Familial Ties
It's sort of eerie how normal the scene is. Reimu is sitting on the Hakurei Shrine's back porch, a bottle of cheap alcohol next to her. Marisa is there with her, sharing the bottle. Together they sit and drink and look out to the horizon, just as they've done countless times in the past.
But all is not right. For one, the shrine itself is gone, leaving just the porch. For another, Reimu has no idea where they were, save that they definitely weren't at the Hakurei Shrine grounds. The porch is floating lazily in the air. Beneath them is a sea of black, while above the sky is dark blue and full of stars. Red eyes blink at them occasionally from the darkness. Behind them, Yukari is sitting by herself, leaning against a post. She is pulling flowers up out of a pot and weaves them together. Reimu and Marisa both pretend that she's not there. Serves her right.
"That's no good," Marisa says, leaning forward to peer into the dark. Her legs swing back and forth over the emptiness. "Where did they come from, ze?"
Something about Marisa's posture fills Reimu with dread. Her friend is far too reckless, and if she isn't careful she'll fall right in. "Who knows?" Reimu says. She reaches out and puts a hand on Marisa's shoulder. "But be careful. I don't want you to fall."
Marisa grin at her but says nothing. Instead, she just starts rocking back and forth, humming loudly. That just worries Reimu further, as well as fills her with annoyance. Didn't Marisa understand how dangerous her behavior was?
Then someone lays a hand on her back. "Reimu," Yukari says.
Reimu ignores her. "Stop that," she says firmly to Marisa. "You'll fall."
Marisa just laughs and starts rocking back and forth with greater emphasis. Reimu grabs her again and tries to hold her steady, but Marisa simply shakes her off.
Then Yukari touches Reimu again. "Reimu," she says with more insistence this time.
Reimu shakes her head and says nothing. She has no time to deal with Yukari now, because the second she takes her eyes off Marisa she'll lose her. Of this she is absolutely certain.
"Marisa, stop!" she cries. "I'll lose you."
Marisa pauses for a moment, upper body still leaning back and legs outstretched. Then she settles back into a normal sitting position and turns to look at Reimu.
Her face is pallid and drawn thin, especially around the cheeks. One eye is a crushed, running mess, while the other is a dull and glassy and sunken into her skull.
"Too late, Reddie," Marisa whispers, her voice harsh and rattling and her tongue blue and swollen. Already black lines are creeping up her neck, forming magical symbols while her head starts to loll to one side. "Way too late. I'm sorry."
Reimu woke up with tears stinging her eyes.
For a few moments she didn't even try to move. She just continued to lay on her side, eyes closed, and waited until the shaking stopped. Then she worked on evening out her breathing.
Finally she was able to calm down, and her body relaxed. She even managed a small smile of relief. Damn, what a wacked-out dream that had been. It was probably all the stress she had been under.
She wondered if she should tell Marisa. The witch would probably find it hilarious, and would get a few good jokes out of it. But then again, she would also more than likely use it as fuel to tease Reimu for the rest of the day, and Reimu wasn't interested in giving her more reasons to get all grabby with her.
No, Reimu was going to keep this one to herself. Let Marisa use her own weird dreams as ammunition; the gods knew that she had plenty of them. That decided, Reimu settled down to go back to sleep.
"Reimu."
The sound of her name woke Reimu up the rest of the way. And then she remembered.
Reimu lay motionless for a few seconds, eyes staring at the nearby wall. Then she rubbed her eyes with the back of her wrist and slowly sat up. Genji was standing in the middle of the room, watching her, his aged face wrought with concern.
"What?" Reimu said hoarsely.
"You okay there, kid?" he asked.
Reimu's jaw tightened. "What?" she said again.
Genji sighed, but fortunately decided to leave it at that. "Get up, and get dressed," he told her. "You got a visitor."
"A visitor?" Reimu perked up a little at that.
"Yeah. And after that…" Genji sighed again. Somewhat was clearly troubling him. "There's…somethin' I gotta talk to you about. Somethin' you ain't gonna like."
Reimu's brow furrowed. "Is it Yukari?" she asked.
"What, the visitor or the other thing?"
"Either?"
Genji grunted. "No to the first, yes to the second."
Reimu sighed in irritation. Of course it was. "All right, give me a minute."
Moving her blanket aside, she got up and stretched. Then she dressed herself, though she did so a little more slowly than she usually would have. She was curious as to who had come to see her, yes, but was in no hurry to hear the bad news. Then, straightening her collar, she walked out of the shrine's living quarters.
"Morning," she said to Reisen as she passed. The Lunarian rabbit was busy in the kitchen.
"Hey," Reisen said with a warm smile.
"Genji says there's someone here to see me."
Nodding, Reisen tapped her ladle against the side of the pot she was stirring. "Yeah. Don't worry, it's good. I think you're going to like this."
Well, that remained to be seen, though Reimu was a little more optimistic now. She stepped from the shrine out into the open air.
It was a warm morning, and a pretty one. Most of them were, at least in spring. However, Reimu really wasn't in the mood to appreciate the beauty of her surroundings. However, when she saw who was waiting for her, her sour mood left her completely, and her mouth parted in a wide grin. "Hey!" she said, jogging the rest of the way. "Alice!"
The blonde magician was indeed waiting for her at the top of the shrine's steps, next to the donation box and just outside of the invisible barrier. She was standing with her hands folded over her waist and was rocking back and forth on her ankles. In contrast to her normal aloof nature, she was now all but beaming with excitement. It was a good look on her.
"Good morning, Reimu," she said as Reimu emerged from the barrier.
"Hi!" Reimu chirped, a bit more sunnily than she had intended. Then, realizing that she was veering on an abnormal amount of cheeriness, she dialed it down a bit and said, "Uh, sorry about the barrier thing. It's…kind of a pain in the ass, I know."
"Oh no, not at all," Alice said. Reimu blinked. Speaking of people being unusually cheerful, there was a breathless quality to Alice's voice. Something was making her downright giddy. Which, coming from Alice, was pretty significant.
"So, uh, what's up?" Reimu asked. "I mean, not that I'm not glad to see you, because I am, but…"
Her smile widening, Alice suddenly seized Reimu by the hand. "You'll never guess what happened!" she gibed.
Instinct almost made Reimu jerk back, though she reigned it in before she did anything especially rude. "Oh, uh, what?"
"Guess," Alice said, her smile never wavering.
Reimu blinked. "I'm, uh, not really good with…"
Chuckling, Alice released Reimu's hand. Then she looked over her shoulder and said, "Okay, you can come out."
A tiny pair of hands reached up from behind Alice to grab her shoulder, and a proportionally small face with pale blue eyes and long, golden hair peeked out.
Reimu stared back in befuddlement. It was obviously Shanghai, but she didn't see what was so unusual about that. Shanghai went everywhere Alice did, after all. Though come to think of it, the little doll was looking pretty different, and her movements were far smoother than they usually-
Then it clicked, and Reimu found herself experiencing an odd mixture of chagrin for not spotting it immediately and elation at what it meant. Though in her defense, she had just woken up.
Her eyes went wide, and she said, "Wait, is she-"
"She is," Alice nodded. "Um, Reimu? Meet my daughter Shanghai. Shanghai, this is my friend Reimu."
"Hi," Shanghai said with a shy wave.
The first thing that struck Reimu was just how uncannily similar Shanghai's voice was to Marisa's, only without the coarseness and cocky attitude. The second was that oh god, Shanghai was really alive!
"You did it!" Reimu exclaimed. "Holy wow, that was fast! I mean, it's only been-"
"No, no, no," Alice hastily interjected as she held up her hands. "I'm still working on that. This just…happened."
"What?" Reimu blinked. "You mean, she just became a youkai by herself?"
"Essentially."
Now Reimu felt a little unsure of how to proceed. She knew that Alice had a lot of pride, and given their talk about the importance of finishing that rune of hers as a tribute to Marisa, it stood to reason that she probably would not appreciate having the the desired result achieved for her. "And…are you okay with this?" Reimu said slowly.
Alice's smile was all the answer she needed.
Well, if Alice had no issue with it, than neither would Reimu. "Well, okay then!" Then, turning her head toward Shanghai, Reimu smiled and said, "Uh, hello Shanghai. It's…wow, this is incredible. But I am really, really happy to meet you."
Encouraged by the positive reception, Shanghai climbed onto Alice's shoulder and stood up. "Momma says you two are really old friends."
