[3] Join the fight.
[21] Free the Immortals.
-[X] If there's any significant and useful info we can give to Reisen that she can use and/or relay to Aunn, psychically yell it out now. If we don't have anything off the top of our head though, get moving!
-[X] Grab whatever rabbits that still have some nerve to help!

She was on her feet in seconds. She looked around, at the cowering earth rabbits.

“Anyone that can still stand, follow me! We’re going to free Lady Eirin and the Princess!”

A few of the rabbits looked around hesitantly, but came to their feet. About a half-dozen rabbits, when all added up, followed Akyuu in her run towards the psydar ruins.

+Reisen, Sakuya has a limited number of knives. Try to break them, if you can. And pass that and any other info on to Aunn as well!+

+Ten-four. Wish us luck.+

One of them still had their weapon, seemingly intact. Akyuu turned to her. “What the hell happened to all the guns?”

“Tewi said your instructions-” The rabbit hesitated under Akyuu’s glare in response. Earth it! That damn cotton-brained fuzzball…

As they rounded a corner, they found several rabbits and the cotton-brained fuzzball in question, all trying to shift part of a radar dish. Akyuu’s small team stepped in as well, finally managing to dislodge it.

Beneath the dish was Princess Kaguya’s head, her body buried deeper. She looked up at the rabbits. “I-inaba?”

Tewi knelt down. “Princess, any rabbits buried under here, or just you and Eirin?”

“Just us, I think. We thought they were too far away to attack… that vampire’s got a hell of a throwing arm.” The princess shifted. “I-I think Eirin managed to avoid the worst of it, but… Tewi, if you would?”

Tewi nodded. “You, the one with the working gun. Restart her, would you?” The rabbit’s face blanched, but she nodded. “Everyone else, with me!”

The white hare closed her eyes, then picked a seemingly arbitrary direction to hop across the rubble. Akyuu was only a few steps behind her, barely hesitating at the sound of a gunshot.

“Eirin! Eirin! You alive under there?” The rabbits began to heft the beam. Akyuu assumed Tewi was using her power of luck to guess where to pull, and was indeed rewarded with the face of the doctor. Looking more carefully, it seemed she had dived under the central table’s lip when the building had collapsed. “Come on, up you get…”

The doctor was pulled out, groaning. One leg was bent in an awkward way, and there was a massive gash on her right arm, but as soon as her left was free, she was ripping up her sleeve to bandage it. “Tewi. What’s the situation?”

Tewi looked up. “Hakurei’s helping us, it seems. No idea how the vat-bunnies managed that.” She looked at Akyuu for explanation.

“She says I’m her lead on the Immaterial Children Incident. Right now I think she’s thinking you kidnapped my spirit or something, but-uh-I didn’t get time to explain it.”

The doctor groaned, continuing to tie up her arm. She pointed at another of the mob. “You. Look for the first-aid kit in the hospital. If you don’t know where that is, Tewi, charge her up with luck.” She flexed her fingers experimentally, before stretching her arm with a wince. “No using my bow… but I can still stitch someone up.”

Akyuu looked up. “Hopefully you won’t have to…?”

The battle between the Hakurei Shrine Maiden and the Scarlet Devil was going poorly. Haru was being pressured back, further and further, with her supplies of vampiric equipment dwindling. Her orbs formed a defensive constellation around her, keeping the worst of the attacks away from her and Genji’s head, but many blows glanced off his shell, knocking vampire-hunting equipment loose. It was clear Remilia was trying to strip her of her equipment, and it seemed to be working.

Fortunately, the other fight was even more one-sided in the opposite direction. There were about five illusory Reisens and two very real Aunns surrounding the maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, forcing the maid to have dropped whatever it was she’d been holding. Her throws were getting more and more frenetic, but also more and more sparse - the two-slash-seven pressuring her were trying to knock her daggers away, or break them apart, leaving her with less and less ammo. She could stop time to move around them and attack again, but both were able to dodge away, and half the time she’d skewer an entirely holographic Reisen.

At a particular moment, one Reisen surged forward, grabbing the maid into a chokehold. The two Aunns leapt in to assist, seizing the maid’s other limbs and holding them against her. Sakuya struggled, but slowly, her movements began to slow. The three restraining her exchanged words, and once the Maid had lost consciousness, Reisen left her to be brought to the ground in Aunn’s care, and rushed to the Shrine Maiden’s aid.

Akyuu began to run to assist, as the vampire yelped from the sudden interference. Haru grinned, and pressed the attack with Reisen - now putting the vampire on the defensive. Remilia hissed, flicking her wings back, and trying to get a better sense of the battlefield, searching for an opportunity.

And then… Remilia saw it. From over a hundred metres away, the vampire’s eyes went from searching wildly to laser-focused on one target.

Akyuu.

“So… It’s you.”

The vampire folded her wings, and dived.

