[9] The misty path that swooped under a red moon, dyed a bloody crimson by the moon’s ethereal light.
[17] The path pulsing with waves of energy that curved around a dark, purple and… ever-so-slightly fake-seeming moon, coming back to the earth in a bamboo thicket.
[10] The pure-white, almost featureless path that went straight as an arrow, but twisted upside-down as it flew directly towards a pale, silvery moon.

All three paths… seemed interesting.

The left path, the red and misty one, brought to mind the vampires of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. And the romantic in her was… very sorely tempted by the prospect. Vampires just had that certain air to them. A mystique, and one that was very, very tempting to enjoy. But… the issue was that she’d be wishing to be a vampire. She’d have to feast on human blood to survive, and give up spending a day in the sun again, and that was… not a pleasant thought.

Not to mention, the chronicler in her wasn’t especially thrilled by the prospect. The vampires were… many things, but poorly documented wasn’t one of them. There were few secrets to be pulled from the vampires that she hadn’t retrieved in her past life. No… if she wanted to take some of the experiences of this life into the Gensou Chronicle, she’d need something more… unique, for lack of a better word.

Then the middle path, the inverted one. That would have her be… a lunarian, most likely? Well, that certainly fit her originality quota; she’d never been to the moon, for starters, and much of their world was an enigma to her. Perhaps they’d have access to invaluable technology or magic. But that inversion… something about it worried her. It was one of the very few details that path even had, and it suggested… reversal? …Ame-no-Sagume?

…No, that would be a disaster. If she was somehow related to her, then… she’d be an amanojaku of some sorts, wouldn’t she? She could be seen as crying wolf even by default. And that was the lucky option - the worst option would be watching her tongue for the rest of her life, in case she caused trouble merely by speaking. Not to mention that path didn’t seem to leave the moon… maybe it’d be difficult for her to do so.

So, the right path must be, well, right in more senses than mere direction. It was the hardest to guess from her own reference, but it really couldn't be much worse than the other options, and it seemed like it'd get her right into Gensokyo. Not knowing for certain what that path held just meant she'd probably still get something new to chronicle, as well. She nodded to herself, satisfied at her logic, and turned to move towards that path.

…interestingly, as she came towards it, she found her feet touching the ground properly, rather than just floating. Ah well. She’d just have to walk the rest of the way.

With each step, there was another pulse of energy along the pathway. Akyuu marveled at the strange, ethereal energy, wondering what the pulse signified. There were other pulses, too; much larger, heavier ones, that she felt buzz through her head.

+++++++

She groaned, clutching at her head, but kept walking. Another pulse came through, and she braced herself for the worst.

++sight++drill++

She blinked as the buzz began to fade away again. …That pulse had come with words in it, hadn’t it? She kept walking, having to step a little more awkwardly as the tiles that made up the pathway began to get more scattered.

+Repeat that++?+

++++target in +++, pre++ing to++

++Ack++ledged, E+++++vi. Your shot ++ clear, fire +++ ready.++

She… she didn’t exactly hear the words, reaching up to check if her ears were working right. Nor was it like the spirit-speech her friends had shared, it was more like the words were appearing directly in- where the hell were her ears? Her hands traced up, higher on her head, eventually finding a pair of ears near the top of her head. Or at least, she assumed that was what they were, not like she could check.

Er. It turned out she could check, if they were long and floppy enough. They were covered in white-fur, with a slight squishiness to them. …Rabbit ears, obviously. The next gap in the path required a half-jump to cross, and she had to flap her arms to keep her balance on the far side..

++go here, quick sitrep for everyone; avoid Lady Yori+++ this morning. She woke up with a stick up her +++ and she’s on the warpath.+

+Ten-four. …You +++ figuratively, right?+

+No, actually. She fell out of bed and landed +++ bonsai, ap+rently. …While you’re at it, avoid Lady Toyohi+ tonight. She doesn’t know her +++++++ ruined yet.+

+Damnit Rin++, I nearly choked on my car++t and now Lady Sa++me’s looking at me like I forgot how eating works.+

+You serious? I got drills with Yo++hime after breakfast… S++t, and I’ve got +yohime’s guard duty tonight!+

+Your sacrifice will be remembered, +++ran.+

The gaps in the messages… in the transmissions was getting smaller and smaller, clearer and clearer. Inversely, the gaps in the path were only getting more and more treacherous… but Akyuu was still moving through them easily. Jumping - hopping - from gap to gap.

+How do the new recruits look?+

+They’re the usual greenies. Bright eyes, bushy tails. One of them stood out, though.+

+The one with purple hair? Yeah, she looked like she was gonna ++ herself.+

+I can hear you, you know.+ Akyuu replied curtly, before the multiple ways that her response was a folly struck her. …Telepathy, huh? That could be very, VERY useful. Maybe she could try to contact her friends directly with psychic messages. Oooh, or maybe she could read minds?

When she came to a larger outcropping of what once had been a path, this part close over the moon, she looked over herself more fully. She was much, much younger now, very much a child, dressed in little more than a skirt and a white button up. As she came to a rest, one of her ears flopped over her eye, and she did her best to brush it back. Did she have a tail now? …She did, and it did feel appropriately bushy. Squeezing it felt weird.

She started to walk, more easily, across the remainder of the path. It would be smooth sailing from here, of that she was sure, she just needed to get to Earth-

As if sensing her momentary relief, the path crumbled beneath her feet. She desperately tried to jump away again, but rather than pushing her up, it sent her footing spiraling into the depths. She was falling, all the way down to the moon, and- and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She desperately tried to do something, anything to stop it, but there was nothing, she was falling, she was gonna die, she was gonna-

---

Akyuu hit the floor hard. At once, she was at her feet, scrambling to get her bearings even as her head pulsed. She found a crate and threw herself behind it, tossing the box into a side-standing position for cover. It took a few moments for the darkness to come into focus, for the shadowy shapes to distinguish themselves, but they seemed familiar… oh.

God earth it.

She sighed, getting up and back onto her bed again. Every time, every time she had the dream of her reincarnation, she’d fall out of her bunker and bounce her head off the floor. At least she didn’t chip a tooth this time. She groaned, stretching some stiffness out of her body.

There was a matching groan from the far side of the room.

