Imperfect Metamorphosis

by TakerFoxx

It's the first day of spring, and Cirno and her friends are once again up to no good! But after stealing a strange box from Marisa's house, they soon find themselves over their heads as they discover some things are meant to remain locked up.

24. Messy Day

Messy Day

Location: The Garden of the Sun

Time: 6:41 PM

Cirno had never been to Yuuka's mansion. In fact, she had never so much as seen the Garden of the Sun. When they had first met, Wriggle had made it clear that it was a place better left avoided and, after coaxing a handful of stories out of the firefly, Cirno had displayed uncharacteristic wisdom by agreeing. As such, she really didn't have any idea of what to expect from the dwelling place of the infamous Yuuka Kazami.

In her imagination, it was an intimidating place, similar to the twisted gothic style of the Scarlet Devil Mansion but even more so. Spikes, horrible gargoyles, chains, sputtering torches, the works. And covering it all would be endless vines of a variety of deadly plants, both carnivorous and poisonous, like something out of a demonic greenhouse.

But as she and the rest of her gang followed Yuuka into the flower youkai's realm, she realized that nothing could be further from the truth. The Garden of the Sun was exactly as its name described: a vast expanse of perfectly normal sunflowers, their huge dials following the disc of the sun as it traveled through the cloudless sky. And where there weren't sunflowers there were huge grassy fields filled with wildflowers. Certainly she had expected a ton of the flowers, given Wriggle's descriptions, but she had always expected the garden to look a little more…menacing. This looked too peaceful to be the domain of someone so feared. In fact, it more resembled an excellent place to stop and have a picnic.

And then there was Yuuka's mansion. While it was certainly large, it wasn't unusually so, being only about half the size of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's exterior. And like the garden that surrounded it, it was a surprisingly pleasant place: a rectangular building of white marble lined with three stories of large windows, all of them open. Curving around one side was a circular sundeck, and behind it was a spacious swimming pool. The only part that Cirno had gotten right was the large amount of plants covering the walls, and even those looked inviting, with lime green vines adorned with flowers in cheery colors.

Almost a full day had passed since the encounter with Ran Yakumo at Center Tree. They had left Center Tree early the following morning. Cirno had expected to be in the Garden of the Sun by the afternoon, but she soon discovered that while Yuuka was certainly one of the strongest and scariest people she had ever met, her flight speed was far below average, forcing the girls to slow down to her pace. Cirno wasn't sure whether this was due to a legitimate handicap or Yuuka just liked to take her time. She certainly liked to make stops along the way, whether to admire a particularly vibrant bed of lilies or to harass just about everyone they came across. She didn't hurt any of them. Watching them run away screaming seemed to be delight enough. It was strange that someone who considered slapping Yukari in the face and challenging her to a duel to be an amusing diversion would be so amused by such silly pranks. That was the sort of thing that Cirno and her friends usually did. Perhaps to her it was all the same.

"Ah, home again!" Yuuka cried happily. She turned in the air to face the children. "Now, I know it isn't much, but it is quite comfortable. Feel free to use the pool or play in the field, just so long as you remember to treat the flowers with respect. You all are guests here, so be on your best behavior and we'll get along swimmingly!"

Then she smiled and reached over to pinch Wriggle's cheek. "Though for Wriggly here it's not so much a visit as it is a homecoming. Isn't that right, my little morning star?"

Wriggle pulled away from Yuuka's finger. Her expression was anything but thrilled.

Yuuka laughed. "Oh, don't you worry yourself, dearie-oh! I promise your stay will be much more pleasant than last time. Ah, there's Elly!"

Everyone looked down. There, standing at the front gate, was someone who appeared to be a little girl, though in Gensokyo the appearance of youth didn't count for much. She had blond curls under a white sunhat and adorable dimpled cheeks. She wore a yellow sundress that left her shoulders bare and was waving enthusiastically at the approaching party.

"Master!" the person introduced as Elly said as they touched down on the marble path leading up to the mansion's steps. She rushed forward to tightly embrace Yuuka. "I've missed you so!"

Yuuka smiled as she affectionately returned the hug. "Aw, but I was gone for only a couple days!"

"It felt like a week," Elly said, pulling away. She stuck her lower lip out in a pout. "Don't leave me for so long!"

"And deprive the rest of the world of my presence? You are so selfish sometimes." Yuuka turned to Cirno and her gang, who were staring at the reunion with wide eyes. "Everyone, this charming girl is Elly, no last name needed. She's been my faithful helper for so many wonderful years, even before I moved to Gensokyo. If you ever need anything, just ask her."

"I'm very glad to meet you all," Elly said as she bowed her head and curtsied. "Please, never hesitate to-"

Elly's voice trailed off as she rose her head and caught sight of Wriggle. Her overly cheerful expression immediately melted into a blank look. "Oh. It's you." She paused. "Hello Wriggle."

"Hello Elly," Wriggle said in an unhappy monotone.

"Aw, isn't it just wonderful when old friends reunite?" Yuuka said. She gave Elly a gentle nudge from behind. "Now run along dear one. I believe it's time to start supper."

"Yes Master!" Elly said. She ran back into the mansion.

"All right now!" Yuuka said as she turned back to the girls. "Shall we continue?"

Once again, the interior of Yuuka's home completely contradicted how Cirno had pictured it. The rooms and hallways were open and well lit, and the decorations consisted mostly of artwork depicting lush landscapes and playing children. The floors were unusual in that most of them had been torn up to make way for several indoor gardens, but there still were a few areas paved with stone on which sat small clusters of furniture, though vines still creeped their way across the tiles.

Cirno leaned over to Mystia, who was eyeing a bed of roses as if it might lunge for her at any moment. "Okay, this isn't what I pictured at all," she whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno. I just thought this place would be a little…scarier. More…"

"Intimidating?"

"Yeah, that's the word."

Yuuka was several meters ahead of them, presumably out of earshot. However, this presumption was dashed when she said, "It has been my experience that those who feel the need to rely upon threatening architecture and gruesome imagery in order to inspire fear do so because they feel their own strength is inadequate. In my very personal opinion, all one needs to do in order to intimidate is to cultivate the appropriate reputation and do one's best to live up to it." She smiled at them from over her shoulder. "Everything from there on tends to take care of itself."

Mystia shied back while Cirno gulped nervously. "Oh. Uh, sorry…"

"Whatever for? It was a legitimate observation. Ah, here we are!"

She had led them to a large circular room. Unlike the rest of the mansion, most of the stone floor remained, with only the circumference being converted to soil in order to make room for the small trees and shrubberies that lined the walls. Directly overhead was a glass dome edged in gold. Covering one half of the room was a shallow pool, the center of which was taken up by a marble statue of a woman wearing a hooded robe pouring water from a pitcher.

On the other side of the room were four lectus arranged in a diamond-shape around a table. There were a number of smaller tables and chairs surrounding the diamond. Arrayed among the furniture were several objects that Cirno's gang were surprised to find that they recognized.

"Hey, that's my record player!" Mystia said.

"And my snowglobe!" Daiyousei added. "What's it doing here?"

Cirno's eyes boggled when she noticed one piece of furniture in particular. "Holy crap, is that our grandfather clock?"

"I took the liberty of having your personal possessions brought over," Yuuka said. "I want you to completely at home during your time here."

Cirno, Mystia and Daiyousei all exchanged glances. None of them were sure what to make of that. Wriggle, it should be noted, didn't look surprised at all. She just looked bitterly resigned.

"Now then!" Yuuka said. "While you're here, my home is yours. Feel free to go anywhere you like, so long as you remain within the mansion or the garden. This place is very well protected, but that protection does not extend beyond my land's boundaries. As I said, should you need anything, simply ask me or Elly, depending on who happens to be around. However, I must insist that you refrain from entering my private quarters unless I personally invite you in. Poking around someone else's business is just plain rude, and if there is anything I simply cannot abide, it's weedkillers and those black licorice jelly beans. But rudeness is also undesirable. And on that note, feel free to help yourself to any fruit that has ripened and fallen from the vine. But be sure to preserve the seeds. And the plants themselves are not to be harmed. They here are here to bring us joy and comfort. Forget this, and I will know. Understand?"

Cirno and her gang quickly nodded their agreement.

"Excellent! Oh, we'll have such a splendid time together. And now," Yuuka said, clasping her hands. "There's still some time until Elly treats us with her delicious supper. Who would like to play a game?"

…

Location: The Yakumo Home

Time: 6:12 PM

"Ran?"

"Yes, Chen?"

"Are they gonna be okay?"

"Who?"

"My friends!"

Ran paused. She was just straightening up from setting the tray with Chen's dinner down on the dresser. Yukari was gone, having departed for the Tengu Village on business, leaving Ran to keep a handle on things.

Per Yukari's orders, Chen was confined to her room for the foreseeable future, a sentence that was driving her absolutely crazy. Ran was doing what she could to keep her amused, but the catgirl's usual inexhaustible well of energy was about to hit critical mass. If it continued to escalate at the rate it was, she would be clawing out the walls in short order.

Still, Ran bore it gladly. Having a bored and frustrated Chen to take care of meant that she had Chen in the first place. And after having endured a long week of being frantic with worry, the relief it brought her more than made up for any inconvenience.

However, she didn't know how to answer Chen's question, at least not in a manner that she would find satisfying. They were still in the hands of Yuuka Kazami, who was currently doing her darnedest to start a war with Yukari. People in that position did not last long. Even the immortal ones.

"Ran?" Chen said. "Ran? Are you listening? What about my friends? You know, Cirno? Mysty? Wriggly? Dai? They're in big trouble. And Rumia! Can't forget Rumia. She's in really big trouble! How are you going to save them? Will it be soon?"

Ran hesitated a moment longer, and said, "Well, Yukari has a plan to save everyone right now. And I know she's going to do it as soon as possible."

"And it'll work, right?" Chen pressed. "They'll be okay, right? They'll be okay, and we can play together like we used to, right?"

That's right, she had been under Yuuka's control when Yukari had forbidden her from ever seeing her friends again. Ran considered breaking the news to her now, but instead she just said, "I don't know, Chen."

"Why don't you know?"

"Because I don't. I don't know everything, especially not the future. Nobody does."

"Not even Yukari?"

"Not even Yukari," Ran confirmed. Then she smiled. "Don't tell her I said that though. We don't want to shatter her fantasies."

They both laughed at that, though it felt awkward and didn't last long. To be truthful, Ran wasn't expecting Chen's friends to come out of this unscathed. In fact, she would be surprised if any of them managed to survive. However, she wasn't about to tell Chen that.

"Ran?"

Ran braced herself for another hard question. "Yes?"

"I did a bad thing, didn't I?"

Ran relaxed. "No Chen, you didn't do a bad thing. Maybe a little…unwise, but you were just trying to help your friend. And that's not bad."

"But you got hurt!" Chen protested. "Yuuka hurt your arm and…a lot of other people too and now she's trying to hurt Yukari and I didn't know about that last part but she is and I was helping her and-"

"Shhh, shhh, shhh." Ran sat down on the bed next to her and put her good arm around her. "Calm down, little one. It's all right. My arm's almost better. See?" She held up her damaged arm as far as it would go. It still would not extend all the way, but it was almost there. "And I'd gladly endure worse if it meant making you safe. Besides, Yukari can handle herself. Don't worry."

"But-"

"Look at me, Chen." Ran touched Chen's chin and drew her head up so that their eyes met. "Listen: it's not your fault. Remember that, it's not your fault."

Chen hesitated, and then she nodded. She drew her legs up and lay her head down on Ran's lap. Believing that her ward had taken her words to heart, Ran allowed herself to relax just a bit. She hummed as she stroked Chen's hair.

And then Chen asked a question. The question.

"Ran?"

"Hmmm?"

"What about Rumia?"

Ran grimaced. She could lie and make Chen happy, only for Chen to be hurt later. Or she could tell the truth and hurt Chen now. There was no way to win in this one.

Fortunately she was spared from answering when someone started banging on the front door.

…

Deep Within

Location: ?

Time: 3:58 AM

Several sleepless hours had passed since Rumia had been sent through a literal nightmare and Rin had been tortured to death. They had spent that time running, moving from one place to the next, avoiding people at all cost and doing their best not to leave a trail, all with varying success. Personally, Rumia was all for digging a deep, deep hole and staying there until everyone forgot about them, but Rin had vetoed that idea, claiming that it would only delay the inevitable and they needed to solve the mystery before them first.

Rumia did not like the sound of that. Just based upon what she had seen in her so-called dream and Rin's account of her fight with Rumia's darker half, she was starting to get the feeling that this was something she was better off not knowing about. Learning that you had some kind of evil past life was not something that made your life easier, and learning more about said evil past life was the sort of thing that drove humans to suicide.

However, as much as Rumia hated to admit it, Rin was right. They needed to find out exactly what Rumia had used to be and somehow prove that she was not that person anymore. Rumia honestly didn't have the slightest idea how they were going to go about doing that, but they had to start somewhere.

Unfortunately, on top of the problems she was already dealing, Rumia found herself adding another to the list. And that was that Rin was seriously starting to creep her out.

If it were her usual brand of creepiness, Rumia would be able to deal with it. The sing-song manner of speaking, the rambling explanations that never ended up explaining anything, the short attention span and the occasional bouts of extreme scariness were, while bothersome, all things that Rumia had been getting used to.

But no. Just as the nightmare that had been Rumia's life for nearly a week had started to form into something resembling a routine, Rin had gone and switched things up on her. Now instead of just being confused and a little loony, she was now unbearably cheerful. It was Rumia's experience that when someone had suffered through and experience like Rin's, there followed a period of dealing with the trauma. But Rin had apparently to skip right past that becoming encouraging, enthusiastic and looking on the bright side of things. It was pissing Rumia off to no end.

"So the way I see it, we may have not gotten the answers we wanted," Rin was saying. "But it was still a win for us. A big win."

The mutated Kirin girl was rapidly pacing back and forth as she talked. Her body was trembling with excitement and she kept gesturing with her hands, pointing upward and punching the sky. Rumia sitting cross-legged and watching her all the while, all the while growing more and more irritated.

"A win?" Rumia said. "I was forced through a nightmare. You were tortured to death. And the only thing we learned is that I have and evil alter-ago-"

"Ego. And had."

"Yeah, okay. That, and if that awful dream adventure means anything, I need to start seeing a psychoalatricist-"

"Psychiatrist."

Rumia threw her hands up. "Whatever! I'm messed up in the head. Okay! And hey Rin, guess what? We still have no idea why, beyond that everyone wants to kill me for it!"

"Aha!" Rin stuck a finger up and thrust her hand into Rumia's face. "That's where you be wrong!"

"Don't do that," Rumia said as she pushed Rin's hand away. "And what are you talking about?"

"We now know who took Rumia the…um…"

"Psychopath? Serial-killer? Bloodthirsty monster?" Rumia suggested.

"Sure, if you want."

"I don't want, but let's face it. My evil twin was an evil bitch."

"No arguments here," Rin said with a shuddered. "But okay. We know who took her and turned her into you."