Akyuu’s brain just shut down. As what felt like certain death barrelled down to her, she couldn’t muster a response. She heard yelling, distantly. Reisen, and Eirin’s, and even a bit of Tewi’s. But something about the vampire’s eyes had her trapped. She knew why, some part of her desperately screamed the reason - the power of mesmerizing, like the vampire had done to keep their chupacabra. Remilia wanted her to stay there, stay stock still and take her punishment, as the Scarlet Devil dived down, flashing red claws.

Akyuu saw something lunge in front of her. Something wearing red and white.

With the eye contact broken, and the Shrine Maiden’s body slamming into her, Akyuu’s mind surged up from the hypnotic haze. She gasped as she hit the ground, looking up… to see something utterly nightmarish.

Cracks.

Cracks in the sky.

They were jagged and erratic, a furious red, forming lightning-bolt patterns all across what Akyuu had once thought to be empty, endless blue. They traced the shape of an enormous bubble, one around all of Gensokyo, and each and every fragment produced by the cracks looked nothing like its neighbors. Autumn skies, littered with orange leaves. The lanterns of midsummer festival. A snowcloud tinted red by an unconnected sunset. A full moon. A new moon. Three different suns.

Akyuu heard a groan, looking down, and gasped. “L-Lady Hakurei!” There was a massive gash through her chest, and blood was flowing out like a river. The rabbit tried to stem the blood, but there was too much, too much-

She heard irregular but rapid footsteps. Eirin suddenly appeared beside her, holding a flask. She grabbed the Hakurei’s mouth, forcing it in. The doctor began muttering a spell, and a small bubble formed from her fingers, expanding slowly. As it expanded around her fingers, they went from muddy and bloody to perfectly clean.

“Akyuu, can you stand?” The rabbit scrambled to her feet, pulling herself out from under the Shrine Maiden. Any dust she kicked up soon vanished under what was presumably a sterilization spell. She glanced around - Reisen was also running to her side. Many of the rabbits were in a complete panic, and Genjii was roaring at them. Both Aunns were at a full sprint running to help - some dim part of Akyuu’s consciousness noted an unceremoniously-dumped Sakuya folded up on the ground, next to her sack.

And in the center of it all, staring straight up at the sky, was Remilia Scarlet. Her face was utterly distraught, and while her wings had been spread up before, now they shriveled around her. She slowly sagged, staring at her bloody claw.

“I-I…” The vampire gulped. “I-I didn’t mean to…”

There was a storm of yells and screams. Tewi was trying to get the rabbits back in some semblance of order, grabbing anyone she could and trying to get them to fetch some sort of medical equipment. Reisen and an Aunn were both leaping down to Haru, trying to assist with patching up the grievous wound. There were bodies running, flowing around everywhere, and Akyuu felt like a lone island in a storm of chaos, helplessly caught up in its vortex.

And yet. Her eyes refocused. There was someone, stepping through the crowd. It wasn’t as if she was doing so in some particularly graceful manner - it just seemed as though nobody happened to get in her way as she walked forward, at an easy gait. It was a tall, curvaceous woman, with red pigtails, and wielding a scythe with a blade that wavered like a flag in the wind.

She waved, casually. “Heya, kid. If you are who I think you are... long time no see, huh?”

Akyuu’s hands were up before she knew it. Some instinct pushed her forward, and she fired off a round from her psychic weapon. Komachi stepped aside, letting it shoot past easily.

“SHINIGAMI!” Aunn’s yell was furious, and desperate. “STAY BACK! I WON’T LET YOU TAKE HER!” One of her bodies rushed at the shinigami, leaping to tackle her. Despite seeming to have already been in the air before Komachi focused on her, she still wasn’t fast enough, getting the hilt of the scythe in her face and knocking her sideways.

At the yell of shinigami, the mood had changed. Now anyone who could stand was looking at Komachi - only those tending to Haru’s grievous wound didn’t look up, too desperate to try and patch it.

The red-haired woman looked around, sighing. “Never gonna get a nice welcome, am I?” She shrugged. “Yeah, yeah, you know what I’m here for. The Hakurei’s my target tonight.”

Tewi surged up, to block the shinigami’s path. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you see the sky?”

Genjii nodded furiously in agreement. “You take her life now, and all of Gensokyo will-”

“That’s none of my business.” Komachi shrugged, airily. She stepped through a gap between the two of them that seemed a mile wide, even though they’d been side-by-side before. “I ain’t the one who decides how fate will turn. It’s just my job to clean up each piece, and leave other matters for another time.”

The vampire rushed forward, trying to pull on Komachi’s sleeve. “No! Stop! I-I can change fate, I can-”

The backhand sent her sprawling, directly into a patch of ground lit by a sunny sky. The shinigami tched, shaking her arm. “You’ve done quite enough, Scarlet. It’s your manipulations of fate for your grand entrance that are what penciled in Hakurei’s death date. And it’s your own power that’s given the Hakurei the hole in her chest, you know.”.

Akyuu stepped out in front of her.

“N-no…”

Komachi looked down, her expression utterly unreadable. “No?”

Akyuu shook her head. “I-it’s my fault. It’s… it’s all my fault. I was the one who - who caused everyone to panic. I was the one who made everyone come here. Who caused this whole disaster.”

