This is the Cirno News Network with a breaking news story! Live from the underground, we bring you an update on the kappa created fusion reactor that is charring away in the depths of the Earth's crust. Progress has been steady, as with the hell raven's ability to control fusion, power levels have been steadily rising. Unfortunately, we were interrupted by the intrusion by one of the lead kappa on the project, who insisted we leave the program in secrecy. Being forbidden to see what was occurring, we did leave. Not before, however, one of our crew suffered a nervous breakdown. She is expected to have a full recovery, and we here plan to give her a doggie bag as a get well present.

Thank you, and enjoy the show. This has been THE STRONGEST! Now back to your irregularly scheduled fic.


Fallen Shieldmaiden of the Damnable Moon

Shh… There, there. You're awake. Don't worry. Everything… Well, everything isn't fine, but you're in no danger. At least, not anymore. You've just been asleep for a good while. They dumped you down here, and I performed my duty. Technically, I suppose it isn't… but it's an old habit I've been wanting to exercise for such a long time.

As for where you are… I don't know if I'm the right person to be telling you. Normally, it's the job of someone else. The Yama. But… What was the last thing that you remember? Rocks? A cliff face… Jagged boulders piercing your body, letting the lifeblood bleed out of you… Say no more. Nothing more is required. Still, I am curious as to why you would be here.

You remember no trial? No judgment? Nothing of the sort? Was your soul judged in absentia? Was your consciousness not required? Was the Yama so secure in the knowledge that she had made the correct decision that she instead tossed you down here without even speaking to you?

Why do I ask? And what do I mean... Well, there isn't much of a good way to tell you this. I just ask you to peek out beyond the darkness that I have created for you, and into the damning light.

Yes, that's right. As far as the eye can see. Welcome, then, to the Hell of Blazing Fires.

Now you know why I wonder why you are here. What crimes have you committed, what sins have you succumbed to, in order to earn a position down here with those that are irredeemable? Is your soul truly so black that there is no chance at all at wiping it clean? I've many of the sinners that have ended up down here… And you do not appear to be one of them. Why is that?

I suppose I will stop asking you, though. It is obvious that you don't know, for how could you? Your face is honest, and even if I haven't seen you act or heard of your actions, that is enough for me.

Who am I? Well, now that's an interesting question. Who am I… That's a question whose answer I've not needed in a long time. Perhaps it might be better to ask who I was at one point, for that is a different person than the one I am now. One time, I held many names… And with thrice as many titles as the names I once bore. But there were two that I bore above all others. Princess, and Sister.

Oh, no, I'm not a sister to anyone that you may know. It has been millennia since I have seen them, in any form. I've heard rumors from the other spirits that they were nearby, within a hair's breadth… But they did not seek me out. Perhaps they do not care for me any longer. Or perhaps they do not even remember. I do hope that it is simply that they do not know where I rest, if one can call it such a thing.

I know I'm dodging around the question… But the truth is, the name does not matter any longer, in my opinion. All I can remember are the crimes that I committed, and the pain I put the victims through. The hellfires themselves do not burn me, yet the images they cause me to see… They sear pictures into my eyes better than any brand could.

Ah yes, my crimes… It was a simple thing, nothing too fancy. Murder, in the first degree. I would say it would premeditated, but it was different… Back then, I cared not for who I killed, just that I was able to. It was all a game to me, sinner. A game of skill, a game of endurance, a game of wit… It was the most dangerous game that I played. And it was one of the most dangerous game that I hunted.

No, I am not a youkai, nor was I. Have you ever heard the Yama herself speak? She will not condemn them for acting as their base natures tells them to. They hunger for the flesh and the blood of humans. Some revel in it, feasting upon the humans' bones whenever they have the chance. Others… others attempt to control it. And she lambasts them for not acting as is their proper place. It is somewhat hypocritical, is it not? The humans ask the youkai to act as one of them… And yet, when the youkai finally meets their end, they are judged as sinners for not acting as a true youkai would. No wonder some attempt to live so long.

My apologies. I've rambled on a bit, it seems. After all this time, one must attempt to think of something besides the flames and the pain. Unless they want to go insane. And to tell the truth, I know not if that is the case for me.

But that was my crime, in the day. I hunted humans, not for sustenance, but for sport. They were the only beings that provided me a challenge. The rabbits were predictable, they could be learned. Youkai were the same, although varied in different ways. But the humans were weak enough to be easy pickings, but smart enough to make it hard for me. It was… thrilling, I do remember. Absolutely thrilling.

