Imperfect Cherry Blossom

by Supperdude9

Belief, faith, & fear are funny things. Kyon finds himself in a new world, a world of true fantasy. He will need help to get out of Gensokyo alive. Haruhi/Touhou Crossover! Set after the events of Snow Mountain Syndrome & written as an introduction to Touhou. Rated T. Soundtrack companion available on Youtube. Search episode name for playlists! Meltdown 12.5 is OUT!

44. TMOHS Episode 9 TDOTAC

Do you want to know the unifying theme is for Subterranean Animism is? ZUN had something in mind when he created the characters.

Hatred. Well, hatred of certain people/things.

Kisume is just a classic youkai who attacks people, so there's that. People hate disease, naturally (again, kinda fitting for what's going on right now). People hate people who are openly disagreeable and hard to be with. There is a general hatred for the oni. There is hatred for those who know your secrets and flaunt it. Kashas steal away the dead. Then there is the final hatred, and since this is based on a Japanese viewpoint... Nukes. Funnily enough, even though the girls of Touhou 11 are born out of representing hatred, they are all generally popular and loved.

Just... funny, I guess.

From ZUN himself:

"In terms of stage order, I think I had a pretty simple thought process: the most hated person is the one with the nukes. Obviously everyone hates disease. Then comes jealousy, and then the boss of stage 3 is an oni. But oni are like the symbol of the hated; that's how I thought of it. But anyone who could read your mind would definitely be hated more than the oni. And then, like, the ones who gather corpses. And nukes. It's almost like a complete list of things I hate (laugh)."

Turns out the SA crew became very popular, despite representing what the creator himself hated.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is owned by Nagaru Tanigawa. Touhou Project is owned by ZUN and Team Shanghai Alice. I own neither. This is a fan fiction of those works.

Beta Reader (and partial writer) for this episode:

Smooglii

---

"Ah..." Reisen perked her head up, remembering her promise to Mokou. She didn't want to go through with it, but now that she'd given her word, she couldn't go back on it in front of the Princess. "Oh, right. There was something I had to do if another insult was flung."

Just like she'd done so many times before, she brought up her rifle and aimed for Mokou's forehead. This should go clean through. Both Master and the Princess had had issues with healing wrong if there was a foreign object in the way. Reisen shuddered to think how that would feel. Though medical procedures did sometimes require foreign objects to hold together bone so they could heal, or to act as a protectant, like metal plates on skulls. Still, such a thing...

Didn't matter. Reisen pulled the trigger, and was rewarded with the red mist behind the immortal, and could see that the bullet lodged itself in the wall behind.

Reisen stared down at the body of Mokou, unhappy that she had to go through with it. "I took no pleasure in that, you know? But I told you what I was gonna do if you insulted my princess one more time. This is just in case I don't get the chance later if the world ends." That was more for everyone's sake so they could understand why she did that. Mokou couldn't hear her, of course.

Unsatisfied with what she had to do, Reisen turned around and walked out of the Palace of the Earth Spirits, avoiding the gazes from everyone, especially Kyon and Koizumi. They weren't used to seeing Mokou die as everyone else was.

The Princess laughing over the radio didn't help out the guilt that Reisen was feeling. What am I supposed to do, not defend the Princess? Just let anyone badmouth her? It was bad enough that the others were laughing at the horrible things Mokou was saying about her. She's still my princess, dammit. I'm not gonna stand for someone saying such horrible things about her.

...Even if they were supposedly true. Reisen never judged the Princess' past actions. She never asked the Princess if that part was true, though Mokou would always speak of it in her insult flinging.

Generally, Reisen avoided fighting Mokou, not wanting to get the immortal angry. The soldier remembered her first time trying to defend the Princess from the invader. It was a useless gesture, and Reisen had the burn scars from back then to prove it, before being healed by the Paranormal Border. Back then... Reisen thought back to her old self, of her thinking her being born on Luna made her superior to those on Earth. That was the reason why she was eager to defend against the Earth-born immortal, before being humbled. Of course, she carried her prejudices until the Endless Night, still looking down on Earth-born until she got proven wrong. Just because she was born at a certain place didn't give her superiority or natural advantage, and she learned that the hard way.

Regarding Mokou, the Princess appreciated the attempt, but found it more amusing to take on the immortal herself. Since then, Mokou and Reisen had become colleagues of a sort, with Reisen selling medicine, and Mokou leading people to the clinic. They'd been rather friendly to each other.

"If she's friends with you and you shoot her in the head, I wonder how you would treat your enemies."

Satori's words made Reisen pause, taking a moment to remember that she wasn't alone inside her own head, which was a scary thought by itself. The ruler of the Palace smirked over Reisen's mental protests.

"I can't help it. It's like you're speaking aloud to me."

"You don't have to be smug about it, if I may say so." They had left the grounds, and were on their way back down the road to the market. Reisen noticed that the others were giving the two a wide berth. To be more accurate, they were giving Satori a wide berth, while Reisen was just close to her. They don't even pretend not to hate you.

"One can learn to deal with it."

"I think people would be warmer to you if you-"

"-had more tact?" Satori smiled wryly at Reisen. "Maybe, but in my world, 'tact' doesn't exist. What you call 'tact' is a transparent lie."

If you say so. I don't know if I'd call it a lie to be polite, though. That just sounds like condescension.

"To refrain from speaking your mind is the same as telling a lie. Those who never voice their true feelings are those who lie to themselves most of all. You'd never call me condescending to my face, but now I can understand you better because I know what you really think." Satori tilted her head with some humor as Reisen frowned at her conclusion. "...And now that I've given a voice to your own inner thoughts, you might understand yourself better as well."

I still don't think I can share that mindset. If I always spoke what was on my mind, it'd bring nothing but trouble.

Reisen couldn't help but imagine what her life would have been like if she were so candid. Running her mouth at Eientei would only have earned her more punishments, and probably more ridicule from Tewi. And if she happened to start thinking about her past-

Wait. Stop. I can't think about this.

For a brief second, she thought back too far. Satori's smile faded, but she never stopped staring. "Well..." Satori said with some hesitation, "...For those with trauma, it could be better if they don't speak of it so openly. However, it's worse not to speak of it at all."

Don't... I don't want to talk about it. It's private.

Reisen didn't want to show Satori the worst parts of her life, but trying not to think about it was an impossible task, because even not thinking about it required the thought to do so. Knowing that the past where she had abandoned her squad was a false one did not erase the self-doubt she had suffered because of that shadow memory, nor did it break her habit of self-deprecation. Real or not, those feelings had engraved themselves on her heart, as had the fear of what had almost happened to her because of them. She trembled a bit, feeling a tightness in her chest as she looked back at Satori, who never stopped staring. Even her regular eyes felt as penetrating as her third one.

I didn't know what to believe. I thought I was making up different memories to comfort myself, turning away from the truth...

Reisen tried to stop thinking, but it was as useless as trying to catch a waterfall in her hands.

Stop looking. Please.

I don't want anyone to know how seriously I thought about dying.

"You shouldn't feel ashamed," Satori whispered so that no one else could hear. "You were affected by an outside force. Someone played with your heart." She lifted a delicate hand and placed it on Reisen's head, stroking her long hair at the base of her ears. Reisen stiffened at the motion and almost moved to swat her away, but something came over her then. She felt calm in a way that she seldom remembered feeling feeling before - not since she was taken in by her new master many years ago. It made her remember that day, along with the days when her old masters would pet her like this back in the Lunar Capital. It made her stay her hand, and with an uncertain downward glance, she started forget her reluctance.

"...It's not just that," said Reisen in a quiet voice. "That memory was from another version of me. Even if I didn't really make that choice, I can't be sure that I wouldn't have if given the chance."

"The person I see in those memories is different from you. Just because she's another version of you doesn't make her the same person."

Even if that's true, I can't just deny that I might have...

"You learned from her mistake," Satori cooed. "The Reisen that exists in your real memories, and the Reisen in your shadow memories - neither one is the same Reisen that exists here, right now."

Satori's touch felt like more than just that of someone comforting a pet. It almost felt maternal, and Reisen felt like melting then and there.

"You're not a coward. You're not useless bunny. The pain you felt at the thought of leaving them behind is proof of that." Satori's hand retreated from Reisen's head as she spoke those words, making Reisen momentarily disappointed before she remembered that she had a job to do, and being pat on the head by a stranger wasn't part of it. She blushed as she remembered that Satori had been reading her thoughts that whole time, and all the more when she realized that they still weren't alone, and Yuugi and her guards had been watching that whole display. The smirk on Yuugi's face was the worst of all.

I-I was just trying to talk to her since she doesn't have friends, okay?! Aw, if Master or Tewi saw me like that... It made Reisen shiver to think what kinds of mockery she might have received from Tewi because of that. She'd probably have made petting Reisen's head into a running joke.

Satori turned to the others, stopping those looks cold. "Now, we have more people around us to take care of. We've already wasted enough of those fifteen minutes. Come, we've got a city to save." Satori turned on her heel, and led Reisen, Yuugi, and the guards to the gate.

"You know," said Satori as she passed by Reisen. "If you ever need a new home, I'd welcome you."

"You're saying that because you think adding a moon rabbit would expand your 'collection', huh?" Reisen blurted it out, not really giving it any thought. Besides, to betray the kindness that Master and the Princess had shown her when she came to their doorstep all those years ago? Inconceivable.

Satori smirked, turning her head to the rabbit. "When did you become a mind reader?"

---

[The Meltdown of Haruhi Suzumiya]

[Episode 9]

["The Defense of the Ancient City"]

---

"You bear a large sin. You abandoned your allies, leaving them to die, while you're the only one here living happily. That's right, you're a bit too selfish. As it stands, if you pass away without adjusting for your past sins... You will most certainly fall to Hell. Even if I'm the one in charge of judging you, you will fall to Hell."

"Hell, you say! I'm telling you, I'm earnestly trying my best right now!"

"Even if you are trying now, unless you face your past sins there is absolutely no meaning behind it. Time alone cannot settle a sin. Only after a sin is judged will you be able to settle it. For that purpose, I am here."

"I don't want to go to Hell! There has to be something that can be done."

"Reflection alone is not enough, much less regret. Committing a sin isn't such a simple matter as that. A sin cannot be settled but with judgment. However, there is still a way you can prevent going to Hell, starting now. For that sake, we start by judging you here! Together, with the grudge of the comrades you left on the moon!"

-Eiki Shiki to Reisen Udongein Inaba, Touhou 9: Phantasmagoria of Flower View

---

While en route to a position that Satori had informed her would be tactically advantageous, Reisen had plenty of time to think about her words. Satori was right about one thing at least - intentionally or not, someone else was responsible for meddling with her past. She wasn't sure how or why, but the end result of that shadow memory was that she had felt a paralyzing guilt for the actions of another person. There was someone else who it reminded her of, as well.

