The Skies of Gensokyo
Mami had felt gazes as they left the temple... youkai and human alike, judging the two girls who were neither. They had left quietly, and taken flight almost immediately once outside.
Mami couldn't help but grin as the air breezed by her face. Flying was so liberating horrifying... she could do anything. She looked back at Kyouko and saw the all-too-unfamiliar smile appearing on her face.
They were flying back to the Forest of Magic, and making good time. They would probably stop by the human village just to make sure they didn't need to try finding Marisa's place at night... though Mami was a bit worried.
Where could they stay? Mami and Kyouko had precious little they could use for payment... perhaps Akyuu or Kagerou would be willing to put them up for another night as a favor to Keine? She slowed down a bit to lessen the wind and to let Kyouko catch up so they could discuss it.
"Kyouko... What's the plan when we get to the human village. Any ideas? Where are we going to spend the night?"
"The streets, I figured." Kyouko said bluntly. Mami... hadn't really considered that as an option, but it would make sense... "I'd rather not make our presence well-known around here. Remilia seems like the sort to take our sudden exit poorly."
"I suppose. I thought maybe Akyuu or Kagerou would be willing to shelter us again..."
"Maybe. I can't say I wouldn't prefer a bed to sleep in."
"Well, let's ask Akyuu, then. Even if she can't offer her own home, she might know someone else who can."
"Alright." Kyouko nodded in agreement, and the pair picked up their pace again.
It had been months since they'd been there, but the Hieda residence was distinctive enough to easily pick it out, even from the sky at dusk. As they swooped down, though, they saw a familiar purple head of hair scurrying away from it. Mami pointed it out and they landed to intercept.
"Akyuu!" Mami called out happily as they landed, causing Akyuu to nearly jump out of her skin.
"Who- what?"
"Remember us? Mami and Kyouko?" Mami reminded her.
"Yes, I remember! Ah, sorry I don't have time to talk we can meet tomorrow." Akyuu hurridly said as she started moving away with some sort of package. Mami noticed something off about her, but she couldn't put her finger on it until Kyouko stepped in Akyuu's way.
"Where do you think you're going? It's a little late to be heading out, isn't it?" Kyouko asked.
"Why do you think I'm in such a hurry?"
"Well we'll happily go with you. Got to keep Our good friend/ Ak-yuu safe/ from you-kai." Kyouko said in rhythm with... ah... the tune of a youkai. It was a rapid and smooth tune, and Mami indicated she'd gotten the message by replying in turn.
"We will-keep/ her-quite safe"...
Akyuu looked between them, a little confused, then took off running, again... and Mami and Kyouko ran after her.
"No, really! I'll... be fine" Akyuu said between breaths.
"Of course you will. We're here." Mami insisted. Akyuu turned around and stopped.
"What do you two want?" Akyuu shouted. Mami had little doubt now... this was almost certainly an imposter.
"What did you steal?"
"Nothing! I need- Alright, you know what, you two can deliver it." Akyuu shoved the package into Mami's hands.
"What? What is this? and where-" Mami started to ask, and Akyuu responded by scratching a very rough bird's eye view of the village, marking a house on the far side of town.
"That's where. Just get it there to Suzunaan tonight! Someone there needs it badly; get it there quick!" Akyuu said before hustling back towards her house. Kyouko started running after her, but Mami unwrapped the package. Within was an old looking book...
Mami wrapped it back up and ran after Kyouko... only to nearly run into her as she came back around the corner.
"What? Where's Akyuu?" Mami asked.
"I don't know!" Kyouko kicked a small stone next to her in self-disgust. "I lost her right away! She's slippery. Besides, you do know that wasn't her, right?"
Mami nodded. "Some sort of youkai... This seems to be a book, but I've no idea what about. I can't read any of it."
"Well... now I wonder... should we return it... or deliver it?" Kyouko pondered aloud.
"It was clearly stolen, but without knowing why... for all I know it's some sort of Magical Explosive they needed to get to a safe detonation site or something... or... maybe she was telling the truth."
Kyouko looked suddenly more worried. "Alright, well, 'Akyuu' seemed to be in a rush to deliver it... let's bring it there, but see if anyone knows what it might be. If it was a thief looking to fence something, then we can catch the fence and hand them over to the Hieda's, right?"
