"Seija, they're gaining on us!" yells Shinmyoumaru.
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" an exasperated Seija responds in a panic.
They fly through the Bamboo Forest of the Lost as fast as they can. It is the day after their run-in with the three Grassroots Youkai Network members; the time is about an hour past sunset. Chasing them is a hoard of earth rabbits, many wielding giant mallets, led by Tewi Inaba. She wears her usual pink dress and carrot necklace while her white rabbit ears flop on her black hair. Beyond this hostile mob bearing down on the duo, the calm weather is quite nice with a full moon shining above.
This place is way too hard to navigate! I realize "Lost" is in the name but come on!
Tewi's gang rapidly gains on the intruders as the former group is much more acclimated to and knowledgeable of the forest's layout; beyond that, they are simply faster. Seija and Shin burst through some bamboo shoots to reach a clearing. On the other side are more rabbits, completely surrounding them with a pincer attack.
"That was quite a chase!" Tewi says jovially. "Looks like the end of the line."
From over the forest into the clearing, Reisen Udongein Inaba reveals herself. Her outfit is a white shirt, red tie, and long-sleeved black blazer with a beige skirt, white socks, and maroon loafers. Both her flowing purple hair and rabbit ears gently sway as she descends, saying, "I don't like how much fun you seem to be having. These youkai are dangerous."
A smug Tewi counters, "I know for a fact you've fraternized with the inchling before."
"Forcible possession and small talk hardly constitutes 'fraternizing'!"
While they argue, Shin whispers to Seija, "They've got us cornered, any bright ideas?"
"Ask them nicely to let us go?" suggests the amanojaku.
"Very funny."
It is at that moment a burst of light above the forest catches everyone's attention.
The morning after Seija and Shin's battle with the three lesser youkai, they have a discussion over breakfast on their first target for gathering information on the Lunar Capital: Eientei.
"I'd say the main threat is Reisen," says a small Shin before taking a bite out of onigiri nearly the size of her body.
Munching on mochi, Seija asks, "Wouldn't an immortal like Kaguya be more problematic? Eirin, too."
"They're powerful but not exactly front line fighters. They'll usually have Reisen or Tewi handle security and so forth from what I understand, meaning the rabbits are the ones we're most likely to encounter. I single out Reisen because of her eyes; she can make you hallucinate and in general could be a massive hindrance to us should we be forced to fight her."
"Huh, I take it you speak from experience. Never met her, myself. She wasn't even part of the hordes that tried to catch me."
"It's weird. She didn't exactly impress me when we briefly teamed up during the Perfect Possession incident, but before the incident was resolved I read in the paper she went on a rampage."
"A rampage?" Seija repeats, incredulous. "Nothing I've heard about her indicates she'd be the type to do that."
"Ah, uh, well, I guess she wanted to cut loose back then?"
Don't know why that thought makes her nervous. Maybe Reisen really is dangerous.
"Either way, let's keep our guard up no matter who we run into," says Seija.
"Yeah. Since then I've spoken to her in the village a few times when she was pedaling Eirin's wares, if you'll recall. Back to the main point, the question remains on how we actually get information from Eientei. I doubt they have a sheet laying around with instructions on how to reach the Lunar Capital."
"All the same, Eirin's gotta have some absurd stuff lying around, right? She's a genius and I bet some of what we could find in the capital would also be in Eientei. And if we find a path to our goal while there, all the better."
"That intelligence is the same reason we can't be flippant about it, you realize. I stand by Reisen being a more present danger, but Eirin could easily figure us out if we let her."
"You're right, which is why I already spent last night coming up with how we'll infiltrate the place."
Shin's eyes narrow. "What's your play?"
"Shrink both of us down with the Miracle Mallet," Seija says while motioning to herself and Shin. "Two tiny intruders running around that huge manor will make us less likely to be caught while still covering double the ground."
"Hmm…" Shin hums, putting a hand under her chin. "Doable but risky. If we're too far separated then I can't make you large again; at the very least, splitting up is out of the question. And you know full well I have to be careful using the mallet on other living beings."
"Is that a no?"
"If you're willing, we can do it."
"Nice!" exclaims Seija with a big smile.
"Someone's excited."
"I wasn't sure if you'd go for the suggestion, to be honest. I was prepared to concede the point if you were too against it."
"How courteous, Miss Kijin," Shin says with an exaggerated posh tone, bowing playfully. "Who knew an amanojaku could be so thoughtful as to respect my wishes?"
Seija rolls her eyes and rubs the back of her head. "Besides, I always wanted to try using your mallet this way, just never had a good opportunity before now."
"You know you could have always asked before now if you wanted to try."
"I dunno, seemed like a weird thing to request. But anyway, we should test it now before the real deal tonight."
"Wait, hold on. Tonight? Even if there isn't much to do in the way of preparations, why so soon?"
