Inside Yuugi's home, she and Youmu stand in front of the restrained Seija sitting on the floor. Tied diagonally around the oni's torso is a bag containing the confiscated cheating tools. The room they are in is a small one near the back of the house with no furniture, merely a light fixture attached to the ceiling.
"Let's start from the beginning, were you responsible for the writing on my arm?" asks Youmu.
"I dunno what you mean," says Seija disinterestedly.
"Why did you come to Old Hell?"
"I was bored."
"Do you have a partner that came with you here?" asks Youmu, her irritation growing.
"Amanojaku don't have friends."
"How were you casting those illusions?"
"What illusions?"
"Answer the questions seriously!" Youmu yells in frustration.
"And why should I do that? Even if I could answer all of those, no doubt you wouldn't be able to do anything about it. A naïve half-ghost or whatever like you? The thought's hilarious!" says Seija, snickering. "You don't have Reimu's intuition or Sakuya's rationality, and unlike Marisa you don't make up for it with gumption. You're just a little errand girl."
You…!
Youmu clenches her fist and glares at Seija, but Yuugi steps between them and says, "Don't waste your energy getting angry. We need to find out where her partner is."
The gardener nods and takes a moment to quell her emotions.
I'm letting Seija provoke me far too easily.
"I should call Lady Yuyuko and tell her we captured Seija. I'll leave the questioning to you."
"No problem," says Yuugi. "The two of us'll have a nice talk."
"Giving up already, as expected," says Seija.
It takes all Youmu's willpower to not respond to Seija's taunt and walk out of the room calmly. She is now in the main living room; a few casks of sake, some empty and some full, are scattered around the edges while a scuffed-up table with a kotatsu sits in the center.
We caught her, so why does it feel like the situation isn't any better? I can't help but feel that we're playing right into her hands.
While that thought lingers in her mind, she dials her mistress's phone number. It rings for longer than usual.
She's not picking up. Is she preoccupied?
The phone continues ringing until a long beep comes out followed by an autotune voice saying, "The number you called is not available. Please leave a message after the tone."
Message? Does it remember what I say?
Once the tone plays, Youmu says, "Uh, Lady Yuyuko? Yuugi and I have successfully detained Seija. The interrogation is underway as I speak, so please call me back when you have an opportunity. Goodbye."
Now how does it know when I stop talking?
Youmu fiddles around with some buttons until she hears another beep.
I think I'm happy leaving technology to the kappa.
Sitting down at the table, she lets out a long sigh.
The writing on my arm, Satori missing, the sighting of Seija near the village. What does it all mean? Then there are the illusions or possibly some other kind of manipulation. Even if Shin is working with Seija, her abilities don't match up with what I've experienced. Could it be possible that Seija has two accomplices? Who else would willingly cooperate with her? Hmmm… maybe if I reevaluate everything I've seen I can narrow down a youkai or at least ability more concrete than 'illusions'. So what exactly have I encountered in my battles with Seija? Obviously her flipping and spell cards, those are her trademark. Beyond the flipping gimmick, it's not that special as far as danmaku goes. Then there are her cheating tools, which we haven't found all of yet. Shin could be holding onto those, plus she might have been the one to grab the mask back in town. But what is that mask? If it was just to hide her identity, why would an accomplice go to the trouble of retrieving it over the other tools? I'm missing some kind of context here. If only I had a clue or sign… Dang it, Seija's right that Reimu would probably have a better idea of what's going on. Compared to her, my knowledge of the various youkai and happenings in Gensokyo is lacking. But that doesn't matter anymore, I'm here now and I'm the only one who can get to the bottom of this.
Bickering voices escape from the back room.
Sounds like Yuugi's making more progress than I could. She's been a huge help. Thanks to her, the capture went nearly without a hitch. The danger of disorientation was a little worrying but- Wait. Why didn't Seija try that on us earlier? She flipped us around some, sure, but that was more a spatial attack than a mental one. I assumed that flipping our sense of orientation was something she could do but thinking about it further I have no proof of that. I've only personally experienced it when she ambushed me back at the cave entrance. Even the encounter on the bridge didn't have it, though I could buy that being intentional for the sake of the trap. On the other hand, Yuugi said that the oni who were attacked reported the same feeling. Is Seija toying with us?
Youmu's brow furrows.