She looked up at Komachi. “...It’s my fault, Komachi. That’s why the Hakurei’s dying, isn’t it? That’s why Gensokyo is falling apart. It’s… it’s all my fault.”

There was a long, long pause. Komachi looked her down. Closely, and quietly.

Then pulled out a strange pocketwatch. “...You see, it’s funny you say that, kid. Because, if anything, you’ve already given her more time.”

The rabbit looked up, slowly. “W-what…?”

Komachi gave a mischievous grin. “Well, see, there’s a real strange thing about tonight. Originally, Hakurei was supposed to die about an hour ago, bleeding out on the grounds of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It would have been a long, epic fight I believe, but the results would be as you see behind you - only much, much further away from any useful medical experience.”

She turned to the crowd. “Then, she went out and met the Hakurei directly. As a result, rather than Remilia and Haru meeting outside the grounds, they spent some time talking to her, giving her a few more minutes again. And it happened a third time only a few minutes ago - when the battle between Hakurei and the Scarlet began. Perhaps if this little bun had intervened, and failed, the vampire would only have been more desperate, and launched an attack even the doctor couldn’t heal. You can heal it, right doc?”

Eirin bristled, but didn’t look up. “...Given enough time, yes.”

Akyuu looked up. “Wh-what are you saying?”

The shinigami chuckled, turning the pocketwatch around. Akyuu had seen the make before, and read it instinctively, noting the many jerking hands.

There were only two positions it was twitching between. One with only minutes to go. And one with entire decades.

“I’m saying… you have a chance. To save her, even now.”

The shinigami raised her hand, expanding the distance between the two of them and all the others. She looked around, before spotting her target.

“Ah, this might be good.”

She knelt down, picking up a broken paper door. She turned the gridded frame over in her hands, judging the width of it's sides and frame.

“Okay, kid, I’m gonna give you the situation. Hakurei, right now, is for nearly all intents and purposes a dead woman. The only thing keeping her heart from stopping is a combination of her spiritual power and pure stubborn defiance. The reason I’m here is to make sure to cut her off from her body before it actually fails completely, as without doing so, she could become a terribly powerful spirit, puppeting her own corpse. Nothing good for anyone involved. So if I get to her, I have to do it. No questions asked.”

The shinigami waved her hand. A part of the shrine maiden’s pooling blood lifted, breaking into numerous dots. “But, see, she’s currently under the care of a very, very good doctor, and to me, that signifies there’s a chance she could make a recovery. Maybe even a full one, with enough time. So, while I will have to cut her down if I get close enough to do so… perhaps there’s a distraction that can keep me busy juuuuuust long enough.”

The shinigami twirled her blade. Excess pieces of broken wood fell off from the sides, leaving only a square grid of the paper door’s frame. “My boss, the Yama, has been looking for the Child of Miare. Desperately, like the Child was her own. And I’ve been told to investigate and report any possible sightings. I was originally kicking my feet about it a bit, I wasn’t gonna chase any old rumor. But then… I remembered something.”

The drops of red blood sunk into the paper grid, each drop staining the square it touched red. It formed an alternating grid, eight-by-eight. Komachi reached into her pocket, pulling out a small pile of gold and silver coins. “The Child of Miare… is an excellent chess player. So, kid - do you fancy a game?” She hefted the makeshift game board, grinning.

Akyuu stared at the board. Though it wasn’t strictly supposed to be done, Komachi always did like indulging with the old story, of playing a game against the reaper. And even outside of that, when Komachi came over to laze around, but wasn’t tired enough to doze, she’d challenge Akyuu to a game, and see what happened.

Not that what happened ever surprised either of them. Komachi didn’t just indulge in the myth, she embodied it. Her play was utterly flawless, as far as Akyuu could tell. She’d tried, valiantly, many, many times, against the shinigami, and failed, every time. She even had her own journals attest to it, and journals of Aya and Anana and all the rest attested to the same hopeless struggle. As inexorable as death itself.

…But there was one conflicting account. One small, humble journal, that idly noted a decisive victory against the red-haired shinigami.

A journal older than the very first edition of what would become the Chronicle.

At length, Akyuu shook her head, doubtful. “...There’s no way I’m gonna beat you, Komachi, if that’s what you mean.”

The shinigami chuckled. “No need to flatter me, kid. Besides, you don’t need to beat me; you just need to stall me out, fair and square; you manage to last that long without wasting my time, and even that will be worth investigating further.”

Akyuu took a long, long slow breath. She could feel dozens of eyes on her back. Right now… all of Gensokyo felt like it hung in the balance.

And yet…

The young rabbit let out a chuckle, looking at the shinigami. “Man… you’ll do anything to avoid doing your job, won’t you Komachi?”

The shinigami chuckled back. “That, I cannot deny.”

---

From here on out, making the correct choices will earn strikes on Komachi, and help save Haru’s life. You need three strikes on Komachi to win.

