Author's Notes
These might start coming out a little slower, now. I'm still going to shoot for 1/week, but I may not be able to manage it. I still haven't decided on what to do with Marisa. It seems every time I think about it, I think of another thing to do.
Within the Scarlet Devil mansion
Satori clutched at her rapidly beating heart. She had survived… she had escaped. She hadn't wanted to use Sakuya as a hostage, but there had been little choice… Satori dissolved the bond with her now, though, just in case… It wouldn't do for Sakuya to die because of a freak accident. There was little point in retrieving the dolls... given the strength of the attacks they had suffered, Satori would be surprised if even dust remained of them.
Satori hurried down the corridors… here and there she saw a room collapsed… she was glad she had decided to use parts of the mansion as damage decoys, or Remilia might not have realized what was happening in time… as it was… the next strike -would- have been on Sakuya… Satori wasn't sure if she would have been able to live with herself if it had come down to that, but she was a terrible liar; she had needed to actually put Sakuya in danger to convince Remilia she was. Of course, if Remilia hadn't made that little slip regarding Youmu, her foolish messing with the threads of fate would have killed Sakuya anyway... Satori had folded space so Sakuya was "in" Remilia's study... her life would have been taken, and Satori would have been free from that fate thread. She had released that magic once Remilia had let her know of Youmu's visit to the Netherworld... it was a taxing effect.
As it was, Satori felt bad enough for using a hostage… she once again thanked goodness things hadn't gone that far. As she walked along, she used the spell Remilia had thought she'd never need again and called Ran… it took a few moments, but she showed up, along with her own cat shikigami.
The imposing kitsune towered over Satori, but her heart was hardly even her own. It was bound so tightly to another that Ran herself seemed to do very little her master didn't wish. The nekomata, Chen, was far more unrestrained. A rather cheerful, innocent and happy sort, who desired little out of life other than food and companionship. She saw Ran not as a master, but as a good friend… the feeling, however, was not reciprocated. Ran saw Chen as a tool, and nothing more… just as she saw all shikigami… just as she saw herself. Shikigami were to serve their masters… that was their purpose in Ran's mind… Satori understood why she'd think that, seeing the dedication in the kitsune's mind.
"I'm busy with preparations, Remili-" Ran was clearly expecting someone else, but she stopped when she saw Satori, who addressed her.
"Sorry I've no offering, but you needed to be told as soon as possible. Remilia used a contract to make almost everyone forget that she could alter spellcard duel outcomes. You were one such."
"She did -what-?" Ran exclaimed. She hadn't completely forgotten; the contract was only minutes ago signed, after all, but already the knowledge had been slipping away... now she was enraged at Remilia trying to cut out of her end of the bargain.
"You should tell Yukari, as well. You three apparently had an understanding."
"I will, yes. Now, I need to start dealing with this problem at Eientei." Satori saw Ran's plan… yes.. it seemed it would work…
"I don't envy your Shikigami, but it seems a good plan. I think you're powerful enough to defeat her." Chen looked confused at Satori's statement, failing to understand just what was going on.
"Of course I am." Ran vanished through a gap. Satori saw how the gap was formed, but also saw that doing so required extreme care and precision... Satori would likely need to work for a few days to accomplish what Ran had just done in a mere moment.
Satori had been impressed with Ran's mind. She was coming to be amazed at the many geniuses she had met… Byakuren, Miko, Ran… Possibly even Eirin… Each had a different way of coping with the millennia of experiences they needed to sort through. In Ran's case, she stored circumstances as variables, and just ran them through equations to determine her course of action. Her mind had moved amazingly swiftly, performing calculations at a speed that even Satori had difficulty following without self hypnosis... an interesting storage method, to be certain.
And Ran's mind gave every indication that her master's mind was unfathomable to Ran's own relatively puny intellect. The thought made Satori quiver in anticipation…
Near Youkai Mountain, a few hours later
Satori looked at the mountain looming in the distance… The forest of magic sprawled out beneath it… the swamp next to that… the Garden of the Sun, near its base… not visible from this angle, thankfully. She'd been in the mountain's shadow for much of her time on this excursion… but she'd hoped she would be able to avoid going there herself…
Youmu was right, though… even -they- deserved to be warned… She spent the rest of the journey bracing herself.
At the foot of Youkai mountain.
Satori sensed a heart waiting passively… A white wolf tengu, it seemed… bored out of his skull, daydreaming about a date later that evening with a fellow white wolf tengu he found very attractive. As she approached further Satori could tell there were several others, all finding various ways to amuse themselves in their heads… counting, playing word games with themselves, and daydreaming. All this changed immediately when the visible tengu's keen eyes saw Satori approaching.
He let out a howl, and immediately Satori sensed about a third of the others fleeing, though they did so silently… this was a well-rehearsed response, and Satori didn't need to read their minds to know what the howl meant.
Intruder!
Satori walked openly up to the visible guard, who, upon getting a closer look, let out another howl. Some more hearts fled, intent on delivering a message of vital importance…
A satori on the mountain!
Then the tengu turned back to Satori and growled out…
"What do -you- want?"
"I don't want to be here any more than you want me here. But you must be warned; there's a war going on with Makai-"
Yeah, we know…It seemed he was recalling a… briefing of some sort, directed by Kanako. It was rather thorough… too thorough, in fact… he had spaced out for much of it. He did remember a few things, though. Demons are bad, the fact that they're a threat is to be kept from outsiders, and any outsiders that knew of it were to be assumed spies from the demons and brought in for questioning.
"Get her!" He called out, and the four remaining tengu guards leapt out.
"Wait, stop! I'm on business from-" Satori spat out as quickly as she could, but though her speech was fast, the tengus' assault was faster. She was cut off by a shield slamming into her face. Satori's frail body had difficulty enough with single opponents… against five, and with no time to prepare herself mentally or physically for the assault, she had no hope… Despite her best efforts and swift mind reading, it was mere seconds before they had her subdued on the ground. Satori was curled into a ball, trying to covering her vitals as they brutally stomped on her with their single-toothed geta.
