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.

47. Contingencies

Contingencies

Scowling to herself, Elly shuffled her way through the halls of Mugenkan, pushing a cart laden with trays before her. Sensing her black mood, the foliage that carpeted the floors hastily vacated, drawing their roots and vines away from the trolley's path. Elly paid them no mind.

Everything was such a mess, and things had seemed so bright the morning before. But then Yuuka had to go out by herself and anger people. Again. And then she had gone out again and brought back that appalling…thing that called itself Rin Satsuki with her. And not only had that…thing turned out to be absolutely horrible, but it also seemed to be carrying the essence of a monster so terrible that even Yuuka herself had openly expressed fear of it. There were not many things capable of worrying her master, so one capable of garnering not only terror from her but also successfully managing to intimidate her in her own house was best kept in a cage, preferably one that was underground. To say nothing of it somehow stripping Yuuka nude. Her master had been tightlipped about how exactly she had ended up in such a state, but Elly's imagination had offered a number of possible scenarios, all of them capable of making her cheeks burn with indignation. The indecency of it all!

But the truth of the matter was that Elly could, albeit with some prodding, forgive it for all that. After all, a wild animal, caught in alien territory and surrounded on all sides, would be expected to behave in such a way. But that didn't excuse it from being so rude! Yuuka had been trying to help the horrid little thing, and it had just threatened and mocked her! Oh, if only it had not been so notoriously indestructible. Elly would have been more than happy to introduce to the business end of her scythe!

Well, at least it was gone now, sent off to see some minor goddesses about having that Fallen Angel's essence removed. Elly had no idea how they were to be successful, but quite frankly she didn't give a fig's stem. It was gone, and that was all that mattered.

If only she could be assured that it would stay away. When last Elly had seen them, Yuuka's guests were still talking excitedly about the eventual return of their missing number. For that to happen, the little beast would have to come back. Maybe it could just drop her off at the border and be on its way, but Elly was not one given to optimism.

Sighing, Elly continued on her way toward her master's chambers. At least Yuuka was treating Rin Satsuki like the threat she was. Those who garnered such attention from Yuuka Kazami did not tend to last long.

As Elly approached, the doors to Yuuka's room swung open as expected. However, this time the surrounding vines had nothing to do with it, as Yuuka herself, fully awake, dressed, and made-up, sauntered out into the hall, the rubber tip of her cane tapping against the floor.

"Ah, good morning Elly!" she said sunnily as she passed by the surprised Shinigami. "Is that breakfast? Wonderful!" She snatched a piece of buttered and jammed toast from a tray and started munching on it, her gait not slowing in the slightest. "Well, bring it along. I'll be needing the sustenance."

"I, uh, all right." Elly swung the cart around and hurried to catch up. "B-but where are we going?"

"To the House of Orchids," Yuuka answered promptly. She picked up a fork and knife and started helping herself to breakfast while in movement.

Elly blinked. The House of Orchids was a smallish building located near the northern border of the Garden of the Sun, and was there should Yuuka be in the area and was struck by the need to do some gardening but did not want to go all the way back to the mansion for her tools. It also provided amenities should she want take a nap, a bath, to fix herself some lunch (simple ones, as Yuuka's culinary skills were…lacking at best), read a book, or entertain surprise guests, whether they wanted hospitality or not. There were four other such homesteads throughout the Garden, but the House of Orchids was the one furthest from the mansion.

"Why are we going there?" Elly asked.

"Mmmmph." Yuuka swallowed down a mouthful of eggs and sausage and lightly dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. "Because my dear, I have been giving our current plight a great deal of thought, and it occurs to me that even with the Fallen Angel's essence removed, Rin Satsuki still poses a significant threat."

Elly nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "Well, granted, but why the House of Orchids? Is there a secret weapon housed there?"

"No, but there soon will be." Yuuka laughed at the look of confusion on Elly's face. "You see, my buttercup, the House of Orchids provides us with a number of advantages for this little project. It is the furthest from the mansion and the most isolated, it is small and easily repaired if broken, it stands fully exposed to the sun (though I suppose the same holds true of the other houses), and as of ten minutes ago, it is covered from basement to rooftop in Mykr's Sirens."

Elly stared. All of those descriptions, when strung together like that, struck a note of cold apprehension in her heart. "Ah…forgive me, master. But might I ask why such precautions are necessary?"

"Mmmm. Precautions. Yes, that is the reason." Yuuka smiled. "You see Elly, last night I got to poke around in young Miss Satsuki's memories for a bit, and in doing so, I learned something very interesting. Though she has been hurt, though she has been driven off, and though she has been talked down before, she has only been summarily defeated on only a handful of occasions, only one of which could be described as her being…Oh, what's the phrase?"

"Flattened?" Elly supplied.

"Close, though I would go with 'exploded.' Either way, despite being much stronger now than she was then, I feel that she had not quite developed the necessary abilities to overcome her former…exploder." Yuuka's amused smile took on a glint of maliciousness. She held up a hand and made a little flourish. A round, multi-faceted crystal appeared in her fingers. It was held between her index finger and her thumb, and shone with a violent crimson light.

"How fortunate for us that said exploder so happens to be within our possession," Yuuka purred.

…

Deep Within

On the outside, Rin was sitting patiently on a wooden chair, hands folded in her lap, face a neutral mask, and pretending that her augmented ears couldn't hear the two autumn goddesses argue in the next room.

"No way! Forget it! We are not getting involved in this!"

"What choice do we have? We're in Yuuka Kazami's bad books already! This is our chance to get out of them."

"Exactly! So anything she sends out way is probably going to end up horribly for us! Send that girl away!"

"If we say no, Yuuka will just come for us anyway. At least this way, there's a chance we'll get out of it okay."

On the inside, Rin was sitting patiently on nothing, hands folded in her lap, face a neutral mask, while Rumia paced back and forth behind her in agitation.

"A chance? Sure, she's going to give a chance. Because if there's one thing Yuuka Kazami is known for, it's mercy and compassion. Minoriko, have you completely lost her mind? Don't you remember what she almost did to us?"

"Of course I do! Which is why I don't want to tick her off."

Sighing, Rumia paused her restless wandering and cleared her throat. "I don't know about you, but this really isn't filling me with confidence."

"You had confidence?" Rin giggled. "Wow, I don't know if I should be impressed or shake my head."

"Then what are we doing here?" Rumia demanded. "If you don't think they can help, let's split already!"

Rin shrugged. "Nothing gained by that. Besides, they're not the ones we were sent to see. Might as well wait until this other person gets back."

The place they were in wasn't exactly the sort of place Rumia would expect to find someone capable of dealing with her evil former self. The goddess' home was more-or-less a hole in the ground, dug around the roots of a huge, gnarled, old tree. The walls were natural stone or tightly packed earth, and the floor was tiled with wooden slats. It was homey enough though. Shelves and cabinets held various knick-knacks, pictures, and books; the furniture looked handmade but comfortable; and potted plants sat where the few overhead windows could nourish them with sunlight. The roots themselves poked out of the walls and ceiling. It was certainly nicer than any place Rumia had ever lived, but it was clear that its occupants weren't exactly top-tier deities.

Which was why she was so confused. Why had Yuuka sent them here? She had expected some dark and mysterious sorceress, with a lair full of silk and skulls and things that emitted colorful smoke. This was hardly the ideal place to have a Fallen Angel removed, but it wasn't the place to spring an ambush either. If Yuuka intended betrayal, this wouldn't be the place to do it either. But then, Rumia was just a random wild youkai. What did she know?

Outside, the two goddesses continued to bicker. Wrinkling her nose, Rumia turned to Rin and said, "What do you think they did to make Yuuka mad at them in the first place?"

"Beats me," Rin said with a shrug. "She's a weird lady. Maybe she just doesn't like their faces."

It was as good a reason as any. Rumia wasn't exactly an expert on deities, so she couldn't really tell how one might anger a youkai of Yuuka's caliber. To her, all the gods and goddesses running around weren't so much deific beings as they were entrepreneurs in a field that she had no connection to. It would be interesting to see how these ones could be of any help.

And speaking of which…

"So," Rumia said, clearing her throat again, "Rin."

"Yeah?"

"Say this does work. Say they get rid of Evil Me and we both come out of it alive. You're going to keep your promise, right?"

That finally got through Rin's façade of apathy. Confusion washed over her face, and she turned her body to stare quizzically at her mental passenger. "Promise? What promise?"

"To let me go," Rumia reminded her. "You said that if solved that problem, you would let me go."

Was it her imagination, but did a flicker of fear appear in Rin's face? If so, it was gone a moment later. "Let you go?" Rin said uneasily. "Uh, I don't know if that's a good idea."

Rumia scowled. "You promised."

"Yeah, but even if the Evil You gets taken care if, it still won't be safe! Yukari's going to come for you anyway!"

"Then I'll go to Yuuka."

Rin's eyes popped wide. "What?" she gaped. "Yuuka? Why? She's a monster!"

"Right," Rumia said, her voice a dull monotone. "Because getting help from monsters is totally something we'd never do."

"That's different! I'm just following a tip! It's not like I want to go sleep in her bed and eat at her table!" Rin quickly scampered to her feet, her eyes wide with earnestness. "Rumia, trust me when I say that she's evil! I got a taste of her, remember?"

Rumia did, and just the memory of it made her shudder. But that wasn't enough to deter her. "I know," she said. "I know she's a monster, I knew that even before we met her. But hey, guess what?" She jabbed a thumb against her own chest. "So am I! I've killed people, Rin." When Rin flinched, Rumia pressed in harder. "Yeah. I did. People. Kids. Ate 'em, too. You went through my memories, you saw what I was like!"

Rin shuddered, but she didn't back down. "I know. I saw. But that's still different! You were…you were…"

"What?" Rumia said. "I was what, Rin?"

"Feral! Like an animal, you know? And when you got smarter and, uh, more civilized-"

Rumia snorted.

