Kaguya's sentence was stopped abruptly, as she could feel something sharp penetrating her chest. Looking down, the blade of a spear had been driven through her. Behind her, Sagume let go of the spear, as she was the one who dealt the blow. Blood leaked through her clothing and out of her mouth as well. She could still breathe fine, but the sudden numbness and pain affected her greatly.
"...Forgive me," Sagume said, "my hand slipped." She let out a slight chuckle. "It seems you've been stabbed, yes? Oh, don't worry. I'll make sure another doesn't go through you!" A glimmer of light shone from her eyes as she uttered those words; as if from out of nowhere, another spear came down from the sky and crossed over with the other lance, piercing through Kaguya's already injured body. She trembled before letting out a scream of pain, struggling through the lances. This misfortune happened through Sagume's hidden ability; she is able to reverse a situation with her words. In trying to "prevent" another spear from attacking her, another came down anyway to strike.
"Y-you heathen!" Kaguya shouted, as more blood dribbled from her mouth and adding to the pool already on the ground. "Release me at once!"
"I know about you, Kaguya. You can't die, and even my vocal reversible vocabulary can't stop that... but that doesn't really matter to me, does it?" Kaguya continued to squirm despite the lances in her as her consciousness started to slip away. Her eyesight started to go dark, and the coloration in her was gone.
"Unwanted on Gensokyo, unwanted on the Moon... why...? I just... I wanted..." Kaguya shut her eyes tight, fighting the tears in her eyes. "Mokou... I've made a huge mistake. Please help me..." She clenched her fists, still cuffed.
"She won't have long before her blood loss causes her to fall asleep," one of the guards said, withdrawing his weapon. "We will detain her shortly afterwards, Ms. Kishin." Sagume nodded to the guard, saying no more, as she was likely to abuse her powers by mistake. Leaving the soldiers to monitor Kaguya, Sagume departed. Mokou's whimpering could be heard echoing.
"She has nobody coming for her," Sagume mumbled to herself. "This will be quite easy."
The same glimmer flickered across her eye yet again...