Chapter 10

Questions

It was now late fall, coming into winter, as Gensokyo rested peacefully in comfort. Time moved forward, day by day, with today being another passing dream.

A certain black and white magician sat on the steps of the Hakurei Shrine, lazing after a day of keeping it clean and maintained. Thanks to her daily efforts, the shrine looked like it did before its resident maiden passed away.

She sighed and plucked a leaf out of her hair, turning it between her fingers and admiring its reddish gold hue. "Three months… it's been that long, eh?" Breathing deeply, the girl leaned back and stared up into the trees, her thoughts wandering to nostalgic memories.

Suddenly, her stomach grumbled and groaned. With a grimace, she rubbed her hungry belly and sighed. "Ah, man… what do I eat?"

In all honesty, she could easily go back home and make herself dinner. But the magician was too lazy to be bothered. Besides, dinner would have probably been some kind of mushroom stew anyway.

With a spark of realization, she stood up and snapped her fingers. "That's it! I'll just visit Alice today and get some food off her."

Calling her broom from around the corner of the shrine house, she hopped onto it deftly and pointed it in the direction of the forest of magic. Without a moments delay and destination in mind, she took off.

Alice was just finishing a batch of her newest cookie recipe when she noticed Marisa flying in from afar. "Shanghai!" She called to her house-doll. "Please prepare the special tea for our guest."

"Shanghaiiii!" It replied happily, setting about the kitchen.

"Ooooii! Alice! Ya here?" Marisa's calls were punctuated by sharp knocks at the door. With a loud bang, she burst through, tumbling onto the ground. "Ack! Ow!"

Sighing, Alice leaned over her with an inquisitive look. "Why did you do that?"

Groaning, Marisa got to her feet, brushing herself off. "Well, usually yer door's locked. So I tried to, uh, force it open."

"Do you usually do that when I'm not here?"

"U-uh, n-no…"

Waving her hand, Alice dismissed the thought. "Never mind. So what did you want anyways?" Despite having been rudely interrupted, she couldn't help but feel overjoyed to have the company of her favorite person over today. Not only that, but her favorite person could enjoy the new recipe she made.

Marisa grinned and sat down at a table in the kitchen. "I was feelin kinda hungry. Thought maybe you'd have somethin' good to eat."

"Of course you did. Well, you're in luck. I have something special for you today." Alice presented a plate of the cookies to her guest. "Don't hold back now. Shanghai's making some tea, so you can have that too."

"Hey, thanks! Don't mind if I do!" Without hesitation, the magician took a bite of the baked treat, humming in delight. "Wow! These are really good! What did you put in them?" She looked up between bites, already chowing down on a third.

Smiling creepily, Alice responded, "Just a special new spice. Do you… feel different?"

Stopping, Marisa cautiously eyed her host. "What do you me-"

Her sentence was cut short as she fell over out of the chair, and sprawled onto the floor, twitching and foaming at the mouth. The girl's eyes were rolled back into her head in a freakish way.

Writing down the results of the new cookie, Alice took the kettle off the stove that Shanghai had prepared earlier. Pouring the contents into a cup, she gently tipped it into Marisa's facial orifice. "Drink up, you won't die if you do. It'll be a couple minutes to take effect."

The girl gurgled and twitched in response.

Seating herself, she waited patiently for the antidote to work. Memories of last week began to float into her mind as she wondered if this was the right thing to do.

-A week ago-

Knock-Knock. Someone was at the door.

"Shanghai! Can you get that please?" Alice called out from her seat in the living room, enjoying a cup of tea.

Moments later, the sound of soft feet approaching brought her attention to the hallway.

A cute rabbit girl with short black hair, a pink dress, and a carrot shaped trinket wandered in lazily. Her eyes betrayed a sense of boredom, no doubt on an errand of some kind.

"Oh! It's unusual to see someone from Eientei, especially the troublemaker. Can I help you with something?"

Tewi Inaba sighed and crossed her arms behind her head. "Eirin-sama sent me here to invite you over. Did you wanna come?"

"An invitation? Out of the blue?"

"I dunno, I guess there's something she wants to show you, or whatever."

Strange. Alice considered it quietly as Tewi shifted in her place impatiently.

"Soooo, are you coming?"