Reisen had once asked Master about Fujiwara - not Mokou, but the time traveler. Other than wanting power for its own sake, she couldn't fathom why that boy had done everything he'd done. The way that Master had explained it, the reason he wanted power was to correct a mistake, or a tragedy that had happened in his past. Since he couldn't change his own past with time travel, he had sought to use Suzumiya's power to rewrite time itself and erase that tragedy. In his case, he had lost someone dear to him - his own timeline's version of Mikuru Asahina. Reisen felt like she could sympathize with those motives, as she herself had been a victim of past tragedy. She thought it was probable that most people would take the opportunity to correct their own past if they had the ability to do so. As long as it didn't overwrite their own experiences, there'd be no need to feel guilt over a wrong that had been made right.

If I could undo the deaths of those I'd failed save... Yeah. The thought had been in the back of her head since she'd learned of Suzumiya's existence. Anyone would want to take advantage of a power like that. For some people, that desire would undoubtedly be greater than their desire not to hurt anyone in the process of getting what they wanted. The people who were behind this incident were probably people like that.

If Master had any reason to regret her past, I bet she wouldn't think twice. She probably wouldn't have as many moral qualms over it, either...

There were so many ways that this all could have gone. In another universe, maybe Reimu and the rest of them would have been Reisen's enemy. Maybe it was even wrong of Reisen not to try and take that power for herself - what would the spirits of her comrades have said about the way things were now? If somewhere down the line, Reisen had the chance to meet Suzumiya herself, and there was some way of taking it, would it not be a betrayal of her loyalty to them to do nothing and let the opportunity pass in silence?

Even without her shadow memories, it was still possible to be consumed by guilt for what could have been, and what could still be. In that sense, Reisen was probably the same as Fujiwara. The thought of it was more than a little unsettling, and Reisen decided that the best thing to do for now was her job. A battle was going to happen soon, and such doubts would only weaken her now.

Burying her feelings, Reisen ascended the stairs of a building near the front gate of the Ancient City, where just as Satori had told her, there was a perfect line of sight towards the gate, almost like the position had been ready-made for a sniper. The room itself was small and dusty, with dirty tatami mats, and it looked like it was used for storage of whoever lived there, though they hadn't cleaned in years. The great thing it had was a wide-open balcony. All things considered, Reisen herself could have only come up with sniping nests that were as equally as good as this, and those were in the surrounding buildings.

Normally she'd have a spotter to assist in shooting multiple targets, but the guards were all preoccupied with being on the ground, ready to receive the assault. Staring down a high-magnification scope tended to make one have what was called "tunnel vision", being less aware of everything else but what they were focused on.

Well, she had someone, but he didn't appear willing or able, mostly able, to help. That Goeiki person was there in the room with her. He didn't appear at all bright, barely comprehending what he was told to do, only agreeing to it when he was told to guard the soldier. That was the extent of his understanding of being a spotter. People like him would have reaffirmed my stance on the creatures of Earth a few years ago. A spotter should be able to tell distance, call out targets, and be backup for the sniper. He would have done a lousy job anyway.

Reisen had decided to switch her sniper scope to one that wasn't as powerful, allowing her to be relatively accurate but also able to catch other targets with more ease. The distance between her and the gate didn't appear to be more than two hundred meters, so anything more than minute bullet dropoff shouldn't even be a factor.

Reisen could still hear the others talking over the radio earpiece she found in the care package. During the fight with Satori, the orb told Reisen she should take it for herself, making her wonder how far ahead Yukari planned this.

It's almost like she planned for me to split off. Why? And more importantly, how? Satori was the one who decided to-

Reisen grumbled, a dread coming over her. She felt like Yukari did something to circumvent events. No, I mean, it wasn't as if Yukari told anybody or said straight out to let me do this. If she did, then someone would have spoken up and agreed with Satori's idea. Satori had to have come up with this on her own, right?

It still bothered Reisen to be a pawn in Yukari's game. Then again, she already had been, multiple times. Even Master wasn't immune to it. The rocket, the plan for the second invasion; Reisen had laughed when she saw the rocket that Patchouli had built for the first time, but it actually ended up working. Yukari got people to make it work, and even when Master did her best to take down Yukari, she only played into the youkai's hands. Reisen was used to Master's intellect, but Yukari's warped mind and what came out of it was impressive.

Reisen had to get used to others being smarter than her. Again, it came with living with Master. Still... I can do this as well as anyone. Reisen set up the bipod on her sniper rifle on a crate within the darkened room, staring down the scope. She didn't have to do any adjustments, the wind was barely there, and at that range, wouldn't be a factor. Her confidence in shooting was shaken earlier, with what happened at the bridge. I still can't believe I missed my shot. I never miss when I'm sniping. To be fair, the hashihime was using illusions, which could mess with one's sense of spatial awareness. Reisen used illusions herself, so she knew how effective they were. Unless one of those altered people out there can use illusions, I should be good.

She had trained for this countless times, the familiar feel of the rifle in her hands, the settling into a somewhat comfortable sniping position. She had put on knee pads and other gear so she wouldn't be suffering from sudden bangs to sensitive areas. Knee pads, elbow pads, finger-less gloves, and goggles. All light and easy to move in, but sturdy enough for protection. Especially the goggles - if some errant particulate or something got into her eyes while sniping, she'd be rendered useless.

Through the scope, Reisen watched Satori and Yuugi direct the hodgepodge of malevolent-looking youkai that passed for their troops to their positions, and those two settled in front of them all, watching the door. The oni and the satori appeared willing to defend from the front lines. At least one of you need to hang back, give orders. If both of you go down, what are the rest of those guys gonna do? I hope you know what you're doing, Satori.

[Kyon:] "It takes equipment, little fairy. All right... Enough chit chat."

[Alice:] "Are you all ready? You go down there, the attack starts."

[Reimu:] "I'm ready."

As she heard the end of their conversation, Reisen started to slow her breathing, allowing herself to become relaxed. A high heart rate could affect her aim. "I really do hope you guys are ready."

[Kyon:] "Reisen?"

"This was in the care package. A little radio. Seems like I can keep in contact with you guys." She still felt guilty for what she did earlier, what she actually did. "Hey, uh, Mokou?"

[Mokou:] "S'cool. You did warn me and I still did it. Ain't gonna hold a grudge."

"I still killed you." I know what was doing for my princess, but... now looking at it, it really wasn't the time for it.

Also kind of a literal waste of a bullet to shoot someone who would just get back up.

[Mokou:] "I pissed you off. Forget about it."

I guess I should be a little grateful that you reserve all your hatred and grudge for a singular person. Even though it made clean ups at Eientei a massive chore.

[Sanae:] "So this is it, huh? This is really it."

They didn't sound ready. Another thing for me to worry about. You guys better not get yourselves killed. I'm gonna make sure they don't attack from behind, so don't let my efforts be in vain, okay? She didn't actually say that, however.

[Tenshi:] "Case it goes south, it's been really fun being with you all, you know? I'm serious. I haven't had this much fun in centuries. I'm glad I met you all."

In a way, internally Reisen agreed with that sentiment as they continued talking over the radio. Staying anonymous as the medicine peddler reduced her contact with those in Gensokyo. After opening up to everyone more, actually bothering to see the humans at the village as people, she actually got to know those she was saving with the drugs.

It felt... good. To be up and close to someone thanking her for saving their lives, instead of taking lives from afar.

Still, she was good at taking lives from afar.

Speaking of which... The iron on the gate began to bend, the wood cracking. Snarling, shouting, and the white noise of anticipation, excitement, and tension of the guards rose from the marketplace. Reisen slowly opened and closed her right hand, before resting her index finger against the trigger guard as she brought her eye to the scope. She watched as Satori hurriedly gave the final orders for where the guards were to go, before the soldier aimed right for the gate. "All right, you must've gone down, cause these guys are going wild. Gonna go radio silent on my part, since this looks like it'll get ugly!" Already arms were popping out of the holes in the gate, the static eyes staring at their targets. There were just so many.

Being a sniper was different from being on the ground. Those down there counted on you to take out problems with surgical precision: to deal with other snipers, high value targets, or major threats. They put their well-being in a sniper's hands, dependent on if they could keep them safe. Reisen took in another slow breath, making her body still and trying to keep calm despite the knowledge her position would likely be assaulted in a short while.

[Kyon:] "Good luck, Reisen!"

[Remilia:] "Happy hunting, all of you."

With that, Reisen fired the first shot, a danmaku bullet right into one of the openings the altered had made.

---

"Woah." The bug stared out at the multiple impressive sights before her, and Meiling shared the sentiment.

The underground was unlike anything Meiling could comprehend - sure, she'd read about underground cities in the tengu manga she'd gone through, but to actually see it was another thing entirely. The majesty of seeing such a sight would have been quite the experience... had it not been for what was happening at the central set piece of the underground. The walled city situated there with its tower-like structure was something, again, out of a fantasy tale, yet the battle raging on showcased the conflict down there. Magical blasts could be seen, and faint gunshots could be heard above the white noise of battle. Scores of creatures were surrounding the city, a mass of them at what had to be the front gate.

"Are we supposed to deal with that?" Wriggle was blatantly intimidated by what was transpiring.

"Last I heard when Lady Patch sent a maid to relay information, the group made it in past those things, so, uh, it's possible." Meiling said that, but certainly didn't believe it herself. No matter how good you were at martial arts, actually taking on so many opponents at once never worked, despite what manga or entertainment said. For Meiling and her guard duties, she simply knew the fighting tactics of the ones who would test the SDM's security, and she had other guards to help her. They had to have really pulled together to get through that.

Still, they had made it into the city, but without backup, just Meiling and the bug didn't appear to have a chance of getting through. I'm good, but not that good. There were limits to her capabilities, as Marisa breaking in time and time again proved, and that was just one speedy person.

"We might need to find a way through though. If they're in, and it's like that, they might need help." Sneaking into the city past such a horde of creatures seemed impossible - the very defenses keeping them out would also work against any allies trying to get past them. Also, there are zones where flight are disabled, so can't even fly. Meiling might have been able to scale and jump over the walls, but could also be seen as an enemy.

What to do... Meiling stood at the edge of the cliff arms crossed and pondering the next course of action. Sakuya and Kyon were in there somewhere, and she was ordered by Lady Remilia to ensure their survival by any means necessary. She was so focused on thinking that she almost didn't notice Wriggle tugging on her sleeve. She turned her head to the bug, who was wide eyed at what was behind and above them, silently pointing at it.

Meiling turned and saw another impressive sight. A large wooden ship was in the air, several dozen meters over her left shoulder. The two on the cliff watched it pass over them, going for the city, until it began to slow down, and turned itself so its side faced the two.

As it was turning, a face looked down at them, some nun-looking person. "Hello? You don't seem to be altered. You two all right?"

Meiling was still taken aback by the sight of such a large ship in the air floating above them. The ship had fully turned, and several people could be seen on the deck of the ship as it lowered to meet with them on the cliff side.

"Yeah, yeah, we are. So..." Meiling looked at the ship, and back to the city beyond it. "Well, we need to get there. We're from the surface, and we came down here to assist with-"

"You're with that group that helped us?" The person at the helm of the ship, who was in a sailor's outfit and in obvious control of the vessel gave them a big smile. "We wouldn't have gotten free without them!"

"We're on our way over there," spoke what looked to be a tiger woman. "I just thought that we need to repay the kindness we were shown, and we aim to assist with the city. They did shelter us for a long time down here after all."

