Orin couldn't remember why she'd agreed to this interview.

She liked to think she was social and easy to get along with. She could hold a conversation with a stranger, and odds were good she'd make a friend in the process. Cracking jokes, acting interested, being a shoulder to cry on; those were all skills she took a fair bit of pride in. But she didn't like sharing too much about herself, especially if it'd attract undue attention.

Tengu journalists, on the other hand, craved attention over anything else.

"So how does it feel being a top class adventurer?" Aya sloshed her half-full masu box, carrying what must have been her seventh drink of the day. "I bet all the rank-and-file mooks must be real jealous of you."

The crow girl's smirk fired off warning sirens in Orin's head. The woman clearly had an article planned in advance – probably a smear piece to piss off other explorers. She was just looking for a good statement to take out of context.

"Oh, I'm not interested in fame," she replied, taking pains to sound as boring as possible. "Exploring the Subterranean Sea is a collaborative effort. Everyone's doing their part to help, and our discoveries are making the underground a better place."

"Yes, but some people are doing more than others, aren't they?" Aya slouched over the bar with a glint in her eye. "You and your raven friend, for example. In fact, word on the street's that you two get preferential treatment because your mistress is in charge."

"That's just hearsay." Orin fought down a hiss. "It's true that Lady Satori's organising everything, but Okuu and I got where we are through honest hard work."

"So you're saying the other explorers are lazy, and that's why they can't keep up to you?" Aya grinned cruelly. "My, I wonder how your fellow adventurers would feel hearing that."

"That's not-"

Orin bit her lip. The tengu were experts at putting their own words into someone else's mouth. This article would have probably hit the press even if she'd turned down the interview. If she didn't come up with an idea fast, there'd be a lot of angry oni at her doorstep with a score to settle-

"Oriiiin! There you are!"

Her worries were cut short by a missile slamming into her back. A pair of arms wrapped around her chest, followed by two exceedingly fluffy wings.

"I missed you so so much, Orin!" Utsuho rubbed her cheek against the kasha's with a quiet coo. "I haven't seen you since this morning! That's basically forever!"

Orin swore she heard her ribs creak. "Okuu...too tight..."

"Unyu?" It took Utsuho a few seconds to notice Orin's face turning blue. Mercifully she loosened her grip before anything snapped. "Sorry. Keep forgetting about that."

Orin was too busy gasping for breath to respond. The raven might have been the sweetest and cutest girl in the underground, but damn if she wasn't thick as a brick.

"Oh?" Aya sat up at the sight of her fellow bird. "Miss Reiuji, I never realised you and miss Kaenbyou were so close."

"I told you to call me Orin." The kasha frowned. "And it's not like we're dating – ok, maybe we kind of are, but it's nothing that official-"

"We have sex sometimes!" Utsuho beamed, her wings at full span. "Unless we're tired out after work. Then we just cuddle a lot."

"O-Okuu!" Orin blushed from head to tail. "I thought we had a discussion about oversharing!"

"But the newspaper lady wants to write about you, doesn't she?" Utsuho stared blankly. "How's she gonna do that if you don't tell her anything?"

Aya's initial confusion shifted into rabid eagerness. She downed the rest of her cup, then brought out her notebook to start scrawling down details.

"Interesting. Veeeery interesting." With a swipe of her wings, she hopped off her stool and kicked it under the counter. "Well, ladies, this has been a fascinating discussion. You've given me some great ideas for an article."

Orin blinked. "W-We have?"

"Oh, yes." Aya rubbed her hands together. "I'll just need a few pictures to go along with the story. So if you two lovebirds could keep your curtains open next time you do your business, that'd be a big help~"

She was gone before Orin could protest, flying into the distance with incredible speed. Another talent of the tengu, Orin thought to herself – they were excellent at making themselves scarce.

"Huh. That was weird." Utsuho scratched at her chin. "Sorry, Orin. Did I say something bad?"

Orin opened her mouth to answer, then stopped herself. It seemed like Aya was throwing out her old idea for something more...intimate. But she'd need photos if she wanted that idea to sell. So if they could just keep prying eyes from poking in, there'd be nothing to worry about.

Note to self: lock bedroom door.

"...Nah, you're fine." Orin dug out her purse and started counting out coins for the tab. "What're you doing here, anyway? I thought you were helping out Lady Satori at the palace."

"Oh, that's right! I almost forgot." Utsuho's wings flapped behind her. "Lady Satori said she had to talk to us. Something about an important mission."

"Ah." So much for that lack of favouritism. "Guess we'd better head back home, then."

"Want a lift?" Utsuho spread her arms out wide. "I bet you're tired from all that interview-y stuff."

"Sure." Orin winced. "Just make sure your hands don't wander."

"Huh? Why?"

"No reason."

It had been six months since the Subterranean Sea had emerged in the underground. The earth had literally given way in the city square to reveal an uncharted landscape hidden beneath. Once the first intrepid explorers came back with tales of peril and treasure, it wasn't long before every youkai with a hint of ambition wanted their share of the adventure.

