Second Night ~ Amidst the Spreading Bamboo

The rest of the festival passed in a happy haze of springtime. Rin, Utsuho and I met dozens of humans and youkai alike, ranging from normal people from the village who had come up to enjoy the festival with everyone else, to Yuugi, an oni like Suika but with a single horn and noticeably taller and larger, to the pink-haired ghost Yuyuko who spent most of her time happily munching on whatever food she happened to be near. Eventually, Satori put in an appearance to pick up her "pets", as they both insisted on still being called. Unlike the descriptions in old stories, she was very human in appearance; in fact, she looked and dressed similar to her sister, only with a blue jacket and pink dress. Her hair was a pale pink, and the orb I had noticed on Koishi's chest was visible on Satori as well, but red and "open" to reveal a single staring eye. When I looked at it, she shied away from me, and Rin whispered that because of her power, she was generally feared.

It took some time, but I was able to strike up a conversation with her by bringing up the idea of her pets. "Animals love me," she explained, her voice so quiet I had to strain to understand her at times. "Because of my... ability... I am able to understand them where most people are not able to." She smiled a bit fondly, giving Rin's ear a scratch. "Of course, most of them don't develop into youkai like Orin or Okuu..."

I nodded. "I see... but I mean... couldn't you just 'turn it off' around people who don't want their minds read?"

Satori glanced away. "It's not that simple," she said. "I can consciously choose not to read a person's heart too deeply, but things like surface thoughts and obvious traits are impossible for me to ignore unless I were to seal off my powers entirely, and... well, you've met my sister, I believe." She paused, glancing at Rin. "Where is Koishi, anyway...? I thought she was accompanying you two..."

Utsuho fidgeted. "She talked to some purple book-girl about someone's sister and vanished..."

Satori blinked, and then smiled slightly. "Well, well... she's gone to meet Flandre, then..." She glanced at me. "Do you know what it means, for a satori to close their third eye?" she asked me quietly.

I shook my head. "Doesn't it just mean you lose your powers...?"

Satori shook her head. "It's true that Koishi can no longer read minds. But she does so by closing off her heart to outside influences... she's effectively sealed away her own heart as well as her power, and now can act unconsciously. She wanders freely now, and often I don't see her at the palace for weeks." She frowned. "I put some of my pets in her care, and it seems to have changed her a little... then she met Reimu and Marisa at the other shrine, and she told me after fighting her that she felt as if her third eye's lid had stirred, just a little..."

Rin blinked. "Wait... Koishi said that?"

Satori was smiling now, and nodded. "Yes... She told me that she'd met an interesting person, and wanted to know more about her... she even regretted not being able to read that person's heart... And now, she's going to meet someone who in a sense is her perfect complement. I wonder what will happen now..."

With that enigmatic phrase and smile, she turned and left, accompanied by the other two... and I found myself alone now at the shrine, save for Suika digging in back of the shrine for some reason and Reimu tending to the debris left over.

I moved past her, digging in my pocket as I approached the forlorn-looking donation box settled on the front steps. Here, at least, was something about the shrine that resembled its counterpart from the outside world... With a soft sigh, I drew out a handful of coins and slipped them into the slot, a series of five dull thuds echoing through the still evening air.

Reimu shot upright at the sound, and darted over, pulling off the cover and staring inside like a girl on Christmas morning. "W-wow..." she murmured, scooping up the coins and peering at them.

Suika laughed. "Heh... there ya go, Reimu. Now we can finally get someone to set up the spring!"

Reimu glared at Suika. "For the last time, we're not putting in a hot spring! Geez!" She stared down at the coins and shook her head. "Well, I guess I should have expected this from a girl who worked on the Outside's shrine..."

I blinked. "Um... it's just a donation..."

Suika snickered. "Which Reimu almost never gets," she called.

Reimu nearly popped a vein. "Stuff it, Suika! I'm not out gathering faith all the time for the shrine 'cause I'm too busy with incidents like the one you caused!"

I blinked as I saw something nestled in the corner of the box. "Hey... can I see that?" I asked, pointing.

Reimu gave me a long look of suspicion, then nodded. I dipped my hand into the box and came up with the same moss-covered coin I'd found the morning before I had arrived in Gensokyo. "This..." I murmured, and trailed off.

Reimu tilted her head. "What is it? Somebody toss a piece of wood in my box as a joke again?"

I shook my head. "No, I put this in... but I put it in the box on the other side of the Border..."

Reimu blinked, and took the coin from my hands, looking at it. She sighed. "Yukari..."

I flinched. "I met her last night."

Reimu slapped her forehead. "Of course. Let me guess, she's the reason you're here, huh?" She shook her head. "Honestly... she's not evil or anything, but I swear she's even more annoying to deal with than Remilia and Suika put together..." She sighed, looking down at the coin in her hand. "So, you put this in the donation box? While you were still Outside...?"

I nodded, and she sighed, holding the coin in her cupped hands over the box. "Well... I think it belongs there, then," she said quietly. "It fits that place better anyway..." She closed her eyes for a moment, and the coin glowed white. As she opened her eyes, the glow faded, and the coin dispersed into tiny motes of light. "There..."

I fidgeted. "... That easy, huh...?"

Reimu frowned at me for a moment, and then sighed. "Look... I really can't..."

I crossed my arms. "You're the guardian of the Great Border, aren't you? You just sent the coin back across, why not me...?"

