Chapter 12: Youmu

Winter in Gensokyo that year would long be remembered for the trouble caused by Rumia and Kana; both for their initial violent rampage, and the less deadly antics that ensued in the following months.

Spring had arrived, however. And with it, Rumia and Kana seemed to have ceased their activities. It had been almost two weeks since they'd left the Hakurei Shrine, and they had put in very few appearances over the few days following their departure. In the most recent week, no one outside of Makai had claimed to have seen either of them at all. Nor had anyone really ventured into Makai to seek them out, either. No one in Gensokyo was quite so insane.

Most of those who attended the Netherworld flower viewing party (though it was more of a social gathering and celebration than anything else) that day were quite glad that those two had not decided to make an appearance as of yet. Although Youmu was not quite so glad to see how many people actually did turn up. She couldn't consider herself surprised, though. It was the first of any sort of major celebration since before Rumia's first appearance, and Yuyuko had sought to invite half of Gensokyo, it seemed. By the look of things, almost everyone she'd invited had shown up.

Youmu didn't bother trying to put names to everyone she saw, it was too hard to keep track, though she took note of a few of the larger groups that had shown up. Remilia and Sakuya had shown up from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, along with a small collection of her fairy maid servants. Near Remilia was the tengu reporter, Aya. Reimu and Marisa were talking with the group from the Moriya Shrine not far from the mansion's group. Ran kept a close eye on Chen, who seemed to be wandering around on her own, while Yukari conversed with Yuyuko close by. Youmu noticed Byakuren and Utsuho talking with Miasma and Hana. Curiously, she didn't notice many others from the Myouren Temple, and absolutely no one else from underground (she could've sworn that Yuyuko had sent invitations to the underground youkai as well, so it was rather odd that not a single one had shown up).

There was one person in particular that Youmu did not recognize that caught her interest; the ghostly-looking woman with dark green hair floating near Yuuka Kazami, where the two seemed to be keeping to themselves. She was not a person that Youmu knew, yet she sensed that the woman must have been extremely powerful, and of some renown. Youmu turned to look at Yomi, who had been silent for quite some time now, observing the interactions of the various party attendees. "Sensei," Youmu asked, "do you know that woman talking with Yuuka?"

Yomi glanced in Yuuka's direction and narrowed her eyes. She gazed at the two with such intensity that Youmu imagined she must have been trying to listen in on their conversation. "That's Mima," she said, finally. "An evil spirit, and a powerful mage."

"So that's Mima?" Youmu had heard stories from Reimu about her, but had never met her personally, or known what she looked like. No one had told her that Mima had returned to Gensokyo after all these years. "How do you know her?"

"I met both her and Yuuka Kazami many years ago, when Lady Yuyuko was still alive. She was troublesome back then, and I've been keeping an eye on her ever since she arrived." Youmu knew surprisingly little about her new master's past; Yomi tended to keep those things secret.

Over the past several weeks since Rumia's defeat in Makai, Yomi had offered to train Youmu to become what she considered to be a proper swordswoman. Needless to say, her training was intense, and at times, even harsh. Youmu had used this time to try and learn about her sensei's past, and her relationship with Lady Yuyuko, but had learned very little. She could only say for certain that Yomi had served Yuyuko at least until the time of her death, and that she'd left the Netherworld near the outbreak of the Lunar War. Despite having been gone for so long, however, Yomi knew surprisingly much about many of Gensokyo's residents; even those she'd never met personally.

Youmu glanced between Yomi and the evil spirit, Mima. Yomi seemed to be carefully analyzing the other's every action, from how she laughed at something Yuuka whispered to her, to the way she'd scan the crowd of party goers. "She doesn't seem to be causing any trouble, sensei. Shouldn't we try to relax, and at least enjoy the party for a bit?

"There's much to be learned from your enemies, even in times of peace, Youmu." Yomi knelt down beside her student, and placed a hand on her shoulder, directing her to look at Mima. "You need to be aware of their actions at all times. You can see that she has been wary to leave Yuuka's presence the whole time she's been here, and the only others I've seen her speak with have been that young woman, Marisa, and the other members of Yuuka's own household. What does this tell you?"

Youmu thought about the question carefully. A wrong answer could reflect badly on her own attentiveness, especially after her weeks of training with Yomi. "Mima has been gone from Gensokyo for about a decade, so..." Youmu glanced through the gathering of people in the Hakugyokurou, and finally realized what she hoped Yomi was trying to relate. "... she doesn't know most of the people here today. Byakuren and the Moriya Shrine only appeared in Gensokyo recently, and Remilia only gained real notoriety after the Scarlet Mist Incident, which was after Mima left."