+Akyuu?+

She fired a message back. +Just… the usual. Sorry, Seiran.+ The other rabbit didn’t reply with more than a third and final groan, only moving slightly. Akyuu did her best to quickly, and quietly, pull her footlocker back in order, so that the other rabbit could sleep.

Then, she checked the clock in the room. Thirty-four minutes to go-time, and four before she intended to wake. Maybe some part of her wanted to make sure she was bright and alert, nice and early, in which case she needed to have some strong words with her subconscious when next she met them. Still, there was some value in the impromptu awakening.

After all, she didn’t want to be late to her own desertion.

Akyuu’s first memories of her second life were of… being carefully lifted from a vat, which was not at all what she had expected. It turned out that while moon rabbits could still breed the traditional way, doing so tended to produce far, far more rabbits than was actually sustainable. So breeding the traditional way required a license and proof of exceptional service from the parents, and the vast majority of them were not born from mothers; instead, they were genetically modified, using base templates of known successful rabbits with some variety coded in for potential beneficial enhancements. Officially, it was forbidden to discuss whether or not you shared gene-warrens, but the rabbits inevitably noticed patterns in build, faces, and hair colors, and happily sought out their brothers and sisters… and Akyuu found herself, again, wondering about her own.

Akyuu had been conscious of the world around her since her second birth, and thus had overheard conversations most would assume she’d be too young to understand. Her gene-warren was a bit of a special, experimental case; she was only the second attempt of her breed, after the first had gone AWOL. She somehow doubted that they would try a third time, so the only relative she had or would have was one sister, who she might never meet. Great. She could only hope that her forebear’s reputation wouldn’t give her increased scrutiny.

When she was sure Seiran was sleeping again, she got up, ever-so-quietly. She’d learnt to move without making a sound; she’d been trained in this body like a soldier, and had been brought up to Yorihime’s exacting standards. She doubted she’d beat Reimu in a fight, but the Miko would be shocked to see how well Akyuu could fight back, she was sure.

Instinct set to 2.

And she’d need that skill, to get away from the moon, and to someone who’d believe her. Oh, the Watatsuki sisters fully understood she had perfect memory, and her telepathy combined with that perfect memory in amazing ways, but… it was just assumed to be vivid dreams and delusions. Her older sister supposedly could manipulate insanity; it was concluded her future sight was some unfortunate backfire. Another reason why Akyuu’s sibling count was likely to stay at 1.

It didn’t help that her memories were of Gensokyo, and not of the Lunar Capital. So it was rather hard to prove that she was seeing the future when nobody actually knew anything about what was happening there. She couldn’t even say with confidence that the Capital would suffer the same effects.

She needed to get to Gensokyo, and as soon as possible. The next incident to happen would be the Scarlet Mist Incident; after that, it’d be pretty spotty. The Spring Snow incident was missing one of its key players, she still had no idea what caused the Eternal Night Incident, and the Sixty Years incident wasn’t exactly a prediction that’d impress anyone.

The Scarlet Devil's trickery, however, was hopefully untampered with; the impetuous actions of a fresh outsider. She’d just have to hope that none of her friends had somehow managed to bump that incident’s schedule up. If everything went to plan, she’d have some time to get the attention of someone important before it came into play, and she could figure things out from there.

One last time, she went over her carefully assembled equipment. Everything she needed was in here, with one exception that she’d deliberately left out to avoid drawing suspicion..

Her weapon.

[ ] Surprising everyone, not least of all herself, she’d gravitated to a hammer, like Seiran had. What danmaku she’d learned was slow and powerful, coming from behind her with devastating force.
[ ] Her Lunatic Gun was her old reliable.She had been trained to use it, in homage to her sister’s mastery; the techniques that Akyuu had learned were all that remained of her sister’s legacy in the lunar kingdom.

{ } …She’d be glad to get back to the human village. She was a scribe, not a soldier, and she’d spent far too many days gross and sweaty running the same earthed drills. (Sets Spirit to Human-2)
{ } Her lunar rabbit abilities could help her protect the world, and there was no guarantee anyone else would be able to fight, so she’d honed them out of necessity. They were a means to an end - nothing less, but nothing more. <span class="dec italic">(Sets Spirit to Neutral)
{ } She was so… full of life like this. Hale and hearty, quick and limber, nothing like her last, frail self. If Eiki wanted her to reincarnate as a human again next time, just to die before the end of her third decade, she’d have to drag her kicking and screaming. (Sets Spirit to Youkai-2)</span>

[2] Surprising everyone, not least of all herself, she’d gravitated to a hammer, like Seiran had. What danmaku she’d learned was slow and powerful, coming from behind her with devastating force.
[26] Her Lunatic Gun was her old reliable. She had been trained to use it, in homage to her sister’s mastery; the techniques that Akyuu had learned were all that remained of her sister’s legacy in the lunar kingdom.

{5} …She’d be glad to get back to the human village. She was a scribe, not a soldier, and she’d spent far too many days gross and sweaty running the same earthed drills. (Sets Spirit to Human-2)
{6} Her lunar rabbit abilities could help her protect the world, and there was no guarantee anyone else would be able to fight, so she’d honed them out of necessity. They were a means to an end - nothing less, but nothing more. (Sets Spirit to Neutral)
{18} She was so… full of life like this. Hale and hearty, quick and limber, nothing like her last, frail self. If Eiki wanted her to reincarnate as a human again next time, just to die before the end of her third decade, she’d have to drag her kicking and screaming.

She picked up the Lunatic Gun. It was styled after a megaphone, a weapon given to gene-warrens that were more psychically adept. And Akyuu definitely qualified, after a certain fashion. She didn’t have the best raw attack power, but the psychic effects she could induce were vivid, perfect recreations from her memory. She rarely truly outfought her opponents, but she could disorient them, make them think they were suddenly somewhere else, and it wasn’t too hard to finish the fight from there. After quietly checking the pieces were all in order, She placed the Lunatic Gun in her pack, leaving it unloaded for now - no Moon Rabbit would sleep through the sound of a gun being primed - and hefted the pack onto her bed.

Right, that was another thing. As she was getting dressed out of her sleepwear, it was a good time to take stock of how her body had developed. She was psychically strong for a rabbit, but that didn’t mean she was physically weak; at least compared to a human. When she’d been the same age as a human, she’d been nearly a head shorter than she was now - promising good tidings for her future figure. And this body was athletic and flexible - she could run faster than even most adult humans, to say nothing of those her own age.

