Reisen forcefully opens the door to Eirin's office with one hand while keeping her bunny-themed handgun trained in front of her.
"See anything?" Tewi asks, right behind Reisen along with a veritable battalion of rabbits.
The office appears completely undisturbed with no one inside. No sign of the window being broken into or used as an escape route.
"Nothing yet, but the door wasn't completely closed when we got here," says Reisen. "Be careful."
Tewi lazily walks past her coworker. "I feel I should be the one saying that to you."
"Now's not the time for jokes, you know exactly what set off the alarm. We need to settle this fast without disturbing Lady Kaguya's exposition. I'll cover you; go check the drawer."
Complying with the request, Tewi goes to the cabinet and opens the locked drawer containing the Ultramarine Orb Elixir. "Definitely wasn't a false alarm," she says. "It was unlocked and the elixir is gone."
"The thieves are likely still in the manor somewhere. We made it to the room thirty seconds after the alarm sounded and, barring some kind of teleportation, it would be impossible to escape without us seeing them."
"However, we can't discount that possibility." Tewi turns to the dozens of earth rabbits in the hallway, declaring, "Okay everyone, listen up! Pairs of two at every room with the rest patrolling the grounds. Call for backup immediately should you see our intruders. Reisen and I will be searching as well. Get moving!"
All of the rabbits nod in unison before fanning out, two staying behind to monitor Eirin's office. As this happens, Seija, Shin, and Sumireko take themselves off the wall in the adjacent room they had pressed their ears against.
I didn't know Sumireko had a short-distance teleport; she grabbed us and suddenly we were in here. Quick thinking.
They are in a room with multiple cushions and tables, which Seija assumes is meant for patients waiting to see Eirin.
"They said rabbit sentries would be posted at every room, we aren't safe here," Shin whispers.
Sumireko examines the vials she stole. "What's so special about this elixir?"
"I wanna know what alerted them," says Seija. "There wasn't anything audible triggered by you opening the drawer."
"Hmm… nothing audible to us, maybe, but rabbits are able to hear higher frequencies than humans. Presumably more than some other youkai, too. Maybe Eirin had a kind of magical alarm in place only rabbits hear so they could ambush would-be thieves?"
I knew that lock was too easy.
Shin moves between the other two and whispers, "Let's discuss it later, we need to move now! Tewi was able to tell we were nearby earlier when we barely made a sound, talking is a liability."
Seija nods while Sumireko covers her mouth. The inchling, after returning her partner's sandals, shrinks the amanojaku and herself back down.
A way out of this would be Sumireko teleporting to somewhere unsuspicious, rejoining the crowd from there, with Shin and I slipping away. But we haven't found a lead on how to reach the Lunar Capital and we still have our deal with Mokou to cause a distraction. Then there's the question of what this elixir does.
"For now, get us back to the main crowd," Seija orders, barely at a whisper. "No talking unless necessary."
Not needing to be told twice, Sumireko hides her tiny allies underneath her cloak, puts the elixir in her pocket, and teleports a few rooms down to lower their association with the crime scene. They wind up in one of the many lounge areas before Sumireko decides to start the walk back, worrying about drawing suspicion if found warping. She opens the door right as two earth rabbits run up, just as Tewi ordered.
"W-whoa! What's the rush?" she asks.
"Official business, no need to be concerned," a short and brown-haired rabbit replies. "Though, if you're done looking around here, it'd be best to head back to the main exhibit for now."
"G-got it!"
She's not great at faking it, luckily these rabbits are even more dense.
The girl passes through without issue and, despite more rabbits hurrying by, makes it back to the main crowd near the front of Eientei in only five minutes. All around the exhibition hall are items Seija and Shin previously heard described, including an astronaut helmet, a four-wheeled device which Sumireko called a "lunar rover," and the star-embroidered flag with red and white stripes. Also on display is a shining kimono which Seija recalls Mokou alluding to earlier. The room itself is the largest the duo have seen since arriving. Various tables with mochi dot the room along with a good few places to sit down and enjoy the food while admiring the exhibits. There is a notable amount of unrest among the crowd, the guests seemingly aware that something is amiss. Some are human, many are youkai, all are aggravated due to the sudden rabbit guards posted at the main exit. Sumireko notices an exchange happening across the room, deciding to approach so she and her accomplices can hear.
