Entry 13: A Rainy Day for Saving Lives

(Warning (read in the voice of Terry Bogart): Here's a big one!)


Yzak Joule sat at the computer in the medbay with a grumpy look on his face. Of course, 'grumpy' was generally seen as his default expression, so anyone passing just thought he was looking passive.

Idly, he tapped away at the computer. "Why the hell am I the one doing this?" he asked the only other occupant in the room; Flay Allster. "I'm not a medical major, for crying out loud! Why are you people having me look at the DNA sequences of that Hieda girl?!"

"Because whether any of us like it or not," Flay responded, "you're the only one we can ask to see if anything stands out."

"Christ's sake, woman, I'm a soldier! What, you think all Coordinators are like your ex?" Yzak asked indignantly. "I'm not a miracle worker; that's Kochiya's job!"

"You're just a bundle of sunshine, aren't you?" Flay said quietly. "Besides, I highly doubt Sanae could figure out our tech."

"Justify it all you want, but that doesn't mean I'm a better choice," Yzak said. "Just because I have a higher talent threshold than most doesn't mean I can see anomalies in DN..." his words trailed off, as he did a double take at the screen. He tried looking at it from different angles, and naturally found that the screen didn't change all that much. "Well, I just ate my fucking words, didn't I?"

"Wait, did you actually find something?" Flay asked, surprised. "After you just said you couldn't do it?"

"I said I couldn't exactly read DNA," Yzak answered. "But I know a thing or three about coding, and this sequence... it looks like computer coding. Translate it into traditional binary, then transcribe it through to a more common programming language, and..." several strokes of the keyboard, and a new window opened onscreen. "Bingo. It's a program set into her very genetics."

"You figured all that out at a glance," Flay noted, "after saying it would be impossible for you."

"Rub it in, why don't ya?"

"So, what does this code do?" Flay asked. "Is it some kind of timed detonator that kills Akyuu when she reaches 30?"

"A 'detonator' isn't a bad way to describe it," Yzak said, "but this thing ain't timed. In fact, the damn thing ain't even 'on'. It's waiting for something. Some kind of 'key'."

"A 'key'?" Flay questioned. "Then, this 'detonator' won't go off unless something specific happens. Something that's been consistent between each and every incarnation of the Child of Miare. But what?"

The two pondered for a brief moment, then came to a realisation at the same time.

"The Ritual of Reincarnation!" they both exclaimed.

"Of course, it all makes sense when you look at it like that!" Yzak muttered. "That ritual, which each and every Hieda takes part in around the age of 29, has to activate that code! So of course they die early; the very thing that's been used to keep their soul on Earth is what kills them!"

"But, that still makes no sense," Flay said. "Why would they knowingly use such an illogical method? Why kill someone for 130 years to bring them back for only 30?"

"Probably a case of 'cart before the horse'," Yzak replied. "They think they're saving her from the cycle with a ritual that's hard-coded to kill her."

"Then, what can be done about it?"

Yzak thought for a moment. "Medically, nothing much. I think... the best way to help her live long would be..."

"You're going to say either 'destroy the ritual' or 'kidnapping', aren't you?" Flay asked.

Yzak shot her a flat look. "We don't know the first thing about the ritual," he said, "so of course I was going to suggest kidnapping."

Flay, for her part, didn't seem particularly off-put by the suggestion. "In that case, we need a plan."


Athrun slowly opened his eyes. His body felt... odd, to put it lightly. Tingly all over, to put it lightly.

He gazed up at the clouds that hung overhead, as the rain fell lightly on his face.

"Finally awake over there?" Reimu called out. "In that case, you better get yourself off the ground."

Athrun pulled himself up, and looked over at the Shrine Maiden. Immediately, he noticed an awful lot of dirt and grime on her clothes and hands. Added on to the fact that he could see Yuuka, Tenshi, and the members of Team Nine behind her, it was safe to assume she had, in the time he'd been out cold, dug out them all.

"How... long was I out," he asked hesitantly.

"Few hours, maybe?" Reimu guessed. "Hard to tell the time right now."

"And what of Kira? Where'd Nagae Iku take him?"

"Top of Youkai Mountain, according to Reimu," Yuuka interjected. The flower youkai didn't look the worst for wear, but there was some small signs of having been struck by lightning on her. That, and she looked majorly pissed off. "I never thought that damn Oarfish had it in her for a surprise attack like that."

"So that's how she defeated you," Athrun muttered. "I've not seen you fight much, but I can't imagine anyone getting the better of you so effortlessly."

"Of course it would take a surprise attack to defeat Yuuka-san!" Wriggle exclaimed.

Athrun managed a small smile. "Of course I know that," he said.

Over by the edge of the fence, Tenshi got to her feet, and began to walk away. "Hinanawi! Where are you going?" Reimu called out.

"You said Iku took Kira to the top of Youkai Mountain, right?" Tenshi said, voice raspy yet filled with anger. "Then that's where I'm heading."

Reimu looked at Athrun, as if expecting him to object to the sheer irrationality of the statement. Instead, Athrun nodded in agreement. "We already know that's what she wants," Athrun said, "but we won't get anything done unless we go there ourselves."

"Hey, don't enable her," Reimu stated. "What, do you really think that springing the obvious trap's a good idea?"

"Well, what else can we do?" Athrun asked. "Who knows what she'll do to Kira if we leave her alone."

"I'm with Athrun-san on this!" Wriggle exclaimed. "We can't let Nagae-san get away with something like this!"

Reimu looked around at those present, who all seemed to wear the same determined look on their faces. "And you, Yuuka?" she asked. "You going to want to get back at her?"

"More than just my pride," Yuuka said, "that woman's gone and harmed someone I'm rather fond of. She'll pay quite dearly for it."

Reimu let out a resigned sigh. "Well, far be it for me to deny the straight forward approach," she muttered. "Luna!" she called out to one of the fairies, "could you, Sunny, or Star head over to the shrine? We've probably left the guys back there hanging a bit, and I'd like them to house-sit for a while."

