Grey Day
Marisa felt horrible. Her stomach was so turbulent that every small movement sent it churning. Sweat leaked out of every pore, until her entire body felt like it was coated in slime. Her eyes were gummy and lined with hardened mucus, her throat felt like a piece of chewed leather and her nose was thoroughly crusted over. Fever burned in her veins while chills swept up her back. And though her thoughts were reasonably clear at the moment, her cooked and abused brain kept slipping into hallucinatory periods, no matter if she were asleep or awake. That had been the price she had paid for those potions, and while she still judged it to be a fair exchange, she still was absolutely miserable.
However, her misery was only partially due to her body's poor condition. Most of it was due to what had happened a few hours earlier.
She let her head fall to one side and glowered at the wall through red-veined eyes. A thin-legged spider was slowly making its way up toward the ceiling. It seemed to be having a hard time of it. From the look of things, one of its legs had been severed, and the others were having trouble finding purchase in the bare wood. Marisa had no idea why. Maybe it was just old and feeble, or perhaps all the residue magic that the walls had absorbed over the years was giving it seizures. Even so, it continued to soldier forward. Marisa watched and silently rooted it on.
Behind her, she could hear Mima busying herself around the house. Doing what, Marisa couldn't fathom, and she didn't care enough to turn around and see. She strongly suspected that her former mentor was just enjoying playing nursemaid. For a centuries-old master of the magical arts, Mima was amused by the silliest things sometimes.
"It's a shame that drama went down like it did," Mima was saying. "While entertaining, it made me completely forget to ask that intrusive wannabe of a police officer when she plans on having this wall fixed. This tarp is wholly inadequate, and the damp air cannot be good for you in your condition."
Without turning around, Marisa muttered under her breath, "Why not fix it yourself?"
Although she hadn't intended to be heard, Mima's ears were sharp. "Oh, I probably should," Mima said. "But it is Yukari's fault that that flying disaster area blew through here, and I am not inclined to go around cleaning up her messes."
The spider was now three-fourths of the way up. It lifted a leg to move forward when it something made it slip. It fell and landed on Marisa's bed, right in front of her face. She stared as its legs grasped frantically at the air.
"Though speaking of that aforementioned drama, I honestly do not understand why that puppeteer friend of yours was so upset," Mima continued. "I mean, sure, I can see why Reimu might have a problem with that unfortunate rout over the Misty Lake, what with protecting Humans being part of her job. But Margatroid? She's a fully immortal magician youkai who lives by herself in the Forest of Magic, not to mention the estranged adopted daughter of Makai's fallen angel of a regent. As far as I know, you're the only Human that she has any sort of meaningful interaction with, and your life was certainly in no danger. Why would she take a little roughhousing so personally?"
Marisa pursed her lips and blew. It was enough to push the spider back onto it legs. It immediately scampered across the sheet and began the long trek back up the wall.
That done, Marisa said, "She's kinda touchy about the whole 'death' thing. Wasting life pisses her off."
"Really!" Mima said. She sounded genuinely fascinated. "And why would that be?"
Marisa managed a small shrug through the tight sheets. "I dunno. Something to do with her mom. She won't tell me though, ze."
"How strange! Usually magician youkai are too absorbed with their studies to care about such matters."
"Yeah, you would know," Marisa growled.
A silent moment passed, and then Mima said, "Well, that was hostile. Where is this coming from?"
Marisa squirmed deeper into the covers. She didn't answer.
Mima sighed. Marisa felt her float over to the side of the bed. "Well, looks like that spat upset you a little more than I had thought." She reached down to gently stroke Marisa's sweat-slicked hair. "I'm sorry, dear. I know how attached you are to your friends. But really, don't worry about it. You know how mortals are with their emotions. They'll get over it, they always do."
Marisa's hands clenched under the covers. "But what if they don't?" she asked, her voice almost breaking.
"Then it's their loss," came Mima's reply. "You can't be held responsible for their shortcomings."
"But-"
Mima leaned down to kiss behind Marisa's ear. Her skin prickled as the spirit's lips touched. "Hush dear. Worse comes to worse, you can always find new friends."
Marisa stiffened. "What?"
"I know, it's hard to hear. But letting go is part of the path to greatness. I myself had many friends back in my corporeal days that I had to say goodbye to. Through violence, in some cases. It was hard, it hurt, but it was necessary. And after all, you're going to have to let go of Reimu sooner or later. She isn't going to live forever, you know."
"Yeah, but neither am I!"
"Sure you are," Mima tutted. "Remember what I said about immortality? It's simply inevitable."
Marisa's insides squirmed for reasons that had nothing to do with her illness.
"And as for Alice," Mima continued. "Well, it's sad, but those who are unwilling to look past mortal matters and concentrate on the big picture get left on the wayside."
Did they? Marisa thought of all the time she had spent with Reimu and Alice. She recalled all the incidents she and the shrine maiden had teamed up to resolve, all the adventures they had had together. She also thought of the endless afternoons they spent just hanging out in front of the shrine, drinking tea and talking. She then thought of all the walks she and Alice had taken through the Forest of Magic to find ingredients for their potions. She thought of the times they had stayed up for nights on end working together on various experiments, all the arguments they had gotten into over the best way to pull off the project of the week and shared feeling of satisfaction that came when they finally succeeded. Her advancement as a magician meant a lot to her, there was no doubt. But her friends meant a great deal too. Was she simply to let them go just because they didn't applaud everything she did?
She watched as the seven-legged spider laboriously crawled up the wall and felt a flash of envy. That little fellow didn't have the problems she did. All he cared about was getting his arachnid ass up the damned wall, spinning a web and hoping that the local insects would be unable to resist his wily charms. It wasn't an easy life, but it sure was a simple one. There was a lot to be said about simplicity.
Then again, maybe he would end up turning into a youkai and make friends and then worry about accidentally making them mad at him. She almost wished that he would. Then she would have someone to relate to.
Then blue sparks flashed across her vision, and the spider disintegrated. Marisa's body stiffened in shock.
"Tsk, tsk," Mima said. "I know I make it a point not to disparage your living habits, but you really should start warding this place against pests. The whole cobwebbed witch's lair thing is such a cliché, not to mention highly impractical. You have no idea what sort of damage a surprise critter can do to a delicately laid enchantment."
Marisa didn't answer. She was too busy watching tiny bits of the spider float away like dust.
Mima's cold hands brushed the hair away from the young witch's ear. "Well, I suppose I should stop lecturing you. You really should try to sleep. It'll do you good."
"Good?" Marisa muttered darkly. "What's that?"
"Whatever you decide it should be. Now, rest."
Marisa felt the familiar tingles of Mima's sleeping spell. She tried to resist, but it was always futile, especially in her weakened state.
As she drifted off into blackness, she heard Mima said, "Though remember this. No matter what sort of scrape you find yourself in, no matter what decisions you make or where your path takes you, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Even if the world turns its back on you, you'll be in my arms forever."
…
After she finished bringing the elder goddess up to speed, Reimu came to the conclusion that Kanako was Not Happy.
And yes, the capitalizations are fully justified.
Kanako sat at the table that she had created from her bed, the same one she had used when she had met with Reimu and Byakuren after the Ringleader meeting. Her face was firmly planted down against the tabletop. Her fingers twitched and shook as they clenched at her head. And the muttered noises that were coming out of her mouth could not objectively be described as language, unless she was cursing in a forgotten demonic tongue. At this point, Reimu was not going to rule that out.
As for her part, Reimu demonstrated uncharacteristic patience by sitting quietly and waiting for Kanako to pull herself together. She had expected some sort of outward display of dismay, and Kanako had not disappointed. Now the only thing to do was to wait for her to finish absorbing Reimu's healthy serving of bad news.
