March 10th, 1945
1:00 PM
The concept of law in Tengu society had always been a rather straightforward affair: Follow the rules laid down by Lord Tenma, do what you're told, and don't complain too loudly when your superiors are around. Those were the basic guidelines that most tended to abide by, and for most of Tengu history they had been content with keeping things that way. Unfortunately, Lord Tenma was fickle, and the interests and opinions held by the Tengu leader tended to drift over the ages. In more recent times, the big obsession had become the emulation of the outside world and its society, and from that had come the need for new things, like an actual legal framework rather than an informal set of traditions. And with that came Lord Tenma's desire for a codified book of laws, a judiciary system, and even a constitution of all things!
What might cause Lord Tenma to desire such things was a question few were willing to actually ask. Tengu society had always been an autocracy, and in Megumu's opinion, it had always worked fine enough that way. The idea Lord Tenma wanted to emulate outside world humans was baffling to her, and she wasn't alone in that regard. None dared challenge the orders from on high, however, and so Tengu society continued its so-called 'modernization' efforts.
Megumu sighed as she stared wearily at what had evolved into a small pile of parchment as it lay in front of her. The vast majority of what she had written would likely never come into play, let alone be read by anyone besides herself and Lord Tenma, much to her frustration. Sadly, Lord Tenma was a stickler for details, and so she had to at least make it look like she cared about the subject matter. She'd always been tempted to just toss the work over to Shameimaru to deal with, but she knew the Tengu leader would be able to see through all the cut corners she'd end up with. Besides, the longer she took to finish it, the more likely it would be for Lord Tenma to just end up forgetting about the whole thing entirely.
There was a loud knock at the door, interrupting her thoughts.
"Lady Iizunamaru!" A voice called out. Megumu stood up from her seat, putting down her brush carefully to make sure she didn't spill any ink as she did so. The thought of having to redo any of what she'd already bothered with felt like it could give her an aneurysm.
"Yes?" She called out, before yanking open the door to see what new mess she was expected to deal with.
"Apologies for the interruption." The long-nosed Tengu on the other side said with a quick salute. "Lord Tenma has called for a trial!"
Huh? "A trial?" She asked. "For who?"
"The prisoner that was captured in the recent raid, ma'am!"
The prisoner, as in singular. That didn't bode well. "Well, if we're going to have a trial, Lord Tenma will have to run it. That's how it's always worked, and I'm nowhere near close enough to be able to have something functional."
"Lord Tenma said to use whatever you've finished so far, and to make it work."
Megumu froze up. What was this? But the framework wasn't even finished! She was still debating between a jury system or a bench system and was nowhere near making a final decision. It's not like this could just be a test run. After all, what was the point of testing something if it wasn't even complete?
"To be more specific, the order was for the prisoner to face trial and be executed for crimes against the Tengu."
"But that's not how..."
"I'm sorry, Lady Iizunamaru," the long-nosed Tengu said with a sympathetic look in his eyes, "but those were the orders I was given." After a brief bow, he closed the door to Megumu's office, leaving her fuming.
She wanted to scream. She'd put in so much time and effort in trying to actually get this right. She could've spent this time on things infinitely more productive, like further research into outside world economic theory, but Lord Tenma had been very explicit in the order to get this done, and done properly. Sure, there hadn't been a deadline assigned, and she may have taken a few breaks here and there, but she was still working on it! Plus, if the project was actually finished and was found to be satisfactory, it might actually be implemented, and just the idea sent shivers down her spine. Yet strangely, she couldn't help but feel frustrated all of her work was being rendered null and void, because the legal system was just going to be rigged anyway. She may not have actually wanted one, but she'd been putting in at least some effort here, and to have it all be wasted completely cut her deeply on an almost fundamental level. If she had known that was going to be the case, she would've worked in a way for bribes to be funneled directly to herself.