Well, that wasn't untrue. They had always been on good terms, and while they had never been especially close, Reimu did consider Alice to be a friendly ally. "For a while," she said, nodding.
"She says that you look after everyone in Gensokyo and protect us from evil villains."
Reimu's face turned a little pink. "Well, uh, I do my best…"
Then Shanghai clasped her hands in front of her chest and bowed her head. "Thank you, Miss Hakurei, for keeping us safe. And for being Momma's friend."
Reimu decided right then and there that she was going to be spending a lot more time with Alice from now on, if for no other reason than it meant that she got to be around Shanghai as well. "Uh, uh, well!" she said, her blush deepening. "Well, thank you! I mean, you're welcome. That's…really nice of you." She glanced over to Alice, her eyebrow raising in askance.
Smiling in amusement, Alice said, "I felt that it was important that she learn good manners early."
"So I see," Reimu said, nodding in approval. Then she added, "Can I keep her?"
Shanghai squeaked in surprise. "Ah, ah," she said, her head jerking back and forth from Reimu to Alice and back again. "I…I don't think I'm ready to-"
"Don't worry, she was joking, she was joking," Alice assured her, reaching up with one arm to affectionately (and carefully) tousle the girl's golden hair.
"Oh." Shanghai still looked a little unsure. She looked to Reimu, her head tilting to one side. "Were you?"
Reimu had to make a conscious effort to keep from laughing. She didn't want to risk hurting the kid's feelings. "Yeah, don't worry," she said with a wink. "I'm not going to try to steal you away."
"Oh." Shanghai looked a little confused for a bit. Her face scrunched up, as if contemplating why someone would ask for something they didn't really want. Then, apparently deciding that it didn't matter, she grinned widely and said, "Well, okay then!"
A giggle almost broke free from Reimu's throat, and she had to cover it by coughing. Shanghai's brow furrowed in concern. "Ah, are you all right?" she asked.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Reimu quickly assured her. "Just a little cough. That's all."
"Oh." Then Shanghai suddenly looked horrified. "Oh, you're not ill, are you? Were we interrupting your necessary rest and thereby delaying your recovery?"
Okay, that did it. Reimu couldn't help it anymore. She started laughing. It wasn't much, just a small, slightly strangled giggle, but gods it felt better than anything she had experienced in days.
"N-no," she managed to get out. "I'm…I'm fine. Really."
To this Shanghai just seemed all the more bewildered. The lines on her little forehead deepened, and she tilted her head to one side, bright blue eyes studying Reimu intently as if trying to gauge why her mother's friend was acting so oddly. "If…you say so," she said. "But aren't hysterics supposed to be a sign of-"
Then a fly buzzed in front of her face, and Shanghai shut up immediately. She stared in amazement as the tiny insect flitted back and forth before alighting on her nose. She crossed her eyes in trying to follow it. Then her whole face lit up with joy and she clapped her hands together in an attempt to catch it.
Out of respect for the girl's feelings, Reimu made a valiant effort not to start laughing again. However, watching Shanghai examine her empty palms in confusion while the fly continued buzzing around directly over her head made things incredibly difficult. Finally, Shanghai put two and two together and realized that her quarry was in danger of escaping, and happily gave chase after the insect.
"Well," Reimu said as she and Alice watched in amusement as Shaghain pursued the fly up and down the hillside. "That's ridiculously adorable."
"She is quite the little handful," Alice said with no small amount of pride in her voice. "One moment she's as solemn and studious as they come, and the next she's trying to catch dust motes in the sunlight."
"Kind of literal minded though, isn't she?"
Alice shrugged. "I think the sense of humor takes a little longer to develop. Give it time, she'll catch on."
"Probably," Reimu said with a nod. "But da…er, wow, this is pretty amazing."
Alice let out a very long and very tired sigh, but her smile was one of complete happiness. "More than you know," she murmured. "She's been a lifesaver."
Reimu nodded. "How are you holding up?" she asked.
"Very well, thank you," Alice said, though Reimu did catch a brief flash of pain in her eyes.
Looking back to Shanghai, Reimu said, "Does she…ah…know?"
There was a very long pause. And then Alice shook her head.
"Ah," Reimu said. It was just as well, she supposed. No need to burden the kid with that bit of tragedy.
A few moments of silence passed, and then Alice said in a low voice, "And how are you doing?"
Reimu shrugged. "Been rough," she admitted. "But I'm doing okay, thanks. Some of the guys pop in when they can. It helps."
"Guys?" Alice frowned.
"Oh, you know," Reimu said, waving her wrist in a vague manner. "Sanae Kochiya and Kanako Yasaka. Byakuren's been in once or twice too, and-" She paused. Alice was laughing softly under her breath. "Uh, something funny?"
"Oh, sorry," Alice said, folding her arms and shaking her head. "It's just, you're so casual about it."
"About what?"
"The sort of people you're friends with. Some of them are literally worshipped."
Reimu had to laugh a bit as well. "Hey, I'm Gensokyo's super duper protector of justice," she pointed out. "If anything, they should grateful to be friends with me."
"All right, you've made your point," Alice chuckled. Then her face turned somber. "Though speaking of which, I was wondering. Given your…connections…have you heard anything?"
"Heard anything?" Reimu tilted her head to one side and frowned quizzically. "About what?"
"About Marisa," Alice said. "And where she, you know, ended up."
To that, Reimu winced as a fresh stab of guilt plunged into her heart. Well, of course Alice would be worried about that. As much as they loved her, Marisa's record was considerably spottier than most, and Eiki Shiki's reputation as a stickler for the rules was well earned. Reimu really should have let Alice know earlier, but it had completely slipped her mind. "It's fine," she quickly assured her. "I mean, she's fine. She got into the Netherworld."
Alice frowned doubtfully. "Really?" she said.
"I mean it," Reimu said. "From what I hear, the Yamaxanadu was really impressed by her last moments and gave her a pass. I mean, I think she's on some sort of probation she needs to work off, but she wasn't damned or anything. She's not in Hell, don't worry."
Alice studied her face a bit longer, and Reimu could feel the gentle probe of a truth seeking spell. Apparently the results were positive, and the magician's face relaxed. "Well, th-that's good," Alice said, breathing out a slow sigh. Pushing a hand through her bangs, she drew back and murmured, "That actually takes a lot off my mind."
"Yeah," Reimu said with a nod.
"It…it must be a relief then. Knowing that you'll see her again. One day, anyway."
Reimu wasn't sure how to respond to that. Even though she had free access to the Netherworld, it would be decades before Marisa's soul was strong enough to interact with mortals. The two of them could be standing directly in front of each other and all Reimu would see would be a trick of the light, and hear nothing save for a whisper in the wind.
Of course, once she passed away as well, Reimu would be with Marisa again, no problem. And while the extended lifespan of the Hakurei family meant that she would have to wait a very long time for that to happen (barring an unfortunate incident on the job, of course), Marisa's escape from damnation made that a question of "when" rather than "if," which was a comfort in itself.
However, Alice did not have that same guarantee. She would go on, year after year, never growing old, never withering or losing life, simply continuing while the world changed around her. And living youkai were unable to enter the Netherworld, which meant that even after Marisa's soul had built up enough substance, Alice could not go see her.
Reimu was starting to understand why Alice had hated being turned into an immortal. Once Death was taken away, so were some of the best parts of life.
"Yeah," Reimu said with a small nod. What else could she do?
Alice looked down at the ground, her face now solemn. There was a faraway look in her eyes, one that made Reimu feel a little uncomfortable. She cleared her throat and said, "So…"
Suddenly snapping out of her reverie, Alice looked up and smiled. "Though speaking of which, I actually have something of a proposal for you."
Reimu blinked at the sudden change in direction. "Oh yeah?"
"How would you like to learn magic?" Alice said, folding her hands in front of her lap.
For several moments, all Reimu could do was stand and stare while her mind tried to wrap itself around this strange concept. "Magic?" she said at last. "You mean, like magician magic?"
Alice beamed. "The best kind. I could teach you, if you like."
"I…wow," Reimu said. Her thoughts were going in a hundred different ways at once, suggesting multiple possibilities while pointing out an equal number of obstacles. "I never thought of…but would that really work? I mean, sure, we Hakureis have power and all, but it's sort of…specific, not really like the gift at all."
"Nonsense," Alice sniffed. "Many of your ancestors were fine magicians, and such things tend to be hereditary. Besides, anything can be taught."