"What's goin' on?" Marisa Kirisame asks Eirin, the latter relaxed as she sits at a corner table sipping tea while the former stands across from her with folded arms. The ordinary magician wears a blue variant of her standard black and white attire. Her witch hat, buttoned vest, and skirt are all primarily blue with a white bow, accents, and frills respectively. She also has her white blouse, complete with blue bow tie, and apron as well as blue boots with white laces and soles. The usual ribbon in her hair has been forgone this time, her golden locks flowing unencumbered.
"Nothing you should worry over," says the pharmacist. She gracefully holds her teacup while wearing her red and blue constellation-patterned medical outfit. Her blue hat with a red cross sits atop braided light silver hair.
Hatate Himekaidou, who is next to Marisa, puts a hand on the table. This tengu's outfit consists of a purple and black checkered skirt, light pink shirt with a purple trim and thin black tie, knee-high black socks, and reddish sandals with purple straps. Her long brown hair is styled into twintails, tied by purple ribbons. "Which is why your rabbits are scrambling? You're not slick."
"You came here to write an article on the exhibit, yes? If you wish to keep your chances of an interview with Lady Kaguya, please do not cause a commotion."
"I have no such stake," Marisa counters. "It's part of my job to resolve problems, y'know. If there's an issue, we can work together. We certainly can't have anyone here gettin' hurt."
"Your offer is noted, Miss Kirisame. Now please, return to the exhibit for the time being."
The magician and journalist relent and walk away, leaving Eirin to her devices. Kaguya, meanwhile, is speaking to a few visitors about the exhibits as if there is no problem.
Sumireko whispers, "Eirin and Kaguya are putting up a front but no one's buying it."
"Kaguya doesn't look like she's particularly bothered," says Shin.
This is tricky. That elixir could potentially be something huge given the security and names on it; however, our ability to hold onto it would be threatened if we reveal ourselves now for Mokou's plan. Even if we did get away, Marisa would likely know and it'd get back to Reimu which puts us in hot water. Ugh, where's the out that lets us all get what we want?
"Yo, Sumireko!" Marisa calls out, walking over. "You notice all the weird stuff happening?"
"Uh, yeah! Seems suspicious," the girl answers, twiddling her thumbs.
"Eirin's bein' real coy about it. You think there's some kind of intruder?"
"Couldn't help overhearing," Hatate cuts in as she approaches from the side. "I do have a way of finding out. We can even try and catch them if there is one. The three of us working together ups our chances."
"Are ya sure you aren't having us do the work for you and then cashing in with an article?" asks Marisa.
"I take offense to that. I'm offering you a helping hand."
The magician sighs. "Fine, use your thinkography."
"It's called 'thoughtography.'"
I can feel Sumireko's shoulder tensing up. Hatate might be able to conjure up pictures of us in Eirin's office, which puts this girl at risk of trouble. Hmph.
Hatate puts her hand to the brown pouch on her hip but finds it isn't there. "Huh? Where did-" Looking down, she sees her pouch on the ground. "Odd…"
I can only accomplish so much hidden under your cloak, take a hint and do something!
"Um! Actually, I think I saw something earlier while wandering around!" Sumireko blurts out.
Marisa and Hatate turn to the girl, surprised. The former says, "Really? What was it?"
"Reisen and Tewi were panicking around Eirin's office. I heard them mention an elixir got stolen by an… invisible thief."
Mixing in lies with the truth. That'll throw off Hatate's thoughtography since it relies on keywords. This girl has flashes of cleverness.
