Chapter 10: Legacy of Lunacy
"Are you sure you would like to be the one to inform her?" Yukari asked Alice, wanting to confirm with her. "As the one overseeing all operations, bearing the worst news would naturally be delegated to me."
Alice shook her head. "She'd likely respond to me best. You have your hands full already, I know."
Yukari frowned, but didn't disagree.
Currently, they were in a temporary army tent which was big enough for two people to sleep in. Bare necessities were placed in a corner with no care for aesthetics whatsoever. The evening light peered through the open flaps of the tent as Ran and Chen stood next to the exits waiting for their mistress. Loud footsteps could be heard outside, though Alice and Yukari knew that they were from allies. Youkai of all types roamed the grounds on patrols while humans were cordoned off in a safer area.
"We both know what her reaction will be. I normally wouldn't care so much, but I can't afford to be very picky in who we have to defend ourselves from the cursed Lunarians. Given that she's friends with Reimu and by extension, Reimi however, I do have some care for her. On top of that, I can easily cut her off from her power if she reacts poorly, which is why I suggested it." Yukari tried again.
Once again, Alice remained unfazed. "Even in your weakened state, I'm not surprised you can. As her friend however, I'm obligated to give her the support she needs. I've known her for almost thirty years now. I know this is a risk for you that you don't like, but I'll be insistent in this matter."
Yukari gave one more moment of silence, narrowing her eyes at the puppeteer. Eventually, she turned around to the exit of the tent.
"How very human-like of you Alice, caring so deeply for someone who probably won't even live a quarter of our lifespan." She coldly insulted before sighing. "Though, I'm no better. Very well then. I'll leave it to you. I have my own business to attend to as well. Keep her in check, Alice. I don't like high risks in such a precarious time. I'll personally handle this if I think it's getting too out of hand."
The unsubtle warning did not go unnoticed from Alice who gave a small hum in a disdainful agreement. Yukari began departing towards the exit where Ran and Chen were standing.
"Yukari-sama…" Ran quietly said, though Alice heard it anyway. "About Reimi…"
"I know. Explaining this to Reimi as well…" Yukari paused momentarily. "Will be difficult. I would have rather put this off for a bit longer, but she'll find out anyway. She's smart, so it may as well come from me than having her hear about it from somebody else. If she hates me for it, so be it."
And with that, the Yakumo family left Alice to her lonesome.
Alice released a deep sigh. Marisa, according to Yukari, would be coming to see her in a moment. Thus far, she had been informed that there were some very bad news. It wasn't public knowledge yet, but rumors were already being spread. Alice didn't think Yukari wrong in that her reaction would be very poor. Given her generally straightforward personality, it would be predictable as to what she would do. It didn't need to be said that Gensokyo's situation was dire. Its defenders were holding strong, but casualties were rising steadily with no sign of stopping. Yukari was good, but even her powers couldn't match up to key figures of the Lunarian Invasion.
"Alice, hey!"
Alice immediately turned in the direction of the voice from outside the tent. She had arrived much quicker than she had expected. Marisa's tone belied some cheer, though it was clear to her that it was a bit forced. The human witch parted the flaps of the Alice's tent, entering inside with her trademark grin.
"Marisa. Hello." She greeted neutrally.
"Yukari said she had some news for me and ta' meet up with her later. Some of the other Tengu said that she was here earlier, but I guess she ain't anymore. Ya' know where she is?" Marisa asked, completely unaware of what she was going to be told.
"Actually Marisa…" Alice began, internally bracing herself. "I asked Yukari if I could tell you in her place."
Marisa immediately noted the serious inflection. Her smirk turned into a frown.
"That doesn't sound very good. What's up? What's goin' on that ya hafta' tell me personally?"
The youkai bit her lip, eyes unable to meet Marisa's for just a moment. Nonetheless, she needed to press on. Marisa needed to hear it directly from her. She'd be there for her afterwards, no matter what.
"Marisa…, Reimu's… in a coma. We have no idea when she's waking up."
Marisa's eyes widened and she remained motionless for a few seconds. Alice almost thought her lifeless until Marisa closed the distance between them and grasped the former's shoulders.
"W-WHAT!? What do ya' mean Reimu's in a coma!?" She shouted, giving no care to her volume as Alice took the brunt of it.
"I mean what I said. Reimu is in a coma." Alice reiterated. "She helped the members of Eientei and many other youkai evacuate from the Hakurei Shrine after it was attacked. However, the wounds she took were severe and she's currently in a coma."
