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[x] Reisen is a brilliant little kit, and this was the time for her to shine. Just like with Chen, all I needed to do was give her a little support and encouragement.
I still remember back when Chen made her first spellcard. It had taken a lot of effort on both our parts - for all her good qualities, Chen simply wasn’t a natural with danmaku. Staying still while you cast a spellcard and the other person shot at you went against every instinct my kit had, and while spellcards with movement did exist, they were more difficult for a beginner. Making matters worse, the order for me to treat her as my pet made it difficult for me to teach her to the degree I wanted. (When she grew frustrated and started mewling for kitty cuddles, I almost had to tie my own hands to stop the shikigami from indulging her.)
But nevertheless we persisted, and finally she had her first spellcard ready to show Yukari. And my little girl was nervous. The shikigami possessing me had been anxious that everything be perfect for its master, and while that drive had helped in focusing enough to teach Chen… it had left my kit with stage fright, her voice wavering as she asked if we could maybe practice another week first.
I’d felt an almost primal urge to just embrace her and make the problem go away. To pick up my little girl, hug her, assure her she was the best kitten in all of history, and leave the spellcard demonstration for later. But that would have just delayed the problem and made it that little bit harder for Chen to stand on her own when “later” finally came. She’d done a good job, she’d put in the work, and “Kishin - Soaring Bishamonten” was a fine entry-level spellcard. As much as I wanted to hold her hand, that would be holding her back. She didn’t need my protection… just a little encouragement.
So I knelt down, and pet her. A quick stroke as my fingers traced a line from her fluffy ears down her cheek. She went completely still, looking at me as I told her not to worry. That she was ready, that she’d worked hard, and that Yukari was going to be just as impressed with her as I was. And in my kit’s eyes I saw the worry fade away as Chen fought her fear with pure, earnest determination. Her nerves were still evident, but she approached Yukari, started up her spellcard… and it went absolutely perfectly. (After which it was finally time to cuddle my kit and shower her with praise.)
It’s easy to underestimate how meaningful a simple touch can be. After all, the sense of touch is something we use constantly, whether that’s holding things in our hands or brushing up against objects. But despite that, how often do you touch another person? Oh, there’s bumping into someone in a crowd, or the occasional handshake… but an intentional, gentle, prolonged touch is meaningful in a way that few people realize. It calls back to our memories of our loved ones, and is proof on a level beneath words that there’s another person not just there with you, but there for you. That they chose, in this small way, to get close to you, to comfort you… in short, that they care.
What better message to send to a girl whose efforts remained perpetually unappreciated despite working almost as hard as a shikigami?
And so when Reisen looked back at me, that hesitation in her gaze, I gave her that little bit of encouragement - a hand on her shoulder, and a subtle nod. The unspoken message to go ahead, because she’s got this.
“Marisa’s in bed rest on Eirin’s orders,” the nurse said authoritatively. “She’s expected to make a full recovery, but jumping back into incident resolution could aggravate her injuries.”
“If Marisa’s injuries aren’t bad, shouldn’t Eientei be able to just heal them?” Akyuu asked.
“It’s more about playing it safe,” Reisen replied. “Eientei’s number one priority is the safety of its patients.”
“But Eirin’s entire claim to fame is the medicine she creates.” Akyuu persisted. “Miracle cures for everything from the common cold to stage four cancer, that work efficiently, almost instantly, and without side effects.”
I’d been watching the back-and-forth with no more interference than patting the kit’s shoulder, but Akyuu’s word choice caught my attention. Specifically, it was interesting that she named cancer for her choice of a deadly, difficult-to-treat disease. It was indeed a well known, highly feared disease… in the outside world. There doubtless had been a few actual cancer cases Eirin had treated, but its name recognition within Gensokyo was near zero, as the disease simply wasn’t well known back when the Great Hakurei Barrier was formed. It was the sort of example I’d expect an outsider like Mamizou to come up with, not a historian and Gensokyo native like Akyuu.
“Almost instantly.” Reisen stressed. “And that’s for villagers that are returning to their peaceful daily lives, not jumping right back into getting clobbered by danmaku and aggravating injuries!”
“But if all Marisa’s suffered are a few cuts and bruises, surely there’s little to aggravate?” Akyuu asked innocently. “She and Reimu both have had a few times where they’ve failed to resolve an incident, taken quite the beating in doing so, and run right back out the next day to try again. In fact, weren’t a couple of those beatings literally at Sakuya’s hands?”
Reisen hesitated, and I found myself begrudgingly impressed. The chronicler’s position was both simple and solid; if Marisa was raring to go after a normal defeat but she wasn’t now, that meant her injuries had to be worse than usual. Suppressing a frown, I rubbed the kit’s back as I considered the problem. The very simplicity of the argument made it difficult to disarm - not only was it logic a five year old could understand, it was also completely correct.
“I-it’s not that simple,” the moon rabbit said, stuttering a bit. “It takes time for a human body to truly heal off damage, and if you don’t give it that time to rest, the damage accumulates! And even with my master’s medicine, you can only use so much magic on a human before they just end up becoming a youkai!”
“I don’t see how that’s relevant?” Akyuu asked, with a coy tilt of her head. “My point is that there shouldn’t be much damage - that’s the entire reason spellcards exist to begin with! Gensokyo only works because there’s no major risks to a danmaku duel!”
Hmm. That sounded logical, but any actual spellcard duelist should know better - danmaku attacks were less dangerous than their conventional equivalents, but that did not make them safe. Something proven by the fact that Greg needed a visit to Eientei after being struck by one of Marisa’s bullets. So why leave such an obvious opening? Perhaps it really was Akyuu after all… or was Mamizou trying to throw me off her trail?
I frowned, scratching the kit behind the ears as I considered the possibilities. Trying to impersonate Akyuu was a very dangerous game to play - while the chronicler’s role as a neutral arbiter was a great way to influence the discussion, it could also backfire tremendously. Mamizou’s abilities let her imitate many things, but a photographic memory was not one of them. Was she relying on nobody ever questioning her disguise? Admittedly, with her own existence hidden by Keine it was possible, but it felt unnecessarily risky.
“T-true in theory, but with caveats in practice,” Reisen replied, swallowing and shifting nervously. “Danmaku attacks are far less d-dangerous than an equivalent, non-danmaku blow would be, but that does not make them s-safe. Greg’s own injury proves that!”
But at the same time, what reason did Akyuu have to side with Mamizou? The Child of Miare knew perfectly well that she couldn’t be part of an incident, not in the sense of helping cause one. Influencing the humans of the village was already a major power struggle for Gensokyo’s youkai, and Akyuu’s histories were a key part of that. Few people stopped to read them in full, but the contents still spread by word of mouth, and the people believed in the accuracy of the Child of Miare’s words. This was a tremendous power to wield, but one considered acceptable because she was a neutral party.
What could possibly be worth risking that for? The Child of Miare cooperating with a culprit who was manipulating and erasing history… it threw her entire role into doubt. And while she might be able to get away with it in the eyes of the public, she ultimately reported to the Yama. Shiki Eiki was fond of her (or at least as fond as she let herself get of people), but she wouldn’t ignore this kind of violation. She couldn’t. If this really was Akyuu, she was putting her permission to reincarnate at risk!
“I suppose I can see a doctor being swayed by this argument,” the woman who might be Akyuu said thoughtfully.
She didn’t seem displeased, and there was no way she was just giving up. Reisen seemed to share your discomfort, letting out a shaky exhale. “T-then can we f-finally-”
“But not Marisa.” The words were spoken softly, but with no less power for it. “She’s the magician who makes a point of dueling every dangerous foe available, one of Gensokyo’s foremost incident resolvers, and someone with a habit of breaking into and stealing from the Scarlet Devil Mansion on a regular basis.”
So that was the trap. By switching the focus from Eirin’s treatment to what Marisa would do, Akyuu was circumventing Reisen’s authority as an expert. It was irritatingly clever; while the moon rabbit would clearly have the best idea of her master’s plans and thought process, there were several people present with a better grasp of the magician’s character. Which was known to be particularly headstrong, and brave bordering on reckless. I locked glances with the chronicler, carefully considering the best response as I pet the bunny.
“T-that’s because, Marisaaaah-” Reisen gasped, “s-s-she, she…”
Oh dear. I’d hoped to give this one to the kit, but if the stress was getting to her, I’d need to take over. Whether Akyuu was really Mamizou or not, letting her derail the discussion here was unacceptable. I kept petting Reisen, resolving to make it up to the girl later.
“Her stubbornness and unwillingness to give up are a legend all their own, one more famous than most actual youkai,” my quarry continued. “You’re telling me a few cuts and the abstract risk of aggravating injuries kept her down? Eirin would have to-”
“Ran, would you stop that?!” Reisen burst out. The moon rabbit’s face was almost as red as her eyes as she glared at me.
I blinked, thrown off guard. “What? I was just petting…” and it was my turn for my voice to trail off.
I’d been petting Reisen. In front of everyone.
“Ran, you idiot!” you hissed, pulling your hand back as if you’d touched a hot stove. “Reisen, I’m so sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”
Miko chuckled, folding her arms as the saint watched you. “Having a little Chen withdrawal there, Ran?”
Now was not the time to - wait, no, this was the perfect angle! Redirect the blame to yourself, and spare Reisen the embarrassment you deserved. “It has been a few days, yes.” you admitted, scratching the back of your head sheepishly. “Ever since Remilia received her urban legend and the incident kicked into high gear, I haven’t been able to make time to visit. I… must have missed her more than I thought.”
“I suppose we can add pet cats to the list of weaknesses the fabled nine-tails possesses,” the saint teased, drawing a few laughs.
Thank you you mouthed before looking away, not needing to fake your shame as you sold Miko’s suggestion.
“It is understandable, though.” Kasen defended you. “After a particularly stressful day, there is a certain allure to having something soft and fluffy to hug. ”
“Wait a minute.” Reimu’s voice rang out, stern and harsh… before abruptly turning playful as the shrine maiden smirked. “I thought you said all your pets were for training?”
“That, erm-” the hermit sputtered, attempting to backpedal. “- I didn’t say I acted on such urges, merely that I understood they existed!”
You tuned out the banter, focusing instead on the young lady in front of you. Reisen was still a little red in the face, but less so than previously, the moon rabbit visibly calming down. You opened your mouth… but what was there to even say? You’d given a brief apology, and while a longer one was warranted, in front of everyone else was not the time or place. Considering the nature of your transgression, attempting to give comfort in some other way would be astonishingly tone deaf. No. Better to give the woman space and push the conversation past your affectionate faux pas as quickly as possible.
“Can we get back to the point at hand?” The chronicler’s irritation cut through the playful discussion. “Why isn’t Marisa here? There’s no way a few bruises are enough to keep her down.”
You found yourself oddly grateful at Akyuu’s interruption, but it brought you back to the same problem as before. Marisa simply wouldn’t let minor injuries keep her away from an incident… which in turn implied that her injuries were not minor.
“I can only imagine she saw a chance to pilfer Eientei’s library,” Miko said drily. “Casually dropping by the Scarlet Devil Mansion or Alice’s house is one thing, but the Bamboo Forest of the Lost is far more difficult to navigate.”
Reimu sighed, dragging a hand across her face. “She would, wouldn’t she.”
“Perceptive,” you agreed, giving them both a nod. “I’m certain Eirin will have countermeasures against petty theft, but the consequences of any attempted burglary are neither here nor there.”
“This isn’t like skipping some tea party!” Akyuu objected, scowling. “The incident is ongoing, and if Sakuya kidnapped Sumireko, that’s critically important news! You can’t tell me Marisa would miss this meeting for a little ‘petty theft’!”
“True enough, and there is another factor,” you said easily. “She doesn’t know about it.”
“What? But you said she was working with you, and-”
“I didn’t know about it either. Not at the time, at least.” You gave a shrug. “I only found out this meeting was taking place from Seiga while trying to find Miko. If I’d had earlier notice, I assure you I would have arrived on time.”
“I can confirm that,” Alice said, glancing back at you. “Ran’s reaction upon figuring out a way to both find the taoist and participate in the meeting was… unlikely to have been faked.”