Reimu glanced over to Sanae, who was sitting across from her. The maiden of the Moriya Shrine was sitting absolutely still, her eyes fixated on a point beyond Reimu's head. Apparently she had witnessed such reactions from her goddess in the past and had learned the wisdom of not interrupting them. Reimu let out a small sigh and resigned herself to a long wait.
Then Kanako's hands relaxed. They slipped out of her hair and fell to the table on either side of her head. The line of muttered gibberish likewise slowed to a halt. Reimu cocked her head. She opened her mouth to ask a question.
Sanae, seeing what Reimu intended, suddenly looked stricken. She grimaced and frantically slashed her hand in front of her throat. Reimu eyed her and closed her mouth. She was going to trust her friendly rival's advice in this instance.
A moment later her instincts were validated. Kanako's right hand lifted into the air. It turned sideways and squeezed into a fist. Then she brought it down with such force that the table shook with the impact. Reimu jumped in surprise.
"Damn," Kanako hissed, with her face still downward. She brought her fist up only to slam it down again. And again. And again. Each blow was in conjunction with the same repeated curse.
"Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn. DAMN!"
With that final blow, Kanako's concentration broke, as the table and the chairs they were sitting on collapsed out from under them. Blinking in surprise, Reimu sucked in a sharp breath when she realized that she had fallen into a pile of hissing serpents.
Now, Reimu wasn't especially frightened of snakes. But that didn't mean she liked having them slithering all over her. She bit back on the cry of alarm that she felt forming and shot a pleading look at Sanae. For her part, Sanae was much more used to reptiles and seemed more concerned about her goddess, who was sitting on her rump with her hands splayed to either side and shaking with rage.
Kanako shot a fearsome look at the snakes crawling all around her. "Get out of here!" she shouted. The snakes immediately obeyed, retreating to the far end of the room as quickly as their coils could take them. Once there, they gathered into a single mass, surged up and formed themselves into a marble statue of a small child hiding fearfully behind a tree.
Kanako glowered at it through acidic eyes. "Cheeky little…" she muttered. Then she shook her head and stood up. Taking this as a signal, Reimu and Sanae followed suit.
The elder goddess brushed herself off and sighed. She put her hands on her hips and said, "Okay. Now that I've gotten that out of my system…Reimu?"
Reimu winced. This wasn't going to be pleasant. "Er, yeah?"
"Just to clarify that I've heard you correctly, during your discussion with Rin Satsuki, she was in fact not under the possession of the Shadow Youkai at the time, correct?"
"Uh, well, I'm pretty sure the little youkai girl Rumia was in there, talking to her, so-"
"I honestly couldn't give an asp's tail over her innocuous sealed form or whether or not she still exists. I'm talking about the original model, the one that took control of Satsuki, absorbed Kaguya Houraisan and almost killed Yukari. You were there when she came to the surface. Was she or was she not driving Satsuki's actions in this instance?"
Reimu shook her head. "No. At least, I'm pretty sure she wasn't. When the Shadow Youkai possessed Rin, her voice got really scary sounding. And she sounded more like the Rumia I know. Only, you know, super evil instead of incompetently annoying." She frowned. "Though come to think of it, Satsuki's voice is pretty scary sounding too, but in a completely different way. But yeah, pretty sure it wasn't the Shadow Youkai this time."
"Might it have been a trick?" Kanako pressed. "You said that Satsuki claimed to have eliminated the Shadow Youkai's consciousness. Might that have been a lie perpetuated by the Shadow Youkai herself so as to divert attention?"
"You mean, was she the one whispering in Rin's ear instead of harmless Rumia?" Reimu shrugged. "Could be. I really don't think so. Mima was right there with me, and she's really good at catching lies."
"Ah. So, despite not being under the thrall or direction of the Shadow Youkai, and despite the fact that she believes herself to have eliminated the Shadow Youkai's consciousness, and despite the fact that both you and Mima made it clear that you wished to help her find a cure and regain her life, something that I'm sure that she desperately wants…" Kanako's already cold eyes grew even colder, causing Reimu to shudder.
"Despite all this," Kanako continued. "She still had no problem using the Shadow Youkai's twisted and highly destructive powers to destroy a good sized portion of the forest, all with the intention of killing you."
Reimu sighed. Here it came. "Yeah. Looks like it."
Kanako stared at her. Then she shook her head and let out a bitter laugh. "Well. Looks like our little pet project is turning villain after all. I'd really hate to be the one to say 'I told you so', but considering the circumstances…"
With that, Kanako walked away to stare at the wall and all of its mounted mementos. Reimu set her mouth in a thin line. "So, I take it you're out?"
"Aren't you?" Kanako asked over her shoulder.
"No."
"Reimu, are you sure about this?" Sanae said in a small voice. "I mean, it does look like she's becoming evil."
Reimu threw her hands in the air. "I know that, okay? Hell, that tornado almost killed me! But I went to Byakuren's place today and-"
"Oh, of course you did," Kanako muttered. She turned around and folded her arms over her breast. "And let me guess: the big hippy gave a big long speech about how helping the little confused mistake was not only the right thing to do, but the most rational, during which she presented herself in a sincere, compassionate but intelligent manner, causing you to reluctantly agree with everything she said."
Reimu opened her mouth to protest. Then she paused, thought back to her conversation with Byakuren, and then closed it again. She sighed. "Good guess," she muttered.
"I don't need to guess, she made more-or-less the same argument to me when we were all here the other week. Many times, in fact." Kanako rolled her eyes and sighed. Then she shook her head and said, "But…I will admit that she might have…a point." The admission seemed almost painful. "But by faith, this new development complicates things. And with all the rumors I've been hearing…of how Yukari's tussle with Yuuka Kazami went."
Kanako looked Reimu in the eye. "All right. I'm not committing myself to an answer just now. I need time to think, and I believe that I'll need to go have a few words with Byakuren myself. But until then, I think it's best that you get back home and behind that barrier of yours. If Satsuki is starting to go on the offensive, then you cannot afford to be taking chances. I'd even suspend your patrolling duties for the time being."
Reimu's eye twitched, but she managed a twitching nod.
"Wait, me too?" Sanae asked.
"Yes, you too. The GPF can handle the youkai for the time being. In the meantime, I want you here, where I can protect you."
That had to hurt. Reimu knew that Sanae's pride was almost as strong as her own, and neither of the shrine maidens liked playing the part of the protectee. Still, if Sanae felt any objection, she kept it out of her face and responded only with an obedient bow of her head.
"Good. Leave now, and quickly."
With that, Kanako's body flashed every color of the rainbow. Reimu winced and turned away. When she opened her eyes again, Kanako was gone.
Reimu glanced at Sanae. "So…where…"
"Probably to the shrine," Sanae said. "That's where she usually goes when she needs some time to herself."
"Ah." Reimu shrugged and left the room. Sanae was close to follow, and the two shrine maidens walked in silence into the living room.
Once there, Reimu sighed and collapsed on the couch. She leaned forward and buried her face in her palms. This day just kept getting worse and worse. It seemed like every time she turned around, there was some new complication staring her in the face. Whether it be people lining up to dump their problems in her lap or what few friends she had risk falling to darkness and/or pieces or her allies potentially walking out on her or the growing shadow of the complete collapse of Gensokyo's fragile political climate or the growing shadow of the monsters responsible for this mess or her own growing doubts on whether or not she was truly doing the right thing.
Reimu felt tired, so very tired. She wanted to curl up somewhere safe and sleep until everything blew over. Her job was not supposed to be this complicated. Something went wrong, and she beat up the people responsible until they started behaving. Wash, rinse, repeat. But this, all these schemes and manipulations and horrible mechanisms, all this bickering and infighting and backstabbing, all these deranged killers and unrepentant sadists and torture technicians, they certainly were not in her job description. And that was all from her team alone. No wonder people like Yuuka Kazami had such an easy time playing merry havoc.