The information sank into Marisa's mind slowly. Her mouth dropped open slightly as her arms drooped off of Alice's shoulders. A few more seconds passed as Marisa began weakly chuckling.
"Marisa?" Alice questioned, concern etched in her voice.
A feeble, shaky smile was plastered by Marisa as she responded. "Y-You're joking, right Alice? This is all just a joke right? Just to tease me?"
Alice shook her head. "No, it's not."
"No. Yer' wrong…" Marisa denied quietly at first. "Yer' wrong!"
Marisa turned around, beginning to move rush towards the exit of Alice's tent.
Alice however, stopped her by gripping her arm firmly. "Stop! You need to listen to me Marisa! What I'm saying is the truth!"
"No! I don't believe you!" Marisa denied again, struggling to release herself from Alice's hold. "Lemme go! I hafta see her fer' myself!"
Her friend's hold on her didn't yield though. It tightened even more, stopping Marisa from leaving.
"Marisa! Please! I know it's hard to believe, but you have to listen to me!" Alice pleaded with her friend.
Despite her words, Marisa continued pushing away from her, desperate to leave the tent. Alice however, held strong as Marisa kept struggling against her arms. After a few more moments, Marisa's efforts turned to naught and her efforts slacked. Her legs gave way underneath her and she dropped to the ground on her knees. She began sobbing openly, tears running down her face with no resistance.
"Why?" Marisa softly asked. "Why did this have to happen? Why can't I go see her?"
Alice kneeled next to her, draping her arms around her shoulder in hopes of comforting her. "Reimu is in Eirin's care right now and Yukari doesn't want this to be public knowledge yet. We can go see her later, I promise. For now, you have to calm down so that at least the others don't know."
There was no further response from Marisa as she said nothing. All she could do was turn around and cry into Alice's shoulder.
Guilt crept up in Alice's mind. How could it not? She was preventing Marisa from rightfully seeing Reimu's state, whom Marisa had been friends with for even longer than Alice knew her. All because Yukari could not have Reimu's death-like state enter public ears until the former could sufficiently find a way to circumvent some of the morale damage it would do to the defenders. Worst of all, her pragmatic and calculative side agreed with Yukari's methods and knew that this was a smart move for now until damage control could be set up. Yet, another part of her that cared for Marisa hated Yukari all the same for having to control Marisa's outburst. Her response was natural, given her personality.
Alice set aside her guilt. She could deal with her own emotions at a later time. For now, Marisa needed her. She saw something crack within Marisa just after her state of denial. Little did she know just what kind of state Marisa would enter only days after the end of the Lunarian Invasion.
xXx
Alice's eyes opened slowly from her sleep. Grogginess struck her initially and her vision was blurry as she sat up from the futon she was laying in. Her eyesight reoriented itself as she rubbed the blurriness away and she looked at her surroundings.
The wooden walls painted green and the white floorboards signified an obvious room. There were no windows, although there was a screen door that led outside. The morning sun still hadn't come. The moonlight night still would have illuminated the room if there hadn't been a candle lit from next to her. Two more futons, both with red blankets were in the room next to her. One of them covered somebody whom she recognized as Aya who was still sleeping. The other futon had Patchouli sitting up against a wall, book in hand and a lit candle next to her.
"I see you're awake." Patchouli spoke a bit softly as her gaze didn't leave the book.
Alice turned to her. "It wasn't a fruitful sleep."
The ruffling of a book page turning was rather loud, Alice noted.
"So it would seem. A nightmare?" Patchouli responded.
"Not so much a nightmare as it is the past. The same one." Alice revealed, knowing that Patchouli would pick up on it.
"I see." Patchouli replied. "The memory where you explain to Marisa about Reimu's condition?"
"Yes."
"You explained before that it wouldn't cause problems during the first few nights here. That you had already come to terms with your decision. Is that not the case?" Patchouli asked a bit coldly.
Alice shook her head in denial. "I have come to terms with it. This doesn't happen often, but that doesn't stop it from entering my dreams."
"You mentioned no longer having any Butterfly Dream Pills prescribed from Eirin. The one that gives you pleasant dreams. Wouldn't that help you?" Patchouli noted, finally turning to look at the somewhat disheveled state that Alice had.
"I…" Alice bit her lip, hesitating to answer for a moment. "I haven't used it in a while. I'm somewhat hesitant to use it at the moment, despite Eirin reducing the side-effects of possibly being trapped in the dream world due to the pleasant dreams. If I use it, I might be too tempted to use it to escape reality forever. With how much is riding on everybody's shoulders, I couldn't risk it."
