[X] Be open about it.

You sighed. "I can be. I try not to be."

You glanced over to see Meiling's reaction, but the gate guard watched you impassively, letting the conversation lapse into silence. You knew this trick, it was an unspoken invitation for you to keep talking, to fill the silence, to try to justify yourself and give Meiling a better read on you as a person. It was more social savvy than you'd expected. Had the gate guard guarded prisoners before, perhaps? Or was she simply better socially than the mansion's other residents? Not enough information to tell just yet.

There were a couple ways to respond to such a ploy. One was to simply shut up and not play your interrogator's game. To cut your losses, accept however guilty you looked, and treat that as the end of the matter.

It was an option that was rarely taken. People hated feeling like they'd made a bad impression, and so they'd do whatever they could to try and justify it, explain how what they did was reasonable and not actually their fault. This usually resulted in them digging themselves in deeper than the dwarves in Moria.

Trying to talk your way out of this would be a mistake, and writing the conversation off as a lost cause wasn't much better. Which meant you needed to try to explain without trying to look like you were making excuses. A fine line to walk, but there was nothing better to try.

"How to put this... well, sometimes a conversation is like playing chess."

Meiling blinked, non-plussed, which was hardly a surprise given your weird metaphor. That was intentional. It gave you a little time to think things out, talk casually, and seem relatable before moving back to the matter at hand. "Each side has their own turn, whether to speak or to play, and each side has their own plan for how they want things to unfold, with whoever has the better plan usually winning. And on top of that, the moves you make influence what your opponent does. Sometimes it's a subtle dance that takes time until one side finally loses patience, and other times it's a question of who can go for the throat most effectively."

You could go a bit further. An accusation the other side had to respond to was putting them in check, for instance. But too much detail would be a distraction, and you did need to return to the point. "In particular, if you're good at the game, you can predict your opponent's moves. Not completely, they'll usually have multiple options and sometimes you'll get surprised, but you'll usually have a good idea of what they want to do, and how to stop them from doing it. And from there? You keep them off balance, force them to respond to your own threats, and just pile on the pressure until they crack and you get what you want."

You were never actually great at chess, funnily enough. Oh, you were good enough to beat casual players, but Sumireko just demolished you over and over again. You found it easier to read people than pawn structures.

"The thing is, once you get good at the game, once you start seeing the possible moves and how to manipulate your opponent... you can't just turn that ability off. You can ignore it, intentionally make bad moves, try to give them a chance, explain the position, do what you can to make the game fair and enjoyable for them too... or you could be cutthroat and press your advantage for all it's worth."

You shrugged. "The metaphor breaks down a bit there. Obviously there's no implied indictment for being too good at chess... except possibly in how much of your time you've wasted."

"Don't say that in front of the others." Meiling said, smirking slightly. "Patchouli and Remilia both play religiously. Sakuya would join in too, if only 'cause Remilia likes it."

"What can I say? Every self-proclaimed intellectual fancies themselves a chess master." you said wryly.
"But yes, I know how to manipulate people. I'd be shocked if Patchouli hadn't told you that much. Probably with a warning attached not to trust me. I won't pretend it's a skillset I acquired for good reasons, but it's one I have."

"Do you have this conversation a lot?" she asked, looking thoughtful.

"Only in the past couple of days. Let's just say recent events have made the question of trustworthiness extremely relevant, even with the various measures you've taken to... well, encourage honesty."

"In some ways that's the problem," Meiling said. "Someone that's trusted at knifepoint won't just play along once the knives are gone."

"Those knives are still pointed somewhere very important. We can talk like this because I trust Sakuya not to actually do anything without reason, but I have no illusions what will happen to Satori if I try anything." Ironically, it probably wouldn't be Sakuya. The maid was practical to the end, and killing Satori after your hypothetical escape wouldn't help Remilia. (Not that Sakuya would hesitate to kill if she had cause, but self-sabotaging vengeance wasn't enough of one.) Flandre would be the executioner if it came to that.

Meiling shrugged. "Then you're still at knife-point, just indirectly."

"True. Really though, even if Satori was free, escaping on my own isn't a realistic possibility. Patchouli being able to remotely lock down my magic through the binding shuts down just about every plan I might try. The best shot would be to provoke a fight between you two and someone strong, then sneak off in the confusion. Which would still leave me without magic, wearing a tracker, and with a vengeful Sakuya hunting for me."

"Are you trying to convince me I don't have to do my job?"

"Getting the guard to fall asleep is a classic part of any prison break," you said drily. "But no, I'm attempting something different. The best thing I can do for my own situation is to work with your group. My goal is to slowly win your trust through active cooperation, and convince you all that the knives aren't actually necessary."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really. You'll play nice, no strings attached."

"It's not the best precedent to set for any future youkai kidnapping rings after me, but that's a problem for future Greg."

Meiling didn't rise to the jab. "Yeah, no. When you hit someone and they try to get you to lower your guard, that means a sucker punch is coming."

"I'll admit that's an option too." You chuckled at Meiling's look of surprise. "What? I'm trying to be honest here. And it's not like you'd believe me if I pretended it wasn't. But we do actually share some common ground."

"Because..."

"Because Mamizou tricked, trapped and framed me and Sumireko both? Because Yukari's already put me through my own personal hell and expressed an interest in having me as her permanent magical slave? The same people that screwed Remilia also have it out for me. And it's not like I'd stand any chance against either of them. I can't even fly on my own!"

Meiling looked at me thoughtfully. Hesitated, glanced over towards Patchouli, still working away with magic. "Did you plan out this talk too?"

That surprised you. You were expecting some flavor of reflexive denial, or at least some reaction to the contents of what you'd just said. "Not really. Not more than I plan any conversation, at least. Why?"

"What you just said? It's like Remilia when she gets going. There's a fierceness to it, like killing intent but with words." The vampire's first line of defense looked you dead in the eye. "You either meant that or you're a bloody good actor. And one with charisma either way."

"Thank you, I think?"

Meiling continued, ignoring you. "And with a logical argument relating to your... thing. If you came up with all that off the cuff, that's more worrying."

"To be fair, unplanned doesn't mean unprepared. I figured there was a better than even chance I'd have to talk to you about my trustworthiness at some point. It wasn't why I came over to chat, but I'd been mentally rehearsing lines for that for the past hour." And you were sure you'd come up with better ones now that it was too late.

"Hm..." Meiling hummed, before shaking her head. "What were you here for then?"

The segue was clear, and it left you feeling a little frustrated. You'd have liked to talk a bit more, plead your case a little longer, and in particular gotten more of Meiling's thoughts on the matter. Instead you had the distinct feeling that she'd given you the obvious objections just to see what you'd say, and how you'd say it. Still, there was little choice but to move on.

[-] Ask what Gensokyo's like normally. It'd be nice to find out what the place is like outside of life-threatening incidents.
[-] Ask about the human and kappa that had been through here.
[-] Ask about the fake Sumireko Meiling had met.
[?] Write-in.

[X] Ask about the human and kappa that had been through here.

"It's half curiosity, half 'maybe it's important.' What was up with the human and kappa that came through here?"

"Didn't I mention? The human's a farmer from outside the village, and was looking to bring his crops to market. The kappa had apparently run into him as he was looking and was helping search."

"Is that normal for the kappa?" you asked. You'd seen that they were at least friendly-ish with people, but you hadn't expected outright altruism.

"Not unless they're getting paid," Meiling said. "And you don't want to pay kappa rates if you don't have to."

"The occasional cucumber doesn't seem that steep a bribe."

Meiling shook her head. "They like cucumbers, but they're vicious at haggling. If you can get one to do something for just a cucumber, they probably wanted to do it anyway."

Hm. What did that mean for the one that had led your group to Nitori, then? She shouldn't have known who you or Sumi were, so did she have some reason to want Satori and Nitori to interact? "Do you bargain with them often? I'd have expected that to be more Sakuya's thing."

"For the mansion, yeah, but sometimes I buy things for myself."

Interesting. Something not available elsewhere if she was complaining about the price. So nothing mundane... and it was at least a little embarrassing if she was being vague about it. "Is that where you get your comics from?"

It was a shot in the dark, but with Meiling's sudden flinch it seems you scored. You chuckled. "Relax, it's not like I care. Though your poker face could use work."

"Can't lie to Sakuya anyway," she grumbled. "She'll just stop time and check."

"Regardless, the kappa and the human. What was their dynamic like?"

Meiling looked at you skeptically. "You think Jin's involved?"

"Interesting. You know him well enough to have a reaction to that."

''I'd 'react'," she said, and you could hear the air-quotes, "-the same if you claimed any random human was up to something like this."

It was a valid point, but she'd offered you an opportunity to be pedantic. "You believed I was involved easily enough."

"Come off it, you're not just some guy. You have magic, and you hang out with youkai."

"Oh, did we stop counting kappa as youkai?" Meiling looked irritated at that, and you smiled. "Plus, didn't you say you were pretty sure the guy had some power?"

"For crying out loud, he's a farmer."

You nodded. "A nice, innocent profession, like being a maid."

She sighed, putting a hand to her head. "Do you really think he's involved?"

"In all seriousness, probably not." you said. "If he was involved and trying to hide it, there'd be no reason for him to show his face here at all. And while it's possible the idea was for him to encounter someone else looking for the village, neither you nor some kappa seem like an important enough target to aim for. But with all of that said, the timing is a coincidence. A plausible one, but one still worth looking at."

Meiling rolled her eyes. "You sound like Patchy. Jin's not part of any of this."

You paused at that, considering. "Do you know him well enough to vouch for him?"

Meiling regarded you seriously and nodded. "Not particularly closely, but I've seen him fight and lose to Cirno. His abilities are martial, like mine, but significantly weaker, and he's reflexively honest. He's really just interested in building up his farm and working, though he gets along with the local youkai."

"How does that work out for him?" you asked, curious. "I thought youkai preyed on humans."

"Well enough. He's not strong, but neither are the small-fry, and he's good enough to fend them off. The stronger youkai consider him to be beneath attention, and he keeps his head low when they're around."

"Wouldn't owning a farm leave you pretty stationary? I could see why youkai wouldn't seek him out, but if a strong one stumbled across his land, it'd be tricky to escape notice."

Meiling shook her head. "It's not like that. Sure, if he pissed off Remilia, she could backhand him through a wall, but so long as he doesn't do anything stupid, he's a novelty. A small one, but she'd rather see what happens than squish him like a bug. Like..." she paused for a bit, then brightened. "It's one thing if he sinks by himself, but if he doesn't rock the boat, nobody's gonna throw him overboard."

"How would he sink if he was in the boat?" you asked, deadpan.

She gave an exasperated scoff and swatted you on the shoulder. "Don't be dense. You're worse than Patchy."

You chuckled, rubbing at where she'd hit; even playfully, the gatekeeper hit hard. "Questionable analogies aside, what about the kappa? This other 'Meiling'?"

The Meiling in front of you frowned. "I think that was some kind of joke. Jin made a big show of introducing the two of us, and was grinning pretty much the whole time. Plus the kappa was bright red and barely said a word."

This was a 'make mouth sound to indicate interest' moment. "Really?"

"And then after the introductions he got really into telling this story about how great she was and how they met when she saved a kid from some crazy youkai. He was getting pretty animated, and the kappa was practically shrinking into herself. I'm... pretty sure he was flirting, actually."

"You're kidding."

"No, really! Every time the kappa seemed to get ahold of herself, he'd stroke her hair, or call her 'Mei-mei', or wrap his arm around her shoulders, and she'd go bright red and clam up."

"It's... possible he might just be friendly and oblivious?" you ventured.

"The best one was when he started talking about how gentle she'd been with the kid and how she was going to be a great mom one day."

"And she just stood there and took it?"

"That one she smacked him for," Meiling admitted. "But for most of it... she didn't object or try to pull away or anything. Though he might pay for it later."

"Huh." you said, at a loss for anything more eloquent. "Wait, is it possible he was actually flirting with you?"

"What?!"

"I mean, what if he did pay for it, as a performance? Picture this, he makes some sort of deal with her before-hand, to praise someone named Meiling right in front of you, in the hopes of... I don't know, making you jealous? And then the kappa stays silent because that was the deal, even though it's terribly embarrassing."

Meiling looked absolutely bewildered for a second, before shaking her head. "No. No, he's more sensible than that."

"I guess you just randomly ran into the most love-stricken youkai of all time, then." You smirked. "With the same name as you."

That got a second moment of doubt from her, up until she spotted your grin. "You're just stirring the pot."

You laughed. "Consider that my petty vengeance for the photo."

"What photo?" someone asked.

The tone of voice was casual, but it wasn't Patchouli's.

Flinching, you turned around to see the newcomer. She wasn't one you had seen before, a silver-haired girl with a green skirt and a pair of sheathed swords, with a grey ghostly ball floating around her. You glanced back to the gate guard, who was looking on with wide eyes as she glanced between the intruder and your very not-disguised presence.

"Patchy's going to kill me," Meiling muttered. "Uh... hey, Youmu."

[-] Play it cool. Youmu doesn't seem to recognize you, at least.
[-] Signal Patchouli to come over, just in case.
[?] Write-in?