Make the wrong choices, and Komachi will win the game early, and reap Hakurei’s soul. She’ll take no pleasure in it, but it’s just business, after all. However, calling in the other rabbits to help got Eirin up a little quicker, and as a result, she was able to tend to the Hakurei more quickly. The odds trend, ever-so-slightly, in your favor, giving you an additional strike worth of wiggle room.

And after all, four is the number of death, is it not?

Update will come in the morning, once again.

A few minutes had passed. A couple of the rabbits had brought out chairs, and given Akyuu and Komachi a place to sit. Haru was still in the dirt - nobody wanted to risk moving her - but efforts were being made to clean and sterilize the area around her.

Rabbits were trickling back into the complex, now that the fighting seemed to be over. Remilia was timidly watching the unfolding game, while Kaguya had reincarnated atop the rubble, and sat herself next to the vampire. She’d tried to protest the shinigami, but Komachi had resolutely ignored her existence completely. Apparently freeing oneself from facing death also freed death from facing you.

There were dozens of eyes watching the game, but that wasn’t anything new to Akyuu. The games had often been a spectacle for the Hieda estate in her last life, as well. She’d taken the gold coins and was going first; Komachi had the silver, and was taking second. Thirty seconds for a turn, no more.

Akyuu began to move. It was a more defensive opener - harder to break. After all, the goal wasn’t to win - it was just to lose slowly enough. Slowly enough for - no, don’t think about it. Don’t get distracted.

Unfortunately, distraction seemed to be all that was on Komachi’s mind.

“So, kid… Akyuu this time, right?” The shinigami muttered, in a low voice as she moved the first piece. The only ones who’d be able to hear her were the surgery team and Akyuu. “What’s the story? Why are you a moon rabbit, of all things?”

“...Kamishirasawa Keine changed my history. And the history of the other Immaterial Children, with our permission. …It was absolutely necessary.”

The shinigami hummed. “With your permission…? Does that mean…?”

Akyuu nodded. “We’ve actually come from… a different timeline. A very different timeline, already.”

Komachi tilted back, thinking. “Really, now…”

Akyuu looked up. “Yeah. And in that timeline-”

“So.” The redhead’s interjection slammed against her like a coffin door. “Hakurei Haru. In the last timeline… was she still alive by this point?”

[ ] “No… she had already died.” Tell the truth.
[ ] “Yes… she was still alive.” Lie.

[17] “No… she had already died.” Tell the truth.
[10] “Yes… she was still alive.” Lie.

Akyuu lifted up a coin. It had an image scratched on it, to mark it as a representative for a pawn - this clearly wasn’t Komachi’s first improvised game. And she just as much doubted it would be her last, either.

She was trying to distract her. And it was hard to ignore the words of the reaper.

“No… by this time, she had already died.” There was no point in lying about death to a shinigami. She tapped the coin down with a clack.

Komachi seemed momentarily taken aback. “Eh? You're n- when?” Clack.

“What, surprised? If you had such an issue with her living past her date, we wouldn’t be playing this game.” Clack. “She died about a year back - a few months after what’s known as the Makai Incursion Incident here.”

“I see… and how did she die?” Komachi lifted up her own coin, hesitating for a second on where to put it. Akyuu waited, until her hand started to move.

“That’s classified.”

The clack was more of a clatter as the coin slipped from Komachi’s hand. Hieda no - Inaba Akyuu paid it no obvious mind, dropping her own coin into place.

“Even from me?” The shinigami’s voice had a tone of mild disbelief. Akyuu nodded, firmly. “But I’m the ferrywoman around here…” The clack was a little quieter than usual.

“Apparently Eiki had to step in herself - the cause of death probably got her involved. And when it was over, Yukari employed a suima to obscure the memories of half a week, for all of Gensokyo.” Hieda no Aya-Akyuu paused for just a second to properly place her coin.

Komachi picked up her coin. “You mean the sage? There’s no way the Yama was-”

“Nope. She was fully on board. Apparently they even worked together on the spell.”

Komachi looked up, in shock. “What?!”

If there was one thing Ananakyuu had learned, it was there was no point in lying about death to a shinigami. Not when the truth was stranger than fiction, anyways.

She smiled at Komachi. “I’m serious. As a result... Even I don't remember the truth of her death. It was because of the potential consequences, I think.”

Komachi tilted her head. “Consequences…?”

The chronicler looked up at the shattered sky. “...This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a sky like this, you know. I remember it happening once before, when - in the last world - Haru lost her leg to the Youkai of the Dusk. That time, it was caused by no more than pure distress of the heiress.” She looked at Komachi. “Most people assume hiding all memory of Haru’s death… was to protect the heart of Haru’s daughter.”

The was a half-breath from Haru, behind Akyuu. The group trying to patch her up began to whisper to each other, first in confusion, then in excitement. Komachi stared at the moon rabbit, lost in thought.

Those thoughts ended when she realized, belatedly, it was still her turn. At the last second, Komachi threw down the coin she’d grabbed on the first place she could think of, leaving it badly exposed. She almost moved to correct herself instinctively realizing her mistake, but her opponent was faster, slamming a gold coin atop the hastily-placed silver.

