Chapter 6: Yukari

"You are not welcome here, Rumia! Haven't you done enough damage!?" Ran shouted out at the darkness youkai, who had only just seconds before materialized in Yukari's home. "Was killing Chen once not enough for you, you monster!?"

"Calm down, Ran," Yukari said, as she placed a hand on the shoulder of her shikigami to silence her. Yukari had been in the process of explaining to Ran the true history of events, involving The Voidborn, and the restoration of Gensokyo, when Rumia appeared before them. As much as she herself disliked and even feared Rumia, she was not exactly pleased with Ran's outburst. Yukari eyed the dark youkai carefully, and she could immediately sense that something was wrong about her, something that seemed slightly off. Perhaps just the simple lack of anything malicious in Rumia's expression at that moment was odd enough.

"I'm... sorry to barge in like this, really!" Rumia shouted, and bowed her head in a polite manner that Yukari never would've expected from the Rumia she knew. In her rage, Ran didn't seem to notice how strange Rumia was acting, but Yukari certainly did. "I just didn't know who else to come to, and I needed to ask for a favor."

"A favor!? Do you really think that either of us will help you with-"

"Leave, Ran," Yukari stated, interrupting the other woman before she had the chance to finish.

"Lady Yukari, you can't seriously be willing to give in to this... this murderer's demands, can you!?" Ran looked utterly baffled, and Yukari saw Rumia frown slightly. She almost seemed saddened, in a way that was as unnatural as everything else she'd displayed in the past few moments.

"Whether or not I do what she asks depends on what she has to say." Yukari spoke with the utmost seriousness, and in a manner that would allow for no argument. She was still Ran's master, after all, and her word was law to her shikigami, whether Ran liked it or not. "Leave, Ran," Yukari repeated. "I won't repeat myself a second time."

For a moment, Yukari was almost certain that Ran would protest once again; and Ran did hesitate briefly. Finally, Ran put her hands together and turned away from her master, and stepped out of the room, sparing only a short, curt glance at Rumia.

Yukari did not speak again until Ran had left the room, and had shut the door behind her. Even then, she remained silent for a time, regarding the Rumia that stood before her. She was so unlike the Rumia who had murdered Chen, along with so many others. And yet, Yukari knew this Rumia as well. "You're the old Rumia. The one who was active when your powers were sealed away."

Rumia smiled. There was actual kindness behind it, and Yukari felt that she'd guessed right. "Is it that obvious?"

"The Rumia I've dealt with for these past few days never would've been able to fake that level of sincerity. No matter how clever she thinks she is." Yukari noted that Rumia's facial expression seemed to twitch slightly, but only briefly. "The other one is still in there, isn't she?"

"Yes... but I don't think she... knows quite why I'm here," Rumia said, and she cast her eyes aside in thought. If the other Rumia was deep in her mind somewhere, waiting to take hold, it must've taken a considerable amount of effort to keep her at bay. "But I knew if I wanted to get this done, it'd have to be now. While I still had the strength to keep her dormant."

"I have a feeling I know what's happened. That seal I put on you must have split your personality. It's probably due to the amount of time you were sealed that resulted in the drastic division between your two selves." When Yukari had placed the seal on Rumia in the first place, she had never expected this sort of result. She'd been given the ribbon by another, who had assured her that it was powerful enough to keep Rumia's powers at a decidedly pitiful level, should she actually manage to place it on Rumia in the first place. Yukari did not know what had powered the seal, nor what it would do to Rumia's mind, except that it would put a damper on her intelligence as well. But to go to such lengths as splitting her personality in two... "I'm sure I can guess what it is you came to ask me. You want me to try and eliminate your other personality, or put her into a completely dormant state?"

"N-no! No, nothing like that!" This surprised Yukari, but she remained silent, so that Rumia could continue. "She has just as much right to exist as I do! Probably more, I guess, since she was here first. And I know Kana would be really upset if I had you do that."

"I doubt it's within the scope of my power to be able to eliminate her from your mind, anyway. My abilities have never had much of an effect on you, for whatever reason." Yukari had her suspicions as to why this might've been, but even now, a thousand years later, she would not allow her mind to drift off to think of the circumstances that had led to the day she'd obtained her powers. Yukari knew Rumia wanted something, however, but it would be difficult to determine if the limits on her own abilities would even allow it. That was yet to be seen. "Then tell me, Rumia. What do you want from me? I'd rather not waste both of our time, while your other self is still dormant."