"Right. And if it is time sensitive then we'd better not delay. Let's go. You can hold it in the sky to make sure they can't just take it from me." Mami suggested as she handed off the package and took flight. Kyouko nodded as she accepted and followed suit.
Suzunaan book store.
It seemed a plain enough storefront, but the girl standing in front of it looked quite nervous. She looked around the same age as Mami, and wore a checkered skirt with a yellow ribbon in it. Her red-orange hair was done up in a pair of short twintails, and she seemed to be watching for something as Mami descended.
"Waiting for-"
"Shhh!" The girl hushed Mami and looked around, worried before whispering. "Have you seen-"
"Akyuu?" Mami finished the question. "I have."
"Akyuu? What? No. She's-" The girl looked suddenly worried and turned toward the door, only to be caught by Mami.
"She's what?"
"She's inside! If she snuck out-"
"She didn't. Someone was impersonating her..." Mami braced herself, though she didn't sense any youkai about... "Carrying a package they wanted to deliver here."
"Where's the package? Do you have it?"
"My companion does, yes. What is it?"
"A book! It's to exorcise- I mean. Ah-heh. Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to look over it tonight and...ummm... can I have it now?" The girl looked nervously at her feet.
"Any objections to us coming in with it? We happen to need a place to spend the night."
"Oh... you're... travellers." The girl looked a little nervous. "Could you... ahhhh." She grew more and more agitated.
Mami beckoned to Kyouko to come down, and she complied, carrying the package in her arms.
"So is this legit or what?" Kyouko asked.
"I don't think so, no..." Mami saw the girl fixate on the book.
"How did you..." she muttered quietly. before speaking up, though still keeping a hushed tone. "We need that, please. It's not for anything bad, really!"
"Why all the whispering then, huh?" Kyouko asked.
"Because it's late and I don't want to disturb everyone."
"We aren't idiots. What are you hiding? Who are you?" Kyouko insisted.
"I... look, I just need that book, alright?"
"And why won't you let us come in with it?"
"Because you're... maybe youkai, and if I invite you in it'd be my fault that-"
"We aren't gonna hurt anyone." Mami reassured her. "We just want to make sure you don't either."
"You're not giving me the book, are you?"
"Not without knowing what it's used for." Kyouko said resolutely. The girl looked around furtively before replying.
"...Alright. Come in and stay quiet. People are trying to sleep and I'd really like for you to not wake them." The girl gestured for the Magical Girls to follow her into the house.
Mami and Kyouko followed their host through a few hallways until they came to a dimly lit room... with Akyuu chained to a table.
"What's going on here?"
"Little Kosuzu here is an idiot. That's the short version."
"It's not my fault!" Kosuzu denied, drawing suspicious looks from Mami and Kyouko.
"I think you'd better explain." Mami suggested.
"I just wanted to... I mean-"
"She means she recklessly released a youkai-" Akyuu interrupted.
"Sought help transcribing-" Kosuzu interrupted and was interrupted again in turn.
"A youma book. It's a youkai involved in misreadings. It often changes around text while it's being read, usually by possessing the book in question. How it possessed me, I don't know."
"Maybe you're enough like a book that it thought it was possessing one." Kosuzu suggested, but Kyouko pointed out something that had her more concerned.
"Why would you think freeing a monster would ever be a good idea?"
"It's worked before! Kinda." Kosuzu seemed hesitant to explain more, but Akyuu had no such trouble.
"Apart from Gensokyo nearly being burned to the ground, you mean?" Akyuu shot back at Kosuzu before turning her head back towards the Magical Girls. "I wasn't really expecting you two to show up, though I suppose you'll do fine."
Mami considered just how to phrase her earlier encounter. "Akyuu, someone was trying to impersonate you. They told us to bring the package here, but ran off after that."
"This one here." Kyouko presented the book. Akyuu turned her head and looked at it before replying.
"Yes. Turn to page 236. It's the one that talks about previous attempts to extract spiritual essence from plants. It's got a hint of an ink smudge that ran up along the edge of the page if that helps you find it." Akyuu began while look up at the ceiling. "Be careful now. It's nearly 400 years old, so it's going to be frail. On that page you'll find a leaf pressed between two more pieces of paper, sealed with the words 'The height of-'."
