[X] "Mamizou wasn't in that chronicle, then?"
-[X] Confirm with Sakuya that she understands the binding; politely ask her to keep it in mind.
--[X] Thank Koakuma for her time and assistance.
---[X] Headpat Satori.

You were grateful for the time, given that you did have a few last orders of business to take care of before leaving.

First and simplest was covering that last bit of unfinished business with Patchouli.

"I take it Mamizou wasn't in the chronicle, then?"

"She was not. If she's in Gensokyo, then she's either a newly arrived youkai, or a much older one that only recently reawakened."

"I noticed you said volume nine. I suppose that means there's at least eight others?" you said leadingly.

Patchouli gave you a dry smile. "Yes, but those were written by Akyuu's previous reincarnations, and the most recent is a century out of date. They'd be of little use."

Disappointing, but maybe you should have expected it. Though the bit where reincarnation was apparently a thing was news to you. You shook your head, refocusing as Patchouli continued. "That said, Akyuu has in fact written a second book for her ninth volume. Remilia was... disinclined to stock any of Akyuu's other books after her initial disappointment, but the Hieda household in the human village should have the original work. If we make it into the human village, it will be worth investigating."

She held that to the end on purpose. "I'm surprised you didn't get a copy for your library."

"My library is primarily a magical one. While there is a scattering of books for related topics or personal use, the vast majority of it is devoted to magic as a discipline."

An encyclopedia on youkai sounded close enough to magic to be of interest to you. You were about to comment as much when Sakuya's voice sounded from directly behind you.

"Furthermore, a copy written by Akyuu is outside the scope of Patchouil's personal funds. I believe she held out hope of persuading Lady Remilia to order one in a couple years."

You nearly jumped out of your skin. Nevertheless, Sakuya was the next one you wanted to talk to, so you did your best to cover your startle reflex and turned to face the maid. "I'm familiar enough with that pattern, at least. Sumireko has similar spending habits. Although I suspect Remilia's more able to fund her friend than I am mine."

Sakuya winced a little at that. "Discretionary spending will likely drop more than the residents are used to. The needed repairs are going to be expensive."

"Ah. If it makes you feel better, Sumireko and I are going to have hell to pay when we get home," you said with false cheer. Disappearing for a few days will do that. "Regardless, could I talk to you for a minute?"

---

The conversation with Sakuya was pretty simple. You had the sense she was humoring you as she confirmed yes, she did understand the emotional aspect of the binding, yes she'd reviewed it with Patchouli, and yes she'd keep it in mind as she took Satori with her to track down Chen. She'd even mentioned that Patchouli had provided her with a means to toggle Satori's binding herself, though she did not elect to actually show or demonstrate that means to you.

You took the distrust and/or reasonable security precaution in stride. You were getting used to it by now, and some cooperation was better than none.

---

You also wanted to take a little time to thank Koakuma. In one sense, her part in things was minor. But in another...

"Wait, you're thanking me?" the little devil seemed absolutely puzzled.

"For helping Satori with her new clothes, and not making a big deal out of it," you said. "For letting me use your image as a disguise. And for taking the time to talk, when you could have just slipped away to shelve books or something."

Koakuma looked away, scratching the back of her head. "That all seems pretty normal."

"Yes, and that's exactly why I'm grateful," you explained. "It's been a rough couple of days, for me and Satori both, and any semblance of normality is something to hold on to. So again, thank you."

"Um... you're welcome, I guess. Even if I didn't do much."

Perhaps, but small acts of kindness were still kindness. You almost told her as much, but you knew the signs of someone uncomfortable with the praise they were receiving. That, and you didn't want to get her interrogated by Patchouli or anything. "Even still," you settled for.

[-] There's one last good-bye that needs to be said.

((Couldn't finish the Satori bit tonight, and I'd rather have it all in one update, so that's coming tomorrow.))

There was one last good-bye that needed to be said, and this was the one that mattered. Satori had remained in her seat around the table you'd used for strategy discussions (for lack of a better word), staring pensively at the mansion's residents. You pulled up a chair alongside her.

And somehow, for all you were talking easily earlier, now that you were here, the words wouldn't come. You were never good with good-byes.

"You get along with them surprisingly well," Satori finally said.

Was that a comment on your diplomatic ability, or a gesture towards the idea of stockholm syndrome? "If anything it's a grudging cooperation," you admitted. "Anything I say or do still gets the penalty of the doubt from Patchouli."

"The penalty of the doubt?"

"You know, like the benefit of the doubt, just backwards."

Satori rolled her eyes. "It's still unusual in the extreme. Most people would want revenge, or would need to be forced at knife-point to cooperate. They certainly wouldn't volunteer critical information like Keine's existence."

"I can see that," you admitted. "But in the end, what would revenge solve?"
.
"That has never stopped anyone from wanting it."

"I suppose I have to give you that one." She of all people would know, after all. "But forgiveness is important. I don't even want to think where I'd have ended up without it."

Satori gave you a sidelong glance. "Are you about to tell me to forgive them? Is nothing unforgivable to you?"

This had gotten heavy fast. "Nothing should be," you said.

"Not even if Sumireko died to her injuries? Or what about what Yukari did to you?"

That brought you to silence. Because biblically speaking, you knew you should, but even just considering the idea felt like driving a knife into your heart.

"You see? It's not that simple. Some things can't be taken back."

You sighed. "There's nothing complicated about the idea of forgiveness. It's difficult, but it's not complicated."

"But where do you draw the line? Is it death? Betrayal? Trauma? Does it matter if their intent is malicious, or selfish, or if they later come to regret it? Is it suddenly okay if things end up working out despite what they did?"

"Are we talking about Sakuya and co, Yukari, Koishi, or something else entirely?"

Satori looked down, resting her elbows on the table as she rubbed at her eyes. "Just answer the initial question. Suppose what they did got Sumireko crippled, or even killed. Could you still forgive them?"

"A lot of times people use 'I forgive you' when what they really mean 'it's not a big deal.' As if forgiveness is only on offer if the sin in question didn't really need forgiveness." You sighed. It's not like you were immune to that. It's easy to act forgiving when most things don't really bother you. "But to answer your question, I don't know. I like to think I would, but if something were to happen to Sumi... it'd be hard."

"I see," Satori said, not looking up.

It wasn't enough. You knew how rough the binding was for her, even aside from how the very nature of it touched on her own family trauma. Had she hoped you'd be angry with them, for her sake? Or was this some kind of test, to see if you cared more about Sumireko than you did her? Neither quite fit, but in either case, some concern might help. "Really though, are you going to be alright?"

Satori took a deep breath, as she turned to look at you with a sad smile. "This too will pass. I'll manage, Greg."

"I'm just worried," you said with a sigh. "I'm not going to be there, and while I don't think Sakuya's going to be callous about it, she will put Remilia first."

You tried to reach out, hold her hand in yours, but she pushed you away. "I told you, you don't have to worry about me."

"I want to," you said. "Like I said before, I'll be with you as long as I can."

"Why?!" she demanded. "You've known me all of two days!"

Something was up, something beyond the binding. Why else would your reassurances make her feel worse? You hesitated, thinking back to the previous conversation, and suddenly it clicked. This was guilt. Was she still feeling guilty over the whole thing with Nitori? Or did she not think she deserved to have anyone worry about her?

"How long has it been since you've been loved?" you asked softly.

Satori recoiled. "My romantic prospects have nothing to do with-"

"Not that sort of love." You cut her off. "Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

You couldn't have gotten more of a reaction if you'd shot her. With each quality you listed, Satori had gone more and more pale, her face betraying fear... and longing. "In short, love is when you do what's best for the other person, when your primary concern is to help them, regardless of what they do or feel back. Romance... well, it can happen alongside it, but it has nothing to do with it. That sort of love."

Satori pulled her knees into her chest as she huddled into the back of the seat. "Orin and Okuu love me."

Her pets. She hadn't even listed Koishi. "The point is, me loving you? That's not your decision to make. Regardless of whether you're interested in me like that or not, or whether there's anything else you're worried about, you can't screw this up. I'm going to keep caring about you regardless."

This was a point where she needed to know for sure, so you pushed through your binding to connect to her, to let her see your thoughts and feel your sincerity about this. For just a moment, she met your gaze, her eyes wide, then you lost the connection, wincing as the binding's backlash kicked in. The moment lost, Satori started sobbing, pulling her knees in tighter as she curled into herself. You didn't think that was necessarily a bad reaction - at the very least, what you said meant something to her - but still, you hesitated. Given what you just said, you didn't want to do anything too forwards, but at the same time, you had to reassure her, offer her some physical contact.

In the end, you stood up, put a hand on her head and ruffled her hair a little. She immediately grabbed your forearm, lifting your hand off her head as she gave you a teary-eyed glare, one that eloquently said, 'Really?'

"I... was trying to offer emotional support in the way you'd be most familiar with it?"

She shook her head. "A headpat is what I do with my pets. A normal person would offer a hug."

"Would you prefer that?"

It was a reflexive response, but the words hung in the air, and it was too late to take them back. Satori looked at you, her expression inscrutable for a long moment. Apparently reaching a decision, she got up, walked in front of you, and all but slammed into you, wrapping her arms around you. Taken by surprise, you hugged her back as she stood on tiptoe, putting her head on your shoulder.

"When you get free, go to the Moriya Shrine." Satori whispered into your ear. "Kanako owes me a major favor, and she's already crossed Gensokyo's boundary once."

You nearly fell over as you realized what Satori just gave you. "But Koishi still needs-"

"Promise me, Greg! This has already escalated way past anything I thought, and if Yukari's personally interested in you... you should go."

"I can't."

"You've done enough!"

You closed your eyes. "If Yukari's willing to come after me, would being home really make me any safer? Besides, I could never just leave Sumireko... or you."

Satori didn't reply, but her arms squeezed you a bit tighter. And as the two of you held each other, no more words were needed, for a little while.

---

Patchouli and Sakuya came in to lead you and Satori on your respective missions soon after. Though thankfully they waited just long enough for the two of you to have disengaged and at least pretend to be composed.

And so there you were, leaving the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It had only been a few hours. It had felt like an eternity. So many things had changed, with your captors, with Satori, and even the incident as a whole. Looking ahead at the path to the village... well, you were nervous. But it would work out, somehow.

"I must admit, that wasn't what I expected," Patchouli said.

You hadn't really expected casual conversation and glanced at her. "How so?"

"I've lived for a long time, and seen a lot of things. But in all my years, that's the most unusual way I've ever heard someone say 'I love you'."

Oh damn, the bindings. "Please tell me you didn't listen to the whole thing."

Patchouli gave you a smirk, and you groaned, dragging your hand over your face. At which point you felt a couple pats on the head and froze. Did she really just-

"If it makes you feel better," the mage said, "I'm pretty sure the two of you deserve each other."

And how much of an insult was that? You glanced up at Patchouli - who now looked extra smug - and sighed. "Well played."

Patchouli considered you for a moment, then nodded. "We'll leave it at that, then. Now put on the disguise. There's plenty of minor youkai between here and the village, and there's no point in risking you being seen."

It was sensible enough. You put on the enchanted ring, Koakuma's form shimmering into existence over yours, and offered a slight bow. "Shall we go, oh master?"

Patchouli took half a step back, looking a little disturbed. "That won't be necessary. Patchouli will do."

You considered throwing in an 'As you say, master,' but decided not to push your luck. "Alright, then. Let's find this village."

End of Part 3A.

((First off, if anyone wants to reread the last Sumireko update, that would be >>204393. The TLDR is that Sumireko just defeated Suwako and has just encountered Seija.))

{-} After the Suwako fight...

Quite frankly, I was dead on my feet. My bruises had bruises, my head felt like it was going to split open, and I was rapidly approaching the point where I didn't care whether I got death or sleep first, so long as one of them arrived soon. I had also been completely drenched in a storm in late autumn, and likely to have a near miss with hypothermia even if I got inside right now. I was in no state to fight a fairy, let alone someone with real power.

Though on the plus side, I had an occult ball now. I'd almost missed it in the general relief of still being alive, but at least I got something for almost getting killed by a deranged goddess. Not that I had the energy left to do anything with it.

I looked over to the amanojaku that had greeted me.

"Were you watching me fight for my life just for your own entertainment?" I asked.

"Absolutely!" Seija said, grinning. "Best thing I've seen in years."

That wrong-footed me immediately. I'd expected some sort of excuse, or apology, not enthusiastic agreement, and I really wasn't sure what to say about that. Seija rolled her neck, contorting until her chin was pointing at the sky. "To be fair, there was the whole barrier thing, and even I'll admit that was a tricky one... but I'd have watched most of the show anyway."

"Most?" I did not have the patience to deal with this.

