Two notes before we begin.

First: This fic is a prequel to my ongoig fic, Orphan, and I've been working on it in-between chapters of Orphan since I first started that story. However, it's not necessary to have read Orphan to follow this; it can be read as a standalone.

Second: About a month ago, I came across a fic entitled 'The Gold, Blue, and Red-White'. Upon reading it, I noticed some... startling similarities between that story and this one. I will elaborate on these similarities after the story, in the interest of avoiding spoilers. For now, just know that these similarities were not intended.

Also, anyone who spots the shout-out gets a cookie.

So I can indeed die. Can be killed. But… if I die, what happens to it? To her?

I feel myself… coming apart. I struggle to stop it, to keep myself whole, but I fail. And as I separate, I feel my awareness fade.

So this is it, then? This is what it is?

This is death?

She fought her anger as she flew through the forest, fought her desire to burn the entire forest down in frustration and rage. Damn that bitch! Go to hell, Kaguya! And you will. I promise you that. Someday, I will send you to Hell.

Kaguya had been her enemy for over a thousand years-one thousand, one hundred and eighty-four, to be exact. Ever since that bitch had killed her father. She'd killed Kaguya countless times, but like her, the bitch was immortal. But she wouldn't let that stop her. She'd kill the bitch over and over and over. But the bitch was treacherous. The bitch had had that flunky of hers, Tewi, set a trap for her. And she'd walked right into it. The bitch had killed her before, but to trick her like that-! You never change, do you, bitch? Even after a thousand years, you're still tricking people into death. You'll pay for this one, bitch. You'll-

Her thoughts cut off as someone literally collided with her. Good, the thought pushing herself away from the other woman. I could really go for beating the shit out of someone. Looks like this is your unlucky night.

"Who are you?" the woman asked her. "Did she send you?"

' She'? Oh, who gives a shit? "What's it to you?"

"Hostility. Unadvisable."

"Tough talk. I know what's up my ass, but what's up yours?"

"Hmm… you're not acting like anyone under her would. It would seem that speaking with you is quite likely a waste of time. Farewe-"

She attacked, engulfing the woman in flames. Then she threw countless fireballs into the inferno. Then she collected flame energy into a beam and fired. But when the flames cleared, the woman was completely unharmed. Not ever her clothing was so much as singed.

Mokou launched a massive fireball at the woman, only to find herself staring in shock as the fireball simply… came apart. And then something ripped through her body too quickly for her to see. And again. And again, and again, and again and again and until she fell to the ground, dead.

At first, it had taken her some time to recover after a resurrection, but after the deaths of over a thousand years of battle with Kaguya, she was up and ready almost instantly after her return to life. And as soon as she was, she saw the woman standing in front of her.

"An immortal," the woman said. "Interesting. Although I suppose it does fit with the fact that you tried to kill me without provocation. Killing, I suppose, would mean little to one who cannot die."

"Not kill you. Injure you, yes, but only humans or lesser youkai would have died-although above them, someone fairly weak would've been out of action for a while even with youkai healing speed. But I could tell as soon as I saw you that you are neither. So you know very well that you wouldn't have died. Besides, you actually did kill me."

"True," the woman said. "I thought you might be a true enemy, but even so, I suppose I reacted… overly harshly. It is fortunate that you are immortal; no life was lost from my error. I do, however, apologize for it."

She did not think lightly of killing those who could truly die, but being immortal had given her a somewhat different outlook on death; it was simply not in the way this woman thought it was. Most people would've found it very difficult at the least to forgive someone who'd tried to kill them, but she was different. She'd died hundreds of times, if not thousands. Death was meaningless to her, so she held no grudge against the woman who had killed her. She simply didn't care. "That's fine. And I suppose I should apologize for attacking you."

"Accepted," the woman said. "Hmm… you seem less… frightened of my power than others."

"I'm immortal."

"Yes, I suppose that would explain it. Hmm… this might provide an opportunity for me. Well, if you're actually willing to speak with me instead of running away in fright, then allow me to introduce myself. I am Nolana Lecir. May I have your name?"

"I am Fujiwara no Mokou."

"Interesting," Nolana said, mostly to herself. "One who still uses the old customs, and of nobility at that."

Mokou did indeed use the old customs, at least with herself. Gensokyo had adopted the custom of given name followed by surname even before its separation from the outside world; Mokou was, as far as she knew, the only one who still used the old custom of surname followed by given name, as well as the indicator, 'no', of nobility. She did so as a reminder of her heritage, her lineage, and also her nobility, even though it had been some time since her nobility had been relevant in her daily life. "You do not need to treat me as noble," she said. "It is important to me, but it is also in the past. Treat me as you would any other."

"To be honest," Nolana said, "I don't really what that will be. I have spent my life in solitude, although not entirely out of choice. People fear my power and distance themselves from me, and fear feeds hatred. Eventually, I simply left others and lived alone; it was easier that way. But you do not fear me, do not fear my power."

"I know what it's like to be feared," Mokou said. "I have been feared, too." She formed a ball of flame, making light in the darkness of night, and gave the strange woman a closer look. Nolana was a tall woman, with long, blue hair and eyes of the same shade. She wore an elegant white dress, but no hairpiece, something almost never seen in Gensokyo. And she had wings, too, intricately patterned wings of translucent crystal. She has the air of nobility about her, too.