The job of organising the expedition fell to Satori Komeiji. She was the closest Old Hell had to an authority figure, and nobody else wanted to be buried under that much paperwork. She claimed she didn't enjoy the position, but Orin knew for a fact her master loved telling other people what to do.

Consequently, the palace itself had changed to accommodate its new role. The entrance hall had become a makeshift lobby for explorers to take on missions and report their findings. Youkai who didn't have the stomach for danger handled the office jobs, while Satori's own pets performed most of the manual labour. There was something uncanny about a tiger hauling a bag of gems on its back that always made Orin smirk.

She walked between the counters and up the steps, with Utsuho close behind her. Nobody stopped them, or even asked what their business was. As Satori's most trusted servants, their reputation spoke for itself.

After a quick trip through the palace's elaborate corridors, they arrived at their mistress' office. Orin rapped at the door with her knuckles with a telltale rhythm.

"Come in, you two."

Orin obliged, slipping the door open and stepping inside. Satori was at her usual seat, a simple desk in the shadow of a massive stained glass window. It was an odd juxtaposition that always took first-time visitors by surprise. Knowing Satori, that was probably the point.

"I'm back!" Utsuho swooped down and landed neatly on the floor. "And I brought Orin, just like you asked."

"Thank you, Utsuho." Satori nodded, beckoning the pair to come closer. "Shut the door behind you. I don't want this discussion to leave this room."

Orin gulped. That couldn't be a good sign. She latched the door shut to be extra safe before taking her place in front of the desk.

"Okuu said you needed to talk about a mission," she said. "What's going on?"

Satori's expression was heavy, almost weighed down. Normally she handled meetings with a blend of wry humour and tired disinterest. Now her knuckles were white as she clasped her hands together, all three eyes narrowed in contemplation.

"We have a crisis on our hands," Satori said. "What do you two know about the Verdant Drake?"

"The big lizard thing that's meant to mind-control plants?" Utsuho frowned. "Isn't that made up?"

Orin nodded. "Yeah, I thought it was an urban legend to scare new explorers into watching their backs."

"Unfortunately, that's not the case." Satori opened her desk drawer and brought out a small brown folder. "A kappa scouting drone sent us these pictures last night. The pilot lost contact with it a few minutes later, and you can probably guess why."

Orin picked up one of the photos, and her tails stood on end. Square in the center of the shot was a massive dragon-like serpent. Weeds and flowers bloomed from the gaps between its scales, and its eyes were a radiant green. It was nestled amidst a bed of thorny vines, and wrapped in their embrace were at least half a dozen skeletons.

"Holy Yatagarasu," Utsuho muttered.

"These photos were taken in a cave network just off the Coral Forest." Satori drew another file from the folder. "The vines you see stretch out almost to the cave's entrance. And if the footatge is to be believed, they're still growing."

Orin grimaced. The Coral Forest was one of the Sea's safest habitats, a perfect place for newcomers to learn the trade. If a team of amateurs ran into a monster like this, it was a party wipe waiting to happen.

"It gets worse," Satori continued. "The drone had weaponry installed, and attempted to gun down the monster. It succeeded in drawing blood, but apparently the drake healed itself using the nearby plantlife. Keep in mind, this is a weapon that can handle most creatures in the Coral Forest without any difficulty."

"So the plants heal the lizard, but the lizard grows the plants?" Utsuho stared at the ceiling. "Does that mean it's one of those symbolic relationships?"

"Symbiotic." Orin rubbed her temples. "So what you're saying is this thing is basically unkillable?"

"For most divers, yes. But maybe not professionals." Satori sat up straight, her eyes glistening like daggers. "I've consulted with the kappa to create a plan for exterminating this creature. And as much as I hate the thought of putting you in danger, you two are the only explorers qualified enough for the task."

She held out a hand. "I ask you not as your master, but as leader of the expedition. Can we rely on your support?"

Orin took a moment to consider the circumstances. She was being asked to fight a beast that nobody even thought was real until just yesterday. It had already claimed several lives, and if nobody intervened the death toll was sure to rise. She didn't know what this plan involved, but if the kappa were involved then it had to be something obtuse and needlessly dangerous.

In other words, exactly what she'd signed up for.

"I'm insulted you felt the need to ask." Orin smirked as she took Satori's hand. "Of course we're in. Right, Okuu?"

"Right! That lizard'll be pushing up daisies by the time we're done." Utsuho hesitated. "Figuratively, I mean. If it's literally pushing up daisies then we're not doing our job right."

That was enough to get a chuckle out of Satori. Seeing it lightened the pressure in Orin's chest just a bit. Her master had been working night and day to keep this expedition in order. The least she could do was give her one less problem to worry about.

"I assume we're moving out on the double." She gave her shoulders a warmup stretch. "So what exactly is this plan you've come up with?"

"You'll want to talk to the chief engineer about that." Satori managed a smirk. "I'll warn you in advance, though – you aren't going to like it."

"I'm sorry, we're going to be carrying what?"

