Author's Note: The title says it all. This one took me waaaaaaayyyy longer than it really should, considering both its length and (lack of) quality. Studying is a horrible thing, indeed. The lack of free time is not a problem at all (at least for now). It's rather that with so little to do and so much time to waste you can't really help but, well, waste it. Yes, I know, I lack a backbone ._.
Anyway, here it is. I hope you enjoy, let me know if you do. If not, well, let me know anyway. Either way, feedback is always welcome.
Stage I – Couldn't Find The START Button?
Human Village wasn't exactly the way Riina had imagined it to be. First off, she didn't expect it to be so lively and crowded; it was a shocker for her to see a whole lot of humans on the main street, chatting, laughing and browsing around streetside markets, and paying very little attention to her or her friends. Apparently they were used to seeing youkai visit their shops and bars on a daily basis or so, and Riina was most happy because of that. Her previous encounters with humans had given her a negative image of their kind: cold, brutal and heartless black-whites who care only about themselves. The villagers not grabbing pitchforks and torches at her sight was a nice change.
'There's Ms. Kamishirasawa's school.' Daiyousei acted as a guide to Riina, pointing at a somewhat run-down building squeezed between an apothecary's and a grocer's. Paint peeling off its walls and several windows broken, it might as well have been an abandoned shack that hasn't collapsed on its own only because of the neighbouring buildings supporting it. Like a bad apple in a basket of ripe and healthy ones, the school definitely did stand out in the worst way possible.
'The classes should be already over but I'm quite sure she should still be inside,' the fairy continued. 'Actually, I don't think she ever leaves the building...'
'A word of caution to you,' added Wriggle, keeping a firm grip on Rumia's shoulder. The youkai of darkness was drooling profusely at the sight of any passers-by, her stomach rumbling like a distant thunder. Gods know what would have happened to the village were it not for her companions, who always tried their hardest at tempering her.
'Keine hates those who are a threat to the village or its inhabitants and she can be over-sensitive about it. Now, I'm sure I probably needn't mention it, seeing how a mere bird can startle you, but try not to provoke her in any way. Don't do anything. Don't touch anything. Weigh your words and... Scratch that, don't speak at all.'
'What's got into you, Wriggle?' Mystia asked, watching a droplet of sweat dribble from the firefly's forehead. 'I know Ms. Keine can be scary at times, but that's really-'
'You'll see once you're inside,' Wriggle cut her short, seemingly not wanting to touch the topic further. 'And you, stop making me drag you all the way! Use your legs a bit!' she yelled at Rumia who was still eyeing the villagers, allowing to be led by Wriggle instead of walking on their own.
They were a few steps from the about-to-collapse school building's doors (which looked as though they've been kicked open at least a hundred times; the lack of hinges and the use of shoelaces in the place of such made the theory very plausible) when Riina noticed a shaved ice stand just right next to a large flashy store with "Kirisame Shop" written on a signboard above the entrance.
'Hey~' she stopped all of a sudden, her face very grave. 'What happened to Sno-ball? Where's she?'
'Come to think of it...' Daiyousei craned her neck around in an attempt to spot a pair of ice wings somewhere in the crowd. 'I haven't seen her since we set off... Do you know what could've-'
'Oh, she's safe,' Wriggle assured her firmly. 'Probably having the fun of her life, fighting The Great Demon Youkai Kappa King of Awesome at the bottom of the lake.'
'...the what?' the girls asked in unison, staring at Wriggle in bewilderment.
'Oh, come on, I had to make it up so that she wouldn't come with us!' the firefly barked at them. 'With her fighting spirit back, it's not the matter of "if" she'd start rampaging the moment she saw Keine, because she definitely would, no matter what! Trust me, it'll be the best for all of us if she stays home: completely safe, no risk of anyone attacking her, no risk of Keine erasing us from the history and if we're lucky, we might even not get killed because of Rumia's eating habits or Riina's potential power to blow up half of the village! So if we'll live to tell the tale, we'll also be able to come back to Cirno and get her out. Because she probably ended up as a block of ice, you know, with her body temperature being ice-cold and being surrounded by water. Sounds like plan, doesn't it?'