There was a murmur among the audience. In particular, Remilia seemed to whisper something to Kaguya. Chess was generally a western game - perhaps she was fond of it as well, and was explaining the damage of that move.

The chronicler picked up the captured coin, smiling. A rook - a noticeable loss. “That game nearly ended quickly. Almost as quick as the ones we had after the fire.” There was… something in her reflection on the coin. Something purple and crystalline. She paused for a moment, trying to see what it was.

Komachi tilted her head. “...You mean when you were Amu? Yeah, but… I thought you forgot about that?”

Amu - Akyuu blinked. Whatever she’d been trying to see - vanished? Retreated? No, hold on, Komachi was right, how had she- not important. Not now. She took a deep breath. “...Good question. No idea on that one… but something about this is making me feel… nostalgic. Your move, Komachi.” The shinigami nodded, placing a coin into position, and the game continued.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

+Akyuu, do you read?+ Akyuu blinked, before sending a confirmatory ping to Reisen. +Got something for you.+

+Right now?+ Akyuu clacked down a coin.

+Absolutely. It concerns Haru’s condition. The shinigami’s not lying about her holding on just from force of will - she’s actually conjuring barriers within herself to block blood loss. They’re not perfect, but they’re buying us time to stitch up other wounds while they lay loose.+ Komachi’s move in response was mildly frustrating, but it wasn’t aggressive enough to warrant action. +And something you said there… I think it made her make them even stronger.+

Akyuu nodded, without looking at her sister. +Keep in mind that she’s listening. Got it.+ The young rabbit took a deep breath to steady herself, assessing the situation on the board. Something was giving her a bad feeling.

Komachi spoke up again. “So… tell me something, Akyuu.” The rabbit looked up, moving a piece as Komachi responded. Her bad feeling didn’t fade. “Let’s imagine a hypothetical situation. Let’s say that the barrier didn’t depend on her.”

Akyuu tilted her head up. “What?”

“Well, maybe it’s not too much of a hypothetical?” Komachi hummed. “The only one here who is likely to die tonight is Haru. I assume that means that, whatever is happening in the sky right now, there’s probably some form of countermeasure those Sages have cooked up to minimize the damage.”

Akyuu narrowed her eyes. “Are you certain of that?”

The shinigami placed down her coin, and Akyuu almost cursed. This position… was all too familiar to her. Komachi’s knight was about to run rampant on her side of the board, if she didn’t do something to stop it.

“Only enough to ask the question. Say the world didn’t depend on this little game. Would you still do it?”

Akyuu nodded. “Yes, I would. If I can save someone, I have to try. And besides… I know it’s trite to talk to a shinigami about what should happen, and what people deserve, but… still…”

[ ] “She deserves to know the truth about Keine.”
[ ] “She should get to meet Reimu, at least once.”

{ } Try to take the knight directly. It would require playing dangerously and aggressively, but some of Akyuu’s closest games had come from direct attack.
{ } Try to ward off its attack. She could minimize the immediate damage, but she found it only seemed to seal her fate in the long run.

---

A: 0/4 K: 1/3
The strikes are split among the two choices, this time. Both of you could get a strike, or neither, depending on your choices.

[1] “She deserves to know the truth about Keine.”
[16] “She should get to meet Reimu, at least once.”

{14} Try to take the knight directly. It would require playing dangerously and aggressively, but some of Akyuu’s closest games had come from direct attack.
{2} Try to ward off its attack. She could minimize the immediate damage, but she found it only seemed to seal her fate in the long run.

“She should get to meet Reimu, at least once.”

Komachi raised her eyes at that. “Is that…?”

Akyuu nodded. “The next shrine maiden, or… she should have been. Hakurei Reimu.”

She looked down, focusing on the game for a moment. The knight would run roughshod over her, and she moved quickly, to take it before it could cause too much damage. Komachi saw her reaction, and began to respond in kind.

There was a brief flurry of movement. Akyuu’s rook surged forward to take the knight, but Komachi managed to take one of Akyuu’s own knights while the rook was getting in position. It did successfully manage to take the knight, but it was taken in turn.

Akyuu grimaced. It hadn’t exactly paid off - Komachi had caught up on her brief advantage in material, and in only a couple of turns, too. Bitterly, she reminded herself, all too late - winning might well be impossible. It would have been smarter to take the slow death, and keep her away longer.

Komachi looked up, as the exchange of coins started to slow again. “This… Hakurei Reimu. Can you tell me about her?”

Akyuu nodded, slowly. She took a deep breath. “Where to start, where to start…” There was a lot to talk about, when it came to Reimu. “She’s… always been an interesting person. Very easygoing, to the point I think a lot of people would think Gensokyo would fall apart around her… but that wasn’t the case.”

“She came up with the Spell Card System - at least in our world. She wanted battles to be beautiful, and for everyone to at least have a chance to win. Watching spell card duels play out… they’re rather beautiful displays.” Agokyuu hummed, thinking back. “And because one can fight without being overwhelmed… Gensokyo became a lot more lively.”

