Eintei was gorgeous, as much as I hated to admit it, in a rustic sort of way. It stood in the middle of a huge clearing around the center of the Bamboo Forest of the lost, Large wooden walls surrounding an old manor that made me feel like I lived in a dollhouse by comparison. Yet at the same time, I'd seen it plenty of times. I'd more or less gotten over the awe of how impressive it was in favor of a simple loathing. The two annoyances I was currently toting around, however, didn't have such a benefit.
"Is this the doctor's house, teacher?" Tomoe was peering inwards through the open front gates. I'd rarely seen them closed; why bother? Not enough things lived in the forest in the first place to worry about a full time guard or anything. And, of course, even if something did come, well... It wasn't like it was empty. Even from where I stood I could see them; small girls that looked to be no older than the one I had escorted, milling around in the courtyard, "Who are all those people...?"
"Rabbit youkai, duh. Look at their ears." I said from a short way back, hands still firmly thrust in my pockets. They all did have big, fluffy, floppy ears coming out of their head. When I said the word "youkai" the small girl actively gasped. Her teacher had a much less pronounced reaction, however. How much did this lady know about youkai anyway? Regardless, I didn't need to watch a scared kid cowering behind one of us on the way in, "Sheesh, relax. Have you ever heard of a rabbit hurting someone? Just because something is a youkai doesn't mean it's gotta be scary. At least, not in Gensokyo."
She made a little pouting face at being scolded that I might have found cute if I didn't want to get this over with so badly. I looked up Keine with a sour expression and an indignant huff. This was my "business" look. It was one that could normally split a crowd in half if I didn't feel much like weaving my way through them, "So? What are you waiting for? Get in there and talk to them. Though I have to warn you... As far as I know, that stuffy witch in there doesn't share her medicines with anyone."
I was expecting her to be meek.. Or maybe angry... Who knows? All I was trying to do was push this lady away from me. I'd been saddled unfairly with toting her around and now I just wanted her to stop. I didn't care about how difficult that might have been to do, but I wasn't going to be held back by how off guard I had been caught by her looks the last time. Now it was more just a constant feeling of inadequacy; walking next to someone that looked like that while in the state I was in was humiliating, even if you were in the middle of the woods while doing it.
But this woman, a plain old schoolteacher, handled obstinate, angry old me with grace like I'd never seen before. It was almost like she didn't notice me staring daggers at her! She did, I'm sure, but I might as well have been grinning at her and handing her flowers the way she responded to me. Without a bit of hesitation, Keine bowed; that silky silver-and-blue hair dipping forward for a moment and covering her face before she straightened her back once more and regarded me with a smile: "Miss Fujiwara... I can't thank you enough for leading us here. I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't been with us. If there's anything I can do to repay you..."
No, no, no. What was with this lady? Could she really not do anything right? All she had to do was take the damned hint that I didn't want anything to do with her? Yet here she was apologizing for herself like this in such an earnest way that I actually felt my cheeks turning red. I bit my lip, looking over to the side and gave a response that made me want to punch myself: "Yeah, yeah. I still have to lead you back out. Don't get all excited yet." I managed to remain cold outwardly outside, but inside I wanted to just scream at myself for prolonging this experience even more out of embarrassment. I knew then and there that I had to entirely wash my hands of this situation as soon as possible.
Naturally, it was only just beginning. Our presence had begun to catch the attention of the busy rabbit youkai wandering around the courtyard grounds and one in particular had begun to move over to us. Most of the bunnies liked to dress in simplistic clothes (or maybe that's all they were given?) that didn't usually amount to anything more than plain little dresses. This one, who'd see as few times before, was different; she had some kind of weird blazer top and a short skirt, both of which looked neither cheap nor like anything you could really find in Gensokyo. Her hair was just about as long as mine, and her eyes were a rather stunning red.
Normally I saw her attached to the witch woman's hip, but today she was alone. Nevertheless, she had that same expression of fretfulness on her face as she always. Once she got within talking range, Keine actually took the initiative, she stopped, one hand on her hips... Looking at me rather than the people actually here to see her as she spoke, "Miss...? Um, the Princess isn't, um... Mistress told me not to let you see her right now. And, who are these people you've brought with you...?"