"I've got a lot higher hopes for you than just entertainment, and those would kinda be ruined if you kicked it. Lower hopes? Meh. That reminds me, are you going to finish the job?"

"What?"

"The french appetizer over there," she said, jerking a thumb at Suwako. "Sure, you fried her and all, but if you leave her like this she'll just come back for round two later."

You stared at her. "That's a declaration of war."

"And trying to kill you isn't? Besides, after you stabbed Sanae, it's not like they can get any madder."

"I've never even met Sanae! People just don't listen!" I shivered and rubbed my arms as I looked over at the collapsed goddess. "Besides. Killing her's just going to get even more people after me and Greg."

"I mean, I'd say it's one less person going after you guys, but it's your funeral." Seija said, shrugging.

It was a moot point anyway. I'd already hit her with everything in my arsenal and then some, what exactly was I supposed to kill her with? "Look, what do you want?"

"Moi? Why, to help!" Then the amanojaku got a weird look on her face and shuddered. "The words that just came out of my mouth", she muttered.

"And I should believe that because..."

"Your clear luxury of choice? Or perhaps your stellar track record of excellent decision making?"

What was it with youkai trying to get under my skin? This made the third one in a row! Fourth, if you counted Nitori. Seija saw the expression on my face and grinned again. "Not sorry! For real though, I'm an amanojaku. I like what people hate, and what people hate is you."

Oh. I'd thought that term sounded familiar, but I hadn't quite been able to remember just what it was. I groaned. "That's the worst good news I've ever heard."

"Happy to be of disservice!"

I felt a twinge from my bond with Mary, and got a brief glimpse of where she was - entering the outer grounds of the shrine, along with Nitori and some of the tengu from earlier... what were their names again? Ugh.

Wait, I could hear them yelling in the distance already. "Damn. I wanted to chat a bit more, but sounds like we'll have to cut this short. The vulture squad's going to be here soon, and they'll probably have more lackeys on the way."

That... I was in no shape to fight, and not much better for running. The tengu might just arrest me. Was that an improvement? Could I talk to them? They seemed at least kind of talky sooner. Couldn't talk too much, had to do something before Kanako or Sanae showed up, then I'd just die. And in my corner I had... Mary. Maybe Nitori, and maybe an amanojaku who was apparently spiting the rest of Gensokyo. Great odds! Fantastic.

This was normally when I'd cut my losses and teleport out, but I wasn't sure I could teleport across a room right now, let alone far enough away to do any good.

What should I do?

[-] Write-in.

((To be clear, Sumireko is suffering from a major adrenaline crash combined with magical exhaustion. You might get one utility spell, but that's it.))

{-} Tea party at bomb-point

It was time to do something desperate. I had a defeated-but-still-alive enemy, a valuable nearby structure, and a highly magical object I could destabilize. If they were going to treat me like a terrorist, I might as well act the part!

"Hey Seija. You know a better use for defeated enemies than killing them? Hostages. If you wanna help, drag frogger over there into the shrine."

The amanojaku broke into a grin. "Now you're talking."

I struggled to my feet, summoned the occult ball I'd won off of said hostage and we started flying towards the shrine. With Seija dragging Suwako by the ankle, and also flying low enough for Suwako's head bump off every rock, bush, or paving stone on the way. Considering recent events, I wasn't too bothered by that, so I devoted my focus to the occult ball I was holding.

The two emergency functions I'd actually planned into the things were summoning the other balls, and dissolving them all harmlessly. Some sort of area effect where the occult ball transformed the local surroundings was another simple possibility, because that was just letting the magic manifest. Doing anything else in a reliable, safe manner would require time, energy, and effort.

Thankfully, destabilizing things explosively was the magical equivalent of connecting the wrong pair of wires. Not easy to do accidentally, or if you weren't the one who created the balls in the first place, but for me? Even running on fumes, I could pull it off. Of course, it would also kill me instantly, but if they attacked now, I was dying anyway, so that was less of a downside than usual.

We reached the front door of the shrine just as the first crow tengu came into view. I could hear the wind whistling as she rocketed towards me, and then Seija snapped her fingers and the tengu abruptly reversed momentum back out the shrine.

"That never gets old," Seija said, " and Aya's one of the best youkai to do it to."

Aya kept braking and re-accelerating to start moving back towards me, but every time she started picking up speed Seija reversed her momentum again, much to the crow tengu's frustration.

As we reached the front door, I turned to Seija. "Can you buy me like five minutes to set up?"

"Against this turkey? Maybe for a bad cause."

"No time to explain, but I'm pretty sure it'll bemuse and horrify all of them," I said.

The amanojaku gave me a fierce smile as she reversed Aya's momentum yet again. "You've caught my interest."

[Illusionary Dominance]

"Looks like she's had enough of my shenanigans," Seija said. "Alright, then. You'd better not disappoint me!"

With that, she dropped Suwako at the door and flew off towards Aya with a spellcard of her own.

[Deceit Sign - Reverse Needle Attack]

Not waiting to see the outcome of that, I ran inside and started flinging open doors. I wasn't really sure how accurate Yukari's claim of tea drinking being some sort of parley mechanism was. But I had no better ideas, it couldn't hurt, and at the very least, it would sell the idea that I wanted to talk. Let's see, common living area, bedroom, laundry... aha, kitchen!

I grabbed the first pot I could find, filled it with water, placed it on the stove, and after a bit of rifling through drawers, found a handful of tea leaves and tossed them in. Which I was sure would horrify any serious tea drinker, but nothing said it needed to be good tea.

So while the metaphorical carrot was brewing, I needed to arrange the corresponding stick. The occult balls were designed to take in the magic generated from their corresponding landmark, regulate the intake to a drip feed, circulate it through a number of spells, and finally emit whatever couldn't be recycled. (With that last bit being the magical runoff that eventually produced the urban legends.) There were a number of ways that process could go wrong, but the most dangerous one would be to screw with the input feed. Rather than taking the landmark's continually produced magic, simply reach in, grab as much as possible, and dump it all into the rest of the spell system.

It would be the equivalent of dumping a car's entire fuel tank on the engine, then turning on the ignition. Including the resulting boom. It did take me a couple minutes to disable the relevant safeties, but I now had an occult ball that could fail explosively.

Anyway, the tea was hot and I was declaring that good enough, so I took some mugs out of one of the cupboards, thought about it, put all but one of them back, and took the rest of the mugs I needed out of the sink. Being careful not to lose track of the clean mug, I proceeded to pour the tea, and carried the half-dozen cups out into the dining room, where an elegant-looking tea set lay on top of one of those knee-high tables.

Oops. Sighing, I transferred the tea to the actual tea cups, shoved the original mugs under the table, and with a little more effort shoved Suwako on top of it. Getting her in a position where she didn't spill the teacups was something of a challenge, but I wasn't above adding the intimidation, and a little humiliation of my would-be murderer fit in nicely.

A check in on Mary revealed that Nitori and Hatate had caught up with Aya, and now all three were duking it out with Seija on the shrine's doorstep. I doubted that would end well for her, but thankfully I was just about done.

Just a few last touches. I sent Mary to tell Seija I was ready to receive guests, and I reached into the occult ball, diving through the layers, taking a deep breath, and pulling as much magic as I could. I then pulled it most-of but not all the way out and held it steady, just below the surface. It wasn't pleasant (kind of a dull burning itch in the hand holding the magic), but my dead-man switch was online.

With everything else done, I kneeled at the table and waited.

{-} To be continued.

[-] Parley. Or hostage negotiation, one of the two.

After Seija delivered my invitations, the youkai outside piled in shortly afterwards. Seija. Aya. Hatate. Nitori. That's who I had to deal with. And all four of them did a double take at the scene I'd set up.

Which was good because it gave me time to talk.

"Not what you were expecting? Well, I've got one more surprise for you. I've turned this occult ball into a magical bomb. If you try to attack me, arrest me, or leave to get help, I'll blow this shrine to the moon."

"That would kill you too." Hatate said, looking worried.

I stared her down. "Yes."

"This isn't necessary!" Nitori said. "Hina told you, Gensokyo doesn't work like that!"

"Suwako just tried to kill me! Do you think I struck a god with lightning for my own entertainment? Do you think I hallucinated being swallowed and dragged into the lake by a giant stone snake?! The only reason I'm still alive is because I just outdueled a god!" I took a couple deep breaths, trying to regain my temper. "Of course, after that little feat I have neither the energy nor the patience to deal with any more of you monsters. So either we can sit down and talk like the reasonable adults none of us are, or I'll see you all in hell."

After a brief moment of disbelief, they all took seats around the table.

Seija cackled. "And here I was worried this was going to be a boring tea party!"

---

Aside from Seija - whose complete lack of giving a damn I envied - Aya recovered first.

"So, you've beaten one of the Moriya Shrine's gods and taken both her and the shrine itself hostage," she said. "Is this a step to get you closer to home, or part of your plan to upset the status quo?"

The eager look in her eyes was a disconcerting. For crying out loud I'd literally just made a bomb threat! She was watching me like a hawk while scribbling away a mile per minute on her little notepad. "What? No, this wasn't part of any plan! I took her down because she attacked me!"

"I see, I see!" Aya scribbled a couple more notes and turned the page. "But you must have had some intention in coming all the way up here. The shrine's really out of the way, that's why the gods here are always executing so many plans to gather faith. What were you looking to accomplish?"

"That..." a flash caught my attention, and I turned to Hatate. "What are you doing?"

She had her phone raised up, and was held it in front of her as a shield. "Just taking a couple pictures. You know, for-"

"Thoughtography, right?" Seija said.

Hatate stammered something, but the amanojaku just reached over, yanked the phone out of her hand, and snapped it in half.

"Oops," she said, dropping the pieces.

"Hey!"

"Call it a not-getting-blown-up tax, idiot." Seija grinned. "Not that I'd mind seeing you kick it, but do it another time."

Hatate looked about fit to explode at the amanojaku, but Nitori grabbed her shoulder and whispered something to her. I watched the whole thing, non-plussed. Was her ability dangerous? I thought it was just a spying thing, but apparently it had something to do with her phone somehow? I shook my head. Whatever. At least it wouldn't be an issue now.

Aya tapped her pencil against the table. "Apologies for my colleague, she's inexperienced with fieldwork. What were you going to say?"

Right. Aya was trying to interview me. "I was trying to cut a deal of some sort. My expertise and skills with urban legends in exchange for help rescuing my friend and a safe trip home."

"I see, I see. Could you explain how that turned into your altercation with Sanae?"

"That wasn't me! I had nothing to do with Sanae, I've never even met the girl! If I knew who it actually was I'd shove a lightning bolt up their ass, because they almost got me killed!"

"I knew it!" Aya crowed. She turned to Hatate. "I told you she was getting around too fast! This is why Reimu and the others are running in circles, there's more than one Sumireko!"

Was she tracking "my" movements the whole time? If I'd stuck around to talk to her back at the river, would I have found out about this mess before running into the murder-frog? I almost asked her exactly that, then realized I had a more important question first. "Why exactly are you here? It can't be just the interview, I know the mountain's on high alert."

"The interview is a big one! This is Gensokyo's biggest incident in ages!" Aya defended. Then she sighed. "But yes. The boss's plan was to mobilize the patrols to keep you away from the mountain's peak."

"Really. Just trying to scare her off?" Seija rolled her eyes. "Like starbutt wouldn't want you to capture her given half a chance?"

"Megumu's got some other project going on already," Hatate said, glaring at Seija. "She's been buried in talks with some youkai deep in the mountain."

"It's been going on for a while now, and from what I tell isn't likely to finish any time soon," Aya said. "There's probably an article to be made from it, but it's not worth the hassle. If you're going to get off Youkai Mountain, that should be good enough."

That would be extremely convenient if true. Maybe too convenient. "I thought the tengu served the gods here."

"Not exactly," Nitori chimed in. "The tengu are allies to the shrine, but they don't directly take orders from them. Just... strongly worded suggestions when Kanako's throwing her weight around."

"Like now."

Aya shook her head. "You beat Suwako and Seija's here to boot. That's too much firepower for just a humble newspaper reporter like me."

"Really," I said, not sure how to react.

"Look, just give us the bottom line," Hatate snapped. "What are your demands?"

That... hm.

[?] What would be best to demand?

[-]Survive, get info, save Greg, and escape Gensokyo. In that order.

Using my free hand, I took a deep drink of the tea to try and center myself. My magical deadman switch was getting painful to hold, taking a bit of a toll on my already rough concentration.

"The first demand is simple. Quit coming after me! Whether you were trying to scare me off or arrest me or worse, it ends now. I don't give a damn about your stupid mountain, and I am sick and tired of being chased around."

"If you're leaving the mountain, that should be simple enough," Aya said. "Though does that include future interviews?"

Shameless. Absolutely shameless. "Let's all survive this conversation first," I said tightly.