"I don't want to just... destroy my other self. But I don't want to be stuck sharing this same body with her," Rumia explained, gesturing down at herself as she did. Yukari suspected now just what Rumia wanted, but she didn't bother interrupting the girl. "I was wondering, if... it could be possible for you to split us into separate bodies."

"You're asking me to create two Rumias, that would now be free to roam about Gensokyo, doing as they please," Yukari replied. "It's not just a matter of whether or not I can pull it off, although I imagine that if you both go along with this willingly, I probably could. It would be highly irresponsible of me to allow more than one Rumia to have free reign over Gensokyo, when one was bad enough."

"I guess so, but... you do believe me, right Yukari?" Rumia stared up at Yukari, with the utmost sincerity. The difference in her expression compared to that other Rumia was almost startlingly wide. Even if Yukari had wanted to will herself into believing that this was that same Rumia, she would've had a hard time pulling it off.

"Yes, Rumia. I suppose I do believe you. I can't imagine any scenario where you'd lie to me about this, when you could just as easily kill me before I'd have the chance to refuse."

"Well... there is one thing that might be able to sway you," Rumia smiled, and this time, there was a bit of the mischievous nature of that other Rumia in it. "If the other me decides to go on another rampage, well... you might feel safer knowing that there was another Rumia capable of standing against her."

Yukari chuckled briefly, and she returned Rumia's smile. "Frankly, I might actually be more terrified of you if both of your selves were to merge into one." And if the more evil Rumia were to take over again, and she actually liked the idea of having separate bodies, Yukari didn't want to be around knowing that she'd rejected the proposal. "Alright, Rumia. I'll do what I can."

"Oh, thank you!" Suddenly, Rumia jumped up and threw her arms around Yukari's shoulders, hugging the woman tightly, taking the gap youkai by surprise. Rumia sensed Yukari's unease and released her quickly enough, while laughing nervously. "Eheh, sorry about that... I was just a little bit excited."

"I noticed." Yukari brushed her hand along her shoulder and down her arm, smoothing out where her dress had been disturbed by Rumia's sudden embrace. "Then I'd rather get this over with quickly. You seem eager enough, and both Ran and Chen would surely feel safer knowing you were gone as soon as possible."

Rumia didn't reply to this, but there was something in her expression that suggested that some part of her may have been mildly hurt by the thought that they still feared her. Even if it was, after all, an entirely separate aspect of her personality that had instigated this fear. Rumia simply shook her head, and lifted her arms out for a short moment. "I'm ready, then. Do what you can, Yukari."

"We shall see," replied Yukari. She closed her eyes, and she reached one arm out to grab hold of Rumia's shoulder. She could feel the natural resistance that her body continued to put against her powers, or perhaps, it was her powers that simply would not act upon Rumia so easily. Whichever of the two it was, that resistance seemed to be greatly lessened by Rumia's force of will, allowing her defenses to be breached.

In that instant, a temptation crept into Yukari's mind. With Rumia standing before her now, defenses lowered and with her darker personality dormant, Yukari would have the perfect opportunity to rid the world of Rumia once and for all. She would never be able to take Rumia down in a fair fight (not while Rumia's defenses were up), and that ribbon she'd been sealed with had imparted Rumia with a kind of immortality that prevented Yukari from finishing the job she'd started. And would anyone in Gensokyo think less of Yukari for ripping Rumia's mind from her body, and disposing of both as she saw fit? Perhaps they might, but they wouldn't have to know, either. She would perhaps incur Kana's wrath in the aftermath, and that poltergeist was dangerous in her own right, as there was no telling how she might react to Rumia's disappearance.

Yukari opened her eyes once more, and stared down at Rumia, whose own eyes were closed. She trusted Yukari with her life at that moment, and she had no idea just what Yukari had been contemplating. She wondered, could she really kill Rumia, knowing that her good half would likewise be destroyed? Yes, Yukari realized, I could.

But she didn't.