Unable to get more out of Wriggle, the party entered a dimly lit corridor, its only source of light being a single old light bulb hanging from the ceiling on two metal uninsulated wires. There were several doors on each side but only a few of them weren't nailed down with wooden planks, rendering most of the classrooms impossible to use.
Despite not knowing whether the place has ever seen its better days, it was quite evident to the group that Keine Kamishirasawa's school was nowhere near the top position in any popularity rankings. It seemed a miracle there were still people who would send their children there, having in mind the eerie atmosphere the dead corridor gave off. The light flickered, sending chills down their spines and making Riina forget the grief over the absence of Cirno, which she had considered not only a gigantic loss to them as a team ("What good can come of a party without an ice mage?") but also to her taste buds. She could kill for Cirno's shaved ice.
They walked upstairs, trying not to touch the rusty bannister lest it should start falling apart. They found Keine at her office which was most probably the smallest room the building held. Columns of books and heaps of paper took most of the already lacking space; a desk, a chair and Keine herself were squished between the pillars of volumes and encyclopaedias, shrinking it to a size of a broom closet. A candle placed to her right was glowing faintly, its knot approaching the end of its life steadily.
It was one of the most miserable sights in the girls' life, seeing the school teacher, form tutor and principal (3-in-1) working there like a mule, checking kids' homework, filling tax forms and writing petitions to potential sponsors for donations. She looked as though she didn't get any sleep last night, half-bent over the table so that one might have expected her to collapse and start snoring away. And on the top of that, bruises were covering her arms and her face – a sight which made the girls all tense at once (all except Wriggle who had been in this state since their arrival in the village). Riina began to cry all of a sudden.
'Ms. Kamishirasawa,' Daiyousei said worriedly, hugging and patting the weeping youkai who had clung on to her. 'Is everything all right?'
Keine didn't react at once, busying herself with packing a ten-page letter inside a tiny envelope with a poor imitation of a stamp drawn on its surface with a pen. Once she finished (the letter now resembled a failed origami attempt and the envelope was torn asunder) she raised her eyes from the desk to see a bunch of worry-worn faces staring at her breathlessly. My former students, she thought nostalgically.
A smile bloomed on her face and she let out a suppressed, silent cry of happiness.
'My dears,' she said, blinking furiously so as not to let tears flow, 'it's so good to see you. I've been actually hoping for some of you to pay me a small visit, ever since Wriggle came here yesterday... But isn't there someone miss- Oh, yes, where is Cirno?'
'Doing chores,' Wriggle answered before anyone else could. 'We're doing turns at the lake and this time it turned out to be hers. And she's um... she's really sorry for trying to fight you earlier! And she's so embarrassed, in fact, that she was afraid to come.'
Everyone in this room knew it was a blatant lie: both Cirno's doing housework and showing sensibility. But Keine apparently decided to let it slide, for she was too happy to see them to inquire further.
'I see,' she giggled, frowning ever so slightly. 'Well, tell her that I'm not angry with her at all. She's always welcome here, as long as she doesn't bother the villagers. In fact, her last visit proved to be very inspiring for the owner of the shaved ice stand in front of the school. He thought it would be very profitable to set off such a business, seeing how successful Cirno had been. In fact, he even offered the school a percentage of his earnings to support it.'
'That's fantastic!' Daiyousei clapped enthusiastically, having let go of Riina who had calmed down considerably. 'Is the business going well then?'
Keine gave her a grim smile and she slumped as though air deflated from her. 'Not really. People seem to have stopped taking interest ever since the free sample period was over. Or maybe it's not as high quality as they might have expected. Either way...'
She hesitated for a second or two and then shook her head.
'Oh, nevermind. I wouldn't want to bore you with my problems. So,' she forced a radiant smile back on, 'is there a way I can help you?'
None of the girls was buying Keine's "I'm-fine-thank-you" facade. It didn't seem right to go ahead and ask her for a favour without doing so much as letting her share her burden. Also, they were dying to find out what was the cause of Keine's injuries. Daiyousei might have been a mother figure to the group but her authority paled in comparison with their former homeroom teacher. She was like family, and anything that troubled Keine was a matter of their concern as well.
Upon asking about the bruises she became very uneasy and tried to change the subject but she was very unskillful at it. It wasn't really hard to make her spill the beans; Daiyousei's pleads and Riina's puppy eyes were all it took to do the trick.