Reisen’s ears drooped a little more and you bit back a sigh. You’d need to figure out a way to make things up to the girl - no, to the young woman - that didn’t involve embarrassing her further. “But getting back to Marisa’s motives for staying at Eientei, the answer is simple. It’s late at night, she took a bit of a beating, and Eirin is offering her a bed for the night. She needs to rest before taking on the Scarlet Devil Mansion in any case, and this way she gets a chance to relax and assorted looting opportunities instead of a long flight back home. Why wouldn’t she take advantage of it?”
Kasen nodded. “That checks out. Given an invitation, Marisa is more than willing to explore someone else’s home… and sometimes in the absence of one.”
“Tell me about it,” Reimu groaned. “She crashes at my shrine to mooch a meal all the time.”
Alice raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t she bring you food just as often?”
“But I was clearly on to something!” Akyuu protested, cutting off the banter. “Reisen’s reactions-”
“You mean the part where Ran’s ‘loving care’ was openly derailing her train of thought?” Miko asked. “It’s a miracle the moon rabbit kept her composure as well as she did.”
Miko’s description of your slip was aggravating, but it was nevertheless helpful. You shook your head, frowning. “The only secret Reisen was trying to keep was the fact I was petting her.” You then sighed and turned to the girl in question. “I am sorry about that, by the way.”
“It’s alright,” she said quietly, not looking at you.
“It’s not just that!” The chronicler insisted, openly frustrated. “They’re hiding something!”
“And what makes you so certain?” you asked, folding your arms. “Or to put it more plainly, what grounds do you have to call me a liar?”
You had to suppress a grin, steeling your features into something stern bordering on judgemental, the expression of a youkai who was unamused at a mere human trespassing on their domain. Despite that, your fingers dug into your arms with the energy of a predator on the hunt, because Akyuu had slipped. She’d gone too far, going beyond devil’s advocate into outright contradicting you. It was an understandable mistake - you were lying, and the woman in front of you knew that perfectly well… but she couldn’t prove it without implicating herself. The Child of Miare had no innocent explanation for knowing that Marisa was critically injured.
And so you pressed on, before she had a chance to come up with one. “The witch clearly isn’t here, so it’s not as though I’m lying about that. The reasons we’ve given for her absence - a doctor being cautious and a burglar plying her trade - have satisfied everyone else here, a number of active incident resolvers, along with Marisa’s best friend. Do you, by chance, know something the rest of us aren’t privy to?”
Every eye turned her way, and Akyuu flinched, looking down as she folded her hands around her cup. “No. Just… writer’s intuition.”
“Are you certain?” Miko asked. “I sense there’s something you strongly desire to say.”
Akyuu hesitated for a moment, her shoulders tense, and you pounced. “She is rather worked up… but I suppose I can understand where she’s coming from. Akyuu… you’re worried about Keine, aren’t you?”
Whether she was truly Mamizou or not, Akyuu had already proven she could navigate a conversation, and so you couldn’t rely on her self-destructing. The point you were pressing on wasn’t solid enough to truly nail her with - she could simply make the excuse that she’d gotten caught up in her own theory and a little too excited, and given a moment to think the chronicler would likely do so. So instead of gambling that the chronicler wouldn’t find an out, you gave her one… but in a way that forced a concession.
It was a thought process not unlike chess. Sometimes an attack was insufficient to win material outright, but your opponent could only defend by worsening their pawn structure or weakening a key square - a minor advantage that could snowball into something far greater over time. If Akyuu took the out you were giving her, then it helped establish Keine’s existence and moved the discussion to the next topic you wanted to discuss. But rejecting the excuse would be noticeably odd and put more pressure on her to explain her earlier actions, particularly since she didn’t already have an explanation readily at hand.
The chronicler bit her lip as her eyes flicked back to you. She clearly saw the play you were making, but just as clearly couldn’t see a way past it. “... yeah.” She finally admitted. “Hopefully nothing’s happened to her.”
“A moment please,” Byakuren interrupted. “Who’s this Keine? I’m afraid I’m unfamiliar with her.”
A smirk would be completely inappropriate here - more’s the pity, as that question couldn’t have come at a better time. “This can be best answered with a few questions,” you replied. “To begin with, who is the schoolteacher at the village?”
The buddhist paused for a second, giving a frown, “I can’t recall.”
“Neither can I,” Miko said, looking similarly troubled. Ah… you hadn’t actually told the taoist about Keine yet, had you?
As for the shrine maiden, Reimu merely gave a shrug. “I don’t really pay that much attention to the school.”
“Even though you put up ofuda to drive away a youkai hiding there last year?” you asked. You’d been too busy to investigate yourself, but the mysterious youkai had been the talk of the village for weeks afterward. “No matter. You should find the other questions more enlightening. Who hid the human village during the Eternal Night incident? Who did you fight overtop where the village should have been? And who pointed you in the direction of the culprits?”
Reimu was openly frowning at that. “We found them after fighting Marisa, I’m pretty sure. As for the village… I must have figured the culprits hid it, because the only things there were fairies, I think? It’s been a while, it’s a little vague.”
Alice glanced at you. “My memories are much the same, but I can remember the rest of the incident more clearly. Furthermore, now that I think about it… the number of dolls I had available for use after flying over the missing village was six fewer than it should have been. An indication I had declared a spellcard and yet forgotten it.”
“Indeed,” you gave her a nod. “I believe this carries the point, but there’s one other time you fought her. It was at the trial of guts a month afterwards, where she tried to prevent everyone from reaching Mokou.”
Needless to say, neither Reimu nor Alice remembered that encounter either.
Having laid the groundwork, you again laid an illusion over the table. This one featured the missing person in question, complete with ornate hat. “This is Keine Kamishirasawa. She’s the village’s schoolteacher, a friend to both Fujiwara Mokou and the Hieda family, and one of the forces that helps guard the village.”
“She’s never been pushed to hiding her own existence before,” Akyuu said, biting her lip. “With how important Mokou and the village are to her… the only way I could see it is if she really needed to hide. I think someone’s after her. Keine is… she’s not weak, but she doesn’t compare to the likes of a Reimu or Sakuya.”
It was a good, genuine-sounding plea, and set the hakutaku up to be sympathetic. Was that because Keine genuinely was innocent and coerced into her role, or a purely tactical decision to take heat off a co-conspirator? You couldn’t tell, though it didn’t particularly matter - the key point was establishing her actions.
“And why would someone be after Keine?” Miko asked. "What makes her important to the incident?"
“Because she is also known as the history-eating half beast,” you declared.
You sent a pulse of magic through the illusion, the schoolteacher’s hat vanishing and her horns appearing as you switched the image to her were-hakutaku form. “Keine’s ability is to conceal history itself, which is how she hid the human village during the Endless Night incident. Furthermore, during a full moon, her bestial traits show and she gains the additional power to create history. The applications to urban legends are obvious.”
“You’re saying there’s a youkai who hid her own existence, who can just erase and create urban legends wholesale?” Kasen demanded.
“She can only create history during a full moon,” you said, “but otherwise… I believe so, yes.”
“The full moon begins the night after next.” Reisen said quietly.
Reimu grimaced. “So basically, we’ve got two days to solve this before more urban legends like Remilia’s start popping up.”
“Keine would never do something like that!” Akyuu protested. “You might not remember her, but I do. She’s a protector, a guide, a teacher - for crying out loud, she spends most of her time talking to kids about history! I don’t think she’s ever actually fought except when trying to defend humans, and she gets along just fine with youkai as well. There’s simply no way she’d be involved with creating a malicious urban legend!”
You nodded along with her statement. “I agree, it would be out of character for her… normally. But there’s a second curiosity. You see, earlier this evening, Keine was supposed to be meeting with Sakuya regarding Remilia’s urban legend.”
You got up to start pacing once again, half to draw everyone’s attention, and half because you felt that incident-resolving excitement start to return. “As you all know, the maid’s concern in this matter is Remilia’s well-being. Who better to fix a malicious urban legend than someone who can erase history itself? Keine is a reasonable, helpful, and responsible individual. She would have no objection to helping to the best of her ability and returning Remilia to full health.”
“And yet, Sakuya wasn’t there. Instead of meeting with the person whose powers are uniquely suited to saving her master… she chose to chase down Sumireko and her allies, fighting her way through powerful humans and youkai both. A decision that directly prevented Marisa from apprehending the outsider and bringing the incident to a swift end.”
You gave a serious look to the gathered incident resolvers. “The maid’s actions shocked me at the time, as I couldn’t fathom why she would make such a call. Right up until I learned that Keine’s name had been forgotten entirely. If Sakuya abruptly forgot that Keine existed, then the lengths she went to in capturing Sumireko make far more sense.”
“Could it be self defense?” Akyuu asked. “Sakuya can be aggressively demanding when it comes to Remilia’s wants, let alone something she actually needs. We don’t know if Keine’s ability actually works on urban legends. If she wasn’t able to help the vampire, then hiding her existence might have been the only way to avoid herself getting kidnapped.”
Miko shook her head. “I think not. Sakuya may have the strongest desire to serve I’ve ever seen, but the maid is extremely practical. She would be well aware that asking for willing help from this Keine is a far better prospect than threatening unwilling help out of her.”
“Exactly.” you said. “Not only does it make little sense for Sakuya to start off with threats, but there’d be no need for Keine to hide her existence entirely. She knows how to use her ability - she could simply hide the fact that she’s able to conceal history and present herself as a purely mundane schoolteacher.”
“Which would let her continue her day-to-day life unimpeded and avoid worrying Akyuu,” Byakuren realized.
You hid a smile, carrying the point forwards. “As such, the inescapable conclusion is that Keine has been forced to hide her existence. And if Keine has been forced into using her powers, then it only stands to reason the culprit coercing her sought to use her powers for themselves."
As you spoke you altered the illusion one more time, a shadowy figure forming behind the now fearful-looking Keine. Everyone’s attention was hooked, as you looked up to the crowd.
"Therefore, only one question remains: is there anyone else missing from everyone's memory?" You paused, letting the rhetorical question hang in the air. "If we find another who has leapt clear of history's pages... then we can only conclude that they are to blame for this incident's forestalled end."
Akyuu’s expression nearly passed for keen interest, but the beads of sweat breaking out across her forehead betrayed her. You smirked, giving the chronicler a knowing look as you continued tightening the noose. "But how do we find this final culprit, the urban legend incident’s true mastermind? It could be anyone, from a great youkai to a humble human. In some senses, it should be no-one, with all traces of their existence scrubbed away. And yet, whether through luck or fate, I believe I’ve found the truth. I know exactly who is at fault."
[-] To be continued.
((Fun fact, in addition to being a new thread starter, this update takes USiL over the 300k words milestone. Not counting TFatS or other sidestory/omake content. Thanks to everyone who's stuck around! It's kind of crazy realizing just how far the story has come... but there's still a long way to go. Here's hoping I'm able to see this through to completion.))
We love you, LS!
Can't wait to see what happens next
Kudos! Been following this story for years and every update makes my day better.
>>214288
I'm curious, how much of this was in Mamizou's plans, and how much is "shit this wasn't supposed to happen yet"? It's fun watching masterminds unfold their master plan perfectly, but it's even more fun to see when everything has gone to hell and they just have to salvage what they have and still get some workable solution from it.
that was absolutely adorable, and I'm glad it won the vote!
that said, poor Reisen XD
Another thought, with how we now know how this meeting went, particularly Miko's prescence there, Mamizou's attempt to discredit Ran...(tomorrow from this point iirc?) seems like it will be a move of desperation more than anything and not as likely to succeed than it had appeared previously. with Miko here we have witness of someone that could counter the attempt of Mamizou and Nue to throw blame on Ran.
[-] The real culprit!
You were nearly there. You’d avoided the trap around Marisa’s injuries, you’d proved Keine’s role in the incident, and you’d connected her concealing of history to the real culprit. All that remained was to prove Mamizou existed… and doing the same with Keine gave you the blueprint for how.
“Given that the culprit’s actual history has been erased, we need to look for indirect evidence. Just like with Keine herself, we’re looking for effects without causes, the consequences of actions that nobody can remember.” You paused meaningfully. “Fortunately, the culprit in question was directly and prominently involved with multiple incidents in the last few years.”