"I'll go!" Star Sapphire shouted. "My ability would probably be the least useful anyway."

"Try not to sell yourself too short," Reimu stated, "but thanks for taking one for the team."

As Star flew off in the direction of the Hakurei Shrine, those that remained looked between each other. It was a team consisting of: Athrun Zala, Hakurei Reimu, Hinanawi Tenshi, Kazami Yuuka, Cirno, Daiyousei, Sunny Milk, Luna Child, Wriggle Nightbug, Mystia Lorelei, Eternity Larva, and Rumia. A rather sizeable team, to say the least, but out of them, only about three could go against someone of Iku's standing in single combat.

Drawing forth the Sword of Hisou, Tenshi thrust it into the ground, and forced a large chunk of land to break off and begin floating in front of them. "Leave transportation to me," she said plainly. "All of you, get on."


A memory played in the mind of Kira Yamato. Not one as grandiose as a childhood memory, or as fictional as one from a previous life. No, this was a memory from what was only a few hours ago.

He remembered the inside of Yuuka's house. How he, Tenshi, and several of their friends, had huddled by the fireplace as the rain poured outside. He recalled Kazami Yuuka, sitting in an armchair not far off, dozing off with a book in her lap.

He remembered flinching at every roar of thunder that echoed across the sky. Kira never took himself for one that would be afraid of thunder and lightning, but anyone who's lived more than a year in a space colony would attest to developing a certain... caution to the sound. This was not withstanding having fought and killed in a war, mind you.

Kira wasn't prideful enough to deny that he was, at that time, a bit scared. But, he still felt safe, surrounded by people that cared.

Then, everything went black for a time. He wasn't too sure what had happened, in all honesty.

Slowly, his vision began to return to him, and immediately he noticed that he was cold and wet. That, and his hands were currently bound together.

"Finally awake, boy?" an unfamiliar voice called out. Over in the distance, by the cliff's edge, stood a blue haired woman in black, white, and red.

"Who... are you?" Kira asked weakly, voice feeling coarse. "Where am I?"

"In order: I am Nagae Iku, Messenger of the Dragon Palace," she answered, "and right now, we are atop Youkai Mountain. You, boy, are to be my bargaining piece."

"Bargaining piece?" Kira questioned. "What are you..." His words were cut off, when a bolt of lightning struck the ground between them, causing him to flinch greatly.

Iku took notice of that, and look at him with pity. "Sorrowful thing, to have been pulled along by the Eldest Daughter so much."

"What... are you talking about?" he asked. "Do you mean Tenshi?"

Iku nodded sagely. "That spoiled child has a lot of responsibility to take on, yet here she is, fooling around with people on the mortal plane."

"Tenshi... she's not fooling around," Kira stated. "She..."

Another bolt of lightning struck closer to Kira. "You have not been around long enough to truly know the Eldest Daughter, boy," Iku said bluntly. "Five months is hardly enough time to see someone's true colours. That girl is spoiled rotten, and only ever does anything to kill her boredom. To her, you are nothing but another toy for her to play with until she's had enough."

Kira felt a pit form in his stomach. "You... you really believe that?" he asked hesitantly. "You haven't seen the things she has! These last few months... they were taxing on us all! Are you just going to..."

Another lightning strike, this time, dangerously close to Kira. Enough to leave him quivering noticeably. "You Outsiders... always so self-important," Iku sighed. "What you think doesn't matter. The Eldest Daughter has a duty to rebuild Heaven after what happened, and you are only in the way."

Something landed hard and fast a few paces away from Iku. Something that lacked the flash of lightning, but made up for it with a furious aura.

The dust settled, and in it's place was a very, very angry Hinanawi Tenshi.

"You've finally arrived, Eldest Daughter," Iku said, sounding mildly impressed. "In record time, too. I take it this means..."

Tenshi ignored her outright, and began walking over to Kira.

More than anything, though, Iku was surprised by how quickly and effortlessly she removed the binds on Kira's hands. "Hey," she said softly. "Sorry we took so long."

Kira's expression shifted to one of relief. "I... had a feeling you'd come," he said. "Sorry for being such a burden."

Tenshi shook her head. "You're hardly a burden, Kira," she said. "Just hold tight, okay? We'll sort this out." Rising to her feet, Tenshi turned around and glared long and hard at Iku. "You've really overstepped your boundaries, Iku. Never thought you had it in you to do something so dirty."

"You're hardly one to listen to reason, Eldest Daughter," Iku responded. "After all, you still intend to treat that boy like one of your toys..."

A single stomp of Tenshi's foot sent ripples through the earth. Iku leapt into the sky quickly, as stalagmites shot out of the ground at her feet. "Don't... you dare..." Tenshi spat, "call him 'a toy'. Someone who's been lounging around for the past half a year has no right to act like they know better."

"And yet, you choose to play around with mortals and neglect your duties as the last remaining Celestial," Iku said.

"And what good is that 'duty'?!" Tenshi yelled. "In case you've been living under a rock, Heaven doesn't technically exist anymore!"

"Then it is your job to rebuilt it," Iku said plainly. "If you do not agree, then I'll just have to beat your duty into you."

"Why should I take a job in memory of those spoiled-rotten bastards?" Tenshi asked. "I didn't even get up there on my own merits! I'll admit it! I got there on the backs of my parents, and you can't deny it! That's why I don't give to shits about it! If you think you can convince me to give a damn about it, then go ahead and try! You'll find..." she swung the hilt of the Sword of Hisou to the side, extending its beam-like blade, "that our wills are greater than yours!"

"Our?" Iku asked, confused by the choice of word.

In response, a massive laser shot out of the sky, and Iku barely had enough time to graze past it.

"Good day, Nagae Iku-san," spoke the level voice of Kazami Yuuka. "It was rather rude of you to come over unannounced, you know."

Iku looked upwards, and instantly noticed that Yuuka was not alone. A great deal of Fairies and lesser youkai had Iku surrounded on all sides. From behind, she felt two different, more human, presences approach. She turned, and spotted the familiar red-white of Hakurei Reimu, and the unfamiliar red-black of that boy from earlier.