Reimu shook her head, for once not snapping back at me. "Listen... there are a lot of reasons..." She paused. "Fine. First off, it's a lot harder to send a living being through the Border than a coin, particularly when it was designed to keep living creatures from ever leaving through it. Second, you and I both know that Yukari would just send you back here once she realized you were gone."

I winced. It was true, after all... Reimu was still speaking, and I listened. "And here's the other thing. When someone's causing trouble in Gensokyo, it falls to me and usually a select few others who happen to get involved to take care of everything. I mean, Marisa's usually there too, but the simple fact is that I have a huge responsibility beyond just my miko duties. More to the point, there have been incidents following right on each others' heels lately. First that brat Tenshi levelled the shrine with an earthquake and tried to do the same to the rest of Gensokyo, then I had to deal with the terrible harvest caused by the havoc she unleashed, and then I had to deal with that walking disaster Okuu just when I was finally getting the shrine back together... Not to mention all the random, day-to-day stuff, and the fact that I have the second most annoying youkai in all of Gensokyo living at my shrine whether I like it or not..."

Suika giggled. "Hey, you watch it or I won't help ya fix the shrine next time someone knocks it over!" she called, leaning on her shovel and taking another enormous swig from her gourd.

Reimu shook her head. "Anyway. All of that's left me exhausted... and, well, look for yourself." She pointed upwards.

I looked, and after a moment I saw what looked like a fuzzy smear of light. As I looked more closely, it seemed to resolve itself into a rounder shape, topped with a half-hidden hemisphere...

I shook my head in disbelief. "Is that a UFO...?"

Reimu tilted her head. "Huh... Sanae said the same thing," she said. "I still say it looks more like a floating block of wood... albeit a glowing one..." She shook her head. "Whatever they are, they've been appearing for the past few nights, and nobody can figure out what they are. They're sure as hell not natural..."

I blinked. "Come to think of it, Akyu said something about Keine being harassed last night by strange lights..." I shook my head. "You think it might be someone messing around again...?"

Reimu nodded. "Better safe than sorry," she said. "I don't want to burn out that much power sending someone back across the Hakurei Border if we're on the eve of an incident. Especially if Yukari's just going to pull them back into Gensokyo a few hours later." She paused, and snickered. "Messed with Keine, huh? She must've given 'em hell..."

I shrugged. "Akyu told me not to bother her this morning. So I imagine she wasn't very happy..."

Reimu laughed. "Hey, messing with Keine is bad at the best of times. Interrupting her on a full moon is practically a death sentence." She sighed, and glanced at me. "Anyway, there you have it... If I weren't worn from so many incidents in a row, having to deal with the preparations for the festival, and having a new incident looming on the horizon, maybe I'd have the time and energy to send you back... but not as things stand." She paused. "I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to depend on Yukari if you ever want to return to Osaka. I'm not about to jeopardize Gensokyo just to undo her latest prank."

I nodded glumly. "I understand..." Leaving Reimu to count over my donation again, I headed towards the forest. Suika tapped me on the shoulder. "Hey... listen, when things calm down, you can probably try again," she said, holding out a small cup of sake to me.
I looked at it. "Too young to drink," I said quietly. "Where do you keep getting all that, anyway? I've only ever seen you with the one gourd..."

Suika giggled. "This gourd's an oni treasure, that's why," she said. "Bottomless supply, literally!" She grinned. "You sure? Being a teen's never stopped Reimu before..."

I shook my head. "The forest is hard enough to find my way through sober," I told her. "Last time I tried it alone, I ended up in the mansion of a vampire."

Suika laughed again. "Oh, so that's why you ended up coming here with Remi's gang? I was wondering..." She smiled a bit, digging again. "If there's really an incident coming up, see if you can get yourself a front-row seat. Reimu goin' all-out is a sight to see..."

I winced. "If today's display against Cirno is any indication, I don't think I want to be anywhere near her fights..."

Suika smirked a bit and leaned on her shovel. "Listen, Reimu can be kinda hot-headed, but she never hurts people that aren't causing incidents. Or at least causing problems for her. Cirno and the gang were wrecking the festival with that dumb battle of theirs..." She shrugged. "Well, I kinda hope there's one. If there is, maybe Reimu'll be distracted enough for me to put in a spring, finally..."

I smiled, just a little bit. "Well... as long as she doesn't blast me into oblivion for it, maybe I'll help out..." I grinned. "I'm not exactly unused to working with my hands, after all..."

Suika beamed. "Heh, another hard worker, huh? Just don't be too good at it, or Reimu'll be after you to help patching this place up... you'd be surprised what a beating it takes even when there's not an incident going on..."

I started towards the woods, laughing. "You tell her I'll be happy to help her fix things up..."

Suika grinned, waving as she returned to her digging. "Okay, but don't be surprised if you do more working than helping..."

Reimu's voice cut in. "I told you to stop calling me lazy, pettanko oni!"

Suika dropped her shovel and grew within seconds to about twenty feet tall. "Don't call me that again, lazy miko, unless you want your shrine kicked over again!"

I hurried away from the two before I got caught up in any further fighting, and soon found myself surrounded by trees lit by the silvery light of the waning moon. I sighed quietly as I realized I was once again alone, and began to walk. There was more than enough light to cast shadows, and I used them to judge which way was north, moving towards the human village as best as I could.

As I walked along, I kept an eye out for signs of fairies, not wanting to get lost again. Daiyousei appeared about an hour in, but only smiled and warned me that Cirno was in a dangerous mood that night, and that I should avoid the lake and the mansion at all costs. She led me carefully in a wide loop around to the east, staying mostly silent the whole way.