Orin stared at the jet black sphere propped up on the lab table. It was almost as large as she was, with a surface that was perfectly smooth and unnaturally shiny. A keypad was built into one side, with what she could only describe as far too many buttons.

"From what the drone footage showed, the Verdant Drake's already spread its territory pretty far." Nitori leaned on the device without a care in the world. "As long as some of that foliage are still intact, it'll shrug off everything we throw at it. So my hypothesis is that if we destroy the drake and the plants at the same time, it shouldn't be able to recover."

"Yeah, I get that part." Orin clenched her teeth. "But why a bomb, of all things? Can't you kappa just invent a really good weed spray or something?"

"Maybe if you gave me a week," Nitori said. "But the boss wanted this done ASAP with no room for error. And 'leveling a paddy field's worth of rock' seemed pretty thorough, so we decided to go with that."

"We? You're gonna be holed up in your lab while we're hauling around live explosives!" Orin turned to her partner in desperation. "Back me up here, Okuu. Tell her it's crazy to build a plan around-"

Utsuho wasn't listening. She was hovering a few inches above the ground, circling the bomb with giddy wing flaps. From the cheer plastered across her face, Orin would have assumed she was looking at a birthday cake.

"This is gonna be so freaking cool!" The raven poked her head over the bomb to talk with Nitori. "Hey, what kind of payload is this thing running? And what's the firing mechanism?"

"Heh. At least one of you knows quality when she sees it." Nitori grinned. "I've got a copy of the blueprints right here, if you wanna see my handiwork..."

Oh, gods. They're talking science again.

The technobabble that followed was enough to turn Orin's brain to mush. Utsuho had been like this ever since that incident with the Moriya shrine. At her core she was the same dumbass she'd always been, but now she had some extremely narrow fields she could spend hours rambling about. Most of which involved some flavour of explosion.

"Anyway!" Nitori spoke up to bring Orin out of her lecture-induced stupor. "The bomb is harmless until you prime it with the activation code. Once it's live, you'll have about five minutes to book it before the entire cave network gets annihilated."

Orin frowned. "I'm guessing we can't just leave it at the entrance?"

Nitori shook her head. "The explosion won't be big enough to work from that range. Plus you'd end up taking out a good chunk of the Coral Forest."

"Right. So we have to smuggle this huge-ass bomb in there without getting spotted by the giant weed death monster." Orin rolled her eyes. "Lady Satori was right. I do hate this."

"Well if you've got any better ideas, I'd love to hear them." Nitori glared. "Otherwise you two had better start suiting up. I'll get this bad boy ready for towing in the meantime. Should be waiting for you by the time you touch bottom."

Orin grumbled, but she had to concede that Nitori was right. There weren't any alternatives they could call on at such short notice. She'd just have to figure out a way to make it work.

"To the Pipeline, then!" Utsuho pumped her fist. "Hey, Orin, is it okay if I take care of the bomb? I'll be careful, I promise."

"Oh, please do," Orin answered drolly. "I insist."

The Pipeline was a few minutes walk away from Nitori's lab. It was an elaborate network of glass tubes that ran all the way to the Sea's newest frontiers. New connections were being added every day, both to move around divers and to haul back the precious resources they were mining. The entire system was automated by kappa technology, so thankfully Orin didn't have to memorise the whole network in order to get around.

The two girls split up as they stepped into the changing rooms. Orin stripped down with practised efficiency, placing her clothes in an empty alcove on the wall. She closed it over, then typed her ID into the keypad on the door.

"Greetings, SENIOR DIVER KAENBYOU." A poorly automated voice played from the speaker overhead. "You are cleared for duty in the CORAL FOREST. Please prepare for deployment."

There was a whirr as the machine whisked away her locker to who-knew-where. A few seconds later the whirring stopped, and Orin opened the door to find her equipment waiting inside. She double checked everything was accounted for before sitting down to get changed.

First up was her wetsuit. The dark fabric clung neatly to her skin, with pale blue flames drawn along the edges for some contrast. Next was her mask, the tight seal keeping the water out of her eyes. It wasn't technically a necessity, but nothing killed her focus mid-dive like a blast of water up her nose.

Her air supply was a small mouthpiece with two metal pipes jutting out the side. She bit down gently on the plastic, taking a few test breaths to make sure it was functioning properly.

"Ksssh...fuu."

With every inhale, Orin could feel a faint tingle in her chest. From what she understood, the mouthpiece itself didn't carry any air – that would make it too heavy and inefficient. Instead it drew power from the user's magic supply, then turned that into fresh oxygen. In essence, she could stay under for as long as her magic held out.

"Those kappa come up with some wild ideas," she said to herself as she spat it out. "The rocks we're digging up for them must be really handy."

She gave her pistol a once over as she stepped into her fins, clipping the weapon onto her belt. The creatures of the Sea weren't interested in danmaku, so divers had learned to fight with more brutish methods. That left only one piece of gear to check, and she'd saved the best for last.

"There you are, beautiful." A warm smile climbed onto her face. "You're looking as classy as ever."