At the mention of "princess," Tomoe had the exact opposite reaction that she did to the mention of youkai. Her eyes lit up in a rather absurd fashion and I could see her mouth the word to herself, inaudibly. Nevertheless, I myself was a little annoyed. Yeah, sure, I never really came here unless I was in the mood to thrash Kaguya, but... Okay. I guess there wasn't a lot of reason to be annoyed. Before I could get around to correcting this presumptuous bunny, however, Keine cut in.
"Pardon me, miss... I've brought this girl here because I've been told that you have medicines far beyond those in the human village. Would it be all right if we visited your doctor?" She motioned to Tomoe, during her explanation, who seemed to have snapped back to reality as she shifted away from the rabbit youkai girl. Even with my earlier attempts to put her fears to rest, being around a youkai didn't appear to be something she wanted to do. I guess they taught their kids pretty thoroughly in that village.
"Medicines...? Ah, but, um... I'm afraid we don't..." This girl was stammering a lot and it was pissing me off. It was clearly that she wanted to tell these two to shove off as much as I did, but her eyes kept falling upon that little girl that was clearly cowering behind Keine's dress with a look of sympathy in them. She trailed off and fell back upon looking between both of them, clearly knowing the answer to the schoolteacher's inquiry but not wanting to just spit it out. Well, I guess I'd have to push her in the right direction.
"Look, why don't you just take her inside and get her to talk to the witch? What's the worst that could happen?" I grumbled. She looked up at me and made a face that very clearly spelled out "a lot," but she quickly shook her head.
"I.. I guess. Will you all follow me, please?" at last, she gave in, turning and making her way back into the courtyard. Keine shot me a little grin of thanks, to which I gave only a shrug, before she took Tomoe by the hand and began to follow. That just left me, and there was no way I was going to wait around out here. If you stood in sight of those other lazy rabbits long enough they'd eventually drop what they were doing and wander on up to you looking to play. I really wasn't in the mood for that.
But was I really in the mood for this either? As we walked up a short flight of stairs and through a pair of sliding doors in the front of the mansion, I pondered upon how I'd let myself get taken this far. I felt stupid, and profoundly so. This was valuable time that I could have been spending in peace and quiet. And yet here I was, wandering through this noisy hellhole full of scampering rabbit youkai! When was I finally going to put my foot down? Why hadn't I already?
We turned a corner and began to head down a long hallway. To our left, the wall had a large section of itself cut out in the shape of what I could only assume was a crescent moon... I guess the Lunarians were feeling homesick or something. As the others hurried on past it, each clearly quite interested in resolving this situation in their own way as soon as possible, I glanced into the room on the other side momentarily before stopping still.
Inside was a lavishly decorated sitting room, bright red walls with all manner of golden trim devoted to nothing more than a table and some floor cushions. But if that weren't enough to invoke my ire, its occupant was: Kaguya. Kaguya was sitting in there alone. It was the same sort of dignified posture you usually found her in; sitting with her knees below her at that table, kimono spilling out in all directions around her on the floor. It was a different one than the night before. It was different than the one from last night, that one having been bright red and this one more a subtle, simple pink. I felt a strange welling pride at the knowledge that I'd managed to ruin her clothes. Something so petty an inconvenience, even, was enough to make me smirk. When you're as old as me, you take what little victories you can get.
She turned her head to the side, not spotting me but giving me a good look at her. Quickly, I also found that I wasn't the only one worse for the wear this morning. She had a bandage set over one of the eyes that I'd been punching so hard that I'd managed to get it to swell shut, and the rest of it was riddled with scratches and bruises. More pride was piled upon that initial bit; even though it'd heal, I'd really left an impression on her during out last meeting. You might think me perverse or strange for reveling in how battered I'd left her, but rest assured, she deserved it. Nevertheless, I wasn't here for her. Seeing her so messed up was enough for me this time, at least. Besides, I didn't have a lot of grounds to taunt her when I myself looked pretty bad. I quickly picked up my pace and rejoined the others.