As much as she hated the various tasks and duties associated with being a Lunar Rabbit, that didn’t mean she hated being one. In fact, she’d find it hard to go back to a normal human body compared to the body she had now.

...Eiki was gonna have her head for even thinking that, wasn't she?

Spirit set to Youkai-2.

She took a moment to inspect her kit. It was largely pragmatic stuff; a few pieces of convenient, easy to carry Lunarian tech, two sets of casual-enough clothes to get by on the surface, and a few things she’d written down when planning out her escape route. There wasn’t any room for anything overly frivolous - and though she might look like a child, she was essentially an adult in a child’s body. She didn’t have any need for kids' toys.

…Would her friends, now that they were reincarnated as kids again? …Maybe Kosuzu, but surely none of the others. Definitely. Definitely.

She pulled out a small note, and left it on her bed. An apology for Seiran and the rest of Eagle Ravi to find later. Hoisting her pack onto her back, she opened up the door - already oiled up to absolutely minimize the chance of squeaking - and stepped out.

---

Perfect memory was a powerful tool, and Akyuu had only sharpened her skills further with her second life. She had walked the nighttime patrol routes in the day, and knew to a precision point where all the blind spots were. She’d also picked a day when the rabbits patrolling were largely the unmotivated type, who’d take corners tightly just to save a few steps to their lap or just zone out entirely when they thought no-one was watching.

Even though Akyuu was burdened, it was thus pretty easy for her to evade their lax detection. They were just base bunnies, after all - nothing compared to Eagle Ravi.

The Eagle Ravi Earth Recon Unit was… an interesting part of the Lunar Forces. To get into the expeditionary force, there were only two requirements; to be too competent to be part of the main forces, and to be too unreliable to be part of any really important position. Many of the rabbits in Eagle Ravi paired some unique skill or ability with either having some kind of mental issue (or a perceived one, in Akyuu’s case), being generally disrespectful of Lunarian authority, or being otherwise seen as high risks of defecting. The Lunarians usually gave Eagle Ravi missions with only nominal extraction plans, and outright planned to lose some rabbits to defection each time, when they weren't just straight-up suicide missions. They were the elites, but the expendable elites.

Regardless, it meant that Akyuu had no problem sneaking around most of the sleepy rabbits to get to her objective. The capital’s military HQ loomed in the distance, its already noticeable dissonance on the otherwise humble skyline being further marked by the massive cannon now attached.

About half a klick from the base itself, Akyuu finally reached her first stopping point. She slipped into a sleepy little back-street, by a gentle brook, and reached down to lift a very particular rock, grunting with the effort. The cache contained the things she’d never have been able to smuggle to her actual quarters - larger pieces of equipment and outright contraband.

And a small stash of lunar mochi and dango. Kept in a special box to keep it fresh no matter how long it took to eat them.

…Well, okay, maybe there was just a little room for something frivolous. Lunar mochi was earthed good. She’d been fond enough of Seiran and Ringo’s stalls in her past life, and she could only assume her taste buds were tuned even more to the sweet treats in this one because they were divine to her now. It wouldn’t be until the Lunar Invasion incident that she’d get to taste it again, and who knew if that’d be on schedule so far down the list? So she’d packed herself a little sweet treat for later.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts as she packed the box into her pack. She couldn’t let herself get too distracted by frivolities. There was still one part of her plan undecided - one of the reasons her schedule was as tight as it was essentially her overplanning her escape, so she could take one of two routes. She’d told herself up and down that this was for adaptability, but in truth, she’d just been trying to put a choice off as long as possible; which of the dodgy methods a single lunar rabbit could commandeer would be the one she’d use to get to earth.

The first option was to steal a Lunar Veil. A piece of magical, silvery cloth, as light as the moonlight it was woven from. It was primitive by Lunarian standards, but it was the go-to method for traveling between the moon and the earth, at least when the users were rabbits. It was a powerful tool for moving between the earth and the moon, allowing the wearer to ride moonlight itself down. The problem was that this method had a noticeable drawback; it would cause one to lose their ‘spirit’. This mainly seemed to manifest in the rabbits who used it having… blanks and gaps in their memory. Gaps that they were, strangely, not worried about at all, which freaked Akyuu out more than she’d admit. …But Akyuu still had the blessing of being the Child of Miare, so she’d be protected. Certainly. Definitely. …Probably.

…But just in case, she’d kept an ear out for other options, and eventually one had presented itself to her. The reason the massive cannon was now sticking out of HQ; the Meteor Pods. Where the Lunar Veils were a more magical method of travel, the Meteor Pods were a more… scientific method, in a very specific sense of the word. One would be loaded into a small pod not much larger than themselves, and essentially fired from the moon to the earth directly, much, much faster than nearly any other method. The pods were lined with stabilizers and shock-absorbers, which in theory meant the person inside would be protected from the effects of the pod embedding itself into the earth and ejecting its passenger to the surface. In theory, because while they’d had promising results on crash-test dummies, there had been no living volunteers yet.

The Eagle Ravi would be perfect candidates, but the propaganda around the Meteor Pods had placed a strong connection between the chance of surviving the essentially-crash-landing and one’s patriotic fervor - perhaps to pass off any misfires as faults in the victim’s character. Any individual member of Eagle Ravi had no illusions about their loyalty, and thus had done everything they could to avoid getting in. Not to mention, on the test dive one couldn’t bring their equipment, and they were expected to come back with a Veil for a health inspection, which would rather defeat the purpose for Akyuu volunteering explicitly. Not that she'd likely get the chance to, really.

Akyuu was Eagle Ravi's youngest nominal member, a relatively green cadet fresh out of training, and it was strongly hoped by essentially everyone that her delusions would resolve themselves before an actual mission came up where she'd be necessary. If anything, the presence of the young Akyuu had been a very good thing for the Eagle Ravi retention rate - the Watatsukis, who'd approved her gene-warren getting a second test, had been forced to assign her to them from her prophecies, but still had hopes she'd essentially grow out of it and could join a more trusted fold, and didn't want to get to the point where sending her to the earth was necessary. The other members of Eagle Ravi had similarly been eager to come back, if only to make sure that the baby of the team wasn't sent on a suicide mission before she was ready.

Being unable to volunteer herself, and having her own doubts about the experimental technology, she’d thus decided to thus bide her time until the method was proven before she committed to it. But now… too much time had been bided, with no tests run on living rabbits as of yet. This meant the installation itself was largely languishing, nearly unguarded due to lack of interest… but it also meant that if Akyuu got in now, she’d be risking her own life.