The kappa called it a Diver Propulsion Vehicle, or DPV for short. Orin thought that name was too stuffy for a water scooter, so she called hers the Hellcat instead. It had been built custom made with the goal of speed over all else. Officially her reasoning was that monsters couldn't eat what they couldn't catch, but the simple truth was just that she liked going fast.

She easily picked up the small machine, giving the handle a gentle squeeze. Its twin turbines revved to a pleasant roar, and her smile widened. These were the little pleasures that convinced her to get out of bed in the morning.

"Time for us to get to work."

Orin stepped through the door on the other side of the changing room. She emerged in a large glass sphere, with two seats and straps planted in the center. Utsuho had already come through from the other end, suited up with her own DPV tucked in behind her legs.

"Unyu..." The raven grumbled as she tugged at the safety belts. "Orin, mind helping me with these? I don't get why they're so tight."

"It's not the belts that're the problem," Orin said, carefully pulling the straps into place. "Nobody's going to design their machine around a rack like yours."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Once the belts were locked in, Orin took her own seat and repeated the process for herself. The machine detected they'd taken their places, and the doors slid shut with a pneumatic hiss.

"Transfer authorisation verified." The same mechanical voice spoke up again. "Initiating submersion process."

The whole vessel rumbled as it was lowered into the water. Holes opened along the walls and ceiling, allowing the air to rapidly escape. Orin bit down on her mouthpiece just before the sea engulfed her, taking her first breath with well-trained calmness. Her breaths were slow and relaxed, drifting upwards in gentle plumes.

"Submersion process complete. Prepare for delivery."

There was a click as the sphere took its place at the mouth of the Pipeline. Orin could see the network from here, sprawling outwards further than she could see. She could also see the junctions between the pipes, and how they all seemed to meet at hard right angles.

As the engines revved up, she gripped hard at the arms of her chair.

"Firing in three...two...one..."

A single beep of confirmation was all she heard before the vessel was thrust into the pipe. The speed wasn't the problem – she hit these numbers all the time on the Hellcat. It was the sudden stop when they made it to the first junction, and a set of arms popped out of the wall to stop them from crashing.

"Hrrf-!"

The safety straps dug into Orin's chest, almost making her spit out the mouthpiece. By the time she'd recovered the engines were firing again, throwing her into the next split with just as much inertia. It was like falling down the stairs of the Hakurei shrine, from the top of the hill all the way to the base.

Thankfully the Coral Forest was one of the shallower areas of the sea, so her discomfort didn't last long. The last set of arms brought her to a proper halt, and the straps came undone automatically. She flopped forward into the water, lying on top of the Hellcat for support.

"You okay?" Utsuho swam over, her voice gushing from a speaker on her mouthpiece. "I don't get why the trip takes so much out of you. Honestly, I find it pretty comfortable."

"Well yeah," Orin grumbled, getting her grip on which way was up. "Not all of us have built in cushions like you do."

"Eh?"

"Don't worry about it." The cat climbed to her feet. "What matters is we're here, and I haven't broken any bones."

The whole sphere popped open, releasing the two divers out into the wild. It closed over again as it fed itself back into the pipe, before whizzing back up to attend to another team of explorers. Orin was glad to see it go, and tried not to think too much about the return trip.

"Where's the bomb?" Orin eyed her surroundings. "Nitori said it'd be here by now."

Utsuho looked around, and Orin saw her eyes light up. "Over there!"

She pointed at a nearby cargo tube, where their payload was being fed into the water. Nitori had attached a set of magnets to one side, and Utsuho used them to clip the bomb beneath her DPV.

"What sound do you think this explosion will make?" the raven asked with childlike wonder. "Will it be more of a KABLAM or a BRAKOOM?"

"You're the expert there." Orin revved up the Hellcat's engine. "I just want to be out of the way when it happens."

She started the drive into the Coral Forest, staying slow enough for Utsuho to keep up. A faint green tint lingered in the water, and colourful plants brushed against her legs. Massive rock structures towered over her, each housing its own ecosystem of underwater life. She imagined a researcher could dedicate their whole career to studying the fish of this region alone.

Her focus was narrower than that. She only cared about the fish that wanted to eat her. Thankfully there weren't many of those around here, and the ones she did know about were too weak to be worth worrying about. Still, that didn't stop the odd predator from trying its luck.

"Look alive, Okuu." She eyed a swarm of fish trying to sneak up on them through the coral. "Bad guys, three o'clock."

"How bad are we talking?" Utsuho asked. "Stubbed toe bad, or ground zero at Chernobyl bad?"

Orin didn't even know what that second option meant. "Shouldn't be that rough. Just looks like a gang of Chroma Piranhas."

The monsters of the Forest were as colourful as their surroundings. These piranhas were constantly cycling from hue to hue, but the bright white teeth remained unmistakable. They were the first real challenge newcomer explorers had to deal with.

"How are we doing this?" Utsuho frowned. "I'm a little weighed down right now, so-"

"Don't worry." Orin revved her engine. "I can take 'em."

