3/12

Goro

"Goro,

I am inviting you to come to Eientei for a most special clinical trial. Please inform Masato that you will be gone until morning, as this one will require at least 12 hours to complete.

Please don't get overly excited 3

Yagokoro M.D."

The invitation seemed rather sketchy, and I thought about ignoring it, but then I remembered I had a deal with her and Reisen, and I hadn't visited them in a minute, so I informed Masato of what was going on and offered to work a full day later in the week to make up for it if needed.

I finished my work for the day before heading out to Eientei, locking my key up before doing so. As I arrived, Seiran and Ringo were outside, but instead of standing guard, they were making large batches of botamochi, wearing more casual clothes than the heavy winter jackets and pants I had seen them in up to this point. Tewi was at the entryway, ready to guide me through the labyrinthine halls to Eirin's office. I arrived, and there she sat, leg crossed over the other and glasses slightly lowered like the stereotypical "hot nurse".

"Welcome, welcome," she greeted me as I sat down. "It's been a little while, hasn't it?"

"Indeed," I replied. "I've been busy with other things."

"Like blowing up alcohol?" she smiled. "I heard all about it."

I sighed, realizing that I was now "that guy who blew up all the youkai's liquor" across the land. "Of course you have."

Eirin chuckled. "Indeed. Now then." She spun around on her chair, opened up a drawer, grabbed a pair of tongs, and pulled out a small wooden object before putting it on a table in front of her. "I've been working on this for the better part of a month, in addition to refining the butterfly dream prototype, which is why I haven't called on you in a while."

I picked it up to inspect it. It was some sort of trinket shaped like a double arrow. "What kind of object is this?"

"One with a fun effect," she said, "but which will require you to stay overnight to test its effect."

"What does it do?" I asked again. "You know I have to trust you to continue this deal."

"I know," she said. "Let's just say it offers an… out of body experience and a chance to step in… another person's shoes…"

From those vague but ominous words, I started getting an idea of what I was in for when she called out "Udonge! Come!"

Within moments, Reisen stepped into the room. "Yes, Master?" she asked her.

"You will be helping Akechi-kun over here with testing my latest creation," she said.

"Okay…" Reisen replied, very uncertain. She walked over next to me, and Eirin instructed me to pick up the object, firmly grasping one end while offering the other end to Reisen.

"So, I just grab hold of this?" she asked.

"Yes," Eirin nodded.

Reisen looked back at me, held out her hand for a moment, then pinched the other end of the object. As soon as she did, I blacked out while feeling like I was being violently pulled forward.

...

I could tell I was sprawled out on the floor, my head pounding as though I had a solid gold wash basin dropped on it. Fluttering my eyes open and regaining some form of consciousness, I instinctively stretched out, twitched my tail and ears-

Hold that thought for one goddamn second.

I shot up, and looked around, which caused me to feel rather long hair beating the back of my neck. In front of me was… me. Or at least my body was. Also in my field of vision were legs with long socks emerging from underneath a pink skirt, which I determined were attached to my body. I also looked down, and saw I was wearing a white shirt with a red tie and a noticeable bulge underneath both which was not usually there.

The dawning comprehension of what had just occurred was just starting to hit me like a semi truck to the face as my body stirred, with a groan, and wrenched itself up.

"Ow… I feel like a-"

We locked eyes and stared at each other for several moments, our faces frozen, before we shot up onto our feet exclaiming, "WHAT THE FUUUUUUCK?!"

We pointed at each other. "You're me!" I exclaimed, in Reisen's higher, feminine voice.

"And you're me!" "she" exclaimed in mine.

Both of us looked at a grinning Eirin. "We switched bodies!"

"So you have," she chirped. "That object on the floor is what I call The Inverser. It causes any pair who grabs its ends to have their souls swap places temporarily."

I looked down at the accursed item. "We should pick it back up and change back."

"That won't be possible during its 12-hour cooldown period," Eirin replied.

Our eyes widened, and I felt a cold chill down my back.

"TWELVE HOURS?!" we shouted again.

"Now you know the reason why I requested you stay the night," Eirin said. "I'm sure you'd find it hard to explain to Masato why Reisen arrived at his shop without Goro." She got up from her chair. "Now then, let's finish up our chores for the day. Then dinner needs to get started for the Princess."

"I…" I realized I had no room to negotiate at the moment. "Well, alright…"

Sweeping a hallway was a tedious task under normal circumstances, especially when said hallway was littered with rabbit fur. But doing it in the body of a bunny girl, when you were usually a normal man, brought the task to a new level of awkwardness. For one, her body had a different shape than mine with a different center of gravity, forcing me to constantly adjust my stance and causing me to stumble a few times. Furthermore, wearing a short skirt made me feel rather exposed, not helped by the fact that… Well, I'm sure you get the idea. It was the strangest kind of out-of-body experience possible, and the bunny ears and tail were just salt on the wound.

