Tsukiko awoke to faint, blue rays cast upon her blanket, and the whole upper-story room.

It was a bright, sunny morning. Given the lighting, Tsukiko figured it was about seven or eight AM. Morning never quite changed in timing too much; it was evening time which fluctuated through winter.

'I feel better than last night, for sure.'

She spread out on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Her mind drifted over different parts of her body; her shoulders, her muscles, her arms and her legs…

'I should take it easy today.'

There was some stiffness, some aches. Joint lock, products of artificial healing and extraneous exertion.

But, this vague tinge of weakness in her muscles was also a good feeling. 'I'm getting stronger.'

'Yes. Good fights are what I need. Good fights are what I live for.'

'In a good fight…'

One could learn so much about another person, through how they acted. Their decisions in combat, their ideal strategies...

This sort of thinking admittedly applied more to youkai than humans, because humans often had the fear of lasting injury. Even a brave young man, without physical strength, had a probability of showing strategic cowardice, for his own sake.

Tsukiko couldn't blame such men, either. She healed faster than any human, aside from perhaps her own daughter. Healing potions and spells and other such effects had vague but tangible drawbacks on one's health, even if they were far superior to scarring, permanent injury or death.

'On that note, I have seven Toughness energy drinks left. Just reminding myself…'

Last evening, Tsukiko felt like she learned a lot about Tsuruko. While the fixations on anger and joyful, speedy combat were quite surface-level similarities between them, Tsuruko's obsession was something unique to herself.

Tsukiko could call herself obsessed with combat, nuanced technique and the simple nature of fighting, but Tsuruko had fought for a different reason.

Conquest and dominance. Superiority, and control. These things came to Tsukiko naturally in clumps throughout her life, but weren't ever what she really wanted- outside of a little control over her own life, and those she loved.

Tsuruko wanted to control all. Everything. Everyone within grasp- and everything under the sun. The Hakurei god, the native gods, the monsters, the plants, the very notion of flesh and blood.

It was almost hilarious how ambitious she was. It was also so terribly juvenile.

Tsukiko stood from the bed, and beheld her own pale skin in the sunlight.

Stretching her arms some, she shut her eyes.

'In the end, we really weren't- that- similar. We had a lot of overlap in our methodology, but when push came to shove, she fought exclusively against everything that was not hers.'

'When I fight, it's for myself, and by extension, my family. To defend them, and defend concepts.'

'Not to take. Not to steal. Not to break, and not to fuel a petty desire to destroy.'

'I can only hope, in time, Tsuruko will come to the same revelations.'

With that, any misgivings Tsukiko had could be set aside.

'I have a new life to live.'

Black leotard on, Tsukiko Hakurei donned her red hakama. She slid her sleeves on, and ran a hand through her messy black hair. Maybe she'd comb it at least a little, before leaving this room.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

Fleeting Winds Amidst the Bamboo

28

Shuffling down the stairs, Tsukiko felt alive. 'It's a cold but sunny day outside. I really want to run around… but I should also focus myself.'

She still had her own mystery to solve. 'Why am I alive again? Who- or what- is to blame? What precisely killed me to begin with?'

She knew how she died; it had something to do with poisoning, she imagined.

As she turned off the stairs, and saw Keine and Reimu at the central couches in the midst of Keine's home, she pushed those thoughts down for now. 'I don't need to jump into them right now. It can wait until after breakfast.'

"Hey." Tsukiko came up next to Reimu, and easily sat down. "Nnh."

Reimu snorted. "Hey."

"Good morning, Tsukiko." Keine pushed a plate of food across the now-clean table. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah." Tsukiko briefly paused to think of some typical phrase that'd describe a sound sleep, before letting the thought go when it eluded her. "Better than usual, perhaps."

The morning began slowly.

"...So." Reimu slowly looked her mother over.

Noticing her stare, Tsukiko looked towards her, as she picked at her mixed meal. 'Keine probably figured I'd need more than meat to recoup after that. She's probably right, but I'm gonna see myself needing a beef bowl in a few hours.'

"That happened." Reimu monotoned.

Tsukiko snorted. "What happened?"

Reimu fidgeted awkwardly at the need to elaborate, because it caught her off-guard. "I mean-... the fight."

Tsukiko nodded. "Yeah. It happened."

...Slowly, Reimu began to grin. "Is- is that all you have to say about it…?"

Tsukiko gave her daughter a rowdier grin back. "Huh…? If you've got a question, ask it."

"I- I don't know!" Reimu felt socially awkward, in this moment. "I'm used to encounters passing without fanfare- but after last night, it just feels… weird."

...Swallowing her food, Tsukiko held a hand up and monotoned something celebratory. "Woo~. Fanfare."

Keine had to interject on Reimu's logic. "It- can't be more than thirty minutes since she's waken up."

Tsukiko nodded slowly. "I'm sure the village is going to be a fun place to be, for the next few days."

'Everything corrupt put their entire stock in Tsuruko. Just another reason she had to get the hell out. Do you think- any- of them would be happy after all of that?'

'On that note, I'm sure nothing will try and stand against the village's order now. What could? It all leaned up against Tsuruko. It all banked on her reign, and to ride her coattails. I've swept the rug out from under all of them.'

'The law's back in town, and she's not taking shit from anyone, man or beast, saint or youkai.'

Keine smiled widely. "I'm sure. The council will still be rigid, but at least they only have politics to stand on. No more thugs or enlisted guardsmen."

"No more assassin shrine maidens." Tsukiko wasn't going to get over the other evening, where she got jumped while going to bed. "No more megalomaniacal maidens, either."

'Wonder what happened to that Rio bitch. ...On a semi-related note, I hope Keiko's doing well at that job of her's. Tadiyuki, I wonder what she'll do from now on too...'

Keiko was the seemingly eternally depressed shrine maiden who controlled water and wielded katanas. Tadiyuki was a rowdy outcast, exiled from her own family because of her innate affinity with dark magic.

"That reminds me…" One question stood at the forefront of Tsukiko's mind. "Some chicks might need to get checked out. See-... someone did operations on a number of notable village maidens- giving them prototypes of what Tsuruko used to fight me, except focused on single emotions."

"I know." Keine nodded already. "I've been talking with Marcus and Kasen about it. We'll be getting help from Eientei, in divining how those devices were installed so carefully."

'Eientei…'

'I'll think about that place later today. It's the last loose-end I can think of… and, if I remember right, I was told they could help explain some things about my new life to me. It's apparently a seriously sophisticated hospital… yet, it's not in the bounds of the village.'

'I have so many questions, and I understand so little about it.'

'Maybe I'll just run off into the bamboo, take on the youkai I find out there, and try to find that clinic.'

"Good." Tsukiko stared at the table, her thinking visible on her face.

The bright, sunny day visible through the near windows, and from the sun cast inside, filled Tsukiko with vigor. 'I can't wait to get out there, even if it's a little chilly.'

"...If you were wondering…" Keine looked more pensive now. "Kasen-... she's still upset with you."

Reimu interjected. "What is with that? I'm not being told something. I let it go last night- but I'm not backing down now. Tell me."

Tsukiko chuckled. "Geez, Reimu. Fi~ne. Forgive me. It's just-... hard. It's hard to get the image of you being my little girl out of my head. You're already grown up, so… it's hard for me to adjust, you know? I have to remember that-... you're basically in my shoes, for better or worse."

Reimu swallowed, but wasn't sure what to say. Somehow, it hit her in her chest harder than she expected…

"I spared Tsuruko intentionally." Tsukiko revealed. "I thought it was worth letting her live. I wasn't a good person when I was your age, or her age. I thought she deserved another shot at life."

...Reimu blinked. Then, when Tsukiko didn't follow up, she furrowed her brows. "That-... is that it?"

Tsukiko snorted. "Hmm?"

"Is that why Kasen's being an idiot?" Reimu began to scoff. "That's-... really weird. Kinda hypocritical, even."

"She said I disgraced those Tsuruko hurt." Tsukiko mentioned. "...Myself, I don't think so. I don't think death would have been vengeance. I think the life I've left her to live, and the realizations she may have- those are vengeance enough. She's obviously compromised emotionally; and she was always loose socially, I'd bet.

"Now she's in turmoil. She said she wanted to kill herself- so I'm betting she wishes she was dead, but doesn't have the courage to do it herself."

Then, Tsukiko stared at the air. "If I didn't think she'd have any chance of being turned around or forced to think hard… then, I'd have been all for killing her. Things that simple deserve to be ended simply."

'Although, if she killed Reimu, I would not have been so nice as to let her brew in her own thoughts and inferiorities.'

'The ones she has to answer to are those she wronged. That didn't entirely include me. That's why I didn't kill her. If it included me, it would've been too late for her.'

'If those parents want to kill her, or if those maidens want to kill her, then that's her problem to deal with. Not mine.'

With that, Tsukiko's food was done.

Leaning back, satisfied, Tsukiko nodded once. "That was delicious, Keine."

"Oo- oh?" Keine blinked a bunch. "It was nothing. You probably wanted something more filling, though…"

'How the hell's she know.' Tsukiko pursed her lips, searching for an answer…

"Um. Nn- nah, it was fine. Besides, it was tasty either way." Tsukiko smiled awkwardly at first, but then it grew more warm.

Keine gave her a knowing smirk, but relaxed regardless. "Well. Alright. I know you can take care of yourself, so…"

Knock, knock. There was a knock at the door.

Tsukiko raised a brow, and began to stand. "I'll get that."

Keine stood too. "Um-..."

Browsing up to the door, Tsukiko swung it open plainly.

A tubby village guardsman was there, clad in official but un-armored garb. ...When he saw Tsukiko, his eyes widened. "Uu- um…"

Tsukiko's brows furrowed slightly.

He bowed deeply immediately. "Ha- Hakurei miko! La- lady Hakurei- I mean!"

Satisfaction. Tsukiko smiled some. 'Even if it's ingenuine… and, even if being feared doesn't mean being accepted…'

'It feels good to be feared again.' Tsukiko didn't want random villagers like these in her life, after all.

"What's up?" With that, she plainly questioned him. "...You can stop bowing."

"I-" Standing up straight, he stood at attention. "On behalf of the village guard-... I- I came to- offer an apology, to Kamishirasawa."

"Oh?" Keine slid up aside Tsukiko. "What for?"

"I, ah…" He swallowed, face flushed. "We- we haven't been treatin' ya right, basically… and, um…" He drew a scroll from a pouch he had, and opened it. "The de- details… um…"

Tsukiko took the scroll from him. "Let me see." She didn't want to be mean, but she also didn't want to hear him stutter out the whole official document.

It was indeed a formal apology to Keine, as well as a money sum and a list of negotiation proposals.

"This is-..." Looking over Tsukiko's shoulder, Keine smiled. "This is great."

Tsukiko nodded. "As long as you don't go back on your word. I hear the guard these days has a history in unfair deals. If I hear your captain's giving Keine any more trouble-"

"He- he's not!" The guardsman shook his head fervently. "We, um… well, he, and some others- things haven't been entirely up to regulation, to say the least, but-... mmh…"

"Oh, don't bully him, Tsukiko." Keine gently chopped Tsukiko on the head. "He's not to blame for anything."

Tsukiko took that with a grain of salt. "If the town guard was still confident, this guy'd be here to arrest you. I don't know how he would, with me here, but…"

"I- I wouldn't have accepted this job if I had to fight you." The guardsman admitted. "I mean-... what'm I gonna do, that Tsuruko couldn't do? I'd die, or something."

'At least he has a brain.'

Keine smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, um… basically. Anyway…" Gently, she took the scroll from Tsukiko's hands, and tucked it away. "Thank you! And, um… are- are you here for anything else?"

"Nah- I'm, um… see ya."

With that, the large man began to browse off.

...Keine used her new scroll to gently whap Tsukiko on the head.

Tsukiko chuckled under her breath, making sure not to smile too much.

"You're awful, Tsukiko." Keine jestingly chastised her. "You scared that man to death."

"Mmn." Tsukiko simply hummed back. "...Anyway."

Idling in the doorway, she turned back to face the inside of the house. "I think it's time for me to head out."

Keine took pause. "...Ah. Gonna eat and run, huh. Do you have any plans?"

...Tsukiko looked away. "Not really. Unless, visiting the bamboo woods counts as a plan."

Moving for her chair in the room's back, Keine parted some of her own blue hair with an idle hand. "Aah… you could talk to Mokou at some point. She knows the layout the best of anyone, besides the rabbits, but you know…"

"They're no help." Tsukiko knew. "...I think I'll talk to her."

'Being made of bamboo, there's pretty much no chance the trees themselves are as I remember them. Then again, if there's a huge clinic there… perhaps most of the bamboo is gone. I'll see.'

Reimu got over the couch simply by floating over it, then landing, before coming up to her mother. "I've always gotten through on my own intuition, myself…"

Keine smiled patiently. "Yes, well, you're Reimu. Flying helps with the brush, too."

'...Flying, hmm.'

Tsukiko thought about it. Flying was always something she had a degree of reverence for; if largely because mages that gave her a lot of trouble usually flew. Yet…

'The problem with flying is that you're not firmly on the ground. Aerial kicks are possible, but punches? Not even half as powerful. You can't leverage your body into it. Everything changes.'

'I can't just lob fireballs or mortars or whatever like mages can. I can toss my random crappy abilities at youkai, but…'

She thought back to Reimu's Fantasy Seal. 'Now, if I could do that, then I might have a reason to keep out of range.'

"Exactly." Reimu agreed with Keine. "So I can probably help you with navigating."

Tsukiko took pause, smiling slightly awkwardly. "Don't you… have peacekeeping to do, or something?"

Reimu snorted. "Pft. Not right now, no. Trust me, we'll know. ...Don't give me that look. I'll tell you more about incidents later."

'...Incidents? Nnn. Well, I'm sure Reimu knows what she's doing… somewhat.'

"Stories for the road, then." Tsukiko mused idly. "Alright. ...Thank you for everything, Keine."

"Ah…" Keine took pause again. "Nn- no, thank you. You're the one who made everything possible…"

With that, Tsukiko turned outside.

The sun in the sky filled it with blue, airy warmth, and the world all around Tsukiko was still and receiving.