"An invisible thief and elixir? What could-" The magician stops cold, a serious expression replacing her inquisitive one. "Sumireko, this is important: was the elixir called the 'Ultramarine Orb Elixir'?"
"Uh, I think so? I didn't mention it before now cause I wasn't sure on the details and didn't wanna freak anyone out, haha…"
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me. If someone drinks that, it'll be a nightmare to take them down."
'Nightmare'? How strong is this thing?
"What does the elixir do?" Hatate asks.
"Suppose there's no harm tellin' y'all," says Marisa. "The way Eirin described it, the elixir removes 'the impurity of death' and allows you to see into the immediate future temporarily. Instead of havin' to react and dodge that way, you can always know what you need to do in order to win. Someone who can turn invisible drinking it will make them extra slippery."
This answer leaves all other parties present speechless.
THAT'S what it does?!
Sumireko tenses up even more. "Something like that can even exist? I guess it's to be expected in Gensokyo, but-"
"Calm down, it's not as bad as you think," Marisa reassures.
Hatate places a hand on her chin. "Hmm… yeah, now that the initial shock's passed, I can see the limitations. Being able to see the future would be a massive edge in any fight, but seeing is different from preventing."
"Exactly. You're still limited by your own skill. Put someone in a no-win situation and they can't do anything about it. Plus, there's a time limit for how long it works. Like most medicine, it'll eventually wear off."
"Nice info, Sumireko," says the crow tengu. "Now that we know what was stolen, we might be able to lord this information over Eirin to get more out of her."
"Worth a shot, I guess."
The investigating pair go back to Eirin, who even from Sumireko's distance seems surprised and confused by what they're saying.
"Good going," whispers Shin, who was unable to do anything prior.
"We know what the elixir does now and we have double confirmation between Mokou and the letter that Lunarians from the capital visit here regularly," Seija responds, reviewing their progress.
But still nothing on how to get to the capital.
Sumireko says, "You better uphold your end of the deal with Mokou after I stuck my neck out."
"No one ever asked you-"
…Mokou definitely saw this all coming. Her familiarity with Eientei and Sumireko is too big. She knew how we'd get in with Shin's mallet, she knew we'd be unable to cover enough ground with the time limit she gave, and she knew Sumireko's curiosity would get the better of her. This was a multi-layered set-up. And there was no reason for her to go that far either; if we ran out of time we would have just done our end and left it at that. But she wanted to repay us for helping her by using Sumireko.
"Seija, you alright?" Shin asks.
"I'll explain later, right now we need to follow through. We're going to make a huge scene and get all the rabbits in this mansion focused on us. Sumireko, lay low and you should get out of this without being found out."
That immortal will get what she asked for. If my read on her is right, I think I know exactly what she'll do from here.
"It was fun sneaking around, glad I don't have to be worried about being found out anymore. And I feel bad lying to Marisa," says Sumireko, relieved.
Seija stifles an evil smile and puts on her nicest face. "There is one more thing I'd like you to do for us, Sumi."
"Huh?" Sumireko perks up hearing the amanojaku call her that. "Sure, what is it?"
"We can't have you be found with the elixir nor can Shin and I get away with drinking it; not to mention it'd be a waste. So give it to us before we split up and we'll make sure the rabbits get it back. That'll clear all three of us."
"If you really think that'll work, okay!"
Having someone naïve nearby always makes things easier.
Seija feels her hidden sword-shard necklace against her chest.
Just don't get cocky.
They begin moving towards a bathroom so they can split up unseen; two rabbits stand guard outside it but do not think anything is wrong when seeing Sumireko walk up. "I'll teleport you outside so we're not seen having come from the same place," she whispers.
"We'll wait to become big again after you leave, just set the elixir down before you go," Seija explains.
"Got it!"
As fast as she can, Sumireko warps them to the area between the manor and the outside wall before just as quickly disappearing with a thumbs up, leaving behind the elixir.
"Now tell me your actual plan since I know you weren't telling her the whole truth," says Shin.