'All right, all right, you nosey little...' she feigned anger, shaking her head in resignation. The girls could tell from the badly masked smile that she secretly wanted someone to hear her out.
She began her story, but not before giving Riina a curious stare as though she wanted to ask "Um, who are you, by the way?". She let it wait for the time being, though, since there were five pairs of ears all ready and waiting impatiently.
It was night, its black firmament bright with stars and the half-moon enshrouded with clouds. Spooky figures were creeping amongst the trees, jumping from shadow to shadow, staying out of random villagers' sight. Strays, vagabonds, rogues – all those youkai who found it hard to conform and coexist with their human neighbours; outcasts whose refuge was the woods, especially the one closest to the village, the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, or nearby caves.
It was a tough life, but they couldn't wish for another. No civilised youkai with the least amount of self-respect would ever approve of any of these black sheep of their species. And it wasn't the brightest idea to try and reunite with humans after the village's entire population remembers you as the one who has been actively contributing to the lowering of its number. Once a monster, always a monster.
This night was of the more live ones. Several food-starved youkai teamed up in hope of snatching one, two, twenty villagers to satiate their week-long hunger. It will happen this time, they repeated constantly, so as to keep their morale high. It's not full moon any more, the hakutaku can't bring her powers to the fullest...
Not only were they right but also lucky: even at night, I am often busy with taking care of administration of the school. Without more hands to help me with my work, I was sitting in the office, scribbling petitions as usual. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary – the streets outside were dead silent and glowing orange from the paper lanterns' light. Here and there a child could be heard crying, a nightmare having invaded his or hers world of dreams; a stray cat would make a racket in the trash bins, scared of a rustle in the grass; one drunkard would yell at another in a bar, only to go home in peace after enough insults and bottles were thrown. Just what one might expect at two in the morning.
Nearly half an hour had passed when I finished all the paperwork I had intended to do before finally going to sleep. Ignoring a pile of ungraded homework that seemed to be growing each time I took a glance at it, I left my desk and went straight for the bedroom downstairs. Immensely tired and my whole body aching as though buried under a rock for a month, all it would take for me to fall asleep was the touch of the invitingly soft bedsheets...
Then a scream pierced the air with a force of a thunder. It was rather distant and faint, but it was more than enough for me to know that someone's life is in danger. With fatigue gone in an instant, blood rushing through my veins and adrenaline firing me up, I rushed outside taking a shortcut – headlong through the bedroom's window (it's not like it had many glass panes left, anyway) and on the street.
There were no attackers in sight; as I found out some time later, they were lurking around the outskirts of the village, several of them on the watch and the rest busying themselves with kidnapping villagers straight out of their beds. But at the time I burst out of the building I had no idea what to expect. I could only guess and, as it turned out, my guess was right.
To ensure safety of the villagers yet untouched by the attackers, I saw no other alternative but to call forth my powers. It's an exhausting thing to do, concealing an entire village to prevent it from being attacked, removing it, in a way, from history; as though it had never existed it the first place.
Five seconds or so later, I was standing in the middle of a vast meadow, no sign of the streets, shops, stands or people whatsoever. Just a couple of shadows in the distance: the attackers and their prey. Seeing their numbers, my heart sank. I wasn't ready to fight so many of them at once, all of them youkai to make matters worse, and especially not after being worn-out mentally and with most of my power depleted.
'Help!' the captives cried desperately but I was too far away to do anything. There were multiple enemies in my way too, twisting their heads around in confusion, dumbfounded by the village's sudden disappearance.
It wasn't long before they took notice of me. They attacked without so much as a warning and the next second I was lying low behind a small rock, a curtain of fire pellets zooming inches above my head and singeing the tall blades of grass all around me. The moment a couple of their bullets managed to graze me I started to get seriously worried about whether I'm going to make it out alive.
The barrage stopped as abruptly as it had started. My wounds were only superficial, limited to a few scratches and bruises. But that wasn't my biggest concern at the time: what I saw when I got up was that the youkai were fleeing from the scene, content with the amount of human food they had stolen. My insides froze: at least ten villagers were kidnapped and there was little I could do in my condition. Nevertheless, I gave chase, trying to think of a way to rescue them and trying not to imagine what would happen if I couldn't.