"Tell me about your power," Mokou said, allowing the flame to vanish. "Even the most powerful of youkai should have shown at least some damage from my attack. How is it that you did not?"

"I can try to explain, but… well, it's hard to describe in a manner that you'd be able to understand. The explanation I can give you won't be entirely correct, but it should be more than close enough to give you the right idea, at least."

"That's fine."

"Then I shall begin. Would I be correct in assuming that you have power over fire?"

"That is correct."

"And there are those with power over water, or ice, or the wind, or the earth, or many other things both inside and outside that which some call 'elemental'. And then there are the ones who use magic, channeling the energies of such forces through their spells."

"They don't control the energies," Mokou said, "only derive their spells from them. They are perhaps more versatile, but they do not control the forces. A magician may use spells of fire, but they do not control fire. I do."

"My point is that they do make use of such energies. Magicians draw on multiple such types of energies. People like yourself have much more complete control over one type."

"I'd ask which one you are," Mokou said, "but it's pretty obvious that you're neither."

"I suppose it depends on how you look at it. One could argue it either way, really."

"Explain, please."

"Certainly," Nolana said. "I have been saying that these things are different types of energy, but that is not really correct. They are, rather, different manifestations of energy, although in many ways also still energies. Energy becomes the manifestation energy of, say, fire, and it is that which is behind the actual flame. Yes, the energies that manifest, say, water and fire are indeed not identical, but they are still the same energy."

"I'm assuming this is the part where your explanation isn't completely accurate."

"Indeed. But do you at least get the general idea?"

Mokou nodded. "One energy that turns into others. I assume I don't need to know what causes it to manifest one way versus another."

"You assume correctly. In fact, you now know all you need to in order to know what my power is. Almost every kind of power there is involves these manifested energies-which are usually just called 'energies' either for simplicity's sake or because most don't know what truly lies beneath them. But my power is different. I have power over the original, primal energy. You control the energy of fire; I control the energy of that energy."

"I see. So you rendered my fire harmless through control of the primal energy behind it."

"Essentially."

"Clearly, then, you can do the same with anything that comes from that energy."

Nolana nodded. "To others, it can look as though I have absolute command of all the forces of the world, but I do not. I have command only of one thing, the primal energy that such forces draw upon."

"Well, I can understand why people would be afraid."

"Yes, sadly. What of yourself? Why is it that people fear you?"

Mokou hadn't expected that question. "Is it not obvious? I am a human who became immortal. Others can die, but I cannot. This is what scares them. I cannot live among them, so I live alone."

"Your immortality? But what of the fairies? They are immortal, yet they are not feared."

"All fairies are that way," Mokou said. "Fairies are born of nature, and are all immortal. But that's normal for them. It is not normal for humans. They can accept that something different from them has such differences, but then they see me, one who is human. They cannot accept a human who is immortal, so they have nothing for me but hatred and fear."

"Shallow of them. It means nothing about you as a person."

"I'm used to it. That is not to say that it does not bother me. It does, very much so. But I am used to it. When you live with something for over a thousand years, you can't help but get used to it."

"I suppose that's true."

Mokou and I quickly became friends. I suppose it may seem odd that one who I killed then became my friend, but being killed meant little to Mokou. And she was, I think, just as lonely as I. Like me, the hatred and fear others had for her drove her away from others, drove her to a life of solitude. When she and I met, I think, both of us saw in the other a possible friend, something that we both wanted.

Mokou and I spent a good deal of time together. I came to anticipate fondly our meetings, and I believe she was the same way. It was… enjoyable, I suppose. Certainly unfamiliar, but it was an unfamiliarity I came to welcome.

"…into Eirin's medicine jars. Sure, removing them doesn't mean anything since she's immortal and will simply regenerate them, but still, I imagine she had some explaining to do for that one. And I'd bet they both had great looks on their faces when they made the discovery."

"That is somewhat disgusting," Nolana remarked. She and Mokou were sitting near the shore of Misty Lake. The two had been meeting frequently, and this was one such instance.

Mokou chuckled. "Yeah, but so what? It was fun."

"You have a strange idea of 'fun'."

"Well, how about the time I literally fed her her own ass?"

"You are a disturbed woman."

"And you are impossible to shock."

"I've been alive for a long, long time," Nolana said. "I think I've seen everything by now."

"Have you ever seen a man eat his own head?"

"Yes."

Mokou paused. "Um. Okay, you know what? I'm not sure I even want to know how that works."

Nolana laughed. "Oh, it's nothing special. He just had two heads."

"You know," Mokou said, "I've seen a lot of weird shit, but I've never seen anyone with more than one head."

"I've only even seen the one, myself, and that was thousands of years ago."

"Huh. Well, I'm sure there's something you haven't seen, and I'll find it eventually."

"No such thing exists."

"Should I take that as a challenge?" Mokou said.

"If you'd like."

"Then you're on."

Over time, Mokou told me of her life, and I told her of mine. She told me of her thoughts, and I told her of mine. She told me of her fight with the moon princess Kaguya. And eventually, I told her of my own fight.

Eventually, Mokou brought it up. "You've mentioned the name 'Rumia' many times," she said. "Who is Rumia?"