Following that line of thought, Reimu found herself wondering if that was the real reason why Yuuka Kazami and the Shadow Youkai were the way they were. Perhaps they had gotten sick of all the bullshit and hypocrisy that the supposed "Good Guys" churned out. After all, most of the people she was having to work with now were practically villains themselves. Maybe they had decided to just admit to own up to being evil bastards and embrace it. Although the idea sickened her, Reimu found herself sympathizing. Tossing away all regard for others and living purely for herself would certainly make her life a whole lot easier.
The cushions moved as someone sat next to her. That someone gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "Uh, Reimu?" Sanae said. "Are you…okay?"
Reimu sighed but didn't shake her off. "No," she responded. "I'm not."
There was a pause, and then Sanae said, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Why?" Reimu said bitterly. "You already heard the whole thing with Kanako."
"Yeah, but I'm starting to get the feeling that there's more to it than just what you told her."
"I…" Reimu's shoulder slumped. "There is, but I can't talk about it. Not now. I just-"
"What's wong, Auntie Weimu?" said an overly childlike voice. "Why are you cwying?"
Reimu opened her eyes and glowered through her fingers. A girl, ten years of age in appearance, was crouching froglike in front of her. She wore a pair of blue overalls over a striped green sweater, and on her head was a wide-brimmed hat topped with two glass frog eyes. Golden hair fell around her shoulders and wide grey eyes that stared at her with innocent naiveté.
Rather than answer the child's question, Reimu turned her head toward Sanae and said, "Sanae, she's doing it again!"
"Knock it off, Suwako," Sanae said irritably. "She's having a bad day."
"That's putting it mildly," Reimu muttered.
The girl's eyes misted up and her lower lip started quivering. "Aaaauuuu," she whimpered. "Why you gotta be so means, Sanimami?"
"Suwako! I mean it!"
Suwako sighed, and while her appearance didn't change, the childishness melted away from her. "Oh, very well," she said as she stood up straight. "Though would it kill you two to play along every now and then? I am trying to reclaim my lost youth here."
Reimu eyed her. She let her hands fall over her knees and leaned in closer. "Look, Flybrain. I'm kind of caught in the middle of a country wide catastrophe here, and everyone I know is either falling apart, making me fix their stupid mistakes or going off the deep end. And there's a very good chance that I might die horribly in the next few weeks. So the last thing I need is you to start making me play preschool like I was some kind of-"
"Okay, okay!" Sanae said quickly. Her grip on Reimu's shoulder tightened and she forcibly pulled Reimu back while warding Suwako off with her other hand. "Calm down, both of you! We've got enough people at each other's throats as it is! But good grief, Reimu! Do you just get off on pissing off goddesses or something?"
Reimu didn't answer. She just leaned back against the cushions and directed her glare at the ceiling.
For her part, Suwako didn't seem especially angered at being addressed in such a matter. "Hmmm," she said as she rubbed her chin. "Now, would this catastrophe have something to do with-"
"Yes," Reimu said, her gaze still focused upward.
"You…didn't let me finish my sentence."
Reimu snorted. She leaned forward again to look Suwako in the eye. "Doesn't matter. Whatever you were going to say, it has something to do with it."
"Ah," Suwako nodded in understanding. "One of those then. I've had days like that." The little goddess shook her head and walked around to the other side of Reimu. She pushed herself up onto the couch and swung her legs back and forth over the edge.
"Well, I can understand why you're so testy. Kanako told me what's been going on, or at least as much as she was able. And I've learned more by keeping my ears open. Hard stuff, especially for one so young."
Reimu wondered if she was talking about Reimu herself or Satsuki. However, she was now on her guard. Even though she wasn't fooled by Suwako's tendency to act her appearance rather than her age, she did find it difficult to remember that the seemingly little girl was really a several hundred year old goddess who had once ruled her own kingdom. Such beings were not to be underestimated.
"I suppose," she said, careful not to let her voice betray any sort of information.
"I also overheard your argument with the Snake and her subsequent temper tantrum." Suwako snickered. "My word, you got her riled up. And now you're worried that she's going to drop out of your philyoutropist conspiracy."
So she did know about that. Reimu shot a glance at Sanae, who shrugged. "You'd be surprised at how difficult it is to hide things from her," Sanae said.
"If you didn't want me finding those magazines, you should've hid them better," Suwako said. "Well, anyways, buck up Reimu. You're not dead yet, and the country's far from destroyed."
Reimu scowled. "That has got to be the weakest attempt to cheer someone up that I've ever heard."
"You obviously haven't read Aya Shameimaru's advice column then. But I'm serious. Just because things suck doesn't mean total disaster is guaranteed. This is far from the first extreme danger that this country has faced, and it's still around. And things can get better before you know it."
"They can also get a whole lot worse," Reimu growled. "Which they've had a noticeable tendency to do lately."
"Eh, perhaps," Suwako said with a shrug. "But nothing's gained by sulking about it." She hopped off the couch and stretched. "In the meantime, you just keep worrying about what you have to do. Let me worry about the Snake."
"Huh?" Sanae blinked. "Wait, you're going to convince her to keep working with Reimu? How the hell are you going to pull that off?"
Suwako winked at her. "I know her better than anyone, living or dead. Trust me, I can handle Kanako."
"Oh really?" Reimu said. "Because I seem to recall some sort of story about how she took your whole stinking kingdom out from under you, and your shrine to boot."
"That was war, this is politics," Suwako said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Similar in many ways, but different in all the right ones. This I can handle."
"Yeah?" Reimu's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And what's this going to cost me?"
"Reimu!" Sanae protested. "She's trying to help! Stop acting so defensive!"
"No, no, it's a fair question," Suwako responded. "My kind's help usually does come with a price tag. But seeing how I don't want Gensokyo to crash and burn either, and seeing how you two are probably the best chance for any kind of happy resolution, let's just say this one is on the house."
"Me? Gensokyo's best chance?" Reimu tilted her head to one side, her face screwed up in confusion. "Why would you think that?"
"Because it's what you guys do." Suwako laughed at the shrine maidens' shocked expressions. "What, you think I haven't noticed? You've got more allies than you think, Hakurei shrine maiden."
Suwako took Reimu by the hand and tugged her up to her feet. "Come on, shoo now. Go do your job, and let me do mine."
"Uh, sure," Reimu said as she let herself be led to the door. "Whatever you say…"
A moment later, she was standing on the front porch, staring out at the Moriya shrine grounds. The rain had slowed a light drizzle, though the sun had yet to show itself. Sanae was standing next to her, looking equally confused.
"Well," Sanae said.
"That was unexpected," Reimu said.
"Tell me about it," Sanae said. "We've lived together all my life, and she still manages to surprise me."
"She's like your version of Genji, that's what she is," Reimu said with a frown. "A hopping, adorable, blond Genji."
Sanae rolled her eyes. "Great, now I'm going to have that image keeping me up all night." She sighed and let out a small laugh. "So, see you around?"
"I hope so. So long as neither of us dies horribly sometime in the next few days."
"Yeah, I'm all for that not happening." Sanae nodded and patted Reimu on the shoulder. She favored her fellow shrine maiden with a small smile. "Take care, Reimu. And good luck."
"Thanks, you too," Reimu said as Sanae went back inside. She looked up at the clouded sky and set her mouth in a thin line. They were both going to need it.
…
Two open books floated on either side of Alice's head, while her grimore lay open on the floor next to her knees. Directly in front of her was an incomplete circle of magic, with Shanghai lying at its center.
