"Get out of my head!" Seija shouts as the pressure in her mind builds. Another voice that sounds like two of her overlaid on each other then says, "I'm a part of you, there is no getting rid of me!"
Extending a hand, Dream Satori says, "Seija, you need to stay calm. I should be able to put you in a trance and sever her attempt to control you."
The amanojaku grips her head, pressing her fingers hard against her scalp. "J-just do it already! I feel like I'm about to split open!"
"Understood. Try to stay as still as possible."
"Dang it, I need to dispose of her before she makes things worse!"
Involuntarily summoning more bullets behind herself than she can count, Seija manages to say, "S-stay back! I… can't control them!" She lets the danmaku loose in waves, pushing Satori back and preventing further approach. Some track her position which forces her to constantly be on the move.
"Don't let yourself break down!" says Satori as the homing bullets close in. "Focus on my voice! Someone like you is far too strong-willed to let a manifestation of your doubts dictate your actions!"
"Just let me in already! I'm doing what's best for both of us!" I… will not let you control me!
A deafening scream escapes Seija's mouth. Right when it seems Satori will be shot down, the bullets disappear; at the same time, the amanojaku's body begins to fall limp.
"Why are you trying so hard to help the real one?" asks the voice as Satori gets close. "What's your game here?"
"It's actually quite simple…" says the mind reader. She closes both her eyes and takes a deep breath before opening her left eye and staring right through the mentally fractured amanojaku. "I know full well you used my sister for this plan. I'm not kind enough to forgive that a second time."
"When the hell did she find out?"
Satori's third eye tenses up and juts forward. Seija's gaze is attracted to it; she cannot look away, with her own eyes soon glazing over. "Your consciousness will now return to wherever your bodies are. I'll hopefully be joining you soon, so try not to waste all this time and effort by losing to yourself right away, alright?"
Cracks in the scenery appear, spreading throughout space and over both the Moon and Earth and even Satori. They break and reveal a darkness in which Seija feels herself peacefully falling. A few seconds later, her eyes open, her real body shoots up, and she sees an unfamiliar landscape. Above her is a dark blue sky dotted with five-pointed yellow stars that look like a child's drawing; in the center of it all hangs a jagged crescent moon. Under that is a black castle whose only visible details are numerous windows glowing a pale yellow and the bluish lines where the stronghold's stone and brick meet to form a greater whole. Numerous spires splinter off the castle, with more budding out the further from the base it goes. Black outlines of trees line the ground in front, matching the sprawling and shadowed structures spread out far behind the castle. One is a giant wheel made up of a series of bars that come out from the center with circular pods evenly spaced along the connecting outer edge; the other is a winding and looping railway where smaller automated cars speed along it. Both are unrecognizable to the amanojaku.
Where am I…? Is this another part of the Dream World? I don't feel that irritating presence inside me anymore.
As she rubs her head, Seija notices another sluggishly moving figure in the corner of her eye. Both directly face each other and see reflections of themselves.
"Ugh, Satori really went and did it this time," says Dream Seija, shaking off her fatigue.
"You!" the real Seija shouts, pointing at her double. "Reverse Sign - Overturning All Under Heaven!"
"Should've expected that reaction. I'll match yours with my own!" The bullets they summon perfectly crash into each other, neither side making any headway. It does not take long until they notice the area remains oriented normally, no flipping to be seen.
That's… really lame. We cancel each other out?
Dream Seija's scrunched face mirrors the real one's feelings.
A fight between us would just turn into an extended slog. I could maybe win, but that's gonna take a lot of time and effort. How else to deal with her?
"I was afraid of it coming to this," says the dream self. "How about we at least try talking it out since force doesn't seem to work well."
Seija scowls at her counterpart. "Fine. Why do this? You're hurting yourself!"
"I thought you remembered our earlier encounter, you should know the reason."
"I can't accept that. Shin doesn't bear any fault here! This is just some kind of weird insecurity!"
"It doesn't matter whether or not you can 'accept' it," says the Dream World denizen. "My feelings are your feelings! Wake up and face reality!"
"Oh that's rich coming from you. All you are is a caricature of the real Seija Kijin!"
"So rejection is all you can muster for me?"
Seija balls her fists so hard that her knuckles turn white. "I reject the notion I'm as pathetic as you! I can do what I want while still being with Shin!"
"Getting so worked up over someone else… We really have lost our edge. I feel the same contempt for myself that you do. It's so overpowering that she's getting tunnel vision, wouldn't you say, Koishi?"
"Wha-?!" The original looks around and then behind for any sign of the satori, but cannot find anything.
I'm ready for her if she tries to blind me again!
While thinking that, the amanojaku suddenly flips upside down before a salvo of bullets batter her back. Her body arches backwards instinctively due to how much they sting.
"Tch, idiot," says Dream Seija. "Falling for your own tricks, now? I can't believe you trusted me when I said we could just talk this out."
"You…!" The original trails off while she reorients herself, circling around such that she is directly in front of the castle while her double is between it and her.
"How slow can you be? Koishi was following us around the whole time earlier! That's why our mutual 'friend' couldn't get a read on me! By hiding myself within you while Koishi did some of the dirty work and messed with everyone's subconscious, I could selectively make Satori hear certain thoughts and intents from me while flipping them at my leisure with you none the wiser. Seeing her flounder while trying to figure out my attacks was hysterical!"