Satori could tell there was more than mere duty at work here… they had already subdued her… the continued abuse was solely because she was a satori.
Damn them! Ruined my grandfather's career!
Even worse than those crows!
It's all their fault…Satori had known the satori hadn't been liked… but it seemed that in addition to any legitimate complaints, the tengu had been using the exiled satori as scapegoats. As she began coughing up blood, she saw with her third eye that the brutal assault wasn't going to stop anytime soon... though fortunately for her, she soon lost consciousness.
On the Mountainside
Satori was dragged unceremoniously up the mountain, bound painfully and trailing blood. Her captors needed her alive; they didn't need her well. Her captors noted that her condition was bad... without a miracle from the shrine maiden, she'd probably be dead within a day. They didn't particularly care of course... they were all prepared to explain just how hard Satori had resisted arrest.
Satori's head throbbed… she was having trouble breathing, and the bindings prevented movement, and she was barely lucid enough to follow the thoughts of those nearby... gathering her own thoughts was proving difficult. Satori knew that her captors were looking forward to running her through once their captain, another white wolf tengu, gave the all clear. One of them noticed her coming around and gave her a good swift kick to the gut, causing her to cough out a worrying amount of blood.
"Hey! Wait until we're cleared, alright? The mountain'll do fine at keeping her down." One of the white wolf tengu noted… and indeed, the rocks, ice, and snow were doing a very good job of keeping Satori too distracted to gather her thoughts well.
She sensed another heart approaching… a generous heart, but one hungry for communication, tired of isolation, but too selfless to think of interacting with others… Whoever she met was greeted with misfortune, despite her best attempts. She seemed to be drawn towards misfortune… it was as though it were some sort of beacon, luring her to it… and when she found it, she would eat it and destroy it.
One of Satori's captors noticed the woman and panicked. It's Hina! "It's Curses, Run!" The others knew 'Curses'… and knew not to speak of her, say her name, see her, or be in her path, lest they be cursed… so they ran. Satori's already badly battered body crashed repeatedly against the side of the mountain, but she felt the rope snap, caught on a sharp rock… the tengu who had been carrying it started to glance back, to retrieve the captive… but decided it wasn't worth the risk. They'd just get the captain to pick her up later.
Hina followed calmly, and before long, stood above Satori. Wearing a red dress, and sporting an unusual hairstyle that wrapped her green hair under her chin, Hina looked at Satori eagerly…
Satori could see why though Hina's perception… She could sense misfortune, and Satori was surrounded by a truly frightening amount, unlike any Hina had seen. How could she have gotten this much misfortune? This level is usually fatal within a day or so. I'd better help her out.
"What are you doing…?" Satori asked as she felt Hina pulling something from her… paranoid, she resisted the pull… she'd been drained once recently, and she didn't care to relive the experience.
"I'm trying to remove your misfortune, but it... seems stuck." It shouldn't be this hard to pull it out from a source this large… Hina thought, frowning as she pulled as hard as she could at the cloud of misfortune.
Satori realized Hina's intention, and carefully relaxed her hold and let Hina drain what she now knew for sure to be misfortune... so that's what it felt like to hold it...
Hina felt the resistance leave suddenly, and within a few more moments, Satori lay, still bound, battered, soaked from the melted snow, and freezing, but no longer surrounded by the horrible cloud. Was she resisting? How? Hina was intensely curious…
"I was… I wasn't sure what you were draining… when I felt you taking it… It was eerily familiar."
"But… how? And why?"
"I nearly died... last time someone... took something from me. As for how… well… I saw you grabbing it… so… I just did that, too. It seems like it... could be really useful." Satori managed to speak through her pain.
"Oh, no… you shouldn't mess with misfortune. It's really very dangerous…" I'm only fine because I live off of it... If she tried collecting it, she'd... well... Hina looked at Satori's sorry state again. End up even worse off.
Satori sensed the tengu squad that had earlier retreated returning, though only out of a sense of duty; their captain now accompanied them.
The captain was a female white wolf tengu who had seen a lot in her past… Satori recognized the heart of a soldier who has seen terrible things… and though her heart carried many scars, it was softer and more compassionate as a result of her ordeals... she seemed sure that her trials and tribulations had made her who she was today; a youkai that commanded well-earned respect from her peers.
"But 'Curses' is still there! She's going to hex us!"
"Good. Maybe then you'll learn to deal with the unexpected and stop running off like a bunch of pups when an enemy comes." The captain's commanding voice lead her into Satori's sight… She had on her back a truly enormous sword… which she apparently intended to wield with one hand, if the shield held on her other arm was any indication. Satori knew the might it must take to wield a blade that large, and knew also that if the captain wanted her dead, she was in no position to argue. Fortunately for Satori, this wasn't the case. Not yet, anyway.
Hina looked up at the squad and waved. "Hello there… I was just helping this poor lady. You should probably stay away."
"It's my duty to see her to the summit. I'll be taking her now, if you've finished with her." If Hina was drawn this far up the mountain, the satori must have been having a really bad day...The captain looked at satori and was quite certain this was the case.
"Well, I have, yes, but-" She seems like the sort who gathers misfortune on her own. I could get so much just by being near her...
"Good. Take care, Hina. I appreciate your work." The captain said and picked up satori before looking to the other tengu and giving a command.
"Let the others know I'm bringing a satori to the summit via route 7C. And remind those crow tengu that if they're close enough to take a picture, they're close enough to have their secrets stolen by the satori." The lesser tengu all odder and scattered off in separate directions… though satori noticed that more than a little misfortune had stuck to them… quite a bit clung to the captain as well.
"Well… goodbye, then, Momiji." Hina wanted to draw the misfortune from Momiji, the captain, but could sense from Momiji's stance and gaze that Hina should probably just get moving instead. They had had that discussion many times before... Hina quickly left the scene.
Climbing Youkai Mountain
"It seems Hina had quite some interest in you. I take it you've been having a rough day?"