"You?" Iku muttered, slightly surprised. "I'd have thought that shock would keep you out cold for a few days."

"Clearly, you've never tried to kill a Coordinator before," Athrun Zala stated. "You'll find us a bit sturdier than the run-of-the-mill humans."

"And you, Hakurei?" Iku continued. "I'd thought you were one to abstain from aiding Outsiders."

"What can I say?" Reimu shrugged. "I've been given a good reason to try something new on that subject. And before you say anything about how this 'is not my business', let me point out; you blew up a house. Youkai's house or not, that's cause enough for at least an Occurrence, if not an Incident."

"So that's your justification?" Iku asked. "For butting into Heavenly affairs?"

Reimu held her arms up to the side, gesturing exaggeratedly. "I don't see any Dragon here, do you?" she stated. "The ruler of the Dragon Palace is highly revered, sure, but two counter points to your agenda: One, you can't prove your words are the same as the Dragons."

"And two," Athrun continued, "that doesn't make his word law. Just because someone's in a position of power, doesn't mean they can't make stupid fucking choices, or that they understand the people."

Iku felt her brow twitch considerably. "You... you would doubt the Dragon's authority?"

"If going to Heaven meant taking orders from them," Athrun stated, "I would flip them off, and walk backwards into Hell, considering the example you're setting."

Electricity began to crackle around Iku. To say she was angry would be like saying a whirlpool is not an ideal swimming location. Nagae Iku was not one to casually show her emotions, but it was easy to tell at a glance that she was royally pissed off.

"You all... really don't know how to stay out of other peoples business," she muttered spitefully.

"'Other peoples business', huh?" Athrun muttered. "You made it our business when you attacked and kidnapped Kira."

Iku slowly raised one hand, a closed fist with her index finger erect, towards the sky. "Lightning God Sign," she spoke, invoking a Spell Card. "Thunder Break!"

Lightning shot down from on high, stopped at the tip of her finger, before spreading out all around her, targeting each she called an enemy.

"Scatter!" Reimu called, as the formation broke off. "Give her everything we've got, you hear?!"


From down in the Human Village, Yzak found his eyes drawn to the peak of Youkai Mountain off in the distance.

"Storm looks pretty bad up there," he noted. "Even though it's calmed down quite a bit down here. Wonder what all the flashing lights are about?"

"Well, Yzak," Dearka said sarcastically. "In the business, we call those lights 'lightning'."

Yzak shot his fellow Coordinator a glare. "Go to hell, Dearka," he said flatly. "You know damn well that what's going on up there ain't normal lightning. I'm pretty sure I saw a battleship-level beam shoot off at some point."

"Probably just some youkai duking it out," Himekaidou Hatate said. "So, why are we here, Joule-san? You've pulled together quite the... odd team, so to speak."

Yzak looked over the 'team' he had assembled. Aside from himself and the two mentioned, joining them now was Miriallia Haw, Flay Allster, and Yamashiro Takane. Two Naturals, two Coordinators, and two youkai. 'Odd' was certainly a fitting term of it.

"We've run into an idea as to what the Curse of Miare might actually be," Yzak answered, "but it's still just hypothesis right now. So, the plan is to investigate as much as we can about the Reincarnation Ritual, and see if we're right on the money."

"Alright, that makes sense," Miri said, "but why us?"

"Does it look like we have access to Strike and Zala?" Yzak asked rhetorically. "All of us are basically the B-team, make no mistake."

"So, who does that make the A-team?" Takane asked. "Kira-san, Athrun-san, Mu-san, Nitori, Murrue-san and Natarle-san?"

Flay pondered it for a moment. "You know, that sounds about right," she said. "Maybe add Tenshi, Kosuzu, Sanae, and possibly even Reimu to that, and you might have them all."

"It's kinda odd that we now consider Hakurei one of our own," Yzak muttered.

Dearka slapped him on the back lightly. "Come on, dude. Have you forgotten that we're working alongside people we ourselves have tried to kill in the past?"

"The irony is not lost on me, Dearka," Yzak stated. "Now, come on. Daylight's wasting."


The six trekked through the light drizzle towards the estate of the Hieda family. It wasn't hard to find, as it was quite literally the biggest plot of land used for one building that wasn't attached to a religion.

There was, however, a separate problem: Guards. Lots and lots of guards, at every entrance to the premises.

"The hell?" Dearka asked. "What's with all the goons? They're acting like there's gonna be a big heist."

"It feels strangely preemptive, doesn't it?" Yzak muttered. "Himekaidou, Yamashiro, do you two know of any event that would be happening round about now?"

"Not a clue, I'm afraid," Hatate shrugged, which Takane nodded in agreement with.

"Then we're back at square one," Yzak said.

"Did we ever leave square one in the first place?" Flay asked. "I mean, we had an idea and all that, but..."

"Oh? What are you all doing there?" called out a familiar voice. The six turned, and found themselves faced with Kochiya Sanae and Kirisame Marisa.

"Well, here's an unexpected duo," Dearka said. "Sup, Sanae and Marisa."

"Sup, Elsman," Marisa greeted. "So, what's got you all gathered up here in the rain?"

"Yzak and Flay here have a hunch about the whole Child of Miare thing," Dearka answered. "We were hoping to snoop around, perhaps ask some questions, but as you can see, security's a bit tight."

"Snooping for a scoop, huh? I dig it," Marisa stated. "Though, I doubt you'll be able to get to Akyuu today."

"Really?" Hatate asked. "Why's that?"

"You don't know?" Sanae said. "It's been all over the Bunbunmaru newspaper for the past three days."

The six all looked away with looks of disdain. "We... don't exactly subscribe to that paper," Miri muttered.

"Right. Fair point," Marisa conceded. "Well, to catch you up on it, they're preparing for Akyuu's Ritual of Reincarnation." Then, she looked up to the sky wistfully. "Shame, that. I would have thought they'd put it off until next year."