Mokou and Nolana were sitting at the shore of Misty Lake, one of their favorite meeting spots. The sun had set a couple hours ago, leaving the light of the moon to reflect off the surface of the lake. A few fairies could be seen flying around, but they were distant enough that Mokou and Nolana were by themselves.

"Rumia," Nolana said, "is a youkai. She is absence, negation, opposition. She manifests as a being of darkness, the absence and opposite of light. Her power is on my level, far above that of any other you've met. I have power over the primal energy of the world; Rumia has the opposite power."

"Which is?"

"Disruption. Elimination. She is able to interfere with the primal energy and its manifestation. Negate it. Not outright destroy it-such a thing is impossible-but she can cut off and eliminate its manifestation. She is extremely dangerous, and she and I have been opponents for a long, long time."

"It certainly sounds like a dangerous power," Mokou said, "but this does not make her a problem in and of itself. Has she proven herself to be problematic?"

"Repeatedly. Her behavior is… erratic. She is violent and destructive seemingly at random, and she's just as likely to say hello to a person as she is to kill him or her. She is erratic, unpredictable, and most likely mentally unstable. She is also intelligent and extremely powerful, and regardless of which actions she's taking at any one moment, she always has nothing for me but hostility. The only constant in her behavior is treating me as an enemy."

Mokou thought for a moment. "Well, you said that she's 'opposition'. Isn't her erratic behavior just the result of her acting opposite to whoever she runs into?"

Silence.

"You know," Nolana said, "Rumia and I have been enemies for as long as I can remember. So tell me something: why did that never occur to me?"

"Wait, you never thought of that?"

"No, I didn't. And now I'm wondering just how I possibly could have missed it."

It took a moment of thought, but then Mokou had it. "You see her as just being your opposite, don't you?"

"She is my- oh."

"You did say that she is opposition, not your opposite."

"But she is my opposite. That much I know for sure. I know she doesn't show power opposite to that of others."

"Then perhaps she only truly is your opposite, but her nature as opposition causes her to act as the opposite of whoever she encounters. That would explain her constant opposition to you, too; she's always your opposite, no matter whose opposite she's acting as."

"That makes sense," Nolana said. "Damn, how have I managed to miss that for so long?"

"Sometimes it takes someone else's perspective," Mokou said. "If you've been involved with something for long enough, you've come to see it a certain way, and that can be hard to change. Whereas someone with a fresh perspective may already see it differently. I've lived more than long enough to know that."

"I have, as well."

There was another silence. "So," Mokou said, "Rumia only acts as the opposite of others."

"She is a danger," Nolana said.

"True. Knowing the reason for her actions doesn't excuse them. Still, I'd like to hear for myself some of the things she's done, and not from you-no offense, of course. I simply want to hear it from someone who's free of any possibility of bias."

"That may be hard to find," Nolana said. "I wouldn't call people she's just attacked unbiased. Plus, most people to witness her destructive acts probably just classify her as being just another violent youkai. I don't know how many survivors of her attacks would actually know her name, even assuming that she introduced herself in the first place."

"Some," Mokou said. "There will always be some. I won't need them, though, as I know just who to ask about this."

"You do?"

Mokou nodded. "Her name's Keine. She's a human from the village, and a friend of mine-the only one I had before I met you. I've been meaning to introduce you two, actually. She's like us; she has something that would cause others to fear her. She can live among others only because she keeps it a secret. You see, she is not fully human. She is a half-beast. Only the full moon brings the beast form to the surface, so most of the time, there's nothing to differentiate her from any other human."

"So she can hide what she is."

"Yeah. I don't think I could do that. I'd take even being feared over pretending I'm something that I'm not. And Keine doesn't even fully escape the fear, because she herself is afraid."

"Afraid of herself?"

"Yes," Mokou said. "Afraid of herself, of her power."

"What power?"

"Well, let me put it this way. Keine was born 31 years ago." Mokou paused for effect. "She has been alive for 52 years."

Nolana had thought that she had seen and heard everything. Rendering her speechless was essentially impossible, but Mokou had just done it. All Nolana could say was, "Um."

Mokou laughed. "I've never seen you at a loss for words before."

"I see. You were trying to render me speechless."

"First time I've had a legitimate shot at pulling it off," Mokou said. "Anyways, let me explain. Keine was actually born 52 years ago, but she's been… changing that. Starting twenty-one years ago, she's changed her year of birth, moved it forward a year."

"I have never heard of anything like that. For the first time in my life, I find myself wondering how something is possible."

"I mentioned that Keine's a half-beast. When the beast comes to the surface during the full moon, so does her power. When this happens, she is able to alter the past. Her power is the ability to control history."

"She can do what?" Mokou laughed. "Yes, very amusing. Enjoy it while you can."

"I plan to," Mokou said. "I did say I'd find something you haven't seen, you know. Anyways, yes, she can control history. Change it. Every year, she changes the history of her own birth, moves her birth forward a year. As far as everyone else is concerned, she truly was born thirty-one years ago. The only reason I know otherwise is because she told me."

"So she just… changes the past however she wants?"