Reimu nodded. "Yeah, that's true." Boy, was it ever. She hoped that her lessons wouldn't require an extremely painful tattoo job. She smiled. "Okay, let me think about it. We're kind of in the middle of a mess right now, but when it's over…"
"Don't take too long," Alice suggested. "Such opportunities have a habit of passing us by."
"Ain't that the truth," Reimu sighed. She put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "But thank you. You know, for stopping by."
"Think nothing of it. I had to tell someone, after all." Alice turned to Shanghai, who was now utterly engrossed by the sight of a hairy caterpillar crawling its way up a tree. "Shanghai!" the magician said, clapping her hands. "Come on, we're going!"
"What?" Shanghai jumped a bit in startlement. Then, seeing Alice looking at her, lit up a bit. "Oh. Okay, Momma!" She flew over to alight on Alice's shoulder.
"Now, what do you say?" Alice said told her.
Shanghai stared blankly at for a few seconds. Then realizing what she meant, the little doll turned to Reimu. "Uh, it was very nice to meet you, Miss Hakurei," she said with an awkward curtsy.
Reimu started to reconsider not keeping Shanghai. "You too," she said, bowing her head in return. "Take care of your mom for me, okay?"
"Take…care? Of Momma?" Suddenly Shanghai looked frightened. She reached out to touch Alice's cheek while anxiously saying, "Momma, are you feeling well? You're not ill, are you?"
"No, no, I'm fine," Alice assured her as she started to descend the steps.
"But why do you require caring for? Because I do not believe I am ready for such a responsibility!"
"It's okay, Shanghai. Reimu wasn't referring to that sort of care. Just keep being yourself, that's all I ask."
Reimu stood at the top of the steps next to her donation box, watching as her guests headed for home. Shaking her head, she laughed quietly to herself. She had to admit, she had not been expecting that. When she had suggested that Alice continue in her attempts to bring Shanghai to life, she had figured that the project would work as some sort of therapy for the magician, a way of working her way through her grief. She hadn't really considered how much good having a living, breathing Shanghai around for Alice to take care of would do for the magician, or that it would simply be gifted to her at exactly the right time.
But then, why should that be surprising? Wasn't Gensokyo supposed to be the place that the rest of the world sent its unwanted miracles? Well, fine then. If Earth didn't want its magic and wonder, Reimu was more than happy to have them in her world, especially if it meant making her friends happy.
Still laughing to herself, Reimu turned and went back in through the barrier. Genji was there, waiting for her on the path to the shrine.
"Wow," Reimu said. "Did you see?"
"I saw," Genji grunted. "Cute little thing, ain't she?"
Reimu nodded. "So, Alice is a mother now." She shook her head in wonder. "Never thought I'd see the day."
"Yeah, life's funny like that."
There was certainly no question about that. "She offered to teach me magic too," Reimu told him.
"I heard."
Nodding, Reimu looked up at the sky over the shrine. "I think it might be a good idea," she said, thoughtfully rubbing her chin. "I mean, I've been thinking a lot, about how easily Yuuka shut me down. Maybe Marisa was right. Maybe that wouldn't have happened if I ever actually took training seriously."
Genji's bumpy brow furrowed. "So, you wanna get back to shrine maiden basics and learn magician magic on top of that? Sounds like a lot of work."
"Well, I have been lying around for a while," Reimu said.
Genji sighed then. Reimu blinked. There was a melancholy note in his breath, one that put her on guard. Then she remembered what he had said about Yukari, and a sour feeling started to grow in her stomach. "Yeah, well. 'Fraid you're gonna have to lie around a little longer," Genji said gruffly.
"What?"
Genji's scaly face wasn't really built for grimacing, but he did so anyway. "Kid, I've got some bad news."
So she had been right. Pursing her lips, Reimu braced herself for the worst.
"This morning, before Alice showed up, I had a little chat with Yukari," the elderly turtle told her. Then he rolled his eyes and amended, "Actually, it was kind of long and heated."
"Oh," Reimu said. "Of course you did."
"Yeah." Closing his eyes, Genji shook his head in regret and harrumphed. "Kid, I stuck up for you the best I could, got her to ease up on some things, but…"
Reimu could already see where this was going. "I'm under house arrest, aren't I?"
"Well, it ain't a punishment, but yeah," Genji admitted. "By noon that barrier's gonna become totally impenetrable from both ends. No one goes in and out."
"I see."
Genji's massive shell lifted as he shrugged. "Could be worse. She wanted to put you into stasis and dump you into the Borderlands." When Reimu stared at him, he rolled his eyes and said, "Like I said, there was a long argument."
Reimu had no problem believing that, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about the outcome. "What about Remilia and Reisen?" she said, trying not to sound too desperate. The question made her feel a little guilty for asking that her wards remain imprisoned with her, but having to endure this alone would be unbearable. Genji was great, but it wasn't the same as having another girl around. Or hell, another humanoid for that matter.
Genji sucked in sharply through his nose. "That was a toughie. Had to invoke laws of sanctuary with that, but they can stay. They ain't goin' nowhere neither, though. And anything their buddies back home wanna send them is gonna have to get triple-checked. Wouldn't be surprised if nothin' gets allowed through." Then he hesitated for a long time before dropping one last bomb. "Oh, and all that is gonna get moved too," he said, tilting his head to one side.
Reimu stared blankly. She glanced in the direction he was indicating but only saw the lawn and the grove beyond it. "All what?"
"That," Genji repeated the gesture, and pawed at the grass with one foot.
Reimu stared at him some more. Then she thought back to Yuuka's known tactics and stiffened. "Wait, you mean the plants?" she whispered, her heart full of dread. "The trees, the grass, the bushes, everything? You're just going to get rid of it?"
Genji winced. "No, not get rid of. Jus'…temporarily relocate, is all. As a precaution. We don't know all the things Yuuka can do with plants, so we gotta play this one safe."
"Right," Reimu said hollowly. "So, I'm a prisoner in my own house, and you're going to take away everything that made it beautiful."
"Kid, I hate it too," Genji sighed. "Believe me, there was a lot of yellin' going on. But I think Yukari's right."
Reimu's lips thinned out. "Oh, of course you'll stick up for her."
That made Genji's eyes narrow. "Don't give me that," he growled. "Yuuka Kazami could have it in for you. That's somethin' we gotta prepare for. Marisa's dead because we didn't take her grudges seriously enough. It ain't gonna happen to you too. I won't allow it."
Though Reimu technically knew that he was right, her heart had sunk so far that she was finding it difficult to care. "Right. Because if she attacks, you'll be able to do so much to stop her."
"So long as you're here, I can," Genji said. There was something strange about the way he said it. It didn't sound like bravado, or like he was bragging, or false reassurance, or anything like that. He was simply stating a fact.
Reimu had always known that there was more to Genji than met the eye. The fact that he could speak and fly alone set him apart as something special, as was his supposed immortality. However, those weren't exactly extraordinary in Gensokyo, even if they were unusual from an animal that wasn't a youkai. However, there just was something about the way powerful elders such as Yukari treated him. They didn't defer to him or show him any excess amount of respect, but they did treat him like a peer, an equal. The fact that Yukari often ended up arguing with him instead of simply enforcing her will with a word spoke volumes about their relationship. However, Reimu had never felt much of a need to question Genji too closely about his past. As far as she was concerned, Genji was that cranky old turtle that had practically raised her since her mother's death. He was the closest thing to a father figure that she had, and anything beyond that was his own business.
But now, she found herself very curious as to exactly how Genji would be able to stop Yuuka should she decide to attack. There was something about the way he spoke that told her that should Reimu's life be threatened while on shrine grounds, it would not go well for her attacker.
Still, she said nothing. She just stared at Genji, waiting. If he wanted to say more, than he would. Nothing she could do would change this.
Time passed, seconds ticking by, and finally Genji sighed and spoke again. Unfortunately, he didn't bother to expand on the hint to his origins and instead took things back to the original subject. "Kid, this ain't permanent. Probably won't even be for very long. Just until Yuuka's…not a problem anymore. Once she's done with, things will get relaxed. In the meantime, food and pretty much anything you need or want will be provided. All you gotta do is ask."
Reimu pursed her lips. "Including friends?"
Genji winced. "That's a point of contention. I'll talk to Yukari." There was another pause, and then he said, "I'm sorry, Reimu."
"Right," Reimu muttered. She slowly walked past him toward the shrine. "Everyone always is when they take something away from me."