Still, I focused on the task at hand, since it gave me a distraction from my current situation. At that moment, Tewi came down the hall, and stopped to ponder my handiwork.

"That's quite the pile, usa," she said.

I sighed. "Well, that's what happens when we have as many rabbits here as we do. They shed." I looked down at her. "What are you working on?"

"Oh, nothing, just supervising the rabbits, usa," she said, trying to be cute. "By the way, Master had Akechi-san stay to help the others with moving some heavy bags around." She giggled. "Y'know, I'd have thought a big, strong guy like him would be able to do it easily, but he's just slipping and falling and making a fool of himself, like he hasn't lifted anything bigger than a loaf of bread in his life."

"Is that so?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow, and taking a form of amusement in how Reisen was responding to the opposite situation.

"Yup!" She chirped. "It was so pathetic to watch, I thought 'well, why don't I go right ahead and set a little trap?' So I dug a hole, covered it in branches, waited in the brush, and what do you know, he fell right in, and the two girls just laughed while, I swear, he cried a bit."

Suddenly, I took offense to having my image sullied like that.

"But, eh, I don't got all day for fun," Tewi dismissed. "I've got rabbits to feed and-"

I put the broom down, grabbed her by the collar of her shirt with my left hand, and held her up in front of me. I expected this to be difficult, since girls had less strength than guys, but it was clear that Reisen was made of some seriously tough stuff.

I smiled while saying, in a dissonantly sinister voice, "you know, how badly do you think Master would punish you if she found out you treated our dear guest so horribly and humiliated him in such a manner?"

Tewi trembled as she began to panic. "Uh, er, it was, ah, just a friendly prank…"

"Oh really?" I said. "Making a man fall into a hole while he is trying to work counts as a 'friendly prank' here?"

Tewi continued to struggle against my iron grip, but failed. "Uh, Reisen, you're kinda… scarier than usual today?"

"I'm glad."

"...eh?"

"Master told me to help Akechi-kun prepare dinner," I said. I reopened my eyes, channeled my inner Black Mask, and grinned like the Cheshire Cat; as I did so, I could hear a faint, buzzing noise, and my vision going red. "I'm thinking we should have rabbit stew tonight!"

At that moment, I saw an impression of an eye over Tewi's face, followed by her letting out a ghastly shriek straight out of hell. She jumped free of my grip, then ran and crouched in the corner, her bunny tail completely poofed up and gripping her head with her hands while sweating profusely. "IdontwannabefoodIdontwannabefoodwhereareyouOkiImbeingchasedbypinkieswhowannaroastmybutt-"

I stood back and observed this scene, unsure what to think. I realized I had just used Reisen's power, her "Madness-Inducing Eye" to make Tewi freak out.

…but the way she was acting seemed awfully familiar somehow, and not in a way I wanted to think about…

"Ohoho, so you made her go mad with Reisen's power?" Eirin chuckled.

"I… suppose so," I said.

It was later that evening, and we were seated around the dinner table, with fish, vegetables and assorted starches laid out. All of us, except for Tewi, who was curled up in the corner blabbering something about black noodle people attempting to send her to Saturn.

"So, let me get this straight," Seiran said. "Reisen is Goro, and Goro is Reisen."

"That is correct," Reisen, as me, replied.

Seiran slipped a piece of fish into her mouth. "Explains why 'he' was acting weird earlier."

Reisen looked over at Tewi. "You know, I've never seen her succumb to my power to such an extreme degree. Usually, she's actually pretty much immune to it."

"What is your power?" I asked.

"My power… I can manipulate wavelengths," she answered. "Light waves, sound waves, seismic waves, and, well, brain waves. I can make someone go insane just by looking them in the eye. Make them see things that don't exist, not see things that should… If you're familiar with those three fairies of light, Sunny, Luna and Star, I can rip all their tricks to shreds. All moon rabbits have the ability to some extent; we can use it to communicate with each other over long distances, but my version is exceptionally powerful."

"I see," I said, sipping some tea.

She looked back at Tewi, who was still having the nervous breakdown of the century. "Even then, though, I have no idea just what on Earth you did to her. Again, she's not usually affected by my abilities, since it doesn't affect rabbits, youkai or not, Moon or Earth. Lunarians are also highly resistant to it."

I shrugged. "I just picked her up by the collar and jokingly suggested making rabbit stew tonight, with her as the ingredient."

Eirin chuckled, while most of the others grimaced. Reisen, however, continued, "well, even then, that's far from the first time I've said that to her, and she just goes 'yeah, whatever' when I do. Somehow, you managed to amplify its effects. Maybe it's because you didn't realize it and so didn't know how to control it, but… I don't know…"

"...hm," I thought. I thought about the possibilities, including the one I didn't want to be true.