Not like it really matters. By the end of the decade, Lord Tenma's fixation would've likely changed completely, and the whole project would be scrapped. She'd happily put her bets on exactly that happening, although she did note the move towards so-called modernization did seem to be staying consistent, even if the other points were in an almost constant state of fluctuation based on how Tenma was feeling on that particular day. Megumu was expecting something like military modernization to be next, despite the fact they didn't even have a standing army. That was just how it went with Tenma.
Perhaps worst of all was the fact that, if Lord Tenma wanted the prisoner executed, they could just go ahead and do it. Nothing was stopping them and forcing them to actually hold a trial. What was with this sudden desire for accountability and legitimacy? It was probably to set precedent, but why Tenma was choosing now of all times to start said precedent, she had no idea. And setting precedent with a rigged trial was just...
Fine.
Fine.
Gods, she needed a break. Or an assistant. Maybe she should look into getting one one of these days...
There was another knock at her door, which shook Megumu out of her thoughts and back to the unfortunate reality she had to deal with.
"Lady Iizunamaru." Momiji's voice called out from the other side of the door.
"Come in!" She yelled, before she turned to greet the returning wolf, only to recognize the telltale sign something had gone wrong written across her face.
"Captain Inubashiri, have a seat." She said, gesturing for Momiji to sit with her at the table. Before she joined her, Megumu pulled out a bottle of shōchū and two ceramic cups.
"I take it the mission was not a success?" She asked, pouring a drink for each of them, which Momiji wearily accepted.
"We managed to take one captive, but the machine was unfortunately damaged and brought down." Momiji explained after taking a deep gulp from her cup.
"That much trickled in through the grapevine a while ago, but it's not the end of the world, provided we can at least recover the wreckage." She sighed. "But I assume there was an issue there as well?"
Momiji paused, before she held the now empty cup out in hopes of a refill, which Megumu obliged. Megumu knew she was doing it to stall for time so she could choose her words carefully. "The Yakumo... acquired it."
Megumu's eyes widened. "She's awake this early? It isn't even spring yet."
"Considering how long it took for her to respond, I assume she was woken up by her shikigami to deal with the situation."
"Damn it, I thought we actually had this one." Megumu snarled, before she drained her own cup in one swig.
"Still, we are not completely empty-handed..." Momiji paused, and took a sip of her drink, "...At least, that is what I would say, but Lord Tenma has seemingly decided we should be."
"Don't even start. I'm not even finished with the legal code, and we're already trying to hold a trial."
"Ah right, I forgot you were put in charge of that whole thing." Momiji sighed. "Lord Tenma cannot let what might be seen as a slight go."
"Can't be seen as a weak ruler, especially not after this whole thing ended in such a mess." Megumu replied with a roll of her eyes. While it was hard not to be envious of the power associated with Lord Tenma's position, actually filling it was undoubtedly frustrating in its own right. She picked up the bottle of shōchū and drained the rest straight from the source, much to Momiji's jealousy. She stood up to grab something else for them to drink.
"Do you really think it is wise to resort to execution immediately?" Momiji asked as Megumu scoured her office space for more alcohol.
"Who cares? It's just some foreign human of all things." Megumu replied, before she lucked upon the bottle of awamori she'd been saving for a special occasion. "Don't tell me you're going soft on me, Momiji."
Momiji chuckled lightly. "No, I have not grown that weak yet. Still, do you not find it rather wasteful?"
I'm much more concerned with dealing with the headache this whole situation is going to cause." Megumu said, opening the bottle and refilling each of their cups once again. "Speaking of, I hear there were injuries as well?"
Momiji flinched, taking a quick sip before speaking. "Three injured, all with severe bruising, internal bleeding, and several broken bones. One of the wolves has also lost an eye."
"Lost an eye? What the hell were a bunch of humans using that could do that much to a Youkai?"
"It seems your Crows have not been doing a good enough job keeping tabs on the outside world's military advancements. What they had with them made Nobunaga seem like a joke."
"It's been rather hard to do that ever since the barrier came up, and you know we didn't have much of a reason to bother with military technology even before then."