The attackers had already entered the depths of the bamboo forest, and it seemed to me as though I had still miles before me to be able to catch up with them. I was out of breath and my lungs burned as though on fire, but I clenched my teeth and kept on running.
And then, literally out of nowhere, two shadows appeared on both my sides: seemed like their comrades, whom I must have not noticed before. I was too slow to react and the next thing I remember is a sharp pain somewhere in my back and me landing softly on the grass face down. Something thick and warm was spreading throughout my clothes rapidly – my blood. With so much of it lost, I no longer had any strength to get back on feet and defend myself.
The world around me was swirling and rotating and the pain was gradually fading away from my body. It all seemed so surreal: even my assaulters' faces, twisted in a gleeful smile and their hideous, cackling laughter were strange and distant, as if it was nothing but a bad dream. A nightmare that was going to end soon, the very moment I draw my last breath...
And then the sky itself was set ablaze. It became brighter than during the day, so bright that I would go blind if I weren't facing the ground. Tongues of fire fell down on those who had wounded me. It wasn't enough to kill them or at least knock them out but I could see the expressions of boundless fear on their faces and that they cleared off in panic towards the nearest thicket.
My senses, although considerably numbed, were coming back to me. It was getting warm, warmer, so hot that I thought I was going to be burnt to cinders. Not that it would make much difference: it was either to bleed out or die of overheating. I have never been choosy about the way I die. But I had one regret: that the village would perish along with me, the only one able to restore it and that I couldn't save anyone that night...
'Why do I always have to save your ass?' a voice that I recognised yet couldn't put my finger on it at the time whispered to me.
I couldn't make a sound but put all my strength into turning my head towards my saviour. Tears flowed from my eyes the instant I saw a pair of legs clad in loose red trousers and silver-white strands of hair reaching almost all way to the ground.
Mokou has come to save me.
She crouched next to me and used her own sleeve that she had torn off her shirt to stop my wounds from bleeding. She then stroked my head gently and told me not to worry and that she'll take care of everything. And then she k-, I mean she... um...
'...she... went straight into the forest, beat up the evildoers and rescued the villagers. The end.'
The hasty, clumsy tone with which Keine had finished her story did not escape the pack's notice, who had been listening to the tale so far with mouths agape in excitement. Nor did a sudden bloom of red on her face go unnoticed and Keine realised that too the moment she saw a curious twinkle in their eyes. All she could do was to pray that they wouldn't ask her any embarrassing questions.
And she knew too well that there's no way they are keeping quiet about it.
'Huuh~?' Mystia let out a disappointed sigh. 'It's over already? What about the youkai who attacked? How were they beaten? I was hoping for some more...'
'But still, wasn't it pretty amazingly detailed for such a story?' said Daiyousei, trying to hide the fact that she too had higher expectations of the narrative. 'I mean, you must have read the histories of the attackers, right Ms. Kamishirasawa? These opening lines... I was starting to believe it's just a fairytale!'
'To hell with that!... So you were basically stabbed in your back just this night and yet you're sitting here, working as if nothing happened?' Wriggle said, amazed and flabbergasted at the same time. 'I reckon that's a youkai for you but...'
'M- Mokou treated my wounds soon after the fight was over and the villagers were safe,' Keine explained, trying to sound calm but still blushing. 'She was here with me until dawn, changing my bandages and... yeah. Owing to her tender c-care and Eirin's medicine, I've managed to fully recover. And so that you know, even a fatal wound is not a strong enough excuse to skip work.'
The girls, although perplexed by Keine's odd behaviour, didn't have any problems with what she had just said. Workaholic for life, that's the Guardian of the Human Village for you, Keine Kamishirasawa. But there was still something wrong, something that just didn't add up.
Whispering, so that Keine couldn't hear them, Daiyousei said to Wriggle:
'What was that you had been saying about Miss Keine going rampant? The way you were flinching at the mere thought of irking her – I was convinced she would well... um... cave us the moment we crossed the doorstep.'
They exchanged frightened looks. Being caved by Keine was no joking matter.