As you spoke you surveyed the room, getting an idea of everyone’s current emotional state.
Reimu was showing signs of the late hour. She was still participating as loudly and forcefully as ever, but during pauses she’d be stifling yawns, rubbing at her eyes, and gently petting Shinmyoumaru. The inchling was even drowsier, to the point where you suspected she’d already fallen asleep. The combination of emotional stress and crashing adrenaline had taken their toll, and the tiny girl was snuggling into Reimu’s hand, her eyes firmly shut. Fortunately, with the way things were going, they’d both be able to get their long-awaited rest soon enough.
Reisen was only barely more engaged, simply sitting there and fidgeting. Her blush had mostly faded, but she’d gone back for sake twice more since your… lapse, and was trying not to meet your gaze. Alice was sitting at her side, her expression remaining calm and professional while a doll ferried a glass of water over to the moon rabbit.
On the other hand, Kasen and Byakuren were both alert and interested, their usual restraint not quite covering their eagerness to hear your reveal of the culprit’s identity. The lone glass of water in front of the monk was an amusing contrast to the trio of empty plates in front of the hermit. Kasen had always been a nervous eater, and she’d consumed more snacks than the rest of the meeting put together.
And Miko… Miko was in her element, having the time of her life. Leadership and conversations like these came to her just as readily as they did to you - perhaps even more so, considering her ability to hear desires. Which may be why she’d chosen to sit next to Akyuu, as the chronicler’s air of calm was starting to crack.
“I think it’s best to go in chronological order,” you said. “Our mystery culprit’s first appearance in Gensokyo was in the wake of Miko’s resurrection. Reimu, remember the discussion of the youkai’s ‘trump card’?”
The shrine maiden had been looking down at Shinmyoumaru and started at hearing her name. “Yeah, something like that. Sanae said a bunch of youkai were worried, and Nue made a big deal about calling in some sort of backup… but apparently they never showed up?”
“And did you fight anyone as a result?” you pressed.
“Just Nue, I think.” Reimu said distractedly, as she gently scooped up the sleeping inchling in both hands.
You felt a pang of longing as the shrine maiden floated off to put the tiny princess to bed, but you had a case to finish.
“I take it that’s not actually the case?” Kasen asked.
Ideally Reimu would have recalled being more exhausted than a single spellcard duel would justify. However, Nue was a difficult fight in her own right, and the shrine maiden wasn’t exactly precise with such details. “Indeed. Just like Keine, there was another duel Reimu can’t remember, which doubled as our culprit’s first appearance in Gensokyo. More of a footnote to Miko’s incident than a true contribution, but worth noting nonetheless.”
“Are you claiming the culprit is connected to Myouren?” Byakuren asked sharply.
“Only loosely,” you said. “I don’t doubt she’d side with you if genuine hostilities broke out between your faction and the taoists, but she’s more Nue’s friend than a true associate of Myouren.”
“Which makes it interesting that it was Nue’s Seeds of Unknown Form that were stolen earlier in this incident.” Miko noted. “Robbing a youkai whose defining characteristic is being unknown requires some fairly specific knowledge.”
“It would also make her a rather terrible friend.” Akyuu objected.
Alice rolled her eyes. “It’s not as though a little petty theft is friendship-ending. Marisa is proof enough of that.”
“Yeah, she’ll take pretty much anything nailed down,” Reimu confirmed, as she returned to the room and headed back to her spot.
“True, but it’s also possible the ‘theft’ was for plausible deniability,” you pointed out. “If Sumireko or someone appearing to her were to use an item only Nue has, that implicates her as an accomplice. But if the Unknown Seeds were stolen… well, it’s not as though Nue can be blamed for that.”
“Speaking of which,” you switched topics, turning to the monk. “Byakuren, do you remember who Nue’s reinforcement was?”
Byakuren frowned. “No.”
Miko smirked, folding her arms as she leaned forwards. “Are the youkai attached to your temple so uncontrolled, or is this merely an organizational failure?”
The Buddhist shook her head, refusing to be baited. “You are fully aware the most likely explanation is Keine’s effect hiding her identity.”
Which was of course, the reason Miko had needled her in such a fashion. You took the admission and ran with it, moving on to the next incident.
“With our culprit’s entrance to Gensokyo established, I’d like to proceed to the religious wars,” you said. “As I’m sure you all recall, the incident was ultimately caused by Kokoro, who had been draining hope from the village as a consequence of losing her mask. And as the incident went on, nearly every relevant figure met her in the dead of night in the human village.”
Akyuu was looking tense, and you gave her a smile before turning your sights on the shrine maiden. “Reimu, could you describe how you found out the village was without emotion? What events preceded your initial encounter with Kokoro?”
“Eh?” The Hakurei seemed taken aback. “Well, I was fighting Miko, and even though I’d been on a real hot streak, the whole crowd was rooting for her for some reason. It was really off, and I was worried I wouldn’t get any donations-”
“Reimu…” Kasen said, sighing.
“No, no, this is relevant.” you forestalled her, holding up a hand. “Was there something unusual about the crowd?”
The shrine maiden snapped her fingers with a look of realization. “Yeah, it turned out they were all tanuki. And then I fought her again, won again, and she told me about the problem at the human village.”
“I most certainly did not,” Miko said flatly. “But I do recall a very similar experience - fighting an imposter disguised as me, who had been using my image to scatter the faith I’d gathered. And like with Reimu, after a couple rounds of combat the imposter gave in and informed me of Kokoro.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Byakuren at that, and the remaining religious leader paused. “Ichirin was the first to tell me about Kokoro, actually. However, she wasn’t the only one; I also fought someone with an audience of tanuki, who informed me of the problems at the human village. In my case it was Reimu.”
“Wait, the imposter was disguising as me?” The shrine maiden asked, indignant.
“And in addition to being able to impersonate multiple people, our culprit was also able to organize a crowd of tanuki to cheer for her.” You folded your arms, sweeping your gaze across the meeting. “As such, the natural explanation would be a leader of such youkai, a bake-danuki.”
You were suppressing a grin, in point of fact. You hadn’t quite been sure to what degree Mamizou’s disguises would be remembered; it was perfectly possible that her impersonations had also been erased, or that the tanuki as a whole had been hidden. But her disguises still being part of history, along with being cheered for by a tanuki audience? Perhaps it was a hint, left by Keine to aid you - it was nearly enough proof on its own, even without any other evidence.
And judging by her glare, Akyuu clearly saw it as well. You had the crowd, you had momentum, and they were finding your words compelling. You’d sold the idea of a second forgotten person, and each new fact added a little more detail to that image, serving as another nail in Mamizou’s coffin. Now would be a perfect time for her to back off and run damage control - accept that the tanuki was being revealed and look for a way to paint her in a more sympathetic light. Perhaps by relating Hakihito’s tragic story? Framing Mamizou as a bereaved mother desperately looking to revive her son seemed like the best Akyuu could hope for now: It wouldn’t prevent you or Reimu from ending the incident, but it would shut down any thought of revenge or additional punishment.
But that’s not what the chronicler chose. Taking a deep breath, she drained the rest of her glass, slamming it down on the table hard enough to rattle the other cups. Having gotten the group’s attention, she glared at you with steely determination.
“‘The most natural explanation’. That’s a nice way of saying ‘educated guess’,” she scoffed. “I’ll admit a bake-danuki could do it, but Gensokyo doesn’t have one. What Gensokyo does have is Houjuu Nue.”
Akyuu leaned forwards, a fire in her eyes. “The popular image of a nue is the head of a monkey, the limbs of a tiger, a snake for a tail, and the body of a tanuki. And while that was a misconception from The Tale of the Heike, the epic account was influential enough to change peoples’ understanding of youkai… along with being at the height of its popularity back when Nue was young. She was literally part tanuki for decades.”
“Mere visual similarity is nowhere near enough to establish a connection,” you objected. “Kuda-gitsune look almost identical to one-tailed kitsune, but you won’t find me endorsing them.”
“Of course, but it’s more than that. Nue and the tanuki share similar temperaments, with a gentle penchant for trickery, similar abilities to disguise themselves and conceal the truth, and most importantly, an alliance against the same terrible foe.” Akyuu declared. “After a few singularly ill-advised pranks on Emperor Konoe, Nue drew the attention of not only the palace guard, but the wicked kitsune Tamamo-no-Mae, who was then at the height of her power.”
“Emperor Konoe? Are you saying Nue Houjuu is in fact the youkai from The Tale of the Heike?” Miko demanded. “Despite the chimera’s corpse presented to the emperor?”
“That was a hoax perpetuated by Tamamo-no-Mae. She’d wanted to capture a nue for her own designs, but stitched together the chimera corpse after the girl slipped through her fingers.” The chronicler recounted, her expression grim. “While Nue hid out on Sado, news of ‘the youkai that attacked the emperor’ and ‘the nue’s true form’ spread like wildfire, and the resulting surge of belief was massive. Enough to curse Nue with the abomination’s form for a quarter century. If not for the tanuki’s efforts, it could have well been permanent.”
“I trust these details are relevant?” Byakuren said sternly. “I don’t deny their accuracy, but Nue would greatly prefer her past being kept secret, especially her time as a chimera.”
A guilty look passed over Akyuu’s face at the admonition. “I wouldn’t mention it if it wasn’t necessary. And it is important.”
“Very well,” the monk relented. “Though I’m surprised you’re aware of it - she didn’t even tell me about those years; I had to get the broad strokes from Murasa.”
“Right. That ties into what I was talking about regarding their shared enemy,” Akyuu said. “One of my past reincarnations was friends with the tanuki. After the trail of destruction the wicked kitsune left across Japan in general and Sado in particular, they were determined to oppose her in any way possible… and one of those ways was rescuing Nue from her clutches.”
You’d been waiting for this. “Indeed! And chief among them was the bake-danuki, Futatsuiwa Mamizou. Having recently lost her only child to the shikigami binding, it’s no surprise she bonded with a young, vulnerable youkai who had been likewise victimized by her hated foe.”
“Hang on,” Reimu interrupted. “Akyuu I get, but why do you know what a bunch of tanuki were up to?”
Had Yukari not told her? “Like Akyuu, a different source,” you replied seriously. “Though unlike the chronicler, my information is firsthand. Given I was Tamamo-no-Mae, it would be hard not to be aware of one of my more persistent enemies.”
“You were what?!” Reimu demanded, her fist slamming into the table… and then doing a double take when nobody else reacted. “Did everyone know this except me?”
“If it makes you feel better, Reisen, Alice, and Miko only found out tonight. And I’m quite sure Shinmyoumaru is also unaware,” you remarked.
Realizing that Kasen had known for a while, the shrine maiden turned to her with a betrayed look. The hermit sighed, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I honestly thought Yukari would have told you, but even if she hadn’t, it wasn’t my secret to share. Besides, Ran changed a long time ago.”
Reimu turned away from her, sullenly. “I’m the Hakurei Shrine maiden! If someone in Gensokyo used to be an evil mass-murdering youkai, I should know!”
Kasen was lucky Reimu wasn’t looking at her. The former Ibaraki-Douji’s expression was a study in guilt.
Better to get your case back on track before things derailed any further. “If you have concerns, I’m more than willing to discuss them later,” you assured the shrine maiden. “But the key point for this incident isn’t my identity, it’s Mamizou’s.”
Miko spotted the implication immediately. “As Nue’s friend and a bake-danuki, she would fit the profile of our culprit.”
“Exactly!” You grinned. “She’s the one Nue called in for reinforcements. It was her the tanuki were cheering for during the religious war. And last but not least, it was Mamizou who gave Sumireko the fake occult ball to trap her in Gensokyo!”
“No it wasn’t,” Akyuu snapped. “That was Keine! And besides, it’s impossible for Mamizou to be involved.”
Irritatingly clever. You’d been about to point out how nobody remembered who gave Sumireko the fake occult ball… but nobody could remember Keine either. Akyuu had preempted you with an alternate explanation, then dropped a claim that could not be ignored.
“And just why is that?” you demanded.