"So you are responsible for shooting at Shin earlier!"
"Wow, ten stars, bang-up job on piecing that together."
"Because of you, she's still wandering that place, looking for me. You've constantly stood between us." Seija bares her teeth, her face contorted in anger. "You used her image to attack me in those nightmares! You made me hurt her back at the shrine!"
"Yeah, I - which is to say, you - did. I thought that was already established. What other earth-shattering revelations will you-" An enraged Seija yells and reverses the distance between them from 10 meters to 01 meter without even thinking and tackles the dream self in a fit of rage, sending both straight into the castle wall. "OW! What the hell was that?! Since when can we…?"
"I don't care what you try to do to me, but if you so much as touch her again, I'll- AGH!" she yelps as Dream Seija headbutts her to break free.
"Do you even realize what you just did?" the counterpart asks, rubbing her head while putting distance between them.
"Grrr…" Seija ignores the question as well as the pain in her head and back. She offers no words, instead attacking with bullets from every direction she is able.
"Fine, if that's how you want to play this!" While flying through and over the assault, the dream amanojaku says, "Don't you see what this 'partnership' is doing to us? You're just lashing out like a wild animal! We're losing sight of the big picture!"
"I don't care about any big picture Shin isn't a part of!" says Seija, rocketing after her doppelgänger with a speed exceeding anything she has shown before.
"Moron." Dream Seija, using the real one as a center point, flips her position such that she is on the other side and instantly follows up with more bullet volleys to Seija's back. One lands squarely on her head, stunning and knocking her down towards the trees.
Gah…! I can't… lose…!
Continuing, the double says, "All this fighting we've been doing recently has started to bear fruit. We're getting faster and our abilities are growing. Our instincts were already sharp but now they're being honed further." She rapidly descends and catches Seija by the scruff of her neck, following this by lifting her up, turning her around, and holding her by the collar. "But this unnatural focus on Shin is making us act stupid. Sentimental. You legitimately caught me off guard yet let your affection blind you to an obvious counterattack. I can feel it, too. We're the same person and I have to fight against inchling-sized weights tying down my every limb."
"Aren't you… supposed to not have any inhibitions?" says the amanojaku between pants. The blow to the head she endured was the jolt needed to stymy her blind rage, calming her slightly. "I would've thought that our feelings towards her would affect you more than me."
"Who said they don't?"
"What?"
"I feel everything you do and without any filters. I've had a very long time to cope with these conflicting emotions before deciding what I needed to do while you were still wondering if they were even there." Dream Seija tightens her grip. "How can I make it any clearer to you? I'm only doing what you desire but are too afraid to admit. So make this easy for yourself and let me take it from here." She drops her sneer and replaces it with a stone-faced stare. "It's… for our own good. Our goals will eventually put us at odds with her. Alternatively, if we mess up and Shin's with us, she'll suffer for it too. This relationship will only backfire in the end, regardless of how the pieces fall."
Is this really how I feel deep down? …My hands are trembling. I can feel my throat catching. All her fear and sadness is resonating with me. I'm… afraid. Not of her, but the possibilities she's presenting. I can't deny it anymore.
Dang it, what am I doing, letting her get to me?! Even if that's all true…!
"…No."
The dream self's eyes narrow. "What was that?"
"I said 'No'! You're only one part of me! A weak-willed part that can't handle her own life possibly being overturned! Now that's what I'd call unacceptable amanojaku behavior! I'll find a way to turn the world upside down without sacrificing anything! All you're doing is giving in!"
This whole time, I've been letting her get under my skin. Normally that's my job. Figures I would know how to do it better than anyone.
"Tch." Letting her real world counterpart go and preparing a spell card, the dream self says, "After this is over, I'll maintain enough influence to ensure that what led us here won't happen again. I might pay little Miss Detective a visit, too. Can't have her interfering anymore."
"I'll ask you once, because you're me," says Seija, spreading her arms out pleadingly to seem open and welcoming instead of withdrawn and defensive despite the imminent attack. "Do you really want to do this?"
The double regains her smile. "What is this, some kinda last second redemption chance? Ha! I wouldn't have gone through all this effort if I didn't. I'll break your body if that's what it takes to make you understand!"
Can't expect it to be that easy. I've taken more damage than her and am having a really hard time tuning out the aching in my back. Matching her blow for blow now would only wear me out first. I have noticed one weakness, though: barring my earlier outburst, she's consistently been more aggressive than me, constantly trying to tear down my will to fight. It was like that when she messed with my head and dreams before, too. Now that she sees I won't go down without a fight, she's aggravated. I can exploit that lack of restraint!
"Reverse Sign - Evil in the Mirror!" With Dream Seija's call, left and right switch while a storm of bullets rain down from behind her. The real Seija, instead of countering with her own, elects to dodge the attack. As the spell card's creator, she understands the ins and outs better than anyone; none of the bullets even come close. "I see what you're doing. It doesn't matter what kind of trick or strategy you come up with, I know them all!" Then, as if she just noticed something, the double's eyes go wide. She proceeds to laugh and say, "Real talk, I'm sure you remember a certain orb we used before, right?!"