But… but hey! Worst case scenario, she’d just get to the Yama quicker, right? …hahhhh.

Needless to say, Akyuu now found herself between a rock and a hard place. Two different methods of dubious safety; one that could damage her soul, and one that could eject it out of her body entirely. All other methods were either more heavily scrutinized, or required the assistance of a Lunarian directly. These were her options, and the time had run out for her to um and ahh about it any longer. She had to make a choice, and (hopefully) live with the consequences on her.

[ ] Steal a Lunar Veil, and risk spiritual injury. It was the proven method, after all.
[ ] Commandeer a Meteor Pod, and risk physical injury. She couldn’t risk her memories being damaged, and wanting to save Gensokyo was a kind of patriotism…

[4] Steal a Lunar Veil, and risk spiritual injury. It was the proven method, after all.
[19] Commandeer a Meteor Pod, and risk physical injury. She couldn’t risk her memories being damaged, and wanting to save Gensokyo was a kind of patriotic fervor…
-[X] Have a stick of dango before we drop. Least if we die, blood won't be the only taste we remember.

She just didn’t know what effect the Lunar Veil could have. She might be protected - might - but it’d be assuming that whatever effect the Lunar Veil had was the same as whatever was eating at their souls in the last life. And that said effect wasn’t necessary to be able to use the lunar veil. And that it wouldn’t have any other side-effects.

The crux of the entire plan was her own mind and memory. There was no point if she didn’t get to the surface with those intact.

Which meant there was only one option. The one she’d been hoping, all-but-praying to the Yama would get some tests before she had to use it herself

…As fond as she was of this body, it was more important that she get the message to Shiki Eiki. Hopefully her unresolved business would allow her spirit to stay around… and at least it’d probably be quick. A-and that was all assuming it’d go wrong, anyways, the dolls had been fine, right?

…She ended up fishing the treats box out of her pack, and putting one of the dango in her mouth. Stress-eating was not a good habit to start indulging in, especially when one was A: working with a very limited supply and B: hopefully about to stop doing endless exercise drills. But… well, if this went wrong, it wouldn’t matter anyway. Gnawing a bit on the stick as she went, she finished repacking herself, and got up to leave again.

As soon as she finished priming her gun.

---

Nobody liked the late-night, weekend guard shifts. Anyone who had the misfortune of being assigned to them was already going to slack, and the guards these nights were some of the worst. Akyuu expected very little resistance as she snuck in the base.

She was surprised, and not in a good way. The guards were jumpy tonight. They were constantly glancing around and flailing their weapons at shadows. More than once, Akyuu had to throw herself against a wall to barely, barely not be spotted.

The answer came from the psychic messages being clipped back and forth across the base. Many of them concerned Lady Kishin Sagume, and not in a positive light. She’d given someone a well-intentioned wish for a quiet night, and now the whole hq was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. She’d unintentionally made Akyuu’s night a lot harder than it had to be. Akyuu just had to hope that the ruination of their quiet night would be her daring escape, and not anything else.

It didn’t help matters that Sagume herself was somewhere in the base, and most of the rabbits weren’t sure where. Half of them expected she was plotting something, and that the casual remark had been her attempt to assure it went off without a hitch, and some were hoping to be able to take her out before it happened - either because they hoped it’d save them the trouble or it was a chance to knock out a Lunarian noble and live to tell the tale. Akyuu wished them the best of luck.

When Akyuu got to her first destination, there were two rabbits guarding the doorway, looking around frantically. The blonde male was constantly checking his gun, while the light-blue-haired female was nervously twisting her hands around the hilt of her hammer. It seemed that there was no getting through them without a fight.

But Akyuu wasn’t just a chronicler any more. She pulled herself together, preparing the Lunatic Gun. Carefully setting her pack down, she considered a few strategies. Rushing both down? Unlikely to work the way she intended, and would take too much time. Not to mention she might just straight-up lose. Try to knock them both out with hallucinations? …No, that wouldn’t work either. …Half and half, then. She focused, taking a moment to prepare herself, and made her move.

She thought back, pulling a moment from her memory. Something that’d panic him without sending a signal up. A memory of a particularly hectic drill came to mind, and she focused. Thinking back to all the details, the smell of gunpowder, the sting of the rubber rounds, and the voices yelling in confusion, the pounding of her heart. Drawing the memory out of her, pulling and shaping it… and loading the psychic energy into her gun. The cartridge glowed with purple energy.

She rounded the corner, firing a shot straight at the male of the two guards before ducking back. He turned to see it, but was unable to dodge the shot slamming into his chest. At once, his eyes began to jerk around wildly in confusion, and he yelled out. Akyuu watched in amusement. As much as it was never pleasant dredging up her own bad memories, there was something undeniably amusing about watching the effects. Like watching a rabbit guard dive behind cover that wasn’t there to dodge a round that had been fired months ago.

His partner stuttered, running over to check the yelling guardsman was okay. +My partner’s freaking out! I think he’s hallucinating?!+ She looked around, torn between trying to help or keeping a safe distance from the flailing rabbit and finding the attacker.

Akyuu holstered her gun. +I’m right nearby, coming right now!+ She rounded the corner, running as fast as she could. The other rabbit waved her over, eyes marked with clear worry.

"He just started screaming and flailing, like a lunatic-" Akyuu’s left knee slammed into her chest, drawing out a strangled cry. The mallet slipped from her grip, and Akyuu flowed around her, pulling an arm around her neck.

“Yeah, of course.” Akyuu said, looking at the rabbit’s shocked expression. “That’s why it’s called a Lunatic Gun, dumbass.”

+Intruder! Intruder in the base! Trying to get into the armory!+ The rabbit struggled to ping out, and already Akyuu could hear a storm of responses. A vision of a blurry purple-haired rabbit running towards her filled her mind, likely her victim trying to describe her. +One rabbit spotted, very young, gun-woman- psychic- got me- can’t breathe-+

The rabbit’s eyes rolled into the back of her head, and Akyuu’s grip loosened as she slipped from consciousness. She stuck her hand into the rabbit’s pocket, fishing out a keycard, and swiping it into the console. The door hissed, and opened. Akyuu looked into the armory, took a deep breath…

And turned around, running back. She snapped her fingers, dispelling the hallucination on the male. As he came to his senses, he heard running feet, and looked up to see an unconscious partner, and the automatic armory door closing. He quickly focused his thoughts, coming naturally to the wrong conclusion.