Taking a deep breath of the village's somewhat cramped air, and the fresh air that blew in from over the walls, she steeled herself for a full day of wandering.

'Here we are. Something feels different about the village already.'

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"Um…" Immediately, Reimu was having a hard time explaining what incidents were, in a way that wouldn't seem awkward to her mother.

They were now on west main street, just outside of the most commonly used alley to and from Keine's home.

Tsukiko stared at a rack of newspapers, in idle musing.

'Each copy has a picture of me trading the final blow with Tsuruko. I-... honestly don't know how to feel about that.'

"Well… the first incident I had to resolve involved that one mansion we visited." Reimu began. "They'd just arrived, and I didn't know 'cause I never screened them or anything. I- I don't really screen newcomers- well, anyway…"

Tsukiko snorted. "What? Did they just, teleport their entire mansion into Gensokyo?"

"...Ye- yeah, they did, actually." Reimu affirmed. "...Don't look at me like that. It was that mage's doing."

"Oh, of course." Tsukiko cast her gaze at the blue sky. There was something natural yet bitter about it to her- that the mage was the one to pull off a spectacularly bullshit feat, and not the vampiric mistress.

"So, they wanted to blot out the sun in Gensokyo, and make it an eternally scarlet overcast." Reimu continued. "After a few weeks of that and some crops dying, me and Marisa ran up to them and made them stop."

"I'm sorry they did what?" Tsukiko actually wasn't sure if she heard right.

Reimu pursed her lips. "...Tried to make it overcast forever?"

Tsukiko nodded. "And you didn't kill them?"

Reimu beamed intensely. "Why didn't you kill Tsuruko then…!?"

"I don't think Tsuruko blotted out the sun, nor could have even done so if she tried." Tsukiko returned. "...That, and Tsuruko at least had a shitty reason for wanting to murder everyone. What was their reason for it?"

...Reimu blinked, before smiling. "Oh. Well, you see… the vampire, she couldn't walk around in the sun without taking serious damage. In the end, she just really wasn't thinking about anyone other than herself. ...I mean, she may've done it in part to spite the humans nearby, but still."

Tsukiko nodded some. "Hmh. I was more thinking about how their dog of a maid nearly minced me the last time we were there."

Reimu snorted. "And you were the one who defended her logic. It was because it was a familial, albeit stupid, sort of gut reaction."

'Shit, that's right.' Tsukiko began to remember that other day well now. 'Reimu was the one who wanted to go nuclear on them over that.'

'...Wait- so me getting injured was more serious than the time they nearly blotted out the sun?'

Tsukiko had to bring it up. "How angry were you when they almost took away the sun?"

"Well, some." Reimu shrugged. "It was whatever. They put it back like we asked them to. They've never done it again. We fought with danmaku, so everyone was only mildly hurt."

'Again with this danmaku…!? Wait- you fought a vampire with danmaku and won? What?'

Tsukiko shook her head. "I keep hearing about this-... danmaku thing. Is this some kind of running gag? I- I know you and Marisa talk about using it seriously- but… come on, now…"

Reimu sighed. "That's gonna take so much explaining. Although, putting it this way, if I fought you last time with my actual spell cards, it would've been seriously unfair. And- not in the rules, either, 'cause you not only don't have any cards- you don't know how to play danmaku to begin with."

"Wha~t." Tsukiko felt like they were on entirely different pages. "Sure I can. See?"

She idly cast an arm at Reimu, and monotone red slits- meant to be talismans, but only made of one polygon and no textures- came at Reimu.

ti- tick, tick. Reimu blinked, as the talismans harmlessly pittered against her, not even dealing the modern danmaku damage she'd instated into the play bullet formula.

It was both seriously nostalgic, but also incredibly pitiful, somehow. "Um…" Reimu smiled awkwardly. "We don't make danmaku like that anymore, mom."

Tsukiko placed her arms on her hips, facing away from the newspaper rack fully now. "What do you mean…? Show me."

Reimu cast her arm out, and gold-red talismans shot to Tsukiko's face in just a couple frames.

ti- tick, tick. They made similar, piddly sounds on impact with her face.

"Aa-" Tsukiko gasped. They hurt. "Ah…" They were like little jolts of pain, which wracked upon her body and stacked onto her current pain, pulsing in waves.

Feeling at her face, she felt the strange, nuanced form of magic stuck there, spreading through her entire system.

"If I keep hitting you, you'll lock up and fall over." Reimu provided. "No matter how tough you are, or how good your magic is, or what you are… about the same amount will take you down either way."

Then, Reimu puffed out her cheeks. "Even though gods and other things really really really don't make it easy enough to get up to them to fairly duel them, but whatever… and, healing magic has a weird relationship with danmaku that I'm still trying to iron out."

Unsure of how to exactly parse the mechanics of 'danmaku', Tsukiko nodded idly. "I'll be honest- the only way I'm going to understand this in any timely manner is a duel. The history of- whatever this is, is just going over me."

'How-... gods? What. How would-... and why even would they-... the fuck.'

Reimu clicked her tongue. "Well. Maybe later. When we head back to the shrine, perhaps."

Tsukiko shook her head. "I feel like we've had at least three of these talks about danmaku, and every time, I feel like I understand less than when we began."

Reimu began to grin. "...I mean, I've always told people I'm bad at explaining things…"

'Maybe you are…'

'Although, perhaps it's like me and trying to explain martial fighting to newcomers. I couldn't explain that shit to Keisuke to save my life. ...To save- his- life. Ahah.'

"Hu- hey!" Suddenly, yelling louder than the white noise around the village was heard. "Kid! Wait!"

A guardsman was running after a brown-haired boy with a blue hoodie on, and a big, rusty broadsword.

'Is that…' Tsukiko looked vexed. 'Oh.'

That was Wave, the outsider she clobbered with an entire bicycle the other day. He was running straight towards her, his broadsword overhead.

"You!" He yelled at Tsukiko. "I saw- what you di~d!"

-+- Vs. Outsiders. -+-

The moment Wave was in range, ready to sling his broadsword down like a big rock-

BAM- CRUNCH. Tsukiko snapped from casual standing, into planting a hook directly into his gut in almost the next frame.

Thu- thud! Wave did a backflip into a faceplant with frighteningly fast speed. Not even a grunt of pain emitted from him as his whole body laid face-down on the ground in the next second.

...Reimu blinked. "Wh- wait, what?"

Tsukiko found pocket lint.

Cr- crack. Cracking her neck some, working out that morning stiffness, Tsukiko returned to staring down the newspaper rack.

Reimu looked between Wave and Tsukiko, having not even actually watched the exchange. "Did-... what even happened. I wasn't paying enough attention…"

"Ah. Nothing." Tsukiko grinned. "Nothing important, anyway."

The guardsman who watched the encounter swallowed, deciding not to get closer. "Ho-... holy shit…"

Something about starry-eyed idiots with weapons they couldn't use irritated Tsukiko. It reminded her of Keisuke, except more stupid and less knowing.

'Keisuke was an average-ish person… except, you know, in a way I liked. Kids like these… are too damn dense for their own good. Living in their own damn worlds.'

On that note, Tsukiko idly turned to her daughter. "Have you thought about getting a boyfriend?"

Reimu blinked and wore a dry expression almost instantly. "Where'd that come from. Aa-..." She wanted to say, 'what's it matter to you', but since she was talking to her own mother, that didn't really work…

'I'm gonna make you fidget awkwardly, Reimu. It's cute when you do that.'

"Hh-" Wave gasped from the floor, slowly pushing at least his head off the ground with his arms, "yh- yhou-..."

Tsukiko decided to regard him simply. Stepping up, she tapped his now-abandoned sword with the tip of her sandal. "I don't even know how you got this sword that rusty. Did you leave it in a bowl of water overnight?"

Wave glared up at her, and fought just slightly harder to not faceplant the semi-dirt, semi-snowy stone road again. "I- kah-... I- I'm a water- mage-..."

'...Seriously? Wait-... and your focus is an iron weapon?'

"Okay." Tsukiko had nothing else to say to him.

"Wa- wait-...!" He wasn't about to let Tsukiko go, however. "You-... be- beat up- that girl-..."

"And then I beat you up." Tsukiko began to grin. "What?"

Reimu came around her mother's side. "...My mom was defending me, and a bunch of other people, from her. Idiot. She might come off as spooky- but that's mostly because she thinks you're dumb."

"Your-" Wave held his stomach, as he finally struggled onto just his knees, body still wracked with pain from the unreal counter hook he endured. "Your-... mo- mom…? She-..."

Reimu rolled her eyes. "Yes, she's my mom. What's it look like? If you actually hit her with that thing, you'd be hanging by the nearest balcony in your underwear."

...Wave turned to flee from the awkward conversation-

thud. But, all he managed to do was faceplant into the snow again. "Ghk-..."

Reimu half wanted to ask if he was okay, but Tsukiko turned away and began to march off. Eventually, she shrugged and followed. The town guard would probably make sure he didn't pass out in the snow or something.

As Tsukiko meandered into the village square, she passed the village job board.

The guardsmen there bowed deeply as she passed, in response to her idle staring.

'Admittedly, this is the first time in awhile they've been like that. The reverence goes away in a month or so, or with the change of captains, but it's still cool while it lasts.'

'Regardless, you get less idiots trying to confront you. It's a sign that they know to be afraid of me again.'

Taking pause, Tsukiko waited for Reimu to catch up. "Hey. Where do you think we'd find Mokou? I'm thinking of hitting that bamboo forest now." She figured she might as well jump into it while the day was young.

'...Random thought, but I wonder how those girls we rehabilitated from that one stone house in the village are doing at the Hieda manor.'

Reimu pursed her lips. "Maybe we'd best look in the bamboo. I got no idea what she does, but I know she lives out there."

'One would think she'd be nearby in the village or something, especially after-... wait, she was with us last night. Surely she couldn't have gone too far.'

Looking around the square, Tsukiko saw Reisen's medicine stall. '...Well, there's her, and she apparently works for Eientei.'

Doing a U-turn, Tsukiko power-walked straight up to the stall.

"Ah." Reisen was ready for her, having noticed her approach when it'd began. "You're pretty lively already, for someone who was three-quarters dead last night…"

"A good night's sleep does wonders." Tsukiko returned. "For me, at least."

Reisen snorted. "I feel like that's a very youkai-like thing to say."

That wasn't the first time Tsukiko heard that joke, so she had an automated reply to it. "Takes one to fight one."

"So…" Reisen looked over the medicine counter. "I'm gonna guess you're not here for meds."

"I want to see Eientei." Tsukiko decided.

"Aah." Reisen tilted her head back. "...Normally, I run escorts there for villagers who can't defend themselves-... but, um, yeah." She dug through her pockets. "I should have-... ah, here."

She gave Tsukiko a flat pane of glass of some description.

"What the fuck is this." Tsukiko felt like it was so fragile, she could break it by looking at it funny.

"It's a BunnyPad." Reisen declared. "Our rip-off of the iPad."

"This is a pane of glass." Tsukiko affirmed.

Reisen smiled awkwardly. "Well-... yes, that's what it looks like."

"I feel like if I take my eyes off of it, I'm going to accidentally explode it into a million pieces." Tsukiko warned her. "How much force is required to break these…?"

Reisen looked worried. "Please don't. They're kinda expensive."

Tsukiko felt like she heard that one before. "...Are you seriously trying to scam me right now?"

"What?" Reisen jerked her head back. "Well- no, but-" she took the BunnyPad back. "These things really are expensive…! I mean- the person who'd foot the bill would probably be me, but still…!"

"...Oh." Tsukiko shook her head. "Can- can you just give me like, a paper map? What the hell'd you just try and give me?"

Reisen held onto her own head. "A- a paper map, of the bamboo? I- uh… gods…"

...When Tsukiko faced Reimu again, Reimu was palming her face idly. "Um…"

Reimu held her arms out. "I'll hold the BunnyPad."

Reisen looked drained. "You've broken ten."

Reimu's expression flared. "Stop making them out of panes of glass then…!"

'Sometimes- I feel like technology is taking us backwards…'

On that note, Reimu doubled-down on her mother's idea. "Can you-... wait, do paper maps exist? To Eientei?"

"Well, for one thing, that's not even possible." Reisen delivered firmly. "Second, we don't have a printer here."

Reisen awaited the inevitable 'who doesn't have a printer' response, but neither Tsukiko nor Reimu were technologically literate enough to even think of that.

The sheer reality of that sentiment somehow awed Reisen in that moment.

"...A printer?" Tsukiko had to question. "What's that?"

"Oh!" Reimu knew what it was, at least. "It's like this-... box, that prints paper with words and images- so you don't have to write them down or draw them yourself."

"No shit…" Tsukiko held her own chin. "That'd be a good way around my shitty penmanship…"

Reisen had a flat face. "Ho- how often do you even have to write anything…?"

Tsukiko snapped her fingers. "Exactly. So the few times I did have to write anything, everyone would think I had really good handwriting."

Reimu looked weirded out. "Mom- when were you bad at writing…? Nn- not that I'm really any good at it either, but..."

Tsukiko snorted. "I learned when I was twenty-something. My mom held off until I was in my teens- and even though I read a whole lot, I never had a need to write, with the clan dying out and everything. And then she died, so I had to restart way later, after I had my husband-... or, well, your father."

Reisen chuckled incredulously. "Ho- how are you people alive…?"

...After a brief pause, Tsukiko began to grin. "I don't think that's a fair question to ask at this point."

Grinning, Reimu huffed. "Where the he- heck's Mokou?"

Reisen clicked her tongue. "Left to the bamboo forest, the other day, right after helping Tsukiko. Probably to kill Kaguya again, or something. She's at Eientei right now."

Reimu rolled her eyes. "Oh, of course. Whatever. Let's go, mom. I'll lead the way."

"...Sure." Tsukiko wasn't really sure where that discussion went, but it left her feeling better overall, so she guessed it was fine. "See ya, Reisen."

"Ye- yeah…" Reisen wasn't sure what just happened either. "Good luck."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Standing in the center of the village square, Tsukiko beheld the broken fountain from the other evening.

Reimu stared at it too, giving it a look Tsukiko could only describe as 'awkwardly adorable'.

"Yes." Tsukiko held her arms out. "This feels right."