Patchouli gave a small hum of affirmation before turning another page in her book.
"I'm impressed that you managed to cut yourself off from a drug like that. Many others would gladly use it consistently, though an illusion within a dream is still an illusion."
"It hasn't been easy, but I've been able to manage." Alice brushed it off before deciding to change the topic. "Either way, I got to check up on Marisa at the party Suika hosted. She seems to be fine, though I can't help but worry for her still. The dreams supplement that a bit, but it's nothing I can't handle."
Patchouli gave no rebuttal immediately, though she eventually closed her book and laid it down on the wooden floor.
"It may not be as effective as the Lunarian Sage's prescription, but I may know a few spells to stop a person from having dreams. They aren't what I specialize in, but I can attempt them if you need them that badly." Alice almost missed the minute hint of concern for her on Patchouli's face, but her words put her at ease a bit more.
Alice couldn't help but smile ever so slightly at her fellow youkai magician. "I'll consider it. Thank you Patchouli."
"It's nothing. We work together well, and I enjoy your acquaintance. More so than Marisa's most of the time when we work together." Patchouli admitted, scoffing at the human witch's name.
Alice giggled a bit, raising a hand to poorly conceal it. "If only you showed your caring side a bit more, people wouldn't think you were so cold. However, the few times all three of us come together, it generally goes well. You can't deny that."
"That's my decision. Remi and a few others earned that privilege. Others haven't, so I have no need to be more open with them." Patchouli dismissively commented. "We've all worked together in the past with joint projects, so I at least know that both you and Marisa have a good amount of skill. Despite our differences and the fact Marisa may be a thief who steals whatever she likes, she's good at her craft and works hard for anything she wants. I can respect that. So I suppose yes, we do work well together and I wouldn't actively object to doing so again, annoyed as I am from her regularly pilfering my tomes and books from my library."
Alice smiled, her lips clearly turning upwards. "Marisa has that effect. I didn't think very highly of her either until later. Despite her flaws, she has a charm that pulls others in. If I recall, even some of the fairies that feared her became her acquaintances. You as well, to some extent."
"Most everybody in the Scarlet Devil Mansion gets along with her when she isn't there for regular thievery." Patchouli admitted, her face giving small hints of a smile.
Alice gave a content sigh. Her mind had settled from the accurate recollection she had of the Lunarian Invasion. Patchouli had done well in easing her from the disturbing memories. She wouldn't have liked to reveal that she stopped taking the Butterfly Dream Pill, but it was for the better.
"Did you receive one as well?" Patchouli asked.
Alice looked at her in confusion until she saw Patchouli reach into her robe to pull out a parchment of paper. Alice made a quick observation on it, noting its features. The seal had already been broken implying that it had been open.
Alice nodded. "Yes. I received one from Yukari too. A letter written by Reimi. I suppose I can assume that Yukari has recently given one to everybody in our group already."
Patchouli gave a small hum in affirmation. "I see. Frankly, I had expected the letter for me to be from Remi, or even Sakuya. I wouldn't have guessed that Reimi had written it, though the other two were mentioned frequently in my own letter."
"Oh? What did it say?" Alice questioned, curiosity in her features at what Reimi could have possibly written for Patchouli. As far as she knew, Reimi didn't frequently see her fellow magician as she was often cooped up in the library at the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
"Appreciations from Reimi for heading to the Outside World to help Reimu. It seems Remi and Sakuya have been visiting Reimi and telling her about their own relationships and incidents with her mother, including the Scarlet Mist incident." Patchouli answered flatly. "I shouldn't be surprised, given how fond Remi is of Reimu."
"I don't think I ever knew why that was the case." The puppeteer commented.
"She never deigned to tell me either, but it was never of much interest to me in the first place. I'm sure Sakuya could probably tell you if you're that curious on Remi's relationship with Reimu." Patchouli replied back.
"Maybe another time. Is there anything else in the letter?"
"Descriptions of how Remi is strange written in a more childish fashion." Patchouli gave a minute smile at the tease. "Apparently, Remi and Sakuya are worried for me in their own ways. Posturing from Remi and a more direct message from Sakuya to take care of myself. As if they need to worry about me."
"But it's nice to have friends worry about you isn't it?" Alice asked, a jesting tone clearly laced in it. "I think Reimi worries about you as well, even if she doesn't know much about you. Much more straightforward than Reimu in the past at least who won't admit it until later."