+Intruder in the armory! Intruder in the armory!+

Akyuu couldn’t resist chuckling. She carefully picked up her pack, and pulled back into the shadows as the sounds of pounding shoes filled the halls. The armory was a massive complex, with all sorts of weapons and pieces of experimental equipment in it. Powerful, powerful relics too, and of course the Lunar Veils were in no short supply there. It was the natural place for a saboteur to destroy, for a thief to sneak into, or for an insurgent to take on an army by themselves.

…But if all one wanted to do was leave? The armory was just a massive maze for guards to get lost in, and it was close enough to the launchpad that guards would be pulled away to reinforce it. The inverse was true, Akyuu reasoned, and if she wanted to get a Lunar Veil she’d have sent them the other way. Akyuu waited until the sound of footsteps had long passed her, and stepped out, chuckling smugly.

That’s the difference between Eagle Ravi and all of you useless little bunnies.

She snuck away, feeling rather pleased with herself.

---

There was only one, even-more-terrified guard at the other entrance, eyes darting around rapidly… But Akyuu was already in the zone. She pulled up an old, dull memory of guarding a similar hallway by herself, focusing on the drudgery of the sights and the lack of sounds, but not bringing the actual feelings they invoked into the memory. Firing it off, her target again caught a glimpse of a shot, but was too late to even try to dodge it. Akyuu watched as her target’s eyes glazed a purple hue, and strode out once the glaze was in place.

“Wh-what was that? D-did I imagine it?” The guard blinked, turning around rapidly. Akyuu chuckled, waving a hand in her face. “M-maybe I-I’m just tired…”

The Eagle Ravi just kept a safe distance, taking her stolen keycard and swiping it to open the door. The rabbit didn’t react - couldn’t react, still thinking the hallways were dull and empty. Akyuu strode through the door, letting it shut behind her. She waited a few more seconds before dispelling the effect.

Now that she was inside, though, she could already feel her confidence high beginning to slip away. It was one thing to make fools of the other rabbits; it was another thing entirely to look at the massive deathtrap in front of her and keep her cool. The dissonantly cheerful commercial from the always-on TV talking about how their efforts would preserve the dignity and purity of the Lunar Capital did nothing to settle her nerves. She took a slow, unsteady breath, and began to make her preparations.

For a mercy, a meteor pod had already been loaded into the chamber of the cannon. Akyuu walked over to the various control panels, tossing her pack down and starting to activate them. She and the other Eagle Ravi had been sat to watch a few of the (already proven to be safe for crash test dummies) shots being fired, and while they hadn’t volunteered, Akyuu was sure she could figure out which buttons were the right ones to use. …Come to think of it, seeing how big and bulky the pod was, there was a good chance that the pod proffered for one of them to get in and try it was the same pod sitting there now, and no-one had bothered to unload it. So now all there was left for her to do was to input the commands.

…If only she had the clearance. Akyuu had assumed that one of the many panels the technicians had been working had some kind of passcode or other access, but now a keycard reader was staring into her face. She almost didn’t even bother using the guard’s card, but feeling desperate, she tried it anyways.

>Access Denied.

…It must have already been validated when they stepped in last time. Earth it. Earth it.

She turned around, examining the pod itself. It was a very, very imposing structure, a metal and steel construction. She found herself wondering if any of her other friends would have to get into some box just to get to Gensokyo. Hopefully not, she was getting claustrophobia just looking at this thing.

At least there was no need to worry about that, huh? There was no way she could get in there on her own, and with the guards swarming the armory, there was no getting in there either. All that was left was for her to be tracked down and court martialed. Maybe a firing squad would be the ones to see her off to Eiki. Fuck. Fuck! She kicked the panel, making a dull clank.

…No, no, okay, calm down. There were still options. She began to pace, nervously trying to think of a plan.

[ } She could try to sneak into the chaos at the armory and grab a Lunar Veil
{ ) She could try to hack into the machine, maybe? Who knew, there were always loopholes in new systems…?
( ] She cou-

>Access Granted.









...Wait, what?

She blinked, turning to examine the pod. It slowly opened, eliciting a dull hiss. Akyuu stared at it, confused, until she heard the beeping of buttons behind her.

She turned, slowly. A grey-haired woman was tapping away at the console, humming to herself. Her single wing fluttered in the breeze.

Akyuu stared. Kishin Sagume gave her a small smile, pressing another button to open up a cargo compartment at the bottom. She reached over, struggling to lift Akyuu’s pack, and the rabbit found herself assisting her in the effort.

Sagume’s silent assistance continued. It turned out there was a whole other coordination room that Akyuu hadn’t seen in the demonstration, and Akyuu just sat and watched as the goddess continued her efforts. Had the words of the goddess to the guards been attempting to ensure her success? Why? …How?

There were a thousand questions roiling about in her head, but… this was the goddess who could turn fate with just a careless word. If she asked about the wrong thing, she could completely screw herself over.

[ ] Just accept the assistance, silently. Maybe thank her at the end.
[ ] No, seriously, what? Why was she helping? How did she even know she'd need help?

[21] Just accept the assistance, silently. Maybe thank her at the end.
[2] No, seriously, what? Why was she helping? How did she even know she'd need help?
- [X] Ask for a 'theater kid's blessing (break a leg or something)
- [X] Definitely thank her at the end, maybe with a salute/bow.
-- [X] Also maybe a hug.


Akyuu didn’t understand. Really, she didn’t. It wasn’t like she was especially close with Lady Sagume - it was the Watatsukis who were more familiar, who’d approved her gene-warren getting another shot in hopes of getting a beloved pet. Lady Sagume was just one of many distant nobles.

In the past - future? …In the last world, she would have been peppering Sagume with questions. After all, she was still a chronicler at heart. But she had… she had more important things to do now, and eventually the guards were going to realize she wasn’t there. She couldn’t let herself get distracted with questions… even if they’d go unanswered for who-knows-how-long.

She worked, silently, doing what she could to get the rocket primed. Sagume’s assistance was a godsend, but it was still taking time. Eventually they’d figure out the misdirection and come this way, right? How much longer did she even have?