Reimu snorted. "What does…?"

"This village feels like it did before." Tsukiko felt. "At least, a little."

'I came to care more about some people here than I should have… but, damn it, if my friends have to fuck with this place, it's high time I got my hands dirty and made sure it's a good place to live.'

"Is that a good thing?" Reimu wondered.

Tsukiko grinned. "Well. Compared to being Tsuruko's sex-and-crime sandbox, probably."

'I feel powerful again. I might not quite be like I used to be… but, when push comes to shove, I can scramble together an offense.'

'I still have very much to master again.'

Gazing around at the sunny village, and its people, she let her head lean back, and took in the sun herself.

'Nnnh. How I wish I could simply spend today wandering around, familiarizing myself with these streets again. To feel… something similar to when I was younger.'

'That's enough of being full of myself, however. I have responsibilities. Reimu's here, and… this Eientei place can't be left alone, considering how damn important it is.'

Villagers were staring at her, most recognizing her as the victorious maiden from the other evening.

"Uu-" A meek voice came from behind.

Tsukiko turned, and saw a black-haired maiden clad in red and white. She was obviously just some teenage girl dressed up as Reimu.

"Umh- um…" She flinched back when she met Tsukiko's gaze.

Tsukiko simply stared at her, expression neutral.

The girl swallowed. "...What-..." Then, her arms propped up at her sides, as she became determined. "What did you do-... with lady Tsuruko? And-... wh- what will become of us?"

Tsukiko's posture laxed. "I don't know. That's for other people to decide."

"As for Tsuruko… she escaped. I don't plan on chasing her down."

"The real question is," Tsukiko stood firmly before her, "what will you do?"

"Um…?" The girl's eyes widened. "Mm- me? My-... my- leader-... maiden?"

"Yes. You." Tsukiko affirmed. "You and nobody else."

"...What do you mean?" The girl shifted anxiously, uncomfortable more than fearful.

"The culmination of the Artificial Hakurei Project was a bust. Though it had… promising results, in the tangible outcome department, those it turned out were not healthy. The faith wasn't natural, either. I don't know what those faith catalyzer things were, but I don't believe they were deserved. Not for anybody. Though what's done is done… it's not the same as your own strength."

Tsukiko held an arm up, as if to exemplify logic with a gesture. "Tsuruko was immature. She was ready to childishly flail her power, to plunge this village into chaos as a means to her own end. Something she'd surely regret in time, if she ever grew as a person."

"You should not look up to someone like that, even if dreams of power are close to all of us."

Tsukiko stepped forward, and laid a hand on the maiden's shoulder. "You can be more. As can others, shrine maiden or farmer… warrior or wife. Internal, emotional wealth is something you may have easier than even Tsuruko, and is something she yearns for, but does not know how to grasp."

"So, I ask you again." Tsukiko stepped back. "You may not know the answer, but dwelling will do you good. What will you do?"

The girl's mouth hung open.

'...I should know better.' Tsukiko turned away. 'Villagers always look too closely to themselves. She's probably still thinking about how to satisfy the whims of her superiors to save herself, and in the face of that, my words are wasted.'

'Wisdom comes cheap.'

"I," the girl opened her mouth, "I- I wanna… I wanna be a scientist…"

Reimu snorted. Tsukiko took pause, now faced completely away.

"My friends-... always told me, that science and stuff-... while it was interesting, it um… ne- never went anywhere. I joined this… social thing instead. Supported by the guard, and as an actual occupation. Our families are rewarded for this… weirdness."

'How awkward. Especially now. Another candidate like Tsuruko won't come again for a long time. Tsuruko had the capacity to be a brutal legend. All the other girls… not so much.'

Tsukiko however, was still done talking with her. She returned to staring at the dry, broken fountain.

"Why'd the guard do it?" Reimu had forgotten, if she ever knew. "This stupid Hakurei thing. We got me."

"I think the- the village guard wanted their own." The girl supposed. "There has always been skepticism… about the Hakurei, and whether they were deceiving us, or like… were youkai too, or not. I'm not sure what to believe… bu- but… you two- don't seem like… bad people."

"Tell your superiors to close up shop." Tsukiko recommended. "Those who want to continue their duties at their familial shrines, can keep doing so, without the pseudo-Hakurei flavor. Everyone else, if they don't feel like becoming youkai exterminators, better find a new occupation."

"I- I'll try." The girl frowned. "...They won't listen to me. I'm no one."

"Sucks to be them." Tsukiko figured. "Such is why I ask what you will do. Those with any sense would get out, unless they truly have the drive and ambition- and the desperation- to feel the need to fight."

"As for me, I don't care." Tsukiko's arms went onto her own hips. "I want to see you young people do right. To become wiser, and kinder. But, I'm not wasting time on losers. I have my own life." Her own daughter to look after, too.

'I'm not afraid of pushing losers out of my way when it matters, either.'

Silence fell over them.

Reimu seemed to stare into the distance, taking in her mother's words now. She seemed to follow her example, turning away from the younger girl.

Awkwardly, the younger girl began to back away…

The younger girl jumped. A hand laid on her shoulder, and she froze.

Tatsuako stood next to her. When their gazes met, Tatsuako grinned.

"Yh- ou- you're- aa-" The girl broke from Tatsuako's gentle grasp, scrambling back. "Don't-..." She scrambled to defend herself, arms up in a feeble defense, eyes shut.

"Hey." Tatsuako held her arms out. "It's all over, baby."

The girl blinked.

Then, Tatsuako pulled her into a hug. "C'mon-... hug me."

"Aa-" The girl's face went between Tatsuako's breasts. "Mmh…"

In the still morning sun, Tsukiko idly turned, recognizing the voice.

'...Tatsuako.'

Beaming, Tatsuako faced Tsukiko. "Hey…"

Tsukiko wasn't sure what to say, actually, so she simply tilted her head back.

"Tsukiko." Tatsuako addressed her. "...That was crazy."

'She means the fight.'

"Yeah." Tsukiko nodded once.

They stared one another down, for a good few moments.

Tatsuako bowed. "I'm… sorry."

Tsukiko raised a brow.

"I couldn't control my… sister in law, before she became a problem for you." Tatsuako affirmed. "I'm so sorry."

Tsukiko could see the logic in that. However… "Don't be."

At the questioning gaze she received in return, Tsukiko continued. "You're still young. That aside… you may have beaten her, if you were both even. You weren't. Her obsession was forged through years of single-track minded resolve. You, even with your strength training, were emotionally compromised."

"You're angry at her, and over what happened, but you don't share her unhealthy fixation." Tsukiko summarized. "That alone would have been why she won."

"I mean-..." Tatsuako looked down, her right arm holding her left unsurely. "I know I wouldn't have won. That's why… I didn't do anything. I couldn't. It wasn't long until I realized she'd become something beyond the village entirely."

"But-..." Tatsuako met Tsukiko's gaze firmly. "If you can just- come back to life, kick my ass, kick her ass, and then ascend beyond even her in just a week or two- why do I still feel so fucking weak!? Especially compared to you?"

...Tsukiko smiled. "I don't know."

Tatsuako blinked. "Aa-... ah." She was expecting a longer answer.

"I don't know how you train. I don't know what challenges you've been overcoming. I don't know how developed you are. If you live for fighting, if you're in search for your identity-... anything, really. We hardly know each other. All I can tell is that you're angry."

Tsukiko shrugged. "We probably have totally different stances on learning and skill acquisition. Don't forget I'm still forty, now. If you're under twenty, I've lived twice as long as you."

When that was put into perspective, Tatsuako supposed it was only natural.

"Keiko, Tadiyuki, Aina and you… you all fixate on particular things, but you do not obsess." Tsukiko took note. "You move on with your lives, as you should. But… if you want to look for power, and to fuel your native faith… you need challenges. Physically, and emotionally."

"I can't decide what path you take. Nor can I give you anything easy to follow. Just advice… once in a while."

Reimu grinned, looking slightly displaced as she interjected. "How many people've you met in the past like, four days?"

Tsukiko panned her gaze up. "...Too~ many."

'All I wanted was to go fucking drinking with Keine and Kourin like we did back in the day. Instead I steered the human village away from an inevitable crash-course with a wannabe ruler.'

'...Not ultimately unpleasant, but could I have had that damn drinking session without all the fuss? This better not happen next time I gather them up to drink, or I'm gonna be pissed.'

With that, Tatsuako gave Tsukiko a salute. "I'll remember what you've said! ...I know, if both of us were at our bests, you would be better. But-..."

Making a fist, Tatsuako held it up. "That's gonna change, if you don't keep improving yourself."

Tsukiko smiled. "Heh. We'll see about that."

...Tatsuako shook her fist some. "Do, um… do you know what a fist bump is?"

"...Oh- that's what we're doing?" Tsukiko did, but only vaguely. "I've- very rarely actually-... done that, myself."

Tatsuako had a snarky smile. "Just click your knuckles against mine…"

"I know how it works, I just didn't expect to have to do it, ever."

Tsukiko fistbumped Tatsuako. It was slightly awkward due to the dialogue required to bring it about, but it happened.

With that, Tatsuako turned away, and wrapped her arms around that smaller generic maiden. "As fer you… I got a few ideas. About the remnants of all this Hakurei crap…"

'...I suppose Tatsuako and the others will probably manage to handle clean-up duty themselves.'

'Regardless… I won't let all of that be my concern today.'

Since Tatsuako was grazing off, Tsukiko decided she was done here too.

'That's that.'

...Reimu had a dull look. "You didn't fist bump people often, huh. Never thought I'd really be thinking about fist bumps."

Tsukiko already knew her train of thought. "I didn't have a Marisa, or any real partner in crime, and Marcus was too much of a dick back then to be about buddy-buddy shit. Those days, it was all business."

"Thought as much…" Reimu returned to staring at the full sky.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Slowly, Reimu and Tsukiko came up to the southern gate of the human village…

'I never got that beef bowl, actually. Oh well.' Tsukiko was slightly remiss, but the beef bowl was just a dream she'd let expire, she supposed. 'I wonder if Eientei has food.'

The day was still bright, and the sky was full and blue. 'I keep forgetting there's snow on the ground. It's so… temperate, today.'

She stared at the snowy plain past the village's gate, and at all the melting snow therein.

'I almost wish it were spring, so the plains could look almost golden. Golden plains…'

Some might wonder what she thought of, when she was beginning expeditions or hunts, but more often than not, if she wasn't thinking about fighting, it was either about food or the scenery. Or, when it was relevant, Keisuke.

"Hey." Reimu addressed the guardsman there. "Open up."

...The kid there looked a little short to be a guardsman. He wore a helmet that didn't fit, which covered his eyes, and had a big dull katana poised in his arms like a musket.

"Um…" Reimu smiled awkwardly when she focused on him. "Who the heck're you."

"I-" The youngster sniffed, their nose running. "I've- been given orders, to turn you both- around…"

...Tsukiko smiled awkwardly. "Um. Orders… from who?"

"Wait…" He saw Reimu, but had to tilt his visor up some to see Tsukiko standing there. "Oh- crap! You're already here…!"

Tsukiko simply blinked.

"Um!" The kid awkwardly raised his voice. "She's the one who's gonna flush our homewo~rk!"

...Slowly, a bunch of other around twelve year-olds jogged forward from around nearby corners. There was only three of them total.

"We-" A lanky kid swallowed. "We're gonna get revenge- for what you did to Jun!"

"Yeah!" A different, blond-haired kid held up a broom. "And you're gonna give our homework back!"

Tsukiko simply looked confused. 'How did this happen…?'

-+- Vs. Village Guardsmen? -+-

Reimu pushed the tubby armored kid, by pressing her palm against his forehead.

thud. He fell over, onto his butt. "Wh- ow…!"

The blond kid swung his broom at Tsukiko.

She grabbed it with one hand, and chucked it into the aether.

"What- no!" He ran off to get it. "Dang it…"

The lanky kid had his fists up, his gaze drained. He was shivering, because he only had a plain shirt and some pants on…

pap. He punched Tsukiko in the thigh.

Tsukiko did nothing but stand there, receiving no damage. "...Where's the actual guy who's supposed to be guarding the gate?"

"He~lp!" The tubby kid called out. "We're losi~ng!"

"Fear not- dear citizen!"

That's when Tsukiko and Reimu looked up, atop the village's gate.

Marisa Kirisame leered down, clad in full guardsmen armor, a broadsword over one shoulder, and a broom in the other.

"I ain't 'boutta let no shrine maidens jeopardize the foundation of this very city!"

"Goddammit." Tsukiko monotoned.

Marisa heard her swear in front of the kids. "Or corrupt the youth, either!"

Woosh! Leaping down from above-

Crunch! Marisa touched down onto a suspiciously in-the-way pile of snow laid before the gate itself, causing a splash all around herself.

"Heyahaha~h!" Cackling, she spun around on the heel of her boot, catching both her broom and broadsword in a twirling motion.

-+- Vs. Famous Youkai Exterminator, Secondary Primary Incident Resolver, Ordinary Magician Marisa Kirisame * Bold Adventurer Style -+-

"Marisa~..." Reimu growled, gohei held tight. "If you wanna fight- it's gonna be with me!"

"Ooh!?"Marisa beamed. "I'm man enough ta take on both of ya- and I ain't even a man!"

'...She's changed her strategy. She's wielding her broom- as well as a sword. And…'

In the center of her guardsman armor- instead of the sigil guardsmen wore, Marisa seemed to have blown a hole into it and fixed the mini-hakkero there. 'Three weapons at once.'

"Stand back, mom!" Reimu got in the way, and steeled herself. "I'll take care of Marisa in no time!"

"Mmm…" Tsukiko hummed. "You know-"

Before she could say anything more, Reimu charged straight at Marisa.

WOOSH! Marisa slung her broadsword out- and Reimu weaved under it-

WHUNK! However, Marisa's broom came from along her side on its own- and met Reimu right in the gut, tip-first. "Uhu-"

Then, letting go of her broadsword, Marisa arched her whole body back. "Yeah!"

FWABOOM! A massive, yellow explosion burst out of the mini-hakkero in her chest, sending Reimu flying. "Wh- oah-"

Before she could really sail off, Tsukiko caught her by the waist with both arms. "Wh- what was the plan there…?"