Wait, she can't be-!
She pulls out, from seemingly nowhere, a red and white yin-yang orb before disappearing. An instant later, she manifests in front of the original, putting their noses within centimeters of each other. Each simultaneously goes to reverse an aspect of the situation. The original flips their positions but maintains the directions they face such that they have their backs to each other, all in a bid to fly away and prevent up-close combat; the aggressor does the inverse, reversing their horizontal orientations but leaving the positioning untouched. This results in an effective net gain of zero for both maneuvers, as they still face each other.
What a meaningful interaction.
Immediately following this, they shoot a slew of basic bullets at each other while flying to the left relative to the front of the castle; Seija flies backwards while the dream self flies forwards in pursuit. Anytime the latter attempts to teleport closer, the former is able to predict and outmaneuver it by considering what she would do in her opponent's position.
"'I can just dodge the spell cards and let her wear herself out, which will make winning easy.' That was your strategy, right?" Dream Seija asks, putting on a relaxed tone. "But now, you're wondering what to do if I have access to at least one of our tools. If I just keep up the pressure, that pain you feel simmering will cause you to slow down first. And you can't shift to an aggressive approach since the tools give me an advantage; even if you switched to some kind of impossible danmaku, they'll keep me safe while you wear yourself out."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it already."
Do I always sound this insufferable? If so, good, that means my skill for irritation hasn't dulled at all.
"You're pretty casual for someone fighting a losing battle," says the dream self, unrelenting in her chase. "What happened to that feral and whining 'don't touch my precious princess Shinmyoumaru' display from earlier?"
"Those weren't my exact words, but anyway, I realized getting upset at the possibility of you hurting her was stupid. I'm not very impressed with your showing so far, all things considered. Shin would beat you easily. And you're right about the effect all the fighting I've done recently has had; I feel myself improving. Compared to me, you're just a cheap copy."
"That so?" Seija leads them to the gigantic wheel-like contraption behind the castle's left and goes between the slowly moving bars, using them to ward off some bullets. Seeing this, Dream Seija goes to the center axis and says, "Why not try this? Turnabout - Reverse Hierarchy!" Everything around them rotates counterclockwise, which matches the direction the wheel already moves. It starts accelerating as a result, with the bars inside comboing with the spell card's danmaku. Seija finds herself in a hazardous trap, compelled to dodge both bullets and a swiftly turning metal framework.
Don't let her fluster me, she even used a weaker version of the spell card. She's conserving her strength since she doesn't believe this will be enough!
First, Seija uses her knowledge of Reverse Hierarchy to predict where bullets will come from. Second, instead of staying in one spot and dodging the bars, she moves with them and the rotating spell card while adjusting laterally as needed; the structure itself still provides cover from a few bullets and now poses minimal danger. Finally, thanks to everything prior alleviating some pressure, she focuses on reversing the direction of any critical bullets that would be too difficult to dodge in the somewhat cramped space. Her breathing is more labored by the end, but she outlasts the spell card without taking a single hit.
"Well I tried it," says a grinning Seija, choosing to remain in the framework. "Maybe take it for another spin after doing some tuning? Seems to have broken down."
The dream self squints before going after Seija directly. They weave through the symmetrical metal bars all over the wheel, exchanging attacks as they do so. "Do you honestly believe such an obvious attempt to bait my annoyance will work? Everything we think and feel bleeds into each other! I can't read your exact thoughts while we're separated and fighting like this, but they're not hard to guess."
"That's an interesting tidbit. So you admit that you felt sad a minute ago? Cause I certainly felt that bleeding from you!"
"You've already proven that you don't understand your surface level feelings, how could you possibly comprehend your deepest ones?!" shouts Dream Seija as she increases the density of her bullets.
Definitely seems like I touched a nerve on that one. …This is so weird, trying to infuriate myself. It's not very strong, but I'm getting annoyed by my own words.
Hiding behind what she guesses to be a passenger car near the top of the wheel to let it eat some of the latest attack, Seija says, "You're right, for a while I didn't and to a large degree I still don't. I can't say why exactly Shin matters to me as much as she does or what caused this change in my behavior to happen. Never would've let myself get caught dead acting chummy with someone like Sekibanki a couple years ago, either."
"So you realize we're going soft!" The car's windows break under the pressure from the barrage, but when Seija begins moving again, her double teleports in front of her. However, the original flips Dream Seija when the latter goes for a grapple and slips away by going over her. "This isn't us! What don't you get?!"
Flying away from the wheel and towards the railway where open-air passenger cars intermittently race by on the thin and circuitous track, the real amanojaku says, "I don't consider that airhead a friend. She was a means to an end. But we want to overturn this world we live in, don't we? In order for the weak to stand a chance against the strong, some cooperation among the weak is necessary. She proved her resolve that day, which is why I was willing to acknowledge her."
"We shouldn't be 'acknowledging' anyone. I agree cooperation is sometimes required, but we only use tools like her when there isn't any other choice. That doesn't equate to drinking with someone at a bar after they nearly ruined all our plans! It doesn't mean we can start indulging that outside world dunce's idiotic nicknames! And it definitely doesn't excuse us feeling any sympathy or guilt towards those stupid sisters!" Dream Seija teleports using the orb again and collides with her counterpart going full speed, sending both tumbling onto a level section of the railway's track. The former recovers first and gets on top of the latter, pinning her by holding an arm with each hand while using her legs to weigh down Seija's own.