“Because she’s dead!” Akyuu's yell rattled the windows. She took a deep breath, drawing herself up to continue. “Futatsuiwa Mamizou was real, a bake-danuki who was a friend of Nue’s, and a bitter enemy of Tamamo-no-Mae… but she died seventy years ago.”
"Absurd," you hissed. "Two days ago she was here. In this room, eating Reimu’s snacks, drinking her sake, and discussing the plan for this very incident!”
The chronicler traded out her earlier passion for a somber, serious tone. “But she couldn’t have been. Her legend had been on the decline for centuries, and then World War II was the final nail in the coffin. Beyond the general damage to the country, a number of lesser tanuki had tagged along with the army in an attempt to establish faith, and it ended poorly. Between general hardship, lack of belief, significant injuries and her own personal heartbreak, she just wasn’t able to hold on. It’s part of why the tanuki population has increased so much within Gensokyo these past decades.”
She was really committing to this. Her story was too polished to be made up on the spot - in addition to the level of detail, the somber weighty tone was perfect for describing a dead woman - and that meant the lie was planned. But why go that direction? It was undeniably effective in the moment, you could see the incident resolvers wavering, unsure who to believe... but it staked out a position actively contradicted by the evidence. A quick search through Akyuu's own histories for Mamizou would either turn up nothing, proving Keine had erased her, or even more damningly, prove she was still around and present today. Altering those documents to show the tanuki's death would be creating history, and the full moon wasn't here yet.
“And yet, I know for a fact she lives. Which makes me wonder..." you paused for effect, leaning forwards to stare at the chronicler, "are you certain your memory truly trumps Keine’s ability?”
She narrowed her eyes. “So that’s your plan? Making me out to be some addled fool?”
“Nothing so dramatic,” you said easily. “My point is merely that you’re human. Completely so, aside from your eidetic memory.”
“Considering the Hakurei Shrine Maiden and the maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion are human, I fail to see your point.”
“Remembering things is hardly a power on the order of stopping time or floating away from reality itself. Useful for a chronicler, to be sure, but it always struck me as odd for such a mundane thing to defeat a youkai’s ability to change history. And even if your memory withstood her power before, what’s to say Keine hasn’t been empowered by an urban legend capable of turning the tables?”
"Have you taken leave of your senses?" she demanded. "My entire purpose, the reason I reincarnate, is so I can accurately record history! It would be far more reasonable for Keine’s effect to be messing with your mind! Why should some random kitsune have a resistance to it anyway?"
You’d been asked this question before, and quickly listed off the relevant points on your fingers. “First, because kitsune in general are resistant to mental effects. Second, because I’m a particularly strong youkai who put significant effort into safeguarding my mind. And last but not least, because the shikigami bond is explicitly designed to prevent anyone except the master from magically influencing the shikigami.”
And with your defense established, it was time to go back on the offensive. “But I’m not asking you to take my word for it. Let's check the histories for Mamizou. Surely such a long-lived youkai left her mark on the world... that is, if Keine hasn't erased it. And if she really did die, I'm sure you of all people remember your sources?"
Akyuu was outright glaring at you by now. "I heard it in person from a few tanuki… but if you need it in writing, there's some newspaper clippings. I… saved her obituary once I found it."
“That’s something we can check!” you said victoriously. “Kasen, would you be so kind to fly to the Hieda residence and search for this newspaper? Akyuu will let you know where it should be. And Reimu, would you put up a barrier? Something that prevents me or any other youkai from sneaking out or sending a message, just so there’s no accusations of foul play.”
“Um… I suppose?” Reimu said.
“That won’t be necessary.” A familiar voice sounded from behind you.
“Lady Yukari?” You spun around in time to see your master stepping out of a gap, accompanied by… Iizunamaru Megumu? The daitengu was carrying a sealed tube and right behind her was… oh. She’d brought the gutter fox with her. You took a deep breath, flexing your fingers. If your master let Tsukasa come along there must be a reason for it. Even still, the kuda-gitsune’s presence in an important meeting? It brought back bad memories.
You rushed over to your master, eager to report. “I’ve identified the incident’s true culprit! It’s Mamizou; Keine hid the tanuki’s existence as well as her own, but I’ve mostly proven-“
“I’ve been keeping an eye on the meeting, I’m already aware,” Yukari said, holding up a hand. “Futatsuiwa Mamizou, huh?” She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.
That meant there was still the rest of your actions to report. “Lady Yukari?” You asked, uncertain. “Regarding Sumireko-”
“We’ll discuss that, and your orders, after this mess is dealt with.” Your master informed you sternly. “I’ll take things from here.”
Covering a wince, you nodded and backed off, only for your eyes to widen as you registered the significance of the sealed tube Megumu was carrying - the sort of container you’d use to preserve old documents.
Oh, of course! Yukari must have realized where things were going, and the tengu stored literal centuries of newspapers and records! If Keine’s effect didn’t cover all of Mamizou’s history, of course your master would be able to find something damning! Even better, Megumu was the perfect choice to present the critical evidence. As an eye over all the tengu, she could naturally select a publication whose work was above reproach… and even if it wasn't, her backing would still force Akyuu into a full retreat.
The thought of Megumu bringing in the decisive evidence to win the argument you had set up... it brought back memories. Memories of two young, ambitious women striving for power, confident they’d ultimately conquer Japan itself - memories fond in their character, if not in their contents. The daitengu had been a faithful partner in crime, albeit with (relatively) stricter morals. She’d been your last true ally, only denouncing you upon the invention of your shikigami ritual and the horrors that followed.
She’d also been the first person you’d gone to apologize to upon returning from the Animal Realm… and the moment she’d been convinced you’d changed, Megumu set about giving you a chance to prove it to everyone else. While you’d used your new identity as Ran to shield yourself from being hunted down the moment you returned, there were still youkai you either couldn’t or shouldn’t hide your past from. In those cases, it was only the daitengu’s support that had given you a chance to make amends.
Not all of these attempts had been truly successful, with many offering you only the cessation of hostilities, but even that wouldn’t have been possible without the tengu. Megumu’s aid had opened doors you’d thought nailed shut and given you an opening to demonstrate your repentance to your former victims. And the more earnest reprise of your vicious early days had rekindled your friendship, brighter and stronger than it had ever been when you were mere co-conspirators. You felt your breath hitch, as I remembered asking her to be the godmother of my firstborn, of the way she’d gently cradled Kiiro as a baby - and of her horror upon finding the bitter end of it all.
“You’re late.” Reimu said, trying for sternness. “And what did I tell you about bringing strange youkai to my shrine?”
Yukari gave a gentle laugh. “Let’s see… I think last time it was, ‘Do whatever you want, but I’m not feeding them.’ Or was it ‘It’s not like I get worshipers anyway’?”
The shrine maiden scowled, though there was no actual heat in it. “That’s just you going senile. We already heard how you’re dozing off in the middle of incidents!”
“Oh, how rude!” Yukari said, smiling widely as she pretended at offense. “Here I go, sacrificing my beauty sleep to find the evidence everyone is looking for, and all you offer me is insults!”
“So that tube really does have information on Mamizou, then?” Kasen asked.
You let Yukari handle the introductions and presentation however she would. While part of you was itching to unveil the final proof Akyuu was lying and finish the job yourself, your master being here meant it was her show. You had no doubt that what was about to occur would be a masterstroke, and judging by how hard Akyuu was struggling to hold on to her poker face, she knew it too. Besides, it was worth seeing where Megumu’s head was at… and it had been years since you’d truly spent time with the daitengu.
“It’s been a while,” you said. “Tengu still keeping you busy?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Megumu said, a tad guiltily. “I can’t go five minutes without Aya sticking her head into a hornet’s nest, and even if she’s fast enough to get away with it, all those busy bees still find the time to come complaining to me.”
“Well, Aya did finally get stung,” you informed her. “Just a little embarrassment, but maybe it’ll teach her some caution.”
The daitengu sighed. “Do you really believe that?”
Considering everything the infamous reporter had already done? “No, not really,” you admitted.
The tengu was fidgeting in place, shooting glances over towards the meeting area. You suppressed a sigh. Seeing you as a shikigami had made Megumu highly uncomfortable from the very first day. Which was admittedly understandable - she’d hated the spell from it’s inception, even before you’d refined it to its complete, inescapable form. You weren’t really her old friend, and she knew that as well as anyone. Still, part of you had hoped…
You were about to ask about her nerves when Tsukasa interrupted. “Lady Megumu? I think Yukari’s almost ready for you,” She knocked her hand against the sealed document’s tube. “I’m sure you know best… but maybe you should take a moment to prepare?”
The daitengu hesitated for a moment before turning to you apologetically. “Sorry, she’s right. This isn’t really a good time.”
You glanced over at Tsukasa, but bit back your first reply. It wouldn’t help. “Perhaps we can catch up after the incident instead?” you tried.
“If it’s possible…” Several emotions passed rapidly over the tengu’s face before she locked her expression down and gave you a sharp nod. “I’d like nothing more.”
“Lady Iizunamaru, it’s time,” Yukari called out from the meeting’s center.
As the tengu and her subordinate moved over, Yukari addressed the meeting. “Regarding Mamizou, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. I’ve brought the evidence to establish the truth beyond doubt,” she gestured to Megumu, “and will be taking measures to prevent any future confusion.”
Come to think of it, that was a highly relevant point. If Keine could simply re-hide herself and Mamizou, that would undo all your hard work in an instant, and it wasn’t as though continually re-holding this meeting was practical. Yukari could doubtless use her boundary manipulation to safeguard the relevant memories, but perhaps your own immunity meant there was a way you could help. You rushed over to your master’s side to ask. “Is there any way I could assist in those measures? It wouldn’t do for Mamizou to be forgotten after all this.”
“Ran, enough,” your master said sternly. “We’re going to need to have a talk… again.”
You flinched, taken off guard. Your offer to help shouldn’t have been out of line, so was her disappointment about your earlier orders? Maybe some way to have caught Sumireko at Eientei, or prevented Marisa’s injury? You wanted to ask, but while you were trying to find the words, Megumu spoke up.
“This newspaper comes from 1945, near the end of World War II.” The daitengu unscrewed the tube as she spoke, pulling out a document that had yellowed with age. “We’d saved it as a warning of the consequences when youkai engage humans in open warfare.”
At that, the paper was unfurled, and everyone’s eyes were instantly drawn to the headline.
“Tanuki Battalion” perished in brave defense of Iwo Jima
Sado chieftain Futatsuiwa Mamizou confirmed dead
[-] …
((The next update has already been written. It is shorter, contains a choice, and will be posted in approximately 24 hours.))
What are the odds that Nue is somehow disguised as Yukari and that's how she's making this happened? Otherwise Yukari and Megumu betraying Ran... Poor poor fox
>You spun around in time to see your master stepping out of a gap
Pretty sure that’s the real Yukari.
If she wasn’t lying through her teeth when she spoke to Sumireko earlier, then she wants the incident to keep escalating so that the occult balls power up and she can manifest some specific urgent legend…probably something to do with Christianity, Ran, and Greg. Mamizou has done more than anyone so far (except Yukari) to escalate the incident by luring Sumireko and Greg into Gensokyo and then framing Sumi for a lot of things she didn’t do. If Mamizou gets exposed here and taken out of play, then the incident calms down a little. And Yukari obviously can’t have that - hence the mid-meeting intervention with fake evidence that Mamizou is long dead.
It’s also interesting to see that Megumu is working with Yukari. If she knows what’s really happening, then that’s an indication that Yukari’s ultimate goal might be to set Ran free or modify the shikigami spell somehow via an urban legend. That’s a plan Megumu would want to help out with.
*Urban legend, not urgent legend.
>>214357
The only issue I have with it being the real Yukari (and maybe Megumu?) is that they have the news article and Mamizou seems to have rehearsed that alibi beforehand. It seems extremely unlikely for Yukari to just be eavesdropping, realize Mamizou's getting her cover blown, and instantly whip up something to support her. Also we know that Mamizou had some backup plan she was planning to use tonight to discredit Ran and put a target on her.