So, how does that result in me residing here? You, of course, mean besides my crimes which number in the hundreds. Those alone would be enough to sentence me to eternity in these flames. But the mistake I made which led to the rest of my crimes was my acting outside of my nature. Outside of my training, of the habits I had developed.

At one time, I was a proud warrior. I was capable of magic, yes, but it was out of necessity. To be able to jump quicker, leap farther, lift more… I was unsurpassed in my home in the physical activities. While my sisters depended on their faith, magic and trinkets, I instead depended on my own muscle and sweat.

As the strongest of the three, I found myself as the defender. While my sisters would strike out from behind me, I would be the stone wall behind which they would rally. And as we grew, I found myself becoming the one behind which the rest of my people would rally. They cheered on my sisters, but I was the foundation upon which the majority of the trust was laid.

I was a protector, ensuring nothing ever happened to my people. With my shield and polearm, nothing could get past me. The only problem we had was that there were no enemies of which to defend against. No people that wished to attack my home. We were a nation with an army, but no enemy.

So I will admit that I… I grew bored. Tired of living a simple bland life of drills, speeches, and ceremonies. So, I began to branch out. We had no wild game left, as anything wild was impure. So I sought out the lands that held these creatures that I may hunt. Creatures that I could track, could fight, and could kill. And as such, even the mightiest of lions, tigers, and bears could not stand against my bare hands.

Yes, I suppose that was a bit of a bad pun. Oh my.

But as you could imagine, the hunt grew boring. So I began to chase the humans around. Such an interesting species… At the time, they were young, with few mighty civilizations. No more than tribes for the most part, struggling to eek out a meager existence. And yet, they had enough intelligence to fight against me, to evade me,,. And even to turn my weaknesses against me. Not that it necessarily helped them.

You might imagine, though, that my hunts attracted the attention of those that were lived among the humans. Youkai, fae, gods, demons, magicians and more all were attracted to my actions. They saw someone with power, and they decided either to contain me, or attack me directly.

Yet, even if they had the slightest of chances against me, I was zipped away. They could not catch me, after all. As long as the border between my home and wherever I set foot upon this earth stayed malleable and unchanging, I was able to retreat with ease.

Honestly? I was a coward at that time. That is what an easy life of hunting easy prey does to you. For after I began to hunt youkai, but it just wasn't the same. Animalistic, the majority of them were. Thought like animals, so I could hunt them like the animals that they were. It was… disappointing. So disappointing.

So, being the coward that I was, I went back to hunting the humans. Stalking them in the night, making them run, and do their best to outwit me. I gave them the advantage of home turf, and I never set up any trap or pitfall to trip them up. Any kill that I made was to be mine and mine alone, not the luck of a trap spontaneously working.

As I said before, though, I had attracted the attention of those in power. Some of which were mighty upset at my actions. Eventually, one came after me that I couldn't run away from. The mountains and the seas would not let me pass, and I could not return to my kingdom. The boundaries did not distort, nor did they twist. They stayed firmly shut.

Left with no other recourse than to stand my ground with my shield, I turned to face the being that was confronting me. I will admit that I expected a god, or some ancient magician. A being of power that sought to claim my soul in return for faith or for power.

But instead, it was a young youkai that accosted me. She couldn't have been more than a century or two old, so young with her eyes. Full of life, sharp and quick. Perhaps you might know of her, sinner. In this land, she is yet the most powerful youkai. The Yakumo, Yukari.

I though that I had easy pickings, to be honest. A youkai such as that would not be hard to defeat, just as the rest of her animalistic brethren were. So, I leapt forward with glee. It was then, as she held up her hand and tore open reality before me, that I realized the whole of my mistake. I had attacked a being that was no animal. Instead, I had attacked a force of nature, a being composed of pure power.

Before I could reverse my flight, I felt myself being impacted in the side by a large stone. You know how that feels, don't you? The pain as your flesh rends at the sharp rock… I know it very well, too. In retrospect, the girl was inexperienced, and her gaps were shaky, almost on the verge of collapsing. But to be able to transport such items, and use them as a projectile… It was a surprise to me.