"Yes, please." Nitori said, looking worried.

I glanced at the kappa, then shook my head. "Anyway. Second demand. I need to know exactly what this fake me has been up to. Since you've all been following me, I figure that won't be any big problem for you."

Aya turned back a few pages in her notebook. "Well, you'll need to fill in the blanks as far as which appearances are you and which are your doppelganger, but from what I've heard, there's been Sumireko sightings at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Hakugyokurou, Eientei, here, the Underground, Myouren Temple, Shining Needle Castle, the human village, and the Hakurei Shrine."

The sheer scope of that list was more painful than the bruises. "But that's like half of Gensokyo!"

Seija laughed. "More like two-thirds! Someone really wanted to screw you over."

"Silence in the peanut gallery," I grumbled. "I'm going to need the details on all of them."

Aya started flipping back through her notes while Hatate rolled her eyes and spoke. "Alright, so the earliest one was the Hakurei Shrine, evening of the day before yesterday. The Sumireko there had a brief fight with Kasen and promptly teleported out after a little taunting. Supposedly that's when you entered Gensokyo for good."

"That's accurate. That one was me," I confirmed. "Next."

"Next would be Shining Needle Castle!" Aya said. "Eyewitness testimony say that one started the next morning. The notable inchling Shinmyoumaru accused you of chasing her all around the Shining Needle Castle, in order to, and I quote, 'Catch me and inflict her pervert-isms on me!!!' It was a pretty compelling headline."

Wait, the inchling was here, wasn't she? Why couldn't I have run into her instead of all the other murderous youkai? I... "Wait, headline?!"

"Inchling princess survives traumatic encounter with mysterious outsider!"

"Traumatic?!" I demanded.

"Yeah, Shinmy was losing her damn mind." Seija said. "Absolutely hilarious."

Aya practically pounced on that. "Wait, were you there?"

"Shinmy's not the sharpest knife in the back, and her castle's huge and got next to nobody in it. Great place to hide out, especially when she's hanging out at the shrine. Anyway, you showed up yesterday morning and declared you were there to capture Shinmy and study her. Shinmy started all defiant and 'You will die for invading my home' kinda thing, and fought you off, and then-" Seija broke into open laughter "Oh man, I thought that was going to be it, but you made it look like one of those horror stories. There'd be fifteen minutes, half an hour with nothing, and then she'd see a cape around the corner or hear a distant echo of your voice or have to dodge a few bullets or something. Shinmy lasted half the day before she cracked and ran off to Reimu in tears."

I hadn't freaked out the inchling that badly back home, had I? I just wanted to take a look at her for science. And also because she was adorable, but mostly for science. "I had nothing to do with any of that!"

Hatate glared at the amanojaku. "How did you know she went to Reimu?"

"Because miss high and mighty came to investigate!" Seija said, scowling. "Didn't find Sumireko, whichever one it was, but she did run into me. I figured we'd scuffle a bit, but Reimu said she had bigger fish to fry and left."

"Great. Just great," I groaned. "Anything else on this one?"

"Nah," Seija said. "Since Reimu didn't find anything, Shinmy's staying at the shrine till all this blows over. The sightings or whatever they were of your imposter quit after they left."

"Fine. Which one's next?"

Aya raised her hand. "I was only able to get partial details on these. After your appearance in the human village, a bunch of the stronger youkai met at the shrine to compare notes and discuss next steps. As the reporter present-"

"Present?" Hatate scoffed. "You hid on the roof and listened in."

Aya glared at her. "As the reporter present, I heard a few of them discuss their own encounters with you. Byakuren mentioned a break-in at Myouren Temple coupled with sightings of you, though you apparently avoided actually fighting anyone there. And Marisa had secondhand information from Sakuya that you had appeared at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Not much detail to be had, but Marisa said Sakuya was furious."

Seriously? Her too? "The human village was me, I'm pretty sure. You do mean the whole kidnapping of Nitori thing, right?"

"Wait, so the kidnapper was actually you but you got Nitori to work with you anyway?" Aya asked.

"That was Satori's decision! I wasn't consulted until afterwards, and by then it was too late to do anything about it!" I sighed. "But yes, the Sumireko in the vicinity of that was me. However, I had nothing to do with Myouren Temple or the Scarlet Devil Mansion."

[-] To be continued.

---

While not part of the story proper, I figured laying out the timeline in a bit more detail was a good idea.

We're currently in the afternoon of Day 3 of Greg + Sumireko's trip to Gensokyo. They made the trip over at night, so Day 1 was pretty much just the encounter at the Hakurei Shrine and meeting Satori. Day 2 was everything up until Eientei, and Day 3 is everything from post Eientei until now.

As for where various Sumireko sightings fit on that timeline:

Hakurei Shrine: Real, evening of day 1.
Shining Needle Castle: Fake, Morning of day 2 plus the "haunting" through most of the day. Unclear whether the fake was physically there for the haunting or if they set up a trick and left.
Human Village: Real, Late morning of day 2.
Myouren Temple: Fake, happened before middle of day 2.
Scarlet Devil Mansion: Fake, happened before middle of day 2. (Greg is aware via Patchouli that this happened roughly an hour after dawn, but nobody on this side of the story has the exact time.)

And the remaining locations:

Eientei: To be discussed, real, end of day 2.
Underground: To be discussed, fake.
Hakugyokurou: To be discussed, fake.
Moriya Shrine: To be discussed, fake (with the real one stumbling into it later, around mid day 3).

But yeah. The Sumireko imposter has been busy. Very much so.))

((Just so it's clear, the "not revealed" entries on the timeline aren't actually sorted into the timeline, it's just the unknown grouping.))

[-] What the fake has been up to.

"Hold on a minute," Nitori said. "What about Satori or Greg? Where have they been seen in the past couple of days?"

"The other other human who was at Nitori's kidnapping?" Aya said. "Pretty much just that."

"And Eientei," Hatate supplied. "He didn't do much in the brawl there, but he was the reason they were there in the first place. Which, come to think of it are the exact same locations Satori was seen at, along with the Hakurei Shrine."

"Interesting," I said. "Those are all legitimate, which means- agh!"

My hand cramped and I recoiled, staggering at the pulse of magic coming down my arm. That got a reaction out of everyone; not one person was left in their chair and Nitori in particular looked like the scare took ten years off her life.

"Damn it. Hang on, I need a better way to hold on to this." The human body really isn't designed to hold on to massive amounts of magic at one time. It can do it, but in much the same way a circuit can deliver a power surge before shorting out.

Gritting my teeth, I leaned forwards and plunged my other hand into the occult ball. Carefully and very delicately, I switched my grip on the magical bomb, pulling the old hand out and shaking it to get some feeling back into the limb. Which was red and looking a bit scorched, but it hurt enough that I was pretty sure I'd avoided any permanent damage. Still, this wouldn't last, and I'd need the dead man switch here for a while yet.

"Mary," I said, causing the doll to fly to my side (and making Hatate duck out of the way). After a moment's examination to check she was in good repair, I lifted her up to the occult ball proper.

"Keep hold of the magic inside," I directed the doll. "If I give the command or get incapacitated, release it. Do not let go under any other circumstances!"

Mary gave me a nod, reached in, and took hold of the magic herself. I held it alongside her for a couple of minutes, just in case, but the doll showed no signs of breaking down, so I let her take full hold of it and sighed from the sheer relief of it.

"Is... that going to be okay?" Nitori asked.

"She's basically a conduit for magic already," I said. "It definitely counts as rough use, but I'd expect her to hold up to the full force for a few days."

It was only then that I realized just how on-edge everyone else here was. Seems like the scare with my occult ball made their life flash before their eyes. Good! Seeing them deal with an actual threat to life and limb gave me a vicious surge of satisfaction. Still, there was more important stuff to sort out, so I motioned for the youkai to sit down.

"You can relax. I promise it's safer than my stay here in Gensokyo."

Funnily enough, they didn't look reassured, though they did sit down again.

"Where was I? Right, like I was saying, it sounds like that this impersonator has only bothered imitating me. Which makes me wonder if they can't imitate Satori or Greg..."

"You are the focal point of the incident," Hatate pointed out. "Who pretends to be someone's servant?"

"They're not my servants, but I take your point." I sighed. "Alright, let's check Eientei first. What have you heard about it?"

"Massive brawl with Reisen, Marisa, you, Satori, Greg, and Sakuya all involved, which Sakuya apparently won with magical support," Hatate summarized. "Last I checked Marisa was still being kept at Eientei, I don't think Eirin's letting her get up just yet."

"Maid's vicious," Seija commented. "Didn't think she had anything against Marisa."

"She didn't, I don't think." I said. "She was after me, Marisa was just in the way. Regardless, that one was actually me. So that leaves the Underground, Hakugyokurou, and here. None of which were me, by the way. What's going on with the Underground?"

"We don't know yet," Hatate said. "Kanako went down to check on the reactor in a hurry about an hour ago, some kind of ward or other got tripped."

That at least explains why the other god of this shrine was missing. "Isn't the entrance to the Underground all the way over by the Hakurei Shrine?"

"That's just one of the entrances," Nitori said. "Kanako probably used the Underground Geyser Center at the base of the mountain. Still a bit of a trip, but easier than going all the way around to Reimu's shrine."

"How long would it take her to get there, full speed?" I demanded.

"Um, maybe an hour or so each way? I don't think she has any movement-style spellcards."

Alright, that meant if Kanako's underground business was quick, I should have an hour before she returned. Subtract time for inaccurate estimates and bad luck, and I probably had at least half an hour to figure something out. Not much, but it should be workable. "Fine. And Hakugyokurou?"

"That one also happened yesterday morning," Aya said. "It's almost the odd one out because it sounds like there wasn't actually much to it? Youmu mentioned in passing that she saw Yuyuko chase you off with a spellcard, but also that you hadn't really put up a fight."

"And did the fake me frame me for anything before that? Arson? Theft? Aggravated Jaywalking?"

"Not that I heard. Youmu said Yuyuko dismissed it as not a big deal and sent her to the Human Village."

"When did you run into Youmu?" Hatate asked.

"She got pulled into the incident resolver meeting yesterday," Aya said, tapping her pencil against her notepad. "Mostly because she was in the area and had actually seen you... well, a version of you. She was being really cagey about why she was at the village, but I caught her passing out books and pamphlets later."

"About what?"

"Religion, believe it or not. A real one, even." Aya said. "I flipped through one of her pamphlets, but didn't see anything unusual. Might make a good human interest story if it catches on in the village."

"It's hard to picture Youmu doing something like that," Hatate mentioned, taking a sip of the tea and immediately grimacing and setting the cup down. "There's plenty of youkai it would fit, but Youmu? Evangelizing?"

"Well, more passing stuff out than actually talking." Aya said. "But yeah, she was as uncomfortable as I've ever seen her. It's obvious Yuyuko's behind it, but I've got no idea why she cares."

"Probably another cynical attempt to manipulate an urban legend," I said, sighing. "I wouldn't be surprised if my doppelganger gave her the idea. Whatever, so long as she doesn't try to kill me for it, I don't care."

I took a second to check on Mary - yep, still holding up fine - and turned back to the tengu. "Alright. Now for the one that almost got me killed. What did my fake do to Sanae?"

Aya and Hatate glanced at each other, and after a brief stare-off, the latter looked away and sighed. "She came to the shrine asking for help and shelter, offering to do whatever Kanako wanted with the urban legend incident. Pretty much the moment she was left alone with Sanae, she took a knife, stabbed her in the back, then ran for it."

I stared at the tengu, but nothing more was forthcoming. "Seriously? That's it? Was there some youkai strength or speed or at least expert skill? Or was the knife somehow special?"

"It was a kitchen knife." Hatate said bluntly. "Used to chop vegetables."

"And that worked?!"

"Sanae's still mostly human! How well would you take a knife in the chest?"

"And when did this absolute fiasco happen?" I demanded.

"A couple hours ago."

I swore. "Unbelievable. So the fake gets all the way up to the shrine undetected, makes pretty much the same offer I would have made, immediately attempts murder in the most idiotically mundane way possible, and then proceeds to escape from two gods?!"

"One god, technically." Hatate offered. "Suwako wasn't there at the time, she'd gone to check on the situation in the human village."

"And just to top it all off," I ranted, ignoring her, "the entire plot is somehow perfectly timed so that I encounter the literally murderous god of the mountain right after their daughter figure got stabbed by 'me'. I didn't even know I'd be coming here before this morning! Is Gensokyo only competent when it would screw me over? Is that it?"

I glared at my captive audience, but Seija was the only one who met my gaze. "Considering you're still here, they're apparently not good at that either!" she said cheerfully.

I turned on her. "And you! Just why are you here? They all at least live here, but you showed up awfully soon after my fight with Suwako."

