"Miss Reisen!"

It was one of the youkai earth rabbits. She ran down the hall, her bare feet thudding on the floor and her floppy ears bouncing with every step. Reisen had to admit that she didn't know the girl's name offhand—most of the youkai rabbits only rarely took human shape, and when they did, they all looked like young, brown-haired girls. She half-suspected that Tewi had arranged it somehow. Certainly, it made it hard for anybody else to keep tabs on their numbers.

Reisen raised an ear expectantly. The rabbit skidded to a stop, breathless. "M-miss Tewi said I should bring some sake out, 'cuz the other rabbits might get bored and wander off soon, an' I don't know where to find it, and…!"

Reisen listened to the request, her arms crossed. This was almost definitely an excuse for Tewi to get some booze. It was also, she had to admit, a pretty good idea. "There are a few barrels in the back of the storage room. Only take one of them though, okay? One."

"Right…!"

The rabbit scampered off, as quickly as she'd arrived. Reisen barely had time to move again before Kaguya's voice stopped her. "They look up to you, don't they?"

Reisen glanced back and tried not to look too embarrassed. "I don't know if I'd say that. They definitely aren't lining up to help me out with any work… and half of them still expect me to pet them when they do a good job."

"But isn't that how rabbits let you know that they like you…? Oh! But you just get embarrassed when I try to pet you." Kaguya thoughtfully lifted a sleeve-draped hand to her lips, conveniently hiding key parts of her expression. "Does that mean that you hate me, Inaba?"

"Please don't say unreasonable things, Princess." After the day's events, Reisen was too tired to really protest, and the night was only beginning. "The rabbits are ready, though. I'm not sure how good they'll be in a fight, but Tewi swears that they'll help. Has Master, er…?"

"Eirin is closing the pathway between the Earth and the Moon right now. If it works, we won't even need the Inabas here. Oh! Maybe that means we can drink with them all night instead! I've never been to a rabbit party before..."

"I'd rather not encourage them. Actually..." Responsibility hit Reisen like a brick to the face. Her ears drooped. "I should probably go make sure that they don't get too rowdy. A barrel of sake goes a long way when you only weigh a few hundred grams. Please excuse m—"

"Actually," Kaguya interrupted, "there's something I'd like to talk to you about. Would you like to take a walk, Inaba?"

"I'm… not sure that this is the time for it, Princess. I still haven't checked all the locks, and—"

Again, Kaguya cut her off—this time, by grabbing her hand and tugging her gently, implacably along. "I'm sure it won't take long."

Kaguya hummed under her breath as they walked through the manor. They passed the hall that led to her private chambers, and instead continued toward the back door. Once they were outside, she kept right on going, padding barefoot across the grass.

She didn't stop until they were a dozen meters from the mansion, in a thin cluster of bamboo. She released Reisen's hand and leaned back, peering up at the moon. "Hmm… is that the fake one, do you think? If anybody could make a good forgery, it would be Eirin..."

"I think it's the real one. … you said that you needed something?"

"Oh, you should learn to appreciate the quiet moments, Inaba. You never know when you'll have another chance to relax." Kaguya shot her a teasing glance. It only lasted for a few seconds before her tone grew more serious. "Inaba… if this plan doesn't work, there might be fighting tonight."

"Well, er, yes. That's why I'd like to go keep an eye on the rabbits. They won't be much help if they're drunk."

Kaguya shook her head, sending a cascade of hair shimmering across her shoulders. "It isn't them that I'm worried about."

"I'm a moon rabbit. I can handle myself in a fight."

"But you left the moon because you were scared of fighting, didn't you?"

Reisen was left speechless for a moment. The past few hours, ever since a few lingering contacts on the moon had told her about the plans for a retrieval mission, had been a blur of activity. This was the first time she'd even stopped to think about the parallels. "I… guess I did, didn't I?"

Kaguya nodded, almost imperceptibly. "Inaba… Eirin and I are immortal. No matter what happens tonight, I think that we'll be fine. Even if we have one less rabbit defending us."

"Are you telling me to leave…?"

"There's a village of humans nearby, right? You could hide out there! I'm sure that nobody would think to look for you there. Just put on a really big hat to hide your ears, of course."

Kaguya nodded sagely, but Reisen's mind was already far off in other thoughts. Kaguya wasn't wrong. Those first few months on earth, she'd had regular nightmares about just this scenario—an invasion coming from the moon, getting captured and hauled back to answer for her crimes. Desertion wasn't a problem that the Lunar Defense Corps had ever faced before, but whatever punishment it carried, she doubted that she wanted to experience it. Just the thought of seeing her former owners again was sending her heart racing…

And yet, she was still here. Running wasn't an option, even for a moment. "I… I think I'll stay here."

"Oh…?" Kaguya studied Reisen's face, not even bothering to hide her surprise. "Are you sure? I came up with a cover story to tell Eirin and everything. Oh, but if you want to choose which amatsukami you died fighting, I can change it a little."

Reisen was sure, she realized. Putting that to words was harder. Why wouldn't she run away to avoid a chance of a horrible fate? It didn't make sense. Eirin and Kaguya were immortal. Even if they were dragged back to the moon and executed a dozen more times as punishment—

Her thoughts stopped there, as a realization hit her, one as strange and foreign as the Earth itself. "I can't leave. You… you and Master have done too much for me. If you got captured and I wasn't here to protect you… I don't know if I could forgive myself. I'll stay, Princess."

Reisen had just sort of blurted it out in one go. Now that it was out there, it was almost as surprising to her as it was to Kaguya. She stared down at the ground in reflection, her ears flattening down against her head.

"I see," Kaguya said softly. "I won't try to change your mind."

"Thank you. I'll… do my best." Now that the moment of moral crisis was over, Reisen felt drained. The past few minute had been tiring in ways that a fight never could.

"Oh, please do! We'll look bad if you do a halfhearted job out there."

Reisen nodded. She opened her mouth, but couldn't find the right words to put into it. She was soon spared the choice anyway. Kaguya stepped forward and pulled her into a gentle hug, their cheeks pressed lightly together. "Moon rabbits aren't usually known for their courage and loyalty. … thank you, Inaba. I'm honored."

"It's, um. It's my pleasure, Princess," Reisen murmured, as entire new galaxies of confusing emotions blossomed in her head.