((Sorry for the delay. Work was an absolute killer for the last week or so. Deadline is finally done though, so hopefully there will be more time to write now.))

[X] Play it cool. Youmu doesn't seem to recognize you, at least.

At present Youmu was an unknown. Not least because you had no idea who she was. And that meant the question was how to fish for information without giving too much away.

"Oh, hey." You nodded to her. "How'd you sneak up on us, anyway? I know I had my back to you, but Meiling's usually pretty attentive."

"She is?" There was no hint of jest or mockery to the words. Youmu looked honestly puzzled.

"Come on, Youmu." The gate guard grumbled. "What were you doing, anyway?"

"I was just leaving the village." Youmu said, fingering the hilts of her swords. "Nothing special."

"Really?" you said, drawing the word out. "Did you know that people have been having trouble finding that exact same village recently?"

"Why? It's right there," she said, glancing behind her and then hesitating. "Wait, did Keine do something?"

It was almost disappointing. You were all prepared to be subtle and charismatic to figure out what Youmu knew, and then she just went and told you.

"Yeah. We know it's supposed to be here, but it looks like more forest. Greg here," Meiling jerked a thumb over at you, "is trying to help us actually find the place. Apparently he can see it sometimes too, some weird magic thing."

You barely avoided glaring at Meiling. What kind of opsec was that? What if Youmu had known your name but not your face?

"That is strange," Youmu agreed. "Sorry, I have no idea."

"Not even as to why Keine would have let you into the village?" you asked.

Youmu shrugged and you sighed. "What were you up to, anyway? Maybe it's related."

"I don't think so," Youmu said, biting her lip. "It was just an errand Lady Yuyuko asked of me."

You blinked, staring at the suddenly nervous youkai. "Youmu?"

"Yes?"

"Never play poker."

Her face was a study in relief and mild confusion. "Games of chance aren't my preference in any case, but why?"

You sighed and put a hand to your head. "Youmu, what did Yuyuko have you doing?"

She fingered her sword-hilts again, backing up as she stammered, "Just passing out some books and pamphlets to the humans... and talking to them a little bit."

Meiling's amused smile melted away as she turned to face the swordswoman. "Youmu, that sounds like a setup for an urban legend. Did Yukari put her up to this?"

"Isn't she asleep?"

"No! She showed up at the mansion and admitted to being behind what happened to Remilia!"

"Is there any reason to think she did beyond... you know, just her tendency to meddle in everything?" you asked.

"Oh!" Meiling hastened to explain. "So, uh, Yuyuko's the ghost princess of Hakugyokurou, and one of Yukari's friends. Youmu here is a half-phantom and her servant."

"Which makes this well within the realms of a potential Yukari plot." You groaned and addressed Youmu. "Is she involved?"

"I don't think so? She hasn't been by in a while, so I don't think Yuyuko's talked to her. I thought she was asleep."

"Yukari's gaps mean she could dodge you in an instant," Meiling said fiercely. "What was the story, Youmu?"

Youmu took another step back, stammering and waving her hands in front of her, "It's nothing bad, really! It... it's just... it had nothing to do with vampires or anything!"

You looked at Youmu, who was starting to go red in the face, and back to Meiling, who had tensed up and seemed a hair-trigger away from leaping at her. "Meiling. Could Youmu take you in a fight?"

"What? Well, with Patchy, I could-"

"That's what I thought. Wait a minute, please." You turned back to the swordswoman. She had to be aware Meiling was about five seconds from jumping her. Especially if she'd had any sort of training, and probably even without it; the gatekeeper wasn't exactly being subtle.

And yet... despite the fact that you could cut the tension with a knife, nothing in Youmu's words or body language indicated a willingness to fight. You glanced down at her swords - still sheathed, not in or near her hands. You stepped forwards, making eye contact as you spoke. "Youmu. Remilia's hurt badly. More so than you've probably been told, and she's getting worse."

Youmu's eyes went wide as you continued. "They're getting desperate. We've got some leads, that's why we're trying to get into the village, but nothing certain. I know you want to keep your lady's task private, but if there's any chance knowing more about it could help Remilia... please, Youmu."

You could see guilt, duty, and embarrassment holding a free-for-all across Youmu's psyche, but then she stiffened and nodded. "Alright. I'm out of the pamphlets, but I've got one book left. And... if it'll really help, I can demonstrate. Tell you what I had to tell the humans in the village."

Meiling relaxed noticeably. "Thanks, Youmu."

"That would help, thank you." you confirmed.

Youmu took some deep breaths, and then went ramrod straight, pulling a small book out from within her phantom-half and walking up to you and pressing it into your hands with a strangled. "Here."

You glanced down at the book, and promptly did a double take at the pocket New Testament she'd given you before staring back at Youmu in shock.

Now bright red, Youmu stammered out, "I-if you have a minute, I'd like to talk to you about the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."

[-] To be continued.

[X] Check Youmu's theology for urban legends.

It took a minute for Youmu's words to sink in. And you knew exactly when they had, because Meiling burst out laughing.

"It's not funny!" Youmu cried out. "Yuyuko told me to do it like this!"

"It really isn't," you chided Meiling.

"I know, but the way she said it- and it's Youmu" Meiling choked out, before dissolving into laughter again.

You sighed. "I apologize. For Meiling and Yuyuko both."

Youmu seemed puzzled, which you were beginning to categorize as her natural expression. "Why would you be sorry for Yuyuko?"

Deciding that it was better not to explain that there was a decent chance this was a Yukari plot involving you, you pivoted to the secondary explanation. "Sorry on your behalf, I mean. Being volunteered for something like that is difficult."

That got a nod of fellow-feeling from both Youmu and Meiling as you continued. "Regardless, could you give me the specifics of what you were telling the villagers?"

"Do I have to?" Youmu pleaded.

"I'm afraid so. The Bible contains a number of stories, and if this is meant to stir up an urban legend," which seemed quite likely at this point, "then I'll need to narrow down which."

The next few minutes were spent reviewing the youkai's preaching and Biblical knowledge. (And wasn't that a sentence for the record books?) Fortunately, Youmu's efforts had been entirely focused on the New Testament and the gospels in particular. (You were quietly relieved to discard the idea of an urban legend based off of Revelations.) And to your further surprise, Youmu's theology was more or less accurate. Not that you'd expect her to offer a cogent viewpoint on say... predestination versus free will, but she (or Yuyuko, perhaps) had put in the effort to where she could competently teach a Sunday School class. Despite Youmu's clear embarrassment over her assignment, she'd actually put together a reasonable summary of the gospel.

"I'm impressed," you admitted. "If we ever get a Bible study put together, you could probably help teach."

"Please no."

"Hang on," Meiling said. "How does all this sin and forgiveness stuff translate to an urban legend? Making people not feel guilty isn't much of a power."

You sighed. "Alright, one more time from the top. Sin is a catch-all term for every form of evil deed, also known as breaking God's law. As God is a holy and just God, He cannot abide sin, and the punishment is hell."

"Oh, like the yama?" Meiling asked. "Also, are we talking the Hell of Blazing Fires or the one with those blood pools?"

"Blazing fires, definitely," Youmu contributed.

"Oh. How's that work with Utsuho then?"

It pained you that those were meaningful questions from her perspective. It also struck you that trying to witness in Gensokyo would be a rather unique challenge. "Just so we're clear, heaven and hell as referred to in the Bible are completely different from any locations in Gensokyo that bear those names."

"But-"

"Just let me finish! The point is, because everyone has sinned, everyone is under judgement. We're all fallen, so nobody can possibly meet God's perfect standard. So in order to show mercy, God sent His Son Jesus, and the gospels are basically the story of what Jesus did. Jesus lived a perfect life and took that punishment for us, so that if we repent and follow Him, we might escape hell and get to heaven."

Meiling looked absolutely blank, and you suppressed another sigh. Maybe that was too much? You weren't sure you could really make it simpler.

"It's like if Sakuya took the punishment whenever you fell asleep at the gate, and you got rewarded as if you'd worked like Sakuya does," Youmu explained.

"That seems too good to be true," Meiling said. "Though hypothetically... I could nap as much as I wanted and nothing bad would happen?"

Youmu shook her head. "No. Your end of the deal would be to sincerely apologize for your dereliction of duty and doing your best to improve as a guard and stop falling asleep."

"But that defeats the point!" Meiling grumbled.

Did Youmu really just summarize justification and sanctification in a way that Meiling got it immediately? You looked over at the half-phantom with newfound respect. "Are you sure you don't want to teach a Bible study?"

"No! I mean yes, I'm sure!" the half-phantom said, blushing again.

You chuckled. "Regardless, you're right that the actual message of Christianity doesn't really translate to an urban legend. Both because the gospel is complex, and because forgiveness of sins is not a power magic can grant."

"So... what is it, then?" Youmu asked.

You glanced back at her. That had sounded like an honest question, not just her setting you up. With a mental shrug, you continued. "It's far more likely that an urban legend here would focus on a specific aspect of Jesus's ministry. Namely, His miracles."

"Hang on," Meiling said. "You said Jesus was God's Son, couldn't it be about that?"

You shook your head. "No. The magic just can't do it. A magical spell or ritual cannot create an effect stronger than the original power source, and urban legends are no exception. The power of God and Jesus is literally infinite, and the occult balls aren't. The best they could do would be imitating the subset of His power that's both highlighted in the gospels and actually seems feasible for magic. Which brings us back to His miracles."

"The first possibility is the most central of those miracles; the Resurrection. I'm not actually sure if an urban legend could raise the dead, but that is the kind of power Yukari might think worthwhile." You glanced at Youmu. "And it might also be of interest to your ghost princess."

"No, she wouldn't!" Youmu exclaimed.

"Wasn't that the whole point of stealing spring in the first place?" Meiling asked.

"She didn't know the body beneath the tree was hers." Youmu defended. "She promised!"

"Well, it is a possibility," you said, looking away. "Speaking of which, the other options would be the more common miracles Jesus did. The first category there is healing. The sick, the lame, the blind, paralyzed people, lepers... pretty much anything."

That got Meiling's attention immediately. "Could it work on Remilia?"

"Probably." you replied. "Remilia's urban legend isn't exactly a sickness, but what's its done to her should be healable. And while that's merely treating the symptoms, a repeatable low-cost solution would make the problem manageable."

It also had a real chance of working on Koishi. You left that unspoken for now.

Meiling stopped to consider that. "Is there a catch? That sounds almost too good to be true, and I don't see what Yukari gets out of it."

"Beyond the point that the actual urban legend might end up being something completely different? Not really. Miraculous healing is just unambiguously a good thing." Sure, there was probably some sort of monkey's paw story out there where cellular regeneration turned into super-cancer, but you wouldn't get any of that out of the Bible. "As for what Yukari gets out of it... I'm not sure. It's possible it's a peace offering, but that seems too simple."

"I would have gone with bargaining chip," Patchouli's voice rang out through your binding. "Sight to the blind? An urban legend that could heal Satori's sister might make you reconsider her offer."

... or one that could heal Remilia might tempt the mansion's crew to hand you over. You didn't think they'd trust Yukari enough for that, but it was a terrifying thought. "There are easier ways to commit suicide. Some prices are too high."

"Indeed." Patchouli said. "But you're correct to look for a catch. The end result of Yukari's scheme must be something more than fixing a problem the scheme caused."

"It is possible she's setting up more than one urban legend," you reflected, "but I agree."

"Wait, has Patchouli been listening this entire time?" Youmu asked, looking at your binding with curiosity.

"Just because I have work to do is no reason to leave them unsupervised," Patchouli said drily. "Which reminds me, I'll be speaking to Sakuya about this later, Meiling."

Meiling winced and you rolled your eyes. "To be fair, Youmu came out from behind Keine's effect. Meiling can't be blamed for not seeing her coming."

"The pair of you could have been more discrete." the mage replied. Which with you being undisguised... yeah, fair enough.

"Anyway, the last likely candidate for an urban legend from Youmu's ministry would be casting out demons." You said, blatantly changing the subject. "It's hard to say how widely that would apply. Depending on just how the urban legend takes hold, it could cover just demons or those species close to it, or possibly a majority of youkai."

"Casting out?" Meiling asked.

"Banishment," you supplied. "Possibly even commanding, considering that it happened through Jesus ordering the demons to leave."

"That's the possibility to be most worried about," Patchouli said. "Even in its most minimal form, it would amount to a significant amount of power over some of Gensokyo's more dangerous youkai."

"But why would Yukari need it?" Youmu asked. "She's already one of the most powerful youkai around."

It was a good question. "I don't think Yukari could get this for herself in any case. To get an urban legend, you need some similarity to the actual story. And while Jesus displayed miraculous power, His most notable characteristic is His love. The virtue kind of love, I mean. He acted self-sacrificingly for the benefit of others, even His enemies. It's pretty much the opposite of Yukari."

Meiling eyed you uneasily at that. "Didn't you say something similar about love to Satori?"

"You could at least pretend you hadn't listened to that!" You snapped at her, ignoring Youmu's curious look.

"It does touch on a relevant point," Patchouli said. "Considering you're likely the only actual Christian in Gensokyo, the obvious candidate for any of these urban legends is you."