After a while, she bowed politely and departed, and I continued on. As I walked, I suddenly felt my foot kick something away and I ended up tripping and falling to the ground. In the moonlight, I saw to my surprise a book sitting next to my foot, and picked it up carefully. Scanning it, I found nothing but meaningless words and diagrams inscribed into the page that made my head hurt to look at them, but the runes put me in the mind of magic.

I wondered aloud if the book could be Patchouli's, but I remembered Daiyousei's warning about Cirno, and pressed on, resolving to get a guide to the mansion tomorrow and ask her about it. Shivering a little in the night air, I pressed on, clutching the heavy book to my chest.

The night grew colder around me, and I began to regret not wearing a jacket. Time turned on, and after a few times of checking my watch I knew I had gotten lost; the path back to the village had taken far less time than this to walk before. I slowly came to a stop, looking up at the moon hovering directly overhead for guidance, but finding none. Worse, as I looked back down, the trees around me began to grow fuzzy, and as I brushed dew from the hem of my kimono I realized that what was surrounding me were not trees anymore but high, thick bamboo stalks.

I shivered, racking my memory and trying to ignore the soft giggles I could now hear mixed in with the rustling of the bamboo leaves. I did recall seeing a bamboo forest, but it had been to the north of the village; I was now on the wrong side of it! Slowly, I turned, trying to work out which way was south, but with the moon directly overhead it was nearly impossible. Clutching the book a little tighter to my chest, I took a deep breath and called out. "Hello? Can anyone hear me? I'm lost... I need help!"

A rustling in the stalks behind me made me turn, and a girl with incredibly long white hair done up in a pretty bow emerged from the bamboo, turning a finger in her ear as she eyed me. "Don't have to shout... I was about ten feet away from you," she said, hands on her hips now. "So, who're you?"

I looked at her nervously. She seemed human enough, though far too young to have such pure white hair. Her clothes were a little outlandish as well, at least for what I had seen so far of Gensokyo; a pair of baggy red pants patched here and there with what looked like sealing talismans, held up by suspenders over a simple buttoned white blouse. "Um... I'm Chitose Izumo..." I said nervously.

The girl tilted her head, and held out her hand a bit stiffly. "The name's Fujiwara no Mokou... so, what brings you out at this time of... oh." She stopped in mid-sentence and glared at a spot over my head. "Suddenly the explanation seems to have presented itself..." With a snort, she flung her hand upwards, fingers curled as if scooping something up, and a large flame shot out through the air and impacted on something invisible that immediately gave off a loud squeak and a familiar puff of mist.

As I looked up, two shimmering figures appeared in midair, their appearance watery at first but soon resolving into Luna and a very panicked-looking Star. Mokou glared up at them. "So, you three idiots are at it again, huh?" Her hand flickered with flame again. "Listen, you three. Yeah, I know you can still hear me, Sunny. People get lost often enough in this place without a bunch of fairies leading them astray. Now get lost before I decide to incinerate the rest of you, got it?"

Luna seemed almost drunk, dancing and humming in the air, but Star grabbed her by the arm. "U-understood!" she called down. "S-sorry, you know what the moon does to Luna this close to full... w-we'll be going now, promise!" Tugging the now-singing Luna after her, Star flew off and vanished.

Mokou sighed, slipping her hands into her pockets. "Honestly. At least you can vent your rage on 'em without them actually dying..." She turned, and beckoned to me with one finger. "The human village is a long way from here," she said. "There's a place nearby you'll be able to rest though... I don't feel the chill so much, but I imagine you're freezing..."

I nodded, shivering now. "I w-walked here all the way from the Hakurei Shrine," I stammered out, struggling to keep my teeth from chattering.

Mokou glanced back at me, eyes wide. "Seriously? Ugh, I should've roasted all three of those dumbasses..." She shook her head. "All the more reason to get you to Eientei as soon as possible... and have Eirin check you out while you're there. She's the best doctor in Gensokyo, and luckily she lives right where we're heading..."

I nodded, scrambling to catch up as she walked briskly through the bamboo stands, the girl displaying an ease and grace as she pushed through the heavy stalks that I couldn't even come close to matching.

After the third time Mokou stopped to let me catch up, I slipped up beside her. "So... do you live here, Mokou?" I asked.

She nodded. "Sometimes, yeah. Though I come out into the village sometimes too..." She glanced at me. "I've never seen you around before, though... you a youkai?"

I shook my head quickly. "No, I'm from the outside world..."

Mokou tilted her head. "Huh. Guess you must have just got here then..." She smiled a bit. "Been meeting some pretty interesting people then, huh?"

I nodded shortly. "Yeah... lots..." I paused, and giggled a little. "Let me put it this way... the first person I saw in Gensokyo was Suika..."

Mokou slapped her forehead, and then began to laugh too. "You ran into her? Please tell me you didn't take her on in a challenge of strength..."

I rolled my eyes. "She's an oni, of course I didn't..."

Mokou grinned. "Yeah, I don't blame you. I heard her boast once she could tear down Youkai Mountain with her bare hands, and I believe her..." She was walking again, and I hurried to keep up, struggling not to drop the book in my haste. "Well," Mokou went on, "You'll meet some more interesting people here... well, they're not exactly human like you and me, but..."

I blinked. "You're human...? But..."