"…How did you get Koishi's dream self to help with your plan?"
"It was easy enough. I searched this world for her and, when I found her, asked if she wanted to play again. She jumped at the chance and we've played a variety of 'games' the past few weeks. Not the sharpest knife, is she?"
"You don't believe that."
The double raises an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"What was it you said before? 'I'm literally the one person you can never lie to'?" Seija indulges a wide grin. "She plays with you because she likes us and knows we don't intend to hurt her. You should heed your own advice and not get so emotional about things. You only got this far through subterfuge and staying one step ahead of me. Now that we're on equal footing, you can't hide anything from me just like I can't you."
"Look at the 'real' one acting superior. Stop trying to push my buttons, I already know this song and dance."
"If you know it so well, why are you so intent on stopping me? Maybe it's working and you're painfully aware of that fact? Though, I guess it's in our nature to deny and subvert the truth we present to each other."
"Heh. Hahahahaha!"
"What's got you so tickled?"
"I'm just happy you always refuse to give up. It means we're not a total lost cause." Both feel a rumbling on the track they lie on and hear a swiftly approaching car. Dream Seija reluctantly frees her constrained opponent so both can move out of the way. "Fortunate timing for you."
I've gotta form a new plan. Her weaknesses are still there but if she keeps running me ragged using the orb I don't have a way out. If I can't catch my breath soon-
"Let me guess: you're thinking about how you're about to lose?" says the double, finishing Seija's thought. "Accept it, this situation isn't tenable. You can let me do what you can't either before or after I render you unable to move even a finger."
Ugh, I thought I was making progress there for a minute, too! I need more time. If only Shin was here…!
"I'm no inchling, but maybe I can suffice?" says a disembodied voice both present immediately identify. Satori's form slowly materializes to the right of Seija. "Apologies for the delay. I told you I would be joining you as soon as I could. Pleased to see you were able to endure while I was gone, though you certainly look worse for wear."
"…Y'know maybe I can deal with having to win on my own if this is the back-up I'm getting," says Seija while rolling her eyes.
"We could temporarily team up to deal with her if you want," suggests her counterpart.
"E-excuse you!" Satori stammers. "Do you want me to abandon you to your fate?"
"C'mon, detective, it's just a joke," says the amanojaku, chuckling. "Hopefully you can deduce that much."
To be honest, it's a massive weight off to know I might not be completely screwed.
Satori squirms where she levitates, embarrassed.
"Well, ain't that swell?" the antagonistic dream self muses, hands behind her head. "I wanted to deal with you alone since this issue is pretty personal, but if you get help it's only fair I do too. Koishi, real talk, can you join us now?"
"Okay!" responds the younger sister, skipping out from behind Seija and Satori.
So she is here. I'm guessing she was briefed on where to go in case the two of me returned to our bodies. Probably showed up a bit after we did but stayed hidden.
A hurried Satori says, "Koishi?! Please stay away from that version of Seija, she's only using you!"
"Got it!"
"Thank goodness." Despite the apparent affirmation, Koishi does not budge from Dream Seija's side. "Koishi? Did you hear me?"
"Nope!"
"Um, I see. Let me repeat myself: come over here. That one is not to be trusted."
"Alright!" Once again, no one moves. Another car speeds by on the rail below them.
Uh, detective, if you can hear my thoughts right now, I think it's safe to assume my worse half has done something to make her unresponsive to what you're saying.
"You're probably right, unfortunately," whispers the pink and purple youkai. "Koishi seems to think this is some kind of game, so we need to unravel the trick. I also can't get a solid read on your dream self's thoughts. Koishi's manipulation of unconsciousness is surprisingly robust."
So happy to hear you praising your sister, brings a tear to my eye, really. Definitely the best thing to be doing right now.
"Yes, well, I think we should focus on the issue at hand before making more snide remarks."
"What are you whispering out, Miss Detective? You two doing some weird telepathy nonsense?" Dream Seija asks. "Rude to exclude the rest of us. I'll teach you proper manners!"
Man that was lame. What's your expert insight, detective? My one liners are better than that, right?
"Putting aside the absurdity of that question in this situation, how in the world would I know?" Satori asks. "You and I, dream selves or otherwise, have only directly interacted a few times before now."
You've got a lot to learn about this banter thing.
The older sister rubs her temples. "I sincerely hope you and I never need to work together again."
"You handle your big sis, Koishi, while I take care of the other me," the double commands. The hat-wearing girl giggles and they both rush at the unlikely pair with Dream Seija brandishing the orb while Koishi extends purple cords from inside her sleeves. Seija breaks right while Satori flies left, each preparing countermeasures to deal with their assigned partners. However, when Seija goes to flip positions with her double, she is beaten to the punch as the latter swaps places with Koishi; the real amanojaku's right leg is ensnared by the younger sister's cords and she gets wildly thrown about. Satori, meanwhile, barely dodges a point blank blitz of ten large bullets when Dream Seija teleports close in an attempt to immediately incapacitate her.
We probably should've expected that!