"As I said. They needn't worry. I can take care of myself barring the more horrible days of my asthma." Patchouli dismissed the concern. "Knowing Remi, I should write back soon before she gets too impatient and decides to be more drastic. I'm a bit surprised Reimi took note to tell me even though I already knew."
Alice hummed in agreement. "Yukari said that Reimi's intuition was particularly powerful."
"I can't disagree as of yet." Patchouli responded as she laid back into her bed. "If Reimu doesn't wake up despite all our efforts, then at least Reimi will be a powerful successor."
"What?" Alice looked to Patchouli, slightly taken aback with her statement. "You don't think we'll succeed?"
"I never said that. However, there's always a possibility that things might turn for the worse. Reimu dying in her sleep or us failing is just one of the possibilities. As harsh as it is, that's a reality that may come to fruition." Patchouli responded, turning to Alice with frosty eyes. "Everyone here is hoping that Reimu will recover and everything will be as it always was. Even Remi believes the same."
Alice opened her mouth to object instinctively, but remained quiet as she held back the urge.
"Reimu has been placed on this pedestal as someone who must be revived at all costs and that our problems will simply disappear with her return. However, isn't this a bit pretentious to place all our hopes on someone who currently can't even help us?" Patchouli continued, hammering out her logic while Alice stilled. "Perhaps our efforts would best be suited to train Reimi up to help maintain the border and ease the Sage's burden."
"But there's still the problem of not having enough forces to fend off the possibility of a second Lunarian Invasion. The average fairy and youkai simply can't take on the average lunarian if they continue." Alice interjected, finding a potential opening in Patchouli's argument. "With the outside Youkai Faction's forces, we may be able to stabilize."
"Possibly, I will concede that. We have no way to bolster our forces so quickly in the short term. We would need an equalizer, either through technology, magic, or power. I'm sure the kappas are already working full time to invent something to help our war. But whether that succeeds or not is up to them."
Alice shut her mouth again, not having any further comebacks to Patchouli's line of thought. Her fellow magician was right and logic pointed towards keeping her mind open to different options if they failed. Marisa wouldn't like it in the least though, and for that, Alice vowed to succeed.
She laid back onto the futon to go back to sleep as the dim light of a candle lit the room.
xXx
The meeting with Yasaka was tense, Alice noted. The three remaining members from Gensokyo, Aya, Alice, and Patchouli were each seated around a square, wooden table with cushion seats around it. The floor was made with high quality, green wooden tiles. Off to the side was a slide door that allowed access to the outside and the walls around it were white. In another part of the room, opposite of the outside door, was another slide door that lead deeper into the shrine.
It had begun with Alice stating that the Inaba Clinic, or Scouting Team, had decided to help train the Devils in Kuoh in order to gain their trust.
"They're hoping to gain further trust with them to help the Youkai Faction in the long run." Alice had begun, causing Yasaka to glower at the three of them. "The three of them haven't noted their affiliations with us."
Yasaka narrowed her eyes in suspicion and disapproval. "A non-aggression pact was detailed out between them and the Devil faction, but any more than that is strictly outside the boundaries of their contract. Who is to say that they won't turn their backs on you using the very same training they have given them. You understand that should the council get note of any of you training them, support for you will drop very rapidly."
"We understand. We have confidence that the scouting team limited what they showed to the devils. A favor from one of the 72 pillars is something we can't ignore either." Alice replied, her expression neutral as Yasaka took in her reasoning.
Yasaka frowned, still looking reluctant to willingly give it. "While I appreciate your honesty and openness in terms of giving information to me, this is a very risky move. How do I know that this won't lead to the Youkai Faction's destruction?"
Alice remained silent, contemplating her answer.
The pause was tenuous before she finally spoke up.
"In full honesty, we don't. We've done our best to mitigate any possibility of relating back to us, as well as keeping any training provided strictly moderated to keep them from overpowering us. I have full confidence that they should be able to keep them all in check."
Yasaka stilled, closing her eyes as she crossed her arms tersely. Eventually, she signed and began to speak.
"Very well. I will keep this a secret for now and respect what you've told me. What else have you learned regarding our defenses?"
"There's no other way to say it other than there's a very good probability of a possible spy in Inner Kyoto." Patchouli answered, to which Yasaka immediately displayed her displeasure through controlled facial features.