We tried to lighten the mood for the rest of dinner, mostly just talking about recent events in our lives. Boss-kun sat on "my" lap, further showing the liking he had taken to me. The crew wanted to hear about how I blew up the gambling cave's liquor supply, so I told them that story. I didn't have much else, mostly because the only other exciting events in my life revolved around the Metaverse, whose existence I couldn't disclose. I did offer comments on the Tengu caste system abolishment, finding it interesting without having a real opinion on it, when in reality me, Aya and the others brought it crashing down and I overall saw it as a good thing.

After dinner and getting everything cleaned up, we engaged in "communal recreation," which the household apparently did most nights. They were fans of games Daifugo, Go, Mahjong and Shogi, but also owned a western Chess set. I was actually a big fan of Chess, partly because I was exposed to it at one foster home which idolized American things, and was quick to pick up the game. My most recent test before coming to Gensokyo put my ELO at around 2200, not the absolute best but still very, very good. I demonstrated my skill against the others, and beat them all, Eirin included, although my victory against her was largely down to her misapplying tactics meant for Shogi. Once I showed her some advanced techniques, she was able to beat me in a rematch. Reisen was also a close opponent, but the others went down much faster, and I defeated Kaguya in particular with a Scholar's Mate. To add insult to injury, Boss-kun attempted to play a game against me and somehow managed to last a couple more turns than Kaguya before the checkmate despite being, well, an animal rabbit.

Later on, the games were put away and it was time to get cleaned up for bed. Eirin allowed Kaguya the first bath, but then Kaguya made a strange request.

"I'd like to have Reisen come in the bath with me," she said.

Both me and Reisen were shocked. "But, you know right now she's a-"

Then she took my hand. "No, that's not what I meant. I want 'Reisen' to come with me into the bath."

I blushed profusely. "B-b-but, you can't! I-"

She smiled. "It's not strange for two girls to bathe together, is it not? Especially my favorite Inaba."

"But, I-"

Despite my protests, the next thing I knew, the two of us were naked in the steamy bath, with Kaguya washing my hair and rubbing my shoulders. To say I had mixed emotions about the situation would be a large understatement. On one hand, here I was in the bath with the beautiful Kaguya-hime of legend. On the other hand, here I was in the bath with the beautiful Kaguya-hime of legend, in the body of a bunny girl whom I had only recently gotten to know, trying to ignore the parts I wasn't supposed to have. At that moment, I was finding myself preferring to eat that "special takoyaki," this time soaked in Ghost Pepper sauce, over this.

Then it was my turn to wash her hair. The shampoo with which I did so was unlike any other, having a faint but noticeable fragrance of wisteria and making her hair remarkably smooth, silky and shiny. As I had no clue how to wash long hair, she quite helpfully provided tips and instructions. I knew her true personality and preferences by now, but even so, personally washing the legendary Kaguya-sama's hair was just a bit daunting. And I couldn't help but admire her shapely, flawless body. Not out of any sort of "perversion," but actually being genuinely impressed by it. As slovenly as her character was, the legends told the truth about her beauty.

After an… interesting bath, we slipped back into our bed robes and made our way out. Eirin was next, followed by Seiran, Ringo, and, under normal circumstances, Tewi, but the latter was still out of commission and momentarily parked on one of Eirin's hospital beds being given psychological meds to try and help her recover. Reisen offered to go last. As Kaguya led me into her room, I noted how simple she preferred to keep things: just a clean tatami and maybe some pads, nothing overly extravagant. She told me she had lost interest in overt extravagance a long time ago. She directed me to the closet, where I pulled out two futons and laid them side-by-side.

I was just about to get in when I realized I had to go to the bathroom. The toilet was next to but separate from the bath, so I made my way over there, and took care of things while trying not to think about whatever the hell Reisen might be doing while in my body. I did see, er, "her" walking nervously into the bath in nothing but a bed robe, with my clothes back in her room…

…where I remembered my communicator was. Suddenly, I was gripped by panic. Did she notice it? Heaven forbid she read it, in the event that sensitive information was being discussed. I raced toward the direction she came from, eventually finding her room, and a pile of my clothes on the dresser, next to which laid her invitation to the mansion. Frantically tearing through them, I found the device and turned it on. I thought to myself, please don't have read it, please for the love of the gods don't discuss anything about the Metaverse or the Day Breakers…

seeingstars: Guys I think I found one of those "Super Mario" mushrooms Sumireko was talking about.

cheshirecat: Don't eat it.

seeingstars: Nah, I'm gonna preserve it and see if I can find anything useful in it.

cheshirecat: I'm not interested in seeing everyone as a furry again.

seeingstars: Hey I didn't say I was gonna feed it to you.

turtlepower: "Again?"