"I knew you'd realize. Quick, before patrols walk by, let me see the sheathe for your needle."
The inchling pulls off the sheathe strapped to her back and takes her needle out of it. "What do you need it for?"
The guests get ever antsier in the exhibition hall as they are still not allowed to leave the room. Marisa, Hatate, and Eirin's discussion has reached a point of aggravation for all of them between the secrets and false information. Sumireko walks in, returning from the bathroom, and all three's gazes turn to her.
"Sumi, are you sure you heard Reisen and Tewi right?" Marisa asks. "Eirin gave up that the elixir was stolen but keeps sayin' she doesn't know what the deal on the 'invisible' thief you mentioned is."
"I-I thought that's what they said! Maybe I misheard them?" Sumireko lies, sweat forming on the back of her neck.
"I highly doubt that, Miss Usami," says Eirin. "Especially because I made sure they wouldn't specify the elixir's name in case of theft should anyone unrelated be eavesdropping; information is a powerful resource. Yet you told Miss Kirisame that you did know the name. The only way that would be possible is if you read the label, which is on the vial itself."
Hatate's eyes narrow. "That would also explain why I couldn't get any clear pictures with my camera."
"Sumi, if there's a problem, it's okay to tell us," says Marisa gently, putting a hand on the nervous girl's shoulder. "I know you wouldn't do somethin' actively malicious on your own accord."
"I-I, but-"
While she fumbles over her words, a distressed rabbit runs up and says, "Lady Yagokoro, I'm very sorry to bother you, but-"
Eirin puts a hand up. "Calm down, come closer, and tell me what's happened." The rabbit whispers her report into Eirin's ear. "It seems this girl is innocent after all, just lacking in her ability to parse words. The thieves have been located and are currently engaged with security."
"'Thieves' as in more than one? Who are they?!" Marisa demands to know.
"This is an internal matter and I would have you not get involved. If you must occupy yourself, please make sure no harm befalls the rest of the guests should the culprits decide to make a move in here."
"Can you please stop being so difficult and tell us what's going on?" asks Hatate. "We are trying to help you."
The pharmacist lets out a large sigh. "If you absolutely insist, it's-" She stops short, eyes wide as she glances towards the front door. The rest of them turn to where Eirin looks: strutting in through the front door without a care is Fujiwara no Mokou. Many of the guests do not pay her any mind, as knowledge of her true nature is not widely known.
She walks over to Kaguya, currently on a tea break between explanations of exhibits, and says, "Yo. You know why I'm here. I assume you wanna take it outside."
"Must you be so crass? This day does not come very often and I would rather it not be sullied by your presence."
"You'll just have to get rid of me, then."
The princess smiles darkly. "Fine. No need to make a scene in here."
They casually walk out of the room, only a few in the crowd even noticing.
"I have my own matters I must attend to now," Eirin says before leaving with the rabbit.
"I'll find out the truth of this no matter what!" Hatate declares. "Be sure to keep the guests safe, you two!" She follows Mokou and Kaguya before Marisa can stop her.
"Everything's always so fun here!" says Sumireko, unable to contain her excitement for the intrigue around her.
Marisa, mentally drained because of the nonsense she has dealt with tonight, responds, "Fun for one of us, maybe. Ugh, I wish Reimu had agreed to come."
How many of these things are there?
Seija and Shin, the latter dual-wielding her needle and Miracle Mallet, dodge and knock out the latest batch of rabbits that came at them with liberal use of danmaku. They are still surrounded by dozens more about fifty meters diagonally up and away from Eientei.
I'm surprised that Reisen and Tewi haven't shown up yet. I want to lead them further away than this.
"Let's take out all these bit players at once, Shin," says Seija. "Maybe that'll get their leaders' attention."
"Got it. Ready?"
They nod to each other.
"Reverse Sign - Evil in the Mirror!"
"Mallet - Grow Even Bigger!"
