Interludes: Rushing Wind


The Suzunaan's store bell rang in protest as Landgravine Akyuu Hieda threw open the door of the Suzunaan bookstore. "Kosuzu!"

Kosuzu Motoori sat behind her register and glanced up from the fan of yen in her hand. "Oh, it's you, Akyuu."

"Don't even start with that." Akyuu thrust a thin paperback in the bookseller's face. "What are you doing with this?"

Kosuzu examined the cover. A shapely woman in a dark cape and a glass globe mask loomed over a youkai thug. "Making money."

"It's outselling me!" Akyuu flipped open the book, ignoring Kosuzu's glare as she creased the binding. "Listen to this nonsense:

"Mist; thick, black mist—nothing but mist. It seemed to invite her plunge. Yet she hesitated—as many wait when they are upon the brink of death—until, with a mad impulse, she swung her body across the rail and loosened her hands.

"Something clamped upon her shoulder. An iron grip held her—balanced between life and death. Then, as though her body possessed no weight whatever, the woman felt herself pulled around in a sweeping circle.

"She turned to confront the person who had interfered. It was as though the girl's strength had been wrested from her when she faced a comely, black-cloaked figure that might have represented death itself. For she could not have sworn that she was looking at a human being.

"The stranger's face was entirely obscured by a glass globe mask painted with the shadows of the full moon, and the long, black cloak looked like part of the thickening fog."*

Akyuu closed the book and glowered at Kosuzu with the accumulated petulance of nine lifetimes.

"Keep going." Kosuzu beckoned with her fan of money. "No, really, keep going. You're getting to the good part."

"This Moon Maid is an affront to 1500 years of Japanese literature," Akyuu squawked.

Kosuzu tapped the fan into a neat stack. "Now, Akyuu, you do realize I run a business?" The bookseller slipped the money into the register. "And bestsellers like the one in your hand allow us to take chances with more niche titles. Such as your cozy mysteries."

Akyuu slapped her hand against the table. "I'm your best-selling author!"

"No, that's Princess Toyohime. Her commemorative album of Princess Kaguya's wedding to my brother still sells like hotcakes."

"Okay, then of the past three months. Don't bother lying, you showed me the sales figures."

"And now you aren't." Kosuzu shrugged. "Try harder."

Akyuu bristled at the slight. "Who wrote this pulp? Satori?" She glanced at the cover. "'Ariel Neptune.' Sounds fishy to me."

"You of all people should know that I don't reveal the authors behind their pseudonyms, Miss AQtha Christie."

"Whatever. Just sell more of my books."

"Write faster."

"How dare you make demands on my muse!"

"Miss Neptune writes a novel every two weeks."

The book dropped from Akyuu's hand. The startled landgravine regained her composure. "Her books are only selling because you paid some shameless hussy to flaunt herself across town as the Moon Maid." Her eyes narrowed. "How much did you pay Komachi?"

"What, and sacrifice my youkai book budget?" Kosuzu laughed. "The Moon Maid's real. Someone has to solve incidents while Reimu and Marisa are away."

"Then how does 'Miss Neptune' know so much about her?"

Kosuzu shrugged. "I just print the books and take the money."

Akyuu groaned. "If a youkai wrote them, you'd pay more attention."

A sly smile graced Kosuzu's lips.

The landgravine lunged and grabbed Kosuzu by the collar. "So you do know. Tell me!"

The floor bucked and roiled beneath their feet. Books toppled from the bookshelves. Throughout the Suzunaan store, doors swung open. In the distance, a loud crack followed by a bass rumble echoed from the foothills.

When the ground stilled, Akyuu released Kosuzu. "I thought the kappa weren't supposed to be blasting tunnels until next week."

Kosuzu shrugged, then sneezed before she could answer. A flowery breeze tickled her nose, full of cherry blossoms, citrus, and honey. The refreshing fragrance swept through the store, clinging like an unseen fog to all it touched. She closed the register, then darted to the Suzunaan's front door and peeked out into the street. "Did a perfumer's still topple over?