With a mighty roar, the Hellcat lunged forward towards the swarm. Most of them swerved out of the way, but an unlucky few got their skulls smashed in by her front bumper. She spun around before they could regroup, pulling the pistol from her belt and firing a volley of bullets. The magical rounds found their mark, piercing through their scales like they were made of paper. The piranhas screeched before going limp, leaving behind a cloud of glistening blood.

"Well?" Orin aimed her gun at the survivors. "Still feeling hungry?"

These creatures weren't the smartest, but their survival instincts were sharp. They eyed their fallen comrades, then scattered as they fled back into the weeds.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Orin took a moment to enjoy her victory before holstering her pistol. She reckoned the rest of the journey would be uneventful now. Even if they hadn't been watching, the smell of blood on her would convince would-be hunters to leave them alone.

"I still don't get why you stick to that pea-shooter." Utsuho shook her head in disappointment. "Yeah, it works on the small fry, but don't you wish you had something bulkier?"

"That'd ruin the whole high-speed thing I'm going for." Orin shrugged. "Besides, if I packed bigger guns, that'd give you less stuff to blow up."

"Ah, good point!" Utsuho's wings flapped. "Never mind, then."

"Now let's get moving." Orin gave the engine another rev. "I get the feeling our real target won't go down so easily."

The cave entrance they were looking for was well off the beaten path. It was a solid twenty minutes before they were clear of the forest, and another five before they found the rock face they were looking for. At least it wasn't a difficult trip – the DPVs carried them through the water without much effort, as they'd been designed to do.

"This looks like the place."

Orin came to a stop at the mouth of the cave, placing a hand on her chest. She'd burned through a fair chunk of energy on the way here, but she figured her air supply would hold out. She just had to avoid doing anything too reckless.

"Whoa." Utsuho turned on her vehicle's headlights, pointing them into the dark cave. "That...doesn't look right."

Orin didn't need long to see what she was talking about. The cavern's walls had been consumed by thorn riddled vines. They were a sickly unnatural green, and they crept towards the entrance like zombies clawing at the earth.

"Ugh."

Orin's stomach churned. There was something else about these plants that made her uneasy. As a kasha, death was a subject she had a natural connection to. She wasn't sure why, but looking at the vines made that side of her want to scream.

"Orin, you okay?" Utsuho floated over, wrapping her arm around Orin's shoulder. "We can stop for a few minutes if you need a break."

Orin shook her head. "I'm fine." She wasn't, but she knew waiting wasn't going to make this feeling go away. Better to push through now and get things over with. "Watch your step on the way in, alright? Those thorns look crazy sharp."

She turned on her own lights and carefully drove the Hellcat deeper inside. The further she went, the more she could feel the nausea rise in her gut. She didn't have the words for what, but something was very very wrong.

About twenty meters in, the walls split off into a cross-shaped junction. There was only one path wide enough to guide the bomb through, so Orin led the way and pushed onwards. If she was having trouble fitting through these passageways, she could only imagine how hard it was for Utsuho.

Grrrrrrrrm…

A low rumbling resounded through the cavern. Orin squeezed at the handles as her heart jumped in her chest. Had they been spotted already? She held her breath, waiting for a monster to jump out at her.

Ghrrmnnf…

The rumbling continued, but no ambush followed. Orin stayed tense, but now she was more confused than afraid. The more she listened to the noise, the more it sounded like...snoring?

"It sounds kinda like you after a night at the bar," Utsuho offered. "Though usually you're drooling everywhere and mumbling about needing a vacation."

In less dangerous circumstances, Orin would have taken offense to that. Right now, though, she recognised it as a golden opportunity. She continued her path through the tunnels, always towards the source of the growling.

At last, she turned a corner to find their target curled up in its nest. The pictures hadn't done justice to its ugliness. Pulsing veins glowed across its back every time it inhaled, the same pus-green as the vines it controlled. Its tail was wrapped around a humanoid skeleton, its tip stabbing into an empty eye socket. Now she was this close, the aura she'd been feeling was unmistakable.

"Oh, shit," she muttered.

Utsuho kept her voice down. "What is it?"

"It's draining energy from the explorers it kills." Orin hissed. "Those vines are growing because it's filling them with soul juice."

Utsuho gulped. "So when it heals itself..."

"Yeah. It's literally eating the souls of the dead."

Utsuho wrapped her wings around herself. "That's...really messed up."

"Damn straight."

Orin squeezed her teeth together. There wasn't much that made her genuinely angry, but damaging souls was a surefire way to piss her off. She'd done her fair share of spirit thievery, but at least she treated her ghosts with care. She would never stoop as low as using them like goddamn batteries.

"Y'know, for a second I felt bad about killing this thing in its sleep." Orin growled. "But now I think I can live with it."

She cut the Hellcat's engine, tiptoeing forward with gentle kicks of her fins. Fate had handed her a lucky break, and she wasn't going to squander it by waking the monster up. Utsuho followed suit, eyeing the floor for a safe place to put down the bomb.

"Hmm. I think this should work?"

She settled for a mostly thorn-free section of the nest. The raven turned off the magnets, and the bomb sank to the floor. Orin braced herself for impact, but all that came from the orb was a dull metal clang. No earth-shattering kaboom: always a good start.