She wasn't wrong. But was this a tremendous opportunity, or a trap you'd be walking into?

[-] This is clearly a Yukari plot. Better to lay low and avoid it entirely.
[-] Getting a healing urban legend could solve so much. Even if it's Yukari's plan, the benefits are worth shooting for.

[X] This is clearly a Yukari plot. Better to lay low and avoid it entirely.

"This looks like bait," you said bluntly. "If this was actually intended to work to our benefit, why not just be up-front about it?"

"When is Yukari up-front about anything?" Youmu asked. "She enjoys pulling strings more than anyone."

"That is true," Patchouli said thoughtfully. "Using people is her standard behavior."

"Like that time Remilia went to the moon?" Meiling said, smiling slightly.

Youmu sighed. "Yuyuko refused to explain any of it to me until after we'd gotten back. And even then she kept saying that I should be able to figure it out myself!"

Patchouli scoffed. "You mean her sending four of Gensokyo's strongest to space, while organizing a separate trip for herself and her servant, all in the name of independently distracting both Watatsuki sisters so that Yuyuko could steal their alcohol? Surely even the dullest person could preemptively spot that."

You paused to parse that. "Maybe I'm just jaded, but that seems relatively straightforwards. At least compared to the current mess."

Everyone winced at that, but Patchouli looked thoughtful. "Youmu, what do you know about the current incident?"

"Not much," she said. "Yuyuko's kept me busy with the garden lately. It didn't even get to hear about urban legends until after she had me come out to... you know."

"Evangelize?" you finished. Youmu gave a tight nod, her face red.

"And even then she said not to bother with Sumireko and come straight back."

Meiling patted her on the shoulder. "Sounds to me like she tried to keep you out of it. At least, until now."

"That, or Yuyuko didn't want her questioning exactly why she'd been told to preach," you muttered.

Youmu winced at that and you mentally kicked yourself. That wasn't tactful. Patchouli carried onwards regardless. "That's the real question, isn't it? A possible solution has appeared, and you would argue for ignoring it?"

"Do you really want to test what a Christian urban legend would do to a vampire that styles herself the Scarlet Devil?" you asked. "Maybe it heals her, maybe it turns her human, maybe it vaporizes her."

"Don't you know your own religion?" Patchouli probed.

"Of course I do." you snapped back. "What I don't know is what the average Gensokyo dweller will believe, misunderstand, or outright make up about Christianity. From what she's said, Youmu has been pretty disicplined and on-message, but the problem with urban legends is that they can develop unpredictably. Remilia herself is proof enough of that!"

You started pacing, glaring back and forth between the three of them. "Left to develop on its own, I'd guess there's maybe... one chance in three you'd get the sort of healing urban legend you want? And that's assuming this isn't bait. What if Yukari's focused it around how Christians are supposed to be slaves to righteousness, and God's servants, and somehow ties that into a shikigami contract? Or worse, if she manages to pull that off with the 'slaves to sin' bit, which could theoretically get literally everyone?"

Patchouli looked at you levelly. "Is that a serious possibility?"

"I don't think Yukari would do something like that," Youmu ventured. Everyone turned to glare at her, but she stood her ground. "I know she plots a lot, but it's usually for Gensokyo... somehow."

You barely restrained yourself from snapping at her. She wasn't the enemy, and she didn't know. Patchouli looked to be gearing up for another cutting analysis, but it was Meiling who responded first. "Maybe. Hopefully, even! It'd make our lives a lot easier if she wasn't an enemy. But she's definitely up to something, and she already has a lot to answer for."

"I rather suspect Sakuya and the Scarlets will be asking those particular questions," Patchouli said. "But again. The... shikigami concept. Is that a serious possibility?"

"It's apocryphal," you said, sighing. "It's not the natural idea I'd expect anyone's mind to jump to, just my personal worst case scenario. Her getting everyone probably isn't possible; there's just not enough magical power for that. But enslaving me specifically could be, especially if I'm the one ending up with the urban legend."

"Is there a way to be certain?"

"Nothing's really certain with all of this. Talking to the villagers should give us a good idea of where it's heading, at least." You shrugged. "And it could still be something relatively innocent on Yuyuko's part, we can't forget that. But my gut says it isn't. I have a bad feeling this is bait, and I'm not sure how."

It actually reminded you of playing chess with Sumireko. Every so often she'd make an "obvious blunder", hanging a piece and inviting you to take it. And every time, taking the bait would let Sumi execute some tactic, ripping apart your position and guaranteeing your loss. Every time.

Patchouli nodded. "We'll defer to your intestinal expertise for now. Rushing blindly into one of Yukari's machinations is inviting trouble at the best of times."

"Wait, we're passing up on something that could help Remilia?" Meiling asked. "Just like that?"

"Meiling, if a talented fighter leaves an obvious hole in their defense and you try to take it, what happens?"

"There could still be an opening," she defended. "Their trap could be flawed as well."

"If you're skilled enough to see and analyze the trap in its entirety, possibly." Patchouli responded. "What happens to the novice?"

Meiling sighed. "They go down hard."

"Indeed. It may be we can take apart Yukari's trap later; but only once we're certain of its exact nature. For the time being, it's better to wait and analyze."

"If it's that dangerous, shouldn't we just stop the spread of Christianity?" Meiling asked. "Deny the urban legend altogether?"

"Bad idea!" you said hurriedly. "For a few reasons. First off, that could very well be the trap. Second, it wouldn't work; trying to hide something only makes people more interested what you're hiding. And thirdly, Christianity in particular is very resistant to such things. Historically speaking, attempts at suppression ended poorly."

And fourthly... laying low and not rushing into a trap was one thing, but trying to stop the spread of the actual gospel wasn't something you wanted to contemplate.

"Trying anything like that could get us associated with Christianity anyway, but as the side destined to burn in Hell," you continued. "I think we're better off taking a passive approach. Wait and see, then act."

Patchouli looked at you closely. "Perhaps that would be best for now. Though I'm not happy to have yet another factor to consider."

There's a bit more grumbling from Meiling, but she doesn't say anything. Youmu meanwhile looks... passively upset and still a little embarrassed. Which is more than reasonable, all things considered. If anything, she's taking it better than most people would, let alone most youkai.

You turn back to Patchouli and change the subject. "Anyway, given that you're over here, did you finish work on that, ah, magic altering device?"

"Indeed," the mage said, smiling. "Shall we test it out?"

[-] To be continued.

[-] Patchouli's craftsmanship.

Patchouli was an experienced mage. You weren't really sure how old she was, but you were certain that she was an order of magnitude older than you, and probably had two orders more experience than you did. You'd seen the elegance of her rune setup in the bindings you and Satori already wore, as well as her ritual setup that she'd used to fight Yukari and cast her truth spell. And that one was probably temporary and hastily erected to boot.

Which is to say, it was something of a surprise when Patchouli's "magic altering device" looked like she'd used an old washcloth for scrap paper and then assaulted it with a spool of wire. A piece of scrap fabric, possibly from a cloth bandage or a strip of curtain formed the base. The one part of it that actually looked magical was a golden gem set in the center, polished to a shine. There were runes on it, you could see them, but rather than the elegant calligraphy you'd expected, they were significantly rougher, with a couple being smeared (or in one spot burned) away, and lines connecting them being done with wire or mud.

Speaking of which, Patchouli was using a couple of those wires to literally tie the patch into the binding you were already wearing and you looked at her uncertainly. "Just to be clear, what's the risk of magical unpleasantness here?"

"Less than you'd risk by walking through the village," she said.

"So... fifty-fifty?" Meiling said drily.

"This may surprise you, but I was unable to bring my entire workshop along." Patchouli replied. "It's fortunate I had the necessary tools on-hand."

"Where exactly did you carry them, anyway?" you asked. "Aside from the one book, you weren't- ow!"

You jerked back as Patchouli poked you with a wire, and the mage smirked. "I do intend to leave at least some of my magic secret."

"Oh, magic. I take it that means the book somehow doubles as stora-agh!"

You glared at the mage in question as a wire pricked you again. "Come on, really?"

"I'm not doing this out of pettiness," Patchouli said.

"Come on, that can't possibly be-", you were at least somewhat expecting it this time and gritted your teeth through it, "that serious a secret."

"It isn't," she said. "The patch needs to attune to your magic as well. And lacking a more sophisticated alternative, that means a small amount of blood."

Youmu looked a little lost. "Would it help if I used my swords?"

"That won't be necessary!" you yelled, before glaring at Patchouli. "Are you telling me I'm getting a mud-stained rag pressed up against a bleeding wound?"

She poked you again and you winced. "That's an exaggeration. It requires a few strategically-placed drops."

"Because bloodletting is such an exact science," you retorted.

"When you share a home with two vampires, it is."

"Except when she gets a nosebleed," Meiling chimed in.

Patchouli shot Meiling a dirty look, but the gate guard was utterly unrepentant.

But pinpricks and peanut gallery comments aside, you were soon outfitted with the second binding, with only a moderate amount of discomfort involved.

"Huh, that looks intricate," Youmu commented, peering at your original binding. "What exactly is all this meant to do?"

Patchouli and Meiling both hesitated at that. It would seem they hadn't bothered to plan out a cover story for your binding, given that you were supposed to be disguised the whole time. You could make something up easily enough, but... should you?

[-] Let Patchouli and Meiling figure it out. Neither of them strike you as natural liars, and you can hardly be blamed if Youmu has doubts about their answer.
[-] Actively cover for them. Youmu knowing your situation might not be to your advantage, and there's goodwill to be won here.

[x] Actively cover for them. Youmu knowing your situation might not be to your advantage, and there's goodwill to be won here.

"It's basically a recording device," you said, tugging at your binding, "Ever since the urban legend incident started, my magic has felt different, even though I haven't got one."

It was a comment with a hook on the end. Patchouli and Meiling clearly saw it, but they just as clearly weren't sure what to do about it, while Youmu displayed no hesitation in taking the bait.

"So you are a magician then?" the half-phantom asked, idly scratching behind her ear.

And with that, Youmu had shown interest, even if just a casual one, in what you were saying. It would be more difficult and suspicious for the other two to redirect the conversation away from it, particularly since that made it your turn to speak in the conversation.

"That's being generous," you deflected, smiling. "I've got a couple spells, and I've read a bit more theory, but nothing on the scale Gensokyo finds interesting. But all the same, it is my magic, and I wanted to know what was going on with it. Patchouli's a mage, and I heard she was looking into anything and everything she could find out about urban legends."

You shrugged. "And from there, well, one thing led to another. I know she's looking into it for Remilia's sake, but I'm still very grateful for her help. Who knows what I'd be doing if Sakuya hadn't introduced us?"

The looks on Patchouli and Meiling's faces were priceless. Something that you were not about to draw attention to no matter how satisfying it was. Thankfully, Youmu had her back to them and hadn't noticed. "Is that how that happened?" she asked. "Most villagers are scared of the mansion's residents."

"To be fair, they're a little scary," you admitted. "But to be honest, I just ended up running into some youkai while I was outside the village. A fight broke out, and it was looking rough, but Sakuya was in the area, fought through them all, and got me back to the mansion in one piece."

"I'll admit, that seems rather lucky."

"Well, Tewi was involved, so I suspect my luck was out of the ordinary. But yes, after waking up at the mansion and finding out what had happened, well, what could I do but help out?"

"That's honorable of you, but from what I've heard this incident is getting dangerous. Are you sure?"

"I might be just a little uncertain," you admitted, "but there's no way I could just walk away at this point."

Youmu smiled and nodded approvingly. "I understand. I've found it difficult to let things be as well, even when my mistress has explicitly given me other instructions."

You nodded back, realizing you were rather enjoying this. There always had been a certain joy to spinning a good story, even when you'd been at your worst. Doing it now, where failure didn't mean death and the tale wasn't for petty or malicious ends was surprisingly refreshing. However, all good things must come to an end, and Patchouli had finally recovered from her surprise.

"I promise you, Greg's cooperation and the danger involved have been taken into account," the mage said, eyeing you warily.

"As if that was ever in doubt," you said, smiling at her before turning back to Youmu. "Patchy might act standoffish, but she's quite dependable... and a bit of a softie deep down."

"Marisa's said much the same," Youmu said thoughtfully. "I thought that might just be her unusual outlook at play, but it's good the two of you were able to hit it off."

Youmu was tactful enough not to say aloud that Patchouli could probably use more friends, or that she should get out more. But you didn't need to be Satori to know that's what she was thinking.

"By the way, just what have you heard about the incident?" Patchouli cut in almost desperately.

As changes of subject went, it was clumsy at best, and did a poor job of hiding the mage's embarrassment. However, Youmu was polite enough not to play along, so it did redirect the conversation to something less dangerous, and far more useful for Patchouli.

Youmu sighed. "Not much, really. Just what I heard at the incident resolvers' meeting yesterday."

And as the half-phantom detailed the Sumireko sightings of the past few days, you learned a few things as well.

"Wait. Sumireko's been where?!"

[-] To be continued.

((Happy Easter, guys! To celebrate, have a minor resurrection of the story.