Rumia snorted disdainfully. "Fat lot of luck that does us." She uncrossed her legs and stood to her feet. "One is Miss Yukari. Let me take this time to say 'hell no' to any plan that involves asking her for anything."

"Are you sure? She might-"

"No, Rin. No way. Not happening, so just forget it. She's the one in charge of the people trying to kill us, remember?"

"Okay, okay. But there's still-"

"Miss Mima?" Rumia rolled her eyes. "Oh that's a whole lot better. Hey, let's go talk to one evil bitch about another evil bitch so we can save ourselves from a third evil bitch who's hanging out with the first evil bitch and leading a bunch of other people who are just plain bitches."

"Right, also a bad idea," Rin said. "But I wasn't talking about her."

"What, that shrine maiden? Miss Reimu's mom or grandma or whatever? She's dead! And if those memories you showed me mean anything, Miss Reimu don't know anything either!"

"I know! But there still might be something to find at the shrine she lives at! Some kind of record or evidence or something!"

"That's it?" Rumia groaned. "That's you're big win? Look, I've been to Hakurei Shrine before. And if there's some big book of all the monsters the Hakurei have fought, it must be both huge and freaking well hidden."

"Hey, it's worth a shot. Definitely gonna be easier to find and get into than Yukari and Mima's places, wherever they are. And I can get into a lot of places most people can't."

"Yeah? Did'ja forget that Reimu is one of the people that are trying to hunt us down? Or that Mima's bunking with her now? Or that it's become Yukari's favorite hangout? I'm just saying, it's filled with people that hate us."

"Who are currently out looking for us right now," Rin pointed out. "Which means they're probably not at the shrine." She smiled encouraging and put her hand on Rumia's shoulder. "Come on, Rumia. Don't be so pessimistic. This'll work, promise!"

Rumia, who was starting to get an idea of how much Rin's promises were actually worth, shook her off. "What is it with you?"

"Huh?" Rin looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you so confident about this? It's crazy dangerous!"

"We can pull it off."

"That'll take a miracle, and all the people who do miracles are on the other side. But that's not what I was talking about. Why are so suddenly so sure of everything? What's with all the cheerfulness? You got your mind ripped apart from the inside out!"

"Oh. That." Rin frowned. "I'm, uh, not really sure. I mean yeah, that…was a really bad day. And coming back wasn't any fun either. But ever since we regenerated, it's been…I don't know, I've just felt better. About everything. Like all the crap I've been carrying around all this time's been melted away." She scratched her chin. A thoughtful look gleamed in her eye. "You know, maybe it has something to do when the evil you cut into my emotions and they all came pouring out. Maybe it was sort of an emotional cleansing."

"One that burned you to death!"

Rin winced. "…okay, it did do that. And it hurt. A lot. But still, maybe since they weren't all stuffed in one place anymore, they got all…taken care of when I rebooted? Defragmented? I don't know." Then Rin smiled. "It's just that I have a really, really good feeling now. Like I've been covered with all this gunk that I didn't even know about, but now it's been cleaned off. I really think everything's gonna be okay."

"And I think you're a complete loony," Rumia shot back. She turned and sulkily walked away. "And I'm telling you, you better not let this good feeling make you ever more stupid."

"You know, I could probably do the same for you," Rin called after her. "It might make you less of a sourpuss."

"I hate you!" Rumia shouted over her shoulder. She stormed off, unable to take anymore of Rin's teasing.

That was when she felt two warm arms suddenly throw themselves around her stomach. "Aw, don't be that way," Rin said, her body pressed uncomfortable close. "You know you love me, deep down inside!"

Rumia froze as her brain tried to process this unexpected action. Then her instincts took over.

"Get off me!" she screamed as she whirled around and shoved herself away from Rin. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

Rin, who was grinning like the loony she had been called, just said, "What? It was just a hug."

"Just a…Rin. Seriously, don't do that. I don't like people touching me, and this whole being naked in your mind-thing is bad enough as it is. So just don't, okay?"

Rin's smile died. "Oh. Okay, sorry. I was just in a really good mood and wanted to mess with you a little. I didn't think. Sorry."

"Yeah, okay. Just don't do it again," Rumia grumbled. "Or I'll make you feel even better than you are now."

A moment passed, and Rin said, "Wait, you're going to do what?"

Rumia sighed. "Um…you said that you're in a good mood because everything got broken and put together better when you died," she explained. "So I was threatening to kill you again. It…sounded better in my mind."

Rin stared at her. "Yeah, that analogy…really doesn't work at all."

"Shut up," Rumia muttered as she turned to walk away again. "Just don't touch me again, and we'll be fine. Got it?"

Rin smiled as she watched Rumia wander off. She hadn't been fully truthful with Rumia. While the draining of all her negative emotions had played a big part of her recent rejuvenation, she had also recently figured something out, something that was making her feel incredibly relieved. She didn't need to be afraid anymore. Not of Yukari, not of Eirin, not even that glowing vampire girl. They couldn't do anything to her anymore. Well, okay, so they could, but it didn't matter. Things were simpler now. All that mattered was finding some way to save Rumia, and everything would be over. All the fear, the pain, the guilt and loneliness.

It all made sense now. Despite being a cruel, manipulative liar, the dark voice had been right. There was no place for her in this world. But instead of filling her with despair, the knowledge just made everything fall into place. She knew what she had to do now. It had just taken death for her to finally figure it out.

Life was funny that way sometimes.

…

Location: Moriya Shrine

Time: 7:25 AM

"Funny?" Mima said. "Is that what you think of it? Because funny is not the word I would use."

Kanako folded her arms across her breast. "And how exactly-"

"Maybe under normal circumstances I'd find it funny," Mima continued on. "But right now, I'm a little hard pressed to find the funny. Especially since the current population of that place is currently zilch. There's no fun in scorching dead rock. But again, I speak only for myself. Personal it's your personal brand of humor that allows you to find something funny about my suggestion."

"Forgive me," Kanako said icily. "It's just that when I heard the phrases 'Yukari's citadel' and 'nuke it from orbit' used not only in the same sentence but in conjunction, I have to assume you're making some kind of joke."

"I'm not. I'm just presenting it as an option."

"I'm trying to help you save Marisa, not piss off Yukari just because you feel like it," Kanako pointed out. "So please rein in your homicidal impulses."

"Agreed," Byakuren added. "No plans that end in bloodshed, please."

"Especially if it's our blood," Kanako said.

The three of them were sitting at the top of the steps that led from up to the Moriya Shrine. Or rather, Kanako and Byakuren were sitting while Mima was doing that green beanbag thing with her tail. For convenience's sake, Byakuren and Reimu had spent the night while Mima had gone off elsewhere while they slept, though it had not been a pleasant experience. Thanks to the situation at hand and tension still lingering between the Moriya Shrine's residents and their guests, no one had gotten much sleep. Sanae was sweeping out the shrine while Reimu was helping Suwako clean up the breakfast dishes. Byakuren had decided to stick around a bit longer to discuss possibilities with her fellow Ringleaders. Unfortunately, they were discovering that their personal favorite problem-solving strategies were incompatible. Kanako's far-sighted pragmatism was clashing with Byakuren's idealistic diplomacy, while neither of them were willing to consider Mima's traditional method of doing things.

Mima leaned back on the steps. She allowed the transparent green blob that her tail had become to spill out to its full length. "Well, if you're that opposed to getting your hands dirty…"

"I have no problem with getting my hands dirty," Kanako said. She took a sip from the steaming mug she was holding. "But I really prefer not to dip them in the dirt until cleaner solutions have been exhausted."

Mima spread her hands. "And we just spent fifteen minutes exhausting clean solutions. If you have one that actually has a chance of working, then say so already."

"All right. Try this one on for size: we help her."

"Wait, what?" Byakuren said.

Mima blinked. She slowly turned her head so that she was staring straight at the goddess of the Youkai Mountain. "I'm sorry, could you run that idiocy by me again? I don't think it burned enough IQ points away the first time around."

"Idiocy?" Kanako said. "And what would you call your holocaust? But hear me out: instead of trying to break Marisa out of Yukari's grasp, why don't we help them take out Yuuka? End result, Marisa's safe, Yuuka's not a problem anymore and Yukari will be thinking more fondly of us."

Byakuren looked ill. "That would be murder."

"No, it would be an execution. I've seen Yuuka's records. She's definitely guilty of murder herself. Lots and lots of murder."

"That doesn't mean we should just callously-"

Kanako sighed. "Oh, save it Byakuren. It's too early for this."

"I'm shooting that idea down anyway," Mima muttered. "There's no way I'm working with Yukari on this."

"Well, I guess you'll just have to decide which is more important to you," Kanako said. She took another sip. "Your girl or your pride."

"Right now, they're roughly about the same. Which elevates Marisa pretty damn high, come to think about it."

Byakuren stood up and brushed off her knees. "Maybe we should continue this…distasteful conversation later. I think you have customers, Kanako."

The three of them looked down. There, coming up the path, were two adult Tengu accompanied by three children, presumably a family.

"Right, duty calls," Kanako said. She straightened up with a grunt.

"I suppose I'd better be off as well," Mima said. She floated about a foot into the air. "There're some leads I need to follow. And I'm sure you two have your own preparations for the great Satsuki hunt to make."

"I don't suppose those leads of yours involve massive property destruction and loss of life?" Kanako muttered.

"With any luck," Mima said with a smile. "See you around, ladies."

She faded away.

Byakuren shook her head. "Can I take this moment to say how much I dislike the idea of working with her?"

"Beating a dead horse with that one," Kanako grumbled. The two started back toward the shrine. "Besides, it might be more dangerous to turn her down."

"Kanako, I'm serious. That woman is treacherous. It's what she does. I've seen it before, back before I was sealed away. And I for one am less than ready to accept her retirement as genuine."

Kanako gave her a sidelong look. "I thought you were all about redemption and forgiveness."

"That doesn't mean I have to discard my common sense. She'll turn us over to Yukari or join up with Yuuka Kazami in an instant if she thinks it'll get her what she wants."

"Well, maybe," Kanako admitted. "Still, she does seem to think that working with us is the best way to save Marisa. And I don't think she's interested in turning on Reimu. That might turn Marisa against her."

Byakuren looked over her shoulder toward the shrine's steps. Specifically, at the spot where Mima had been before disappearing. "Words cannot express how much I hope you're right," she said.

…

Location: Forest of Magic

Time: 1:40 PM

Marisa sat on an old stump, feeling absolutely glum. Her wrists were shackled together and a third shackle was snapped around her left ankle. From this snaked a chain that led to a steel post in the ground. The shackles themselves were enchanted to prevent her from doing anything other than sit in place. If she tried to move too far away from the stump or use magic of any kind, she would receive a sudden electrical shock that would render her senseless for a full minute. She had found this out less than three minutes after being chained in place. Though in fairness, she had been warned ahead of time, but there was nothing lost by trying, saving for a temporary loss of all coherent thought.

However, that wasn't why she sulking. The stump she was sitting on was only a few feet away from her house. The entire area was sanctioned off by yellow tape, and the place was crawling with those GPF tools. They were currently going through her stuff and dividing it into separate piles on what passed for the front lawn. Apparently it was a lengthy process, as they had been working for nearly three hours and had yet to categorize a third of the items. And every second that had them pawing their clumsy hands through her property made her blood boil all the hotter.

She cast a rueful glance at one of the piles. Each of the piles was labeled, and some smartass had named that particular one "Stuff That's Actually Hers". It wasn't even a third of the size of any of the others.

Marisa then turned to the person who had made this invasion of privacy possible. Kotohime Sonozika was standing nearby, arms crossed and eyes fixated upon her subordinates' attempts to impose order upon Marisa's customary chaos. Earlier she had forced Marisa through the place to disable any and all booby-traps and other nasty surprises. It had taken a rather long time.

"Hey!" Marisa snapped.

Kotohime turned her head toward her. She didn't say anything, but her eyebrows went up.

Marisa tilted her head toward the ever-growing piles. "Just so we're clear, I'm getting all this back once this is over, right?"

"Certainly," Kotohime said. "The stuff you can prove are yours, that is."

"That would be all of it," Marisa said.

"Really? And how do you figure?"

"'Cause it's in my house, ze. Possession is nine-tenths of ownership."

Kotohime just shook her head and went back to watching her officers work.

A grin on her face, Marisa sat up straighter and slowly stretched out her cramping muscles. "This must really be eating you up."

Kotohime glanced at her.

"This whole deal Yukari's got going with me. Guaranteed freedom. A chance to play in the big leagues and blow shit up. All your pretty charges flushed away. All that trouble you went through to bring me in, and your boss is just gonna make it all for nothing. How's that sitting with you, police-girl?"

This time a ghost of a smile appeared at the corner of Kotohime's lips. "Is that what you think? That you're getting the better end of the deal?"

Marisa laughed. "Hells yeah! I'd probably do this for free! And there's not a damned thing you can do about it, ze!" She held up her middle finger. "So suck on that!"

Kotohime rolled her eyes. She chuckled. "You know, I had the pleasure of meeting Yuuka Kazami myself just the other day."

"Yeah? Crazy lady, ain't she? Did she stick things in inappropriate places?"

"You could say that." Kotohime turned and walked toward Marisa. She touched her face. "You probably can't see them now because of the makeup, but yesterday there were some very nasty bruises up here."

"Wait, you actually picked a fight with her?" Marisa laughed. "Man, that's best thing I've heard all day! I mean, hell, even Yukari's getting some major backup before going after her!"

"Yes. Yes, she is. To take down someone who not only challenged one of the most powerful beings in Gensokyo to a fight for fun, but has gone out of her way to piss Yukari off as much as possible. And from what I've been able to gather, that backup you mentioned will contain some people whom even gods would fear. Ones that aren't known for their self-control." Kotohime's small smile spread to full length. "And in the middle of it all is you. A little vanilla mortal." She shook her head. "I really don't think you're getting the better end of this deal. In fact, I'd say you were better off just staying in that cell." She turned and walked back to where she had been standing.

Marisa scowled at her. "That's what you think? You don't think I can handle this, ze?"

"Not for me to say," Kotohime said over her shoulder. "But since you asked, then no. I don't think you can handle this."

"Ha! You're gonna be eating those words, police-girl. Just wait until I show up on your doorstep afterward. Can't wait to shove it in your big ugly face."

"Please do. It'll make putting you back in the cell so much easier."

Marisa snorted. "Good luck with that. And can I just say how much I love your serious new personality? For reals, I liked you way better the old way."

"I'm sure you did. Some people find insanity endearing. Perhaps you had thought you had found a kindred spirit."

Marisa grinned. "Oh, you were way worse than I've ever been. Hey, remember that one time you ran through the market in your pajamas?"

Kotohime's lips tightened.

"And you kept throwing rocks at things? And those siren noises you made the whole time? WOOOOOOOOOOO! Priceless! Why don't you do fun stuff like that anymore? Maybe then people will stop pretending to like you just to make your boss happy."

Before Kotohime could retort, the forest filled with a piercing whine. Everyone in the house starting shouting and running out. Then a there was a loud bang and blinding light shot out of the windows and the door. Less than a second later, one of the GPF officers flew through the roof and limply soared over everyone's heads to crash head-over-heels in a bush.