"Well, more civilized than you were!" Rin said crossly. "You stopped! You got better! You just play pranks now, right? Yuuka's already smart and, er, civilized I guess, but she still hurts people for fun! She's evil!"

"Did'ja learn that from her taste?" Rumia asked.

"Yes! I know what evil tastes like, Rumia. I got a big mouthful of it already." Rin angrily stepped forward and grabbed Rumia by the shoulders. "So believe me when I say that Yuuka Kazami is bad news."

"Hey!" Rumia's hands snapped up, shoving Rin's arms off. "What I say about the touching?"

Rin scowled. "You didn't seem to mind your friends crawling all over you last night."

The gods help her, Rumia almost took a swing at Rin right there and then. The only reason she didn't was because she had tried that in the past, and it rarely worked. Rin usually just vanished before her knuckles made contact. There was nothing stopping her from shouting though. "That's them! They're my friends!"

A hurt look passed over Rin's face. "I'm not your friend?"

The urge to sock the whiny Kirin in the nose only grew stronger. She had to take a few steps back just to make sure her arms wouldn't reach should she give in. "Rin," she said through clenched teeth. "You ate me. You freaking ate me. Remember that?"

Rin opened her mouth, maybe to protest, maybe to defend herself, but Rumia wasn't having it. "You. Freaking. Ate. Me!" she roared. "You ate me, you took me away from my friends, my home, and forced me into this nightmare, where I have to constantly listen to you complain about how they locked you up, how you couldn't touch anything, how you were so isolated from everyone and everything. Well, guess what Rin? I know exactly how that feels, and you know why?" She jabbed a thumb against her own chest. "Because you forced me into the same deal! What they did to you, you did to me! I hate this, Rin. I hate being like this, I hate being scared all the time, and I hate-"

Rumia clamped her jaw shut, forcibly cutting the sentence off before that last pronoun could come out. She squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth as she used every ounce of willpower to regain control of the rage sweeping through her. When she spoke again, her voice was at least level, but her words were no less cutting.

"We are not friends," she hissed. "Get this through your skull. Cirno is my friend. Mystia is my friend. Daiyousei is my friend. Wriggle is my friend. You are not. You don't have that right. Maybe you're not the monster everyone thinks you are, but you're still damned close. And I don't want to have to put up with you anymore. So as soon as this Fallen Angel thing is taken care of, we're done. You drop me off at the Garden of the Sun and get out of my life. Got it?"

All through Rumia's rant, Rin just stood frozen in place, blue eyes wide and mouth hanging open like a very surprised frog. Even after Rumia had finished getting what she wanted to say out of her system, she still stock-still, her face white. Even her aura looked like it was recoiling in shock.

They stood there, Rumia glaring and Rin staring, neither girl blinking. They might have remained that way for the next several seconds, but Rumia had never been patient. "Well?" she snapped.

Rin closed her mouth with a noisy gulp. She gave a quick nod. "A-All right," she said, her voice small. "You…you're right. I'll do what you want. I'll take you there, I'll let you, and leave you alone. I promise."

"Good," Rumia growled. She turned away, unable to look at the Kirin anymore.

Then Rin let out a noise that sounded like a weak cough. "Uh, R-Rumia? I'm…I'm sorry."

Rumia almost snapped back with something biting and sarcastic, but something made her stop. She had already said all she wanted to say, so what point was there? She considered just ignoring the apology, or pointing out how inefficient a simple "sorry" was in light of the months of sheer terror she had endured, but in the then she just sighed. "Okay," she said over her shoulder.

With that, she stormed away. She sat down, crossed her legs, and folded her arms.

After a while, she stuck her fingers in her ears. She could still hear Rin crying though.

…

Reimu was troubled. This was nothing new: she had been troubled since this whole fiasco had started. But this was anxiety of an entirely different kind.

For once, things were lining up. They no longer needed to fear Yukari. They could progress openly, with the rest of Gensokyo's support. They weren't a radical fringe group anymore. Now, combined with the fact that they had the means to extract Azrael's essence, they could proceed with finding a way to fix Rin and end this whole stupid mess unabated.

Provided that they find her.

And therein was the problem. They had found Rin. She had been right there, talking to them and fighting at their side. They had been so close to convincing her to join them. And then Yuuka, Yukari, and all those idiotic hunters had shown up and driven her off, taking Nue Houjuu and Mamizou Futatsuiwa with her. One step forward, two steps back.

Usually, whenever Reimu had something like this pressing on her mind, she would seek out someone wiser to talk to, usually Genji, sometimes Kanako, even Byakuren every now and then. But she had already spoken to all three and had accumulated all the advice she needed. She didn't need more advice. She knew what needed to be done; it just wasn't in her power to do it at that moment. What she needed was a distraction.

So she went to Marisa's house.

The young witch and her spectral mentor had made themselves scarce after Yukari had shown up at the Youkai Mountain. As annoyed as she was at the lack of support, Reimu supposed she couldn't really blame them given their track record, but it did decrease the likelihood that they would be at her home, as opposed to one of Mima's emergency hideaways. But as she approached the woodland house, she heard loud sounds emitting from inside that told her otherwise. One of them was the sound of Marisa grunting in exertion. The grunts were set to a rhythm, about a second apart. Accompanying them was Mima offering words of encouragement.

"Hrgh…hrgh…hrgh!"

"Keep going, almost there, almost there, just a few more, and…done! Good job, take ten."

Reimu blinked. Given Marisa's…nature, there were any number of explanations for that strange symphony, very few of them being ones she wanted to walk into. The witch wasn't exactly social, but she wasn't shy either, and had more than a few…trysts under her belt, one of which Reimu had accidentally walked in on already, to her disgust, Marisa's delight, and some poor farmer boy's absolute horror. The fact that Mima was present was even more disturbing. Reimu knew that they were fond of each other, but she didn't think their affection went that far!

Realizing that that pursuing that line of thought was a sure sign of Marisa's bad influence and there was probably a perfectly innocent explanation, Reimu landed in the dirt path in front of the house, walked up to the door, and knocked.

There was a short pause, and then Mima said, "Yes? Who is it?"

Right. Like she hadn't already sensed Reimu coming. Taking a deep breath and praying that everyone inside had their clothes on, Reimu said, "Reimu."

"Reimu who?"

Reimu frowned. "Uh, Reimu Hakurei? How many Reimus do you know?"

"Oh, so disappointing," Mima said, clicking her tongue. "Marisa, you really should have taught her better."

"Hey…I tried…" came Marisa's panting voice. The young witch sounded out of breath. "Not my fault…she doesn't listen…"

What? Frowning, Reimu called, "Okay…can I come in? Are you guys, uh, decent?"

"Yes, you may," Mima said cheerfully. "And no, we are not."

Reimu's heart stopped. "What?"

"Reimu, need I remind you that I am a practitioner in magic most foul, a master of the dark arts, whose actions have crumbled cities and destroyed families? If ever there were a Villain Hall of Fame, I would be the first inductee. And Marisa here is my star pupil, who, despite her tender years, has already built up quite notoriety. As such, I don't think either of us could be painted as 'decent,' as it is usually defined. But then again, given the word's flexibility, it could be argued that-"

Rolling her eyes, Reimu shoved the door open and entered. "Oh, for crying out loud. Stop messing with my mind and-"

She froze. In defiance of her prayers, Marisa did not have her clothes on.

Which wasn't to say she was naked. She still had her underwear on, thank the gods, but that was still considerably less than what Reimu was comfortable with. The young witch sat hunched over on a plain, wooden chair, arms resting on her knees and a glass bottle of water in her hand. She was breathing heavily as if winded, and sweat glistened on her skin.

Seeing Reimu's reaction, she grinned widely. "'Sup, Reddie?" she greeted. "Care to…join us? Feel free to strip…we won't mind."

Reimu's skin prickled, and not in a good way. She shot a glance to Mima, who, thank all that was good and holy, was still fully clothed. "Mima," she said, struggling to keep her composure. "What exactly is going on?"

"At the moment?" Mima said. "A ten minute break. A minute ago? Crunches."

Crunches. Well, that could mean any number of things, and Reimu's imagination was all too happy to provide possible definitions. "Uh, do I want to know…"

In answer, Mima pointed at the far wall, which was, to Reimu's lack of surprise, still a hole covered by a tarp. A beam of light shot out of her finger and illuminated a bright square on the tarp. Within the square, a grainy moving picture appeared, in which a muscular man with a handlebar mustache wearing nothing more than a pair of tight shorts and a short sleeved shirt walked by, his motions stiff and awkward. He then lay down on his back, put his arms behind his head, and brought his knees up. As he did so, a scratchy, strangely posh voice started to narrate.

"Of the exercises that work the abdominal region, crunches are among the simplest and easiest to learn! And yet, they are also highly effective! To perform them, assume the sit-up position, with you back flat against the ground and knees brought up at a 90 degree angle. Next, knit your fingers tightly behind your head, just above the neck. But take care not to exert force! Finally, curl your shoulders toward your pelvis without lifting your lower back!"

The jerky man did just that. When he lay back again, there was a fanfare of trumpets.

"Congratulations!" exclaimed the narrator. "You have just mastered the crunch! Now, go out and enjoy your powerful new abs, you dashing studmuffin!"

Mima lifted her finger, and both the animation and the narration ceased. "There," she said. "You now know what crunches are."

Reimu shot her a dirty look. "Okay, but you could have just…" Then she sighed. "You know what, never mind. It's you, of course you had to do it like that."

"Indeed."

"But that's it?" Reimu said. She turned to Marisa, who, surprise surprise, seemed very amused by the impromptu lesson. "You're just exercising?"

"Well, yeah," Marisa said, taking a long drink from the bottle. "What'cha think it was?"

"Oh, no doubt her mind was filled with a variety of sultry scenarios," Mima said. "Probably involving you and I copulating passionately, desperately, and destructively, smashing furniture and waking the dead with our cries. I'd point out that such a coupling is physically unlikely, but we are nothing but creative."