Almost amusing, isn't it? Such training I had put myself through, countless hours of sparring and blocking, all to be defeated by a rock thrown from the side. If I had cared for such things at that point in time, I would have been utterly and totally humiliated. But that was not the end of it.

Instead, I found myself being propped up on the side of a hill, rock still piercing my side. As I bled, gazing up into the sharp eyes of the youkai, I could see the nearest bit of anger in them. She was enraged at what I had done, for reasons I could not fathom at the time. Somehow, though, she managed to keep the base emotions in check. With a snarl barely curling up the sides of her mouth, she summoned my shield to her hand. Laying it upon my ruin chest, she looked at me and tilted her head.

As she did, my insides twisted. My skin began to melt, just the same as my shield did. And… and I began to merge. My insides boiled as they turned to molten metal, my pale skin starting to glisten with a metallic sheen. I do not know how long that it took, even though I imagine it only took a few seconds, if that. But to me, it felt like eons.

But in the end, I was trapped. Locked within my own shield, my bronze chest moving as I attempted to draw in breath. But, I needed not one. Have you not gazed upon me? The black eyes, soulless and without a pupil. The orb within my hands, glowing with soft light? The lack of a lower body should have tipped you off, but I suppose that you have become desensitized to such things. I suppose there are more important worries, considering that you're dead.

Why did she do such a thing, sinner? She did not want me to die, not quite yet. She did want me to see the Yama, though. Oh yes, I knew you were going to ask. But she wanted to take me to the Yama personally. She wanted not the risk of having my soul be intercepted my sisters, only to be brought back to life at a later point.

And so, she carried me, strapped to her back as the shield I now had become. With but a step across the abyss, and we were in Shigan. Another step later, we were in Higan. And in another, she found herself facing the Yama.

It didn't take long for me to be judged by her. As I had been killed, even if I had not quite yet died, I fell under her jurisdiction, having been killed on this Earth, and near her land. Not to mention the look on her face the moment she glanced into her mirror. It didn't take long for me to be sentenced here. To the land of the eternally burning fires, stoked by the corpses of the dead.

You know what the worst part of my sins was, sinner? It was not the punishment I was given… It was the effect on my people. It was my fault that the Yakumo began to hate my people, for what they thought of the humans and youkai that she had placed under her protection. A few centuries passed as she studied the situation, according to the others that I've met here, before she countered the hubris of my people with an invasion. She did not succeed, but the damage was done.

In my actions, my arrogance, my thirst for blood, I had forsaken my people. When they needed me most, was I there to protect them? No, instead, I was here, paying for the crimes that I committed. And, in the process, setting them up to be attacked in the first place! It was a recipe for disaster… And I provided the main ingredients for the flambé.

I failed. In ever single, utter way, I failed. My people, my crown, my sisters… In one day, I had it stripped away. But to add insult to injury, I've had the images of my victims dance through my mind. These fires do not burn hot enough to harm me, but there is something in the flame that reminds you of why you are here. Constantly and endlessly do I see every one of their faces, the scenes from the lives that they would have had, the family that I took them from. All of it.

That is why I am here, sinner. In case you wanted to know. So, I will remain here, and serve out my sentence. I just hope that eternity isn't too far away.

So, are you to tell me why you suspect that you're here? There is always something that sticks out in your mind, after all. One small occurrence that might be just why you were sent to the blazing fires. What could it be because of?

The shinigami brought you back before? From the dead, and back to the land of the living? That… that could be why. You've cheated death with her own help, but the judge of the dead isn't as forgiving as her employees. So, if she was in a bad mood, the fact that you've lived multiple times already… That alone might be enough to persuade herself that you should be sentenced to the worst of the worst. She wouldn't want the live humans to get too interested in the various ways to cheat death, aye?

Wait, wait! What do you think you're doing? Are you trying to leave the shade that I've created for you? Why is that the case? I've done my best to keep you from burning even more than you have already. If you leave my protection, you'll succumb to the fires. …What is that? You've made a promise to some people, and you're going to keep it…

That sounds so familiar. I made a promise myself to my people, but I never fulfilled it. Was this promise to your people, or was it to someone else? …Multiple someones, all the same. You don't want to end while you have unfinished business in the land of the living. I… I understand how you feel. Go ahead, I won't stop you. I'm certain that you can find a way out.

Come with you? Why would I do that? I've my own penance to complete here. I can never forget, never forget what I did, and I destroyed by my actions. My failure to act as the guardian for those that needed guarding, the insult that I created against my crown. All that requires my punishment to be thorough.