Kotohime and the others immediately rushed to help him. As they helped the smoking and dazed officer disentangle himself, Kotohime shot a venomous glare at Marisa, who was watching the whole thing with a big toothy smile.

"Oops," Marisa said with a shrug. "Guess I forgot about that one."

…

Location: The Scarlet Devil Mansion

Time: 5:19 PM

No matter where you are, there are certain constants that will be in place. It didn't matter how far you traveled or what strange new places you found, toast will always land butter side down, it will always rain the day of a planned outdoor activity, the address you are searching for will always be the one most well hidden and young children will always believe that they can get out of unpleasant situations by pouting and repeating the word "no" over and over, no matter how many times you explain the situation's necessity, even if said children are almost half a millennium old.

Of course, Remilia was finding it difficult to explain to Flandre why they had to go see Yukari again, because to be quite frank she didn't want to go either.

"We have to go," Remilia said. "We don't have a choice! What part of that isn't clear?"

"No. I don't wanna."

"Flan, please be reasonable."

"No."

"If we don't go, there's every likelihood that Yukari will become angry. Do you remember what happened last time she got angry?"

Flandre, who was sitting cross-legged on her bed, folded her arms and stuck out her lower lip. "Still not going."

Remilia closed her eyes and counted to ten. When that failed to produce the required patience, she doubled it to twenty. Fortunately Sakuya, who was standing dutifully behind her and keeping a ready hand on her pocketwatch, chose that moment to step in.

"Young mistress Flandre," she said. "Please reconsider. If we do not honor Yukari's request, she will become displeased with us, as mistress Remilia has just pointed out."

"I said I don't care!"

"And if she becomes angry, she might seek to punish us."

"I'll blow her up!"

Remilia rolled her eyes. "You tried that already! And that didn't exactly work out as planned, now did it?"

Flandre jumped up and leapt onto the brass knob of one of the bedposts, which she clung to like a blond, crystal-winged cat. "It'll work this time!" she hissed. "I'll blow her brains out! Splatter them like pudding!"

"Perhaps," Sakuya said in a diplomatic tone. "But that is only if she chooses to confront you directly. Yukari is a wily one, young mistress Flandre. She may do something else."

Flandre looked dubious. She let herself slowly slip forward until she flipped over and hung upside-down, hanging onto the bedpost with her legs. "Like what?"

"Like gap us both straight into the sun!" Remilia snapped. "And don't do that, it's indecent."

Flandre just stuck her tongue out at her sister.

"She might do that," Sakuya agreed. "Or she might do something worse."

"Worse?" Flandre said. She released her legs and turned over to land in a sitting position in front of the bed, her legs splayed out before her. "Like?"

"Like stealing all the sweets from the larder," Sakuya said. "And making it impossible to make more."

Flandre's jaw dropped. "She can do that?" she whispered.

"Yes. Or she can change the days of the week so that every day is bath day."

Flandre curled up into the fetal position and grasped her head. She whimpered.

"Or she could turn your wing-crystals into ugly grey rocks. Or she could remove your ability to fly. Or she could take away Laevatein and refuse to give it back. Or she could replace all of your underwear with-"

"Okay, okay!" Flandre screamed at her. "I'll go! But don't expect me to be nice to her!"

Sakuya bowed. "Very good, young mistress Flandre. Mistress Remilia, I do believe it is time for your inspection of Miss Knowledge's work?"

Remilia, who was staring at Sakuya with an expression akin to awe, shook her herself and said, "Oh. Of course. We wouldn't want to keep her waiting, now would we? Um, thank you for understanding, Flandre. I'll see you tonight."

She quickly hastened down the basement's corridors with Sakuya following. Behind them, Flandre could be heard muttering to herself.

"I'll pick out her eyes and squish them like boogers. I'll crack each of her teeth in half, one-by-one, and jab them into her tongue. I'll tie all of her hairs together and yank them out all at once. I'll reduce her to a mountain of pain. She will regret her foolishness, oh yes she will, love. She will become like unto Sodom and Gomorrah. Heheheh, salt. I will ravage her mind until her very thoughts are but a bleak wasteland that nothing can-"

The murmurs continued even when Remilia and Sakuya were well out of earshot. Remilia quickly hastened through the heavy door and, as soon as Sakuya was through, slammed it shut. Flandre's voice cut off immediately.

"Well, that could have gone worse," Remilia said as she ran her hand up the door's side, causing the locks to snap into place and the chains to reattach themselves. "Have you ever noticed that the creepier she gets, the more articulate she becomes?"

"Your sister's madness does manifest itself in a variety of ways," Sakuya said.

"Yes it does, doesn't it? Interesting means of persuasion, by the way. Surprisingly effective."

Sakuya folded her hands over her waist. "I have found that it is often best to approach the target on their level."

"Hmph. A hangover of your old hunting days, no doubt," Remilia said. She started up the stairs to the ground level.

"Actually, it was my highschool debate team," Sakuya admitted.

Remilia stopped short. She slowly turned to stare at her maid.

"Your…highschool debate team?"

"Yes, mistress."

"…Sakuya, I truly hate to further complicate your long and murky past, but did they even have debate teams back then? Or highschools for that matter. Because I was under the impression that…You know what? Forget it. Let's just go."

They left the lower levels and made their way through the mansion to exit out the back. The mansion's grounds stretched before them, an expanse of green grass, neatly trimmed bushes, bright flowerbeds and white marble. Paved paths wound their way through the gardens, passing by graceful statues and around tinkling fountains.

Though the sun had almost reached the end of the horizon, there was still enough daylight to be uncomfortable. Sakuya automatically picked up an umbrella from a nearby umbrella stand, unfolded it and held it over her mistress. Together, they walked outside to find Patchouli.

Patchouli had set up her base of operations at the far end of the property, in a small field that was well kept but otherwise free of decoration. Her purpose for being outside sat a few feet away from the pavilion. A large contraption was being constructed. The centerpiece was a low black dome that sat on circular silver platform, about five feet in height and twenty feet in diameter. Surrounding the platform with about six inches of grass in between was a flat circle of the same metal, toothed along its edge like a gear. The end of each tooth was topped with a disc. Sitting in the middle of about two-third of the discs was an iron pillar topped with a large floating crystal, each one a different color. Some of them were normal colors such as purple, blue and green, but others hurt Remilia's eyes just to look at them.

Patchouli herself was sitting in a folding chair under a pavilion. Apparently the day's labor had been taxing on the librarian, though it was doubtful that she had contributed much physically. Still, sweat glistened on her face and matted her hair to her neck. She had left her customary star-and-moon studded sleeping hat behind in favor of a purple visor and a pair of sunglasses so large and thick that they could have served as goggles. She had an open blueprint open on her lap and was sipping from a glass of lemonade. Judging from the cluster of empty glasses sitting on a small table next to her, it was not her first of the day.

Remilia walked up to her, followed by both umbrella and maid. "Hello Patchouli. Working hard as usual, I see."

Even through her ridiculous sunglasses the look Patchouli shot the little vampire was downright venomous. She folded up the blueprint and stood to her feet. "Well, look who's crawled out of her coffin. Come to grace us with your presence?"

Remilia ignored the comment. Instead, she wandered over to look at the strange, large object that was sitting nearby. "So this is your light-barrier generator? It looks expensive."

"You wanted something that could stop Rin Satsuki," Patchouli said as she walked up to her. "That's not something you'll find in a discount bin."

"Yes, what an effective monster you've created." Remilia nodded toward the generator. "Though correct me if I'm wrong, but that thing seems to be incomplete. I've never known an incomplete device to work properly before."

"It's under construction."

"Oh, is it? And pray tell, how does sitting in the shade sipping cool drinks finish its construction. Now, I know I'm not a mage, but unless this is some strange wizard thing, I fail to see how…"

Patchouli pointed toward the far end of the field. Blinking, Remilia turned to see what honestly appeared to be one of the crystal-topped pillars slowly trudging toward them. It was leaning back at an angle and swaying back and forth, and it seemed to be unsure of its way. Backing up in front of it were Patchouli's two assistants, that bird whose name Remilia had never bothered to learn and the devil-girl Koakuma. They were keeping pace with the pillar and shouting instructions and words of encouragement.

"Forward, forward, keep going," Koakuma said. "That's it, just keep going."

"Okay, you're starting to wander a little, move a little to the right…Okay, that's good," the silver-haired bird added.

The pillar let out a grunt of acknowledgement and continued to bob its way toward Patchouli's generator. "Am I almost there?" it called out in an accented voice.

"Almost," Koakuma said. "Okay, come around this way. That's right, just keep following my voice. Okay, you're…No, you're wandering again. This way, to the right! No, wait, left!"

The pillar turned in both directions in succession. "Make up your mind!"

"My right, your left! Okay, you've got it. Okay, you're right over the circle. Just set it down…right there…Got it!"

The pillar lowered itself until it was sitting right over one of the flat discs. It landed with a thump and turned a few inches as the person doing the carrying adjusted it. Finally it seemed to click into place. A woman walked out from behind it and looked up at the crystal in satisfaction. She was a full head taller than Sakuya and had long copper hair with two braids hanging at either side of her face. Her robe was mossy green and she had on a hat of the same color, the center of which was adorned with a golden five-point star.

"All good, Patchouli?" Hong Meiling, the Scarlet Devil Mansion's gate guard, called over to Patchouli. "Oh, and good evening mistress Scarlet!"

Patchouli gave the pillar the briefest of glances. "Perfect. Now, the next one?"

"You got it!" Hong turned and sprinted back over the field, with Koakuma and the bird rushing to keep up.

Remilia glanced up at Patchouli. "You conscripted China?"

"She was the only one strong enough to carry the pieces. Don't worry, I set up sentry wards to temporarily take her place. It might actually be more effective, if you ask me."

"Why not just levitate them with magic? The pillars, I mean."

Patchouli actually looked a little embarrassed. "I, uh, tried that."

Remilia raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I passed out after the third one."

Remilia tsked. "Well, whatever. Just have this…thing up and running by morning."

Patchouli looked down at her reproachfully. "As you wish, sire."

"Patchouli," Sakuya said with a hint of warning.

Remilia just turned toward the mansion. "We're leaving now, Sakuya."

"Don't let the sun fry you on the way out," Patchouli sniffed. Then something caught her attention and she scowled. "Oh, for the love of…No!" she shouted as she half-ran, half-limped across the field. "Not that one! The orange one, you're supposed to get the orange one!"

As they walked back toward the mansion, Sakuya said to Remilia, "Mistress, forgive me, but I don't think she should be allowed to speak to you like that. It's disrespectful."

Remilia shook her head. "I've known Patchouli for decades. This isn't the first fight we've gotten into."

"Even so, that was…"

"Words, nothing more. Considering what I've had to put up with this week, a bit of cheek is nothing." Remilia's expression darkened. "So long as she can make that idea of hers work, that is."

"Do you believe it is wise? Trusting the mansion's safety to one of Mima's discarded experiments?"

Remilia tapped her lower lip with one sharpened fingernail. "For all her faults, I must admit Mima's genius. And for all her rudeness, Patchouli is somewhat of one too. So yes, I'd rather trust one of Mima's failures in Patchouli's hands than most people's successes. Though it's a pity Mima rejected my offer. Her help would be invaluable."

They reached the mansion's back door. Sakuya dutifully held it open for the small vampire. Once they were inside and the umbrella replaced in its stand, Sakuya said, "Does Patchouli know? Of Mima's surprise visit, that is."

"Of course not," Remilia grumbled. "And believe me, that's for the best. I need her focused on the task at hand, now don't I? The last thing I need is her to be distracted by fangirlish squealing."

"Mistress, if I may be so bold, if you were to consider the crises we currently face, there are problems that we need even less than Patchouli seeking an autograph."

"Enough of that, you know what I mean," Remilia snapped. "Besides, I trust her to figure this problem out on her own."

"And if she doesn't?"

Remilia paused for a moment. She looked up at the high ceiling overhead. A highly detail mural was painted there, depicting a violent confrontation between the angels of heaven and the forces of hell.

"She will," Remilia said. "She always does. And even if there is no way to make it work, she'll find something else. She has to."

Sakuya said nothing, obviously deciding that questioning her mistress' faith in a friend that she was currently on the outs with would not lead to anywhere good. Instead, she said, "Very good, mistress Remilia."

…

Location: The Tengu Village

Time: 5:58 PM

"You're still pissed at me, aren't you," Reimu said. There was a distinct lack of a question mark in her tone.

Sanae's lips tightened. "No, I'm not."

"Uh-huh. I've caught fairies going through my food who lie more convincingly.

"I'm not! And even if I were, acting all sarcastic about it really isn't going to help."

The two were walking what passed for streets in the Tengu Village. As the majority of the village was several stories up, most travel was done by air, and those who preferred to use their feet employed the network of bridges, walkways and even ropes that were strung between the buildings.

Given that it was early evening, the place was packed with Tengu beginning their nightly errands. Many of them smiled and greeted the human girls warmly as they passed by. Despite her grumpy mood, Sanae still managed to pull up a smile in return. Reimu, who was unused to crowds, was starting to feel just a little claustrophobic. She liked the Tengu Village well enough, but the bombshells that had been dropped the previous day were still weighing on her mind, and the press of bodies all around her was only making things worse.

It would have been easier if she could talk to Sanae to distract herself, but her fellow shrine maiden's attitude to her, while not outright hostile, was still on the cold side. When Sanae had announced that she was going to the village for groceries and Reimu had volunteered to come along, Sanae's reaction had been a shrug and a grunt. Reimu had tolerated this for exactly ten minutes before losing her patience and confronting the issue head-on. Of course, this hadn't exactly warmed Sanae to her any, but that was okay. Heavy silences were annoying. Arguments were familiar territory.

"Look, I told you already, I didn't know Byakuren would go off like that," Reimu said. "I brought her along because I thought she would be willing to help. It's not like I gave her a script to read from beforehand.

Sanae rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on Reimu. You brought her along because you knew you couldn't make up a decent defense for Satsuki. So you chose the biggest and strongest hippy you could find to do it for you."

Reimu frowned. "The hell is a hippy?"

"It's an extremely annoying touchy feely bleeding heart person who sings about how all you need is love and how everything would be better if we just baked our brains smoking weird plants. And they never shower."

"Uh…I kinda see the touchy feely part, but the rest?"

"It's just an expression," Sanae growled.

Reimu rolled her eyes. "And weren't you the one saying the…hippy should have her own temple after the flying boat incident? Seemed to me that you were kinda impressed by her."

"You had to bring that momentary lapse in judgment up," Sanae grumbled. She sighed. "Look. Reimu. I'm not really mad at you, okay? I've just got a lot on my mind, and last night didn't help at all. If Kanako's cool with you two, then so am I. I just need a little time to cool down. So don't pester me about it, okay?"

Reimu accepted this and they continued to walk in silence. So long as they had gotten that bit out in the open, she was fine with letting her friendly rival sulk for a bit. Just so long as it didn't descend into unnecessary angsting.

And then she froze. Something had set off some sort of internal bell.

"Hey," she said. "Wait."