All the enemy rabbits attempt to scramble, however they keep running into each other as Seija mirrors left and right for the whole area while raining bullets down. Shin's spell card creates such massive danmaku that there is no safe zone the discombobulated bunch can reach in time. They all fall to the ground, defeated.
"That was lame, I honestly expected at least a bit more resistance," says Shin.
A voice behind them says, "Then please allow me!"
"That voice- Seija, don't turn around!"
The warning comes too late as the amanojaku is already in the process of reacting to the voice. She sees Reisen looking directly at her, the rabbit's eyes glowing bright red.
"Weak Heart - Demotivation."
Seija's entire sense of orientation and train of thought are utterly derailed, barely able to form a coherent sentence.
I… what…? What's going on?
"Surrender, now!" Reisen demands, pointing her bunny gun at the pair.
"Like we'd listen to that!" Shin counters. Ensuring no eye contact is made, she rushes Reisen with her weapons, forcing the latter on the defensive. Without a word, she maintains distance and returns fire to stifle Shin's approach. The inchling proves very evasive and dodges all of Reisen's counterattacks, much to her annoyance. On the flip side, Shin is not gaining any meaningful ground.
Focus… focus…!
Seija, still wobbly, lines up a shot at Reisen while Shin distracts her.
Now!
A thin stream of bullets hones in on Seija's adversary. They do not meet their mark, however; Tewi flies in and grabs her colleague out of the way in the nick of time. Shin backs off and checks on her partner.
"You gotta keep your head on a swivel," says Tewi, very relaxed.
"Seija recovered faster than I thought she would," Reisen admits. "Makes sense that disorienting someone who overturns perceptions all the time wouldn't be as effective."
Shin places a hand on Seija's head. "You alright?"
"Sorry for letting myself fall for that."
"I don't care as long as you're okay."
Heh. Can't think of anything worse than having someone always watching my back yet I'm getting all sappy.
Both duos get into fighting stances.
Reisen's a nuisance, all it takes is one mistake and we'll be incapacitated. Tewi will see through any shallow trick. We need to outlast them until it's the right time, but taking our chances in a straight fight is dicey and more rabbits could show up. But what do we have that could surprise or counter them? Using the elixir would be a waste, beyond that I don't have-
Memories come flooding back to Seija; memories of how a previous adversary was able to fight against confusion and illusion. She places a fist over her hidden necklace.
It had to be that, huh? I never wanted to use this thing. I despise what it represents.
"Oh man, now there are two errand rabbits?" Seija calls out. "Whatever will we do? They might throw mochi at us!"
"Big talk coming from someone who lost the moment she looked at me!" yells Reisen.
"You would've gotten shot in the back had your little friend not bailed you out. What makes you believe I didn't want you to think I was beaten?"
"That's absurd, your partner warned you!"
Shin, getting a feel for Seija's intent, says, "How dense can you even be? It's called lying. We'd never let ourselves get caught off guard by someone like you."
Doubt begins to form in Reisen's face. "Th-there's no way you planned that!"
"Calm down, they're trying to rile you up," Tewi warns. "It doesn't matter if they're telling the truth or not. Take it from me, it's not hard to get you to doubt yourself."
I had a feeling she'd interject. But it's too late; the seed is already placed in Reisen's head. Just gotta help it grow!
"If you're so confident in yourself, try messing with my head again! I'll look right into those big ol' red eyes of yours!" Seija taunts.
Either way, we've got the advantage. Either she doesn't take the bait and actively handicaps herself for the fight or-
"Fine, fine! You're on!" Reisen yells.
-she walks headlong into a trap.
The rabbit's eyes shift from red to purple and massive waves emit from her body, creating an ultraviolet field that surrounds Seija specifically. From the amanojaku's perspective, two clones of Reisen appear next to the original and they rush her.
Tewi shrugs. "Guess this is how we're doing it today," she says before flying around to flank Seija and Shin.
"I'll head off Tewi," Shin whispers. "I don't know what your plan is, but I trust you've got this."