Though she wasn't facing him, she heard Genji respond with a low, "At least this way it won't be your life."
…
It was the damnedest thing, really it was. Ran was perfectly fine with flying around kilometers over the earth, diving at breakneck speed while racking up G-forces that would have crushed a mortal, and performing aerial acrobats that would have left a hummingbird red with envy. She could stand at the top of the tallest mountain, stare down into the deepest chasm, and let herself fall its entire length without a second thought. But get her on a boat, even one that floated along as gently as the Palanquin was now, and suddenly her entire constitution crashed.
She was doubled-over the railings that ran up and down the ship's sides, hands digging in with their white-knuckled grip and her eyelids squeezed so tightly together that it was actually starting to give her a headache. Though the wind couldn't be calmer and the aircraft's motion barely noticeable, it seemed that even the slightest tilt of the deck or turn in direction sent her stomach spewing its contents up into her throat. With a moan of pure misery, Ran swallowed back the lump in her throat and regretted it when that just sent her gagging. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. She should have known better. She should have taken something first. But she had been so eager to get out of the house that it had completely slipped her mind.
Then she heard someone chuckle softly. "Ah yes. I had forgotten how poorly you handled these trips."
Cracking an eye open, Ran turned to see that Shou nearly, smiling in amusement. "I can…" Ran muttered. "I can…Oh no."
Alas, whatever it was she had meant to say was lost in the torrent of bile and partially digested food that thrust its way up through her esophagus. Throwing her upper body fully over the railing, she let the vile stuff fly into the clouds.
Tsking, Shou came over to hover next to her. "There's a trick to it, you know," the tiger youkai said.
"Oh?" Ran grumbled as she wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
"Mmmm-hmmm. Just hover a few centimeters over the deck and make sure you keep pace with the ship. We're moving slowly enough that it shouldn't be a problem."
Ran blinked. Then she looked down and saw that there indeed was a small space between Shou's feet and the deckboards. Somewhat abashed that she hadn't thought of that before, Ran rose up just high enough to cut off any physical contact with the ship. Bizarrely enough, it worked. Or maybe it was because she had just thrown up. Either way, soon she was able to breathe without much trouble.
"There, much better," Shou said, nodding. "I feel your pain though. Before figuring that trick out, riding this thing was a misery."
"Thank you," Ran said, and meant it. "Though I would think that a cat would have better ship legs than me."
Shou shrugged. "The smaller ones, maybe. For example…" She tilted her head back and nodded up at the mast.
Ran looked, and she smiled. The mouse youkai, Nazrin, was scrambling over the ropes, sails, and riggings at top speed, swing freely from mast to mast with the dexterity of a young chimpanzee. And following her in close pursuit was Chen, who was managing to match her swing for swing. Occasionally Nazrin would slow down just enough to allow Chen to come within centimeters of grabbing her tail, only to go bounding off again before she was caught. Delighted by the game, Chen laughed as she gave chase.
As this was the first time Chen had really been allowed out of the Yakumo homestead in weeks, she was taking full advantage of the opportunity to stretch her legs and deliriously loving every wild second of it. After all, as she was a rambunctious bundle of energy at the best of times, she had built up an incredible amount of boredom and frustration that she had desperately needed to burn off. And as it so happened, circumstances demanded that Ran take her out of the house for most of the day, so it all worked out.
Of course, as sympathetic as Ran might be, she still wasn't willing to risk letting Chen wander the Wilds. The overwhelming majority of Gensokyo was covered with foliage, and even though it was unlikely that Yuuka would strike again so soon after her attack on Marisa, but Ran was not about to take chances. The memory of those horrid tendrils wiggling out of Chen's pores while Yuuka's voice spoke from her mouth was all too fresh in her memory.
Fortunately, as certain friends of theirs were in possession of a flying ship, a compromise had presented itself. Granted, it wouldn't stop Yuuka should she turn out to be truly determined, but with Unzan the living cloud on the watch and Murasa's crew standing by, Ran was willing to bend. Chen deserved a little happiness.
And she was getting it. Despite her lingering queasiness, Ran felt a small smile forming as she watched her young Shikigami run free.
"Now that is a girl that has been locked up far too long," Shou observed.
"Don't I know it," Ran sighed. "But after what Yuuka had already done to her, I couldn't take the risk."
"So I've heard." Shou folded her arms. "Well, I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised that Yuuka was still breathing after that."
"It wasn't for a lack of trying, I assure you," Ran said in a dry tone. "Unfortunately, that's what tends to happen if the target of your wrath ends up being tougher than you anticipated."
Shou smiled wryly. "Abominations from the darkest corner of the universe will do that. Though given what usually follows whenever your master goes on a drinking binge, I take it her next attempt will be more…thorough?"
"I don't doubt it," Ran muttered darkly. Those who measured their relationship with Yukari in terms of centuries rather than years came to learn a very troubling fact about her: when she was drinking freely, all was well. When she drank nothing at all, it was time to worry. When she drank entirely too much, things were not going well. And when she went on an all-day bender that would leave lesser mortals with irreparable liver damage, it was often a precursor to a sudden and violent removal of the problem. That, or just a prolonged period of moping and self-pity, depending on the situation. That morning, Yukari had sent Ran and Chen away for the day, whereas her friend Yuyuko had shown up with an ungodly amount of alcohol in tow. Seeing which way the wind was blowing, Ran had hastily taken her Shikigami and departed the premises.
To Shou, she added, "That's another reason why I needed to get Chen out of the house. I mean, having her see Yukari when she's in that state would be bad enough. But what follows is undeniably worse."
"How often does this happen?"
"Oh, the binges happen often enough," Ran groused. She kneaded the flesh of her forehead with her fingers, hoping that it would take the edge off of her headache. "Usually every time things go sour with one of the Hakureis, depending on how much she liked them. Doubly so if it's in the middle of something dire."
Shou pursed her lips. "Yes. I remember you telling me about the one that happened after Syeon."
Ran did as well. Out of all the calamities to take place during the Magician's War, the fate of the village of Syeon was one of the most notable, mainly due to the brutality involved. It was considered by many to have been a turning point in the war, one that finally put an end to the self-centered bickering that had defined the war effort of Gensokyo's so-called defenders of the time and convinced them to unite fully against the Serpentine Marauders. The counterattack had been equally brutal, and likewise had been preceded by an afternoon of horribly heavy drinking. The binge itself had been bad enough, seeing the simpering, pathetic mess Yukari had reduced herself to. But when she had emerged from the room, her posture had been straight, her mind clear, and her eyes dead and cold. It was that part that Ran remembered the most, or would have, had it not happened again less than a week later.
"You should have seen the one she went on after Byakuren was sealed away," Ran said softly. "Yuyuko and I had to physically restrain her from wiping out that entire village."
"So I've heard," Shou said somberly. "The war ended soon after though, didn't it?"
Ran nodded. "Yes." She looked out to the horizon. The day was pretty enough, with the air clean and crisp and the sunlight warm and comforting. Ran, however, only felt cold. "That's something more I hate about this."
"This?"
Ran nodded, her eyes darkening. "This. This." She motioned with one hand in a general sort of way. "This situation. It feels too much like the Magician's War." Shou inhaled deeply when she said that, indicating that she agreed, at least in part. Ran continued, eyes fixated on the endless blue sky around them. "The scheming, the paranoia, always feeling like something dark is hanging over your head." Pursing her lips, she slowly shook her head. "I mean, there are fewer players this time, but…"
Shou sighed. "There was only ever one player during the war. One player, and a great many pawns."
After a few moments of contemplation, Ran had to concede the point. "Fair enough. Though I think the ones we're up against this time around are of a higher class."
"No, they are not."
Ran looked over to the tiger youkai, eyebrow raised in curiosity. The rancor in Shou's voice wasn't surprising, given how much Myouren Temple loathed Mima in spite of their Buddhist foundation, but to regard as that much of a threat? "You're kidding. The scion of an Outer God? The Avatar of a Fallen Angel? And…whatever the hell Rin Satsuki is? You'd put Mima…I mean, no offense intended. I know what she did to you was…" Ran grimaced. "Horrific. But even so."
Shou shook her head. "These new terrors are horrible, yes. But they are essentially angry bulls in a china shop. Tough, strong, very destructive, very hard to bring down, and immensely expensive to clean up after, yes. And they certainly can kill you quite painfully. But Mima…" The tiger youkai's golden-brown eyes got a faraway look. "She's the rot in the timbers that you don't see, the plague-bearing rat hiding in your foundations. Her association with serpents is well-earned, after all. A snake in the grass can kill you just as easily as an enemy's blade. And more often than not, you never see it coming."