Our brief trip stopped just outside of a pair of round doors in a hallway somewhere in the eastern section of the building. Our long-eared guide stopped with one palm pressed tentatively to one of them, looking back at us with a great deal of unease, "I'll go in and ask, b-but, um... Be forewarned, the Mistress doesn't like to be bothered when she's in the middle of her studies."
She entered, and the door shut behind her. If you've ever found yourself sitting around a waiting room waiting to be seen by a physician, well, you know how the next few minutes went. Slow, uncomfortable silence punctuated by smalltalk was suddenly the order of the day. However, the reason behind it being social misgivings was only on my end. Keine looked more worried than anything, and Tomoe was just gazing around the room with the boredom only a child could harness to seem cute.
"Hey, hey, miss Mokou?" The small girl finally gave in to pestering me, tugging on one of my pants legs. She didn't even wait for me to give her permission to continue, "Do you think before I leave I could see the Princess?"
"I don't know if you'd want to right now." I said rather knowingly, and actually found myself wearing a smirk, "Or ever really. Princesses aren't all they're made out to be, kid. Take it from me."
She looked perplexed at this new bit of information. I looked over at Keine; she was staring at the door with a look of unease. I could tell that even though she'd put on such a diligent, doting face up until this point she was worried about whether or not the witch would see her. It was well-founded, too; I'd never known the Lunarians to give a damn about human issues at all. After all, that was why they lived out here, right? Besides, I still wasn't entirely sure what in the world was going on that necessitated even coming here.
"If they don't take her, what are you gonna do then?" I finally asked her. Just like the rabbit, it pissed me off to see people chewing on their thoughts inside of their head. The seemingly mind-mannered teacher blinked, her eyes going wide... And then she looked at me, suddenly quite serious.
"No doctor would turn away a dying child."
I was completely thrown off my game yet again, which seemed to be happening a lot today. The gravity of the situation suddenly became palpable as Keine went quiet, leaving me with my thoughts. I found myself staring down at at Tomoe; she was quite preoccupied with looking around her, still probably entertaining the thoughts of princesses, to the point where I don't think she actually heard what Keine said. Did she know? Even if she did, did she care? It was hard to tell in the mind of a child. I mean, she looked to be in perfect health. What could possibly be wrong with her?
Moreover, why did I care? I'd seen a lot of people die throughout my life time, after all. Far more than any normal human could possibly count. Mothers, fathers, children, babies in their crib. Death was a constant shade that followed me wherever I went and meshed together with people, and yet Life-in-Death always won me over the course of their little dice games. I thought I had gotten used to it by now. But... How long had it been since I'd even learned the name of someone new?
Was that all it took?
Abruptly, the door slid open and all three of us turned to face it. There she was; the Witch of Eintei. Or at least, that's what I'd called for her as long as I've known her. Her real name was Eirin Yagokoro, and like Kaguya, she was a Lunarian. From what I knew, she was some sort of genius doctor who was in the business of creating medicines. Great big fat lot good that that did anyone, though, considering I'm pretty sure all she did was use them to experiment on the local rabbits and never distributed them to anyone. It somehow managed to disgust me even a little bit more that she, the person hiding all this medicine far more advanced than the rest of what was in Gensokyo, was also ageless and immortal. She, I, and Kaguya made up the trio who had been stupid enough to partake of the Hourai Elixir. In fact, she was the one that made the damn thing. This was the witch that gave me the tools I needed to become the miserable creature I was now, inadvertently or no.
She was not a slight woman that blended into any crowd; Eirin would have stood out amongst just about any. She was stunningly tall, easily standing two heads over me much to my displeasure. She was clad in an odd red and blue dress patterned with images of constellations (how damned sappy could you possibly get? Stupid Lunarians), and her thick hair was dressed in a long single braid that looked so intricate that it made me think she had some sort of specialized craftsman that did it up for her every day or something.