"Dunno what you think we're gonna do, Shou." The sailor girl leaned on the wheel, adjusting her cap, an unsure look on her face. "Palanquin ain't built for war."

Yeah, I'll say. There aren't even any cannons on it. Meiling recognized it as a Japanese ship by its design, but what it was actually called escaped her. Again, that was because of the manga.

"All we can do, Captain, is rain down some danmaku on those creatures." The tiger woman, who the Captain called Shou, calmly spoke. She was in charge, it seemed. "What do you suggest we do? Not repay them for their kindness? You'd still be stuck with the ship if it wasn't for the kindness of that miko."

"To tell the truth, Shou, she only freed it and the Cap so I could help her." A mouse girl leaned on the railing, looking irritated. "You're way too trusting. I could tell there wasn't much kindness from her."

"So you'd rather we do nothing?"

The mouse angrily shook her head. "Didn't say that. Don't be putting words in my mouth. Being realistic here, you know?"

"Regardless, I think we are to help out the city." The nun woman gave the two on the cliff a smile. "If you are with them, would you like to join us? The Palanquin can resist the no flight, and we can provide air support."

"Ruler down there denied it, so those things can't fly over and get into the city." The captain patted the railing, smirking. "But my baby here is strong enough go do what it wants. As captain of this fine vessel..." She looked to the others, getting nods. "I guess I can extend an invitation for you to come aboard."

Meiling readily accepted. "We're heading that way anyway," she said as she hovered up and over the edge of the ship. "Going by foot doesn't look smart, not with all those altered."

It took some convincing for Wriggle to join in, and she didn't appear to have sea legs. Though we're in the air. Does that... does that mean she doesn't have sky legs? Meiling didn't know if sea rules applied to ships in the air.

The Palanquin lumbered around, turning again towards the city. As the Shou person and the nun both began to talk to her about Buddhism, Meiling began to realize what an adventure she was on. Milady will certainly want to hear about all of this. Of course, she's seeing it through that orb video thing.

---

[SPELL CARD: RECOLLECTION ""GAS-WOVEN ORB"]"]

Satori had been liberally using the copy of Reisen's gas grenades, over and over, tossing them at the entrance. The guards on the walls had been keeping the altered at bay, with the enemy focus trying to get through the front gate. They kept sending waves and waves, and they kept falling due to the concentrated danmaku fire of the defenders. Reisen felt like she should have had a light machine gun instead of a sniper rifle, as the sheer number of targets would have been a problem. As it was, Reisen was picking off the stragglers who somehow made it past the combined shots of those on the ground. The guards had been smartly (thanks to Satori's orders) dragging in the ones who were broken out of that altered state, so they couldn't be "reinfected."

Reisen ate yet another mushroom block, not wanting to run dry like she did earlier and being forced to actually shoot them again.

We're whittling down their numbers. Soon, there shouldn't be any problem with mop up, they can handle it, and I can rejoin everyone down there. She felt like she was needed in the group. She had heard smatterings of what was going on over the radio, that Haruhi herself was somehow down there. Hearing it almost made her drop her rifle.

This is so bad. If we lose-

"Didya hear that? Feel that?"

Reisen paused, the sudden words of Goeiki breaking her from her concentration.

A rumbling could be felt, and seen. Some of the stacked boxes and crates in the room began to vibrate and fall over. Reisen moved out of the way of a stack of signs, leaving her sniping position, taking her gun with her. Her body felt alert, her instinct for survival kicking in, screaming at her to leave the room.

"We gotta go!"

"Wait, what do you-"

I don't have time, idiot!

She grabbed Goeiki, shoving him out the open balcony, and jumping out after him, and she heard it behind her, felt it. The building, no, the surrounding buildings of the area was in exploded as a stream of hot water geysered out of the ground underneath it. The blast of heat, and the debris, hit Reisen from behind, darkening her vision. It was the impact of landing on an adjacent roof two stories down that put her out.

---

[June 1st, 2007]

"...Excuse me. Master, the festival has ended with no problems." Reisen told her Master. It was the night of the full moon, when Eientei was its most busy. The Lunar Festival that Master had come up with was an important ritual for keeping the moon, and the people who lived there, as far away as possible. Master had asked Reisen to update her on what was going on, and Reisen found her in her room.

Master was looking out her window, staring up at the full moon, and didn't turn to her. "That was awfully quick, Reisen. I hope you're not cutting corners because it's been so calm lately."

Reisen inwardly sighed, feeling tired and exhausted. For... She didn't even want to finish that thought. "Of course not. We've taken great care, as usual, to make sure the festival ended smoothly. The earth rabbits were happy to eat their fill of dumplings."

"Well, good work." Master finally turned her head, staring at Reisen, her eyes searching around her. "Oh, where is that other girl?"

Reisen's tried her best not to frown, but it had to have shown, as Master appeared to react. "You mean Tewi? Tewi's... off playing somewhere, same as ever. It's easier for her to disappear on festival days." And easier for her to put all the work assigned to her on me. Reisen was having her fill of Tewi's behavior, and the fact she kept getting away with everything was making Reisen feel like she should just give up.

Tewi kept disappearing when she had responsibility, kept setting traps for Reisen, and generally went out of her way to make the soldier's life harder. At least, that's what it felt like.

"Yes, that girl's always been something of a free spirit."

"It's such a pain." Reisen felt like the tension in her chest was about to burst, so she let it out. How can you just write her off like that, Master?! Just allow her to do these things?! What is... what is wrong with you?! Reisen was digging her nails into the palm of her hands. "She just left, even though the cleanup from the festival is nowhere near finished. And, of course, all the other earth rabbits slipped away with her, so now I have to do all the cleaning up. What has she learned from you, anyway, if she can't even stay around to clean up?"

Master had responded with what sounded like a half-hearted explanation, and some throwaway "make sure to have a word with her later." It was just more of the same that Reisen had heard all before.

You're not gonna do a damn thing, are you?

"Well, in any case, please go look for her afterward."

"Okay, but... this has been on my mind for a while but aren't you a little too easy on her, Master? It would probably do her good for you to scold her once in a while. She won't listen to me, but I think she'd listen to you." You go out of your way to scold me for every little thing I do wrong. It's so infuriating that Tewi gets away with so much.

"Oh ho." Master turned back to the window. "Unfortunately, she won't listen to me, either."

So why did you say you'd have a word with her?! "What, really? Why do we keep taking care of her, then?" Why bother with telling me that you're actually going to do something this time?!

"The earth rabbits only listen to Tewi. Do you know what that means?"

It was true. Technically, the rabbits did rule the Bamboo Forest, Tewi leading them. Master had once said that when her and the Princess had been living in the forest for a while, they were approached by Tewi, seeking an alliance. Is it really that simple? It can't be, right? Why let her... "That Tewi is the most powerful of the earth rabbits?" Why do you still put up with her? I get you feel grateful that she lets us stay here since this is technically her land in the first place-

"Without Tewi, we wouldn't be able to use them at all, which would be a problem."

Again, true. The rabbits were a big help around Eientei. The grounds were huge, and the network of the rabbit faction certainly helped them out seek what they wanted. Tewi even knew the location of all the helpful herbs for medicines in the Bamboo Forest. If Tewi wasn't around when Master needed a certain ingredient, Reisen was always dispatched to find her. I mean, I guess that stupid troublemaker has her uses...

Reisen again inwardly sighed, angered that nothing would have been done about Tewi's actions again, but also at the self realization that Tewi had her uses, as much as Reisen wanted to deny it.

"Anyway, nothing strange happened during the festival, did it? Say, around the shrine, for example."

A thought crossed Reisen's mind upon hearing Master suddenly speaking. In fact, Master was intently watching the moon. "Around the shrine? No... Is something wrong?"

"Maybe. Hopefully it's nothing."

"Master? What's on your mind? I still have to clean up from the festival, so I should go back for now." You think Tewi is doing something? "If Tewi doesn't come back in a while, I'll go out to look for her."

"Ah, yes. Please do."

Of course, turned out, that something did happen. Tewi had her use that night after all, noticing the intrusion and finding information for Master.

It was the night that another runaway moon rabbit had made their way into Gensokyo, kicking off the second Lunar Invasion.

---

[December 24th, 2008]

Damn Tewi... all her fault. If... if we hadn't been a part of that... Master wouldn't have been humiliated by Yukari... I... I should have...

Reisen felt a throbbing pain all over her body, her vision blurry, and could only hear sounds in echoes. She was used to this sensation, but not on purpose. She usually got knocked around like this if she fell into one of Tewi's pit traps she set up all over the Bamboo Forest. Reisen hated it - the disorientation, and worry that something serious broke. Maybe it was Tewi's luck, but Reisen wouldn't suffer a serious injury from these pranks.

Color and light began to come into focus, and she could make out several figures. First off, she wasn't in a trap, as there wasn't a dirt floor. Second, she quickly recognized that Goeiki person fighting off some people... people with static in their eyes. Reisen's vision came into focus, realizing that she was in a building - above her, the 'sky' of the underground. That's right... I jumped, and landed on... no, through a rooftop. The hell was that explosion?!

Not the time to think. Time to act. Reisen aimed her M16 at the other figures, danmaku shots putting them down in a mere moment. Goeiki wasn't expecting that, whipping around with his weapon.

"Geez, you stupid rabbit! Now you wake up?!"

Reisen got to her feet, no help from him, and had to take a moment to recollect herself. She felt a little dizzy. "Yeah, you're welcome, by the way. For both."

"Both?"

You really are stupid. Still he was protecting her while she was knocked out, couldn't forget that. Reisen steeled herself, putting up with his blatant lack of appreciation for saving him, yet felt some frustration with herself, realizing that she was doing it again. She had been getting fed up with others' actions, thinking that they didn't contribute when they actually did. And unlike Tewi, this guy didn't leave her.

...

That's why I hated separating myself from the group... Satori may have understood the rabbit more than she realized. I get so upset with Tewi leaving when she wants when I did it myself to my own home...

"Just... never mind."

Reisen's thoughts quickly went back to what happened for the lead up to that second invasion, the rabbit who came to see them.

...A rabbit who would end up being named Reisen as well. Named her name by Reisen's old masters to replace her, to fill the role she had left. She actually met her later on after the whole ordeal was finished, found out about it all. That struck deep with Reisen when she found out, that someone else had to pick up the slack because she left.

Her old masters had come to visit, putting both Reisens through training. Though seeing one of her masters fall into a Tewi pit trap was kind of worth it...

The sounds of fighting still came from outside, bringing her out of her thought. "Whatever happened in the building? What did happen?" Reisen found herself able to move again, just with a little soreness. Her protective gear took the brunt of the damage - her right knee pad had cracked open.

Goeiki, after making sure the threats were really down, motioned for her to come to an open window. Movement was a little stiff for the soldier, but it was manageable. Outside, Reisen saw it - and could feel it. Multiple geysers had blown open parts of the city, especially the building block they had set up in. Columns of water were still gushing up towards the cavern ceiling from somewhere below, drowning the city in a rush of noise and hot water. The heat and moisture in the air made it feel like summer, not winter.