Or maybe she's switching places with someone? That would explain why someone as loud and proud as her would bother hiding her face. If that's the case, then the person I encountered at the entrance and possibly the bridge wasn't Seija at all. They certainly had a similar speaking style, though, so either she was speaking through something remotely or the body double was a good actor. If this hypothetical person is behind both the disorientation and the illusions, then that means their ability is to manipulate people's perceptions in general. A youkai that can somehow mess with the mind and slip underneath everyone's notice. This is all still conjecture, but I think I've made a decent suspect profile. I should consult Yuugi about this.
As she gets up and turns around, Youmu hears a small hissing sound. She scans the room and notices a small black bowl on the ground near the shōji that leads to where the interrogation is underway. It has a floral pattern and matching cover.
No, that can't be!
The gardener rushes to the bowl and opens it in a panic, but it is not an inchling she finds; inside is a cartoonish yellow bomb with a lit fuse too far down for Youmu to put out. Chucking it as far away from the interrogation room as she can, she bursts in and yells, "Yuugi, there's a bomb!"
"Wha-" Yuugi's question is cut off by a large boom that causes the house to groan. The shockwave throws Youmu slightly off-balance, but Yuugi stands firm. Seija stifles a laugh.
"I found Seija's Four-Foot Magic Bomb in the living room! I only had a second to throw it away, it was too late to put the fuse out," says Youmu. "It was hidden in a bowl that was the exact same style Shinmyoumaru uses."
Yuugi lets out an uncharacteristic growl and says, "First they mess with my city, and now my house. This is personal. You stay here and guard Seija while I find the inchling."
"Splitting us up might be what they want."
"Maybe, but to be blunt I'm way too angry to care. This interrogation already grated on my nerves."
She's been telling me to keep calm, but this entire time she's been struggling to do so as well. I can't exactly blame her.
"Alright, just don't let your guard down."
The oni rushes out of the room with steps that cause the house to shake even more.
"So she's finally cracking a little, huh? She stayed more composed than I expected during all the questions," says Seija.
Youmu draws Roukanken and holds it to Seija's chin. "Whatever game you think you're playing won't work. Once Yuugi captures Shin this will be over."
"Man you really aren't the brightest, are you? Well, I guess you did warn the oni about how splitting you two up was what we wanted, so I have to give you some credit."
She's not denying that Shin's involved, so it is a trap! But leaving Seija alone isn't wise…
Sheathing her sword and sitting down on the floor cross-legged, Youmu says, "I have plenty of faith that an oni on the level of Yuugi can handle any trap you might lay. You aren't getting yourself alone that easily."
Seija's eyes narrow. "Maybe you have learned something from getting wacked by my mallet. But what'll you do if Yuugi fails? Then you're busy guarding me while my partner is free to wreak as much havoc as she wants."
A slight amount of sweat forms on the back of Youmu's neck.
There's no way Yuugi would lose to Shin, right? But given how upset she was, she might rush into something unprepared. And-
Her eyes go wide.
My guess about a third person being involved! If someone like that is with Shin, then Yuugi's in trouble!
"Oh? Something on your mind?" says Seija. "I can see the gears in your head working really hard."
"You have another person working with you besides Shin, don't you?! Tell me who they are!" Youmu demands, putting her face right in front of Seija's.
"Hahahaha! I guess you really do use your brain after all! But I have no intention of telling you anything. You can try to get info out of me or help your friend. What'll it be?"
As they are talking, a distant crashing sound is heard coming from the front of the house.
I'm running out of time. Maybe I could knock Seija out? But she might fake it. There's nothing I can do that will guarantee she stays put if I leave her alone. Hmm… maybe I don't need to leave her alone.
Youmu stands up and walks behind Seija, pulling her to her feet. The former keeps one hand on the latter's tied up wrists, the other on her shoulder, and says, "Start walking or I'll drag you by the collar. Don't even think of trying anything, it won't end well."
Seija looks behind and says, "You've got your serious face on, color me terrified."
"Now," says Youmu with a shove.
"Fine, fine."
Leaving the room, the damage the house has taken becomes readily apparent. The wall Youmu threw the bomb to has been blasted apart with wood and other debris strewn around. The ceiling above has become somewhat crooked, as if the foundation were failing.
This house looks like it's about to come down on top of us, so getting out is the right call. I don't hear any sounds of a struggle nearby anymore, though. Did Yuugi take it elsewhere?
Youmu continues cautiously marching Seija through the house. The entryway connecting to the outside is in shambles; cracks that likely came from Yuugi's footsteps line the ground and holes from danmaku make the front entrance more air than material.
"Dang, really tore up the place," says Seija. "Wonder where they went?"
"Do you try to annoy others as much as possible or does it come naturally for an amanojaku?"