Just Marisa and Alice bickering like an old married couple. Nothing to see there.

I went back to Kaguya's room, and she looked up at me. "You took a little while."

"I did," I said simply. I cut the lights and got in under the covers next to her.

I turned to face her. "Do you… often do this with Reisen? Bathe and sleep together, I mean?"

Kaguya smiled. "Indeed. The two of us have been close ever since she came here. I wanted to give her a better, simpler life than she had on the moon. Help her grow as a woman and a person, not just a tool or a 'mere' rabbit, like some animal."

I paused to think about this. "You never said much about the Moon, other than how advanced it is. And Reisen doesn't like to talk about it, other than that she was a soldier in some fashion."

Kaguya frowned. "Rabbits up there are treated as second-class citizens at best. They were living on the Moon long before the first Lunarians arrived. The Lunarians were humans who escaped Earth and its "impurity" of life and death, led by Lord Tsukiyomi, hoping to live separate from the cycle of life and death, in effect attaining immortality of a sort. Lunarians don't age, nor do we get diseases, but we can still be killed by other means. I was banished down here for drinking the Hourai Elixir created by her. I was selfish at the time, and wanted to live forever, but I've come to regret my decision because I didn't realize how much it destroyed my ability to connect with others who, from my perspective, die in a flash. Eirin was one of the emissaries who came to find me later, but she betrayed them and left them to die so that she could be by my side. According to her, she was fed up with the Lunarian government's corruption, built up over the centuries. Actually, even if I hadn't consumed the elixir I probably would have eventually defected for similar reasons."

I sighed. "So they treat rabbits like slaves, or worse. Sounds like the Nazi Party or, well, Imperial Japan. The nationalists try to deny it, and schools mostly skip over their atrocities. I call bullshit. What those bastards did was a horrifying shame and a dark mark on our country's history. I stand for justice first and foremost, but I also realize that some things can't be fixed by only one man. It takes making the people see crimes for what they are, and in a drive to preserve social harmony, they will blot out every crime, every rape, every robbery, every murder, just to avoid kicking up a fuss."

Kaguya nodded. "You really are Goro Akechi inside, even if you look like Reisen. I can tell by your face and tone of voice. And I can tell by your personality. She wants to escape hardship and live out a peaceful life where she can be appreciated. You won't be satisfied until the last criminal on Earth is behind bars, not the ones people say are criminals, but the ones who really are, yet have the money and power to evade punishment. And you will go to any length to accomplish that mission, even if it means risking your own life."

"Indeed," I said. "I swear by my pride as a detective that justice will always prevail." I let out a deep breath and laid on my back, staring at the ceiling and letting the rabbit ears lie flat. They picked up noises my human ears couldn't, like the sounds of the first insects of the season emerging from the trees and bushes, small animals peeking out of their burrows, and what was most likely Marisa master-sparking some poor schmuck.

"So… why do you think Eirin created that body-switching trinket?" I asked idly.

Kaguya took a moment to reply. "If I had to guess, it's meant for me and Mokou. She thinks we would benefit from stepping into each other's shoes. Why did she choose to test it on you two? Perhaps to gather research and data. Mostly, probably because she thought it'd be funny. She has a twisted sense of humor sometimes."

"I can tell," I said. "If her idea of a joke is having two people of opposite sexes switch bodies for twelve hours." I rolled over. "Would you say the bad blood between you and Mokou is genuine?"

"Hard to say," Kaguya said. "At one time, maybe? All I did was politely decline her father's hand in marriage." She turned to face me. "Honestly, the whole 'five impossible tasks' was just a load of bullshit to give me an excuse to turn down their advances in an age where the powers that be decided a woman didn't have the agency to make that kind of choice. And I honestly disagreed with the premise of 'shaming one's family' that came with being turned away for marriage, especially once I learned Mokou was a bastard child, desperate to attain some kind of legitimacy. She wandered the Earth in search of purpose, then came to fight me when she got bored, especially in the fast four centuries. I guess she was just looking for someone who wasn't an innocent person to take out her murderous rage on, and as a fellow Hourai immortal who doesn't fear death, I felt the need to oblige."

"I can't imagine what that kind of existence must be like," I said. "Constantly killing each other, I mean. Is it painful?"

"It is," Kaguya said, "but in an endless life in which you constantly regenerate, it becomes one of the only thrills you can experience, since all others lose their touch. I have the power to affect eternity. I can freeze time for an object. I can also safeguard the whole mansion from the passage of time, and separate it from the cycle of life and death, even though I no longer do those… I used it to help Eirin create the Hourai Elixir in the first place. We used a similar procedure to create that wrestling outfit so that it regenerates along with myself, so I can keep doing those battles with her."

"It's quite the outfit, I'll say," I said candidly.