"And now that you're close," says Koishi after dragging Seija in, "Instinct - Release of the Id!" Heart-shaped bullets half the size of the green-haired girl shoot out from her in all directions, a few managing to graze the wriggling amanojaku whose movement options are limited. "Having fun?"
"Oh I'm having a hell of a time," Seija responds while wincing in pain, her fatigue from her earlier bout compounding her sluggishness.
"Really? Oh…" Koishi's eyes droop as she trails off and she lets go of Seija.
"What?"
Why did she lay off?
"Koishi, keep up the pressure on her!" shouts Dream Seija while backing off from Satori.
Perking up again, the green-and-gold clad youkai replies, "Okay!" She extends her cords again but, before Seija even has a chance to dodge them, the former is replaced by the latter's sneering dream self who then teleports behind Seija. However, the original anticipates this and lands a good few bullets by summoning them where she expects her other self to appear, effectively spawning them on her.
Dream Seija reels back a bit before correcting herself and saying, "Think you're smart, huh?"
"Don't need to be if you're this predictable!" Seija counters.
They keep switching opponents whenever this half-baked wannabe says the opposite. I would've expected them to mix it up more by throwing in some genuine orders too, but they've consistently stuck with their gimmick. Her attack just now was also super telegraphed. Does she want to distract me somehow?
"It is time to quit playing and go home, Koishi!" Satori orders to no avail as her sister chases her with bullets.
"Alright!" says Koishi, showing no signs of complying.
"I will not attack you so please stop!"
"Ohhhh, okay." The younger youkai proceeds to defensively curl up.
This prompts a concerned Satori to approach. "Is something wro-"
"Suppression - Super-Ego!" A huge and bright burst of energy expands from Koishi's body, engulfing her older sister completely. When it fades, Seija sees Satori doubled-over, barely able to stay flying. Koishi tilts her head and stops smiling. "…Satori?"
"Ugh…"
Shoot!
Dream Seija calls out, "It seems your big sis isn't having fun at all, you shouldn't continue playing with her."
"Really?" says Koishi, her smile returning. She extends her cords and tightly wraps them around Satori.
"Please… put me down," the older sister says, still appearing dazed.
"Okay!" Instead of doing as her sister asks, Koishi proceeds to launch Satori upward as hard as she can, allowing Dream Seija to teleport in, orb in hand, for a decisive blow.
"Reverse Sign-"
Oh no you don't!
Seija moves quickly and flips positions with Satori before kicking the orb out of her counterpart's hand, who had left herself open when calling the spell card. When she moves up to grab it, though, it simply fades away.
Huh?
"Good, that worked," says Satori, flying over from Seija's prior spot while only showing slight signs of slowness.
"Weren't you barely able to stay upright a second ago?" Dream Seija asks.
"That attack certainly wasn't pleasant but I have practiced enough with Koishi to be a bit more resilient than you give me credit for. I needed to test a hypothesis by appearing weak and getting you to drop your guard."
Seija raises an eyebrow. "And you were expecting me to bail you out?"
"I have been digging your mind via a harmless form of hypnosis since this fight started for spell cards that would be effective against your dream self; in other words, ones you struggled against in the past. That is my standard method of combat. But I found that you lacked much trauma related to spell cards - barring some impossible ones you dealt with while on the run - and most of your negative experiences are associated with seeing Shinmyoumaru in danger and hurrying to help her, so I elected to bet on that. While I was already aware that your caring for her was genuine, I was… surprised to see such a side of you in action."
"Gee, thanks for the unsolicited compliment that required you to invade my mind without permission. I'd deck you if we weren't in this situation."
"Regardless, given what became of the tools following their confiscation, I had a hard time believing she could have one; it seems I was right." Pointing an accusatory finger at Dream Seija, she continues, "You never had the real Bloodthirsty Yin-Yang Orb, did you? You used Koishi to manipulate our perception from the outset to make us think you did, utilizing that same manipulation to appear as though you were teleporting."
Dream Seija only shrugs. "Cat's out of the bag. Keeping the pretense of a 'one-on-one' fight earlier was necessary, but Koishi's been pulling some strings all along. She got here soon after me and the lamer me did; it pays to make contingencies."
My guess was pretty close. That also explains the Four-Foot Magic Bomb I saw before.
"You little-" Seija cuts herself off. "That's exactly what I would've done, yeah."
"Then why did you not think of it sooner?!" says Satori, her volume bordering on a shout and red in the face. Despite herself, her semblance of calm falters.
"It's been a long day, alright?"
"Now that we've sorted that out…" The Dream World's amanojaku snaps her fingers and more purple cords shoot out from below that wrap around and restrain both Seija and Satori. "Way to ruin the fun, Miss Detective. Now any mental advantage I had is gone since she knows I've been cheating the whole time. Gotta try again, I guess. Koishi, real talk, do what we talked about before. The first round of the game is about to end."
They caught us so easily… Have we only been dancing in the palm of her hand all along?
"What's this about a 'mental advantage'?" Seija asks. "How does that relate to cutting our fight short now?"