Mokou blinked, and then flashed a grin, still slipping easily among the stalks as she looked back at me. "But what? I can throw fire around? That's tame for people in Gensokyo... I mean, you've met Marisa and Reimu by now, I'd bet... they're both 100% human. Even more so than me..." She glanced aside. "I mean, I'm born and still am human, not like some of the magicians around here, but... well, I'm immortal. And over a thousand years old." She grinned at me again. "But that's just 'cause of the magic in Gensokyo and something I did centuries ago... I'm still a human, despite all my powers. These guys, though, well..."

We had emerged from the stalks now, and Mokou pointed out a low-set but expansive mansion built into a wide clearing in the bamboo. "There we are," she said lightly. "Eientei, the house of eternity..." She stepped to the door and knocked loudly. "Oi, Eirin... got another lost one..."

She trailed off into a growl as the door slid open. "Wh-what the hell are you doing answering the door?" She stepped back, her whole body tense as flames flickered around her shoulders.

The girl that exited was almost as heart-stoppingly beautiful as Tenshi had been in her Celesital aspect. For a moment, her face and hair reminded me of Star's, but this girl's was blacker than ink and literally pooled on the ground behind her. Rubbing her eyes sleepily, she shot a glare at Mokou. "Eirin's busy working up a batch of meds... she said something about something going around the human village... whaddaya want here, huh?"

Mokou's hands were blazing by now, but she managed to motion towards me. "Your little fairy look-alike and her friends decided to lead this girl astray in the bamboo. Figured you guys would be willing to put her up for the night."

The girl blinked, and then smiled a little in my direction. "Oh, sure!" She giggled softly behind her sleeve, the garment so long her hands were lost in it. She wore a pinkish top tied with ribbon and a long, wine-red skirt decorated in yellowish bamboo shoots and flowers. "Go on in... actually..." She turned to the house, raising a hand to her mouth. "Reisen! C'mere, we've got a guest!"

Mokou huffed, stuffing her hands back into her pockets and looking like she was trying to keep herself from literally exploding. "Not often I see you getting the door..."

The girl shrugged lightly, frowning as she looked at her white-haired counterpart. "I was on the back veranda having some tea and heard someone knocking... and like I said, Eirin's busy making medicine for the village. Anyway, it's not like I spend all of my time in my room..." She sighed a bit. "Well, at least you're not barging in looking for a fight, phoenix-baka..."

Mokou tensed further, flames rising around her shoulders again. "Well, I certainly wasn't planning on it at first..."

The tension was rather suddenly interrupted by the sound of footsteps, and a figure appeared inside, hurrying towards the door. "M-miss Kaguya, you called?"

I'd met some beings already in Gensokyo whose existence I had never thought possible while still in the outside world, and yet this girl - Reisen, the ink-haired girl had called her - was still an enormous surprise to me. Even though I'd seen youkai with animal features before (Rin and Utsuho came to mind), to see rabbit ears on this tall, curvy girl was surprising. The only rabbits I had ever heard of in old tales were the mysterious lunar rabbit tribe, after all.

Reisen eyed me curiously as she stepped out, though she also gave Kaguya a worried look as she realized Mokou was there. "A visitor...? Did Mokou bring you here?" she asked me.

I nodded quietly, shivering again. "Y-yes... I got lost because of the fairies, and I've been walking for a long time..."

Mokou eyed the rabbit-girl quietly, still struggling to keep her anger under control. "We were maybe five minutes' walk from here," she said. "Stupid fairies made her walk clear from the Hakurei Shrine to here because of their stupid pranks... guh, maybe I should track the other two down and make 'em remember that putting humans in danger makes for a very pissed off firebird..."

Kaguya smiled pleasantly at me. "Reisen, take her in and get a fire going... I'm sure Mokou didn't think to use one, so she's probably still very cold... and maybe ask Tewi to put on some tea, mm?"

Mokou twitched. "Like I said," she growled through clenched teeth, "We were five minutes away. I didn't want to risk burning down half the forest when there was a warm home right nearby..."

Kaguya giggled, smirking lightly at Mokou. "Oh, yes, wouldn't want a repeat of last time you caused a forest fire, mm? I seem to recall Aya putting an article in the paper..."

Mokou's shoulders suddenly exploded into flame, the fire quickly taking the shape of a pair of odd wings that looked like something one would see in an Aztec carving. Kaguya blinked, turned, and yelped as she caught sight of her sleeve burning, waving it wildly in an attempt to put it out. "Shut the hell up, Kaguya!" Mokou roared, raising a hand. "I didn't come here to start a fight with you, but if you wanna start one, fucking fine by me!"

Kaguya glared up at Mokou, grabbing hold of the sleeve and tearing it an off about an inch above the flames. "All right, then!" She made a motion with her hand, and suddenly she was holding a golden branch with seven jewels set into it, a stone bowl settling into her other hand as three other shimmering objects floated around her. "Let's see, how to kill you tonight...?"

Mokou snorted, hurling fire down at Kaguya and grimacing as she floated up out of the way. "No use pondering that," she howled. "I'm the one that's gonna kill you, damnit!"

Reisen took me by the hand and hurried me inside, slamming the sliding door shut behind us. "B-best to stay far out of the way when those two fight..." she said, panting.

I stared at the closed door, the sounds of Kaguya and Mokou fighting coming indistinctly from behind it. "Uh... d-did they say 'kill'?"

Reisen shivered. "Please, just leave them be and come inside... Tei!" That last word was shouted into the candlelit halls. "Tei, we have a visitor... get the tea on, please..." She took me by the hand again and ushered me deeper into the house, to a room where a firepit set into the floor glowed softly with the embers. Reisen knelt by the pit and picked up a small bellows, tending to the fire and soon nodding as it sprang to life.