"Aw, that's really sweet of you! You're making me blush over here."
I should have known sarcasm would backfire.
They exit the house and Youmu scopes out the vicinity for any sign of Yuugi or Shinmyoumaru, but she finds nothing.
Where could they have gone? I heard them fighting only a minute ago.
"Afraid something happened? Annoyed you can't figure out what's going on? C'mon, this is your chance to prove me wrong!" Seija says, her voice full of false concern. "I really appreciate the fresh air, though. Well, as fresh as it can be underground."
Gosh I wish she'd shut up. Am I doing exactly what she wants? Did she manipulate me into taking her outside? No, I can't let her make me doubt myself. Leaving her alone could only have been worse. Stay calm. What I don't get is why it's so quiet. Ignoring Yuugi suddenly vanishing, I don't even hear or see any passerby. You'd think someone would check out an explosion. It's almost like everyone in the Former Capital is gone, but that's impossible… Actually, I can think of something that would make it possible.
Youmu grabs Roukanken's hilt, ready to draw. "This is another illusion, isn't it? Your accomplice is messing with my head again."
"Ding-ding-ding! You're on a roll today, ghosty! But I gotta know: what are you gonna do about it? How do you know I'm real or that you're even where you think you are?"
"There hasn't been an opportunity for me to be moved that far, nor has there been one for you to escape. I can't deny that there's a chance I'm underestimating this youkai's abilities, but I don't think they have quite that much control," Youmu explains. "Who knows, you could be a fake; I'm still not letting you go."
"Tch," Seija scoffs.
For the first time since coming to Old Hell, Youmu notices legitimate annoyance in Seija's demeanor.
Heh, finally got one over on her. But that won't do me much good if I get blindsided by someone I can't see. There has to be a way to break this illusion's hold on me. I guess mental manipulation wouldn't be too dissimilar from a kind of confusion? Can't hurt to try. Well, it will hurt, but needs must.
She takes her hand off Roukanken's handle and instead unsheathes Hakurouken.
"What are you gonna do with that dinky sword?" asks Seija.
With no intention of answering, Youmu very lightly cuts her own left cheek.
Here it comes!
Immediately her head feels ready to burst. "AGH!"
"Whoa, what's gotten into you?!" Seija yells in surprise.
Drawing on every last bit of strength she has, Youmu remains standing and never loses her grip on Seija's wrists. The scene around her begins to change, as if filling in details. What were before empty streets now have various oni and other youkai running away. Eerie silence is replaced by shouts of spell cards. Looking up, Youmu makes out Yuugi flying through hundreds of bullets towards a lavender-haired girl sitting in a bowl. In the girl's hands are a yellow mallet similar to but distinct from Seija's and a lantern with a red swirl design on it.
That's Shin! She has the real Miracle Mallet and the Ghostly Send-Off Lantern. The latter will make beating her much more difficult, but Yuugi seems to be managing for now. It doesn't look like either have noticed us yet. I need to find the third culprit; they have to be nearby!
"How did you break free?!" Seija asks. "That shouldn't be possible normally! Was it that sword?"
Youmu elects to ignore the question and searches her surroundings a second time, intent on finding her target. However, she finds no one suspicious.
Where are they?
Suddenly she feels a tap on her shoulder and hears a young-sounding voice that says, "Hellooooooo, miss? You got a second?"
"Huh?" Youmu turns around but does not see anyone. But despite it only seeming like a split second, the sensation of holding something in her hand vanishes. She turns back to see Seija flying away, free from the rope.
"What?! Get back here!"
Seija pulls down her lower eyelid with her finger and sticks her tongue out tauntingly. "You did better than I expected, but you still couldn't hold me for long! See ya!" she says. "And I think you have more pressing concerns than chasing me!"
"What do you mean?"
Seija points up as Yuugi falls to the ground hard, landing unconscious on her back. Shinmyoumaru flies down after her.
"Yuugi!" says Youmu as she rushes over to check on her.
"That was way too close! She might have won if that had gone on any longer, what was the hold-up?" the inchling asks.
"I'll fill you in later," says Seija. "As much as I'd love to watch, we need to get out of here. Got the stuff?"
Stuff?
"It's all here!" Shinmyoumaru exclaims, holding up the bag with the recovered cheating tools.
I can't let them get away with those!