'I know right?' Wriggle shrugged, whispering back to her. 'It's damn confusing! Yesterday morning she was literally barking at anyone who'd approach her, even if you merely wanted to say "hello". And the villagers told me about how she had shot danmaku at some kids in the backyard just because they were playing with firecrackers. I don't know...' she bit her lip, thinking. 'If her bad mood was caused by a similar incident like the one she's just told us about, then it beats me why she's suddenly all sunshine and rainbows again...'
'I know!'
All eyes stared at Riina, who stood with her arms akimbo and an annoying smile on her face, suggesting she possessed some secret piece of knowledge the others didn't. She appeared extremely pleased with herself.
'Who are you by the way, sweetheart?' Keine asked but the answer wasn't precisely the one she expected.
'They must have got lovey-dovey last night~' said Riina, surpressing a giggle.
Keine's face was steaming and basically glowing. She tried to say something to protest but embarrassment got her tongue and all she could do was to stutter and randomly gesticulating and flailing her arms.
'W-who do you mean by them, Ri-... Oh.'
As soon as the truth struck Riina's companions, their faces lit red too, and with the brightness of a Christmas tree. Pure, innocent and child-like, the lake residents had little idea about the way relationships work in Gensokyo. Revelations like this one were always shocking and maybe even repulsive at first; like the moment when you are first taught about the physical differences between boys and girls. This time was not an exception. The girls were genuinely bewildered.
'I-i-it's f-fine, Miss Kami... sh-... Ms. Keine,' Daiyousei was the first to break the very awkward silence. She put her hand on Keine's shoulder, as if wanting to reassure her. 'W-w-we won't t-tell anybody, you d-don't h-have to w-worry-'
'I'M NOT HAVING A ROMANTIC AFFAIR WITH F-Fujiwara!' Keine blurted out and slammed her hands on the table, making the girls startle in fear and Daiyousei to jump back. The girls silently agreed it would be best not to ever bring this topic up again but were one-hundred-percent convinced she was lying. Her voice faltered the moment she uttered Mokou's family name.
'Wow, now she said it,' said Riina, seemingly not affected by Keine's outburst at all.
Hakutaku pointed at her, her eyes ablaze with fury.
'Who are you anyway?! A complete stranger, coming in here, saying whatever you please, inconsiderate of what others might feel...'
'But you two do o out, no?'
'We don't!'
'We humbly apologise for our friend's rude behaviour, Miss Kamishirasawa,' Daiyousei spoke in an abnormally formal (even for her, who was already a shining example of politeness) tone, bowing deeply to the ground. 'You say sorry, too, Riina,' she added, putting her hand onto the youkai's head and making her bow as well.
'Owowowow, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Leggo, it hurts!' Riina complained as she felt her hair being torn out by the fairy's strong grip. 'Such a fuss about denying to like one another- Kuah!'
'So anyway,' Wriggle said casually, her fist punched into Riina's stomach, causing the youkai to bend in half and moan weakly. 'Would you mind doing us a favour, Miss?'
'It's about Riina over here,' Mystia said, not waiting for an answer. 'She doesn't remember a thing about her past and we wondered whether you could possibly help her. She's our friend,' she added quickly, seeing Keine frown and looking reluctant to aid the winged youkai in general.
'No memories...' she muttered to herself, scratching her chin and pondering deeply. 'So am I to understand that no one here has any idea who this girl might be? Where did you pick her up anyway?'
'Are you still mad at her about that-' Wriggle asked but was cut short by Keine.
'That's not the case!' she objected hotly. 'All I mean is that this girl, no matter how weak and hopeless she might appear to us...'
You nailed it, Miss, thought Mystia, Wriggle, Daiyousei and Rumia at the same time.
'...she might be something far more dangerous than she might realise herself! What if, the moment she regains her memories, she will bring yet another disaster to the village – no, Gensokyo itself? You must be surely aware of just how many incidents have taken place during the last few years; and I needn't help cause another one! There has been enough misery and suffering by hands of the plotters and their evil schemes to last a lifetime!'
'But Riina would never, ever hurt anyone!' Daiyousei confronted Keine. She was shorter by a head when compared with her former teacher but that didn't make the power of her stare any less intense.