The flames gave me my first good look at her. Reisen's outfit was provocative to say the least, a dark blazer that resembled a school uniform, complete with tie, and a skirt so short she was inadvertently flashing me as she bent over the flames. As she turned, I marveled again at those soft-looking white ears, warm pink on the inside, and I noticed this time that one of them seemed bent, flopping over halfway up to make her appearance a bit cuter. Last of all I noticed her deep red eyes, and with a shiver I only half-understood I quickly looked away from them.

"So, um..." My voice was hesitant, fearing that my question might be rude. "Are you really, um... a moon rabbit?"

Reisen blinked, and nodded slowly. "Um, yes... there's not a lot else I could be, besides one of the inaba..." she said softly. "Why do you seem so surprised?"

I shook my head. "I'm from Outside," I said. It seemed to be a magic explanation for ignorance at this point. "I'm not used to meeting, well, supernatural beings..."

Reisen giggled a little. "Oh, I see... so, even forty years later, humans haven't found the Lunarians...?"

I blinked. "Er... found...? America landed on the Moon a few times, but..."

Reisen nodded. "I know. I left the Moon during that period, about forty years ago now..." She paused. "You could say I'm not really a lunar rabbit anymore, after I deserted them... but I really didn't want to fight anyone..."

I stared. "Um... there wasn't any fighting... Americans just landed on the surface and brought back some rocks..."

Reisen smiled just a little. "Mm... well, maybe they decided to just hide behind the border then... either way, when I left they were definitely considering war... and it wasn't something I really wanted to get involved in... luckily Miss Kaguya and Miss Eirin were kind enough to give me sanctuary here." She paused, cocking her good ear. "Sounds like the tea's ready... Tei should be in soon..."

From the far side of the room, a white-haired woman in a long, deep blue nightgown entered. "Udonge, what on earth's going on...?" she asked, yawning. "I heard Kaguya yelling, and now Tewi has the tea on..."

Reisen blinked, and bowed, flashing me by accident again. "M-miss Eirin... I thought you were still working on that medicine..."

Eirin shook her head. "It's finished now," she said. "At least as much as I'm going to be able to get done tonight... there's a last step or two, but I need to rest and wait first before applying it..." She glanced at the far side of the room. "Tewi, there you are... now, what's going on, you two?"

I turned to see another rabbit girl standing in the doorway, holding a tray. This one was far shorter than Reisen, and had straight brown hair and a pink dress, a charm shaped like a carrot hanging around her neck. She eyed me for a moment with a soft smirk before entering and setting down the tray she held and starting to pour out the tea. "Beats me," she said. "Reisen just called me and told me to put the tea on..."

Reisen fidgeted a little. "Mokou brought a lost traveler to us," she said, indicating me. "It's too far and late for her to reach the human village tonight, and she thought we could shelter her here..."

Eirin frowned. "And then she ran into Kaguya...?"

Reisen winced. "Yes... she answered the door. They're fighting now..." she whispered.

Eirin sighed. "Those two... honestly..." She glanced at me and frowned. "You've been walking in this dewy night?" she asked, a bit sharply. "How long?"

I blinked, shivering a little and moving closer to the warm fire. "I left from the shrine... Daiyousei directed me around the mansion, she said that Cirno was being aggressive, then I ended up getting lost because of Sunny, Luna, and Star... that's when Mokou found me..."

Eirin groaned and put a hand to her forehead. "Those three are getting to be a menace... Tewi, bring my tools, please." She moved closer to the flames and knelt before me. "Hold still, please. It's colder than Mokou might have realized out there, and with all this dew, well, you'll be lucky not to catch something..." She held out her hand to receive a tongue depressor from the shorter rabbit, and casually pulled my jaw down, leaning in to look at my throat. "Hm..."

I blinked at the sudden examination, then coughed as I felt a strange tingling sensation under my tongue, only realizing a few seconds later that Eirin's fingertips were glowing as she moved them softly. "Mm... temperature's fallen quite a bit... you are an ordinary human, right?" She glanced at me calmly but searchingly.

When I nodded, she sighed. "Right... you've got a very light case of hypothermia... wrap yourself up warm and sit by the fire. You probably won't develop any sort of infection, I don't see signs of inflammation, but all the same I'll make you something to bolster your defenses... Udonge, bring my herbs please?"

I watched as Reisen bowed and moved quickly off. "I thought her name was Reisen...? That's what the girl at the front door called her..." I asked quietly.

Eirin nodded. "Reisen Udongein Inaba. I call her Udonge for short," she said simply. "Now, just rest, understand? Your body's been through a bit more than you realize..." She nodded as yet another rabbit-eared girl emerged carrying a heavy blanket. "Perfect..." she said, taking it and draping it around my shoulders... the warmth that surrounded me was immediate, and I began to breathe more easily.

I looked up at her. "Thank you..."

Eirin laughed softly, taking a pinch of herbs from the jar Reisen had just returned with and mixing them into my tea. "Don't mention it," she said, pausing and then mixing a pinch into another cup too. "Here... have this one," she added, eyeing Tewi. "You can have this one."

She handed the rabbit-girl my original cup, and she shrugged and sipped quietly at it. I took a long sip, then forced myself not to spray it all over the others as the taste of pepper stole across my tongue. I swallowed hard, wincing, and grabbed a nearby cloth as I began to sneeze heavily.

Reisen groaned and glared. "Tei! What was that for?" she demanded. "She's a guest here..." She grumbled, and at a nod from Eirin she caught the smaller girl by the arm and pulled her off.