Satori weakly nodded. "Not as bad as the previous one, though… or the one before that… or the week before that… Actually, I've just had one bad bit of luck after another." Her words were quiet... she didn't dare force herself to speak any louder... even this was painful enough, and resisting the hunger that now dwelled in the corner of her mind was causing trouble as well.
"You survived." Momiji stated matter-of-factly. ''What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, after all.'' Satori thought on this… it -was- true she had gained a large number of very useful techniques… to say nothing of her newfound insights into the motivations of most of the major names in Gensokyo. It was -also- true that she now had at least two people who would settle for nothing less than her death.
"You have a point, I suppose."
"So what did you do to deserve such, then?" Momiji was clearly of the opinion that one brought misfortune upon themselves.
"Nothing! I just came up here on work for the Yama, and everything's gone wrong!" Satori explained. Momiji wasn't convinced.
She's a satori. That's probably her problem… Perhaps the whole species is cursed...
As they ascended, Satori read Momiji's heart… apart from a stray animal here or there demanding food, it was the only one present… Momiji's warning had been effective in keeping away others. This heart was unusual… while she still hated the satori, she also held a healthy -respect- for them, rather than fear.
"I'm Momiji Inubashira, by the way. I know you already know that, but it's still polite to introduce myself, I feel."
"I'm Satori Komeiji." Satori replied, though it seemed Momiji already knew that; Kanako had told her that Satori might come on business for the Yama. "I apologize for my... appearance."
"And I apologize for the rough reception. Everyone's on especially high guard." Momiji's mind showed the state of paranoia and oppression that had crept over the mountain, even more than usual. The invasion of Makai loomed over them, and tensions were running high. The crow tengu were all… well, almost all, playing internal security as always and watching each other and the other tengu to ensure no one was trying to fall in with the demons. The white wolf Tengu were mostly being kept in the dark while they repelled outside threats, while the Hanataka tengu were all carefully running inventories and managing the kappa miners…
The exceptions to those crow tengu… Momiji didn't envy their jobs… And as soon as Satori saw what they were doing, she felt faint.
"They're… spying on the demons…?" Satori was sure Momiji must be ill-informed… no one could be that foolish.
"Some of the ancient crow tengu volunteered for that task, yes… one of their younger members is here to gather their reports… you'll probably meet her… but the communication is only one way." As Momiji explained the situation, Satori felt a strange sympathy with this tengu... able to receive information without being able to reply in turn. Satori could only read hearts, not speak to them, despite her best efforts.
"But… how did they get to the moon…?"
"A powerful ritual was performed, though only high-ranking tengu and the volunteers even knew of it."
"And you're telling me because…? Well, yes, you're right that I'd know anyway. It seems you're rather more familiar with satori than the other tengu are. Odd that you bear so little of a grudge." Satori spoke carefully, focusing her mind on the conversation, trying to shut out the many painful distractions, trying her hardest not to drain Momiji to a withered husk then and there.
"We're better off without that tyrant, anyway." Momiji's memory wasn't long, but she had often thought on the previous Great Tengu, who had been planning a conspiracy to betray surrender tengu rights to the oni. Her plan had been foiled when a satori was finally granted an audience with her for other reasons… it had been the trigger for a long and bloody civil war, it seemed. The war was new information to Satori… though she had lived on the mountain, the exodus of the satori and oni happened almost immediately after the Great Tengu's conspiracy had been unveiled.
Really, that had merely been the last straw. The tengu in general were fond of secrets, and they quickly tired of their inability to hide such from satori. The Komeiji family themselves had caused no small amount of trouble back in the day. Momiji realized that even the hated satori had served a purpose, though… with them gone, paranoia and distrust had turned the tengu spies against one another… no longer were they investigating possible threats from outside the community, but imagined ones from within, a problem that plagued them even in this time of crisis.
Those had been dark years… and while most placed the blame on the satori for instigating the entire incident, Momiji realized that the fault lie with the tengu's own nature… the satori were merely used as absent scapegoats. It took several centuries for the conspiracy hunts to become more passive… the printing press had thankfully changed the primary attack form to slander instead of murder. Even so, until Kanako had arrived, the Tengu had still been more focused on internal affairs, with only a few exceptions. Kanako was now beginning to enlighten them and broaden their horizons… but some were slow to learn…
"I see." Satori understood, now… She had been expecting hate, yes… not to be accused of starting a centuries long civil war.
"If only more did. We're finally beginning to recover… if nothing else, this invasion has us all… well, united, I suppose. Distrust runs as high as always, but at least we have a common enemy." Perhaps now we can work -together-... A dark memory... old, but one Momiji could never forget, surfaced.
"I suppose being manipulated into killing your parents tends to shift your worldview a bit." Satori commented… Momiji's mood grew more sour.
"Yes… yes it does." There it was… the cause of the familiar hate… for all her words, Momiji still hated satori. It had a different cause; her hate was because of their absence… if they hadn't run away… if they'd made a stand... I'd never have been forced into such a position… but hate it was. Momiji realized their role… and believed the satori hadn't. They fled their responsibilities...
"Well, you seem to have adjusted well, considering."
"Thanks." Momiji said dryly. Why won't the satori return? Perhaps then we tengu could trust each other again... I can't believe none of the satori realize how important they were. Momiji thought bitterly. "Hey, when you go back underground, do you think you could-"
"No." Satori's reply was immediate and decisive... But why?
"Because I don't have any means of returning them from the Netherworld." Satori wasn't terribly happy to need to give such an answer herself, and Momiji was even less pleased to hear it... She must be exaggerating... "They don't need to all return-" just a few to keep the tengu honest...
"Could we change topics... please?" Satori asked, her voice straining... Momiji looked at Satori and noticed that she was straining to hold something back. They can't -all- be dead. Momiji tried convincing herself, holding on to the illusion that the satori might some day return and fix her society.
"-Well I AM!-" Satori shouted, finally losing her composure... she began crying freely, though every sob caused pain to shoot through her body. "So... let's just...drop it..."