Alice checked the symbols illustrated in her grimore, compared them to the ones depicted in the book to her right, and checked the references from the book to her left. She picked up a brush, dipped it in a small urn of white paste made from crushed bones and fairy dust and carefully applied a few light strokes to the circle's outer edge.
Behind her, wooden feet clomped against the wooden floor as Medicine Melancholy did what she did best: talk without checking or even caring if anyone was listening.
"While-I-ap-plaud-your-de-si-re-to-grant-free-will-to-Shang-hai-I-still-can-not-com-pre-hend-why-you-con-tin-ue-to-birth-dolls-in-to-sla-ver-y. Would-it-not-make-sense-to-find-the-so-lu-tion-first-and-then-cre-ate-the-dolls-as-al-rea-dy-in-de-pen-dent-beings?"
As was her custom, Alice continued to concentrate on what she was doing and paid Medicine's lectures no heed whatsoever.
"Some-times-I-tru-ly-won-der-if-your-heart-is-with-this-cause. Some-times-I-won-der-if-your-ul-ti-mate-goal-is-not-doll-kind-e-man-ci-pa-tion-but-sim-ply-fin-ding-a-way-to-make-con-trol-ling-us-ea-si-er."
Alice looked at how the circle was coming out and double-checked the one described by her grimore. She was attempting to hybridize a Circle of Intelligence with a Circle of Automation, but so far it was not coming out how she had pictured.
"Do-not-mis-un-der-stand-me, I-am-not-ac-cu-sing-you. This-is-most-like-ly-just-a-mis-un-der-stan-ding. But-still, it-re-mains-poor-taste, and-"
Alice's brush slipped, making one of the strokes a few millimeters too wide. Alice sighed and put the brush away. "This isn't working."
Medicine stopped pacing. "Par-don?"
Alice gestured at the circle. "This…thing. I can't get them to mesh together, at least not in any way that won't blow the roof off."
"Per-haps-fur-ther-re-search-is-nee-ded?" Medicine suggested.
"Maybe," Alice muttered. She closed the grimore and instructed the floating books to replace themselves back on the shelf. Another command and the circle collapsed, with the paste oozing across the floor to reenter the urn. "I guess that's enough for the day."
Medicine's true body cocked her head to one side. Her larger half said, "You-are-giv-ing-up-al-rea-dy?"
"No, I'm calling it a day. I'm allowed to do that." Alice stood up and brushed herself off. "I'll let you know once I've figured out a new plan."
Medicine stared at her in puzzlement. Then the eyes of her true body lit up. "Ah. Does-your-un-wil-ling-ness-to-con-tin-ue-have-a-ny-thing-to-do-with-that-Hu-man-witch-that-"
Alice's eyes hardened. "That's enough, Medicine."
"Should-I-take-that-as-a-yes?" Medicine shook her heads, both of them. "Now-I-ques-tion-my-choice-in-part-ners. If-you-are-so-ea-si-ly-dis-trac-ted-by-a-mere-"
Alice grabbed Medicine's larger half by the shoulder and her true body by the waist and forcibly moved them toward the door. "Good day, Medicine," she said as she pushed them both outside and shut the door.
That done, Alice walked over to Shanghai and picked the little doll up. She sat down on the bed and stared into Shanghai's eyes.
"Hey," she said. "What's wrong with you? Why won't you talk to me, huh? What's it going to take?"
Shanghai neglected to answer, predictably enough. Alice sighed and set the doll aside. Just as well. Actually activating that circle in her house would have been dangerous, especially since such circles weren't meant to be combined in the first place. Risky experimental magic in unsafe conditions was more Marisa's forte than it was hers. Maybe she should ask her for help. The crazy witch would certainly have no objection to…
Oh, right.
Alice's lips thinned. Despite their friendship, Alice was very well aware of Marisa's many character flaws and in fact pointed them out at every occasion. But even so, there were some lines that she had thought Marisa would not cross. The mad witch was a lot of things, but Alice had hoped that murderer wouldn't be one of them. Alice despised murderers. To have so little respect for someone else's life was sickening.
And, when it really came down to it, Marisa was to be the ultimate beneficiary of Alice's experiments, should she so choose. But if she was willing to commit murder while in the grips of a temper tantrum, was she truly worth helping?
Alice's fists tightened, but she forced the anger down. If that were the case, then fine. She would continue to work towards the formula regardless. Both she and Marisa had their own lives to live and choices to make. Marisa was just going to have to live with the consequences of hers, assuming that she survived them. Or so Alice kept telling herself.
Alice leaned forward on her knees and shook her head. Damn Marisa for being so frustrating.
…
When Reimu finally reached her shrine, she was dead tired. It was only mid-afternoon, but she was ready to call it a day. Though she wasn't exacted physically taxed, she had taken quite an emotional beating, not to mention a mental one. Now she longed for a long, quiet nap. The world and all its insane inhabitants could wait to be saved until tomorrow.
But as she neared the shrine, she was made aware of how she was also famished. While it was true that she hadn't eaten anything all day, the fact was made obvious to her by the delicious smells coming of the shrine. Reisen was cooking something that apparently involved chicken and curry.
Reimu tried to be annoyed by this. After all, she had told the rabbit to be conservative with the food. But it was hard to get angry when all her body was screaming at her to be fed. Reimu sighed and conceded its point. Reisen was forgiven. This time.
However, when she rounded the shrine to enter the living quarters, she was confronted with a strange scene. Reisen had changed into a clean shirt and skirt and was standing at the shrine's tiny stove, stirring a pot containing some heavenly substance. And she was giggling and chatting with Genji like they were old friends.
"You can't be serious!" she was saying as Reimu entered.
"Oh, completely!" Genji said with a hoarse laugh. "And lemme tell you, she was mighty pissed! It had'ta be at least a couple weeks before she'd even bear to hear the word 'noodle'! Ah, the thrashing she gave those little nitwits was somethin' to see, lemme…"
His voice trailed off when he noticed a rain-drenched Reimu standing at the doorway, staring at them. Reisen must have felt the shrine maiden's gaze, because she slowly turned around.
"Oh, you're back!"
"Mmmm-hmmm," Reimu deadpanned. She looked from rabbit to turtle. "Well, don't you two look…cozy."
Reisen flushed, but true to form Genji was completely unintimidated by the prospect of Reimu's ire. "You bet we are," he said. "I was just telling this nice young lady about some of your messier exploits. Like hey, do you remember that time you charged right into the mansion of the Lord of the Slugs 'cause you thought he was being attacked by a massive coup, but it turned out to be huge org-"
"Yes. Vividly." Reimu cleared her throat. "Uh, Genji? A word, please?"
"Sure thing. Go ahead." The turtle sat where he was and waited.
Reimu glowered. "Privately?"
"Oh. Well, be more specific next time!" He turned his head toward Reisen. "I'm sorry, my dear, but duty calls. It was an absolute pleasure meeting you."
Reisen blushed and smiled. "The same, Master Turtle," she said with a polite curtsy.
Reimu gawked at them. She thought about commenting on what she had just saw, but as she found the implications far too disturbing she decided to just let it pass.
Genji floated past her, humming contently. Reimu shot a nasty look after him and turned to Reisen. "Would you hang on for just a sec?" she said. "I'll be right back."
"Uh, okay…"
Reimu closed the door and went after Genji. She followed him to where they usually had their talks: over by his pond. Once there, she said, "Please tell me you weren't doing what I think you were doing?"
"What, tellin' stories? Hey, you ran out on your guest, so someone had'ta keep her entertained. 'Sides, jus' 'cause you don't like bringin' up your more embarrassin' days don't mean I can't-"
"Not that!" Reimu shouted. "Though yes, you're not allowed to do that either, thank you very much! No, I was talking about that other thing!"
"What other thing?"
"Hitting on her!"
