Gensokyo 1.x

Interlude: Eiki Shiki, Yamaxanadu

„Next."

Another day completely devoted to judging the dead... although I'm always so enthusiastic to Komachi about working, doing the same thing for people who almost all lived the same live is tiring.

For the next person I looked into my mirror again. Hm... A farmer who died due to being attacked by a youkai. His attacker mauled his skin with its claws, not very pretty.

He lived a simple live, got a wife when he was 17, hard-working and following the rules.

„Heaven", I decided.

„Next.", the assistant at the door to the courtroom called out.

The next case was a monk... who was knocked over by a laughing black-white witch riding on a broom. Ah, I know her.

„Ah, please excuse us. My... companion can be a little inconsiderate sometimes.", that girl I didn't know. She was taller than most people, easily as tall as Komachi, but she was lanky, she barely had a 'figure' worth speaking of. Her hair was probably her only really feminine feature... and she was riding on a broom, too.

„Yo, we're here to talk, ze! We might have an interesting case for you.", the black-white stated with a grin.

An interesting case, huh. „Well, that still doesn't excuse you barging in like that.", I looked at her sternly: „That, and I was almost finished judging the waiting souls." Really, how could they just interrupt important procedures like that.

„Ah, not really. See, there's a truly gargantuan amount of souls waiting on the other side of the river while that shinigami doses off.", the witches' companion tells me.

...Komachi. When I get my hands on you for slacking off again... I gripped my Rod of Remorse with enough strength to whiten my knuckles. She was gonna get it this time. If one hour of lecture isn't enough, I'll make sure the next one takes up more time.

„And you're here to talk about what exactly?"

„WHOA! No lecture for us, da ze?!", the witch looked honestly surprised... were my lectures really that infamous? Well, I can't let them get away scot free either.

„Don't worry, you're gonna get it when you're here as souls.", the witch paled slightly, her grin freezing in place.

„But if you want to talk, I suppose that's fine. Follow me."

They followed.

I needed a break anyway.

We sat down in a small conference room next to the courtroom. Golden walls, silver floor and ceiling, several details 'chiseled' into the surfaces. In the middle of the room was a fairly large round table, on it a small bow with snacks. They took their seats opposite of me.

„Alright, what could be so important that you disrupt a trial for it?"

„Well, Taylor here kinda 'stranded' here in Gensokyo, just showed up on my doorstep, really. She brought quite the 'baggage' with her, too.", the witch, Kirisame Marisa, informed me, lacking her usual cheery behaviour.

I turned to 'Taylor': „And I am supposed to help with that? So you want me to send you back?"

She looked depressed: „Well, I sort of got dragged here... I'm here to tell you about certain... 'crimes' I witnessed, and of the world I come from."

Another world... that might be interesting.

„Well, I guess I should begin with the most important recent event: the emerging of Scion..."

And so she told me about her world. Of superpowered capes, supervillains and -heroes, the protectorate, the PRT, the Wards, the Endbringers, the Triumvirate and the different Earths.

„So, the Endbringers are the evil monsters that destroy cities and the Triumvirs are their counterpart who try to repell them, together with as many capes as possible?", I asked.

„Yes, and if they aren't succesfull in driving the Endbringer off it is left to Scion, who handles them like unruly animals.", Taylor responded.

„Alright, and what else did you want to tell me?", we needed to come to the end of the discussion, the spirits were waiting and this talk already took us an hour.

„Yeah, well, Taylor wanted to talk to you about some of her issues and what you'd recommend!", Marisa, who had been surprisingly quiet during the stories of Earth Bet, spoke up: ''Right Taylor, ze?"

''...Yes. I should probably begin at the beginning of those problems, shouldn't I?", when I nodded in confirmation, she continued: ''Alright, it started after the summer camp in the big break before I would begin my highschool life... my friend Emma, my only friend, decided that she wanted a new friend and cast me away. As if that wasn't enough, they tortured me very day... day in day out!", she was beginning to shed hot tears of fury and despair, ''they decided I should be their permanent victim, filled my locker with disgusting thing, put juice over me and in my bag, stole my mother's flute... The only piece that remained of her! All that just to make me cry, to make my life miserable. They threw insults at me, stole my homework and just did everything they could. Once they got a 'new member' I wasn't safe anywhere. And the school faculty never did anything!", her face was red by now, her cheeks wet.

''Why would nobody do anything? Isn't it the schools job to make sure the pupils have a safe environment?", my grip around the Rod had increased in strength and intensity, ''Shurely they must have done something."

She continued: ''No! Nothing! My tormentors were the 'queens of the school'. The trackstar, the 'too-cute-to-do-anyone-harm'-girl and the aspiring model. Nobody would listen to a loser like me over them... and there were always no witnesses nobody had the courage to speak up...",she got quieter towards the end, ''All that thankfully ended with the locker..."

Seeing my questioning look she continued with a sad smile: ''They filled my locker with used tampons, bloody hygiene products, shoved me in and left me there to rot. Thankfully I escaped by being transported here, to Gensokyo. I don't even want to go back anymore! But I can't just stay here while my dad is worrying himself sick!", she cried out.

''Then what's the problem? You could get your dad and stay here with him. You'd need the permission of that border-youkai, of course, but I'm sure I can persuade her", I told her. She seemed to calm down.

''But there's another matter... why would nobody ever do something. I'm sure the teachers noticed them bullying you. There has to be something else."

''Yes... it's Emma's dad. They aren't doing anything because of him. He's a famous lawye-" CRACK

I stood up, the remains of my Rod in my one hand, the other clenched to a fist.

''Excuse me, please.", my voice was shaking with suppressed rage, ''I'll go get a new Rod. I believe you told me enough and you should probably go.", I didn't wait for them to respond and just walked out of the room. I was furious and needed to talk to Yukari about immigrations to Gensokyo... and something else.

A/N: So, here comes the first interlude. I hope I've portrayed miss Yamaxanadu accurately. If not, I'll probably improve this chapter later, anyways. And thats to the guest 'TJG' for the idea... I think I'll implement it one way or the other.

-Azralan