/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>45115139

When Hana came too, she was in a strange place, the last thing she remembered was being led onto that table and taking that strange drug the doctor gave her. After that, things got strange; the world became foggy and distorted, her mind swam, impossible shapes manifested themselves and the small view port of the face rest of the padded table took on strange dimensions. Still, as fogged as her mind was the nature of these strange distortions became clear. Like looking at an optical illusion for long enough she could decipher them just by looking at them, it was almost unnerving.

After that her memories go blank, now that she’s back to her conscious, albeit groggy, mind she simply looked around at the dark room she found herself in. Well, it was pitch black so there’s that. She summoned an orb of danmaku, nothing fancy; just an orb of light suspended in the air above her hand.

‘Ah’, she thought. I’m in a metal room…? No that wasn’t quite right, she looked down and there was wooden flooring. Strangely the grain on the wood was like she was looking at it through a powerful magnifying glass. The walls of the room were featureless, gray and metallic and not worth much mentioning. For a second, she panicked. Did they trap her in some weird kind of prison? Did those damnable youkai make their move? What were they going to try to do to her?!

As the panic settled in reality reasserted itself, well a strange sort of reality anyways. It was clearly something she didn’t quite fully understand on an intellectual level but it was something that knew nevertheless. This wasn’t right, this wasn’t the world she knew… she could just… flip her perspective…

Blinking physically the world around her changed, No longer did the world resemble some kind of metal prison with its hardwood flooring. No, it was more akin to being hyper focused on one thing while the world itself wrapped around it. It would’ve been enough for another panic attack but, there was something intuitive about it… Instead of the prison she thought herself in she was inside a larger room, she walked forward. The walls of the room she was in shifted around her spinning as she spotted the crates around her.

The crates almost seemed to be flipping as she walked up to the door, oh. She was on the righthand wall. She thought about walking up to the roof to reach the door, but going around would take a while, probably an hour or so, no it would just be shorter to fly diagonally across the room. So she did.
Looking back into the room that was clearly a store room, she realized that she was just way too small, that metallic prison? A tin cup sitting on a shelf with another shelf above it. The hour long journey? A mere second long walk along a roof, no more than 2 seconds of time if she was walking slowly. The diagonal jaunt across the room? It was near instant in how fast she reached the door.

Now then, her small size? Inconvenient. The only course of action? She flew diagonally down as her form grew in size back to what it should be, it was odd. Moving until her skin, organs, hair, etc all felt ‘right’. As she looked at the hallway in front of her, all the myriad of paths she could go. Through the walls if she wanted too, not in breaking them of course, merely moving through the space that could open and open until it was to her, the size of Gensokyo itself, would be stupidly easy.

However, it would be a pain if she kept having to tread strange paths and watching out for her size and the size of other things. Though to be fair she knew it would be much faster in getting to where she wanted. Now then… just a matter of looking at things… instead of making it squeeze or curve, just make it do both and… there! The world around her returned to ‘normal’ even if it was a little obtuse. It was strange, this was the normal world, the normal perspective, the world she shared for the last 16 years of her life or so.

It was a bit limited though, like it was just one way of looking at it. How did she never realize how silly that perspective was! She couldn’t wait to tell her father, Marisa, Sanae, and all her friends about it! Well, they might not understand it at first, but still it was really interesting!

It was then she heard pattering footsteps from down the hallway, no that wasn’t quite right, the sound was coming a few halls over. The footsteps weren’t even that loud, but they were clear and obvious and would’ve been even if someone was chatting her ear off right next to her. She didn’t even need that instinctual detection of others around her to know about it from how obvious it was.

Hana let her eyes wonder along the curves and spaces in the wall, inaba it seemed. A small group of them, all wearing armbands that dictated them as orderlies. They had worried expressions on their faces, was that Sana and Sara with them? Hana smirked; she did owe them for tossing her around like a rag doll.

Hana flew, finding space in the wood as she appeared ‘above’ them.