Ak-Ayo looked up. “All sorts of… unbelievable events happened. Everyone stepped in to cause trouble… but everyone stepped in to help, too. I’ve heard even Remilia’s little sister, Flandre, managed to help with some problems.” The chronicler sighed, closing their eyes. If only she could have seen it - a world where a vampire and a shrine maiden could fight side by side…

“And there’s other things, too. There was a punk rock band started by a yamabiko and a night sparrow. It’s not to everyone’s taste, but… I’m quite fond of their music, myself.” Ami smiled, thinking back on the memories.

When she opened her eyes, there was something like a pane of purple crystal over her left eye, shaped… perhaps like a flower petal? Forming around her ear? And through that, she could see a whole different world. The world through the crystal was - similar, but different, made of disjointed parts, like a collage of moving photographs. The Genjii through the crystal was without his saddle, and the sky was unbroken, showing a festive night. Rather than the grounds being in ruin, it was the height of the lunar exhibition. And the board before her was a proper one, albeit with an old, old style of pieces.

Longer fingers than she actually had moved a piece, frustrating her opponent in the crystal… Komachi? Or maybe her daughter? She looked like Komachi, but… she was young, younger than even Ami remembered. And she was tearing up at an imminent defeat - she’d never seen a game where Komachi looked that frustrated. …Or had she?

And behind her, there was a small youkai; specifically a youkai r-

“Akyuu?”

The lunar rabbit blinked, and the crystal disappeared. A half-dozen voices whispering in her ear, that she hadn’t even realized she was hearing, were suddenly silenced. She blinked, the game before her coming back into focus, almost automatically putting her piece down into place.

Earth it. Earth it. She’d been close, there. So, so close. To what, she didn’t quite know, yet. But something was pulling at her. Stirring in her, something dormant so long she hadn’t even known she had it.

Komachi tilted her head. “Seriously, kid, what is with that?”

Akyuu sighed. “There’s - something about this situation. Something - I don’t know what.”

The shinigami was hesitant. “Are you sure you’re good to play…?”

Akyuu nodded. “You’re gonna have to reap if I’m not, right? And I don’t… I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’s something to do with the blessing, maybe.”

Komachi hummed. “I don’t know… I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that crystal thing.”

“No… there’s something about it that’s tied to the reincarnation.” Akyuu racked her brain, trying to think of what it was. What was stirring that power…?

“Komachi… can I tell you a little more?” The shinigami nodded. “Then… let’s talk about the last Gensokyo…”

[ ] “...and how it lived.” She was nowhere near short on wild tales to tell, after all.
[ ] “...and how it died.” Was there something she’d missed, in that brief conversation at the very end of that time?

---

A:1/4 K:2/3.

[15] “...and how it lived.” She was nowhere near short on wild tales to tell, after all.
[8] “...and how it died.” Was there something she’d missed, in that brief conversation at the very end of that time?

“...and how it lived.” Trying to wrack her brain about that brief encounter at the very end would do nothing to help. It’d just take away brain-power she already couldn’t spare.

But talk about the past? That, she could do all day. Akyuu smiled, gently tracing a path with her hand along the board. “With the advent of the spell card system, it became easier for people to start trouble, but it also became easier to fix it. As a result, Gensokyo started to get a steady trickle of people in, from all walks of life.”

The chronicler felt her memories pick her up like a tide, thinking back. “A bunch of… youkai buddhists, on a flying ship, came in to Gensokyo, and started preaching acceptance. Then, they accidentally raised no less than Prince Shoutoku, completely by accident.” Ani kept grinning, remembering the two leaders squabbling.

“Oh, and then there was the market goddess!” How could she forget someone like that? “All in rainbows, selling cards that gave people the abilities of others. She partnered up with the tengu, and even an oomukade, to do it.” Aichi smiled, thinking back.

“It was… a wild place. A place where youkai, gods, and humans all mingled. I… I haven’t seen anything like it, not in any of my other lives.”

Komachi sighed. It didn’t seem to induce much more than a bit of wistfulness in her - she’d probably heard a thousand such stories in her career. “It sounds hectic. It’s not my speed, maybe, but I can see a chronicler loving it. But… Gensokyo isn’t like that. Not these days.”

The shinigami looked up, and her jaw dropped.

“Now, now.” Hieda no Are smiled back. “It’s not like the game is over yet, kid.”

“What do you mean the game isn’t over?!” The little girl growled. “You’ve totally got me trapped!”

Are just kept chuckling. “Well, I can see a way out of it, kid.”

“Nnnnnngh…” The girl grabbed her pigtails, pulling on them. Her face was pouting furiously, and Are couldn’t help but chuckle at the display. “Stop laughing, Are!”

“I’m sorry, it’s just… surprising you’re so passionate, Komachi. Lady Eiki was saying you were on the lazy side. Just try to take it in good stride.”

The apprentice shinigami groaned, sitting back down and slamming a piece into place. It wasn’t a bad move, actually - but it wouldn’t be enough.