Seija slurped at her tea, paused, and poured her cup into Nitori's empty one. "The Shining Needle Castle's pretty close by. I was just hanging out bored when the tengu started swarming like someone kicked a hornet's nest. I figured I'd check the shrine first anyway since the Moriya Shrine's usually behind that sort of thing, and the giant barrier just confirmed it. Bit of a lucky break, but sounds to me like you sure needed it!"

"Fine." I settled down a little, closing my eyes as I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "But just to be absolutely certain, was there any other place or time in which I showed up here that people somehow forgot to mention?"

I was half expecting to hear about how I'd kidnapped the moon while kicking puppies into a burning orphanage, but there was a chorus of no's, so I figured I had the scope of the damage at least. The problem was, it was way too much damage. Where did I even go when the well was poisoned to this degree?!

"Aya. You run a newspaper, right?"

"Of course! Mine's the best-"

"I do too!" Hatate cried out.

I rolled my eyes. "Even better. Because the next thing I want is wall to wall coverage of the fact that some absolute psychopath is going around, wearing my face and framing me for crimes!"

"You don't need to worry about that," Aya said, grinning. "This is definitely front page material. May I take a few pictures for the article?"

[-] Yeah, sure. It's a small thing, and if there's one thing you can trust Aya to do, it's sensationalize the article.
[-] No. The tengu cameras have some gimmick to them, and it's stupid to risk it.
[-] With certain conditions. (Suwako in the shot? Mary not in the shot? Feel free to specify.)

[-] Take the selfie, then continue the demands.

"Sure. Let me see your camera, and I'll take the pictures for you."

Aya got something of a hunted look, and I remembered the fate of the other tengu's phone. I sighed. "You'll get it back afterwards, don't worry."

She still hesitated, but her greed for the picture was stronger than her worry over the equipment, and the reporter eventually handed it over. I promptly spun around, lifting the camera in classic selfie style as I maneuvered all of them (except Mary and the occult ball) into the background. And after a bit of thought, I grabbed the unconscious Suwako and lifted her up to take the position of honor next to me in the photos.

"Alright everyone, smile."

I've got no idea if they did or not, but I took a couple pictures anyway, then lifted it out a bit further with telekinesis, and took a couple more. A quick review of said photos showed Seija grabbing Hatate in an... aggressively friendly manner and the tengu looking completely unnerved, while Aya and Nitori both looked nervous. Suwako herself was clearly unconscious with her head lolling back like that, and looked half dead, which was a nice contrast to my grin.

"And, done!" I declared, tossing the camera back to Aya, and dropping Suwako like a bad habit.

She snatched it out of the air and stared at the photos I'd taken. "Well, that's a statement." she muttered. "I'm not sure if I dare print these."

"Really? I know you do less business with the truth than I do, but I never thought I'd see you run from news." Seija taunted.

Aya glared at her. "I will not let you bait me. You know perfectly well the kind of hornet's nest that would kick up."

"More than the news Suwako tried to murder an innocent girl and then lost?" Seija asked innocently.

Aya hestiated at that, and Nitori sighed, explaining, "Aya might get away with writing a fast article before the shrine has a chance to go into damage control mode. It depends on how hard she spins it and how good she proves at asking for forgiveness. I'd be shocked if the photos made it in, though. Too obviously damaging."

"Yeah, not a chance," Hatate agreed. "The boss is going to want those for leverage, to get some concessions out of Kanako in exchange for not leaking them."

It seemed politics was the same everywhere. It made me wish I'd get a chance to proofread Aya's article and make sure the actual truth got published. Problem was, there was no meaningful way to enforce that. The only way for it to be even remotely possible would be to stick around as she wrote it, and I didn't have time for that.

"Figure it out on your own time," I said. "Because there's two more demands."

I had their attention with that, and I continued. "As you might recall, during the disaster that was Eientei, Sakuya kidnapped my friend. And Satori. I want him back. And using the eminently reasonable assumption that Sakuya will be just as unreasonable as every other youkai I've encountered, that means a rescue operation."

The tengu both froze at that, and after a minute, Nitori volunteered a hesitant, "You know, given that the mansion encountered the fake Sumireko, you might be able to explain things to them? Talk it out?"

I bit back a far more acidic response and settled for "If that worked I wouldn't have to fight Suwako. Besides, Sakuya's already wasted one innocent bystander!"

"Marisa's never been an innocent bystander in her life." Aya muttered.

"That's beside the point! The point is, Marisa was someone who had nothing to do with whatever the Sakuya's pissed about, and the psycho-maid put her in the hospital! Do you really think I'll fare better? Especially when Gensokyo will let her get away with it?!"

The silence was telling. The only sound was the rain beating against the shrine roof. And that silence stretched out, second by second, with the youkai clearly at a loss for words. I wasn't going to break it for them.

And then the amanojaku started laughing. "You've got a point, but what did you think was going to happen? They're two reporters and a tinkerer. And as for the groups they're representing? The tengu haven't cared about what goes on outside of their mountain for centuries. And the kappa just sell crap to idiots. The only group on this mountain that ever do anything of importance is the Moriya Shrine itself, and that bridge is well and truly burned."

"Is that how it is?" I asked, staring at the two tengu.

Aya couldn't meet my gaze. "I don't have the authority to order other tengu," she said softly. "Neither of us do."

"I see. Is there anything you can do?"

"If you're willing to meet with Megumu-" Hatate started.

"No. Running into the lion's den is how I got in this mess in the first place." And I wasn't likely to survive another encounter.

"What do you think your 'rescue' would be?" Hatate replied. "You've fought Suwako, well, the Scarlet Devil Mansion has three different people around the same level of power!"

"Which is why I'm looking for allies!" I snapped. "I didn't come up here for my health! And none of you will-"

"I'll go!" Seija said cheerfully.

I stopped abruptly, staring at her.

"I told you already, didn't I? I'm your number one fan here." I kept staring, and Seija rolled her eyes. "Look, Gensokyo hates my guts already, and the feeling's mutual. Your urban legends are shaking up the status quo like nothing else, and trust me, it deserves to be blown to hell. I'm not going to follow you on some suicide run, but if you can come up with a plan? I'm in."

"You're not even going to try to negotiate something?"

Seija considered that for a minute. "How about we just say you'll owe me one?"

"Within reason..." I said carefully, "but yes."

"Sumireko, this is a bad idea," Nitori said. "I can't see an assault on the Scarlet Devil Mansion ending well. Not for you, not for them, and not for Greg."

I gave her my full attention. "Then give me an alternative," I said softly.

Nitori hesitated, fiddled with her backpack, and then slammed her fist into her palm. "A heist. You can teleport, I've got my optical camo gear, we've got a far better chance of sneaking your friend out than we do of breaking him out."

"Do you really think you'll be able to dodge the paranoid time-stopping maid?"

"Do you think you'll be able to beat her?" Nitori shot back. "Sakuya already kicked your ass once, and that was when Shinmy was backing you up!"

[-] Write-in

[X] A heist it is. Nitori's plan is a lot better than getting turned into a pincushion by a cheap Dio expy.
-[X] Realize how Greg-able Nitori has been and recognize her for it.
--[X]Offer another picture (another group selfie, but at Aya's direction.) for the Tengu’s article if they can let you know a time when Sakuya (and the other big guns of the SDM) are away from Greg.
---[X]Do any of you know a Mokou?

"The heist is the better plan," I said.

Seija folded her arms and cocked an eyebrow at me. "Really? You still think you're going to be able to avoid fighting them?"

"Not with my luck," I said grimly. "But if we do get caught, we can always fight them then. If we go in guns blazing, we lose any sort of chance at stealth. And I still fully intend to grab as much support as possible before we launch Operation: Rescue."

Seija raised her finger, paused, and considered that for a moment. "I still prefer the idea of an ambush, but fine. So long as we have the firepower to actually fight them when it goes bad."

"Support from who?" Aya asked.

"Alice, for one. We did have an agreement to work together, and I've done some interesting stuff with her doll since we parted. Her dolls would also be pretty useful for any sneaking around that needs doing."

"Why wasn't she at Eientei then?" Aya asked.

"She was. She just didn't make it to the main fight, Ran cut her off." I saw the follow-up question forming and cut it off. "No, I don't know why. If you find out, tell me."

The reporter rolled her eyes. "Fine, no further questions on that one. Anyone else?"

"Satori's pets would be ideal, but if my fake got to them first, that could be difficult. Koishi as well, but the problem with that is finding her." I'd honestly been hoping the unconsciousness youkai would be shadowing me on account of Mary, but no such luck. "Aside from that... Mokou, if she's around. Have you heard anything about her?"

"I'm pretty sure miss forever alone is just sulking around the bamboo forest like usual." Seija said. "What's she have to do with anything?"

"We hit it off when she collected the occult balls and made it outside," I replied, smiling slightly. "She'd be perfect as figurative and literal firepower if we can convince her... and I have a feeling she won't mind too much. Assuming nothing's happened to her in the last couple of days?"

The tengu glanced at each other and shook their heads. "I haven't heard anything," Hatate said.

Getting up to stretch, I took a moment to drain the last of my tea. "Alright," I said, rubbing my eyes. "That's enough of a plan to start with. That leaves one... no, two other things."

They tensed up at that, but I ignored them and proceeded. "First one. I'm going to need a place to stay and recover, at least for a bit. I think we can all agree it's best if I'm long gone by the time Kanako returns."

"I know a place," Seija said. "Close enough to get to, far enough to be out of Moriya's jurisdiction, and nobody's there to bug you."

"Don't keep me in suspense."

The amanojaku rolled her eyes. "Maybe it's better to discuss it after they leave?"

"Just whisper it to me," I snapped, irritated.

Seija obliged, whispering the location, and I considered the idea. "That actually makes sense. Fine, that works." I turned to the tengu. "Final demand, then. Once I've rescued Greg, I need a way home. I want out of this battle-crazed hellhole."

Aya looked thoughtful at that. "That might actually be possible. There's not that many who can cross the barrier, but Kanako should be able to pull it off. She did bring the shrine here."

I gave her a flat look. "Seriously? Her?"

"Once the truth comes out, this whole incident is going to be an embarrassment for the Moriya Shrine." Hatate said. "After Kanako's had time to cool down and consider it, she'll want things to die down quietly, and you going home is the fastest way to make that happen."

"And doing a favor for you is also a way for the Moriya Shrine to claim they made up for the whole 'confrontation borne of mistaken identity'." Aya concluded.

Aya's turn of phrase made me feel dirty just from hearing it. That level of spin was the domain of reporters and politicians. "No. The incident also dies down from me dying. I'm not trusting my way home to someone who benefits from me being dead."

The tengu thought about it. "I think that leaves Reimu, Kasen, and Yukari? You'd probably need to prove your innocence and resolve the incident to convince one of them."

So, the architects of the original plan to capture me, and Yukari... who stood a better than even chance of being behind literally everything. Or I could try fixing Koishi and hoping Satori could make good on her promise, but it really didn't seem like there was a simple answer here.

I'm not sure why I expected differently.

[-] To be continued.

((Remaining parts of the write-in next update.))

[-] Wrap this up.

There wasn't too much else to say, and my focus was fading fast. We negotiated around potential ways for me and Greg to get home, but there wasn't any additional insight to be had. In the end, I had to either hope Kanako would be reasonable or win over someone from Reimu's group. I hate my life.

Trying to get additional help out of them was similarly useless. The tengu simply weren't going to help, and it's not like I had the means to threaten more out of them. (Well, besides blowing myself up with them, but that would be counterproductive.) The best I got there was Aya offering to relay news to me if I gave her a Suwako-less selfie. Which... is a small, unlikely thing that she can always avoid following up on, but on the off chance she decides to pursue a second interview, it might get me some information.

If I were inclined to be fair, I'd admit that things went better than I'd expected. Granted, I'd expected to die, so low bar, but the tengu were staying out of it, Seija seemed inclined to actually help, Nitori was somehow still with me, and there was at least a loose plan for the future. I'm sure Greg could have spun that into something that made them simultaneously feel guilty and relieved, some diplomatic overture that would set the seeds of future cooperation.

However, my inclination was to be a spiteful bitch, so I told them to get out and not let the door hit them on the way out. Which was proof I was slipping, my insults are usually more creative than that. But, well, it was done, and I watched them go with no small amount of relief. And then proceeded to disarm my makeshift bomb, to Seija and Nitori's significantly greater relief.

"It... alright. Seija. How're we getting to Shining Needle Castle?"

"Wait, wasn't Reimu investigating that?" Nitori asked.

"She's done with it." Seija said. "And Shinmy's cowering in her shrine, so the castle's abandoned. I figure we can finders keepers it for a while."

"Just a night," I said, shivering. "As soon as I'm rested we'll set out."