"No," Mokou said. "No, she doesn't. As I said, she's afraid of herself. Her power terrifies her, so she almost never uses it. In fact, the only reason she alters her year of birth is so that nobody can notice her aging far more slowly than any human should-as a half-beast, her lifespan, though not as long as the average youkai's, is far longer than the average human's. Of course, this has the side-effect of extending her lifespan, as it keeps her physical age at 31, but she does it only to help hide what she is."

"I… see. And you think she can provide you with unbiased accounts of Rumia's attacks?"

"She can," Mokou said. "Do you know of the Child of Miare?"

Nolana nodded. "Reincarnates every hundred years, has a perfect memory of everything including her past lives, records Gensokyo's history. I've met her various incarnations a few times. She is not alive right now, though.

"Perhaps not, but Keine has her records."

"And the Child is unbiased by nature, caring only for completeness and accuracy. She does not record minor happenings, though, so any of Rumia's smaller-scale incidents-attacking individuals and the like-are not likely to be mentioned. There are, however, a few that were of a somewhat larger scale, and those, I think, would be in her records."

"Then we'll go see Keine tomorrow," Mokou said. "She's the schoolteacher in the Human Village; we'll go after school's done for the day. Just… well, just be aware that you'll probably have a lot of people staring at you. If you don't do anything, they probably won't cause trouble, but don't expect a friendly reception."

"Understood."

I knew what to expect upon entering the Human Village; Mokou had told me of it before. So I was expecting the silent hostility with which we were treated, myself moreso than Mokou-she may have been feared for her immortality, but she was still a human. But she was right; we minded our own business, and they left us alone.

I have not aided Mokou any in her fight against Kaguya. I have offered my aid, but she has declined it, and understandably so; that fight was a personal matter for her. But my fight was different, as Rumia was a danger. I expected that Mokou would offer her aid, and I intended to accept it. There was, however, a problem.

Mokou was immortal, but that would not help her against Rumia. Rumia would defeat her as easily as I did when we first met. The two of us were far enough beyond Mokou that she would have no impact on any battle between us. She would survive, of course, but she would not have even the slightest effect on the outcome if she fought alongside me. But perhaps there were other ways for her to assist.

Mokou had arranged to meet Keine at her house after school let out, and she was there waiting when the two of them arrived. "Hello, Mokou," she said. "And you must be Nolana. Mokou's had a lot to say about you; I've been wanting to see you myself for a while now. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please, come in."

Keine led the pair inside and directed them to sit, providing a stool for Nolana-wings made 'regular' chairs impractical. She then took three different books from her bookshelf and brought them over, handing them to Nolana as she took a seat herself.

"Mokou told me what you're looking for," Keine said. "I tried looking myself, but I couldn't find anything definite. The name 'Rumia' doesn't come up. However, there are events that seem to match what Mokou told me. Those three volumes include most of them. I've marked the spots where those events are described. What I'm thinking, Nolana, is that since you're more familiar with what Rumia's done, you could look over these incidents and determine which ones Rumia was responsible for."

"I can," Nolana replied. She took one of the books and opened it. She flipped between the marked sections, eventually settling on one. "Here," she said, handing the open book to Mokou. "There are indeed incidents described in here that Rumia was responsible for. This one is quite typical of her, and I think provides a good first example."

Mokou took the book and read aloud. "'Incident: Destruction of Reshik Temple. Date: March 12, 943 (outside world year: 1443 a.d.).' About four hundred and fifty years ago, then. 'Description: The temple was destroyed by an unidentified youkai. Accounts of survivors vary, but comparison has provided some idea of her appearance: short blond hair, red eyes, wears a black dress, wears a red ribbon in her hair. Adult-sized, but on the small side. Wields a sword that seems to appear from nowhere. This is not the first sighting of such a figure. See: vol. 19, p. 233-239; vol. 19, p. 512-513; vol. 22, p. 65-70; vol. 26, p. 131-133.' And this is volume… 29."

"It's a chronicle of the entirety of Genskoyo's history," Keine said. "There are a lot of volumes. I gave Nolana 19, 29, and 31."

"I see. Nolana, was that an accurate description of Rumia?"

Nolana nodded. "Yes. That's her."

Mokou went back to the book. "'Witnesses say the unknown youkai approached on foot, with no appearance of hostile intent. In fact, she had an injured human with her who said she'd rescued her from a youkai attack. She said she'd brought the human to the temple because it was the closest place where the human could get help. One of the temple staff confirmed that they did have someone with medical knowledge, and took the human inside to find the person.' I guess she was acting opposite to the human's assailant.

'As she was turning to leave, the head of the temple, Yuno Reshik, emerged and greeted her. Yuno thanked her for bringing the injured woman and asked what had happened. She explained that she'd simply come across the woman while she was being attacked and drove off the assailants. Yuno thanked her for her efforts and stated that although he did his best to help people, he was only one person. He said that despite this, he would not stop, and cited the sealed magician Byakuren Hijiri as his inspiration. He began to say how pleasant it was to meet someone who seemed to share his willingness to help others, but stopped mid-sentence as she drove a sword she hadn't seemed to have before through his chest.

'People fled the area as she began attacking others. As far as can be determined, those were the only survivors. There were no surviving witnesses to what took place next. When someone did go back, the temple was in ruins, and there was nobody in sight.' Huh."