Marisa cackled loudly and Reimu's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She wondered if she should try to defend herself, but given that Mima was correct, it was probably best to just take the jab and move on. "So, when exactly did you become so interested in working out?" she said to Marisa.

Marisa shrugged. "Eh, you know how a few weeks ago, Yukari sapped my mojo like the cheap bitch she is and sicced her talking monkey on me?"

Reimu blinked. "Yukari has a monkey?"

"She means Kotohime Sonozika," Mima told her.

"Oh."

"Yeah, her," Marisa scowled. "I got my ass kicked good and nasty. Not fun, ze. Then, when we all got together to deliver a whooping on Yuuka, I figured I didn't want to get stuck like that again, so I-"

"Drank a bunch of potions that made you superhuman, but also turned you into a sick little mess," Reimu finished for her. "Yeah, I remember."

"Yup! Totally worth it, by the way. Still holding to that." Marisa took another drink. "But still, the recovery time sucked a big fat one, and seeing how I don't wanna have to go through that every time I get into a tussle-"

"You figured you might as well get in shape?" Reimu guessed.

"Z'actly." Marisa nodded to the nearby spirit. "Mima's coaching me. She's got a whole bunch of marital arts knowledge to pool from, ze."

"You?" Reimu turned to Mima. "Martial arts? You?"

"Sweetiepumpkin, my memory is flawless, I love to read, and have had decades of free time on my hands," Mima chided. "You pick up on things after a while."

Reimu rolled her eyes. "Okay Marisa, I know you always want to better yourself, but this…" She cut herself off in mid-sentence and frowned.

The two magicians looked at her expectedly. "Yes?" Mima said at last.

Her shoulder slumping, Reimu admitted, "Okay, fine. It's a good idea. You did good. There."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Marisa said, cupping her ear.

"Get bent."

Grinning, Marisa hopped off her chair. "Close enough." She walked over to a long wooden table, where Reimu saw that a workstation had been set up. She recognized most of the glowing instruments and bubbling recipes from past visits, even if she couldn't name them.

"I thought you had sworn off potions," Reimu remarked as Marisa set to work.

"Nope. Just don't wanna have to rely on them, ze," Marisa said as she started…doing magiciany things. "'Sides, not all potions have to be ingested. Most of them are spells in a bottle, and come in real handy in a pinch." She scowled. "'Course, after Wannacop went and confiscated all my work, I had to start from scratch. That's a lot of catchup work to do."

"Oh, it's not that bad," Mima said. "This place was getting too crowded anyway. Having your working conditions made simpler is better in the long run."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Marisa muttered. Her scowl darkened. "'Course, I'd be catching up a lot quicker if a certain someone hadn't gone and jammed a broomstick straight up her ass. Think after a month she'd've had it removed, but nooooooo. She's gotta go riding around on her high ugly horse, sneering down at me like she's better than me."

Reimu stared at her, unsure of what to make of this sudden change in direction. "Uh…" She glanced over to Mima, who was making a show of rolling her eyes.

Marisa's hands slammed down on the table, making her instruments jump. "I mean, it's not like I didn't own up to fucking up. I'm trying to do better, but will she see that? Nope. But that's how it is with her. Fuck up once, and you're dead to her. No sorries, no centimeter given, no godsdamned second chances!"

With that, she stormed into the next room, grabbing her clothes off the bed as she went. The door slammed, and Reimu heard the sound of water being angrily pumped.

Mima sighed. "Well, I guess that's the end of today's workout session. It's best to let her be when she gets like this."

"Tell me about it," Reimu said solemnly. "And let me guess: Alice?"

"Hole in one," Mima said cheerfully. "They haven't been speaking since that little row that you witnessed." She glanced over to the closed door of the washroom. "Which isn't to say Marisa hasn't tried to restore contact. She even to her house this morning, but Miss Margatroid simply refuses to communicate with her. Pity."

"Why not?" Reimu asked. "I mean, that was over a month ago. She can't still be mad, can she?"

Mima clicked her tongue. "Unfortunately, Alice takes more after her adopted mother than she knows. She is not one to forgive an offense, and clings to an antiquated idea of mortality. I hear that same subject was responsible for driving the wedge between her and Shinki." Then she glanced at Reimu and dropped her tone. "And by the by, thank you for not abandoning Marisa as well. She values your friendship more than she will herself admit."

Reimu blinked. "Er, you're…welcome?"

"And also congratulations on your stunning and yet not at all unexpected victory! Well done, child. I had nothing but the utmost faith in you."

"Victory?" Reimu's head jerked back. "The hell are you going on about now?"

"Why Reimu, I refer to your recent triumph over Yukari Yakumo in a battle of wits and words, of course! And now only that, she admitted defeat as well! Did you know that the number of people that have managed to do so can be counted on two hands and half a foot? I myself happen to be in that exclusive club, and can attest to its difficulty. You should have a plaque made to commemorate the occasion."

"Oh," Reimu said. "That." Truth be told, she still wasn't sure how she felt about her so-called victory. Yeah, maybe it was a cause to celebrate, but she was starting to get the feeling that working with Yukari could be just as dangerous as working against her.

Or maybe she was thinking of Mima. It was easy to get them confused.

"Mmmm-hmmm. That indeed." Mima arched an eyebrow. "Of course, that will make our endeavors considerably easier, being able to act openly act without fear of repercussion." Her lips curled in a familiar smirk. "Oh, I cannot wait for the inevitable emergency Ringleader meeting that she'll have to call to explain the new direction. Oh, the crow she'll be eating. I'll have to remember to bring a camera."

"Well, I'm glad you'll find it funny," Reimu muttered.

Mima laughed. "Oh, so dire! Honestly child, we could find Rin under these very floorboards within the hour, have the Shadow Youkai sucked back into its blade of origin by evening, have Yuuka Kazami evicted by midnight, and have Rin cured and ready to go home with a lollipop in hand by morning, and you'd still find reason to sulk. Learn to look on the bright side every once in a while, it'll do you good." She pulled out a small, metal file and began tending to her fingernails. "Oh, that reminds me. What brings you by this fine spring day?"

Reimu shrugged. "Nothing, really. Was just feeling restless."

"Felt the urgent need to spread that sourness around, eh? I can sympathize." Mima glanced toward the washroom door. Inside, the sounds of water had ceased, replaced by the rustling of cloth. "Though I fear we already have enough of our own."

As if on cue, the door swung open and Marisa stepped out, now fully dressed. The anger on her face had been bottled away, leaving her face a neutral mask. "Hey, I'm all out of some stuff I can't find in the forest, so I was gonna go to Kourindou," she said to Reimu. "You wanna come with?"

"I…sure."

"Nifty." Marisa held out her hand, and her broom shot from the corner it had been leaning against to smack against her palm. With that, she headed toward the door. "Keep an eye on the pots for me, yeah?" she said to Mima as she passed.

"Never fear, your projects are safe in my hands." Mima glanced at Reimu and shrugged. Shaking her head, Reimu jogged to catch up with Marisa.

…

The Ancient City had seen better days. But hey, it had seen worst.

Most of the damage resulting from Rin Satsuki's brief but memorable passage had been repaired. The market was open again, with most of its regulars already on the way to recovering from the loss of stock and profits the wave of Phoenix Fire had cost them. The buildings that had lost their topmost parts when she had fallen past like a comet were also well on their way to being fully repaired. As rough as the city of Underworlders might be, let it never be said that it didn't take care of its own.

Unfortunately, the damage inflicted by one of its own was still a cause for concern. Utsuho Reiuji's misguided attempt to stop Rin Satsuki from escaping had resulted in one apartment building completely demolished and the surrounding neighborhood contaminated by the radiation. The destroyed building was one thing. Rubble was easy to clear away, and structures could be rebuilt. The radiation was a different sort of beast entirely, one that the city's denizens were ill equipped to deal with.

Fortunately, help came from an unexpected source. The two oni warriors, Suika Ibuki and Yuugi Hoshiguma, had gone above ground in pursuit of their quarry, and had returned with a team of Hazmat-suit clad Kappa, led by none other than the goddess Kanako Yasaka herself. At first, the Underworlders were unsure of what to make of their visitors, but when they saw how quickly the Kappa were able to clean up the irradiated area, they welcomes their aquatic neighbors with open arms.

Sunshu, the mayor, seemed especially pleased. It was a good thing Suika and Yuugi had told Kanako what to expect, otherwise she might have let slip with something insensitive. It wasn't that the mayor's beard was ugly. Quite the contrary, it was very handsome: long, black, and well-trimmed, with crystal beads adorning its curling edges. It was just that the rest of her was very, obviously female, and the dissonance could be disconcerting for someone unused to it. But Sunshu didn't seem at all ashamed by it, and Kanako was able to keep from staring.

"I seriously cannot thank you and your people enough," Sunshu said as she admiringly watched the Kappa work. "Honestly, I don't know what we would have done had you not shown up. That dreadful bird just about ruined the whole block with her messy radiocean-"

"Radiation," Kanako said distractedly. Mispronunciations asides, the mayor wasn't wrong about the rest though. It hadn't taken long for her to detect the nasty stuff clinging to Suika and Yuugi. The silly girls hadn't even been aware of it, despite practically submerging themselves in it. Fearing the worst, Kanako had immediately led her appropriately clothed and equipped Kappa to the Ancient City and had found her fears justified. The people there were proceeding with the cleanup, heedless of the radiation's effects. Maybe to the tougher youkai it wasn't as much of a problem, but even they were getting sick.

"Of course, of course," Sunshu said amiably. "I have to admit, I was surprised when you arrived. You, ah, Overlanders don't often concern yourselves with our wellbeing."

"I don't see why that should be," Kanako remarked. "Overland, Underworld, native-born, immigrant, it doesn't matter. We are all of Gensokyo, are we not?"

Sunshu beamed. "I like your thinking! All of Gensokyo, yes." Then she tilted her head to one side, hand stroking her beard thoughtfully. "And I hope you don't mind me asking, but what kind of goddess are you?"