"Do you know what tonight is?" Seija asks slyly.
"…The last night of the month?"
"Well, yeah, but that's not what I meant. It's a full moon."
Shin hits her left hand with her right fist as she realizes her partner's meaning. "Eientei's Moon Festival!"
"Exactly. I've never been but heard plenty of stories. And this is a special one since it's the second full moon of the month; that doesn't happen often. More guests are likely to show up and I bet Eirin and Kaguya will cook up something special for the occasion."
"And you're betting on the amount of people there helping distract them?"
"Yep. With everyone enjoying the festivities we can easily sneak around the manor."
"My only major concern is the type of clientele this festival will attract. It's not in the human village and takes place later in the day, meaning it's likely there will be more youkai than humans."
Seija snickers. "Guess it'll be a dull evening."
"Seems so. And you're right, we should test shrinking you beforehand."
They clear the table so Seija can sit on top. Shin takes her Miracle Mallet in hand and, after making herself big, prepares to use it once more.
"You ready?" the inchling asks.
"Make me small."
As Shin slowly swings the mallet down, it subtly glows.
I don't feel any differe-
Everything around Seija begins increasing in size rapidly. The ceiling that was formerly only a few meters away is now dozens. The table she sits on widens from every end. Shin becomes a giant in front of her. At this point, Seija processes it is not her surroundings growing.
Standing up and scanning the room, she yells, "Whoa! Imagining it is one thing, experiencing it is another. So this is what it's like to be you. …Shin?" Seija turns to face her partner to see the latter's eyes wide while she covers her mouth with her hand. "Yo, Shin, is something the matter?"
"I- you- you're so CUTE!" Shin scoops up the tiny Seija and hugs her.
"Gah! Shin, what the hell-"
"You're like a little bundle of evil! It's adorable!"
Struggling to free herself from the inchling's grip, Seija shouts, "Let me go already!"
Hearing those words, Shin realizes what she is doing. She holds out Seija in the palm of her hand, blushing and embarrassed.
"What in the world was that display?" the little bundle of evil asks, arms crossed.
"Sorry… Not sure what came over me there. I wasn't mentally prepared to see you so small."
Gosh that was humiliating. At least she got a kick out of it.
"Being bigger than someone else isn't something you get to experience often, so I'll let it slide this time," says Seija. "But next time warn me if you're gonna do that again!"
Shin sheepishly nods, still red in the face.
"Well, the shrinking worked. Time to see how effectively I can use my powers like this."
Her hand points upwards as Seija attempts to flip the room.
"Uh, did you do it?" Shin asks.
The room appears normal to both of them.
I've flipped areas proportionally larger than this before, so what gives?
Seija focuses as hard as she can and wills for the room to be overturned. Finally it budges as she and Shin find themselves flying next to an upside down table still attached to the floor-turned-ceiling.
"I'm impressed you can maintain such precise control that only the two of us are affected by the inversion in your current state," says Shin. "Being shrunk reduces the output of abilities, I've found."
"It required way more focus than it normally should."
"Seems you've acclimated decently well, though. We should be ready for tonight. What time do you want to head to Eientei?"
"The event doesn't start until nightfall. I'm thinking it'd be a good idea to leave earlier and scout it out."
"Sounds good!"
Silence prevails for a few moments after this agreement. Eventually Seija asks, "Uh, are you gonna return me to normal now?"
"Do I have to?"
"SHIN!"
The inchling cannot stifle her amusement. "Kidding!" she says with a wink.
Why do I feel I've crossed a line that can't be uncrossed…
"Hmm," hums Seija.
"Huh," Shin grunts.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"That we're hopelessly lost in a huge bamboo forest infested with potential enemy rabbits?"
"Glad to know we're on the same page."
They sit back-to-back, both human-sized, somewhere in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. It is the early afternoon, roughly an hour after they first arrived.
Twiddling with her needle, Shin says, "Sorry, the only time I've been to Eientei was while I was still possessing Reisen. I can't remember the way there."
"You're fine. What I don't get is why we can't see it from above. I tried scanning the top of the forest and didn't see the manor anywhere."
"Gotta love Kaguya and Eirin's magic," says a voice nearby.
Springing to her feet, Seija calls out, "Who's there?!"
From around some bamboo shoots, Fujiwara no Mokou struts out with her hands in her pockets. She is wearing a long-sleeved button-up shirt, her trademark red suspenders decorated by paper charms, and laced brown boots. "Couldn't help overhearin' you were trying to find Eientei."
"What's it to you?"
"I guide people to and from there regularly. Figured you could use a hand."
"You want to help us?"
"That's what I do for anyone lost here."
"You tried to catch me back when I was on the run."
Mokou scoffs. "That was years ago, a momentary distraction for a little fun. Water under the bridge as far as I'm concerned."
