3/8

"...wait, so you mean Futo, of all people, is a target?" Marisa asked.

"The key does not lie," I replied. "If a person's desires are distorted, but not enough to warrant a fortress, it will point to the location in Ethos where their shadow resides."

We were holed up in Nitori's cave, where we could test out names to see if they were in Ethos; we felt that, now that Aya was a member of the team, we didn't have to be as careful to hide our activities, while still being very careful, and reserve the Hall of the Day Breakers for official votes and activities right before embarking on missions. Nitori was continuing to make her cave more hospitable to visitors, including boring an entrance shaft so that new recruits weren't forced to use up her highly limited gillyweed supply going forward (meaning that that ability was now unique to myself and the other three founding members). All of us were huddled around a table, going over the evidence we had gathered, names that showed up as targets, and anything that could point towards potential fortresses.

"Who is Futo?" Mamiko asked.

"She's one of Miko's followers," Youmu explained, "and a Shisaiken just like her. She's… eccentric, shall we say, but ultimately a kind and well-meaning girl." She looked at the key again. "Or, at least, that's what I thought, but the fact that she's producing a result means there's a lot more going on under the surface."

"She has tried to set the Temple on fire on a few occasions," Byakuren said, "for no other reason than that she thinks we, as a youkai temple, are evil hypocrites, and to a lesser extent because of her clan's aversion to Buddhism in general. Not even Miko has ever attempted anything so extreme."

I sipped my tea, before commenting, "I've only spoken with her once, when Miko took her out drinking. She is an odd girl, speaking bombastically in archaic vocabulary, prone to tangents, and seemingly having no self or situational awareness. The way Miko reined her in looked as though she were keeping a dog on a leash." I paused, then continued, "I have encountered cases of mentally ill and non-neurotypical people having distorted desires based simply on their condition causing them to be prone to losing touch with their inner feelings."

"What do you mean by that?" Reimu asked.

"Specifically, Futo strikes me as having some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder," I clarified.

"Autism…" Marisa scratched her chin. "I've heard Eirin toss that word around a couple times, but I don't know what it is."

"I doubt anyone in Gensokyo would be familiar with it," I said. "In fact, most people in Japan aren't very familiar with it, and they don't root it out and address it in quite the same way Westerners do. I am fairly knowledgeable about it because my cases have involved Autistic people cast into homelessness, addiction and crime. It's difficult to explain if you don't recognize it, but in general, Autistic people face difficulty in engaging in social situations, recognizing social cues, have cognitive and developmental impairments, and in extreme cases their condition renders them incapable of progressing beyond the mental maturity of a very young child. Futo hit most of the same notes as those people did, so it's very possible that, at the very least, it is a significant factor in her distortion in this case."

Everyone else thought about my words for a few moments, before Reimu cut the silence. "...you know, now that you've described it, I think there's a ton of people I know and have met who fit the bill, and that would explain their behavior. I also think it's funny that a Shisaiken can have it, since her true form is literally a plate. But, that's a story for another time."

"Indeed," I nodded. "Also, over the course of my investigations, I caught up with Ginza, the bully, to see what happened after he confronted his parents. They admitted to ending u in a gambling den run by a mountain hag as kids, and are harassed for money as a result. A shopkeeper in town told me a similar story, of how he owes the same hag money and how his wares are seized as 'payment.'"

"I know what you're talking about," Aya said.

"Oh?"

"Yes," she affirmed. "So, I personally don't go near it too much, but there's a speakeasy on Youkai Mountain where a bunch of youkai come to gamble. It's the only gambling operation in Gensokyo, so the house makes a lot of money. Everything you can think of, from pachinko to poker to roulette to craps, they've got it. They even bet on fights and races. The place smells like an ashtray, and not just because of the patrons, but also the place's owner and bookie, Sannyo Komakusa-"

I held up my hand for a moment to see if the key would react, but it did not after several moments. "I'm sorry, go on."