If the battlefield is a sphere, Seija floats in the center. Reisen approaches her from the front, gun at the ready, and constantly switches positions with her clones well past the point Seija could ever guess which one is real. From the side, Tewi flies around with Shin going to meet her as they begin exchanging fire. The space between Seija and Reisen shrinks by the millisecond, both preparing their attacks.
I need to land a solid hit that will buy us time. A spell card would take too long for what I'm trying to do, just a single stream of bullets should do it. Wait for it…!
All three Reisens raise their guns.
The original sword can only be wielded by a Konpaku, so this is a gamble. She gave me this shard willingly so hopefully I can at least use it. This better work, Youmu!
Seija pulls out her necklace made of a shard of Hakurouken and nicks her left arm with it. She instantly feels a massive headache and can barely keep her thoughts straight. The action causes Reisen momentary pause, shocked by the odd maneuver; as the rabbit hesitates, Seija sees the clones collapse into a single being on the right.
"FALL!"
A swift and precise danmaku strike, faster than Reisen can react to under the circumstances, hits her square in the forehead. She yelps out in pain before plummeting towards the forest.
About a dozen meters away, Tewi shows genuine concern for the first time all day before saying, "How did she-?!"
"Your fight's with me!" Shin shouts as she rockets towards the White Hare of Inaba, swinging the Miracle Mallet with great force.
"Runaway Rabbit - Fluster Escape!"
Mere moments before Shin's attack can make contact, a veritable explosion of danmaku comes from Tewi. Fourteen curved streams of red bullets shoot out in all directions, flying all over the sky. The inchling is only able to evade by shrinking herself with the Miracle Mallet and using her small size to find gaps that would otherwise not be present at such close range. Tewi takes the opportunity to retreat and catch Reisen before she hits the trees, the whole exchange from Seija's attack to now only encompassing a few seconds. Seija, for her part, is still recovering from using Hakurouken's shard on herself and is too sluggish to intercept Tewi. The white rabbit goes below the trees to escape their opponents' line of sight temporarily.
"Seija, what did you even do?! That was incredible!" Shin cheers.
"I busted out a trick I was hoping I wouldn't need to use; I'll explain the rest later. That attack won't be enough to keep Reisen down for long."
"But you bought us more time and that's what matters."
As they discuss, they spy far off a small light burning above Eientei.
"It's starting," says Seija. "We need to get Reisen and Tewi away before they notice."
The duo flies down into the forest but does not see either of the rabbits.
Where did they go? Did she really recover that fast?
Carefully treading the ground, Seija sees a dark patch of grass.
That grass isn't burnt. In fact, it looks like a person's-
"Shin, get down!"
She tackles her partner to the ground as a flurry of bullets from Reisen's gun fly by. At this point Seija notices, despite how dark it is amidst the bamboo at night, that the area is more red than is natural.
This is another of Reisen's abilities!
"We need to run, it's her ultrared field!" yells Shin. "She's making herself and all the other rabbits invisible!"
That's where all the ones we beat earlier went!
They take off sprinting before transitioning to flying, the dozens of rabbits revealing themselves behind them. Many wield mallets as Tewi leads them while Reisen flies up, presumably to catch any attempts of escaping over the forest. The speed of the rabbits outmatches that of Seija and Shin.
"Seija, they're gaining on us!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Seija responds, exasperated and beginning to panic. Her unfamiliarity with the forest annoys her further.
This place is way too hard to navigate! I realize "Lost" is in the name but come on!
Soon they reach a clearing where more rabbits await them on the other side. Tewi's gang approaches from behind.
"That was quite a chase!" says Tewi, jovial over how fun her quarry has proven to be. "Looks like the end of the line."
Reisen descends from above the clearing, her bangs covering the bruise Seija's attack left on her forehead. "I don't like how much fun you seem to be having. These youkai are dangerous."
"I know for a fact you've fraternized with the inchling before," Tewi rebuts, her expression very smug.