Sanae, who was in the process of purchasing a sack of rice from an open air vendor, frowned at her. "What's with you?"

Reimu shook her head. "There's…something. I think Yukari's here."

Sanae stiffened, her arms tightly clutching the sack. "What? Here? Are you sure?"

"No. But ever since that thing underground, when Satori's pet bird went all…" Reimu caught the hard look in Sanae's eyes and decided to skip over that part. "Um, yeah. Well, Yukari let me use her gaps during that whole thing. And ever since then, every time Yukari uses them around me, it's almost as if I can feel it. It's nothing big, just a little bell going off in my head."

"And it just went off?"

Reimu pointed a finger at her own head and said, "Ding."

"Where?"

"What?" Reimu blinked. "Uh, see this finger here? It's pointing at something called 'My Head'. This is to indicate that the bell went off in-"

"No, you idiot! I mean, where is Yukari?"

"Oh." Reimu couldn't help but feel a little stupid. "Uh, I really don't know. Hell, I'm not even sure it's just not me being paranoid. Yukari could be at home taking a bath for all I-"

Sanae muttered a phrase that Kanako probably would have preferred that she didn't know at all. She reached up and touched the coiling serpent ornament that wound around a lock of her green hair.

"Kanako, something just popped up," she muttered. "Reimu says she felt…You felt it too? So she is here?" Sanae exchanged a worried look with Reimu. "She's not at the shrine, is she? Then where? Of course I will! Besides, Reimu's here, and Yukari favors her for some reason. Yeah, yeah, no shooting. Got it. Okay, two blocks across, four levels up. Third window from the…Wow, that's awfully specific. No, I got that. Of course. Immediately. Bye." She let her hand fall.

Reimu stared, mystified. "Why does everyone but me have cool communicator things?"

"What are you talking about? Your flying balls did the same thing when you went…" Sanae grimaced, and then said, "Well, underground."

"Oh yeah." Reimu looked out into the Tengu-filled space between the buildings. "And Kanako really knows where she is?"

"Sure. She's the god of this place, remember?"

"So she automatically knows where everyone is and what they're doing?" Reimu shuddered. "No offense, but that's kind of creepy."

Sanae rolled her eyes. "No, she doesn't. She just can sense the flow of magical energies going through the town. Yukari makes a really big blip, and I'm her shrine maiden, so I do too."

"Fine, whatever. Anyway, we're wasting time." Reimu started off. "Let's go see what Yukari's doing here."

Sanae grabbed her by the sleeve. "Wait."

"What?"

The other shrine maiden looked troubled. "Now that I think about it, isn't this kind of a stupid idea? I mean, last night we were worried about Yukari finding out about your dumb 'Save Satsuki' idea. So wouldn't it make sense to stay away-"

"If she knew what we were doing we'd know it already. And I need to yell at her about Marisa, and this is as good a time as any."

Sanae stared at her. "Are you serious? You suicidal or something? You're going to yell at-"

"Move it, Mossy," Reimu said, grabbing her by the arm. She pulled the other shrine maiden partway down the walkway before she realized something. She stopped and sighed.

"So…which way is she?"

Sanae flinched but said, "This way."

They took to the air and slowly navigated their way through the building before alighting on another catwalk. Sanae frowned, and then pointed up. There was a lighted window that was covered by heavy blinds.

"Crap, I think I know that building," Sanae said.

"Yeah? What is it, a brothel? Do you get a discount?"

Sanae smacked the back of Reimu's head. "You're disgusting. And no. To both questions. We don't even have a brothel."

Smirking, Reimu rubbed the back of her head and said, "And you know this…"

"Don't make me hurt you again."

"Fine, fine. So, what is that place?"

Sanae told her.

Reimu blinked.

"Huh…You know, that actually makes sense. She did say that she's going to take care of Aya's stupid story."

"So this is how she's going to do it? I thought she was going to hang the creep up by her toes and beat her with reeds. Kind of wish I was right."

"Life's full of disappointments, ain't it?" Reimu agreed. "But you know, I kind of like this idea, assuming she's doing what I think she's doing. Fight fire with fire."

Sanae squinted up at the window. "Depends on the fire she's using. Anyway, you gonna go up and yell at her?"

Reimu scratched her head. "Eh, was going to, but that's probably not the wisest thing right now. Best not interrupt her."

"Oh, thank Kanako, she's growing some common sense," Sanae muttered.

"Besides, I just got a better idea."

"Huh?"

Reimu grinned. "Like I said, back during that whole underground thing, Yukari gave me temporary use of her portals. Gaps. Whatever they're called. Really useful toys. Unfortunately, I can't just use them willy-nilly anymore, but there is one place that they can still take me, one place that she said I could go anytime. I think it's time I took her up on that."

"What? Where?"

Reimu told her.

Sanae took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "You really are suicidal, aren't you?"

"So people have told me."

"Well, it's your head. But I swear to anyone worth swearing for, if you do anything to implicate Kanako or me in this, then you better hope Yukari kills you first."

"Ouch. Calm down, I'm just going to get to the bottom of this Marisa thing."

"If you say so. I still think it's a really stupid idea."

Reimu thought about the things she had done over the last few years. She shrugged. "Well, why start doing the smart thing now?"

…

Location: The Ancient City

Time: 2:14 PM

One of the defining characteristics of Gensokyo is the tendency for intelligent and reasonably civilized life to thrive anywhere. Many areas and climates that would result in barren landscapes to the Outside World are often home to any variety of advanced lifeforms in Gensokyo. Of course, the fact that the air was literally chock-full of magical energies had a great deal to do with this. Having normally simple creatures spring into free-thinking humanoid creatures while retaining their special adaptability does lend itself to many interesting cultures.

One of the prime examples is the Ancient City. It was located several miles below the earth's surface, well beyond the point that most people would find hospitable due to the heat, much less comfortable. Also known as the Dark City, it took its nickname from the fact that it has never seen the sun and, barring tremendous geometric shifts, it never will.

However, even though it was deprived of the sun's rays, it was far from a dark place. Rather, it was continuously lit by thousands of lanterns, and despite inhabiting an area that had once been within hell's property lines, its inhabitants were generally a bright and friendly people, though the few visitors it received were usually put off by the fact that the locals had sprung from things such as bats, cave-dwelling bugs and insects. The locals themselves were well aware of this, and were known to use this to their advantage when feeling mischievous.

It was these streets that Suika found herself bustling down, clutching a bag filled with the remains of her gourd. In the years since the last time she had paid the place a visit, little had changed. It was certainly larger than it had been, with the walls of the enormous cavern being dug into in order to accommodate the expanding population. And for reasons she could only guess at, bizarre looking purple hats seemed to be in fashion. Still, it was very much the same busy, hot and cheerful place she remembered.

At another time she might have been tempted to use her return to the fullest and launch a full tour of the town and its bars, but today she had business, business that was to be found in the blacksmith shop at the far end of the street. Suika turned and entered the shop.

The first thing that greeted her was the clang of a hammer. The source was a huge woman, over seven feet of compact muscle built from several lifetimes of exerting her power to its fullest use. She wore a soot-blackened apron over a white shirt and a knee-length grey skirt, with thick black leather gloves covering her hands. Her hair, tied back to prevent it from getting into her face, was long and the color of wheat. Jutting from her forehead was a thick bone horn, painted red with a yellow five-pointed star.

The woman was hovering over a red-hot lump of metal that sat on her anvil. She struck at the lump with her hammer again and again, pausing only to work at it with a pair of tongs. Sparks flew with each strike.

Under her hammer and tongs, the soft metal slowly morphed from a formless blob into an identifiable shape. The woman went at it with practiced motions, forming individual petals, leaves and a thorn covered stem. Finally she grasped the stem's tip with the tongs and thrust the whole thing into a barrel of water. The water hissed and steam billowed up. When she brought the tongs up again, they held the shape of a perfect black rose, made completely from iron.

She turned the rose in her hands, inspecting the petals and the stem with the probing eye of a craftsman. And then, apparently satisfied with her work, she dropped it in a black vase containing three other identical flowers that was sitting on a nearby shelf.

Suika chose this moment to make her presence know. She cleared her throat and said, "Hey Yuugi."

Yuugi Hoshiguma started in surprise. She whirled around and stared dumbfounded at the little oni that stood in the doorway. And then, slowly but surely, the shock faded from her face, to be replaced with a grin of absolute joy.

"Suika!" Yuugi roared. Moving faster than anything her size had a right to, she bounded all the way across her shop and swooped up Suika in her arms in a single fluid moment, crushing her against her mountainous breasts. "You came back!"

Had Suika not been an oni herself, that would have been the end of her. As it was, she was only extremely uncomfortable. "Yeah, great to see you too," she grimaced. "Put me down!"

Yuugi complied, dropping Suika on her rear. The little oni coughed, trying to reclaim the wind that had been crushed out of her. This was not at all helped by Yuugi well-meaningly slapping her on the back with enough force to shatter stone.

"You've gotten soft, girl!" Yuugi laughed. She pinched Suika's arm. Hard. "All that hanging out with humans has made a small, weak thing!"

Annoyed, Suika shoved Yuugi away. The force of the push launched the massive oni across the room to crash into a row of shelves holding several iron rods. She sat dazed in the wreckage for a moment. And then her grin returned.

"Now that's more I like it!" she bellowed. She leapt to her feet, causing a minor shockwave to reverberate through the floor. "Good to see you again, Suika!"

Suika, who was busy putting her spine back into place, nodded at her. "Ditto." Then she smiled as well. Despite the fact that she ended up having to readjust her skeletal system every time Yuugi got excited, she had missed her fellow oni. Long ago, the Four Devas of the Mountain had toured and adventured together for years, only stopping when they had run out of new places to visit. As they had been unwilling to leave Gensokyo, they had parted ways to find their own places in the world. Yuugi had chosen to remain in their hometown on a more permanent basis while Suika had stuck to wandering. Still, it was nice to catch up with old friends, even if the reasons for doing so were unpleasant.

"Come, come!" Yuugi said as she tugged off her gloves and pulled her apron up over her head. This was followed by the leather strap holding her hair in place, letting it fall free. She tossed these aside and opened a door to another room. "You have obviously come here for a reason. Have a drink and tell me about it!"

Suika grinned and followed. That was one thing she had always liked about Yuugi: her straightforwardness.

Yuugi led her into a cool brick room with an unlit oven set in one wall. In the center of the room was a long wooden table with six three-legged stools. Several crates were piled against another of the walls. It was to these crates that Yuugi immediately went to. From one she pulled out two large black bottles.

"Here," she said, tossing one of them to Suika. "Take a taste of this. I know sake's your go-to, but you must try this wine."

Suika gratefully pulled the cork and took a long draft. It had a very earthy taste to it, but not at all unpleasant. And it was strong. Gloriously strong, with a vicious bite as it flowed down her throat.

She finished the bottle and said, "This is good."

"Ain't it?" Yuugi smashed the neck of her own bottle against the table and drained it away. She tossed the broken bottle aside with a sigh of satisfaction and continued, "They make it from this black grape thing, forget the name." She sat down at the table, bringing two full crates with her. From one of them she pulled out another bottle and slid it over to Suika. "Took them ages to figure out how to make it grow without sunlight. Glad they did though. Exporting from above takes forever." She pulled a second bottle out for herself and raised it in a salute. "So tell me, my friend. What trouble brings you down here?"

Suika grimaced. She drained the second bottle and said, "Bad news."

Yuugi nodded. "Yeah, I figured as much. Does it have anything to do with the fact that your gourd is missing? Or that you're somehow sober?"

So she had noticed. Suika wordlessly held up the bag she was carrying and dropped it on the table. Yuugi blinked. She pulled the bag over and looked inside.

At first her face was blank with incomprehension. Then realization started to blossom as her neutral expression melted away to horror.

Suika opened her mouth to explain. "It-"

Yuugi's fist smashed into Suika's face, sending her soaring off her stood and right into the wall behind her. Had the wall not been built and reinforced by Yuugi herself, Suika would have sailed right through it and gone on for another mile or so. As it was, it was still enough to create a shallow Suika-shaped imprint.

"You broke the gourd?" Yuugi cried. Her face was aghast and angry tears were streaming down her soot-coated face. "How could you? You were entrusted with this, this object of such beauty, such magnificence, such…sacredness! And you let it-"

Had Yuugi been allowed to continue, she might have launched into a length sermon concerning the honor of an oni, the importance of alcohol to that honor and the inherent wickedness of destroying something that would provide an inexhaustible source of that alcohol. Suika however did not have the patience to be preached at and expressed her displeasure by bounding off the wall and catching Yuugi under the chin with a thunderous uppercut. The tall oni's eyes bulged in surprise and she was lifted right off her feet and sent head-first into the ceiling.

"Like I haven't been telling myself all that already!" Suika shouted up at Yuugi's dangling form. "Besides, it was smashed in a fight!"

Yuugi braced her hands against the ceiling and shoved. Her head dislodged and she fell back to the ground, shattering her stood in the process. She straightened herself out, kicked the broken pieces aside and grabbed a whole stool to sit back down.

"That's no excuse!" Yuugi said. "Our people get into fights all the time. It's what we do! And during these fights, it's imperative that the alcohol is protected! Do you remember how hard I trained to be able to fight without dropping my sake?"

"Yeah, and I also remember how many bowls you smashed until you got it right! Besides, this wasn't a normal fight." Suika held up her hand. The black scar left by the Shadow Youkai's blade was still visible. "That thing didn't play by the rules."

Yuugi squinted at Suika's palm. "How'd you get something like that?"

"I got stabbed through the palm."

"So? They had a sword. A lot of things do."

"This was an evil magic sword of death."

Yuugi looked impressed. "Ooh, I'll have to look into getting me one of those."

Suika shook her head. "Not the cool kind. I mean really, really evil. It took out Yukari, Reimu, that Mima and this really old but really scary Lunarian doctor before I got a whack at it. And it beat them all in less than two minutes."

Yuugi's jaw dropped. She made strangled-sounding noises. "Wait, Reimu? Reimu Hakurei? That Reimu?"

Suika nodded. "Yeah, it picked her up and threw her through a bunch of bamboo. She couldn't walk right for like three days or something."

"And when you say Yukari, you mean…"

"The one you're thinking about, yeah."

"And you're not talking about the evil ghosty Mima, are you? The one we used to fight in the old days?"

"That's the one. Green tail, tall pointy hat, really weird sense of humor."

Yuugi scowled. "You're messing with me, aren't you? There's no way that's possible. You sat on your gourd by accident, and now you're making up some shitstory to cover it up."

Suika jumped to her feet. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"Sit down, short stuff."

Moments later, Suika was well over ten feet tall and bellowing. She had to hunch over to keep her horns from gouging the ceiling. "Are you calling me short?"

Unimpressed, Yuugi just crossed her legs, folded her arms and glowered up at Suika's beat-red face. "That didn't intimidate back when we used to run together. What makes you think it'll work now?"

"I'm telling the truth! If you don't believe me, go ask Satori!"

"Yeah? The boss-lady was there too?"

"No, but she was at a super-secret meeting that really wasn't that secret now that I think about it where we were talking about how to kill the thing that gave me this!" Suika shoved her now massive palm back in Yuugi's face. "And we want you to join."