"Right, so she constantly smokes a special kind of tobacco only grown on Youkai Mountain that affects the minds and moods of the patrons, basically so that they keep gambling away their money and also to keep them from getting into fights. Us guard members are forbidden from entering for that reason; we just settle matters that make it out in the open air as well as make sure fights, debauchery and whatnot stay confined to that place. It's pretty tucked away on the mountain, though, so I'm surprised humans ever find their way to it at all."

"But if a mountain youkai is scamming humans, I absolutely have to step in," Reimu said.

"Right… except her name didn't produce a result on the key," Marisa commented.

"Maybe she's not the one responsible?" Nitori suggested.

Reimu shook her head. "No, I think she is. It's just that her desires aren't distorted."

Mamiko tilted her head. "But, she's a con artist, is she not?"

"She is, but here's the rub: youkai operate on a different set of morals compared to humans, and some of their morals are really weird. A desire or behavior that would be considered distorted for a human is just par for the course for many youkai species; remember, most of them are born from negative human emotions and thoughts." She cracked her knuckles. "In this case, we'll just have to settle it the old-fashioned way, with blood, sweat and spell cards."

Marisa smirked. "Hehehe, that's so you, beatin' up youkai for doin' anything whatsoever."

Reimu smiled. "Well, it is my duty, standing up to youkai taking human's money and-"

I held up my finger. "Now, hold on a second. On what grounds do we have to just storm inside the gambling den and demand the villagers' money back?"

I got strange looks from everyone at the table.

"...er, what?" Nitori asked.

"I mean," I repeated, "what grounds and justification do we have to bust her?"

"What do you mean?" Reimu asked. "Isn't it obvious? A youkai is blackmailing humans in the village!"

"But they traveled to her cave willingly, gambled away more money than they had, and now have to pay the consequences," I said. "It might not seem fair, but they made their bed, and now they have to sleep in it. Those are the rules and realities one must accept when they choose to gamble." I sat back. "Now, knowing that, Komakusa-san will most likely use those grounds to weasel her way out of paying reparations, since technically she did nothing to coerce them to her cave - they had arrived, albeit inebriated, on their own volition - nor did she necessarily pressure them into gambling more than they could afford to lose. If you challenged her with no justification, even if you won, she would be uncooperative at best, you'd have to deal with her goons, and it could damage your reputation as the Hakurei Shrine Maiden more than it already is."

Reimu shook her head. "That… doesn't make…" She sighed. "I have to admit, you talk a good game of Devil's Advocate. I'm just… so used to dealing with petty, selfish idiots that I just… don't think about it."

"But," Byakuren added, "gambling is illegal in Japan, is it not? That's what Usami told me, I already know it's against the teachings of the Buddha, but the law forbids it too, no?"

"Indeed," I affirmed. "Gambling dens of the type that it sounds like Komakusa is running are generally run by the Yakuza as hustling operations, and while gambling itself isn't banned - gatcha games and pachislot machines are popular Outside for instance - the law does not permit casinos, although there have been efforts to reverse those bans on the grounds that allowing legal casinos would draw money away from illegal money pits. Part of it is also lobbying from Macau casino purveyors, but that's beside the point." I paused. "However, Gensokyo does not fall under the jurisdiction of any Japanese laws, or the laws of anywhere for that matter. So whether or not her actions are illegal depends entirely on what the rule-making and enforcement authorities deem so. And who is that in Gensokyo, Reimu?"

Reimu thought for a moment, then answered, "well… the Sages make the rules, in conjunction with village elders, and then it falls on me, or anyone else who chooses to assist me, to make sure those rules are followed."

"And what do the Sages say about gambling dens, or youkai luring humans into them?"

"Um, well… not anything about gambling, specifically, but they do say that youkai can't harm village humans unless they attack first, or threaten them with harm for that matter. So, um, I guess her blackmail still counts?"