"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?"
"Very funny."
It is at that moment a burst of light above the forest catches everyone's attention. A flame in the shape of a phoenix spreads its wings in the night sky, causing all present to feel awestruck. Seija makes out a small twinkle in the aftermath that steadily approaches the clearing; it is, in fact, not a twinkle but rather Mokou and Kaguya, both limp, hurtling to the earth at obscene speed. Their bodies tear through the tops of nearby bamboo and a few rabbits run to dodge them colliding with the ground with a massive crash, unearthing a good amount of dirt. They each have dozens of cuts and scorch marks all over their clothes and skin, but the latter heals in moments. In a few seconds, both sit up. Mokou stretches her arms above her body while Kaguya runs a hand through her hair.
"Ah, it always feels good to kill you, but that was even better than usual," says Mokou.
Kaguya responds, "You utterly lack class. I shan't forgive you for depriving me this special night."
"Oh shut it, you already won't forgive me for a dozen other things."
"L-lady Kaguya?!" Reisen says, utterly confused at this turn of events.
"Inaba, it is good to see you," says Kaguya, much less annoyed than most would be after being killed and resurrected. "Please escort me back to the mansion now that this welp is satisfied."
"But- you- Seija-!"
"Udongein, it is alright," says Eirin, emerging from the bamboo brush while holding her bow and arrow. "This was all a ploy by Mokou. The amanojaku and inchling were simply her accomplices to distract you and Tewi so she might get Lady Kaguya alone. They have no idea what they even took from my office barring the name."
Mokou stands up, brushing dirt off her pants. "Yep, Eirin's got the gist. I went to the Shining Needle Castle to enlist their help for this, they agreed to cause they thought it'd be fun. But that's all they did, so no need to punish 'em since no harm was done to any of the guests, right?"
Heh, she really is covering for us. I guessed she would but had no way of knowing for sure.
"If Lady Kaguya has no objections?"
"The two intruders do not concern me," says the princess. "If anything, I'm thankful that they showed us the flaws in our security."
Eirin nods. "Agreed. We'll need to redouble your training, Udongein. Tewi can handle whipping the other rabbits into shape."
Reisen lowers her head, dejected, before walking with Kaguya back to Eientei. Tewi rallies the rabbits and they all return as well, leaving behind Seija, Shin, Mokou, and Eirin.
"Now for the matter of the Ultramarine Orb Elixir. Return it to me. Now."
"Hmph," Seija grunts. She pulls out the stand the four vials are in and hands it over the pharmacist. Just as she found them, two are empty and two are full. No corks look like they have been pulled out, either.
"You did not drink any?"
"Nope. You can check my blood or whatever if you don't believe me. What's the deal with it anyway? Why the security? And if it's so important, why only a simple lock?"
"I believe you. I will decline to answer the former two questions, but I will grant you an answer to the third: you would be amazed how many youkai get befuddled by purely mechanical devices. They deal in the mystical and supernatural; any technology beyond the basics can cause them issues. Any that would not have issues are not the types to be sneaking around a mansion as thieves. Or so I thought; I admit I underestimated your capabilities if youkai on your level actually managed to break in without damaging the drawer. Of course, I have contingencies as you experienced."
Extremely arrogant and pretentious way of going about it, she just wanted someone to break in so they'd feel smug before being blindsided by the high-frequency alarm.
"But that's enough excitement for one night, eh?" Mokou interrupts. "You two should head home before Marisa hears about this. You'll probably be in Hatate's paper tomorrow too, so laying low for a while might be smart. I'll head back to Eientei and let Marisa and Sumireko know you were following my instructions."
Without missing a beat, she covers for Sumireko as well.
Mokou and Eirin walk off, the former holding up her hand to say goodbye without even turning around.
"She played the whole crowd perfectly," Shin observes.
"Tch, I'm sure she feels real smug, getting everything she wants and even having the gall to help us when we didn't ask for it."