Momiji was speechless... satori... can cry? I... I never even saw them express emotion...
Momiji had been prodding relentlessly at a point that Satori had been trying so hard to forget.
"There... was never... any need." Satori felt that longing for a true connection that she had been trying to repress, but Miko had sparked that desire, and Momiji had fanned its flames. A connection where one didn't need to cry or laugh to give any indication of how they were feeling or what they were thinking, because it was already known. A connection that could no longer truly exist in this world, she was sure.
Momiji's mind was spinning with wild confusion... They never came back... because they're dead... they're... all dead? Momiji felt her hopes for a unified tengu society crumble... her ideal vanished before her eyes... she held now in her arms the last remnant of the race that might have spared her own... Momiji's veteran heart, which had seen countless battles, began to crack under the strain of this newest trial.
If another satori had looked on the scene now, it would have been able to solve two problems at once. Only emptiness found itself near them, though; the cold, unthinking stone their only companion. Even it seemed to grieve for the loss of the satori, though... for the truth it had once seen, long ago.
The Summit of Youkai Mountain.
As they reached the summit, Satori was awestruck. This… was new… Her gaze fell not upon the volcanic caldera she was expecting, but a lake of pure, beautiful water. She had known the shrine would be there, of course, and the hundreds of ghosts surrounded the shrine, but she paid them little mind...… she had gathered as much from the fact that Kanako was living at the summit and their brief discussion earlier. But the lake… it had remained hidden from Momiji's and Kanako's hearts, so beneath their notice after living next to it for so long, but… it inspired Satori.
The new lake showed that as many bad memories she had of this place… as many terrible prejudices were around… things can change. Even the land itself wasn't immune to that… Combined with Momiji's acknowledgment that there may be a place for Satori in the world, it gave Satori hope. It wasn't much of a change… but everything takes time. She thought back to Byakuren's temple, and what the magician had been trying to achieve… trying to coax youkai into abandoning their natures. No, it hadn't worked... yet. But... maybe... just maybe, it was possible.
As remote as the possibility seemed, Satori's hope was renewed. Perhaps one day she would be welcome… and willing… to live with others.
Momiji carried her into the shrine… She really did come…Why couldn't it have just been a rumor? Nothing to be done about it now but help her along… the sooner she gets off the mountain, the better.
Satori realized that day wasn't coming any time soon.
The Moriya Shrine
"Untie her and leave us, Momiji." The white wolf tengu did as she was asked and, heart still unsteady from the revelations she recently faced, started the long journey back down the mountain. Kanako turned the rope bonds into snakes, which quickly slithered off. Satori used her newfound freedom to channel and cast the healing spell she had learned from Byakuren... the vampiric hunger faded as the pain did, and she felt the nearby ghosts' envy. It seemed these were casualties of the war on the moon.
"I've some new information for you…" Kanako said…. and indeed she did. a great deal, actually. Information on hundreds of types of demons, the current size of the demon army, its rate of growth, even information on factions within the demon army that might be played against each other… everything a general could possibly want to fighting a war…
"This is… quite a lot of information. It seems your spies have been very productive, then." Satori said respectfully… and Kanako's mind darkened a shade or two.
They -were-, yes… now, though...
"They've been getting caught… I don't even want to imagine what would happen to a spy caught by demons." Satori said… but she didn't have to imagine anything; Kanako placed some photographs on the table. Satori forced herself to look, knowing from Kanako's mind that they were the last photographs they had of a few of the tengu spies.
They were hardly even recognizable as people, let alone tengu. Faces that had been badly beaten, jaws broken, horrible gashes across their face… Satori could see in the background of the photographs some of the implements of torture that had been used. Of course, the rest of their bodies were in no better condition than their face. Signs of horrific torture and humiliation were present.
"It seems when the spies are caught, these sorts pictures are taken by their captors… presumably some sort of threat or sick thrill… We haven't found any evidence that they realize we can acquire these photographs, so I assume it's the latter." Kanako gestured at the dates on the photographs for one such victim.
The first photograph had them merely bound and gagged. The second, taken later that day, had them deprived of their clothes and beaten badly… the third, two days later, left the tengu barely recognizable. The fourth, taken the next day… showed the tengu in full health once again...
The fifth, taken almost a week later, earlier today… showed the tengu merely sitting, skin torn wide open once again, bound and facing a mirror. The tengu was looking into the mirror, eyes alive but broken.
We underestimated their healing abilities.
"You gave them poison pills… but the demons were too good at healing and neutralized them…" Satori's stomach started churning. "So they could… do this…"
Kanako nodded.
"Why would you… show this… to me?" Satori knew the answer, but Kanako needed the reaction, lest she think Satori a heartless monster.
People need to know what they're up against. You know people well. Would this rouse their fighting spirit or break it?
Satori looked at the pictures again and gagged… "The latter, obviously."
I thought so. I'll prevent them from being published, then.
"You considered showing these to the tengu?"
And the humans, yes. It really shouldn't take a mind reader to realize that would have been a terrible idea... but then, Kanako had been quite certain that people would be afraid if they saw these photos. She was simply concerned about how -much- they would be afraid; keeping them afraid was one thing and would ensure obedience... going too far and breaking their spirit would cause far more problems, though.
"I'd like to speak to the young tengu who has been collecting these... I... need to see..." Satori started... She needed to see the youkai who had seen all these horrors... needed to read her heart. Satori needed to be reassured that there was another with the strength of will to resist being broken at such horrors... someone stronger than she had been.
Kanako nodded and gestured. This way…She gestured to a door and moved to open it. "We needed a place to keep her safe, so she's living in the shrine right now."
The door swung open, and Satori was confronted by a tortured heart. She had met this girl but once before, and so changed was she in the past few years that her heart was almost unrecognizable. A heart that had, until recently, been joyful and fun-loving was now so jaded it may as well be made of the stone. Horrific thoughts went through her head, images much like the ones in the photographs Satori had just seen… and many far worse. No mere idle imaginings… these were memories of photographs this very girl had taken.