"That is a heavy accusation." Yasaka politely said, though the underlying tone she stated it with clearly showed her anger. "I assume you have proof of such a thing?"
Patchouli nodded. "Yes. Alice and I both investigated the outside barriers that separated Inner Kyoto and the modern Kyoto. Despite Cao Cao and Georg entering in which I assume was mist form, the barrier should have still detected magic entering Inner Kyoto and alerted us. However, the barrier was undamaged and showed no signs of foul play."
Alice could see Yasaka's dislike in the rather cold analysis from Patchouli, but didn't object.
"And this leads you to believe that there is a spy? Not just a way to circumvent the barriers surrounding Inner Kyoto?"
Patchouli nodded again. "Even in the mist form, I still detected magic signatures inside of it when I was attacked. If a Magician like myself could do it, then a barrier that's been improved upon for centuries should be able to as well, yet it wasn't able to."
"I see. Unfortunately, the Barrier Corps is too big to be investigated or spied upon in a reasonable amount of time. The Tengu Corps involved in scouting and spying are already out trying to find more information about those two attackers should they return. In fact, we believe we've found something." Yasaka informed them to which the Gensokyo residents turned to each other.
"So what'd you find?" Aya asked rather rudely which Alice glowered at the former for, though Yasaka didn't appear to mind.
"Reports from stolen documents from the fallen angel faction, the Grigori, make mention of something called the Khaos Brigade. Within that faction lies several smaller ones that have a common goal that we're unsure about. One of the groups is the so called "Hero Faction" who are filled with humans wielding powerful sacred gears."
The information helped to illuminate the information. Sacred gears were great equalizers in bridging the natural power gap between an average human and any supernatural being. Should a particularly powerful sacred gear be used as well, it would even be dangerous should it be turned towards the Youkai Faction.
"Given prior motives, we believe that the two you fought, Cao Cao and Georg are involved with them and will eventually return. They want the research to remove the magical leylines from Kyoto stopped based on what you told us as well." Yasaka continued, turning towards Patchouli. "To do so, they'd have to either kill or capture either me or Patchouli-san."
"Any way to step up security? We're just emissaries from Gensokyo to mostly smooth the process of migrating, but you have all the power with the elders. If we have a spy to worry about, it could be anyone." Aya questioned curiously, writing down her notes into her usual notepad. "What is our response going to be then Yasaka-sama?"
"With the amount of time needed to find our spy, it would be better to set a trap. If the Hero Faction want to stop Patchouli-san or I, they are under a strict time limit. We could simply spread rumors and information about accelerating the timeline of disconnecting the leylines from myself. We don't know what exactly they want with it or me, but we know they want something from it enough that they must stop us. Our spy will relay that to the Hero Faction somehow, and we will simply wait." Yasaka give a foxy grin, tails waving at her sly nature befitting her position as leader of the Youkai Faction.
"I see. Yes, only we know the timeline of when exactly we could finish disconnecting the leylines from you. The Hero Faction likely don't." Patchouli added on, smirking at the proposal.
"Hey, spreading information is my specialty! This is the best job for me!" Aya smirked, already becoming excited over having to do more messenger jobs between the Inaba Clinic and Inner Kyoto.
Alice bit back a retort with the thought of rewording Aya's 'information' to 'misinformation' instead which would be more accurate in this case.
"Our main concern now would be the strength of the enemy. If they were willing to faze through the barrier so openly, we should assume that they are at least as powerful, if not more so, than you Yasaka-san." Patchouli concluded which Yasaka scoffed at.
"I may not rank among the most powerful in this world, but they won't find me easy prey. If I draw upon the full power of the leylines, no human should be able to stand up to me in a fight on our terms." Yasaka confidently declared, smiling all the while mischievously. "I've yet to display my strength and it has been a while since I've done so, perhaps this is the perfect time to stretch my muscles, as they say."
"We could always ask for reinforcements from Gensokyo to see who we get. We've got some pretty heavy hitters ourselves that maybe we can spare. If not, we can always ask the Inaba Clinic to send someone or two to help us too." Aya suggested, hand under her chin as she posed the question towards Yasaka whom she nodded towards.
"I agree with that. I will speak with my council tomorrow in order to prepare ourselves for a battle. Those who tread upon our grounds so openly will find themselves answering why humanity feared the youkai in the first place." Yasaka boasted, though to everyone present, it seemed well informed why.