"Seija," Shin whispers, "we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. If she's willing to help us then let's accept. Not like we've made any meaningful progress."
"You're right but you have to admit she's suspicious."
"Do you have any better ideas?"
"How's your strategy meeting going?" the immortal asks. "If you don't want my assistance then I can leave."
"Fine, show us where to go," says Seija.
"Now that's not a very polite way of putting it. Not even a 'please'?"
You pompous-
Before Seija gets to retort, Shin steps in front and says, "Please show us the way. Thank you for your kind offer."
"Aw, the small one has manners. Last time I saw you, you were way more feisty." Mokou stretches her arms and gazes at the swaying bamboo. "Before we get moving, you said earlier you're going to Eientei for the Moon Festival and Lunar Expo?"
"Lunar Expo?" Shin echoes back. "We were headed there for the festival, yes, but I didn't realize there was more to it."
"Ya must've missed the memo. The Lunar Expo is a rarer thing, Kaguya hosts it once a year. I'm betting it's today this year because of the second full moon this month."
"What exactly is on display?" asks Seija.
"Different stuff from and related to the Moon. Rocks, a flag, a special kimono, you name it. Not my cup of tea but some people think it's neat."
That might include things we'd want to steal. Having it all on display will make it trickier if everyone's eyes are on them.
"Anyway," Mokou continues, "it's not starting for at least another five hours or so. I was intending on making the rounds so no one got lost about an hour before but then I stumbled upon two lost youkai by chance. Why arrive so early?"
"We wanted to make sure we weren't late," Seija says.
It's not a total lie.
"Uh-huh. And that's also why you were worried about 'potential enemy rabbits'?"
Seija and Shin tense up at the statement, ready to fight.
"Hey, relax," says Mokou, leaning against some bamboo. "I'm under no obligation to warn Eientei if someone's trying to pull something; that said, there's also nothing stopping me from doing so. Since we've got time to kill, why don't we drop by my place? I just so happen to be expecting company already."
She has us in the palm of her hand and knows it. What's her game?
"What company?" Shin asks.
"Someone with whom y'all are already acquainted, from what I understand."
Sumireko Usami lazily lies on the floor in Mokou's home, one arm under her head and holding her phone in her left hand, aimlessly swiping through its saved pictures. Her rune-inscribed cloak sits folded in the room's corner with the matching bowed-hat on top.
The door to the house slides open with Mokou, Seija, and Shin walking inside. The first of them says, "Yo!"
"There you are, was wondering when-" Sumireko cuts herself off after sitting up and seeing Mokou's company. "What are they doing here?!" she says, pointing at the festival crashers.
The ditzy human from the Outside World, so that's what Mokou meant earlier.
"I ran into them while they were lost, so I invited them over," Mokou answers.
"That doesn't even begin to answer all my questions."
"Look," Seija interjects, "we don't know what her reasons are either." She turns to the host. "Care to explain what you're trying to pull?"
Mokou walks to a cabinet, pulls out a pot already prepped with water, and begins heating it with fire from her hand. "Tea, anyone?"
All three guests gawk at her.
"Just tell us what you're up to!" Shin demands.
"There's the spunk I remember! Let's not beat around the bush, then: you two's plan for the festival and expo, what is it?"
"We have no idea what you're talking about."
"You can cut the ignorant act, otherwise I'll be at Eientei before this water finishes boiling."
Seija grits her teeth. "We're trying to find information."
"What kind of information?"
We can't risk our plan being found out so early, even by people who aren't related.
The tension in the room can be cut by a knife. Sumireko nervously glances back and forth between Seija and Shin, who have averted their eyes, and Mokou, whose face is as cold as her fire is hot.
The immortal finally lets out a sigh before saying, "That part is something you aren't willing to disclose even with my threats, I take it. Fine, you can keep some of your secrets. Ain't any use prying if you won't crack."
"Now it's your turn," says Seija. "Explain what you want."
"Fair enough. You two's presence means something's about to get messed up; I want to use that to my advantage."
"How do you intend to use us?"
"To entertain myself, you could say. I don't wanna hurt any bystanders or security who might be in the way of Kaguya tonight."
I've heard accounts of Mokou and Kaguya's feud before. She wants us to be a distraction?
"That look on your face tells me you catch on fast," Mokou says. "You two are experts at causing disturbances. Make me a clear path to Kaguya by throwing off Eirin and her army of rabbits."
Sumireko, still on edge, chimes in, "S-since when do you need other people to help you reach Kaguya? You two go at each other all the time with no issue."
"Normally that's true, but this whole expo is Kaguya's special night. She enjoys hosting it a lot and would be adamant about there not being any problems. To me, that's the perfect time to pull the rug out from under her. I've let it go undisturbed in years past since others could cause problems or get hurt if I made a scene. I'm not out to ruin everyone's night. Just as I was thinking this year would be the same story, I overheard a certain pair of 'hopelessly lost' youkai."