"Incidents on that scale are, fortunately, uncommon," Nolana said, "but that particular one is a perfect example of what Rumia does. She rescued a human and brought the human to aid, then massacred the staff and destroyed the temple."

"That could have been a ruse," Keine noted. "What if she used the human to get in and take people by surprise?"

"If that were an isolated example, then yes, what you say would be likely. But she is assistive as randomly as she is destructive, and seeing the one immediately follow the other is unusual. Mokou helped me realize that the reason for her erratic and unpredictable behavior is because of her opposing nature; she acts as the opposite of people she encounters. In this example, she rescued and aided the human woman acting as the opposite of her assailants. After assisting the woman, she ceased opposing said assailants, and when Yuno came out, began opposing him. And since Yuno had dedicated himself to assisting people, Rumia acted violently."

"Nasty," Keine said, "but I'm curious about this 'Rumia'. If she acts opposing to people she encounters, then does she have a mind of her own? Someone she is when not acting as a person's opposite?"

"Yes. That is her true self, but her opposing nature is still present, because she exists always as my own opposite. And that does not mean that she acts in opposition to me as she does to others. She is naturally my own opposite, simply in the nature of her existence. She acts in opposition to others, but she is my opposite. Not necessarily in behavior, but in nature. Although there are oppositions in her behavior."

"She knows what happens, though, right?"

"She does," Nolana confirmed. "She knows that simply meeting someone can cause her to become destructive. She simply doesn't care. That is not to say she enjoys it; it truly does not matter to her what actions she takes in opposition to others, only that she is able to act in opposition to others. And simply convincing her to stop is out of the question; opposing others is in her nature, and she will not stop doing it."

"Which is why you're attempting to kill her," Keine said.

"Yes. She is far too dangerous to leave alive."

Keine was silent. "Right," Mokou said, "well, if that's typical of Rumia, then I think you're right. Let me take a look at some of these others."

In the end, Mokou agreed with my assessment of Rumia, and as I had expected, expressed a desire to assist. She could not make a difference in battle, but when she offered her assistance, I had something she could do.

Mokou and Nolana were sitting on the shore of Misty Lake.

"I do want to help," Mokou said. "This isn't like my fight. My battle with Kaguya is personal, whereas this is not."

Nolana nodded. "Agreed. But I was serious when I said you couldn't contribute anything in battle against her."

"Then I'll do something else."

"Which, incidentally, is what I want from you."

"Oh," Mokou said, "so you have a plan?"

"Indeed. I am going to place a coil around her mind and power."

"A- okay, hold on. You can actually do that? I thought a coil like that was impossible."

"Impossible for most. Not for me. Others simply lack the level of power necessary."

"I see. But you need my help for this?"

"I do," Nolana said. "Well, not you specifically, but I do need someone's help."

"I'll be glad to do what I can."

"Your job will be simple. You see, the coil I intend to place is much more complex than other coils. I will have to place eight different seals upon her, then anchor them to a ninth. I can prepare them ahead of time, but I will not be able to sustain them. I will have to engage Rumia in combat, and she matches my level of power. I will have to focus everything I have on the battle. You could not come close to forming any of the seals, but you should have no problem holding them in existence. Seals disperse and fade if they remain unapplied, unless someone keeps them intact. Even for seals of the level I will form, little power is required to do this."

"I can do that, then," Mokou said. "So you're going to place a coil around her mind and power. That's like, what, sealing her away within herself?"

"Yes."

"And if this works, what do you plan to do with her afterwards?"

"Once the seal is in place, I should be able to destroy what it contains without doing any harm to that which is left outside the seal."

"You're not going to just kill her?"

"She acts only according to her nature," Nolana said. "She needs to be stopped, but I will not kill her for acting in accordance to her nature if I can do this instead. In addition, once the coil is complete, a new personality will arise to replace what has been sealed. Rumia as she is now will be sealed, but a new Rumia will remain in her place. That Rumia will be an innocent, and I will not kill her. And even if I cannot destroy the coil's contents, it will remain intact indefinitely."

At this point, Mokou didn't even find the supposed impossibilities in that worth mentioning. "I see. And she won't notice you putting the seals on her?"

"They will be dormant until the anchor is placed," Nolana said. "She will not be able to detect them. You will not have to maintain any seals placed, however; even dormant, they will not fade once applied."

"I see. So, then, is there anything else?"

"No, that should be all. Now we simply must wait for an opportunity to strike."

The opportunity came within a few days. Mokou and I had been remaining together so that when I next encountered Rumia, she would be certain to be there. There was no telling when I would next encounter Rumia, but I only had to wait for a few days.

When we found Rumia, she was attacking a small party of youkai near Misty Lake. Sadly, we could not intervene in time to prevent her from killing all of them; I needed that time to form the eight seals. The ninth, the anchor, could not be formed ahead of time; it could only be formed upon placement. Fortunately, forming it was much easier, and would only take an instant, so that wasn't likely to prove problematic. I did need something to use as the anchor, but fortunately, there was an ideal object to use for that purpose.

Mokou stayed back as Nolana approached Rumia. She didn't need to get involved directly; she was simply a spectator. She could maintain the seals without being too close. With her level of power, she would be able to do so pretty much as long as Nolana was in sight; maintaining unplaced seals was easy.