If we had stayed, I'd be boiled rabbit by now. Reisen looked around, trying to see where Satori was, because she realized that Goeiki was fighting off altered -

You have really got to be kidding me.

Part of the wall next to the gate had been blown to bits, another geyser spewing hot water into the air. The scene on the streets of chaos. Guards and civilians alike trying to fight off the invaders. She didn't even see the satori or the oni among the crowd. Reisen reloaded her rifle, understanding that the mission had gone, well, FUBAR. "How long was I even out?"

"A while. Dunno how long. Things got bad real fast when the wall blew."

[Alice:] "Just who is this girl?"

[Yukari:] "Listen to me here. This girl is very powerful. Her power is equivalent to-"

Reisen was vaguely hearing what was going on with the group down in the depths of the underground, but she had to focus. There were some altered who had made their way deeper into the city, as fighting could be heard past the limits of the marketplace, getting her attention. She couldn't let them get to the group down there - she had been given the job of protecting their flank.

I'm not gonna fail more people.

Reisen found the staircase down to the ground floor, which was some sort of textile shop, getting ready to go out there, much to the protest and complaints of Goeiki. "Appreciate you watching over me, but I can still fight, and I need to get back out there." She turned to the little guy as she went over her rifle again. "If you wanna stay in here, I won't blame you. You're right, it's bad."

"So why you going back out there?"

"...I gotta." If you can't go out there, you can't. Reisen took in a breath, knowing that urban combat was a nightmare. So many angles and blind corners where someone can get you by surprise-

She felt a rumbling again, and in a matter of seconds, one of the walls of the building blew out - another geyser had exploded in the middle of the street, sending people flying, scalding some. The scent of burned skin, fur, and seared building materials accompanied the sudden burst of warmth and humidity. The staircase had protected the two from the debris.

-And we got a damn minefield out there. This just gets better and better.

Reisen shouldered her M16, aiming down the sights as she looked over the ones on the ground. Some were altered, so some danmaku shots solved that. Going out the way of the open wall, which opened to a street away from the marketplace, the geyser was already dying down, she checked both ways as she exited the building. Grumbling behind her, Goeiki followed. Reisen directed him to make sure everyone was normal.

It was irking Reisen that she didn't have time to heal the injuries of the guards and civilians. Their whimpering and the faint murmurings of what was going on over the radio were painting a grim picture. She knocked at the radio, wondering if the humidity was affecting it. Damn it all, sounds like they're losing down there.

A few more danmaku bullets into the altered, she made her way towards the marketplace, knowing that she had to at least stem the tide of those getting into the city. Reisen was shifting her attention every which way. Every window, open door, corner. All possible locations for a threat to pop out of.

[Remilia:] "What's going on Yukari?!"

[Yukari:] "She has a purity field! Nothing impure can enter it or move around her!"

The fear in the voices of those on the radio made Reisen speed up a bit. Things just weren't bad in the city - sounded like the group had their own problems.

Hang in there. Let me clean this up, and I'll be right down.

The market was still chaos. That hadn't changed at all. The guards and civilians were still fighting off the altered, no sign of Yuugi or Satori at all. The damage the wall explosion did had taken out most of the stalls as well as severely damaging the surrounding buildings.

First things first.

[SPELL CARD: WAVE SIGN "LUNA WAVE"]

Reisen tossed a danmaku grenade at the open wall, stopping the flow in its tracks when it went off. She then followed up with-

[SPELL CARD: POISON SMOKESCREEN "GAS-WOVEN ORB"]

That'll buy us time. The gas grenade was large enough to cover the gate area as well as the wall break. She returned her attention to the fighting in the market, dropping the ones with static in their eyes with well-placed shots. She kept tabs on the gas, reapplying the spell card when it was starting to let up. I'm getting the ones in here, but there are still all those outside the walls.

Just keeping them away wasn't going to solve things. They had to be dealt with, otherwise they'd keep attacking.

She'd have to let them in and take them down. Reisen had no way to know how many there were, so it was going to be risky. Tossing another gas grenade, Reisen shifted several carts around, forming a barrier for her position in the middle of the marketplace. The guards and civilians alike were managing to get up, free from their fighting.

"If you can, hunt down the ones that got into the city!" There was still fighting going on. Reisen realized that was where Yuugi and Satori probably went to - to prevent any of them from getting to the lift. Reisen reloaded her gun, even though she wasn't going to use it for the next part she was planning. "If you're gonna help me here, wait until I activate my spell card, then open fire!"

Some of the guards had joined Reisen at the barrier, looking exhausted. Some were missing pieces of their armor, more bleeding from wounds.

"All right. Wait for my attack."

The gas dissipated, and again the altered poured in from both the gate and the breach, going right for Reisen and the guards.

Come on, get a little closer...

[SPELL CARD: LUNAR EYES "TELE-MESMERISM (REMOTE RABBIT)"

Several magic circles appeared around Reisen, acting as mobile turrets and shooting danmaku bullets at the incoming threats. Some of them moved out of the way-

And the card redirected the bullets after a moment, adjusting them mid-flight. They were hitting their targets, again and again. It appeared that these altered had some intellect, trying to actively avoid being shot, but they couldn't handle the bullets that adjusted themselves.

The guards alongside Reisen added to the hail of gunfire. The altered were going down at a great rate, but the two openings allowed far more to get in than they could manage. This isn't enough! This isn't going to be enough!

"Back up! Back up!" As the spell card ended, Reisen never let up her shooting, going right to the M16 as she backed away from the incoming onslaught, firing at anything that moved in front of her. Come on, we can't lose here! We-

Another rumble from under their feet got their attention, the altered paying it no mind. Reisen grabbed the two people at either side of her, pushing them to move. "Run! Go!"

More heat hit her as the ground exploded in front of them all, knocking down everyone in the market. Reisen scrambled to her feet, knowing what was going to come back down - boiling water. She found an overturned cart and dove under it, grabbing Goeiki to join her. The splash of water that hit a moment later making just about everyone scream in anguish. She quickly adjusted herself, so that only her boots were on the ground and not some other part of her body. Even through it, and with the heat protection, she could feel the boiling water's heat permeate through her boots.

Reisen was about to inwardly scream about how screwed up all this was, but reality was, they did know that there were geysers popping up in Gensokyo. Made sense that it would be worse underground.

Still didn't make it even tolerable.

When the water stopped falling from the sky, she got out from under the cart, quickly assessing the market. All the guards were down, as were the altered. Thing is, more were pouring in through the breach to replace them, going right for the two people left standing.

For crying out loud can't I ever get a break?!

"Ah crap. Ah you gotta... Gotta be kidding..." Goeiki was backing away from the advancing numbers.

Reisen brought up her M16 with one hand, firing, while fishing for another spell card with her other. Come on! Come on! Reisen clenched her teeth as her deck fumbled out of her hand, deciding to commit to shooting.

Her weapon clicked dry.

Bright, colorful lights came raining down, waves of shots, lasers, kunai, and... bugs?

Reisen stared as all the altered were being put down from above, her eyes drawn to the wooden ship in the air. The Palanquin?!

It was. The ones on the ship were raining down spell cards on the altered, putting them all down. Reisen reloaded, taking shots at the ones that those on the ship were missing as she made her way to some of the guards on the ground. Some were already getting up, but most weren't. The ones standing started to tend to the wounded, or continued to fight. Already several civilians had joined in, as the air support was making the difference.

Reisen looked up, raising her rifle to those up there.

"Hey bunny girl!" It was Meiling, smiling over the railing. "Go! We got this! We'll follow!"

Reisen nodded, before picking up her deck and running to the Palace of the Earth Spirits, shouting out to Goeiki to handle clean up.

What she was hearing over the radio was Kyon screaming. I got to get back to them now!

---

Reisen was again thankful for her gun's configuration, being able to switch from assault rifle to shotgun on a moment's notice. Medium range and close range targets alike quickly fell to her as she handled the trek to the Palace. It was still a little too slow for her, reaffirming the plan she had for a future gun, one that could mold to the user's will, going from handgun, to shotgun, to blunderbuss, to whatever the user wanted. She certainly knew the logistics of how to make one, but to actually gather the materials needed on Earth was another thing...

The soldier stopped inwardly complaining about the gun, instead her mind complaining about the run up the hilled city streets. The stiffness in her body wasn't going away, and the heat suffered from walking through the boiling water gave her feet a slight stinging with every step. I gotta get to them. I gotta get to them. The chatter over the radio kept getting worse and worse, that there was more opposition down there than even Yukari anticipated. Not only that, but they were clay soldiers who looked like them.

[Yukari:] "Puzzling. Why would she make them in that shape...?"

[Eirin:] "She? Who is 'she'? What else haven't you been telling us? Please, we're all ears."

[Yukari:] "Mayumi's master is... or was... a sculptor. A god of creation whose every work could become a go-shintai. She surely created the army we've been facing."

[Eirin:] "So there's another Alternate to worry about. It would have been nice to know that sooner."

Certainly would have been. Reisen had tried speaking to them, but it appeared the radio really was damaged. All she could do was hear what was going on, and could only piece together what was happening down there. Haruhi had been captured, the group had been beaten down. Basically the worst scenario.

Also, please tell me I didn't actually hear that we lost two people? She couldn't tell who it was, just the response managed to get to her in the middle of a fight. Since she couldn't ask who it was, she had to just continue.

At least things up here were looking better, as the sounds of fighting were getting less and less frequent. Geysers were still exploding all around the city, however, so Reisen had to be mindful. Several buildings had collapsed into the streets, so she had to take alternate routes, forcing her to take longer than she would have liked. Rounding a corner, she took down three more altered who were in the middle of the street, recognizing one of them as the ramen shop owner from the stall that she ate at earlier.

Reisen didn't stop, but kept the same jogging pace to her destination. Occasionally the sight lines of the Palanquin allowed it to handle what was on the streets, but the building-to-building sweep was going to be a nightmare for the guards. They would have to go into every home, business, and look for survivors or altered, making sure everyone okay.

Geez how many casualties are there already? Not just from the fighting, but from the geyser explosions?

"Everything okay, rabbit?" Meiling called down. The Palanquin, after clearing the marketplace and the gate area, was escorting Reisen, raining down on large groups.

"Now that I got air support, yeah. You're not gonna do me much good for going down there, though." Reisen had been offered a ride, but she needed to at least do something from the ground, clearing out the path to the Palace on foot while the skies got the ones out in the open. She had certainly ended fights and saved several people who wouldn't have been seen from the air.

Again, saving lives felt better than taking them.

Reisen came to a large street, whipping back around the corner from it, seeing a mass of altered. I don't have time for this... She looked up to the Palanquin, which then lined up with the street, lowered its altitude, and unloaded danmaku at the crowd.

Man it feels good to have backup. We should have tanks for this stuff.

---

Time was wasting. Having been forced to navigate down ruined and flooded side streets, Reisen couldn't estimate how long it would take her to clear the ground on the way to the Palace, and having to check every corner wasn't helping. At least the altered were appearing less and less, allowing the Palanquin to break off and support the other areas of the city.

"Just send up some signal or something, okay rabbit? We'll be right on you!"