I shook my head again. "You're close, but for someone whose job is to keep Gensokyo in balance, your grasp on law and order is rather lacking. Perhaps because it isn't as rigid here as in Tokyo or anywhere else, but you still need to be consistent and fair about how you enforce it. It's just like out there; police can't simply bust into a house because they think something illegal is going on in there, they must first obtain a warrant based on evidence. A criminal in court has to be found, beyond any reasonable doubt, that they committed the crime, or else either they go completely free or can only be punished or fined for any smaller crimes they committed which they were proven guilty of. If you can solve incidents professionally, even if you're not required to, everyone will respect you that much more, yes?"

Marisa slouched. "It'd be easier if there wasn't any of that bullshit to hafta deal with anyway, but I get the point."

"Interesting," Mamiko noted. "So, you wish to impress upon criminals that you can bring them down without stooping to your level."

"Exactly," I said. "Criminals love nothing more than to spit in the face of law enforcement, and will bring them down with them if necessary. A police officer who maintains control, professionalism, and assertiveness throughout will find the criminal to be more submissive and compliant."

"Haaaah," Reimu sighed. "You're making this sound complicated."

"But it doesn't have to be," I said to her. "You just want to barge in there and beat up youkai for the sport of it. I, on the other hand, see the issue at hand. The villagers went up there willingly and gambled away their money while impaired, yes. But Aya has also told us that her tobacco smoke has mind-altering and compulsive properties designed to keep patrons pacified and gambling, perhaps pushing them to raise the stakes beyond what they can afford to lose. In other words, she's using mind-altering drugs to compel patrons to gamble, a rather hefty felony in the Outside were it to occur there since it would forcibly impair the victims judgment. I did say that they made decisions that put them into debt, but having their decision-making impaired by someone else's drugs mitigates this. Furthermore, I have testimony from victims about their experiences, and her debt-collecting methods are clearly unethical and predatory, not to mention they target humans and she's a youkai - and you have just said that youkai cannot threaten or attack villagers except in self-defense. All that together makes a far more compelling argument to justify a raid."

Aya smiled. "You sure know your stuff, Goro."

"Well, I am a detective," I said. "I wouldn't be able to do my job without a thorough understanding of the law. I would go into more detail, but the book on Japanese law is so thick and large you could probably kill someone by dropping it on their head, and the 'legalese' contained within is confusing and monotonous, not to mention you'd likely summon an Outer God if you tried reading it aloud. Even just what I've given is a gross oversimplification."

Reimu groaned slightly. "You could have just said 'yes, let's bust her ass.'"

"I take it you're not used to working with actual law enforcement?" I asked, before chuckling, "oh right, there is no common sense in Gensokyo, I forgot about that."

"I think you have a solid point," Aya added. "You could curry a lot more respect from everyone if you stuck to a system and acted professional."

"But I already made the Spell Card System to put everyone on equal footing?" Reimu said.

"True, but there's always room for improvement," I commented.

Nitori cupped her hands. "Alright, cool, we've got targets, and a real-world investigation. Let's start by crossing off those Ethos targets." She waved a disc in her hand. "But, before we do, we've still got this unused 'Madarame' fight memory. Why don't we head inside the simulator and do some warming up?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Byakuren said.

"Alright, then let's get to it," I said.