No particular RL excuse this time, just me needing to work out my motivation and playing a few too many video games. On the plus side, Unicorn Overlord is proving to be excellent.))

[-] Back to more important things.

Six places. Scarlet Devil Mansion, Hakugyokurou, Myouren Temple, Shining Needle Castle, the human village, and the Hakurei Shrine. Discounting the places you and Sumi had actually been, that left four fake sightings. Needless to say, everyone present was interested in interrogating politely asking Youmu for everything she knew about Sumireko's activities.

To both your and Patchouli's frustration, Youmu's lack of curiosity was not unique to the present conversation. With Yuyuko forbidding her to actively take part in the current incident, she'd hadn't gathered details on what "Sumireko" was doing beyond what she'd heard during this meeting yesterday, and nothing beyond that. She hadn't even heard about the brawl at Eientei!

Though considering what Sakuya or Flandre might do with a lead on Sumi's current location, it might be for the best. Even if them catching the imposter would solve a lot of problems.

Regardless, what Youmu did recall was bad enough. Her own encounter was surprisingly mild, and Patchouli had already told you about the mansion's encounter, but finding out Sumi had been framed for a break-in and a haunting (of all the stupid things!) was... not ideal. Not to mention, this was only what happened yesterday! There were probably more fake Sumireko sightings that had happened in the meantime.

Not that it was likely to matter at this point. Sumireko's reputation was already at rock bottom, it wasn't like the imposter could make things much worse.

You sighed. These were all very important revelations that you'd have to discuss at length after Youmu was out of earshot. But all of this could be dangerously moot if you couldn't actually get into the human village.

And so, you stood there, reaching out with your magic towards where you knew Keine's illusion had to be as Patchouli slowly ramped up the power of the binding. It was... weird. If using your magic was like breathing, then the binding was like having a weight lying on your chest, steadily growing heavier. It wasn't stopping you, not quite, but just holding your magic out there was taking effort. Not painfully (Patchouli had been good to her word about turning the punishment off for this, and thank goodness for that), but it was awkwardly uncomfortable. Like exercising a muscle you never normally used.

The tricky part became finding a break-point where you could actually detect the illusion. With the first few attempts, the village went from completely invisible to obviously there with absolutely no in-between. The obvious next step was to shift the binding's effectiveness more slowly. Even magical detection had edge cases; there had to be a point where the illusion would waver.

And there was.

"There! Hold it right there!" you shouted, as Patchouli froze.

Keine's barrier shimmered in and out of existence. It was like an optical illusion, where if you tilted your head just right, the village was there, but any other way it wasn't. Except instead of tilting your head, you had to tilt history. If the exact right sequence of events had happened, then the village existed. Otherwise, it never had.

"Of course. Keine's a youkai of history, isn't she? That makes this empty forest something that might have been," you murmured.

Which meant one way of fixing the problem would be setting the village's history back in order. Now that you saw the weave, you might be able to force an idea into it, to ask reality itself what might have been. Doubtless this would be how Keine herself would approach the task, as it would fix the issue for good.

But you'd only get the real human village back by replicating the real history. Anything else would be just another what-if. It might be a village, it might even have humans in it, but it wouldn't be this village, that had heard of your urban legends. Fascinating, but not actually useful. Which meant that a direct reversal was only possible if you knew the true history and exactly how it had been altered. Keine would naturally be aware of both of those with her abilities, but you didn't have that advantage. As it turned out, if you didn't know your history, you were doomed to be unable to repeat it.

Alternatively, while Keine's ability seemed absolutely amazing, it was just trickery in the end. Rather than trying to beat her at her own game, you could just flip the metaphorical table and unravel the magic directly. The danger there was just how deep Keine's magic might go. The present could be viewed as a consequence of the past, and if tearing the magic up tore the past up, you might cause damage you could barely understand, let alone fix. Taking a destructive approach would almost certainly alert Keine, but it wasn't a full moon yet, and you were pretty sure Patchouli and Meiling could take her. The bigger question was what kind of backup she might have available, but if it came to that, Flandre was waiting back at the mansion.

There could also be a middle ground to walk here. Destabilizing the altered history would be easier and less destructive than trying to wreck it all in one go, and the thing about telling a story is that your story had to be consistent. The more it changed, the more details that were added and shuffled around, the easier it would be to poke holes in it. And a lie with holes getting poked in it has a remarkable tendency to collapse all at once.

Decisions, decisions.

[-] Try to fix the history.
[-] Try to destroy Keine's magic.
[-] Try to destabilize the altered history.
[?] Or is there a better idea?

[X] Or is there a better idea?
- [X] First, let's slow down. Get as much information about the spell as we can before we do anything. We're not the only spellcaster here, after all, surely there's some insights Patchy can give.

It was tempting to act. Your instincts were telling you that you could solve this, and more than that, that you should act immediately. Quite frankly, the thought of an illusion that you couldn't deal with was irritating on a level that reason had nothing to do with. And in all fairness, trusting your instincts had been working more often than not in Gensokyo.

But pride and a gut feeling had no business overriding your better judgement, so you took the time to explain to Patchouli what you were seeing.

"Before trying anything else, how much magic can you wield at it?" she asked.

"You've only got the binding around half strength," you said, "and Keine's effect feels like it relies more on finesse and being hard to interact with than brute force. I doubt I can flat out overwhelm it, but I can throw enough at it to disrupt it."

Patchouli bit her lip, staring intently at you. "Weave your magic into it. As much as you can, as tightly as you can. "

You pushed, but immediately encountered resistance, so you hesitated. "Just throwing magic in with no direction could be unpredictable," you warned. "It'll be a lot easier if I aim for a specific change."

"Why would that matter?" Meiling asked, and you nearly jumped. You'd half-forgotten the others were here.

"You know how electric circuits are rated for a specific voltage?"

"What?"

Right, wrong technology level. You racked your mind for a different example, but Patchouli beat you to the punch. "Filling a spell with energy can be thought of like filling a bowl with rice," she said. "The bowl is designed to accommodate only so much, and while you can fill it over the top, doing so requires careful balance. If you need a great deal more rice than the bowl accommodates, you should change the bowl."

"Please don't say it like that," Youmu said. "The last thing I need is for Yuyuko to try eating magic too."

Meiling chuckled at that, but Patchouli turned back to you. "Pick something obviously visible," she said. "An effect that will make it apparent just how far your magic spreads."

You glanced at her, hesitating. "What would-"

"A world where winter never left," Youmu said. "Where spring was stolen, and didn't come back."

"Really?" Meiling asked.

You were a little worried the concept of spring being stolen might be too esoteric, but it was enough. Keine's magic took to it readily, accepting it as something that might have happened. A chilling wind blew through as the leaves left on the trees around you started dropping. Reaching outwards from you and spreading forwards, frost coated the ground, first lightly, then accumulating into actual snow.

Breathing heavily, you envisioned the scenario in your mind. A winter that never ended, but only grew deeper. Where the snow coated the ground first in inches, then feet. As it deepened, the winter wonderland turned into a blizzard, then an arctic wasteland. Laden with snow, trees started to fall, uprooted from winds and the weight of snow.

Panting now, you dropped to a knee, trying to force out a little more, but that was as much as you could hold in one go.

Meiling stared at you. "Since when could you could do that?!"

"It's not real," Patchouli said. "The village beneath won't have even noticed."

"It could have been," Youmu said grimly.

You glanced at her. "Is... everything alright?"

The swordswoman shook her head. "Just a reminder that not all of Lady Yuyuko's plans are for the best."

Youmu turned to your group and offered a quick bow. "Given you seem to have the matter well in hand, I should depart. I need to discuss some things with my lady."

"For what it's worth, you've been helpful," Patchouli said, with a faint smile. "Good luck with her."

You were mostly focused trying to keep concentration on the magic you were holding, but you and Meiling offered your own goodbyes as Youmu left quickly.

"Was that anything I need to worry about?" you asked.

"No," Patchouli said. "At Yuyuko's bidding, Youmu helped cause an incident that would have resulted in this. Seeing the results clearly made her uncomfortable."

"I remember that," Meiling said. "Sakuya made her displeasure known, that's for sure."

"Regardless," Patchouli said, growing serious. "I'd estimate this winter has covered an area similar to the mansion's grounds. That should be more than sufficient."

"And no lions or wardrobes were involved," you muttered. "So now what?"

"Concentrate on holding your magic still," Patchouli commanded. "No matter what, hold it in place."

"Alright?" you said hesitantly. ""

You weren't really sure where she was going with this, but then the mage unsealed your binding. All at once, you felt your magic both try to surge forwards with additional power and unravel due to not feeling Keine's spell any more. Abruptly, you could feel the cold and the wind yourself, instead of just seeing that it was supposedly there, and the hazy image of the village vanished.

It was like trying to hold on to a spell-card. The spell of winter desperately wanted to break free, but you were holding on to it by the skin of your teeth, the magic unlocked from the binding pouring in to reinforce it even as Keine's magic slipped away from you.

But it wasn't going to be enough. You couldn't cause a storm like this normally, and even an illusion of this size would have been nearly impossible. It was only through Keine's magic you'd managed, and without it...

"I'm losing it!" you yelled.

Patchouli stepped up, laying a hand on your binding. "Then let's reverse course."

The binding reactivated, full force. More than full force; not only was your magic completely cut off, but the binding was dragging the spell back into it. Like an avalanche, the snow and ice flew towards you, compressing and melting into pure energy which poured back into the binding. Patchouli grimaced, and the binding grew hot around your arm as the flow continued, the surroundings blowing in an unseen gale as the winter faded into fall, your magic torn completely away.

The binding burned you like a hot iron, and you broke away from Patchouli with a wordless cry.

Tearing ineffectually at the damned thing you rounded on her and snarled, "What was that?! You said you turned the punishment off!"

Patchouli was shaking her own hand, and you got a glimpse of burns there as well. With a gesture, spheres of water formed around both her hand and your upper arm. You sighed in relief as the binding's heat dissipated into it, and some of the tension went out of the mage as well.

"I did," she said finally. That was a consequence of exceeding the binding's parameters. It was not designed to absorb already existing spells, and the addition of Keine's energy only exacerbated the situation."

Meiling looked past you. "Well, it worked."

Turning around, you could see the village again. Oh, of course. That was why Patchouli wanted your magic woven into Keine's spell. So that when she used the binding to absorb it, your magic and Keine's would be completely entangled, and breaking your illusion would break hers.

Patchouli nodded in satisfaction. "I thought so."

"Still, warn me next time," you grumbled. Though your much-abused arm aside, you felt pretty good, actually. Literally full of energy, considering what just happened.

Patchouli glanced at you. "Right. Before we proceed, I should contact Sakuya. Meiling, keep an eye on him, I won't be long."

You watched, non-plussed, as the mage flew off into the woods, calling back, "And for magic's sake, put the disguise back on!"

[-] To be continued.

((Well done. Somehow I'd overlooked consulting the 18 INT wizard right next to you, but it was a good call.))

{-} Patchouli takes a moment to call Sakuya.

One of the great things about being a centuries-old mage was that relatively few things surprised me. I knew every aspect of elemental magic backwards and forwards, and even for other magical topics, my expertise was considerable. There was a reason it was my library that Marisa was always trying to steal from.

As such, Greg's habit of causing a new revelation every time I talked to him was singularly irritating. As was the way that time and circumstances kept proving his theories correct. In fact, that was happening with such regularity that I strongly suspected outside influence in some form. Greg claims Yukari's involved? Yukari shows up in person and all but confirms it. He claims there's a Sumireko imposter? We run into Youmu, and she verifies that half of Gensokyo claims to have seen Sumireko in the same day. He claims that Keine exists, without explanation of how he remembers a youkai nobody else does. That, of all of them, should have been virtually impossible to prove! And yet the combination of Akyuu's history, the holes in my notes and memories, and now his magic interacting with this illusion have conclusively proven once again that his theory was correct.

The pattern leaves me ill at ease, even as each repetition gives me less rational reason to distrust him. There must be an angle here. I am certain I am being played somehow, and not necessarily by Greg. But no matter how I look at the facts, I cannot figure out how.

Though that assessment is suddenly premature, isn't it? Greg's performance just now, while impressive, also revealed a pair of very important facts. There was time enough for me to think on it before calling Sakuya. As well as to rest a moment. This trip had already featured more exertion than I put forth most weeks. It was fortunate that today was a good day with regards to my asthma.

---

In the end, I took just enough time to compose myself. Greg was already likely to wonder why I'd chosen to contact Sakuya in private, and while I was hardly obliged to answer, I saw no reason to encourage further speculation.

True to form, the moment I used my communication book, the maid picked up instantly. "Patchouli? Is there an issue?"

"Possibly. Are you alone?"

"With the exception of Satori, yes."

"Part of this development involves security concerns. Can you keep an eye on her from afar?"

Sakuya sighed. "Done. I take it this is important?"

"Yes, quadruply so. I'll start with the good news. We've found the human village, right where we expected."

"Good!" the maid said emphatically. "Has it been revealed to anyone who might look, or does it require one of your spells?"

"Keine's illusion has been completely broken," I replied. "And Greg's magic was critical to that effort. His magic interacted with hers in a way that mine simply could not."