"Well, yes, but still. Given the competition, I'm not sure I would rank her quite that high."
"Why not?" Shou shrugged. "For all the terror she inspires, Yuuka has been beaten back in every significant encounter thus far. The Shadow Youkai has yet to emerge."
"But Mima lost as well," Ran pointed out, perhaps a bit too earnestly. "The Magician's War, I mean."
"No, she did not."
The coldness in Shou's voice was troubling, as was the lack of hesitation. Ran wanted to argue further, to point out that since the Serpentine Marauders and their allies did not in fact conquer Gensokyo and Mima had been killed, that would qualify her as the loser. However, after a bit more consideration she came to see Shou's point. If the reports of certain deals Mima had made with various dark powers before the war had kicked off were true, than it could be argued that simple domination had never been her goal. And given her later return as an immortal spirit, then perhaps she got exactly what she wanted.
Her mood now even bleaker than before, Ran sighed and tried to find the silver lining. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about her anymore."
There was a noticeable pause before Shou spoke again. When she did, her voice held a note of reproach. "Ran, I have immense respect for your intelligence. Naiveté ill becomes you."
"You think she's still up to something then?"
"I think that we are all beholden to our natures," was Shou's simple response. "With all due respect to Reimu Hakurei, I was a bit surprised that she took the spirit's words at face value."
To be truthful, Ran felt much the same way. However, she had not considered it her place to make an issue out of it. She struggled to find some sort of different bright spot before finally settling on, "Well, at least there are no armies this time."
"Never judge the direness of a situation until it is over," was Shou's response. "Things can always get worse."
Growling, Ran gave up. "Well, aren't you just a magnificent ray of sunshine this morning," she said as she looked back to the sky.
That got a dry chuckle from her companion. "You're right. I'm sorry. That's actually part of the reason we were so eager to take part in this outing. The temple has been rather melancholy as of late."
"Because of Marisa?" Ran guessed.
Shou's smile was genuine, but tolerant. "Partially. But in most part because of Nue and Mamizou."
Ran felt like kicking herself. Thanks to the hubbub kicked up by the witch's death, she had forgotten that there had already been others hurt by the situation, and those people might have loved ones of their own that missed them, even if those two youkai's current predicament was sort of their own fault. "Oh. Right," she said in abashment. "Sorry."
"It's all right," Shou shrugged. "I understand that their rescue is a priority, and as odd as it sounds, if one must be in the middle of whatever shall fall, inside of Rin Satsuki is probably the safest place to be."
"Whatever shall fall," Ran mused to herself. "Well, I guess we'll find out-" Then something bumped up against her tails, and she jumped. "Ah!"
Whirling around, she found herself face-to-face with a wooden wall. It seemed that while they had been talking, they had neglected to keep pace with the ship's movement, causing the backend to creep up on them.
"Oops," Shou said with a soft chuckle as they relocated to a spot further down the deck. "Sorry. Like I said, you have to watch for that. It's real easy to forget."
"No kidding," Ran said. "Though all things considered, having to choose between airsickness or risking being bumped in the rump is much preferable than what's going on back home."
"I do not envy you then," Shou said. "Having to clean up after them, I mean."
"Oh, don't remind me," Ran growled. "Just you wait. I'll be repairing floorboards and finding puddles of vomit in odd places for the rest of the week."
…
Fortunately for Ran, the Yakumo house was still in reasonably good condition. True, the annihilation of all the house plants meant that it was still drearier than its inhabitants would have preferred, and the smell of Yukari's long rehabilitation still clung to the walls and fabrics. But most of it was at least clean and orderly.
The dining room, however, was something of a disaster.
Bottles and cups lay everywhere, not all of them intact, and very few of them fully empty. Shards of glass made certain areas hazardous to walk upon, the walls bore indentations from objects thrown in drunken fury, and the rug was swiftly becoming quite soggy.
As for those responsible, they were hardly in better condition. Both were fully grown women, mighty in power and burdened with authority. They had stood together against the passing of years while the great civilizations had crumbled away. They were considered by many to be living (or close enough anyway) legends, leaders of men and women, holding the lives and souls of thousands in their hands. And they were both quite smashed.
Yukari was slumped fully over the table, cheek resting in a puddle of her own drool, eyes squinting balefully at the label on the bottle. She could barely make out the name of the brand, but the grinning death's head it had for a logo suggested that it was probably the sort of spirit that one had to sign a waiver to obtain. She had gone through about half of its contents already and couldn't even remember how they tasted, so it couldn't be that bad. Shrugging, she hoisted herself up and took a long pull from the neck. It burned a bit, but she had tasted worse.
Sighing, she managed to slump back onto her haunches. Wiping her mouth, she mumbled, "You know what, though? It's for the best."
Her drinking partner managed to stop swaying back and forth long enough to nod solemnly and repeat, "The best."
"No," Yukari scowled. "Seriously. For the best." She gestured vaguely with her bottle. "Teach me a lesson, you follow me?"
"Sure," Yuyuko said. "Important lesson." Then she belched loudly.
"Right," Yukari murmured. She looked down at the bottle. Tracing the lines of the skull's face, she said, "And it's not to get too attached. Because I keep doing that. Over and over, it happens."
"Right," Yuyuko said, pouring herself another cup of wine, only to end up with most of the bottle's contents splashing over her wrist. "Like a clock."
"Right." Yukari nodded, pleased that her friend was following her so far. "Like a great, big clangy clock…thing." She sighed in a manner that made her chest gurgle. "I mean, it just doesn't work. Me and mortals, you know? Because…because I have eternal life and all that. Just can't really relate. They're like mayflies, honestly. Not like you and me."
Yuyuko looked up from her struggles long enough to blink owlishly at her. "But technically I am a mortal. Of a sort."
"Ah ha!" Yukari declared, banging the bottle back against the table, making its contents jump. "Technically! Technically, that is the point! You're not anymore. You're dead, you've…you've ascended and all that. Became something more. It's easier to make friends with dead people, because they're already dead. That ship has sailed."
Yuyuko's brow furrowed together. "I do not believe Komachi's ship has sails."
Which was a valid point. "Then poled," Yukari amended. "Pushed around. My point is that mortals just can't understand what it's like to not be a mortal, to go on year after year after year and still look the same. They don't get it until they're dead, and by then they don't want to hang out anymore."
"I still do," Yuyuko said, her lips dipping down in a hurt pout.
"And you are wonderful!" Yukari said earnestly as she leaned fully across the table to grip Yuyuko by the shoulders and stare into her eyes. "But no one else ever does. What I should be doing is spending more time with my peers. You know, like, like you. And Byakuren. She's back and kicking ass again…in that loving, pacifistic way of hers. I really ought to start showing her more appreciation. And there's…and there's…" She frowned.
"Shinki?" Yuyuko suggested.
"Kananko!" Yukari all but shouted. "Right!" Then her face turned sour, and she spat. "And gods no, I hate Shinki." She sank back to her side of the table. "But Kanako seems like a real stand up deity, and one that doesn't have a problem with throwing a few bottles back."
Yuyuko nodded. Then she smiled. "Didn't you use to be friends with Queen Hinanai? I seem to remember the two of you being rather close."
The corner of Yukari's lip curled and she let her upper body fall over the tabletop. She tried to set the bottle back down on the table but ended up fumbling the landing, and it fell over and rolled away. She let it, her eyes watching it until it came to rest near the edge. "Yeah. We were," she muttered. She reached over with one finger and nudged it over. It slipped off the edge and went bouncing along the floor, spilling alcohol as it went.
To Yuyuko's credit, she was lucid enough to catch the hint and didn't follow up on that subject, and Yukari was more than content to let it lay. Her head rolled back and forth, her chin resting on the table while her eyes rolled up to burrow into the top of their sockets. She took a deep breath and ended up inhaling too much of the fumes emitting from one of the nearby alcohol puddles. Coughing, she groaned and eased herself around so that she was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling.
"Maybe that's part of the problem," she reflected. "Maybe that's why I avoid other immortals. Know someone long enough, and they eventually turn on you. Or irritate you enough into turning on them. Maybe that's why we immortals don't often make friends." She sneered. "Maybe it's why we can't make friends."
"We're still friends," Yuyuko said softly.