"They're WHAT?!" Yzak yelled. "Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck fuck! Fuck all kinds of duck!"

Those present watched as Yzak went off on his raging tangent. "Wonder what he has against ducks," Marisa muttered. "No, more to the point; what's your deal, dude?"

"We're running out of time! That's my deal!" Yzak shouted. "Kirisame! When's the ritual held?!"

"Sundown, why?"

"Then we don't have much time!" he continued to yell. "Listen! We've been doing some research, and we've reason to believe that what's killing the Children of Miare is the ritual itself!"

"Are you serious?" Sanae gasped. "That... if that's true, then..."

"Then the ritual could amount to straight up murder, yes," Flay interjected. "We're trying to investigate, to be as sure as we can be, but if it's happening at sunset, then we've only one option left."

"Are we kidnapping Akyuu now?" Takane asked. "Because it sounds like we're kidnapping Akyuu now."

"We are now going to straight up kidnap Akyuu, yes," Yzak stated bluntly.

Dearka threw his hands up in the air. "Woo! First degree felony!" he shouted. "So, what's our plan?"

"Can't believe I'm going along with this," Miri muttered.

"I hear ya, sis," Hatate agreed.


Bullets and lightning shot through the air above Youkai Mountain. It was a symphony of chaos; a cacophony of elements.

Iku flew as quickly as she could through the smallest gaps she could see in the wall of elements and magic that flew her way. Boulders flew in graceless arcs. Amulets and flowers homed in from all directions. A black mist surrounded her at times, and at others swarms of bugs and night-blindness would obscure her line of sight of the enemies. Bullets would freeze in place randomly, turning waves into pillars, before shattering into thousands of shards. And throughout all of those, that boy, Athrun Zala, would dive through it all with the grace of a stunt flyer, and lay in his own attacks.

Individually, these humans, youkai, and Fairies, were not much. Kazami Yuuka, Hinanawi Tenshi, and Hakurei Reimu were the closest individually to being her 'equal'. Together, though, with their skills put together, they were greater.

What was the saying again? Greater than the sum of their parts?

"Thunder Sign!" Iku invoked. "Herald of the Sun God's Calamity!"

Lightning arced in spirals around her, blasting away all bullets and forcing Athrun back. With a single wave of her hand, the lightning shot after all her targets, forcing them on the defensive.

And through it all, Kira Yamato hid behind a tree, quivering.

"What... the hell am I doing?" he asked himself. "They're out there fighting, and I'm just..." A bolt crashed into the ground not far from his tree. He looked down at his hands, and saw them trembling considerably. "Why... Why can't I move? Why can't I fight with them? Why? Why?!"

His cries were lost on the howling winds. The sorrows of a protector who could not raise his shield was drowned out by the conflict fought in his name.

These past few months had been peaceful. Sure, the conflicts before had left him scarred and unable to fly or use what limited magic he had, but still... he liked those simpler days. He wanted to go back to them.

Peeking out from around the tree, Kira raised a hand, and tried focusing his power into it. It burned, like lava was being poured through his veins. The longer he tried to do it, the more he felt like his arm was going to explode.

Just as he felt like a vein was about to burst, Kira felt a hand on his back, and the pain began to subside. Deep within his being, he felt as if the pain was being washed away, like a pressure washer on concrete. He hesitated to look behind himself, in fear of what he might see, but in the end, he took a glance back.

"... Hina?" he muttered. "Kagiyama Hina?"

Standing behind him, true to form, was the Pestilence God herself. From what Kira could see, she was absorbing some kind of black miasma from his back through her hand. "I feel as if we've both been resting on our laurels too mucn, Yamato-san," Hina said softly. "Allow me to assist you."

It was a strange feeling, having that miasma pulled from him. What was one a burning pain now felt like warm water flowing along his skin. Even his mind began to feel clear. A bolt of lightning struck a tree not far from them, yet now his hand was steady.

"It's done," Hina said, removing her hand from Kira. "Guess Matara Okina left quite the grudge on you."

Kira flexed his fingers, feeling like a car that had just been serviced. Everything felt... smooth, in a way. Even when a bolt of lightning struck nearby, somehow, he no longer felt the past fear. "How did you know to do that?" he asked. "No, more to the point, why are you here?"

Hina looked off into the distance. "Because... I made a promise," she said plainly. "A promise to do my part and look out for you all. I just... wasn't sure how I could, until recently."

Kira didn't need to ask who she made that promise to. It was quite obvious what the answer would be.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Hina asked. "Get out there and help them!"


Tenshi grit her teeth as she landed back onto the keystone she had been using as transportation. Things weren't looking 'bad', but it was quite evident that Iku had no intention on giving up quietly. There was something entirely bullheaded about people in Gensokyo and its neighbouring realms.

Another Spell Card was invoked by Iku. As lightning once again arced through the air with draconian force and dragon-esque grace.

Lightning, by its simple nature, was stupidly fast (270,000 mph, or 434,522.88 kph, to be exact). Such speeds were rather civil for people in Gensokyo, but dealing with it consistently was, simply put, exhausting.

Tenshi launched as many large stones as she could to intercept. Of course, trying to hit lightning with rocks was like strapping a dartboard to a jet fighter and expecting to land all the bullseyes.

One bolt arced through the barrage, and was on course to strike Tenshi dead on. It might not kill her, but damn will it hurt.

Tenshi braced herself, yet found the attack did not connect. She opened her eyes in surprise when she saw what -or rather, who- had gotten in the way and redirected the attack.

"Kira?" she asked in shock.

Before her, floating in the air, was Kira Yamato, without question. As he looked back, she noticed two things about him; first was the strange, slightly glazed look to his eyes. A look she recalled from the first time they met, when Heaven fell half a year ago.

The second thing she noticed, though, was his calm smile.

"Hey," he said softly. "Sorry I took so long."

Tenshi allowed herself to smile in relief. "You really know how to make a girl wait, don't you?"