Rather than responding immediately, Are turned to the third person in the room. The little youkai, pouting at the board like she could turn the tables by scowling. “And speaking of taking it in stride… you will still honor our bet, won’t you?”

The youkai bristled. “...You know, when I challenged you to beat a shinigami, this wasn’t what I had in mind.”

“I know. You were hoping to see some life or death struggle, weren’t you? …I suppose you weren’t expecting some random nosy human to be connected to the Yama?” Are chuckled. “I’ve heard that’s something of a pattern for you, isn’t it?”

The flicker of embarrassment was a rather enjoyable reward for the needling. “Hey, she’s not lost yet, has she? The interview comes when she loses, no sooner.”

“Is that so? Well, I suppose I better speed up.” Are took another piece from her beleaguered opponent, drawing out a noise of despair.

The youkai scowled. “And why did you have to go and import some game from a place I’d never heard of?”

“Well, it’s a strategy game. Chance doesn’t factor into it at all. And I needed something that wouldn’t be affected by chance, if I wanted to have a chance of winning a bet against the famous lucky rabbit.” Are smiled.

Tewi folded her arms. “Hahhhh… dammit. It’s all over, isn’t it?”

“Like I said, Tewi… the game’s not over yet. Any situation can seem like a losing prospect, but the right pieces at the right time, and it can turn in the blink of an eye.” Are smiled. “And even if the game was all but over… there’s always a way to have another one.” She looked over at the anguished Komachi. “I’m sure you’ll be wanting a rematch, won’t you kid?”

The shinigami-in-training’s growl was utterly adorable. “Oh, you bet! I’m gonna train up on anyone I can. Lady Eiki, other shinigami, the spirits I’m ferrying… I’ll play over and over and over, and next time, you won’t stand a chance!”

Are’s chuckles broke out again. “As long as you don’t do it on company time… oh, and Tewi; if you don’t want to talk about yourself too much, maybe… I could hear about this Lord Daikoku of yours?”

That did bring a grin from the small rabbit. “We-ell… I guess I could talk about the time we first met, usa. If you really want me to.”

Are nodded. “I do. And if our terms of discussion are settled… I think it’s time I wrap this up.” She turned to her opponent.

“Onozuka Komachi? I’m sorry to cut this short, but… there’ll always be a next time.” A… Akyuu smiled at her. The last coin landed in place.

“Checkmate.”

As she lifted her hand from the last piece… Akyuu felt her mind refocus, drawing back to the present. She looked down at the coins before her, taking note of her reflection.

…It was quite a sight. The loose sleeves she’d worn in her past life, and many lives before it, were now returned to her, in a purple, crystalline form. But even more striking was the crystalline flower that had grown to a magnificent size, replacing the physical one that she’d always worn. And it wasn’t the only thing that had grown; she looked… older, arguably even closer to Reisen in body shape than she’d expected (albeit, still not quite as much as she wanted). Her hair had grown out too.

And her head - her head was buzzing. Previously, it had been quietly organized, like a study all to herself. Now it was more like… a communal office. Not just her own mind, but it felt like there was… all of her. All of them. Aichi and Amu and Anana and everyone else, in her mind. Talking, endlessly.

But… but she could tell, this wasn’t something she could just… maintain. Just listening to ten voices in her own head was overwhelming. As if on cue, they began to recede, quieting down, bit by bit, the memories she could have pulled on but hadn’t specifically recalled being filed away in the depths of her mind. She felt her body shrink, and saw the crystals disperse around her.

With the… crystalline state dissipating, Akyuu finally managed to get enough brainpower to look around the situation more fully. Kaguya and Remilia were applauding Akyuu, the former with restraint, the latter with eagerness and self-obvious relief at her recklessness being salvaged. Tewi was staring at Akyuu, bug-eyed, with a contingent of rabbits whispering amongst themselves. Genjii was watching the sky, noting two small blurs - one blue and yellow, the other red and green - zipping along and causing the limits of the cracks to recede. Most likely Yukari’s shikigami.

The two Aunns were rushing along a stretcher, while Eirin and Reisen were preparing to move Haru. Reisen saw Akyuu looking over, and gave a tired thumbs-up. +We’re all good to move her here. Just gonna get her to the heavy-duty equipment.+

Akyuu nodded, and turned back to her opponent. Komachi had leaned back, and appeared to be… conflicted. Relief, intrigue, and excitement were all tracing across her face, and all three were doing a poor job at hiding one particular fact; Komachi in this day and age was nearly as much of a sore loser as she had been all those years ago.

At length, the shinigami pulled herself together, and gave Akyuu a small grin. “...Well. Looks like I’ve got some places to be.” She stood up, stretching.

Akyuu stood up, too. “You sure you don’t want a rematch, Komachi?”

Komachi shook her head. “Don’t have time, sorry. Eiki’s orders were clear; report straight back to her if I found any evidence of the Child of Miare. And I think I more than did that, myself. Besides…”

The shinigami opened up the pocketwatch. It had finally settled to a single position. One a long, long time in the future. “I don’t seem to have any more business here tonight, otherwise.” The shinigami turned, hooking her scythe on her shoulder.