Just like before, we entered the Metadeck, Nitori assumed her control position, loaded the scenario, and we all jumped in. Just like with Kamoshida, this fight was preceded with holographic Phantom Thieves engaging in a verbal showdown with him before phasing out and allowing the fight to play out in earnest. It went just as I had personally observed it going down, with Madarame assuming a four-portraits form, with each portrait having different affinities. We used the same strategy as the Thieves to take it down: take down the eyes and nose with physical attacks and the mouth with magic. After that, Madarame created his four clones, which had different weaknesses, but the simulation also threw a curveball not present in the original fight: in addition to Fire, Ice, Electric and Wind-based clones, named Ersatz Rage, Sorrow, Joy and Mirth respectively, which he started with, he also created Ersatz Serenity (Psychic), Ersatz Volatility (Nuclear), Ersatz Radiance (Bless) and Ersatz Sin (Curse). The general strategy remained the same: incapacitate them to prevent them and the main unit from doing anything and then go hog wild. The fight wasn't very hard; if anything, the hardest part was obfuscating being largely unfamiliar with the fight to prevent the others from getting suspicious. At one point, I snuck a peek toward the spot where I had spied on the Thieves during the original fight, and was relieved when I saw that my double was absent. The simulation also ended right as Madarame's face hit the ground, preventing him from talking about "the one with the Black Mask."

After the fight, as we counted up our battle earnings that the hologram burst into, we couldn't help but remark on how awful of a man Madarame was, particularly in regards to his pupils, Yusuke especially.

"Was he always a massive shitbag?" Marisa asked.

"I reviewed his case after he was arrested," I said, "since the Phantom Thieves claimed to be responsible for his change of heart. He confessed to everything from starving his student, to keeping them packed together like sardines, to, yes, stealing their credit and keeping them as virtual slaves to maintain the facade of being a brilliant artist. And that he let Yusuke's mother die of a seizure."

Everyone was angry, of course, but Youmu in particular was gripping her sword tightly with a twitch, surely left over from the fight where she demonstrated the reason for her codename, mercilessly slicing up Madarame with her sword every half-chance she got.

"Unfathomable," she said coldly. "Unfathomable how someone can force that upon children, crushing their dreams and trashing their lives. Maybe that boy being a sword wielder allowed me to project myself onto him and tear into that ailing, senile man as though he were my old master and oppressor whom I was raging against. Either way, it felt very cathartic, and I hope the real Madarame got what was coming for him."

"He publicly confessed and humiliated himself on live TV," I said. "People were still making Twitter and Pixiv memes about it at the time of the mishap that sent me here. He's unlikely to face much prison time simply because of his age, but his family has already disowned him and taken control of his assets, all but assuring he'll go out in a whimper. And he'll likely face the Yama of Tokyo."

"And what of that painting he counterfeited?" Byakuren asked.

"His Treasure turned out to be the original, unsullied version of the Sayuri," I said. "Yusuke left it in LeBlanc, and as far as I know it's still there for all to see."

"I can't imagine what that all must have felt like from his perspective," Youmu said. "Having your mother die of a seizure while that man simply watched, then twisting and manipulating you as you grow up until you're conditioned to accept it… It's almost like a mockery of my own upbringing. My father succumbed to a seizure one day during training. Grandpa and Yuyuko-sama did all they could, but they couldn't revive him in the end, so instead they trained me up to live out his memory. I'm a talented warrior, Yusuke seems like a talented artist."

"They said his mom painted it originally," Marisa said. "Considering the parallels, imagine if the two of 'ya were related!" She laughed. "Not like that's possible."

Youmu thought for a moment. "Actually, that 'Sayuri' painting did resemble my aunt's artstyle, but then again traditional Japanese art is a large enough field that it could have been anyone's work." She looked down and shook her head. "And of course, my aunt did go to the Outside at one point. I can't imagine her dying that kind of death, in those circumstances, I'd like to think it was someone else, but the way things line up…"

Reimu patted her on the back. "There now," she said. "Don't get hung up on things that may or may not have happened. I try not to think about what happened to my grandmother, just because I never knew her, and how she chose to live her life doesn't affect my life at all. So don't let this affect your life either."

Youmu looked at her and smiled. "Thank you. I know I'm a bit 'half-baked,' but I do try to stick true to my duty and beliefs."

"What matters is striking down the evils of the present," Mamiko added. "You can lament the evils that have transpired, or you can work to prevent even more of them from blooming in the future. That is the duty I have chosen for myself."

