[19] Prioritize discussing the Scarlet Devil Mansion’s residents. They were definitely going to get involved.
[2] Focus on disclosing the Lunarians current forces. Any new information could help earn back some trust.
-[X] Especially make sure to talk about Sakuya. If the Scarlets are in a frenzy because of the sealing spell, they'll be sure to send their maid.

{5} “The psydar… does any moon rabbit work?”
{14} “Anything else I can do to help?”

“...The Scarlet Devil Mansion, then. They’re absolutely gonna stick their nose in this.” Akyuu looked around. “Anything I can draw on, or…?”

Reisen pointed to a terminal on another terminal. “Use that. Same way as the Lunatic gun.”

Akyuu strode over to the machine. …There was a panel that resembled a rabbit’s paw on it, and Akyuu placed her palm in position. She thought back, recalling the members of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

Three figures appeared in holographic form above the table. Reisen gave it a brief look, but turned to setting up a chair connected to a machine - likely the psydar’s interface. “Most of the staff are fairies and hob-no, just fairies right now. And frankly, they’re just chaff. But there are quite a few individuals in there with considerable power. First, the homefront guardians, and I’ll be quick as they’re unlikely to be our problem.”

The one in green with red hair was the first Akyuu pointed out. “Hong Meiling. Red Hair, Chinese descent, Giant in size. Acts as the gatekeeper. Expert in martial arts and using ‘qi’. Very powerful in close range combat, but the weakest in ranged combat - take her out from a distance if you have to.” Then the other two holograms stepped forward. “Patchouli Knowledge. Purple hair, middling height and not exactly fit. The owner of the Scarlet Devil Mansion’s library. Very powerful and knowledgeable witch, but has terrible asthma and rarely leaves her library. Her familiar is decently powerful as well, but tends to act as a substitute wherever she is needed around the mansion - she’s the single least likely to get involved. If they do get involved, they’re the opposite of Meiling - get in close and engage.”

Eirin hummed to herself. “Or maybe a chemical weapon…? Even just a mild irritant could slow this magician down, right?”

Akyuu shrugged. “Hard to say. Anyone with such an obvious weakness tends to have countermeasures for such things - you’d have to get her by surprise. She’s not going to walk into a dust cloud.” Eirin nodded, grabbing a piece of paper and making a quick note.

The three figures disappeared, to be replaced by two more. “Next, the vampires. Both about five hundred years old, look like children but are very, very powerful. The usual vampire tricks… work, but they only weaken or irritate them.”

Tewi scoffed. “What’s the point of telling us that if it doesn’t kill them?”

Akyuu glared at her. “The goal isn’t just to defend Eientei - it’s to render them unwilling or unable to take Eientei. Vampires may not be completely repelled by garlic, but if the whole place stinks of it, they won’t want to stay. Now, first is…” She hesitated, before highlighting the blonde one. “Flandre Scarlet. The one with the jewel wings. The younger sister usually kept locked up in the basement. She’s probably the least likely of all of them to appear. She’s also the most dangerous if she does get involved. She can destroy absolutely anything and everything… if she gets involved, the only people who should try to fight her directly are Eirin or Kaguya. Otherwise, confuse her, hide from her, or run away.”

“Next… Remilia Scarlet, also known as the Scarlet Devil. The bat-winged vampire, and the second most likely to intervene tonight.” The blue-hair vampire’s visage glowed. “...She says she has power over fate, but what that means… I don’t know exactly. But she’s one of the most dangerous there is to encounter. We’ll need a very coordinated assault to drive her away… or a lot of firepower.”

Kaguya looked closely at the vampire’s images, before turning to Akyuu. “You said… second most likely? Who’s the most likely?”

At that, Akyuu turned her gaze up. The image that appeared was… well, perhaps the only human in Gensokyo strong enough to fight the Shrine Maiden and win, at least in this timeline. “Izayoi Sakuya. The Devil’s faithful right hand. Human, nominally. And has the power to manipulate time, in multiple fashions - stopping it is her go-to in combat, but she can also slow it down or do various other things. She doesn’t always win, though, so there must be some limit. …Also incredibly dangerous with throwing knives. Much, much better rounded than the others, and the usual one who goes out to investigate trouble on the Scarlet’s behalf. We’d either be best taking her out by surprise, or giving a one-on-one battle under roughly fair conditions in hopes of getting an honest duel… dealing with her otherwise would be tricky.”

She turned to the group, lifting her hand and shaking the pins and needles out of it. Most of them were clearly thinking about the various threats, with the exception of Reisen, who was strapping a large, bowl-like device to her head. “That’s the main crew of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Do you want me to detail the Lunarian forces next, or is there anything else I can do to help?”

Eirin started tapping some buttons on the console of the large table. “Well… there’s too many potential combatants for that level of analysis… and we don’t have a lot of time.” She paused in thought.

Kaguya turned, grinning. “What if we sent Akyuu to check out our armory? She can let us know if the models have changed while getting everyone equipped.”

Tewi growled. “There’s no way I’m letting her have her way in the armory.”

Eirin sighed. “Then you go with her, Tewi. Keep an eye on her, and double-check her logic. We’ll call you back when we have things set up here.”

The two shorter rabbits looked at each other. For a long, long time. Akyuu took a deep breath, knowing she was going to regret her next comment. “...Well, Tewi? The safest place to have me is right under your nose, right?”

The white hare of Inaba groaned. “...Fine.”

---

“You do not check it like that.” Akyuu grabbed the rabbit’s hand. “You pull this back then open it up. If you don’t, the cartridge could get jammed and go off right in your face.”

The rabbit blanched, beginning to do as Akyuu directed. The moon rabbit nodded, and turned back to see Tewi handing over a heavy rifle. “Don’t use those. Not without cleaning the barrel first.”

Tewi glared at Akyuu. “We don’t have time to polish these up all pretty-like, vat-bunny. And they’re our most powerful -”

“Which is why you need to clean them first. If you don’t, the rounds could get stuck and all that will be left of the shooter is their cottontail. If we had the modern models, then we wouldn’t have to worry about it, but we’re working with these clunkers, so we either clean them or we don’t use them.”

The elder rabbit groaned. “Oh Lord Daikoku, why the hell are there two of her now?! Is it a chemical in the vat that makes moon rabbits prissy know-it-alls?”

Akyuu rolled her eyes, muttering just loud enough for Tewi to hear. “Better to be a know-it-all than the living embodiment of dumb luck.”

Tewi turned, waving the gun she’d picked up. “You wanna go, vat-bunny?”

Akyuu gave her a glare, pointing at her with the back half of a shotgun. “A bit? Yeah, considering you tried to arrest me and grabbed some button to blow my head off or something! But as much as I’d love to deck you in the face, we don’t have the time. So shut up and listen to what I’m telling you.”