A nine-tailed fox was no laughing matter as an opponent. Alice, Patchouli, and Aya need only look towards Ran Yakumo, Yukari's shikigami, as a prime example of the strength of one who lived several centuries enough to earn their nine tails. Ran and Yasaka were also both magically inclined and possessed inhuman strength. Many similarities could be found between the two and it gave a reassuring thought that this plot would succeed.
"Speak with the tengu corps tomorrow then, Aya-san. Many of them are still well versed in the ways of war. Alice and Patchouli-san, we will work towards the defenses in the inner sanctum of Kyoto. Any fool who intrudes in a magician's territory who has had time to prepare is a true fool indeed." Yasaka said, gazing at the crow tengu as she nodded while grinning.
The nine tailed fox turned her head towards the other two magicians.
"Let us see what this Hero Faction can do."
xXx
The next day came and the Gensokyo team in Kyoto split ways as agreed. Alice and Patchouli were left with Yasaka to speak with the council in order to formulate defensive plans for the immediate shrine grounds and temple. Aya was left in the surrounding town area to look for whoever the captains for the tengu were.
"Excuse me! Naoki-san!" Aya cheerfully called out, waving her hand towards the white haired man walking towards her.
Naoki's black haired bob cut almost made Aya want to giggle, giving the former a rather young look. Piercing blue eyes turned to her which narrowed at her disregard for general respect towards him. On his back was a large bastard sword almost as tall as Aya. He wore a black sleeveless vest with a baggy white hakama and tengu clogs. Arm and shin guards were strapped to him as he frowned at Aya.
"Ayayaya, so serious looking Naoki-san." Aya teased the wolf tengu much to his dissatisfaction.
If she had to guess, he likely wasn't even half as old as she was.
"Quiet. I have no wish to collaborate with you. Had it not been for the elders, I wouldn't even be speaking with you." Naoki retorted, displaying his full displeasure of speaking with the reporter of Gensokyo.
"Oh? But it's a matter of fact that your leaders have chosen to migrate to Gensokyo." Aya bluntly pointed out, smiling all the while Naoki continued to borderline snarl at her.
"Had it been up to us, we would stay here defending our faction until the end. We've defended our land for over a millennia. We can defend for longer."
Aya shrugged nonchalantly. "We have White Wolf Tengu over in Gensokyo too who would disagree with you. The lack of faith in youkai here has weakened you guys, but I'm still plenty strong thanks to Gensokyo. Anyway, our job's to see what we can do to help defend this place. You being grumpy isn't helping much, you know."
Naoki clenched his fist before taking deep breaths to calm himself. Aya waited patiently, crossing her arms as Naoki eventually schooled his face into something resembling neutral. From Aya's point of view, he still looked unhappy though, she supposed it was much better than the outright hostility he had earlier.
"Much better! So, shall we get started?" Aya began amicably, allowing Naoki to take the lead.
"Yes. We'll be meeting up with the captain of the crow tengu, Azusa. The white wolves and crows cooperate in order to patrol this area. She's… undisciplined, but she's impeccable at what she does. No one can deny her skill as a scout." Naoki practically had to force out before walking down the street.
The midday sun basked over the large town as youkai of all kind, walked around casually. Tsukumogami, spirits, animals, and bipedals roamed freely, not giving any attention towards Aya and Naoki. They mingled among themselves as Naoki took a left at an intersection to lead them towards a crow tengu sitting on a red bench outside a store.
The crow tengu sat casually with legs crossed while munching on a grilled lamprey that reminded Aya of the one's she spotted Mystia selling before the Lunarian Invasion. Azusa, she assumed, wore her long black hair in a ponytail that reached down to the middle of her back. A wakizashi was tied to a loose belt around her black dress with white trim and belts. A golden pauldron with a red gemstone, black tokin hat with white fur tufts similar to Aya, and dark blue geta along with a white scarf signified her high status.
Azusa noticed them in the corner of her eye and began waving at the two of them while chewing on the lamprey. Naoki's eyes twitched at the blatant unprofessional Azusa had, but didn't speak up.
"Hey! Naoki! And crow tengu girl I haven't seen around! What's up?" Azusa shouted cheerfully, completely ignoring that her mouth was half full.
"Azusa…" Naoki grimaced, resisting the urge to pinch his temple. "This is Aya Shameimaru, a crow tengu from Gensokyo. Aya, this is Azusa, captain of the crow tengu. We've been asked by the council to help set up a strategy together in preparation for our fight with the Hero Faction."