Yuugi pushed the palm away. "I saw that already. That doesn't mean…Wait, run that last part by me again?"

Suika sat back down, returning to her normal size in the process. "We're putting together this posse sort of thing to bring this thing down. And we want you on it."

"Uh…okay. Why?"

Suika sighed. She reached for another bottle. "Maybe I'd better start from the beginning.

Twenty minutes and three crates later, Suika had finally finished the story. It would have been shorter, but Yuugi had kept interrupting with questions and demands for clarification. At one point Suika had lost her patience and a wrestling match ensued. After seven minutes, she had calmed down and apologized for the stove. Yuugi told her not to worry about it.

"So you see, we be needing all the help we can get!" Suika declared. The wine had done wonders for her. She was almost feeling like her old self. "We can't shoot this thing, so we gotta smash it!"

Yuugi finished her fifteenth bottle. She tossed it over her shoulder. It shattered against the ruined fragments of the stove. "That's the craziest thing I've heard all week."

"It's true!"

"Nah, I believe you now. It's just been a slow week."

Suika started to grin. "So you're in?"

Yuugi pursed her lips. She tapped her lower lip as she thought.

Then she smiled as well. "Ah, why the hell not? Sounds like fun. 'Sides, anything that would contribute to the death of the gourd be deserving of an oni-class beat-down."

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Suika cheered. She raised her half-empty bottle in celebration. Then she remembered something and turned somber.

"Oh yeah…" she said. "About the gourd…"

"Eh, it's fixable," Yuugi said dismissively. "Ain't easy, but I can put it back together. Just as well, you were long overdue for an upgrade."

Suika's ears perked up. "Upgrade?"

"Sure! Don't'cha get sick of nothing but sake all the time?"

"Not really, no."

"Well, how would you feel if you can make it start pouring this stuff out?" Yuugi held up one of the bottle in demonstration. "Or anything else, for that matter."

Suika attention was completely captivated. "You can do that?"

"I see no reason why not!" Yuugi picked up the bag of gourd fragments and eyed them critically. "Word of warning though. You break this one, I ain't making you a new one."

"Deal!" Suika said cheerfully. She downed yet another bottle in celebration. "You're the best!"

"Ain't I just?"

"Oh, 'nother thing," Suika said. "Yukari wanted me to talk to you 'bout the other two. She want to know if we can get the band back together."

Yuugi frowned. "Eh, you might have some trouble there. Last I heard, Konngara's doing merc work for Shinki over in Makai, and you know how hard it is to get anything out of there."

"Yeah. Plus you know how much Shinki hates Yukari."

"No kidding. You might be able to send her a-"

"Because she really, really hates Yukari. I mean really-"

"I get it! They can't stand each other! Everyone knows that. Anyway, as for Kassie, afraid I can't help you there. Haven't see horn or hair of her for years."

"Huh," Suika said. "You know, I think she's been by Hakurei Shrine a few times."

Yuugi looked interested. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I think they had some sort of disagreement over a bunch of gold. Never did find out how that turned out."

"Huh. Well, there you go. Wonder what she's doing above ground though."

"Eh, search me," Suika said with a shrug. "She's always been a weirdo."

"Hear, hear." Yuugi and Suika clinked their bottles of the moment together.

"Now," Yuugi said. "This whole death-touch the baddie can do, this…blight?"

"Taint."

"Right. Taint. That's gonna be a problem."

Suika scowled. "You think?"

"Sometimes." Yuugi grinned. "So that brings me to my next point."

"Yeah?"

Yuugi turned in her seat and gestured. Curious, Suika followed her line of sight to the blacksmith shop in the room beyond.

"Tell me something, Suika," Yuugi said. "How do you feel about armor?"

…

Location: Palace of the Earth Spirits

Time: 3:33 PM

Satori stalked forward through the corridors of her home, her movements brisk and deliberate. All along to her left, tremendous stained-glass windows were set in the black volcanic stone. The eternally burning flames beyond filtered through the multi-colored glass, casting a strange light that pulsed and moved over the black-and-white tiled floor and opposite wall. Many people would be terrified of living directly over the fires of hell, but Satori always found the visual effects they provided to be aesthetically pleasing. And the view from the balconies was spectacular, provided you had some way to withstand the heat.

Behind her, her large black two-tailed cat was keeping pace by bounding from one window frame to the other.

I still don't see why this is necessary.

Even though no voice spoke the words, Satori still answered them as if they had been said out loud. "Necessary, perhaps not. But it is the safest course of action.

You've got a weird concept of the word "Safe", boss. Isn't Yuuka Kazami supposed to be a kind of a literal nightmare?

"Yes."

The cat crouched on one of the frames. Its wide yellow eyes stared down at her.

So, wouldn't it make sense to, oh I don't know, stay the hell away from her? Because right now what you're doing is kind of the opposite of staying the hell away from her.

"Pointless. She is on the warpath. Such instances are historically times of bloodshed and wanton destruction."

The cat smoothly leapt down to rebound off of the side of the next window frame to land in front of Satori. By the time its feet touched ground, it was no longer just a cat. In its place was a young woman. She wore a simple long-sleeved dark blue dress and her red hair was hung down either side of her face in two large braids. All well and normal, but the fact that she retained her two feline ears in addition to her newly acquired human ears was certain to raise some eyebrows, as was the fact that her tails had decided to stick around as well.

Rin Kaenbyou, Orin to her friends (or anyone else, for that matter. She was not overly fond of her full name), spread her hands in a placating gesture. "Look, I'm just trying to understand why we have to get involved at all. Why not do as Shinki and the Yamaxanadu did and let Yukari handle it? It's not like Yuuka's going to come knocking at our door."

Satori stopped her purposeful stride. "A fair enough question. And the answer is quite simple: Eiki Shiki's position is such that she can refuse without fear of repercussion. And Shinki has been on the outs with Yukari since a time out of mind, so another black mark wouldn't do much more than annoy."

Orin frowned. "Hold up, you're saying that this is just to make Yukari happy?"

"In a sense. We currently have three problems before us. One, the Shadow Youkai being combined with Eientei's renegade experiment. Two, Yuuka Kazami. Three, we are already in Yukari's black books ever since Utsuho's unexpected power-up and ensuing madness."

"What?" Orin's jaw dropped. "So all this is just to punish Okuu?"

"Of course not," Satori said. She started moving again, with Orin walking close behind. "She has suffered enough for her lapse of judgment, and her temporary loss logical reasoning does much to excuse her actions. But the fact remains that while Yukari would be content to let the matter lie during peacetime, this crisis might motivate her to use it as a lever to force our cooperation, whether we give it offer it or not. And given that Utsuho is now our most powerful asset, her involvement will most likely be insisted upon. Even with the renegade's natural resistance to exterior damage, it has been stopped by overwhelming force before, and Utsuho certainly meets the criteria."

"Okay, but-"

"And I do not wish her to confront the renegade, especially if the Shadow Youkai has taken over its mind," Satori said. "And even if it hasn't, it still has the Shadow Youkai's abilities at its beck and call. Abilities that can result in a permanent cessation of life, even for a youkai." Satori turned and walked through an archway that led to the outside.

Most castles have a moat of some sort as a means of protection. Others decide to up the ante and situation themselves on a small island in the middle of a lake. The Palace of Earth Spirits worked somewhere down those lines, except instead of a small island in the middle of a lake of water, it sat upon a jutting spike of rock that sat smack in the center of what was literally a lake of fire. The Lake of Fire, to be exact, or at least a former piece of it. It had fallen into Satori's possession due to a contract with Makai, back when Shinki had decided to renovate her kingdom and no longer had use for it. Seeing the many practical applications a lake of fire would provide, Satori had taken it off her hands.

The archway she had just passed through exited to one of four narrow stone bridges that corkscrewed upward from the palace to connect with a large steel cone that hung from the cavern ceiling like a giant metal stalactite. It was up this spiraling bridge that Satori ascended, heedless of the heat, the height and lack of guardrails. Granted, a creature gifted with flight would not have to worry about a fall, but even Orin reverted back to cat form for the length of the ascent.

They reached the top and entered the cone through a hatchway set in its side. They entered into a room filled with pipes and gauges. As soon as the door closed, Orin resumed her human form. "So you're saying this is way of protecting her? Making sure she's sent after the lesser of two evils?"

"I am unsure if the cliché applies, but out of possible worst-case scenarios, this is the least potentially fatal."

Orin shook her head. "I still don't know, boss. Seems to me that forcing a worst-case scenario isn't the safest way to go."

Satori raised her eyebrows. "It has been my experience that worst-case scenarios have an unerring tendency to happen, whether we force them or not. At least by being the one to suggest the idea to Yukari, I retain some control over how the operation proceeds. To me, that is infinitely better than not saying anything at all and eventually being blackmailed into assisting as Remilia Scarlet was."

"Yeah, but didn't she try to threaten Yukari? Can't we just stay out of this altogether?"

"Nothing would give me more pleasure," Satori said as she moved out of the room to the corridor beyond. "But I have long learned not to anticipate the best."

Orin didn't say much beyond that, but her mind was still full of reservations. Satori almost commented on this, but decided not to, partially because it would accomplish nothing and partially because she had more than a few of her own, though she would never admit this.

They walked a maze of cramped corridors to emerge into an open room located near the cone's zenith. The walls of the room sloped inward, first following the sides of the cone but becoming more gentle, eventually coming together to form a shallow bowl-shaped floor. Though ceiling, walls and most of the floor were a solid sea of black, a pulsing orange glow occupied the center of the blow. And kneeling within the glow was girl.

She was tall, over six feet, with long, curling hair so black it was almost as if light was being drawn into it. She was exceptionally lovely, with a shapely figure and brilliant maroon eyes. However, those unaccustomed to her might notice other features first. Such as the two massive black-feathered wings that stretched from her back. Or the cape that sat draped over her wings, with glowing stars, planets and galaxies actually seeming to move within it. Or the huge red, slitted eye that stared from a hole in her blouse cut right over the top of her breast. Or the complicated-looking mechanism that sheathed her right arm, which she was thrusting into the floor. Or the fact that if one were to examine her closely, they would see that she was not so much standing in the glow but emitting it.

Satori and Orin stopped at the room's threshold. The girl's eyes were closed and her mouth was moving at a high rate. Though no sound came out Satori could still hear what she was mouthing through her thoughts.

…cycle complete. All control rods calibrated. Fuel movements…halted. Initiating final shutdown in three…two…one.

The glow slowly faded, as did the humming. In response, the ceiling, walls and floor softened from jet black to grey steel, making the seams and bolts visible. The girl's shoulders relaxed. She gave the mechanism on her arm a slight twist. Steam hissed out as it disengaged from the floor.

Then she straightened up and stretched her back with a groan. She swung her arms from side-to-side and finally opened her eyes.

Spying Satori and Orin standing at the room's entrance, an enthusiastic grin spread over her face. "Hi Satori!" she called, waving. "Hi Orin!"

"Utsuho," Satori said by way of greeting. The two of them walked into the room, taking their time with the slope of the floor.

Utsuho Reiuji looked down at the floor with a look of smug satisfaction. "Reactor's all shut down," she said, putting her hand on her hip. "Should be okay until we get back from our trip! Unless…" Confusion flitted across her face. "Wait, you do want to be able to turn it back on, right? This is just temporary, right?"

"Yes," Satori said. "Very temporary. As I explained the last time you asked that question. And three times before that."

Utsuho still looked dubious. "Okay…if you say so. It just seems weird."

"Circumstances make it necessary. And no, it is not because you were doing an inadequate job. Again, you won't be around to oversee the reactor's operations for an unknown amount of time. We are simply playing it safe."

Utsuho nodded. Then she frowned. "Um, are you sure it's not because I-"

"Quite. You are not in trouble."

Satori felt a wave of relief course through Utsuho's mind.

"Well, actually she kinda is," Orin muttered.

"I am?" Utsuho said in alarm.

"Not of that variety," Satori said. She gave Orin an admonishing look.

"Now, you do remember where we're going, correct?" she asked Utsuho. It was an unnecessary question, as she already knew what Utsuho remembered and didn't remember. Still, questioning her periodically was a good method to keep her attention span from wandering.

Utsuho nodded.

"Tell me."

"We're going to help Yukari Yakumo fight Yuuka Kazami," Utsuho said.

"Very good," Satori said. She ignored the somewhat rebellious comments and Orin intentionally let flit across her mind. "And before that?"

Utsuho frowned. "We're…uh, we're…"

"Going to meet…" Satori led her.

"Right! We're going to meet the other people on our team!"

"And?"

"And Yukari's going to tell us what to do!" Utsuho said. She looked pleased with herself.

"And while doing so, it's important to remember…?"

"That, uh…" Utsuho look pleadingly at Orin for help. Orin just buried her face in her palm.

"That many of our teammates are not…" Satori prompted.

"…doing this willingly!" Utsuho said suddenly, remembering. "So they're going to be already mad, so I shouldn't talk to them too much because I don't want to start a fight!"

"Correct. What else?"

Utsuho frowned. "Well, there's also…" She held up her free hand to count on her fingers, but with a small jolt of surprise she noticed that her other arm was still encase in her "Third Leg", as she called it. She stuck it barrel-down on the ground, where it separated and fell apart like an opening flower, releasing her arm.

"Right, number one, I'm not supposed to talk to Yukari," Utsuho said, tapping her index finger. "Because she's manipulative and kind of cruel. Number two, I'm not supposed to ask questions, because you'll explain everything I don't get to me afterward. Number three…" Utsuho's face fell. "I forgot the rest."

"Number three, you are not to answer questions of your acquirement of mastery over nuclear power," Satori said. "And number four, you are to stick close to me at all times and doing everything I tell you to. If someone asks you anything, direct their questions to me."

"Right!" Utsuho said brightly. "Got it!"

"Repeat it all back to me."

Utsuho tried, though she once again stumbled over the last part. Satori patiently guided her along until she could recite the rules perfectly.

"And you're sure the reactor will be okay," Utsuho said worryingly. "It's not going to fall apart or rust while we're gone, right?"

"I do not foresee us being gone nearly that long. In any case, it will be maintained in our absence. Orin will see to that."

Orin cleared her throat. "Um, boss…"

"Yes?" Then Satori caught Orin's thoughts. She frowned. "Orin, that will definitely not be necessary-"

"Yeah, I kind of think it is."

Utsuho looked confused. "Um, sorry. What are we talking about now?"

"I assure you, I will perform a more than adequate job keeping an eye on her," Satori said.

"Two sets of eyes are better than one, boss," Orin answered. "You already said that you don't like taking risks."

"Who's growing four eyes now?" Utsuho said. "Seriously, what's happening? Is this another test?"

"Perhaps, but I fail to see how your presence will increase our safety. In fact, it might decrease it. The names involved in this battle are hopelessly out of your league."

"Because if it's a test then I don't think it's a fair one. I mean I know nobody mentioned people with four eyes or leagues."

"I'm not planning on doing any fighting," Orin said. "I just want to help keep an eye on her. You know, just to be safe."

