Rumia's eyes opened, and she was in a place she did not recognize. A wooden ceiling. The warmth of a fire crackling a short distance away. Shadows of snakes and frogs.
She didn't even have a chance to raise herself up out of what she assumed must be a bed, to look around at the location she was in, before a familiar face popped over her, tounge sticking out slightly, one eye closed, winking happily.
"Surprise~" Kogasa said. "You're at Moriya Shrine and you've been conked out for a whole week!"
Rumia just chuckled that of all of her friends to greet her, it was the one she hadn't been able to find during the incident.
"What took you so long Kogasa?" Rumia joked.
"I didn't know." the karakasa said, moving away from being right over Rumia's face, letting her sit up. "I feel kinda guilty cause maybe if I was there, you wouldn't be so tired, or maybe some people wouldn't have got so hurt."
For once, Kogasa actually seemed a little sad. Rumia looked around and saw no-one else in the room.
"Where is everyone?" Rumia asked.
"Well, Cirno left with Letty again, Dai went to make sure the lake fairies didn't go on a riot, and me, Mysti and Wriggle have been taking turns!" Kogasa explained, happy again now her mind was off the previous topic, before she clonked herself on the head with her free hand. "I gotta tell Sanae!"
Kogasa flew out of the room, opening a door to what seemed like a larger one. Moments later, Sanae ran in, followed by Kogasa.
"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't know what was going on and no-one told me until Reimu came and Kanako forbade me to go and people got hurt and..." Sanae blubbered quickly, on the verge of tears with guilt.
"Calm down Sanae. It's not your fault." Rumia said, before she realized something. "Wait... Kanako forbade you to go?"
"Yes... I don't know why, but she looked upset when Reimu left, a look of guilt. Almost like a couple of times before when her plans backfired." Sanae said.
Rumia just facepalmed. Kanako was legendary in Gensokyo for goofing things up with her conspirices and plots. Even Sanae had been known to call Kanako out on it in the past.
"I need to talk to Kanako." Rumia said.
"... About that. She's busy. She demanded she have Rika. She's been locked in her room with her for the whole week you've been ou..." Sanae began, before a voice called.
"Sanae! Kanako's out of her room! She wants to talk to you and the others!"
The voice, of course, was Suwako, as Rumia found out when she was introduced a few times before, when she visited Dinner the Frog a couple of times. Suwako was an Earth Goddess, who's motif was a frog. Kanako was also there, holding Rika in a rather undignified fashion. The scientist was kicking and screaming and howling, but Kanako refused to even react, just sipping a sake dish in her other hand. Rumia knew Kanako a little too, although they'd never spoken.
"So... why did you stop Sanae helping?" Rumia asked the goddess.
"Now that I have seen the face of the culprit, I am sure of what I suspected. While Sanae was out, a human came up to the shrine, and flattered me. She asked for information about the reactor event at the Kappa Village, and I told her when it was happening, and how long it was expected to run for. I did not see anything wrong with telling her this, I was not aware of what trouble letting this human know would cause." Kanako said, her voice sounding proud and mighty.
"Except, ya'know, maybe if she was flattering you that much Kanako, you should have been suspicious if all she was askin' for was some information." Suwako teased. "It's not like she was askin' for a blessing or anything."
Kanako just glared at the other goddess, and she shrunk back a little. It was clear which goddess wore the trousers in this shrine.
"As for what I have been doing for the last week, I have been testing this girl. I have not given her food or water, yet her health is the same. This means one simple thing, although the test is the most crude possible way of finding out." Kanako said.
"What does it mean?" everyone except Rika asked. Rika had suddenly gone quiet, and still, as if she was dreading what Kanako was about to say.
"In her zeal and single-mindedness. In her devotion to her goal... Rika transcended her human self. She didn't even realize, but she became the very thing she wished to destroy. She's a youkai." Kanako said.
Rika's temper exploded. She started howling insults that made even the goddess cringe, for calling her a youkai. The language Rumia heard that moment she hadn't even heard 'Drunken Rage Reimu' say before. She didn't even know those kind of words existed.
Kanako had enough, and bashed Rika's head into her sake dish. Rika shut up, and the dish was fine.
"Anyway, she's only still alive because you left her alive. No-one else could bring themselves to kill her either. Personally, I think for someone as twisted as her, living life as something she wished to destroy is a fate worse than death anyway." Kanako said.
"Maybe she'll be nice now she's a youkai~" Kogasa said.
"I just hope she dosen't jump off the other deep end and want to commit genocide on humans." Sanae added.
"You do know it's possible for her to still want genocide on youkai, right? When she's done she just commits sui..." Suwako begins, before Kanako interrupts.
"Thank you Suwako, we don't need that possibility explained, or ideas put into her head." Kanako said.
"... I'm not a youkai. I'm not sure what kind of torture this is, but I'm not a youkai." Rika said quietly. "I'll kill all of you youkai for the humans to prosper."
She looked at Rumia.
"And you, I'll make you pay for your mistake. I'll kill you personally."
Kanako dropped the scientist, who got up, and ran out of the shrine
"Looks like you have an Arch-Enemy~" Kogasa said, spinning around.
"Arch-Enemy?" Reimu asked.
"Kinda like Toyosatomimi is to Hijiri. They hate each other those two." Kogasa explained.