"Now we just have to prime it," Orin said. "You know the activation code, right?"

"Yup." Utsuho's fingers danced across the keyboard. "Wasn't that hard to memorise. Only thirty digits."

"Thirty?!" Orin had to stop herself from shouting out. "How can you call that easy?"

"Eh? You just remember one number, then do that another twenty nine times." Utsuho pouted. "I don't see what's so complicated about it."

Orin prepared an objection, but decided to save her breath instead. It was mindblowing how her girlfriend could be so smart in the stupidest ways.

"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine...thirty." Utsuho's finger hovered over the red button at the bottom. "Now I just flip this switch, and we can get out of here before-"

The moment her finger scraped the button, an ear-piercing klaxon went off inside the casing. Even with the water muffling it, Orin felt like her head was caving in.

"ATTENTION. ATTENTION. THIS HIGH CAPACITY PAYLOAD WILL DETONATE IN EXACTLY FIVE MINUTES." A fuzzy recording of Nitori's voice came through the speaker. "WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY. IF YOU HAVE ACTIVATED THIS BOMB BY MISTAKE, PLEASE CONTACT OUR CUSTOMER SUPPORT LINE AT-"

Orin swung a fist at the bomb in desperation. There was a metallic crunch, and the voice gave way to the gradual beeping of a timer. The kasha made a mental note to chastise Nitori for this the moment she got home.

She looked up to see a shining green eye glaring into her soul.

"Ah."

There was a moment of stillness. The drake roused itself from its slumber, while the two divers eyed each other in shock. Orin quietly amended her mental note. If she got the chance, she was going to wring that kappa's neck.

Then the monster bellowed, and the time for thinking was over.

"RUN!"

Orin kicked the Hellcat's engine into overdrive. The scooter threw her forwards, slamming straight into the drake's jaw. She bounced off with a dull thunk, barely leaving a bruise on the creature. It swung its tail around in retribution, and Orin dipped to the floor to dodge. She felt its scales barely scrape the tips of her ears.

As she swerved into the next tunnel, she heard the drake's resounding steps behind her. She was being chased, but that was what she'd been hoping for. Speed was her forte, and if she distracted it for long enough Utsuho would be able to escape. As for her, she'd be fine once she got to the smaller tunnels where it couldn't follow–

"Whoa!"

As she came to another junction, a wall of vines rose to block off the narrow path. She turned just in time to avoid skewering herself on the thorns, but her momentum sent her brushing against the jagged walls instead.

"Hggh-!"

The spines tore open her sleeve, drawing blood all the way down her arm. It wasn't deep enough to do any real damage, but it still hurt like hell. She looked back to see the drake on her tail, opening its mouth in another resounding howl.

"Get away from me!"

Orin drew her pistol, firing a flurry of rounds at the drake's eyes. It deflected them effortlessly with one of its wings, leaving burn marks that quickly healed. Suddenly she wondered if Utsuho's comment about her lack of firepower had some merit.

"Dammit, this is just cheating…!"

She ducked into another side tunnel, but again a wall of thorns cut off her way out. The drake couldn't block every path, but it was targeting everything that she could use as an escape route.

She was being forced into a giant loop with no way back to the entrance.

"Why'd this thing have to be so damn smart?!"

Orin's mind raced as she flew through familiar territory. She couldn't keep this up forever, or the bomb would take her out as well. Could she force open another path? Crash the Hellcat into the beast as a distraction? Drive into the thorns and hope for the best? Her focus drifted for a fraction of a second as she looked for a way out.

That was the moment the drake struck.

"Shit-!"

This time a vine rose up from the floor to strike at the Hellcat's flank. Orin couldn't react in time, and the blow pierced a hole clean through the engine. The DPV fell out of her hands, the headlights cutting out as it dropped to the floor.

When the vines descended on her, she had no chance to dodge.

"NyaAAAH!"

Orin cried as the plants coiled around her limbs, the thorns digging into her flesh. She tried to force them off, but they were too strong for her to overpower. The drake approached her with a taunting slowness, like a predator savouring the end of the hunt.

Dammit, am I really gonna go out like this?!

Orin kept squirming, more out of defiance than any hope of escape. If this was how her story ended, she wanted to go down fighting. She looked the creature head on as it opened its gaping maw, vowing to make it choke on her soul like a chicken bone.

"EAT PLASMA, WEED-BRAIN!"

Before the drake could finish her off, something crashed into it from behind. As it recoiled in pain, Orin saw a trail of steam drawn down the length of the corridor. And standing at the end of it was-

"Okuu!"

Utsuho's wings were spread out in full span. Her DPV had reformed on her arm in the shape of a massive cannon. She fired another round, sending an orb of heated metal sizzling through the water. This one caught the drake square in the chest, sending it crashing to the ground with an unholy screech. The vines holding Orin went slack and lifeless.

"Orin!" Utsuho rushed over to the kasha, eyeing her plentiful wounds. "Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay to you?" Orin forced a smile. "For the record, when I told you to run, I meant OUT of the cave."