"It is. I always wear it under my dress, just in case we run into each other and she wants to fight." She tossed around a bit, then settled back in. "But I'm also concerned for her. She lives a mostly lonely existence out in the middle of the forest, since she would refuse to make friends with, in her mind, short-lived humans. And, actually, even most youkai and gods, as all of them will eventually meet a final death, unlike us. That she already had trust issues before taking the Elixir probably didn't help. Only recently has she really tried making any real friends, such as Keine, or that girl Sumireko, and she guides lost humans through the forest." She smiled. "She might be a hermit, but I think, had she not tried to be more social, you might not have been saved that cold, winter's day.."

"Indeed," I said. "I owe her a lot for rescuing me. A shame I haven't talked to her as much as I should because of that."

"She's probably still warming up to you," Kaguya said. "If she got an invitation, though, I'm sure she'll accept."

"Ohoho, so yours got delivered as well." I said.

"Last night," she smiled. "I wasn't actually expecting a return gift from you, much less an invitation to the famed Scarlet Devil Mansion. I don't know how you managed to sway Remilia into doing that for every girl who gave you chocolate, but I don't think it matters. You're a man of unique charm, wit and charisma. Reimu clearly has an eye for talent, and I think you'll go on to do great things here."

I chuckled. "Thank you… except the 'man' part might be a little inaccurate right now."

"I suppose so," Kaguya giggled. "Also, just a small thing, but I didn't notice until we were playing Chess earlier that you're left-handed. Reisen is normally right-handed."

"I'm sinister," I remarked, with just a hint of double meaning behind it.

Slowly, the room turned quiet. Kaguya drifted off into sleep, but I kept thinking about some things. Obviously, being in Reisen's body was one of them, but also about how far I had already come in my brief time in Gensokyo so far. So much had occurred since that fateful day, barely three months ago now, that it seemed like I had lived an entire lifetime. Making new friends, exploring new facets of my character, even leading a team to take down a Metaverse incident. Still, I couldn't help but dwell on my past. My tortured childhood, and all the murders and psychotic breakdowns I committed on my bastard father's order and threat, all for the slim chance of being able to off him at his peak. All I could do now was trust that the Phantom Thieves managed to do it in my stead, since I only knew that his heart had been changed, not any of the consequences that followed.

And on the subject of psychotic breakdowns, Tewi's symptoms continued to trouble me. Reisen revealed she could cause madness, but the way Tewi shifted between being curled up in a ball and going around spouting gibberish uncomfortably reminded me of the breakdowns I used to dole out like pancakes at a fishing derby.

So many people had recently been telling me to take responsibility for my actions. Igor, Reimu, Remilia… Certainly, in the past I didn't give a rat's ass about repercussions, or else I wouldn't have gone to work for the Antisocial Force as their hitman, only to backstab them at their height of power with no real plan thought out afterward. Now though, things were different. I knew if I wanted to redeem myself as a person and as a man, then I had to think about consequences and accept responsibility, something which I told myself I would do in Tokyo, hand myself over to the police if I needed to, but I subconsciously rejected the notion nonetheless.

I had to clean up mistakes I made, and make things better than before.

And I had to do that first thing after I got my original body back.

3/13

I had sent out the call before I was even back in my own body, and as soon as I got out of Eientei I got my stuff at the shop and made a beeline to the shore of the Misty Lake, where I awaited the others as they arrived one-by-one.

"You're in rare form today," Nitori commented.

"Must be urgent if you're calling us all here at once first thing in the morning," Aya said.

"It is," I nodded. "I just found a target of high importance." I showed them the key, with the name Tewi Inaba on it and pointing to a location in the Virya block. "She went insane last night out of nowhere. The sooner we take care of this, the better."

"Insane, huh?" Marisa said. "Y'know, I thought she was immune to Reisen's power."

"Yes, but something else happened while I was visiting," I said. "I'm very concerned, both for her well-being and for those of the others." I turned toward the lakeshore. "Now then, who all agrees to the operation?"

Everyone else said "aye."

"Good," I said. "Now then, let's roll out."

Once we arrived at Ethos, we ripped and tore our way through shadows in Virya until Nitori was able to pinpoint Shadow Tewi's location, saying she sensed an "unusual energy signature" coming from her. We took a moment on a safe floor adjacent to the one she was on to prepare, before heading down to face her.

The floor was eerily quiet. We huddled together, searching for threats, while Mamiko as per usual went slightly ahead to look for threats.

"See anythin', Doktor?" Marisa asked.

"I'm not seeing… hold on." She adjusted her goggles. "Wait, I can feel something-"

Suddenly a pink blur came from one side, which Aya parried with her spear. It came back around and charged us, forcing Byakuren to grab and throw it over. Once it was in a corner we surrounded it.

"What on Earth…?" Youmu said.