"Pardon?" Kanako said, blinking.

"I mean in regards to your animal totem."

Animal totem. Odd way of putting it, but Kanako supposed it fit. "Serpent," she said.

Sunshu's smile grew wider. "Ah, that explains things! A proper Underground beast, I must say! You are kin, in a way."

Well, so much for all of them being of Gensokyo. "I am finding family wherever I go, it seems," she said diplomatically. "Though I should tell you that while the Kappa are happy to stay until their work is done, I cannot remain much longer. The monster's rampage did a great deal of damage to my land as well, and I need to be there for my people."

"Of course, of course," Sunshu said amiably. "The aid you have rendered already is more than sufficient. One must put their own house first, after all." Then her face darkened. "If only that view were a bit more…widespread." With a shake of her head, the oni woman said her farewells and left.

Kanako didn't have to puzzle over that last comment. Satori Komeiji, her opposite number of the Underworld, was not well loved by her people, and this disaster could not be helping matters. The fact that one of her beloved pets had done far worse than a rampaging monster would not endear her to anyone.

Strange then, that these people were taking so kindly to Kanako, seeing that she was the one responsible for turning Utsuho into what she was today. But then, when making reparations for her actions, she had only ever dealt directly with Satori or one of her pets. Perhaps the small woman concealed secrets as well as she acquired them from the minds of others. If so, Kanako was grateful. While things had turned out well in the end, that mess was not one of her prouder moments.

But stranger still was the fact that Satori had not spoken to her personally this whole time. When the request had been put in to allow the Kappa to aid with the cleanup, they had spoken to one of her many pets, the red-haired cat, who had given permission on behalf of her master and quickly disappeared. Given the history between Kanako and the Underground, she would have thought that Satori would want to probe her head for ulterior motives. Satori was a private person, yes, but she wasn't stupid.

Musing on this, Kanako moved through the streets back towards the city entrance. Come to think of it, rumors had been circulating that Satori and her pets had been involved with that disastrous tussle between Yukari Yakumo and Yuuka Kazami. Yukari herself had been incredibly tight-lipped about exactly what had happened, save that she and Yuuka had both barely walked away (though given that Kanako had spoken with both the day before and saw what kind of conditions they were in, it was clear that Yuuka was now by far the better off for it). Perhaps Satori had not been so lucky. A troubling possibility, to say the least.

As Kanako turned into a narrow alley, she became aware of another's presence. Someone was following, and taking care not to let her know of it. They were good at it too, but Kanako was still, by her own admission, a snake, and snakes didn't live long without possessing an almost supernatural awareness of their surroundings.

Pausing, she glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes caught a flash of motion, quick enough that another might have dismissed it for a trick of the light, but she knew better. "All right," she said. "Come on out. There's no point in hiding."

Silence greeted her call, but then a large, black cat with two tails slinked out of the shadows. Kanako's eyes narrowed. It was Rin Kaenbyou, otherwise known as Orin, the same cat that had spoken for Satori earlier that day, and, come to think of it, had also accompanied her to that Ringleader meeting.

"Yes?" Kanako inquired. "Is there something I can help you with?"

The shadows shivered, and the cat seemed to melt upward. A moment later her Human aspect stood before the goddess.

"I apologize," she said, bowing her head. "I merely wished to see you safely to the gate."

A lie. "Your concern is appreciated, but it is customary for guards to make themselves known to the person they're guarding," Kanako pointed out. "Besides, should trouble erupt, I daresay I could handle myself."

"Forgive me," the cat said. "I meant no offense."

As honeyed as her words might be, her face said otherwise. The girl was a poor liar, and Kanako could see the mistrust on her face, plain as day. "If there is something your master wishes to say to me, I'd appreciate if she'd just say it," Kanako said. "I realize that our previous dealings would be cause for suspicion, but a simple one-and-one conversation should allay any fears she might be harboring as to my intentions, wouldn't it?"

A flash of anger appeared in the cat's eyes. Ah, so the mistrust was personal. Interesting, though not unexpected. It stood to reason that Utsuho Reiuji would have friends who would be less than pleased how she had been used. "You misunderstand. My master has nothing but the-"

"Oh, for the love of all that is good and proper, will you two please dispense with the run-around? At this rate, you'll be politely loathing each other in this alley for the rest of the day!"

Kanako's breath caught in her throat. Oh no. Not her, not now. And judging by the look in Orin's eyes, she had much the same reaction.

The two them turned, but then the world spun dizzyingly around them. Kanako caught a brief impression of innumerable eyes, but the next thing she knew she and the cat were standing on a flat, grey plane, surrounded by featureless walls.

The reason for the sudden change in location was easy enough to discern. Yukari Yakumo sat nearby in her wheelchair, her nine-tailed Shikigami standing silently behind her. The elder youkai didn't seem especially angry, but it was clear that she was having a long day. Her emaciated hands were folded in front of her face, and her golden eyes glowered out from their sunken sockets.

"Kanako," she said by way of greeting. "Rin. Good day. Apologies for bringing you here so suddenly, but I needed to speak with you both, and I really don't care to be overhead."

Orin edged back, her tails bristling. "Where are we?" she said nervously.

"A temporary sub-dimension, located in the Borderlands. It'll cease to exist once this conversation had concluded and the two of you returned to the Ancient City."

Kanako was on her guard. Yesterday, Yukari had explained to her in no uncertain terms that the goddess's participation in Reimu Hakurei's little conspiracy wasn't at all appreciated. No punishment had been doled out, but Kanako wasn't about to be lulled into a sense of security. "Is there a problem?" she said cautiously.

"Yes, in the plural. But the one I snatched you off the streets to discuss just so happens to be the one you two were dancing around a moment ago. Specifically, Satori Komeiji. Or rather, the current lack thereof."

Stricken, Orin let out a small squeak of surprise. "Wait! You can't!"

"Can, will, and am about to."

"But you said not to tell anyone!" Orin protested further. "You said!"

"I did, but obviously as the one who set that restriction, I am not under it myself."

Though Kanako was still reeling from this sudden turn of events, she was sharp enough to pick up on what was being discussed. Steadying her feet beneath her, she took a deep breath to center her nerves and said, "Lady Yakumo. Would I be correct in presuming that this disagreement concerns Satori Komeiji's current whereabouts?"

Yukari took a deep breath of her own. "Yes. Unfortunately, Satori was killed while in combat with Yuuka Kazami. Not an uncommon occurrence, as about half of those involved in that battle were killed at one point or another. But Satori had the ill fortune to have her life energies sealed away in the very same prison meant for Yuuka. Whether or not she has been since restored is unknown, but there is little doubt that Satori remains Yuuka's prisoner." She tilted her head to one side. "And that was highly classified information, by the way. Welcome to the Inner Circle."

Kanako had suspected as much, but that didn't make things any less troubling. Her relationship with Satori was uneasy, that was true. The whole Hellcrow incident had been a diplomatic nightmare, and while they had eventually worked things out enough to have the nuclear reactor constructed, dealings between them had been decidedly chilly. Still, Satori was still a fellow Ringleader, and Kanako didn't want to imagine what sort of things she might be suffering at Yuuka's hands.

Furthermore, a society deprived of a beloved leader might pull together and stay strong in their leader's absence. But one that was as disliked by her people as Satori would not likely be missed. In fact, should word get out, Satori might return home to find herself replaced, if she managed to get home at all. Rin Satsuki's rampage definitely hadn't helped matters either.

As Kanako mused over this information and its implications, Orin took the opportunity to voice her disapproval. "Wait, you just up and told her?" she gaped. "Her? After what she did to Utsuho, you're going to let her-"

"Enough," Yukari growled. She didn't raise her voice, but the command was there. When it became evident that Orin wasn't going to start yelling again, the elder youkai said, "Miss Kaenbyou, I am only going to say this once, so please pay attention: I do not care one whit about any lingering resentment you might feel towards Kanako. The matter of Utsuho Reiuji's acquirement of nuclear capabilities and this goddess's involvement is a thing of the past. It's over. If you wish to press the matter, please wait until our country is not being threatened by horrors so terrible that they boggle the imagination."

Orin shut her mouth. Her tails bristled, and she kept shooting glares in Kanako's direction, but she didn't continue her tirade. As for Kanako, she simply said nothing at all.

Yukari sighed. "Now, if that's done with, the reason I brought you here is to find a solution, however temporary, for the problems created by the existing power vacuum and the civil unrest currently rising in the streets."

"Why would you care?" Orin said, her voice tinged with suspicion.

Kanako knew the answer. "Because while under attack from beyond your walls, dissention from within can be disastrous, if not outright fatal."

"Precisely," Yukari said with a nod of acknowledgement. "We have our hands full enough as it is without having the very people we're trying to protect rising up and forming riots.

Kanako felt a prickle of fear. As someone who had until very recently been a part of a dangerous conspiracy, being turned on by her own allies was an all-too common anxiety for her. "Do you think that is a possibility?"

Yukari quirked an eyebrow, and Kanako felt her skin crawl. Though the elder youkai hadn't given her much more than a stern lecture, Kanako knew that Yukari had not forgotten Reimu Hakurei's scheme, or Kanako's part to play in it. "I think it's enough of one to work towards stability now instead of waiting for things to worsen," Yukari said. "Rescuing Satori will be a tough nut to crack, and I prefer not to count on that alone to solve things."

Orin frowned. "And you are planning on rescuing her, aren't you?"

Yukari gave her a withering look. "Obviously," she said dryly.

Kanako frowned. "But I fail to see how I can help. Unless you plan on having me take charge in her place, I don't-" She stopped talking and blinked. Wait, Yukari couldn't actually be planning on that, could she?

It seemed Orin had come to the same conclusion. "Wait," she said, feline ears sticking straight up. "You're not seriously-

"Oh, the thought's occurred to me," Yukari said calmly. "But if you were planning on standing in representation of three peoples at the next Ringleader meaning, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. As it stands, you have too much occupying your time to be able to run things in Satori's place." Her gaze settled thoughtfully on the serpent goddess. "Still, I think you can help."