Sakuya hesitated. "Is that related to his chosen specialization?"

"The difference is not one of quality, but of categorization," I said grimly. "Or to put it in layman's terms, his nature is different than any of ours."

"It has been a long day, Patchouli. Say what you mean."

"He's not human."

"What?"

Startling Sakuya was a rare occurrence, and in most circumstances, I'd take satisfaction in managing the feat. This was not most circumstances. "Indeed."

"Patchouli, your own binding identified him as human. He said he was human inside your truth spell. Satori thinks he's human. He has a family and attends a school in the outside world. He can't even fly under his own power. How could he possibly be anything else?"

"The binding is how I know he isn't!" I snapped. "Yes, he appears human, even to a detailed magical scan. And my binding calibrated to that, to block the magic of a human mage. And with my binding blocking that flow, letting only the barest trickle of his magic through, he was able to interface enough of Keine's spell to tear a hole the size of the mansion in it."

"Is it possible he's simply stronger than expected?"

"What he did was a competent spell by my standards," I said. "For a mere percent of his power to let him accomplish that, he would need to be stronger than Marisa, and substantially so. Which if anything would be worse."

"I take your point," Sakuya said. "Are you certain?"

"Completely."

"What type of youkai is he?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "He's displayed no particular youkai traits I can think of, and even more general traits such as aggression are lacking. He could also be one of the non-youkai supernatural species, such as a god, fairy, or Lunarian. At present, I'm not prepared to rule anything out."

"That's very little to work with. You truly don't have anything?"

"It is highly unlikely that Greg is an oni," I said drily.

Sakuya's response was equally deadpan. "Truly, it was this level of insight that earned your place at Remilia's side."

I rolled my eyes and continued. "Regardless, while I don't have any further information, I do have a theory regarding how his nature was hidden."

"Go on."

"The one thing I am certain about is that Yukari knows Greg's true species. In retrospect she was blatantly hinting at it with her comments about his 'true nature'. It also could explain her interest in him, though it remains to be seen whether that's due to his own power or his youkai parent."

"Parent, singular? You think he's half human?"

"It would explain a number of oddities. While the children of youkai and humans do eventually prove to be youkai, that is not immediately obvious from birth. It's a rare enough scenario for documentation to be scarce, but what is known is that the timing of their youkai nature emerging depends on both the strength of their bloodline and the level of ambient magic present."

"Which would have been scarce in the outside world," Sakuya mused.

"Quite. More to the point, you could think of it as the child traversing the boundary between human and youkai as they age."

The significance of that wasn't lost on her. "And Greg had an encounter with 'Maribel' years ago," she said darkly.

"Indeed. I think Yukari's intervention was to seal his youkai nature, so he would seem human when he got to Gensokyo."

"To what end?"

"Well, that's the question, isn't it?"

Sakuya sighed. "What's the worst case scenario?"

"The worst case would be if Yukari sealed away aspects of his memories and personality as well. Such an action could make him the perfect trojan horse, as all Yukari would need to do to regain his allegiance would be to undo the seal. Between Yukari offering herself as a target and Greg's continual flow of relevant, quickly proven, important information, it would be easy for them to manipulate us into a trap of their devising."

"So, essentially unchanged then?" Sakuya asked drily.

"Greg being a youkai with an unknown ability would be an extra detail to consider, but otherwise yes."

''Assuming he is not Yukari's thrall, what does this change?"

"The immediate concern is that the binding on him cannot be relied upon. What he was able to do with Keine's spell proves that much."

"Wasn't it effective before?"

I'd already worked out these consequences in detail. "Yes and no. The binding has three key properties. It detects the use of compatible magic, blocks it, and punishes the prisoner for attempting to use it. However, compatible magic in this case would be human magic, and his magic is not entirely human. As such, what the binding is recognizing and sealing is not the entire range of magic available to him."

"So if he were to fully turn into a youkai..."

"The binding would be a paperweight," I confirmed. "Even in his current state, the binding will not fully block his magic. It appears to, because his magic is still mostly human, and thus any attempt to cast would be detected, punished, and mostly blocked. But only mostly. If he possesses the necessary will and focus to push through the pain, it is plausible he could still cast minor workings."

"He's capable of that," Sakuya declared. "He charged Marisa while laughably outclassed and with a broken rib. His first action upon meeting me was to extort information regarding his friends by threatening suicide through the binding."

"Of course he is," I said with a sigh. Fortunately I hadn't turned the punishment aspect of the binding off until we'd needed to experiment with Keine's effect. He shouldn't have been able to cast anything of importance unnoticed.

"Can you fix it?"

"I'd need to create a fresh binding and tune it to his youkai half. Which, ironically, would require some cooperation from him, as I would need a clean sample of the youkai aspect to his magic. The greater problem is time. Another binding would require most of a day to create, and that's-"

"Time we can ill afford," Sakuya finished and sighed. "Do you think he hid this deliberately?"

"It is probable that he identified the hole in his binding's security and saw no reason to inform us of it," I replied. "As for him being a youkai..."

I leaned against one of the trees and sighed. "I don't think he has any idea. For him to have lied about that, he would need to be a malicious actor able to trump both Satori's ability and the truth spell I used. That would require convincingly faking both intent and memories down to the subconscious level. If he's capable of that, then nothing we know or learn can be trusted, and we have already lost."

"Furthermore, if Yukari's intention was to hide that he's a youkai, then him knowing about it would run counter to her purposes. Especially with Satori's presence."

"Agreed. I think the greatest danger is the same as it was before; that he's Yukari's unwitting pawn. The main difference is that we have an inkling as to how that may be the case now." In some ways it was almost a relief. I had been expecting the other shoe to drop for some time now, so seeing the outline in advance was not the worst outcome.

"How do you intend to proceed, then?"

{-} By investigating Keine's school.
{-} By paying a visit to Akyuu.
{-} By investigating the rumors spreading among the villagers.

--ALSO--

With multiple leads present in the human village, does it make sense to divide and conquer?

{-} No. It's simply too risky.
{-} Yes. Speed is paramount here.

{X} By paying a visit to Akyuu.
{X} Yes. Speed is paramount here.
-{X} Patchouli + Greg to Akyuu; possibly Keine afterwards if there's time.
-{X} Meiling to investigate village rumors.

"While I am aware of exactly how badly this is tempting fate, the situation warrants it. I intend to divide and conquer," I said.

I could almost hear Sakuya's grimace through the book. "That could be disastrous if someone like Reimu shows up. I know you said today was a good day, but-"

"Sakuya, what would Meiling and I together accomplish if pitted against Reimu Hakurei?"

The silence is telling. "Indeed. I may be able to force her to work for it, but if she or Marisa or Byakuren or Miko or any of the exceptionally strong youkai in the vicinity take an interest, they would have little trouble taking Greg off our hands. Our best hope is in keeping a lower profile. And having 'Koakuma' with me should raise fewer eyebrows than both her and Meiling."

"It's a valid strategy," Sakuya admitted. "Are you certain Greg will play along?"

"Certain? There's too many variables for me to claim that particular luxury. But I would be greatly surprised if Greg made a move while the consequences could still fall upon Satori."

For that matter, if he had intended to try something, Youmu would have been a good opportunity. The half-phantom was rigidly honorable, and Greg was clever enough to use that to his advantage. Not that much manipulation would be necessary, considering the facts of the situation, but I digress. That Greg had said nothing worse than some... friendly mild provocation was a good sign.

Sakuya thought for a moment before concurring. "You intend to send Meiling on her own, then?"

"She's friendly, she's extroverted, and she's good at striking up conversations about random topics when people should be working. Asking around about urban legends fits her perfectly."

"And yourself?"

"I intend to pay Akyuu a visit."

"Not Keine?" Sakuya asked sharply.

"Before you charge the lion in its den, it's wise to know what you're getting into," I replied. "The magic I wield may be considerable, but I have neither the raw power of a vampire, nor infinite time to consider my options. Furthermore, Akyuu wrote that Keine has 'close relationships with the Hieda family'. She is the best and possibly only source of information regarding what Keine might intend."

"If she's such a potent source of information, will our enemies have planned for that?"

I considered that for a moment. "The Child of Miare is not an unimportant role. Furthermore, her method of reincarnation requires careful preparation that Akyuu has not yet performed. Killing her would draw the wrath of several figures, not least of which would be Eiki. She's also fragile enough that danmaku in her presence could do her serious harm."

"Yukari has already guaranteed a substantial amount of wrath for herself," Sakuya said darkly. "What's a little more?"

"Save your anger for when it will be useful," I snapped. "Yukari schemes with an eye towards the long-term, and injuring or killing Akyuu would be long-term consequences. You run more of a risk of ambush than I."

After a brief silence, I heard a terse, "Your point is taken, but you run the greater danger. The youkai I meet are unlikely to be significant."

"Be careful with language like that, Sakuya. Someone might think you cared."

"Milady would be disappointed if I let you come to harm. She has always been fond of her charity cases."

Heh. "If your knives remain as sharp as your tongue, I suspect we'll do alright. Is your mission progressing as expected?"

"We are still en-route. No encounters of note, though it would seem someone set fire to the mountain."

I glanced up at that. "I don't see any smoke."

"Apologies, I meant figuratively. The tengu and the kappa both are highly active, though neither group has challenged me. Has there been any other news from your end?"

"Youmu had some general details regarding other Sumireko sightings. Nothing from today, and nothing earth shattering. I have yet to ask Greg about them, other concerns took priority."

"Understood. Final question, what about Satori?" Sakuya asked.

"What about her?"

"I am unsure how she will react to the thought that Greg isn't human, but she will react to it. And she will almost certainly find out eventually."

"Just leave her sealed for now," I snapped. "We can figure out a longer-term plan once we're all back at the mansion."

"Understood," the maid replied. "Godspeed, Patchouli, but be careful."

Even implying vulnerability or the possibility of failure meant that Sakuya was worried. And not without cause, but reflecting those worries would do no good.

"When am I not?" I said, projecting confidence. "I'll contact you once I have more information,"

I closed the book, took a deep breath, and flew back towards Meiling and Greg.

{-} To be continued.

[-] Patchouli returns!

Patchouli took longer than you'd expected to come back, so you bided the time chatting with Meiling. She was still weirded out seeing you disguised as Koakuma, and hearing your own altered voice messed with you a little as well, so by mutual agreement the gate guard did most of the talking.

That suited you just fine. Hearing what it was like to live through some of Gensokyo's incidents was fascinating.

"So Sakuya had made it this personal point of pride that she'd keep the mansion's grounds tidy. Which in winter means keeping the snow shoveled, at least to where the porch is clear and there's a path from the mansion's front door to the gate."

"That had to be miserable," you remarked.

Meiling shook her head. "Less than you might think. It wasn't like we got more snow than we would during a normal winter, if you ignored the part where the calendar said April. The problem was that it wasn't melting. For most of the winter Patchy had been throwing around fire magic to melt it when it got too crazy, but she was down with a cold, and me and Sakuya don't have the right spellcards for that. And then we get this huge storm, dumping foot after foot of snow for days."

"And I take it Sakuya didn't want to get Remilia or Flandre involved?"

"Are you kidding? She'd eat her own knives before she'd ask her lady to help out with chores. So she just does it herself. Morning, afternoon, evening, she'd walk out into the snow, stop time, and there'd be a new walkway dug out, one that would stay visible for maybe an hour or two."

"She didn't make you help?" you asked.

"I had better things to do with my life," Meiling replied. "It wasn't guarding, it wasn't important, and it was a ridiculous amount of work. Even Remilia told her it was pointless, but she was being stubborn."

It's easy enough to visualize. You chuckle and Meiling continued her story. "Finally the snow gets so high that Sakuya has to dig out more than just the walkway or the sides will collapse. We're talking a good six feet of snow here. So in typical Sakuya fashion, she goes all-out. I'm just guarding the gate one evening, I turn around, and the entire mansion grounds are free of snow. The whole thing, even the mansion roof."

"She shoveled all of that in one timestop?" That had to be days of work, at least.

"I think she borrowed a fire spell from Patchy," Meiling speculated, "no way she could gotten all the snow clear like that otherwise. But yeah, it was crazy. She's sipping tea looking smug but tired, and when you can see that Sakuya's tired, she's about ready to drop."

"The girl turns in for the night, and proceeds to sleep a good twelve hours, right through the worst storm of the year. She does her morning routine, gets the house all cleaned up, and finally comes out with my meal at lunch-time..." Meiling pauses theatrically, "only to see another six feet of snow."

You knew it was coming, but her delivery was perfect, and you laughed all the same. "She must have been furious."

"She dropped the tray!" Meiling exclaimed. "She opens the front door, there's this look of shock and disbelief on her face, and the tray just slips off the hand she's balancing on. Food goes everywhere, the cup shatters, plate spins for a bit and falls flat, and Sakuya's just staring at the snow, not moving as her eye starts to twitch. They must have heard her scream all the way in the human village."

"And you just happened to be watching at that exact moment?"