Kira flexed his right hand. There were noticeable signs of something having burned it, yet just as quickly as they were noticed, they vanished without a trace. "Was wondering how well it'd heal," he muttered to himself, before looking back at Tenshi. "Mind if I take this from here? I'd like to make sure I'm not too rusty."

"By all means," Tenshi said. "I'd usually have her done in by now, but protecting others at the same time's a hard job. Give that bitch a pounding, got it?!"

Kira let out a light chuckle, before flying off. "Phrasing, I swear," he muttered. Then, he was face to face with Nagae Iku once more. "Good day to you," he said politely. "This would probably be the first time we've spoken without me trembling in fear."

"So it would seem," Iku said. "I guess you're not such a toy after all. However, that doesn't change what the Eldest Daughter's duty is."

"Duty... a word much like destiny," Kira muttered. "I find people should be allowed to choose their own. Don't you?"

"That's a matter for mortals, not Celestials," Iku stated plainly. "Though, I suppose one who's done nothing but run and hide for so long wouldn't understand that."

"You just love riling people up in battle, huh?" Kira noted, as Athrun, Reimu, and Yuuka flew up beside him.

"She's certainly giving us a run for our money," Reimu said. "You wouldn't happen to have any big, secret weapons on you, would you?"

"I have a plan," Kira answered. "Yuuka, how long would it take you to charge up and fire your strongest attack?"

"A Master Spark? Roughly two minutes," Yuuka answered. "But it's easy to avoid, as I'm sure you've seen."

"Figured as much," he muttered. "Hakurei Reimu, how long would you be able to keep her from moving?"

"About ten seconds," Reimu admitted. "Probably less, considering she'd be expecting it."

"Guessed as much," Kira said, before looking to Athrun. "Athrun, will you back me up?"

Athrun gave a confident smile. "Always."

The two flew at Iku, leaving Reimu and Yuuka to prepare for their parts of this quite obvious plan. "You know," Yuuka said, "those two boys are much like you and Marisa."

"You think so?" Reimu asked. "I see them less as rivals to each other, and more like a bromance."

Iku broke off from her place in the sky quickly as the two youths approached. A part of her mind told her that there wasn't anything to be scared of; that they were just human children. Yet, there was something so much more about them.

At some point, the look in the red one, Athrun's, eyes had changed. They, like Kira's, had a faintly glossy look to them. With that, came a very noticeable increase in speed and precision; no matter where she shot the bolts of lightning, both seemed able to react to them at a moments notice.

Iku would not deny that she felt just a little bit afraid.

The two began circling around her at alarming speeds, firing off small and medium-sized bullets, while also periodically slowing down to fire larger, more concentrated beams. What startled her the most about this pattern of attack was just how in sync the two were.

Fundamentally, there was always some level of desynchronisation between two people when they worked together. There was always at least a half-second, maybe even only a tenth of a second delay between leader and partner. The best Iku had ever seen in her life was a delay of one-hundredth of a second.

This was not a fraction that large. The coordination between these two was down to a degree that Iku couldn't even calculate; it may as well have been a zero-second delay.

A myriad of Shinto talismans appeared around Iku, sealing her movements in place. Gritting her teeth, she made to shoot what lightning she could to dispel them, only for frozen butterfly scales to float down and diffuse the bolts. Iku's eyes shot up, to see both Cirno and Eternity Larva firing their own shots at her.

That brief distraction, however, would prove fatal, as there was a sudden change in the air flow.

"Magi-Cannon:" Yuuka's voice carried over the storm, "Master Spark."

The Master Spark. An attack that, these days, is more attributed to Kirisame Marisa. Iku had faced Marisa's rendition of the attack many times in the past, and for a natural-born, 100% normal human who just so happened to be able to use magic, it wasn't anything to scoff at; Iku generally had to put in a lot of effort just to not get blown away by it.

That was the Love Sign: Master Spark variation, though. It paled in comparison to the original, created by Kazami Yuuka. Magi-Cannon: Master Spark was in a league all on its own, and Iku had to put all her effort into forming a barrier just to defend against it.

The laser struck hard and true, with force comparable to that of the Lohengrin. Were it not for Reimu's seals, Iku would have been sent flying.

"Not done yet!" came the dual voices of Kira and Athrun, who had taken up position on Iku's left and right (at a respectable distance, mind you).

"Strike Sign!" Kira invoked. "Agni Blast!"

"Aegis Sign!" Athrun shouted. "Scylla Cannon!"

They both shot off their own Spark-esque lasers. Not as big or as threatening as the Master Spark, no, but that was like saying you'd rather have a pine tree thrown at you rather than Yggdrasil. Iku expanded her barrier as much as she could without compromising its integrity, but blocking three directions of high-power attacks was a bit much, even for her.

So, of course fate would be unkind to the Dragon Palace Messenger, as a crimson light began to come down from above.

Iku looked up, and saw Tenshi charging up her own attack in the Sword of Hisou.

"Finally got the message?" Tenshi yelled. "I'm living my life, the way I want!" The crimson light intensified, as Tenshi drew her hand back. "Invoke! Scarlet Weather Rapture!"

A scarlet stream of power shot forth from the Celestial. At this point, Nagae Iku just had to accept it: she lost this battle.

Yet, somehow, she couldn't help but smile at her oncoming defeat. There was a faint sense of pride welling in her heart at having been proven wrong.


Within a room on the top floor of the Hieda estate, Akyuu changed into her ceremonial robes with a solemn look on her face.

Physically, she looked as fit as ever. But, considering the gravitas of what was going to happen today, one could not be reprimanded for looking so glum.

"I guess it was too much to ask them to find an answer in such short notice," she said to herself. "I can only hope that the people of the Archangel don't take it too personally. I guess... somethings are just not in our control."

Then, something went 'thud' outside the room. If she recalled correctly, there was suppose to be two servants out there. Did something happen?

There was a whole lot of movement to be heard from the other side of that door. "Damn it, Yzak!" a man said in angered whispers. "You didn't have to hit the guy that hard!"