"How?" Kanako asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"As you've noticed, you have a knack for showing up at exactly the right time with exactly what people need. You make friends easily, and know how to win trust."

Orin hissed, in clear disagreement with Yukari's assessment.

Yukari ignored her. "The positive reaction to your assistance here today proves this. What I would like you to do is continue to at least be a presence here. Provide a comforting voice for those here to come to, and be sure to quell any feelings of…anarchy."

"Even that might be too much," Kanako said. "My own people-"

"I never said you had to pitch your tent here and roll out a sleeping bag," Yukari interrupted. "Just make a few appearances here and there, enough to imprint yourself in their minds as someone to be trusted. Get Byakuren to help you if you must. She has the free time, and is if anything even more approachable than you are."

Orin's eyes were still narrowed. "Even if these…outsiders can win the people's trust, it won't be enough! People are talking already. Someone's going to find out that Satori is gone sooner or later."

"Then we will have to provide a Satori," Yukari declared, as if such a thing were obvious.

Kanako cleared her throat. "Ah, did you mean Satori the person, or Satori the species?"

"Both, in this case." When both goddess and feline stared uncomprehending at her, she clarified, "We'll need someone to stand in for her and keep her absence under wraps until the real article can resume her duties. Another of her kind would be ideal. A few tricks, a few glamours, and no one will notice the difference."

Judging by the way her teeth were showing, it was clear that Orin did not approve of this plan at all. "That's your big plan? Just replace her with a fake and expect everyone to accept her?"

"The alternative is to replace her for real," Yukari said, her eyes growing hard. "Would you like me to do that?"

Orin flinched.

"I thought not." Yukari glanced back to Kanako. "Of course, it'll help tremendously if you were to be seen working directly with the replacement, though I would suggest you wait until the people trust you completely before making it public. And always be sure to appear as if you are speaking to her with the people's voice, instead of the other way around."

"I know how the game is played," Kanako told her.

Yukari nodded. "Excellent. Now, the only question is who-"

"There's another problem," Orin cut in.

Yukari frowned, clearly unhappy about being interrupted. "Oh?"

Orin nodded. "Back at the Palace of Earth Spirits. Some of the other pets are…growing restless, and will probably not take well to this replacement. They may cause trouble."

"In other words, the more rebellious ones are challenging your authority as, ah, pack leader," Yukari said, scratching her cheek. "And it's only a matter of time before you get displaced, possibly by someone even less open to cooperation."

Orin looked uncomfortable with the summation, but she didn't contradict her.

Yukari sighed. "How far have we fallen, that we must take the political climate of pets into account. Oh, very well. Fortunately, I do have someone in mind that could slip into the role and still keep control of your furry brethren."

Kanako perked up. She felt she was catching on. "I think I know who you're speaking of. If so, it'll make things easier. We already have something of a friendly relationship." Her brow furrowed as she thought. "In fact, I believe she is currently staying with Byakuren?"

"Last time I checked, yes."

Orin stared at them, still unsure of whom they were referring to. Then her face lit up with realization. "Wait, you don't mean…"

"A little risky, I know, considering her condition," Yukari said. "But that can be at least temporarily remedied."

Agitated, Orin wrung her hands while her tails did the same. "But…but she wouldn't!" she protested. "She left so she wouldn't have to put up with the sort of crap Satori has to deal with! Why would she want to take Satori's place?"

Yukari smiled sweetly at her. "Why, because of the love she holds for her sister and a desire to help."

"Or not," Kanako said with a frown. "Her current emotional state is…kind of complicated."

That was putting it mildly. The person in question was downright insane, at least when judged by the standards of her people. She would not be Kanako's first choice to provide a replacement for one of Gensokyo's most prominent leaders, especially one that had been put in charge of such an excitable populace, however temporary. Or her second, for that matter. Or her third.

But then, the nature of her peculiarities was fixable, and that fix could be reversed afterward. And given how reclusive Satori (the person) had been, she need not appear in public often. And even if one of the other Satori (the people) were to agree, there was no guarantee that one of Satori's (the person; goodness, what had her parents been thinking?) pets would accept the replacement. Animal youkai did not take well to having their loyalties manipulated, and if the situation at the palace was as turbulent as Orin described, the last thing they needed was to set off one uprising while trying to prevent another. There really was only one person that they might consent to following in Satori's absence.

Besides, given the delicate forces at play, Kanako didn't blame Yukari for not wanting to involve a race of mind-readers.

"Indeed they are," Yukari said in response to Kanako's statement. "But again, not an insurmountable problem."

Orin, however, looked less than convinced. "You can't just-"

Yukari sighed. She massaged the flaky flesh of her forehead with her fingertips. "Miss Kaenbyou, I would take it as a kindness if you would stop contradicting me and start cooperating. No, it is not a preferable state of things. But the alternatives are far, far worse."

Orin didn't protest again, but she still looked distraught.

Yukari turned her head toward Kanako. "I trust I have your agreement in this?"

"Yes." What other answer was there.

"Good." Yukari twirled her finger in the air, and her silent Shikigami spun the wheelchair around and started pushing her away. Where, Kanako couldn't guess. "Now if you ladies will excuse me, I have an urgent appointment with the anthropomorphic embodiment of dreams."

Kanako's vision blurred, and she was again standing in the alleyway with Orin. She inhaled deeply of the Ancient City's warm, earthy air and slowly let it out. Well. That had been…uncomfortable.

Orin let out a low hiss. "I really, really don't like her," she said echoing a very common sentiment. Then she glowered at the serpent goddess. "Or you."

That much was obvious, "I think that just about sums up the current diplomatic environment," Kanako remarked.

Orin's eyes narrowed. "Be warned, goddess. If Satori comes to any harm because of this-"

"It won't be by my hand," Kanako said. "And I do not plan on usurping any power from her. You have my word."

"For what that's worth," Orin spat. Without another word, she resumed her animal aspect and leapt back onto the wall. From there, bounded across rooftops, back toward the Palace of Earth Spirits.

Kanako watched her until she was out of sight. Then, shaking her head, she resumed her walk toward the city exit.

…

Once they were out in the open air, Marisa's mood improved noticeably. Her drama with Alice seemed to be at least temporarily forgotten, and she returned to her usual brash self. Reimu was grateful for that, for as annoying as cheerful Marisa could be, moody Marisa was just uncomfortable to deal with.

Unfortunately, like Mima, the only thing Marisa felt like talking about was Reimu's now famed debate with Yukari, when Reimu would be perfectly happy forgetting that it had ever happened. Sure, the results had been ultimately positive, and yeah okay, maybe beating Yukari in a verbal debate was kind of cool. But everyone kept making such a big deal about it that Reimu was starting to feel a little weird. When she had saved Gensokyo from a nuclear holocaust, all she had gotten was a pat on the back and two really unpleasant days getting decontaminated.

"Come on, you gotta give me more than that," Marisa pressed as they sailed over the treetops. "You versus a seriously pissed off Yukari right after she found out about our super-secret conspiracy? And you not only walked away in one piece, but actually fucking won? You shoulda been stuck in a little box and stuffed into a big hole in the ground!"

Reimu shook her head. "Look, I know Yukari's got a short temper sometimes-"

"No. I have a short temper. Yukari's a bonafide control freak."

"Well, maybe," Reimu admitted. "But that doesn't mean she doesn't-"

"She stuffed me in a jail cell and took away my mouth, just because I got in her face," Marisa said. "Then she shoved a bunch of crazy spells into my hands and tossed me at Yuuka, just because she got distracting, ze. My hands. Me. Bitch be crazy, yo."

Reimu blinked. "Wait, she took away your mouth?"

Marisa mimed the zipping of a zipper across her lips. "Gone. No hole, no lips, nothin'. And I had a bitch of a loogie in there too. Like I said: bitch be crazy."

Ew. "Well, she did gap me into your cell at one point," Reimu admitted. Then she regretted it when Marisa let out one of her earsplitting cackles.

"No shit!" the witch gibed. Ahead, a gang of fairies had caught sight of the two girls and immediately swooped in to cause mischief. Reimu and Marisa paused their conversation long enough to reduce their wannabe assailants to a cloud of sparkling dust. As Marisa blasted away four fairies dumb enough to charge her headlong, she shouted, "Maybe we should get matching tattoos, hey?"

Reimu fired off a handful of seeker charms to take care of the rest. "I was only there for a few seconds," she said. "Yukari just wanted to intimidate me."

"Did she?" Marisa asked as she swooped back to the shrine maiden's side.

"Not really."

"Yeah, you'd think she'd know you better than that." Marisa grinned. "So…"

Reimu gave her a sidelong look. "What?"

"How. Did. You. Beat. Her? C'mon, stop leaving me in suspense!"

Sighing, Reimu said, "Look, we just argued a lot. She made a big point of showing me Gensokyo's history and all the stuff she had to deal with to keep it safe, made a lot of comparisons to this Rin Satsuki thing and how dangerous helping her is, and went on a big 'End justifies the means,' spiel. I told her how Rin was helping us and all, and how messing with her will just make her crazier and harder to stop. She went off by herself for a while, and then came back and said she'd try our way for a while. That's it?"

"Ha, the hell it was," Marisa snorted. "And admit it: you cribbed off of Byakuren's speeches like crazy."

"Well, yeah."

"Thought so," Marisa smirked. "And hey: she didn't say anything about Mima and me, did she?"

"Who, Byakuren?" Reimu said in bewilderment.

Marisa came in close enough to flick her in the temple. "No, you twit! Yukari!"

Reimu swatted her away. "Stop that. And not really. She was more interested in Kanako and Byakuren."

"Oh, I feel left out," Marisa complained. "Still, probably for the best. Really don't wanna lose my lips again, ze." She eyed Reimu. "And hey, you really should be happier about this. I mean, come on! You only just-"

"I know, I know, I know!" Reimu exploded. "Mima gave me the talk already! Big accomplishment, should be real proud of myself, things will be easier, stop being so mopey, and so on and so forth. I get it!"