"But, hypocritically, you would have us ruin everyone's night," says Shin, arms folded.
"Nah, you got it wrong. Just distracting security should be enough for me to get Kaguya alone. If anything, try not to mess with the visitors. Mass panic and hysteria could get the whole thing shut down prematurely. Ruining Kaguya's night just means making her unable to enjoy it; letting everyone else admire the displays and gorge themselves on mochi is fine."
Our whole plan was predicated on not being seen. She's asking us to do the opposite. But I can't think of an out that doesn't involve doing what she says for now.
"You'll need to give us a little time to do what we came for first," Seija explains. "If you won't, we'll leave and try our luck another day while you're stuck without help."
"Of course. Just know that you'll regret double crossing me if you try."
"If you think we're scared of you, you're way too full of yourself," Shin shoots back defiantly.
"Oh I don't think you are. The two of you together might even be a little tough despite appearances. However, there's more than one way to get back at someone. Believe me when I say that eventually I'd get retribution."
As much as I hate admitting it, I respect her angle. She has a goal and is willing to use us to reach it. Provided Shin and I get what we came for, it shouldn't matter if we help her.
"Show us how to reach Eientei and we'll handle everything," says Seija.
Mokou grins. "Glad to know we've reached an understanding." The pot in her hand starts whistling. "Looks like tea's ready. Y'all should kick back."
"W-what about me?!" Sumireko yells. "I witnessed this whole conversation, doesn't that mean I'm an accomplice?!"
"You've got the most important job of all, Sumi," Mokou says, putting a non-flaming hand on the girl's shoulder. "Relax and enjoy the night. You were already planning on visiting and going to the expo for a while, I wouldn't wanna ruin that with a last second scheme of my own."
"I really don't know how to feel about this!"
"You'll be fiiiiine."
This back and forth continues for a long while.
Late in the afternoon, the sky is slowly transitioning from light blue to orange. The time for the group to move has arrived.
Finally. I was getting sick of waiting and playing card games with glasses girl.
"You head out first, Sumi," says Mokou. "Since you're a normal visitor tonight, you shouldn't be seen with us."
"A-alright," says Sumireko, still anxious as she heads out. Soon enough she is out of sight.
Turning back to Seija and Shin, Mokou says, "From here, I'll lead y'all to Eientei then start guiding anyone in the forest who needs it. We've got about an hour from now until sunset, which is when it should really kick into gear. From there I'll give you another hour before making my move. You can handle finishing in that amount of time, yeah?"
"Sounds reasonable," Shin responds.
"Then follow me."
The Bamboo Forest of the Lost is circuitous and unforgiving to the inexperienced, yet Mokou navigates with nary an issue. It only takes ten minutes of flying for the manor to be within sight through a thinner set of bamboo.
"How were we unable to find this?" asks Seija. "It took hardly any time to get here."
"You were actually really close when I found you. In fact, you had been for a while," Mokou answers.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I was watching y'all for a little longer than I indicated earlier. It's not hard to guess you're up to no good, so I waited for you to mention sensitive information before approaching."
"You hustled us."
Mokou shrugs. "Part of it was bad luck on your part; there were a few times I could've sworn you'd find it, only to take a wrong turn. This forest just has a knack for making folks lose their way. Factor in your lack of experience with the place and it's not hard to see why you got so lost. Eirin made sure that locating Kaguya would be very difficult for the Lunar Capital."
"Why is Kaguya hiding from the Lunarians, anyway?"
"You've never heard the story? The long and short is that drinking the Hourai Elixir to become immortal is a big taboo in the pretentiously 'pure' Lunarian society. Kaguya was sent to Earth as punishment over a millennia ago. Eventually they decided they wanted her back, so Eirin and a group of emissaries were sent to retrieve her. The good pharmacist had other plans, though, and that's why she and Kaguya live here now."
As she listens to Mokou's explanation, Shin comes to a realization. "The emissaries that came with Eirin, are they…?"
"You should keep this between us, for your sake. And nowadays the Lunarians know Eirin and Kaguya are here; they just leave well enough alone. Rarely, a higher up or two comes to visit."
A messy backstory for an innocent expo.
"How do you know all this?" Shin asks.
Very subtly, Mokou tenses up at the question. "As I'm sure you're aware, I've been around a long time myself. Let's leave it at that, we've gotta hurry up and put this plan into motion."
Not keen on sharing her own past, I see. If we hadn't already known she's an immortal, I wonder if she would've even said that much.
Their guide flies off after a quick wave, leaving Seija and Shin alone. "The Lunarians don't have a very pretty history, I guess," says the latter.
"Most places that last long enough don't. While it's not the main info we need, just the knowledge of how Kaguya and Eirin came to live here is valuable. I was thinking that they'd be completely cut off from the Moon hearing Mokou's explanation. But if she says they get visitors from there every so often, that's a good sign we might find a lead on how to get there ourselves."