I don't think I could ever forget the names of the people I've killed, to be honest. After decades and decades, I would need surgery to remove the names from the inside of my skull. Not that I would want such an effort wasted on me. There are others far more deserving.

I suppose that idea has merit… There are so many unknowns, though. Too many people that I've let down. But then again, by remaining here, I'll never face them. And if my sisters do ever die, unless they have the misfortune to die in this jurisdiction, they will instead be relegated to the afterlife at home, instead of the one I currently exist in.

Confronting my demons… That sounds like the honorable thing to do, does it not? No more hiding… Instead, I should confront those who I wronged. And if they condemn me back to here, so be it. But until it's been proven… I've nothing to lose, myself.

You, however, have everything to lose. A spirit of a sinner, wandering out of hell? You'll need to find your body before anything too unsavory happens. It could get possessed by an evil spirit or a poltergeist, and be made to do terrible things in the process. That is, if your body yet remains. …You hope that our allies have recovered it? For your sake, sinner, I hope they have.

From what you say though, sinner, your companions were not of great, stout strength. They were lances and swords, charging out to meet battle for you. But there was no one to remain behind and to guard you. I shall be that then. You have your sword and your shroud, but not yet your shield.

On that note, I, Kikuri Watatsuki, Moon Princess of Shield and Spear, am in your service until both our debts are paid. Even the Yama herself cannot countermand my convictions. And in that regard, let us leave. I can only hope that my time here has both tempered my body, as well as my resolve.

Now, strap me on your arm, and ward away the flames. We've a long walk ahead of us comrade, so let us take the first of many steps. And pray that each one is not our last.


A/N Well… Here we are. Another Pc-98 with no lines in canon. Which means another blank slate for me to play around with. And while Ruukoto is just an android that as been in disrepair for too long, Kikuri here is something completely different.

To make sure it is known by now, the MC died in the previous chapter. Nothing to be done for that… I know a good few of you were waiting for a Momiji or an Aya to come out of the wings and rescue us… But I wanted to get to Kikuri, and advance the story along a bit more (Having decided who is going to be in the next 3 chapters). And to do that, we had to go to hell. And what better way to get there than to be impaled with extreme prejudice. If you are still wondering where the local tengu workwolf is, though, she's been busy powering CNN with her own two feet. Not a glamorous job, but someone's got to do it. Just as someone's got to watch the mountain paths.

But now, explanation behind my choices for Kikuri. I will admit, the whole idea about Kikuri being a Lunarian at all was due to her title. The Hellish Moon. If you look at her, she appears to be just a bronze disc with an image of a girl. So, why that title? Even if ZUN was trying to be cool, why not just call her something like the Hellish Bronze Disc, or Discus? So, that's my reasoning. As to the Watatsuki relation… That part just flowed out naturally from the keyboard.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that such a relation ties into Yukari's invasion of the moon centuries later. It gives me a bit of background to work with… Plus, it allows me to get a better handle on the Moon *bleeps* before I actually write them. As there are only three characters that I actively dislike: The Watatsuki's, and the Yasaka. So, perhaps a wee bit of imbalance there, but who knows? Considering how strong my Gensokyo is, perhaps they'll finally be a match for the lunatics.

As for last chapter:

Thank you very much. I'm particularly fond of the side five myself, to be honest. And don't worry, that's not Hina right behind you. That's just Kogasa trying to surprise you.

Kogasa: Aww, you ruined it… And it would have been such a wonderful surprise.

Oh, do be quiet. Don't be freaking them out after such chapters. That tongue of yours can be quiet scary when you use it. Ahem, anyways, agreed. Hina can be quite the frightening character, even without trying. Make her want to be scary though…

Digressing, this should be it for the current surge of chapters, at least for Sublime Soliloquy. Got a goodly bit of Touhoumon, plus a oneshot or two halfway written, so more on those first. Or at least, more on one of them. Also, by now, I should have gone back and fixed up Iku's chapter some, to make it more legible. If it is, please do tell whether it's an acceptable level, or if it's still too bad.

In either case, let me now finish my rambling. Please read and review as always, and until next time!


Optional Quest: Like a Bat out of Hell: 100 Percent Complete

Party Members:

Ruukoto: Lost, Unavailable
Koishi: Lost, Available
Kikuri: Acquired