She planted Reimu on her sandals again. Mentally catching up with what happened, Reimu shook her head some. "Damn-... I- I didn't think she'd have her defense so put-together…"

woo- woo- woo- woosh. Meanwhile, Marisa showed off how noodly her arms were by randomly flailing her broadsword around in one hand, about to drop it the entire time.

'Judging by how it flew out of her hand a second ago- she's not using her arms to swing it. She's using telekinesis instead- and pretending to swing it with her actual arm.'

"Don't you, like, duel with danmaku?" Tsukiko brought up. "Or did you both arbitrarily decide this'd be a bloodbath instead?"

Expression neutral, Marisa spoke up in dead-certain affirmation. "We decided to arbitrarily make it a bloodbath instead."

Reimu shook her head. "No- mom's right, this is stupid. Marisa, what're you wearing? Why a sword?"

"You're the one who went chargin' at me, ready to get all handsy wit' me like usual!" Marisa leered. "Well, not today! I'm 'boutta fuck the both of you up- melee style!"

...Reimu realized immediately, this called for a change in tactics.

"So…" Stepping back, Reimu realized the correct way of explaining some ideas. "Me and Marisa- and most others… well, we do most of our fighting with danmaku, but we do exercise some light melee play. Just bashing and launching and stuff. Nothing as serious as what you're used to."

'After all, what's play without a little excitement?' Tsukiko could see the logic there. 'So…'

Marisa grinned. "Ya say that Reimu- but Youmu almost fuckin' shishkebobbed us the first time we fought her!"

Reimu smiled harder. "Yeah- well, the rules have received revisions over time. Freaking- all sword skills and cutting blows must be danmaku only. No real freaking cutting people. Onis get their strength divided some, stuff like that."

'How-... how are these rules enforced? How do you just divide the strength of oni?'

"That, and y'know, healing potions are for when booboos do happen." Marisa noted. "An' I think you put some safety measures into the system too, ta try and protect people who almost die in danmaku duels."

"Ah, yeah. The near-death clause, or whatever I wanted to call it." Reimu gazed into the air for a moment. "I don't think that's ever come into play…"

Marisa snorted. "Except for that time Yuyuko tried to kill you, but your clause saved yer ass."

Reimu chuckled back. "Oo- oh, right-"

"An' that time we were fighting, and you accidentally fell on your neck the wrong way." Marisa cringed just remembering that. "Even gave me a spook…! Yu- Yukari had a fuckin' heart attack- pfthahaha~!"

"Alright- you can stop." Reimu requested.

"Ooh! Remember the first time we fought Meiling!?" Marisa beamed wider. "Dude. I think the whole mansion thing was the reason ya like wrote the death-prevention clause. The amount a' times I had to pour potions into yer bloodstream ta save yer sorry ass…!"

"Shush."

"Ooh!" Marisa clapped her hands, broom and broadsword now gently twirling around her in the air. "Du~de. The time we fought Utsuho. God, radiation poisoning is the worst status, bar none."

Reimu fluffed up. "Marisa-"

"Sanae gave us a real bitch of a time too, didn' she?" Marisa recalled… "There was that time Koakuma tried ta rape us. We need to get nearly-raped more often, honestly."

"Marisa-"

"Oh- oh- wait!" Marisa held up her hands, face flaring in excitement. "...The fuckin' edgelords we fought recently! They, uh, weren't super deadly- but now that I'm on a roll, I 'unno-"

"Marisa I'm gonna clobber you." Reimu decided, after she was talked over enough.

Marisa tilted her head back. "Sorry, Reims. Today I'm clobber-proof. That's just how it be, ze."

...Reimu looked back at her mother, and then took a deep breath. "Since Marisa's too much trouble to fight head-on like this, I'm gonna show you a thing or two about danmaku."

woo- woo- woosh. Marisa tried to do some fancy motions with her broom and broadsword, pursing her lips as she focused.

"Convenient…" Tsukiko supposed. "Are we just going to throw random garbage at her from a distance, then?"

"Maybe." Reimu considered that… "Well, no, we gotta be smart about it. Marisa's gonna move when we shoot, and even if she's slowed down by all her crap, she's probably still pretty good about it."

fwish. Reimu spun around in a dangerously fluffy motion, casting an ever-shooting line of talismans at Marisa.

ti- ti- ti- tick. It was a cheap, easy attack, and was deflected just as easily.

WooWooWooWoosh. Marisa's broom spun before herself, whirring insanely fast, eating all the oncoming danmaku bullets.

Slinging her broadsword over one shoulder again, Marisa began to leer and strafe around, protected by her broom. "Hehehe~... I dare ya ta land one clean hit on me, ze."

Tsukiko stared at the small river of danmaku talismans being gently expelled from Reimu's hands.

'These bullets have different properties than I expected. They… call on the barrier itself, in some way. A lot of the specific magic that goes into making the bullet is likely done by the barrier. The caster simply shapes it and invokes the barrier's procedure.'

'Clever… but, that begs the question of who realized this design. Does Reimu really know that much more about the barrier than me?'

Holding up her hands, Tsukiko tried to intuitively copy the method Reimu used to create talismans.

ti- ti- ti- tick. Like so, she fired a stream of identical talismans from the palm of her left hand, straight into Marisa's whirling broom shield.

"...Oh!" Reimu beamed at her. "You're getting it!"

"I get the feeling this isn't working." Tsukiko monotoned.

Reimu gained a more begrudging look. "Nnh. Well-..."

Then, Reimu vanished.

Now ten meters in the air over Marisa, Reimu thrust both arms down. "Hyah!"

Woosh! An ethereal yin-yang descended like a meteor, to slam straight down on Marisa.

"Oh!"Perking up, Marisa slung her broadsword around, and hurled it upward-

CLA~CK…! She sluggishly pairried the oncoming yin-yang with the flat of her broadsword, sending it flying away. "Woo~...!"

Now in front of Tsukiko, just beside her plain talisman stream, Reimu shot another yin-yang. "Go!"

It soared straight up into the whirling broom shield. Marisa turned to face it-

KLACK! The broom was blown aside, flying away.

CLACK! Marisa swung the broadsword like a bat, parrying this second orb. "Hoo~...!"

Tsukiko saw it roar back at them, and steeled herself. 'Here it comes…'

Woosh! She threw a palm to stop it-

fwish. It dissipated into electricity-esque energy upon meeting her arm.

Tsukiko had expected it to rebound, and for her hand to receive a jolt of force. Instead, it received a jolt of danmaku magic.

'Wh-... ow.' Her arm spasmed in pain. 'Fuck…'

"Ah…" Reimu clicked her tongue. "Yeah- uh, yeah, you're not really gonna wanna touch danmaku directly. And-... usually, blunt instruments eat it and don't send it back or deflect stuff. Marisa's broom's an exception; she's good with enchanting things to work like that."

"Hehehe~!" Giggling, leering, Marisa slung her broadsword over her shoulder again, as her broom rejoined her. "I'm gonna level ya!"

"Um…" Reimu swallowed, and raised her gohei. "Remember to get creative. I don't-... know if you could beat her like this, without using some danmaku."

"How do I make objects that aren't talismans?" Tsukiko wondered…

Reimu gave her a blunt look. "...Just, do it, I guess. Imagine them? As danmaku, I mean."

'...I guess I'll try.'

Marisa was getting impatient. "Are we gonna spend all day givin' yer mom a tutorial…!? Am I gonna have to come over there an' bulldoze the both of ya!?"

Reimu spun her gohei around in her left hand. "Let's see you try."

'Does the real fight begin now, then? ...I suppose so.'

Tsukiko wasn't sure what to think about this whole 'danmaku' thing. 'So far, danmaku sounds like a weird alternative to my sub-weapon situation…'

'Ah. My sub-weapons. I could try making danmaku of them. Why did I call them sub-weapons, again? ...Perhaps because it was a better name than 'random crap I like to throw at people'.'

With that, Reimu was gone. Tsukiko could see Marisa tense up visibly.

Clack! Reimu came from above, intent on planting a dive-kick straight into the back of Marisa's head. Marisa had used both arms to thrust the broadsword on her shoulders up, pushing against the strike.

'Holy shit.' Tsukiko grinned at the exchange.

Strolling up, Tsukiko closed the distance. 'Myself, I probably stand a better chance of getting a word in edgewise if I'm actually… involved, at all.'

Reimu vanished after her failed attack. Marisa turned to Tsukiko-

Reimu roared up along the village ground from behind Marisa, appearing out of nowhere, gohei held out like a sword.

CLACK! Turning to her, Marisa let her guardsman armor tank the gohei thrust.

WHACK! Whipping her broadsword out, Marisa cleaved Reimu across the face with the flat-

WHA- WHA- WHACK! Her broom worked under Reimu's legs and spun rapidly, juggling her by her back and ass. "Whu- ghk- aa-"

Slowly, Marisa heaved the whole broadsword up, magic and meager muscles combining to give the now golden, glowing sword visible weight. "Hee-"

Fwish. Tsukiko summoned a danmaku version of a large, origami talisman axe. It glowed like a lightbulb, and had none of the weight. 'Ooh…'

Fwam! She effortlessly slapped it into Marisa's stomach, and the huge danmaku object evaporated instantly, the magic trailing into Marisa's form.

"Uu-" Marisa flinched out of her attack attempt, never making good on her downward cleave. "Ow- ow-..."

'...This seems slightly-...' Pursing her lips, Tsukiko held out a hand towards Marisa.

Shing- shing- shing- shing! She shot a stream of huge, origami axes at Marisa. A blue magic sigil lit up before Marisa however, to simply erase them.

"Hey…" Tsukiko's slightly smiley gaze became neutral again.

"Barriers an' shit're fair game if I can throw 'em up!" Marisa gave her a big thumbs-up.

'So that's how you guard against danmaku attacks.'

'That's why Reimu's trying to get in close. It's not just about dodging- it's a game of strategic attack and defense, and danmaku doesn't apply any tactical pressure, even if you can throw it everywhere.'

'...And, right now, Marisa's all defense.'

Floating into the air, free of the broom's painful vortex, Reimu immediately kicked back down.

Shi- ing! Marisa used the blue sigil barrier to block this attack too- but had to bring up her own arm to actually outright push away Reimu's oncoming sandal.

Doing a backflip in the air, Reimu accidentally flashed her mother. 'At least she has enough sense to wear bloomers when doing this.'

Coming up, Tsukiko marched right up into Marisa's personal space.

Marisa twirled to face her.

'Now…' Tsukiko felt her body pump into action.

WOOSH! Wind crept up Tsukiko's features, as she weaved under a swipe of Marisa's broadsword.

Woo- WOOSH! Marisa instantly swung it inward again, and her broom arced around her in a half-crescent to try and nail Tsukiko's midsection mid-weave.

Ducking under even that, Tsukiko weaved extremely awkwardly around Marisa's right ankle, pushing a palm against the snowy stone floor to keep from skidding onto her own side.

'This is- more well defended than I thought!' It helped that Marisa could just use her magic. She basically had as many arms as she needed- all stronger than her own physical arms.

Noticing she'd somehow snaked away, Marisa turned to look for Tsukiko-

WHACK! Reimu's gohei stroked across Marisa's face head on. "Guhu- aah!" Marisa almost jumped out of her armor from the sudden ferocity, having lost track of Reimu.

'I see it…'

While Marisa stumbled back- and into Tsukiko, Tsukiko leapt back a small distance.

"Hrah!" Then Tsukiko thrust a palm forward, for Marisa's gut.

FWA- KRING! On the impact of her palm, an echoing, resounding pulse of red-white danmaku energy exploded from the point of impact. It was like a shockwave, but more stylized, the impact artificial.

The pain that resulted, however, was not. "Ghk- uu-" Marisa keeled over, onto her side.

whu- whump, whu- whump. Reimu and Tsukiko gently battered her together. Tsukiko lightly punted her repeatedly, while Reimu superficially whalloped her with her gohei.

"Wh- hey- ah…" Marisa tried to push herself off the snowy floor, but between the armor and the snow, and the gentle beat-down, it was just too difficult. "Damn…"

crunch. Marisa gave up, faceplanting the snow, her samurai helmet obscuring the rest of her head.

'...I feel as though Marisa was better suited for her typical strategy of overwhelming me. rather than whatever this was. Though, Reimu may've made this impossible for her anyway. You shouldn't underestimate group fights.'

Tsukiko learned Danmaku Play Basics.

"Oo- okay…" Marisa smiled awkwardly as she stood, scratching the back of her head beneath her helmet. "Maybe I bit off more than I could chew, fightin' the both of ya at once…"

Reimu snorted. "You really were more of a duelist. Your crowd control's better when cleaning up trash like fairies or lesser youkai. A two-on-one against well-balanced people is seriously biased against you."

"Man-..." Marisa shook her head harder. "Now what will the fair citizens of the human village do- with you two running around? I can't just let dangerous people like you roam around the town, ze!"

Reimu rolled her eyes. "Let's get going, mom. We killed enough time goofing off as it is."

Tsukiko snorted. "I guess. Catch you around, Marisa."

At that, Marisa perked up and leered. "Oo- hohoho… if anything- s'gonna me be catchin' you!"

'...Between you and me, I think you're more dangerous.'

The gate to the village still wasn't open.

Reimu just teleported to the other side. Tsukiko's expression faltered, before she moved to find a way around- preferably using some rooftops or something. 'Nice.'

...As they both left using different means, this left Marisa there. Claiming her broadsword and her broom, she began to stroll away.

"Hh- hey…" The tubby kid came out from around some cover nearby. "Wh- wha' 'bout my homework…?"

"Oh?" Marisa smirked at him. "...Hm, hm. Check the garbage can behind ya. Answers all filled out and everything. You got like half the questions wrong, kiddo. I left ya some freakin'... notes."

"Oh…" He stared off into the void for a moment. "Tha-... thank you…"

When he turned to look for her, Marisa was already gone.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

'I'm half-happy that I didn't seriously fight Marisa, because after last night, I'm not in the mood for anything really serious.'

'On the other hand… I kind of wanted to try some of my new skills out on her. Ironically, she works as a good benchmark.'