"True. Ready to shrink?"
"Together this time. Don't need you getting distracted."
Shin pouts. "You're never letting that go, are you?"
"Sure I will," says Seija with a slight smile. "Let's get moving."
A few waves of the Miracle Mallet later, the duo is a bit more than twice the height of blades of grass on the ground.
"I'm not sure I'll ever get used to seeing the world like this," Seija says as she messes with the flora in front of her.
"It's natural to me. Everything is so huge and out of reach. Like you could just keep going and going and going and barely make any progress."
Shin…
"But I don't have to worry about that as long as I have the Miracle Mallet!" the inchling continues.
"Yeah. And we'll show the world 'just how big we are,' right?"
"Right!"
Spirits high, they begin flying to the wall around Eientei. Shin, having left her bowl at home so as to not stick out, helps her partner acclimate to her new size. Small breezes are now mighty winds, narrow gaps between bamboo shoots become huge openings for progress, and an objective one hundred meters away takes much longer to reach. Their approach is slowed by hiding whenever one of Eientei's rabbits skips by, urgently preparing for the festival. Visitors begin arriving as well. While ducking under the grass, Seija spies a tengu flying over the wall into the manor grounds.
"Who was that?" Shin asks. "Aya?"
"I couldn't get a good look. I saw some purple and black which, last I checked, aren't her colors. I'm guessing Hatate."
"That might be even worse. I was thinking that Aya showing up could cause the extra problem of us being found and put in the paper. Hatate's thoughtography would make getting info on us even easier plus her articles tend to be better researched."
"You read her paper?"
"It pays to get the news from multiple sources."
"Rather savvy of you. Hatate isn't as quick on the draw, though, which could give us an edge. Plus she isn't an incident solv-"
Another figure rockets by overhead, this one on a broomstick.
"…"
An expressionless Shin looks at Seija. "Is that who I think it was?"
"Didn't know this festival would be the understudy hour."
"Look at this way: we have even more incentive to not get caught," says Shin in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"Which makes upholding our end of Mokou's bargain harder."
They stand there in an awkward silence for a few moments.
"We'll figure it out as we go," says Seija. "We're too deep in to back out now."
Spirits not quite as high, they reach the wall and, waiting for their opportunity, scale it when no rabbits are around. It has been twenty-five minutes since Seija and Shin departed from Mokou's house. The grounds of the manor are very traditional; there is a well-maintained rock garden and a few scattered bamboo plants. It is also exceptionally large, especially for the shrunken intruders; they approached from a side nearer to the back and have a hard time making out everyone at the front. All they can tell is that multiple visitors have arrived, Sumireko, Hatate Himekaidou, and Marisa Kirisame apparently among them. The grounds immediately below have various rabbits coming and going, at one point including Reisen Udongein Inaba.
"We don't have any openings to get to the manor from the wall," Shin observes. "There aren't good hiding spots and the distance to the deck is too long for us to break for it without being seen."
"Couldn't we fly straight up to the point we're too small to be seen then descend from over the roof?"
"We're big enough that someone could still spot us on the way up or down, not to mention anyone else flying here."
"I don't want to wait until the festival starts to get moving. There has to be a way…"
Examining the grounds a second time, Seija takes in the architecture of the manor itself more than before. There are separate buildings of various heights all merged together, with roofs of different elevations to match. Further down the wall, at the very back of Eientei, is a particularly low roof that juts out more than the rest.
"Let's make our way down there and fly to that awning, see it?" Seija says, pointing.
"Not a bad idea. Might as well give it a try."
They lay low and run across the outer wall, reaching the designated area in about two minutes. As soon as they arrive at the back, however, they realize there is a major problem: over a dozen rabbits pound mochi behind the building, Tewi Inaba supervising them. Any of them need only glance in Seija and Shin's direction to see them flying if they attempt to cross now. Other rabbits periodically run by to drop off ingredients before leaving to fetch more.
"We need a solid eight second distraction to make it," says Shin.
Seija cracks her knuckles. "Say no more."
"C'mon, we're on a schedule here!" Tewi shouts, unaware of the trespassers in her vicinity. "We need the last of it done in half an hour!"
The rabbits nod and pound with renewed vigor, praising the name Lord Daikoku as they do so.
I have no idea who that is. Rabbits are weird.
Tewi paces around, examining the work of her kin, when she randomly stumbles. "What was that? Did I trip over my own feet…?" She looks to the rabbits, who stop to see if Tewi is okay. "I'm fine, keep working!" At that moment, her ear twitches and she quickly spins around to face the outer wall. Seija and Shin sit motionless on the awning across from the wall Tewi stares at, not so much as breathing.
I'm too weak like this, she didn't even fall over when I reversed her stride. And her instincts are insane. I can't believe she sensed us like that. Maybe her rabbit ears are sensitive?