Nitori glanced out at the sky. "Well, it's late afternoon now. If we get going we should be able to fly there before dark."

"Let's go," I said. "Sooner the better."

The flight over was wet, cold, miserable, and almost miraculously uneventful. Or maybe it was to be expected. Kappa tengu, and Moriya Shrine were all accounted for, so that was all the major groups out of the way. There was some minor youkai with a cleaver we stumbled across, but Seija handled her easily, and I just kept flying. Progress that was made unfortunately slower by the need to fly low and through the trees wherever possible; I did not want to risk running into Kanako.

I don't really remember much of it, looking back. I'd just had the worst beating of my life combined with the worst magical exhaustion of my life, and the adrenaline high had run out at some point in the shrine itself. Without that? I was crashing hard. The sheer necessity of getting away was all that was keeping me in the air, and I'm mostly sure Seija was half carrying me by the end. Only mostly, the specifics of the trip faded into a weary haze, but we made it. Somehow or other, I made it to the castle, and from there to a bedroom within the castle.

I collapsed onto the bed and was asleep within the minute.

[-] Nitori interlude.

[-] Nitori interlude

This was a mess. This entire situation was nothing but a mess, and it was only getting worse. She'd thought being kidnapped was going to be the worst of the incident, but if anything it was just a sample. Sanae had been stabbed. Suwako had attempted to kill Sumireko, and then lost. And then Sumireko had rigged one of her occult balls to blow and threatened to nuke the shrine! Just to bring people to the negotiating table!

That was what scared Nitori more than anything else. Being good at business required the ability to read people. To make a sale, you had to figure out what your customers were interested in, and haggling was really a matter of calling out people on their bluffs.

Sumireko wasn't bluffing. Naturally arrogant and prone to exaggeration, perhaps, but right now? She was desperate. Desperate and vengeful enough to consider killing everyone in the area a good consolation prize. Intelligent enough to realize that was the state of play and use that own desperation as a bargaining chip. And strong, skilled, and lucky enough to actually beat a goddess of the Moriya Shrine.

That was a bad combination. As Tewi occasionally pointed out, even a rabbit fights when cornered. Sumireko had just demonstrated what she'd resort to when cornered, and Nitori had a bad feeling the mage could do more when not completely exhausted. If Sumireko ever felt her situation was completely hopeless, the mage might just decide to go out with a bang and do whatever damage she could. And someone who could fight off Suwako could deal a lot of damage.

And now Seija was involved. The youkai whose explicit goal was to cause chaos and overturn the established social order. Because clearly the best way to stabilize this little powder-keg was to put her in close proximity with someone who would enjoy watching Gensokyo burn.

Nitori didn't even like Sumireko, damn it! Regardless of her strengths, the girl had no tact, precious little restraint, and a sense of superiority to her that was downright irritating. Pompous, that was the word for it. The kind of person who would admit mistakes, but only unimportant ones, and just to show she's not the kind of person who won't admit mistakes. There was an arrogance to her, sometimes blatant, usually subtle, but throughout there was the idea that Sumireko thought she was better than most other people. That to be worth her time, you had to be special in some way.

And at the same time, when she was meaningfully threatened, that superiority turned to self-righteousness faster than you could blink. She'd already ranted a couple times about how things weren't her fault, and nowhere in any of her rants was one shred of culpability. The bitch had never even apologized for kidnapping Nitori in the first place! And while the girl was admittedly being framed for... just about everything...

Nitori sighed. That was the whole problem, wasn't it? If Sumireko was just a second Seija, Nitori would be off to find Kanako right now. But she wasn't. She was arrogant, not cruel. Thoughtless, not malicious. She deserved a good kick in the head, but not this.

Maybe Reimu was the answer, then. She hadn't been the recipient of a personal visit from the fake, and Nitori had a decent idea now what she'd have heard in any case. It shouldn't be too hard to convince her of what was going on, as the shrine maiden had to know something weird was going on by now. And even if she couldn't, if there was one person in Gensokyo who could be trusted to play strictly by spellcard rules, it was the Hakurei shrine maiden.

As such, if Nitori did go, she was almost certain Reimu would try to put Sumireko into protective custody while the shrine maiden sorted out the incident and chased down the real culprit. Sumireko would be absolutely pissed off, and Nitori would be forfeiting the tech she'd been promised, but it would lower the chance of a fueled bloodbath dramatically.

The kappa bit her lip, considering it. She hated to go back on a deal, and she did honestly want some modern technology, but there were bigger concerns right now. Going to Reimu would be a major step in sorting out the entire imposter situation, and getting the incident solved. There might still be more escalation, but at least it would just be the incident resolvers fighting the actual villain, and not the collateral damage directed both towards and from Sumireko. It would also put Nitori in the clear as far as the incident went. She was already going to have a rough conversation with Kanako in her future, but turning in the high-schooler to Reimu would make justifying her role in things far simpler.

And quite frankly, Reimu was far more qualified to rescue Sumireko's friend than she was, whether that happened by negotiation or danmaku. The shrine maiden actually had beaten the entire Scarlet Devil Mansion before, after all.

The kappa glanced over to the bedroom where Sumireko was snoring. She was going to be furious, but it was for the best. It was probably even best for Sumireko's sake, ironically enough. And with the magician that out of it, she could probably get to the shrine and back before Sumireko woke up.

So Nitori took flight over towards the balcony they'd entered from. Only to be caught before she could even leave the castle.

"And just where do you think you're going, kappa?"

[-] To be continued.

[-] A wild Seija appeared.

Nitori recoiled, nearly falling off the balcony. Grabbing the railing, she whirled around to face the amanojaku.

"Damn it Seija, don't sneak up on me like that!"

Seija grinned. "Looks to me like you're the one doing the sneaking. Getting cold feet already, kappa?"

She couldn't possibly know. This was just her being unpleasant. "I don't keep all of my tech on me. If we're going to pull off the heist, I'm going to need my optical camo gear, and that's back at the hideout."

"Huh, that's funny." Seija tapped a finger against her nose. "Weren't you at the hideout earlier today?"

"That was when I thought Sumireko was just going to talk to the Moriya Shrine. Things have escalated since then."

"Beautifully so," Seija said. "Doesn't change the fact you're not going anywhere."

"And why would that be?" Nitori asked, utilizing that icy politeness that's the social equivalent of throwing a punch.

"Well, the most fundamental reason is because I said so and because I'm stronger than you," Seija said, leering. "But if you want the reasons behind that? Because you're not trustworthy."

"Don't be ridiculous. You can't succeed in business if you go around breaking your word!"

"Oh, you wouldn't be breaking your word, you'd be the brave and courageous hero who stopped the terrible incident at great personal risk," Seija said, contempt dripping off every word. "People eat that crap up with chopsticks. So long as the person you're screwing over is bad enough, you can get away with anything!"

"And why would I be looking to 'get away' with something?"

Seija laughed. "Your friends and your gods want little Sumi in there locked up or worse. You've certainly got no shortage of reason to hate Sumireko yourself. And of course, there could be real danger involved here! And how many centuries has it been since you've faced real danger? So... greed, hatred, cowardice... take your pick, really! Which kind of scumbag are you?"

She of all people had no right to say that! "You're delusional. Look, if you want to watch where I'm going so badly, you can follow me to the hideout."

"And leave Sumireko unguarded?" Seija affected a look of mock horror. "Would you really leave your friend incapacitated and helpless where some strange youkai could stumble upon her?"

"The only thing likely to render her helpless is dying," she muttered. Even then, Sumireko seemed the type to stick around as a vengeful spirit or something.

"Don't sound so hopeful about it."

"I'm not!" she snapped. "Besides, the entire point of this place was that it was somewhere she could keep her head down and sleep."

"Because nobody's aware she's here, cucumber for brains. If someone came by and searched, things get harder."

"If security by obscurity is the only benefit, why are we here?!"

"Because it's a castle," Seija pointed out. "This place is huge, and if anyone does drop by, I can pull a lot of trickery if they don't already know exactly which room your friend is hiding in."

"Weren't you just pointing out how we aren't friends?"

"If she's not your friend, why are you even here?" Seija asked, cracking her knuckles.

Sunk cost fallacy, apparently. "I should ask you that," Nitori countered. "Somehow I don't think Sumireko's up for your revolution right now."

"You aren't supposed to be quite that stupid. She and her occult balls are a huge agent for change here. The longer she stays alive, the more chaos she stirs up, and that's without the youkai attacking her! As such, keeping her free and in one piece is absolutely in my best interests. Is it in yours?"

"Yes! Besides, if I wanted to screw her over, I've had way better opportunities, like when I had her boxed away in that crate." Nitori said, shifting uncomfortably. "Look, enough's enough. Just let me go get my stuff so we're not burning daylight come tomorrow." Or possibly later, depending on how long Sumireko was out for.

"Hm..." Seija said, rubbing her chin. "Well, I guess... nope! Still no."

"Seriously?"

"As the grave. What are you going to do about it, kappa?"

[-] Give it up, at least for now.
[-] Try your luck with a spellcard, force your way past.

[X] Give it up, at least for now.

Nitori glared at the Seija. "I thought your whole deal was having the weak overthrow the strong. Or have you flipped around so much you just turned right side up again?"

Seija moved as if to pat her on the head, but she was having none of that and dodged back. "The strong will always exercise power on the weak, kappa. I wasn't flipping the nature of that, I was flipping who was strong and weak."

"And what did you gain?" Nitori asked. "What's the conclusion?"

"Those youkai who are strong, competent, or successful? They don't owe you anything. They're always capable of making their own way, and will turn on you the moment they get a better deal. But the weak, the desperate, the have-nots? Deep in their hearts, they envy the strong. They envy their power, their freedom, their ability to do as they please and throw their weight around, and it burns them. Every intimidation, every time they have to run from a Fantasy Seal or get blown up by a Master Spark, every time they so much as think about those things, it burns a little worse. They bury it, tell themselves there's nothing to be done, it's not worth it, they need to be practical, but the moment they realize it can change that burning envy will light a fire in them. Show them hope, and you'll have their undying devotion. They'll care more about your cause than you do, because they know they're worthless on their own, and anything's better than admitting it. "

She took a step back. "Either you've been spending too much time with Parsee or you're actually just insane."

"Thank you!" Seija took a bow, sounding genuinely pleased. "But you should be well familiar with this, kappa. When Moriya says jump, you ask 'How high?' The only reason your merchant shenanigans remain unmolested are because most strong youkai consider them beneath contempt."

She gritted her teeth, staring at the amanojaku. "Are you seriously trying to recruit me?"

"Nah, I've got standards. Forming a revolution from the weak doesn't mean you accept any trash."

"What did you just say?"

"Standards. I have them. You don't meet them. Is that enough, or do I need to break out some pictures?"

She took a deep breath and turned away. "You're baiting me, and I have better things to do."

"Baiting would imply I'm looking for a specific response. I'm just pissing you off. Mostly for my own amusement, but also to prove a point."

"And what point would that be?"

"I just exercised power over you, dumbass. I stopped you from doing what you wanted to do, threatened you with violence, accused you of being a traitor, and insulted you to your face, and you can't do a thing about it. You'd love to take a swing at me right now, but you can't, because I'd stomp your ass flatter than your chest. If someone offered you a way to shut me up, you'd take it in a heartbeat."

"So that's it, then? Your little revolution was about the weak getting petty revenge on the strong? Not every group is as dysfunctional as you like to think," she spat. "The kappa certainly aren't."

"Oh, there's always bottom feeders." Seija waved it off. "But even they can turn into piranha with the right push. And the more they get pushed around, the more they get attacked, accused, and wronged, the more Gensokyo's power is wielded against them - the more that anger and resentment builds up. There's always a breaking point."

Oh no. Seija had seen the same thing she had. "That's why you're interested in Sumireko."

"Finally caught up, have you? Really though, it doesn't even need to go that far. We both hate the same people."

"You hate everyone."

"Like I said, the same people. Or close enough." Seija smiled. "It's only a matter of time before she fights back in a more permanent manner."

"And what's to stop me from just telling Sumireko this?"

"Go right ahead! Let her know I hate the youkai in Gensokyo, and would fully support her if she wanted to kill any or all of them! I'm sure that would drive the wedge between us that you're hoping for." Seija grinned. "Being powerless really burns, doesn't it?"

Saying anything else would only give the bitch extra satisfaction. "I'm going to work on my tools,"

But Seija had a parting shot. "You know what the best part is? I don't even need to do anything! I'm going to help her, Nitori. I'm going to help her, and Gensokyo will push her over the edge anyway, despite my honest best efforts. And when it does, it's going to be spectacular."

Nitori ran to the nearest door and slammed it behind her, Seija's laughter ringing in her ears.