'But I refuse!' Keine stared back at her coldly. 'I refuse to be the one to unleash a calamity upon our land so I suggest that you take your friend back where she came from so that I can get back to my work. And before you say anything, there is nothing, nothing you can do or say to make... me...'
The way minds work is truly amazing. Keine and the girls might not have been aware of it but they all seemed to have thought exactly the same thing the instant she uttered the last few words.
Her and Mokou. Something they'd both prefer to keep as a secret.
She clenched her teeth in irritation as she saw nasty grins bloom on the girls' faces.
'And here I thought you were nice, cute, little kids,' she sighed, hands raised in capitulation.
It wasn't a pleasant sensation. Imagine having your skull wide-open – not cracked, split open or damaged in any excruciating way – just open, for everyone around to take a peek into or waltz in without so much as a pardon.
That's more or less what Riina was experiencing, her mind being probed by Keine and her history-reading powers. While the hakutaku couldn't just read others' minds on the fly, in the way Satori could, for instance, it was possible for her to find out concrete facts about whatever she wants to investigate. Every object, every patch of land, every creature, every person, every single atom and its components have their own history, after all.
So if Riina's mind could be compared to a museum and Keine, to a visitor, the history-eating youkai would find herself outside its front doors, staring at a sloppily drawn sign saying:
CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
It was less an insult, more a slap to the face.
'Hey, are you kidding me, girl?!' she yelled at the top of her lungs. She could afford to do that freely and without troubling the neighbours; being merely a projection of her own persona in the youkai's mind, no one else besides Riina could hear her in that state.
'I'll have you know, this is not the best way of treating someone who's going to such great lengths as risking the safety of the world to help you! Let me in!'
'Now, should I~?' Riina's disembodied voice carried throughout the empty space around the museum. 'It's not like we even know each other~'
'Leave that to me,' said Keine. 'After all, I'll be extracting your history from the depths of your very soul so getting to know you better seems inevitable.'
'But don't you, like, have someone already?' asked Riina's voice. 'Imagine that poor sweetheart's face if she were to find out I let you inside~'
'Stop joking around!' Keine roared, smashing the doors into splinters with her bare fists. She peered inside but there wasn't much to be seen. Complete darkness, just like the one spread out against Riina's mind. The busted doorway became fuzzy and, along with the rest of the building, it disappeared before her very eyes.
'Do you even want my help? If not, then say it out loud, because I don't have time for your dumb games! I'm not doing this for you, and would have never agreed to it, were it not for the fact that I've known these girls for years (that and their blackmailing skills about which I had absolutely no idea). So do me a favour instead and-!'
For a moment – just a moment, a one that lasted no longer than a flash of lightning – the darkness had lost its uniform deep blackness and became clouds of swirling grey smoke. What was even more disquieting, the clouds seemed to conceal some sort of shapes behind them – outlines, silhouettes? And then, in a blink of an eye, everything was back to normal. Keine was still standing amidst infinite emptiness. While it had left her a bit startled, she began to understand.
It's not that it was simply dark inside her mind: it was rather that her memories were hidden beneath, obscured and unreadable at first, like relics of the past buried deep in the ground. Forgotten, yet well-preserved, they were waiting for someone to uncover them. An ancient message meant solely for the archaeologist. And there couldn't be one more worthy to unearth its secrets than Keine herself.
She was not the narcissistic kind of person, and yet she couldn't help it but feel it's true.
Fascinated by what she had just witnessed, she put her worries and doubts aside. Safety of the village couldn't have been possibly more important in any way than the need to satiate her thirst, her morbid curiosity. Just a thought of what the veil of darkness might reveal to her filled her with ecstasy.
She stretched her arm towards where she had seen the shapes.
And as soon as her fingers clasped around the air, she saw it once again. This time more vividly.
...death and suffering... wherever it is, I am there also; wherever you find me, murder and bloodshed will follow... the marvellous scarlet of gore... the very thing that makes this boring world a bit more...
...colourful... wouldn't you agree?...
...I see, you wouldn't... oh, but how absurd it is: you, who don a mask of a guardian, a sweet mother who'd protect their children till her last breath and droplet of blood... you, always so nice, always so polite and benevolent it makes me sick... what a joke, what a fraud you are...