There wasn't much to lose in going. "Sure, let me grab a bag first."

"Fiiine."

Alice got up and disappeared into a closet, rustling around. After a minute, she reappeared with a small satchel. "I'm ready. Shanghai, please watch the house while I'm gone."

The doll nodded happily.

Tewi was already starting out the door, not bothering to look back to see if she was following.

Locking the door, Alice began the long walk to Eientei with her guide.

The trip passed uneventfully, Gensokyo's green fields passing them by. Before long, the Bamboo Forest loomed before them, dark and mysterious.

"Keep close," remarked Tewi over her shoulder. "Unless you wanna get lost."

There was no doubt in Alice's mind that she wasn't going to wander off. Even for her, finding the way back through the forest would take a long time, maybe even days. The magic in this place could turn anyone around, except for its rabbit inhabitants of course.

As they continued down different paths, the light grew dimmer, less of it filtering in from the canopy above. The air began to feel different too, heavier. No doubt the mystic aura of this place.

Suddenly, Tewi put up her hand and signaled to stop.

Wondering what was going on, Alice looked around anxiously. A rustle to their front revealed two stern rabbit girls with spears. They looked like Tewi, but much gruffer, no doubt guards or soldiers.

After a short exchange and glances her way, Tewi motioned for Alice to keep following. The guards led them down another path that she could've sworn didn't exist before.

Once more, everything around them seemed to change subtly as they continued. Unless you were paying close attention, you would never notice that the forest you entered wasn't the forest you walked in now.

Before she knew it, they had arrived at the gates to Eientei, the mansion something like the traditional palaces of feudal Japan. With a great groan, the gates slowly opened to allow them through.

Alice followed Tewi inside, the two guards nodding to her as they returned to their posts, apparently not accompanying them further.

This wasn't her first visit, but every time she came, it was always an experience. Perhaps the magic had something to do with that too.

Tewi led her into a comfortable waiting room. "Please take a seat. Eirin-sama will be here shortly."

Alice nodded as the rabbit girl left, another taking her place and serving her a cup of tea. "Oh, thank you!"

The girl nodded and bowed, smiling as she exited the room.

Quiet. After some hours of walking along crunching earth and grass, the silence was almost deafening to Alice. She held the tea cup and sipped it gingerly, surprised at its rich and soothing flavor. Sighing, the puppeteer allowed herself to relax and loosen up.

A few minutes later, the sound of approaching footsteps brought her attention to the doorway. Eirin Yagokoro appeared and smiled as she saw her.

"Ah, so you did come, Ms. Margatroid. I hope you are comfortable."

"I am, thank you very much."

"If you would follow me to my lab, I have something to share with you."

"Of course, please, lead the way."

Nodding, Eirin turned and began to walk away, Alice hurriedly following behind.

They went down a few hallways, passing rabbit girls carrying dishes, tools, and various other things. Something that was never made clear to Alice was the population of, well, rabbits here. They were from the moon, yes. Er, Their leaders anyway. But, why so many? It was charming though, in a cute way.

Eirin led her into a room filled with scientific equipment, tables laden with tubes, vials, beakers, and all sorts of experimental tools. Cages were stacked in the corner, though there didn't seem to be anything in them. One wall was covered with cabinets, no doubt more storage space for reagents.

"Please, have a seat with me at my desk here."

Plopping down, Alice patiently waited for Eirin to sit and gather herself. The doctor rummaged for something before producing two small boxes of similar appearance. One was grey, and the other black.

"This is a new herb I've grown and cultivated. Its effects are only visible when ingested, so I need someone to test it for me."

Concerned, Alice eyed them cautiously. "Ingested? Why me then?"

Smiling, Eirin continued, "Well, you operate a bakery of some sort now, correct? I'm asking you to incorporate this herb into something you make."

"Whoa, hold on, I can't serve this to my customers! I'll lose my business license, and the trust of everyone who enjoys my products! Not to mention that nobody would even agree to eat them."

"Ah, you're right." Eirin held her chin in thought. "I'd almost forgotten that society would frown upon such a thing… Then why don't you test it on someone more… Familiar?"

"What do you mean?"

"I think you understand. Besides, they don't need to know it's inside your goods. I'm only interested in the results."