"Ah," he said calmly. "That." After a moment's pause, he said, "What about it?"
Reimu gritted her teeth and wondered if it were at all possible to strange a turtle. "Were you doing it?"
Even though it should not have been possible, Genji still managed a leering grin. "Ayyyyuuuup."
"Ugh," Reimu groaned. She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to her forehead. "I can't…Oh gods!"
"What?" Genji said innocently. "It's just a little flirtin'. And besides, can you blame me? I mean, damn!"
Reimu pressed her hands to her ears. "Stop it, stop it, stop it."
"I haven't seen an ass like that since…Oh, let's see, it was probably that mantis youkai girl that was always hanging out with your ancestor, Nadoka Hakurei, waaaayyy back in the mid-seventeen hundreds. Now that was a fine piece of work, lemme tell you. Wonder if she's still around. But anyway, this Reisen girl? She don't suffer in comparison, not one bit!"
"Shut up. Seriously. Shut up."
"You know, I've always thought all that Lunarian talk about how superior they are to be a bunch of chickenshit. But now, I'm thinkin' they've got a solid argument in their favor. A real solid argument, if you catch my-"
Reimu grabbed Genji by the beak and held his mouth shut. "Stop it. I am so serious. Stop it right now."
Genji twisted his head out of her grasp. "Oh, what's gotten into you?"
"It's freaking disturbing, that's what! I mean, gods! You aren't even the same species! Hell, you aren't even in the same…same…"
"Biological class?" Genji suggested.
"Yes! She a Lunarian rabbit, a mammalian youkai! You're a big talking turtle, a reptilian…reptile! You're not even humanoid!"
"Eh." Genji's shell lifted in a shrug. "All the turtles of the world are so far below my league that it honestly ain't worth the effort. And once they go youkai, they stop gettin' interested."
"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Reimu moaned. "How can you even be attracted to…" A horrible thought occurred to her. "Wait, you haven't…checked me out, have you?"
Genji looked at her in contempt. "Please," he snorted. "I've spent so much time much around you Hakureis that it'd honestly be like someone checking out their own ass. Don't worry, kid. You're not my type."
"I…" Reimu closed her eyes. "Okay, this conversation is way too disturbing, so let's drop it right this second."
"Okay. So, what'cha wanna talk about?"
Reimu tilted her head back toward the shrine. "Her. What do you think?"
Genji's smile reappeared. "You mean, besides the obvious?"
"Yes, I mean besides the obvious!" Reimu seethed. "She told you why she's here, right?"
"Zapped her boss and ran off. Gutsy, but stupid. Yeah, she done told me."
"All right. So, what's your take?"
Genji shrugged again. "Same as with the Satsuki kid. It's good that you're takin' her in, but not smart. Soon as that doctor figures out she's here, she's gonna make your life all kind'sa miserable."
"I know, I know. So, you think I should cut her loose?"
"I never said that. You already said that you'd help her out, and going back on that would be all kinds of slimy. Jus' be ready when the shit goes down." Genji's eyes rolled up as he thought. "Fortunately, you've got a few advantages in that department. First, this shrine is technically a political power now, so if you pull the sanctuary card, there ain't a whole lot Eirin Yagokoro can do about it, not legally. 'Specially if she don't wanna get in trouble with Yukari. Between Hakurei Shrine and Eientei, she'll gladly take away Eirin's ability to fly and toss her off a cliff if it meant your safety."
"Except I don't want to involve Yukari in this," Reimu pointed out. "Remember?"
"I didn't say you had to, I just said why Eirin might not be so eager to tangle with you. Jus' make sure your rabbit friend don't go wanderin' off the shrine grounds. She does that, all bets are off."
Reimu frowned. "She's not going to be happy about that. I think she's dead set on finding Rin herself."
"All the more reason to keep her around then," Genji responded. "So you can keep her from doin' something that stupid. After all, be a pity to let an ass like that go to waste. Or those knockers."
"Genji…" Reimu said warningly.
Genji snickered, but then grew serious. "Right now, I think the best thing is to keep the rabbit safe and start workin' on buildin' your support base. We have no idea how long the kid's gonna be layin' low, but she's bound to turn up again sooner or later. Use that time to be findin' help from people who can, you know, actually help. 'Specially since I'm sure there's trouble to be had with your current inner circle."
"You're telling me," Reimu grumbled. "Byakuren's still in, of course. But Kanako's really upset. She's probably going to back out. And the only reason Mima was going to help at all was because we were going to help her rescue Marisa. But now since that's no longer necessary…"
"Well, there you go."
"But who can I go to?" Reimu asked. "Rin's not exactly well-loved, and everyone is pretty much terrified of crossing Yukari."
"'Fraid I don't have a ready answer for you, but you'd be surprised. And don't underestimate your little rescue party as it is. Satsuki may not be well-loved, but boy howdy Byakuren Hijiri sure is. And she's been building some mondo connections. Heck, you're kind of influential yourself. I mean, being the Hakurei shrine maiden, you've got diplomatic immunity that would make most politickers salivate, man. You've pretty much got a free pass to get an audience from any leader in Gensokyo, anytime. You got a lot of strings, more than you know. Maybe it's time to start pullin' a few."
The thought of her own political power was making Reimu uncomfortable. The game of politics was not one she ever wanted to play, and as far as she saw it, the only power she cared about having was the power to occasionally make people stop acting like jackasses. "I, uh, really don't think I like the sound of all that."
Genji shrugged his massive shell. "I'm jus' suggetin' options. Though take my advice: don't be afraid of your own strength. That can end up with you cripplin' yourself." His beak opened in a wide yawn. "Meantime, I've got a connection or two I can pull myself. I'll make a few calls, see what I can do."
"I appreciate it," Reimu said, though she couldn't help but wonder what kind of contacts a centuries-old talking turtle would have. "Right now, I can use all the help I can-"
"Hold up," Genji said suddenly. His head rose up and he stared off into the distance.
Reimu blinked. "What's up?"
His eyes narrowed. "Huh, I think you've mail."
"I've got what now?"
In answer, Genji lifted off the ground and headed toward the shrine grounds' front entrance. Confused, Reimu stood up and followed.
Genji didn't stop until they had both passed into the outside. Once there, Reimu looked around.
"Um, what's going on?" she asked. "Was there someone supposed to be here?"
"Yup. Look down."
Reimu did and got a little jolt of surprise. A massive serpent, easily over thirty feet in length, was curled up on the topmost steps. Its scales were the color of burnished copper, and its emerald eyes shone like two tiny jewels. Its head rose to look at Reimu with what the shrine maiden could swear was genuine intelligence.
Reimu stared. Over the years, several odd people and bizarre creatures had shown up at her front door. Still, this was a new one.
For his part, Genji didn't seem at all bothered by the snake's presence. He settled on the top step and said, "Hey buddy. Haven't seen you for awhile. What's up?"
The snake turned its visage toward Genji. Its jaws opened, and it let out a low hiss.
"That right?" Genji said. "Well, you're pretty damned fast. The kid here only jus' got back, and she flew the whole way."
The snake hissed again.
"I guess that makes sense. Kudos for you. Haven't heard of anyone going by that path for seventy years at least. Guess deliverin' for a goddess has its perks."
Reimu looked at Genji. "You can understand him?"
"Of course," Genji said. "Snake ain't all that different from turtle. The linguistic rules are the same, even if the words are different."
"But…but you told me that turtles don't have their own language."
"Eh, technically we don't," Genji admitted. "We speak tortoise actually, but that ain't here or now. This fellow here" he tilted his head towards the snake "done brought a message for you."
"A message?" Reimu eyed the snake with uncertainty. "Uh, I guess you'll have to translate then."
Genji snorted. "No, I won't. Open your eyes, kid."