I watched her leave, taking the fresh cup Eirin mixed for me and frowning a bit. "She seemed so interested in missions to the moon..." I murmured.

Eirin nodded. "Well, we did give her asylum here when she fled the Lunarians," she said. "It's only natural..."

I shook my head. "But the Apollo missions never found anything like a civilization, and there's been nothing but a very few probes since then... certainly nobody in the outside world has seen a lunar rabbit..."

Eirin laughed, shaking her head. "Of course not... the Watatsuki sisters maintain a barrier on the Moon's surface that hides away all traces of lunar civilization and inhabitants. Humans could map the entire surface and never find even a trace." She paused, tapping her chin. "Reisen called it something once... I think it was something like the 'border of the scientific and fantastic Moon'... well, anyway, it works like Gensokyo's border, so there you have it."

I shook my head, trying to take it all in. "So... there's an entire civilization... on the Moon? But it's hidden away behind the same sort of barrier as the Great Border...? And it's maintained by... who again?"

Eirin smiled lightly. "The Watatsuki sisters," she repeated. "They're our current leaders, now that Kaguya left."

The way she phrased that made me stare up at her. "You're... lunarian?"

Eirin blinked, and then laughed. "Oh, yes, did I not mention that? Both Kaguya and I are from the lunar civilization initially, although we're both exiles now..." She frowned just a bit.

I fidgeted, glancing towards the door again. "... She's fighting that Mokou person out there... they both said they were going to kill the other... d-doesn't that bother you?"

Eirin sighed. "Honestly, I'm tired of their little 'eternal feud', but I can't really do much. It's not like either will ever forgive the other at this point..."

I tensed. "But... i-it's not like fighting the fairies... h-how can you be so calm about her fighting to the death with someone...?"

Eirin blinked, and then slapped her forehead. "Oh, right... of course you wouldn't know... They both speak of 'killing' the other, but for either to die is no longer possible..."

I blinked, nodding as I belatedly remembered Mokou telling me she was immortal. "Who... is she?" I asked, fidgeting. "She's an... immortal?"

Eirin smiled a little. "Surely someone who can recognize a lunar rabbit knows their old stories, right?" she asked. "You've heard of the tale of the bamboo cutter, haven't you?" When I nodded, she smiled. "There you have it."

I stared, turning to look at the door again. "Wait... she's... the Kaguya-hime...?" I asked, dumbfounded.

Eirin laughed softly. "Indeed..."

I shook my head. "But... didn't Kaguya-hime return to the Moon in the end...?"

Eirin's laugh faded, and she scowled. "Oh, I'd almost forgotten about that little bit of cover-up those two did..." She sighed. "That's not true at all. That story was just spread by the Lunarians to prevent their utter embarrassment at the fact that Kaguya turned them down and that a loyal councilor almost as old as the lunar civilization itself turned on her fellow ambassadors and helped her to escape."

I blinked. "You...?"

Eirin nodded quietly. "Yes. I, Eirin Yagokoro, the oldest remaining Lunarian, turned on the others who were sent with me to retrieve Kaguya and helped her to slay them all," she said, quietly and without even a hint of remorse. "Since then, we have both lived as exiles..."

I shivered. "But... so, the people of the Moon can be killed... why can't Kaguya-hime?" I asked softly.

Eirin sighed. "The same reason Mokou can't be," she said. "And the same reason I turned on the emissaries... because in the end, its very existence was due to my hand alone."

As I listened, she stared quietly into the fire. "Have you ever heard of the Hourai Elixir, child?" she asked gently.

I shook my head, belatedly realizing I hadn't introduced myself. "No... my name is Chitose Izumo, by the way..."

Eirin laughed quietly. "'Long, blessed life'... how ironic that I'd be telling you a story like this..." She shook her head. "The Hourai Elixir... I suppose that would be where this tale starts, when I created the forbidden medicine at Kaguya's behest..." She paused. "The Hourai Elixir is the ultimate restorative draught. Perhaps you recall an elixir of immortality that was left to the emperor in the tale of the bamboo cutter?"

I nodded cautiously. "Yes... but he refused to take it... and had it thrown into Mount Fuji..."

Eirin smiled sadly. "I brewed that elixir myself... that was the remnants of the Hourai Elixir, after Kaguya had taken it herself. Did you ever wonder why she was found as a young babe, concealed inside of a great stalk of bamboo?"

I blinked. "You mean... she was put there?"

Eirin nodded gravely. "To brew the Hourai Elixir is one thing. Some of my countrymen were fond of tempting humans with it... though of course they would never really let a simple human attain such an incredible power. But for one of us to drink it is a serious crime..." She shook her head. "Despite being a princess, when the other nobles learned of her plans they called for her summary execution... only to find that she had already taken the elixir, and could not be killed."

I blinked. "So then... instead she was sent here?"

Eirin sighed lightly. "Kaguya's just about the only Lunarian besides myself with a higher opinion of humans than dog poo," she said bluntly. "They considered exile on Earth to be a great punishment... though, considering your technology was even more backwards back then, maybe it was." She smiled a bit. "Kaguya, naturally, took to life on Earth well despite it being her punishment. Eventually, the nobles elected to pardon her and end her exile... as the tale tells."

I nodded. "And so the emissaries descended, and the emperor's men could not help but lower their arms in their presence..."

Eirin laughed. "What fantasies humans come up with sometimes..." she murmured. "Kaguya knew better than to have the emperor pit his men against the armies of the Moon. She explained the situation, left the Elixir for the emperor to use as he would, in return for his kindness, and fled into the night."