Kyouko had opened the book and after a bit of searching, seemed to find the page. Sure enough, there was a pressed leaf just as Akyuu had described.
"Say 'Crabs aren't fish' and try to rip the leaf free, starting from the stem" Akyuu gave directions and Kyouko gave a very curious look...
"Crabs aren't fish...?" Kyouko said as she grabbed the stem of the leaf with her fingernails, almost wincing as she pulled it through the paper. Bizarrely, while she now held a leaf in hand, one still seemed to remain pressed within the pages as well.
"Very good. Just feed me that and you two should be able to handle the rest."
Kyouko stuffed the leaf in Akyuu's mouth, and a horrific shrieking sound erupted from her mouth as A milky white substance grew out of Akyuu's eyes. The music that echoed through Mami's Soul Gem made its youkai identity perfectly clear, and before it could even act, Mami transformed and bound it in ribbons.
"What... what should we do with it?" Mami asked, but Akyuu was too indisposed to answer, and Kosuzu was doing her best to remain unnoticed.
Kyouko, however, answered Mami's question... by running the creature through. It shimmered, then seemed to dissolve, it's music trailing to a slow, quiet end.
"That should have done it, and unless Kyouko's standing over me for some other reason, the Exorcism is probably completed?" Akyuu asked.
Mami nodded, numb with awe. The youkai possessing Akyuu had seemed to be in terrible pain... so pitiful.
"See? everything worked out, so it's fine." Kosuzu proclaimed confidently, causing doubting eyes to be cast her way.
"I could have been lost to a youkai because of your recklessness." Akyuu pointed out. "Even with the book, exorcising the ghost wouldn't have accomplished anything if not for Kyouko here being willing and able to slay it. It would have found its way back into me again..."
"But if you weren't expecting us, then what -was- your plan?" Mami asked.
"Ah. Well, the possession was an accident, of course, but we decided to make it an opportunity. There's a youkai with a bit of an interest in Kosuzu, and we decided to let her try and prove herself this way. She would have been able to simply take the youkai away. That's likely who was impersonating me and bringing the book here."
"You trusted your life to a youkai?" Kyouko asked incredulously.
"I'm not an idiot, Kyouko. I sent a messenger to some youkai exterminators in case the plan fell through. But I think this little experiment's turned out well, anyway. It seems like she was actually interested in getting the book here and helping, but fled from you and entrusted it to you instead? Odd." Akyuu pondered aloud.
"So why in the world did you free it to begin with?" Kyouko asked.
"Well, see... there was a book that had a sort of secret message in it. But we couldn't figure it out, right? But then I read about this youkai and got this great idea and it would have worked too if Akyuu hadn't gotten herself possessed for being so bookish!" Kosuzu began awkwardly, but gradually became more excited as she spoke.
"It could just as easily have possessed you. you, Kosuzu. Your eyes aren't that different from a language dictionary, now are they?" Akyuu said pointedly.
"What do you mean?" Mami was a bit confused, but a blurry memory was struggling to come forth...
"Ah... see... well, I can read any language, now. It's pretty new, but..." Kosuzu seemed quite proud of it regardless.
"Huh... any language?"
"Any I've seen so far, at least." Kosuzu nodded along with Akyuu.
Mami reached into Candeloro's Personal Storage-
What are you doing? Candeloro had wanted something translated, hadn't she? A few more seconds of rummaging and Mami found a book in her hands. She showed it to Kosuzu...
"Can you read this?"
Kosuzu took it and flipped carefully through it as the others watched.
"Heh, I thought you were going to give me some obscure language. This is, what, French? Something like that. Some sort of journal, by the looks of it..." Kosuzu flipped to the front and read part of the first entry.
"Hi, Diary. Good to meet you. I'm Layla Prismriver-" Kosuzu interrupted herself. "Huh? Mami, where did you find this?"
Akyuu pondered aloud. "The three Prismrivers in Gensokyo are Merlin, Lyrica, and Lunasa... I've never heard of any Layla. Where did you find this?"
"I must have found it while exploring the Prismriver Mansion." Mami shrugged. She couldn't remember exactly where, but her statement seemed accurate as she said it.