"Oh, I was waiting for it," she confirmed, grinning. "The moment the storm hit, I knew her reaction was going to be good, and I was standing at attention facing the mansion the whole morning. And of course, within the hour, she's approached Remilia, saying that our supplies are running low and that she needs to go end the winter."

"So you're saying Youmu's incident got stopped-"

"-because Sakuya got sick of snow shoveling." Meiling finished. "We didn't give her too much grief over it, since everyone was sick of winter by then and Sakuya only really takes crap from Remilia anyway, but man. That's the angriest I've ever seen her get over something that wasn't deadly serious."

"Speaking of which, look who's back," you said as Patchouli flew back into view.

"There you are. I was starting to wonder if I should look for you." Meiling said. "What took so long?"

"There were some theories I needed to discuss with Sakuya," Patchouli replied.

"Ah." You nodded understandingly. "I'm guessing she had some thoughts on what Youmu's evangelism could mean?"

Patchouli froze, shook her fist ever so slightly, and let slip the quietest yet most emphatic swear you've heard.

"One moment," she said, sounding strangled. "It appears I need to call her back."

"Wait, how on earth could you forget that?" you asked, baffled. "What were you even talking about then?"

---

Patchouli's second call with Sakuya ends up being significantly shorter, and in a few minutes she's back to give you your marching orders. She also doesn't deign to inform you or Meiling what the first call was actually about. Considering how irritated and unsettled she seems, you suspect she had an asthma attack, but there's no reason to injure her pride by suggesting it. What else could distract her that badly?

Regardless, she's chosen to have Meiling finish her original assignment of listening around for rumors while you and her go to find Akyuu.

Outwardly, you just nod and agree, but privately, you're thrilled. If she's going to Akyuu first, she must intend to investigate Mamizou. And if you can prove that Mamizou exists and has been impersonating Sumireko, then you might actually be able to clear her name. Or at least, aside from the stuff the two of you actually did, like kidnapping Nitori and being reponsible for the Urban Legend incident in the first place.

Admittedly, that won't quite be the end of things; Remilia and Koishi still need to be fixed, and Yukari's going to have to be dealt with somehow, but for the first time since you've arrived in Gensokyo, it feels like you're getting close. Like things could just work out.

You should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

[-] To be continued.

((In all honesty, I completely forgot to include a line or two referencing Youmu's missionary work in the Sakuya/Patchouli dialogue just now, so Patchy's taking the blame here on my behalf.))

[-] The Hieda residence.

The human village was... surprisingly normal, all things considered. You'd expected some kind of reaction to the show of breaking through Keine's spell, or at least from the village being under it in the first place, but either the villagers didn't notice, or they brushed it off as standard youkai shenanigans.

You weren't about to complain about it, given how convenient that was for you, but it was kind of unnerving. Urban legends, Youmu's missionary work, Keine's concealment, whatever Yukari was up to... unimaginably important things were going on, and the people were completely oblivious. Perfectly receptive to whichever youkai was currently manipulating them.

You and Patchouli were drawing some looks (mostly thanks to the Koakuma disguise), but even then it was more idle curiosity than anything else.

"Don't stare," Patchouli nudged you. "A visit to the village isn't that unusual for us."

You glanced back at her, and restrained a mischievous smile. "Oh, but it's been so long since you've left your library! You know Sakuya's been telling you to get out more."

She glared at you. "She has not."

The Koakuma disguise was excellent at affecting earnest helpfulness. "Okay, she was telling me to try to get you out and about more! There's got to be someone here you'd enjoy hanging out with. You could even invite them over to the mansion!"

And now all the passerby who had been looking at the pair of you curiously suddenly had their attention anywhere else. How odd.

Patchy, meanwhile, had upgraded to scowling. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Come on, I'm sure someone in the village enjoys reading as much as you do," you chided. "Think about it! You could have your very own study buddy! Or maybe... boytoy?"

That shot caught Patchouli by surprise, and you got to see her sputtering for a second before a jolt through your binding informed you that might have been a step too far. You yelped and stumbled, only to have your arm caught by Patchouli as she yanked you up.

"Really?"

"A youkai's reputation is important," she hissed. "Kindly cease messing with mine."

"Isn't your reputation just 'magical bookworm'?" you whispered back. "Does anyone here know you beyond being someone from the mansion?"

"That does not give you the right to start rumors! Especially not now!"

"You do realize these people would have written it off as friendly teasing if you hadn't made a big deal of it, right?" you said, gesturing at the handful of passerby who were openly staring now.

Which, yeah, a whispered argument between a magician and a devil was going to draw at least some attention.

Patchouli turned her glare over to them and drew herself up icily. "Does anyone have a point they wish to express?"

She couldn't match Sakuya for intimidation, but with a group of ordinary humans, she didn't have to. All but one scattered immediately, with the last guy hesitating, looking like he was going to say something, before sheepishly getting on with his day.

"I'd have thought you'd be in a better mood what with finally getting into the village and all," you remarked.

Patchouli nearly snaps at you, visibly thinks better of it, and settles for a grumble. "There are far too many knives in the air to relax so soon."

"Perhaps, but at least a couple of them have landed safely. That's not nothing."

"It is negligible when more knives are launched immediately," she shot back. "And I would think you of all people would recognize the danger of uncontrolled rumors."

"That was literally textbook teasing," you said, but with rapidly lessening confidence, because Patchouli's defensiveness wasn't faked. You sighed. "I'm sorry. It really was meant as friendly banter."

"Really. Do you treat your friends that way?"

"It might be better to say my friend helped me that way," you admitted. "A certain magician did much the same for me back when I was hiding away from everything."

"It's difficult to imagine you hiding in a social context."

You shrugged. "People change. Why can't youkai? Didn't you insist on coming because you didn't want to stay in the library?"

Patchouli doesn't answer, and that's answer enough.

---

The rest of the trip to the Hieda household was made in... well, not comfortable silence, but at least not a tense one either. The villagers largely ignore you, being caught up in, of all things, discussing the Bible. And not just one or two groups, either, it seems like half the people you pass are discussing something relating to Scripture. It is technically possible this is natural - historically speaking, Christianity has absolutely exploded onto the scene when presented to a previously unexposed culture thanks to missionary work - but your bet is that Yukari is up to something. Even still, you get the urge to jump in and explain some of the finer points a couple times, but that's a bad idea for several reasons, not least for how weird it would look coming from Koakuma.

Regardless, Gensokyo's stronger residents seem like they're absent as well. You do see one pair of obvious youkai, a hooded blue-haired girl with rings trading spellcards with a grey-haired girl shooting plates, but there's a playful note to it you haven't seen much of lately, and the spellcards themselves seem easier than the brawls you've seen lately. Frankly, both of them seem like they're having fun, despite all the invective they're yelling back and forth. Is that what spellcard duels in Gensokyo are normally like? If you could fly under your own power, you could see yourself enjoying it. Maybe one day...

But on this particular day, you find yourself coming up on the Hieda house. Well, house is the wrong word for it, in all honesty it's a mansion, but you find yourself oddly reluctant to call it that. Sure, the place could fit half a dozen families comfortably, and comes with a garden large enough to feed them all, but it's a little underwhelming after seeing the Scarlet Devil Mansion and Eientei. You certainly couldn't have a full-scale spellcard duel in these hallways.

You shake your head. You're being a little silly. Of course a human's house in the human village wouldn't be designed for spellcard duels. Why would it be? You can't shake the feeling that there's another shoe about to drop, though. And yet... when Patchouli introduces herself at the door and asks to see Akyuu, the two of you are quickly let into a waiting room; sitting on cushions as you wait for the Child of Miare herself.

"Were things supposed to go this smoothly?" you asked.

Patchouli raised an eyebrow. "This trip to the village has already been significantly more complicated than normal. You expected more trouble?"

"Yes! You didn't?"

The mage tapped her fingers against her book. "The Child of Miare is a neutral party. Her only concern is recording the history of Gensokyo and its youkai, something that benefits all without favoring any one side. Attempting something here would have consequences, even for Yukari."

"Imposters, changed memories, hiding the village," you counted off the points on your fingers. "Everything Mamizou's done so far, her entire scheme - it's all relying on lies and misdirection. The truth, properly applied, can blow that up; especially if you have a neutral party to establish it. Us being able to prove what she's done is the last thing Mamizou can afford."

Patchouli turned to you, considering it. "If she's new to Gensokyo, she may not be aware of the Child of Miare's importance. Akyuu only ever observes incidents, it's plausible she was overlooked."

"Are you comfortable with assuming that an unknown mastermind just overlooked something this important?"

"Then perhaps the purpose of Keine's spell was to keep us away."

You shook your head. "Keine had to have felt her spell breaking. And even if she didn't, Yukari was probably spying on us somehow. And with a gap, she could always show up whenever she feels like it."

"Is there a reason you're only bringing this up now?" Patchouli snapped.

You shook your head. "Didn't think of it earlier. It just struck me that this is too easy. If I was Mamizou, I'd drop everything to deal with a threat like this. "

"A threat like what?" a new voice spoke up, and you turned to see her.

She was colorful, even by Gensokyo's standards. Purple hair, purple eyes, and her vest, sleeves, and skirt representing green, yellow and red, all in bright colors. She's also got a noticeable flower motif, between a hair ornament, the pattern on her sleeves, and a rather cloying perfume. Despite that, you got the impression of a lady, not a girl. While elegant, she was formal, walking serenely towards the pair of you as she gave a nod to Patchouli and took a seat of her own.

"Miss Knowledge. Is there anything I should be aware of?"

"Hieda no Akyuu", Patchouli returned the greeting. "It's a possibility my assistant has raised."

"And what would that be?" Akyuu asked politely.

"Yukari and possibly others are manipulating the incident," Patchouli replied. "In particular, Keine hid both the human village and the memory of her own existence, something particularly troubling given the human village's role in generating urban legends."

"And given that someone's going to great lengths to hide the truth," you cut in, "I was worried something might have happened to you."

Akyuu closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Upon opening them, she gave you a gentle smile. "I'm afraid I can't speak to Keine's actions. She has hidden the village before during past incidents, so this may have been an attempt to protect us."

You start to speak, but Akyuu raises a hand to forestall you. "I can set your mind at ease on one point, however. Nobody has done anything untoward against me or the Hieda household this incident."

You sighed. "That's a relief."

Akyuu giggled. "In point of fact, I've been catching up on my chronicling work all day; I'm actually rather glad for the distraction."

"It has been a tiring day for us all," Patchouli agreed. "So allow me to be brief. Have you heard of a youkai named Mamizou?"

Akyuu hesitated, looking back and forth between the pair of you. "I'm sorry, who?"

[?] Now what?

[-] Directly test Akyuu’s memory.
--- [-] Plus a lot of write-ins.

"Mamizou? Big tanuki boss, pretty strong, acts like an old lady?" you asked, your heart sinking. "Directly responsible for tricking Sumireko into Gensokyo, plus some other stuff?"

Akyuu shook her head. "There's no such youkai in Gensokyo. Where did you hear all of this?"

"Everywhere!" you cried out, letting a little distress leak into Koakuma's voice. "Mamizou and Keine were just youkai that people knew, and then all of a sudden nobody remembered but me! I didn't even realize at first, but Sakuya and Patchouli and the others just stopped talking about them, like they never existed! If it wasn't for your chronicle, I wouldn't have even been able to show Keine was real!"

Patchouli gave you that sidelong glance that let you know she was a little disturbed, but Akyuu seemed to buy it, rubbing her eyes. "It's all right. Whatever's really going on here, I'm sure nobody blames you."

"But Remilia's in a bad spot, and we need to figure out her urban legend, or..." you trailed off. Faking tears wasn't natural for you, but you managed to choke up a little.

"I'm not sure what else I can tell you," Akyuu said, looking markedly uncomfortable. "Keine is real, obviously enough, and she's done these sorts of history tricks before. Perhaps this is some sort of false trail laid by the real culprit?"

"The real culprit behind what, exactly?" Patchouli asked.

Akyuu smiled. "This promises to be a long conversation, and I suspect we've all had a long day. Would you care for some tea?"

---

Patchouli accepted, you declined, and Akyuu rang for a servant and asked for them to bring some of whatever new blend she was drinking. You'd have found the distraction irritating if you didn't need the time to think.

Akyuu denying Mamizou's existence was a nasty shock, but you'd been bracing for something to go wrong, and now you at least knew what it was. Mamizou officially did not exist, according to the authority whose writings proved Keine's existence... and for that matter, who appeared to be personally aware that Keine still existed.

Admittedly, there were still a few possibilities. Akyuu might simply be lying, or there might be some magical subtlety that let her remember Keine but not Mamizou. Without knowing for sure why you remembered both, you couldn't state with complete confidence that it was impossible to recall only one.

But your gut was telling you this wasn't some innocent misunderstanding. Mamizou got to Akyuu first, possibly before you even arrived in Gensokyo. And if that was the case, then this was bad. Both for what it meant for the scale of Mamizou's plan, and for the almost-sorta-kidna trust you were building with Patchouli. She'd been fighting the idea of you being trustworthy, suspecting you of running some kind of scheme pretty much every step of the way! You couldn't afford to be wrong now, especially not when you weren't actually wrong!