Rumia was mutilating the bodies when Nolana landed in front of her. "Hello, Rumia."

Rumia looked up. "Well, what do you know? Nice to see you, Nolana. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Too long. This has to stop."

"One cannot stop the wind from blowing; that is in its nature. One cannot stop the rain from falling; that is in its nature. People are the same way. I oppose; that is in my nature. You cannot change that."

"I don't have to change it if I kill you."

Rumia laughed. "You know you can't kill me. If you could, I'd have died long ago."

"The same reasoning says that you cannot kill me."

"Perhaps that is true. We are, after all, completely evenly matched. But you seem to be assuming I care about that. You're the one who comes after me, you know."

"And you know why, too."

"And you know that nothing you can say will change anything. So how about we get down to business?" Rumia's sword formed in her hand. "It's been a while since I've had a good fight. Let's do this."

The battle was as fierce as any the two of us have had. As I had told Mokou, I needed to focus everything I had on the fight, and thus could not hold the seals in existence. That was her job; mine was to get them onto Rumia and activate them.

Mokou kept her distance to avoid collateral damage, but she kept close enough to see what was going on.

Rumia had charged straight through Nolana's blasts and attacked with her sword, but Nolana had formed a sword of her own. The two of them were trading blows in a fierce battle, but there was more to it than that. They were forming and firing blasts even as they went at each other with swords, and countering the blasts of the other. Damn, Mokou thought, Nolana was right. I wouldn't last more than five seconds in the middle of that.

Nolana backed off and seemed to… waver, or something, like she was flickering in and out of sight. And then there were many of her. They all charged simultaneously, but Rumia ignored most of them, focusing only on one and blocking its attack. "You keep trying that illusion trick," Rumia said. "When are you going to realize it doesn't work against me?"

As Rumia focused on the real me, I channeled one of the seals through one of the illusions. It passed right through Rumia upon making contact, of course, but the seal did not. It became affixed to Rumia.

The first seal was placed.

Mokou felt it. The first seal had been placed, and no longer needed to be held together; it would remain indefinitely.

Nolana fired a blast at point-blank range. Rumia countered with her own blast, sending both of them flying backwards.

Nolana released several 'nodes', which fired shots while moving independently of Nolana. Other nodes did not fire, instead flying straight at Rumia. Nolana flew back, firing a large beam while the nodes attacked. Rumia, however, simply negated the energy within it, rendering it harmless.

I channeled another seal through the beam. Rumia negated the energy and let the now-harmless beam hit her. The seal made contact and affixed itself to Rumia.

The second seal was placed.

Another seal affixed itself, leaving seven for Mokou to maintain.

Rumia vanished from sight. Mostly, at least. She was negating her own visibility, which left a barely-perceptible distortion at her location. But Nolana was as familiar with this trick as Rumia was with the illusions, and she picked Rumia out without difficulty as the youkai of opposition closed in.

Rumia attempted a surprise strike with her sword, but Nolana anticipated the move and blocked with her own. Rumia made another attack, but rather than countering with her own sword, Nolana twisted to the side to avoid it and blasted Rumia in the chest. Rumia went flying backwards, firing her own blasts as she did.

More nodes flew up behind Rumia and fired, but she negated the blasts. Others flew directly at her again, but not all of them were real. She destroyed the real ones and ignored the illusions, allowing them to hit her harmlessly.

I channeled the third seal through one of the illusory nodes. Rumia ignored the illusory nodes, allowing them to pass through her, and the seal affixed itself.

The third seal was placed.

Rumia pointed in Mokou's direction. "It looks like we have a spectator."

"Leave her be," Nolana said. "She is not a part of this."

"Oh, so you know her? Interesting."

"Leave her out of this."

"Why wouldn't I? I'm not the one who insists on this fight. I'm not going to go for someone else to get to you. I wouldn't care if I never saw you again-well, I might miss having good fights. You always act like I'm some evil bitch. I'm no more evil than the wind or the rain."

"You are a danger."

"Danger is natural."

"As is the attempt to overcome it."

"Indeed," Rumia said. "So come, make your attempt."

I sent the fourth seal at Rumia as we spoke, and it affixed itself unnoticed.

The fourth seal was placed.

Mokou felt the fourth seal affix itself, and then the fifth a few minutes later.

Mokou had no idea how anyone could possibly keep going at that level for so long, but neither one of them showed any signs of slowing down. How long can they do this for?

Mokou wasn't surprised when the fairies appeared; she was actually surprised that it had taken so long for them to. Fairies generally had no sense of danger, which, given their immortality, was actually understandable. And they were almost all quite childish. That they'd be drawn towards activity such as the battle was inevitable.

The fairies' shots were inconsequential. Neither of us paid them any mind. Fairies tended to get involved in nearby battles, and here, they died quickly. They flew around and between us, firing, and although we didn't bother aiming at them, our exchange was intense enough that most of them caught stray shots almost immediately.

After another lengthy exchange of fire, we closed in for more swordfighting. She tried her invisibility trick again, and I formed my illusory copies. We saw through each other's tricks, of course, but as before, I sent a seal through one of the illusions, getting it to Rumia.

The sixth seal was placed.

