Entry 3: Their Scars

Within the master bedroom of the Watatsuki estate, Toyohime laid face down on the bed, her bare body glistening with sweat. How long had she been going at this, now? Was it... half a day, maybe? She had long started losing track of time whenever she was 'occupied' like this.

The door to the room opened, and Toyohime picked up a familiar scent. "Is that you, dear Yorihime?" she asked, voice carrying like a tired kitten.

"It is, Sister," Yorihime responded, though her voice carried a hidden tone of disdain. "Could you not have at least cleaned yourself up? This is unsightly."

Toyohime let out a rather dismissive noise. "Were you able to find her?" she asked. "Our precious Reisen?"

Yorihime's brow twitched. She knew her sister well enough to know that she wasn't thinking of 'Rei'sen', the one who disappeared days ago. "No," she replied tersely. "There is still no sign of her. Odds are, she has moved to Earth, much like the rest of the Rabbits these days."

Toyohime let out a groan of irritation. "Oh, why do they have to leave us, Yori-chan?" she asked. "Do we not love them enough?"

'That is entirely the damn problem, Sister,' Yorihime thought to herself. "I'll continue my search," she said. "For now, Sister, please put some clothes on, and stop calling the Rabbits in to satisfy your libido."

Yorihime quickly saw herself out of the room. A part of her had wanted to call Toyohime's acts signs of impurities, but even after a few thousand years, no Lunarian worth their salt, even the great Lord Tsukuyomi, was sure if desires such as sex fell under 'impurities'. Even if Lunarians were removed from the cycle of life and death, they still ate food and drank drinks, for instance. If such base needs were still required for them, who's to say that fornication has to be rejected?

But, that wasn't was bothered Yorihime the most. No, that award went to the look in her sisters eyes.

Those were not the eyes of someone who did this out of love, not was it some punishment she was delivering onto the Lunar Rabbits. That look... was lust for someone she couldn't have.

"Perhaps I should speak with Yagokoro-sensei about this," Yorihime muttered. "This... this can't go on any longer."

Morning came to the Hakurei Shrine, and Reimu could safely say she didn't sleep a damn wink last night. Why? Because she was busy making sure that Rei'sen, who had not let go of her throughout the entire night, slept soundly.

When was the last time she'd had such a restless night? The one time that stood out to her, ironically, was the Imperishable Night Incident.

The door to the room slid open, and Aunn peaked her head in. "Auu. Reimu, are you up?" she asked. "Shin-chan and Suika-chan are wondering about breakfast." Then, she noticed the state Rei'sen was in, and tilted her head quizzingly.

"Rough night," Reimu answered quietly. "Sorry, but you mind taking breakfast duty for today?"

Aunn gave a crisp salute, accompanied by a quiet 'Auu', before closing the door behind her, not loudly, but loud enough to cause Rei'sen to stir slightly.

Slowly, Rei'sen opened her eyes. "Where... am I?" she asked tiredly.

"Safe, that's where," Reimu said quietly. "It's alright. You're not in any danger here."

Memories of last night came back to her, yet instead of panicking, she took notice of something particular. "You... haven't moved?" she said. "At all?"

"Well, can't say I had many chances to," Reimu said. "It took quite a while before you started sleeping soundly, you know."

Rei'sen buried her face into Reimu's side, blushing intensely. "S... sorry, Reimu-san," she muttered. "It's... not right that I would rob you of your sleep."

"It's a price I was willing to pay," Reimu said, before letting out a yawn. "But god, am I paying it. Also, before I forget," she gazed down at the back of Rei'sen's head. "At times like this, it's better to say 'thank you' instead of 'I'm sorry'. At least, that's what Marisa says."

Rei'sen looked Reimu in the eyes. It was plainly obvious that Reimu was very tired right now. In fact, she probably wouldn't go the full day without taking a nap. But, even then, Reimu still went out of her way to help her, a Lunar Rabbit that, up until recently, she had only known for a collectively short amount of time. In fact, the amount of time they spent together yesterday far eclipsed the time they'd spent together since they first met.

Slowly, Rei'sen looked up, and smiled sweetly. "Then... thank you, Reimu-san."

Reimu blushed, and looked away bashfully. "Geez. Catch me off guard with that, why don't you?" she muttered. "Come on, let's see if they need any help setting up." The two stood up. Well, Rei'sen did, in any case. Reimu, on the other hand, found her legs rather unresponsive. "Legs, you have betrayed my trust."

That, at the very least, got a laugh out of both of them.

High up in the skies of Gensokyo, Marisa flew through the air, rubbing her hands together for warmth.

"Man, it's freakin' freezing today," she muttered to herself. "Wouldn't be surprised if it started snowing."