Reisen kept moving, watching as the Palanquin went to deal with other hot spots, lowering the anchor to help civilians and guards escape from unwinnable situations.

Man. Things just change when you aren't able to fly. She understood why it was needed to do so - having altered flying all over the place would have made it much worse, and they would have already gotten down to Former Hell proper.

After much trekking and fighting through the city's chaos, Reisen's return to the silent nature of the neighborhood of the Palace, noticing that even the animals weren't out and about, made her uneasy. It made it eerily quiet, as the rumble of the geysers that were still spewing had become white noise, and the clamor of battle was muffled by the abandoned buildings. Still, she kept vigilant of possible threats. The sound of the radio, her own breathing, her footsteps on the ground, and her heartbeat in her ears were all she could hear.

Come on, girl. This isn't the worst you've done. You've marched under worse conditions and with heavier gear. You can do this.

The silence surrounding her made her feel like she was in a different city already, compared to how crazy it got earlier.

There was little to no damage of the buildings surrounding the the Palace, meaning that the geysers had more land to go through to get up this hill, which meant they popped at the points where they had less land. Thankfully, the lessened threat allowed her to relax just a little, and finding a clear path to the Palace lifted her spirits. She put in a burst of speed, sprinting to her goal. The lock was still smashed, gate open, but the front door wasn't the quickest way. She ran alongside the courtyard's wall, to the opening that led to the lift.

Almost there. Almost there, everyone. At least flight should be usable in the Palace itself.

That being said, Reisen was dreading meeting them. She had caught the explanation of Junko, no, Chunhu, of her being a being of purity and vengeance. This Hecatia seemed all-powerful as well. I hope I can do something, make a difference.

[Patchouli:] "Something happened. Uhm, the runes were dispelled, it seems."

What?! What's that mean?

[Kyon:] "Did you-"

[Patchouli:] "This wasn't me. I was about to put the finishing touches on the dispelling, then Whiterock showed up and told me they were done by themselves. I think Hecatia wants us down there now. Which means this is it, so be careful. She's ready for us all."

If the big bad was inviting them down, that wasn't good. Rule of warfare, dammit! Never fight on an opponent's condition!

[Sakuya:] "You joining us, Lady Patchouli?"

[Patchouli:] "Something doesn't feel right. I'll keep working on my end, but the others should be getting to you soon."

[Kyon:] "How is it up top in the Ancient City?"

[Patchouli:] "Don't know. Haven't heard anything coming from the rabbit in a while."

Not my fault I'm having an equipment failure! She sorely wanted to let everyone know she was doing okay and was on her way down. She again pressed some buttons on the radio, making sure she didn't turn it off, trying to get a message out-

A burst of danmaku came from within the Palace, alongside a guttural roar. Reisen slowed down as she neared the hole in the wall afforded by the train earlier. Peering in...

Okay that's bull crap. Whatever gods have a grudge against me, come see me now. I want to settle it one on one.

Satori was dodging around, using spell card after spell card, fending off one opponent, who was getting more and more enraged that they couldn't hit the mind-reader.

An altered Yuugi.

For a moment, the soldier could feel the heaviness in her body, the fatigue starting to set in due to how much frustration she was feeling, but she couldn't let that stop her. Reisen made sure her weapons were topped off before joining in the fight. She shot Yuugi in the back a few times to get the oni's attention, who turned to her with those static eyes. No matter how much she shot the oni, it wasn't going away. Dammit, how much influence did they pump into her? Reisen debated on going in further, but she had a plan. Come on, you big bastard. Come right for me. Reisen reached into her pack, producing a flare. She threw it in the air, the blue smoke sending a signal. I let you guys go a while ago, but I need you again.

Altered Yuugi didn't appear to want to follow Reisen, instead trying to hit Satori, who was the only one there to prevent altered Yuugi from going down the lift.

Fine, I can handle shooting you from afar. Reisen switched to her sniper rifle, loading in danmaku, and shot at the oni. The emulation of the magnum rounds made Yuugi stagger, who finally took Reisen as a serious threat; she ran right for her at frightening speed. Reisen immediately backed up, going out into the open courtyard as the oni followed.

The Palanquin opened fire on the oni, who again staggered under the weight of the shots. Yuugi punched both of her fists into the ground, cracking the cobblestone around her and causing the whole area to shake as she lifted a chunk of cobblestone three times her own size into the air with both hands as if it weighed as much as a soccer ball. Her static-filled eyes were fixed on the ship - she was planning to throw it.

Not today! Reisen switched to her shotgun, emptying it out on Yuugi from close range, forcing the dropping of the stone. Satori had joined them out there, all of them just unloading on the oni that wouldn't go down. Come on! What is it gonna take to put you down?!

"I think that was the plan! They were counting on that!" Satori shouted. "The altered all went after her at once when the geysers started firing. Altering her was their plan from the start!"

"Then we gotta knock her out!"

Reisen was still too close, Yuugi bearing down on her. Reisen reacted, quickly pulling out a card and reading it.

[SPELL CARD: ILLUSION BOMB "MIND STARMINE"]

Several large bullets spread from Reisen, each the size of her torso. They left a trail of red danmaku in their wake. Yuugi was hit by several of the bullets, and when she tried to move closer, the red ones as well. It gave Reisen the time to reload, to move away.

[SPELL CARD: RECOLLECTION "TRINITY SPARK"]

Satori backed up Reisen, the spark sending Yuugi off her feet. Yuugi got back up, despite the barrage still coming down on her from the Palanquin. She charged at Reisen, forcing the rabbit to roll out of the way. Rolling to a crouch, she again fired upon the oni. I need something with a higher firing rate!

[SPELL CARD: SPREAD SIGN "ROCKET IN MIST"]

[SPELL CARD: RECOLLECTION "ROCKET IN MIST"]

Satori had silently joined with Reisen, using the same spell card. This one was barrage of bullets in five tight columns every 90 degrees, so it brought up the bullet waves up to ten with Satori and Reisen combined.

It pays to work alongside someone who can know what you're doing.

"There are perks to my abilities, obviously."

If you could be less of a jerk about you being a certain race, more people would like you.

"Speaking from experience?"

Reisen grimaced, giving Satori her silent answer.

Yuugi had fallen to one knee, but her static wasn't going away. We need more than this. This isn't enough!

Reisen and Satori ended their spell cards, Yuugi getting back up to a standing position. "Any bright ideas, Miss Komeiji?"

[SPELL CARD: ESOTERICA "ASTRONOMICAL ENTOMBING"]

Faint magic circles surrounded Yuugi, and a single large danmaku shot went through them. As they touched, the circles vibrated, activating and shooting at the target.

It was one of Master's spell cards.

"I honestly didn't think much of the deserting moon rabbit that found her way to my front door... but you've proven me wrong with your resolve. You haven't been my brightest student, or my most competent, but you have been the most determined." Eirin Yagokoro had come from behind Reisen, placing her hand on her shoulder. "I know I don't say this enough, or at all... but I'm proud of you."

Reisen sighed in relief. "It's so good to see you."

"Of course it is."

At least you're always the same.

"Reisen, go, we'll handle this."

It was then that Reisen noticed the large group of people with Master. The Scarlets, Nitori, Aya, everyone from up top save for Yukari and Patchouli. Even the Prismrivers and the bird had been warped there.

The danmaku that rained down on Yuugi pinned her there, and the static looked like it was slowly losing its grip on her.

"Thank you, Master." Reisen turned, running into the Palace.

"Don't get yourself killed, okay?"

"Go!" Remilia shouted. "We can handle one large oni! You have to hurry!"

Reisen ran right for the open lift, dropping down into the lift's shaft, feeling flight return to her. She had already sent down an orbital drop light path, and was following it as it went down. She couldn't waste any time.

---

Why did I let him run ahead?

That was the only thought in Youmu's mind as a wall of bright red runes cut off her group from Kyon. Mayumi stood in front, her sword in its sheath and her eyes as cold as the cavern was hot. Those same eyes were what had halted her from charging forward to protect him - Youmu knew well from their last encounter how easily this girl could exploit a weakness. The only one who didn't know what a mistake it was to approach her from the front was Kyon, and when he saw the body of Nagato suspended above Hecatia, he no longer could hear the cries and warnings of the group. Now he was separated, and Youmu dreaded that it was all her fault.

If only I said something sooner. I didn't realize... If only I'd moved. Youmu wasn't used to having such thoughts. Once, she had been ready to give all for her duty, and didn't know the meaning of fear. Now, however, she felt something stopping her. A feeling that had lingered with her since the beginning of the incident, and wouldn't let her go.

"Reimu," whispered Kasen next to her. She inclined her head up and to the right – hovering against the shadowed cavern walls behind them, more clay soldiers were waiting in ambush. Their armor seemed in good condition compared to the last group, but only a few of them carried weapons. Youmu counted eight on either side, which meant they were both surrounded and outnumbered.

"She's baiting us," muttered Reimu. "If we attack her, they'll come down on us."

Marisa nudged up next to Youmu, nodded at Mayumi, and whispered, "You can take her, right? Like Reimu said."

...Can I?

Reimu had said Mayumi didn't look so tough, but with Mayumi staring into her with such an expression, Youmu felt something strange inside her. It felt like a curse had been laid upon her, and was draining all her strength. She feared to face her, and she wasn't sure why.

...I have to.

It's the end if I don't.

"Wait!" Sanae came around Youmu's other side, passing through her phantom half on the way. She gave a shudder as it chilled her body, and when she recovered, she put a hand on Youmu's shoulder and gave her an anxious look, then said to Reimu, "Let me fight her. I can stop her from moving – Youmu has to save Kyon!"

Save him? Me? Youmu looked at the wall of runes – the ones up top hadn't yielded to the Roukanken. The blade had simply passed through them, as Youmu herself was permitted inside. If these ones acted as a wall to her, there might have been a chance...

Reimu narrowed her eyes, took a moment to look at the rest of us, and said, "Fine. You and one other person can keep her busy. Sakuya, help Youmu get past her as quick as you can. The rest of us will spread out and fight the ones behind us."

Reimu's plan was accepted by the group, and they moved as one, turning to face the ambushers. Youmu was joined by Sakuya, Sanae, and Chiyuri, readying up to charge. Behind Mayumi and the wall of runes, Youmu saw Hecatia drifting through the air, circling Kyon, who was getting ready to draw the Sword of Hisou.

I can.

I can do this. I can save him!

"I'm going to speed us up," spoke Sakuya into Youmu's ear, bending over slightly but keeping her eyes on Mayumi. "Watch her carefully as we pass. Even when I stopped time to try and save us from Hecatia, it felt like her eyes were watching me the whole time."

Huh? Wait. Wh-what? That's impossible, right? Youmu opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment, the group broke apart. Chiyuri flew forward, Sanae drew a spell card, and everything seemed to slow down around them as Sakuya's eyes turned red and she pulled Youmu forward.

It was starting now. Youmu had stop thinking and start acting, or she wouldn't be able to move fast enough. She focused on Mayumi and the wall of runes, put her hand to the hilt of the Roukanken, and recited a kouan in her mind.

Daibai asked Baso, "What is the Buddha?"

Baso replied, "The mind is the Buddha."