"Speaking of evil," Nitori said, looking at the exit, "why don't we head on over to Ethos and go tear down some targets?"

"Sounds like a plan," I said.


When we arrived at Ethos, we found Jose setting up shop, with an even larger pile of junk waiting to be taken off his hands. This being Aya's first time here, we had to give her the rundown of what Ethos was, and how targets inside of it worked, and now we had to introduce her to this curious boy who holed himself up in it.

"Oh, perfect timing!" He jumped out of his bathtub car and walked over to us. "I found some more stuff for you guys; all I need is more flowers!"

Aya crouched down to his level. "And you are?"

"I'm Jose," he said. "I live in this place. Well, just the bottom floor."

Aya smiled. "Nice to meet you, Jose. I am Raven, the huntress of the great white north." She looked at the junk pile. "Looks like you've been busy."

Jose frowned. "Well, not as busy ever since Mementos got destroyed. These are just the things I've found floating around this place."

"'Mementos?'" Aya wondered.

I shook my head. "A long story, for another time." Marisa then produced the roughly 3,000,000,000,000 flowers we had collected in previous excursions and dove straight into the pile, weeding out goodies to share with the rest of us. She came out with a couple more "Battle Memories," featuring Kaneshiro and Cognitive Wakaba, among treasures and medicine. At one point, she chucked out a Super Scope that worked like a real raygun, which Nitori enthusiastically asked if she could have. Once she was satisfied, she vacuumed it all up into her bag gun, leaving Jose with a somewhat less precarious pile of junk.

"Thank you," he smiled. "This will really help me study humans."

"Study humans?" Aya asked.

"Uh-huh," he replied. "My master told me to study human emotions, which is what these flowers are." He sipped some of his flower-steeped juice. "But the flowers here have youkai and others' emotions mixed in. They taste very different."

"Who is your master?" Aya asked again. "Why do they want you to study humans?"

Jose shook his head. "I don't know. They've never shown themselves to me. They also don't like people knowing about them, so I can't tell anyone. All I know is they created me one day and told me to go study humans. I just hole up here because it's close to where they live."

"It's close?"

"Yeah, but only I can get to it, no one else can, not even you guys," he said.

"Sounds like a shady master to have," Reimu remarked, before smiling. "Of course, we'll still help you with your mission. I can tell you're just trying to find a purpose in life."

Mamiko came over and picked him up. "As a fellow denizen of this realm, I sympathize with you. Studying humans is a complex task. I myself am still having trouble adjusting to their society. If you want, I can help guide you."

Jose looked down. "You know, I… I mean, I asked the Phantom Thieves to help me study humans as well, but I felt like I understood them even less after all that, after they took down Mementos. Now I'm here because it's the only other place I could find flowers."

"That's why I want to help guide you," Mamiko assured him. "It's the least I can do, after my friends helped me escape distortion, that I help lead others out of the same fate."

Marisa smirked. "'Ya know, if you came to our world, that'd be a great way to learn about humans, I'd think. Talkin' to kids your age, seein' all the shops and farms, how people live their lives… 'course, I've always been more of a hands-on gal, but that seems more effective than just wanderin' around this gloomy place trying to find people's emotions."

Jose smiled, as Mamiko put him down. "Thank you. I'll consider the offer if I have time."

"I'll make time," Marisa promised.

We made our way up the tower to the door leading to the newly-opened Virya block; just like before, touching the door caused it to slide open, leaving the path upward unobstructed.

"Good," I remarked. "We can explore more of the tower now."

Aya looked around. "So this is the place where 'lesser' targets congregate?"

"Yup," Marisa said. "There's more of 'em, but they don't put up as much of a fight as fortress owners. There's also lots of treasure scattered around here, but also a lotta shadows, including this big, huge, scary one who'll tear us to shreds if it catches up, so we gotta hustle."

"Indeed," Nitori added. "If we hear chains rattle, we need to book it."