Her destination of choice was simple, if not blatantly obvious; the Hakurei Shrine. It had been two days since she was last there, if only to give the then-catatonic Lunar Rabbit as much space as she could. Minimise stimulation, and all that.

Marisa had a lot of questions piling up over the past two days, yet she still mentally prepared herself to get next to none of them answered. After all, someone that badly traumatised doesn't simply get over it with a good night sleep.

Marisa had, during one particularly interesting stay at Eientei, happened upon Eirin's journal. The things she had read in that book... Marisa really wished she could forget them. But, even spells that wipe memories are not that useful. If Marisa had wiped her memory of what she'd read, then, inevitably, she'd just stumble upon it once more. Such a thing was almost like fate, she thought.

From the corner of her eye, Marisa noticed two figures in the sky. "Huh. Speak of the devil," she muttered. "Yo, Reisen! Yagokoro!"

The duo of Lunarian and Rabbit, looked her way, and waved politely. "Good day to you, Kirisame-san," Reisen greeted kindly.

"Are you heading for the Hakurei Shrine?" Eirin asked. "We were on our way there ourselves."

"Figured you would," Marisa said. "Take it it's about Rei'sen, then?"

"So you're in the know already, then?" Eirin said. "Is there anything you're willing to share in advance?"

"Only that there's gonna be some emotional trauma involved," Marisa answered. "I haven't been back there since Reimu took her in days ago, so whatever the story there is, I don't know it."

"I feel like I could hazard a guess," Reisen muttered.

"Ya could?" Marisa asked. "Mind if I ask?"

"Yes, I would mind," Reisen shot back.

Marisa back off a little. "Okay, touchy subject. Got it. Sorry."

"As long as you understand that, we'll be fine," Eirin spoke up. "Udonge, why don't you go on ahead?" Reisen nodded, before taking off at speed from the two. "Then again, Kirisame-san, I'm sure you have an inkling as to what it is, don't you?"

Marisa looked away briefly. "Guess you knew about that, huh?"

"That book has a spell on it, you know," Eirin answered. "I know who goes through it, and when. The only thing it doesn't cover is how far you went in."

Marisa's expression took a dark turn. "The first mention of the scars," she answered. "I take it I don't have to explain 'which' scars."

"Of course," Eirin responded. "After all, descriptions of war scars don't net that same kind of shock and horror."

There was a momentary silence between the two, before Marisa spoke up. "Do ya think they'll be alright?" she asked. "The two Reisens?"

"Unfortunately, psychology isn't one of my strongest areas," Eirin admitted. "But, I still have faith."

Reisen touched down in front of the shrine, and took a look around. It was the middle of the morning, yet it seemed that no one was around. She knew Reimu to not be much of a morning person, but that was more 'grumpy' than 'sleeping in'.

As she moved around the back to the living area, she could hear lively conversation. Focusing her ears, she picked out five voices, all matching to the people she'd expect to be present at this moment.

"Damn it, Suika!" shouted the voice of Reimu. "Stop hogging all the meat!"

"Ya snooze, ya lose, Reims!" Suika called back. "This is what ya get for not being on the game!"

"Hey, at least spare some scraps for the small folk!" shouted Shinmyoumaru. "Some of us don't have the arms to reach the food!"

"Auu! Leave it to us!" Aunn said loudly. "Rei'sen-chan and I'll make sure you get enough on your plate! Right, Rei'sen-chan?"

"R...right!" Rei'sen responded. "I'll do my best!"

What followed was a sound that was not unlike wooden swords clashing repeatedly, and if it wasn't for the fact that Reisen knew the context, she'd have thought there was in-fighting going on.

Reisen slowly opened the door to the room, and... well, even with context, it absolutely looked like a localised warzone. Cutlery was moving as speeds that any normal human would find impossible to follow, and the blur it caused made discerning what the food actually was all but impossible.

So, just another day at the Hakurei Shrine.

"Um, good day to you all?" Reisen spoke up hesitantly, worried about disturbing the ferocity.

"Ah, you're here, then?" Reimu spoke, not taking her attention from the action. "I expected you to show up yesterday, you know. The doctor not with you?"

Well, that at least told her that Reimu was aware of who she was talking to. "Master's stopped for a moment to speak with Marisa-san," Reisen answered, before making eye contact with the other Lunar Rabbit present. "Good morning, Rei'sen-san."

Rei'sen bowed in response. "Good... good morning, Reisen-san," she replied.

At just that moment, the sound of clacking wood stopped, and it could now be seen that all portions of the food were distributed. Suika and Rei'sen, surprisingly, were tied for largest piles, with Aunn a distant second, Reimu a close third, and Shinmyoumaru... well, that doesn't need elaborating, does it?