Yomi smiled (a rare thing) and then stood back to her full height. "Very good Youmu. But take note of how she scans the crowd." Youmu had noticed this as well. Whenever the conversation between Mima and Yuuka would fall silent for a time, Mima would peer through gathering of humans, youkai, and some others. "I believe she's looking for someone in particular. Someone from Gensokyo that she knows, but isn't here."

"Do you have any idea who she might be looking for?" Youmu asked. She was amazed by Yomi's powers of observation, as she never would've reached the same conclusion on her own.

Yomi merely shook her head, and did not speak. Mima happened to glance in their direction, and noticed the two staring. She grinned, and offered Yomi a casual wave, wiping the smile from the woman's face. "I have my suspicions that those two are hiding something, but we won't discuss that in such a crowded setting.

Youmu might have tried to prod Yomi with further questions, but Yuyuko drifted over, and put their conversation to a stop before it could even begin. "Oh, Yomi.~ You don't have to be so serious all the time, dear." She latched herself onto Yomi's side, and gave her a brief kiss on the cheek. Yomi flushed a light pink, and turned her head away from Yuyuko with her eyes closed.

"Someone needs to be serious around here," she stated. "Between you and that gap youkai friend of yours, I'm surprised you haven't trashed this place. At least Youmu tried to keep you in line."

"Oh, that hurts Yomi.~" Yuyuko gave the other woman a look that seemed almost sad. "You were never so mean when I was younger. In fact, I seem to remember that you-"

"T-that's enough about the past, Lady Yuyuko." Yomi tried to pry herself free of Yuyuko's hold, and the ghostly woman relented, with a satisfied giggle. If all she'd wanted was to fluster Yomi a bit, than she'd succeeded.

That was another matter that irked Youmu to some degree. She had seen the way Yuyuko and Yomi acted around each other, and could speculate that there was something between the two. Or at least, there had been. Yomi was as guarded about that as she was about everything else, and Yuyuko was simply Yuyuko. Youmu could never get a straight answer out of her, even if she'd asked directly. She was grateful and honored for Yomi's training, but she couldn't help but feel like a third wheel. But, then again, perhaps she felt the same way sometimes about Yuyuko and Yukari as well... Maybe she was just overly protective of Yuyuko, and had a habit of becoming more jealous than she should have.

Yuyuko hovered over toward Youmu, seeming to ignore Yomi for the moment, and nudged her from behind. "Youmu dear, why don't you go out and enjoy the party, and have some fun with your little friends? You put so much effort into helping us put this together, you really should go enjoy yourself.~"

"You... aren't just saying that to try and get me to leave, are you Lady Yuyuko?"

Yuyuko looked almost offended by the mere notion. "No, of course not!" Yuyuko pouted, and suddenly, Youmu was the one that felt bad. Yuyuko seemed to make a habit of that as well. "I can have my alone time with Yomi any time I want." Yomi made an irritable grunt. "You don't need to be so jealous all the time, Youmu dear.~"

Youmu merely sighed. She knew, of course, that Yuyuko was right. When was she ever not? Through all of her crazy whims, Yuyuko was always right in the end, it seemed. There was just no point in arguing. "Yes, Lady Yuyuko."

"You don't need to sound so depressed about having fun, Youmu.~" Yuyuko said, teasingly.

"Yes, Lady Yuyuko," Youmu sighed. Yuyuko shook her head with a look of exasperation. Youmu simply resigned herself to obeying Yuyuko's request to leave the two alone, and go join the rest of the party.

Youmu was barely even paying attention to the words and reactions of those around her, but it didn't take long for her to realize the unsettling silence that had fallen through the crowd. Unwittingly, Youmu had stepped almost directly into the source of the unease that gripped everyone; the growing, swirling mass of foggy darkness that had gathered near the center of the party space. By the time she'd finally noticed (or rather, she stepped right into it), Youmu collided directly with the shadowy figure emerging from within it.

Youmu fell sprawling to the ground with a cry of surprise. "Oh! Sorry, sorry!" came the voice of the woman who'd emerged from the shadows. Rumia stepped over, kneeling toward Youmu with her hand outstretched. "Are you okay?"