"Keep an eye on who? Seriously, who are we talking about now?"

"And what of your duties?" Satori asked.

Orin shrugged. "My girls can do it just as well as me. It's not like it takes a whole lot of skill to push a wheelbarrow."

"Orin, I do not wish to have any more of my pets involved in this messy affair than necessary. And yes, I do in fact have a capable understanding of the word 'Necessary'. And…" Satori sighed. "And you are going regardless of whether or not I give permission, aren't you?"

Orin smirked. "Cut out the middleman and skip straight to the worst-case scenario so you can control it. Isn't that what you were telling me earlier?"

"I do not like it when you're clever. But very well, I suppose you can handle yourself."

"Unyu?" Utsuho said. "What?"

"I'm coming too," Orin called down to her.

"You are?" Utsuho's eyes widened. Then she pumped her first toward the sky. "Yessssssssssss!"

Satori watched the celebrating raven-girl and shook her head. Perhaps Orin was right about this being a bad idea.

…

Location: Kakashi Nenpo offices

Time: 6:14 PM

The girl was obviously excited. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were wide and glittering. Her hands would not keep still and she wouldn't stop talking about what an honor this was and was Yukari absolutely certain there wasn't anything she could get her? This had gone on for about five minutes, and they hadn't even begun with the reason for Yukari's visit. At another time Yukari might have been annoyed, but then it occurred to her that this Tengu was the first person who had been genuinely happy to see her all week.

"I mean, wow, just wow," Hatate Himekaidou said in a breathless tone. "You actually came to do this in person. That is, that is so awesome!"

"Thank you," Yukari said. She took a sip from the cup of water she was holding, the only thing she had accepted. "I'm glad to-"

"I mean you're only the most important around!" Hatate said. "You're the one to freaking made Gensokyo! At the beginning! How cool is that?"

Yukari shook her head. "I try not to be. It's only when-"

"Hey, I've always been curious. Are we like completely cut off from the Outside World, in our own universe or something? Or is there like this big bubble in their world with us inside? Or are we still kinda technically there, and you just have to, I don't know, say the magic words, find the right doorway or tap your heels three times to get in, and if you don't you'll just find this empty place that's kinda like Gensokyo, except it isn't, with all the forests and rivers and stuff but no magic and no people or how does it…"

"Miss Himekaidou," Yukari said gently. "I hate to be short, but the interview…"

The two of them were sitting in the main office of Hatate Himekaidou's newspaper. It wasn't much, mostly a desk with a typewriter and a potted plant, a couple of filing cabinets, several framed photographs of what Yukari assumed to be Hatate's friends and family, two chairs (in which Hatate and Yukari were now sitting), a water cooler and, curiously enough, a dartboard. Yukari, who had seen the room in its natural state when she had informed Hatate about her desire for an interview, knew that it was normally much messier, with papers, writing utensils and empty food containers scattered everywhere, along with a photograph of Aya Shameimaru taped to the dartboard. Hatate needn't have bothered her nervous cleaning of the place, as some of Yukari's own rooms were worse. The blinds on the room's single window had been dropped, per Yukari's request.

It was admittedly an odd choice for Yukari to get her message out. Hatate's paper wasn't especially successful (though it was doing better than it had some years ago), but considering that she was currently the primary rival of Aya Shameimaru, who had been responsible for blowing the lid on the whole story in the first place, it did feel rather appropriate. Besides, Aya's own paper was far from respected, but the edition containing her interview with Cirno had flown right off the shelves. And apparently today's story, which included Yuuka's involvement and highlighted her rivalry with Yukari, was selling out even faster. So Hatate's exclusive interview with Yukari herself would likely spread like wildfire.

"Oh!" Hatate said in surprise, her mouth forming a perfect O. "Right! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I'm just so nervous right now."

"Don't worry about it," Yukari said. "And calm down! Just think of all the papers this will sell!"

Hatate paused for a moment. "Okay, now I'm just more nervous," she admitted with a small laugh.

"All right, think about how angry Aya will be once your paper outsells hers."

"That works!" Hatate pulled out a notepad and a pen. "All right, let's do this. So, where would you like to start?"

"Well, the logical place to begin would be to address the rumors that have been flying around concerning a certain people-absorbing monster reputed to have attacked Eientei earlier this week and is now loose in Gensokyo. As I understand it, this has caused a great deal of excitement."

"Oh, sorry, but let me just take this time to say that I don't believe a word of it," Hatate said quickly. "I mean, if Aya's treating it as legit, then…"

"No? You should. They're absolutely correct."

Hatate stiffened. "Wait, what?"

Yukari leaned in closer. "The rumors got it right. There is a monster somewhere out there that can devour people and steal their powers. I know, I encountered it personally. It almost killed me."

"Um…"

"Yes, you can include that part."

"Okay…So, where did this thing come from?"

"As I understand it, it's an old enemy of Eientei, one that they thought they had long gotten rid of, only to have it show up a few days ago looking for a fight. It got one, as I, along with some friends, were soon informed of the situation and tried to take it down in short order. However, we underestimated the thing, and it got away in the confusion. I've got people trying to scare it up even now, but it's proving to be a clever little beast."

"Oh. Um, so did it really absorb Princess Kaguya?"

Yukari nodded. "Indeed it did. So that would probably make it extremely hard to hurt. Just something to consider for all those bounty hunters out there."

"Wait, yeah. The bounty. Are you going to be putting a stop to it? I mean, a lot of people are saying that Yuuka posted it just to piss you off, and-"

"Put a stop to it? Why would a do that?"

"Um…"

Yukari leaned back in her seat, sipping her water. "Though I should point out that while Yuuka Kazami is certainly supporting the bounty, it was actually posted by Cirno the ice-fairy. With good reason, too. One of her friends was the monster's victims. I imagine that she's quite upset."

"So, it's all good? You're not going to stop them?"

"Of course not! They're well in their rights to seek help against someone who has wronged them, and Yuuka Kazami is well within her rights to help them. There's no law against their actions. In fact, there's not much in the way of laws to govern wild fairies or youkai, period."

"Right." Hatate frowned at her notes. "Okay, and about Yuuka. Word has it that she wants to kill you. Is there any truth to that?"

"Hmmm." Yukari tapped her lip. "Well, the word 'kill' is a bit of an exaggeration. But it is true that she had personally challenged me."

"Oh. Did she say why?"

"I can only imagine. Perhaps she sees me as a threat? Or maybe it's all part of some game. But yes, she does want to fight me."

"Okay…" Hatate scribbled that down. "So, just to be clear. There's a monster out there that's all kinds of bad news, one that killed one of Gensokyo's big leaders-"

"I never said Kaguya Houraisan was dead," Yukari said. "As I understand it, people who have been devoured are absorbed into the monster's body but can be extracted, alive and well."

Hatate blinked in surprise. "Oh. Okay, that's good. But still, while all this is going on and you're trying to…do what you have to do to stop this thing, there's now a bunch of people running around trying to get to it first for money? And the person who helped start all this is a notorious…crazy something or another who wants to punch you in the face for some reason?"

"That sounds about right."

"And you're okay with all this?"

"I see no reason not to be. If someone wants to take care of the problem for me, I certainly won't object. But that's actually one of the reasons I'm doing this interview. You see, little Cirno was without some important facts when she posted that bounty. So I'm here to clear things up so any prospective hunters aren't rushing into this blind."

"Oh. Okay, and what are those?"

Yukari smiled. My move, Yuuka, she thought.

"Well too begin, as I mentioned earlier, it can absorb people and use their powers. And from what I understand it is determined to reach the top of the food chain. So if you are to be the first to actually find the thing, it may not see you as so much as a dangerous threat. In fact, it'll probably just see you as dinner."

"Oh. Wow."

Yukari nodded. "Exactly. And that's just the beginning. As I discovered firsthand, it can also adapt to and even absorb just about any attack. Bullets, spellcards, physical weapons, you name it. And given that it now has Kaguya Houraisan in its tummy, it has some pretty effective regenerative abilities as well. So it is extremely difficult to hurt. Killing in battle is probably out of the question entirely. Of course, it already was, as we still need to get poor Kaguya out first. We wouldn't want to unnecessarily upset Eientei by accidentally killing their leader. Anyone foolish enough to do that would probably end up with a bounty on their head of their own."

Hatate blinked.

"Oh, and there's another small problem," Yukari said. "You see, it's also swallowed a few people in addition to Kaguya. And as it turns out, it's also swallowed the remnants of a little nasty called the Shadow Youkai. Are you familiar with that name?"

Hatate shook her head.

"Hmmm, well, you should look it up for your story. Sixty years ago, it was a bit of a big deal for a few days. Killed a lot of people. I can help you dig up the necessary information, if you'd like. But suffice to say, it is literally death incarnate. It can kill anything. Human, youkai, fairy, maybe even gods. And it can make it permanent."

Hatate squeaked. "Wait, is this for real? It can kill immortals?"

"Someone like that was bound to show up sooner or later," Yukari said with a shrug. "But yes. And now the monster can as well. It very nearly killed me with the Shadow Youkai's powers, as I mentioned earlier. So that's another thing to watch out for. Immortality means nothing to this thing. If it doesn't eat you, it can make it so that you never see another sunrise. It doesn't matter who or what you are, it can kill you."

Hatate shuddered.

"Oh, and incidentally enough, that would be the friend of Cirno's that got devoured." At Hatate's look of surprise, Yukari said, "Yes, but I'm sure she didn't know. It was a very complicated situation."

"Um, how so?"

Yukari ignored the question. "At any rate, if anyone still believes the reward to be worth the risk, then by all means, go right ahead. But there is something else they should consider."

"What's that?"

"Simply this: the bounty is being offered by Cirno the ice-fairy, someone who is notoriously unreliable. It is being sponsored by Yuuka Kazami, someone who is notoriously chaotic. Furthermore, not five minutes after announcing her involvement, Yuuka attacked and tortured four of my associates and had them deliver her challenge. She sent a similar message to me later that same evening, using my Shikigami as messengers. And by that, I mean she dislocated the arm of one and remotely possessed the other. In the space of a single day, she has done everything she could to anger me and stir up as much trouble as possible. And I believe the reason for this is that she intends to stir up as much chaos for her own amusement. She wants people chasing this monster. She wants to anger me during a crisis because she finds it funny. Her reputation for causing chaos for her own pleasure is not unearned.

"So please, think of this. Since eliminating the monster will end the crisis, do you really think that if one of you manages the impossible and actually brings the monster down that she'll simply hand over the money and thank you for ruining her fun? Food for thought."

Hatate wrote on her notepad furiously.

…

Location: Eientei

Time: 11:02 AM

Despite the absolute mess Eientei had been left in earlier that week, a few days and the help provided by the rabbit tribes had done wonders. The rubble had been completely cleared away, the walls containing gaping holes had all been repaired, the damaged flooring torn up and replaced and the damaged treasures were currently being tended to by the Bamboo Forest's finest craftsmen. Granted, there weren't very many of them, but the ones they did find were doing they can to restore the mansion and the clinic to their former glory.

All very well and good, but there were still numerous problems to address, chief of those being the missing princess. Eirin had met with the tribes' leaders soon after her return and assured them that an operation was already underway to bring Satsuki down and retrieve Kaguya. Fortunately this was completely true, so she was spared of the inconvenience of having to lie to them. Recovering from crippling blows was always complicated when one had to keep one's stories straight when dealing with allies.

Unfortunately Eirin herself was not yet strong enough to resume full control. The lengthy trips she had taken both to the Ruined City and back had not done her health any favors, and the lengthy meeting with the associated stress had also worsened her condition. Of course she was in possession of a powerful immune system and an even more powerful will, but after the excitement of the previous night her façade was starting to crumble. That was as good as complete collapse in anyone else.

But Eirin being Eirin, she refused to retire to bedrest without first making sure that everything she wanted done in the meantime was pounded into Reisen's head.

"For better or for worse, you are in charge of the clinic until I have recovered," Eirin grunted as she half-walked, half-limped toward her quarters. "The local doctors are…adequate in their own way, but I do not want them running my clinic. So unfortunately that means I'll have to settle for you. Try not to disappoint me too much. Is that at least a reasonable request?"

Reisen nodded while trying not to wince. Ever since the Shadow Youkai's sword had been discovered, whatever sympathy that had prompted Eirin to cut Reisen some slack had evaporated. Now she had taken on that icy, condescending demeanor she always adopted whenever Reisen had screwed up. Only this time, the stress was making it worse.

"Tewi is still in charge, obviously. She'll handle the remainder of the recovery efforts and keeping the tribal leaders happy. You keep your fluffy rear in the clinic and stick to putting on band-aids. I don't want you talking to anyone about anything they're not supposed to know. Not about Rin, not about the Princess, not about Yuuka, or Yukari, or the Shadow Youkai, or anything." They stopped in front of the door to Eirin's quarters. "Can you handle this at least?"

"Yes," Reisen said.

"Yes what?"

This time Reisen did flinch. "Yes Ma'am."

"Good. Oh, and it goes without saying that if you decide to disturb me, it damned well better be because I'm on fire." Without another word, Eirin slid open the door and flung it shut behind her.

Reisen shuddered and slowly made her way toward the mansion's exit. Along the way, she passed several members of Eientei's staff. Ever since the second Satsuki Incident, she had noticed that she had become a very divisive member of the household. Those who had known Rin before she had been…changed and had helped raise her had been nothing but sympathetic and encouraging. She had been giving words of encouragement, small gifts, warm smiles and even the odd "Don't worry. We'll get her back".

Everyone else though, those who hadn't been a part of Rin's life or had joined the staff sometime after the little Kirin had been locked up seemed to look at her in a completely different light. Word of her close relationship with Rin had spread to those who had been unaware, and their reactions toward her were less than warm. Many saw her as "The one who raised the monster". Other saw her as a traitor for still harboring sympathy. Others simply used her as a convenient scapegoat for the harms they had suffered, much similar to the role she usually played, only this time it was much worse.

And, as she was noticing as she walked the corridors, the circles she ran in meant that nearly everyone from the first category were part of the Guard, and they were out keeping an eye on the mansion's perimeter or patrolling the forest. Which meant that she was getting a lot of dirty glares and muttered rude names. Even though she did outrank them, she tried to ignore the signs of disrespect and get out of the mansion as quickly as possible.

As she turned a corner, she saw one of the contractors coming the other way. Reisen kept going, intending to walk right past him, but he adjusted his path to bump rudely against her shoulder. Startled, Reisen stumbled a couple steps back.

The contractor glared at her out of the corner of his eye. His eyes were red and heavy-lidded, indicating recent heavy drinking or something similar. "Filthy moon bitch," he muttered as he passed by.

Reisen straightened up immediately. "Hey! What…"

In response, he just spat and kept right on going to disappear around the corner.

Suddenly, there was the clunking sound of something hard being hit with something harder and then someone cried out in pain. The contractor stumbled back into view, clutching his forehead.

Tewi walked into view. One hand was holding her signature wooden mallet over her shoulder and spinning it jauntily, while the other was clutching a brown paper-wrapped package under her shoulder.