Alice shook her head. "I won't do it. Even if I agreed, what do you have to offer me for this? It's a bit much for just a favor."

With a smirk, the doctor looked at her knowingly. "Of course it is. But there's something I can share with you regarding a certain someone. Someone you would be very interesting in hearing about."

She had a bad feeling about this. Whatever Eirin knew, it was probably something that even Marisa couldn't know. So what was it?

"Don't you want to know?"

"Who? Who are you talking about?"

A moment of silence. The doctor breathed in deeply and crossed her fingers, looking Alice in the eyes with a piercing stare. "Reimu Hakurei."

Surprised, Alice nearly stood from her seat, but remained composed. "R-Reimu? What do you mean? She's… she's gone already."

Eirin coughed lightly and tapped her chin. "Yes, she is deceased. Dead by all scientific and medical reasons. But she isn't gone."

Not gone? The words bounced around in Alice's head, incomprehensible. Just what was Eirin trying to tell her? "I… I don't understand what you mean. If you're talking about her soul, it's impossible. Shikieiki-san has even said that returning a soul from hades cannot be done. It would disrupt the balance of life and death."

"Well," began Eirin slowly. "You're right about her soul. But it's not in Hades, at least, according to the evidence I've heard."

Impossible. Alice couldn't believe that Reimu never made it to the afterlife. But then, did that mean she was somewhere else?

The doctor continued with her explanation, leaning back and resting her hands in her lap. "You see, I have reason to believe that Reimu is still with us in spirit, much closer than you might believe. My cute little assistant, Udonge, has a friend in the Netherworld that she likes to visit quite often. Youmu Konpaku is her name."

"Udonge has told me that Hakugyokurou, the place her friend lives with her glutton master, has been different since about two months ago. The spirits that inhabit the area have changed their daily movements, seeming to converge on the house more than before. Not only that, but she also said that she'd overhear Youmu referring to someone that wasn't there. Youmu was referring to Reimu by name, speaking as if they were conversing. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Alice began to shake, emotions clouding her thoughts. She was barely able to manage a nod, to Eirin's amusement.

"Here," said the doctor, pushing a cup with bluish liquid toward her. "Drink this, it will calm you. Don't worry, it's not poison, just a calming agent that clears your mind."

Taking it graciously, she sipped the drink slowly. It tasted cool and sweet, immediately calming her nerves just like Eirin said. Whatever it was, it worked wonders. "T-thank you," she said with a light smile.

"Understand that this information is not to be spread lightly. But you can do what you wish with it."

Nodding, Alice searched her mind for a reply. "Then… how did she end up there. If it's really her?"

"I assume she was picked up by Yuyuko Saigyouji at some point, before her soul could make it to Hades."

"But… wouldn't Shikieiki-san have known about this?"

"Perhaps, but the yama has not come out with it."

"Mm."

A few minutes passed in silence. Eirin, seeing that Alice was unable to bring up any more points, due to the shocking news she had just heard, stood. "Very well, I believe that is all for this visit. Do you require more of the relaxant?"

Alice looked up with a surprised quip, quickly rising out of her seat and shaking her head. "N-no, I'm quite alright. I can make the trip back, I just need to sort my thoughts later."

"If you say so. Then, for your part in this: my herb?"

She'd forgotten about the shady experiment that Eirin had wanted her to test in the beginning. Well, there wasn't much to do now but accept it and figure something out. "I'll do it. To thank you for… the information."

"Excellent." Eirin smiled and handed her the boxes. "The rabbits will lead you back out. Do take care Ms. Margatroid."

Tewi reappeared at the doorway with the same bored attitude she had as before.

Depositing them in the satchel she brought, the puppeteer bowed and followed the rabbit girl out the same way she was brought in before.

No doubt this was Eirin's plan all along. The crafty doctor knew exactly what she was doing, but for what? What could it possibly interest her?

They walked out the gates and down the path. Alice thought they were following the same one from before… but it was different. Somehow, they were going a new way out of the forest. The magic in this place was quite something, and only the rabbits knew their way around it.

Almost ten minutes later, they popped out of the forest into Gensokyo's green fields. The trip out was much shorter than it was going in. Incomprehensible.