Tewi whapped the weapon on her other palm, leaning in close. “And what if you’re just telling us a bunch of nonsensical procedures to slow us down for the lunarians-”

Akyuu pushed the shorter rabbit back with the butt of her shotgun. “Did you see the death trap I was in? I’m not exactly happy with the lunarians myself, right now!”

Tewi rolled her eyes. “Oh sure, sure. Hey, you all get a load of-” She turned to the rabbits, and stopped. Akyuu turned to look in the same direction, and saw the last few escaping out the doorway.

The two arguing rabbits stopped, to inspect the weapons in their hands. They both turned, silently, to carefully inspect for damage from their flagrant carelessness.

At length, Akyuu spoke. “...Why don’t you trust me, Tewi?”

The white hare scoffed. “‘Cos there’s a big hole in your story, for starters.”

Akyuu looked at her. “What? You mean about me reincarnating?”

“Yeah. Why’d you have to be youkai for it?” Akyuu began to respond, but Tewi cut her off. “Sure, sure, the whole human-destroying thing. But Gensokyo’s not short on powerful youkai, is it? And even then, all the others were already fighters. All you needed to do was be reborn with your memories and find them. Couldn’t you have just… been born with blonde hair in the same family, or something? Or as a boy?”

Akyuu opened her mouth… and found nothing. It was… a good point. “...Why was that…?”

Tewi looked up at her. “What, you never thought about that? Would have saved everyone a whole load of trouble.”

Akyuu shook her head. “...I guess I was too excited at the thought of being able to participate myself. Granted, of my options… this seemed like the least bad.”

Tewi rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah?”

Akyuu nodded. “If I’d picked one of the other options, I’d be on the other side of the conflict right now, as another vampire or something. And the third choice would have had me be an amanojaku, I’m pretty sure - and still on the moon. So… at least lunar rabbits don’t have some kind of crippling drawback, like not being able to stay in the sun or reversing things with my words.”

There was a long pause, where Tewi looked at her. Seeming to be on the verge of saying something, but not quite managing to decide to voice it. “...You really don’t know much, huh?” She said, sighing.

“Oh, and you know so much, do you?” Akyuu rolled her eyes.

“...There’s another thing. What did you see in my room?”

Akyuu paused. “...what?”

Tewi turned to her. “Don’t give me that line about the clovers again. You’ve got some super-fancy memory, right? Don’t try and convince me you saw nothing else.”

[ ] Confess in full that she read the letter. Tewi’d certainly be pissed, but at least she’d understand she’s being honest.
[ ] Claim innocence, that she didn’t look at anything. She couldn’t risk Tewi getting any angrier at her.
[ ] Half-and-half - say she saw the otter seal, but didn't get a chance to read it. Confirm her suspicion slightly, but let her think she can still hide the true purpose.

[15] Confess in full that she read the letter. Tewi’d certainly be pissed, but at least she’d understand she’s being honest.
[0] Claim innocence, that she didn’t look at anything. She couldn’t risk Tewi getting any angrier at her.
[3] Half-and-half, say she saw the otter seal. Confirm her suspicion slightly, but let her think she didn’t see enough to say for certain.

Akyuu considered lying, but…

“...Fine. The moment I saw that letter, I had to read it.” Tewi’s expression darkened considerably. “Because I know for damn sure what that otter means.”

“Oh, you do, do you?” Tewi growled.

“Yeah. The Kiketsu. And Kicchou Yachie, the jidiao. She’s not someone to mess with, you know. Caused a lot of trouble, the last time around.”

Akyuu had met the jidiao only once in her past life. She was a thoroughly intimidating woman; someone who talked of humans as little more than resources to be used. A powerful speaker, too; trying to argue her had felt like trying to swim up a waterfall.

The only slight weakness Akyuu had even been able to gleam was … momentary. It had happened when, during their conversation, a mother and child had passed by. For a moment, there was something from the jidiao - a love lost, maybe, or one never had at all. But she’d hidden it before Akyuu could read any more from her expression.

Tewi looked at her, for a long time. “And why would you tell me that, vat-bunny?”

Akyuu shut her eyes. “Right now, honesty is the only tool I-”

The punch slammed into her stomach. Akyuu gasped, feeling her knees give out beneath her, and collapsing to the floor.

Tewi’s foot slammed into her head. “Oh, what a load of crap. Spare me your five-year-old’s storybook lessons, will you?”

Akyuu groaned. “I-I’m not-”

“Not lying about that? Sure, sure.” Tewi squatted down, glaring daggers at her. “And what are you lying about, I wonder? Because, see, every time I poke a hole or pick a point, you just seem to wheedle away from it without a fight. It’s not as reassuring as you think it is, vat-bunny.”

She grinned, pressing Akyuu’s face down harder. “But, you know, if you genuinely believe honesty is the best policy… Perhaps I should tell you about that little button. About the weakness of all you vat-bunnies from the moment you come out of the pod.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“Oh, that button has a very specific purpose. To bring any treacherous moon bunnies in line. But, see, the thing is, while it’s well hidden, it’s technically a weakness anyone can exploit, and the people who can use it against you… are the same ones that can pry the secret from your lips.”

Akyuu felt a chill going over her heart. To a normal moon rabbit, knowing a secret that could undo them could be dangerous, but… they could forget the details. Even just using the Lunar Veils could be enough.

But for a Child of Miare…

Tewi’s grin only got more vicious, seeing the expression on Akyuu’s face. “Oh, now you’re getting it, vat-bunny? Well, do you want to know what that button does? Do you?”

“STOP!” Tewi turned to the door. With much effort, Akyuu managed to wrench her head around to do the same.

A breathless Kaguya strode forth, with a small flotilla of bunnies hiding behind her. “Tewi, Akyuu. I heard you two were about to blow up the whole armory, but this…” She pointed at the moon rabbit on the floor. “Let her go.”

Tewi bristled. “This little snitch-”

“Snitched on my behalf.” Kaguya folded her arms. “I was the one who directed her to.” Tewi glared daggers at Kaguya. “We were curious about those otter-letters you were receiving.”

The elder rabbit stood up, pulling her foot off of Akyuu’s head. “And you just thought you’d peep in? What I do with my own letters doesn’t concern you.”

Kaguya bowed deeply. “...You’re right, of course. I apologize, Tewi.”

There was a long, long moment of silence.

“...Is telling us to knock it off the only reason you’re here, Houraisan?” Tewi's voice was as cold as ice.

She shook her head. “I wish it was, but… there’s other things happening tonight, and I need to get Akyuu’s confirmation about them. It resembles one of the incidents she was talking about.”