"I remember the stories of the fields of bodies left to rot during the Oda's conquests, but I always assumed they were hyperbole like the rest of his reputation. To think those weapons had evolved to be capable of hitting Tengu mid-flight..."
Megumu groaned and took a swig. "Alright, I get it. And you're sure it was Yakumo who grabbed the wreckage?"
"I saw the portal open and swallow the entire thing whole. It is probably best they did, as it was about to crash land in the Garden of the Sun."
"Of course it was." Megumu felt like she should have laughed, but all she could feel was an oncoming migraine. "Lord Tenma isn't going to be happy, but that's nothing new."
"By the way, where did you get this?" Momiji asked, eyeing the bottle.
Megumu smirked. "I had it imported from Okinawa some time ago. It wasn't easy, but the stuff is strong as all hell, and I figured that much was needed right now."
"It's still not enough to get either of us truly drunk, though." Momiji said, disappointed.
"It's the closest we're going to get, barring drinking pure ethanol, which I could probably get my hands on if you really wanted."
"I think I will pass." Momiji said, before finishing her cup and placing it on the table.
"Well Captain Inubashiri, I need to prepare for this farce of a trial, so once you've informed Chigomi to bring the defendant, you're dismissed for the rest of the day. I'm sure you need the rest."
Momiji stood up and gave a deep bow, before heading off. The moment she exited Megumu's office, the exhaustion seemed to finally hit her, sending her stumbling. Megumu could only look on in jealousy. After all, now her fun really began. She eyed the bottle of awamori. Momiji had been right; it really wasn't strong enough.
March 10th, 1945
4:00 PM
The courtroom, if it could even be called that, was in reality just the headquarters for the Mountain Defense Forces. It wasn't like they had time to build something new, and Megumu didn't feel like dealing with the headache of requisitioning a different building to use instead. Thus the lobby was emptied out, and an impromptu courtroom was set up to be used for the trial.
Megumu had been studying outside legal procedure for quite some time. She'd bothered to learn the correct terminology, the proper order of events required for a trial, and what was commonly considered permissible during a trial and what was not. All in all, a rather tedious and boring affair all around. Luckily for her, Lord Tenma had effectively told her to ignore all of that, and so she was going to give this sham of a trial all of the effort it deserved. After all, her bench was a table with a small desk put on top of it, her gavel was a literal hammer somebody had scrounged around for and she didn't even have a bailiff. If this was supposed to be setting a precedent, it would not be the right kind.
She sat behind her hypothetical bench and watched as Chigomi led the prisoner into the building. The two of them both paused to gaze at what was supposed to be, in theory, a courthouse, and instead looked like a few piles of furniture had decided to form large conglomerations inside the room they'd been left in. The man seemed unsure if he should laugh or not, but he thankfully remained silent as he was taken to his seat. Once he was seated, Megumu softly hit the desk with the hammer, careful not to actually damage it.
"On behalf of Lord Tenma," Megumu began, improvising, "this court will now hear the trial of..." Megumu paused, glancing at Chigomi, who balked at the sudden attention, earning a few awkward giggles and snorts from the jury.
"Regen Woods is what he said his name was." Chigomi filled in after a moment to recompose herself.
"The trial of Ray-gen Woods." Megumu said, noting the foreign name with a hint of distaste.
"He claims he's a soldier serving in the Yu-Ess Army." Chigomi continued.
"A soldier, huh? Well, the charges he's facing are the injury of several White Wolf Tengu, including permanent injury. Does this soldier have any words to defend himself?"
Chigomi turned and started speaking to the baffled looking man, leaving everyone else in the room with little more to do than to sit there and twiddle their thumbs.
"He's asking if he's being given a lawyer." She said after a quick conversation.
"Does it look like we have any lawyers around here?" Megumu said with a roll of her eyes. She was the only one who had any idea of how the laws would even work, and seeing as the first draft wasn't even finished, and wouldn't be if Megumu had her way, that wasn't saying much.
Chigomi spoke with the man briefly, before she froze up, and turned to look at the man incredulously.