Tewi reached out with the mallet to tap the contractor's cheek with it. "Hey now, what was that, huh? What'd you just call her, huh? You wanna say that again, tough guy? Huh? Come on. Huh?"

The contractor shakily brought up his hands. "Sorry!" he slurred. "Sorry!"

"Yeah, I bet you are. What's your name?"

"Uh…"

"Never mind, I already know it. Daisuke Amano. You're with that group that came from Lady Shinashi's tribe, ain't'cha?"

"Yeah…"

"Great! Now I where to send the bill."

"Bill?" Daisuke blinked in confusion. "What for?"

Tewi grinned. She put down her mallet and the package. "Wow, you just don't get straight lines like that anymore."

"Wha-"

Tewi reached down to grab the contractor by the ears and yanked him right off the floor. Despite behind more than a foot taller than her and much brawnier, Daisuke was completely helpless as Tewi seized him by the belt and the scruff of his neck and started charging down the hallway, right past a dumbfounded Reisen.

"Alley-oop!" Tewi cried as she flung the screaming Daisuke forward. He sailed through to crash right through three of the flimsy paper walls to land in an awkward heap in one of the rooms beyond, startling two carpenters out of their wits. They looked through the holes he had created. Once they saw Tewi's slightly unhinged smile they quickly surmised what had happened and removed the dazed contractor from the room.

Tewi bent down to pick up her mallet and package. "I keep telling you, you gotta stop letting people walk all over you! Heck, you could have fired that guy if you wanted! Didn't you used to be in the military or something? Aren't they all about authority and discipline?"

Reisen realized that her jaw was hanging open. She quickly closed it. "I…I…"

Tewi shook her head. "Look, forget it, okay? Don't tell Eirin I busted up the walls, and we're square. That cool with you?"

"Uh, sure." Reisen scratched her head. "You didn't have to do that though."

"What? You complaining or something? That better not be ingratitude, otherwise you're next to go."

"No, no!" Reisen said quickly. "Thank you!"

Tewi snickered. Then she glanced down at the package and her face turned somber.

"Oh yeah. Uh, here." She thrust the package into Reisen's hands. "Take this."

"What?"

"One of the girls found it when they were cleaning up one of the store rooms. I think Eirin must've stashed them away. Don't really know why, since they're not hurting anyone. But, uh, I kinda figured…Well, you always liked that little freak, no idea why, but there you go."

Mystified, Reisen tore off the paper and opened the box within. She let out a small gasp and actually had to brace herself against the wall.

Instead was a small assortment of mundane odds and ends. The largest was a hand-carved erhu, a long stringed instrument that had once belonged to Reisen herself when she had been a teenager, but had given up on after exhibiting absolutely no talent. There were the scattered remains of what had once been a child's chemistry kit. A couple of red skirts and pink blouses were hastily folded up and lying on top of each other. Sitting on top of those was a large red bow and a handful of hair-beads shaped like cherries. A grimy hairbrush and a tarnished mirror sat in one corner. A couple of old storybooks, partially damaged by moisture and mold, were in the other, and a dusty old diary sat next to them.

Reisen gaped at the treasure she held in her hands. Then she looked up to stare at Tewi, who was looking a little uncomfortable.

"How…"

"Look, don't make this into a big deal, okay?" Tewi said. "Just thought you might want this, so…"

"But…you never…"

"Never liked Rin? Hells yeah, I didn't!" Tewi shouldered her mallet. "And you know what? I think I like her even less now. I dunno, I've got a complex or something. But if it'll make you stop moping all the time…"

Reisen nodded stiffly. "Than…thank…"

"I told you, don't make this weird. Just take the stuff and get out of here before someone catches you with it. I can't keep caving in skulls, you know? And hey, try to hug me, your skull is next, got it?"

Reisen, who had been contemplating that very action, nodded again. Then she took off at a sprint, hugging what little remained of Rin's worldly possessions to her chest.

Tewi watched her go. With a sigh, the rabbit shook her head. "That girl. No hope for her at all." Then she shrugged and went off to find someone else to whack.

…

Location: The Yakumo Home

Time: 7:02 PM

When Yukari returned home later in the evening, she was in a good mood.

Well, to be strictly accurate, there were too many problems to deal with to be completely happy. But she was in a better mood than she had been in all week, save for that one instance where she had taught Remilia Scarlet better manners. While she wasn't so foolish to believe that her bit of counter-propaganda would deter all of Cirno's bounty-hunters, it would at least make most of them think twice about going after Satsuki. Of course, Yuuka would probably follow up with a response of her own. A smear campaign perhaps, or pulling an asteroid down onto the Tengu Village. Seeing how this was Yuuka she was dealing with, Yukari made a note to make sure that Hatate was protected from retaliation.

Still, it was a start. And with the witch being successfully arrested and willing joining her anti-Yuuka movement, things seemed to finally being going in Yukari's direction.

And then there was that interesting little discovery of Eirin's from the night before. In addition to giving Satsuki's search party a huge advantage, it meant that Yukari would be having another conversation before the night was over, one that she was very much looking forward to.

However, as she stepped from her gap into the living room, she became aware of an alien presence in the room, one that was not a member of her household. It was sitting in her favorite armchair, facing the crackling fire that had been lit in the fireplace.

Ran was standing nearby, talking to the intruder. As soon as Yukari entered the room she stood up straight.

"Master!" she said, surprised.

Yukari raised an eyebrow. "We have a visitor, I see."

The Shikigami inclined her head. "Yes, she showed up soon after you left. She insisted on waiting for you."

"I'm sure she did," Yukari muttered. "Very well, you may go. I have a feeling this conversation should be private."

Ran bowed and left, leaving Yukari alone with the intruder.

"You know I really don't like it when people sit in my chair," Yukari said.

There was a shuffling of feet as the person stood and walked around the chair to face her. "Yeah? How about that," Reimu Hakurei said. "I don't appreciate people lying to me."

Yukari removed her hat and placed it on a dragonclaw-shaped hat rack that jutted from the wall. Her umbrella was folded up and deposited in her brass umbrella stand. Then she knelt down to untie and remove her shoes. "I knew giving you free access to my home would one day backfire," she sighed as she did so. "And please, tell me what lies I've told you."

Reimu folded her arms. "When were you planning on telling me about Marisa?"

Yukari straightened. She stepped out of her shoes and walked past Reimu to fall into her chair. "Funny," she said, steepling her fingers. "That question is accusing me of withholding information, not subverting it. I think that actually counts as an omission, perhaps even being locked out of the loop. But not a lie."

"You know what I mean!" Reimu shouted.

"I do. But do you? Really Reimu, if you're going to waltz into my living room, sit in my chair and bombard me with accusations before I've even had the chance to sit down, then at least correctly identify what you're accusing me of."

"Fine. Did you have Marisa arrested?"

"Yes," Yukari said simply.

"So you admit it!"

"What's there to admit? You asked a question, and I answered honestly. Admission would imply reluctance on my part. Perhaps even guilt and shame. I assure you, I am not besieged with such feelings."

"Oh, knock it off with the lawyer talk!" Reimu snapped. "Why did you do it?"

Yukari sighed. She twisted her head to one side, easing out the kinks. "Why did I arrest a noted thief known for inflicting large amounts of property damage who is partially responsible for the current incident we find ourselves in? I have to admit you've got me stumped there. You're going to have to give me some time to come up with an answer."

Reimu growled. She stomped her way in front of the reclining Yukari, slammed one hand onto Yukari's armrest and shoved the finger from the other into the ancient youkai's face. "Don't give me that. You've never had problem with her before."

"Her escapades have never unleashed unkillable abominations before. And it really was only a matter of time. I mean, come now Reimu. Did you really thing someone like her was going to get off scot-free forever?"

"You helped Yuyuko wake up Saigyou Aya…whatever its name was! How is that any different?"

"That again," Yukari groaned. She leaned forward and rubbed her forehead. "Look. Reimu. I know that because of all the times you've removed a widespread nuisance or even outright saved Gensokyo, you probably think that you're someone important. And come to think of it, maybe you're right. But that doesn't mean that people you like are somehow immune to having consequences for their actions. Marisa was going to get picked off by someone sooner or later. And when it comes down to it, better the GPF than someone who would slow cook her over a campfire."

"Don't," Reimu growled. "Don't give me that pretending to be reasonable crap. You're just using that as an excuse to send her after Yuuka."

It was a fortunate thing that Yukari had had centuries to practice her poker face, because otherwise the surprise would have been written all over it. As it was, she merely remained silent for a second before leaning back and saying, "Someone's been listening at keyholes."

"So it's true? You're forcing her to assassinate Yuuka?" Reimu gaped. "My gods, Yukari. I knew you could get ruthless at times, but that's just…sick!"

"Which part?" Yukari asked in a mild tone. "Sending an assassin after Yuuka or the idea that it might be Marisa?"

"Both! Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you? You think that just because you're the biggest and baddest youkai around it means you can just manipulate and screw people over to get your way?"

"Yes," Yukari said. "It just so happens that 'my way' happens to be the best way for all concerned."

Reimu opened her mouth to start yelling again, but Yukari cut her off. "Before you unleash a new wave of abuse, I would like to ask a question. After that, I would like to point out a few facts that you may have been unaware of. But first, please stop standing over me. There's a perfectly good chair over there for you to use."

"I'd rather stand," Reimu said crossly.

Yukari couldn't help but smirk. She had used that line on Eirin only a few days ago, in that very tone of voice. However, Yukari wasn't as diplomatic as the Lunarian Doctor. "What a shame. Sit. Down."

"Make-"

A split second later, Reimu was no longer glaring down at Yukari. Instead, she had been relocated to the room's other easy chair.

"-me?" Reimu looked around with a surprised look on her face. This was quickly replaced by her trademark expression of irritation. "Oh, come on! That's just cheating!"

"I wasn't aware that we were playing a game," Yukari said. "And now, first things first. Where did you get your information?"

"Oh no. You are not changing this subject. This is about-"

"You've been talking to Mima, correct?"

Reimu angrily folded her arms. "What's the point of even asking?"

Yukari smirked. "Well, full credit to the ghostly detective. I hadn't even told her about using Marisa against Yuuka."

"Yeah, and she said you're planning on throwing Utsuho Reiuji and Flandre freaking Scarlet too. Have you completely lost your mind? Or are you and the Shadow Youkai taking bets to see who can blow the whole godsdamned country up the fastest?"

"Hmmm, she is smart. But not entirely correct on all the details."

"Oh yeah? Well, I sure hope so. Because the details I'm seeing are pretty freaking scary."

"I'm sure they are," Yukari murmured. "But there're a few minor errors. First of all, I should point out that I'm not making Marisa do anything."

"Yeah? Well, that's good to hear," Reimu said sarcastically. "So she just clapped herself in irons and reserved a jail cell for the night?"

"Funny. I'm serious here. Marisa is assisting me with the Yuuka situation completely of her own free will."

Reimu rolled her eyes. "One word, two syllables. First one starts with a 'B'. Second with an 'S'. Rhymes with bullshit."

Yukari actually snickered at that one. "No, really. I offered it to her as an alternative to jail time, with the only repercussion for refusal is having to serve her full sentence. And when she realized what I was offering, she couldn't sign up fast enough."

"Yeah, why don't I believe that?"

"Why don't you believe that Marisa Kirisame would rather participate in a big flashy battle that will likely result in many opportunities to blow large chunks of the landscape to fine powder instead of being bored out of her mind in a jail cell for a few months? Come on, that's just delusional. Hell, if you doubt my word, I'd be more than happy to have you ask her yourself. And you can even bring lady smokestack along to verify that's under no enchantments."

Reimu opened her mouth but ended up closing it again. She glowered.

"Second of all, no one's assassinating anybody. This will be an actual duel, taking place in a place of my choosing, well away from any inhabited places. And I'll be doing the bulk of the work. Marisa and the others will just be there as support. Thirdly, Miss Scarlet and the Hell Raven will be on very short leashes, so there's no danger of accidentally breaking the whole country."

"Oh really? And I suppose they," Reimu coughed and held up quote signs with her fingers "volunteered as well?"

Yukari crossed her legs. "As a matter of fact, it was Satori's idea in the first place. So yes, the Underground did volunteer. As for the Scarlets, Remilia actually tried to blackmail me into letting her have Marisa, so she may punish her for reasons that you're well aware of. That backfired, so she has no one to blame but herself. Really Reimu, contrary to popular belief, I don't go around dragging people from their beds, shoving a spellcard in their hands, and shove them in my enemies' direction while I take a nap."

When Reimu didn't say anything, Yukari added, "Reimu, I know it's a difficult concept to wrap your head around, but Marisa is a grown woman. She can make her own decisions without needing you or Mima to rush in and save her. And believe it or not, I am honestly not some sort of tyrant who goes out of her way just to make people's lives miserable. Most of the time I'm more than content to let people run around making messes. It's just that this particular mess is too big to let people like Marisa, Yuuka or even Remilia try to distract me with their petty grudges and selfish ambitions."

It was a good speech, and it wasn't the first time she had given it. People's reactions had varied over the years, from anger to chagrin to dismissal to even grudging acceptance. Reimu, however, took a different route. She laughed. It was a bitter laugh to be certain, but it was still a laugh.

"Damn," she chuckled. "That's…not bad. Have to give you credit, that sounds real pretty. I wonder how many times you had to rehearse it before you started to believe it."

Yukari shook her head. "Think what you want, it still doesn't change-"

"What I think? We're talking about what I think? Fine. Here's what I think. Now, I admit, I haven't really known you that long. Only for a few years. Now, that might be a decent chunk of my life, but for you it's barely worth noticing. So yeah, I'm probably the last person who should be judging you, but still…"

Reimu leaned back and laughed again. "Maybe you're right. Maybe Marisa did deserve what happened. Maybe Remilia did too. And maybe when all's said and done, it's really not your fault at all. But I don't think that matters to you. Because I'm starting to think that if it was the most practical way to protect Gensokyo, you wouldn't hesitate to shove the nearest person down a dragon's throat, no matter who they were or if they were innocent or not. In fact, you probably already have."

Yukari closed her eyes. She sighed. "Actually, that is absolutely correct. And here's something to consider: Yuuka Kazami, Rin Satsuki and the Shadow Youkai aren't the first 'dragons' to try to burn Gensokyo or kill me. It's only because I am willing to throttle them with whatever's handy that this country continues to exist. Chew on that, shrine maiden."

"Yeah? Is that what happened to my mom, then?" Reimu's face was difficult to make out in the darkened room, but her voice was dripping with accusation.

Yukari blinked in surprise. She sat up. "Is that what you're thinking? That your mother died because of me?"

"Did she?"

Yukari shook her head. "No, she did not. Neither did your father, for that matter. I wasn't even involved in that incident. And before you ask, I had no hand in any of your ancestors' demises as well, and I will have no hand in yours. That much I can say with absolute certainty."

"So we get special treatment, is that it? Because I help tend the Barrier or something?"

"Something down those lines, yes," Yukari said. She placed her hands on the armrests and pushed herself up. "But as engaging as this moral debate has been, I'm going to have to cut it short. There's something that requires my attention. In fact, you might as well come along. There's something you'll need to learn."