Akyuu groaned, trying to rub the pounding out of her head. “An incident? …maybe the Scarlet Mist one?”

Kaguya shook her head. “...No. Possibly worse. A perfect counter-incident to our spell.”

She walked over, gently helping the moon rabbit to her feet. “Come on. We’ll grab some painkillers on the way over, okay?” Akyuu nodded, and was slowly led away.

Tewi watched them go, folding her arms. She looked down at the rifles Akyuu had told her to clean.

“...Don’t have the time… Ah, that might be it.” She gestured to the nearest rabbit. “Come on guys, get your guns going. And let’s make it quick, yeah?”

---

The painkillers helped dull the pain a bit, but Akyuu’s stomach still roiled. Kaguya’s expression was… resigned, looking at her.

“You know, that’s on you.” She said. “What on earth were you thinking?”

“I thought that if I told her the truth-”

The princess sighed, shaking her head. “What you told her is that you’re willing to give up secrets under the slightest bit of pressure.” Akyuu blinked as the princess folded her arms. “And that she’s not found anything you want to hide yet.”

Akyuu looked at her. “Do I want her to have some dirt on me?”

Kaguya nodded. “Yes. Maybe not dirt, but… a bit of leverage.” She hummed. “Maybe if she’d seen what you were doing at Geidontei…”

“How would that have helped?” The princess looked back at the armory. Akyuu had a bad feeling that the rabbits were moving rather quickly with their weapons now.

After a moment, the princess began to speak. “...Reisen is easy to string along with good momentum. Her instincts are to do what she’s told, so she’s easy to trick into a trap or a prank. Eirin gets obsessive and focuses on her research. I don’t tend to think about the details - I can’t even tell most of the rabbits apart - and… me and Mokou both are easy to get riled up with the other.”

She turned to Akyuu. “Everyone has their ups and down, their strengths, and their weaknesses. And to feel comfortable around them, Tewi’s got to get a feel for that. To feel like if she needs to, she can steer them a bit off target.”

Kaguya pointed at the moon rabbit’s face. “But, assuming your story is true, many of your biggest weaknesses are gone. You have excellent memory, excellent focus, quick reading skills. And you’re not as afraid as you would have been as a human. She doesn’t fully trust you yet, and… well, nobody’s completely honest.”

Akyuu paused, the revelation slowly dawning on her. “...And without knowing my weaknesses as a person, the only weakness she can get at…”

“Is that button.” Kaguya nodded. “Even just stringing along that waitress was something she could have understood. Might have been a little petty on your part, but… that’s the sort of thing she expects from a real person.” She chuckled. “Actually, she’d have probably joined right in.”

Akyuu took a moment to think on it. …To a degree, it made sense. She still wanted to sock the rabbit, but… fear and understanding tended to clash at all times. Without understanding, it was all too easy to build up fear - and vice versa, in fact.

And wanting to understand how things worked, so she didn’t have to fear them… well, that was what the Chronicle was for, was it not?

She gave a weak smile. “...I guess I get it now. She’s a bit like me, huh?” Playing a little dumb may have reassured the rabbit that she wasn’t too observant. Even if it wasn't true, it'd at least be something she could have grasped on to. They passed a room with a clock on it, and Akyuu took a look. “I’m sorry, it looks like we got straight to fighting, didn’t we?”

Kaguya turned to her. “What do you mean?”

Akyuu pointed at the clock. “Well, it only looks like it’s been… what, five minutes since we went off? And we got straight to fighting. …Sorry for that.”

“...Mmm.” Kaguya turned forward. “...It wasn’t just five minutes, Akyuu.” She gave Akyuu a sidelong glance. “Can you walk me through the incidents again? …Particularly the one just before our original meeting?”

The psydar room was hushed as Akyuu and Kaguya entered. Eirin was glaring at the table, while Reisen was slumped back on the chair for the psydar’s battery, all the equipment removed.

+Reisen, are you okay?+

No response. Akyuu blinked, before turning to Eirin. “Is Reisen unconscious, or…”

Reisen lifted her head. “Hmm? Oh, Akyuu, you’re here?”

Eirin waved off Akyuu’s worried expression. “She’s just recovering from being the psychic battery. I believe she’s compared the feeling to tinnitus? She won’t be able to use her psychic powers for a while, but she’ll be fine to run about in a few minutes.” The doctor looked down. “And we have bigger problems here, anyways.”

The young moon rabbit took another worried glance at her sister, but when Reisen waved her off, Akyuu turned her vision to the map. There were a variety of red dots all over the forest, all moving in different directions. Still, it was pretty clear that within a certain distance of Eientei, the dots gained a somewhat orderly pattern, likely patrolling rabbits.

“First, the Scarlets have made their move.” Eirin pointed to a pair of dots on the map, which appeared to be flying around a third. “This pair came straight from the Scarlet Devil Mansion. They’re most likely Izayoi and the elder Scarlet Sister. Anything that they’ve come across, they’ve been fighting and taking out. They’re coming in our general direction, but, well… they don’t seem to know exactly what they’re searching for, and they’re meandering a bit.”

Akyuu pointed at the clearing. “This place they’re… fighting at? What’s this clearing?”

“Actually, it’s your crash site. We believe they’re fighting Mystia right now.” The third red light suddenly dimmed. “...They were fighting her just now. She’s just been knocked unconscious.” Akyuu flinched. “But they’re not the most concerning.”

She pointed to a trio of dots, in a straight line. “These three are. They’re slower than the mansion duo, but they are coming in a straight line. Directly to Eientei.”

Akyuu looked at the trio. Then she followed the line up, tracing its path.

“...They came from the Hakurei Shrine?”

Eirin nodded. “Correct. Which is incredibly concerning, as Eientei’s location should be a complete secret to anyone there.”

Akyuu hummed, rubbing her chin. “...A bit surprising they’re not going for the Scarlet Devil Mansion, then.” She looked up. “Three, though?”

Eirin shrugged. “Hard to say. Presumably one’s that beastly shikigami, and the other’s the Hakurei herself… not sure who the last one might be. Everyone’s been avoiding them for now… but there may be one exception.”

She pointed to one more dot, traveling alone. “This dot came from the village, and has been slowly correcting its course over time - always heading to the Hakurei trio. No idea who it is, but the few who come close to them seem to be passing without incident.”

She reached out to the map. “Looking at the courses of these three groups… I estimate they’ll all come into contact around here, only a short distance from Eientei. And from there, the conflict will almost certainly reveal us.”

Akyuu stared at the map, feeling a chill crawling up her spine. Something about that third dot… “Can this get any worse…?”

Kaguya nodded. “...Yes. Yes it can. Touch one of the dots directly - someone from the Hakurei should be perfect.”