"Sorry we didn't prepare some for you, Reisen-san," Aunn said. "We had to set this up rather quickly, since Reimu-san wasn't in much state to do it herself."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Reimu said, as she batted Suika's hand away with her free one. "So, I can guess why you're here, but are we gonna wait for Eirin, or get right into it?"

"There is no need to wait on me, Hakurei-san," came Eirin's voice, as she and Marisa poked their heads around the door frame. "But please, don't feel you should rush your meal for our sake."

"Yo, Reimu!" Marisa greeted. "You look like you haven't slept that much."

"Didn't. Thanks for noticing," Reimu responded. "So, doctor, you wanna have this chat now? Right in front of the fish?"

"I would never be that pushy," Eirin answered. "Udonge and I will wait until you're done."

"Don't expect us to rush for your sake," Reimu added. "Breakfast is a ritual to be enjoyed, after all."

"She's got ya there, doc," Marisa said, as she joined the group at the table. "Why not join us at the table anyway?"

"Still inviting people to other peoples table, Marisa-san?" Shinmyoumaru snarked. "That's generally considered bad manners."

"Ah, don't sweat it, princess," Marisa laughed, rubbing a finger on the top of the Inchling's head. This, in turn, lead to Shinmyoumaru poking the finger with her chopsticks, which were the size of splinters.

Pain came rather naturally.

Breakfast was a remarkably lively event, and now that it was over... everyone remained seated at the table. The air had taken a rather serious tone to it, as all present knew what conversation was to come.

There was, of course, tea. There was always tea. Tea was one of the many constants in Gensokyo, up there with Incidents, general insanity, inter-species friendships, and alcoholism.

"Geez, talk about heavy," Marisa muttered. "Ya'd think someone had died, with how serious it's become."

"Marisa, please," Reimu said. "Now isn't the time for witty commentary."

"I swear, it's never the time with you," Marisa snarked back.

Eirin cleared her throat loudly. "If I might get us on topic," she spoke. "Rei'sen, how long have you been in Gensokyo now?"

"T... two days, Ma'am!" Rei'sen responded loudly, flinching at the sudden attention. "Probably three, but I wasn't in possession of all my faculties for that one!"

"You can calm down, Rei'sen," Eirin said. "It was merely an general inquiry, nothing more. A way to touch base, so to say."

"Then, I suppose your next question is 'why'?" Reimu asked. "I'll just warn you, though. If she doesn't want to say, that's the end of it."

Eirin looked fittingly surprised by Reimu's statement. "Well now," she said. "Can't say I expected you to be so defensive about this. Then again, it's not unwelcome. It's always a welcome sign to see the Lunar Rabbits stood up for, even if it's by the 'harsh' Hakurei Maiden."

"Ah, shove it, Doc," Reimu dismissed, though it was quite obvious she was blushing.

At that moment, Reisen looked at Eirin. "Master, might I take it from here?" she asked.

"This is unusually forward of you, Udonge," Eirin noted, "but if you're sure about it, then I won't stop you."

Reisen nodded, then turned to face the other Lunar Rabbit. "Rei'sen, I'm going to guess at why you've come to Gensokyo. Will that be alright?"

Everyone seemed confused by Reisen's sudden statement, save for Rei'sen herself. She, in comparison, looked a mix of surprise, scared, and relieved. In response, to the statement, she nodded hesitantly.

Before she began, Reisen... removed the blazer she was wearing. Eirin, piecing together what Reisen was planning, now had a look of surprise on her own face. "You're... going through with that, Udonge?"

Reisen nodded. "Rei'sen-san, if I were to guess that the reason you abandoned the moon was because of the actions of one person, would I be right?" Rei'sen nodded hesitantly. "And that person... it was Toyohime-sama, wasn't it?"

Rei'sen's breath hitched. Unknown to all save for Reimu, who kept a close eye on her, Rei'sen's hand moved to cover an awkward part of her left leg. "You mean... you too?" she asked hesitantly, almost fearful of the answer.

In response, Reisen began unbuttoning her shirt. It was sudden and unexpected, but everyone was a little too focused on where the conversation was going to get flustered.

It was only when Reisen had reached for her last button that Eirin grabbed her hand. "Udonge, are you really sure about this?" she asked with uncharacteristic concern. "Once you do this, there'll be no going back."

Most everyone present felt like that point had already been crossed. At this point, much of Reisen's stomach area, up to just below her breasts, was exposed to the elements, revealing all the scars present. Knife wounds, bullet wounds, burns, and old stitches. If anyone present needed proof that Reisen Udongein Inaba was a soldier in the past, there it was; the marks of war, in all its glory, and all its horror.

Reisen place her hand gently on Eirin's. "Thank you, Master, but I'm sure of this," she said. "This... this needs to be done. How many others have to come from the Moon like this until it's enough?" There was... a very concerning amount of emphasis on what she just said. This wasn't the first time Lunar Rabbits had come to Gensokyo like Rei'sen did?