Tewi eventually turns back to her charges and continues monitoring their progress. Seija makes a hand motion pointing toward the center of the grounds, not risking speaking and alerting Tewi. Shin nods in agreement and they carefully fly until they find a courtyard, sectioned off from the outside.
"That was lucky," says Shin, letting out a sigh of relief.
"We managed to get in but we still need to find what we came for and get out. Eirin or Kaguya might still be inside, too."
"No one's in the courtyard so let's take our chance now."
They swoop down to the deck after checking one more time that no is in the area. Upon reaching there, they encounter their next obstacle: a door. Seija glances at Shin, incredulous; the latter can only shrug.
You've gotta be kidding me.
They push with all their might but cannot get the door to slide even a centimeter. Seija facepalms.
Shin pats Seija's back. "You get used to it."
"We didn't get past all those rabbits only to be stopped cold by a door."
"I anticipated this would happen, luckily there are countermeasures! When you're our size, there's usually more than one way. Rotting wood, mouse holes, little nooks and crannies, entry points are everywhere." Shin hops off the deck to ground. "You just gotta look!"
Following her partner, Seija finds Shin frantically examining the building's foundation, all her prior suaveness gone without a trace. "This is unreal. It's like the wood hasn't aged a day."
"Is it because of this place's magical nonsense?"
"That's the most plausible explanation I can think of. Maybe the walls or doors have holes?"
Their examination of the courtyard's surroundings bears no fruit. Not a single opening to be found. Even the windows have been shuttered. They return to the part of the deck they started at and sit down.
"I've never seen a house so airtight," says Shin. "There were open windows on the outside walls of the manor, too. Why just this area? So much for all my bravado."
Seija leans back on her hands. "Ain't your fault. Your only mistake was applying normal logic to Lunarians."
"Do they even count as Lunarians anymore, given how long they've lived on Earth?"
"Semantics."
They hear the door they failed to open a moment ago slide open while they deliberate. Immediately both fly below deck and drop prone, covering themselves behind the wood that outlines the lower part.
"It appears we already have quite a few guests," says a refined voice.
"Indeed, Lady Kaguya," responds a mature voice. "While it's not quite sundown, would you like me to start the festivities? Tewi says the last batch of mochi is nearly done."
"Moonrise is before sundown, so why not?" Kaguya Houraisan muses, her flowing burgundy skirt fluttering with each step she takes down to the courtyard. "Let them in."
"On your word, then."
The second voice descends the steps as well, with Seija and Shin recognizing the person as Eirin Yagokoro despite being unable to see her upper body. The hosts walk to the opposite deck and head through the door, leaving the duo alone.
"Looks like people will be roaming the manor grounds very soon," warns Shin.
Seija scratches her head. "This gets better by the second. Let's check to see if they left either door cracked."
Sadly for them, the door above them was closed properly. A quick flight over to the opposite door shows the same to be true for it as well.
"There's nothing else for it, you'll need to make yourself big briefly to open the door they came from," says Seija.
"Even if I do that, we'll run into this issue with every door. It's too much of a risk and won't solve the main problem."
"Then we have to go up and over the house into one of the open windows we saw before."
"That runs the risk of being seen again and still doesn't address the doors inside. Hmm… What if you rotate the door's gravity ninety degrees? Some of your spell cards rotate the area as opposed to flat-out flipping it, don't they?"
"The ones you're referring to rotate a full one-eighty degrees, but that could work. It'd still be overturning in the sense of flipping the concept of a closed door. Let me try."
Returning to the initial door, Seija motions her hands and wills for the closed door to be overturned. "Push it now, Shin! The amount of focus this requires while I'm this size isn't something I can maintain for long."
"Understood!"
Shin shoves with everything she has and the door gives way, sliding very fast towards the wall once the initial hurdle is cleared. Seija drops the effect right before the collision, causing it to slow and not make a loud bang when it hits the wall.
"Whew," Seija exhales.
"Great job!" says a jubilant Shin. "Let's get inside and close the door quickly."
They repeat the process from the other side, though closing the door proves less strenuous than opening it. They survey the hallway before them: six more rooms, three on each side. And this is only a small fraction of the gigantic Eientei.
"This is going to take a while," says a not-so-jubilant Seija.
"On one hand, the sheer size of the place means we're less likely to encounter people," Shin begins. "On the other… we might wear ourselves out just opening doors before we find what we came for."
"The time limit Mokou gave us is ticking, we'll have to complain later."
And so they begin their search, one room at a time. At their fastest, they can finish opening, searching, and closing a room in two to three minutes. Many are lounge rooms with little beyond a table, cushions, vases, and a tea set. The ones that vary from the norm do not offer much more. Rarely, they have to hide from a passing rabbit; they have yet to see any visitors, however. After thirteen rooms of searching, Seija notices that the Sun has set outside when passing by a cracked window on the way to the next room.