Even now, she was busy, reciting names and the current date in a detached manner. It actually reminded Satori a great deal of when she had been judging souls for the Yama… As the young tengu thought of a name and the date, she held her… camera, though it looked unlike any other Satori had seen, in front of some film. An image came into her mind… she took a photograph, and the image in her mind appeared on the film… in this particular case, it was of a tengu having their wings set aflame.
Satori shuddered and looked with horror around the room. Photographs of tengu in various states of humiliation and torture seemed to be pinned up along the walls, as well as photographs of handwritten documents, photographs of demons… of alien, bizarre architecture… Not a single one seemed to be of a tengu that wasn't suffering some horrible fate…
Satori read from the poor young tengu's mind that the photographs were arranged by name, as she took her most recent photograph and attached it to the bottom of a long board full of photographs, arranged by date. The earliest showed some form of minor demon, along with some of the alien architecture… then mostly photographs of handwritten reports with the occasional photograph of a demon… these were almost always followed by a report… Satori didn't need to read them to realize they were assessments of that demon's capabilities.
Then… there was a tengu, bound and gagged. Then photographs of torture… that seemed to have gone on for over a week…
The young tengu scooted her odd rolling chair back to where she had left her camera, and thought of another name, affixing today's date to it… But no image came up. Relief swept through the young tengu's sad heart, and she took the blank film, marked it with a large "X", and stuck it to the bottom of a chain… someone who seemed to have been captured rather early, by the looks of it.
Rest in peace… you've earned it. The young tengu went back to her desk and repeated the photographing process, paying no mind at all to Satori or Kanako or the door opening.
"What…" Satori looked around the room of horrors…
"Hatate, you have a visitor."
The young tengu turned to Kanako, and Satori finally got a good look at her face. Her eyes had withdrawn terribly, and tears, both new and old covered her face, marring what had once been some sort of makeup some weeks ago. Hatate's skin was even more pale than Satori's own, and even without reading her heart, it was obvious that she was looking at a broken girl, neither adult nor child, who had seen things no one should ever have to.
"Oh. It's the satori. Hello." Hatate said in a distant tone of voice… Satori focused on her own Qi… then pulsed it as Meiling had done almost subconsciously at the Scarlet Devil Mansion… and sensed that Hatate's aura hardly even reacted… Satori had little experience with it herself, but she suspected the poor response had something to do with Hatate's state of mind.
"Hello… I'm sorry you have to go through this. All because I couldn't..."
This is her fault? I wonder how. Hatate simply stared at Satori, lacking the motivation to even ask the question she was thinking of. Kanako was curious herself… she had been surprised to hear Satori admit it was her fault, and wondered what had caused the change of heart.
"I had to judge the demons and their victims for the Yama for a day. Their victims at the time were different, but the results were much the same…" Satori paused and considered the photographs…
She judged for the Yama? That would have been an interesting story to write about...
Satori finally pointed at three photographs detailing several forms of torture. "Those are the worst, from the ones I recognize. You see, when I had to judge, I had to live the experiences and ride the feelings of the demons, who were enjoying themselves… though sharing those emotions sickened me… and still does, thankfully." Satori gestured to the picture of a demon scalping a tengu with a happy grin on it's deformed face.
"Even more unfortunately, many of their victims passed through. And let's just say that dying like -that-" Satori gestured at a photograph of a humiliated, crushed, and mangled tengu…
"Leaves a strong impression. It's not an experience I could stand after the first few thousand times. So I'm trying to stop them… so I never need to deal with those experiences again." Satori finished…
She… She went though… that? Kanako herself was shaken… And she's… still sane? There's no way! She... she must be some sort of monster... or... maybe she's lying Hatate looked numbly at the pictures, but she was far too distant to imagine what it must feel like… she had distanced herself from almost all the tengu she was keeping tabs on… she couldn't afford to empathize with them, or she'd go completely mad. Satori responded to Kanako.
"I've wondered if I'm still sane, but I assure you I speak the truth. All I know right now is that I couldn't bear to suffer another day of it… and now it seems all I've done is pass the duty onto others… sorry." Satori looked at Hatate… I should get back to work. The young tengu meekly avoided the gaze and resumed her photography…
Satori looked to Kanako with clear regret in her eyes… Satori picked up a desperate thread of hope from the tengu as she called on the next name.
Aya Shameimaru… And Hatate saw, to her extreme relief, a picture of a report… Stay safe, Aya… I still haven't beaten you… you -have- to come back. Hatate's prayer carried her one bright ray of hope as she pinned the photograph to the part of the wall dedicated to Aya Shameimaru… nearly twice as wide as the others, the extra space filled with photographs of reports. And as Satori looked around the walls, she noticed that Aya Shameimaru's section was unique in one other way… she was set apart from the dozens of others by one simple fact, as Satori gave one last look over her shoulder...
Aya's was the only section that didn't have any images of a tortured tengu.
Kanako and Satori quietly returned to the main room, unable to speak… Kanako feeling a profound pity for Satori. She had to... go -through- that? The very thought of it was making Kanako nauseous.
"Now you understand why I had to come up here…" Satori started… and Kanako quietly nodded, feeling horrible shame for her hatred of Satori… but the hate still clung to her heart… And just how did she -think- I would react to mention of a war? I -had- to gather information… She knew this...
"The spies… you never intended them to come back, did you?"
They were aware the journey would be one way when they volunteered. "Indeed. I ask that you not tell Hatate… she has it hard enough already."
Satori nodded silently. To think that others had given up their lives because she wasn't able to deal with the stress of judging… that her weakness had condemned so many to a horrible death… the guilt weighed heavily on her.
She should probably rest. "As an apology for your treatment, you may rest here for a few days. Please keep to yourself, however. If you'd like, we can arrange for you to journey back to the underground, via the geyser center, as well." -Please- accept.
Satori was heavily tempted... but decided to stay here for a while, at least. She felt nervous going home before doing some spiritual cleansing... her vampiric hunger could probably be quelled, and she didn't want to put her pets at risk.