The sixth seal affixed itself. Then the seventh. And then, finally, the eighth. Mokou's role was done. She didn't leave, though; she wasn't going to leave before the battle ended.

The fight had gone on for hours, with neither one showing any signs of tiring. Mokou had no idea how they could keep it up for so long, but she didn't expect it to last for much longer. All Nolana had to do now was form the final seal, the anchor.

Placing the final seal was easier said than done. Actually forming it was easy and would be almost instantaneous; the problem was that forming the seal required me to be in physical contact with the object being used as the anchor. And I couldn't use just anything for the anchor, either. I knew what I was going to use: Rumia's hair ribbon. I just had to make physical contact with it.

Nolana charged Rumia, entering into another swordfight. The fight was as insanely fast and intense as the others had been; Mokou had no idea how either of them could manage in something like that, but they could.

My focus was on finding an opportunity to touch the ribbon. I was distracted from the swordfighting by this, and as a result, Rumia was eventually able to get the upper hand, and she ran her blade straight through my chest.

"You're off," Rumia said, kicking me back a ways. I collided with a fairy. Then I realized that this was a good thing.

"You messed that one up big time," Rumia continued. "That's not like you. It's that other woman, isn't it? You were worried about her, weren't you? And that distracted you."

I let her keep talking. "Well, I'm not going to go kill her, but… yeah, she may be an interesting one. Perhaps I should oppose her." She kept talking, completely ignoring the fairy approaching her from above.

"Seriously, though, that was disappointing. I didn't think you could go down like that. You're not done, are you? Why aren't you doing anything? You haven't even pulled the sword out yet. You can't make me think that was enough to kill you. You won't die from that, not unless you let yourself. So why aren't you-"

The fairy placed its hand on the ribbon in Rumia's hair and spoke with my voice. "Ninth Seal!"

I had left the sword in me because my focus was elsewhere. I had poured my energy into the fairy, giving myself control of it. I knew Rumia wouldn't see a fairy as being worth her attention. She allowed the fairy to approach her, get close enough to touch her. And when it-I-touched the ribbon, I channeled my power into the ribbon through the fairy, forming the seal.

Rumia released an extremely deadly final blast as the coil's formation completed. I, still using the fairy, was unable to react in time.

Mokou didn't know just what had happened. Nolana had to've used that fairy to place the anchor, but how? Such thoughts were quickly pushed aside when Nolana took Rumia's final blast and both of them-three, counting the fairy-plummeted to the ground, landing in the woods near the lake. Mokou flew over to where they had fallen as quickly as she could.

Am I… dying? Is this what death feels like?

So I can indeed die. Can be killed. But… if I die, what happens to it? To her?

I feel myself… coming apart. I struggle to stop it, to keep myself whole, but I fail. And as I separate, I feel my awareness fade.

So this is it, then? This is what it is?

This is death?

Mokou came upon Rumia first. The youkai was picking herself up off the ground. "Rumia."

Rumia looked up at Mokou. "Huh? What's 'Rumia' mean?"

I guess it worked, Mokou thought. "It's your name."

"You know who I am?"

"No," Mokou said. "I'd never even seen you before today."

Mokou left the confused Rumia behind, searching for Nolana. And it wasn't long before she found her, or, more accurately, her body.

Mokou examined her carefully, even using the medical methods she'd gleaned from Eirin's actions. But there was nothing. Nolana was dead.

Most people, Mokou knew, would feel sadness at the death of a friend, but not her. Not after over 1,200 years of life. Death didn't upset her anymore, didn't sadden her anymore. Everyone she'd known before becoming immortal was dead except for Kaguya. Her family. Her friends. Even her enemies. And any new frieds she might make would eventually die, too. After a time, she had simply become numb to the sadness.

Mokou burned Nolana's body and let the ashes scatter in the wind. Rest in peace.

*


*

It had been a year since that battle, since Nolana's death. Exactly one year. Mokou still visited the lake from time to time, and she had made sure to do so today.

It had never hurt, losing Nolana. Mokou'd lost far too many people over the centuries; she'd become numb to such feelings a long time ago. She did miss Nolana, though.

Mokou walked along the lakeshore, remembering the time the two of them had spent here. The conversations on the lakeside. The-

"Hey, what are you doing here? This is my land!"

Mokou spun to face the speaker, who it turned out was a fairy. "I like to come here. It's nobody's land."

"Are you saying I'm wrong?"

"Yeah."

"You obviously don't know who you're speaking to. I am-"

"I don't care."

"How dare you! I'm the strongest! Nobody speaks to me that-"

"Shut up before I blow your head-" Mokou suddenly found herself frozen inside a large block of ice. Huh. I guess she's tougher than your average fairy. Mokou ignited herself, burning through the ice.

"Hey, no fair!" the fairy said.

Mokou took a closer look at the fairy. She'd never seen it before, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she had. There was something familiar about it. Right, guess I'll just ask who she is. Although I'll probably have to play along with her. "I apologize for my actions. I should not have been so rude."

"Yeah, you better be sorry! You're not supposed to be here unless I say you can be."

"I was not aware that anyone had claimed this location. I have been here many times in the past."

"Oh, so you were coming here before I moved in. That's fine, then. You can keep coming."

"Thank you," Mokou said. "Might I ask of you just who you are? I've never seen you before."