Of course this one isn't shuttered. Less than an hour left to find what we need and cause a big distraction. We utterly underestimated how long this would take and both of us are getting tired. Eirin should have an office or something, right? What about Kaguya's room? Where are they?
"There you are, I've been looking everywhere!"
The mounting irritation the duo feels is simultaneously washed away and amplified by that statement as they see Sumireko, who just turned the corner. She runs over and picks them up.
"What the- what are you doing here?" Seija asks.
"The visitors were given free reign to roam the grounds as soon as the expo started," says the bespectacled girl. "It only took a few minutes of wandering for me to realize you two would never get around fast enough. And I figured, if I'm already complicit in Mokou's plan, I might as well put my trepidation aside and help her see it through."
"Even with that, you'd help us after we hijacked the fireworks festival?"
"You definitely made it more dangerous, but Reimers and everyone kept it safe for the audience, so it was still really exciting!"
This girl really doesn't grasp what she's getting herself into. At least she appreciates quality danmaku. And I'll give her credit for noticing us before we noticed her.
"You came at the perfect time, just promise you won't try to make me your pet again," says Shin, unsure if she should be happy or concerned.
"Fine… Anyway, where do you need me to go?"
"Do you know where Eirin's room would be? Maybe Kaguya's?"
"Their rooms? No dice there. But I do know where Eirin's pharmaceutical office is. Marisa mentioned it earlier before I slipped away."
"That's as good a place as any."
Sumireko does an about-face and quickly strides down the halls, putting the small youkai on each shoulder.
"What all is on display?" Shin asks while en-route.
"A ton of wild stuff! A lunar rover, the U.S. flag from the Apollo 11 mission, an astronaut's helmet, various moon rocks-"
"What the heck is a 'U.S.'?" Seija interjects.
"Somewhere from the Outside World, don't worry about it. That country was the first to land on the Moon. You know Clownpiece, right? Her outfit has the same pattern as that flag."
"How did humans manage to get to the Moon? And what kind of idiot models their flag after a fairy's outfit?"
"They used a rocket and the flag is- y'know what, never mind. Beyond conventional stuff, she showed off some relics she claims are from the Lunar Capital. But, while it's not even part of the expo technically, I asked if I could see the items from her legendary five impossible tasks. It's insane all of them were real! That Kaguya is a real person! AND SHE'S FROM THE MOON!"
"Keep it down, someone might hear you. Why are you so excited about all of this? Didn't you know most of that already?"
"Yeah, but like, this stuff is mythical where I'm from. It's insane to me that it's all true and I can see it for myself."
Humans are easily pleased. Seems nothing on display was worth our time after all.
"Wait," Shin chimes in. "You asked to see all of these? I thought you started looking for us a few minutes after you were let in."
"Oh! Well, you see, it was a few minutes after I started wandering around, not a few minutes after the event started. Heheh."
If this girl wasn't helping us I'd flip her into the ground.
Sumireko stops in front of a door. "Aaaaaaanyway, we're here!"
Inside the room is an orderly desk with various tools and materials for producing medicine, a chair and small file cabinet tucked underneath it, and a huge cabinet against the back wall that has dozens of drawers with numerous jars and a few boxes on top. Shin returns the duo to normal size so they can more easily investigate.
"Glasses, stand watch outside and warn us if someone's coming," Seija commands, taking off her sandals to avoid marking the floor and leaving traces of the incursion now that she is human-sized once more. "Unlike us, you won't immediately draw suspicion if you're seen."
"I have a name."
"So does everyone else, it's crazy."
"No wonder no one likes you, jeez."
Once Sumireko is on guard in the hallway, Shin returns them to human size and says, "I'm not exactly fond of her myself, but burning bridges while we're still over the ravine might not be the best move."
"I feel ya. Don't worry, I won't push her too far," Seija reassures. "You check the desk, maybe there's a letter or something from the capital. I'll look through the cabinet to see if there's anything worth taking."
They rifle through their respective targets, movements hurried due to how pressed they are for time. Seija finds various medications in the drawers.
Vaccines? I think that's something humans use to become immune to diseases. Nothing a youkai or Lunarian would need. This drawer has pills for 'pain relief' like headaches. Here there's 'cough medicine.' Hmm… this one's different. The note on top says 'For pleasant dreams. Market to youkai.' The label reads 'Butterfly Dream Pill.' And this other container says 'Butterfly Dream Pill - Nightmare Type.' Why make a version that gives you nightmares? …Huh, the only person who has a prescription bottle in here is 'Alice Margatroid,' for the normal version. None of this is useful to us, though.
The drawers on the top row all have keyholes, but - as Seija goes through them - she finds that they are all unlocked and empty save one: the top left drawer does not budge. "Shin, have you seen a key over there?"