The good news was, if you were right and Mamizou was impersonating Akyuu, there was a simple way to prove that. You just had to pick your moment. And in the meantime, there was no harm in figuring out whatever it was she wanted you to think.

The moment Akyuu finished speaking to the servant, Patchouli resumed the conversation. "So. What scheme do you think is at play?"

"I wasn't part of the incident resolvers meeting earlier, but I've kept my ears open," she replied, sitting back down. "There have been nine Sumireko sightings so far, encountering nearly every major group in Gensokyo and featuring vastly different levels of both skill and malice."

Wait, that was your argument. Why was she making it for you?

"This is enough for all of the major incident resolvers to actively search for her, and yet, she hasn't been caught." Akyuu continued. "And while everyone's hunting for her, something alarmed Keine badly enough for her to hide both the village and her own existence."

Patchouli's eyes narrowed. "What are you suggesting?"

"Obviously someone's working with her." Akyuu said.

Patchouli glanced over at you. "I can verify that much," she said cautiously. "When Sakuya found her at Eientei, Satori and a few other youkai were there. But Sumireko's allies have been rather firmly accounted for."

"Not just them," Akyuu said. "The force arranged against Sumireko is substantial. No matter how powerful her allies are, it is unlikely they could simultaneously stand against Reimu, Marisa, Byakuren, Miko, and Kasen... to say nothing of your own mansion's forces. No, for her to remain at large in spite of everyone's efforts requires most of Gensokyo's youkai to be actively misdirected. I believe someone organizing the hunt is secretly sabotaging it."

"You have a suspect in mind," Patchouli stated flatly.

"I do," Akyuu confirmed. "A notorious trickster youkai, one of significant power, who's actually present in Gensokyo. One who might gain significantly from the proper urban legend, who's been actively involved in planning the response, and yet who has not encountered Sumireko directly."

"Yukari," Patchouli muttered darkly.

Akyuu glanced at her in surprise. "What? No. Isn't she asleep?"

"No. She made a personal visit to the mansion a few hours ago, where she all but admitted culpability in Remilia's plight."

"That is new information," Akyuu admitted, biting her lip. "Though maybe I shouldn't be surprised..."

"You clearly had someone else in mind," Patchouli pointed out. "If not Yukari, then who?"

"Well, my dramatic reveal has been ruined," Akyuu pouted slightly, "but... her shikigami. The nine-tailed kitsune, Ran Yakumo."

[-] To be continued.

((This is going to take multiple updates to get through everything, but here's the first piece.))

[-] Ask more questions.

"It can't possibly be Ran!" you protested. "Shikigami don't work that way!"

"And you're an expert on shikigami?" Akyuu asked, giving you a sideways glance.

"It was one of the options back when Lady Patchouli first summoned me," you lied. "I'm thankful that she didn't pick it."

"Really, now?" Akyuu said, clearly probing.

That lie had earned you a sideways glance from Patchy, but thankfully she went with it. "It was never more than a last-resort threat. The final punishment, if all else failed. Regardless, you can rest assured my assistant and I know the basics. And from what I'm aware of, Ran can be considered a tool at Yukari's service."

Akyuu nodded. "And I presume you recall the rebellion of tools that happened recently?"

Patchouli paused, her gaze sharpening. "Sakuya made no mention of any Yakumo involvement for that incident. Have you found otherwise?"

Akyuu shook her head. "Nothing so direct. I don't think Seija or the Miracle Mallet had the necessary power to completely usurp Yukari's control in any case. But it could have been the first crack in the wall, and it would explain Ran's behavior."

"Go on," Patchouli said.

"Ran has been insisting to everyone who asked that Yukari is currently asleep and not to be disturbed, which is apparently false. Her being an active participant in the incident is equally unusual, as is that she's the only one of the would-be incident resolvers who hasn't personally encountered Sumireko by now."

"Couldn't that all be explained by Yukari being sneaky?" you asked. "We already know she's up to something; she could just be giving Ran orders."

"That's possible," Akyuu said with a nod, "but there's one more thing. The urban legends. You know better than anyone that they can significantly alter a youkai's behavior, even to the point of losing control of themselves. The right urban legend could give one that control back."

"But there'd need to be an appropriate story," you protested. "People would need to know about it, and that's something you have to lay the groundwork for."

"Indeed!" Akyuu said, smiling triumphantly. "A youkai intending such a plot would have to spend a significant amount of time in the human village spreading the story they wanted. And while most of the incident resolvers have been searching every which way, Ran has mostly coordinated efforts from the village."

Patchouli frowned. "It's an interesting idea, but this is all still largely theoretical. Has Ran herself actually done anything?"

"Nothing direct, aside from the urban legend."

Patchouli swore. "Akyuu. Forget the reveal, and make your damned point!"

Akyuu grew serious, staring the mage down. "I overheard some villagers talking about it a couple hours ago. How the Spring Snow incident was actually Yukari's attempt to steal the seasonal magic of Gensokyo, and how she was on the verge of succeeding when her shikigami turned against her and stopped her."

Hadn't Akyuu said she was working inside all day? You nearly objected, stopped to think about it for a moment, and finally shook your head. "That story is absurd on several levels."

Patchouli looked grim. "Yes, but it's not as if the villagers would know that. And if that method works, it opens up an entirely new possibility."

Akyuu caught the implication and shook her head. "I'm afraid I haven't heard anything specifically about Remilia or the Scarlet Mist incident. I'd have led with it if I had."

"One more thing to look at, then," Patchouli grumbled. "Actual magic has fewer possibilities than this incident."

---

The tea arrived just then, signaling a break in the conversation by unspoken agreement. You got up to help pour, but the servant girl waved you off, placing down the tea set and quickly pouring three cups. As she passed them out, you made the executive decision to leave yours untouched, watching the others. Akyuu took her time adding in milk and a generous dose of honey, sipping daintily at hers with every sign of enjoyment. Patchouli didn't bother, grabbing her cup in both hands and draining it in one go.

Akyuu blinked. "Did you even taste it?"

"Enough," Patchouli said, rubbing her eyes. "It is good, for the record."

The servant girl poured the mage another cup, which she proceeded to drink at a somewhat slower rate. Akyuu was about halfway through her cup when Patchouli finished that one, seeming a bit more focused now.

"There's still a point that needs clarification," she said, setting her teacup aside. "Even assuming Seija's rebellion affected Ran, and that she's manufacturing the urban legend you heard in an attempt to break free, that strikes me as a Yakumo family matter."

Akyuu coughed mid-sip. "Come again?"

"Yukari, under the alias Q. Nira, is directly responsible for Remilia's current state. She all but admitted as much before directly engaging half the mansion. If her shikigami wishes to rebel against her, then I wish her luck."

"But she's the one prolonging the incident," Akyuu protested. "The cause of the fake Sumireko sightings, making Keine hide the village, everything!"

Patchouli glanced over at you. "Whether Sumireko escapes or is captured is irrelevant to Remilia's urban legend. Granted, I'm sure Reimu would take an interest, but-"

"You don't understand!" Akyuu yelled.

Red in the face, the Child of Miare took a deep breath, drinking some of her tea before facing Patchouli seriously. "Ran Yakumo getting freed would be an extremely bad thing. Do you have any idea who she was before being bound?"

Patchouli poured herself a third cup of tea before settling back in her seat. "I'm listening."

"She was a wicked, ancient youkai of the worst sort," Akyuu said, scowling. "One who answered courtesy with insult and insult with atrocity. A seductress who corrupted men to worm her way into the seat of power, and used it for rampant bloodshed. A monster who loved getting her own claws dirty, but who spilled more blood through deceit than a hundred vampires could through combat."

You stared at her, taken aback. "This is personal for you."

"One of my reincarnations lived through her reign of terror, so yes." Akyuu drained the rest of her cup before continuing. "Rumor and fearmongering turned pranks into wicked schemes, and hunting into sadistic terrorism. The human's healthy fear of the unknown was poisoned into terror and hatred. In areas where the local youkai were quiet or in hiding, she'd simply don a disguise and slaughter a few people herself. And with the stage set, she ordered her army to retaliate. Those youkai that fought back were slaughtered, and those who retreated were pursued. Hunted down. She tried to genocide three species of youkai in Sado alone!"

"If Ran did all that, shouldn't we have heard of her?" you asked. You and Sumi had done a lot of research on youkai before coming to Gensokyo, and you suspected Patchouli knew at least as much.

"She had a different name back then," Akyuu explained. "Before becoming Ran Yakumo, she was originally known as Tamamo-no-Mae."

[-] To be continued.


((I couldn't believe how quickly you guys called this particular detail.))

[-]What's in a name?

You were vaguely aware of Tamamo-no-mae's existence, but not much more than that. To the extent you did think about her, she was just another creature out of mythology, like the Minotaur, or the White Rabbit of Inaba. You didn't particularly trust the legends to be close to whatever happened back then, and so the name just didn't concern you.

What did concern you was Patchouli's spit-take and subsequent coughing fit. She recognized the name, and it wasn't good news.

As the servant girl passed the Akyuu a napkin, you watched the mage worriedly. "Are you alright?"

It took a few seconds for Patchouli's coughing to die down. "I've heard the name," she said, grimacing. "That... Akyuu's right, her getting free would definitely have consequences."

"Is Tamamo that bad?"

Patchouli barely seemed to hear you, murmuring to herself. "The timeline shouldn't be possible, but this is Yukari. But if then that's the case, why would she-"

"Uh, Patchy?"

The mage glanced at you and shook her head. "Never mind."

Having dried herself off, Akyuu glanced over. "Have you figured something out?"

"Just an idea," she said guardedly. "It would explain some of Yukari's actions, but I need to think it over first."

Akyuu looked disappointed at that, but you were quietly relieved. With how antagonistic you were with Yukari, that indicated that Patchouli was at least a little suspicious of Akyuu. It'd make things easier. "Do you think Tamamo's someone who needs to be stopped?"

"It's uncertain," Patchouli said slowly. "If she's still like Akyuu described, then yes, but a lot of Gensokyo's youkai were once just as bloodthirsty. Even the friendlier ones, such as the Moriya Shrine, have their darker side. It depends on how different the Ran of today is from the Tamamo of old. "

"But that difference is entirely due to Yukari's control!" Akyuu insisted.

Patchouli glanced at you with a wry smile. "People change. Why can't youkai?"

You weren't expecting Patchouli to repeat your sentiment. Not this soon, and not in this context. If anything, it felt like she was softly defending the kitsune... perhaps whatever prior knowledge Patchouli had of her wasn't all bad? But then why the initial reaction? You were pretty sure you'd missed something, but you could always ask about it later.

For now the mage continued on. "Still, on the whole, this is likely good news."

"How so?" Akyuu asked, looking troubled.

The mage smiled. "Sakuya's already looking to have a conversation with Ran. Whatever schemes she's involved in, we'll soon find out."

Akyuu nodded, biting her lip. "Hopefully."

There was a moment of silence at that, and you utilized it to change the subject. "If we're done with Ran's stuff, can we get back to Keine?"

"Agreed," Patchouli said. "Important as this might be, we've strayed from the point."

Akyuu sighed. "It's the least I can do after you heard me out. What do you want to know?"

"Well, I was thinking..." you paused for effect, "Patchouli, you brought the Gensokyo Chronicle, right? The volume we used to figure things out?"

"Yes?" she asked, pulling out the tome.

"With all the confusion going on, I thought we should double-check all our information! Sorry to be a bother Akyuu, but could you recite Keine's article real quick?" you asked, smiling innocently.

She covered it well, but you were looking for it, so you saw the flinch, and your smile got just a bit wider. Got her. Akyuu brushed her hair back. "If I'm doing this, do you want the official copy of the chronicle to compare as well?"

The question was addressed to Patchouli, and you silently willed her to say no, don't give her a chance to pull anything- "This should be fine. If your recollection matches my copy, we'll know neither has been tampered with."

"Fine then." Akyuu closed her eyes, affecting a look of intense concentration. "Keine Kamishirawa. Ability, power to consume history in human form, power to create history in beast form. Danger level is low, human friendship level is high."

She'd started a bit before Patchouli was properly ready, so the mage hurriedly paged through the book to Keine's entry.

"Main activity area is the human village." Akyuu cleared her throat. "Keine Kamishirawa is a therianthrope, a were-hakutaku with the ability to manipulate history."

Patchouli looked up. "That's not-" and started coughing.

"Patchy?"

"She'll be fine," Akyuu said. "She just shouldn't have drank so many leaves."

You glance down at your teacup, and while it's still full, the contents have changed. Leaves. Not tea leaves, plain old tree leaves.

"Since you called me on it, I suppose I should cut to the chase," not-Akyuu said, flying into the air. "You'll have to tell me how you remembered, later."

[Humans are Nice!]

[-] To be continued.

[-] Maybe you should have seen this coming.

As a general rule of thumb, Patchouli's take-no-chances attitude was irritating, unnecessary, and a general pain in your neck. But thankfully, she practiced equal opportunity paranoia, as despite her coughing fit, she'd retained enough presence of mind to do something useful. The moment the fake Akyuu declared her spellcard, you felt your partially-active binding fully deactivate, and that gave you a chance to act.