"Jeez, chillax there Reddie," Marisa said, jerking her head back. "And she's right. Why so bad-moody?"

Reimu sighed. I don't know, okay? I just am. So can we drop it already?"

"Nope." Marisa leaned in, bringing her face uncomfortably close. "C'mon. Telllllllll meeeeee."

"Stop that," Reimu growled, shoving her away. "And look: there's way too much crap we still need to handle. When Gensokyo's safe again, then I'll feel better. There, you happy?"

"Eh, close enough," Marisa said with a shrug. "Though Mima's right. You really gotta stop being so grumpy all the time. Loosen up a little, you know? Things ain't gonna get fixed by worrying, so why worry?"

Reimu scowled. "Your breath smells."

"And you love it," Marisa grinned.

Rolling her eyes, Reimu gave Marisa another rough shove, though she did have to fight off a small, half-smile. Though she would never admit, she did find the young witch's audacity to be sort of amusing sometimes. Maybe Marisa was just an acquired taste.

Kourindou was a curiosities shop that sat on the edge of the Forest of Magic, one that specialized in objects from the Outside World that had fallen through the Hakurei Barrier but carried a wide assortment of other odds and ends as well. It was run by one Rinnosuke Morichika, a quiet, bookish man. Rinnosuke mostly kept to himself, preferring to sort through his odd collection and record his observations on the comings and goings of Gensokyo. Reimu mostly knew him through Marisa, for whom he was an old family friend, and apparently one of the few pieces of Marisa's family that she had liked enough to hold onto.

Reimu wasn't exactly sure how he kept his shop open. She had been by a fair few times, mostly in Marisa's company, and it almost always was empty. The local youkai rarely had much in the way of spending money and when they did, they preferred to spend it at the Youkai Market. And Humans generally avoided the place. Reimu wasn't sure why, but the fact that Rinnosuke was half-youkai on his mother's side probably had something to do with it. Silly thinking, if you asked her. Rinnosuke was probably the most inoffensive person she knew, regardless of his parentage.

At any rate, she had heard rumors of him having connections to Eientei and even Yukari herself, so maybe he supported himself through a mail order service. Either way, despite the lack of visible business, Kourindou remained a fixture of the forest. Reimu recalled with amusement one interesting summer when Marisa had been inspired to open up a shop of her own, right out of her house. It hadn't lasted long, but boy howdy did it provide for great material whenever Reimu needed to shut her up.

Soon they reached the edge of the forest and were in sight of Kourindou. Immediately they saw that something was wrong. Part of the roof and a bit of the attached wall had been blasted away, and was now covered by heavy leather tarp, not too dissimilar to that hole that Flandre Scarlet had made in Marisa's house.

Reimu slowing, her guard going up. Youkai generally left Rinnosuke alone, but the forest was dangerous. She glanced to Marisa, whose brow had risen with interest. She didn't seem especially concerned though.

"Well," Reimu said in a low voice. "That…doesn't seem right. You think he's okay?"

"Duh," Marisa said. "Who else woulda put that tarp up? Wonder what happened though."

"Maybe one of his Outside World thingies blew up," Reimu suggested.

That suggestion made Marisa glower. "Oh, he better not have gotten his mitts on an Outside World explodey thing and not told me," she growled.

"Like you need more."

"Doesn't mean I ain't in the market for new ideas, ze," Marisa said. "A girl's gotta have variety, you know!"

Shaking her head, Reimu swooped down to the front door. "Let's just go see if he's okay."

The door was locked tight, though from inside she could hear something moving around. And, curiously enough, the sound of splashing. She glanced at Marisa and shrugged. "Sounds like someone's cleaning something?" she suggested.

"Only one way to find out." Marisa lifted her fist and slammed it loudly against the door.

The sounds ceased, and then Rinnosuke's weedy voice said from inside, "Ah, we're closed!"

Well, at least he was all right. Reimu sighed with relief, while Marisa just shouted, "Hola, Kourin! You know a piece of your house is missing, right?"

"Marisa," Rinnosuke sighed. "All right, give me a moment."

More splashes followed, and then the door opened.

Reimu's jaw just about hit the floor.

As expected, Rinnosuke stood before them. He was tall, but (normally) unassuming, with a slender frame; studious pale gold eyes; a sober face; and short, feathery silver hair, which now clung to his head in damp streamers. However, Reimu was now seeing much more of him than she usually did. The only thing he was wearing aside from his trademark pair of spectacles was a white towel knotted tightly around his waist.

Reimu felt her body heat rise. Unlike Marisa, who had wasn't at all shy about sexual matters and had no problem broadcasting the fact, she really had no interest. She wasn't asexual, she just saw little point to it. Her life was busy enough without worrying about base instincts. In fact, she was kind of put off by the whole thing, for which she blamed Marisa's frequent off-color jokes.

However, she was still Human, and it was hard not to notice that, despite Rinnosuke's gentle and nonviolent nature, he did keep himself in shape. Very in shape. But wow, those big robes he always wore concealed a lot.

If he noticed how his state of undress was affecting the shrine maiden, Rinnosuke made no sign. He calmly adjusted his spectacles and blinked down at them. "Oh, hello ladies," he said. "I'm afraid you've come at a bad time."

Bizarrely enough, crude and perverse Marisa wasn't the least bit bothered by the sight. "'Sup, Kourin?" she greeted with a cheeky grin, shooting off a quick salute. "Is that a naked I see, or are you just happy to see me?"

Rinnosuke sighed. "Yes, well, you did decide to pop by while I was in the bath."

"Yeah, kinda noticed," Marisa drawled. "You do know that it's the middle of the day, right?"

Rinnosuke glanced over his shoulder. Beyond, the hole and the piece of leather covering it could be seen. "Well, I'm afraid I ran into a bit of a mess, and the cleanup…well, it was anything but."

"Yeah, I was gonna ask you about that." Marisa stood up on her toes to peer over inside. "The hell you get that from? You trying to copy me or something?"

Rinnosuke frowned down at her. "What are you…Never mind. I don't want to know. And if you must know, a woodpecker youkai got into a fight with a fairy gang earlier this morning." He took off his glasses and wiped them on the hem of his towel. Reimu swallowed noisily. "Normal enough occurrence, I know, but these had the poor manners to take their brawl right through my roof."

"Sucks," Marisa observed.

"I know. They made a frightful mess on their way out, and furthermore they did not they offer any sort of apology or recompense. I only just finished cleaning up a few minutes ago." He replaced the spectacles onto his nose. "So, what brings you two here?"

"I'm outta snapdragons, cannis root, and swamp pods," Marisa declared. "Came by to pick up a few."

Rinnosuke frowned. "The snapdragons are out of season."

"So? You had a bunch of dried ones in a jar."

"Marisa, that was four months ago."

Marisa's gaze didn't waver. "So?"

Sighing, Rinnosuke turned and walked inside, leaving the door open. "You know, it would be appreciated if you'd at least pretend I had some kind of turnover rate."

"What's the point of that? If something's here in November, it'll still be here in July. For the next three years."

"I'm glad to see that you continue to have all the subtlety of a drunken mountain giant." Rinnosuke headed toward another room, hopefully to dress. "Well, come in. And please remember that anything removed from the shop must be paid for."

Marisa glanced over to Reimu and snickered. "You, uh, looking to catch flies there, Reddie?"

Her face already burning scarlet, Reimu clenched her jaw shut. She refused to so much as look at Marisa, who immediately cracked up. Freaking youkai and their weird views of modesty.

The two girls entered the shop. Inside, there was a disturbing resemblance to how Marisa's home had looked before Kotohime had gotten her hands on it, in that it was filled with a bizarre clutter of odds and ends. However, Rinnosuke at least made an effort to keep things organized. As Marisa headed for the herbs, Reimu did what she normally did while visiting Kourindou and browsed around the Outside World items. It looked more-or-less the same as the last time she was here, but there were a few new additions. Most of them were articles of clothing, books, and household items that honestly wouldn't look out of place in Gensokyo. But there were some odd pieces of machinery that honestly perplexed and bothered her. She didn't like machines at the best of times, even when she hadn't nearly been crushed by two oversized metal behemoths. Technology on the whole bothered her. It just didn't seem right for mortals to exert that kind of control over natural forces without the gods' consent. She only tolerated Kanako's many attempts to speed Gensokyo's progress along because Kanako was a goddess.

It didn't take long for Marisa to gather what she needed. Rinnosuke emerged from the other room, thankfully fully dressed. "So, I hear you two have gotten yourselves involved in some trouble," he said as Marisa filled a glass bottle full of swamp pods.

"Uh-huh," Marisa said. "And I hear that dirt is dirty and shins hurt when you kick 'em."

Sighing, Rinnosuke leaned over and rested his elbows on the counter. "Marisa, you know I don't like to lecture you…"

"Then don't." Marisa turned to favor him with a cheeky grin. "See? Problem solved."

"But I really hope you're not entangling yourself in something too large for you to handle," Rinnosuke said mildly, as if she hadn't spoken. "And I saw you nick those arrowheads. Put them back."

Marisa reached into her apron and pulled out four amethyst triangles. "Just making sure you were paying attention," she said as she tossed them into a small box filled with more of the same."

"And the egg as well."

"Aw, c'mon," Marisa laughed as she pulled out a small, egg-shaped opal plopped it back onto the shelf it had been taken from. "You know I gotta at least give it a try, else you'll think I don't care!" She walked over to the counter and showed him the herbs she had selected. Rinnosuke named a price, and she paid it. Her back still turned toward them, Reimu wondered if Rinnosuke knew the great power he possessed. He was quite possibly the only person alive capable of making Marisa return stolen merchandise and pay for what she wanted without much fuss.

"By the by," Rinnosuke said as he place the money in his cashbox. "Your father was in here the other day."

Reimu winced. Oh boy, here they went.