"Guess she respected us enough to do that."
Well Mokou's dreaming if she ever expects me to admit it's mutual.
Unbeknownst to anyone, a certain crow tengu flies away without making a sound.
The duo eats a late dinner at the Shining Needle Castle, famished following the day's events.
"I really can't say it enough," Shin begins, leaning against a corked bottle her size containing a miniscule amount of liquid matching that of the Ultramarine Orb Elixir, "your idea with the elixir was brilliant."
"It's obvious when you've uncorked any kind of vial or bottle and there was no way of getting any major amount of the elixir out without Eirin noticing the discrepancy. So shrink the cork with your mallet, pour a super tiny amount into your needle's still small sheathe, hide it during the fight, and increase the stolen elixir's size afterwards whenever we choose to use it. Your sheathe was the only thing we had that could act as a container so it was the best choice."
"A little seeped into it, though. Because of how we did it, we'll need to be wary of how we use this. Should my mallet ever lose power again, all the things whose sizes have changed will go back to normal. If you ingest something and it's still in your system when it shrinks, it'll be like you only consumed the originally small portion. Not to mention the risks of making something bigger if we get careless."
"Just make sure you avoid creating more tsukumogami and it should be fine."
"Easy for you to say," says the inchling before taking a big sip of her drink.
Seija drinks a bit of her own. "Yeah, yeah it is."
"You're terrible sometimes, you know that?"
"Flattery won't get you anywhere."
They share a laugh.
"Guess we'll be stuck here for a while until tonight's fallout blows over."
"We've laid low before, this won't be anything new," Seija responds.
"True enough. So, how about explaining to me that stunt you pulled with Reisen now?"
"I was always intending on telling you about this, just wasn't sure when." The amanojaku reveals and takes off her necklace, placing it on the table. "This is a shard of Hakurouken, Youmu's ancestral sword. If you'll recall, it's able to cut through any kind of illusion or confusion."
"Is this the shard she used to-"
"Yeah. She gave it to me last I saw her as a reminder of what happened. I hate having to feel that thing around my neck everyday. One day I'll be returning it."
"You using the word 'hate' in a negative context like that is rare."
Seija looks away, bothered by the memories gazing at the shard stirs up. "But yeah, that's what happened. I used it and momentarily saw through Reisen's illusions, allowing me to hit her."
"I can tell having this shard bothers you a lot, so I'm happy you chose to share it with me. We can bear the burden together since we lost together. And we'll return it together, too."
"You're getting too good at cheering me up, it's unnatural."
"Amanojaku and inchlings both go against the grain in their own ways. I figure there's some common ground there."
It's more than that. You get me in an uncanny way.
"To change the subject," says Seija, lacking any subtlety in deflecting her embarrassment, "we made meaningful progress today. We still haven't found a way to the Lunar Capital but acquired an extremely powerful tool. We'll be unbeatable if we can also get my tools back and combine them with the elixir."
"Are you saying you wanna shoot for those next?"
"Unsure, we need to hash out our next step. Luckily there isn't any kind of rush."
"For now I say we relax for the next week or so," Shin says before getting more of her drink. "We earned it. And I dare say we made some allies today."
"What, you mean Mokou and Sumireko?"
"Neither are exactly on our side so to speak, but we could swing it that Mokou owes us a favor plus Sumireko seems to like nearly everyone. You just sweet-talked her a bit and suddenly she was willing to follow what you said despite what happened between us."
"Ha! 'Sweet-talked' implies I had to put effort into it. She's somehow simultaneously clever and extremely gullible."
"And she's good in a fight, don't forget. If we can use her, that'd be a boon. Her abilities bailed us out multiple times today."
"I can't disagree with that."
"Anyway, want a refill?"
Downing the rest of her beverage, Seija nods.
Moukou and Sumi helping us reach for the Moon, huh? Maybe- Did I just call her 'Sumi'?
A slight headache forms in her skull.
C'mon, Seija, you know worse than that.