"What did he say?" Megumu inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm not sure if it'd be proper for me to repeat it." She said, seemingly unsure of herself.
"Chigomi, just say it." Megumu said with a sigh.
"He's... questioning the validity of this trial as well as your position,"
"Oh, is that all?" Megumu said with a snort. "I expected something far worse."
"Well, he's also requesting that you, uh, engage in intercourse with yourself."
The jurors, the first six unfortunates who passed by who weren't busy with anything deemed important, all turned to look at one another, trying to not let out any sounds of amusement, lest they face punishment.
"I'm assuming that's an insult that was lost in translation. Tell him to watch his tongue before I have it ripped out and fed back to him." Megumu paused. "Or maybe not. I haven't had simmered human tongue in quite some time..."
The man turned and asked Chigomi a question with a smug look on his face, likely what her response had been. Said expression was quickly replaced with a mixture of disgust and horror once she had translated it for him.
"Now, if you're finished messing around, let's at least pretend this is a fair trial, shall we?" Megumu said, idly tapping a finger against the desk. "So does he have anything to actually say, or can we just wrap this up here and now?"
Chigomi and the man had another short conversation."He claims it was in self-defense." She explained.
"Self-defense?" Megumu snorted. "Really now? And yet he wasn't injured himself?"
"Apparently there's a war going on in the outside world, and he assumed we were part of the enemy forces. Something about a war between this so-called Yu-Ess and a place called Jah-pan?"
That earned a chuckle from Megumu. "Japan is one of the foreign names for the outside country." She explained. :That said,"I suppose that would be a somewhat fair assumption for a clueless foreigner. Unfortunately, fair or not, it was an error on his part." Still, a war, huh? Momiji was right yet again, they really did need to start looking into improving their information gathering in the outside world. She'd remembered reports of rising tensions, but that was in the west with the Middle Kingdom.
"He also claims a Crow Tengu attempted to attack the aircraft prior to them opening fire."
"Shameimaru'll be the death of me, I swear." Megumu muttered with a groan, instantly knowing the culprit. Even if she hadn't been the only Crow Tengu there, she doubted anybody else would actually consider attacking without a basic understanding of the foe. "What does he consider an 'attack' in this instance?"
"He wasn't present for it directly, but he heard she tried to smash in the aircraft's cockpit... which is the front part of the vehicle apparently."
"So he wasn't present? Then how does he know it actually happened?" Megumu asked with a slight smirk.
"Er, well, Lady Iizunamaru.."
"It's a valid question." Megumu insisted. It really wasn't, but all she had to do was go off technicalities and get this over so she could go and take a nap.
Chigomi turned to the man and translated for him, who stared at her blankly, before turning and scowling at Megumu. She met his glare with a small, smug smile. She enjoyed it as the man started to squirm as he realized just how rigged this supposed trial really was. He obviously knew it was going to be unfair, but clearly he seemed to have expected at least some sort of standards. Megumu couldn't help but chuckle to herself at the naivety. She had no obligation to treat an outside human with any level of respect. Finally, Woods began to speak with the wolfgirl next to him, to which Chigomi nodded once he had finished before turning back to Megumu.
"He says while he can't prove that that was what occurred, he claims there are a few things he knows for certain." She explained.
"Oh?" Megumu said with a smirk. "Please, elaborate for us."
The man continued to speak with Chigomi, who quickly lost her composure in response to whatever he had said. She asked him a question of some kind, to which he simply nodded. She repeated the question, and the man nodded once again.
Chigomi sighed. "I'm not exactly comfortable with repeating what he's said."
"Well, now I'm curious." Megumu said. It was obviously going to be some manner of insult, but she was curious if there'd be any wit to it.
"He claims he knows several objects in this room that... uh, you should, you know, insert into your an-"
"Alright, enough with this farce." Megumu said, clearly not appreciating the supposed suggestion. "He's guilty, and the sentence is dea-"
"Wait." A woman's voice called out from the other end of the room.
Out of a rip in space itself came the last two people Megumu wanted to deal with at the moment. The first was another foreigner, this one older and with faintly gold hair in contrast to the prisoner's black.