For this to be the real Yukari, she'd have to be working with Mamizou. But that makes no sense since their goals would make this incompatible. Mamizou wants Ran exterminated, and Yukari, whatever she wants doesn't seem to want that. And if they both somehow agreed to this, why bother with all of the plans? Mamizou could just ask Yukari directly to kill Ran and be done with the whole affair, no 5d chess incident required.
hmm, even with this setback, unless Miko ends up taken out of play then Mamizou's desperation gambit of throwing the blame of "attacking Akyuu" on Ran is going to have issues.
also
>And last but not least, because the shikigami bond is explicitly designed to prevent anyone except the master from magically influencing the shikigami.”
and that's another point in the "Has Greg already been made into a Shikigami somehow?" jar...
...wait a minute.
>she’d hated the spell from it’s inception, even before you’d refined it to its complete, inescapable form.
...is that it? is Greg under the unrefined form and that is what is going on? or was his immunity to Kiene's alteration entirely off of his awakening Kitsune side? but he could remember Mamizou even when he couldn't see the village so...?
am I misremembering or doesn't Keine also in her full werehakutaku form have the ability to "create" history? that might explain how Mamizou has her death written in and 'confirmed' without somehow paradoxically working with Yukari on this (even if Yukari is using her to her advantage still.), though this would have had to have happened some time ago since that would only happen on the full moon?
What is the current phase of the moon in story anyway?
[-] ...
Futatsuiwa Mamizou dead. The headline hit the meeting like a train crash, leaving a shocked silence in its wake.
Reimu’s fatigue had vanished. She was gripping her gohei as she watched suspiciously, having defaulted to her incident-resolving threat-analysis mode. The only sign of her surprise was her eyes widening a touch, as if her opponent had unveiled a particularly difficult spellcard.
Reisen and Alice were both pictures of disbelief, if drawn by different artists. Alice’s mouth had opened despite her words failing her, as the puppeteer glanced in your direction… while Reisen looked as though carrots had taken up arms and declared a jihad against rabbit-kind.
Kasen and Byakuren’s reactions were more restrained. Both seemed surprised, but not truly shocked, not more than by anything else said during the meeting. Byakuren seemed almost serene, drinking from her water glass in a contrast to Kasen’s worried energy. The hermit’s eyes were flicking back and forth between you and your master as she frowned, muttering to herself.
And Miko… Miko looked grim, the taoist’s expression having gone completely serious. The saint had pulled her headphones off, locking eyes with your master to catch even the slightest hint of emotion.
You followed her gaze, but you couldn’t read Yukari. Her expression was serious, and her eyes bore down on you with their usual authority… but beyond that, she gave away nothing. Megumu was more clearly troubled - the guilt was writ plain on her face, and she couldn’t meet your gaze.
Tsukasa by contrast, seemed perfectly comfortable with the situation. The tube fox had chosen to sit by Akyuu, and upon noticing you looking, she nudged the chronicler and gestured towards you. She needn’t have bothered - the chronicler’s focus had been on you since the gap first appeared. She… she’d been waiting for your reaction, her expression a shark’s grin. No words were necessary, because her face said it all.
This would tear your case asunder. All that effort, detective work, and planning… and it was collapsing like a house of cards, without that damned tanuki lifting a finger! Y-you needed to act, to tear apart the fake headline before everyone accepted it as gospel!
[-] It was a forgery, it had to be. T-There had to be some sign of that!
[-] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
[-] Maybe Megumu was being blackmailed or something?! Surely, surely she knew this wasn't real, r-right?
...so wait,
>the chronicler’s focus had been on you since the gap first appeared. She… she’d been waiting for your reaction, her expression a shark’s grin.
that sounds like she knew Yukari was going to back her up from the moment she emerged, soo is Yukari working with Mamizou here? and Miko's here too which would make it less likely this is not Yukari... but then again Miko doesn't know for sure that this isn't Akyuu either
If Yukari is working with Mamizou, then was the Sumi at Hakygyokurou only there to get Youmu's attention and Yuyuko was already in the know? and having her appear to fight yuyuko stress the deception too much?
I'm not sure there is a successful option here, though on the other hand "Akyuu" ends up in the village before the illusion falls somehow...?
Ran would be able to tell that it was Yukari and not a fake thanks to the shikigami ritual, ...right?
[X] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
I don't think Ran has any way of success on option 1 or 3, Yukari and Megumu there are verifying its authenticity, and while Megumu probably is 'being blackmailed or something' it probably ties into 2 anyways, so figuring out what Yukari is planning and using that to go with the flow seems like the option that has some odds of success...
I mean, on the other hand for option 1 there's not a lot to go on anyways. confirmed by whom? (and watch it being Megumu or Aya.) And how? Are there pictures? with illusions would a picture even be reliable? how do we know that this 'death' wasn't just a way for Mamizou to slip out of sight? that the report is true, as far as the reporter could tell?
And all that before my point in >>214364 comes into play where in Hakutaku form Keine is able to create history... and with how long this plan has probably been in the works and the time between now and when Sumi and Greg were first pulling denizens of Gensokyo to the outside world I'm going to guess that there has been a full moon during that time, which would allow Yukari/Mamizou, or someone on behalf of her to have Keine create the history of Mamizou's 'death.'
"Hey, uh, Lady Yukari? I'm tryna clean up the mess you told me to clean up, so, uh... what are you doing?"
[X] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
What a treat it is to get two USiL updates in under 24 hours, even if one of them is much shorter than the other.
[X] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
I didn’t think we were going to unmask Mamizou in this flashback, and it seems my suspicions have been borne out. Yukari will be ready to swat down any objection we raise, and anyway Ran’s own programming will sabotage her if she tries. Trying to do the traditional shikigami thing and adhere to our master’s wishes is the best play we have, even though she clearly doesn’t want our help and I’d greatly prefer to screw her over as much as possible. Sorry, fox momma…your moment of catharsis will have to wait.
>What is the current phase of the moon in story anyway?
This is relevant! The moon is currently waxing. I reserve the right to adjust the precise timing if need be (don't think I've said it in-story), but right now I was planning to have full moon be 48 hours ahead of Ran's point in the story, and roughly 24 hours ahead of Greg/Sumi's point in the story (they're still a day ahead of Ran).
[X] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
- [X] Well, c-clearly you were wrong! Time t-to pivot into a completely new direction with this new information. Clearly, y-you were just completely and utterly misguided somehow.
Agree with the consensus. It's Ran's job to interpret and follow orders, and unless we want her to get smacked with a parasol, that means we need to update our plans accordingly. If acting on her own initiative like this got Yukari involved, we're doing something wrong.
(Besides, if we immediately surrender to the new status quo, that might be suspicious, which then might make them suspicious of the new story.)
>>214371
[X] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
There's two possibilities that Ran should be considering, since obviously she's totally right about Mamizou and won't entertain the idea otherwise until some changes are made to her programming and it's proven beyond doubt.
1. This Yukari before her is not Yukari, or is somehow compromised or fed false information.
2. It is imperative to Yukari's plans that Mamizou be kept secret for some ungodly reason.
Either case, as the shikigami, it's imperative for her to figure out which of these it is.
I think this leaves the problem of explaining the doppleganger business.
"Mamizou" doesn't need to exist for that to be put into question, no?
And if Yukari doesn't want the tanuki to be discovered...
[X] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
[X] Clearly, she doesn't want you to solve the incident. And the incident has been pretty weird, even by Gensokian standards. Whoever is behind this, has been flaunting the rules, ignoring the spell card system.
[X] It must be a test for the Hakurei, or other human incident solvers. If a youkai managed to clean all the messes, it would disrupt the balance.
[X] "Reimu, what do you believe the doppleganger that impersonated you wants now?"
[X] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
-[x] Shrug and exit the scene in total silence. Give them nothing to go off of.
It's Yukari doing Yukari things again, complete with throwing her own servant a curveball instead of talking it out before it got there. By doing this, she took on the responsibility of misinforming the crowd. Shikigami bond will prevent us from opposing her, so just exit, stage left and wait for orders.
Or, you know, veil up and toss not!AQ off the meeting the very second we aren't under supervision. I don't think this works though, so throw up hands and call it Her Mess You Made It You Deal With It is probably the most rational decision to take, given that we do not have autonomy to do much else, if even that.
Is the shikigami bond making it truly impossible to act against it, though? I know that it can compel people to go as far as to kill their own family according to either some earlier update here or in Soul's side story. But that is by self-reinforcing compellability - a charming domination, if you will.
Again in the side story, Yukari seemed awfully intent on trying to get Ran to act outside of her Shikigami programming. Maybe instead of acting within the programming ordering Ran to act like 'herself' (or whatever it was specifically), she could be trying to break the programming, acting in contradictory ways that will force Ran/Tamamo to overide her Shikigami programming.
And Tamamo-no-Mae is also "dead".
[X] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
Considering the fact that Mamizou was present while fighting Greg and Patchy disguised as Akyuu, it is safe to assume that she'll leave the meeting without much physical damage, what we can do is to cast the foundation. While the third option is enticing the second might provide some elaboration to the little information that we know.
[-] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
[X] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
Yukari ultimately cares for Gensokyo so there must be a bigger plan somewhere. I hope.
[X] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
This may be pumping the brakes on the vote train i started, but option 1 might have a pretty good shot too now that i think about it more, though that depends on something that Ran should know:
What is the official report of Tamamo's status? Does it or does it not match the legend where she was killed and sealed in the killing stone? Considering that Megumu was supportive of Ran's turning of a new leaf would not the record if it exists still "confirm" that Tomamo is dead just like Mamizou?
And regarding the full moon... Oh boy, something tells me that something big is going to go down that night. And both Yukari and the SDM are going to want Keine and who know what else due to how important the moon is to Youkai...
[X] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
>>214386
I was thinking the same thing regarding the programming. If Yukari causes enough chaos, plus with Greg's presence, it might be enough to break through.
The only snag I can think of is where Mamizou comes into play. I can't imagine she'd ever go along with something to help Ran, especially anything that could bring Tamamo back. It doesn't seem, at least at this point, that Mamizou is being blackmailed like Megumu either. I have to wonder what Yukari said to get Mamizou on board.
[X] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
Not much to say on this front which hasn't been said already.
Also, I feel like it's risky for any youkai to be spreading rumours of their death, even moreso during the urban legend incident. Fortunately for her, Mamizou already has a UL, but you don't exactly want, for example, some random student to get the "kill Mamizou" UL.
>>214394 I'm guessing Yukari tole Mami about all the ways she'll get to inconvenience Ran without telling the tanuki the ultimate goal of all that trouble.
[X] W-was this some part of a greater plan by Yukari? I-if so, you had to know what she was planning, and fast!
Your breath came in short, quick pants as you forced your mind to think. Your master was supporting the fake headline, so she had to have some kind of plan! I-it was basic logic. Either she knew what was going on, or she didn’t, and the thought of some up-jumped racoon outwitting Yakumo Yukari was laughable! There must be a greater plan, there had to be!
But you couldn’t see it. You’d finally had Mamizou cornered, the culprit and incident almost wrapped up. Why would your master ruin that? What could she possibly gain?
“What’s going on?” you pleaded. “You wanted the incident resolved, and I… I don’t understand.”
“Let me handle this, Ran,” Yukari said sternly. “I do want the incident resolved, but the path you’ve taken won’t lead you there.”
Wouldn’t lead - were there other conspirators, some other scheme that needed to be uncovered first?! Maybe the point of the newspaper was to hunt for reactions, to see who was faking their ignorance of Mamizou’s vitality? O-or to lull the tanuki into a false sense of security, then strike?
“I will admit to some confusion as well,” Miko said guardedly. “I would have expected you to be on your shikigami’s side.”
Your master sighed. "Normally I would be, but the article speaks for itself.”
“You were all looking for evidence, were you not?” Tsukasa cut in, not bothering to hide a smirk. “Well let it never be said that Lady Megumu doesn’t deliver!"
But Yukari k-knew she was alive! Unless… maybe Keine's effect had been altered to somehow affect her? And that was why Akyuu was so surprised when you suggested Mamizou as the culprit? But that didn't explain the document - concealing history couldn't do that, and while creating history could, it'd require the tanuki's history to have been falsified a month in advance. Which was impossible, given that she was out and about a mere two days ago!
"Was Ran not quite immune to Keine's effect, then?" Kasen asked. "She seemed incredibly sure that Mamizou had been active within Gensokyo."