"I didn't know he was going to go down like a ton of bricks!" a second voice said back. "Besides, what about Yamashiro putting that old lady in a choke-hold?"

"At least I was gentle about it!" an indignant voice responded. "You went and whacked that guy on the side of the head with your gun!"

Akyuu recognised those voices. They belonged to some of the Archangel crew-members. Akyuu slowly moved towards the door, and gently opened it.

There were eight people there, all at varying levels of fretting, as they stood around the two unconscious guards.

"Okay, let's just not panic, okay?" Himekaidou Hatate stated, showing the most signs of panicking. "We can... I don't know, stuff them in a cupboard?"

"And where will we find one big enough?" Kirisame Marisa asked. "In case you've forgotten, the kitchen is swarmed with servants."

At this point, Akyuu decided to speak up. "Um, what are you guys doing?"

All eyes turned to face Akyuu. "Yo, Akyuu-san," Marisa greeted. "Fancy seeing you here."

Yzak Joule shot the black-white magician a glare. "Really? You're going to try playing dumb?" he asked. "We've basically been caught red-handed, Kirisame."

"Evidently," Akyuu agreed. "But caught red-handed doing what?"

Yzak opened his mouth to speak, yet Flay's hand quickly covered it. "Let me handle this, yeah?" she said. "Odds are, you'll just end up saying something and antagonising her." Yzak glared at her, and reluctantly complied. "Right then, to cut a long, possibly complicated story short, we've..."

"You and Yzak," Miriallia corrected.

"Yzak and I," Flay conceded, "concluded that the thing that's actually killing the Child of Mieda, that is to say, you and your past incarnations, is the very same ritual you're about to take part in. There a whole lot of 'DNA coding' about it that's frankly too much to recap now, but that's the conclusion we've reached, hence why we're here, committing to the crime of kidnapping you, and preventing the ritual. Did you follow any of that? Because frankly, it feels absurd just saying it."

Akyuu blinked twice in bewilderment. "Well, I... understood the words you said at an individual level," she said. "I'll admit, a whole lot of it was hard to follow, but you believe the Ritual of Reincarnation is why I'm going to die?"

"That's what we suspect," Yzak said, removing Flay's hand from his mouth. "We'd need to investigate the ritual itself in order to be sure, and to do that," he pointed at Akyuu, "we need to kidnap you and make sure it doesn't go ahead until we've looked into it. Hence why we brought Himekaidou along, and why we're kinda glad Kirisame and Kochiya joined in on this."

"Aw, you do like me," Marisa said. "I'm flattered."

"Don't push it, Kirisame."

Akyuu couldn't help but let out a small laugh. There was a unique kind of chemistry to Marisa and Yzak, she noticed. "Well, I certainly won't turn down this offer," she said. "But, how do you plan to investigate further? The ritual is to be held in the room on the far side of the house, and as you'd guess, it's the most guarded place here."

"Worry about one thing at a time, please," Yzak said. "For now, though... Yamashiro and Haw, you two take Hieda somewhere safe."

"Why us in particular?" Miri asked. "I mean, I get the fact that I'm more a tag-along, but..."

"He's looking out for you in his own way," Takane said. "You and I have military training, I can fly and carry both you and Hieda-san... All in all, we're the B-team of the B-team."

Miri looked at Takane for a moment. "So, you and I are the C-team?"

"Makes you wonder who our 'D-team' is," Dearka mentioned. "Or if we go as far as Z."

Everyone seemed to briefly amuse the idea of who would constitute what 'team' aboard the Archangel. That was, until Yzak let out an irritated sound. "We're getting distracted, damn it!" he shouted. "Stick to the plan! Haw and Yamashiro, take the girl..."

"Woman," Akyuu corrected. "I'm easy twice your age."

"Woman," Yzak strained, "someplace away from here. I don't care where exactly you go."

Akyuu, Miri, and Takane all shared a look with each other. "... Hakurei Shrine?" Akyuu suggested.

The two thought for a moment, then nodded. "Hakurei Shrine."


Minutes later, and Yzak poked his head around the corner, observing the room in which the Ritual of Reincarnation was to be held. True to form, it was heavily guarded. By old folks, no less.

"Man, this place is old fashioned," Dearka noted. "Or, maybe just old."

"Definitely old," Hatate commented. "The Hieda family's been around since forever, after all."

"Now, though, we need to get them away from here," Yzak said, taking something long and cylindrical out of his pocket.

Dearka gave his fellow Coordinator a dull, unamused look. "Seriously, dude? You're big plan's a grenade?"

"Wait, you brought a freaking grenade?!" Marisa asked in a quiet yell.

"Don't be stupid," Yzak chastised. "It's a flashbang."

"That's not much better," Sanae said quietly. "Can't we thing of another, less explosives-based plan?"

"Don't worry, I've got ya covered," Dearka sighed. "You girls and guy hide somewhere. I'll run distraction."

"Hide where?" Flay asked. "This is a pretty narrow corridor, I'll have you know."

"Clearly, you're not thinking vertically enough," Marisa commented as she hefted both Yzak and Flay over her shoulders, then proceeded to float up to the ceiling. "Your move, Elsman."

Dearka gave the witch a thumbs up, and when Sanae and Hatate had situated themselves next to Marisa, he took a deep breath, and yelled. "Hey! The lady's been kidnapped!"

For a brief moment, Yzak wondered if Dearka was actually insane. This was proven mostly false, when the guards all broke off from their position, running in seemingly random direction and checking every room they could find.

Even the guys that ran past Dearka seemed to not notice him, and Dearka Elsman stood out like a sore thumb.

"I cannot fucking believe that worked," Yzak muttered dejectedly, as Marisa lowered him to the ground.

"Simple is best at times, Yzak," Dearka said. "Now, let's see if your suspicion's on the money, yeah?"

The group quietly snuck into the ritual room. It... certainly fit the bill as far as 'ritual rooms' went, with its large stone altar, ceremonial candles, no window, high roof, candles for mood lighting, pentagrams, and did we mention the candles? Because goddamn where there a lot of candles.