"Interesting... but it makes sense. Do you mind if we keep this to look it over? You can have it back once I've committed the translation to memory." Akyuu said.
"I'm not sure we have that kind of time..." Kyouko looked to Mami. "But I suppose we don't really need that rotting old book?"
"Oh, this isn't too long. We can probably get it done tonight if you really want it back."
We want it back. "One night? It's not that big of a book, but wouldn't just reading it take about that long?"
"This script takes up a fair bit more space than Japanese, especially with this sort of handwriting. " Kosuzu said, and Akyuu nodded enthusiastically.
"And I only need to hear it once! It's an untouched new story... I've always wondered about the Prismrivers..." Akyuu confessed.
"Then we'd like it back, please. And, if we could ask for a place to stay?"
"Oh... ah... Well, we have a guest room you two can stay in..." Kosuzu looked nervous.
"Really? After what we just did for you? What else do you want?" Kyouko said, clearly annoyed.
"No no! Nothing! Just... ah.. try not to make too much noise. I'm not supposed to have guests." Kosuzu begged.
"Don't worry. We'll try to be quiet and out of the way." Mami nodded.
"And I'm not about to admit to being so like a book I got possessed. Hmph." Akyuu pouted. "I'm not that bookish. It must have been something else that let it get me."
"And we don't know what in the world any of you are talking about, so whatever. Can we sleep now?" Kyouko asked, looking at Mimi.
"Before we go... Kosuzu... you said you could read any language?" Mami asked as she fidgeted with her ring.
"Any one that's written anyway, yeah."
"Could you tell me what this says?" Mami nervously offered that most valuable of rings: her soul gem. Kosuzu took it and looked over it, finding the runes that had baffled Mami since she became a Magical Girl.
"Sure. Seems like a name and title... Mami Tomoe Candeloro: Magical Youkai Girl of Connections." Kosuzu read aloud before returning the ring.
Mami felt a chill run down her spine as she took it back.
"And... Kyouko... what's yours say?" Mami asked Kyouko, gesturing to Kosuzu. Kosuzu returned Mami's ring before trying to take Kyouko's. Kyouko refused to offer it, instead simply rotating the ring and showing it to Kosuzu.
"Kyouko Sakura, Magical Girl of Illusions." Kosuzu read aloud.
"Hm? No mention of youkai with her?" Akyuu asked Kosuzu.
"None I can see."
"Interesting. I'm not really sure what it all means, then. I haven't seen any rings like this." Akyuu shrugged.
"Well... I'll admit I'm extremely curious what Homura's Soul Gem would read... what her title is, but... well, I was worried it would be worse, so this is fine." Mami conceded.
"Well, if you can remember it or send me a rubbing or something I could read it, but I can't read it without it being here." Kosuzu said.
"Hope you never become able to. Even taking your nose out of books wouldn't get you free of them then." Akyuu let out a light laugh as Kyouko yawned widely.
"Oh! Yes, let's get you two to sleep so we can work on this book."
Mami nodded and followed Akyuu and Kosuzu as they lead her into a small room with a pair of cheap beds. And Mami surprised herself when she fell asleep so soon after laying down.
That night
Mami woke up with a feeling of unease. Something in the air was odd. Looking around quickly revealed that Kyouko was not only awake, but alert. She noticed that Mami had awakened, nodded to her, and transformed, with Mami quickly following suit.
Just as they transformed, a woman landed on the window, ready to leap in... though she thought better of it as she saw Kyouko and Mami brandishing their weapons.
"A gun? Really, no sense of style left in you kids anymore these days, is there?" The woman asked, even as Mami realized it wasn't a woman at all; the unmistakable flighty tune of a youkai resonated through Mami's Soul gem. A tune she'd heard one, quite recently.
"You're the one who gave us that book, aren't you?"
"Well, at least you're quick." The woman said before vanishing in a puff of smoke, to be replaced by what must be a Tanuki; the tail was simply too recognizable. Atop her brunette head was now a hat... or more accurately a large leaf, kept in place by a loose cord wrapped under her chin. Her brown outfit featured a sleeveless blouse and a knee-length skirt. Attached to one wrist was a notepad, and the other wrist was attached to a drinking gourd.