[-] To be continued.

[-] What is there to be done?

With the door well and truly slammed shut, Nitori just... needed a minute.

This was why nobody liked amanojakus! Seija made a point of being as unpleasant as possible to everyone. The more she aggravated someone, the more she enjoyed doing it, and if a particular youkai reacted badly enough, she was known to keep seeking them out for additional torment.

Which made it really unfortunate that the bitch had been successful in getting under Nitori's skin just now. Especially because she was about to be all but forced to stick around now. Even if Sumireko would countermand that (and the high-schooler wasn't that altruistic), leaving her with Seija was just begging for a disaster. Which meant she was stuck traveling with two people perfectly happy to find joy at her expense, while pseudo-kidnapped again.

If only she'd actually brought her optical camo! She hadn't been lying about it being left behind (hadn't expected to need it, this was supposed to be a quick diplomatic trip), and she was feeling the lack of it all too keenly. It would have been such a simple way to dodge Seija, too. Reimu could have been informed, and this incident would be halfway to a bloodless, bombless end!

If there was an upside, it was that Seija didn't know that was what she'd been planning. That would have been dangerous, not just unpleasant, but no, running away was merely the pretext the amanojaku had chosen for throwing her weight around. The fact that Seija had been right was just horrible luck, but there was nothing to be done at this point. Even if she could sneak free later, it's not like Sumireko would stay in one place, or that she'd sit still for Reimu to capture if the shrine maiden did show up.

Hearing a noise behind her, the kappa spun around and froze.

It would, of course be Sumireko's room she'd chosen to hide in. The magician herself was sprawled out on a child-sized bed, dead to the world and sawing logs with each snore. That wasn't the scary part, despite the similarity to the growls of some of the more feral youkai.

The scary thing was that the doll was hovering nearby, holding on to the occult ball for dear life and watching Nitori intently.

Gently raising her hands in an I'm-not-doing-anything kind of gesture, she tried for calm. "There, there, I'm not doing anything. I just needed to get away from Seija."

The doll nodded.

"Okay, good." She sighed. "She's an ass."

The doll nodded again. Which actually made the kappa feel a bit better.

"Honestly, ass doesn't do her justice. Actively and continuously malicious, maybe." She sighed. "This entire incident is nothing but one disaster after another. "

The doll nodded emphatically.

"I wish I'd just told Satori she could have her stupid urban legend and let it be. Would have made life so much easier."

The doll nodded.

"I'm worried. The whole thing with making that occult ball blow up, I'm pretty sure Sumireko would have done it. If she got you to set it up again while she was asleep, that's a lot of paranoia. Well... distrust, at least."

The doll looked away.

It occurred to Nitori that she was complaining to a doll. That its nods and reactions were probably some yes-man routine Sumireko or Alice built in, and the thing wasn't truly understanding a word she said.

However, it was equally true that this was the only thing in the vicinity that would even pretend to care, so she kept going. "It's obvious the whole thing's wearing on her. As someone who just got kidnapped themselves, believe me, I get it. But there's a thin line between desperation and blaze of glory, and she's dancing right up to it. And from everything she's done and said, she's going to keep doing it, and I don't want to be next to her when that bomb goes off!"

The doll tilted its head.

"Of course, that's exactly what freaking Seija is hoping for. She's that instigator on the sidelines screaming 'Fight, fight!' knowing she won't be the one getting blown to pieces. She all but admitted she's hoping to point Sumireko in a specific direction once little miss time bomb finally snaps."

She sighed again, unshouldering her backpack and setting it against the wall. "And of course, who's the one youkai in position to offer the good angel counterpoint to the bloody amanojaku? It's me, somehow! Despite the fact we already hate each others' guts."

The doll shook its head.

"No, seriously. We started off on the wrong foot and it never really got better. We're sort of working together, but I'm surprised she didn't tell me to leave back at the shrine. I know she doesn't trust me, and it's not like I trust her."

The doll shook its head again.

"Oh, come on. The fact you're on bomb duty proves that."

After a brief pause the doll shook its head again and continued holding on to the occult ball for dear life.

"Why am I even bothering, it's a bloody doll." She sighed. "Well, look, as long as it doesn't incite you to kill us all, I'm going to tinker." If nothing else, a bit of mechanical work would do wonders to calm her down.

[End of Part 3B]

((Really short part here, but it's a casualty of keeping the timelines roughly in sync. Sumireko needs the time to recover, which means we get to see what Greg's up to for a while before she gets back in action.))

As a reminder, previous Greg update was >>204881.

[-]On the road to the village.

Being disguised as Koakuma was an unusual experience, to say the least. You shook your head, seeing locks of red hair sway back and forth in front of your face. You reflexively reached up to grab them, only for them to pass through your hand like the illusion they were. "That's a little uncanny."

Just walking with Patchouli didn't take away from the uncanny feeling of the experience. "I would have thought being in disguise would be normal for you."

"I tend more towards veils, actually," you admitted, glancing back towards the mage. "There's a few exceptions, but I usually find invisibility to be more useful than a disguise."

"And what cases would those be?"

It didn't escape you that Patchouli's probably filing away your response, but you answered anyway. "The obvious one is deception, especially if you want to incriminate someone in particular. Beyond that, there are cases where seeing someone is less suspicious than seeing nobody. Needing to open a closed door is the classic example, but then there's sand, mud or snow, or if you've screwed up and made a noticeable noise. Basically, any time there's going to be traces of you passing through, it's better if you give people a way to explain away those traces."

"Hmph." Patchouli wiped her brow. "It's downright despair inducing how many people accept the first explanation they've been given."

"The real trick isn't to give them the explanation, it's to leave it laying around for them to find," you said. "Everyone feels clever when they put together a puzzle, so if you give someone just enough information to reach the conclusion you want and let them piece it together, they'll think what you want and be satisfied about it."

"You're well versed in human psychology, then."

It was a kinder way for her to put it than just calling you a manipulator again, at least. "Not really, or at least not formally. It's just common behavior patterns. If you really stop and watch, most people aren't that different, or that complicated."

"I've found most humans fairly similar," Patchouli agreed. "Youkai behavior is a bit more varied, but much of it comes down to the differing instincts and abilities of species."

"I've been wondering about that," you admitted. "Sumi and I did run into the occasional youkai before Gensokyo, but they were all feral, wild things. None of them could be mistaken for a human, that's for sure. That's part of the reason we were excited to find a way here, honestly. The youkai that managed to collect the occult balls were far more human in appearance and behavior than any we'd seen."

"While maintaining enough of the unknown to remain fascinating, I suppose," Patchouli mused. "Is that why the balls are designed to pass around through combat?"

"We figured it would be the most common high-energy encounter. We also wanted to see the exceptional youkai, not the common ones. But seriously, why are Gensokyo's youkai so different?"

Patchouli considered that for a minute, and you gave her the time to think as you kept walking. It was a nice afternoon for it, at least. Cool with a slight breeze, and the multicolored leaves of autumn were gorgeous. The sky was mostly clear, though the storm over by the mountain did look pretty nasty. Hopefully it would blow over.

"The first reason would be selection bias. Gensokyo was meant as a paradise for youkai, but also required them to show restraint in dealing with humans. Doubtless the more feral youkai either refused or were never invited to begin with."

You nodded as the mage continued. "The other reason... I suspect something about Gensokyo itself, perhaps the experiences of the humans here, I suspect." Patchouli said. "Many youkai and gods have their form based on the tales humans told of them, as passed through the years. Humans in Gensokyo have been far more acquainted with youkai over the generations. Perhaps that familiarity has led the youkai here to take more familiar forms in turn. Though this seems like the sort of thing Yukari could have meddled in."

"That's... both plausible and vaguely terrifying, actually."

"Yukari usually is," Patchouli said drily. "At times it seems her power is capable of anything except making her likable."

You weren't expecting the jab and laughed. Koakuma's merry, high-pitched giggle came out and you startled slightly. Patchouli noticed and shot you a questioning look.

"That's the other reason this is uncanny," you explained, gesturing at yourself. "I've enchanted illusions before, but pretty much always for Sumireko. When I wear one, I'm pretty much always the one casting it, and that means I'm constantly concentrating on it."

"Making it literally impossible to be surprised by it," Patchouli realized.

"Exactly. Wearing this doesn't actually feel any different from normal," you said, twisting the ring on your finger. "It's actually quite easy to forget I'm even using an illusion, up until I catch a glimpse of red hair or some such."

"You'll need to get used to it quickly, then." Patchouli said. "A startle like that could draw attention."

"I doubt 'that's not actually Koakuma' is going to be their first conclusion," you defended. "But I take your point. I guess it's just as well I'm wearing this until we get there."

Patchouli raised a hand and you stopped. "Hold. Someone's approaching."

Now that she mentioned it, you could hear it. Branches rattled and snapped as a shape flitted through the trees. You could feel a slight chill in the air as the shape approached and became visible.

"Who dares trespass on the domain of THE STRONGEST?!"

It was a child-sized ice fairy in a blue dress. Flying directly overhead at an angle where you had to look away to avoid spotting something you shouldn't have. Patchouli had briefed you a bit on the way on some of the youkai you might run into, and both the description and her behavior made her dead simple to recognize.

"Hey Cirno!" you called out cheerfully.

"Don't hey me! I'm the strongest! That means you have to pay me taxes! It's feuding law!"

Patchouli dragged her hand over her face, and you could see both the tension and patience just drain out of her. "When I find out who expanded her vocabulary..."

"Um, all we have is books. So unless you want a book, I'm afraid-"

"But your books are boring!" Cirno complained. "Even the pictures are boring! All those dying grams are awful! No wonder they died!"

It took you a second to connect that thought to the word 'diagram', and you winced on the pure principle of the thing. Meanwhile, Patchouli glared at her. "And just when did you see one of my books?"

"Uh..." Cirno stuttered, backing off. "I didn't see many?"

Patchouli's glare turned to you, and you shook your head. "Don't look at me, I didn't do anything!"

"Uh, right." The mage looked momentarily sheepish before regaining her ferocity. "It's clear I'll need to have a conversation with someone later."

You took a moment to say a silent prayer for the valiantly doomed real Koakuma. May her death be relatively painless.

Cirno approached and nudged you in the side. "That was close," she whispered.

And didn't this bring back memories of grade school? Better to engage on her level. "Be quiet!" you hissed. "You're gonna get us caught!"

Patchouli's glare only deepened at that, and she pulled out a book, wielding it at the fairy. "Cirno. I am busy, and now is not the time. Leave us alone, or I will melt you into next spring."

"Wait!" she cried, holding her hands up. "You're looking into the urban legend thing, right?! You gotta help Wriggle! Her story thingy... it's awful!"

Patchouli hesitated at that, so you asked the obvious question. "What happened?"

"Her bugs just keep appearing and it's awful and they're everywhere!"

Right! Wriggle was the local bug youkai. Which... meant that sounded just like business as usual. "Doesn't she normally have bugs everywhere?"

"Not like this!" Cirno said, shivering. "They keep appearing even when she takes them away! Even when I keep freezing them all!"

You glance back at Patchouli, who still hasn't rendered judgement. You're pretty sure she'd rather push on to the village, but she's at least tempted to check it out. Which there is at least an argument for doing. If nothing else, it's odd that Wriggle got an urban legend, you're pretty sure she's way weaker than anyone else you've seen with one.

[-] Urge Patchouli to check it out.
[-] Press on to the village.

[X] Urge Patchouli to check it out.

"Could we at least take a look?" you pleaded. "It shouldn't take too long, right?"

"Do you really think it'll be worth the time?"

You kind of expected it to be an argument. For Patchouli to take convincing, pleading, and maybe a certain amount of social maneuvering.

"Seeing another urban legend in action can't hurt! Besides, I want to see how Wriggle got an urban legend for herself."

"Very well."

It left you a little flat-footed when she just agreed like that.

Cirno did a fist pump, jumping a few feet into the air. "Come on! She's over by the river!"

The ice fairy then proceeded to fly off at speed. Which was a bit of a problem since you were groundbound. You tried running after her regardless, but rapidly lost sight of Cirno as she weaved through the trees.

"Is she going to realize she's left us behind?" you asked.

Patchouli was far more composed by virtue of being able to fly. "Debatable."

Thankfully, the ice fairy had left a literal trail of frost across the branches, making it simple enough for the two of you to follow. And a few minutes of exertion later, you did catch up to her a stone's throw away from the river itself.

Patchouli beat you to the area and started discussing things with a new fairy, this one in green.

"There you are! What took you so long?"

"Had to walk," you said, panting. "Hurt my wing, earlier."

"Oh. That's no fun. Does this mean you're not gonna duel me?"

You shuddered. That was a bullet narrowly dodged. "Maybe next time."

"Aw, come on. Just a short one?"