"I'm going to have to impose on your hospitality for a while, I'm afraid. Though thank you for at least taking this threat seriously."
At the Hakurei Shrine
Several weeks and she still hadn't returned... perhaps she was dead, then. And the barrier had faded...? What unbelievable luck! It had been years... a decade? More? No matter... now was a great chance to get out and see what had changed. Best take care to avoid the pet... far too dangerous to deal with it in this condition... Time to finally move away from the Hakurei Shrine, and into Gensokyo proper.
In the Scarlet Devil Mansion's Guest Wing
Ran stood beside Alice as they gazed into her crystal ball. Alice had given Ran some remote view dolls and offered to assist her… after all, Alice wanted Medicine Melancholy dealt with even more than most… she didn't forget the cold threat she had received…
In the crystal ball, one of Alice's dolls was being used to see, while Chen stood outside the gates nervously.
"Ran? This place is scary… Where did you go?" Chen was lost and confused. Ran knew she was taking a risk here; if Udonge couldn't figure out a cure with Medicine Melancholy, then Ran was about to lose a rather valuable tool.
Chen started to approach the door. "I don't want to go in! Ran! What's happening? I don't want to go in!" Chen pleaded… Ran paid her no mind, but Alice was a little disturbed.
Ran knew that normally, a shikigami remained somewhat independent, with a free will. If Chen didn't want to go in there, then Chen wouldn't go in there.
But Ran wasn't a normal practitioner of Onmyoudo. She followed the Shikigami link along, and grasped Chen's will through it… and drove Chen forward into the poisoned house. By controlling her will, she ensured that Chen followed her orders exactly… which gave Chen power equal to Ran's own. Chen wouldn't like it, but Ran would be unable to think straight if the poison effected her, so she had to defeat Medicine Melancholy remotely. Ran had to block the sense feedback from Chen, or she'd have been incapacitated anyway… which necessitated the puppeteer, who had been willing to act as Ran's eyes.
Chen's body stepped in the door… As much as Ran had done her best to slam shut the sense link, a bit of pain still got through… A minor prick instead of a sensation of being shredded, torn apart…
Alice refrained from commenting on the act. After all, if Chen didn't go through that pain, Alice herself would have to go through worse when Medicine caught her.
At Eientei
Chen and the dolls looked around, and started scouting the place. There was an unusual lack of fairies… they were probably incapacitated by the poison…
Before long, of course, Medicine Melancholy found the group…. in the courtyard, as fate would have it.
"Oh ho… it seems someone else is defiling… no… Its you, again, isn't it, miss dollmaker…" Alice was getting nervous… but at least she didn't know exactly who-
"Miss Alice Margatroid." Alice froze in terror. Ran shook her… she wouldn't be able to do anything if she couldn't see for at least a while, and the dolls were just staring at Medicine.
"Good idea of you to move out of your house… but don't think -that- will save you… you see, I've already liberated everyone there…"
As Alice watched, a swarm of dolls flooded the halls and began to attack. Ran moved Chen to be in the frozen field of view, and took direct control of Chen's body, cutting down dolls with magic and Chen's claws as they approached, though they quickly stopped and retreated.
"Why would you enslave your own creations, Alice? See how willing they are to fight and die for their freedom?" Alice saw the dolls she had spent so long working on… but their eyes were as empty as ever.
"I must say… that cat doll is magnificently made. Though I don't think it's going to be as good at combat as some of your other creations…" Medicines words reminded Alice of another doll she had been forced to leave at her house...
"Get inside! Hurry!" Alice shouted at Ran. Too late… the exits were already blocked by the Titania dolls…
And seemingly out of nowhere, the Goliath doll, towering above Eientei, appeared. It held two enormous blades… large enough to be mistaken for trees from the wrong angle, but Alice knew that they held an edge sharper than most normal blades…
The mighty doll lined up its attack and swung.
Elsewhere in the guest wing of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
Udonge, Youmu, and Keine were doing their best to keep Marisa alive, keep Sakuya healing well, and keep Reisen stable. Keine went to make a pass around and check that the others were still stable.
Keine opened the door to Eirin's room first. She got started on her routine assessment quietly.
Eientei's Courtyard.
Ran, still controlling Chen's every movement, made Chen dodged the cross slash of the swords, but the doll was already moving for another strike. Chen rushed at one of the Titania dolls, but even with most of Ran's power behind her, they failed to move… they were rooted firmly to the ground… at least it kept them from attacking.
The swords slashed just above Chen's head as she ducked… then rolled forward, trying to get past the colossus to get at Medicine. The giant doll shifted a foot, though, and stopped her… she tried darting around, but nearly ran into one of the enormous blades… she managed to stop in time, merely getting nicked… blood trickled down her face…
"Oh ho? That's no doll, is it? You can control -people- like that, too? Interesting…" Medicine grinned. "Well, thank you for giving me such an idea, whoever is controlling that cat."
Scarlet Devil Mansion Guest Wing
"What is she talking about?" Ran asked Alice, but Alice was still almost nonresponsive from fear "Just beat her!"
Keine
Keine was just about to leave Eirin's room when she heard a noise behind her. she turned and saw something unexpected. Eirin had risen out of her bed.
"Eirin! You're alright! Oh thank goodness! Look, we need to you-" Keine had been approaching Eirin, but was cut off when Eirin launched a clumsy and powerful kick that launched Keine through the wall into the hall… and through the -opposite- wall into Kaguya's room. Keine coughed, the wind knocked out of her by the blow, several ribs shattered. She barely even noticed when Kaguya's arms closed like a vice around her lower chest. Eirin walked through the holes Keine had made…
Keine tried to slip out of Kaguya's grasp, but it was too tight, and the positioning made it impossible to get Kaguya in reach… all Keine succeeded in doing was wasting valuable energy and time… she was fast running out of both. Eirin had reached her... she wound up for another swing. Kaguya's deceptively strong grasp prevented Keine from dodging out of the way…
Udonge and Youmu
Udonge looked up at the door, expecting to see Keine. Instead, what she saw brought tears to her eyes.