Her eyes, a bizarre shade of gray, looked between all of us... Starting with Keine and then stopping on me. When she saw my grubby, stained clothing she smirked and, as I knew, was quite unable to resist the chance at taking a dig at me: "Udongein told me that I had a prospective patient out here. I hope it isn't you, Mokou? You look more in need of a good washbucket than a doctor."
"I don't need anything from you unless you've got some cigarettes." I murmured, thrusting my hands in my pocket and straightening my posture... Trying in vain to hide that big hole in the knee of my trousers.
"Ho ho. I'd never in good conscience be able to give you something so unhealthy... Though I suppose it wouldn't matter much in your case, would it?" the witch slowly turned away from me, apparently having got the mockery out of her system. I wanted to point out the shape I left her pretty little princess in, but odds are that was what was pissing her off in the first place. No need to exacerbate the situation... Especially with what Keine said earlier, "Now... As for you two. I am Doctor Yagokoro. Am I to assume you came all the way here in search for medical attention?"
Keine bowed respectfully to Eirin; far more respectfully than I liked, actually managing to illicit an involuntary tch from me before she spoke: "Doctor Yagokoro, my name is Keine Kamishirasawa. I'm a schoolteacher in the human village, and I-"
"Miss Kamishirasawa," she was almost immediately interrupted by her. Damn it, was that any way to treat anyone coming to you for help with anything? I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck prickling up already with anger, "Before you continue, I trust you are aware that there are doctors in the Human Village as well?"
"You stupi-!" I was fully prepared to just lay into her right then and there, but Keine was the one who cut me off. Her voice was extremely even despite obviously being talked down to. Was this the patience of a teacher?
"Yes. Unfortunately none of them are equipped to handle this problem. That's why I have come to you, Miss Yagokoro. This is a life or death matter, and I'm begging you to please help Tomoe."
She had bowed even deeper, to the point where I thought she was going to fall over. Eirin looked at her with her expression unchanged. She was very difficult to read beyond certain situations; usually I could more or less gather how someone was feeling at a glance, but the witch always seemed to be bizarrely calm and relaxed unless she was tormenting me. I knew Keine cutting me off was probably a good thing, too, because my temper was flaring up and that was going to get us nowhere regardless of how nice it would feel to verbally ream the woman.
In the middle of all of this was Tomoe... Who was now actually listening intently. This time I knew full well that she had heard Keine call it a "life or death" situation... And yet her disposition seemed unchanged. I didn't at all get it, and it make me frown deeply; she was old enough to get what the word "death" meant, right? And yet, she didn't seem the least big scared. She just kept watching, her messy hair still swept over one eye and a pleasant and polite smile on her face.
"...All right. Please step inside." Keine looked back up from her bow with a little gasp.. And then a happy smile. Eirin reciprocated it right back, but it felt so much more cold than her joy, "Now, now. Don't get too excited. I haven't made up my mind yet. But it wouldn't help to at least find out what's brought you all the way out here."
They entered, but I didn't. Why would I? They got their little doctor's visit... And already, me actually wanting them to get it after hearing about Tomoe's situation was going a little bit too far for my tastes. I just wanted to get out of here now. If Tomoe was staying here, I'd just take Keine back to the village and be done with it. What business of mine was finding out what was really wrong with the kid anyway? It'd only end badly, I assured myself
But the door didn't close behind them. That damned witch was staring at me expectantly. When I realized it, I met her eyes and scowled: "Do you need something? I'm gonna wait out here."
"No you're not. Come inside, Mokou." she responded to me with a chuckle that made my skin crawl a little bit.
"And why the hell should I do that? I just lead them here. Nothing else. I don't... I don't even care if you help them or not." The last part was a bad lie, and I probably made it obvious because once again she laughed softly. Didn't help that I wasn't able to keep eye contact when I said it.
"Because if I leave you out here you might wander off and start a fight with the princess. Or she might wander up and start a fight with you. Either way... I don't want to have it."
"I'm not gonna... Ugh. Whatever." My shoulders slumped. What was the point in arguing? She was just going to keep nagging me until I did it. With a hefty amount of annoyance, I finally relented and made my way into her office.