"So, um…" While they were on the snowy trail away from the village, Reimu gave the air some big nods. "Yeah. That's kinda danmaku. The only other thing to tell you about is, like, spell cards, which work like special attacks, basically."

"How… juvenile." Tsukiko decided.

Reimu froze in place, as if struck. Then, she huffed. "Nnh. I don't know about that. You're telling me you haven't ever named an attack?"

...Tsukiko unsurely held a hand to her own chin. "I~... hmm. Well. I have. I just don't yell them out loud."

Reimu shook her head. "No, that's a lie. You've done it before. I know you've had to."

"Well-" Tsukiko fluffed up in turn. "You're eighteen, you've got an excuse…"

Reimu suddenly recalled something Tsukiko didn't.

Stopping on the path ahead, Reimu stood in Tsukiko's way, hands on her own hips.

"Does the name Divine Fantasy Seal ring any bells?"

...Tsukiko gave her an uncertain look.

"It-..." She shook her head. "It… doesn't."

Reimu sighed, and closed her eyes. "I see." Opening them again, she began to move. "Well… in time, maybe…"

'Damn it.' Tsukiko felt like she should have remembered that. 'Divine Fantasy Seal…? It sure sounds like one of our techniques, yet-... nothing is coming to mind.'

"Having trouble remembering things?"

All of a sudden, Byakuren was strolling along with them.

"Wha-" Reimu twirled back around, and practically squaked. "Where- where were you- where'd you-"

"Hello, Reimu." Byakuren interjected with the broadest smile.

In truth, Tsukiko had noticed her approach, but just didn't care. "...Ah, you. You're that buddhist nun."

"Is- is that all you remember me as…?" Byakuren smiled awkwardly. "We met a few days ago. You twisted my head in sparring."

"...Since I've met you, a lot's happened." Tsukiko argued. "Forgive me. That, and, I've only met you once."

Byakuren nodded slowly. "Provided, you are having trouble remembering things, aren't you? It was mean of me to assume."

'For- some reason, that comment feels meaner than the last.'

"No~..." Tsukiko had a begrudged smile. "That aside, I didn't forget you. I just don't really know you."

"Fair enough." Byakuren had a vague smile, her eyes seemingly eternally shut.

'Ah, right. She used magic to keep vague awareness of her surroundings. Probably helps with all this sun.'

'That said, she tries almost too hard to come off as easy and free. It's really easy to see through, I'll give it that.'

"I heard what you did in the village, yesterday. Last night, even." Byakuren mused… "And, over the past week."

Tsukiko snorted. "Yeah?"

Byakuren slowly panned towards her as they walked along. "Are you sure it's the right thing?"

...Tsukiko nodded vaguely. "Be more specific."

Byakuren paused for a moment, before rephrasing. "To handle the villagers so directly. It seems… dangerously direct even. There's something lost in such exact intervention."

Tsukiko began to smile. "The hell're you talking about? Do you even know what was going on? Where were you?"

Byakuren's smile shifted awkwardly. "Well… I know you've decided to right some of the wrongs of the Human Village. I just think it might not be what they need, to stir the pot like so. I can forsee you being harassed because of it. People don't like change, and wrongdoers even more so."

Tsukiko didn't care. "Let them come to me, then. I'll fight them anytime. Every challenge makes me stronger."

"You are only human." Byakuren affirmed. "Your strength will run out."

Tsukiko smiled. Pausing in the midst of the path, she faced Byakuren fully.

"To fight youkai like a maiden, you must be beyond strength. In both matters of spirit and technique. The prerequisite of physical mastery may be achieved through discipline and time. With that, and with proper judgment, you will stand over the rest."

Byakuren's eternal smile and casual gaze didn't falter. Reimu stopped too, turning back to them, mouth ajar.

And, Byakuren wasn't going to back down so easily. "And how did you fall before, then? Old age?"

Tsukiko smirked. "Sure as hell wasn't a fight. Riddle me how Reimu hasn't been murdered the same. She was sleeping next to me when I was-... attacked." Tsukiko wanted to use a different word, but figured 'attacked' wouldn't require explanation. "They had all too much opportunity to finish my daughter off too- but they did not. Got any answer for that?"

Byakuren was stumped. "...Well. No." She wasn't there, after all.

"So." Tsukiko propped her arms onto her own hips. "This all 'cause you actually care about me for some reason- or did I step on your toes somehow?"

"That's awfully presumptuous." Byakuren furrowed her brows slightly.

When she didn't say more, Tsukiko snorted and grinned. "Forgive me, then."

"It's just that…" Byakuren searched for more words, thinking carefully. "I feel as though individual problems that crop up amongst the village… are better left to the village itself, and to the native faiths. You'll run yourself ragged directly intervening on every little thing at some point."

Tsukiko smiled wider. "That's good, because shit's gonna be on the low for awhile. I've already dealt with the hairy part. You can clean up there too, if you want. It ain't too late."

In the end, the village really wasn't a big place, so it really couldn't have much of an 'underground'. It mostly had notable offenders and single, really ambitious actors.

'As such, I was eventually able to corner the ones responsible. Basically just Tsuruko and Dieter. I'm sure, after all of that, no one else there will be brave enough to try me in some time.'

Byakuren sighed. "You don't seem to understand. I-"

Reimu spun around to face them fully, slouching. "Will you buzz off. If you're trying to scare her, it's really not working."

"I just believe more articulate social problems of the village are best left for the faiths to decide upon and guide them." Byakuren affirmed. "Not… your mother Tsukiko. Especially where it pertains to youths."

Tsukiko tilted her head back. "Ah. I see. Well, if you wanted to fix the problems yourself, you shoulda said somethin'. Maybe even did somethin'. Don't go blaming me for your lack of know-how."

Byakuren's smile became more strained. "Tsukiko- I… nnh. I just-... I'm no stranger to directly intervening for the sake of good either. But, in this era, to do so without extraordinary caution and knowledge-"

"Caution, shmaution." Tsukiko waved her off. "Let's go, Reimu."

"Aye." Reimu smirked, and began to walk again.

Byakuren was left awkwardly standing there on the snowy path between the village and the bamboo woods, expression mixed.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The bamboo canopy was thick, snow only lining the insides of the woods in dustings and awkward clumps.

'I forgot how much of a hellscape the bamboo is when there's also snow.'

For a moment, she thought she'd bit off more than she could chew, but when she and Reimu went un-assaulted by youkai even ten-twenty minutes into the brush, and the uneven pathways within, she became less anxious.

A normally difficult-to-navigate hell of green and lush and youkai became a frigid, fatal death trap in the midst of winter.

Passing an array of strange, spike-shaped icicles alongside the path on the left, Tsukiko idly kicked one.

Chink. It broke in two, although there were thirty more to this strange clump.

'These spikes are formed by dripping water from the bamboo above, and then they freeze like so.'

The easy-to-snap bamboo became more brittle in this weather, although some of it had a crystal sheen of frozen armor, which was abrasive and difficult to deal with.

Ahead, Tsukiko saw a section of path that was obscured with the thinnest layer of dusted snow.

Expanding a yin-yang orb, she walked up just before the obscured section of path, and dropped the orb onto it.

shoof. It was consumed whole, detailing a quick descent into an ice-water reservoir below.

cr- crack. With that, the pathway dirt beneath Tsukiko's feet began to shift. 'Ah- shit, right-'

Woosh! Wind creeping up her limbs, she leapt from where she stood.

crcrack, crack. The dirt two-three meters in either direction from the new hole caved in, revealing the width of the reservoir. Those sections of path were actually very, very thin ledges over the water, which became brittle and broke from the cold. They were likely shaped from mud and kept packed against the more settled dirt on either side, so as to not demand a bridge be put up.

'Normally, kind of a sound idea. I imagine the rabbits of the woods did that, because it'd be easy to short-jump over it, even if it's still a falling hazard. Turns out to be a shitty idea in the winter.'

Landing again, Tsukiko looked up, and saw Reimu gently floating ahead, eyes focused on the bamboo.

'Taking such floaty leaps still feels weird, when I think about it. But, it's very… fun, too, I guess.'

Tsukiko felt very strange. 'Between all this brush, and how cold it is-... right. I'd have warmed up more if I had things to fight, or moved more actively.'

'Nothing's come out at us yet.'

"...For the clinic supposedly being so big," Tsukiko had a mixed expression, as she marched along on the chilly path, "how haven't we seen anything yet?"

Reimu paused in the air, but didn't face away from where she stared. "Um-... it's-... hard to explain. You know how the woods are, right? You could be lost for days, without any idea of how to go through it. Thankfully, I've-... already been lost here more than once. So I know what to do."

'Days? That's-... not-...'

Tsukiko thought about it. 'Maybe a day. It took me a while to get used to it myself. But…'

"If this clinic's so huge, won't it take up a lot of the woods?" Tsukiko supposed. "I know this place is bigger on the inside, but I feel as though a large structure might… offset that?"

"You would think that." Reimu grinned as she kept flying along. "Doesn't work that way, mom. If anything, the woods are harder to navigate now."

'What…? What the fuck. How do these woods even work?'

Keeping a good eye on Reimu, Tsukiko strolled along the floor of the bamboo woods, occasionally looking up at the sunny sky barely visible through the thick canopy.

'I can't keep my gaze off the ground for too long, however. There could be a trap or a pitfall anywhere.'

Tsukiko glanced over the floor, then back up.

Reimu was gone.

'...Wait.'

...For some reason, some ice cracked in the background. Tsukiko gave the noise an untrusting look, before relaxing.

'Tch. Damn it.' She had to admit, she didn't expect the woods to pull a fast one on her like this...

"Well. I'll fuckin' be."

Tewi Inaba hung upside down from a rope, speaking from just behind Tsukiko's head. "So the gossip rags were true. Thought it'd be tasteless to lie about something like that."

Tsukiko half-twisted her head towards her. "Tewi. That's you, right?"

"Nah, I'm the queen a' England." Tewi slowly retracted into the air.

...Fwish! Tsukiko abruptly slid back, wind swirling off of her sudden motion.

Tewi landed shoes-first where Tsukiko was standing, feet together. "...Oh, so you haven't lost your reflexes."

"I'm surprised something hasn't gobbled you up yet." Tsukiko gave her an easy smile. "You're over a thousand now, right?"

"I am…" Tewi nodded plainly, leaning back some. "And you're still forty, ain't 'cha!?"

Tsukiko grinned. "It's a long story."

"I'll bet!" Tewi became slightly incredulous. "This kinda shit don't even happen to normal humans. Let alone Hakurei. Y'know, I really wonder, if the whole thing about hiding Eientei from you still even applies…"

Tsukiko blinked. "Hiding it? From me? Why?"

Tewi held a hand over her own lips. "...Ooh. I dunno~. Maybe 'cause it was the most biggest youkai den ever."

Tsukiko had a plain look. "Don't bullshit me. I didn't come back to life just to flip you my middle finger and saunter off like I usually do."

"Y'say that like I was trying." Tewi waved her off. "You're too difficult ta trick in a big way like that. Too~ difficult."

Which was to say, Eientei had nothing to do with youkai. Or did it? Tsukiko's brows twitched...

She stepped closer to Tewi. "Will you help us find this Eientei?"

Tewi's expression was, at first, sly and cute. After processing Tsukiko's request however, she jerked her head back, eyes wide. "Wait- hol' on, you retarded? Askin' me for directions?"

"You didn't say 'yes' then proceed to mislead me, so I already have more hope than I usually do." Tsukiko took note. "If you said yes outright, then I would've just left."

Tewi smirked. "Fucker. Alright, since you're so smart, how about you lead me ta Eientei? I'm lost, see."

"Sure thing."

With that, Tsukiko brushed past her, and began walking down the path ahead. "On that note… did you see where Reimu went?"

"Home." Tewi delivered confidently.

...Tsukiko gave her a dull look.

"Yep." Tewi grinned big. "Got bored and left. Sucks, huh. Can't believe she'd do that to her own mom."

"Is there any reason you decided to… do this?" Tsukiko was curious. "Accost me like this, that is."

"Thought I'd catch up with my ol' buddy ol' pal, Unnamed Hakurei Miko number twenty-somethin'." Tewi jeered. "When'd you people start namin' your kids, anyway?" This was a jest towards how Tsukiko preferred to refer to herself as 'Hakurei miko' back in her time, and not as 'Tsukiko'.

"Never." Tsukiko returned. "Reimu named herself, obviously."

"Ooh. Makes sense."

Tewi had her arms behind her head as she followed Tsukiko along on the cold bamboo trail.

"So." Tsukiko's curiosity took her in a different direction. "How many kids you have? Grandkids?"

Tewi grinned. "Wh- what kinda question's that. It was too many ta count last time- it's too many to count now! Not like I can go around gettin' pregnant every ten seconds anyway. Even if I'm a rabbit, y'know, I'm kinda the rabbit."

"I thought we could have some mom-to-mom talks." Tsukiko jested. "What kind of diapers did you use?"

"Shut the fuck up." Tewi beamed. "...We make- or, well, used to make our own diapers. From bamboo leaf and roughage, crafted down inta softer forms by the handymen."

"Used to?" Tsukiko faced her. "And now?"

"Eientei provides us wit' replacements." Tewi informed her. "Shit that looks like the kind we make, but is kinda just better. Y'see- it had to look like the kind we made, so people like you never got any funny ideas to sniff around for this Eientei place. They were that calculated 'bout it."

'Eientei, huh. Perhaps she'll have some casual answers.'

"No shit…" Tsukiko pursed her lips. "How long was this Eientei here, then?"

Tewi snorted. "Before your momma was born, honey. Or something like that. It's been such a long ass time, even I hardly remember."

'And, this is literally the first I've- ever- heard of it? Damn. Either there's a big lie going around- or these people were true masters of stealth. Hiding an entire clinic for decades? Maybe even centuries?'

'I know Gensokyo can be crazy… but that's beyond crazy.'

Tsukiko supposed she'd have to see this mythical hospital to believe it.

"On that note, predators are way down." Tewi remarked. "Now that Eientei's gone public, there's regular patrols across the woods. Lunar bunnies got our back, see?"

'Lunar bunnies…'

Tsukiko could see that. They were a force to be reckoned with, almost on par with the tengu. Where they lacked in physical mastery and arcane technique, they made up with modern marvels, technology far surpassing even the kappa, and new techniques that incorporated such advanced weaponry.