...but aren't you a beast at heart? ...a creature with a soul like the blackest of nights, endowed with so much power to sow the ground with flesh and bones and water them with a rain of blood... just what is holding you back?...
...what's the point of hiding your true nature? ...why would any of these puny humans be of so much importance to you? ...don't you hide behind cliched phrases such as "moral codes" or "feelings"; you and I are the same... deep inside you, too, wish to see the world drenched in red...
...scared of what you see? ...frightened of what you hear? ...why is that so, my friend, my dear kinsman? ...what fears could you possibly have, creature of the night? ...haven't you got what you came here for? ...wasn't your thirst satiated by unveiling the truth behind this poor girl's history?... oh, but how well I know that feeling... you see, I'm thirsty as well... except that it's a different kind of thirst, if you know what I mean...
...it's been so long since I last saw someone die... wail in agony... convulse with pain... it gives me so nice chills when I merely think about it... I'm dying to see it again... that, and take my revenge on the woman who'd interrupted me last time... it will be a pleasure to take care of her myself...
...I will come back, don't you get your hopes up... I won't stay like this forever, I can feel it... and don't try to do anything to prevent it; you can't anyway... and when I'm back, we're both going to have sooo~ much fun together, my friend... oh, it's not a problem if you have no experience in that... I'm going to show you a proper massacre once I'm back...
...actually, why don't I show you now?... I have many memories like these...
...dear memories...
'Miss Keine!'
It took the strength of several voices combined to make Keine realise she was lying sprawled on the floor right next to Riina's unconscious body. She found herself panting heavily, her heart speeding so much it was about to set a world record and her face covered in cold sweat. It was like a nightmare, or worse.
No, definitely worse, she thought, taking a glance at the senseless youkai. There wasn't a sign of fatigue or strain on her face at all. One would think she was having quite a pleasurable sleep, apparently unfazed by what had just happened.
The hakutaku stared at the girl with horror. She had been perfectly right. Riina was dangerous, and not just "dangerous"; more like something that shouldn't have been allowed to see the light of day in the first place.
'Miss Keine?' Daiyousei, who was right next to her, asked. 'Has something happened? Is everything alright?'
Keine wanted to speak, but her throat refused to cooperate. But even if she actually managed to produce an utterance, she'd have no idea what to say. Too many thoughts were cramped inside her head at the same time, and each of them unbearable, buzzing like wasps and stinging you when you try to make them leave you alone.
'...ke her aw...'
'Miss Keine?'
'TAKE HER AWAY!' she yelled at last, as though all the emotions she had been suppressing till that moment burst out simultaneously. Her mind became clearer than ever: She's a monster. She has no right to be here. No right to live...
'This thing is an abomination... Take her back to where you've found her and leave there!' she looked wildly around the girls' fear-stricken faces. They've never seen her like that.
'But...'
'NOW!' her order sounding more than absolute, the girls had no choice but to hastily pick Riina up and carry her shoulder-high out of Keine's office and further into the street.
She heard them huffing and puffing and discussing lively in hushed voices from out of the window. She stood there for a while, until she lost sight of them, meaning that they finally left the village. Keine let out a sigh of relief. Followed by a sudden outburst of weeping.
Just what have I done?, she asked herself, covering her face in her hands, trying to muffle her cries. She acted out of fear, still under effect of what horrors she had seen within that youkai's head. She had wanted to ensure the safety of the village first. These few hundreds of lives are more important than a few individual ones. That's how she tried to comfort herself, to justify her actions, to be able to forgive herself. But she couldn't.
It was as though she let those kids play with a ticking bomb or, in a manner of mythical Otohime, entrusted them with a tamatebako – a box that must not be opened, lest something terrible should happen. And she let them walk away! Worse, she made them go. And with the awakening of that monster, they are most likely to be the first ones she's going to...
...I will come back... don't get your hopes up...
…don't try to do anything about it; you can't anyway...
Then it struck Keine. That's right, she thought. I can't. But there might be someone who can.
Feeling a burning flame of resolve within her, she wiped the remainders of tears off her face and rushed towards the exit. It was high time she swallowed her pride and renewed contacts with an old foe that had defeated her twice during the moon incident.
Someone to whom fighting youkai and sealing evil spirits is a daily grind.