"And leave you to get munched on by some scale face?" Utsuho said. "No way."

"Well, it's good to know we're both hopeless romantics." Orin looked over Utsuho's shoulder. "Maybe leave the sappy love talk for later, though."

The drake stumbled back to its feet with a massive dent in its chest. Its eyes flashed, and the vines around it began to flicker with energy. Torn muscles stitched themselves together, and new flowers bloomed to fill the gaps left behind. Within seconds, there was no sign it had ever been injured.

"Damn, those reports weren't kidding." Orin turned to Utsuho. "How many of the big shots do you have left?"

"Maybe five." Utsuho spun around with another blast to the skull. "Four now."

"And how long until the bomb goes off?"

"1.5 minutes. Or ninety seconds. Same thing."

Orin cursed. They'd need the Hellcat to make it out in time. And with a hole that big in the engine, there was no way she could hope to repair it. She'd have an easier timing raising the dead than-

Wait. Raising the dead…?

A flash of inspiration washed over Orin. It was a desperate idea that she felt stupid even considering. But she didn't have the time to come up with anything else.

"Okuu." Her expression turned serious. "When I give you the signal, grab my arm and don't let go."

"Eh?" Utsuho raised an eyebrow. "What are you planning?"

"You'll know when it happens." The drake was standing up again. "Just buy me some time, okay?"

"...Right!"

Utsuho nodded, focusing her attention back to the monster. She fired whenever it tried to advance, stalling instead of going for the kill. That gave Orin a chance to focus, closing her eyes and tuning into her surroundings.

Hey. Dead people. Can you hear me?

She called out to the souls trapped in the plants, or at least what was left of them. A weak groan came back in return, a dozen tired voices merged into one.

Damn, that asshole really did a number on them. With this much damage, it was a miracle they could reply to her at all. She hoped they wouldn't come apart before she could get their help.

I need you guys to help me out. But first off, I can tell you're gonna need an energy boost. She snatched at a vine, letting the thorn dig into her palm. So you can help yourselves to mine!

Blood wasn't the only thing that flowed out from the wound. She pushed every ounce of magic she could into the plant, hoping traces would reach the spirits inside. She couldn't offer them healing or resurrection, but she could at least let them spite the beast that had killed them.

"Two rounds left, Orin!" Utsuho shouted. "Whatever you're doing, I hope it's almost ready!"

"I'm getting there!" Orin squeezed her eyes shut. Come on, ghosties! No offense, but my life's riding on this!

She could sense the souls converging on her blood, gorging on the magic she had offered them. A jolt of force ran down her arm as the drake tried to take back control, but it was too busy healing its own injuries to fight her off. A purple wisp of half-eaten spirits tore itself out of the vines, hovering expectantly in front of her.

"I'm almost out, Orin! Hurry up already!"

Orin didn't respond. She gave the wisp a knowing nod, then motioned at her broken DPV. The spirits let out a livelier grunt, vanishing into the vehicle and bathing it in a greyish flame.

With an otherworldly moan, the Hellcat's engine came back to life.

"NOW!"

Orin grabbed at the Hellcat's handle, holding out her other arm for Utsuho. The raven threw her last shot at the drake's heart, sending it reeling in a cloud of blood and spores.

Then she clung to Orin's arm, and they flew over the monster before it could stop them.

"Go, go, goooo!"

The possessed vehicle couldn't reach the speeds of the original, but it did a good enough impression. Orin threw herself into a side corridor before the drake could recover and block it off. A dozen laps around the cave meant she knew exactly where she was going. The thorny walls scraped against her again, but with all the adrenaline in her system she barely noticed.

"Ten seconds!" Utsuho squeezed at her arm."Are we gonna make it?!"

"We'd damn well better!" Orin smacked the Hellcat with her elbow as it started to sputter. "Keep going! Just one more push-!"

She fed the spirits her last scrap of energy, and the engine let out one final groan. The exit was in sight, a speck of light on the horizon. As it came closer and closer, Orin counted out the last few seconds in her head.

Three.

Two.

One-!

Her head poked out of the cave just as the bomb went off. There was no fire, but the shockwaves from the explosion coursed through the water with devastating force. She was sent flying forwards, the pressure clamping down on every inch of her body. Her eardrums felt ready to burst, and all she could hear was the drake's dying shriek.

She came to a sudden stop when she crashed hard into a patch of coral. Was that snapping sound a branch, or had her shoulder given way? She was too sore all over to be certain, but she was okay with that. Pain was a sign she was still alive.

"Ow, my bones..." Utsuho dragged herself out of a raven-shaped indent in the sand. "That sucked. Let's never do it again."

"Agreed."

Orin heaved her neck around to look back at the cave entrance. The shockwaves had brought down the whole cave system on top of the monster, along with its garden. She was pretty confident that nothing in Gensokyo could get up from a blast like that.

"At least we got the job done." Orin looked back at the Hellcat. "You guys really saved our asses there. Thanks a bunch."