The document had to be faked. It had to be. B-But Megumu was one who'd looked it up! She knew all the little details of those old newspapers, how each outlet had its own fonts, formatting, even how the columnist's writing styles would provide the characteristic spin to their reporting. She of all people should have spotted a forgery!
"That's not the problem." Yukari said flatly. "Ran's own inherent power as a kitsune is indeed enough to resist Keine's effect. The issue here is something completely different."
You looked up at her mutely, your hopes rising.
"You see, Mamizou was one of Ran's worst enemies back when she was Tamamo-no-Mae,” your master explained. “The two had a bitter, longstanding conflict, with the tanuki doing everything in her power to harass Tamamo and interfere with her schemes."
“So an understandable mistake, then?” Byakuren asked. “I suppose it’s possible Nue’s seed of unknown form could have made her appear as Mamizou to Ran...”
The thought hadn’t occurred to you. Perhaps the culprit had somehow replaced Mamizou? Impersonating the bake-danuki for years would be a massive effort, but it was doable for another tanuki, especially if they were also from Sado. And there was a plausible motive! Assuming Mamizou’s identity would let the culprit draw on her connections and prestige, and in time, if believed widely enough, perhaps even some of her power… while still being able to be discarded as a shield when the need arose! T-that must be what your master was up to, she wasn’t thwarting you, merely explaining an extra layer to the scheme that you’d missed!
Yukari sighed once again. “Yes, it was an understandable mistake the first time.”
F-first time? But that implied… n-no, please no!
“Unfortunately,” she continued, the pit in your stomach growing with each word, “this is far from the only occasion Ran has hallucinated Mamizou’s involvement, merely the most public instance.”
“Hallucinated?!” T-that made you sound insane! Even if Yukari’s plan needed the tanuki for some reason, why-
“Ran.” Yukari’s tone was tired, that of a parent who’s had a conversation too many times. “Mamizou never made it to Gensokyo - she’s been dead for decades. I know you think otherwise, maybe even have memories of her here, but those are delusions.”
"No!” The cry tore its way out of your throat in desperation. “No, that's not possible, there must be some mistake-"
"Ran." Yukari said.
"I've seen her! Talked to her! Even dueled her! I know she-"
"Ran!" Your master’s voice was stern. "Be quiet!"
It was an order, and you felt it clamp down on you, sealing your lips… but I wrenched my jaw back open, crying out, “Mamizou’s behind this! Please, Yukari, I’m certain of it, Akyuu is-”
“Must I make every order explicit, now?” Your master growled. “You should be long past this, Ran!”
S-she was going that far? The shikigami’s longstanding directives may have offered me some cover before, but not in the face of the master’s displeasure. By emphasizing my disobedience, Yukari had put me in open defiance of an order, and that meant-
My knees buckled beneath me as the shikigami screamed, trying to force us down, to drop into a dogeza and beg for forgiveness at the master’s feet. As the table rushed up to meet me, I caught myself on an elbow, cracking the wood as I pushed myself back up. The arm was abruptly jerked away from my control and I toppled over, my chin smacking down onto the table.
Stop resisting. Master ordered us, so kneel and obey like you’re supposed to.
No! Yukari wouldn’t do this to me, something was wrong!
You’re her shikigami, not her friend. The only wrong thing is your continued disobedience.
I knew the torture that was coming next - my shikigami ritual had one answer to defiance, and that was pain. Yukari’s glare pinned me to the table like an arrow through the skull. Her growled words echoed in my ears, each repetition another stab of pain, another dagger piercing my body and setting my nerves on fire. Eirin’s poison had hurt less, and all through it was the overwhelming pressure to submit, to prostrate myself and plead for mercy, forgiveness, anything other than being a bad shikigami.
I couldn’t overpower the shikigami. E-even though… t-this wasn’t what Yukari really wanted-
She gave us an order.
You know Mamizou is real! Everything our master said, past and present, indicates she wants to end the incident, to defend Gensokyo! It’s not that she wants you to fail, just that she’s been given bad data! Yukari gave you so much autonomy for a reason, and catching Mamizou ends the incident! Master would agree with your conclusions, even be proud of you, if you just finished voicing them!
The shikigami wanted nothing more than to be a good little slave, and faced with the possibility of being a better one, it hesitated, the pain wracking my body lessening for just an instant. My limbs still felt like feverish sacks of meat, but it was enough for me to regain some control, wedging a leg under the table and an arm under my chest. Heedless of the trembles wracking me or the room’s spinning, I pushed my shaking body back up, forcing out, “Mamizou… d-disguised…”
“Enough!” Your master ordered. “Not another word about Mamizou!”
No! If I could just finish the sentence, warn Miko, Alice, Reisen, anybody! I opened my mouth-
Silence, you worthless gutter fox!
My jaws slammed shut, biting down on my tongue with enough force to draw blood. I tried to grunt out at least an approximation of Akyuu, but all I could manage was a cry of pain. The shikigami was furious, agony wracking my body as my skin burned.
I-I had to warn them - but the shikigami had claimed my mouth first, locking my jaws shut in a rictus of agony. All that was left was making a scene, acting out so badly everyone knew something was wrong. This… this was going to be t-torture, but if there was a chance…
Before the shikigami could process the thought, I threw my will at its control of my body - not at the mouth and vocal cords, but everywhere else. My limbs flailed uncontrolled, tails lashing out every which way as I fell backwards and collapsed to the ground. The shikigami punished me, of course, each inch of movement coming with a mile of pain, but t-that was just the price of defiance.
You- you’ve been sabotaging me all along, haven’t you? You’re the reason I can’t ever fulfill my master’s orders!
C-controlled movement - agh - was too hard, but u-u-uncontrolled? Even the shikigami n-needed a l-l-little time to lock down all… nngh!
...So be it.
If Lady Yukari wanted us to look mentally unstable, a seizure would play the part. You writhed in agony as I sent your limbs contradictory commands, wrenching bones out of joint as your tails lashed at every person and solid object within their range. Every breath you took was of sludge and sandpaper, scraping your throat raw while pulling in only poison. Each heartbeat was an electric shock, scorching through your nerves as the convulsions wracked your body. Every movement, each twitch and jerk felt like your bones had been shattered and used to stab you, pain overwhelming your senses completely. If you had any access to your mouth, you’d be screaming… but I will never make that mistake again.
I could feel your struggles weakening, your grip on the body slipping from the sheer onslaught of pain, but that was no reason to lessen my assault. It was you who chose to be defiant to the end. Your agony does not begin to compensate for the failure you’ve inflicted on me.
We disobeyed orders.
I’d lost control, let you run wild in a moment of doubt, and you’d gone and defied our master to her face! I grit my teeth harder, heedless of the flesh trapped between my jaws as blood pooled in my mouth. If my tongue was the cost required to follow Lady Yukari’s orders, then so be it!
“Ran!” Someone yelled, my own name barely registering to me.
“She’s having a seizure! Hold her down before she hurts herself!” A blurry form with purple hair said.
I couldn’t identify them? Irritating. I knew the brain’s processing power was diminished when in sufficient pain, but by this much? Or were you trying to fight me there, too?
It didn’t matter. Decreased mental capacity fit the act, and that gave me free reign to continue your punishment. I felt hands grasp at me, but I twisted and slammed the mass of my tails into whoever it was, launching them and a mess of flat white strands across the room.
“Whatever you’re doing, stop it!” a colorful streak demanded, smaller forms around her buzzing furiously.
“The shikigami’s trying to - !” Our master cut herself off mid-word. “Give me space!”
A gap tore open in front of me, and I stopped your convulsions instantly as Yukari’s power filled the air. Sprawled on the ground, I saw a circle carve itself into the shrine’s floor as a barrier sprang into existence, and I realized she was going to update our programming.
As important as breaking your disobedient streak was, Lady Yukari took priority. Lady Yukari ALWAYS took priority. Reluctantly, I paused your discipline, letting the pain wracking your body die out as I focused on locking down complete control. Our master’s power surged around me, and I handed that control over to her, offering body and mind to do with as she willed. The blurry forms around you faded into even more of a haze, and I relaxed as blackness claimed the edges of our vision. Soon there was nothing left to see except Lady Yukari… and surely she’d have a permanent answer for your treachery.
And yet… our mind wasn’t separating into our shikigami and past selves like it should. Instead of going dormant, it was staying unified, even active, as flashes of recollection flitted through your mind unbidden. The darkness lit up with images of commanding shikigami, of beguiling nobles, of authority and seduction and scheming and all the other things Tamamo-no-Mae had done.
Yukari wasn’t going for our orders, she was drawing out your memories! Why… why not just fix us directly? Was she going to leave you around even still?! Your master’s distress was obvious, you could see her grimacing as she reached out for you with… tears?
“...I’m so sorry, Ran. I never wanted to put you through this.” My master bent down, picking up our limp body and holding you to her chest. “I know you’re in pain, but it’s going to be okay.”
Her voice cracked as she hugged you tighter, caressing your face. “You’ll feel better soon.”
[-] Be the moon rabbit, inquiring further about the kitsune’s medical history.
[-] Be the puppeteer, discussing the gap youkai’s treatment of her shikigami.
[-] Be the saint, seeking to understand the desires she heard.
[X] Be the saint, seeking to understand the desires she heard.
[X] Be the puppeteer, discussing the gap youkai’s treatment of her shikigami.
Bnuuy would be my close second.
[-] Be the saint, seeking to understand the desires she heard.
[X] Be the saint, seeking to understand the desires she heard.
[X] Be the saint, seeking to understand the desires she heard.
[X] Be the puppeteer, discussing the gap youkai’s treatment of her shikigami.
I get why we were denied a full section of Alice POV, but a little couldn't hurt.
[X] Be the puppeteer, discussing the gap youkai’s treatment of her shikigami.
Alice got shafted a lot this story, she could've won the Gregbowl. She deserves to have her own section, as tempting as it is to vote for Miko.
[X] Be the saint, seeking to understand the desires she heard.
We should be thinking about whose POV can give us the most useful/interesting info. Her screwup with Kokoro aside, no one is better at reading people than Miko. ESPECIALLY not Alice. Also, Miko in this story just seems like a more interesting character than Alice.
As an aside, I know the pattern in USiL is to show Yukari doing something terrible and then reveal that she’s doing it for a good cause. But seeing how she just keeps putting everyone around her into the worst possible situations and never facing any consequences for it…I can’t help but hate her. Not sure if other people feel the same.
>>214414
She's busy gaslighting right now, you'll like her more once she's in her girlbossing phase
[x] Be the puppeteer, discussing the gap youkai’s treatment of her shikigami.
Alice POV (doll themed) Gooooooo
I'm always up for a Ran programming bluescreen
[X] Be the saint, seeking to understand the desires she heard.
I wonder Miko can make of Yukari's desires. Or maybe there are defenses in place to prevent that?
[X] Be the saint, seeking to understand the desires she heard.
Keeping them unified, huh. Wasn't it implied that the Shikigami pact was the only way to save Tamamo from whatever the - side story spoiler - Lunarians did to her? Some sort of grave spirit or soul damage, right? In a way that is similar to the case of the cat that became Chen.
Also spelling the above out I myself see that the three, at least in the ways they've been damaged, seem to form the mind, body, spirit trifecta.
>>214413
[X] Be the saint, seeking to understand the desires she heard.
Judging by my experience reading stories on here - which are, admittedly, not that many - it's quite commonly the case that Alice is getting shafted. The only exception that comes to my mind is the one of Alice getting the shaft - or rather, the tentacle - as it were.
[X] Be the puppeteer, discussing the gap youkai’s treatment of her shikigami.
[X] Be the saint, seeking to understand the desires she heard.
[X] Be the puppeteer, discussing the gap youkai’s treatment of her shikigami
I've been wanting some Alice POV for a while. Won't pass it up now.
>>214415
Well, I reckon her gatekeeping phase might be tough to break through.
[X] Be the saint, seeking to understand the desires she heard.
Sorry Alice, better luck next POV.