"Cirno," the green fairy said chidingly. "You know you can hang out with people without fighting them."

"But Dai, winning fights is why I'm the strongest!" Cirno protested... but it was a token effort.

Daiyousei! That was her name. Your breath regained, you walked over to Daiyousei, and caught the tail end of the discussion.

"-from nowhere?" Patchouli asked.

"Yes! At least I think so," Dai said earnestly.

"You're certain she didn't have the bugs hidden nearby?"

"Cirno's perfect freeze kills off any insects in the area," the fairy stated confidently. "Wriggle's complained about it a few times. But new bugs kept showing up regardless."

Oh, of course. Patchouli went straight to the urban legend discussion. "Is there anything unusual about the bugs?" You asked.

"Not really?" Dai answered. "They're just a bunch of bugs. I guess there's a lot of cockroaches?"

Oh, joy. You weren't afraid of bugs, thank goodness, but you'd had a bad experience with cockroaches in particular. To be specific, a backfired attempt to transform a box that somehow (you still don't know how) turned it into a pile of cockroaches. Which did not magically dissipate or anything and had to be removed by hand.

It was a miserable weekend for you and Sumireko both, and was the direct source of the Roach nickname she'd occasionally harass you with. And considering precisely who overheard said nickname and found it funny, you have a sinking feeling their appearance here isn't a coincidence.

"And is Wriggle herself normal?" Patchouli asked.

"She's fine, just annoyed." Dai gave an apologetic smile. "Cirno's just not used to actually having bugs land on her."

Patchouli sighed and turned to you. "Well, Koakuma, since you were so eager to see this for yourself, by all means, go on."

The mage gestured towards the river where you saw a lone figure sitting down by the banks, a dense swarm around her. You're feeling a little set-up, but it's not like you can reasonably refuse, so you walk cautiously towards Wriggle.

[-] To be continued.

[-] What's up with Wriggle?

Wriggle was just sitting by the riverbank, in what looked to be close conversation with an entire swarm of insects.

Well... swarm didn't do it justice. It was a nightmare collection of every creepy-crawlie you could fit under the label of "bug". Flies, ants, centipedes, moths, worms, mosquitos, and, of course, roaches. So many cockroaches.

Damn it, you were supposed to be over this!

Mustering up your courage, you walked forwards, only to feel something crawling on the back of your neck. You yelped and swatted at it, missing as the pest flew off and started buzzing around you. This got Wriggle's attention.

"Hey! Don't swat!"

Right, right, bug youkai. As if the antennae didn't already make that obvious. "Sorry, I just- agh!"

Something else landed on your leg and you recoiled, trying to brush it off. That turned out to be a centipede, which you barely repressed the urge to stomp on, only to feel a third bug land on your head. That one you managed to crush with a slap, further offending the bug youkai.

"Cut it out, Koakuma! Bugs don't deserve to be treated like that!"

"Then keep them off me!" Something bit you. "Damn it!"

"It doesn't work like that!" Wriggle complained as you scratched at your arm. "It's my urban legend!"

You looked around warily, trying to spot where the next attack might come from. "Just how does it work then?"

"It's great!" she said enthusiastically. "You know how there's that whole thing where you've lost track of a predator and you're trying to figure out where it went? And then it'll appear right when you're least expecting it?"

"Oh no."

"Oh yes! It works with my bugs! If someone's nearby and they're not paying attention, bugs will just start appearing on them! New ones! It's great!" Her eyes gleamed in sharp contrast to the swarm behind her. "This is going to put insects back on the map!"

You forced a smile. "That sounds... lovely... ow!"

Right in the ear! Why? Why do they do that?

"Doesn't it make it harder-" you grimaced, scratching furiously at your leg. "To be around people though?"

"Only the stupid ones," Wriggle huffed, crossing her arms. "Like Cirno. Can you believe she was trying to freeze my bugs?! You wouldn't do anything like that, right Koakuma?"

"I promise, I would never react like that." You'd use fire.

"See? I knew you were cool!" Wriggle exclaimed, grabbing your arms happily.

Which was nice and friendly and friendship and all that jazz, but the number of things biting you just multiplied. Her urban legend is proximity based.

Your skin was literally crawling and you jerked backwards, your self-control at its absolute limit as you restrained yourself to just brushing off the insects instead of swatting like mad.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Just fine!" you said. "It's just Cirno seemed worried so I wanted to check up on you, but clearly you're doing well-"

"Never better!" she chirped, the swarm behind her chirping with her.

"Great!" You flinched as more things started biting you and backed away. "I think Patchouli's calling me, and we're on important business, so if you'll excuse me I need to-"

"Okay! And you know, maybe later we could hang out and..."

You made a run for it, and the moment you were behind the cover of the trees started swatting furiously. Patchouli was clearly trying to hold back laughter.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back and help her a bit more closely? I'm sure she'd appreciate some company."

"You knew that would happen!" you hissed, scratching the various bites.

"Daiyousei did warn me," she confirmed. "And that is why you never use Cirno as a primary information source."

"Hate bugs." you muttered. "How'd she even get an urban legend in the first place? And if you suggest I go back to ask, I swear-"

"It would seem one of the occult balls ended up with the local group of faeries and minor youkai." Patchouli explained. "With the greater youkai distracted by the incident, they've only been fighting each other, leaving it bouncing around their possession."

"That would do it." You sighed. "So there's no mystery and no actual problem here, then?"

"Indeed. Though you were correct on one point, this was a quick diversion. But let us return to business."

"Please."

[-] Back towards the village. And the less said about this the better.

[-] Back towards the village.

The remainder of the trip to the village was mostly uneventful. There were a couple other minor youkai encounters, and Patchouli did use a spellcard to chase off Rumia at one point, but nothing that proved relevant to you, Remilia, or urban legends in general.

As such, you arrived at the outskirts of the human village in short order, where Meiling was sitting under a tree.

"Hey Patchy! And, uh... Greg." she got to her feet and looked you up and down. "Okay, that's creepy. I'd have sworn you were the real Koakuma."

"Glad to know my work passes inspection," you said. "Hopefully this will fool Yukari or whoever else."

"Worth a try, I guess." Meiling turned to Patchouli. "Any trouble on the way?"

"Nothing worth speaking of. Has anything changed here?"

"Not really. There was a kappa and a human milling around looking for the village themselves a little earlier. Some farmer hoping to sell his crops." Meiling shrugged. "They gave up after an hour or so."

Patchouli paused. "Was it Nitori by any chance?"

"No," she frowned. "It was a little odd, though. He was calling her Meiling, but I'm pretty sure there's no kappa with my name. Did you have an idea?"

Patchouli waved it off. "Just an idle thought. She does have some sort of camouflage tech, and she was the kappa involved in this incident, however briefly. But I doubt she'd be capable of something of this magnitude. What have you tried so far?"

"Following the road. Following the river. Flying overhead. Searching out in a spiral pattern around where it should be. In theory it should be right around here, but there's nothing but woods."

You nodded absently, looking around, and then promptly did a double take. While somewhat hidden by the trees, the village was still clearly visible in the distance. Mundanely visible, even, considering your magic was sealed.

So, assuming Meiling here wasn't just legally blind... "Patchouli, do you see anything in that direction?"

"Just trees. Is something there?"

Interesting.

"You could say that."

[-] To be continued.

[-] What's going on with the village?

"Wait, so you're seriously saying the village is right there?" Meiling asked.

"Yep! Plain as the nose on your face." You started walking towards it and gestured for them to follow. "I'm not sure why I can see it when you guys can't, so we're going to get closer and find out."

Patchouli raised an eyebrow, but started walking. "Your first step is to approach the unexplained magical phenomenon?"

You met it with a smile. "It's so much easier to poke the magic when you're right next to it."

"Some would consider that a questionable survival strategy."

"Do you think I ended up in your care by making good decisions?"

Patchouli's lip quirked upwards slightly. "Be that as it may, I will require good decisions of you here."

Meiling glanced back and forth between the two of you. "So... is this dangerous or not?"

Right. First impression time. Well, technically it's the third time you've met, but this is a chance to impress on Meiling that you should be listened to. "It's hard to say anything with complete certainty about unknown magic, but the odds of this illusion having any danger attached to it is miniscule."

"But using an illusion to trick someone into danger is a classic!"

You shook your head. "Sure, you can absolutely use illusions like that. In point of fact, Sumi and I got Kasen with a similar trick shortly upon arriving in Gensokyo. But in this case it would defeat the point. When you're trying to hide something, the last thing you want to do is draw attention to it."

"But that works too! You set up the illusion, and then you just kill anyone who gets past it and hide the bodies behind the illusion! That's how they did it in" Meiling glanced at Patchouli and hesitated. "In, uh... history!"

Patchouli sighed. "I see you've been reading the tengu's comics again."

Meiling's stammered denials convinced exactly no-one, and you took the chance to ask the most important question. "Wait, there's youkai comics?"

"... they're called manga." she muttered.

"Huh." How very human of them. "Are they any good?"

"Oh yeah! There's this new one about a fake family where the parents are secretly different types of youkai, but they'd adopted a kid with satori abilities. So she knows what they are, but neither of them know she knows, and-"

Patchouli cut her off with a glare. "Now is not the time."

"You can show me another time," you said, patting Meiling on the shoulder. Whether that time would come remained to be seen, but it was never bad to be the reasonable and sympathetic one. "But to answer your original question, there's two reasons I'm sure the illusion here won't pose a danger."

You gestured around. "The first is that there's no level of force that would make sense. Attacking someone who's trying to find you only works if it's quick and decisive. The kind of force that would stop a Remilia or a Flandre would paste you or me across the landscape."

"With the sheer variety and power of Gensokyo's youkai, there's no single countermeasure." Patchouli supplied. "Even a broad anti-youkai measure like the yin-yang orbs would run into trouble against Sakuya. Combined with the effectiveness of bombs as a defensive measure and the possibility of a search party working in groups, and attacking indiscriminately becomes terrible strategy."

You glanced at the mage. That was completely correct, and more helpful than you were expecting.

"It may still be a trap, of course." She continued. "But I am certain we won't be attacked accidentally."

There it was. "How often do I have to be right before you'll stop doubting me?"

"The best liars tell the truth most of the time. Besides, it need not be your trap. Investigating the disappearance of the human village is an obvious step. It would be foolish to assume that the mastermind hasn't planned for it, regardless of whether it's Mamizou or some third party."

You sighed, exasperated. "Then what exactly do you suggest?"

"There's a preliminary step you've forgotten. First you need to scout the area with something expendable. And since Meiling's already survived that, it's safe to examine the anomaly in person."

"Ah, that's cruel," the gatekeeper muttered, slumping slightly before turning to you. "What was the second reason?"

"Pretty much exactly that," you admitted. "Anything that triggered from just looking should have attacked you already. Or the human and kappa you saw earlier. This is far enough, by the way."

Meiling stopped and looked around aimlessly, very clearly not seeing the building three feet in front of her. "So, now what?"

"There's a few ways I could see an illusion like this working. The first would be some sort of space manipulation, literally rearranging the topography of the world such that the village is no longer there." You can see you've overshot, so you rack your brain for a simile. "Like cutting a hole out of a piece of cloth and sowing it back up."

"But that doesn't work," she said. "It doesn't matter how you stitch it, the fabric won't fit properly. You'd end up with one side crumpled and the other hanging loose."

"Exactly," you said. "If that had been the case, there would have been something wrong with the area around the village. Where it might look correct at a glance, but walking in a certain direction leaves you going in circles, or three left turns making a square, or something similar. But given that we've made it to the outskirts of the village without issue, we can discard that theory."

"Which in turn would imply that the village has merely been concealed," Patchouli said.

"Right." You waved a hand at the building behind you. "What do you see over here?"

"Just more forest." Meiling said. "There's a knot of trees there."

"Patchouli, do you see the same?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "Weeping cherry trees, or Prunus itosakura, to be precise."

"Okay then." You resisted the urge to roll your eyes. "What's actually there is a building, with absolutely no foilage near it. And I should be able to prove it. Meiling, could you grab one of the leaves?"

The gatekeeper obliged, jumped, and one wrenching noise later came down with a chunk of a roof tile. You winced, but nodded. "Okay, so the illusion is actually syncing up to real objects. Interesting, but there's always a limit. Can you bend the 'leaf' without breaking it?"

Meiling rolled her eyes, applied extremely slight pressure to the roof tile, and absolutely nothing happened. So she pressed a little harder.

Clay is brittle. Having already been broken once, the piece of tile shattered in her hands. Meiling stared at the broken shards as they dropped around her feet.

"Interesting," Patchouli said, bending down to pick one up. With a snap of her fingers, a small flame lit, which she held the shard into. "Non-flammable as well. As proof goes, this is fairly convincing."