Seconds were stretched into fives, then tens, or so it felt. Chiyuri fired her pistol at Mayumi, but Mayumi paid her no heed; her eyes kept following Youmu as the two of them flew in an arc around her, keeping low so as not to draw fire from elsewhere. Mayumi dodged each shot with the smallest movements, and with a purposeful about-face, took off ahead of them to intercept their path. Her speed was slower than Youmu and Sakuya's, yet still unnaturally fast, and she seemed to know exactly where to fly to get in their way, as when the arc drew close to the wall of runes, Mayumi arrived to meet them.

[SPELL CARD: SEA OPENING "MOSES' DIVINE MIRACLE"]

A rush of water came in from off to the right, where Sanae had floated up. Two walls enclosed around Mayumi, undulating against one another and forcing her to move back and forth between them at high speed while Sanae herself shot branching lines of blue and red danmaku down the center and Chiyuri added some shots of her own. When Mayumi flew up to escape the water, it turned in the air, resembling a rotating tube that wouldn't let her out of it.

Sakuya started to fly up – but thought better of it, feinted, and flew down instead to get around the water. Even before she started to move down though, Mayumi stared into her, ceased flying, and simply dropped like a rock. Accelerated as she was, Youmu still had barely time to react to her bursting through the bottom of water, her exposed flesh damaged and crackling with danmaku static. With a flash, the Roukanken came out, where the flat of it was met by the back of Mayumi's gauntlet and parried aside in the same motion that Mayumi seized Sakuya by the throat.

"Gahck—"

Sakuya was ripped away from Youmu, who felt Mayumi's foot in her gut before she could make a second strike. With one deft motion, Mayumi's free hand seized Sakuya's wrist, which was aiming a knife for her neck, let go of Sakuya's throat and brought both of her hands together behind her back, advancing upon Youmu with Sakuya now immobilized and re-purposed as a shield.

Youmu felt a flash of fear, and stepped back. Somehow, she hadn't been fast enough. Mayumi was slower, yet she seemed to know exactly how to move, never wasting a single instant. The way she ignored all the danmaku coming at her, it was as if she never even needed to see.

Sakuya's eyes flashed red and power welled up in her, but as if cutting to a new frame, her body suddenly jerked downward and she cried out in pain as Mayumi twisted her arms behind her back.

"You second-guessed your flight path," said Mayumi. "You don't even understand yourself, and you pretend to know what's best for the multiverse?" At the same time as Sanae canceled her spell, Mayumi flew up and around Youmu, avoiding Sanae and Chiyuri's shots from behind. Youmu tried to strike at Mayumi, but Mayumi moved Sakuya's body in the way, and she could do nothing to stop Mayumi from getting between them and the red wall again.

"Don't act like you can read our minds," growled Sakuya, trying in vain to break free from her grasp.

"An author does not have to read," said Mayumi. "In taking such pains to craft the story, she knows it all by heart already." Shifting her stance to grip both of Sakuya's arms with only her left hand, she forced Sakuya into a kneel to stop her from kicking and stood at the ready, facing the others but still looking down into Sakuya's face. With her free hand, she grasped Sakuya's hair and pulled it back, forcing her to stare forward at the battle going on behind the others.

"Look. Look at what's in front of you and see yourself."

Youmu chanced a glance behind her – the air behind them was chaos, with danmaku flying every which way, but she managed to spot the clay soldiers in the melee, and when she did, she realized that something was different.

The soldiers that all of them had faced until now were old and yellowed, with cracks in their skin, to the point where they had hardly resembled the people they were meant to depict. Some of these new ones, though, were different – their skin was smooth, and though its color had faded, they looked very much like real people. One of the soldiers was facing off against a tag team of Koizumi and Kasen, and when Kasen came forward to strike with a punch, the soldier vanished and reappeared behind her, along with a swarm of knives that flew into Kasen and dug into her flesh.

They're— they're using our abilities. They really are— Youmu spotted another one, a soldier with only one arm fighting off Kazami and Mima at the same time with a katana, and wearing a wakizashi on her belt – the very same Roukanken and Hakuroken that Youmu wore.

"Do you have any idea how many times we've done this before?" Mayumi pointed up at the clay version of Sakuya. "Do you remember her? The person she used to be? Or are these memories you have only of your original self?" She leaned in and glared at Sakuya. "Do you even know, I wonder, how much of you is my design?"

Sakuya sat up straight as far as Mayumi's binding grasp would allow her, defiant through the pain of her hold. "You aren't all-powerful. You can't control who we are."

"I can, and I have. Do you know the original you was an atheist?" Mayumi's mouth curled up ever so slightly into a smile as Sakuya's body grew slightly more tense. "Her pride and loyalty made her a top-class servant, even to a devil. You, though..." She brought her right hand in to cup Sakuya's chin, feeling the bottom of her jawline as if measuring the contours of a statue she'd sculpted. "Your faith is at odds with your master. However you might reconcile it, you know in your heart that you ought to believe your life is sin. Your mind is opened to fear and doubt, and your loyalty has met a ceiling of stone." She tilted her head, amused, as Sakuya sucked in her breath. "And now you know what I have done for you, and your heart becomes pure doubt."

"You're a liar." Sakuya had become stiff, and was now avoiding Mayumi's gaze.

"Think what you like. You fell to me because your heart is untrue, and shall die in that despair."

Mayumi let go of Sakuya's jaw, drew her sword, and held it high. Youmu stepped forward with a start, as did Sanae and Chiyuri.

How—how did this happen? What can we do? If we move, she might kill her, but— Youmu's eyes went back and forth, trying to decide on a plan. Behind Mayumi, she saw Kyon again, crumpled up on the ground as Hecatia stood over him, goading him to get back up.

Focus. I have to focus. Youmu looked at the other two, seeing the uncertainty in their eyes, and decided that she had to make an attack.

Even if it doesn't hit her, if I can make an opening for the others...!

She had to do something. Anything. Youmu tensed up her legs and shot forward like a bolt of lightning, aiming a strike above Sakuya at Mayumi. At the same time, Mayumi lifted Sakuya's body by her arms, putting her in the path of the Roukanken.

For Youmu, that one small moment seemed to slow to a crawl. Mayumi's sword bent inward, pointed at Sakuya's back. Youmu angled the Roukanken, trying to get around Sakuya – but it wasn't enough. She wouldn't be able to land a solid hit. Sakuya's face was a mask of fear. Her situation, and Mayumi's words, were clouding her judgment just as before. Mayumi was resolute – her intentions were clear. She was going to end Sakuya then and there.

As though moving on its own, Youmu's left hand left the Roukanken and went down to her belt. She drew the Hakurouken in a fluid motion, an unsheathing strike that she directed at Sakuya's body.

The tip of Mayumi's sword lined up with Sakuya's heart. The Hakurouken left a bloody slash across Sakuya's upper arm, and Youmu herself swerved around past Mayumi, her eyes on Kyon and the wall of runes. Mayumi began the thrust, the tip cutting through the back of Sakuya's uniform. Youmu caught sight of Sakuya's eyes – for one instant, they were wide in shock, and the next, they had turned red.

Then the moment passed.

Youmu shot past Mayumi, on her way to her objective. She heard Sakuya scream in pain behind her, and didn't stop to look back. She had to make it. She had to cut through and bring Kyon back into the safety of the group.

"SAKUYA!" cried Sanae over the noise of the cavern. Youmu kept flying at the wall of red. She sheathed the Hakurouken, readied the Roukanken, and lined up the slash.

She reached the wall-

And the sword went in. It sliced through the runes in front of her, eradicating them into wisps of red light in one clean stroke. Before she could move through though, the runes on either side of the slash moved in to fill the gap – the wall shrank a little bit in the process, but the entire surface moved inwards, meaning that the only gaps were at the far-off edges of the cavern.

I-

I can do it!

Youmu slashed again, and again, and again, working up a momentum of rapid strikes to shrink the wall. The runes rapidly retreated into the center, the speed of her slashes grinding it away in no time. She glanced behind her to make sure Mayumi wasn't giving chase-

-and saw her hold up Sakuya, skewered on her sword, the blade now bright red. It was at an angle; in the instant before the sword had gone in, Sakuya had stopped time long enough to twist her body so that the blade went through the area below her chest instead of into her heart.

"SANAE!" she howled. Sanae and Chiyuri were already flying towards her, firing to try and force Mayumi to back up. Mayumi wasn't watching them – she was watching Youmu.

"You've only bought yourself more pain," she said bitterly. Drawing the blade back out of Sakuya's body, she flung her backwards, a bit off from Youmu's direction, and towards the pool of magma. Sakuya's eyes lost their focus as the sword came out of her, and she went into a daze, her body limp and trailing blood through the air.

Can she-

She wasn't dead... but she wasn't conscious anymore, either. She was going to land straight in the magma.

Youmu didn't even have time to look back at Kyon. She took off away from the wall, towards the pool of magma to catch Sakuya. As she did so, Mayumi finally turned and faced Sanae, flicking the blood off of her blade.

"And you, your relationship with your masters..."

Sanae and Chiyuri broke apart, circling around Mayumi to catch her from two sides. Mayumi veered to the right along with Sanae, weaving and slicing through the danmaku they both put off, drawing inexorably closer with each second.

"You love them not with all your heart. You find yourself in opposition to their actions. Your loyalty to them has been in question since you learned of their involvement in this incident."

"Ch-Chiyuri! I can't hold her off!" Sanae squealed in panic as Mayumi passed right through one of her larger shots, taking the hit just to get at her quicker. Sanae pulled out another spell card, abandoning her shooting to cast it instead.

[SPELL CARD: GREAT MIRACLE "YASAKA'S DIVINE WIND"]

Great spirals of small green shots and large blue shots billowed from Sanae, forming into a tornado that took up most of the cavern's vertical space. The air became so thick with her danmaku that Chiyuri couldn't give chase through it all, and tried instead to fire on Mayumi from afar. Even so, Mayumi simply stopped dodging. She closed in on Sanae, blowing past all of her danmaku without seeming to take damage.

"The original you was not so weak of heart. She knew of her godhood from the very beginning, and knew how to use her patrons' power properly."

"Chiyuri!" Sanae shrieked. "Chiyuri, it's not working!"

Mayumi raised her sword, glaring her in the eye. "Is this the strength of your loyalty? Is this the limit of your growth until now?!"

"HELP!"

Sanae couldn't do a single thing. Mayumi closed in, sword above her head, and brought it down. Sanae's spell ended, her torso went numb, and she dropped to the ground. It was all she could do to control her descent so that she didn't break her neck against the rocks below before she blacked out.

Mayumi flicked her blade again and turned to face down Chiyuri. She had defeated the rest of them so quickly, and with Youmu on her own job, Chiyuri was alone. Chiyuri's gun hand shook as she pointed it.

"They said Utsuho's powerful because she's stupid... I guess blind faith is like the same for you, huh?" She cracked a grin at Mayumi, struggling to keep her composure.

Mayumi wasn't goaded. "You cannot hope to approach the strength of my resolve," she said, her posture stiff. "I have survived all of you countless times. I am the bastion against which your hopes are dashed, and for that reason, it is I who planted the weakness in your hearts. It is I who made you who you are."