"Yeah, but who else is? Face it, Yuyuko. Immortals just don't play well together." She rolled around the tabletop and slipped off to lie of the floor, her back to Yuyuko. She kept talking though. "Sooner or later, something always comes up. People will always, always let you down."
"Is that why you seek out the Hakureis?" Yuyuko asked. "Because they aren't immortal?"
"Oh, who can tell?" Yukari groaned. Leave it to Yuyuko to innocently cut right to the heart of things. "It isn't working though. Same song, every time."
Yuyuko sighed. "Oh, come now. You haven't been cut off by every Hakurei. You haven't been cut off by even half."
Yukari tried to laugh, but just ended up coughing again. "I don't make friends with every single one. It's just the ones I've gotten close to…"
"Aoki didn't cut things off with you," Yuyuko reminded her, referencing a shrine maiden that had been active during the seventeen hundreds.
Yukari snorted. "That's because that cave-in got to her before she could," she said as she woozily sat up. "Things were already getting dicey between us though." She fumbled around with one hand until her fingers came in content with a bottle. Judging it to have sufficient liquid remaining inside, she took a long swig without bothering to check the vintage. "And her daughter Hiroko had a few choice words for me though," she said once she had drained it. "I barely had any contact with that family for three generations after that. It's the same thing every time. Things go sour, I keep my distance, but in the end, I come back. And I don't know why."
Settling back onto her haunches, Yukari flicked the bottle aside and slumped forward, elbows on the tabletop and fingers digging into her scalp. "Did you know that Miko and Reimu are the first mother-daughter pair to kick me out in succession? Must have been Miko's early death."
Yuyuko blinked. "She was ninety-four," she pointed out.
"I mean insofar as Reimu was concerned," Yukari corrected. "Not enough time to make that much of an influence."
"Who was her father, anyway?" Yuyuko asked curiously.
Yukari rolled her eyes. "Oh, him." She shrugged. "Quite literally just some guy. Noshi Arborn, if I recall. Farmhand to some rich family. Passed a year or so after Miko did, never knew about Reimu. Has a thing for older women though. Got lost, spent the night at the shrine, one thing led to another, that whole thing."
"And you did the leading."
Yukari paused. Then she let her arms fall and raised her head enough to glower at her deceased drinking buddy. "That's unfair."
"Well, it's true," Yuyuko said defensively.
Yukari hissed, but without much rancor. Yuyuko was right, after all. "Yeah, well, it is. But what was I supposed to do, Yuyuko?" she said, gesturing wildly. "Miko was all set to let herself die without ever producing a daughter. Out of spite! Gensokyo cannot afford to lose the whole Hakurei line! It was akin to a bomb threat!" Sighing, she buried her face in her palms. It was far from her proudest memory, or her fondest. "Besides, she hated me already. And I don't blame her one bit. I don't blame any one of them."
"I-"
"It was the same thing with Saisha," Yukari said suddenly. "Remember her?"
"Yes," Yuyuko nodded. "Actually, I saw her just the other day. She still does not like you."
"Of course she doesn't, I wouldn't either!" Yukari all but shouted, her arms flying into the air. However, the act of doing so set her already precarious balance and sent her tumbling backward. Rather than fight it, she simply let herself fall and kept talking once she had landed. "But I tried to save those kids, I really did! But I couldn't let the disease spread to the rest of Gensokyo!" She sighed. "And then there was Nonnie."
I don't remember her," Yuyuko mused.
"You should," Yukari said, remembering a certain youth with spiky silver hair. "Her lover was cousin to the Konpakus."
Even while on her back, she could practically hear Yuyuko frown. "I seem to recall something about that…"
"And she lived during the Magician's War," Yukari said. "Er, half of it anyway. Though given how busy you were then, maybe that's why you don't remember her."
"What happened to her?"
Yukari rolled onto her side. She found herself staring with the death's head bottle again, the empty eye sockets of its logo practically eye to eye with her. "Syeon," she said. Nothing really more needed to be said.
"Oh," Yuyuko said.
"Yes."
Yuyuko was silent for a time, and then she changed the subject. "Why not court another family? The Sonozikas for example?"
Yukari snorted. "You have met the current model, yes?"
"His brother wasn't so bad. Nor his father. Nor his-"
"All right, all right, I get it," Yukari sighed.
"And you get along quite well with his niece."
"Yes," Yukari muttered. She straightened up the best she could, though the way her stomach was starting to churn suggested that a forceful evacuation might be on the way. "Pity about her becoming a near-pariah for it. Though even with the decent ones, that family and I generally don't get along well. We got off on the wrong foot, you might say."
Yuyuko frowned. "How do you mean?"
"Oh, just some disagreements back when Gensokyo was formed," Yukari groused. Just thinking of that long-dead headache was furthering her irritation. She tried to stand and, finding that to be more trouble than it was worth, settled for scooting on her ass until she was leaning against a corner of the room. "They were the first Humans to agree to cross over, and they did a lot to convince the others, so that's why they lead the Humans and how Hakurei got her job. But I didn't like them. They were arrogant and abrasive just rubbed me the wrong way." She sighed, though it ended up becoming a belch halfway through. "A pity they wiped out the Fujiwaras. I wouldn't have minded working with them."
"Hakurei…" Yuyuko mused. "You mean the original."
"Right." Yukari recalled a short woman with a snub nose, pinched features, and squinty eyes. "Hakurei Sonozika, the progenitor of the line." She reached for a bottle but found none within arm's reach. A small gesture with two fingers, and one rolled across the floor to her hand. Taking a drink, she set it down and announced, "I did not like her."
"You know, I saw her as well just the other day, she and her young man," Yuyuko commented.
Yukari rolled her eyes. "Is that right?"
"Yes, they were walking together through the park," Yuyuko said, taking no notice to the scorn in her friend's voice. "I waved to them, but they-"
Then something Yuyuko said managed to pierce through the thick fog of evaporated spirits that had enveloped her brain. "Waittaminute," she said, her eyes narrowing. "Her what now?"
"The park? Oh, it's not actually hers. In fact, it's mine, but I leave it open to the public for-"
"No." Yukari's brow furrowed into ridges as she struggled to comprehend something. "Before that. Did you say something about Hakurei Sonozika's young man?"
Yuyuko nodded. "Yes. Handsome fellow. Long blonde ponytail. Always struck me as a bit stuffy though." Eyes thoughtfully turned skyward, she tapped a finger against her chin as she thought. "Now, what was his name? They usually avoid me, so we've never been formally introduced."
Yukari stared at her. "You're shitting me. That bat-faced crone actually managed to snare a guy? And he's handsome?"
"Well, obviously," Yuyuko shrugged. "Where else did the Hakurei line come from?"
"I-Huh." Yukari blinked. That was true enough. Why hadn't she thought of that? "Well, okay, stupid question. I s-suppose she must have…" Her frown deepened. "But you know, for the life of me, I can't remember…"
Yuyuko shrugged. "Well, either way, they didn't seem much glad to see me."
Giving up on the guy's name, Yukari shook her head and sighed. "Not surprising. Probably has to do with our association. Fortunately, I have never much concerned myself with the opinions of Hakurei Sonozika and…" She flicked a wrist in a limp manner. "What's his face."
"Asagi!" Yuyuko said suddenly.
"What?"
"That's his name," Yuyuko responded, looking quite proud of herself. "Asagi."
Yukari rolled her eyes. "Okay, whatever. Point I'm making, we didn't get along. I didn't like her, she didn't like me, so working with her was a pain in the ass. Big, splintery tree branch. Right up the ass." She snickered at the mental image. "That's what she had. Her granddaughter was the first Hakurei I liked."
"You mean Hazette?"
"Yeah, I mean Hazette," Yukari sighed bitterly. "That's where it began, you know. Friend of hers tried to sell Gensokyo out to rogue magicians in the Outside World, and she didn't like me doing my freaking job. That's where this curse started. Things start off all right, then something comes up and they just get bad. Funny thing is, every time I ignore a generation or two, nothing happens. Things stay peaceful. So I figure, hey, why not get to know the newest model? Each time, I always hope that this time, nothing big will come up, but something always does. And I'm forced to make a hard decision, and they don't like it. And I don't blame them one bit."
Several seconds of rueful musing followed. Faces passed through the forefront of her mind, all the shrine maidens she had befriended and lost over the centuries. Each and every one of them turning against her in the end. And the rub of it, most of the time she deserved it, or at least had to do something that justified their hate. She didn't regret the things she had been forced to do, but neither did she resent the Hakureis for being horrified. "I hate my job sometimes," she announced at last after draining another bottle of wine and letting it slide out of her fingers to the floor.