"I'm the strongest!" the fairy declared proudly.

I guess that's what I get for not being specific. "And what is your name?"

"I'm Cirno, ice fairy of the lake!"

To most, that name would have meant nothing even if they'd known the person in question, but Mokou was still familiar with the old customs of address. She recognized it at once, and the familiarity suddenly made sense. Nolana Lecir; in the old style, Lecir Nolana.

Mokou was speechless. She thought back to the battle, to its last moments. Nolana had somehow taken control of a fairy and used it to get close enough to Rumia to place the final seal. Rumia had managed one final attack, and Nolana, distracted by controlling the fairy, had been unable to evade or resist. She had died, but…

"When did you come into existence?" Mokou asked. "How long have you been alive?"

"Huh? Um… I don't know. Why would that matter? All I care about with that is my birthday, and that's today."

Mokou just laughed. She couldn't help it; this was just ridiculous. Nolana's actions at the end of the fight, taking control of the fairy… well, fairies didn't die, but in a way, that one had, and it had then, presumably as a result of Nolana's power being within it, become a new one. Well, not entirely new.

Cirno, of course, had no idea what was going on. "Um…"

Mokou took a second to compose herself. "Man, the impossibilities never cease with you, do they, Nolana?" She let out a chuckle. "Crazy. Just crazy." And this 'Cirno' was clearly much stronger than most fairies; was that a result of Nolana's power, too? Although if so, there should be more than just freezing things. Unless…

Perhaps the fairy that Nolana had used actually had been an ice fairy, and exposure to Nolana's power had just boosted those abilities? No, that can't be it. Nolana's power didn't just pass through her, right? It was in her. In her at the time of Nolana's death, so Nolana never had a chance to withdraw it. Hell, she even looks a little like Nolana She even has Nolana's confidence, despite not having the power to back it up. The power's got to be there, just… unavailable. Sealed a- oh, shit, the seal. She channeled the seal through the fairy, and it hit the fairy, too! Or Nolana, or something. Hell, how should I know how the hell that works?

"Um, what are you talking about?" Cirno asked.

Mokou looked at the fairy. "Oh, nothing. It's just…"

"What?"

"Well… let's just say you remind me of a friend."

*


*

For 128 years after meeting Cirno, Mokou had had little to do with the fairy. Well, as far as Cirno knew, at least. Mokou'd been keeping an eye on Rumia ever since the coil was placed, and upon meeting Cirno, she'd added the fairy to that. She hadn't actually expected anything to happen, though. But… well, something had.

The first demon to attack Cirno probably didn't damage the coil. It wasn't until the second demon's attack that the coild had been damaged. That was when the effects showed, at least. Rumia's pain, and also the fire. Mokou'd driven off the first demon, but the second had been Cirno. Mokou'd seen the battle, but she hadn't needed to intervene in that one. When Cirno went down the demon had been engulfed in a blast of flame. That flame had come from not Mokou, but Cirno herself. For the first time in almost 130 years, Nolana's power had shown itself. Which could only mean one thing: the coil was starting to break. Somehow, that demon had damaged it. Which meant that not only would that sealed within Cirno be released, but also that sealed within Rumia. Which was a problem. Except that the coil was placed under… extraordinary circumstances. There's no way the sealed mind and power had been correctly preserved, not when Nolana had placed it while dying. Not even she could've done that. And the mind was probably more damaged than the power, so…

Mokou wasn't going to kill Rumia. Nolana had said that she would not do so, and Mokou intended to respect that. Killing Rumia might have been necessary had the coil been perfectly placed, but under the current circumstances, it was likely that the old Rumia was no more. Perhaps her power, some or all of it, remained, and maybe even pieces of her mind, but the mind as a whole? That was gone. It had to be. Which meant that letting the coil break was just fine. In fact, it might even be best at this point, given that the coil was already damaged; there was no telling what might happen with a damaged coil of that level, especially one placed around a mind and power.

Cirno and her friends had decided to take Rumia to Eientei. Mokou was well ahead of them. She didn't know how much Eirin would be able to figure out, but she knew that not even Eirin would be able to learn the truth. So Mokou was going to tell her. Mokou's feud was with Kaguya alone; she and Eirin were on fine terms (aside from Eirin's dislike of the feud). Eirin would listen. Eirin would believe her. And Eirin would help.

Okay, so those of you who've read GBRW have no doubt figured out the similarities I was referring to. Specifically, Nolana bears a great deal of resemblence to the unnamed youkai in that story. I can only assume that the author of that story and I had the same core idea for such a character, and the rest came from that. I do, however, think it's important to note that GBRW is not about the fight between the nameless youkai and Ex-Rumia, but about the separation of Gensokyo from the outside world. This story, in contrast, is about the conflict between Nolana and Ex-Rumia. Our characters of Nolana and the nameless youkai may be similar, but the stories are different.

I actually considered changing things around when I came across GBRW to... lessen the similarities. However, I'd been building up to this in Orphan for some time, and by the time I read GBRW, there wasn't a lot I could change it to that would really work with what had already been included in Orphan, so I was kind of stuck. I'll just give GBRW some publicity and say to its author: sorry about that. I didn't intend it.

Right, now for the statement I always end with:

Reviews are appreciated.