Akyuu blinked, but did as directed, touching one of them. A small number of pieces of information came up, showing the user’s X and Y position on the map, their vector, and…

Akyuu squinted. And a speed that would break the sound barrier. “What’s with that speed…?”

Kaguya took a deep breath. “Speed is distance over time. Either they’re going a lot faster than they look, or… or time is moving a lot slower than it should.”

Eirin straightened up. “All the clocks in Eientei are running slow - by the same amount. And the spell to seal us away from the moon… it only completes when morning comes.”

Akyuu gulped, feeling something creeping up on her. “But… that means…”

Kaguya turned to the board. “...There’s only one thing it could be. The Eternal Night Incident.”

It hit Akyuu like a truck.

Reimu had never told her what happened in the Eternal Night. She’d been vague, always vague about it.

But… but that was because the incident wasn’t solved by her. It must… it must have been caused by her, to undo the false moon. …Yes, that was it! That was the night she’d seen the false moon before!

Which meant… which meant…

Akyuu groaned, putting her head in her hands. “So we’re dealing with two incidents at once… and it’s my fault.”

Reisen staggered to her feet, walking over to the table. She steadied herself next to Akyuu, giving the younger rabbit a pat on the head. “...It’s okay. You didn't know, Akyuu.”

Eirin sighed. “...Regardless. We need to do something to defuse this situation. At the very least, we don’t want two definitely hostile groups hitting us at the same time. We need to do something to blunt someone’s advance… maybe even get them on side… any suggestions on who should be the priority?”

[ ] Hakurei Trio first. They seemed to know what they were actually looking for, and they may, hopefully, be amenable to diplomacy.
[ ] Scarlet Team first. They were possibly the most dangerous, and needed to be stalled by any means necessary.
[ ] Lone Traveller first. Something about them was giving Akyuu a bad, bad feeling.

[16] Hakurei Trio first. They seemed to know what they were actually looking for, and they may, hopefully, be amenable to diplomacy.
[0] Scarlet Team first. They were possibly the most dangerous, and needed to be stalled by any means necessary.
[2] Lone Traveller first. Something about them was giving Akyuu a bad, bad feeling.
-[4] Ask for information about the shikigami. We still don't know any information about who they are. If we have a name at least, we can figure out a game plan for negotiating with them.
-[4] Bring a Lunatic Gun with us. And an actual gun too. Diplomacy is ideal, but it's best to be prepared for the worst.
-[4] Ask Reisen for any tips for making illusions or manipulating insanity. Sharing genetics meant that we might share some abilities as well.
-[4] Ask about some method of communication while we're out on the field, like mission control. Reisen would be ideal, but if she can't recover in time, are there any other options?

“Let’s get to the Hakurei contingent first.” Akyuu said, firmly. “See if we can get them to hear us out.”

Reisen nodded. “Agreed. They clearly know we’re here, so we can’t lead them away. But we might be able to convince them that we need their help.”

Akyuu thought back. “And inversely, if my understanding is correct, then… what I saw as the eternal night incident was them… maybe even successfully undoing the spell. It might have side effects we don’t understand yet, or something. We should get their side of things.”

Eirin looked at the two rabbits, before nodding. “…very well, then. Most of the rabbits they’ll probably just see as - and treat like - fodder, but you’ve been to the shrine before, haven’t you Reisen?”

The elder rabbit gave a slightly-shaky salute. “I’ll ride out, then.”

Eirin turned to Akyuu. “But she’ll need backup. Especially without her psychic powers. Can I rely on you to do that?”

Akyuu saluted, firmly. “Yes, ma’am!”

The doctor gave a slight smile. “Go get yourselves equipped, then. Good luck to both of you.”

---

Komachi growled, swinging her scythe. Another clump of bamboo poles fell to the wayside.

“I swear, I thought this was gonna be by the lake… this better be at least worth a watch.” She pushed aside another clump, groaning. “How long do I have now, anyways?”

She reached into her pocket - the usual one, the one that got the best expressions from her boss - fishing around for the object on the far side of a chain attached to her lapel. Out came the small disc, stylised like a pocket watch.

She took a moment to inspect the small hourglass embedded within its side. It wasn’t something normally affected by gravity. No matter which way one turned the physical object, it was merely a representation; the sand within only flowed one way.

…normally, that is. Right now, the sand was, ever so slowly, trickling upwards.

She took a deep breath, steadying herself, and opened the pocket watch’s cover. The hands of the timepiece were jerking erratically, with no clear pattern. Normally, by this point in a job, they would read only a few minutes to the proverbial midnight. And these would do so, as well. But every so often, the hands would suddenly turn backwards, giving her a few extra minutes, or even a whole hour.

Once, about three days ago, the hand representing the years had twitched. As Komachi watched, she saw it happen again.

She looked at the pocket watch, scratching her head. Another mutter under her breath. “There’s no way she’s suddenly converting to Taoism… or something like that.” Which meant… what? She knew there was another fate manipulator in the forest, but she was not lined up for amicable relations with her rendezvous. And this… twitchiness, this uncertainty didn’t look like her either.

She looked up into the forest. “…better be really worth watching. Hell, maybe I should stop by that Eientei place regardless. Let’s get dinner and a show, shall we?”

---

“Here! This rock should be good.” Reisen pointed to a large outcrop that overlooked a good part of the Hakurei's path. "Let's set up here."

Akyuu came to a landing on it as directed. Reisen was only a few steps behind her. She looked at her big sister, concern writ plain on her face. “…you sure you’re alright, Reisen?”

The elder moon rabbit nodded. “Can’t use my powers, but even without them I’m still one of Eientei’s finest.” She hoisted her gun onto her shoulder. “And I’m curious how you’ll do, too.”

The two rabbits had been equipped with headpieces, to communicate with each other if separated and the base in general. For now, their orders were to get to a position where they could observe Hakurei's approach and decide from there what method of intervention was best. Akyuu was equipped with a Lunatic Gun, and a small conventional lunar pistol; Reisen was carrying a heavier rifle.

“Have you met the shikigami? We don’t know who the other one is, right?”

Reisen scratched her head, trying to think of the words to say. “Shikigami’s… interesting. A bit quirky, maybe. You’ll definitely know her if you see her, nobody else has got hair like that. And she always talks like she knows you.” The elder rabbit looked out, in the direction of the shrine. “Apparently Hakurei got her straight off the grounds.”

The younger rabbit looked at her. For several seconds.

“Are you… talking about a komainu?”

Reisen smiled. “Oh? So you’ve met Aunn before too, I see.”