"I knew that you'd recover!" Youmu looked at the door to see what had pleased Udonge so, and saw Toyohime standing there…. but Youmu realized something wasn't right… her eyes were still empty, somehow. Udonge had already begun moving towards Toyohime…
"No! Something's wrong!" Youmu shouted, and Udonge looked over her shoulder… Youmu was gone, instead in front of her, parrying Toyohime's clumsy punch with an empty hand. Toyohime grabbed Youmu's arm and flung her back, through the wall above the door into the hallway. Udonge backed away… This wasn't Toyohime…
Ran and Alice
Ran wondered at the source of the noises coming from down the hall… but neither she nor Alice had the time to ponder further… the fight with the Goliath doll wasn't going very well… Medicine was skillfully keeping it interposed between herself and Chen, while hovering a ways off the ground.
"It must have some weak points!" Ran shouted.
"I fixed them all! If you can set off the gunpowder inside, that'd do it, but I fixed the overheating problem that caused it to go off last time!"
"You… you filled that -entire thing- with -gunpowder-?"
"It's a force of habit, alright? It makes a nice, reliable stuffing!" Alice was as defensive about her doll hobby as usual... at least it was drawing her out of her blind panic.
"Do you even -realize- the devastation a bomb that big would cause?"
"Well, it's not -supposed- to explode!" Alice explained... Ran let out a sigh and continued.
Keine
Keine was taking a severe beating as Eirin, her gaze still distant, repeatedly and coldly slammed her fist into Keine's gut. Keine's blue dress was covered in her own vomit, and her struggles had all but ceased… but Kaguya's arms kept her supported. Keine struggled to remain conscious…
Then she staggered forward… Kaguya's grip had been broken… she felt suddenly warm, and heard a voice behind her.
"Go! Protect the wounded! Someone's trying to control us!" Mokou called out… Kaguya had changed her target to Mokou, though the lacked the usual vigor she used against her rival… she coldly wrapped her hands around Mokou's throat… and they both lit aflame as Eirin approached and started to swing at Mokou…
Keine wasted little time, scrambling out of the room, trying desperately to get her breath back… she staggered as quickly as she could down the hall…
Udonge
Udonge backed against the wall… she had no idea how to stop Toyohime… she could tell her hypnotism would be useless… there was precious little of Toyohime left to respond to it… She had consistently beaten Udonge every time they had fought. Even without her mind, Toyohime's body was far beyond what a normal human could perform, and certainly beyond Udonge's capabilities to subdue… but she couldn't leave her patients undefended. Udonge started to ready an attack…
"Udonge, -move-!" She heard, and a lifetime of following directions took over; she dove to the side. Toyohime was mid-step when she was launched forward and through the inner wall into an adjacent room. Youmu stood where Toyohime had.
"We've got to move them away…" Youmu was looking worse for wear after her impromptu exploration into the hallway… winded, but swiftly recovering… she moved towards Reisen, and her spirit half changed its shape slightly and scooped up Sakuya. Udonge nodded and grabbed careful hold of Marisa. Even now, she could see Toyohime returning.
The pair carried their three patients out of the room, hustling as fast as they could.
Ran and Alice
Ran's Shikigami was beginning to chip away at the goliath doll, but she saw no way to get past it… it was too big, too fast, and too durable… What's more, she was feeling some resistance on the shikigami link. How? Chen wasn't able to resist her! She had absolute control over her shikigami!
Alice was still nervous, but was now paying careful attention to the viewpoints of the dolls, making sure Ran had a good view of the scene… They didn't even notice Keine enter the room until she wheezed out…
"The poisoned… being controlled…"
Ran's mind worked quickly, putting this new information into the combat formula… It was Medicine… she must be manipulating the poison she had put into the bodies of Eirin and the like to puppet their bodies somehow. So that had been what she meant…
And that's why her bond with Chen was weakening… Medicine was giving counter orders to Chen's body, which was thoroughly filled with the poison… it was also how she was presumably controlling the dolls… she had soaked them in enough poison…
Ran knew time was running out… before long, Chen would be more poison than shikigami, and then Medicine would be the victor.
Keine lay on the ground as Ran thought and Alice focused, too busy to approach her.
Kaguya entered the room… upon stepping on Keine, she looked down, jumped up, and flew down, slamming Keine hard. Keine felt bones break and struggled to crawl away, but Kaguya simply repeated the action mindlessly.
"We've got company, Ran!"
"Busy!" Ran said, still trying to keep her shikigami from being sliced apart... She was sorely tempted to just declare a spellcard duel with Medicine, but knowing Remilia, she'd find some way to unknowingly mess things up, again... no, this defeat would have to be a normal one.
Eirin was about to enter the room behind her, but a red blur slammed into her, tumbling along with her… Kaguya continued slamming into Keine's body, blood now coughing up with every hit, Keine's eyes wide open, but her consciousness long gone.
Then Ran noticed a break in Medicine's concentration… the Goliath doll took a little longer to line up its next attack, making it easier to dodge… She'd noticed such breaks before, but now she noticed something else happen simultaneously...
Kaguya, finally seeming to realize Keine was no longer a threat, approached Ran and Alice. Alice sent some dolls to intercept… the images in the crystal ball now remained static, but Ran had gained a vital clue. Ran and Alice were forced to face a battle on two fronts, and Medicine had a vastly superior force on both fronts…
But Ran was a tactician with a thousand years of experience, several hundred of which were against the genius that was her master. Thousands of plans ran through her mind in a few seconds, as she considered how to use this newfound opening.
Udonge and Youmu
Youmu and Udonge had found that, though relatively uncoordinated, Toyohime could still fly… and did so with alarming speed. Youmu and Udonge thought they had lost her, until she burst out of a wall ahead of them… she was newly adorned with a few lampshades and splinters of a desk. Toyohime may have looked ridiculous, but her swift attack at Youmu made it clear that she was taking this fight no less seriously.