Yuyuko hesitated, and then said, "Yukari, don't take this the wrong way, but maybe putting Reimu's best friend in direct danger wasn't such a brilliant idea."
"Oh!" Yukari sat up to stare at her with wide eyes. "No! You think so?"
"Indeed," Yuyuko nodded, oblivious as ever to the tone being used. "I mean, if you wanted to enlist Mima's help, then surely you could have just asked. She was much more cooperative at the time, and-"
Yukari buried her face in her palms. "Sarcasm, Yuyuko. Learn it already. And yes! Horrible idea! Tremendous backfire, I get it! Why do you think I'm wasting time getting drunk when I should be burning that flower-fucking bitch like…"
All of a sudden the uneasy churning in her gut ran over, and Yukari felt herself overwhelmed by a wave of tremendous nausea. She could have beaten it down of course. A simple manipulation of the border between wellness and sickness would have done it easily. But save for some premature sobering when the situation called for it, she had a personal rule against using her powers whenever she was drunk. If it wasn't authentic, than it just wasn't the same, ill effects and all. So she just let the wave take its course to the inevitable and wholly unpleasant destination.
Fortunately, using gaps as vomit buckets was an acceptable compromise.
Yukari doubled over as her body started to heave. She tore open a rip in time and space and expelled the fermented contents of her stomach right into it. As disgusting as it felt, she did find herself amused by the floating eyes that swam through the lavender murk of the Borderlands and the confusion and horror that those directly below her expressed when they realized exactly what was incoming.
It soon became apparent that her body had had quite enough of her drunken pity party, and had decided to cleanse itself of the considerable amount of alcohol she had consumed, regardless of exactly where it so happened to be in her digestive system. Yukari heave and heaved and heaved, vomiting out a torrent of wine, beer, sake, bile, and stomach acid. Somehow, Yuyuko managed to stagger all the way over to her and made herself useful by rubbing Yukari's back.
Finally she was dry, though the ordeal left her whole body shaking. Wiping her mouth with one arm, she banished the gap and slumped back against the wall. For a time, all she could do was sit still and stare at the haze that enveloped the opposite wall while devoting her concentration on keeping her breathing under control. Yuyuko sat down next to her, and neither of them spoke.
Time passed, and still Yukari did nothing. There was still enough alcohol swimming through her veins and being splashed onto her brain to make decision making difficult, so she just let her thoughts flow down the muddled river. She might have passed out then; the prospect was certainly tempting. But she couldn't, not yet. Her pity party had done its work in letting her work out her frustrations. She still had a job to do.
Her head twitched to one side, and she grimaced. Okay, fine. Enough of this. "You know what?" she said at last. "Screw it.
"Screw it?" Yuyuko said, her face quizzical.
"Yes. I've just about had enough of this nonsense." With a grunt, Yukari staggered up to her feet. A thought, an infusion of will, and the liquor simply disappeared from her system, taking it inebriating effects with it. The process was always painful, with the agony coinciding with how much she had drank. She might have allowed herself to succumb to the hammer blows of the premature hangover that followed, but the time for that had passed. Now she needed coherency. Another thought, and her system reoriented itself.
She took a step and, finding her balance to be satisfactory, sighed deeply and nodded. Then she walked toward the door.
Yuyuko stared after her. "Where are you going?" she asked.
"To talk to the Dragon God," Yukari said over her shoulder.
Yuyuko frowned. "I thought you did that already today."
"Not in his role as the Dragon God."
"Oh," Yuyuko mildly. "Why then?"
Yukari paused, one hand on the doorframe. Her lip curled into a sneer. "Because their complacent oaf of a king won't listen to me, but he'll listen to him. His people have rotted on the sidelines long enough." She turned to look at her friend, her golden eyes flashing. "Yuuka wants a war, I'm giving her one. I'm going to rain so much fire on her godsforsaken garden that the worms will be choking on the ash. I'm going to smash her smug, grinning face into the desolation that was her home and tear it right off her skull, one peel at a time. I'm going to pay her back for everyone she's hurt, everyone's that going to be hurt because of her, and everyone indignity she's put me through. I'm going to give her a full-on Gensokyo greeting, and when I'm done, not even her beloved plants will dare whisper her name."
"Oh, Yuyuko said, her normally vaguely pleasant face now looking a little troubled. "You've hit that point, haven't you? This is the part where people die."
Yukari shrugged. "Well. One at least. Beyond that, I make no promises."
With that, she marched out of the room. She had calls to make and a burial to arrange.
…
TOCK-TOCK-TOCK
The massive pendulum that served as the Scarlet Devil Mansion Library's most prominent feature swung back and forth on the wall opposite of the entryway, filling the village-sized room with a deep, resonant percussion beat, just as it had done for years and years.
Many first time visitors wondered about it. After all, was this not a library? Were libraries not supposed to be as quiet as possible? Why then was such an obvious noisemaker included.
However, what most of them forgot was that the library was not public, and its curator rather enjoyed the steady rhythm it provided. It served as a soothing white noise, a background tempo that helped focus her thoughts. And as there was no actual timepiece attached, no clock face, it also served as a reminded that within the library's walls, time had little meaning. Second and hours might be passing by, but they left no fingerprints within Patchouli Knowledge's domain. It was a place of unhurried contemplation and comforting routine, just the way she liked it.
However, lately her peace had been disturbed. She had been restless, on edge. Reading wasn't making her mind settle, and she was too preoccupied to trust herself to any experiments. More often than not, she found herself pacing irritably through the library's stacks, trying to find something to distract her from the issue that had taken root at the back of her mind and had been niggling there ever since.
Marisa Kirisame was dead, and for some inexplicable reason that bothered her. It shouldn't be bothering her though. She had never liked the little nuisance, despite some rumors to the highly exaggerated contrary. If anything, she should be relieved that the obnoxious witch would trouble her no more. Granted, she had never really wished that degree of ill will upon her, at least not too seriously, but there was no denying that Marisa's loss did not negatively affect her in any way. So why in the world was she feeling her loss more acutely than Flandre's?
TOCK-TOCK-TOCK
Patchouli shuffled her way through the library, head bowed and slippered feet unconsciously moving in rhythm with the tocking of the pendelum. She was so caught up with her private musings that she almost didn't notice her assistant standing right in front of her until she had practically ran her over.
"Patchouli?"
"Yah!" Patchouli yelped, leaping back in shock, hands raised to protect herself.
The face of her demon familiar looked back at her in concern. "Patchouli, are you all right?"
Patchouli remained in the defensive position she had instinctively fallen into for a full five seconds, eyes wide and staring at Koakuma. Then she harrumphed and settled back down. "Yes, of course," she muttered as she straightened out her robe. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Koakuma frowned pensively. "It's just…you've been acting very oddly lately. Is something troubling you?"
Patchouli scowled back. "No! Of course nothing's troubling me, because there's nothing going on right now that I would find troubling!"
"Well, it's just-"
"I mean, certainly this house is fraught with troubles lately, but there isn't anything new to trouble me, so why would I be troubled?"
"Well, you-"
"Hell, if anything, I should be celebrating! A nuisance is gone! I don't have to work day and night to find new ways to keep her out! That, by, definition, is a reduction of trouble! So tell me, why would I find that troubling?"
"Patchouli," Koakuma said softly.
"What!"
The demon girl took a deep breath. "It's not your fault. You know that, right?"
The glare Patchouli shot her familiar was downright murderous.
"Right, right, no business of mine," Koakuma said, backing up with her hands raised. "Well, I'll go ahead and excuse myself. If you need me, you know where to find me."
Patchouli watched Koakuma's retreating back until the devil had turned a corner and disappeared. From there, the librarian listened to her assistant's fading footsteps until she could hear them no more.
With a short sigh of frustration, Patchouli turned and continued her march toward her study. She just didn't understand it. Why in the world would Marisa Kirisame's death be bothering her so much? The girl had been a thorn in her side ever since she and her shrine maiden friend had barged in during the Scarlet Mist incident. Patchouli could count on weekly visits from her, each one with the purpose of purloining books of magic, spells, and other such secrets. And despite the many precautions Patchouli had put up, she had been annoyingly good at it too. That had galled her as much as the thefts themselves did. Patchouli was Marisa's elder by a considerable amount, and far more experienced in magical matter than the enterprising mortal would ever be. Why then was she unable to keep her out?