"No, nothing of the sort. And the only notes I've found have been about patients who've stopped by."
"Don't suppose you have any lock picking experience with your needle?"
"Nope. I'm guessing there are locks over there?"
"Quite a few, but only one is currently locked."
"That's definitely suspicious. We can try opening it, but we need to make sure not to leave signs we were here if possible."
"Yeah. Now help me with this."
"Comin- wait," Shin stops herself short. "Come over here first."
Seija complies. "What did ya find?"
"Read for yourself," says Shin, motioning to a piece of paper she laid on the table.
Lady Yagokoro,
I am incredibly grateful for your assistance with the previous incident. Your quick thinking saved both the Lunar Capital and Gensokyo a great deal of hardship. I would very much like to visit more frequently going forward, both to thank you in person and rekindle relations, if you would have me. And not as a meeting between whatever titles we have been given, but as friends. I know the princesses have visited before as well, so hopefully this is not too much to ask.
My Sincerest Regards,
Sagume Kishin
"Sagume Kishin?!" Seija cannot hold back her excitement. "This is from Ame-no-Sagume! I got to see her briefly at the fireworks festival, she's the amanojaku! She reverses situations with only her words!"
"It's rare to see you so awestruck. I remember you being ecstatic back then, too."
"Ahem. Regardless, when was this letter written? The last incident I know of to involve the Lunar Capital was the invasion."
"That might be exactly what it's referring to. I found it neatly folded at the back of the desk's bottom right drawer underneath a bunch of papers. Though this letter looks brand new, that might be because of how nothing in this place seems to age."
"It's probably important to Eirin, then. Put it back where you found it as best you can."
After Shin does so, they return to Seija's earlier target: the locked drawer.
"It could be boobytrapped or have some kind of magical seal," says Shin.
"Maybe."
"And you still want to try?"
"No risk, no reward."
"I like your attitude."
They insert Shin's needle and try cracking the lock. A bunch of fumbling later, no progress has been made.
"What if we shrunk the drawer?" Seija suggests.
"Could work, but at best it'd leave scratch marks in the spots where the drawer and lock are overlapping the cabinet. At worst, it'd break whole parts of both. …I got it!"
"What is it?"
"We can ask Sumireko if her ESP is able to open a lock."
"The heck is 'ESP'?"
Sumireko bursts into the room and says, "It means 'extrasensory perception' but it'd be more accurate to call me an 'esper' as I have various psychic abilities such as-"
Seija cuts her off. "Were you eavesdropping this whole time?"
"Only after I heard you fangirl about Sagume."
The amanojaku looks away, her face red.
"Putting all that aside," says Shin, trying her best to not to crack up, "can you open a lock?"
"It's a piece of cake for me! But of course I can neither confirm nor deny whether or not I have illegally broken and entered anywhere before now or intend to after this point in time."
I might take some of Eirin's headache medication after all.
"Shin, do you mind being our lookout while our esteemed friend Sumireko is working?"
"Leave it to me," says Shin, still amused at the situation.
Sumireko says, "Aw, thanks for finally using my name. Maybe you aren't so bad. If it's too much of a mouthful, you can call me Sumi!" Seija cannot find any words to respond with. "Mind if I call you Seij? I think it'd be cute!"
Shin's laughter is audible from the other end of the room.
This is where I die. My time has come. Evaded countless pursuers and I've finally met my end.
"Just… just Seija is fine. We're on a time limit so please hurry up." Saying those words causes the amanojaku almost physical pain.
"Oh, got it!" Sumireko responds with a two-finger salute. She closes her eyes as she telekinetically moves the inner workings of the lock, listening intently. Her brow furrows every so often whenever she meets resistance but her progress is slow and steady. In about three minutes, she and Seija hear the distinctive click of the lock.
"So what's inside the mysterious drawer?" muses Sumireko as she goes for the handle.
Well, if there's a booby trap, at least she'll be the one to trigger it.
Despite the duo's suspicions, Sumireko does not set anything off as the drawer slides open.
Really? Nothing? I have a hard time believing Erin would protect something with only a conventional lock.
Inside is a single multi-piece stand designed to hold four vials, which Sumireko pulls out. Two of the vials are empty and two are full.
"The label calls this the 'Ultramarine Orb Elixir' and each vial has a name on it," she says, taking out an empty one. "I've never heard of this before."
"Whose names?" Seija asks, similarly confused. She grabs a full vial.
"On the two empty ones, Reisen Udongein Inaba and Marisa Kirisame. On the two full ones, Sanae Kochiya…"
"…and Reimu Hakurei. Why these four-"
"Seija, we've got trouble!" Shin whispers as she brings her head back into the room and grabs her partner's sandals. "A dozen rabbits are charging down the hall from either end, with Reisen and Tewi leading them! I think they know we're here!"