"Does it still look like a leaf? Or well, pieces of one?"

"No. It now looks as if Meiling broke a rock. Had I not been watching, I would have assumed she'd grabbed the wrong item."

"It's a roof tile," you said, sighing. "I'd hoped that would disrupt the illusion, at least for the broken item. But if it can adapt like that, we'll need actual magic to break it. Patchouli, I'm going to need you to unseal me."

The mage considered you for a long moment, but ultimately nodded. "I concur."

[-] Examine the effect again, this time with magic.

[-] Examine the effect again, this time with magic.

You'd been preoccupied when your magic had been unsealed before. Focused on both the enchantment and Patchouli's strange behavior, you hadn't spared much thought for the unsealing itself.

It wasn't painful. Pain would have been the wrong word for it. But there was a sense of twisting and untwisting, of snapping back. Unrestrained by the binding, your magic was rushing through you like fire through the bloodstream, trying to burn its way free.

Squinting your eyes against the sudden headache, you stumbled. Patchouli made a noise, whether alarm, concern, or what you weren't sure, but you held up a hand to forestall it.

It was your magic. Having it snap back on you like that was unpleasant, but it wasn't dangerous. It couldn't be. Magic could be applied to self-destructive ends, but it never just destroyed itself. Not without provocation far more twisted than a mere binding.

So you closed your eyes, concentrated and fought the feeling. Forced your magic to slow down, to settle, and after the longest moment of your life, it obliged. Uneasily, still agitated, but it settled.

"Patchouli," you muttered, "I'd be greatly obliged if you could tell me the long term effects of your binding later."

"There shouldn't be any," she murmured.

"And how many books could you fill with magical side-effects that shouldn't have happened?" you sniped. "Damn it. I feel like I tried to channel Sumi's magic."

You straightened up, rubbing an ache in your lower back, and opened your eyes, squinting at the sudden glare of the sun shining through the cherry trees.

What?

Blinking furiously, you can see it just as Patchouli had described it; a knot of cherry trees in the space where the building should be. You can even see a broken branch where Meiling plucked that roof tile. Looking towards the village center, the streets and buildings have been obscured by shrubbery and trees. You have no doubt that you're seeing your surroundings in the same way the others are.

And yet... it's all shallow. The forest surrounding you is perfectly crafted, and you could easily believe that the area might have looked this way, but the feel of illusion is inescapable. It's dreamlike, both in the picturesque peacefulness, and the sense that one wrong move... or one right move, might pierce it. Unfortunately, knowing that you can do something and knowing how to do it are two different things.

"Well?" Patchouli prompted.

"I can see the illusion now." You pinched yourself on general principle. Yeah, it's still there. "When you deactivated my binding it just appeared."

Patchouli pulled out one of her books and started flipping through it. "Do you remember why we're here?"

"I still remember Keine and Mamizou, if that's what you're getting at."

"That's something, at least," she grumbled. "Still, that doesn't make any sense."

"Does the binding work as a two-way seal? If Keine's ability is similar enough to my magic, perhaps it was just blocking it out?"

Patchouli shook her head. "No, it's strictly one-way. The point was to block a prisoner's magic from getting out. Filtering outside magic as well would have been significant extra work for marginal gain."

"What else could it be?" Meiling asked. "Unless he's just lying?"

"Given the business with the 'leaf', he must have been telling the truth about seeing the village. He could be lying about not seeing it now, but there's no motive for that."

"There's what appears to be three cherry trees right in front of us, with the one in the back having a bird nest in the upper branches." you said bluntly.

Patchouli nodded. "Regardless, this presents a conundrum. For him to be affected now implies he wasn't excluded from Keine's history-consuming effect. This in turn means both that he somehow resisted it with his magic sealed, and yet was vulnerable to it with his magic available."

She had a point. The fact that somehow you were more vulnerable with your magic available was baffling.

Hm. On the one hand, you know Patchouli's assessment of her own bindings aren't completely accurate. She hadn't known about the emotional effect Satori's binding would have, and yours didn't cut off your magic as completely as she believed. The idea that the binding somehow blocked the illusion is plausible.

But at the same time, perfectly blocking a completely different youkai's ability would be a really strange coincidence. And if it was blocking Keine's ability, it should absolutely interfere with the Koakuma disguise that was enchanted with your own magic. It feels more believable that the fragments of your own magic available to you were what defeated Keine's ability while you were sealed... except if that was the case, it should absolutely be doing the same thing with the binding deactivated.

You're missing something. There's got to be some key fact about the binding or Keine's ability you're missing that would cause all of this to make sense. You just have no idea what.

"Maybe Keine's specifically targeting everything except ordinary magic-less humans?" Meiling asked. "If she's trying to protect the village residents, that would make sense."

The mage hummed, glancing over at Meiling. "Didn't you say you ran into a human who wasn't able to find the village?"

"Yeah, but Jin's that farmer who set up shop outside the village proper. I'm pretty sure he's got at least some kind of ability to pull that off."

"There's a difference between having sealed magic and no magic." Patchouli closed her book with a sigh. "But I suppose it's as good a theory as any."

"Satori was sealed, and she didn't remember Keine or Mamizou," you pointed out.

"But you still do," Patchouli countered. "And if you're still able to, despite being unable to see the village, it's likely that they're two different effects. Related effects, possibly, but nonetheless different ones."

"Though that also raises the question of whether Satori would have been able to find the village while sealed," you said. It was a pity she wasn't here. Hopefully she was doing fine with Sakuya.

Patchouli nodded. "True, but bringing her here would waste too much time."

"Could you test the theory with a temporary binding on Meiling?"

"Why me?"

"No. Making one requires significant time, effort, and preparation, none of which can be afforded here. And even if it worked, we would need to remain sealed to interact at all with the village, which would be far too dangerous."

Meiling's obvious look of relief would have been funny if the whole binding thing didn't hit so close to home. "A different tactic, then. While I can't see the village, the forest obscuring it seems shallow, for lack of a better word. Whether they work together or clash, I'm pretty sure there's some sort of interaction between my magic and Keine's ability."

Patchouli considered that, before pulling out a different book. "Regardless of why her ability does or does not affect you, we would need a method to bypass it to enter the village. And disrupting your magic could prove an effective proxy for dealing with Keine's ability. It's as good a starting point as any."

"Then let's get to work."

[-] To be continued.

[-] Magical research

Magic in general had a truly staggering number of variables that could affect what a spell actually did. Sometimes it felt like anything and everything could change the results of a spell, from the caster's emotional state to the phases of the moon. Combine that with the sheer variety of different youkai, all of which obviously had their own powers that worked in completely different ways, and nailing down cause and effect was next to impossible. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, if the haystack had been scattered across twelve dimensions and enspelled to continuously replicate.

However, Patchouli was a natural scientist. Not in the sense of actually knowing a lot about science (though for all you knew, she might have dusted off a few physics textbooks at some point), but in the sense of having a firm grasp of the scientific method. She understood a number of things you honestly hadn't expected from the youkai. She absolutely grasped the idea of making small changes to an experiment to both prove the result was repeatable and figure out what the critical detail was.

Which made it all the more exasperating that the two of you weren't getting anywhere. The only thing that seemed to make a difference in whether you could see the village or not was whether the binding was on or off. Trying to hide or otherwise disguise your magic while unsealed did nothing. Using a bit of Patchouli's magic to appear magical while sealed also did nothing. The other mage's magic just didn't seem to interact with whatever was hiding the village.

You were having a little more luck, but not much. It was like trying to grab smoke. You'd try to peel back whatever illusion was at play, and for a moment you'd feel the edges of it, but the moment you tried to focus on it or actually form a spell around it, it'd be gone. Patchouli's attempts at a counterspell based off of your magic went no better. She'd crafted a sun and moon-themed spellcard to interfere with any sort of light manipulation, and Keine's effect again didn't notice it.

"It's no good," Patchouli said finally. "There has to be an unusual interaction involving the binding itself."

That wasn't the conclusion you'd wanted her to reach. Unfortunately, it was also correct. "Maybe Keine's effect is just excluding 'normal' humans?"

"If that were the case, it must measure power in some sense, and thus it still interacts with the binding."

"Right..." you scratched the back of your neck, thinking furiously.

The problem was, as soon as Patchouli noticed the security hole in her binding, she was going to patch it. There just wasn't enough trust between you two for her not to. (Granted, you saw the logic and would do the same in her position, but that made it no less frustrating.) And she was going to notice. While less exactingly perfect than Sakuya, the mage had shown enough attention to detail to actually catch it.

"So, how are we going to do this?" you asked. "I was under the impression the binding was either on or off, with no in-between."

Patchouli frowned, looking over at you but saying nothing. You sighed. "Let me guess. You have a workaround, but you don't want to tell me what it is in case it lets me learn something about the binding."

She raised an eyebrow at you. "Perhaps once upon a time. But if you were able to discover an unintentional side effect, I doubt the binding's main function has remained a mystery to you. The issue is one of implementation. Altering the binding after it has been applied is nontrivial."

"Really? Being able to adjust and modify how a spell works on the fly is incredibly useful. I'd have thought someone with your experience would have designed for it."

Patchouli shook her head. "My spells are designed to be maximally efficient. A spell you would apply in a variety of situations-"

"You mean a broadly useful one?"

Patchouli did her best to talk over you, which admittedly wasn't very good "-is by necessity not optimized for any individual situation."

"Like Marisa's Master Spark?" Meiling volunteered out of nowhere.

"Meiling..."

"Or Reimu's Fantasy Seal?"

"The only time you've seen either of those bombs was as a spectator. When you have that level of power, all you need is a hammer," Patchouli grumbled.

Meiling just smiled, saying nothing.

"Admittedly, there is a niche for general spells, but a repertoire of specialized ones proves more efficient once you've taken the time to develop them. Elemental combinations are notorious for this; it's very easy for different elements to interfere with each other, and it becomes difficult to tweak the spell without reworking it entirely."

You didn't have the proficiency to even try multi-element spells, but you took her point. "I suppose by the time I get a decade of experience, I'd probably specialize a bit more as well."

"Don't let her fool you," Meiling said. "She was still blasting things with fireballs fifty years after I met her. She didn't become interested in efficiency until after her asthma started acting up."

Patchouli glared at her. "Yes, well my jobs actually get done, and I'd appreciate if you'd go back to doing yours."

Meiling just smiled and walked away. You glanced over at the mage. "You know, I thought you two would be a bit friendlier with each other."

Patchouli took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Meiling is lazy. The only things she's maximized in her life would be her workout regimen and her sleep schedule."

You looked over back to where the gate guard was folding her arms behind her head and leaning back against a tree. You weren't sure it was possible to lounge insolently, but if it was, that was it. "If that's the case, why would Sakuya trust her with anything, especially now?"

The mage sighed. "She does actually work when it's important, but only then. You would not believe the number of times Sakuya has caught her sleeping at her post."

You took a moment to picture what Sakuya's displeasure probably looked like. "I'm surprised it's happened more than once."

"Indeed. That should tell you everything you need to know."

Yes, although that was mostly filing it under 'personality conflict'. "I take it that's why you brought up the possibility of a trap earlier?"

"In part. Though as you can see," she gestured at the lounging gate guard, "it was of limited effectiveness."

"Ah." Definitely personality conflict. Which would have been something you could use if you weren't honestly trying to help them at the moment. Still worth keeping in mind, at least. "Anyway, we've strayed from the point. What's your plan regarding the binding?"

"Right." Patchouli shook her head. "Modifying the binding directly is out of the question, but I can create a second binding that attaches to the original and modulates the amount of energy it's drawing. This should let me adjust how magical you appear to Keine's effect."

As well as letting her go back to full security the moment the effect is taken care of, but you gain nothing from pointing that out.

"And hopefully there's a power level low enough for me to detect the illusion, but high enough for me to dispose of it." You hesitated. "Is this going to involve me getting shocked repeatedly?"

"That customization was built into the binding in the first place," Patchouli said. "The punishing effect does scale with magic used, but it needed to work on everything from magicians with weak bodies all the way to oni. As such, the intensity of the pain can be dialed up or turned off."

"I see," you muttered, rubbing at your arm.

Patchouli either ignored your tone or didn't notice. "Let's see, the auxiliary binding is far simpler than the original, and a rough implementation will do... I don't have all my tools here, but the materials on me should be enough. An hour should suffice."

That's not great, but it could be worse. "Is this something I can help with?"

"No. Even aside from the risk of allowing you to work on something connected to your own binding, you simply lack the expertise." She waved a hand. "You may watch, or waste the time alongside Meiling. It's not like she can get any more distracted."

[-] Watch Patchouli with the binding.
[-] Hang out with Meiling, chat.
[?] Is there a better way to use the time? You don't think so, but maybe you've overlooked something.