"I believe a mistrial may be in order." Said the other, an utterly exhausted Yukari Yakumo.
The jury was quickly escorted from the room with varying amounts of complaints and grumbling about their wasted time. Megumu couldn't have cared less. A pair of chairs was instead brought out for the two new arrivals, who wordlessly sat down.
"What is it you want, Yakumo?" Megumu asked once she was sure that they were alone.
"What I want is to speak with Tenma." Yukari said, shooting Megumu a glare. "So go and tell that long-nosed bastard to get out here."
"Lord Tenma is busy. You know this." Megumu said, trying to ignore the blatant barb directed at her superior.
"Tenma's always busy. It's easier to get a hold of Okina than Tenma, and I don't even know where that smarmy god's been hiding for the past century."
"What happened to her, anyhow?" Megumu asked, curious.
"Who knows?" Yukari said with a shrug. "I can't say I particularly miss her. I'm sure she's off scheming."
"You're one to talk." Megumu said, to which Yukari smirked.
"I'm sure I'm going to regret letting her have her run of the place some day, but that's a problem for me to worry about later. For now, other things take priority, such as speaking with Tenma."
"Well, I can deliver any messages to Lord Tenma you'd like, but beyond that, there isn't much I can do, no matter how much I wish otherwise." Megumu said. "Regardless, I assume you're here to save this lost human?"
"Unfortunately, yes, that is the case."
"Well, we can't just let him go free." Megumu explained. "We have a reputation to uphold, to ensure nobody gets any funny ideas about trying to set up shop on Youkai Mountain. We already have to deal with the Kappa and Yamanba, and if we look weak, either party might begin to question the status quo."
"Amusing, seeing as you likely were trying to break said status-quo with your little mission."
"I beg your pardon?" Megumu asked.
"Don't play with me." Yukari hissed, her eyes narrowing. "I've known Tenma for longer than you've existed, and I'm sure the Tengu would love nothing more than to take over the mountain for themselves. Capturing the airplane was probably only the first part of some scheme you'd concocted."
"While I won't deny that, we only chose to go after it after several hours of waiting to be sure this wasn't just some sort of fluke of yours. Besides, why are you defending a human, let alone a foreigner of all things, Yakumo?" Megumu said with a glare of her own. "It'd be one thing if it was a local human; that I could at least fathom, even if it would still be sickening in its own right."
"I don't think you understand the gravity of this situation." Yukari explained. "The barrier, the one thing that keeps you, me, and all of the other Youkai alive, has been breached. There is a problem that needs to be addressed, and I need to make sure all possible vectors of investigation are available, lest it be allowed to happen again."
"Ah, so this was a breach in the barrier?" Megumu said, the pieces finally beginning to click together.
"Do you really think I'd just let an armed military aircraft fly into Gensokyo for the kicks?"
"Well..." Megumu began, but raised her hands when Yukari shot her a glare. "I'm kidding. That does make more sense, but that just raises the question of how it occurred."
"I'm glad you're catching on, because that's exactly why I need him alive. Any one of the men who entered could have had something to do with the barrier breach, and seeing as four of them are already dead thanks to your meddling, I need the remainders alive so I can attempt to figure out how this all happened."
"While we would otherwise be happy to assist you in such a matter, we currently have other priorities, such as ensuring nobody thinks to step out of life. For that reason alone, we can't let him go."
Yukari sighed. "I can tell you're not going to relent on the matter. How about a compromise then? Keep him locked up, but alive."
"Wait, this isn't what you said." A third voice joined in. Megumu turned to look at the other human Yukari had brought with her. Now that she actually bothered to look at him, she quickly realized he was wearing the same uniform as the defendant. Whatever other survivors must've fallen into the Yakumo's custody, then.
Yukari gave the man an annoyed look. "I thought I told you not to say anything."
"You said you'd get him back! What the hell is this about just leaving Woods locked up in a cage!"