'I'm sure I've yet to see the bounds of their technology. Those suits of armor at the Golden Grin, their guns… Reisen's weaponry. It's somewhat disconcerting, but it's not necessarily a bad-to-worse type development… yet.'

'On that note, I kinda wanna see a tengu fight a bunny now.'

Slap. Suddenly, Tewi slapped Tsukiko's ass.

"Wanna die?" Tsukiko smiled.

Tewi had the hugest of grins. "...I was gonna say somethin' 'bout watchin' yourself, but I gotta say it: you've got a great ass."

"So, you choose death, then." Tsukiko monotoned back.

"Anyway!" Tewi continued with her original point, "y'see, us- or rather, those lunar bunnies…" She spoke over her own tongue a little, and shook her head. "Them lunar bunnies, they're 'bout as horny as us. And, honestly? If I put a pair a' bunny ears on you, I think absolutely no one would be surprised. Hell, you're beyond fit, even for the buns."

"You're telling me to watch out for perverts, then." Tsukiko figured. "Didn't need you to warn me."

"Well…" Tewi brought her hands behind her own back. "I say that usually 'cause most human girls- or human dudes- if a bunny guy or girl fucked 'em, they could get hurt. You, though? ...I think you could take it."

"Now, the real question." Tsukiko held an arm up. "Why? ...Why would I do that? Why even?"

Tewi rolled her eyes. "Aah. Yeah- you became kinda purist after your hubby went, huh. I'd say I understand, but that'd go against my existence as a rabbit."

Tsukiko cast her gaze up as well. "Do~n't get me started. Sex addicts don't typically understand my sentiment, so my words would be wasted."

"Yeah, pretty much."

The frozen bamboo world around them was pristine. 'Something about the bamboo always left me reverent.'

'Of the overworld, it felt like such a fitting battleground.'

'So many days where I'd come here, and get into a fight with some horny rabbits, or some mantis thing, or some kind of horrorshow made of dead rabbits and flesh, or what-have-you. Or just beasts.'

'Some of the scariest overworld youkai live here in these woods. Or… had lived in these woods.'

It was partly nostalgia, but she also thought back with relief.

'I certainly feel like it's a decade into the future. ...I sort of miss my time. If only because-... it was back then. It was my time.'

'Yet, the future… also holds so much potential.'

"So." Tsukiko wanted to talk about the past; to look back, but also to learn. "Where's all the things I used to fight?"

"Under control." Tewi elaborated. "It's, eh… it's a long story. But basically, come the Reimu Era, as I'd like ta dub it, lotta that edgy shit went out the window. Basically overnight."

'No shit?'

"Probably when she was like, five." Tewi figured. "Or six. One of the two. With a snap a' the fingers, it felt like Gensokyo stopped. ...Of course, once Eientei was revealed, even the few predators who were around kinda got beaten into submission, or fed like, people food."

'If it was when she was five or six, it was literally… about when I had died.'

Tsukiko masked her thinking with a joke. "Food meant for people, or people as food?"

...Tewi gained a wicked smile. "Even I didn't think a' that one, damn. Sure you're not a youkai maiden after all? Revival, jokin' about death, using dark magic- it's all there!"

"You got me." Tsukiko gave up. "I'm actually the super secret youkai. Now that you have figured out my plot, what will you do?"

Tewi gently laid a hand on Tsukiko's ass again. "Get you laid?"

"Alright, that does it." Tsukiko turned to her. "I'm gonna embed you into the earth."

Tewi leered. "I'd like to see you try, slowpoke."

Stillness. Both froze completely still.

WOOSH. Tsukiko gripped where Tewi was within two frames.

Tewi, however, had left in one. "Nehehe- hehe~!" Bounding off the bamboo, she left off.

Tsukiko doubled around, and spun up-

FWABOOM! Dashing off, she leapt into the bamboo after Tewi, practically flying.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The chase went on for ten-twenty some minutes, with Tsukiko always keeping a close but somewhat clumsy lead on Tewi's tail.

"Ahh- nnh-" Tewi landed into a cartwheel, just touching down from the canopy above- "Yup!"

WOOSH! Tsukiko shot towards her like a bullet, but Tewi snapped into a backflip. It was so precise, the edge of Tewi's spine kissed the very tip of Tsukiko's scalp in grazing, just enough for both to feel the brush.

Tsukiko was actually faster than Tewi remembered- but didn't quite have eyes on the back of her head like she used to. She also, ironically enough, had less force, and seemed to only use the wind to get around.

Now that was an important note. No force to get around, and only a partially graceful, impossible lightweightedness to her form. Reviving must have done funny things, Tewi figured.

"Can't catch me~!" Tewi taunted her, skipping backwards. She held a hand out intentionally, knowing it'd be a vulnerable limb.

Tsukiko saw it: opportunity.

Fwish! An aura of pink bloomed from Tsukiko's core as she aggressively roared up, and threw an arm to lock her palm against Tewi's. If she could hold onto her at all, that'd be a good start-

BZZT- ZZT! "Eh- ha- uu- nnh!" Tsukiko was jolted, her hair flaring out cartoonishly.

"Hehaha~h!" Tewi danced back and away from her, pointing the palm at her. "Fell fer the ol' joy-buzzer trick! We got new tech now, bitch!" Then, she looked thoughtful. "Guess I should say, the new joy-buzzer trick- woohoho-"

WOOSH! She ducked, as Tsukiko leapt and kneed the air over her.

'Um-... oh no.' Tsukiko lost control of the momentum she used, and so her knee carried her across the whole clearing.

...pap. Gently, her knee met a bundle of bamboo, twenty meters beyond Tewi. She gingerly bounced off of it, before gravity finally slowly reclaimed her.

'That's what it's like. Being enchanted by the wind makes me feel like I'm fighting in zero gravity…'

Clack! Kicking against the bamboo, Tsukiko took off into the air. Normally, being suspended in the air was a bad idea in almost any scenario, but…

Clack- clack! Nearing more bamboo, Tsukiko kicked a leg against a wall to her left, then a wall to her right, shooting across the path.

It was a basic lesson in fighting. When in the air, one had less bodily control, meaning they were predictable. However, that rule could be broken if one actually could maintain aerial control.

Eyes sharp, Tsukiko used her light weight and speed to practically walk along the bamboo walls. Maintaining control never felt so strange.

'I feel like-... I'm dreaming.' The purple-pink aura from her body brightened, as she beheld the weird winter visual. 'What the hell…'

Tewi was already gone, however.

'I can't lose her.' Tsukiko focused despite the surreality. The unexpected was typical for the bamboo.

She latched onto the edge of a thin tuft amidst a clearing ahead.

After a single spin, as if it were a pole, Tsukiko dug a heel into it, hunkering down. 'Now…'

As the wind left her, and the dark crept from her skin, her eyes became cast in shade. Holy energy bloomed out from her, in trace amounts, her form flaring white for a moment.

The sun was gone, the green, white and brown of the deadly ice forest obscured.

Tewi's magic signature could be seen, now leisurely strolling a vague distance away.

In the brush below, Tsukiko could see many things.

The figures of bunnies observing them, as well as strange and large invisible devices in the air overhead. Strange talismans and statues placed among the inaccessible bamboo depths, facing inner-forestry, impossible to see without tearing through the bamboo… or looking right through it.

'Damn.' The bamboo itself was faintly magical, as nature could tend to be, giving her a vague idea of where the nearest trees were. 'There's so much more shit here than I had expected.'

...Experimentally, without wind wrapped around her limbs, she allowed herself to slide down the bamboo stalk.

"Nnh-"She grit her teeth, and took pause- "Ah-"

She slipped from the bamboo, and fell. '...Yeah, that did take some getting used to. Fucking- bamboo climbing.'

Woosh. When she began to grin dryly, calling on the wind, her body hit the air like the surface of a lake, immediately halving her falling speed and then some.

'Tewi was-... that way.'

As she slowly touched down on the forest floor, feeling graceful and needlessly fancy about her landing-

Woosh! She leapt instantly into the more integrated, tangled bamboo brush, the force she used to drive her body having taken her back off her feet.

'Why am I so light… I mean- I know why I am, but it's still so jarring…'

Fwish- clack- fwish- cla- clack. Snaking around a windy, mid-tree height corridor of tightly packed bamboo, Tsukiko bounded through what almost felt like a pre-made shortcut.

Fwish! Coming out on the other side, Tsukiko was overhead of Tewi.

Tewi's eyes widened. "Oh- shit-"

Fwi- fwish! Tewi took off when Tsukiko hit the ground, but Tsukiko jerked her muscles and slid after her, moving just as fast-

Pap! Tsukiko palmed Tewi in the back of her waist.

"Ah-" Tewi fell forward into a faceplant.

Woosh! However, before it could get messy, Tewi immediately turned it into a handstand.

"Hyah!" Tsukiko threw a sudden, playful high kick, meant to clip Tewi's legs.

Tewi spread her legs into a complete split, evading the entire high kick like that.

'Fucking- rabbits…!'

Tsukiko looked down, and bent down to pick up Tewi entirely-

Tewi's thighs snapped up around Tsukiko's head.

WOOSH! Tewi threw herself into a forward roll- and since Tsukiko was so lightweight like this, she was outright flung along with her. "Wh- ah-"

WHAM! Despite her weight, Tsukiko met that ground super hard. "Hfuh…" She exhaled hard on impact, her back against the forest floor.

"This rabbit's learned some new tricks, usa…" Tewi leered as she darted back, away from Tsukiko's head. "We gotta prank military-grade assholes now. And, no offense, but anime martial artists are like, a grade below."

'First time-... a rabbit's ever done a counter-attack like that.'

Throwing her legs into the air, Tsukiko rammed her elbows into the dirt floor.

Woo- woo- woosh! With a twisting motion, she rolled on her side then onto her legs, twirling into standing posture with a left hook. "Hah!"

"And…" Tewi suddenly leaned down from somewhere unknown, her face upside-down and peering right into Tsukiko's. "Yer strategy's different now, isn't it? But I think I got it figured out."

"Do you…?" Tsukiko wondered.

Tewi was gone when Tsukiko looked up.

"It's centered on speed, and ya sacrifice all your weight."

Tewi now sat on some horizontally bent bamboo, up and to the right. When Tsukiko looked at her, she saw Tewi slowly sliding down the vague slope the broken bamboo made. "A sound strategy, but…"

Her butt met an awkward kink in the bamboo, and she stopped. Shrugging, she became smug. "At the end of the day, you still ain't a rabbit. Y'won't be as small, and I don't think you've ever practiced yoga. Not in a way that matters, I'm sure."

Tsukiko had a brow raised. "...I kept myself flexible, some."

Tewi snorted. "Uh huh. Some. Alright, do an evasive backward cartwheel."

Tsukiko blinked. 'Um-'

Tewi was suddenly on the ground, running at Tsukiko.

Pap. Tewi threw a simple kick when she arrived, before Tsukiko could even think of the motions.

THUD! Tsukiko crumpled back and bounced off the floor super hard. "Uhf- fuck…"

Tewi beamed, jerking her head back. "Fuckin'- I didn't kick ya that hard!"

Slowly standing again, Tsukiko sighed. "...Try that again."

Tewi tilted her head. "Hoh? Alright…"

Fwish! Tewi snapped towards her faster, seemingly slighting straight up to Tsukiko.

woosh. Tsukiko weaved, brushing aside the thrusting kick.

Tewi's eyes sharpened. "That- wasn't the motion-"

WOOSH! Tewi snapped into a more fierce, backward hooking kick. Tsukiko ducked down, out of the way.

WOOSH! Tewi seemingly chained it effortlessly into a backflip-driving kick. That is to say, a kick so fierce that Tewi took off from the floor, halfway into a backflip.

Tsukiko leaned back, the tip of Tewi's shoe grazing her chin-

WOOSH! In a scary motion, Tewi accelerated her backflip into a full, near instant rotation once it was past the halfway point. From there, she thrust her leg right down. She came at Tsukiko diagonally.

woosh. Tsukiko threw herself back, and trusted her flightiness.

Bending backwards, Tsukiko stood on her hands and cast her legs into the air, spreading them out to weave them around Tewi's entire body.

PAP! Tewi touched down hard, heel meeting soil and grass.

"Aah…" Tewi looked up from the floor as Tsukiko backflipped back into standing.

"Nh." Tsukiko landed on both sandals. "...Like that?"

Tewi rolled the answer around in her mouth. "Mmh… kinda. It's a start. Only reason that worked was 'cause you're stupid light for no reason. If you weren't relying on the wind, you'd have fallen flat on your ass."

"...Probably." Tsukiko had to admit.

Tewi folded her arms. "Though… I'll tell ya what. You might have a thing're two to learn from the lunar bunnies, t'be honest. But..."

Tewi held up a finger. "This beatin' 'round the bush shit ain't you. It ain't the way you used to do things. Not even close. It might play on the nuance you mastered after yer force addiction- but it's… just, wrong, on its own."

Exhaling, letting her body unwind some, Tsukiko prepared for a debate. "Is experimenting with different strategies in this new era really so wrong?"

"Seeing you commit to somethin' so-... random, but extreme, as a forty year old is like…" Tewi shook her head. "Admittedly, I'm like a thousand, but… no jokin', it's just plain damn weird."

Smiling, Tsukiko let her vision take in the straw-green and white winterscape. She met Tewi's gaze after brief thinking. "Who are you to evaluate my fighting like so? I know we used to talk, but…"

Tewi took pause, mouth open as her expression became somewhat vague.

"Remember what I taught you, when you first roved through these woods?"

Tsukiko focused on Tewi's now sharpened gaze.

'Do I remember-...'

-+- 34 Years Ago -+-

It was a warm summer evening in Gensokyo.

Tsukiko was eighteen years old, perhaps closer to nineteen now. Slim, yet muscular from her daily managing of the now-defunct Hakurei Shrine, and from her new attempts to master the land.

Though she kept clear and far from the Human Village, she'd met some village guards on the trail between the Bamboo Forest of the Lost and the village itself.

They tried very hard to express peaceful intent. They gave her some rations, and gave her a job, with the promise of more provisions- even gold- as reward.