Akyuu nodded, sitting back. “Then… we better get to work patching things up around here. See you around, Komachi. And send Eiki here, when you can.”

The shinigami turned her head back, nodding. “Oh, I bet she’ll be here by the time you wake up tomorrow. Make sure that Shrine Maiden’s fully back from the brink when she is, yeah? See you around, Akyuu.”

In a moment, she was gone.

---

There’d been a flurry of activity since Komachi had left. The psydar building had been the most notable casualty, but Remilia had caused other ones, most notably one of the general rabbit dormitories. Akyuu had ended up in charge of redistributing the affected rabbits to other rooms where necessary.

She hadn’t tried to end up in charge. She was already exhausted, and wanted nothing more than a nice hot bath and a chance to sleep. But she’d stuck her nose in when she’d heard two rabbits arguing over who should take a third friend for the night, and somehow that had escalated to a middle management position. She supposed that ‘she’s friends with a shinigami’ was more than enough for the rabbits to just let her do whatever she said she wanted to.

She’d hit on a plan that seemed to satisfy the vast majority of them, when she heard someone approach. She turned, to see Eirin making her way over, and bowed.

“Lady Eirin. How’s Haru?”

The doctor smiled. “She’s stabilized. And for someone with a hole in her chest, she’s certainly feisty - she’s been lecturing me at length about the false moon spell.”

Akyuu looked up. When the sky had been repaired, it had been the real moon that had taken its place among the stars. Akyuu supposed that it had gotten torn up with the barrier. Either that or Hakurei had browbeat her into removing it.

…After a few moment’s thought, Akyuu looked over at Eirin. “Wait, she’s still awake? I thought she would have passed out from exhaustion at least.”

Eirin’s face turned into a grimace. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. She says she wants to speak to you, and won’t go to sleep until she gets a chance to do so. Something about a plan of hers.” The doctor looked at Akyuu, pleadingly. “Mind if I take you over? If she stays up much longer, her anesthetics are going to wear off, and she’ll be in for a rough night.”

Akyuu nodded, passing the clipboard she’d been working on to another of the rabbits. She followed Eirin away from the crowd. The doctor’s gait was slowed, slightly, by the splint she was wearing - she’d heard that Eirin didn’t want to risk unexpected complications in her patients during her resurrection, and was thus hopping herself up on painkillers until she got some time to rest. “Lady Eirin, I wanted to ask… did you see that… crystalline thing?”

The doctor shook her head. “Not really, but I heard bits and pieces from the princess. Something about you reliving the whole of your past lives, briefly?” At Akyuu’s nod, she hummed. “...I’d say you’d have to ask the Yama about it. If it’s got something to do with reincarnation, it’s definitely a matter she’s aware of.” Eirin finished her comments with a one-handed shrug. “After all, I’m only a specialist in everything that comes before death, not what comes after.”

Akyuu nodded. It made sense - if anyone would know, it was lady Eiki.

“But… I wanted to ask you something, Akyuu.” The young rabbit looked up at the doctor, curious. Especially about the small, knowing smile on her face.

“Do you know how your sister got her names?” Akyuu shook her head. “Well… her first name was with her from birth, and Inaba is just what we call all of the rabbits in Eientei.” The doctor hummed. “But Udongein was a name I gave her myself.”

Akyuu looked at Eirin, surprised. “Really?”

Eirin nodded. “It comes from the Lunar Udonge - a particular tree that sprouts beautiful jewels when it detects impurity.” Eirin looked up, in the direction of their destination. “I don’t know if Reisen’s fully realized it yet… but she’s a better person, for having stepped on to the impure earth.”

The doctor turned to Akyuu. “Akyuu… you’ve got some interest in flowers, don’t you? I’ve certainly never seen a rabbit swap out their carrot iconography for flowers before.” Akyuu blinked, but nodded. Eirin hummed, as if deep in thought, then gave Akyuu a small, sly smile. “...Do you have a particular favorite flower?”

[ ] Ume - Plum Blossoms. (https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/File:ZCDS-0005~6.jpeg)
[ ] Tsubaki - Camellias. (https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/File:FS_Tankebon4_cover.jpg)
[ ] Ren - Lotuses. (https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/File:Akyuu_Whos_Who.png)

New thread over at >>207202! and it's the last thread for Akyuu's arc!

Once again, I'm gonna do a shoutout. I actually missed it last time, so I'll do a double!

Firstly, Songs of a Serpent Flying Eastbound! A very unique story for a 2hu one! You can find it over here: >>204727

And then... I'm actually gonna suggest a fan game! Touhou Lost Branch of Legend is a deckbuilding rougelike that both asutnima and Kosuka have been helping translate, and that got me curious enough to check it out for myself. In practice, it clearly takes elements from both Slay the Spire, and Magic the Gathering (and isn't ashamed to admit either part) but they and the touhou elements blend in shockingly well, to make a really fun experience if you're into the genre. You can find Lost Branch of Legend on Steam!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1140150/Touhou_Lost_Branch_of_Legend/