Megumu glared at Yukari, disgust written on her face. "You gave one of the foreigners the ability to speak our language?"
"Perhaps I did, or perhaps he simply learned it himself. After all, there's a war going on, and I'm sure they need people capable of translating."
"That sounds much too convenient. I suppose if it's for the purposes of maintaining the Barrier, I understand, but even then..."
"Even then what?" Smith asked.
Rather than elaborate, Megumu turned to the foreign man. "You should be glad I'm even willing to consider letting him live. After all, it's just one human, and an outsider at that. Nobody would care if he simply vanished." Megumu chuckled, her voice dripping with contempt. "After all, there's a war going on, correct? Who's to say his corpse isn't just waiting to be found in a ditch somewhere."
"Enough playing with him, Iizunamaru." Yukari snapped before Smith could retort. "Are you willing to let him live or not?"
"That depends. Are we going to have to keep him until he falls over dead from old age, or just until you get what you need out of him?"
"We'll see. It depends on how my investigation into the matter goes. If we're lucky, it'll all be sorted in a few days."
"And realistically?" Megumu asked with a roll of her eyes.
"Several months, maybe a year or two."
"Hm..." Megumu said, thinking. In truth, if she played her cards right, she could probably make this work to her advantage. Perhaps she could get some more information on the outside world out of the man.
"Very well. I'll speak with Lord Tenma on the matter, but I can guarantee nothing."
"If Tenma or anyone else has any issues, they can take it up with me" Yukari said, before standing. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a few more things I need to take care of before I can go back to sleep, which I would very much like to return to."
"At least we can agree on that." Megumu said with a small smirk.
March 10th, 1945
5:53 PM
Yukari opened up another one of her gaps, and Smith stared back into the nonsensical world that was her domain. He really did not enjoy going through these things. They were solid black, and the only thing one could make out clearly were numerous staring, unblinking eyes. There were some other things in the background that one could faintly make out if one tried hard enough, but considering what they looked like and the sounds that accompanied them, it was likely for the best they remained obscured. Thankfully, he merely had to step through the strange portal and it was over with, although that was easier said than done.
He found himself on a dirt road, with what looked to be a walled settlement off in the distance. It must've been the town they'd seen from overhead.
"You have something you wish to say." Yukari said flatly.
"I thought you said we'd be able to get him back." Smith growled, his face a deep scowl.
"We tried." Yukari replied, exhaustion filling her voice. "What more do you want from me?"
"You really call that trying?!" Smith snapped. "I've already lost four men today, so why the hell did I have to just give up a fifth?!"
"And?" Yukari asked nonchalantly.
"...What do you mean 'and'?" Smith asked, staring incredulously at the figure in front of him.
Yukari, in turn, sighed, rubbing her tired eyes in the hopes of staying awake.
"I understand that, to you, the loss of these people must be devastating, but to me it's as important as some nameless nobodies in a novel being killed." Yukari explained.
"How the hell could you say something like that about dead men?"
"Like I said: to me. To you, your loss must be absolutely heart-breaking, and it's for that reason alone that I was willing to even try to assist you in getting back your lost comrade, rather than just stopping them from killing him. The only reason I have any personal interest in your dead comrades is for the same reason I need to ensure he remains alive." Yukari said.
"But you barely even tried to get him back!" Smith yelled. "You were just sitting there politicking!"
"She didn't have permission to get him released. She never did, and she even said as much herself. The fact she agreed to let him live so easily was surprising in itself, so she probably had at least some kind of ulterior motive." She noted with a hint of annoyance.
Smith knew she was right, but that didn't make his situation any less painful.
"But... Even still, couldn't you have at least done something?"
"And keeping him alive wasn't something to you?" She asked, annoyance creeping in to her voice. "I've shown you this much kindness out of courtesy, but I have my limits. Do not test me any further."