Youmu panicked, and scrambled away from the dark youkai, back toward Yuyuko and Yomi. Rumia frowned slightly, having been spurned by the half-ghost girl. Shinki stepped out from the darkness next, and placed a comforting hand on Rumia's shoulder, who stood back to her full height. "Sorry we're so late," Shinki apologized, mostly to Yuyuko.

Of course, it wasn't really the so-called 'evil Rumia' that Youmu had bumped into, but the 'good Rumia' that had been split off from the original. Even those in Gensokyo who hadn't met this other Rumia, who had now taken to calling herself 'Rumi' so that people could differentiate between the two more easily, knew about what Yukari had done. Youmu was well aware of this, but bumping into either Rumia like that would've given just about anyone a fright.

Youmu turned her head to look back at Yuyuko. "You sent invites to Makai too...!?"

"Well of course I did, silly Youmu.~" Yuyuko answered. "I sent invites to everyone in Gensokyo that I know. Both Rumias included." Yuyuko turned to face the newly arrived couple from Makai, and gave the two a friendly smile. "I'm glad you both could make it. Are Rumia and Kana coming as well?"

"Afraid not," Rumi said. "We asked, but Rumia said they had other plans."

"At least we have that to be grateful for," Kanako proclaimed rather loudly. "Those two cause nothing but trouble everywhere they go." Rumi simply stared down to the ground, looking almost ashamed of herself.

"Oh, don't be so hard on those two, Kanako," Yuyuko said. "If anything, they've livened Gensokyo up a bit lately.~ And they aren't hurting anyone, are they?"

"I don't suppose those two trashed your home, did they?"

"And besides that," Yuyuko continued, ignoring Kanako's response, "I seem to recall how much trouble you caused everywhere you went, not so long ago. Or did I simply imagine that~?"

Kanako glared sharply at the ghostly princess, but said nothing. Yuyuko had made her point plainly enough, and to argue it would only be making herself look worse.

"I think I actually agree with Yuyuko," Remilia said, as she approached Rumi and Shinki, with the rest of her mansion's residents in tow. "All anyone did since we beat Rumia in Makai was mope around, trying to figure out whatever the hell actually happened."

"Mistress... please remember about the thing I told you to keep secret." Sakuya frowned down at her vampire mistress, who seemed to consider what Sakuya had reminded her about, before she considered speaking again. "And besides that... I can't believe you'd still side with Rumia after everything she did at the mansion."

Remilia shrugged her shoulders. "I got you out of the basement before Flandre could do anything really bad, didn't I?"

"That's not the point!"

"Even I have to say, that Rumia has proven herself to be nothing more than a nuisance," Aya said, from near the mansion group. "I tried to set up an interview with the two of them merely a few days ago. Rumia even agreed to it, telling me to meet her outside of Makai the very next morning." Aya sighed heavily. "I suspected that they would be late, but I ended up waiting there for three hours before I finally returned home, only to find that they'd trashed my office while I was waiting for them."

A few members of the crowd laughed quietly to themselves at this; Yuyuko being among them. Perhaps the situation was amusing to those that had not actually been on the receiving end of Rumia and Kana's antics, and were merely witnessing the aftermath of their actions toward others. Youmu knew full well that Rumia had never actually paid the Netherworld a visit, so it was no wonder that Yuyuko found it so funny.

"I didn't think they'd been that bad..." Rumi seemed to be somewhat saddened by the news of her counterpart's actions. "Rumia told us yesterday that they hadn't been to Gensokyo at all in almost a week."

"The two of them spent several days at my shrine before they disappeared for a while," Reimu said. "Good riddance to them. Hopefully they'll stay in Makai from now on."

"Oh, don't be so hard on those two," Shinki responded. "They've just been a bit restless, is all."

"They really have calmed down a lot since this whole thing started," Rumi continued. She smiled up at Shinki, and hugged the taller woman around the waist. "I'm sure things will calm down even more once Kana has her baby."

A wave of shocked muttering and a few baffled outcries of confusion moved its way throughout the gathering. "What do ya mean Kana's havin' a baby!?" was Marisa's particular exclamation.

Rumi and Shinki looked at each other, concerned, before Shinki turned to address the confused and outraged people of Gensokyo. "We... thought you must have known by now. Didn't they tell you?"

"She didn't tell anyone anything, as far as I know!" Reimu said, coming up to the two from Makai. "When did this even happen? I didn't even know poltergeists could have children..."