+Found her!+

Akyuu jumped, her eyes whirling around. She didn’t spot anyone.

+She’s moving through the artifacts section! Chase her out before we corner her!+

Akyuu paused, listening into the broadcast. …was there someone else sneaking around the armory? …Why?

“Akyuu?” The rabbit jumped again, whirling around. Sagume had noticed she’d paused her preparations, and was looking over, concerned.

“N-nothing. Just… thought I heard something.” It felt… hypocritical to rat out some other troublemaker when she’d probably gotten them in trouble in the first place. “…There’s nothing you can do safely to give me better odds, is there? Like, something like telling me to ‘break a leg’ like people do for actors?” The goddess shook her head, giving her a sympathetic look. Yeah, that was what Akyuu had figured. The goddess’s fate only changed fate so that events would go wrong, it didn’t necessarily change them the way she wanted it too. Couldn’t break a leg if it was cut off at the hip, after all. Sagume finished her last task on the panel… then turned, reaching out to pet the Eagle Ravi.

Akyuu blushed a bit. This was definitely the weirdest part of being a rabbit guard. Whether the lunarians treated you like guards or pets would change at complete random. They’d just decide, without much prompting, to make any given rabbit’s shift that much more filled with ribbing from their partners. And they usually either picked the cuter ones, who were already likely to get that sort of ribbing from the other rabbits, or the ones who were working harder as a reward.

Akyuu’s precocious nature meant that this happened to her many, many times. And it didn’t feel good, or help the young rabbit relax her nerves at times, despite what Ringo said - that was just an excuse she came up with so she could embarrass Akyuu herself. Akyuu’s beating heart starting to settle had nothing to do with the petting. Definitely.

…She definitely didn’t want the petting to continue, or to hug the lunarian for support. That would be completely improper. She felt her face flush more, trying to clear her thoughts without directly shaking the goddess’s hand off. Because it would be rude to do so, of course.

Sagume, seeming to sense the young Eagle Ravi’s nerves calming (by what was categorically complete coincidence) nodded to herself in satisfaction, and turned back to finish her work. It was only a few minutes more when the preparations were complete, and Akyuu was staring at the pod, with only one thing left to do: get in herself.

She turned to Lady Sagume, bowing, before stepping into the pod. The Goddess smiled, giving a wave. As the door to the pod began to close, Akyuu chopped off a crisp salute. “...Thank you, Lady Sagume. I will not forget this, nor let this go to waste.” She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves. Well, this was about the bes-

“Safe travels, Akyuu.”

The rabbit’s eyes shot open, as the door began to vac-seal. Sagume blinked, then her face went pale, clasping her hands over her mouth.

“Abort! Abort! ABORT! LET ME OUT!” Akyuu hammered on the pod’s window, as the goddess began to flail around, trying to hit various buttons. “+SOMEONE HELP!+” She screamed both in psionics and in realspace, the latter achieving minimal effect within the airtight pod.

A flurry of psionic messages began to flood in in response. +Who was that?!+The pod’s launching?!+What’s going on now?+Akyuu, this is Ringo, I’m in the armory, sitrep ASAP+Quiet night my tail, I am going to rip off her wing!+ The psychic flurry only served to drown out Akyuu’s own panicked pleas, not that they could do much at this point.

The pod began to tilt, aiming her body so she’d land feet-first. Which also meant her head was closer to the firing chamber. Her feet were clamped in place, as a cheery robotic voice began to speak.

>Target set for inland Japan. Thank you for your heroic commitment to purity, noble Meteor Diver! Your efforts will help secure the safety of the Lunar Capital for generations to come.

“Nonononononono let me out! STOP! LET ME OUT OF THIS DEATHTRAP! Fucking SAGUMMMMMPH!” Akyuu hammered on the pod walls, as a breathing apparatus of some sort was shoved into her mouth, presumably to help keep the rabbit’s breathing stable and prevent them biting off their tongue, but in the moment only choking back her screams for help.

>Reluctance detected. Patriotism deduction logged for assessment upon returning to the capital.

The messages continued, the pod continuing to secure Akyuu against her will, now grabbing her arms to prevent her from pulling out the breath mask.

>Possible insult against Lunarian nobility recorded. Patriotism deduction added to assessment log.

Akyuu whimpered, now bound up. She kept trying to send out psionic signals, but with her head now turned skyward and a continuing storm of responses, she had no idea if they were having any effect. She saw Sagume lean over the pod, trying to beg forgiveness. Akyuu had no choice but to glare daggers at her.

>Firing in 5… 4… 3…

Akyuu took a deep breath, and screwed her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable.

>2… 1… firing. For the Lunar Capital!

And then Akyuu’s entire world went white.

The night sparrow hummed to herself, smiling at her exhausted customer. “Another bad day, Reisen?”

The rabbit only groaned in response. “...Give me the best you’ve got, Mysty. Good, strong stuff.”

Mystia nodded, starting to pour a hearty cup of sake. “Come on girl, let it out. That’s what I’m here for, after all.” Well… technically she was here for the customer’s coin. But she’d gotten more than enough coin from the rabbit over the years to know that Reisen sometimes didn’t come here because she was hungry, but because she needed someone to vent to that was outside of her work structure. So she was happy to let the rabbit nurse a cup and complain for a while, especially on sleepier nights like this one. “Bad day of deliveries again?”

Reisen straightened up, sighing. “There’s like seventy deliveries to make, and then I have to sell a bunch of stuff as well. And if anything gets broken, like if I fall in a trap or something and crush some medicine, it comes out of my pay.” She took a big gulp. “...I’m going to kill her some day, I really am.”

Mystia gave her a sympathetic smile. “Now, now. One thing at a time. It seems like you have a lot of underlings - can’t any of them do the deliveries?”

“They can, but they won’t. Because they’re not my underlings, they’re her underlings, and they’ll only listen to me if she tells them to.” Reisen sighed. “And they’re no good in the village anyways. Too many of them are troublemakers - we do not need them making oil slicks out of the tiles outside the home of our arthritis patients again.”

Mystia winced. “Seems like you have it really rough. And your boss?”