"Well, I'm impressed. Even Reimu has a hard time piercing my disguises." 'The young woman chuckled.
Kyouko's spear remained poised to kill, but her victim didn't seem distressed. "Who are you?"
"As I am now, You may call me Mamizou Futatsuiwa. Mamizou is fine, too."
"Keep talking."
"Why not? I am also known as Marisa, and Akyuu, and Reimu, and many other names. I am a tanuki. Certainly you've heard of us?"
Mami nodded. "Of course... I'm surprised we haven't run across more."
"You doubtless have if you've spent any length of time in the Human Village. Gensokyo's tanuki are... a different breed than my own, however."
"You're not from Gensokyo?" Mami asked.
"That's right. I recently came from a pleasant little island called Sado at the request of a friend. If you get a chance I suggest you go there sometime. I'd like to see what a Magical Girl would do there... It's been so long since one's been there."
"Why were you pretending to be human?"
"Because I was in the Human Village." Mamizou took a long swig from her gourd before continuing. "I didn't want to cause a fuss. When in Rome, Be a Roman."
"Tell us everything." Kyouko insisted, jabbing her spear a little more towards Mamizou's throat.
"There's an awful lot to everything, and I'm hardly privy to it all. I assume you mean regarding this whole book thing, though?"
"Don't play games with me." Kyouko growled, clearly struggling to not simply impale the youkai.
"Well, it's fairly straightforward. Kosuzu, Akyuu and ... let's call her 'Mimi'-"
"You mean you, don't you?" Kyouko asked.
"I'm Mimi and Akyuu and others... You aren't getting this." Mamizou's voice had no doubt in it. "It's impossible to explain, so live with it." Mamizou shrugged, but Mami thought she might have an idea what she meant.
"You changed who you are... even what you are. I heard your tune shift... Ah!" Mami pinned down what she was tying to say. "You can change who and even what you are, but not that you are. There's something that stays constant between your disguises."
"Yes. That 'something' is that I am a tanuki. This tanuki, specifically." Mamizou grinned. "And I protect this identity as Mamizou enough that other tanuki don't want to risk taking it... but it's just another identity. All I am... all every tanuki is... is a tanuki. You might be getting it, but Kyouko seems to be getting impatient instead, so let's move on, hm?" Mamizou asked before doing just that.
"We three were simply discussing some things, and Kosuzu... well, let's just say she gets a little enthusiastic sometimes. A youkai was freed, possessed Akyuu... she told me to get the book with the cure, I went into her estate, got it, and you doubtless know the rest."
"Why were you in the human village to begin with?" Kyouko asked.
"To visit my good friend Kosuzu, of course. We get along well." Mamizou smiled widely.
"A youkai befriending a human? Not likely. What were you really doing?" Kyouko insisted.
"It's not as unlikely as you might think. There is humanity within youkai. My being able to transform into a human is proof of that. Go to Sado when you return to the outside world, if you doubt me." Mamizou said... and Mami couldn't help but sense a hint of disappointment in Mamizou's usually jaunty tune.
Kyouko didn't seem satisfied, but Mami saw Mamizou's side.
"I'm part youkai, too, Kyouko. So is Keine... but you're friends with us, right?"
"I'm a friend of yours, Mami. Not one of Candeloro's. You know what I mean." Kyouko clarified, though she did finally lower her spear.
"Rest well here. For better or worse, you aren't a priority of mine at the moment."
"I'd say that's for better all 'round." Kyouko said.
"Ah, I do have one more request. Do not tell Kosuzu of Mimi's... identity crisis. She's best off not knowing." Mamizou transformed back into Mimi and opened the door as she spoke.
"Why?" Mami asked. Besides, didn't Kosuzu already know? Perhaps Mamizou didn't realize it?
"It would stain our friendship. You must know what I'm speaking about, if you're a werebeast yourself."
Mami nodded... the rift that had threatened multiple times to open between herself an Kyouko was all the evidence she needed. Mamizou leapt back out of the window and her tune swiftly stilled...
"Well, time to get what more sleep we can, I suppose." Kyouko said as she closed and locked the window. Mami nodded in agreement and returned to bed.