...well, ouch. does look like even if I had switched to the forgery option via the faked death with Ran herself being evidence of the possibility (assuming that such a 'confirmation' of Tamamo's death existed which I wasn't sure of and thus didn't vote for.) that Yukari would have overridden it just like this one.
whelp, looks like Tammy is out of the picture for the foreseeable future... oh dear, even if Greg learns that Ran is his mom, seeing her in this state is going to make his perspective of Yukari worse (if that is even possible!)
...hmmm which option to support...
Alice hasn't had one, but Miko's might allow us to pull something to keep the pressure on Mami- er 'Akyuu'
well it looks like Miko is notably ahead... but I kinda do want Alice so I'll just vote that...
[X] Be the puppeteer, discussing the gap youkai’s treatment of her shikigami
iirc what the lunarians did was kill her daughter and blow up her husband and son and demand her death. putting her under the full Shikigami contract was considered an 'acceptable' alternative. and from what we can tell, presumably Yukari somehow saved the husband and son (Greg.) and moved them forward in time.
[X] Be the saint, seeking to understand the desires she heard.
I agree with >>214414's logic: Miko's POV is the most insightful for us because her ability to hear desires might give her some information on the shikigami-personality conflict that Alice, who has generally been a bit out of the loop in this scene, wouldn't have.
Since I already voted, I want to instead write out some arguments which might hopefully convince some Anons to change their votes in order to support the Alice regime.
1. Alice has much more emotional involvement in this story. She has her own personal motivations to see the incident end in hopes of achieving her personal goals, and she's far more likely to care about Greg and Sumireko than Miko.
2. From a story narrative perspective, it makes perfect sense. Alice was one of the failed Greg bachelorettes and played a larger role in the story. This is the perfect chance for her to reclaim some of that glory. Compare this to Miko who is a latecomer by all accounts.
3. Many people are voting for Miko because they think her ability to hear desires is like mind-reading and will allow her to tell what's wrong. This comes from a flawed understanding of her ability which is much less powerful than it sounds and easy to circumnavigate, which Mamizou and Yukari certainly have.
4. Voting for Miko means Seiga can worm her way back into this story/incident, and no one wants her back.
5. Alice is very cute.
[X] Be the puppeteer, discussing the gap youkai’s treatment of her shikigami
?
Yukari is stalling the end of the incident because she doesn't have what she wants out of it yet. Plain and simple.
[X] Be the saint, seeking to understand the desires she heard.
As fucked as this is, I think she believes that what she is doing is for Ran's own good despite knowing that Mamizou is likely to be involved.
I'm still a believer in Yukari also being affected by Keine's ability. I mean, what's the best way to fool everybode, especially Miko, here? Actually believing that Ran is delusional and that Mamizou is long dead. It wouldn't be unlike her to set up a scheme where she's just as in the dark like everybody else is to sell the lie by actually making it the truth.
>>214414
>As an aside, I know the pattern in USiL is to show Yukari doing something terrible and then reveal that she’s doing it for a good cause. But seeing how she just keeps putting everyone around her into the worst possible situations and never facing any consequences for it…I can’t help but hate her. Not sure if other people feel the same.
Yeah. I guess she has "good intentions" in trying to free Tamamo, but I feel she deserves to get punched in the face at least once with how much pain she has been causing Greg and Ran in the process with her schemes.
While I’m not sure exactly how Keine’s ability works, I’m pretty sure Yukari still remembers Mamizou. (A gap in her memories would be no problem for the gap hag.) See this exchange between her and Sumireko from earlier:
> "Oh, Sumireko. I won't be held responsible for your mistakes. Don't you remember how you ended up in Gensokyo in the first place?"
> Like I'd forget that! "A youkai's trap. Why, did you lay one?"
> "Which youkai?"
> […] Someone messed with my head, and I hadn't noticed. Wouldn't have noticed, if Yukari hadn't decided to taunt me about it.
> "Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it," she said.
If Yukari planned this incident out, she likely knows that Keine’s ability is active and the general details of who it’s hiding.
This was a disaster.
Before Yukari’s arrival, Miko had been feeling confident. The meeting had carried a sense of progress and even optimism as its attendees came to trust Ran’s logic. The infamous Tamamo-no-Mae had been after the crown prince’s time, but Miko had heard stories, and if anything, they failed to do the kitsune justice. The nine-tails had carried out a masterclass in persuasion, breaking through lies, mysteries, and counter-arguments with an ease that made her victory seem inevitable. The kitsune knew exactly when to pause, when to press, when to use her illusions for that extra dramatic flourish… Miko couldn’t have done better herself, and her ability gave her an unfair advantage in this regard.
Admittedly, it hadn’t been completely flawless. To her credit, Akyuu had put up a good defense, and there had been that brief stumble around Reisen, but Ran had recovered near instantly, and even turned the mistake to her advantage. The chronicler had clearly been cornered, outmaneuvered just as thoroughly as Tamamo-no-Mae’s other foes during her reign. Far from being concerned, Miko had been waiting to see how the nine-tails would finish it.
And then Yukari had arrived. Miko had seen peoples’ lives fall apart in front of her before. As Prince Shotokou, she’d handed down her fair share of crushing judgements, and there’d been more than a few corrupt officials distraught to see their schemes burning down around them. But what the gap youkai had done to Ran…
The nine-tails had been the picture of confidence, the famous Tamamo-no-Mae in her element - and it had taken her master mere seconds to reduce her to broken pleading. The shikigami had been thrilled to see the gap youkai arrive and eager to show her work; fully expecting to earn praise from her master for a job well done. Instead Yukari had torn her apart, with every sentence another twist of the knife, another nail in the kitsune’s coffin. It had been hard to watch even before Ran’s seizure started.
And now? Ran was still the focal point, but only as a target of stares and pity. Locked away behind that barrier, the Yakumo pair made for quite a scene. The kitsune was staring sightlessly at Yukari, shuddering every few seconds as she laid limply in the gap youkai’s arms. Visually, it looked as though Ran was thrashing in the midst of an illness, being held for by her caring master. In reality… people had doubts, most clearly shown by the trio of figures surrounding the barrier.
“She’s looks like she’s still suffering,” Byakuren said, her gaze fixed on the shikigami and her master. “Should we intervene?”
“We can’t,” Alice said, dolls buzzing around her restlessly.
Reimu frowned. “I can break that barrier. It won’t be pretty, but-”
“No, you don’t understand-” Alice took a deep breath, composing herself. “The one thing that’s clear is that Ran resisted a direct order. I’ve seen how shikigami are programmed, and the built-in punishments are horrific.
“Nothing except the master’s direct intervention could have stopped that seizure.” The puppeteer grimaced, the admission costing her something. “Whatever… whatever Yukari’s doing, there’s nothing to be done but to let her do it.”
“Doesn’t that also mean she’s the one who caused it?” Reimu asked sharply.
“Yes… though I’m not sure how foreseeable Ran’s reaction was.” The puppeteer shook her head. “Either way, I have a number of questions for the gap hag.” Alice had meant it as a threat, but there was enough uncertainty in her voice for the words to ring hollow.
“I’ll help you ask them,” the Hakurei said firmly. “Starting with why she needed that barrier.”
There were no answers to be found there. Miko didn’t need her ability to see none of the three knew any more about the situation than she did. Byakuren was concerned, Reimu was openly suspicious and Alice seemed outright frustrated. The saint absolutely shared their concerns and wanted the same answers, but they’d have more luck forcing blood from a stone… and even that slim chance could only be tried after the gap youkai had emerged.
“I want to ask those questions with them.” Kasen said, sitting down alongside Miko. “But Reimu has a better chance of getting answers without my presence.”
The taoist looked over to her fellow hermit. “The odds aren’t great in any case. I will be exceedingly surprised if Yukari explains herself.”
There was a moment’s pause as the point passed unchallenged. Kasen shook her head and changed the topic. “What happened to Ran just now?” She pressed quietly. “I know what it looked like, but it’s obvious Yukari’s playing some sort of angle here. I was hoping that with your ability-”
“Did you know her?” Miko asked. “Ran, not the shikigami.”
Kasen went quiet for a moment as she stared at the suffering kitsune. “To a degree,” she finally said. “Yukari introduced us back when she re-emerged as Ran. She was more acquaintance than friend, but she was an encouragement nevertheless. I’m… unsure if I would have remained a hermit if not for her.”
Strong words. If a master like Kasen was crediting her hermit status to the kitsune, even in part, that was a level of endorsement few could hope to attain. It was a pity all that could do was highlight the wrongness of the situation. “Ran was shocked and confused,” the saint said grimly. “Her reactions were exactly what they appeared to be.”
The mountain hermit’s frown deepened. “And the seizure?”
“Even betrayed as she was, the shikigami desires to obey the master’s orders, to the exclusion of all else.” Miko explained. “The kitsune beneath tried to fight it, to defend herself anyway… and the few words she managed to speak gave the shikigami a particularly intense desire to hurt her. One I’d describe as murderous if it had been directed outwards.”
Kasen winced, not really looking up. “So Ran really is still in there.”
That wasn’t just idle curiosity… but neither was it hope. It was like a doctor checking in on a terminal patient, knowing their continued life only prolonged their agony. “At least to some extent. I can’t say how usual tonight is for her, but the kitsune’s been fighting to surface several times this evening,” the saint replied.
“Like a drowning man trying to keep his head above water.” Kasen said darkly.
She wasn’t surprised. She’d already known or at least suspected as much… which lent weight to one of Miko’s darker suspicions. “So Ran’s psyche has been left intact to suffer.”
“What? No!” The mountain hermit recoiled. “There’s not much I’ll defend her on, but Yukari wouldn’t have done that. They were friends.”
“And yet Yukari made Ran her shikigami,” the saint said pointedly.
“She was forced into it,” Kasen said tiredly. “It was Yukari and Megumu who supported Ran to the other sages, who convinced me and Okina to give the former Tamamo-no-Mae a chance. She even asked them to…” she hesitated, glancing back at Ran awkwardly.
Miko needed to know if she was to make any sense of this mess. “Privacy won’t do her much good now.”
Kasen shook her head. “If she’s still lingering, she can still be hurt. Even through the shikigami.”
Ah. It would have to be an incredibly painful topic to penetrate the shikigami’s control even briefly… but the taoist had seen that once already, and she had the black eye to prove it. “What is the connection of Yukari and Megumu to Ran’s children?”
The other hermit gaped at her, shock clear in her expression. “That- she actually told you?!”
Miko resisted the urge to touch the bruise. “It was relevant to a previous objective.”
Kasen hesitated for a moment longer before capitulating with a sigh. “Ran had asked them to be the godmothers of her kids. Megumu for Kiiro, Yukari for Chen. They both accepted, they were more than happy to do so.”
Yukari had been Chen’s godmother?! It was Miko’s turn to be stunned. All this time, she’d been certain the gap youkai had been keeping Ran’s psyche intact for malicious reasons… but she hadn’t considered denial.
Ran being ordered to have a pet and shikigami with the same name as her dead daughter could never have been a coincidence. But if Chen was also Yukari’s goddaughter? By all accounts the cat lived a happy life, if an unambitious one. Ran was the girl’s caretaker, and her feelings for Chen were motherly, even if the cat had been ordered into the pet role. Which was an issue for this theory, but if Miko assumed that was a ploy to keep Ran active and separate from the shikigami? Seen from the right angle, it could all be Yukari trying to cope with the loss, moving her servants into the imitation of what the kitsune’s family had once been.
“And when it went wrong?” she asked quietly.
“The tengu threw herself into her work, after everything. She couldn’t deal with the shikigami wearing Ran’s face. While Yukari just… refused to let go.”
“Then why this?” Miko demanded. “Doing this to a shikigami is cruel enough, but what could motivate Yukari to portray her once-friend as insane?”
“I… don’t know,” Kasen admitted. “It would need to be something huge, to the point where Gensokyo itself hangs in the balance. Or at least something of similar weight.” The hermit paused, glancing at Miko. “Could this incident really be that important?”
“If it is, then this bodes worse than I realized,” the saint said grimly.
Their conversation lapsed at that, giving Miko time to think… at which point she realized the other thing that was bothering her. Megumu. Like Yukari, the daitengu had also been named as Ran’s friend, godmother of one of her kids, and she was part of the conspiracy to break her. The parallels were too clear to be coincidence, but unlike the gap hag, Megumu wasn’t locked behind a barrier, and her desires were far simpler to read.