"O….kay?" Aya said, uncertain and perhaps a little bit intimidated.

"We just need to stick together and we'll be fine," Reimu said.

"Well said, you all," I nodded. "Now then, let's start heading up."

In keeping with the chromatic theme present elsewhere in Ethos, the walls here were green, and the torches burned a lighter green color. Besides our list of minor targets, all the other shadows were ones from Megumu's fortress with a couple of additions here and there. Just like always, we found flowers, scraps, and treasure chests, including one floor which was full of treasure; thankfully, Marisa had learned her lesson from the last time we encountered this and only broke open the ones along the shortest path to the exit, but even then we started hearing chains as we filed up the stairs, giving us all a good spook. We also passed the time in between fights making small talk.

"One time, I made rice balls for my students at the Temple, but they wouldn't eat them, even though I used my strength to smash as much rice in as possible!"

"Yeah, I bet those things digested like bricks."

"Is it normal for Alice-sama to talk to her dolls like real people?"

"Believe it or not, that's an improvement from when I first got to know her."

"One time, I was at the Shrine with Seraph when Sumireko brought her all sorts of outlandish treats from Outside, including something called a 'rainbow bagel.'"

"Ah, yes, Harajuku sweets. I could imagine Seraph really liking them."

"So, I'm only saying this because she can't see us here… but I found out recently that Yukari pads her bra, and hers are only about the same size as mine."

"Wait, really?"

"I'm sure Sakuya would die of laughter if she found that out, considering the dumb gossip the fairy maids spread that one time."

"'Fake news,' I assume?"

"One time, I was gatherin' mushrooms in the forest, when I came across eight bears all sitting in one place. Eight. Fucking. Bears."

"holY shit"

"The other day, I was sparrin' with Mamizou and she used her transformation attack, but instead of turning me into a crow, it reflected off of me and went back to her, turnin' her into a little raccoon dog. Like, it's never done that before. She even tried it again to see if it was a fluke, but it wasn't."

"Guess even curses know when not to mess with someone."

"You know, Fury, there's a skeleton inside your body."

"...I'm not a child who's scared of everything, you know."

"I've heard about Outside 'cars.' Which one would be a good fit for me, I wonder?"

"Most likely a large American pickup truck. Toyota makes and sells many models solely for the American market."

"What about me, the Ordinary Daybreaker of Paradise?"

"Yours would be a trashed-out beater Volkswagen that would only look like a car if you squint hard enough."

"Fury makes excellent miso soup. I wish she could make it for me every day."

"Is that a marriage proposal, Seraph?"

After a while, we arrived at the top of the block, faced with a yellow door leading to the next one up, and in front of it, the shadow of Mononobe no Futo, arms folded and looking outward.

"Futo…" Byakuren mused. "To think I would encounter her shadow, her repressed feelings, in this wretched place…"

"An enemy of Buddhism?" Mamiko asked.

"An enemy of the accursed Youkai Temple!" Shadow Futo bellowed.

Marisa rolled her eyes. "Oh, geez, here comes the ham."

"Should I get the beans?" Youmu snarked.

"You all are allies of the loathsome and vain devil whomst rules the foul temple with an iron fist!" Shadow Futo proclaimed. "Have you no shame in associating with her?!"

I thought about how best to respond to her challenge.

"Fool!" I declared, in full Chuunibyou mode. "You dost dareth suggest our clan to be wicked sinners? 'Tis you who art twisted and distorted! We shall show you the light!"

Shadow Futo stamped her foot. "You dareth insult my manner of speech? Forsooth!" She then dissolved and reemerged as a Power. "I shall show you the grave error of your judgment. Have at you!"

Marisa sighed. "That's what pissed her off?"