Akyuu felt her pen-hand twitch. “Yeah, but… she wasn’t going to get off her pedestal for ages in my time. Not for like… another ten incidents or so. And she wasn’t a Hakurei shikigami, either.” She turned to match Reisen’s shrineward gaze. “...But still, I guess it makes a certain sort of sense? She’d already be loyal to the shrine just by being chiseled for it…”

Reisen nodded. “Well, she’s an interesting combatant. Not too strong, but she’s got a real mean streak in battle, and I got the impression she’s more cunning than she acts.”

Akyuu took a deep breath. “Any tips? Like... I don't know. How do you make your illusions?”

Reisen raised an eyebrow. “I thought you knew how to do it? What can you do with your psychic powers, anyways?”

Akyuu hummed. “Well… I can make very strong hallucinations. Make people think they’re in an entirely different place, or that others things are happening. But… they only come from my memories. And I can use some of the more general stuff related to waves but... not like I remember you being able to.”

The elder rabbit chuckled a bit. “Well… there shouldn’t be any real difference between using your memories and using your imagination for illusions… I’m curious how your thinking on that works, but we don’t have the time. The memory hallucinations are enough to throw someone off, right?”

Akyuu nodded, feeling nervous. “Yeah, one person at a time, though.”

Reisen shrugged. “So send someone for a stroll down memory lane and it’s a two-on-two. If I snipe someone at the same time, it's two-on-one. If it comes to that, anyways.” She reached out to pet Akyuu, bringing a blush from the younger bunny. “Besides, we’re experts here! Professionals! No shrine maiden will stand up against the power of two of the finest moon rabbits!”

Akyuu smiled a bit… but then her expression fell. “...Right. Moon rabbits.” Reisen raised an eyebrow, her own expression becoming concerned. “...Ah, Tewi told me a bit more about that button. That it has something to do with being a moon rabbit.”

The elder rabbit sighed. “...Yeah. It’s technically something I have, too.”

Akyuu looked up at her. “...Would it affect you, too?”

Reisen shook her head. “...not as much. It’s not like it blows your head off, or anything like that. There’s ways to mitigate it, if you understand it. But if you have a perfect memory… one of the easiest ways is locked off to you.”

Akyuu nodded, slowly. “I see…”

Her sister sat down. “...I’m not gonna go over it, right now. But… would you want to know? I can probably train you to resist its effects a bit, so it's not like you'd be completely exposed... How are you feeling about it, sis?”

Akyuu took a deep breath.

[ ] “I’m terrified of it.” She’d never thought being a moon rabbit would come with some… critical weakness like this. It made her skin crawl.
[ ] “I’m still so curious.” Perhaps it was a little reckless, even foolhardy, but… she was a Chronicler. A novelist. And the idea of having some forever-unopened mystery box in her own knowledge… just felt unacceptable.

[9] “I’m terrified of it.” She’d never thought being a moon rabbit would come with some… critical weakness like this. It made her skin crawl.
[12] “I’m still so curious.” Perhaps it was a little reckless, even foolhardy, but… she was a Chronicler. A novelist. And the idea of having some forever-unopened mystery box in her own knowledge… just felt unacceptable.
-[X] "I probably should have seen it coming." As a chronicler she'd seen enough accounts of youkai that had some sort of notable weakness to have not had a chance to see something coming up.
-[X] Do we have any of the dango on us? If so, offer Reisen a stick.

“...It’s a scary thought, honestly.” Akyuu looked up at the false moon in the sky. “...I guess I should have expected something, though.”

Reisen looked over at her, worry on her face. “What do you mean?”

“Well… did I tell you about the reincarnations I saw? The paths I could have taken?” She leaned back, looking up at the skies. “One would have had me be… a vampire, I’m pretty sure. And another would have had to be as an amanojaku.”

She sighed. “They were both obvious ones, with obvious weaknesses. And I guess I should have assumed that moon rabbits had something, too. Even in my past life, I was doomed to die young. …I guess a part of me was waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

Reisen started to reach out for her. “Akyuu…”

The younger rabbit grinned. “But… even more than the fear? I’m still so curious.” She smiled. “Perhaps it’s a little foolhardy, but… I’m not afraid of a body with a few drawbacks. I can’t write the Chronicle in good conscience and have a gap in my own knowledge about my own species - even if it doesn’t actually make the article.”

She looked at Reisen, smiling. “So… I’m not gonna be afraid of something I can’t understand. Even if it’s a little dangerous. And I can’t do anything about a weakness I don’t understand, anyways.”

Spirit stays at Youkai-2.

The elder rabbit looked her over, and gave a weak smile. “Well… if you’re sure, we’ll talk about it after all… this. Like I said, it’s not like it’s a death sentence.” The younger rabbit nodded, taking a deep breath. Reisen looked out in the direction of the Hakurei. “Sorry, I’m sure this talk isn’t helping on a night like this…”

Akyuu waved it off, before a thought occurred to her. “...Actually, you know what might help?” She fished around in her pocket, pulling out a small packet. When she’d stopped by her room in Eientei, to get her Lunatic Gun, she’d ended up grabbing just a bit more. “I packed a few dango before I did my little escape attempt, and they somehow survived the trip.” She pulled out two sticks, offering one to Reisen.

Udonge smiled, taking one. “Been a while since I’ve had one of these. The ones the earth rabbits make just aren’t the same, you know.”

Akyuu took her own, smiling back. “I wonder if it’s something with the ingredients, maybe? Or maybe it just needs moon rabbits to make the good stuff.”

Reisen chuckled. “Well, if you want, perhaps when all this is over, we can try making some mochi together. See how it compares to the earth rabbits.” She chuckled. “Though, if it’s too good, Kaguya’s gonna have us make it every day.”

Akyuu sat down, sticking the dango stick in her mouth and pulling out a pair of binoculars. “Eh, there could be much worse family activities than making mochi. And I’m a terrible sweet tooth.” She stared out into the bamboo thicket. “...Gotta go to that parfait place, someday. They have- contact!”

At once, both rabbits were lying low on the rock, trying to peer out into the forest. Akyuu’s stomach ached from the bruise she was lying on. She did her best to focus on the procession, trying to see it.

…But something seemed wrong. There was a distinctly spiky silhouette that could only be the Komainu, but beyond that was… a massive, slow-moving mound. Akyuu looked at it, trying to process it in the darkness. “...Contact, two individuals. Aunn and… something big.”

Her earpiece buzzed with static. “...Two? We’re still seeing three here. Should be basically one after the other, single file.”

Reisen shook her head. “Negative. There’s like this big… mound thing there. If the third person is behind it, they’d be a good bit back. Psydar still saying they’re toe-to-tail?”

Eirin let out an affirmative grunt. “Yes. So what is…?” There was a pause.

After a moment, a thought occurred to Akyuu. She activated her earpiece. “Lady Eirin, about the psydar… what part is it showing, exactly?”

“It’s locking on to their psychic signature. Their brain, if you want to be specific.”