Akyuu closed her eyes and pursed her lips. Somewhere in nine lifetimes, she must have encountered this familiar fragrance—

A shrill wail shrieked from inside the bookshelf maze. Kosuzu froze in the doorway and covered her ears. Her eyes snapped wide. Was that from her youkai books? The ear-splitting keening grew louder. She dashed into the heart of the stacks, dragging Akyuu with her.

On an endcap pedestal, Kosuzu found a scalebound book screaming from an eyeless face tanned into its cover. Whether it was a human's or some long extinct fishman's, Kosuzu never wanted to know. Wine-stain weals spread across the face of the shrieking book, the only one Marisa Kirisame outright refused to steal:

The Necronomicon.

The mountain wind blew cherry and citrus notes through the bookstore and into the stacks. Akyuu pulled Kosuzu away from the terrible parchment.

The weals spread until the profane book turned scarlet. As each new gust swept through the stacks, new clouds of sulfurous smoke sloughed from the Mad Arab's book. Green flame licked out from within the bound parchment. The pages crackled in the fire like burning fat. The ambrosia wind bore away the stench of burning rot.

Wide-eyed, Kosuzu and Akyuu clung to each other, transfixed in terror as, alone in Kosuzu's youkai library, the Necronomicon consumed itself, screaming until only a score of soot remained on the shelf.


Kaguya swayed her way down the hallway of Eternity Manor, covering her mouth with her hand. She slumped against the nearest wall, closed her eyes, and waited for the room to stop spinning. With a saint unearthed, filling the air with the divine fragrance of glass cleaner, she should have stayed in bed, but Eirin would have fussed over her. The fairy-tale princess scowled at the thought. That was her husband Yori's job.

She wrapped her house robe tighter around her body, hissing as the cloth tugged at her breasts. A wicked gleam filled Kaguya's eye. Tonight she would teach her adored and beloved husband to be gentler.

A new waft of potpourri and cleaning chemicals swept through Eternity Manor, turning Kaguya's stomach. The fairy-tale princess clung to the wall as dry heaves wracked her body. Once the nausea mercifully passed, Kaguya cursed the fool who disturbed the bones of a saint.

To most humans, the perfume from a true holy man's remains gave a pleasant and refreshing bouquet. Thanks to a sip of the Hourai Elixir, Kaguya was instead an immortal sinner, so she found the holiness less than pleasant—and a good reason to stay in bed. Even if it was after noon.

Instead, Kaguya slid along the wall on her way to the kitchen. A throbbing headache lingered from her latest bout with nausea.

As soon as she opened the door to the dining room, the trio of reisen moon bunnies huddled around Eirin Yagokoro raised their heads and stared expectantly at Kaguya. The fairy-tale princess glared at the lunar sage, who cleared her throat.

The trio scattered, then knelt at the dining table, with the original Reisen sitting next to Eirin, while the orange tomboy and the blue belle sat on opposite sides of the head of the table. All eyes remained on Kaguya, even as the moon bunnies shared giggles.

Kaguya ignored the reisens as she took her accustomed seat at the head of the table. "Tea, please," she rasped. A pink-dressed inaba bunny brought out steaming mugs from the kitchen. Kaguya sipped the green tea, basking in the soothing warmth. "Where's Yori?" she finally asked.

The reisens' ears perked up at her question.

"I asked him to harvest pine mushrooms for dinner tonight." Eirin set aside her mug. "It's time we had another Talk."

"I am a married woman, not a blushing bride." Kaguya tried to ignore the giggling reisens. Their laughter grew louder as her glower deepened.

Eirin's face remained a placid mask. "Would you rather we have this talk in nine months?"

Kaguya scowled as the reisens choked back their laughter, then her eyes snapped wide. She leapt to her feet. "Are you sure?"

"I've been a doctor long enough to know what happens next when a newlywed woman gets that special glow." Eirin grinned as she held up three plastic sticks. A blue plus sign appeared on each. "Also, I've been testing the urine in your chamber pots ever since your wedding."

"But-" Kaguya stammered. Her head spun as a thousand thoughts race through her mind. "Are you sure?"

Eirin hid her laughter behind her hand. "Oh, my, did you think really the saint's bones caused your morning sickness?"

"What about the Hourai curse?" Kaguya's eyes grew wide as she considered the danger to her child. She grabbed the nearest reisen. "Where's Mokou?"