Hesitantly, Eirin removed her hand, and Reisen undid the last button.

'Every scar tells a story'. As was previously established, there was a multitude of different kinds of scars. What they saw of Reisen's body up to this point told one long, brutal story of war.

The scars that rested on her breasts, however, were a tale entirely different, and caused everyone present save for Eirin to momentarily forget to breath. These one didn't line up with any of the previously mentioned kinds; these, were bite scars.

A lot could be told from bite scars. From the force applied, to the age, gender, and species of the biter. Even the intent behind it could be discerned.

Rei'sen began backing away from the table, and hiding behind Reimu, as if overcome by a primordial fear. Reimu, for her part, broke into a cold sweat, much like Marisa, Aunn, Shinmyoumaru, and even Suika. The part that made it all the worse was that it wasn't a singular wound; Everything that could see, that was, what wasn't still covered by her shirt or bra, was scar-laden skin.

"O... oi, Reisen," Marisa spoke weakly. "Those scars... are they... what I think they are? I mean... the reason behind them, is it..."

Reisen nodded. "Toyohime-sama is... very affectionate," she said hesitantly. "She loves easy, and naively thinks her love is automatically reciprocated. These wounds..." her hand hovered tentatively over her chest. "I got them not long after the Great Lunar War. I was... in a very bad state. Injured all over... Could barely move... So many dead comrades... friends... Some of them were... even born in the same colony as me..."

It was becoming more and more apparent that this was hard for Reisen. "Hey, that's enough..." Reimu muttered, struggling to find the conviction. "You... you don't have to..."

"I don't know what was going through her head back then," Reisen continued. "Maybe she thought it might be comforting... I honestly can't say. That was the first time she claimed to love me in 'that' way, and... believing I felt the same, she..." her voice became more and more ragged, as the memories threatened to overwhelm her. "It was... the most painful thing I'd ever experienced... the invasive 'caressing fingers'... the painful 'lover's bite'... Most nights, I was unable to sleep, fearing the moment she'd walk in, and... and..."

"That's enough, Udonge!" Eirin shouted. "You don't have to say any more."

No one from the Hakurei Shrine had ever seen Yagokoro Eirin emote quite so fiercely. Yet, no one commented on it. How could they, when was she had shouted was the same thing that was on all their minds?

"That's... holy shit," Shinmyoumaru muttered. "How can one person be that oblivious? How can... how can anyone treat another person like that?!"

Marisa and Suika both stood up from the table with hard to read expressions, and left the room. It wasn't hard to tell, though, that both of them were extremely pissed off.

Aunn looked back and forth between everyone present, unsure of what to do. "Auu... perhaps... we should take a breather?" she offered hesitantly.

"That... might be a good idea," Eirin agreed. "I'm sure... this was overwhelming for all."

Reimu looked over at Reisen, who looked as if she was in a great deal of emotional pain. How had she managed to work up the courage to say all that she did? It was remarkable, but obviously took a toll on her. She glanced back at Rei'sen, noticing she had gone rather quiet. "I'll... second that notion," Reimu said. "I think Rei'sen's been overwhelmed by all this."

Eirin nodded sadly. "Then, we'll reconvene in, say, two hours."

High up in Gensokyo's skies, Marisa and Suika stood back to back, scanning the horizon.

After a moment, Marisa saw their target. "There it is," she muttered bitterly, as Suika looked in that direction.

It was still rather early in the morning. Early enough, that is, for the moon to have not finished setting in the sky.

"It's been quite a while since I last felt like this," Suika muttered. "I'm so damn pissed off, I'm sober."

"I hear ya, Ibuki," Marisa responded. "So, we both know this is gonna be the most pointless, ineffective thing we've ever done, yeah?"

"Oh, absolutely," Suika responded, conjuring a flame in her hand, and condensing it into a single bright point. "But when has that stopped girls like us?"

Smirking, Marisa pulled out her Mini-Hakkero. "Ya got me there," she said. Then, turning to face the moon once more, she shouted. "Hey! Moon Bitch! If yer watching, this one's for you!"

Throughout Gensokyo, all eyes turned to the sky to see a combination spell of fire and light shooting off. Whether it would hit their target, or even be seen by it, no one would no, though the assumption was that neither were possible.

What it did do, however, was let the whole world know one simple thing: There were powerful people in Gensokyo, and they were incredibly pissed off right now.

A/N:

I really, really hope I did this chapter right.

Usually, I'm a 'might have messed this up, but what the hey' kind of guy, but then again, I've not exactly written something that deals with topics like... this. For me, the heaviest I went in the past was death, betrayal and lies, not... sexual assault.

I suppose the best I can do is push on, and hope I did it justice.