"I'd call her more of a rival." Sanae said. "Like me and Reimu."
"What are you two talking about?" Rumia asked the Shrine Maiden and Karakasa.
Kanako and Suwako looked at each other.
"Ten jars of sake she's an Arch-Nemesis and not a Rival." Suwako whispered.
"You're on." Kanako replied.
Two days later, Rumia had met back up with Wriggle and Mystia, and told them what happened. She had also told Remilia and Meilng.
Daiyousei had resolved to get stronger, so she didn't need Cirno for protection anymore. However, she wasn't sure how to get stronger. Oddly, when she talked to Meiling about it, the gatekeeper got Sakuya, who brought her inside the Scarlet Mansion, despite the earlier rules. That said, Daiyousei was clearly not like other fairies.
Rumia, however, was waiting in the Myouren Graveyard. Kogasa was not there again, and the snow fell.
Yoshika hopped over to her.
"Roomia!" she said happily. "Why were you calling for Yoshika?"
"I'm ready to see Nyang-Nyang." Rumia said.
Yoshika's eyes lit up, before she made a symbol in the snow with her feet, by hopping around. She then stood in the middle, and quietly said "Nyang-Nyang!"
The crudely hopped magic circle glowed, and moments later, Seiga appeared, a sly grin on her face.
"Just as you were told, Yoshika. Well done." Seiga said, rubbing the Jiang-Shi on the head again, before looking at Rumia.
"So you're ready? I didn't expect you so soon. You won't have that much time to play with your friends when we begin the training. You'll have time, but nowhere near as much as before."
Rumia looked up into the sky.
"People got hurt. I almost sunk back into killing people. I need to be stronger so I can control that dark desire." Rumia said.
Seiga looked shocked.
"You know what... at first, I planned to help you myself, alone, however now, after hearing that, I think my three... acquaintances could help you as well. Take my hand." Seiga said.
Rumia took the hermit's outreached hand, before she smiled warmly.
"Senkai." she said, and with a flash, the two were gone.
Rumia was in some kind of building. There were all kinds of Taoist scriptures and art, lined along the black and white walls. The place was spotless, and felt... calm.
"This is a special dimension where Hermits come to train and worship. You have very privileged to be a guest here." Seiga said. "This place exists in every tiny gap in the world, such as the space between two floorboards."
There were three strangers in front of Rumia. One was a ghost, wearing a green dress. One was a hermit, wearing some ornate outfit, and the final one, in the center, Rumia knew, if only from the Bunbunmaru. It was the saint, Toyosatomimi No Miko.
"Soga, Miko, Futo. How would you say we work together to make Gensokyo's first youkai incident-resolver?" Seiga said.
The trio of Taoists looked at each other, and nodded, before Miko spoke. Her voice was soft, and gentle, but also proud.
"I do not see an issue, if she is willing to learn."
And with those words; Rumia's training to control not only Dark Energy, but also the darkness within her, began.
Tenma sat inside his hut, the hut at the highest point in the Tengu Villiage, drinking sake from his gourd. The gourd was won in a bet against an Oni, and while not like Suika's gourd of endless sake, it was still finely made, tough enough to withstand a brawl between two Oni without a scratch.
He opened one eye, and put down his sake.
"It's not often you come to visit, Yukari." Tenma said.
"I believe the last time was shortly after Hijiri was unsealed." Yukari said.
"Want a drink?" Tenma asked.
"No thank you. I'm here to discuss something." Yukari said.
"How very unlike you to refuse a drink. This must be serious." Tenma said.
"You met the darkness youkai. What did you think of her?" Yukari asked.
Tenma thought for a few moments, stroking his chin.
"Good egg, but just an egg. The true her hasn't hatched yet." Tenma said. "I'd like to see what becomes of her when she breaks out of the egg, fledges and flies."
"Interesting. Remilia saw potential in her too, as did Byakuren. Even Kazami expressed interest in her unsealed state."
Tenma took another swig of sake upon hearing the last part of Yukari's sentence.
"Even Kazami? Well, that makes four. What about you?" Tenma asked.
"Would I be here asking you if I was not interested?" Yukari replied, answering Tenma's question with a question.
"What about those around her?"
"I would say right now, if she was to unlock her full power, many of the lesser youkai would be with her, the lake fairies, the Karakasa, as would Marisa and Alice. In addition, she is forming connections with the Taoists." Yukari said. "That is quite a considerable group of allies, discounting the Scarlet Mansion, who's allegiances would lie with Remilia."
"So... it's settled then. When she regains her full power, we all need to meet up and decide if five... will become six." Tenma says.
"Oh no. Five is a magic number. It wouldn't stay six for long..." Yukari said quietly.
"What do you mean, Yukari..." Tenma asked.
"Nothing!" Yukari said, startled. "I said nothing. Nothing you were supposed to hear. Excuse me."
Tenma blinked, and he forgot what Yukari had said just moments before, Yukari having manipulated the border of memory.
"Well then, now that is settled, I shall be on my way." Yukari said, before leaving Tenma's hut.
Tenma was quiet for a few moments.
"Rumia eh? I wonder what she'll be like when she spreads her wings."
Author Notes:
With that, Arc 3 ends, and next chapter will be about things that happen during Rumia's training, which set up for Arc 4.