Chiyuri raised an eyebrow. "Do you even know who I am?"

"Okazaki's assistant. A member of the Agency."

"And what else?"

Mayumi tilted her head. "There is nothing else. That is your role. You weren't even intended to be in Gensokyo, yet we had to make you an esper, so there you ended up."

Chiyuri lowered her head and chuckled with a wry grin. "...Yeah. That sounds about right. I'm just a footnote to you guys, huh?"

"Does that offend you?" Mayumi shifted her stance in the air and pointed her sword at Chiyuri. "Well, take heart – I find you worthier than this lot. I sense great loyalty to your master in you, and it's a shame you are still so full of doubt."

"How kind of you to care so much for the people you're trying to wipe out." Chiyuri glanced down at Youmu – she had succeeded in rescuing Sakuya from the magma, and was setting her down on the ground a ways from the bank.

Youmu wasn't sure what she should do now. If she tried to fight Mayumi, she might have been too late to save Kyon. If she tried to save Kyon, Mayumi might have thrown another person into the magma. Youmu got to her feet, preparing to take off, but distracted by Mayumi's words.

More worthy than me, even?

That can't be. Even c-compared to them... I'd do anything for her.

She watched Chiyuri dart backward, on the defensive against Mayumi, who was beginning a steady advance.

If you want to see loyalty... If you can only be beaten by that...

She looked up at the wall behind her. There was something she could do. Something that only she could do.

I'll show you. I won't let her down.

Youmu's human half took off for the wall, sword in hand. Her phantom half, meanwhile, swung around to flank Mayumi. Seeing this, Mayumi attempted to ignore Chiyuri and give chase, but Chiyuri was ready with a spell card.

[SPELL CARD: QUANTUM VACUUM "ZERO-POINT FIELD"]

A rotating red sphere of esper energy encased both Chiyuri and Mayumi, and the shadows of danmaku began to appear around them. Each one coalesced into a green danmaku particle before dissipating, and clusters of these would pop into existence at random throughout the field. Mayumi dodged through them towards the edge of the sphere, taking more caution than she did against Sanae's danmaku. Before she could get far however, Youmu's phantom half fired a stream of green shots through the energy sphere, which caught the energy and dragged it inside, creating particle clusters all around it as it passed in front of Mayumi. With Youmu's shots working in tandem with Chiyuri's, there was enough uncertain danmaku that Chiyuri was able to outmaneuver her, keeping her inside the field. Meanwhile, as Youmu's human half got close to the wall, she saw another figure standing in the way at the edge of the peninsula.

It was the one-armed clay soldier she had seen before, wearing the Roukanken and Hakurouken on its belt. She was short, and though she wore a helmet that obscured her face, there was a wisp of something behind her – the phantom half of the divine spirit that inhabited the soldier.

Youmu didn't stop moving forward. Even if this was one of the elites, even if it was stronger than the ones before, she knew she could break through.

She came down from above, and the two Youmu drew their swords at once. Youmu made a strike at her copy, but the Roukanken met air, and a spike of pain shot up her midsection as her copy moved to one side in front of her, swinging her own blade in reply. It was all she could do to twist her body and avoid being cut in half by the stroke. Just like Mayumi, this soldier had known exactly how to counter her.

Youmu landed in front of the wall, holding her side. The other Youmu walked towards her, sword at the ready.

"Why..." she wheezed as she willed herself to stand up straight.

"You know why," said the other Youmu.

Youmu held her sword in front of her, ready to defend. After coming just out of her range, the other Youmu stopped and stared from beneath her helmet.

"The dreams will never end," she said. "Not unless you surrender. She'll forgive you if you do - Lady Hecatia, and Lady Yuyuko too."

What is she...

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. You're as much a victim of Lady Yukari as we were." She took one step forward, and Youmu took one step back. "Trust me. Lady Hecatia can help us."

Even as she faced the other Youmu, Youmu's phantom half was still fighting with Chiyuri. Having two halves of a whole wasn't like having two bodies – having to split her focus like this was starting to wear on Youmu. She took another step back and tried to stay focused on what she had to do.

"Lady Yuyuko would never want that."

"She'd never admit it."

However, Youmu found that she couldn't focus. The more that she looked at her counterpart, and the closer they were, the stranger she started to feel. She started to feel like she knew this other her. She started to remember things she had never experienced.

She remembered another Alternate – the one who rebuilt her, who granted her the mercy of living beyond her world's destruction. The care with which her new body had been molded, and the excitement of seeing Yuyuko rebuilt alongside her in clay. Their sculptor was a blue-haired girl in a turquoise, green, and yellow smock, who loved only to create beautiful things. She told them her dream of crafting a utopia that existed beyond karma and the Wheel of Life, and she shared in the pain of all the worlds that could not survive.

"Wha-what's happening?" said Youmu, taking another step back.

"We're melding," replied the other Youmu, advancing along with her retreat. "That's just what happens when you meet yourself. There's supposed to be only one of us here, and soon the universe will forget that there were two."

What? Since when? I don't like this.

Youmu remembered seeing many other versions of herself. She remembered how she fought one of them in battle together with Yuyuko, and how, in a desperate bid for survival, that Youmu had cut Yuyuko down and destroyed her. She remembered feeling the utmost grief and helplessness that day. She remembered the purity of her despair.

I-I-I-...

"If you won't accept Lady Hecatia's mercy, then the greatest mercy I can give you is death."

I can't do this alone. It dawned on Youmu as she understood how much longer the other Youmu had lived, and how much less she had to lose. Combined with trying to support Chiyuri at the same time, there was just no way for her to win. She looked to the side, hoping that anyone would come to her aid.

The battle was not going well. Mima and Kazami had been pushed to their limit, and although Youmu saw them blast apart a rifle-toting, bunny-eared soldier with a combined laser strike, the two of them were quickly shot down by blades of wind from a clay version of Aya. Reimu and Marisa were each dueling clay versions of themselves, and the rest of the soldiers were joining together to push back everyone else who was still in the air. The only person not struggling was...

...Lady Yukari?

Out of nowhere, Yukari had appeared off to the side of the battle. She had her back to it, standing on top of a rock and staring beyond the wall of runes, the lower half of her face hidden behind an open fan. She wasn't paying any attention to what was happening around her.

"Lady Yukari!" Youmu tried to call in her direction. "Please help! I need help! I-I can't..."

Yukari didn't respond. She acted like she didn't hear Youmu, simply staring ahead with her full concentration. The other Youmu kept advancing.

Help... Please help...

If I die here, then Lady Yuyuko...

I... I want to live.

The other Youmu's memories kept playing in her head, showing her all the other versions of herself she had killed. She remembered them crying out those same pleas for life, and the extent to which she had to shutter her heart to avoid the pain from doing it over and over again.

Don't make me feel like this. I'm not you.

I'm not...

An explosion rocked the entrance to the cavern. Out the corner of her eye, Youmu saw both Marisa and the clay Marisa fall to the ground, one of them having set off a bomb between them. On her other side, she saw Hecatia splitting into three separate bodies, two of them whipping chains at Kyon on the ground.

At that moment, Mayumi caught up with Chiyuri inside the sphere, and sent her falling away with a single stroke. Her spell card ended, and Mayumi was finally free.

...No...

Mayumi took one long look at Youmu and her counterpart. The contempt on her face was plain; Youmu remembered seeing it many times before, always directed solely at her.

"Do your duty," Mayumi shouted to the other Youmu. "I won't allow you to let that one survive."

With that, Mayumi turned her back on the two Youmu and launched away. Youmu watched as she entered the bigger battle, passing through clouds of danmaku without slowing down and swinging her sword at everyone and everything that wasn't made of clay like a demon.

She found Sunny first, hidden in a bubble of invisibility. She took down Cirno, who was somehow still flying, and Koizumi, before engaging in battle against Kasen, who still looked healthy. Even she, however, was pushed back by Mayumi's aggression. Mayumi was unstoppable. Through it all, Yukari still didn't move, still didn't so much as look at Mayumi.

"Lady Yukari!" Youmu pleaded one more time. "Look behind you! Why won't you do anything?!"

"She won't help you." The other Youmu advanced, and Youmu retreated. Youmu's phantom half arrived from where it had been bombarding Mayumi, allowing her to focus herself on one spot again. It still didn't feel like she had a chance.

Why?

Youmu gripped the Roukanken until the knuckles of both hands turned white. Once again, she had to do whatever she could to change the situation. Rescuing Kyon seemed out of the question, as there was nowhere safe to take him anymore. Yet, that was the only thing Youmu felt like she could do.

I... I swore to protect him. With my life, if I had to.

I can't step down from that. Even if I have to die... I can't break that promise, too.

Her hands shook. She wished she could at least talk to Yuyuko one last time, but the yin-yang orb was nowhere that she could see. She couldn't remember what her last words to her were. What would be Yuyuko's last memory of her?

I can't think.

I have to focus.

Throw everything away.

Youmu raised the Roukanken, willing herself to become a warrior again. Nothing but a weapon to be pointed at the enemy.

A monk asked Baso, "What is the Buddha?"

Baso replied, "Not mind, not Buddha."

Both Youmu leapt forward at the same time, each one casting a spell as they did so.

[SPELL CARD: SOUL SIGN "WHEEL OF PAIN OF THE LIVING AND DEAD"]

[SPELL CARD: SPIRIT-CUTTING SWORD "SLASH OF ASCENSION TO BUDDHAHOOD"]

The other Youmu's phantom half morphed into an identical copy of her, and both halves brought in their swords to strike at Youmu. Youmu drew the Hakurouken, and remembering what Sakuya had done, allowed them both to slash at her body. As they did so, she forced her own attack to complete, slashing up with both swords, one on each half and creating giant pink danmaku pillar that raised into the sky at an angle, directly into the wall, and lingered there, obliterating many runes at once and sending the other Youmu to the side. The other Youmu's phantom half returned to its original form, and the clay half rebounded, but Youmu had positioned herself close to the wall and was swinging both blades in a frenzy, simultaneously guarding herself and cutting apart the wall.

[SPELL CARD: HUMAN ONI "SLASH OF THE ETERNAL FUTURE"]

Youmu dashed forward, intent on cutting through her enemy, but the enemy raised her sword and parried the strike, throwing her off-balance and canceling the spell. At the same time, she raised her own sword-

[SPELL CARD: HESITATION CUTTING SWORD "SLASH OF DEPARTURE FROM HESITATION"]

-and created a blade of blue energy many times its size which she swung horizontally into Youmu, cutting through the wall at the same time. Youmu barely raised her sword to block, being pushed back dangerously close to the edge of the peninsula and the short cliff drop into the magma. Even with the fire protection sewn into her clothes, she could feel her skin start to blister here.

[SPELL CARD: SWORD SKILL "CHERRY BLOSSOM FLASHING"]

[SPELL CARD: EMPTINESS SWORD "SLASH CLEARING THE SIX SENSES"]

The other Youmu set upon her again, turning her blade in every direction, her every strike followed by cherry blossom danmaku that appeared in its wake and flew at Youmu. Youmu parried each strike and moved faster than either one of them could see, dancing in and out of the other Youmu's range, striking and retreating, and dodging the danmaku as she pried for a weakness, almost every strike that was made near the wall being made to pass through it as well. Youmu kept her enemy near the wall, forcing their attacks to chip away at it as they fought; it was all she could do, as even one-handed, the enemy never revealed another weakness. The only attack that ever landed was the first one she had made.