She would have had no objections to killing both Rumias, good or evil, and not lose any sleep over her decision. No, it was that she simply doubted her ability to pull it off. Rumia's defenses were down, but that little bit of resistance was more than enough to prevent Yukari from killing Rumia in a single instant. And that little bit of delay would be more than enough to raise the evil Rumia to high alert, at which point she would no doubt kill not only Yukari, but Ran, Chen, Reimu, and anyone else she could think of that Yukari might have had any connection to. No, it simply wasn't worth the risk to her own well-being.

Yukari had to employ all of her strength to breach through Rumia's body and mind. She could feel both of those personalities lying inside of their shared mind; the kindly, innocent one who had approached Yukari that day, and the calculating, vicious mentality of the one who had caused her so much trouble. And they could both sense her, as well. They sensed the intruding presence of the gap youkai who sought to tear the two apart from each other for the first time, and neither attempted to intervene. For once, the two seemed to be in agreement about something.

Yukari placed her other hand, the other physical one, on Rumia's other shoulder. Inside of their joint consciousness, which Yukari's own now briefly inhabited by manipulating the border of body and mind, her mental hands each found one of the two Rumias. These two were much easier to pull apart, Yukari found, as they did so willingly. She had forced each of the two to one side of their shared body, but Yukari's physical hands were pulling Rumia at either shoulder. At that moment, if the two were to reject Yukari's presence, they would probably be stuck this way, with the dark Rumia controlling the left half of their body, and the good Rumia on the right; their minds no longer connected, but each acting independently within the same body.

Finally, when Yukari began to suspect that Rumia's body just wouldn't give, she felt her arms begin to pull apart from each other. Rumia's body glowed down the middle, and there was a sense of doubling out like staring at a bizarre sort of trick mirror or rippling effect. With one last push, the two Rumias, now of separate identical bodies, were pushed apart from each other, and sent sprawling to the floor on opposite ends of the room. Yukari stumbled backward onto her bed, and was forced to sit down. She hadn't felt this kind of exhaustion since the day she'd fought Rumia and sealed her powers away. The amount of energy it had taken to separate the two Rumias was almost unfathomable.

Both Rumias were stirring on the floor, disoriented from the act of being ejected from their shared body so violently, and into brand new ones. The 'evil' Rumia was the first to get to her feet, and she stared first at her hands, followed by the rest of her body, then down at the other Rumia, and then finally, over at Yukari. She scowled darkly at the gap youkai, saying nothing. She clenched her hands into fists, and unclenched them again, doing this several times, as though testing the muscles in her 'new' body.

"Are you satisfied now, Rumia?" Yukari asked. "Now you won't have to deal with anyone else in your mind actually trying to stop your evil acts."

Rumia grunted slightly, which was the only acknowledge that she'd even been listening. She said nothing to Yukari, not even a single word of thanks, before she vanished back into the shadows she claimed dominion over.

"I know she won't say it, but she really is grateful for what you've done for us," the other Rumia said, as she stumbled to her feet a bit more shakily than her counterpart had. "And I am, too. Far more than you could ever realize!"

"I don't care much for her thanks," Yukari replied, closing her eyes as she sighed in exhaustion. "Just be sure that you fulfill your end of the bargain. That you keep her from causing any more trouble."

"I will, I promise." Rumia stared up, not really at anything in particular, and broke out into a wide smile. "My mind has never felt so clear in all my life... There's no one else in there to mess with my thoughts, or conflict with my memories... and nothing sealing away my thoughts, either, like that ribbon you put on us." Rumia turned her attention back to Yukari. "Thank you again, Yukari. I really mean it. I know it must have been hard on you, spending all that energy to pull us apart. And not just that, either." Rumia continued to give off that warm smile, completely disarming in its genuine sweetness. "I know you must've been considering trying to kill me. That's what the other me seemed to think, anyway, and I think she was right. But I should still thank you for letting us both live."

"She never would've let me get that far. Otherwise I would have done it." There was no point in lying, not to this Rumia anyway, who it seemed would take no offense to Yukari's honesty. Her smile never faltered, even when Yukari admitted this. "Leave me, now. I'm tired, and I want to rest."

Rumia nodded, and like her counterpart, vanished into the shadows before Yukari's very eyes. The gap youkai fell backward onto the bed, with no real attempt to make herself comfortable. She was too tired, even for that. She supposed that she still had business to discuss with Ran, but that could wait. It was the last thing to run through her mind, before she slipped off into her long sleep. She probably wouldn't bother waking for several more days.