"At the Hakurei Shrine," the blue belle reisen said.

"I want a circle of rabbits watching her at all times," Kaguya demanded.

All eyes turned to Eirin, who nodded. The orange tomboy excused herself from the table.

"You might want to worry about more pressing concerns." The lunar sage coughed politely, but her mirth spilled forth. "Like what are you going to tell Yori?"

Kaguya froze, her mouth agape. Then, to her mortification, a muscular arm wrapped around her waist and pulled the fairy-tale princess into a welcoming kiss.

"Tell me what?" Yori Houraisan murmured between kisses to his wife.


Closed inside the sanctum of the Hakurei Shrine, a raven-tressed shrine maiden knelt before the reliquary altar. A black and white icon bearing the wisteria flower mon icon of the Fujiwara clan hung in the place of honor.

The shrine maiden bowed until her forehead touched the wooden floor. She whispered silent prayers, unwilling to trust her voice while tears welled in her eyes.

A hand settled on her shoulder. "What's troubling you, Granddaughter?"

Mokou placed a hand on his and sat up. She faced her defied grandfather, Lord Kamatari, a kindly silver-haired man in black robes sitting beside her. "Please, release me from my vows."

Lord Kamatari raised an eyebrow. "But you are happy here."

"The earth spiders are back." Mokou shuddered and bowed her head. "I don't want to be a spider's bride. Please allow me to defend myself."

"Are you that eager to leave the shrine to Kasen?"

Mokou froze, her mouth agape. "No," she whispered.

Lord Kamatari squeezed his immortal granddaughter's shoulder. "You spent 1400 years trying to expunge our clan's dishonor. You've yet to learn how difficult it is to live to avoid dishonor altogether. Besides, no god, man, or youkai would dare violate the shrine's sanctuary. You'll be safe from the earth spider clans as long as you stay at the shrine."

Mokou shifted in her seat and lowered her eyes. "But my duties will take me into the Village."

"Perhaps now you won't swear oaths so rashly." The Fujiwara god crossed his arms. "But I can promise that you won't be unprotected, my little rabbit priestess."

Mokou blinked in surprise at the unfamiliar pet name. "I can take care of myself. I want to take care of myself."

The silvery god sighed and hugged his granddaughter. "Fate has already taken your choice. You have visitors."

Wide-eyed, Mokou leaped for the sanctum's door. She slid open the divider just wide enough so she could stare out into the courtyard.

A lop-eared bunny girl in orange chewed on a skewer as she passed under the shrine's sacred torii gate. Only a moon rabbit could do so uninvited. Behind her, a trio of earth rabbits in pink dresses cut a wide circle around the red gate.

Mokou slumped to the floor. "Not again," she whispered.

"There are still forces on this earth against which the gods themselves strive in vain," Lord Kamatari murmured as he faded from the sanctum.


With one eye fixed on the gilded face of the grandfather clock, Meiling Hong skulked through the vestibule of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She settled in the corner and glanced furtively around the room. Only then did she pull a dog-eared paperback from her hip pocket. As the second hand swept around in a circle, the scarlet guardswoman lost herself in its pages.

A shrill scream echoed through the halls of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

With a sigh, Meiling clapped shut her well-worn copy of Shambleau. "Right when the little harpy is about to get her just desserts." The Chinese youkai pushed away from the wall. "Gorgons are such slippery snakes."

Meiling closed her eyes, cocked an ear, and waited. A second scream, low and fearful, rang through the mansion. The guardswoman slipped her book back into a pocket and hurried towards the cry.

The caterwauling crescendoed as Meiling flew through an antechamber into a spacious lobby complete with balconies and a spiraling staircase.

"Help me!" Koakuma screeched. The devilish familiar dangled from the railing of the third floor. She kicked out with her feet, clawing for the staircase. Above her, the shifting ceiling ground down towards the little devil's fingers.

Meiling slid to a stop in the center of the lobby. The Scarlet Devil Mansion's room stretched and shrank according to Sakuya's whims. Given Koakuma's mischievous nature, the little devil probably deserved her current peril. The scarlet guardswoman cupped her hands around her mouth. "What did you do this time?"