[SPELL CARD: REINCARNATION SWORD "SLASH OF THE CIRCLE'S CENTER"]

Youmu pressed the advantage, raining blow after blow on the enemy, both of their swords a blur. The remains of red runes flew in every direction between their blades as wall shrank down to a quarter of its original size – by this point, it would have been possible to go around it if not for the person in front of her. No one else was left who could, though. Only Yukari, who still never moved from her perch atop the boulder.

Marisa was the first besides Youmu to notice her there, ignoring the battle below her. She was hiding on the ground between two rocks, nursing the wounds from the bomb vial she'd used to damage her clay soldier. The other her had retreated after taking the damage, along with the other Reimu; although the rest of the soldiers were now either dismantled or had retreated, it seemed like every member of their group was now down for the count. Reimu drifted downwards, exhausted, next to Marisa, and gasped, "I beat Aya... I finally took out Aya."

"Not ours, right?"

Reimu ignored Marisa's joke and grunted. "She's too fast for my homing spells, or my needles... I hate fighting her so much." She looked over at the rapidly shrinking barrier, where a whirlwind of blades was drilling into it. On the far side, Kyon was lying face-up on the ground, with Hecatia's boot on his throat.

"Can ya still move?" asked Marisa. "My body ain't listening, and neither's Yukari. We gotta save him fast, ze."

Reimu responded by doubling forward, wheezing with exhaustion. Something happened then; Marisa thought she saw two of Reimu, one imposed over top of the other. The second one was leaking into the first; a bold white color that was creeping over her, and only needed a little push to take over entirely.

"I... I feel..." Reimu mumbled in a daze. Marisa thought she saw Yukari's eyes flick back towards Reimu, just briefly, before returning to staring at what Hecatia was doing.

"Oy, Reimu... Are ya okay?"

"I need... I'm sorry, I need to sit down... Just for a second..." Reimu crumpled to her knees, then her head dropped; she was barely on the verge of unconsciousness, and clearly in no shape to move. Marisa couldn't move, either; all she could do was watch. She took in a deep breath to shout some obscenities in Yukari's direction, only to find that Yukari had disappeared. There was now no one else left standing on their side but Youmu.

...And it was starting to look like there was only one Youmu.

Sometimes it looked like there were two of them, slashing away at one another. Sometimes it looked like there was just one, twisting and turning and swiping the blade at thin air. The wall had been reduced to almost nothing, a bare strip of red runes barely taller than a person covering the entrance to the peninsula.

Mayumi landed on the far side of the wall, and seeing them like this, called out, "Enough! If you can't even kill her before the melding is done, then retreat at once! I won't have you absorbing her."

"Lance Corporal!"

Youmu and the other Youmu backed off from one another, caught in a daze. Taking advantage of the moment, Youmu leapt over the top of the wall and flew towards Kyon. She didn't even see where Hecatia was – just that Kyon was struggling to stand and walk in the opposite direction.

I can get to him...

I can save him...

The blood was draining out of Youmu's wounds. The other Youmu had landed two more strikes on her, and if she stopped and realized it herself, she'd find herself losing feeling in her body. Still she went forward, towards her goal. Nothing could stop her.

...Except Mayumi, who leapt into the air, grabbed her by the foot, and swung her so hard that she soared above the wall and landed in a heap on the ground next to the retreating other Youmu.

I can save him...

She planted her hand on the ground and tried to rise to her feet, but her arms didn't have the strength to lift her body. She saw the other Youmu above her, sword sheathed and staring down at her with an unreadable expression. At some point, her helmet had fallen apart, and Youmu could see her own face rendered in clay, marred by a great crack down the center of her forehead and a hole where her left eye ought to have been.

Through their melded memories, Youmu remembered the day that Mayumi had given her those wounds. Mayumi had never gotten to avenge her master; Hecatia was the one who had erased the Youmu that had killed her. Left without a channel for her grief, she had turned it upon the clay Youmu, and challenged her to a duel.

Though the other Youmu lost an arm and an eye, she never could blame Mayumi for it. After all, it was that same failure that had caused her to lose Yuyuko for good.

"Give up," said the clay Youmu. "If you don't, she'll be erased, or forever consigned to that invisible Hell."

I'll never give up. Though she understood her counterpart's words, Youmu could no longer spare them a single thought. Her focus was on her goal, and nothing else.

The clay Youmu's face hardened, and she raised her voice, saying, "It is not loyalty to simply follow orders. If you cannot see what she truly wants-"

"I said, retreat!" barked Mayumi. "Find the others and await my command! I will finish them off."

The other Youmu stared down a second longer, then turned and walked away. With one last wrathful look at Youmu, Mayumi turned about at the same time, coming up behind Kyon and slamming him face-first into the ground.

I...

I can still...

A bright light shone from the center of the cavern. The people who were suspended above the magma were merging together. Kyon struggled against Mayumi as he was forced to watch.

Youmu willed herself to move. Bit by bit, she was able to get her knees under her.

I can still save him...

Mayumi turned her head to look back at Youmu. Their eyes met, and Youmu slowly rose into a stand.

Even if I have to die...

I'll save him.

"Duel me," said Youmu, as loud as she could make her voice go. "Fight... Fight me without a hostage. Kill me one-on-one."

Mayumi's eyes smouldered, but she didn't move.

"That's what you want, isn't it?" Youmu gasped for air, trying to get a second wind. "I'm right here, ready to die."

With one last glance up at the people who were merging above her, Mayumi let go of Kyon, drew her sword, and began marching back towards Youmu. Kyon had moved forward after being let go, going right for Hecatia.

Yes...

If I can just...

Youmu didn't know how to finish that thought. There was no way she could beat Mayumi now, let alone retrieve Kyon from underneath Hecatia. Her human body had failed her, and it took all of her effort to even stay standing. Still, she forced herself to move. Even if it was pointless, she had to.

I'm so sorry, Lady Yuyuko.

I failed. I failed everyone. I couldn't even take down a single one of them.

If somehow the universe doesn't end now, I hope I can return to you in the Netherworld.

"I wonder who you're thinking about?" Mayumi sneered as she came within speaking distance. "Could it be the woman I made you love?"

I don't want to hear it.

I know what you're going to say, and I don't care to listen.

Mayumi pointed her sword at Youmu, pouring venom into her every word. "Only so that you'd cease to respect her as a master, and harbor those very feelings you now have in your heart. So that your loyalty would fail, and you would seek to live. So you'd fall before me now, exactly as I wrote it to be."

I don't want to hear that my love is fake.

I don't want to hear that it's my weakness.

It's not.

It's just not.

Youmu understood what had made Mayumi this way. In the earliest of the clay Youmu's memories, she was proud and happy to fulfill her duty, just as Youmu herself had once been. Even if their first attempts at building a better world had failed, there still was hope, and the blue-haired girl had been the heart of that hope. She preached to all the others of a world without the rule of might; a world of creation without destruction. It was a world where, in her mind, no one could have reason to hate.

That girl spent her days saving as many of the people from the doomed worlds as she could. Even to those who fought against her, who tried to end her for what she was doing, she would extend mercy. That, Youmu thought, was a master worthy of following, and proof of Mayumi's greatest failure. The ultimate failure of her loyalty to the person her master had truly been.

"If..." Youmu choked on a glob of spit and blood that she hadn't realized was in her throat. "If your master could see you now..." She paused, swallowed, and took a breath. "...She'd probably want to kill you, too."

Mayumi's face twisted into rage as Youmu spoke, and she leapt at her, blade singing through the air as it clashed against the Roukanken. Youmu stumbled back, with hardly the strength in her to even hold it anymore, but still she kept standing.

"YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND MY LADY'S WILL!" she screeched as she struck again, the sound of metal ringing in Youmu's ears. "THIS IS HER VENGEANCE! ON YOU!" Mayumi thrust her blade, and the tip entered Youmu's collar before retreating from the swipe of the Roukanken. "WHO WILL NEVER LIVE TO SEE HER WORLD!"

Mayumi struck blow after blow, each one threatening to knock Youmu over. She kept advancing, and Youmu kept retreating. She wasn't even consciously blocking anymore; her body was doing all it could by itself.

I can't keep this up... The tip of Youmu's blade started to fall, her stance sagged, and her vision blurred. Mayumi stood where she was, seething with visible rage.

"Your will is nothing, and you are dead!" Mayumi shouted. "Now fall on the ground and show me how you die!"

I did... Everything I could...

Past Mayumi's head, Youmu saw Haruhi Suzumiya disappearing into a bright light. She heard her wailing voice fill the cavern and dissipate.

Is it not enough...?

Despite the magma and all her singed skin, Youmu felt cold.

...I couldn't save him.

I couldn't...

Youmu felt silken fingertips cross the backs of her hands. Looking down, she saw someone's white-gloved hand creeping over hers. Another hand crept round her head and stroked her cheek.

"There, there, Youmu. You won't die here, I promise you."

Youmu hardly recognized the voice as Yukari's. Both hands closed over the hilt of the Roukanken, coaxing it out of Youmu's grasp.

"Just rest. Your part is done."

Lady Yukari...

Youmu didn't feel anything. She just stared as a single figure emerged in the distance with wide black wings. She fell back to her knees, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

...Why can't I move?

Mayumi kept her sword in front of her, attention fixed on Yukari. Yukari held the Roukanken out in front of her with her dainty touch. The winged girl and Kyon both began to glow.

I have to...

Darkness fell upon Youmu, and as her head fell forward and she lost herself, the last thing she saw was Kyon fading away into the light.

---

Reisen heard it all. Heard the person named Mayumi essentially bragging about helping set up everything. To make them weaker. To ensure they knew everything about them.

That they were the cause for all these memories, their work did all of this.

That she was the source of Reisen's guilt.

Reisen had changed her rifle scope back to the more powerful one, and loaded in the real Magnum rounds.

You'll regret this. I'm putting a bullet into each and every one of you. I'm gonna take my time.

One of the rules about going after someone while intending to kill them was to not make it personal. Doing so made one sloppy. Take inefficient routes and actions, giving the target the opportunity to get away or turn it around. A professional sniper showed up undetected, got the target with one bullet, and left without a trace.

Reisen didn't care. They had openly bragged about bringing pain to others and flaunted it like it was something to be proud of. That doing so furthered a good goal. A just goal. That the pain they inflicted was just and necessary for their means.

They were monsters.

It was personal for her. They barged into her life and tried to make her feel guilt for something she didn't even do, while taking what they wanted from her world for themselves.

Reisen had already landed on the bottom floor, entering Former Hell proper a while ago. She was flying in the air, towards the sound of battle. As she did, she could feel the absolute rage in her body. All that time feeling such negative emotions... and it was all their fault.

What the hell is just about making me want to kill myself?! I'm gonna destroy you all!

---

Read and review. Lady Yukari demands it.