Smith tried to match her gaze, but once again found himself unable to. He was angry, and confused, and frustrated, but taking it out on the only person who was willing to at least pretend to help was not the call. He was well aware that he, a grown man, was acting more like a child than an adult. And yet, he just knew this woman could have gotten what she wanted if she truly needed to, but actively chose not to. He didn't have any evidence for this beyond a simple gut feeling, but combined with the stress of the past few days, it had all together left him an angry, resentful mirror of 's simply lashing out at anything around him out of frustration at his own helplessness.
Smith took a deep breath to try and relax himself. It was hard, to say the least, but he only needed to restrain himself until he was finally alone. "My apologies, I lost control of myself there." He managed to get out, biting back his frustration.
"Yes, you did. Be sure not to do so in the future." Yukari stated calmly. There was a moment of silence, as if she expected him to continue to offer resistance, but was clearly satisfied by its absence.
"I've taken the liberty of releasing the rest of your crew." She began to explain. "I contacted an establishment in the human village, and they're currently staying there for now, although I can't promise you permanent lodgings. You'll all have to figure out some way to at least try to fit in while you're here, and that includes not standing out too much."
"Yeah, I don't think that one's going to be possible." Smith said, running a hand through his hair nervously. "It's not going to be easy to fit in around here, even if I can magically speak the language."
"Gensokyo is a land of the lost and forgotten." Yukari said wistfully, her demeanor softening as she spoke. "While not many foreigners call this place home, it still welcomes any and all. Just don't stir up trouble, and try to figure out some kind of arrangement with the village. Just whatever you do, do not leave the village under any circumstances."
"Why not?" Didn't she just say this place was supposed to be welcoming? Why were they confined to only one place if that were the case?
"If you do, I cannot guarantee your safety." She said, a stony look on her face.
Smith stared at the strange woman, before he sighed and gave her a reluctant nod. "I'll see what I can do." He then turned and began the trek over to the settlement. Why didn't she just open a portal directly to the place? Was she just screwing with him again?
Once she was sure he was gone, Yukari took a deep breath and opened a gap directly to a place she was usually unwelcome, and, if she hadn't been so tired, would've been happy to go regardless: Hakurei Shrine. She needed to clarify a few things with Himiko.
March 10th, 1945
6:07 PM
The Hakurei Shrine was located a bit more than two kilometers away from the human village, a short enough distance to be close, but long enough to make walking there a chore. While this had been done to keep some distance from the settlement and the Great Hakurei Barrier, it had also left a firm divide between the two locations.
The shrine itself was managed by the Hakurei family, whose line was known for three things: its powerful magic, its predominance for daughters, and its numerous eccentrics. Almost every generation had their own set of quirks and oddities, with few exceptions. It reached the point where the oddest ones were those exceptions: those that were relatively normal. Himiko was not one of those, being prone to outbursts and holding a general resentment for the position she had been forced into by birth.
The Shrine itself stood out from its rural surroundings, not only due to it's position on the top of a large hill in the midst of the woods, but with what trees that grew on it having been clear cut away to leave the shrine grounds themselves clear and flat. The shrine itself was, compared to most structures, relatively unimpressive, being a rather small building with only a nearby storage annex giving it any real air of luxury. That said, it was still well built, Yukari herself had seen to that, and it possessed a traditional Japanese charm to it.
Yukari stepped out of her gap, hoping to be greeted by the woman she had been looking for, but instead she found somebody else.
"Hi Miss Yakumo!" A cute little girl with a large red ribbon in her brown-black hair called out to her.
"Ah, hello Minako." She said, a faint smile forming in response to the little girl's cheeriness.
"What're you doing here, Miss Yakumo?" She asked. "Ooo, are you here to leave a donation?"
"Not this time, Minako." Yukari said, crouching down so she'd be at the girl's level. "Now, do you know where your mother is?"
"I'm right here." A grouchy voice grumbled as its owner exited out into the courtyard. Himiko Hakurei was a fitting image of her line, with long black hair and brown eyes. She wore what one expected from a shrine maiden, with a red hakama over a white kimono.
"I appreciate you saving me the trouble." Yukari said, standing back up as she did so.