Akyuu kept looking through the binoculars. “So… if one person was carrying another…”

Reisen spoke up. “Assuming you mean piggyback, their markers would overlap. Because their heads would be right next to each other.”

Akyuu looked through the binoculars. Now that she had an idea of what she was looking at… that was what it had to be.

She activated her earpiece again. “What if they weren’t riding piggyback? What if… what if they were riding a giant turtle?”

For a Hakurei procession, it was quite a grand affair.

The front-runner was Aunn. It was a slightly smaller, more puppy-like Aunn than Akyuu remembered, but it was still unmistakably her. She was even dressed in similar clothes to what she wore in the last time - only, most of the markings on her shirt and pants came from Hakurei talismans. Only the heart-like pattern in the center of her chest was unaffected.

Behind her floated Genjii. Normally, his shell was completely blank, from Akyuu’s memory - Hakurei Shrine Maidens would often sprawl out on his back.. But not tonight. He appeared to be equipped with a war-saddle of some kind, one Akyuu was sure she’d never seen in her past life. On its outer rim were various small attachments, with an undeniable theme; wooden stakes, holy water, silver weaponry, and a small sack of what looked a lot like garlic cloves. The next ring was all Yin-Yang Orbs, resting in little divots in the saddle.

And in the center of the saddle was the seat of its sole rider. Akyuu had only met her a few times in her past life, when she was terribly, terribly little, but even at a distance it was absolutely unmistakable. She was dressed up as only a Hakurei Shrine Maiden would be - perhaps a longer-robed and more flowing version than Reimu’s usual. She was wearing an ofuda as a mask, framed by midnight-black hair, and appeared to be poring through a book.

Akyuu took a deep breath. “That’s definitely her. That’s definitely…” The words dried in her throat, and she had to swallow to steady herself. It was the first person Akyuu had seen in this life that was long gone in her past one.

“That’s… Hakurei Haru.”

Hakurei Haru was… someone Akyuu only really understood through the stories of others. Though, those stories painted a rather stark contrast to her successor’s stewardship of Gensokyo. Hakurei Haru had grown up with considerable spiritual power, but for a Hakurei Shrine Maiden, she’d been on the frailer side physically. So, to compensate for the risks of her job pushing her body to its limits, she’d focused on technique and understanding. She did hours and hours of research on the Youkai of Gensokyo, and developed extermination techniques designed to be inescapable, specialized to each individual species. Some individual youkai got extermination techniques designed just for them, which many of them took as a badge of honor. Shameimaru Aya had no less than three, and didn’t hesitate to bring up that fact whenever she could.

It had been Haru’s extermination techniques that, logically, had inspired the Spell Card system Reimu had authored. Akyuu remembered from a young age that Reimu had always seen her mother’s techniques as not just weapons, but beautiful displays, and she was also fairly sure that Haru had made a few extra-flashy just to show her daughter. But when Reimu had come into power, she just wasn’t the same. Where Haru worked off careful study and learning, Reimu was all instincts and quick thinking. Where Haru’s techniques had been inescapable and calculated down to individual talismans, Reimu’s Spell Cards were deliberately designed to have escape routes, and were as much about artful displays as they were about trapping their opponents.

But, well… they were both pretty hard-headed. Literally, in Haru’s case - according to one story Akyuu heard, Keine’s first headbutt had not been given, but received, and from Haru herself. Some things never changed.

But… couldn’t Haru fly, under her own power? Akyuu was sure she remembered her doing so. …Now that they were getting closer, Akyuu could hear their voices. She strained to listen, catching pieces on the wind.

“Now, Lady Hakurei, it should only be a half-ri from here to the enclave.” The komainu’s voice was bright and chipper. “We may be set upon at any moment from this point onwards.”

Genjii clicked his tongue, his voice an old rasp. “You should have told us about this earlier, Aunn.”

The komainu chuckled, awkwardly. “Yes, well… I didn’t want to give you or Lady Hakurei more things to worry about.” She sighed. “I just didn’t expect them to start causing trouble just yet. And on the night of the vampire, too…”

Haru hummed, looking through the book. “At least vampires are flush with weaknesses. Western youkai often have a few, I find.” She leant back, humming. “I wonder if the aversion to garlic is just a scent issue, or hints at an allergy or something? Maybe we should try feeding them one of the cloves. You know, if...” Her voice trailed off.

Aunn gave a small smile. “Don’t worry, Lady Hakurei. We’ve got Kasen trawling the outside world, don’t we? We’ll find the heiress soon enough.”

The two rabbits, watching the trio near their rock, shared a quick glance. Slowly, Reisen raised her hand to her earpiece.

“This is Reisen. They definitely know where we are.” Her voice was no more than a whisper. “Source of the knowledge seems to be Aunn within the group itself.”

“Confirmed. Are they hostile?”

The lunar rabbit looked down, humming. “...Hard to say. Could be, but they’re talking about the vampires for the most part. If anything, it seems Aunn was trying to keep us secret to avoid conflict.” She turned to Akyuu. “...What do you think, Akyuu? How should we handle this?”

[ ] Aggressively. Knock them out, or drive them away.
[ ] Diplomatically. Meet them in person, talk it out.

{ } With great caution. This was a full Hakurei contingent, they were likely to be very dangerous.
{ } With a gentle hand. If she was bringing backup, this Haru wasn’t the indomitable tactician Akyuu remembered.

[0] Aggressively. Knock them out, or drive them away.
[21] Diplomatically. Meet them in person, talk it out.

{16} With great caution. This was a full Hakurei contingent, they were likely to be very dangerous.
{5} With a gentle hand. If she was bringing backup, this Haru wasn’t the indomitable tactician Akyuu remembered.
-[X] Have Reisen keep an eye out for third parties interfering (including our side)
-[X] Is Kaguya or Eirin open to talking to the Miko directly? They can probably explain their actions better than we can.
-[X] Ask Eirin for periodic updates on the lone traveller's and the Scarlet duo's positions as we engage in conversation with the Miko, the turtle, and the komainu.

“...I’m going to try diplomacy, first. I just… don’t want to get in a fight with them, not right away.”

She looked around. “Reisen, is it okay if you stay back? Too many people and they may go straight into a fight. Keep an eye on the surroundings, in case someone tries to sneak up on us. Lady Eirin - if I can get them talking, would you be willing to negotiate with the Hakurei directly?”

“...If it will avoid a fight, yes. If they’re amenable to diplomacy, we should take it. While you’re doing that, I’ll keep an eye on the radar - we’ll switch channels to not tie you up in general chatter while you negotiate.”

“Sure. I’ll keep an ear out, regardless.”

Akyuu stood up, taking a breath. She hopped down, trying to think of what to say.