"You think the Hieda's have a thing?" Flay asked. "Because it really looks like they have a thing for candles."

"At least only a fifth of them are lit," Yzak said. "Otherwise, breathing might get hard."

"Really? Why's that?" Marisa asked. "I've been around a lot of candles, and I don't think I've had trouble breathing."

"Fire burns off the oxygen in the air, Kirisame," Yzak told her. "How do you not know this? It's basic science. If all these candles were lit, forget the whole 'DNA coding', Hieda would probably suffocate first."

Hatate pulled out her phone, and began taking notes. "So, we can at least assume death is assured in this room, not to mention how much of a fire hazard it is."

Sanae moved over to the altar, running a finger along the rim. "There some very old writing on this," she noticed. "Ancient Japanese, too."

"Can you translate it?" Dearka asked.

"Not word for word," Sanae explained, "but I can at least paraphrase some of it."

Several minutes passed in relative silence, until Sanae let out a gasp of surprise. "Oh! Oh, that's... that just wrong!"

"What is it?" Marisa spoke up first. "Did you just confirm Joule's suspicion?"

"Well, let me first say," Sanae spoke, after taking a few deep breaths, "that someone went to extreme lengths to cover this up. There's whole planks of wood nailed down to cover up loads of extra writing here."

"And? What does it say?" Yzak pressed.

"It's not in as many words, but you were right, Yzak-san," Sanae said. "This ritual is a glorified 'suicide by cop'. On top of that, it's imbuing her with -and pardon my language- a metric shit-ton of impurities."

Marisa and Hatate looked equally surprised. "I... don't think I've ever heard Sanae swear like that," Marisa said quietly. "It's got to be very serious, then."

"So, what does that mean?" Dearka asked. "What does stuffing Akyuu full of impurities and basically tricking her into committing suicide do in the long run?"

"The afterlife here works in a very specific way," Hatate answered. "The Yama, in this case, Shiki Eiki-sama, judges if your soul is black or white, impure or pure, and sends you off to one of four outcomes: Heaven, Reincarnation, Hell, or the Hell of Blazing Fire."

"Hell of Blazing Fire?" Flay repeated. "One, didn't you turn that into a nuclear reactor, and two, does that count as a 'Super Hell'?"

"Yes, and yes," Marisa answered. "Then again, even before Sanae's group turned it into a glorified hot-spring warmer, the HoBF wasn't exactly getting much use outside of the particularly bad eggs. Things like tyrants, dictators, and mass murderers. The sorts of scum that wouldn't be able to work off their sins. Throwing an innocent person into there, even if they weren't bound for Heaven, would be like throwing water on a oil fire." Then, realisation hit the witch like a bolt of lightning. "Wait, could that mean..."

"That the ritual's not just killing her; it's turning her into a Hell-wrecking bomb?" Yzak finished. "What. The FUCK!"

"That's... incredibly messed up!" Dearka exclaimed. "So they bar a good person from Heaven, and threaten to destroy Hell? For what?"

"I think... it's an ultimatum," Sanae said. "It's like whoever made this ritual was trying to assure that the Child of Miare would remain in the cycle of reincarnation, on threat of breaking the whole system."

"Oh, I hope whoever made this thing is burning for it," Yzak said bitterly. "All those in favour of blowing this damn thing to kingdom come, say aye." There was a unanimous response from the rest. "Right, then. Himekaidou, take as many pictures of this as you can for evidence. I'll set the explosives."

"You brought C-4 as well, huh?" Dearka sighed. "Really shouldn't be surprised."

"Dearka, get serious," Yzak said. "If I was prepared to kidnap a woman today, why wouldn't I also prepare myself to commit low-grade terrorism?"

"You're weird," Flay concluded. "You ZAFT people are weird."


At the Hakurei Shrine, Mu La Flaga and company watched as a bright, multi-coloured beam shot through the sky, blowing the clouds away, and returning the setting sunlight to Gensokyo once more.

"I feel like we've done this before," Mu said. "The whole 'blowing clouds away with lasers' thing."

"It's definitely been done before," Kosuzu agreed. "Lot more at stake last time, too."

"Well, at least we've got that late spring sunlight back," Shinmyoumaru commented. "Beats the heavy rain any day."

"I can imagine that rain's a pain for your species," Mu said. "Still, I can't help but feel like we're missing out on some adventures right now. Like, I wanna say three adventures, tops."

"That's a specific number," Aunn spoke. "Why three, sir?"

"I dunno. Just feels like we're missing out on three whole events that could change some peoples lives for better or worse," Mu shrugged. "Well, at least with the rain stopped, I can work on drying out the cockpit of my Skygrasper. God knows it's going to be uncomfortable to sit in that for a while."

Kosuzu nodded. "Well, I'm just hoping Athrun-kun's alright. The Hisoutensoku's being worked on right now to make it about the size of your robots, so if he gets into a fight, he'll..."

Mu, Shinmyoumaru, and Aunn all shared rather cheeky grins. "You're really fond of him, aren't you?" the Inchling asked. "Like, really really fond."

"Ah, to be young and in love," Mu sighed humourously. "You know, the captain's technically allowed to act as an ordained minister, so she could get you two married."

"Auu! Why stop there?" Aunn added. "We've also got Reimu-san, Sanae-san, Byakuren-san, and Miko-san! We have not shortage of people that can properly marry them!"

Kosuzu flustered and stammered her words. There was certainly something enjoyable about these peaceful times, where you can poke lighthearted fun at someone in love.

In the distance, Mu spotted something approaching. "Hey, you girls see that?" he spoke up. "Someone's heading this way."

Aunn focused her vision. "That's... Takane-san, Akyuu-chan, and... I think the brown haired girl's one of yours?"

As the three figures approached, Mu could confirm the Komainu's statement. "Miri? Wonder what's going on?"


After a bit of tea and a general recap, Mu felt like he understood one of his hypothesised 'adventures'.