The wisp crept out of the machine, giving her the most grateful moan she'd ever heard. It split apart into a dozen tiny sparks, then faded away into nothingness. She didn't know where broken souls ended up, but she hoped it was somewhere comfortable.

"Hey, Okuu..." Orin wheezed. "I hate to be a bother, but I need a favour."

"Eh?" Utsuho went tense. "What's wrong?"

"That last stunt...took more magic than I planned on." Orin drew a finger across her throat. "Out of...air..."

Her mouthpiece dropped out of her mouth, her last few bubbles drifting to the surface. The weight of her injuries bore down on her, and her eyes drooped shut on their own. She managed one last sigh before her body gave in, and the world tumbled away from her.

The last sensation she felt was something warm pressed against her lips.

Everything hurt.

"Hrrngh..."

Orin came to with the biggest headache of her life. She was sore in places she didn't know she had. Her eyes creaked open, forcing her pupils to adapt to the harsh lights on the ceiling.

Where...am I?

She propped herself up against the headboard of her bed. Empty beds with well pressed sheets surrounded her on all sides. She looked down to see she'd been changed into a very loose hospital gown, and half of her body was wrapped up in bandages.

"Oh, hey! Sleeping Beauty's finally done napping."

An obnoxiously cheery voice came from the other side of the ward. Orin looked over to see a girl in a nurse uniform walking towards her, scribbling notes onto a clipboard. Or maybe they were just scribbles. She couldn't tell from this angle.

"Yamame?" She blinked rapidly. "Is that you?"

"Yup!" The spider youkai bounced across the tiled floor. "Your boss lady gave me a side gig looking after beaten up explorers. Making people sick means I know plenty about how to make them well again!"

Orin frowned. "Is...is that really how it works?"

"Course it is!" Yamame stuck up her nose. "I'll have you know I wove those bandages myself. Not only are they the softest things you'll ever wear, but I can guarantee they'll keep your wounds clean."

Orin looked down at the silky dressings along her arm. Sure enough, her cuts and scratches seemed to be healing up nicely. She supposed she couldn't argue with results.

"Still, I had my work cut out with you." Yamame sighed. "You were a total mess when your birdie friend brought you in. Serious blood loss, respiratory arrest, complete magic deprivation...most youkai don't come back from injuries like that."

"Heh. Guess I'm just stubborn." Orin smirked. "What about Okuu? She wasn't hurt, was she?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Bruises all over the place, but nothing major." Yamame pushed a button at the side of the bed. "She's right out there if you wanna take a look."

The bed tilted forward, giving Orin a view of the doorway. She saw Utsuho slumped over a chair in the waiting room, wings wrapped around herself like a feathery blanket.

"She's been out there since you checked in," Yamame said. "Every five minutes she'd ask one of the clerical fairies how you were doing. When I came out and told her you were stable, she fell asleep on the spot."

"Yeah. That sure sounds like Okuu." Orin's chest welled up. "She can be kinda dense sometimes, but you won't find anyone in the underground with a bigger heart."

"Awwww." Yamame pinned her clipboard to the front of the bed. "You two really are as lovey dovey as the papers say."

"Well, we've been going steady for-" A weight dropped in Orin's stomach. "Wait. The papers?"

"Oh right, you've been conked out all night. Of course you haven't seen them." Yamame grabbed a newspaper off a nearby bed and handed it over. "Congrats on the front page, by the way!"

The colour slowly drained from Orin's cheeks. She'd completely forgotten about yesterday's interview. But how? Aya couldn't possibly have caught them doing anything untoward, right?

As she looked at the front page, the answer stared her in the face. It was a photo of Utsuho valiantly carrying her to the infirmary, keeping her alive with – well, the technical term was rescue breathing, but the article insisted on calling it the kiss of life.

[Saucy Secrets of Deep-Sea Superstars!] the headline screamed. [A Victory Smooch For Our Brave Heroes!]

The story went on to briefly discuss their fight with the Verdant Drake before devolving into pure speculation about what they did in the bedroom. There was even an interview with Lady Satori thrown in – she wrote off the whole thing as fiction, which the article spun as her being ashamed of her pets 'giving in to their animal natures'.

"...Quick question." Orin said, fighting down the lump in her throat. "This story came out today, right?"

Yamame nodded. "Yup."

"And how many people have read it?"

"Oh, the tengu lady was very thorough." Yamame smiled. "Half the underground must have seen it by now."

"...I see." Orin pulled the bedsheets over her head. "I'm going back to bed. If anyone other than Okuu or Lady Satori comes by, tell them I died on the operating table."

"Eh?" Yamame gasped. "But there's gonna be a celebration for you today! The kappa want to thank you for keeping the Sea safe by-"

"Already asleep! Can't hear you!" Orin started making theatrical snoring noises. "Zzzzz..."

After a while, she heard the nurse walk away in defeat. That meant she was alone, and she had time to figure out how she'd worm her way out of this. Her tails squirmed out of the bottom of the bedsheets, accompanied by a pained mewl.

"Myaaa...maybe if I lay low at the Hakurei shrine for a year or fifty..."