Tewi stopped. "Well, that's it I guess. I don't have to lead you all the way back, do I?"

Chuckling, Alice shook her head. "No, of course not. Thank you Tewi. Maybe you're not as much a troublemaker as I thought?"

"How about a tip then?" A sly grin crept across the girl's face.

"Never mind. I take that back." A thought crossed her mind and she checked her pockets and satchel for anything missing. "Right, all there. Come visit sometime then, and I'll make you a nice treat."

"Heh, maybe if I'm bored again. See ya!"

Alice waved as the girl turned and disappeared back into the forest's dark depths. She began walking back home, but questions of Reimu tugged at her mind endlessly.

-Present-

Marisa's twitching slowed as her breathing evened out. The antidote worked faster than expected, beating the estimated time of a couple minutes to seconds. Realizing that her friend was fine, Alice walked back over to the stove to prepare a proper cup of tea.

"Guh, uggghhhhh, what the hell did ya do to me?!" The magician had sat up and was rubbing her head in pain. "Geez, owww."

"Just a little test run for a new spice. Looks like it didn't go over well for you though."

"Man, Alice, that was just poison! Ya tryin to kill me?" She very wobbly got to her feet, resting a hand on a chair for support.

"You were never in danger to begin with, Marisa. Still, thanks for being the subject."

"Well… guess I'm fine… but how did you know what the antidote was?"

Ah crap. Alice didn't think about having to explain that part. She needed an excuse, and quick. Remembering what Eirin told her, she couldn't just go blabbing about what happened. Especially not to Marisa. Knowing her, she'd jump on her broom and head to Hakugyoukurou right away. She'd probably get killed in the process of desperately struggling to get Reimu back. She couldn't know. Not now.

It took a moment, but the puppeteer slowly hatched an idea. "I-I uh, have been experimenting with new, uh, herbal techniques. This one is a Chinese herb that Meiling showed me. Yeah, it's a, uh, an oriental method."

A pair of suspicious eyes glared at her. There was something up, and Marisa knew Alice was hiding it. "Really? The gatekeeper from the mansion?"

"Y-yeah, is that weird?"

"It is."

"…"

"…"

"You got it from someone, didn't you?"

"… Yes."

"I knew it. So, who gave it to you?"

Thinking about it a little more, Alice realized that it probably wasn't that bad to tell her about the experiment for Eirin, excluding the bit about Reimu of course. Come to think of it, how did Eirin even know what the antidote was?

She sighed before spilling the story. "I got an invitation from Eirin to visit Eientei. She gave me these herbs to test, and asked me to report what happened. In return, I get access to edible herbs that she can procure from the bamboo forest. It means I can expand my menu."

"Whaaaaat? You actually did a favor for that crazy doctor?"

"Well, I'm not against visiting the place. It's kinda cool, anyways."

"Whatever. I'm still hungry though. And now my head hurts."

Scribbling that down on a pad, Alice looked at her friend expectantly. "Anything else? Feel weird, grow anything weird, lose anything- I need all that."

"I'm fine! I just want some foooooood."

She paused. "Ah, on second thought, your head hurting is probably due to when you hit the side of the table on the way down. But that's not important right now. I hear there's a concert going on in the Village that the Moriya's are hosting."

"H-hey, my head!"

"Wanna go?"

Grumbling, Marisa realized she wasn't going to get anywhere with the cookie experiment anymore. "If there's food, I'm down."

Alice smiled. "We can stop by my shop while we're there. For now, have this muffin."

Marisa gave a cheer of happiness, accepting the treat. She paused with it halfway to her mouth, eyeing Alice suspiciously again. "This… this doesn't have somethin special mixed in, does it?"

"No, just a regular muffin."

She looked at it cautiously. "If you say so." With a deliberate slowness, she took a small bite. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Hey, this is pretty good too!" Throwing caution to the wind, Marisa wolfed it down, disregarding any concern that it was tampered with.

Grabbing her traveling satchel, Alice gave a command to her house-keeping dolls to take care while she was gone. "Are you ready, Marisa?"

Crumbs on her face, she nodded. "Let's ride my broom. It'll be faster that way."

"Sure."

They stepped outside, the cool late-autumn air tickling their faces. It was about midday now, with the sun hanging high overhead.