Patchouli's go-to answer had usually been that, as Madam Mima's personal apprentice, Marisa would naturally be an ocean of raw talent, a magical prodigy like the world had never before seen. There was no shame in losing to such a person. She was to be Madam Mima's successor, after all. And Patchouli could claim to have been the future legend's original nemesis, from which she had stolen most of her knowledge. On some days she almost believed it too.
But in the end, that answer was always hollow. Because it meant that Madam Mima had chosen a mortal Human over her. It meant that Marisa Kirisame, the crass, undisciplined, inelegant, and just plain rude thief, was better than her.
(Patchouli would never forget the day she had found out exactly who Marisa was and who had trained her. It was the only time in the last fifty years that she had cried. Then she had confined herself to her room for a week straight, and even Remilia had felt that she was overreacting)
But maybe that was why Marisa's loss felt like such a blow. Because as much as Patchouli had resented her, she would never deny that Marisa, crude and unrefined as she was, was still an outstanding talent. The world of magicians had lost one of its brightest prospects. It was simply due to professional courtesy that Patchouli would regret her passing.
But as noble as that sounded, there was something else to it, something deeper. Gensokyo hadn't lost only its brightest rising star, it had also lost its Sun. Madam Mima had left for good, and Patchouli, to whom Mima had been an immeasurable inspiration, felt the pain of her loss most acutely. Her world was now a little emptier for it, the sky a little less bright.
Patchouli reached the door to her study and opened it. Without bothering to light any of the candles, she let it fall shut. She knew that in time she would get over it, that things would return to normal. But for now, she just wanted to be alone.
Then, as she crossed the dark room of wonders, she heard the whisper of a page turning.
Patchouli froze. She hadn't sensed anything else in the room, but the sound was unmistakable. Furthermore, now that her eyes were adjusting, she could see the silhouette of someone sitting in her tall-backed chair next to the fireplace, reading in the dark.
"Who's there?" she said. She meant to sound angry and intimidating, but to her chagrin, her voice came out as a frightened squeak. Anyone capable of entering her private sanctuary and mask their presence from her magic was not someone to be taken lightly.
The pages stopped turning. Patchouli opened her mouth to again demand answers, but then green flames burst to life in the fireplace, filling the room with an eerie luminescence. Startled, Patchouli stumbled back with a cry.
"Wh-who are you?" she coughed. Damn it, her asthma was acting up again. "What are you doing here? This is my sanctuary, and you have no right to-" A fit of wheezing consumed the rest of her sentence, and she fumbled for her medicine.
"My apologies," said a soft, silky voice as Patchouli inhaled the sweet vapor. "You are, of course, correct in that this is a serious breach of magician protocol. But I wished to speak to you alone, and felt that any sort of advertisement would compromise that."
Patchouli's breath stopped in a way that had nothing to do with her asthma. The figure rose up from the chair and turned to face her, the light of the fire framing her like a halo and casting her shadow all the way across the room to fall upon Patchouli.
"Madam Mima," Patchouli said in awe.
"The one and the same," Mima said, inclining her head. "Again, I apologize for my rudeness, but circumstances necessitated that I be discrete."
"No, no, not at all!" Patchouli said as she hastily righted herself. "B-b-but what are you doing here? I mean, of course you are more than welcome, and this is a tremendous honor, but we had been told that you were gone, that you had left Gensokyo for good!"
Though her face was still shrouded in shadow, Madam Mima tilted her head in a way that conveyed a smile. "Reports of my departure were highly exaggerated," she said. "Or at least premature."
Patchouli's heart was hammering away so loudly that they matched the rhythm of the library's pendulum. "So, you're not leaving?"
"Ah, well, unfortunately that part is true," Mima said with a sigh. "There is, as the sage once said, a time for everything. And my time to depart from Gensokyo has come. However, when I declared my intentions to Reimu Hakurei, I omitted a few key details." She extended her hand toward the empty space next to Patchouli's chair, and green flames, identical to those in the fireplace, shot up out of the carpet and took the shape of a second chair, similar to but smaller and less elegant than the original. The ghost waggled her fingers, and the two chairs swiveled around to face one another.
As Mima settled back down into the original, Patchouli realized the silent invitation she was given. Taking a deep breath and keeping a death-grip on the neck of her medicine bottle, she walked over and sat down stiffly in the other chair. She placed her hands on her knees and tried not to breathe too quickly.
"You see, my dear, when one has decided to take their leave of a place that has long served as their place of residence, it is important to put their affairs in order before they go," Mima told her. In contrast to her "host," the spirit was completely at ease. She slouched back into the chair like she owned it, elbows resting on the armrests and fingers loosely steepled in front of her chest. Her spectral tail was humped in a manner that conveyed crossed legs. "Most of my obligations and responsibilities have been wrapped up, nearly all my debts settled. How, there is one final detail to be dealt with, one last project that I must see to before I walk through the door."
Patchouli nodded enthusiastically, though the truth of the matter was that thanks to how light-headed she was, she was finding it difficult to follow what Mima was actually saying.
"Unfortunately, this, ah, project is of the sort that requires more resources than I currently have available," Madam Mima continued. "Both in terms of artifacts, ingredients, and tomes. Certain…indiscretions on my part have depleted my coffers, I'm afraid. Furthermore, this project is of the sort that would benefit greatly from having a second pair of hands involved." Her sapphire eyes shone brightly, in contrast to the emerald glow of the fire. "Preferably ones of acceptable skill in magic, and connected to a brilliant mind capable of keeping up at my level." Her perfect teeth flashed. "Fortunately for me, all of those things could be found at the same place."
Patchouli automatically nodded again, but this time her brain managed to catch up to what Mima was saying. When it did, she just about fell out of her chair. "M-me?" she stammered. "You…you are asking for my help?"
Madam Mima nodded gravely. "Yes, my dear. This will be my grand hurrah before I depart, my last gift to Gensokyo. And for something of such importance, I cannot do this alone. I require a partner, one of exceptional skill and intelligence. Now, I know this is a heavy thing to ask of you, but will you consent to-"
"Yes," Patchouli breathed. "Oh gods, yes. You've…you've done so much for me, your words and your discoveries…anything you want, I'll do anything…"
Mima smiled. "Thank you, my friend."
Patchouli's heart soared. Madam Mima had complimented her. Madam Mima needed her help. Madam Mima was her friend! "B-but what project is it?" she had to know. "I mean, surely someone of your, uh, caliber could handle anything…"
"Ah, that," Mima murmured. She gently ran her fingers over the cover of the book she had been reading. "Fortunately, it involves nothing that you and I are not already highly experienced in. My reach is ambitious, and there is great danger, yes, but I am confident that, with our skills and knowledge, we will succeed."
With that, she held up the book so that the title was facing Patchouli. The words on the cover burst into green light.
Appropriately enough, the book was one of Madam Mima's own, and by far one of her most popular. The title read, "The Art of Restoring Balance." Beneath the words a golden set of scales was emblazoned into the cover.
Contrary to what most people initially believed, the book had nothing to internal focus or stabilizing forces of magic. In fact, the word "balance" was something of a sardonic joke, as the whole point of the book was not ensuring that the scales were balanced, but that they ended up disproportionately tilted opposite of what they were before.
"Revenge," Patchouli whispered.
"Precisely," Mima purred, somehow managing to convey entire volumes of hate and malice in that serenely spoken word. "Yuuka Kazami took something very precious from me. In fact, it was the only thing I really cared about at that point. I think it only fitting that I take everything from her in return."
…
So hey, show of hands. Who here has ever decided to take a little time off and relax by working on a fun little side-project that was only supposed to be a few pages long and last a week or two only for it to keep going and going until you ended up with a hundred and twenty page monster that took two months to finish, all so you could write about cute monster girls going to a theme park?
…
I'm the only one with their hand up, aren't I?
…
Darn.
Anyway, yeah. That's what I've been up to. Also had to go off my sleeping pills at the same time, so still working on how to get past that. Though hey: if anyone likes Resonance Days, or you just like Madoka Magica, or even just cute monster girls going to wacky theme parks together, maybe go give Walpurgis Nights a shot? Link's on my profile, latest update was the one occupying my attention, and I really like how it came out, so yeah.
Anywho. Transitional chapter time. Things'll start picking up now as we head toward the arc finale.
Until next time, everyone!