"I'm slipping!" Koakuma shrieked as the descending ceiling swallowed the fourth floor. Her bat wings flapped furiously as she regained her white-knuckled death grip on the iron railing. The little devil wailed, "Sakuya, stop! Please!"

Meiling yelled back. "Just fly away." Every girl in Gensokyo learned to fly as soon as she crafted her first spell card. But Meiling had not seen Koakuma seized by such ashen-faced terror since the time Koakuma followed Patchouli into the Vatican Museums.

Meiling edged towards the antechamber, then stopped. Duty demanded that she resolve this mess before Remilia noticed it.

Even if it meant defying Sakuya.

She pursed her lips and studied the lowering ceiling, now less than a meter from Koakuma's hands. Meiling exhaled sharply and drew upon her chi. This was going to hurt.

"I'll catch you," the guardswoman called. She held out her arms and tried to get under Koakuma's dangling feet. Meiling was dimly aware of creaking hinges and a slammed door.

The grandfather clock tolled like a tocsin, loud, insistent, and unceasing.

A chill wind rushed through the halls, bearing an astringent mix of pine oil, vinegar, and Hatch chilies. Tears welled in Meiling's eyes as the harsh air scratched at her throat.

Above Meiling, Koakuma fell like lightning.

The little devil and the guardswoman crumpled in a heap on the floor.

Meiling groaned under Koakuma's weight. As the guardswoman gathered her wits, doors slammed throughout the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Someone stomped with heavy feet through the halls. For the first time since the fairies fell sick, the incessant creaking of the mansion's walls fell silent.

A shadow covered Meiling's face. She opened her eyes to the hem of a purple dress of a style Meiling last saw in La Belle Époque Paris.

"Koakuma!" Patchouli roared, her voice muffled by the veil across her face. An actinic magic circle glowed beneath the alchemist's feet. "Come here!"

The weight lifted from Meiling as Koakuma appeared inside the magic circle.

"Your plan didn't work." Before Koakuma could wheeze an answer, Patchouli grabbed Koakuma by a bat ear and dragged the familiar out of the lobby. The door slammed behind them.

Meiling pulled herself to her feet and tried to ignore the cloying scent of pine oil.

"Sakuya, Sakuya, Sakuya!" Flandre shouted breathlessly as she dashed through the still halls of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. The littlest vampire spotted the Chinese guardswoman and ran into her arms. "Meiling, Remilia's got a toothache!" Flandre wailed.

The Chinese guardswoman paled at the thought.


As the shadows in the Forest of Magic grew long, the tengu scout platoon marched away at a dogtrot, abandoning Marisa and her father in front of a brown cottage. Vines engulfed the cozy house, and a line of trees in front of the windows were thick enough to be a hedge.

The black and white witch wiped her eyes. For the first time in nearly four months, Marisa was home.

Mr. Kirisame tugged at a bramble runner clinging to the house's stucco walls. "You should ask one of your brothers to come here with a set of pruning shears."

Marisa grimaced as she rubbed at the mountain grit caked on her face. "It's easier to ask the fairies to shape the trees away from the house. They still owe me favors." Her eyes sought their treehouse home above the forest canopy, but the evening shadows shrouded all.

"It's too late to return to the Village." Mr. Kirisame release the climbing vine.

Marisa fussed with the front door's deadbolt lock. "Give me a moment. I might have to clear space for you."

"I've seen your room before, young lady," the storekeeper rumbled.

Marisa opened the door and froze. Instead of the comforting magpie clutter piled throughout her home, the magical girl could see shelves and corners and even floorboards. Her living room was spotless, with polished floors. Not a single cobweb hung from the ceiling.

But Marisa's precious things weren't missing. An impressive and varied array of organizers and drawers sat stacked against a wall. Atop the dining table, a blonde doll clung to a broom and dustpan. Folded stationary laid underneath the doll's delicate dress.

Marisa drew in a deep breath. "Alice, how dare you!"


*The Suzunaan Publishing Company extends its sincerest apologies to Kent Allard, Maxwell Grant, and Walter Gibson for Miss Neptune's thinly veiled "homage" to The Living Shadow.