I shook my head. "So then... she escaped them?"

Eirin's eyes were cold. "No. Our technology is far advanced over your motion sensors and GPS and the like. The emissaries tracked her down soon enough. Had it not been for one thing, the story's end would have been as the rest of Earth knows it."

I blinked. "What was that one thing, then...?"

Eirin's eyes fixed on mine. "I was among the emissaries," she said quietly. "When they ran Kaguya to ground, I turned on them... and together we slew them all before making our escape."

I shivered silently, and she went on. "I can see in your eyes that you do not understand why. Recall, however, that the elixir was made by my hands... I was effectively a conspirator in Kaguya's plot, and yet was not punished even mildly. And also..." She sighed. "I am one of the oldest Lunarians still living, if not the oldest. I was present when Kaguya was born, and watched her grow up, often directly under my guidance. I care about her, and when I realized that she had grown to love the Earth, I knew I did not want to take that away from her." She paused. "That feathered robe in the story... they intended to put that on her," she added, shaking her head.

I nodded slowly. "The people of the Moon... don't like us very much, do they?" I asked quietly.

Eirin shook her head. "We have existed for millenia longer than you," she said. "I myself was old before the first Pharaoh ruled in Egypt. And our civilization has gained such a height of luxury and technology... well, it is common to regard humans, many of whom cannot even use magic, as being far beneath us."

I nodded and stared into my cup. "No wonder Kaguya-hime turned down everyone..."

Eirin chuckled. "No, don't be silly... Kaguya is the exception to that rule. She spent many long years on Earth, and has come to love it... I do enjoy parts of it, though there are things about humans that I think I'll never understand."

I chuckled. "Considering I've come to a world filled with youkai, I think I understand that feeling..." I pointed out. "Now... what about Mokou?"

Eirin's grip on her cup tightened. "Yes... her..." she murmured. "Well... you mentioned Kaguya's suitors. The last one of them to ever receive the trial of Impossible Requests was named Fujiwara no Fuhito..."

The surname matched Mokou's, and I shivered a little. "I see..."

Eirin sighed softly. "Fuhito was a good man. And talented as well, despite being a noble and little else... Four times after Kaguya presented him with the trial, he returned to us with one of those mystical treasures... and four times, she simply told him of the next item."

I shook my head. "Why...?"

Eirin shrugged lightly. "Because she did not love him," she said. "No matter how devoted he might have been, would you find it reasonable to ask her to marry a man she had no love for? Those requests were her way of telling him that, but he did not understand..."

She stared into her cup now. "... The fifth time, Fuhito returned empty-handed," she said, and I was barely able to hear her soft voice now. "He told of finding the great Mount Hourai, but was unable even to set foot on its slopes... Kaguya listened to his tale, thanked him for all he had done for her... but steadfastly refused his proposal." She shook her head. "I truly never will understand humans... You're from Japan yourself, so I imagine you know how it was in those days..."

I drew the blanket a little more tightly around myself. "Seppuku?"

Eirin nodded gravely. "The very same day," she said quietly. "He refused to bear the 'shame' of being refused the hand of a common girl, and died, never knowing just how high he had tried to reach... and left behind his daughter of a previous marriage, a girl called Mokou..."

I felt my hands tense on the blanket. "The emperor's elixir..."

Eirin grit her teeth and looked aside. "Yes. As his men were taking it to be thrown into Fuji's crater, she attacked them and stole it. Not fully comprehending what it was, the foolish girl drank every drop, and awoke to find herself immortal... and fully capable of carrying out her vengeance on the girl responsible for her father's death. Such was the situation where those two immortal girls met, more than four hundred years ago."

I hid my face. "And... they've been fighting ever since?" I murmured.

Eirin nodded. "Neither can truly die... the Hourai Elixir I made was perfect. No matter how horribly either injures the other, their injuries will always heal within minutes. And so, while each speaks of 'killing' the other, Mokou can never truly take revenge for her father... and so the feud rages."

We were both silent for a time, before Tei ran in, stumbling over her own feet. "M-miss Eirin, come quick! It's Miss Kaguya!" the little rabbit yelled out.

Eirin grit her teeth and dashed off, leaving me alone with my thoughts. The story seemed so strange, and horrible... there was no denying that Kaguya had in a way killed Mokou's father, but... it was hard to blame the sweet-seeming girl who had opened the door for me for refusing to marry someone she didn't love, and who she would outlive by centuries...

My reverie shattered as Eirin came racing in, Kaguya trembling in her arms and clinging to the ancient Lunarian as she whimpered. "S-stupid bird... ugh... I hate it when I lose... slip up even a little and she just goes at you..."

Eirin laid Kaguya on another blanket, and I ducked my head at the sight of her, horrified. The girl's beautiful clothes had been blackened and outright burned away in places, her sleeves both completely gone, burn scars covering both arms and mottling her cheeks. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut and tearing up, the exiled princess shivering and whimpering as Eirin shouted for the rabbits again and began to tend to Kaguya's wounds, swearing under her breath.

Reisen knelt next to me after a while and ushered me carefully out of the room and into another, a low-ceilinged room with a pair of futons laid out in it. She had to duck as well as we entered, shaking her head apologetically. "I'm sorry... nearly all of our rooms were built for the earth rabbits, and as you can tell from seeing Tei, they're much shorter than humans..."

I nodded. "It's all right," I murmured, trying not to think of Kaguya laying in the next room over, burned so badly it seemed impossible that even Eirin's medicine could restore her.