The perception of time slows and Youmu hurtles towards Shinmyoumaru, launching danmaku bullets of her own at Seija to cover her approach. Seija manages to barely dodge the assault, but Shinmyoumaru is not so lucky. As the inchling flies out of the way, Youmu manages to cut the bag holding the cheating tools open and they spill out. Before either of her opponents gets a chance to react, she makes a sharp downward turn. First she catches the Gap Folding Umbrella, followed by the Bloodthirsty Yin-Yang Orb. Seija, now recovered, flies down herself to try and grab the Nimble Fabric. Youmu attempts to charge at her, but Seija flips Youmu's momentum. Just as it is within Seija's range, Youmu throws Hakurouken and pins the fabric to Yuugi's house out of anyone's immediate reach. The last two falling tools, the Substitute Jizo and Replica Miracle Mallet, are taken by Youmu and Shinmyoumaru respectively.
"Seija, catch!" the inchling yells to her partner as she throws the mallet.
"Thanks! There's nothing else for it, we'll have to leave the rest behind. Let's go!" Seija responds. The duo beats a hasty retreat.
No you don't!
Youmu attempts to chase after them, even launching more bullets, but out of nowhere the disorienting sensation she felt at the cave entrance returns. Before she can get her bearings, Shinmyoumaru turns around holding a camera and shouts, "Smile!" The flash of the camera briefly blinds the half-phantom and all her bullets vanish.
Tengu's Toy Camera…!
Her vision clears and the two are nowhere to be seen. "Dang it!" Youmu gripes in frustration.
Wait, Yuugi!
She rushes back to check on her companion. Despite her clothes and hair being slightly tattered in spots, Yuugi seems no worse for wear.
How in the world did they manage to knock her out? She doesn't even seem hurt. Was this the work of the third culprit? Can they forcibly make someone shut down like this? Or maybe she's trapped in some kind of illusion? I escaped thanks to Hakurouken, so I could try using that on her!
Youmu retrieves Hakurouken and the Nimble Fabric from Yuugi's house's wall and uses the fabric as a makeshift sack to hold the other cheating tools. Repeating the action she did to Parsee, Youmu carefully makes a small cut on Yuugi's arm. After a few moments, Yuugi's upper body shoots up and she lets out a deafening roar.
"WAH!" a terrified Youmu yells, covering her ears.
Once the roar subsides, Yuugi slumps back over and turns her head towards Youmu. "Ugh… can ya get me a drink?"
Inside the living room, the ceiling is being supported by a makeshift tower of large, empty casks.
"So this third culprit made me see all those weird things? They can manipulate someone's mind?" Yuugi asks as she downs her tenth shot of sake.
"That's the most likely explanation, yes. I almost got trapped in one as well, but I was lucky enough to have the perfect countermeasure," says Youmu, polishing Hakurouken with a white rag.
"Even still, it was more than just luck. You stayed rational even through what you saw and were able to create a solution. When everything started lookin' weird for me, I couldn't separate fake from reality."
"That's part of what I don't get," Youmu continues. "What could have happened to incapacitate you like that? What were you experiencing, exactly?"
Yuugi scratches the back of her head and says, "I was figthin' Shin above the city and making steady progress when all of a sudden I began seein' strange things. She vanished and the city was on fire. I didn't know what was goin' on. Almost like a bad dream, except I was wide awake. A part of me knew it didn't make any sense but given how badly I saw red at the time I couldn't think straight. It didn't take long for me to exhaust my energy, which is unusual for an oni and especially me. When you cut me with that sword, everything cleared up and I felt the worst headache of my life."
"Hmm," Youmu muses, "I was distracted so I didn't see what happened between you fighting Shin and falling down. Though all that happened in less than a minute, which doesn't seem to match up with how much happened to you. Unless…"
"Unless what?"
"What I can only assume is the third culprit tapped on my shoulder and said something to me after I broke through their ability. But when I turned around, no one was there and Seija was not only somehow free but a good twenty paces away. It's like there's a pocket of time that was skipped, I don't remember what happened at all."
"It seems like they can mess with memory too, yeah? My guess is that it was longer than a minute, and during that time Shin unloaded her danmaku on me. Since it can't kill, it probably wore down my body's energy. Even an oni can only take so much punishment. My clothes and stuff looked all messed up afterwards, too, and I know didn't get hit while I was fightin' her. No idea what you were up to in the meanwhile, though."
Not knowing what I was doing for an extended period is rather worrying.
"Wonder what would've happened if you didn't have that sword," Yuugi continues. "Would we have been stuck like that?"
"I doubt that I explicitly need to use Hakurouken to free someone. The youkai doing this would need to leave eventually, right? Once they do, it's likely a matter of time until it wears off." says Youmu. "If that's correct, then using my sword only expedites the process."