Suzunaan
Sun from the window shined stubbornly onto Mami's face. As she awakened, worry and dread began to flood her. Had Candeloro run free until morning? Mami looked around the room and saw Kyouko still sleeping beside her.
So maybe it wasn't that late in the morning... maybe she'd just slept in a little bit. The door creaked quietly open and an orange-haired girl... Kosuzu, wasn't it? slipped inside and began to speak in a conversational tone as Akyuu followed her in.
"We're done. Sorry if we woke you up, but... well, we're done, and you probably shouldn't linger. Both Kosuzu and Akyuu looked weary... an Mami suddenly remembered what they were talking about.
"Oh! What was the book about?"
"It was a diary of a noblewoman... It's a sad story, really..." Kosuzu said.
"Layla Prismriver was a Magical Girl. Rather than fight youkai, however, she used her magic to conjure up some... magical constructs, I suppose you could call them. They're the Prismriver sisters I was familiar with." Akyuu explained
"What was her wish?" Mami was burning with curiosity... though Kyouko was only finally beginning to stir.
"She made no mention of a particular wish." Akyuu looked confused.
"What about Kyubey?"
"That word didn't come up." Akyuu answered. Mami saw a memory flash in her mind... an empty casket that held a strange box as well as the journal in question..
"The Law of Cycles?"
"Mind telling us what all this is about?" Akyuu said as she shook her head.
"I've never met a Magical Girl unfamiliar with all three. We become a Magical Girl to get a wish granted... And I'd expect such an event to at least be mentioned in her journal." Mami was just as confused as Akyuu.
"...In payment for this translation and the night's stay, I think it fair you tell us more about Magical Girls." Kosuzu asked, intrigued. She not only returned the book, but handed Mami a hastily bound book as well. A brief glance inside made clear it was the journal in question, though translated.
"Alright. We should probably get some breakfast ready for Kyouko, though. She's impossible when hungry." Mami suggested, and Kosuzu and Akyuu, seeming revitalized at the thought of food, took Mami along, leaving Kyouko slumbering behind.
Mami had just finished explaining the basics about Magical Girls... their purpose, their origins, their association with Kyubey, the wish they made... and their eternal fight fought as payment for that wish, the end that awaited so many as the Law of Cycles, and so many other things.
"Interesting. I've never heard of any such beings here." Kosuzu said.
"It's hard to imagine youkai being eager to allow them here." Akyuu explained.
"But then why bring us here?"
"What do you mean? Keine's a youkai, but she's far more a human." Akyuu asked. "She's who brought you here, isn't she?"
Mami shook her head. "Maybe she was, but Keine gave me the impression that Yukari was involved somehow."
Akyuu drained of color. "Yukari? You mean Yukari Yakumo?"
"Yeah... that's what Keine called her. Yukari seemed to push Keine when she didn't want to go to Satori's place." Mami explained. "It was a few months ago, but that youkai leaves such an impression, I doubt I'd ever forget."
"She... she does do that, yes." Akyuu said, looking off into the distance. "You... you should probably go as soon as you can." Kosuzu nodded her head in agreement.
"Why the sudden change?"
"We don't want to risk Yukari's bad side. And if she brought you here, she's doubtless watching you. You can stay for breakfast since you've gone ahead and made it for all of us, but... please don't linger."
"Sorry to cause you trouble. We'll be on our way. We're off to look for Marisa to ask her a favor." Mami explained.
"Oh. Rather than heading directly into the Forest of Magic first, you should probably stop by Kourindou and see if Rinnosuke's seen her, lately. They seem to keep in touch, so he'd likely know if she's out.. It's not really out of the way at all."
Mami bowed her head in thanks. "How can we get there?"
"I'll draft up a map for you." Akyuu said. "It's not too difficult to find, though; it's the only building on the edge of the forest." Mami shuddered as she remembered what had happened last time they'd tried to find Marisa in the Forest of Magic.
Author's Notes: Not gonna lie, I had to look up the earlier encounter with Akyuu to remember whether or not they talked about Magical Girls in any detail. Also rewrote a fair part of this due to the recent FS chapter, but I think it still turned out alright.
Once again, Thank you all for reading and continuing to inspire me to keep going with this. There's still... quite a lot left, though, for better or worse.