Reisen caught the look in my eyes, and shook her head. "Listen... Mokou may be a hot-head, but she's really not such a bad person when Kaguya isn't involved..." she murmured. "She's protective first and foremost to humans, and she does have a few good friends. She doesn't even attack any of us here besides Kaguya..." She paused. "I promise you, she really is a good person, even if she has a bit of a temper..."

I nodded. "And... even though she was talking so casually about deciding how to k-kill Mokou, Kaguya-hime also seems pretty sweet and childish..." I murmured.

Reisen rolled her eyes and sat on her futon again. "There's a reason she gets along so well with Tei," she said. "Actually, I think she's the only one here that Tei's never directly pranked... well, her and Miss Eirin, but nobody besides the shrine maiden and a few others are willing to mess around with an eight thousand year-old Lunarian." She sighed. "So yeah... their feud probably won't ever end. Mokou is too stubborn, and Kaguya too full of childish spite. But Mokou's pretty decent to the rest of us. And she's always helping humans like you who wander into the forest..." She sighed. "I guess you just get used to it after fifty years or so... they're nice enough people on their own, but when they're together they can't help but fight..."

She yawned, and slipped into her futon, blinking and reaching up to move her folded ear as it covered her eye. I tilted my head. "Did you hurt it...?"

Reisen nodded a little. "Back before I met Miss Eirin. Without her medicine, it never really healed right... but, it's fine. Everyone says it's kinda cute."

I giggled a little. "Well, it is... not that a girl with bunny ears generally needs to worry about being cute," I teased, slipping into my own carefully.

Reisen blushed, and pouted a little. "A-anyway, keep that blanket over you. Miss Eirin told me to make sure you did; otherwise you still might catch something after being out for so long..."

I nodded, smiling as Reisen slipped over to cover me, and on an impulse gently ran a finger over the soft surface of her lop-ear. The inaba blushed softly and smiled, before slipping back into her own. "Sleep well, Chitose..." I heard her murmur, but I was already fast asleep.

(Author's notes... Satori's explanation about Koishi actually is all canon, though most of it is drawn from a detailed reading of her SA profile and thus isn't very widely known. It's also my reason for favoring pairing Koishi and Flandre so much, or at least favoring the two becoming close friends; Koishi literally has the power to suppress and control Flandre's psychotic episodes, allowing her to remain sane and functioning normally. Furthermore, there's the fact that Koishi has lived her life drifting pretty much everywhere, seeing many things but suppressing her own emotions regarding them, while Flandre has lived 99% of her life locked in the basement of her sister's mansion and has emotions so strong they literally overtake her sanity at times... I dunno, I just honestly regard those two personalities as just needing a simple meeting to spark a close (and adorable) relationship... hence Satori and Patchouli giving that "push" in this story.)

(Regarding Tei/Tewi's name, though this also came up in the last chapter with Tenshi's last name and should've been mentioned there as well... In the 1950's, the Japanese government ruled the kana symbol representing the letter "wi" (Japanese letters come as either lone vowels, the lone letter n, or consonant-vowel pairs) to be obsolete. While this obviously doesn't affect Gensokyo directly, someone has clearly been somehow carrying these changes over. As a result, depending on the character, various residents will use either the archaic "wi" ("old hands" like Keine, Kaguya, Eirin, and the like) or the newer "i" (Reimu, Yukari, Sanae, etc.). The official spellings are "Tei" and "Hinanai", but where I believe a character would still use the archaic form, it will be spelled with the "wi" in their dialogue. Think of it sort of like some of the characters still retaining certain aspects of Olde English in their speech.)

(... ah, Mokou and Kaguya... god, was this scene hard to write. It's very easy for fans to pick "sides" in the eternal Hourai conflict (particularly so for someone like me, for whom Kaguya is one of their favorite characters in the whole series). However, Chitose isn't on either side, and I really wanted to paint the conflict as it is, without painting either side as the "good guy" or "bad guy". Whenever my brother and I fought, my parents used to say that there's no right side in a fight, and it's even truer between these two.)

(Speaking of Mokou, Fujiwara no Fuhito. It's canonical that Mokou is the daughter of this noble of the Fujiwara clan, and that Fuhito sought Kaguya's hand during her time on earth (presumably he'd gotten a divorce or his first wife had died, as Mokou was a young girl by this point) and was horribly shamed when he was turned down. Everything else, however, is my own creation... however, I feel that it makes sense, fits well with his character... and adds a bit of depth and even irony to his character and to Kaguya and Mokou's actions.)

(It's also not strictly canonical that Fuhito took his own life in shame, but a) it fits with the time period and b) it fits far better with Mokou's response. Consider that it was nearly six hundred years from the time Mokou took the Elixir to the time when she and Kaguya met once again. If Fuhito had been merely snubbed and shamed, it would be absurd to the point of character flaw for Mokou to still hold a grudge against Kaguya all that long time, especially considering how much else she'd had to deal over those long years as a result of her own actions. If Fuhito actually died, however, then in Mokou's mind Kaguya could easily have become the person to blame for losing her only remaining family member... and right afterward, being tainted by the Hourai Elixir and cursed with an undying body. That makes far more sense as a driving force behind her eternal hatred for Kaguya. Again, it's not stated in-canon either way, but we can at the very least infer.)

(One last thing I almost forgot to mention; this is the bit where fans of a certain manga will realize exactly what Chitose's name is an homage to... no, I'm not going to say which, at least not here. :3)