Reimu was about to ask him what he meant, but then she noticed the small stone box that was strapped to the snake's back, just behind the head. The snake twisted its body around, giving her easier access.
Reimu cautiously approached the box. On the top of its lid was a small red stone, engraved with the sigil of Moriya Shrine. She let herself relax a little. Looks like Kanako had come to a decision already. If so, then Genji was right. That had been incredibly fast.
She opened the box. Instead was a white envelope, sealed with the same sigil. "Thank you," she said as she removed it from the box.
The snake bobbed its head in acknowledgement, but it didn't leave. After a few seconds of having it stare at her with unblinking eyes Reimu started to grow uncomfortable.
"What does he want?" Reimu whispered to Genji. "Is he expecting me to send something back?"
"This quickly? Nah, he's probably just waitin' for you to tip him."
"What," Reimu said flatly.
"Well, he came all this way and made it in record time," Genji said. "It's only polite."
Reimu shook her head. "And what, pray tell, does one tip a snake with, exactly? I hope you don't mean money, because I'm a little dry in that department."
"Eh, don't worry about it. I'll field this one."
Genji turned his head to the trees growing out of the hillside. He started humming, a low, deep noise that Reimu felt in the pit of her stomach and through her teeth. His throat vibrated in rhythm with the sound.
The fallen leaves rustled, and suddenly a large grey rat scampered right past them. The snake hissed, drew its head back and struck, catching the rat in its jaws. It threw its head back and gulped the struggling rodent down. Then it looked at Genji and bobbed its head in thanks.
"Don't mention it, buddy," Genji said. "Take care now, and give my love to the family."
Reimu watched in bemusement as the snake slithered down the steps and burrowed beneath the dirt of the path. "That was…very weird."
Genji snorted. "And the rest of your life ain't? Get back inside and open your damned letter already."
Reimu walked back through the barrier. She stuck her thumb into the envelope's flap and broke the seal. Then she pulled out the letter and opened it up.
All right, I'm still in, it read in Kanako's neat and precise handwriting. Though not without reservations. However, let me just state for the record that using the Frog is considered cheating. That's a point against you, Reimu.
Reimu rolled her eyes.
I have some conditions though, the letter continued. If what you told me is true, and if what I've been able to gather about the results of Yukari's clash with Yuuka Kazami are accurate, then Mima no longer has any motivation to work with us. Change her mind. I don't care how people feel about her. I don't care what she's done or what kind of reputation she has, we will need her power and knowledge if we are to make this work.
And while you're at it, find a way to bring Eirin Yagokoro on board as well. Yes, I know she has every reason in the world to say no, but again, her knowledge is invaluable. If my sources are correct, then she is taking this incident rather personally, so I would suggest that you convince her that this is her only method of redemption and impress upon her the names of those already involved. Use Byakuren's Only Rational Path argument if you must. But we will need her expertise. Make it happen, shrine maiden.
-Kanako Yasaka.
Reimu grimaced. She had neglected to tell Kanako about Reisen's recent activities, and from the look of things, Sanae hadn't either. Convincing Mima to stick around was going to be a chore in itself. But bringing Eirin Yagokoro on board was going to be damned near impossible.
"You look like someone's just eaten your puppy," Genji remarked. "Bad news?"
Reimu showed him the letter.
"Well, that's not so bad," Genji said once he had finished reading. "You were plannin' on findin' more help anyway. Now you jus' have one more name on the list."
"A name that's probably well on her way to declaring war on us," Reimu growled. "Or have you forgotten about Reisen?"
"Kinda hard to, all things considered. Doesn't mean it's impossible though. You'll jus' have to be smart about it, like-"
"No, stop," Reimu said, holding up her palm. "I don't want to hear it. Save it for later."
"Oh?" Genji cocked his head to one side. "And why not?"
"Because I am now officially done with today. It's cursed or something. Tell me when I get up tomorrow."
"You're going to bed now?" Genji said in disbelief. "Reimu's it's only four-thirteen in the afternoon."
"I know." Reimu turned and headed back toward the shrine. "All the more reason to not give it the chance to get worse. I'm going to go change my clothes and dry off. Then I'm going to have some of whatever Reisen's making. Then I'm going to bed. Good freaking night."
"Superstitious nonsense," Genji grumbled as he floated away back toward his pond. "Like a few hours is going to magically change your luck."
Reimu ignored him. She stomped back into the shrine. There, Reisen was sitting at the table with two bowls of chicken curry over rice. The Lunarian rabbit was fidgeting awkwardly. Her head jerked up as Reimu entered.
"Oh, I…uh…"
Reimu held up a finger, signaling that Reisen should wait. She then went into the next room and undressed. After setting her soaking outfit aside and toweling off, she wrapped a fresh sarashi around her chest, pulled on a simple red cotton blouse and a pair of loose grey trousers. It was her around-the-house outfit, what she usually wore when she was expecting no visitors and had no intention of leaving the shrine.
Reisen was still silent when Reimu reentered the room. She just stared down at her bowl. Reimu quirked an eyebrow, sighed and walked around to where her bowl was waiting. Without needing any prompting, she muttering a quick blessing and started shoveling food into her mouth. The majority of her ire towards Reisen evaporated immediately after. The healing power of good food was universal.
"I'm sorry," Reisen said without lifting her head.
Reimu paused her scarfing. She moved the bowl away from her mouth and said in puzzlement, "What for?"
"For intruding with my problems." Reisen took a shaky breath. "I know, I'm screwing up your life. I saw the way you were looking when you got back."
Reimu rolled her eyes. "Oh, for heaven's sake…Look, Reisen. It's not you. Well, okay, maybe part of it is, but you're not the one I'm mad at right now. It's just been…You just picked a really lousy day to come by, that's all."
Reisen looked up. "What happened then?"
That caused Reimu to let out a bitter laugh. "Oh man, where do I start?" She shook her head. "Well, uh, let me put it this way: politics and stupid people."
"Oh."
"That's right. Oh. Look, seriously, don't worry about it. There's too much to go into right now, but trust me when I say that any potential problems you being here might cause are not my biggest worries right now. Hell, if anything you might actually help."
"Really?" Reisen's ears perked up. "How?"
"Well, trying to get through to your kid, for starters." Reimu's face darkened. "Turns out that trying to talk sense into her is a whole lot harder than it-"
Reisen leapt to her feet. "Wait up!" she yelled, her eyes wide in surprise. "Rin was HERE?"
Reimu blinked. "Oh. Right. I haven't gotten around to telling you." She groaned and let her head fall forward into her palms. "Well, looks like I'm going to have to get you caught up after all. I swear, I need to start handing out a newsletter or something. Sit down, bunny. I've got a real long story to tell you."
…
Yuuka forbid flying in her mansion. She considered it an outside activity. As a result, all guests and residents were required to keep their feet on the ground at all times.
Elly had no problem following this rule. Yuuka's commands were made to be obeyed, and as far as rules went, it was a reasonable one. Besides, the many hanging vines and flowers made flight through the mansion's small corridors as hazardous as flying low through a forest. As such, she contented herself with using her legs to get from room to room and never once considered that a situation might arise that would require her to break Yuuka's house rules.
But when word reached her that Yuuka had somehow wandered out of her bed in a delirious state and collapsed in one of the hallways, Elly was off the ground and zipping desperately through the mansion at dangerous speeds. Sensing her approach, any hanging foliage helpfully removed themselves from her way. Still, had she not lived in the mansion for decades and thus memorized every turn of the corridors, she would have ended up with a broken neck. However, the risk she was taken never occurred to her. All she knew was that Yuuka needed her help, and need it now.