"Honestly, I don't understand her either," Byaskuren shrugged, before we charged and met Shadow Futo head-on in battle. Not surprisingly, her main tactic was Fire attacks directed at Byakuren, who could just heal the damage from them. She didn't aim her fire at, say, the member of our team who was actually weak to it, Youmu, who was freely able to close in and attack, and Shadow Futo's physical attacks were simple enough to dodge. Where we ran into trouble was when her weakness was established to be Electricity, one of two blindspots in our elemental offense, the other being Psy, forcing me to use a Persona, in this case Zouchouten, who could take advantage of it.

I should probably also mention here that I only used Electric attacks when absolutely required, since Reimu was scared of them. I also had to specifically declare my intention to use them as a result. Interestingly, she wasn't actually weak to Electric attacks, just afraid of them. Aya was the one who was weak and yet they only caused minor aversion in her at most, likely because she didn't fear lightning beyond the occupational hazard it posed to her as a Tengu guard. Also, Reimu really only saw her true weakness, Ice, as an annoyance.

After Mamiko delivered the finishing blow (as she often did), Shadow Futo knelt on the floor, and both Byakuren and Mamiko came up to her.

"Grr… confound it!" Shadow Futo cursed. "Why dost I lack the strength to overcome the darkness?"

"It is because you seek to strike it down in others, yet fail to see the darkness in your heart," Mamiko explained. "You have become chained by distortion, by rage, anger and jealousy. You have become an unwitting pawn to Mara's schemes."

Shadow Futo pounded the ground. "But I am a Taoist!"

Byakuren shook her head. "Mara cares not about one's faith. Wherever he sees weak will and character, he will take advantage of it. I don't claim to be a shining, perfect paragon myself: I have indeed committed sins for selfish gain in the past, and any grief I experienced is no excuse for it. But I have found friends who will help me work past them and stay true to the path of Nirvana. Now… won't you see the weakness within yourself, and resolve to work past it."

"I…" Shadow Futo began to tear up. "Thou dost not understand. From a young age, I realized I thought differently, acted differently, from others. I struggled with associating with others, basic manners, I did strange rituals… nobody would tolerate my strange mannerisms and work me through them, so I was left alone. It was Miko-dono who found me and vowed to assist me in overcoming my challenges, teaching me the way in Taoism, to become a shikaisen, and yet…" She paused. "Now I feel alone in my heart, whilst she continues to associate with that wicked hermit who poisons her mind…"

Byakuren looked surprised. "Wait… so you mean she's being manipulated?"

"Tis the truth," Shadow Futo affirmed. "But I cannot bring thyself to present my concerns, so I allowed thy rage to consume me and burn threats to humanity elsewhere…"

"Then why don't you stand up to her, and tell her that something is wrong?" I said. "Truly righteous people will face their friends when those friends are wrong, when they start going down a dark path. You would not forgive yourself if you allowed you friend to succumb to evil, would you?"

Shadow Futo nodded. "I suppose not." She stood back up. "I musn't allow evil energies to taint Senkai. To allow that to happen would be to betray the trust of the humans of Gensokyo. Evil can exist anywhere, and I thank you all for reminding me of that." She chuckled. "I suppose I have no right to call the Youkai Temple and the Youkai Shrine wicked in that case…" She then faded into light, leaving behind an Agidyne skill card which I quickly pocketed.

"I suppose my hypothesis about her being Autistic was correct," I said. "She had trouble expressing her concerns, and kept them bottled up until they started clouding her thinking and became blind rage."

"Hopefully now she'll find it within herself to look out for true evil, and not assume it exists somewhere simply because youkai are present," Byakuren said.

"But she mentioned a 'wicked hermit,'" Mamiko remarked. "What did she mean by that?"

"She probably meant Seiga Kaku," Youmu said, "one of Miko-dono's oldest friends. To be sure, she has a wicked streak a yojana long, and she wears her sins all over her. She's also skilled enough to rout the assassins routinely sent after her to claim her life and bring her before the yama."

"Then it would come as no surprise if she were a target," I suggested. I looked around. "We've worked hard today, and there's nothing left on our list to cross off, so let's return to base and debrief."