That job would take her somewhere she'd never been before- but they had assumed she knew it well, as she was assumed to be more beast than woman.

Under the bamboo forest's shade, she knelt down before a fire.

The bamboo forest in summer was a hellish mixture of hot and cold in strange places, as opposed to the constant, unearthly cold it experienced in winter. That, and summer also unleashed the might of a world of strange lush, plants that were partially volatile, and many youkai.

This was Tsukiko's first adventure into the bamboo, and she was partly lost, partly stuck.

Meat cooked on a skewer, which Tsukiko slowly rotated, lips pursed.

To Tsukiko's left, a mantis head stood on a bamboo pike, green-brown blood pooled under it. To its right, a dead, stripped-clean rabbit boy laid impaled across three bamboo poles.

Tsukiko had accented her tattered shrine maiden outfit with the boy's clothing. Idly, she looked over a blade the mantis had used as a hand.

'Boomerang shaped.' The strange nature of the metal-like sickle hand interested her.

She wasn't sure when she last slept. This forest wasn't safe anywhere. Only after being stuck in this one clearing for an extended period of time did she find rest, having cleaned it of bamboo, plant and living being alike.

The meat came from some supplies the boy rabbit had on him. They were likely harvested from some wildlife, ready to cook already, which was supremely convenient.

'I wonder…' Tsukiko stared down his bleeding corpse. 'Rabbits must have families. Do they have families like humans?'

'Sure doesn't seem like it. If they do… it's way different. Either way…'

Tsukiko didn't feel like putting thought into it. In these woods, it was kill or be killed. She'd been harassed non-stop by predators and scavengers alike since she came in here. She was ready to kill on sight.

Then, suddenly, her skewer was lifted off the fire.

"Ooh." A pink-dressed rabbit girl held it up innocently. "Nice job…"

Tsukiko flung her arm.

CLING! The rabbit girl parried the oncoming mantis sickle that Tsukiko had tossed, using the metal skewer. "So, what's the occasion? It some kinda holiday?"

'She's going to take my food.'

FWIFWIFWIFWIFWISH! Twenty talismans boomed from Tsukiko's sleeve, pointed straight at the rabbit girl, flaring out shotgun style.

She was behind Tsukiko. Using the tip of the skewer, she gently poked Tsukiko on the back of the neck.

'They missed!?'

Eyes wide, Tsukiko whirled around-

thump- thud. The rabbit girl swept her heel under Tsukiko's, sending her to the floor.

"Rrgh-" Roaring off the floor, Tsukiko ran towards her-

"Not another step!" The rabbit girl beamed. "Or the food goes in my tummy." She held the skewer up to her face…

Tsukiko glared daggers. "Stupid fucking bunny. You'll put that down if you know what's fucking good for you. Do you not see your friend there?" She gestured to the skewered rabbit boy. "That's going to be you."

The rabbit girl stared at the dead boy, and smiled. "Aah. He was gonna die one of these days. Dude always got drunk at all the worst times."

"That all said," she pointed the skewer at Tsukiko again, "what, uh… like, are humans evolving again? The fuck're you doin' out here?"

Tsukiko clenched her fists. "...It's none of your business why I'm here. You'll be dead soon as it is."

The rabbit girl shrugged. "I mean- I guess it ain't any of your business where this meat goes, then." The pink-clad bunny girl slowly raised the skewer to her mouth…

FWI- FWI- FWISH! Tsukiko tossed more talismans.

'I can't afford to waste these- but I need food! My rations-... I should've asked for more fucking rations. I didn't know the woods would be this bad…'

The rabbit girl was gone, seemingly.

'I fucking missed again!'

Though she roared in her mind, she glared around at the clearing, face contorted in parts despair and rage.

"...Hey!" Tsukiko yelled.

"Hey, shush." The rabbit girl was now leaned up against a pile of wood and leaves and other crap that Tsukiko had amassed in the midst of the manmade clearing.

On sight, Tsukiko ran towards her-

Twing! Thud! She tripped on something invisible, faceplanting. "Fh- ghk…"

"Pft- nhk…" The rabbit girl suppressed some chuckles. "Walk much?"

Tsukiko began climbing into standing, with such ferocity it looked like she was trying to kill the floor.

"I'll snap your little fucking neck." Tsukiko growled. "And shove that skewer- up your ass-... the tip straight up- where you piss-"

She ran at the rabbit girl again, arms spread to grapple her-

thunk. The rabbit girl casually poked the tip of her shoe into Tsukiko's cunt, with a slow punting motion.

...thud. Tsukiko fell back onto her butt, eyes shut. "Fh- fuck…" Her voice was higher, eyes tearing up. "Da- damn it…!"

As she held herself, the rabbit girl leaned up against the purposeless pile of crap Tsukiko had arranged.

'I'm-... I'm going to die here…'

'Fuck this…' She glared up at the rabbit girl. 'Fuck…!'

"Man." The rabbit girl half-smiled. "I almost feel bad. This is the last Hakurei? Shi~t."

Tsukiko took pause, focusing on her.

"I'm like, half-tempted to see ya get knocked up by those like, fifteen other dudes who wanted to bone ya- but I don't think you'd even survive long enough ta give birth." The rabbit girl rolled her eyes. "Fuckin'... humans."

"What- do you know…" Tsukiko slowly fought back into standing, "about the Hakurei clan? You stupid fucking rabbit..."

"A good question!" She had to admit. "Y'see, for most rabbits, that'd be like, nothing. Bu~t-"

Suddenly, she stepped up to Tsukiko, and leaned towards her. "Tewi Inaba! ...I knew yer mom!" She held a hand out, to shake Tsukiko's, in a distinctly western motion. "Pleased to meet ya."

Tsukiko smiled slightly. She'd crush Tewi's hand.

Swinging her palm in, she planned to grab Tewi's hand so hard it'd break it entirely.

BAZAP. When their palms connected, a flash of light flared out between them, and it felt like something tiny- and electric- exploded against Tsukiko's palm.

"Ee- hnh- zzah-" Her body locked up, and she leapt back, hair flaring out cartoonishly. "Fuck-...!"

...Smiling strangely, Tewi looked at the smouldering glove she wore. "Still, uh, haven't perfected that design, huh. Least it ain't shootin' fuckin' lasers at me…"

Shaking the numbness from her hand, Tsukiko glared back at her. "You- fucking-... you tricked me."

Tewi sighed. "...Yeah, not the first time someone's thought of that, dumbass. Crushing my hand, that is. Show a little courtesy, 'kay?"

"You stole my fucking food." Tsukiko growled back. "I'll fucking kill you."

Tewi grinned. "You that damn hungry? Take the fuckin' food." She tossed the skewer at Tsukiko's face.

It bounced off, the meaty midst of the skewer clumsily rebounding off the bridge of her nose. She fumbled to catch it with both arms, her good arm barely latching onto the very edge.

Crunch. Immediately, Tsukiko chomped on the slab of meat. "Mmh…"

"I've been watching you." Tewi remarked. "You've been trapped in this clearing for the last ten goddamn hours."

It was because Tsukiko couldn't actually climb out of where she'd fallen into. The bamboo walls were too steep, the cliff faces at an impossible incline. She had leapt into here from atop the bamboo stalks, confident there would be some way back out, but she was wrong.

Crunch. She continued to consume the unknown, cooked meat. It tasted like deer, however, so she had some idea.

"Ain't that embarrassing?" Tewi smirked at her. "Trapped here only ta eventually waste away and get fucked by something when you're too weak?" 'Fucked' could be either literal or figurative here, but both were worse fates than death.

Tsukiko licked her lips. Though the meat was unspiced, nearly tasteless food matter, she cherished the feeling of rejuvenation.

"Not anymore." Tsukiko remarked.

Tewi raised a brow. "Mmm?"

"Because I've found my hit job..." Tsukiko remarked. With a hand, she pulled the meat from the skewer.

"You."

whish. She snapped her arm to chuck the skewer at one of Tewi's eyes.

Tewi caught it between two fingers casually. "...Cute. How much's that for?"

"Two hundred thousand yen." Tsukiko affirmed. "But more than that… this is the first time I've come to these woods, ever. I've heard all about its horrors, and the mysteries that surround it."

"The youkai regard this place with respect…"

Tsukiko stuffed her meat between her teeth, and cracked her knuckles, before taking the slab back out. She took a bite at the same time. "Onh- dhay, I'll cu' the whole damn thing down..."

...Expression slightly dry at Tsukiko's mid-chew declaration, Tewi shook her head. "Oh… so, you're planning on starting a lumberjack company."

Tsukiko blinked, and swallowed. "...No. Myself. With my bare hands."

Tewi pursed her lips. "Y'can't cut trees with your fists. Even if you got strong punches, you'll break the bones eventually…"

Tsukiko blinked again. "Wa- wait, that stress would-...?" She hadn't thought that the bones would wear down so easy. "No, my skin would abrade far earlier."

"You should hire a team." Tewi recommended. "You could become a lumberjack maiden!"

Tsukiko's eyes hardened, and she shook her head. "Nn- no-... more importantly, youkai. The youkai who live here… I'm sure some of them helped kill my mother. If I conquer this place, it will send a message. It will be the Hakurei's first push, past the human village and back against the wild."

Tewi beamed. "Oh… a clan of one?"

Tsukiko nodded. "A clan of one. I'm as strong as a clan, too."

Tewi leaned her head to the side. "If you had a clan, you could start a lumberjack company inside the clan."

Tsukiko's gaze became flat. "Can you fucking shut up about the stupid lumberjack thing."

"Pft- hehehe…" Tewi giggled. "So how're you plannin' on getting out of here!? Unless, you'd like to start a lumberjack company with some cute bunny boys."

"I'll punch the trees." Tsukiko figured. "Or… die, I guess." She had that mantis's blade, but without a handle, it was difficult to use.

Tewi sighed. "No, no… you're lookin' at it all wrong. In this forest, brute force'll get you nowhere. You might be hot shit on the plains, but here, you can't run. You can't hide either. We all know these woods. Y'can't run and hide unless you're us."

"But." Tewi held a finger up. "You also gotta know the ways of the woods. You ain't native here, so you gotta respect the basics of even moving around."

Tsukiko glared back. "Fuck that. It's just a fucking forest."

"Pftk-" Tewi withheld a chuckle. "Aah… well, if you could jump like a rabbit, maybe you'd have some kinda place to start. It'd be a start, I'll give it that."

Then, she gave Tsukiko a vicious smile. "But, no human could ever jump like a rabbit can."

...At that, Tsukiko frowned. "Is that a bet?"

Tewi's leer deepened. "You wanna make a bet? With me? Are you retarded?"

"If I have to be, then I am." Tsukiko glared harder. "I'll say it now. I can jump like a rabbit."

...Looking away, Tewi wiped her forehead with her palm. "I- I think she's actually retarded…"

"Teach me how." Tsukiko asserted herself. "What are the physics behind it? If you're so smart?"

Tewi had a drained look, focusing on her again. "Wh-... okay, sure. C'mere."

She lead Tsukiko over to the ledge. The moniker of 'the ledge' was earned, this being the ledge Tsukiko entered this clearing from; the last passage she took before she was well and truly stuck. It was way, way high up; thirty meters in the air.

"Alright." Tewi clapped her hands together, twirling around to face Tsukiko. "Let's bet."

Tsukiko nodded. "Give me your terms."

"If you succeed, hmm…" Tewi thought hard. "If you succeed, whenever ya come to these woods, I'll give you a hand with gettin' around."

Tsukiko nodded. "Fair, if you keep your word. And, if I lose?"

Tewi shrugged. "Mmh… y'can come live at our village with us, maybe?"

"...Is that a bad thing?" Tsukiko wondered.

Tewi beamed. "For you, maybe? Look, 'tween you and me, I'm really curious what a half-youkai, half-rabbit Hakurei kid would be like. Oh- right, you'd have to get hitched to a bunny guy too. Or more, if you were into that sort of thing."

Tsukiko huffed. "Are you all obsessed with sex?"

Tewi held her arms out. "You're talking to actually rabbits, toots! Hell yeah we are!"

"Let's get started, then." Tsukiko walked up to the bamboo wall in the night's darkness.

The bamboo wall was earth green in the black night, cast in the orange shade of the dim fire behind them.

Tewi squatted down. "It's actually damn simple. We put crazy strength in our hind legs. It's not even often we do a full-on bunny hop, but if we ever got to…"

She began to focus, as Tsukiko watched her. Tewi's gaze slowly crept up to the ledge she had to reach…

Then, soundlessly, Tewi leapt.

Brush and dirt spread out gently, rocked by the sizable but subtle force Tewi's legs pushed into the floor.

With that, the leap itself was demonstrably plain and effective. Straight up to the ledge. Tewi even cleared it, obtaining height with no struggle and no fuss.

Tsukiko had that one example, having stared at it from a slight angle.

'...The legs. They pulsed strangely. She has muscles down there that I don't.'

Tewi leaned over the ledge. "...He~y!"

Tsukiko looked up.

"So!" Tewi called out to her. "...I guess keep tryin' 'till ya give up or drop!"

...Crunch. Tsukiko took another bite of her meat, before looking around.

Setting it on a nearby stump, she came up to the wall, and squatted down, akin to Tewi…

'It doesn't fucking matter.'

'Rabbit muscles or not… I don't know my own strength.'

'Let's see if I can find out this way.'

She'd been working on her muscles. Every human she'd ever met had called her a youkai- and under that moniker, she set out to prove them right.

In anticipation for the day more humans came to ruin her, take her shrine and finally end the Hakurei clan. In anticipation for the youkai who'd do the same, in their eagerness to destroy. The wry ones who'd pummel her, and the beasts who'd crush her.

Black began to creep through her legs. Youkai-like dark magic, bleeding out from her otherwise holy core, infecting her legs with unnatural energy that strengthened the skin.

Whatever that black shit was, it was pure power, and she couldn't get enough of it. A number of times it spelled the difference between do and die, life and death, and proved her resolve.

As far as she was concerned, this black was her. She'd feed her dark thoughts for survival, a shield against the ravaging maelstrom that was this era's Gensokyo.

'If you can't do this, you're as good as dead.' She meant this jump, but it also applied to her affinity.