"Ahh yeah! I remember that! Hey Aya! Fellow crow tengus, am I right?" Azusa beamed while Aya grinned back at the completely difference in personalities between them and Naoki.
"Right! Still, why don't we start with exchanging information and to help catch me up? That way, I'll know what the three of us can do and maybe we can think of something." Aya proposed as both she and Naoki sat by Azusa. The latter pushed her large plate of grilled lamprey towards them which Aya quickly picked up a skewer while Naoki raised a hand in refusal.
"I'll start then. As you likely know, the tengu corps as a whole are well-versed in war. I know the patrol routes well, including as the majority of the tengu under my command." Naoki began. "There are ambush spots we can use in various illusionary houses we have placed around the inner Kyoto town in times of war. I've asked for some kitsune skilled in illusion to create these to help hide our forces for when the Hero Faction come. I believe flanking tactics from these spots would work well."
"As long as we aren't overwhelmed, it's a good plan. If we can weaken their forces before they get to the inner sanctum, it should be a rout." Aya agreed while turning to Azusa.
"I got some extra info from my fellow scouts too. Had to wheedle a few fallen angels, but it looks like this Hero Faction are humans with strong lineages. We don't know if they're going to come with anyone else. They're still human, but without some kind of magic or resistance, a lot of them should be weak to illusions if they're completely unaware." Azusa also supported, crossing her legs. "My crow tengus and I could do a lot of hit and run from those illusion houses Naoki helped set up with the kitsunes. We're fast, so we can hit fast and get out before we get in trouble."
"I can easily join that group. I'm the fastest in Gensokyo. No one can match me in speed." Aya grinned, almost looking eagerly to put herself in the front.
Naoki cocked an eyebrow, looking intrigued by Aya's forthright response to being a front line ambusher, but continued.
"In that case, while you and the crow tengu corps ambush them, my White Wolf Tengu and I will charge in as well from the front. It'll be a front assault from us while the both of you ambush from the sides." Naoki added, looking satisfied with this plan. "But how will we deal with this… Georg? I've heard he's a spellcaster of great power, able to capture people with a mysterious fog."
"If we're too quick for him to cast anything, even he won't be able to do much." Azusa countered easily. "Most magicians need to take time to cast anything. Any second wasted casting is a major handicap for someone like us built for speed. Zoom!"
Azusa held a hand up for a high five which Aya eagerly reciprocated. This time, Naoki pinched the bridge between his nose, groaning.
"Now there's two of them…" He murmured to himself unhappily. "Regardless…"
He turned to Aya.
"These are what we have in store. What did your faction discuss about?" Naoki asked, while Aya hummed, thinking back to what Alice and Patchouli told her.
"We're definitely recalling our team from Kuoh Town to help. One of them is an Oni, and I don't have to say much about them. Everyone knows them." Aya almost flinched at even mentioning Suika as the other two's pairs of eyes widened.
"An Oni!? But they disappeared into the Underworld themselves after losing the goodwill they had for mankind!" Naoki cried out before covering his mouth with his hands. Azusa's face paled at the thought of an Oni returning.
"This one came back and she's on our side." Aya's grin almost split her face. "She's as strong as everyone remembers too. Shuten-douji, or what she goes by these days, Ibuki-douji."
"One of the four devas…" Azusa whispered in utter disbelief. "I didn't realize she was in Gensokyo."
"The other two are a human magician and a lunar rabbit." Aya finished, though the others didn't look nearly as impressed. "Don't underestimate them though. They're strong enough to take on even the gods and goddesses living in Gensokyo."
"To think though… Shuten-douji." Naoki mumbled.
"The two magicians, Alice and Patchouli, I don't really have any idea what they have prepared, but I heard that Yukari-sama is getting involved in the planning for the defense." Aya admitted, shrugging her shoulder casually. "Anyway, I'm not sure what the Hero Faction has planned, but it's going to take a lot to outsmart Yukari-sama."
"I can't help but feel a little unneeded for this. Shuten-douji herself could probably take on the entirety of the Hero Faction and win herself. That's just how strong she is, and nobody here's forgotten." Azusa commented, scratching her head sheepishly.
"She could still be outnumbered, but the enemy won't be suspecting something like her. The enemy's goal is Yasaka-sama or Patchouli-san, but none of us have the strength of someone like Shuten-douji. It's reassuring." Naoki remarked, giving a very small grin for the first time since the group's encounter.
"If you smiled like that more often, people would be crowding around you, Naoki." Azusa teased, poking him with her finger.