She found Yuuka lying facedown about two-thirds of the distance from her bedroom to the atrium. The only noticeable improvement in her condition from the previous day was that she was now wearing a clean pair of pajamas. Other than that, she still looked like a twisted bunch of burnt sticks and ash packed into a humanoid form. How she had managed to get so far, Elly couldn't even begin to imagine.
"Master!" she cried as she rushed to Yuuka's side. "What are you doing?"
She knelt down and carefully turned Yuuka over and laid her master's head in her lap.
For three agonizing heartbeats, Yuuka appeared dead. Then a single glimmer of red appeared in her remaining eye and she starting coughing weakly.
"El…Elly?" Yuuka whispered. "Is that you, Elly?"
Elly slumped in relief. "I'm here, Master," she said, cradling Yuuka's head.
"Or…so you say," Yuuka responded. "But then…you could just be another dream. How am I…to tell?"
"It's really me, Master! You're not dreaming!"
"Ah. I see." Yuuka's eye closed and she let out a small sigh of pain and confusion.
"Master, what were you thinking?" Elly cried. "You're hurt! You shouldn't be out of bed! You need to rest!"
"I…I just…I have that big fight with Yukari today, and needed to get ready…"
Dear gods, she really was delusional. "The fight was yesterday. It's already happened. It's over!"
Yuuka's eye reappeared. "It is? Did I miss it? I hate…missing my appointments."
"No, no. You fought magnificently!"
"Ah. Ah yes, now I remember. Yukari…showed me the stars." Yuuka's eye didn't disappear, but it did lose focus. "So many faces…"
"That's right, Master," Elly said encouragingly. "So many faces. Now, come on, let's get you back to your room." She slipped one arm under Yuuka's back and the other behind her knees, braced herself and slowly stood up. Thanks to her condition, Yuuka weighed less than a scarecrow, and Elly was deceptively strong. But she was still the size of a child, whereas Yuuka was well over six feet tall. The size difference made carrying her an awkward experience.
Still, she had managed to carry Yuuka all the way back home the day before, and she had been bleeding from multiple wounds. She could manage carrying her master down the hallway.
Yuuka was silent for most of the journey, but when they were about halfway she looked at Elly and her eye narrowed. "Elly…you're hurt. Did Yukari do that…to you?"
Elly looked down at her bandaged shoulder. "No Master, it was that half-phantom girl, the one that-" Elly's voice caught. The memory of her defeat still burned hot in her mind, tinged with pain and humiliation.
"-that serves the ghost princess of the Netherworld," she finished. Then she forced her voice to brighten. "Bu-but it's feeling much better now, and so are my hands! Shinigami heal quickly, after all, and the treatments we have here work wonders! I barely even feel them anymore!"
Yuuka stared at her. Then her head fell with a worrying crinkly sound and she started muttering to herself.
Elly swallowed back the lump in her throat. She quickened her footsteps. The sooner Yuuka was resting again, the quicker she would heal.
Unfortunately, it looked like she was going to be delayed. There, coming around the corner, were two of Yuuka's guests, the night-sparrow Mystia Lorelei and the ice-fairy Daiyousei. Elly felt a slow, cold fire ignite in her stomach when she saw them. Even though she knew that Yuuka was fond of the little gang she had taken in, the fact remained that if it hadn't been for them, Yuuka wouldn't have been hurt in the first place. And for what? Because that Wriggle Nightbug had asked her? Why did Yuuka owe Wriggle anything anyway? Wriggle had been Yuuka's favorite. Her lover. Not even Elly could claim the same. And yet, despite being in such an envious position, Wriggle had abandoned them. She had spit on Yuuka's affections and Elly's friendship and had ran off, only to turn up years later with a new set of friends begging Yuuka to put herself at risk for their sake. Whereas Elly had served Yuuka faithfully for years and had never received anything more than a platonic kiss on the forehead or on the cheek. It wasn't right.
Mystia and Daiyousei saw Elly coming their way and froze. "Oh, oh wow," Mystia said when she saw the wreck of a body in Elly's arms. "Oh my gods."
Elly took a deep breath and said as calmly as she could, "If you'll excuse me, my Master is not well. She needs her rest, so I would appreciate it if you wouldn't delay me."
The two of them stepped aside quickly, and Elly continued on her way. But as they passed, Daiyousei said, "Um, I'm sorry, but d-did Yukari do that to her?"
Elly stopped in her tracks. She grimaced in frustration and then turned to the green-haired fairy. "Yes, she did!" she snapped. "And if it weren't for you and your stupid friend getting herself stuck in stupid-"
"Elly," Yuuka admonished. "Enough of that."
Tears were now starting to prickle Elly's eyes. "But…"
Yuuka reached up with one withered arm, presumably to bring it to Elly's cheek. But she did not have the strength to reach and had to settle with affectionately patting the Shinigami on the arm. "What happened…was not their fault," Yuuka whispered in her voice like dead leaves. "We have all…made mistakes, and are…all outcasts here. That makes us…family, not enemies."
Elly sniffed. She turned her face away.
Then the fairy, who had been staring at her feet, spoke again. "Um…um…" She blushed and looked up at Yuuka. "I'm s-s-sorry. And…thank you very much for your bravery!"
Daiyousei bowed low and then ran off. Mystia blinked after her and then looked at Elly and Yuuka. She shrugged, nodded at the pair and quickly followed her friend.
Yuuka's ravaged lips twisted into a smile. "You're very welcome," she murmured.
Elly sighed and continued toward Yuuka's bedroom. As she approached, the vines on the ceiling sensed their approached and slithered down to wrap around the doorhandles. They pulled, opening the door for their master.
Despite her need for sleep, Yuuka had refused to let Elly draw the drapes. She claimed that the sun helped, and given who she was, she was probably right. And so the opulent bedroom was as brightly lit as always. And given the small flower garden that grew in the room, it didn't so much resemble a bedroom as it did a greenhouse with furniture. Elly helped Yuuka into the large, purple four-poster bed and drew the covers up to her master's chin. "There you are," she said. "Now please, promise me that you'll rest."
Yuuka's eye closed. "Of course," she muttered. "Dear Elly, where would I be without you?"
Elly smiled. She turned to leave, but then Yuuka said, "Wait."
"Yes Master?"
Yuuka's eye was open. "Would you…mind staying here with me? For today, at least?"
Elly's heart leapt. "Master?"
"You…need rest…as well. And…I think…I do not want to be alone."
"But…but the mansion-"
"-will be fine for a few hours. The plants…can handle things. And the bed's plenty…large enough…for two."
Elly felt happy butterflies soar up through her stomach. Yuuka wanted her to stay with her. Yuuka needed her!
"I…of course!"
Elly removed her hat and set it on the back of a nearby chair. Then she brushed off the straps of her sundress and let it slip to the floor. She carefully folded it up and set it in the chair's seat. Then, clad in her undergarments, she slipped under the blanket, next to her master. Yuuka favored her with an affectionate smile.
"Thank you, Elly," Yuuka said. "I hope…this does not repulse you. Considering…my appearance."
"Never, Master!"
"Such a sweet girl," Yuuka murmured. She curled her shriveled arm around Elly and drew her in close. "And do not…worry. Those beasts will…pay for what they did to you." The crimson light of her single eye glimmered maliciously. "I'm already working on some ideas."
…
Ran Yakumo stood in Yukari's workshop, at the alchemy table. She wore a metal welder's mask, a leather apron and thick gloves. In one hand she held a lump of dull, maroon stone. In the other was a brilliant blade made from artic blue crystal with a gem encrusted handle. With the skilled, precise swipes she shaved layer after layer from the rock, letting the dust fall into a small cauldron of blood red liquid.
When she had cut away enough of the stone for her purposes, she placed the remainder within a copper chest filled with more of the maroon rocks. She then set aside the blade, picked up a ladle and stirred the cauldron, occasionally pausing to add a few drops from a crystal bottle. This continued for two minutes, until the liquid had become the color of honey.