"Not a bad deduction. That would also explain why they left you alone at the river instead of sending that youkai to keep an eye on ya."
"Exactly. So that way, if they were to commit this youkai to continuously keeping someone under, it could be both of us at once after we met up. Then all Seija and Shin would need to do is take care of Orin and Okuu on their own, assuming the Nuclear Furnace is their target. With the cheating tools and the element of surprise, it'd be easy. I bet they consider you a bigger threat than either of them since Satori's gone."
"That would make sense," Yuugi says with a nod. "Seija getting captured was definitely calculated. She wanted to lure us into a false sense of security, make us upset, and then strike our minds when they were at their most vulnerable. That entire interrogation was a farce for her to set us up. It worked on me and almost did on you."
"At the very least, it was a failsafe if we managed to beat her. I doubt she would want to get captured if she could avoid it," says Youmu, sheathing Hakurouken now that her polishing is complete. "And I think Seija was switching places with this youkai while disguised, who in turn used their ability to make it sound like they were her. That would free up Seija to scout around more and sneak attack anyone if it came to that."
"This duplicity really ticks me off. I'm sorry for losin' my cool earlier and not heeding your warning, especially after all the times I told ya to calm down."
"You kept your cool way longer than I did overall. I only was able to stay calm thanks to your advice and already being on the receiving end of Seija's tricks multiple times earlier. Blaming ourselves is pointless, we need to go to the Palace of the Earth Spirits as soon as you're ready."
"Heh, Seija's wrong about you. Ya got a good head on your shoulders and plenty of heart to see this through to the end," says Yuugi with a raise of her dish. "Cheers."
Youmu rubs the back of her head and looks away, embarrassed.
Hopefully she doesn't see me around ghosts or dark places or Lady Yuyuko…
"This also wasn't a total loss. We managed to throw off Seija's plans," Yuugi continues. "Instead of havin' all the cheating tools and neither of us to worry about, now she only has a few and both of us on her tail."
"Though on the flip side, we still gotta worry about this third youkai. They know I can beat the manipulation now, so they'll be targeting me. Do you have any idea who they could be? If it helps narrow it down at all, their voice sounded like a young girl."
Crossing her arms to think, Yuugi spends a few moments contemplating. "It's weird, it feels like I should know, yet I don't. Something's on the tip of my tongue…"
"What do you mean?" asks Youmu.
"The description of the abilities and voice is familiar, like I've heard of or even seen her before. But there's no actual memory associated with it, if that makes sense."
That matches what happened earlier. Who in the world are we dealing with here? How did Seija and Shin even approach her, let alone get her on their side? And I still don't know why that message was on my arm.
The two sit in silence for some time before it is broken by Youmu's phone ringing. "Hello? Lady Yuyuko?" she answers.
"Youmu! I've got some good news, I found a lead on that mask you mentioned," says Yuyuko, jovial as ever. "Is Yuugi with you? She should hear this too. There's a button on your phone that amplifies the volume of the person talking; Yukari called it putting the phone on 'speaker'."
Uhhhhh, this one?
Youmu pushes a button and places the phone on the table.
"So you're Yuyuko? This is Yuugi Hoshiguma speaking," says the oni.
"Ah, hello! I hope Youmu hasn't caused you any trouble."
"Quite the opposite, she's been a huge help. You're lucky to have her."
"That's wonderful to hear! I'm proud of you for making friends, Youmu!"
"L-lady Yuyuko, please, we need to discuss the issue at hand," says a blushing Youmu.
"Yes, of course. Well, while I can't say for sure without seeing it myself, based on what I've found out it's likely the mask is Hata no Kokoro's old Mask of Hope."
"Kokoro? As in the one who was involved with the religious wars a while back? I remember hearing Reimu and Marisa go on about that during some of the shrine parties."
"The very same."
"Are ya sayin' this Kokoro is the one helping Seija and Shin?" Yuugi asks.
"Oh, have you determined that Seija has two accomplices now?"
"Yes," says Youmu. "Also, I'm sorry to say she got away. But we'll fill you in on the details after you're done."
"Alright! It's very unlikely Kokoro is helping Seija, she lost the mask during the religious wars and never got it back. Though, it would be more accurate to say the mask was stolen."
"Stolen? By who?"
"Someone whose existence I was unaware of until Yukari and Reimu told me about her just a little bit ago: Satori Komeiji's younger sister, Koishi Komeiji."