"Q-Quit that!" Naoki blushed, slapping her finger away. "I do not need the advances of a woman. I have my duty to fulfill!"
"Hah! This is why the White Wolf Tengu are so lame. So stingy with sticks up their butt, right Aya?" Azusa prodded Naoki further as Aya could practically feel the embarrassment from him.
"Right. You're never going to make nice conversation with a face like that." Aya nudged as well, smirking at the rising heat on Naoki's face.
"If you two are finished…" Naoki grit his teeth, attempting to redirect the conversation back. "We still need to spread the information regarding Yasaka-sama to bait the Hero Faction."
"Ahh, we'll get it done quick." Azusa waved off his distraction. "We still have to wait for the Yamabushi Tengu to finish printing everything before we distinguish it. They'll send a messenger when they're ready. And as for our spy, how do you think we should handle it?"
At that, Naoki clenched his fists at the thought of a traitor in their midst. "Increasing the patrols will have no effect now if they have gotten away undetected. Whoever they are, they know our patrol routes well since we've increased the security recently."
"According to Patchouli, whoever it is knows the barrier well. It could be someone from the barrier corps." Aya speculated as each of the tengu ruminated over it.
"They would have to be in a position to be near the border consistently as well as be someone who'd likely to know our patrol route to remain undetected." Naoki added, mind running through the potential list of candidates.
"Didn't someone in the council mention that they got through in a mist form? Maybe all they needed was the opening in the border since they could get around themselves." Azusa countered, one finger pointing upwards into the air. "In which case, our list of suspects gets kinda big. At that point, narrowing it down would be tough. At most, we could send tengu scouts and spies to the borders of Inner Kyoto to see if we catch someone. I could spare a few to keep an eye out, but I wouldn't plan on us finding them that easily."
"It's better than nothing." Aya approved. "We can't just let this go unpunished. Our pride as tengu are on the line you know!"
"I see you at least have some modicum of dignity." Naoki huffed, though not disdainfully. "Regardless! I will check on the Yamabushi to see their progress so that we may distinguish our misinformation! I will be back." Naoki stood up straight and began walking away without so much as a 'by your word.'
"He's so fun to tease." Azusa noted, giggling behind her hand.
"People like him are." Aya agreed, smiling as well.
xXx
Cao Cao was suspicious. They were able to enter Inner Kyoto the exact same way as they did last time. He would've expected that security would've been tighter after his and Georg's last intrusion. Georg's information gathering mission made note that Yasaka and Patchouli had ramped up their efforts to detach the former from the leylines.
All that power from the leylines would steadily be lost. In order to prove humanity's superiority and potential to all the other races, they needed that power. Whether that meant capturing Yasaka, Patchouli, or even killing them, their objective would be completed.
"The patrols have increased." Georg noted, staring at the flying overhead tengu.
His mist was hiding them well, but upon closer viewpoint, anyone could see the mist was unnatural. If the Youkai Faction weren't any kind of incompetent, they would spot his group once they started approaching.
"If they're looking for your mist Georg, I doubt we'll be able to sneak through a second time. Force might be the best choice here." Cao Cao proposed, though he was secretly happy with that circumstances.
Georg pushed up his glasses. "The average youkai shouldn't stand a chance against us, but we should still be careful of the older youkai. They haven't lived this long from being careless. And that other magician, if she's as smart as I believe she is, would have thought of something against our sacred gears. This could be a trap."
Cao Cao laid his spear on his broad shoulders confidently. "Even if it's a trap, we don't know if what they declared is true about their timeframe. We can't risk Yasaka leaving yet without taking Kyoto's power for ourselves. If that means killing everyone and having Leonardo make a monster to absorb all the power, then that's what we'll do."
"There are more elegant ways to take it for ourselves than to have him do that, but I suppose you're right about the time for subtlety being over." Georg acquiesced, sighing at Cao Cao's decision. "If they're prepared for us, we should be wary. A magician's workshop where they can plan everything on their terms is something to be feared. Against someone like her, I would be cautious."
"Sure you don't want to test your might and knowledge against her? You mentioned her being a legitimate magician youkai." Cao Cao teased, a charismatic grin gracing his face as his forces began emerging into existence from Georg's mist.
"It would be interesting, but we should focus for now. Something tells me that this won't be as easy as we thought." Georg warned though Cao Cao just chuckled.
"Georg, when has anything we've done ever been easy? For the sake of humanity, there's no boundaries that we cannot across."