'You might as well have died when mom died.'

'Show that little shit what for…'

The image of Tewi's smug grin, as she casually proposed the idea of her dying or being raped here in the woods.

Tsukiko focused, remaining squatted there for awhile.

Eventually, Tewi stopped staring down at her from the upper ledge, deciding to wait up there past the lip instead.

'Rabbits put it all in the hind legs.' She wanted to plant her hands against the ground like a frog, but decided against it. 'All or nothing. One jolt of power. One push. One jump…'

She inhaled. Her legs became immeasurably tense, the black in them now creeping up her lower torso.

'If I could jump like them- it'd be that much easier to kill them. To kill the other shit that resides here, too…'

'Yes. I need to be able to move vertically in these damned woods.'

Tsukiko glared up.

'I can be as youkai as you- you fucking rabbit!'

Her legs shook. She inhaled again, focusing hard.

Her anger and fixation built internally. 'Mom-...'

She was the only one who'd remember her mom. Once she was gone, everything her mother stood for, and everything she herself had fun with, believed in and loved would be gone.

All those books. All the naive dreams of knowing people, making friends, becoming a shrine maiden under her mother, and finding out more about her long-gone clan… it would be less than dust. Completely, irreversibly erased from the world.

That was outright horrifying to a woman who was barely an adult.

The only alternative was conquest- in the name of defiance and defense.

'I'll make it to the top.'

Fwish. Red energy flared out from her core.

BOOM! A shockwave of black was made along the floor. Tsukiko had leapt, a small crater made in the floor from the force she exerted.

...Scratching her arms against the bamboo, she clawed and flailed at it as she got two-thirds of the way, but slowly slid back down.

"Fhu~ck!"

What a kick in the cunt.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Tewi had her lips pursed, a small look on her face as she stared down the ledge again.

BOOM! The crater in the floor had grown five meters deep, now marking the whole ground beneath the wall.

Battered, bloody, scraped up and burning with bright red energy, Tsukiko bounced against the wall beneath her, tossing herself against it again.

Thud! Landing down there again, Tsukiko rolled down the slope between the crater and the bamboo. "Rrgh- nnh…"

Then, at the bottom, she slowly prepared herself again.

...BOOM! She exploded up again, and reached her arms out.

More than two-thirds. She was a grasp too far.

If that crater hadn't been there, she would have already cleared the ledge with the same grace Tewi had exercised earlier. Now she had that much more to go, and the ledge would only get higher as the hole grew deeper.

Tewi thought she'd give up a lot earlier. She didn't think the first jump would be possible to begin with- but apparently Tsukiko had a trick up her sleeve that Tewi hadn't yet observed.

That darkness along her skin and veins. A strangely youkai-like quality for a Hakurei, but seemingly quite useful here.

Tewi supposed it was appropriate. This was now the era of youkai, after all. It was only fit that the now-essentially-defunct Hakurei family reflect that in some way.

"When y'can't beat 'em… join 'em, huh." Tewi muttered to herself. "Speakin' of…" When was she going to give up?

BOOM! Tsukiko rose again, clasping at the now-bloody bamboo wall.

This time, she retained a hold on the well-abraded bamboo wall, but only superficially.

Two-three meters from the ledge, her arms and legs shook as she held onto the bamboo, slowly sliding away some every other second.

Tewi was gazing down at her, expression vague. ...Then, she smiled. "Why not give up, usa?"

Tsukiko glared back up.

"We got food. We got water. Safety, even. Boys too." Tewi proposed. "If life outta the forest's so hell-... if bein' a human's so hellish, why not just give up humanity?"

Tsukiko met Tewi's gaze firmly, teeth braced as she held onto the wall.

Tewi reached an arm out.

"C'mon. This is stupid." Tewi decided. "Come live with us." She couldn't see Tsukiko uselessly throw herself against this bamboo wall any further.

Tsukiko's breathing tightened, as she glared at the soft, gloveless, extended hand.

Tsukiko reached out for it.

Tewi began to beam. The boys would be awfully excited, to see-

SHINK! Tsukiko stabbed Tewi's hand with the mantis's scythe hand.

"Ffh-" Tewi's eyes widened. "Wh- aa-"

With that, Tsukiko let go of the wall, sliding back down to the bottom.

...Shunk. Pulling her hand from the wall, tossing the blade back down, Tewi stared at the wound straight through it. It hurt, but she simply seethed the pain away.

A few more hours then, she decided. Tsukiko would give up before the sun came up.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

BOOM! Tsukiko ascended again, head airy.

'Just-... fuck, fuck- fuck…'

The hole was eight meters deep. If she'd fallen into that hole one day ago, she'd have died in it, because she couldn't have jumped high enough to get out of it.

Again, two-three meters off. Tsukiko's eyes died a little as she skidded back down the wall.

'I- I don't want to fucking-... live with the rabbits.'

'I don't want to give up my humanity.'

'I am-... I am the Hakurei Shrine Maiden.'

Tsukiko's stomach growled again. She'd eaten all the meat earlier.

'I'd rather die than give up.'

Squatting down again, she glared up at the ledge. Her legs ached, her muscles screaming at her, red pulsing from her with every heartbeat.

'My mother had to have faced worse.'

Every little thought she used to feed her drive had long since paled in comparison to the challenge.

BOOM! She leapt again, a shockwave of black shaking the distilled dirt of the pit.

'Not this one.' She already knew.

Shi~ff. She slid back down, down the side of the bamboo.

At the bottom, she slid into the midst of the pit, and inhaled, squatting again.

"...Yo." Tewi stood over the eight meter pit. "Um…"

"Fuck off." Tsukiko stopped focusing, and waved her away. "I'm not coming to live with your shitty rabbit people. I'd sooner- kill myself…"

Tewi propped her arms onto her own hips. "Come on, kid. This is hardly a deal in my favor, even. I'm givin' you a life. What life do you live outside here?"

Tsukiko didn't immediately have an answer. '...None. My stupid scramble for survival…'

Tewi held her arms out. "Okay-... admittedly, not many rabbits are faithful hubbies. But, we make up for it in numbers, and we all take care of each other."

Tsukiko snorted. "As if you have a village, or something…"

Tewi raised a brow. "...Well, we do. Everyone knows that. No one knows where, 'cept for us."

Tsukiko glared up at the ledge again.

"This is stupid." Tewi reiterated. "Look-... I'll break it to you. I can't bear to see you fuck around. You're gonna get yourself killed, bein' so hotheaded. Hardheaded. ...Both. You'd unironically be way happier with us."

Tsukiko's posture in the pit faltered, as she leaned to the side idly, staring at the rich dirt all around…

"There was no challenge to begin with." Tewi admitted. "You-... you weren't even supposed to even come close to succeeding. Just fuckin'-... come with me. I'll show you a different way out. It's a damn forest- there's more than one way."

Tsukiko slowly stared up at the ledge again, and all her blood along the beaten bamboo along it.

Tewi sighed. "And- honestly, I think the unwinding with the guys'd be good for you. You'd hardly have to worry 'bout shit again. We'd teach you how to survive with us."

'...You just want my lineage.'

Tsukiko felt her eyes become raw again. 'That generosity is misplaced. You- and all of yours… you'd destroy my mother's love. You don't understand-...'

Tewi reached down into the pit. "Come, on. Stop killing yourself. Give up."

Tsukiko took posture again, black racing through her legs hard enough to make it bleed from them as mist.

Her red aura burned stale and static. She was, undeniably, running out of strength.

Tewi's face softened. "Kid… come on. You might be dead in sixty years- but you got shit to live for."

Tsukiko closed her eyes.

'Why-... why was I born a human?'

'I feel so fucking weak…'

'I exercise everyday. I hunt for my food, because I need to eat-... it feels like those are all I do.'

'My books are almost all gone, lost from stupid shit. The rain, snow. Youkai idiots…'

'My own rage.' Some months ago, she ripped one of her favorites apart, angry at the unobtainable dream within. She wanted to destroy it- the same way one would go on to try at hers.

'Books all feel so-... worthless, now. What's the point? Life's so fragile. Who can focus on that stupid shit- if any one of us could just… die?'

'Why read about happy memories- if I'm going to lose them all when I die anyway? And, if I'm not really living them? Who had the time to write them down?'

'Mom…'

Tsukiko remembered her mother's crying face, and quiet demeanor.

'...I see.'

It all clicked.

Tewi reached her hand out harder, as if trying to grab Tsukiko from those eight meters away. "Kid. Kid."

Tsukiko looked up at her.

"Come be a rabbit." Tewi tried to give her the most genuine smile she could muster. "Life's about living. Havin' fun, and enjoying yourself. So come on and start doing that."

Tsukiko closed her eyes.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she shivered.

"No…" She shook her head. "No, Te- Tewi. That… that isn't life."

Tewi blinked. "...Ha- hah?"

"Being human-" she inhaled, "is to suffer. Humanity-... is the emotional suffering. The prices we pay, day to day, to even survive…"

'I wouldn't have been happy, for those years, if mom didn't suffer for me. Though I was worse off for her hiding me...'

'There is happiness in my reach. Beyond the ledge. At the end of all this suffering…'

'And it will be so much fucking richer. Sweeter than chocolate, and brighter than gold.'

Fwish! Tsukiko's aura of red lit up the whole pit.

"I am the Hakurei Shrine Maiden!" She roared.

BOOM! When she leapt, wind and black wrapped her, as she took off, a flush of red smoke filling the pit below.

Tewi leapt back from the pit, staring up.

Tsukiko's legs bled, a shower of blood flecking across the bamboo woods below.

She cleared the bamboo canopy. Achieving far more than passing the ledge, she soared across the canopy itself, drawing a red meteor in the sky.

...Tewi's jaw dropped, as red dotted her face.

It was like a drizzle of rain, for just a moment, rich red dotting Tewi and the brush before quickly dimming.

Tewi swallowed, and leapt up to the ledge herself. Tsukiko's landing probably wasn't going to be easy- and seldom did she feel as driven to make sure someone didn't hurt themselves with their idiocy.

Never before did Tewi give two shits about the Hakurei name, even knowing the legacy of Tsukiko's predecessors. It meant little to her, and she was used to the tall tales and bragging rights waved around the world over. A fancy title or reverent stories meant little to her, even though she was familiar with legends herself.

This was because she, being a long-lived rabbit girl, saw legends born first-hand.

Though very seldom did she, the times she did were more memorable than any retold tale. It meant very little to hear of legends, when you experienced them.

Meeting princess Kaguya in person, speaking with the lunarian bunny people and meeting the brain of the moon was hard to top. The technology and new sights, the strange machines and concepts she didn't understand… it was more real than any big-name god or religion.

But, this? It was on the leaderboard, she had to admit.

-+- Present -+-

"I-" Tsukiko stumbled back, holding her head. "...I- I do."

Tewi had a brow raised. "...You okay? I know s'probably a painful memory- but physically painful, I dunno!"

Tsukiko had forgotten all about it until now. "...You'd be surprised." She sniffed the air, and braced her teeth. "I was such an edgy brat."

Tewi chuckled. "Eheh. Oh, by the way, turn around."

...Tsukiko turned around.

Two glass doors stood before her, guarding two more behind them.

Tewi patted her on the ass, because of their height disparity. "Didn't let'cha down this time, did I? ...And, if ya dunno what you're lookin' at, this's Eientei."

Tsukiko was tempted to speak out, but wasn't in the mood anymore. "...Thank you, Tewi."

Standing there, they took in the grand front exterior wall of the clinic.

The glass doors had an urban energy unknown to Tsukiko. It was something completely, entirely new to her.

After this pause, Tewi nodded. "Ah, lighten up. Least you won't hafta jump outta no holes."

"What makes you think I'm in a bad mood?" Tsukiko wondered.

Tewi started to box Tsukiko's ass. "'Cause you literally don't give a shit that I'm sexually harassing you! Unh, unh-"

The sensation was weird, Tsukiko had to admit. "Aa- alright- stop that."

Tewi ducked out of the way of a dismissive hand that seemed more ready to rustle her hair than hit her. "Neheh…"

'I wish I knew just how much else I'd forgotten.'

She twisted to face Eientei…

A massive clinic, outwardly styled like the most expensive of the Human Village's structures and then some. The ceiling was so tall that it was impossible to make out the scale of the massive building, and either side seemingly stretched far off into the bamboo, too far for Tsukiko to readily see.

'And, now…'

She made for the glass doors. 'The inevitable jungle of its own design. This structure… it doesn't speak to this being a simple in-and-out check-up.'

Tsukiko remembered High Jump * Essence of Jump Good.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

NEW SKILLS:

x Youkai Style

High Jump * Essence of Jump Good - Channeling dark magic into her legs, accenting and enhancing her muscles, Tsukiko explodes off the floor and way into the air. Also inherited by Shrine Maiden of Paradise Style.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

a long-ish chapter that does a little victorious basking off the conclusion of the last arc without spending too much time meandering or wandering

after finishing the last ordeal, tsukiko pretty much changed gears to the main conflict at hand instantly, and eientei's where she's planning on getting some answers

also gave me an excuse to do a really cool flashback segment

there's not many characters you'd give a hakurei some backstory with, but tewi's an unorthodox pick that also kinda makes sense 'cause it's not like the earth rabbits went anywhere for like a million zillion years… or, to be more accurate, a thousand years

though eientei was hidden for that time

in post/editing i might make the victorious basking part of the chapter slightly more reverent 'cause yeah, i really wanna sell the sensation in a satisfying way

yeah ultimately what i did in post was extend the village segment a little, to help tie up some of the loose end-ness of the tsuruko arc's conclusion

there's still a lot of potential to go back and tread some of that ground later, but that'll come when it comes

we're gonna feel the echoes of tsukiko's victory here going forward to varying degrees though, it's an event that's made a pretty substantial impact on the village's atmosphere

eientei's gonna be really fun, i can feel it

...oh, before anyone asks, yeah i updated chapter 4

nothing that necessitates going back and looking through it, i just made dieter a little more antagonistic to make him a little more initially threatening, to set that first impression, and to give the chapter a little more identity

outside of that it was just some small line edits and fight prose edits for any newcomers, nothing major enough to warrant big notice

as always, see you all next time!