Reisen downed the cup’s remains. “Lady Eirin is… the good news is that she’s realized I’m the most useful rabbit there by a country mile. The bad news is that means every single task with even nominal importance gets handed to me, and if I screw it up, it’s on me, too.” She glowered. “If there was just one earth rabbit worth a damn, it’d be so, so much less stress…”

“There, there.” Mystia carefully put aside the point that Reisen had revealed she was a moon rabbit again, topping up her customer’s drink. She’d learnt a lot of random trivia about the lunar capital, but it really wasn’t anything other than second-hand gossip, and Eientei was secretive enough that it was probably best for both of them that Mystia let Reisen’s overshares sink to the bottom of her cups. “Who knows? Maybe you can ask your boss to hire a dedicated assistant for you?”

Reisen sat up a bit, considering it. “...Knowing my boss, she’d probably want to clone me or something for it.” Mystia wondered, not for the first time, what sort of powers that woman had where that was even an option. “And cultivating gene-warrens takes time and suitable rabbits that we do not have access to.” The rabbit sagged. “Either way, it’ll take years and years…”

“Now now, they took you in, didn’t they?” Mystia chuckled. “For all you know, they’ll take in another hard worker someday!”

Reisen gave a hollow chuckle. “Yeah, only took them a few hundred years... Maybe if I wish upon a shooting star…” Mystia gave her a gentle pat, looking up to the night sky. It was a beautiful, crisp night, with a waxing moon only a few days from being full. Mystia stared up, thinking.

One of the things that she’d gotten from Reisen’s drunken ramblings was that lunar rabbits were, if not harder workers, at least better co-ordinators. They had some kind of psychic power, an ability to talk to each other without words or sounds across quite a decent distance. If the other rabbits Reisen was working with had that ability, at least she could keep tabs on them more easily. And maybe if there were two rabbits in the same boat, she’d be able to de-stress with her without anyone else knowing - it’d cost Mysty a few coins, but she always felt a little bad taking the rabbit’s money when the medicine had been broken and she’d spent half of her paycheck trying to forget that she'd never received the other half.

…Yeah, if she wanted to ease the poor rabbit’s worries, that’s what she would wish for. Another lunar rabbit, another rabbit like Reisen.

She blinked. “Look, a shooting star!” She pointed, and Reisen’s head turned to watch it, making a red streak across the night sky. “Make that wish, Reisen, quick!”

She smiled, closing her eyes to make the wish herself. She smiled - it couldn’t just be coincidence, right? This had to be Reisen’s luck turning around!

“...It doesn’t look like a shooting star.” Mystia’s eyes opened, looking at Reisen in confusion. “It doesn’t move like one, at least.”

The night sparrow looked up. Now that she was watching the light more closely, there was a strange, rhythmic quality to its motion. Like it was spinning around in gentle circles, slowly getting faster and faster. And… was it bigger than it was before? She blinked, rubbing her eyes. The shooting star looked bigger again.

Mystia stared up at it, squinting. “What is it…?”

Reisen was on her feet. “Mystia? I-I think we need to move.”

“Eh?” The night sparrow felt her arm being grabbed, as the spinning thing got bigger and bigger. Now that it was closer, it looked vaguely squared from below, with blue lights in the middle of three of its four sides. “But the eel will burn-”

“MYSTIA!” That snapped her out of it. She took one look at Reisen’s panicked expression and took off, flying for cover. The two of them cleared a rock, peeking behind it, as the object came in for a landing.

There was a flash of light, a sickening crunch, and a tremor so vigorous that some part of Mystia’s mind feared she’d start laying scrambled eggs. A piece of woodwork flew by the Night Sparrow’s ear, close enough to ruffle her feathers. She shielded her eyes, and when the nose went quiet, she slowly, with dread, looked out at the devastation.

Her cart… simply wasn’t there anymore. There was a lot of burned wood, but nothing more recognisable than a couple of wheels, spinning freely. At the center of the devastation was a small, square… metallic thing, embedded into the earth itself. A box, maybe.

As if responding to her scattered thoughts, the box opened, pulling out its cargo. It was a battered-looking rabbit, one ear hanging loose over her head with her left arm and matching foot bent at unhealthy-looking angles. She was wearing clothes similar to Reisen’s more casual sets - in fact, she looked a lot like Reisen. A lot a lot.

Mystia’s brain broke down, staring at the devastation of her life’s work. She sputtered, trying to put her thoughts together. “M-my cart… you… broke my cart…”

The rabbit looked around as they staggered vaguely forward, clearly even more disoriented than Mystia felt. “Did-did I?” She asked, and Mystia slowly nodded. She could see the scattered gears of the rabbit’s head turning, trying to come up with something to say.

“...Th-thank god it w-wasn’t the shrine. Reimu’d spay me.” The eartips traced an arcane spiral as the rabbit lost its footing, spinning and collapsing in a heap on the floor.

Mystia stared, walking over slowly as Reisen leapt over the cover to administer aid. She stared up at the stars, trying to process her whole livelihood being in tatters.

She looked at Reisen, then back at the strange mini-Reisen. Some part of her managed to pull together a coherent thought.

“...Reisen? If this girl is who I think it is... I’m putting this on your tab.”

Akyuu awoke, and immediately regretted making such a foolish mistake. Her whole body throbbed and ached, and what sensations she could make out that weren’t outright miserable boded ill in other ways, like the complete inability to move her left arm.

Well, she’d done it. She’d made it to Earth, and in some miserable state too. She seemed to still be in one piece, if only because the pain pulsed in unique ways down each of her fingers and toes. Perhaps she was in one piece only because no pieces of bone had actually managed to free themselves of her. She was vaguely aware that she’d destroyed someone’s cart in the crash-landing, though she hadn’t gotten any sort of real look at them. At least they seemed to be kind enough to drag her to a hospital.

She opened her eyes, beginning to scan around the room. Her left arm and leg were both in big casts, and other parts of her body were heavily bandaged too, but the work had a certain professionalism to it that was vaguely reassuring. There were a few machines hooked up to her, as well, quietly humming from some kind of energy.

Akyuu tried to speak, but it only came out as a hoarse rasp. She tried to wet her throat and call out again, but still nothing. She was thirsty. Bloody thirsty. In desperation, she tried a psychic ping instead.

+Hello? Can someone help me?+

…It was a stupid attempt, really. There were no lunar rabbits here. It began to occur to Akyuu that… this whole second life, the whole of it, she’d never been out of contact with other lunar rabbits. Sure, it had disturbed her sleep a few times, and she’d wanted to turn off the ability on more than one occasion, but… now there’d never be another rabbit to message again. The room seemed a lot emptier.