"What?" Reimu said as she stood up as well. "What are you talking about? You're not gonna trick me into becoming your accomplice, are you?"

"Accomplice in what? But no. You're going to have to see this sooner or later."

Yukari motioned with one hand. At her command, the lamps in the room flared on, banishing the shadows. At the same time, the fire went out and the fireplace sank into the wall. From there, it literally came apart and opened up, revealing a small alcove beyond. Inside, something was pulsing red.

Reimu's face was a map of confusion. "What in the world…"

"Take a look," Yukari said, directing the light to illuminate the object inside. "The Eientei Guard found it last night. It seems our little Satsuki is a bit on the clumsy side."

Reimu's jaw dropped when she realized what she was looking it. "Holy shit. In that…"

"Yes."

"You mean you actually have…"

"I do." Yukari gestured again, and the slab that the sword of the Shadow Youkai was strapped to slid out and turned horizontal. It floated into the center of the room. "Rumia had managed to banish it to who knows where when your mother and I defeated her the first time, so I hadn't the chance to study it. But now that I've gotten a closer look, I've noticed something very interesting."

Reimu was staring at the twisted weapon with horrified fascination. "You mean beyond the fact that it looks like a giant, demonic bottle opener?"

"That's actually part of it. You see, I don't believe it originally had all this excessive cutlery. In fact, if you were to remove these pointy things here" the blades in question were illuminated with a white light "and here and here, take out this…whatever it is here, and all these spear-things here, you would have its original shape." Yukari's gaze swept over the sword. "Now, tell me something Reimu. Does this thing ring any bells?"

The shrine maiden hesitated, and then shook her head.

"No? Are you sure? There are others like it. You yourself fought one of their owners some years ago."

"I did? Who?"

"All perversions aside, you're looking at the ceremonial blade of an Archangel," Yukari said.

Reimu's jaw dropped. "What? Wait, you mean an Angel Angel? Not like a Celestial or…"

"Tenshi wishes she were in this league. No, I mean an actual Angel. Of the 'Arch' variety."

Reimu made a sound like she was being strangled. "You…you can't mean…Are you saying that Sariel's…"

"At the moment, I'm saying nothing at all. But I believe we both know who to go to in order to find out more." Yukari's teeth flashed. "Interested in finding out more?"

Reimu looked dubious. "Look, this is all very interesting, but…How do I know this isn't some sort of trick? Some sort of way to make me stop accusing you and shanghai me into…whatever, like you did with Marisa?"

"Please," Yukari said with a snort. "As if I would need to do that. But if you feel that my intentions are less than honest, feel free to play it safe and go. I'll give you the important details later."

Yukari turned and walked to the other end of the room. She noted with satisfaction that Reimu hadn't taken her invitation to leave. Good. It would be interesting to see her reaction to this.

She stopped and stood in front of a large portrait. It was a depiction of the Court of Conflict, with each of the Ringleaders sitting in their seats. The picture changed depending on who was in power. Given Yukari's eternal nature, this happened enough that it was a useful way to keep track of who she was forced to work with.

But the portrait served another purpose as well. Yukari reached out and touched one of the seated figures. The portrait shivered, and then the paint warped and twisted together. Good, that meant that the person in question was home. A soft purple halo of light formed around the vortex, coming together to form the face of the person Yukari had just touched. It did not look pleased to see her.

"What do you want?" the floating head demanded. "And this better be good."

Yukari smiled. "Hello Shinki. We need to talk."

…

Location: The Garden of the Sun

Time: 8:00 PM

"Uno!" Cirno cried out. She proudly held up her remaining card for all to see.

The other players reacted differently. Mystia groaned out loud, letting her face fall onto the table, her talons clutching at her five cards. Wriggle said nothing at all. Daiyousei, who's hand was now in the double-digits, looked like she was on the verge of panic. As for Yuuka, she smiled happily and applauded.

"Oh, well done Cirno!" she said. "You truly are smarter than people give you credit for."

Cirno grinned. "Dam…darn straight I am!"

The five of them were seated around the large table in the room Yuuka had provided for their use. The supper Elly had provided for them had already come and gone. Cirno had to admit that the Shinigami girl had creeped her out at first, and her reaction to Wriggle had set off warning bells. However, her opinion had warmed considerably after being presented with a plate of prime rib, freshly baked bread dripping with homemade butter and honey and a bowl of criminally delicious applesauce. After the first bite she had toyed with the idea of falling to one knee and proposing.

Now they were amusing themselves until bedtime. To everyone's immense relief, the game that Yuuka had wanted to play was one they were all familiar with and was much more innocent than the one they had been expecting. They were into their fourth round of the evening, with Wriggle picking up one win and Mystia two. Curiously, Yuuka had yet to win a single round, though she seemed to be completely immune to any form of bad luck. Cirno wasn't complaining, but seeing how Yuuka was sitting to her right, she was going out of her way to avoid skipping any of the flower-youkai's turns.

Still, there first evening as the guests of one of the scariest persons in Gensokyo had really been anything but. In fact, if one were to ignore the undercurrent of fear and paranoia that everyone save for the host herself had to be feeling, it was almost pleasant. Cirno was starting to believe that maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

There was a knock at the door, and it opened about half a foot. "Master?" Elly said. "You asked to be informed of the eight o' clock hour."

Yuuka looked disappointed. "Oh, has it come already? How time flies." She folded up her hand and stood to her feet. "I'm afraid I'll have to bow out, girls. Enjoy the rest of the game! And remember, mind your manners, don't forget to wash up and brush your teeth, and be in bed by nine." She kissed them all on the cheek. Cirno, Mystia and Daiyousei froze immediately when she did so. Wriggle just accepted the peck without comment. Yuuka smiled and playfully ruffled her green mop of hair.

"All right then!" Yuuka said as she headed out of the room. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Cirno and Mystia both mumbled their goodnights. The door shut.

As soon as she was certain that Yuuka was gone for good, Cirno said, "You know, this might not be so bad after all. At least she's nice to us."

Mystia shuddered. "I don't know, Cirno. I mean, yeah, she hasn't tried to hurt us yet, but there's something really not right about her."

"You mean how she snaps from nice old lady to angry crazy person at the drop of a hat?" Daiyousei said. "Because that's kind of terrifying."

"Hey, she hasn't done that at us yet," Cirno said. "Sure, she's scary. But so long as the scary's pointed at other people…Well, that's what we want, isn't it?"

"We are such idiots," Wriggle said.

The others turned toward her. It was the first complete sentence she had spoken all evening.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cirno demanded.

Wriggle laughed. There was no humor in it. It was the bitter chuckle of the condemned. "We're idiots. All of us. Thinking that taking up with her is a good idea. And I'm the biggest idiot of them all. What was I thinking?" She drew up her legs onto her chair and wrapped her arms around them. "I should've never come back. How could I be so stupid?"

Cirno and Daiyousei exchanged a worried look. Cirno shrugged. Mystia bit her lower lip as her gaze darted from one fairy to the next. She stood up and walked over to Wriggle.

"Um, Wriggle?" she said. She laid a hand on the firefly's shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"No."

Cirno scowled. "Hey, if you're so scared of her, then why the hellsicles did you agree to go talk to her? I mean it's not like I forced you to go?"

Wriggle shuddered and shook her head. She seemed to not know how to answer that question.

"She returned because she wanted to," a quiet voice whispered.

Mystia let out a startled "eep!" and froze in place. Cirno and Daiyousei leapt to their feet, standing on top of their chairs as their eyes darted all over the room.

"Who's there?" Cirno demanded.

Her only answer was a dim laugh, so soft that it might have been the wind rustling through the leaves. However, the fact that they were indoors pretty much destroyed that option.

"She came back because she had to. All she needed was an excuse," said the voice.

"They come back," another voice agreed, this one slightly higher. "They always come back to her."

"You will too, if you leave," a third voice put in. "Even if you escape, you will never leave. It takes hold of you, this place does."

Cirno balled up her fists and shoved them into the air. "Okay! Creepy stalker people! We don't want you here! Go away before I freeze you to death!"

The bodiless voices laughed again, and then fell silent. Cirno and Mystia cautiously searched the room, but found no other living thing save for the flowers.

"Yuuka's got some weird people working for her," Cirno grumbled as she sat back in her chair. "They've probably these secret passages and little eyeholes to spy on us."

Mystia cleared her throat. "Cirno, I don't think-"

"Um, guys?" Daiyousei said. Everyone turned to look at her. She was holding up the hand of cards Yuuka had left behind and looking at them in confusion.

"How did she get these and why didn't she just win whenever she wanted?" Daiyousei said, turning the cards toward the others.

They were all wildcards.

…

Location: The Garden of the Sun

Time: 8:03 PM

Yuuka walked briskly down the corridor toward her private rooms. In her wake, the tendrils and roots that covered the floor slithered and the flowers turned to gaze upon her lovingly. Her trademark smirk never left her lips. She was enjoying her new game. She was enjoying it very much.

Elly followed close behind. "I've started your bath and prepared your towels and bathrobe. Would you prefer your water scented or unscented?"

"Scented please," Yuuka said. "Jasmine. And don't forget the candles."

"They're already lit and burning."

Yuuka smiled and affectionately kissed the top of her head. "Ah, Elly. What would I do without you?" They stopped in front of a large double-door. "Now, I just need a few moments of privacy. Drop in the salts and…Oh, why not? Bubbles, please."

Elly bowed. "Of course, Master. It'll be ready when you are."

Yuuka inclined her head and entered the room. "Such a sweet girl," she muttered to herself. She looked around the room. Her smirk grew to a full grin. "And now…Still have some time to kill. Where to begin?"

Like the room she had prepared for the use of Wriggle and her lovely little friends, this one was circular, with a glass dome overhead. However, instead of a fountain and comfortable furniture, the center was an empty plaza of smooth ceramic tiles. It was the perimeter of the room where things got interesting. A ring of soil encircled the room, in which was planted a line of tulips. However, no ordinary tulip bed was this. Each tulip was the size of a small person and evenly spaced around the room like a line of lights. Each flower was closed in a tight bud.

This in itself wouldn't be too unusual. After all, Yuuka's house was home to many strange plants. However, was what especially eye catching was how each bud was bulged and somewhat misshapen, as if there were something inside. A few were moving, though weakly.

And then there were the noises. Mostly small whimpers. Some weeping. Other were muted pleas. An angry voice from within a deep lavender bud was shouting threats. Others were completely silent.

Yuuka was not a person given to feelings of guilt or remorse. She could at times be moved to pity. Sometimes even compassion. But she rarely regretted her actions. However, she had to admit that she felt the slightest twinge of conscience over the falsehood she had told Wriggle, when the firefly had returned to her. To be absolutely truthful, she had not been without playmates since Wriggle had left her. She certainly didn't feel as much affection for them as she did the firefly, but they entertained her nevertheless.

Yuuka walked over to one of the tulips, this one a bright shade of blue. Its occupant was one of the more recent additions, and Yuuka had yet to properly welcome her into the household, an oversight that she intended to correct now.

She poked the flower with her umbrella. The top opened, revealing a girl huddling inside. She was a youkai, with short turquoise hair. She was curled up into the fetal position, with her hair and blue dress plastered to her body with nectar. As the leaves parted, she looked up with wide, fearful eyes. One was the same color as her hair, the other a contrasting red.

"Surprise!" Yuuka gibed. She reached into the flower with one grasping hand. "Now dearie, come on up and let's play a game."

…

EDIT (7-12-13): Uh, X-elemental? While criticisms and whatnot are more than welcome and I do thank you for keeping it polite and constructive, I would really prefer it if you gave them using a signed account, because I would like to respond to a lot of your points but can't as you've been using guest reviews.

What's a fellow to do when he wants to get back to the hunt for Rin plotline but still has numerous little scenes that need to be touched upon first that will probably end up slowing the pace even more than it already is? The answer: make another Bits and Pieces-eque mega chapter! And I figured that since I was already throwing so much information in at once, I might as well have some fun and put them in out of order, Haruhi Suzumiya style. Though at this point I really have to ask: is there anyone who's actually managing to keep up with all this? Because even I'm finding that there are parts that I'm forgetting. Still, as messy as things are right now, it is all working toward a single goal. I tend to think of the plotlines as being like a bunch of ships being sucked into a big-ass whirlpool. At first they're far apart on the outer rim, but in time they all end up spiraling toward the same place.

Now that that's out of the way, it's time to talk about the elephant in the room. Namely, the decidedly, um, lukewarm response the last chapter got. As I said in the author's notes, that one wasn't any fun for me either, and I guess that came out in the execution. What's weird was that I was actually really looking forward to doing that chapter, but when I sat down to write it out, it proved to be one of those ideas that sound like fun in my head but not in actual execution. The main problem was Kotohime herself. When I finally got her to her uncle, I realized that unlike just about every other character (save for maybe Sanae), she is a traditionally raised quasi-Japanese girl (former insanity aside) who believes in following the rules. As such, I couldn't cut loose with the snark like I usually do, resulting in me having to rein her in, with the end result being much interesting than I had planned. A mistake, I know, but hey, no one's perfect. So I apologize to anyone who found it disappointing, though I should point out that it was definitely not filler. The whole uncle thing and his issues with how the GPF is run are things that had to be introduced sooner or later. Its execution was just a little shaky.

Okay, next issue. As many people pointed out, I had made a mistake regarding Akyuu. In the author's notes, I noted that while there's no canon material backing up her giving birth to herself over and over, I still stuck it in because I thought it was cool in a kind of creepy way. However, as it turns out, she only reincarnates every hundred years, making that impossible. Now, as I said after I had noticed other areas where Imperfect Metamorphosis contradicted the supplementary material, this story takes place in a similar but different alternate universe. Not the original plan I admit, but necessary to explain the discrepancies. And on the positive side, it allows me to add more of my own interpretations, with the Akyuu thing being one of them. Other examples not yet mentioned would be that this version of Sakuya is old enough to have known Eirin before the latter was exiled, which would make her older than Remilia (I guess having a pocketwatch that can warp time and space would be handy in that regard, though where she got a pocketwatch over a thousand years ago is anyone's guess), and Konngara and Kasen being the other two Devas of the Mountain. While the latter is a popular fan theory, it has yet to be confirmed, and it may end up being contradicted by the eventual ending of Wild and Horned Hermit, assuming it hasn't already. And ZUN could always just pull the real other two oni out and dash the theory to pieces. But as that has yet to happen, they'll fulfill that role for this story.

That being said though, the Akyuu thing was honestly a mistake on my part. Somehow that bit of information had escaped my notice until now, and had I known it, I would have gone with the traditional portrayal. I did leave it in for awhile, as changing it kind of felt like cheat, and I did like the gives-birth-to-herself idea, but after awhile it just bugged me. So if you're reading this after the fix and are wondering what in the hell I'm talking about, there's your answer. I had made a mistake that directly contradicted canon, left in in for a few months, but finally decided to fix it.

On a more positive note, it looks like that as of this update, Imperfect Metamorphosis is now the longest Touhou fic on the site. I'm not sure if that's a cause to celebrate or a sign that I really need to get out more.

Ah hell, I'll go with the former. :)

Until next time, everyone!