"So, the very thing that ties you to the world is what kills you?" Kosuzu asked. "That's... weird."

"Not the words Joule-san would use to describe it, but I agree," Akyuu said. "Still, if this turns out to be a wrong lead, it's not like I'm missing out on much. Just means the ritual will be a different day."

"Now, don't say that," Mu said. "There's still plenty of time to turn this around if it's a dud."

"Dude-bro's right!" Shinmyoumaru said. "And if that don't work, then I'm sure I could use the Miracle Mallet to do something for ya!"

The group shared a laugh. It hadn't been that long a day for any of them, really, but downtime after even the smallest of tiring situations was very nice.

Aunn's ears perked up. "Auu? Someone's here," she said. "Didn't fly or walk, so... Usami-chan?"

Shinmyoumaru shivered slightly. "Ugh, that Outsider again?" she said. "Why does she have to keep coming around?"

"Another Outsider?" Miri asked. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. But, 'didn't fly or walk'?"

"Technically, Usami Sumireko-chan is still in the Outside World," Aunn explained. "When she sleeps, her spirits enters Gensokyo. Don't... really know how or why."

There was a sound of hurried footsteps, and the door slid open forcefully. "Reimu!" cried out Sumireko.

All eyes briefly fell on her. Usami Sumireko was a girl around Miri's age, with shoulder-length brown hair, a pair of glasses, a purple high-school uniform, and a rather nice looking black hat. What caught Mu's eyes the most, however, was how panicked she looked.

"You alright there, kid?" he called out. "You look like you're fleeing from the devil."

"No time, gramps!" Sumireko yelled. "Shinmyou! Aunn! Where's Reimu?!"

Aunn got a bit flustered. "Hey, calm down, girl," Miriallia spoke up. "You're not going to get any answers if you keep yelling like that."

"There's no time, whoever you are!" she shouted. "The world... the whole world's in danger!"

"The world?" Mu questioned. "Explain yourself, kid. And slowly, please."

"There's no time! I need to find Reimu, before..." for a brief moment, Sumireko flickered out of existence, before popping back in. "Damn it! Already?!"

"Usami-san, What's happening?" Akyuu spoke up. "We'll pass along the message to Reimu-san when she gets back, I promise."

Sumireko took a few deep breaths, as many as she felt she could afford. "Alright. I don't know how much you'd believe me, but... there was fucking Mobile Suits running rampant in the Outside World. There freaking Zaku's and knockoff GMs breaking things left and right!" Another flicker in her existence caused her to wince in pain a little. "Damn it, out of time already?" she cursed. "Look, I don't know what Reimu could do to help this situation, but... if anyone and figure this out, it's her. Plea..."

Her words were cut short, when Usami Sumireko vanished from this plane of existence.

Mu blinked a few times in bewilderment. "Well, that just happened," he said. "Zaku's and knockoff GMs... Can't say I'm familiar with those models of MS's."

"What should we do?" Aunn asked. "It sounds like things Outside are bad."

"Unless we had a way through the Barrier, there's not much we could do," Mu said. "For now, I guess we'll just have to wait for Reimu to get back."

The rather solemn silence fell over them, as is want to do when bad news arrives that you can't do anything about for a while.


In the depths of space in the Cosmic Era, the Kusanagi made its final approach to the Mendel Colony.

"Kisaka, how are we looking?" Uzumi asked.

"The enemy ship is not within radar range, sir," Kisaka responded. "I've no doubt they're still tracking us, but I'm sure we've got at least two days on the Lunarian forces."

"Time to let our hair down, at least," Uzumi sighed. "What about our ally? Any word from this 'Miss-L'?"

"Now receiving a coded message, sir!" one of the other operators said. "It's signed by Miss-L."

"Read it out," Uzumi instructed. "What does it say?"

"It's telling us to meet with their ship, the Eternal, around the far side of the colony."

"Your orders, sir?" Kisaka spoke. "Are we to meet with them?"

"We've little other choice right now," Uzumi said. "Plot a course around the colony. Keep an eye out for this 'Eternal'."

"Aye, sir."


Cagalli looked out the window at the Mendel Colony with an odd feeling in her heart. There was something... odd about Mendel that she just couldn't quite put her finger on. Like... returning to a traumatic home that you had no proper recollection of.

As she thought on her lonesome, she noticed two adult stop by the window and observe the colony with looks of forlorn and contempt.

"To think we'd come here for refuge," the brown haired man said, placing a hand on the indigo haired woman with him. Cagalli assumed the two were married.

"Yes," the woman replied. "The place we lost Via, and... where Kira and..."

Cagalli's ears perked up. "Wait, what's this about Kira?" she said instinctively, catching the two off guard.

"H...how long were you there?" the man asked is surprise.

"Bit longer than you two," Cagalli answered. "Now, you said something about Kira, right? As in, Kira Yamato?"

The woman's expression seemed to soften slightly, though there was still a certain sense of worry to it. "You figured that out rather quickly, huh, Cagalli?"

"Call it intuition," Cagalli said, before noticing something odd. "Wait. How do you know my name?" Part of her thought it was just the whole 'Uzumi's daughter' angle, but something about how the woman had said it was... different. Familial, in a way.

"Caridad, are you sure?" the man asked. "Shouldn't we clear this with Uzumi first?"

"I think that ship has long sailed, Haruma," the woman, Caridad, said. Then, she turned back to face Cagalli. "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Caridad Yamato, and this is my husband, Haruma."


A/N:

Over 9000 words... when I usually do around 6000 a chapter. Heck, my highest word count in this fic alone before now was around 7500, and I think this is a new record for myself in general. I can tell this is going to be one of my biggest single works yet.

Could I have split some of this off into a second chapter? Probably, yeah, but considering what I've got planned, I just figured I'd do one large treat like this instead.

Right, not calling the chapters 'treats'. That just sounded weird read it out loud.

Also, as someone kindly pointed out, I overlooked one lightning manipulator last chapter, in the form of Horikawa Raiko. My bad.

Well, it is what it is. Let's press on.