Fortunately, the empty feeling didn’t last too long. She heard footsteps coming, glancing up at the doorway. A familiar face poked its head through, long, purple hair with two crinkly ears, and Akyuu began to feel a sense of relief.

Reisen Udongein Inaba. The lunatic rabbit, which meant… this was Eientei. There were few places Akyuu could have landed in that were better places to be, all things considered. At least she’d be in good hands.

“Ah, you really are awake. You really had me worried there!” The rabbit stepped in closer. “I’ve just pinged Lady Eirin, so she’ll be here shortly. Do you need a drink, or anything?”

Akyuu tried to speak, but again no words came out. The rabbit seemed to get the gist, and quickly offered a small cup of water, and a straw. Every drop Akyuu managed to suck up felt like a godsend.

When the cup was pulled back to let her breathe, she tried again. Still, her throat was sore, and it rasped continually against her. If she could speak, that’d be something, but-

+You can just tell me this way, you know.+

Akyuu’s eyes shot wide open in shock. She looked up at Reisen, who just chuckled. +Wait, you can use telepathy? I thought only Lunar Rabbits could do that.+

+You’re not wrong.+ The nurse rabbit proffered the cup back to her. +But I’m not an Earth Rabbit. I’m a deserter too, Akyuu. Call me Reisen.+

Something began to stir in the back of Akyuu’s mind, but she was still too frayed to put it together. +You… know my name?+

Reisen nodded. +Yep! Akyuu, Gene-Warren IN-8, kit 1 out of all 1 rabbits in litter 02.+ She waved off Akyuu’s shocked expression. +Vat-bunnies get chipped during the incubation process with some high-level stuff like that.+

That was news to Akyuu, and not very pleasant news at that. +...They can’t track me with it, can they?+ The older rabbit shook her head. +...Wait, if you’re a deserter, how do you know all that?+

+I’m not the only one from the moon here - oh, but you wouldn’t know that.+ Reisen threw her arms wide. +You’re currently in a place known as Eientei. You can consider this place… a little Lunarian home-away-from-home. A refuge for Lunarian exiles.+

+Eh? An exile’s hiding place?+ …Well, Eientei having some connection to the Lunar Capital was no secret, but what that connection was used to be a closely-guarded secret. But apparently all that anyone needed to know its true nature was to have the right set of ears. +How many people from the moon are here?+

+You’d be the fourth, Akyuu. The other two are straight-up lunarians.+ …Oh. Ohhhhh. That would explain… a lot of things, actually. Wait, then was Kaguya that Kaguya?! Akyuu tried to push herself up, without much success. +Hey, hey, take it easy. Don’t stress out, we’ve got some medication coming shortly.+

Akyuu gave her a helpless look. +I-I don’t think medication can heal my broken bones, so unless there’s something-+

+Oh, but it can.+ Reisen grinned. +You’re with the best doctor on earth. You’ll be up before you know it.+ At the sound of footsteps, the healthier rabbit stood up, opening the door. “Lady Eirin! She’s awake now.”

A woman with a bisected red-blue uniform strode in, carrying a small tray with two vials on it. It had been a long, long time since Akyuu had seen Yagokoro Eirin, and when she’d last done it, the woman had been ragged. Here, she stood calm and composed, utterly picturesque. And seemingly not a day older or younger than the Eirin who’d helped her on this journey all these years ago.

“Eirrrrrn…” Akyuu coughed a bit, and Reisen scurried over to offer more water. The doctor, for her part, seemed to spend a few moments looking between Reisen and Akyuu, considering something with a small smile. But… why? This was just normal nurse stuff, right?

Akyuu looked at Reisen. Then back at Eirin. Then really, really looked at Reisen.

+Wait. Wait. Wait.+ Reisen smiled, innocently, watching the gears turn in Akyuu’s battered head. +Are you- what’s you-are-+

The rabbit patted her head. “There we go. Was wondering when you’d piece that together.” She smiled, gently placing her hand on Akyuu’s cast arm. “Reisen Udongein Inaba. First and only kit in litter 01… of Gene-Warren IN-8. It’s great to finally meet you, little sis. Though you did scare the life out of me with that entrance of yours.”

Akyuu just stared. +I-I… you… this is… a lot of process…+ How… what were the odds? She’d not only landed in Eientei, she’d not only ended up directly in Eirin’s care, but she’d ended up in the exact same place her long-lost sister had. What were the chances of that..? Well, Sagume had only cursed her travel itself. Maybe some inverse effect made her destination guaranteed?

As Akyuu came to grips with the continual, non-stop barrage of earth-shattering answers to what felt like a storm of her life’s questions. The elder rabbit turned to her master, whose face quickly became a solemn mask under her servant’s eye. “Lady Eirin. She’s still having trouble speaking… but I can act as her interpreter if needed.” She bowed, stepping aside.

“...Right then. Akyuu, yes?” The doctor sat at the end of the bed. “...I have two vials here. One will numb your pain, and the other will heal your wounds. Whether I use one, both, or neither is up to you… after a fashion.” She placed the tray down, giving a cold, analytical look to her patient. “I’d like to ask you a few questions before I begin treatment.”

Akyuu blinked. +U-um, I’m not trying to, I didn’t know-+

Reisen gave her a reassuring smile. +Relax, okay? We’re already pretty certain that you’re not an insurgent or anything - she actually thinks Lady Sagume tried to sabotage your escape attempt.+ …Oh, if only they knew. +We don’t think you’re actually here to hunt us. We just have to make sure. You’re safe, Akyuu - you can trust me.+

Akyuu did her best to manage a nod. +...Alright. Tell her I’m ready to answer any questions she has.+ At the very least, it felt like Reisen was on her side, which was comforting. Rather more comforting than Akyuu expected, actually. Her older sister relayed the message, getting a nod from Eirin (whose smile had begun to creep back onto her face, before Reisen turned to face her and it scurried away again).

"Akyuu, tell me; why did you come here?"

[ ] Full, complete honesty, no matter what she asks. Better to be seen as delusionally sincere than deceptive and sane, and maybe her crystal-clear recollection could help reinforce her knowledge.
[ ] Talk about the incoming future, but hold off on details for now. She might be able to tightrope-walk the gap between sincerity and insanity.
[ ] Just claim to be a deserter rabbit with eidetic memory. No need to bring up all the crazy shit on one's first meeting.