"Forcing my will on you only results in major pushback, which you've proven repeatedly. I need to convince you I'm right psychologically, whether it's through overpowering you alone - at least from your perspective - or simple persuasion. You could think of this as a prolonged internal argument; one where it doesn't matter if the subconscious knows it cheated provided the forefront of the mind believes it. People lie to themselves like that all the time. But now its supposed integrity has been uprooted and we're back to square one, just like those nightmares I made that Doremy interrupted. I'll try a different method next time and ensure it doesn't allow you to be bailed out by a meddling sister."
"Ah yes, because only having a cheating tool wouldn't qualify as cheating in our mind. Give me a break."
"Seija," Satori interrupts, "we have moments before Koishi forces everything you've experienced today into your innermost subconscious while I am rendered helpless for who knows how long, so less snarking and more thinking."
Koishi pulls both in, innocently smiling as always. "Real talk, does this mean I win?"
"Yes, now hurry up," says the doppelgänger with an annoyed and impatient frown.
That was the first time I've heard Koishi say something without meaning the opposite since after she knocked Shin and me out. Oddly aggressive from the other me, too. Was there something Koishi said? She's picked up that weird 'real talk' thing, but…
Hearing Seija's thoughts, a bulb alights in the older satori's head, who clears her throat and says, "Koishi, real talk, let us go right now."
"Okay!" says Koishi. Like clockwork, she releases them without a fuss.
What?
"No!" Dream Seija yells, clenching her fists.
"You established a key phrase to ensure you could give her direct orders when required," says Satori. "But since you needed to fool her into thinking this was all a fair and fun game - especially after I got involved - you were unable to justify a reason why no one else could say it. Thus you used it sparingly, made it seem like part of your standard eccentric mannerisms so we would ignore it."
"…But Koishi saying it and the reaction it got tipped us off," says Seija, completing the explanation after piecing it together herself.
Thinking back, she didn't use the phrase when pretending to call Koishi the first time, which is how Koishi knew not to reveal herself. And she did use it right before pulling out the fake orb!
"You're… more clever than you used to be, huh, Miss Detective? Last I checked, you needed your mind reading as a crutch," says the counterpart through her teeth. "Koishi, real talk, don't listen-"
"How about you stop talking?!" shouts Seija, distracting her desperate dream self by tackling her at full speed and performing a body lock. She holds on tightly to ensure neither can flip away without taking the other and starts pushing them away from the Komeijis. "We're not done yet!"
"Gah, let me go!"
"After everything you've done, I don't think I will!"
Satori flies to her sister while the Seijas tussle and places a hand on her head. "Thank you. Real talk, the game is over now. Do not listen to Seija if she tells you to do something again without my approval, alright?"
"Oh… But she seemed nice when I played with her the night after the party at the shrine."
"Yeah, she did. I really am happy you were able to get through to her somewhat after what she tried to do to our home. You are very kind, Koishi. However, even if she seems nicer than before, Seija is not. You need to be wary of her."
"Did I do something wrong?"
"Nothing I could be mad at you for as long as you promise to be more careful." Koishi nods, looking down slightly. Satori smiles at her. "And… I love you. I don't say that enough."
The younger sister perks up and hugs Satori, who responds in kind. "I love you too!"
"What now, me?" Seija asks, continuing her push. "Seems your last resort just fizzled out!"
Dream Seija repeatedly reverses the direction they move in but gets undone each time. "Now you're protecting them? What is wrong with you?!" she asks as they reach the castle.
"I'm just making sure you can't use Koishi against me again!"
"Then why do I feel your catharsis for helping them?" Those words make the amanojaku falter slightly, giving her dream self the chance to push back against Seija's grip and break free. They stare each other down, both with ragged hair and sweat visible on their faces; the real one still has noticeably heavier breathing, however. "Do you think I directly caused all the headaches you've been having?"
A random question to ask at this point.
"Well, duh," says Seija, wiping her brow. "It's because you've been trying to exert control and I pushed back. You even said as much before!"
"That's only been the case three times: when I tried to take over at the shrine, during your fight with Aya, and today; in the last case, I didn't even cause all of them. And you've been having them for longer than that. Think back."
"What are you getting at?"
"I'm trying to save us! We're unraveling!"
It's true the headaches have been around since before the mess at the shrine but…
"Stop trying to pretend you've accomplished anything but inconveniencing Shin and me!"
"And again with Shin…" Dream Seija shakes her head. "I… I want to stay with her too, y'know?"
This attitude shift prompts Seija to narrow her eyes. "Then stop doing all this. I said before that I'll find a way to keep her by my side no matter what happens."
"Yeah. That's part of the problem." One flick of the wrist from the dream self overturns the world once more. "I still might be able to make an impact on our psyche. You better be ready!"
"Hmph. Fine." Seija cannot help but smirk. "Just which one of us will be able to overturn the other, I wonder?"
"If you have to ask then you've already lo-" Before she can finish speaking, Dream Seija freezes in place and the world reorients. "N-no… Why… now…?"
What just happened? She can't move? Isn't this like-
"I've seen enough." Doremy Sweet pops into existence behind the double. "You've proven your tenacity to be more than sufficient, Seija. And I mean both of you."
"Wait, have you been watching this whole time?!" Seija asks.
"Yes. Satori over there was aware of this, but I asked her not to tell you." A million combinations of questions and insults race through the dumbfounded amanojaku's mind. "Before you do anything rash, please try to listen. When your dream self lured you here last night, I was able to finally determine that she was the one responsible for this mess."