It turned around to face us. It was Shadow Tewi, hunched over like an animal and with a dark aura around her, just like the victims of my psychotic breakdowns, eyes glowing and with a snarled, feral expression on her face. She wasn't even talking, instead making animalistic grunts and hisses.

"What the hell has gotten into her?" Reimu exclaimed. "What happened to turn her into that?!"

I drew my gun. "It doesn't matter. Here she comes." Shadow Tewi then turned into the small, white Hare of Inaba, while an Okuninushi shadow spawned right beside. The pair charged us, and we responded in kind.

Okuninushi wasn't too much of a hassle; he had the same profile and tactics as the ones we had previously faced in Megumu's fortress. Where we ran into trouble was Shadow Tewi herself, who was quite literally a killer rabbit. Her main tactic, as expected of a berzerk shadow, was to jump and go for the neck with either claws or teeth, forcing us to duck and parry. She was also a small target who was hard to hit, and had no weaknesses to exploit, forcing us to just try and hit her with our best attacks backed up by buffs. At one point, Byakuren was able to punt her toward Mamiko, who then smacked the rabbit into the wall. Reimu also tried to set her on fire so that either Marisa or Aya could follow up with Wind or Nuclear combos, and Trump Frost got into the fray by freezing her, allowing either Youmu or Mamiko to shatter her with a powerful physical blow. As the fight wore on, Shadow Tewi's movements slowed, but she compensated by using Megido to hit us at range and get around any shields we set up. Eventually, after a long, exhausting battle, we managed to keep her down long enough for a finishing All-Out Attack to clinch the match.

As Shadow Tewi regained a human(ish) form and wrested herself off the ground, I approached her. "Have you come back to your senses?" I asked harshly.

Shadow Tewi scowled. "Geh! I don't know what the hell happened yesterday between me and Reisen, but her power made me go insane… she doesn't get why I play pranks on people! It's nothing against them, I just need some way to ignore my own pain!"

"...what do you mean?" Aya asked. "You seem pretty proud of your pranks on others, especially Reisen."

Shadow Tewi looked down. "You… you all don't get it. I've been alive for thousands of years, seen countless generations of rabbits with their short-ass lifespans just wither and die as soon as they're born. Even youkai rabbits, they never let go of their attachments, and starve to death trying to rest with a family member, go with them, return to the Earth, and never attempt to achieve bigger and better things. I…" She began to cry. "How would you feel if you saw your extended family, your children, all die with no support and no one to turn to?"

Byakuren stepped forward and knelt down to her level. "I know how you feel. What it's like to lose someone close to you, that dread of the inevitability of death and wanting to escape it… I've paid dearly for the actions I took trying to escape my pain, but I have learned to move on, accept misfortune, accept death as a natural part of life and the world."

Youmu came forward as well. "She's right. My master knows nothing but death, she's been a ghost for over a millenia. But she doesn't let that get her down. She just focuses on being the best steward of the departed as possible. Rabbits do have short lifespans. Youkai rabbits never grow out of their instinctual behavior. But you know what, you just need to accept it. If you require help and guidance, go seek it yourself, don't engage in destructive behavior. I know it's not easy. Certainly it wasn't easy for any of us to admit we needed help…"

Shadow Tewi sniffled. "I know. I've turned to many different people over the years. Master Eirin, and Okuninushi. I helped him find his love, but the truth is I myself loved him. I was too cowardly to admit it, though, since I was a rabbit, and have regretted that cowardice ever since, as it cost me someone who would always be there to support me through my hardships. Eirin is a good master, but I still sometimes find myself alone, afraid and weak…"

Reimu came up next. "Tewi. What you need to do is be open with others about how you really feel. I know I'm bad with that sometimes, but these guys, and all my other friends, have taught me the value in having someone to confide with. You can keep your issues bottled up, or you can work with someone to help you through them. Don't ever feel like you're alone. You have all of your friends in Eientei. All you need to do is tell them how you really feel."

Shadow Tewi looked up. "Yes, but… I mean, do you think that would really work? What would they think? Especially Master Eirin?"

I decided it was my turn to speak up. "All that matters is that you are confident in yourself, and have the courage to recognize your weaknesses and seek help from those you trust. The only person you can't afford to hate you is yourself. No matter what anyone else thinks, so long as you're confident in yourself, you can always move forward and find the right path."

Shadow Tewi smiled. "...thank you. Thank you all. Heh, I never thought I'd need wisdom from people much younger than me but… I guess that just speaks to how much I've yet to learn…" She glowed white, and disappeared, leaving behind a rabbit's foot talisman.

Mamiko picked it up. "A 'lucky rabbit's foot.' Why would she leave behind something like this?"

"Rabbit's feet are considered symbols of good luck in many cultures," I explained.