[Illusion Sign - Orb of Midnight]

The now-familiar black orb formed around the fake Akyuu, and you grabbed Patchy to start running.

"We need to go!"

Unfortunately, blocking your foe's vision did nothing to block her spellcard, and in those scant few seconds, a number of human-shaped bullets had spawned and were randomly wobbling around the room. Still, with their slow speed and not-that-ridiculous bullet density, it seemed manageable, even with the relatively small space and Patchouli's condition. Then the human-shaped bullets started firing their own bullets at you. All of them.

So that's what the spellcard name was going for. Damn the irony.

You all but tackled Patchouli out of the way of the first volley, but more human-bullets kept spawning, and the sheer amount of bullets they were firing was putting the second amendment to shame. You needed to get rid of them, and you knew that was possible, you'd seen Satori do it, you just needed to imitate that.

[Concealment Sign - Smoke on the Wind]
The bomb manifested as... well, a smoke bomb. A pulse of smoke came out of you, but your rather literal interpretation of it seemed to work, as it wiped away both the projectile bullets and the human bullets on contact. Admittedly, the smoke was making you cough, let alone Patchouli, but you just had to get out of here, and the bomb did give you a free shot at the door.

Which was locked. Of course. You weren't about to try to pick it in this mess, but it was a relatively flimsy screen door, and a few bullets had already hit the thing. As the next round of human bullets started to spawn, you got a running start and slammed into it shoulder-first, causing the door to creak as the wood cracked and splintered. You backed up for one more charge, only for someone else to tackle you first, bouncing you off the wall and making you crash into the floor. Doing your best to roll away, you lashed out with a punch, but your aim was a good guess at best, and your arm was caught and wrenched around.

Your assailant wasn't particularly skilled, but with her leverage, plus being, you know, a youkai, she didn't need to be. You were pinned down to the floor, with one arm trapped under you and the other firmly grabbed. You had to twist around to even get a good look at your attacker.

"Mamizou," you growled.

She'd dropped her Akyuu disguise entirely at this point, her ears and tail on full display. "I'd say you have me at a disadvantage, but we both know that isn't true, Greg."

She knew your name, which meant she probably knew what you were capable of. Being pinned down made any kind of veil pointless, your spellcard had faded away, and you'd probably get disemboweled before you could summon another one. And Patchouli was still trying to cough her lungs up, the servant girl from earlier standing casually next to her.

"Just what was in that tea?"

"Standard herbal tea, you know?" Mamizou chuckled. "Lots of earthly undertones. Practically medicinal, really."

Damnation. Nothing else for it, then. You sighed and went slack in Mamizou's grip as you closed your eyes and focused. Patchouli's mind was easy to find, practically radiating distress and frustration. This would have consequences. Satori's suffering had been psychological in nature, a feedback loop that was gone as soon as you broke it. Patchouli, by contrast, had very real physical problems, and the easiest way to block her from feeling them was to take the feelings yourself. But it was that, or get captured again, and you doubted this set would be as reasonable as Sakuya's crew had proved.

So you thought back to those moments of good health, what it meant to be young, full of energy, ready to take on the world. And when you had it, that general sense of health and well-being, you touched Patchouli's mind, and you pushed those feelings into her.

The feedback was immediate. Your stomach started doing backflips, but that was a minor issue, because your lungs were trying to turn themselves inside out. You did your best to suppress it, but within seconds you'd started hacking and coughing, and it was all you could do to hold on to Patchy's illness. But if you were feeling all this, then maybe-

{Earth Water Sign - Noachian Deluge}
An absolute flood of water slammed into you and Mamizou both, spinning you quite literally tail over teakettle as the pair of you crashed into the table. Luckily, Mamizou took the worst of it, hitting the table edge squarely while you were merely propelled over the top into the cushions on the other side.

The mage stepped forwards, glaring at Mamizou as she wound up another spellcard.

{Earth Metal Sign - Emerald Megalopolis}
Pillars of glowing green metal shot out of the ground in rings around Patchouli, completely shattering flooring furniture, and the surrounding walls. Mamizou, still stunned by her impact with the table wasn't able to get out of the way in time, and the third ring of pillars slammed into her, launching her into the ceiling. You flinched as the pillars continued erupting towards you, but either Patchy canceled the spellcard or you were out of range, as they died out just before reaching you.

The mage flew over to your side, lifting you up.

"How did you-"

"Not fixed," you said, interrupted by another fit of coughing. "Blocked."

Patchouli swore. "Can you manage a veil?"

You tried to answer, broke down in a coughing fit and shook your head.

"Interesting trick!" Mamizou said, appearing from behind you. "But what happens if I do this?"

The tanuki thrust what looked like a pole at you. Patchouli pushed you out of the way, the pole going between the pair of you, before fabric whipped out and flung both of you across the room.

Had Mamizou just hit you by opening a giant umbrella? You shook your head. Not important. The problem was, she'd separated the two of you, and only one of you was going to be able to fight at a time. Which meant when she turned on you...

{Sun Sign - Royal Flare}
[Sixth Duel - Tanuki's Shapeshifting School]
As Patchouli's fireballs started exploding against more waves of human bullets, you felt the beginnings of mana exhaustion in addition to everything else. She was throwing everything she had into this. Which was warranted, but you weren't actually giving her more energy, just hiding how much she was losing. And come to think of it, she'd already cast quite a bit today, hadn't she?

You coughed again, clutching your stomach as you staggered to your feet. This wasn't sustainable. Even if you could keep holding back Patchouli's leaf-induced asthma attack, Mamizou still looked fresh, dancing around the mage's bullets as she lashed out with both danmaku and physical attacks. It just didn't look like the mage could win.

But still, why would Mamizou fight that battle instead of just taking you out immediately?

"Well, well, well." A voice rang out from behind you. "Breaking Keine's spell, knowing Mami here actually exists, and now getting Patchouli back on her feet? You're a bit of an unknown factor, aren't you? I like that."

Oh. You turned around to see the servant girl smiling. Which... now that you were paying attention, you realized it was strangely hard to visualize her. Distinguishing features, hair color, eye color, clothing... you had the vague sense they were all normal for a servant, but you couldn't actually retain any of the information. That wasn't how Mamizou's disguise had worked.

"You-" you coughed, "who are you?"

"Better if that stays unknown," she said. "Well actually, all this needs to stay unknown, so you're going to have to disappear for a bit." The servant raised her hand, shotgunning orbs at you.

"Patchy!" you yelled.

{Water Sign - Jellyfish Princess}

A bubble appeared around you right before the servant's danmaku would have hit, absorbing the blows with ease. The only thing you felt was the additional mana drain on Patchy's mana... but using a spellcard to shield you meant the mage didn't have one for herself.

[Fourth Duel - Amphibian Danmaku Transformation]
Mamizou shot out orbs in every direction that materialized into glowing frogs and hopped around before exploding. Patchouli flew away from the first wave, but the explosions turned out to be rings of bullets, and in the small confines of the room, there was barely any room. The bullets from the explosions were peppering her and your bubble shield both, and the servant continuing to shoot at your bubble wasn't helping! Patchouli flew in your direction, and you could feel her mana dropping as she prepared another spellcard.

{Moon Sign - Silent Selene}
She released the spellcard just as she reached you, and your bubble disappeared as silver pillars of moonlight fell all around you, wiping out both the servant's danmaku and Mamizou's spellcard. She grabbed you before you fell to the floor, glaring across at the tanuki.

"Any ideas?" she asked in a low voice.

"Can't keep this up," you warned her. "No energy."

As you fell into yet another coughing fit, Patchouli wiped a hand across her brow, glancing at the sweat that had gathered. ''Ah." The word held a certain finality to it. "Then there's only one thing for it."

As her defensive spellcard expired, Patchouli reached into her robes and pulled out-

[-] Her communication book, to signal Sakuya.
[-] Marisa's mini-hakkero, for a very different sort of signal.

[X] Marisa's mini-hakkero, for a very different sort of signal.

You didn't recognize it immediately. You'd gotten glimpses of it when fighting Marisa yesterday (good grief, was it only yesterday?), but while the mini-hakkero was a bit unusual, it looked more like a stove's burner than a powerful magical item. The glow and the ominous hum, on the other hand? That was unmistakable. As was the way Patchouli was aiming it towards Mamizou and the fake servant.

Which, considering her current state, was a very bad idea.

"Patchy!" you croaked. "Stop!"

"I've never gotten the chance to properly use this," Patchouli said, ignoring you. "Even then, my spells tend more towards precision... but there is something to be said for raw power."

"You really think you're going to beat the two of us with one Master Spark?" Mamizou asked contemptuously.

"Not exactly."

[Philosopher's Sign - Non-Directional Master Spark]

A massive array of small crystals appeared near Patchouli, across the five colors corresponding to her chosen elements. Red, blue, green, yellow, and orange, for fire, water, wood, earth, and metal. As she fired the laser, the cloud of crystals dove into the way of the master spark, splitting the giant laser into numerous smaller beams of different colors and angles. The elemental lasers shot towards the pair as the beams curved around, passed through, and sometimes reflected against each other, the crystals, and the main beam.

"Nue!" Mamizou yelled.

"I've got it!"

[Unidentified - Green UFO Invasion of Justice]

The servant gestured, sending out a ring of honest-to-goodness UFO's in front of her. (Even with everything else, you did a double take at that.) They all fired lasers back towards you. The ring of green beams slammed into Patchouli's elemental spark, but it was no contest. A few of the smaller beams were deflected or overwhelmed, but the bulk of Patchouli's lasers slammed forwards into the cloud of UFO's, burning through them as they exploded and vanished. The servant was blown back, her weird disguise shredding as you saw a black-haired girl with mismatched wings, and for a moment you thought that was it, but Mamizou was there.

{Transformation - False Shrine Maiden's Barrier}
Mamizou transformed into a red-white shrine maiden, summoning a translucent barrier right before Patchouli's lasers hit. Scattered and dispersed as they were, the barrier held, before Mamizou flinched and it started to crack. She wasn't the real shrine maiden. Her barrier was not the real thing, and you suspected Reimu Hakurei would know better than to try blocking a true master spark.

However, the tanuki was merely buying time. And with that time, Nue threw out another circle of UFO's, emerging from behind Mamizou's barrier and into Patchouli's lasers. The laser again burned through the UFO's, but the time it took had let Mamizou's barrier heal.

You gasped as the headache spiked and you started shaking. The room suddenly felt like a furnace as you started burning up. And of course, the asthma and the 'tea' were still there, though they felt like maybe the second and third most important things at the moment.

You dropped the spell. You couldn't have held it together much longer in any case, but Patchouli might not survive burning through any more mana!

The mage lost her spellcard immediately, coughing and staggering, but she held onto the mini-hakkero. Trembling and hacking, she pulled another crystal out of her robes and pressed it into the back of the magical weapon.

"Don't!"

[Philosopher's Sign - Elemental Spark]
Patchouli collapsed, but the mini-hakkero continued floating, spinning gently in place as the crystals from her previous spell-card floated above it, the small pieces combining into larger crystals until each of the five elements had coalesced into a single crystal. Two of them, the earth and metal crystals, fell to the ground, while the other three pulled in closer, almost touching each other and the mini-hakkero. Meanwhile, the crystal Patchouli had added in the back, a small silver crystal, shone with intense light, and as it pulsed, the master spark pointed upwards and fired.

Once again the beam fired through the crystals directly, but this time the crystals were large and sturdy enough to split the beam cleanly. Three elemental lasers shot upwards, piercing the roof with ease and blasting into the sky. At no point did any of the beams go near Mamizou or Nue.

Nue stared. "So was that a misfire?"

"That's a signal!"

Mamizou lunged for the mini-hakkero, grabbing both the edge of the device and the silver crystal lodged in the back and trying to yank them apart, but whatever Patchouli had done had stuck them fast. The tanuki recoiled, shaking her burned hand.

Meanwhile, you'd recovered enough to try something of your own. Grabbing Patchouli, you reached for your magic to throw up a veil and yelped as you were viciously shocked by your binding.

You stared at the damned thing in shock and confusion. How? Why? Patchouli had turned it off at the start of the fight! You were just using your magic with no trouble!

Nue turned towards you. "You're not going to try to escape or anything?"

"I- agh!" You staggered as another, harder shock went through your system. "Why?! I didn't even-"

"Uh, are you okay?"

"No!" The binding doesn't quit, the shocks it sent through your system growing worse and worse. And as you glanced down at the unconscious magician, it hit you.

It wasn't some clever trick from Mamizou, or a malfunction, or even spite from Patchy's end. This was a development entirely in keeping with someone prepared enough to have a last-ditch spellcard that used a giant laser just to signal, and paranoid enough to doubt you through a truth spell.

She'd put a dead man's switch in your binding. A failsafe that triggered now that she'd lost consciousness. And now you were about to do the same.

Unlikely as it was, there might have been a chance for you to grab her and hide until more people showed up, to somehow make a break for it. But now? Patchouli had screwed herself exactly as thoroughly as she'd just screwed you.

"If I don't get the chance," you told Nue, "please tell Patchy this was entirely her fault."

You lost consciousness.

[-] To be concluded.