"I had to make sure Genji had enough to eat. You know how he can get." Himiko said, staring at Yukari. She walked over and crouched down to smile at her daughter. "Minako, why don't you start getting ready for bed?"
"Isn't it too early to go to bed?" The little girl asked. "And what about you?"
"Mommy just has to finish up with some things from work, okay? Nothing to worry about."
Minako frowned, but gave a slow, reluctant nod.
"Okay, but you promise you won't take too long?"
"Don't worry, I promise. I won't be leaving you alone any time soon, alright?"
Minako nodded once again, and ran over to the Shrine, giving one last nervous look back before she closed the door behind her.
"I can guess what this is about." Himiko Hakurei said, all of the warmth that had filled her voice was now gone, replaced with a steely chill.
"I'm sure you can." Yukari replied.
"Look, I might have felt something was off last night, but Minako was having nightmares again, and I wasn't just going to leave her when I wasn't certain something was wrong."
"So you chose to neglect to do your job instead?"
"My job?" Himiko glared at Yukari. "I understand well the importance of what I do, but are you honestly expecting me to spend every waking hour on watch for something to happen?"
"That's not the point, Himiko."
"Then what IS the point, Yukari?" Himiko growled. "That we're all just toys for you to play with? That we should just blindly follow your marching orders like my mother always did?"
"Don't speak so poorly o-"
"I will speak of my mother how I damn well please!" Himiko hissed. "That woman was never around, always too busy with whatever work you saddled her with, or whatever nonsense was going on that week. I will not let myself turn into her! And what're you so paranoid about anyhow? All that crosses the Barrier is a few stray outsiders, and that issue sorts itself out on its own!"
"The point is you have to actually be on watch for these sorts of things!"
"What the fuck do you think I do?!" Himiko screamed at Yukari, years of pent up anger finally boiling over. "I'm not my mother, just leaving my daughter to cry alone every night on the off chance that maybe something was wrong this time, but I still do my job!"
"But you don't! Your job is to both maintain balance in this land as well as keep outside contamination to a minimum, but instead you continue to choose to prioritize a single girl's comfort-"
"You mean taking care of my daughter?" Himiko asked, a sardonic scoff escaping from her lips. "You consider that slacking off?"
Yukari groaned, rubbing her temples. The generation never mattered; dealing with the Hakurei Shrine Maiden was always a painful affair. The question lay in what kind of pain it would be.
"Himiko, I know that you can tell when there's a damn hole in the barrier."
"You mean one of the countless holes that open and close every second?" Himiko spat out. "I don't understand how any of that quantum nonsense works, or if those are even actual holes, because the moment I actually consciously check, they're all gone, and that's apparently the point but even so, not everyone can match you, Yukari!"
"Mommy, please stop shouting." A quiet voice nervously mumbled from the shrine's door.
"Minako, go back inside." Himiko said, the icy steel of her voice fading somewhat as she looked back at her daughter.
"B-but it's scary in here." She cried, tears forming in her eyes.
Himiko looked between her teary eyed daughter, and what could arguably be considered her employer. Finally, the tension left her body in one heavy sigh.
"So you never felt a major breach?" Yukari asked.
"If I had, I would have done something, but the only thing I felt was... something. I don't know how to describe it. It was smaller, and it didn't last very long, and I'm still not even sure if it actually was a breach or not."
Yukari groaned. While this was useful information, it raised a lot more questions than she'd hoped for.
"Look, I'm sorry. Go... take care of your daughter, I'll try and figure this all out."
Himiko continued to glare at Yukari, but eventually gave a slow nod. "Fine. Just get out of here, I don't want to have to deal with you right now."
Himiko left Yukari to stew in her own thoughts, instead rushing over and picking her daughter up in a hug. The two of them entered the shrine, the door closing behind them, leaving Yukari alone in the courtyard.
While Yukari would never admit it to her face, she did feel some measure of guilt over the lives of the Hakurei. Unfortunately, she was working with the tools she had available. She couldn't put Gensokyo's safety at risk. Not now, after all of the time and effort she'd invested into it. Not when she was so close.