Youmu shifted her grip on Reisen while she swiftly drew Hakurouken with her other hand… she needed the speed of the smaller blade to intercept the attack…
"No! please don't!" Udonge begged, but Youmu had already parried the attack with the flat of the sword and deftly turned the blade, slashing. It opened a significant, though far from mortal, wound diagonally across her chest. Youmu sheathed the sword, bloodless from the speed of the strike, in almost the same motion, before her awkward hold on Reisen was lost.
Suddenly Toyohime backed away, her eyes clear now, seeing, though obviously in extreme pain. "Reisen…?" Toyohime uttered at Udonge, but almost immediately lost the sudden clarity and fell to the ground… Youmu and Udonge were both confused, but wasted no time in taking the moment to continue running… they were nearly to the room where Alice and Ran were working… perhaps they'd be able to help.
They saw Kaguya enter the room. Eirin, along with a red blur flew past them, and produced a loud and painful sounding crash from far down the hall.
They hurried in behind Kaguya, who was approaching Ran and Alice… well, trying, anyway. Alice's dolls were doing passably at keeping the princess at bay, but Alice just couldn't get enough power behind them to halt the Princess's single-minded assault. Youmu set Reisen down and launched herself into the room, drawing Hakurouken and slashing, opening a wide cut along Kaguya's side.
Kaguya was suddenly overwhelmed by the dolls, her eyes suddenly clear as well… just a few moments, but long enough…
"Perfect…" They heard Ran mutter…
Ran and Alice
Medicine was struggling to control something, and the Goliath dolls' attacks were clearly following a very basic program… it would only last a few seconds, but it was a program Ran had grown rather familiar with over the course of the fight…
The mighty doll slammed a blade into the ground, cutting another part of Eientei open, and Ran moved Chen, temporarily freed from Medicine's counteracting control, up the doll's arm, springing off of it and launching herself at Medicine.
Kaguya had resumed moving, more directly and fiercely this time, and managed to deliver a solid blow to Youmu, a downward strike that buried her in the ground and dislocated one of her shoulders… Then she moved to Alice, now easily pushing through the dolls and slamming the magician through the wall, cutting the crystal ball's contact…
Ran's Shikigami link, though, was still intact…. and she knew where medicine was… She programmed Chen to follow specific commands… visualizing the combat perfectly… she had seen enough to know Medicine would be knocked onto the roof of Eientei, try to get the Goliath doll to slash Chen off of her, so she programmed Chen to wait the appropriate amount of time, then put Medicine in the path of the blade…
Ran knew how the entire encounter would play out from then… Medicine had proven to be far more knowledgeable than expected in some regards, but now that Ran knew exactly what -sort- of amateur she was up against… the last variable had fallen into place, and she ran the equation…
The battle's outcome was already decided.
Eientei's Courtyard
Chen ran up the doll's arm and pounced at Medicine Melancholy, who was still busy trying to regain control over Kaguya. The nekomata struck hard, and the pair tumbled onto the roof of Eientei. Medicine, panicking, had the Goliath doll swing one of its blades at the tangled pair, and Chen, with might far beyond what her few hundred years as a youkai should allow her, swiftly moved Medicine in the path of the blade. Medicine ordered the doll to adjust its aim, knowing it wouldn't be able to fully halt the inertia, and the blade cut low, collapsing the roof, and spilling the two back into the courtyard.
Chen looked like she had taken the fall hard, and Medicine ordered the Goliath doll's other sword to swing down on Chen, the first sword still off to the side… But the doll hadn't been properly balanced for such an asymmetric motion, and Medicine quickly realized she needed to manually correct its balance before it fell. She started doing so, but Chen had been feigning her injury, and just as Medicine was busy for a split second with the delicate task, slammed into her.
Medicine tumbled away, slamming painfully into one of the walls of Eientei. She tried staggering to her feet, only to notice the enormous doll, unable to correct its balance on its own, was now about to fall on her. She dived out from under it… mostly.
It landed hard on her hips and legs, crushing them and pinning her thoroughly beneath its enormous bulk… she tried dragging herself out from under it, but saw Chen standing above her…
"This isn't over!" Medicine declared, unaware that no one could hear her. Then Chen delivered a mind shattering kick to Medicine's face while swiftly catching the doll that was for the first time trying to flee from the young girl and holding it in an iron grip.
Meanwhile, Alice, Ran, Udonge, Youmu...
Having programmed Chen to win, Ran turned her attention to the moon princess. Actually, two now, as Toyohime appeared in the doorway, pinning Udonge uncomfortably between them.
Ran dropped her arms out of her sleeves, and rushed at Kaguya… who didn't react at all. Toyohime swiftly moved to attack Ran, but received a face full of Kaguya as Udonge ducked under her… Ran waited a beat, then launched a blast of magic at Toyohime with one hand, and launched herself feet first at Kaguya with the other, sending her into the hall. Right around now, Medicine wouldn't be able to change their programming… she was about to be pinned under a two story tall doll… Kaguya had none active.. Toyohime was simply attacking the nearest enemy…
"Youmu, cut her!"
Youmu had unburied herself from the hole, and readied Hakurouken for another strike, through managing to draw it with her good arm required some acrobatics in itself. Ran was grappling Toyohime, and Youmu slashed hard across Toyohime's back, once again causing her to suddenly stop resisting… and cry aloud in pain for a few moments, before curling into a fetal position as Ran released her, and ceasing movement altogether, apart from shallow, pained breaths.
Chen, clutching both an unconscious girl and a small doll, skin blistering badly where she was touching them, appeared through a gap in the ceiling, graciously landing on the ground… mere moments later, Remilia entered the door, carrying one Eirin Yagokoro, newly modified to have zero functioning limbs, dropping her at Udonge's terrified feet to join the heap of Toyohime, Kaguya, Keine… Then Remilia asked a pointed question.
"I -did- say something about not making a mess, did I not?"