…Whatever it was, it needed to be clear, concise, and direct. Convey at least a level of acquiescence, maybe be a bit welcoming. Her head was swimming, and she didn’t want to screw this up.

“‘Nice to meet you?’ No, too casual. ‘Can I help you?’ Stupid question, we all know what they’re here for…”

She looked up as she rounded a thicket, and stopped. The trio had gotten closer than she thought while she was planning out her response, and were now staring at the young rabbit muttering to herself. Akyuu was caught in the headlights, and immediately racked her brain for something to say.

And once again, Lunarian protocol beat everything else to the punch.

“G-greetings, earthlings! I come in peace!”

There was a long, long pause. Slowly, the lunar rabbit’s face began to color, and she covered her face in embarrassment.

After a silence that felt just long enough for Akyuu to consider turning around and trying the greeting again, Haru cleared her throat.

“So. Are you that moon rabbit I’ve been hearing about? That Raisin or whatever?”

The young Komainu made a negatory hum. “I… don’t think she is. More like… a clone or something? Though I feel like she would have mentioned that…” She cocked her head. “…what’s your name, bunny?”

“…Inaba Akyuu. Reisen’s little sister.” The komainu’s head tilted the other way, as Akyuu regathered herself. “I come on behalf of Eientei in hopes of parley, Lady Hakurei.”

“I see.” The shrine maiden looked her over, but said little else. The silence continued for several seconds. She had presence, made all the more dramatic by her mounting, and there was heavy expectation in her silence for clarification.

Akyuu found herself talking just to fill the void. “Well… the gist of the… um, false moon spell is that it’s a defensive measure on Eientei’s part.” More silence. “It’s um… I guess you could say it’s my fault, specifically.” The komainu let out a contemplative hum.

At length, Haru responded. “The spell you’re talking about is agitating a large amount of youkai. They draw some of their power from the full moon - the true full moon. In removing that, you’ll make many species of Youkai desperate and angry at you.” The shrine maiden looked down at Akyuu. “Your defensive measure is already doing a lot more harm than good.

Akyuu reached to her side, offering a handheld radio. She’d brought it in case the Hakurei were amenable to discussion, in addition to her earpiece. “...If you would, Lady Hakurei… you can use this device to talk to the leaders of Eientei from here. Perhaps we can negotiate a mutually beneficial resolution…?”

Aunn took the small device, and proffered it to Haru. She looked it over, turning it around in her hand.

Before handing it back.

“I’m not a fan of negotiations over long distances.” She said firmly. With the force of her silence, Akyuu couldn’t help but see why. Any medium would diminish her most powerful tool. “And I want to see this Eientei for myself.”

Akyuu stepped back, nervously. “Um, well… it’s not quite that simple…” The mental image of this trio running rampant through Eientei was all too clear to her mind. “U-um, uh…”

Haru stood up, the yin-yang orbs beginning to free themselves from Genjii’s shell. “If you will not let us pass peacefully… I am willing to use force. I would rather not, but such are the options you are presenting to me.”

The young lunar rabbit gulped. “U-um… I don’t have the authority to-”

“If I may?” The two turned to look at the Komainu, who was waving for their attention. She hopped up on Genjii’s shell, and leaned in to discuss something quietly with the Shrine Maiden. Akyuu saw a small red dot, which had blended in well with the shrine maiden’s clothes, instead end up on the Komainu’s back. Was that just a coincidence, or..?

At length, the Komainu turned around. “...Akyuu… right? Rather than a direct conflict, there is… another option. A more… elegant way to resolve a dispute.”

Akyuu blinked. Several times. “You… you don’t mean spell cards, do you?”

The komainu beamed, as Haru looked contemplative. “Yes, I do! It’s an idea that we’ve been shopping around the shrine and the surrounds. No better way to get a sense of a person’s character.” There was a mischievousness to the komainu's grin. “Maybe Reisen heard about it, and passed on the details? Do you know how spell card duels work, Akyuu?”

Akyuu stuttered. “U-um, yes, but-”

“And do you have any spell cards?” The komainu jumped down, her grin growing wider. Akyuu blinked, nodding. “Then how about it? I can be your opponent, little bunny. We can keep it short and quick, one card each?”

Akyuu paused, hesitant. “Um… but…” It wasn’t that it was a bad idea. Spell cards were inherently low power, and, if she lost to the komainu, nobody would blame her for letting the shrine maiden pass. But…

But weren’t spell cards not supposed to exist yet…? And for that matter, how did they exist without their inventor…?

There was a bit of static from her earpiece. “Akyuu? This is Reisen… I haven’t heard of spell cards before today, but it’s not like I’m the best-informed person in Gensokyo. With that said… I’ve got a little camera I’ve set up to give Lady Eirin and the princess a view and… the princess really wants to see a spell card duel for herself.”

Akyuu sighed. It seemed like the choice had been made for her. “...Alright. Komano Aunn, right?” She smiled at the Komainu. “One card each. Let’s make it count, yeah?”

The komainu nodded with a big grin, taking to the skies, and Akyuu followed suit. “You know, Akyuu, this will be the first official spell card duel for incident resolution! You excited?”

Akyuu blinked. There were a dozen questions in her head. About how Haru was here, about how Aunn was here, about the spell cards being here without Reimu… and yet, there was only one question she wanted to answer right now.

Which spell card to start with.

“Very. Let’s make some history!”

[ ] Use Chronicle spell cards she’d been dreaming of even from her past life. The ones based on her duties and writing, exacting movements and elegant complexity.
[ ] Use Recollection spell cards. Spell cards based off battles and rough experiences from all her lives, many frenetic and claustrophobic.
[ ] Use Lunacy spell cards. Rather than Reisen’s illusionary spell cards, these tended to be more… abstract, random combinations of sweets, weapons, rabbits and writing. Generally more chaotic and unpredictable than the others.

{ } Write in spell card suggestions here!

[12] Use Chronicle spell cards she’d been dreaming of even from her past life. The ones based on her duties and writing, exacting movements and elegant complexity.
[7] Use Recollection spell cards. Spell cards based off battles and rough experiences from all her lives, many frenetic and claustrophobic.
[4] Use Lunacy spell cards. Rather than Reisen’s illusionary spell cards, these tended to be more… abstract, random combinations of sweets, weapons, rabbits and writing. Generally more chaotic and unpredictable than the others.

The rabbit grinned. Now that she was in the moment, she couldn’t help but get excited.

“Shall I start us off, then?” She grinned, focusing. The spell card came into being, building in her mind. “Chronicle Sign ‘Immortalizing Events’!”