Predictably, Marisa's demeanor switched from jovial to ice-cold. "Oh yeah?" she said. "Well. Hope you sanitized everything he touched."

Rinnosuke frowned in disapproval. "I wish you wouldn't be that way. He's worried about you."

"That right? Well, why should he start now?"

"Marisa…"

Marisa snatched her bottles of herbs from the counter and stuffed them into her apron. "See yah around, Kourin." With that, she stormed out of the shop.

Grimacing, Reimu hurried after her. "Sorry," she mouthed to Rinnosuke as she passed.

Sighing, Rinnosuke said, "Take care of her, please."

Nodding, Reimu all but ran out of the door.

Marisa stood a ways away from the store, broom in hand. She was looking out over the grassy plains that spread out from the Forest of Magic. Though it was impossible to tell for certain, Reimu was fairly sure that she was looking in the direction of the Human Village.

As Reimu approached, Marisa heaved out a heavy sigh. Then she grinned. "Well, mission accomplished, ze. Be seeing you, Reddie."

Which meant that she didn't want Reimu going back with her. A sour feeling was stirring in Reimu's stomach. "Uh, yeah," she said. "Take care of yourself."

"Don't I always?" With that, Marisa mounted her broom and took off.

Reimu waited until the young witch was little more than a dot on the horizon before muttered, "Not really." With that, she ascended off the ground and made her own way back to the shrine with a heavy heart. She had sought out Marisa's company in hopes of alleviating the dark thoughts swirling through her mind. Unfortunately, it had just made things worse.

When Reimu finally returned to the Hakurei Shrine, her mood was even blacker from having stewed and sulked the whole way back. Even blowing the odd reckless youkai or fairy to bits hadn't helped relieve her frustration. She wanted nothing more than to go find an empty room and sulk until she fell asleep. With the shrine's visitors now wholly non-existent (she fully put the blame on Yukari and her stupid barrier), there was little else to do with her time.

However, as she drew closer, she caught sight of something that made her heart leap into her chest and temporarily drive out the knowledge of how to breathe.

While she was gone, she had received a donation.

No, check that. She had received a DONATION! The donation box was now overflowing with currency, and the steps and surrounding road were literally covered with several large buckets, also filled to bursting with money. Powerful charms had been nailed to nearby trees to ward off wild youkai that might try to fill their pockets.

"Uh…uh…" Reimu opened and closed her mouth several times like a fish. Then she bolted down to examine her unexpected bounty.

It only took a few moments to confirm that yes, the money was real, and the charms did not prevent her from gathering it to herself. Unfortunately, all the bills were one-yen notes, which meant her new treasure was not quite as rich as it seemed, but her disappointment quickly disappeared. It didn't matter that the individual bills were of little worth, because by the gods, there were so many of them! It was literally more money than she had ever seen, much less possessed. Hell, it just might be more money than the Hakurei Shine had ever possessed, period. With this, she could…she could…well, she had no idea, but whatever it was, she could do it!

Letting out a squeal of delight, Reimu plunged her arms into two buckets. The sensation of yen notes against her skin filled her with euphoria, making her eyelids flutter. She moaned in ecstasy. Oh, this was the best. She had no idea who her wonderful benefactor was, but she now loved them to a degree that she had not formerly believed herself capable of.

Gathering a bucket under each arm, Reimu plodded up the steps, taking the time to admire each cluster of currency in turn. "Hello, my beauties," she crooned as she took each step. "Welcome. Don't worry, Mommy will take good care of you."

Then, as she happily waddled up to her gorgeously full donation box, she saw something that killed her enraptured state stone cold dead. There was a note pinned to the front of the donation box. It read:

"See me, please.

Remilia Scarlet."

…

Rin sat alone in the Aki sisters' kitchen, hand gripping the underside of her chair, head bowed. She felt absolutely wretched.

It was now late afternoon, bordering on early evening. In another room, the two autumn goddesses were still speaking in hushed and agitated tones, though their argument seemed to be over. Rin wasn't paying much attention, but it seemed that they had decided that while accepting a request from Yuuka Kazami was downright foolhardy, turning one down was nothing short of insane. Having seen what the flower-obsessed youkai (if indeed she was one; Rin now had some serious doubts) was capable of and having gotten a "taste" of her soul, Rin sympathized. Not everyone could be a veritable engine of unholy destruction for negotiation purposes.

Rin hated bringing them into this, but she had run out of options. Again. Oh sure, she could always just turn herself in and let Yukari's Angels do the job. But Rumia wasn't likely to survive the process. That was the only thing keeping Rin from just up and putting an end to this whole disaster. Rumia had to come out of this alive. Rin owed her that much.

Unfortunately, Rumia…wasn't talking to her anymore.

Well, that shouldn't be a surprise. Honestly, after how horribly Rin had treated her, it was a wonder that they had ever been friendly at all. Rumia was right: Rin had stolen her away from everyone and everything she had cared for and subjected her to horrors unimaginable. She had forced her to ride along with the nightmare that was Rin's life.

Okay, so maybe it had been an accident at first. A misunderstanding. And hadn't circumstances changed afterward, making Rumia's release too dangerous to attempt? It had been for her own good, after all.

At least, that was what Rin had kept telling herself. Now those words sounded hollow.

Had it really been for Rumia's sake that she had kept her for so long? Or was it just because Rin was scared of being alone again? Had she really deluded herself into believing that Rumia would want to stay with her, that they really would become friends? If so, than she really was an idiot. Rumia was her hostage, nothing more.

But she didn't have to be so mean about it!

It was because Rin had let her go out and be with her friends. Talk to them. Touch them. Feel what the world outside was like. Remind her of what she had lost. It wasn't fair! Rin had been trying to do a good thing, but it had just turned Rumia against her! Maybe Rumia was her prisoner, maybe they really weren't friends, but it was the only thing Rin had. Was it too much to ask that at least one person treat her decently?

Well, duh, yes it was. Rin was a terrible person. Ergo, it only made sense that people would treat her terribly. She deserved it. Everything she tried only ended up hurting others, and there was probably more than a few corpses that would be walking around today if it weren't for her.

But it wasn't like she was trying to do bad things! She wanted to be one of the good guys, she really did, but everything just kept working against her! Whenever she tried to help, things would go wrong by pure chance. Whenever she meekly did what other people told her to do, she got hurt. And when she tried to stand up for herself, other people got hurt. It was like she was cursed or something like-

Wait, someone was coming. Rin stiffened up. Her sharp ears had picked out the sound of someone approaching the house. They weren't trying to be at all stealthy about it, so they probably weren't an enemy. In fact, they were whistling cheerfully.

I think that's her, she told Rumia.

Rumia said nothing.

Then the door swung open and the newcomer announced herself with a happy, "Good evening, my lovelies!" She danced into the kitchen, giving a small twirl as she went. "I had a wonderful day, and I'm sure yours was just-" Then she noticed Rin and blinked in surprise. "Oh!"

Rin cocked her head in curiosity. The new person was…well, she had seen weirder, but this girl was still interesting. It was a young woman (but then, most people were) with long aquamarine hair and sparkling eyes of the same color. She wore a black-and-red dress with a green spiral insignia on one side, near the hem. Her hair was tied with a large frilled ribbon. Most noticeable were the two ponytails that hung down around her face and were tied together at her throat with a smaller ribbon, like a necktie. As far as fashion statements went, it was certainly different, but Rin wouldn't count on it catching on any time soon.

Either way, this was probably Hina Kagiyama, the roommate of the Aki sisters and the person Yuuka had sent her to see. Rin really didn't see how this person, goddess or not, could be of any help, but hey, who was she to judge? Clearing her throat, she said, "Uh, hi."

With that, the surprise on Hina's face vanished, to be replaced by a wide smile of delight. "Oh, hello!" she said, kneeling down so she and Rin were at eye level. "I wasn't expecting guests, but someone as cute as you is certainly welcome!" She held out her hand. "My name is Hina Kagiyama, sweetie. What's yours?"

Welcome. Cute. Ha, if she only knew. Careful to keep the taint and all other negative energies under tight control, Rin reached out to accept the handshake while saying, "I'm…Mary." Mary was the false name Yuuka had told her to use, under the assumption that the bounty meant that her real name was kind of infamous.

Then something odd happened. As soon as their hands touched, Hina immediately jerked her hand away as if she had been burned. Rin went stiff.

Hina stared at her fingers. There was no mark on them, but she had clearly sensed something. "Oh…oh my goodness," she said. She looked back at Rin and slowly straightened up. "Oh, my dear. I think I know why you're here. You have a terribly nasty curse on you, and need help getting rid of it. Is that right?"

Well, close enough. Rin silently nodded.

"Oh, you poor thing," Hina said, shaking her head. "Of course I'll help you. But something like this will take some time to-"

"Hina?" Minoriko stuck her head out from the hallway. Seeing her roommate standing there, her eyes went wide and she hurried over, putting herself between Hina and Rin. "Wait, wait, wait! Before you say anything, you need to hear the whole story!"

"Whole story?" Hina tried moving around Minoriko to get a good look at Rin, while Minoriko kept moving to block her. "Why? What happened to Mary?"

"Not sure about that just yet," Shizuha said as she entered the room. "But I'm more worried about what might happen to us."

When Yuuka had sent Rin to meet with these three goddesses, she had given her a letter, which included an explanation and a set of instructions. Of course, Rin had taken the time to read it carefully before her arrival. The explanation had been accurate enough, though it had left out the part concerning Rin's identity and the irrelevant bits of her history. However, avatar of a Fallen Angel, growing darkness within her, another innocent mind inside her own quite possibly at risk, all there. Which was surprisingly forthcoming, considering the source. However, she had gleaned that Yuuka definitely had a history with the Shizuha and Minoriko, one that was less than positive, if all the cheery mentions of "letting bygones be bygones" and "allowing you amend past misjudgments" were any indication.

The instructions didn't make a whole lot of sense though. They seemed to be about some kind of ritual involving dolls. Rin had been a pretty good student before her meltdown, but magical theory had always been one of her weaker subjects.