Ran cleaned off her tools and put them away. Then she picked up the cauldron and carefully poured its contents into a waiting bag made of clear plastic, the kind used by the Outside World to store blood donations. Then she carefully cleaned out the cauldron, pulled off the mask and carried the bag out of the workshop.
Ever since the day before, the Yakumo house had settled into a state of silent uneasiness. Maybe it was the lack of life. Before, Yukari's home had several potted plants to add color to the place. Now, they all had to be thrown out, and the land outside had been turned into a mausoleum for the corpses of the estate's former garden. The air was thick with the chemicals that they were using to treat Yukari, making the place smell like part chemical lab and part retirement home. Added to this was the feeling of tension that had settled on the household. For once, Chen had no problem in remaining quietly in her room. And while Ran had her duties to take care of around the house, she did so while making as little noise as possible.
All the lights were dimmed, though Ran did not need them to see. She made her way through the house to Yukari's room. The door was slightly open, allowing her to enter without putting down the bag.
Within, there was almost no light to be found, save for that produced by Yuyuko's body. The ghost sat in a chair by Yukari's bedside, which was now covered by a heavy canopy, turning it into a tent of sorts. Ever since she had brought Yukari back she had refused to leave her side, save for when Ran and Youmu had demanded that she let the kitsune treat her for the ectoplasm lost during the fight. But ever since then, she remained by Yukari's side.
Yuyuko looked up as Ran entered. She nodded in acknowledgement. Ran returned the nod and tiptoed her way toward the opposite side of the bed. There, an IV apparatus had been set up, to which two bags had been attached, identical to the one Ran now carried. Both bags had tubes trailing in and out of the curtains that surrounded Yukari's bed. One had been filled with the same golden liquid that Ran had just finished preparing, though it was now nearly empty. In contrast, the other was almost filled with the same black corruption that Yukari had been secreting all day.
Ran removed the second bag first and replaced it with a fresh one. It seemed that no matter how much of the stuff they drained from her body, there was plenty more to replace it. It had been at least two hours before they had stifled the flow enough to safely move her to her bed without permanently ruining the covers. That was where the golden fluid came in.
Philosopher's Stone was mainly known for two things: transmuting base metal into gold and acting as the primary ingredient of the Elixir of Eternal Life, which was essentially a less effective cousin to the Hourai Elixir of Immortality invented by Eirin Yagokoro. However, what most people did not know was that this same elixir was highly effective in purifying the souls of already immortal beings. And as Yukari believed in being prepared for any eventuality, she had made sure to have a full supply of the mineral on hand for such an occasion.
However, she was now on her third bag, and the improvements were slight.
Ran removed the depleted bag of the golden liquid and replaced it with the fresh one. "Any change?" she whispered to Yuyuko.
Yuyuko shook her head. "She's in and out. Sometimes she knows where she is and what happened, other times-"
Fabric rustled from within the shadows of Yukari's bed, and a small, frightened voice said, "Yu…Yuuka?"
"-she doesn't," Yuyuko finished.
Ran nodded. Dementia was to be expected. "No, it's me, Master," Ran told Yukari. "Yuuka's far, far away. She can't hurt you."
"No," Yukari moaned. "Yuuka…no."
The rustling grew louder. Fearing that her master was trying to tear at the IV needles tapes to her veins, Ran moved the curtain aside and checked for herself. Inside, she could see the shape of Yukari's desiccated body, a small, frail thing that was practically buried by the heavy blankets. Fortunately, the sound was just of her head rolling back and forth over the pillows as she battled against feverish dreams.
Ran pulled off her right glove and reached over to place her hand on Yukari's forehead. The skin thin and papery, and despite all the dark fluid they had drain from her body tiny boils dotted it still, like warts on a toad's back.
"It's okay, Master," Ran said. "You're safe. She can't get you." When that failed to calm Yukari's moans, Ran closed her eyes and muttered a quick soothing charm. Ineffective in the long run, but it might give her master a few minutes of undisturbed rest.
Yukari's head stopped trashing, and her moans gave way to troubled but steady breathing. Ran was about to withdraw when Yukari said, "Ran? Is that you?"
Ran paused. "Yes, Master. It's me."
"Ah." The golden lights of Yukari's eyes appeared in the shadows. "Good. How long…has it been?"
Yukari's voice was weak, but she sounded lucid. Taking this as a positive sign, Ran said, "It's been twenty-seven hours and nine minutes since you returned from your battle, Master."
"Only that?" Yukari muttered. "Pity. Are Yuyuko and…Youmu still here?"
"I'm here," Yuyuko said. "Youmu's out back, cleaning away the dead foliage. You seem to have gathered quite a lot of it."
"Yes, shame about that. I liked those trees." Yukari sighed and started coughing.
"Master, don't try to exert yourself," Ran pleaded. "You're still very weak, you need to rest."
"Thank you, I had noticed," Yukari said with a rasping laugh. "Still…preparations should be made…"
Ran's ears perked up. Despite her condition, she could hear a bit of Yukari's scheming self. "Master?"
"There are…some people I'll be needing to talk to…once I'm well. I'll need…you to set up the meetings for me."
"Master, I don't think that's a good idea," Ran said. "You're in no shape to be speaking to anyone, and won't be for a long time."
"I agree," Yuyuko said. "Be reasonable, please!"
Yukari laughed again. "Yuyuko…telling me to be reasonable. It is the end of the world. But no, I'm not planning on meeting…with them now. I just want to make sure…our respective calendars are cleared…when the time comes."
Ran sighed. Truth be told, she would much rather that Yukari forget whatever business she intended and not go risking herself again. However, such hopes were in vain. Yukari was her master, and going against her word was a lesson in futility. "I'll make the necessary arrangements," she said. "Now, please. Rest."
"Thank you, Ran," Yukari muttered. Her eyes closed, and soon she was fast asleep.
…
Deep Within
"Okay, you're almost at your record time. Now, keep going…"
"I know, stop distracting me."
"Sorry. I'll be quiet…Uh, Rin? I think you're slipping."
"Rumia, stop talking to me! I'm trying to-Ah, nuts!"
"Oh, godsdamn it, Rin! There goes another one! You were so close too!"
"Look, I'm trying! This isn't as easy as it looks!"
"Well, try harder! We've only got so long before they find us, and we have only so many mushrooms!"
…
Well, fanfiction does come with a required quota of angst and perverts, which I do believe was just filled on both accounts. Sexy emo times for everyone!
God, how horrid.
Anyway, short chapter this time (at least by current standards). Kind of fillerish, I know, but I had a few loose ends to tie up before giving this story something it so desperately needs: a time skip. Like I've mentioned a few times elsewhere, I intend for this story to encompass the events of a full in-story year. And since we haven't even covered a month despite this story nearing its second anniversary, a small push is necessary. Not too long, just a handful of weeks. The next chapter will take place in mid-spring.
So what will happen during those few weeks? Well, not a whole lot. Rin and Rumia will remain in hiding, Reimu will ignore Kanako's advice and continue to look for them with no success and Reisen will remain hidden at Hakurei Shrine. Yukari and Yuuka will continue to recover from their injuries (though will [mostly] stay out of the game for a few chapters more) and things will remain very icy between Marisa and Reimu and Alice, with little in the way of interaction. Oh, and this is when Yuuka's narrator bits from The Storm will take place.
And yes, I realize that the whole "Lonely Alice who pines after Marisa" thing is a cliché that people don't like, but just for the record, there's a huge difference between being a desperate stalker and simply being upset and confused when the closest thing you have to a best friend almost commits murder. I will try to avoid making her "Tsundere Failice," but that doesn't mean she won't have emotions.
Until next time, everyone!