SEIGA KAKU

So said my key when we got back to the cave, and the lack of an Ethos block suggestion pointed toward our next major target.

"Well, gee, I guess it's no surprise that someone like her would have a fortress," Marisa said.

"But we're not getting anywhere if we don't somehow get inside her head and figure out what form that distortion takes," Youmu said.

"Geh, easier said than done," Reimu groaned. "I mean, she approaches Yukari in terms of being hard to understand. She's really self-centered and prideful, so much so that even after I cleanly beat her in a spell card duel I somehow felt like I didn't win anyway."

"When was that?" I asked.

"Shortly after I was freed from my prison in Hokkai," Byakuren explained, "the Myouren temple landed atop the place where Miko's tomb and those of her followers Tojiko and Futo laid, setting off a chain reaction where spirits were released, which Seiga was drawn to, and it all culminated in Miko being resurrected. The revival of such a powerful figure who could tilt the balance of power so strongly in the human's favor prompted…" She hesitated. "...somehow, it escapes me how she was called in, but Mamizou was living on Sado Island at the time, but came to Gensokyo to deal with the threat, only to see that these three fine ladies, Reimu, Marisa and Youmu had not only already bested her, but she posed no real threat to Gensokyo to begin with."

Reimu tilted her head. "What do you mean it 'escapes you?' I pretty clearly remember it was Nue who-" She was then cut off by the sensation that time itself appeared to freeze, the world lit up, then everything shattered like glass, causing an epiphany to strike Byakuren.

"...where's Nue?" She said, wide-eyed, trembling and looking around.

"Hm?" I wondered.

"I… I suddenly remember now. She's gone, completely missing!"

"Calm down, Byakuren," Youmu said, holding onto her. "I'm sure we can find her."

"No, it's not like that… Goro, you might recall a while ago, we were at the temple and we all expressed that we felt like we had forgotten someone we knew? Well, now that Reimu said her name, I realize now, somehow, our memories of Nue were erased." She got up and hurried out the door. "I apologize, but I must return to the temple! I simply have to let the others know!"

We all stared at the exit for a bit. "You know, I've never seen her acting like that," Aya said. "Part of me wants to write an article, but on the other hand I realize this needs to be kept inside the group."

"Indeed," I said. "We should adjourn for the day. We've just discovered a new major target, revealed that 'Nue's' existence was somehow erased, and we spent several hours in the Metaverse on top of all of that. We should take some time to rest and collect our heads before we dive back into our investigation."

"Agreed," Youmu said. "I'll share what we know with Yuyuko-sama. She'll certainly be interested to know why, for example, the Temple had forgotten about Nue and why they forgot about her."

I tipped my hat. "I still have some things I want to investigate." I looked at Reimu and Marisa. "Will you two assist me in investigating the gambling den? I would like to do so as soon as possible?"

"Yes, absolutely," Reimu nodded. "By the way… nice suit."

I looked at my suit. "Oh… right, thanks."

"You look like 'Killer Press,' if I say so myself," Aya smirked.

"Besides, it's required for incident resolvers to have a hat or headpiece," Marisa snarked.

"Perhaps I should also get a bowler hat that doubles as a weapon," I suggested. "After all, my Persona is James Bond, many of our opponents could be described as Bond villains, and, well, you all are 'Bond girls,' so I may as well take the joke to its logical conclusion."

"I'll keep that in mind," Nitori said. "Right now, I'm working on a fully functional AK-47 for Reimu."

"I still can't get over the sight of Reimu firin' an assault rifle," Marisa smiled, "or how you could rig a helicopter even though you're bad with technology."

"Perhaps I have a talent for ammunition," Reimu suggested. "I have those needles, after all."

"How about a Holy Hand Grenade?" I asked.

"I thought you said this meeting was adjourned," Nitori said.

I chuckled. "Oh, right, I did."