"Well, Kana told me about... two weeks ago now?" If Rumi's knowledge was to be trusted, then it was clear that the two had known for quite some time during their little 'rampage' across Gensokyo. Had they only found out recently, perhaps that might have explained their recent absence. "I'm surprised they didn't tell anyone... I thought that was why they left Makai all those times after we found out."

"All they've done is cause trouble." There were some other muttered agreements in the group, but most were kept between themselves and those closest in proximity, whereas only Reimu and the few others nearby spoke to Rumi or Shinki directly. "I can't believe you two still let them live in Makai. I can't begin to imagine how much worse they must act toward everyone there."

"Actually, we don't hear much of them," Shinki said to Reimu. "They tend to keep to themselves. I couldn't get rid of them even if I tried, Reimu. I have no idea where they actually live."

"It's your world though, ain't it? Shouldn't ya be able to track em down?" Marisa asked. Shinki merely smiled, and shook her head.

"They've concealed themselves with powers beyond even my understanding. Although I do have an idea where they might be hiding... but I'd rather not get involved in their business."

"I think we should be happy for them, anyway," Rumi said, mostly toward Reimu and Marisa, but also speaking loudly enough so that almost anyone would have heard her. "I think having a baby will probably calm those two down considerably."

Youmu looked at both Reimu and Marisa, who still seemed doubtful, and then toward Rumi and Shinki. She had not yet encountered Rumia or Kana since that day in Makai, and so she could not be sure. "Well... even if it doesn't... they should both at least be pretty busy taking care of the child to spend too much time in Gensokyo from now on, don't you think?"

"Any spawn of Rumia is likely to be the same as her," Yomi announced suddenly. It was the first time she'd spoken to anyone but Youmu or Yuyuko since the start of the party, and no one had expected her to speak. "Rumia is a sadist and a psychopath, and Kana is a mentally unstable child, at best. We may be rid of them for a few months, but any child those two raise together will only be a threat to the stability of Gensokyo."

"I really don't think they're that bad-"

"I'd sooner have them both killed before they can bring that child into the world," Yomi said, cutting off Rumi before she could even finish. Her harsh words were followed by an almost complete silence, with no one sure how to follow up on them. Even Youmu was shocked by her master's drastic opinion. The thought of killing Rumia and Kana, especially now that she was pregnant, was almost too horrifying to consider. Even if they were talking about Rumia and Kana, of all people.

"No one is killing anyone!" Shinki shouted back at Yomi. The elder swordswoman crossed her arms, and glared silently at the Makai goddess. "Haven't we had enough of that already? Suppose you do go after Rumia and Kana. How many more will die trying to take them down?"

"I don't really... agree with Yomi." Miasma stepped up, and glanced between Yomi, and the Makai duo uncertainly. She then glanced over at Yuuka, and almost seemed to shy away back toward Byakuren and Hana. Yet, she continued nonetheless. "We probably shouldn't go after them. But someone should probably keep an eye on them. To make sure that they don't start planning another actual attack on Gensokyo."

Yomi stared over at the young half-youkai girl for a moment, closed her eyes, and then turned around, and stepped back toward Yuyuko, having no more so say. Miasma seemed to be relieved for that, at least. "I haven't forgotten all the people that Rumia has killed. Including my mom. You should know that better than anyone," she said to Rumi.

"Yes, I remember..." Rumi agreed. "We'll do our best to keep an eye on them, whenever possible."

"Now, Yomi.~ Look what you did, killing the mood like that." Yuyuko could be heard scolding Yomi, as she led the other woman off, away from the rest of the partygoers. "You really need to lighten up sometimes. I would've thought after all these years, you might have learned that.~"

"As you've done, no doubt?" Yomi asked. Her question was met with a surprisingly stern look from the Netherworld princess. "... Understood, Lady Yuyuko."

"Good! The rest of you enjoy the party, now.~" Yuyuko said to everyone else, her smile and casual demeanor returning. "Youmu, be a dear, and make sure to clean up once everyone else has gone.~"

With that, Yuyuko and Yomi departed, leaving Youmu to deal with managing the party all by herself. At the very least, with Yomi gone, some of the tension had lifted, and conversation resumed among the guests. Although, almost all of it was centered on Rumia and Kana in one way or another. One question at least remained unanswered, even by Rumi or Shinki; where had Rumia and Kana gone that day instead of the Netherworld?