The spirit Amenosagume was left in great pain, and for five days and nights, she did not stir.
Sagume waited in a plaza near the edge of the capital. She'd managed to find a teahouse nearby, and fumbled her way through brewing a cup of tea for herself, leaving a handful of change on the counter to cover it. It sat on the table in front of her, its steam frozen in the air, just like everything else.
The capital was quiet now. She'd always thought of it as a peaceful place, but now that every citizen had been evacuated and even the buildings hung frozen in time, it was so quiet that she could hear her own pulse. She tried to make noise to cover it up, clearing her throat and jotting down notes now and then. Around her, the only movement was the occasional blur of the many spiritual drones she'd activated, squadrons of orbs silently hovering down the streets on a hunt for impurity. Just because help had arrived didn't mean she could lower her guard just yet.
As quiet as it was, she still didn't notice footsteps approaching until they were within ten meters. She looked up from her notebook, as Reisen walked down the street toward her. The rabbit looked rather the worst for wear, one ear drooping even more than usual, with a few gouges through her clothes and sweat shining on her skin. She was alive, though. Which meant...
"I did it," Reisen said. "It's over."
"You found her lair?"
"A blonde lady with red eyes, sounds sort of old-fashioned and likes making big speeches? Is there more than one of those up here now?"
"That's her. And you defeated her?"
"Right. She said the fairies will be gone soon."
"Well done. You might be a criminal, but the people of the moon owe you a debt."
"Well er, thanks. I don't know about 'debt'..." Closing the last of the distance between herself and Sagume, Reisen slumped down to lean against the plaza wall. "But I could really go for something to drink."
Sagume pried the details of the confrontation out of Reisen as the rabbit rested and recovered. Reisen was reluctant at first, but soon caved in, describing the battle in a calm, thoughtful manner. She had an eye for tactics. She could have become a ranking figure in the Lunarian army if she'd stayed behind.
More important... Eirin had sent her. Eirin had sent this rabbit.
The revelation had nearly floored her when she realized it. Eirin had sent this rabbit.
After Eirin's desertion, Sagume had tried every method she could think of to pinpoint her location, but none of them managed to pierce through the veil that Eirin had raised around the residence. Only within the past decade had it even become apparent that they were within Gensokyo. Before that she hadn't even been sure that Eirin was alive. She'd had her doubts, from time to time. What if the Hourai Elixir hadn't worked as advertised? She'd woken up from more than a few nightmares on the topic, dead friends from ages long past, with Eirin's face instead of their own.
And now in front of her was a rabbit who would speak with Eirin again within the hour.
"When Eirin sent you..." Sagume said, keeping her tone neutral for reasons that, for once, had nothing to do with her abilities. "Did she tell you what was happening up here?"
"I don't think she was sure, either."
"Of course. It's just... if Eirin sent you to help the moon through this crisis..."
"Er, I think you're forgetting that you sent a giant robot spider to attack Gensokyo. We really didn't have much say in the matter."
"... of course."
Reisen took a sip of her drink and tilted her head back to rest against the wall, rolling the tension out of her shoulders. After a few seconds, she laughed under her breath. "It's kind of weird, though. As soon as she heard what was going on, she knew that you were involved, Lady Sagume."
"Did she...?"
"Mmhm. She said that you... well, she said you were the only one who'd come up with such a ruthless approach. I guess she's right. If the moon were going to invade Gensokyo, I'd expect more of a brute force, 'we're here to liberate you' sort of thing."
Reisen sounded bitter, but Sagume didn't even notice. Her attention was elsewhere entirely. Ruthless. There was a word she hadn't heard in ages. She allowed herself a slight smile. "She's as sharp as ever."
"That isn't the half of it. She's a good teacher, but my brain usually feels like an old dishrag by the end of our lessons. She did say some other things, but—" Reisen stopped mid-sentence, trailing off uncertainly.
"But?"
"Actually, I probably shouldn't repeat them..."
Sagume tried to hide her interest by taking a sip of her tea. Still warm, despite the fact that she hadn't touched it for hours. "I'm curious now."
Reisen hesitated, but tilted her head, letting one ear droop to the side as she remembered. "... she said it was ironic for... for you to be on this side of purifying the Earth this time. It didn't really make any sense to me, but..."
But Sagume was no longer listening. Her fingers tightened around the handle of her teacup until she thought it was going to snap. Heavenly spirits, high and mighty and thinking that they can take whatever they want because they're stronger. It was a familiar situation, now that she thought about it that way. She veiled her mouth behind a hand, but still couldn't hide the way that she practically hissed her reply out through gritted teeth. "That isn't what happened. Everything I've done has been to protect people. To protect the people that she brought here."
Reisen's eyes went wide. "A-ah, well, I don't really know the details myself, but..."
Sagume moved stiffly, choosing her movements with the same care and restraint that she usually showed with her words. She sat the cup down on the table. She rose upward and took a breath of the stale air to steady her voice. "Your assistance is no longer needed, earth rabbit," she said, without looking to her. "You are dismissed."
Overwhelmed, Reisen fumbled her way through a series of apologies and goodbyes, but Sagume heard none of them. Screams from ancient Izumo were echoing in her head.