"But in order to make one, it'd have to come from a, most likely dead, rabbit," Youmu lamented. "So it is a symbol of luck, but also a painful reminder of the vicious grip of death in her mind. That's what it must symbolize, I think."

"I think it's ironic," Byakuren said, "how a person with the ability to manipulate luck feels powerless to control her own destiny. But then, there are no shortcuts to happiness. It's just as Crow said. One must love themselves and be confident in their own spirit, or they will only find ruin and fall into despair, right where they are easiest for Mara to corrupt."

"Hopefully, this will be the start of a new journey for her," Reimu said. "Just as all of us have begun to forge new paths."

I looked around. "We've accomplished what we came here for. Let's leave before he shows up."

"Damn right," Marisa said. "Don't feel like bein' turned into swiss cheese."

After getting out of Ethos, Marisa mentioned she was going to visit Kourindou to get some things. I decided to follow her to see if I could find myself a pair of swimming trunks ahead of tomorrow (Remilia had promised a pair just in case I couldn't, but I wanted to see what I could find, not fully trusting a household full of women to know anything about men's swimwear).

Walking into the store, I could see Rinnosuke again, engrossed in a novel, while a brown-haired girl with a black hat was busy rummaging through a box full of items ranging from clothes to, I assumed, a Nintendo Switch. Marisa came up to the counter and presented a bag full of treasure to him.

"Hey Kourin," she said. "I found some more good stuff for 'ya."

Rinnosuke put down his book. "Ah, Marisa. You've returned with your boyfriend."

"HE AIN'T MAH BOYFRIEND, YA MORON!" she shouted, jumping in the air and blushing.

"Ah, I was just joking," Rinnosuke said dryly. "I just think it's interesting how you've come with him again, just over a couple months after bringing him here the last time."

"Did someone say 'boyfriend?'" The girl turned around, revealing her red-rimmed glasses, and walked toward us. She was dressed in a modified school uniform, similar to the one work by Higashifukami High students in Yokohama, who were well known for being rivals both with my own school as well as Shujin Academy, and had become Japan's dominant track-and-field power following Shujin's dissolution of its team. She also wore a cape with arcane symbols inside of it.

"Oh hey, Sumi," Marisa said. "Workin' for Kourin today?"

"Yup," 'Sumi' said. "I brought a lotta interesting stuff for him and I'm just going through and sorting all of it. Most of this is left over from a yard sale we had the other day, mostly just helping my twin brother go through things ahead of him starting college. I've already gotten my stuff straightened out." She pulled out the Switch. "I got this thing on an overstock site. I don't play video games, but I thought it'd be a great gift for Nitori or Kosuzu or someone like that."

"Are you Sumireko Usami?" I asked. "The girl with the ability to visit Gensokyo?"

"I am!" she smiled. "And you…" She paused, then pointed at me. "You must be Goro Akechi! Reimu, Mokou and everyone told me about you! You disappeared Outside and came here!"

"And now we finally meet," I said. "I'm surprised it's taken this long for us to finally cross paths."

"Well, I mean, I haven't been coming here as much recently," she said. "Something was going on that kept me from doing so, something that was causing Dream World disruptions, Doremy told me."

"I see," I said. My eyes drifted to the box, where something, hanging out of the side, caught my eye. "Hold on…" I went over and picked out the item. Much to my luck, it was a pair of swimming shorts about my size. "This was just what I was looking for!"

"What, those?" Sumireko asked. "My brother never wore them, so I took them here, just to see if anyone might be interested. I'm surprised you want them so bad."

"Well, you see-"

"He's invitin' a buncha girls over to Remi's tomorrow for White Day," Marisa said bluntly.

The room was silent for a moment.

"Ohohohoho," Sumireko chuckled. "Seems Ace Detective Akechi-kun's ability to charm fangirls and get chocolate from them followed him all the way here."

I remained tight-lipped. If there was one thing I needed to avoid, it was doing or saying anything to encourage two, gossipy girls and a deadpan shopkeeper.

"...why…don't we take this conversation outside?" I suggested. "If nothing else, I'd like to at least hear some things which have gone on Outside since I came here."

"Heh. Well, I guess." I led Sumireko outside, passing Reimu who gave us an incredulous look as she entered the shop, and took her to an all-ages grill in the Village.

"...so then Amamiya-san turned himself in to the police in order to testify against Shido," Sumireko continued, while the two of us took pieces of takoyaki. "Then all of his friends rallied the public to get him out of juvie. It was actually a big news story, and people in other countries also rallied to get him out. As for Shido himself, he was convicted on various corruption charges and the attempted rape, and he just got sentenced." She slumped. "Given what he's actually done, I think he got off lightly, but I guess stuff done in the Metaverse can't be used in court without getting every conspiracy theorist worked up."

My eyes widened. "You know about the Metaverse?"