Locking the door, Alice climbed onto the broom behind Marisa, hooking her arms around the girl.

Blushing, Marisa looked back with a surprised expression. "H-hey, your hands…"

"I don't want to fall."

"But… you can fly."

She didn't respond, but held tighter.

Sighing, Marisa shrugged. "F-fine. Hold tight!"

To tell the truth, it was part of Alice's plan to get as close to the magician as possible. She had originally intended to… enjoy Marisa while she was incapacitated with the herb, but the antidote worked too quickly. Although, this was good too.

As they passed over the green-brown of Gensokyo below, the autumn colors a beautiful blur, she couldn't help but feel intoxicated by Marisa's scent. It wafted to her through the girl's clothes, a soft, but grassy smell with a faint hint of flowers. What she would give to be able to take it in even closer, without the clothes in the way…

Shaking her head, Alice snapped out of her delirious fantasy. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. But certainly, there was time later.

They were soon coming in over the village, the sounds of some kind of musical ruckus rising up from below. A large mob was gathered around a stage in the center of town, a band performing upon it.

Setting down at the entrance, the two girls began to make their way towards the excitement, already looking forward to the show. Well, at least Alice was. Marisa might've been in it still for the food.

Sanae's voice cut a beautiful, haunting melody over the cheers of the crowd, the band playing a sorrowful ballad to her words.

Nudging their way through, the girls finally found a spot where they could get a view of the stage.

Up front was the shrine maiden, her eyes closed as she focused on her singing. Kanako played the guitar, while Suwako played the bass. Aya banged on the drums, and Momiji pressed a keyboard.

The band was incredible. Their music reached a place in everyone's hearts that nothing else could. With no signs of stopping, the Moriya N' Friends played through song after song, ballad to rock to fun.

Marisa nudged Alice. "Ain't this awesome?!"

She nodded emphatically. "Yeah, it's really good!"

They got lost in the sounds. Before she knew it, an hour had passed. Alice looked around for her friend, but Marisa seemed to have disappeared somewhere. In a small moment of panic, she looked about desperately, but was relieved when she spotted the magician's iconic hat bobbing a few bodies away.

Gently jostling her way over, she slowly squeezed through the crowd. But something caught her eye.

A girl with light brown hair and a pink ribbon stood off in the crowd, strikingly out of place. Something about her seemed familiar, until Alice realized she was the girl that had appeared in her shop that one day.

A mix of emotions gripped Alice. What was that girl doing here? Eirin's words echoing in her head, she began to push towards her, desperate to get a closer look.

Suddenly, a large man bumped into the puppeteer, blocking her view of the girl. He quickly apologized as Alice smiled and nodded, pushing around him.

The girl was looking straight at her, auburn eyes gleaming in the late sunlight. She smiled.

Her view was blocked again, but by the time Alice could see, she was gone.

Looking around, she could see no trace of the girl. Was she really here? Maybe it was just her imagination…

No, it couldn't be. There was no coincidence that the girl was here, and at the shop that day. It was definitely her. But just who was she? Could it have been Reimu? Did Reimu reincarnate a new body?

These questions plagued Alice, but a hand upon her shoulder brought her out of the daze.

Marisa was looking at her with a grin, the excitement of the concert obviously having had an effect on her. "Hey, you alright?"

Quickly putting her mind away, she smiled and nodded. "Y-yeah. Just had a spark of inspiration for a new recipe."

"Cool. Speaking of which, we gonna get some food, or what?"

Remembering what she said, Alice thought of a better idea. "I believe there is an after-party at the shrine later. Why don't we go there early? There's definitely some good food there."

With a shrug, the magician nodded. "Wherever we can get somethin to eat."

"Well, let's go now then."

"Sure."

Squeezing their way through, the girls made it out of the tangle of the crowd. Marisa called her broom, and they hopped onto it, lifting up and over the village.

Moriya shrine was only a few minutes away, visible in the distance on Youkai Mountain.

As they flew, Alice couldn't help but feel a tinge of hope. If what Eirin said was true, then Reimu was still around, somewhere, even if they couldn't see her. And then, there was that girl.

Somehow, it all made sense. And yet, the truth still remained.

The dead could not come back.