It started off slowly. Akyuu pointed her fingers to her temples, and focused, letting out a steady wave of danmaku around the crown of her head. Two rings of danmaku bullets expanded out from her, overlaid atop each other, but going in opposite directions, creating fleeting gaps between the danmaku. Aunn surged forward when the moment was right, sliding through the first pair of rings, then the second and third. The komainu grinned, cockily.

That was fine. This was just getting started. Akyuu moved to the left, focusing, as Aunn moved to her own left. The chronicler grinned, clapping her hands - And Aunn was momentarily shocked, as a second, illusory Akyuu appeared, where she had first fired the rings. The komainu’s eyes widened in recognition when Akyuu and her own memory both fired rings in unison. The komainu surged forward to take each gap, turning her head around behind her - and nearly yelping as a ring from her memory-clone grazed her tail.

“Getting the idea, Aunn? Only gonna get more hectic from here!” Akyuu moved to a third position, with Aunn now realizing she had to do the same.

Akyuu grinned, upping the pressure. Four sets at once. Five. She felt a drop of sweat trickle down her forehead. Six. Seven. The komainu’s movements were getting more and more erratic, and as Akyuu fired off her eighth set of rings, she could feel her breath becoming ragged in turn.

“Well… Aunn?” She said. The komainu barely managed to leap out of the way of the last rings of that set, looking up at Akyuu. “Are you ready for the final round?”

Aunn steadied herself, a small grin forming on her face. “Hit me with it, Akyuu!”

The rabbit obliged, firing off her last round. The Komainu smiled, moving to a central location.

And stood stock still, smiling. “It’s an impressive spell card, Akyuu. But… It’s not the right type to use, against someone like me.”

The rings closed in, closer and closer, as Aunn pulled out her own spell card. She held it in the air, charging her spell card, as the dozens of danmaku rings

all

passed

her

harmlessly.

Akyuu sputtered. “You-what?”

“Spinning Top ‘Koma-Inu Spin!’

A series of lasers sprayed out from the komainu. Akyuu belatedly caught herself, and tried to dodge, but the laser curved, striking her in the side.

She hit the ground hard, her earpiece getting knocked well clear of her. She groaned, climbing to her feet. “You-how…”

The komainu grinned cockily. “See, I noticed a couple of things.” The Komainu tapped her head. “Your rings all come out at the same position each time, based on the angle of your head. And my head, too, when it’s my ring. And each ring in a set comes out at the same position as well. Presumably necessary, for a spell with so many slaves and a theme of recording positions.”

Aunn oozed smugness. “It’s an elegant spell card… but! By nature, that means each individual recording will always have the same safe spots. And if someone controls that, and moves veeeeeery carefully, they can make sure that you leave a perfect little safe spot all in the same places. You were watching me the whole time, so by controlling your angle, and my position, every ring can land in the perfect spot, and keep a spot safe for me to the very end.”

Akyuu stuttered. “But- but that would require - figuring out an exact angle and position from thousands of options in seconds a half-dozen times! You’d need a computer in your brain to-” She caught herself, belatedly. The komainu - the shikigami’s grin only got wider.

Aunn turned around. “So, it looks like we will be proceeding on, then, Lady Hakurei?”

Akyuu looked in her direction, and almost yelped. The Shrine Maiden was staring at her, with incredible intensity. “...Yes. Yes we will. And we will definitely be having a talk about Akyuu here.”

Akyuu paused, blinking. “A-about me?”

The komainu nodded, grinning. “Of course.” She gestured at Akyuu. “Her behavior and mannerisms conflicted a bit with recorded data, so I was sitting at roughly 32.3976% likelihood before, but with that Chronicle card… I revise to a conservative 93.7864% chance of ‘Inaba’ Akyuu here being the Child of Miare.” The komainu hummed. “Perhaps she’s been brainwashed…”

“And, personally…” Hakurei Haru thumped her gohei on her palm, causing a pulse of energy through the yin-yang orbs. To call her expression stormy would be an understatement. “I want to know exactly what these lunarians did to reincarnate you as a rabbit.”

[ } Try and clarify the obvious misunderstanding. “Akyuu!”
{ ) Just stay out of the Hakurei’s soon-to-be warpath. +Akyuu do you read?!+
( ] Wait, how did-

“+AKYUU!+” The yell and the psychic message caused Akyuu to flinch from the pulse. Reisen had leapt down from the rock, and was now running over to the group. “We’ve got trouble!”

The rabbit blinked. +Reisen-?+ She caught herself. Either she’d recovered, or she was forcing through the aftereffects. Regardless, it was pointless to ask questions when the psychic message came loaded with that much worry. “What’s the situation?”

“The Scarlets are attacking Eientei! We need to move now!”

A brilliant red flash illuminated the night. The shrine maiden shielded her eyes from the intensity of the glare, and Akyuu turned towards Eientei, seeing what was casting the glow.

A single, massive spear, made out of vicious red energy, hovered above Eientei. Akyuu could distantly hear the screech of the vampire, as she threw it down.

Reisen flinched, reaching for her earpiece. “Lady Eirin? LADY EIRIN?!” She shuddered, and took off at a run. Akyuu was only a few steps behind her. If the Scarlets and Eientei were fighting, then… it was her fault. And without the spell card rules… she had to do something to stop it before anyone got seriously hurt.

“Miare, wait!” Akyuu didn’t pay any attention, focusing on the grounds ahead of her. “Genjii, follow them. Now.”

The tortoise looked up at his master. “Lady Hakurei? That seems… dangerous. Perhaps we should hold back?”

The komainu put her hands up. “I agree with Genjii. My calculations say that if we join that fight…”

“I don’t care.” The Shrine Maiden’s voice was a low growl. “If that’s the Child of Miare, we are not letting her come to harm.” The two familiars exchanged a glance, but took off at their best speeds, following the rabbits.

The clearing the fight had taken place in fell silent, but only for a few moments. After a second, a red-haired figure stepped out into the light, humming.

“Well, at least for my troubles, I got a little pre-show.” Komachi chuckled. She reached into her pocket, pulling out the clock again. Read as intended, it only had a few minutes left, but looking at it for a few seconds, the hands would twitch.

Especially the years hand.

“If her fate’s this twitchy… maybe I won’t even get a chance to reap. Or maybe…” The shinigami grinned. “Maybe we’ll be able to have a bit of fun. And I can test that komainu’s theory for myself.”

She looked up. “Well, ‘Inaba’ Akyuu? Give us a good show, won’t you?”

---

For those wondering:
Chronicle: Would have lost the fight, and revealed Akyuu was the Child.
Recollection: Would have won the fight, and revealed Akyuu was the Child.
Lunacy: Would have won the fight, but not revealed Akyuu was the Child.

Next part will be on thread 6, and will be the other side of a sleep on my end!

New thread over at >>206906!

It's boss fight time!