It was this letter that Shizuha was now holding out to Hina. Looking confused, Hina took it and read it.

Then her eyes got very, very wide, and she read it again. Followed by a third time. Rin had to repress a sigh.

Forcing a smile, Hina tilted her head to look at Rin. "I'm sorry Mary, but would you excuse us for a moment."

Rin nodded, and the three goddesses quickly retreated to the next room. This time, Rin made sure to pay careful attention to their conversation.

Hina was first to speak. "Yuuka Kazami?" she said as soon they were behind closed doors. "She was sent by Yuuka Kazami?"

"Looks like," Shizuha muttered. "The seal on the envelope was hers, and the penmanship matches up from those death threats she sent us last year."

Death threats. Rin winced. Ho boy, what had she wandered into?

"But what could she have to do with Mary?" Hina wanted to know. "Could she be the one to curse the poor girl?"

"I don't think so," Minoriko said softly. "Mary confirmed that it was this…Fallen Angel thing, but that might have been just a story."

"Hey, what is a Fallen Angel anyway?" Shizuha wanted to know.

"I'm not really sure," Minoriko admitted. "The term sounds familiar, but…"

"Um, actually, I know," Hina admitted nervously. There was a shuffling sound, probably from some kind of fidgeting. "Angels are the people that took over the Outside World and forced the Youkai Sages to create Gensokyo in the first place. Or at least, that's what I've heard."

There was a silence, and then Minoriko said cautiously, "So, a Fallen Angel would be…"

"One that went bad, I think?"

"That sounds redundant," Shizuha said. "If they're bad already, wouldn't one, uh, Falling mean it's on our side now?"

Sighing, Rin slipped off her chair and walked over to the room where the goddesses were. "No," she said, opening the door. "It means it went bad. This one turned into a homicidal maniac that wants to kill everyone and everything, and just might be strong enough to do so."

The three goddesses stared at her, their face white. Shizuha nervously licked her lips. "A-And you've got one inside of you?"

Rin shook her head. "Just a piece." She pointed at her own head. "But it's strong, and it's getting stronger."

"Oh, ah, heh." Shizuha laughed nervously. "Uh, yeah. Maybe…maybe we're not the right people to deal with this? Like, shouldn't you go to someone more…powerful?"

Rin sighed. "Yeah, we talked about that. Only thing is…you read the part about how I've got another, uh, soul inside of me? One that's attached to the piece."

That drew nods and confused looks from all around. "Yeah," Shizuha said. "Don't understand that at all, but hey, I've heard weirder."

"Yeah," Rin said. "Uh, this whole thing isn't her fault at all, and I'm trying to keep her safe, but we're pretty sure that whatever they'll do to get the piece out, there's like no chance she'll survive it." She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Or me."

"Oh," Minoriko said. She squeezed her lips tightly together and glanced nervously at her comrades. "Well, that's sounds…problematic."

Hina shook her head. "But…I'm sorry Mary, but I honestly don't know what help I can be. I remove curses and misfortune, yes, and I'll admit to being pretty good at it, but this is far out of my league! It'll be years, decades, maybe even over a century before I can even begin to attempt something on this level!"

"Yeah, Yuuka said that would probably be the case," Rin said. She pointed at the papers still clutched in Hina's hand. "So she sent along, uh, help? I think?"

"What?" Frowning, Hina shuffled through the papers and looked over the instructions. "Oh, I see. Well, this is…" Then she blinked several times, and as with the letter, reread what Yuuka had written. Rin didn't dare let herself feel hope, but she had to admit that she was holding her breath, even if breathing was no longer necessary.

"Well, I don't…" Hina turned the diagram sideways. A small smile was forming. "This is…Huh."

The two autumn goddesses edged up to her. "What is it?" Shizuha whispered. "I couldn't make heads or tails out of it, save that involves a bunch of your dolls."

"It does," Hina told her. "But it's a lot more than that. And if what Yuuka says about the fragment is true…" Slowly she lowered the papers to look down at Rin, a very strange smile on her face. Not sure what to make of it, Rin looked up at her expectedly.

"Guys," Hina said, still smiling. "I…I think I can do this."

…

Compared to Mugenkan, the House of Orchids was small, diminutive, and quaint. It was a brown one-story building with round windows, a sharply sloping tiled roof, and a sizeable patio. Inside, there were only three rooms: the living room, the kitchen, and restroom, with a shed for the tools in the back. It was airy enough inside, but was really little more than a cottage. Yuuka was fond of it though. It had a nice, rustic charm while still maintaining an acceptable amount of civility.

Normally, it would be decorated with the flowers from which it took its name. However, earlier that morning Yuuka had ordered them relocated and the furniture all cleared away. Now glowing blue Mykr's Sirens hung from the ceiling and a latticework of reinforced vines clung to the outside, providing the walls with extra support and covering the windows completely.

It was a dangerous thing Yuuka was about to do. The creature she was about to unleash was notoriously unstable, in possession of incredible physical strength, and had the power to utterly annihilate anything just by sheer force of will. However, she trusted that her precautions would be sufficient to keep her controlled. After all, Yuuka had bested her once already, and had been at quite the disadvantage at the time. Now the numbers were in Yuuka's favor and they were on her home turf, and Yuuka had three times the power she did then. Triumph would be difficult, but far from impossible.

Yuuka stood in the center of the living room, rolling the crimson crystal around in her fingers. She had to admit to just the smallest feeling of trepidation. Yesterday, she had unleashed a different monster, and the results had been less than satisfactory. Now she was about to release another one. Granted, she was confident in her abilities to keep this one under control, but hubris had gotten the better of her before.

She shook her head. Enough. Now was not the time for second thoughts.

Holding the crystal high, she stared into its facets, admiring how brightly they lit the room. With all the windows, doors, and fireplace sealed off, the only other illumination were dim lamps, which made the gem's violent crimson glow all the more striking. The power contained inside was certainly great. Ironic then that it had been intended for her. That little soiree in the Blasted Lands may have had serious unexpected drawbacks, but it really could have gone a lot worse.

Fortunately, she was familiar with the crystal's origin. It had been designed by a race of elves of all things, from a world much richer in magical energies. Their original purpose was to capture freefloating magic and store it for later use, though they had later been converted into traps for magical beings that left life essence behind. Once sprung, they were extremely difficult to open again, unless you so happened to be the one who had done the sealing. The crystals had a kind of memory. They "remembered" those who used them, and responded accordingly.

However, opening the crystal wasn't Yuuka's main source of concern. Unlike those released by most youkai and fairies, the life essences inside would not naturally form a new body upon release. In fact, had she not sealed them so quickly, they would have been lost forever. As such, a six-sided star was now engraved into the floor and surrounded by glowing runes. In the center of the star was a small pile of ash, taking from the burnt corpse of a child. The placement of the symbols would encourage the energies to use the ash to form themselves a new vessel and restore the imprisoned creature to life.

Taking a deep breath, Yuuka knelt down and placed the crystal on the pile of ash. She sent a single mental command infused with a heavy dose of her not insignificant will and stepped back.

The effect was immediate. The crystal flared white, causing Yuuka to involuntarily shield her eye. Then a tiny dot appeared within each of the facets. The dots grew, becoming holds, and from those holes red mist seeped out. Restrained by the spells that Yuuka had laid down, they swirled around violently until the crystal had been reduced to diamond dust.

Kneeling down, Yuuka closed her eye and started to chant, her voice a low, rhythmic monotone. The glow of the runes increased in response, and the red cloud suddenly recoiled. It jerked back and forth as if it were being jabbed at by blades. Then it twisted around into a slender vortex.

Yuuka held up her hand and spoke a word of command. The tip of the scarlet cyclone struck down into the center of the ash and sucked it up. The ash spun around as the cyclone contracted, forming into a small, humanoid shape. From there, the ash spread out and grew, covering the swirling life energies creating a hard shell.

And then it was done. In the center of the star was a grey statue of a naked little girl. She was lying on her side with her legs drawn up and clutched to her chest. Her eyes were squeezed shut.

Then cracks formed over the statue's surface. The grey shell fell away, revealing pink skin underneath. There was a gasp of fear, and the shell exploded off completely.

Yuuka smiled as the now living (or as close as her species would allow) girl looked around wildly, her red eyes wide with fear and surprise.

"Hello Flandre," Yuuka said warmly. She held out a hand. "Welcome back to the world of the living."

…

"Int. Kourindou

Enter Rinnosuke, still in his towel

Rinnosuke: Hello ladies. Look at you man. Now back to me. Now back to your man. Now back to me. Sadly, your man is not a half-youkai shopkeeper. But if you were to dress him up in thick blue robes and put a pair of glasses on his face, he can at least attempt to cosplay as me.

Kourindou falls apart, revealing deck of Palanquin. Rinnosuke holds up his arms and his robe falls from the sky, slipping onto him perfectly.

Rinnosuke: Look down, now up again. Where are you? You're on a flying boat, with the man your man can look like. Look down, now up again. What's in your hand?

Two Bomb powerups appear in his hand.

Rinnosuke: It's two spellcards that you love to use. What's this?

The Bombs fall from his hands, replaced by a geyser of sparks and lights.

Rinnosuke: The spellcards are now lasers! Anything is possible when you live in Gensokyo.

Shot pans out, revealing that Rinnosuke is being given a piggy-back ride by Marisa, who is straining under the weight.

Rinnosuke: I'm on a witch.

Marisa: Get…off…

End scene.

…

Yeah, did you know that when I first thought of that joke, that commercial had just come out? That's how long that bit has been waiting to be used. But it has nothing on the scene where Rin meets Hina. Seriously, I've sitting on that one even before I decided to make Yuuka an Outer God.

Also, Reimu's reaction to her enormous donation is based on my own whenever a surprise review pops up.

Hint, hint. :P

Anyway, I do think it's that time of year again! So next update will be a Christmas special. Jingle all the way!

Until next time, everyone!