"Yup," she said. "Known about it for a while. Actually, I know full well what caused the Dream World disruption, but I couldn't talk about it in front of Rinnosuke." She looked up at me, somewhat threateningly. She didn't even need to speak for me to realize she knew I was Black Mask.

"...how long have you known?" I asked her, defeated.

"I've had my suspicions for some time," she said. "When I first heard about the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns, I just had to investigate it - I am an occultist, after all. Over the summer, I spent some time in Tokyo, and I saw you acting suspiciously right as I got off the train. So I followed you into that location… 'Mementos,' I think you called it. It was there that I saw you do your dirty work. After that, a strange app appeared on my phone, so I continued my investigations into the whole thing and tried to figure out what that place was all about. I suspected the Phantom Thieves were also Metaverse users, which I confirmed when I trailed you all through that cruise ship place. Over the course of that, I awoke to a 'Persona' after a shadow ambush. I watched your fight with them, and thought about finishing you off after you collapsed when you killed your doppelganger, but I decided to spare you instead. I used my powers to make the shadows, and also the Phantom Thieves, think you were dead so they didn't attack you, and eventually found a way out through a vent. I didn't care whether or not you made it out alive, but even so, I'm the reason you didn't die there."

I slumped and chuckled weakly. "So, my activities as Black Mask are nowhere near as secret as I had hoped. It was one thing for the ruler of dreams, and judges of the dead, to know about it, but an unassuming high school girl…"

Sumireko smiled. "Well, I am the president of the Secret Sealing Club." She slumped her shoulders. "...as well as its only member, for that matter. I've dedicated myself to investigating occultisms, both in Gensokyo and elsewhere. When I discovered the Metaverse, though, I felt I had hit the jackpot, and I made all sorts of excursions and took photos-"

"That's impossible in the Metaverse," I said.

Sumireko smirked, and presented her smartphone, with pictures of Shadow Shido, places in Mementos, a gigantic mechanical angel which I assumed to be the God of Control, and spots in an unknown location but which were presumably Maruki's Palace. "My phone's different. It doesn't care about the confines of reality. It even follows me here into Gensokyo, even though you're not talking to the real me - you're talking to my doppelganger, while the real me snoozes Outside."

"I see," I observed. "And, actually, now that I think about it, I remember talking to a detective, Naoto Shirogane, who suspected that you might be the cause of the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Sumireko admitted. "I'm sure I probably caught the attention of the Antisocial Force, too."

"I don't think you were ever a blip on their radar," I said, "otherwise the two of us would have confronted each other far sooner. And what probably kept me from going after you was realizing that you were acting as a potential scapegoat."

Sumireko chuckled. "Heh. So, I meet the feared Black Mask, but only after he starts trying to redeem himself. Of course, I've already investigated 'Ethos,' and I've seen the results of 'The Day Breakers.' Also, Reimu won't shut up about you. Usually I have to prod her a bit to talk, but now she, Marisa and the others go on for hours and hours about you." She looked over her glasses. "Of course, you do realize that, since I know the truth, I could just as easily bring you down, correct? And don't forget what I did with my powers that led to you coming here."

"True," I said, "but it just as easily goes both ways. I'll instantly suspect you if there start being psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdowns here." I sipped some tea. "But, animosity won't get us anywhere. It's true that I killed many, but-"

"Most of those victims were just as much scum as the guys who paid you to do the hit," Sumireko said. "And I can tell you didn't quite do it on your own will, someone took advantage of you. And besides, I'm not exactly a shining paragon of justice myself; I almost brought down the Barrier that one time, and Reimu won't let me forget it even if we're friends now. Even now, I'm more motivated by my occult investigations than anything else…"

"Hmm…" I thought for a moment, then said, "have you been able to get inside the Fortresses?"

"...Fortresses?" Sumireko asked.

"I presume not," I said. "And I'm sure you'd like to have someone photograph Ethos for you when you cannot?"

"I… guess?" she said.

"Then, why don't we set up a deal? We can take pictures for you and deliver them to you. In exchange, you agree not to sell me out, and keep tabs on the Outside for me, in particular the whereabouts of Ren and his friends whenever possible."

Sumireko seemed unsure. "Well, I mean, the camera's ability is tied to my own, so I don't know if it'd be possible. I mean, I'd love to have someone else take some pictures for me, but-"

"Then make it happen," I said, a little more harshly. "Work with Nitori or someone if necessary."

Sumireko chuckled again. "Now there's the Goro Akechi I've come to expect, watching you get up to all kinds of shit in that place. Alright, I might be able to work with someone to impart my phone's ability into another device so you can do that. And then I'll make sure not to let anything slip while keeping you updated on the Phantom Thieves."

"Then, it's a deal." I offered my hand, and she shook it, officially making us conspirators.

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Lovers Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…