So not only was this puffed-up baku watching and doing nothing before now, Satori knew?!
Doing her utmost not to lash out in pure frustration, Seija asks, "And what, if I may be so discourteous to ask, let you finally figure it out?"
"I know when any denizens leave this place. It was only barely and lasted hardly a moment, but I felt this one reach into reality. Immediately I went to investigate and observed her setting this up."
When did she- Wait, that's right. Shin snapped me out of the trance I was in and pulled me back from the entrance. Then I felt a tug on my clothes and we were dragged in.
"That inchling always manages to come through for you," says Doremy with half-closed eyes and a smug smile.
"…Yeah, she does."
"Well, well. You seem a tad more forward about your connection than the first time we met. Regardless, once I realized it wasn't some random interloper and was actually your other self, I decided to watch things unfold for a bit. I have a policy of giving my world's individuals a chance at proving themselves if they intend to act out, though I'll never let them stray too far without directly taking action. Since this case is, at its core, an internal conflict for you, I shouldn't be interfering too much. Your other self didn't even plan on leaving, she just wanted to influence you. Her methods were incredibly well thought out and using herself as a backdoor for Koishi's abilities was ingenious. Designing those deceptive nightmares must've taken a great deal of effort, too."
"The same nightmares you called 'obscene'?"
"Obscene or not, I can acknowledge the sheer amount of introspection it takes to so expertly play on her own insecurities. She also made use of the fact she shares a consciousness with you to hide her presence from me in the second nightmare I interrupted; since you were using her body at the time due to it being a dream, it must've been simple. Leave it to an amanojaku to help find exploitable flaws."
"Praising everything she's done to hinder me isn't exactly comforting," says Seija.
"If anything I would've thought your contrarianism would make you inclined to think the same way, though I suppose disagreeing with me also works," Doremy replies with a shrug. "Think of it as me praising you by extension. Remember that the border between-"
"-dreams and reality is indistinct, I get it. Why not put that on a sign or something?"
"Doremy, you finally decided enough was enough?" asks Satori, who arrives from behind the castle along with Koishi.
"I deemed further conflict unnecessary," says the baku. "Seija's dream self has lost her only means of influence and the real one's proven that she's willing to stand by Shinmyoumaru in the face of outside temptation and her own psyche. I can't have her doing irreparable damage to herself on my watch were they to continue fighting, that would just be negligent."
Putting up a hand, Seija turns to Satori and says, "So you knew Doremy was involved the whole time and said nothing?"
"Not at first," the older sister counters. "I really had been investigating a malevolent force moving around. As I now realize, your dream self had been taking action with Koishi while I was asleep in reality so this body would be preoccupied while that went on."
"But one of the nightmares and the time at the shrine were both in the early evening."
"Satori's asleep at her desk pretty often," Koishi chimes in.
"Yes, my sleep schedule can be… erratic."
"And Koishi was always awake when you were asleep?" Seija asks.
"That girl is a special case," says Doremy. "Since she only operates using her subconscious, there is zero mental distinction between her two selves. They act exactly the same way and what each sees affects them equally; this is different from how the experiences of a dream self usually don't impact the real one at all unless the latter is asleep. Think of it like two independently operating bodies feeding information to the same brain at the same rate. But since her actions are largely reactive to her current environment and desire-driven, the bodies will not acknowledge what the other is doing. The real one can fall asleep, but it happens less frequently than the average person and only serves to turn that body off, so to speak. Perhaps due to her current state, she doesn't truly dream when sleeping. She merely… roams."
Wow. If she opened her third eye, would her dream self still act like this?
"Assuming the act of doing so doesn't fundamentally change her personality," Satori begins, "possibly. But, if I had to guess, she would act less… youthful were that to occur. Maybe one day we will find out, but that will only be when she's ready."
"Unrelated to that," Seija interjects, "considering how much you seem to love creeping people out by responding to their thoughts, maybe you should go out more and not just with Koishi. It'd be entertaining to watch all the chaos you would cause."
"Ugh…"
If you don't like me saying that stuff, stop doing it. That should be simple enough to deduce for someone of your prestigious station, I'd hope.
"Would you return to the subject at hand now?"
Seija, bearing a sly grin, says, "Okay: when did Doremy approach you?"
"Extremely recently. To be precise, between our first and second meetings earlier. The real me only woke up - which freed me to search - about an hour before I found you, so I had to hurry and locate the foreign presence that turned out to be you and Shinmyoumaru. I felt some overtly negative thoughts lingering on you, which is when I pieced together your connection with my investigation. Apparently Doremy had noticed my looking around the past ten or so days and determined we were on the same trail, so she brought me up to speed after seeing that my sister was involved. She also transported me here so I could join you once Koishi showed her face."
"I'm willing to let internal conflicts play out, but if it was you, Seija, against both yourself and someone who specializes in manipulating the subconscious," Doremy says while summoning and twirling a dream soul with her right hand, "your disadvantage would be nearly insurmountable. Call it petty, but I still need to exert my authority here. So, with Satori right there and already having a stake in the matter, I figured both of your selves should have a sister on their side to even the playing field."