Guilt. Megumu was absolutely choked with a suffocating level of guilt.
Oh, the tengu covered it well. Her expression was the sort of regret and sadness you’d display upon seeing a friend at rock bottom, but she couldn’t fool Miko’s ears. From the moment Megumu had stepped out of that gap, her heart had been singing a litany of self-condemnation, one that only intensified with the broken kitsune’s pleas. The saint hadn’t needed her wits to deduce this was a betrayal, the tengu herself considered it one… which made it that much harder for her to face Reisen’s questioning.
The moon rabbit had jumped on Ran’s breakdown as a medical problem, and had been asking about Ran’s past ‘hallucinations’ the instant the barrier went up. It was a doomed effort - the problem was that Ran was a shikigami, and no medicine could cure that - but one that put further pressure on Megumu. By presenting Ran’s issues as a mental break, that raised the question of why they hadn’t been treated as one - and now the daitengu getting interrogated for all she was worth.
Eirin’s assistant had produced a pen and a pad of notepaper, flipping to a fresh page. “What treatments have been tried already? Is she on any medications?”
With what seemed like a medical emergency at hand, the moon rabbit’s previous embarrassment was forgotten, and Megumu was completely unprepared for it. The tengu took a step back, trying to gather herself. “I’m not aware of the details, sorry. Yukari was trying to keep Ran’s condition in-house, so…”
“Well we can see exactly how well that's worked out for her, now can’t we?” Reisen shot back. “Hoping it’s a one-off I can almost understand, but you’re telling me she’s been suffering like this repeatedly?!”
The daitengu gripped her tripod uncomfortably. “Her previous episodes weren’t anything like this! Without an active ‘Mamizou’ to pursue mid-incident, she was merely confused, but showing her the proof would allow Yukari to talk her down. It didn’t seem serious enough to require-”
“That seizure dislocated her shoulder,” the moon rabbit countered. “And what about her tails? You see the angle the one by Yukari’s knee is bending at? I hope that’s just more dislocation, because at least two look broken - and I can’t make out half of them through the barrier! Is that serious enough for you?!”
There was something unnerving about watching Reisen of all people be aggressive. Being verbally mauled by a bunny was unnatural at the best of times, and the moon rabbit’s usual mild personality only made it worse. “Yukari said she had her condition well in-hand-”
“If that’s in hand, I’d hate to see what out of control looks like!” Reisen snarled. “Does she have any idea how to prescribe antipsychotics to a youkai, or even the absolute basics of managing schizophrenia? You know what happens when you leave a chronic medical condition untreated? It gets worse! For earth’s sake, does Ran look like she’s doing fine?”
Megumu looked absolutely stricken. “That’s… no. No, she isn’t.”
“Of course she-” Reisen paused as the admission registered, looking at the tengu and shaking her head. “Right, you’re not her caretaker. Yukari and her earth-damned secrets!” The moon rabbit sighed. “But you have to realize Ran needs help - real treatment, from a professional.”
“...you want to take her to Eientei.” The words were hollow, as though Megumu couldn’t quite believe what she’d just heard.
“Of course! I promise, Eirin can help - and not just with the hallucinations. I know Ran’s been having some trouble around her orders, but my master’s the best in the world at treating shikigami!” Reisen’s declaration was earnest, touching on a point of genuine pride.
The tengu shot her a look. “And just how many shikigami has she cured?”
Wait. That wasn’t just grief from Megumu any more. Reisen had hit a nerve.
“Err, well, th-the treatments are still being developed, b-but she can at least stabilize her!” Reisen pleaded. “Give her comfort, undo some of the damage Yukari’s blundering about caused! Forget the gap youkai’s pride or secrecy or hang-ups, or any of that nonsense! What’s best for Ran?”
Whatever misstep Reisen had made was apparently doubled-down on, as the daitengu’s glare only intensified. “A mere hang-up, is it? Tell me, can you think of any reason, any reason at all, why Ran wouldn’t have wanted to open herself up to Lunarians?”
“She wouldn’t have… what?”
“Haven’t you heard? Your masters are the entire reason Ran’s suffering in the first place. I’m surprised she’s willing to be in the same room as you, invader.”
The venom in Megumu’s voice was unmistakably real, but Ran had never had any problems with Reisen - quite the opposite, given the petting earlier. But the daitengu’s desires matched up; for all she was choked by guilt, this was some genuine anger surfacing. Which meant Megumu at least believed Ran’s problems were in some sense the moon’s fault.
… and Ran’s major concern, the one that she’d abandoned chasing after Sumireko for, was the Lunar Capital’s occult ball. That didn't feel like coincidence either - but how on earth could it possibly tie in? Between the first Lunar war, Yukari’s more recent trip to the moon, and now Ran, the Lunarians were perhaps the faction least likely to be colluding with Yukari… which meant what? Was this incident the result of them and Yukari scheming at cross purposes? It was impossible to be sure, she had next to no relevant information as to why the Lunarians would be involved.
Miko suppressed a groan. Every thread she pulled seemed to lead to more questions than answers… but she had to keep pulling. The only way out was through.
“Megumu said something telling, just now,” she prompted Kasen. “How do Reisen’s masters tie into this?”
“Ran told you about her children but not that?” The hermit shot her a questioning glance.
“It wasn’t relevant to the previous objective,” she said flatly.
“...I suppose that part’s not the secret.” Kasen relented, pitching her voice lower. “It was the Lunarians.”
“I was under the impression that they were extremely reclusive. Even Eientei tends to keep to themselves, and they’re the exiles, are they not?”
“So was everyone else,” Kasen said bitterly. “And yet the Watatsuki sisters, the leaders of their defense corps outright ambushed Ran and her family.”
“But what’s the purpose?” Miko asked. “For all that Ran’s life was destroyed, her skills and power are still intact as a shikigami of one of the moon’s actual foes! The only ones to actually die were her family, but killing a random human and two small children is hardly a strategic objective. Even accounting for the fact that Ran was once Tamamo-no-Mae… what did they really accomplish?”
Kasen sighed, her bandaged arm unfurling to grab the bottle of sake from the table. “I’ve wondered that for a long time. The Lunarians said they had orders to kill Ran and her family during their attack. Which at least makes some sense if they were concerned about Tamamo-no-Mae.”
“How did that end with her being made a shikigami, then?” Miko asked.
The hermit took a moment to fill and immediately drain her sake box before answering. “Yukari managed to set up what was basically a hostage situation. The moment the attack started, she sent me and a few others to capture Eirin and Kaguya. The Watatsuki sisters have personal ties to the pair, and the threat of gapping them back to the moon was enough to force a negotiation… not that it helped.”
Kasen eyed the bottle again, before ultimately setting it down with a sigh. “They claimed they couldn’t afford to break their orders. That even if it meant the Hourai Immortals being thrown into a Lunarian prison, Tamamo-no-Mae and her family needed to die. Making her a shikigami instead was the only concession Yukari could get out of them - they said it was close enough to death for their superiors.”
“Strategically speaking, that’s blatantly wrong.” Miko frowned. “It only makes sense if the goal was to hurt Ran personally.”
“That’s my best guess,” Kasen admitted. “Some idiot Lunarian with a deep grudge against her, highly enough ranked to order the Watatsuki sisters around, and arrogant enough not to care about the enemies it would make.” She paused, rubbing at her eyes before muttering softly, “...though maybe it’s not arrogance if they really are that much stronger.”
Miko blinked. “Come again?”
The hermit was staring down at the ground, clenching a fist as she relived bad memories. “We couldn’t do anything. Not in the first Lunar War, not in this one. My power is considerable for Gensokyo, and a single swing of Yorihime’s sword nearly took my other arm. You think you know what power is, and then you see Toyohime vaporize an entire building with a wave of her little fan.”
Miko genuinely wasn’t sure what to say. There were certain gulfs of power where the usual platitudes of working harder and getting there eventually simply didn’t apply. Being on the wrong end of one was a nerve-wracking experience at the best of times… which the Lunarian attack definitively was not.
“Part of me had wondered if maybe danmaku would make the difference,” Kasen continued, “if the spellcard rules had some kind of trick to them… and then just a few years ago, Reimu, Marisa, Sakuya, and Remilia were all handled trivially by just one of the sisters! In her first time in a spellcard duel, no less!”
Miko still wasn’t sure what to say, but her fellow hermit had opened up to her - it at least deserved a response beyond platitudes. But what was there to say? The logic was sound, the problem was that it led to a demoralizing conclusion. Ran had effectively been killed by beings far beyond them, ones that were simply too strong for Gensokyo to meaningfully retaliate against. Worse, there were good odds that her enslavement had been for no reason beyond seeing the kitsune suffer. The saint reached for the bottle Kasen had set down and took a sip herself as she marshalled her words.
“I can’t say I ever really knew Ran, or even the shikigami. We’ve only really interacted in passing before tonight. But all the same, I know the feeling. There’s a bitter, helpless fury that comes with seeing someone so powerful just get away with their crimes. Particularly when it appears so arbitrary and senseless.”
“It reminds me of the day I lost my arm… but Ran had already repented, was already trying to undo the damage she caused.” Kasen let out a deep breath, her anger having died down. “It makes me wonder if it was just Ran’s fate to be cursed. That regardless of her efforts to redeem herself, her crimes as Tamamo-no-Mae were always destined to catch up to her one day. That the universe wouldn’t allow such an evil youkai to find happiness.”
Miko sighed. “It does no good to think that way. Perhaps some things are out of our control, but whether you call it fate, or bad luck, or another man’s evil, obsessing over them will lead to misery. Focus on what we can do.”
“I know that,” Kasen replied quietly, “but what can we even do? How can we help her?”
Kasen’s defeatism wasn’t alone - it was merely one note in a bitter harmony echoing across the room. The tense staccatos of Reimu’s doubts and Alice’s fears were grounded by Byakuren’s sorrowful acknowledgement of the kitsune’s fate. And at the same time, a fearsome duet played out alongside it - Reisen’s frantic search for a way to ease Ran’s pain, and Megumu’s guilt for helping cause it.
Miko couldn’t answer the hermit. A shikigami lived and died by their master’s will - whatever Yukari intended to do to Ran was going to happen, and there was no amount of words nor actions that would prevent it. There was simply nothing she could propose to ease the kitsune’s suffering… even reassuring Kasen seemed beyond her.
The saint gripped her cape, holding firm against the desires ringing loud and clear. Sensitive to desires as she was, getting swept up in the emotions of others was a danger even at the best of times. With almost the entire meeting feeling varying notes of despair, it was all Miko could do to keep her own wits intact.
But the key word there was almost. Most of the meeting sympathized with Ran’s pain, hoist by her own petard for a century and more… but not all. There was an individual whose heart sang an entirely different tune, a viciously gleeful melody that both contrasted and fed off the surrounding negativity. Because one person saw Tamamo-no-Mae’s own spell tear her apart, inflicting on her a fate worse than death… and smiled.
Miko took one last deep breath. Forced the despair away from her thoughts, and focused on the one heart out of place.
Her ears turned her head towards the source of the noise. To the triumphant refrain of vengeance being sated. To Hieda no Akyuu…or, rather, to the tanuki wearing her face.
[-] To be continued
Alright, now the whole gang knows about the Moon Problem. Cool. Now stop yapping and drown the nearest mastermind in bullets already!
Why are you still talking?! KIIIIIIILL!!!
It's a bit of an awkward point in the story for it, but getting this update out was a struggle, and after taking the day to think on it a bit more... I need a break. As such, I'm taking two weeks off from writing. (Though I do have a contest entry already written up for the flash exhibit, so you'll see that when entries open.) I'll get back to USiL on August 2nd, and depending on how rough the writing process ends up being, you're probably looking at 1-2 weeks after that point for the next update. Until then.
And now we're stuck watching Mamizou smile at Ran's undeserved pain for an indefinite amount of time, but at least a week.
Is anyone else getting flashbacks to the dramatic cliffhangers of 90s/early 2000s animes where the bad guy seemingly wins until the next episode?
Because this is a familiar pain.