"'Playing field'?" the amanojaku echoes. "I guess this is just a game to you. I'm so happy you got such a kick out of it. Meanwhile, Shin is still wandering this world looking for me! This was never a purely 'internal conflict'! She has had to help me deal with the fallout and has been caught in its crossfire multiple times! You should've intervened before it reached this point!"
The ruler of dreams opens her book and flips through the pages, her expression neutral. "You're blaming me, yet I did all I could to help you by saving you from those nightmares. By the time I realized it was internal, your partner had already been brought here."
"If not me, you could've at least gotten her out!"
"The only reason you didn't leave this world immediately was to search for her. If you had, the seeds your other self planted would have taken root and influenced your actions more strongly than ever going forward, all with you none the wiser. I knew leaving Shinmyoumaru alone would give you the motivation needed to confront yourself directly. Beyond that, it was your mind's machinations that put her in danger. If you can't control your worst impulses, you must deal with the consequences. Or would you have preferred me do nothing?"
"Listen, you-"
Doremy's book slams shut, the sound reverberating across the silhouetted landscape. "I think you should be the one listening. What was the first thing you saw Satori do when you saw her the second time? In other words, after I had first spoken to her?"
"Um, she talked to Shin and… told her the way out and that I was also here."
"And what did your partner do when presented with this knowledge?"
The amanojaku averts her eyes. "…She decided to stay and look for me."
"Now, will you ask me again why I didn't immediately take Shinmyoumaru away from here?" Despite balling her fists, Seija says nothing. "I'm glad you understand."
"Heh… pathetic," mutters someone no one had been paying attention to: the still frozen Dream Seija. "Letting yourself be… talked down to like that… You… really are… an awful amanojaku…!"
"Still able to speak after I ate all your non-vital energy? Your stubbornness continues to surprise me," muses Doremy.
Dream Seija manages a pained smile. "I'm not the type… to let myself… be controlled…" She looks at her other self. They stare at each other, the former's eyes full of defiance. "Right?"
Is she… trying to motivate me?
"Right," says Seija. She gives her dream self a thumbs-down. "I'll overturn even my own expectations if I have to!"
"You… better…"
Placing a hand on her chin, Doremy quietly chuckles to herself. "I'll return you to the passageway now." Looking to the Komeijis, she says, "Thank you for your assistance, Satori."
Bowing, the part-time detective says, "I only did what was needed to ensure Koishi would not get dragged into another of Seija's schemes. My other self let fear stay her hand once before; I refuse to ever let that happen again."
Well look at the big sis actually doing her job!
"Do you intentionally only think these barbs so that they annoy me exclusively?"
I don't know what you mean.
"…Goodbye, Seija."
"Bye, Seija! Say hi to Shinmy for me!" says Koishi with a wave. "Honestly, I disagree with Satori that I need to be careful around you. You're fun!"
Seija laughs while Satori facepalms. The former says, "Right back at ya. Never be afraid of subverting a few folks, got it?"
"Got it!"
"Now wait a minute!" Satori objects. "Don't put questionable ideas in-" Before she can finish, Doremy snaps her fingers and Seija is gone.
"For crying out loud, how big is this place?!" Shin shouts, stretching her arms upward while being taunted by the space-like expanse. "If I don't find her, should I just sleep here? How would that even work? I guess I could make some food with the mallet… Hm, if it comes to that, I should use it to find her flat-out."
"Do you make a habit of talking to yourself while I'm gone?" says a voice behind her. She instantly turns around and sees her somewhat disheveled but still-in-one-piece partner.
"Seija!" Shin immediately hugs her so hard and fast it could qualify as a tackle. "What happened to you?! Satori's dream self told me you were still here and-"
"I know. You, uh, missed a lot. I'll tell you everything on the… way… home…" Seija's knees buckle and she falls forward in Shin's arms, but the latter keeps her stable. "Before you say a word, I'm fine, just a bit tired."
"I can tell," says Shin, smiling despite herself. "I've got an idea. Let me carry you for once."
"Huh? That's not-"
"Too late!" The inchling activates the Miracle Mallet and Seija condenses to the size of Shin's hand. She shrinks her bowl too and puts the little bundle of evil inside. "Let's go home!"
"Shin, hold on a second!"
"It's faster this way. And I want to be the one supporting you sometimes."
A familiar feeling in Seija's stomach returns with a vengeance and her face turns red. "Idiot…"
You're always supporting me.
Unable to stop this turn of events, she performs circular stretches with her neck to loosen up while getting comfortable within the bowl.
…Am I forgetting something?
…
THE NECKLACE!
"Wait, Shin, my necklace with the Hakurouken shard is-"
"Oh, I'm glad you mentioned that." Shin pulls on a strap hidden by the poofy collar of her white undershirt. Taking it out completely reveals Seija's necklace. "When I woke up, this was around my neck. No idea how I got it."
"What the hell…?"
It was shot out of my hand. I figured it would've been aimlessly drifting here somewhere. Did she want to ensure we didn't lose it?
"Judging by your expression, this is part of what I missed?" Shin asks.
"Yeah," says the wiped out but relieved amanojaku.
Annoying as it is to admit it, that other me knows full well what I value. Her belief that we'll inevitably lose those things sparked the fears that caused this. I'll prove her fears - my fears - wrong.