>be Anon
>travelling Stonecutter (funny handshake and actual stonework)
>work mainly in Order lands, commissions of carvings for Order temples
>traditionally every Temple has a carved gargoyle over the side entrance - something about using the main door, contrasting Order with scary monsters etc - idk, its a lucrative gig
>arrive at a new Temple, contracted to produce a new gargoyle. Priest likes my trademark design, scary but covering the lewd parts
>[Order rubes think I actually carve them]
>set up privacy screen around edge of roof while I work
>carve a Gargoyle-seat: shaped block the gargoyle perches on with my special gimmick
>final night, its ready and set in place
>three gargoyles turn up to apply for the position - pick the middle one, collect her goldcoins
>show her to the saddle - an Order-bible at the front like a pommel, a hole in the seat, she asks why, it's to hold her on as the saddle leans out over the edge
>loop the hoist rope around her waist and lift her out over the saddle
>pose her: arms over her breasts, hands down at her crotch behind the book, ass over the seat and hole
>test the guttering with a bucket of water, it flows down underneath her, stimulating her soft grey labia, checking closely she's also schlicking hrrself behind the book, she blushes grey-pink at being caught
>"No, that's the trick of my design. Your fingers and puss never get any sunlight, so they never fully harden, so while the Orderites think this is a discreet no-nipps pose, actually you're always schlicking and also getting a water-massage every time it rains. That's why I charge so much gold. Now, for the final piece..."
>Anon lifts her back onto the flat roof
>its a lifelike carved D in hard granite
>"Here, take it, its base fits in that square hole there"
>the Gargoyle bends over and fits the piece hesitantly, "Uh, its very lifelike"
>Anon steps in behind her and lifts her tail
"It's a copy of this one, and it fits in your ass to hold you up... or it will fit in a minute..."
>so Anon fucks the gargoyle in the ass, her tail-tip held up in his mouth, until he cooms
>the prepared and lubricated Gargoyle is seated on the saddle just as the sun rises, taking up her pose as she catches her breath
>
>the Order Priest is happy with his new 'carving', handing over the agreed goldcoins
>"And you're sure it will stay in place? There are stories of carvings falling off and landing on poor young Acolytes..."
>"No, your Holiness, this one is pinned and glued in place, I guarantee it'll be years before this one falls for some poor Acolyte."
>and Anon takes both bags of gold and leaves town before nightfall

>>45084584
>...and she stills says:
> "Crikey, I'm going to stick me thumb up 'is bumhole!"
>Prostate stimulation gives each specimen Anon a raging hardon
>
>Ratings on HagNN and Foxx networks go through the roof

>>45062069 (3/3)
—
Yukari moaned loudly and, with one hand, would press my face harder on her pussy or massage my scalp, purring like a cat, all while pulling the chain of light connected to Anon's neck, making it impossible for him to stop thrusting his dick inside my pussy. I held her thighs, hot and shivering, eating the juice that'd leak and adoring her femininity, mind clouded by oni lust and pure sexual energy, the hard dick in and out, in and out—oh, oh~—not helping one bit.

Such a submissive position, head between her legs, a dick pounding me from behind—if stories of this were leaked, how would my reputation suffer? As hermit and sage? The thought alone made me eat Yukari's pussy with a newfound hunger, biting on her clit, “Oh, my! An oni never disappoints… Although you may need a performance booster, Anon~” Her upper half disappeared inside a gap, and I turned, the dick inside of me grinding like crazy as I now lay my nape on Yukari's pussy, heavy-breathing.

I watched as she appeared behind Anon, giggling and amused, caressing his neck and pressing her tits on his back, one arm rising and hiding his eyes. Yukari shared a look with me before Anon's neck tensed—a gap?—and a syringe appeared out of a gap and, mercilessly, punctured his neck—

His muffled howl of agony as his whole body tensed up made my body shiver with desire, his grasp on my hips growing out of proportion as Yukari whispered something in his ear—AH! Anon suddenly was pumping me like a machine and I can swear I fainted for a moment, a hand stimulating all my sensitive parts and, oh—by the Dragon God, this is goddamn Heaven~

His nostrils were bleeding, and a lot; Yukari's finger brushed the blood and sucked on it with finesse. She disappeared from behind him, hands catching the sides of my head before a warm, honeyed mouth laddered with sweet blood was kissing mine fervently; the dick didn't slow a second, Yukari's long and slender fingers were now playing with my nipples and—

Ah, I'm cumming, my back arching, drooling on her mouth and holding her head and not letting it go away, fucking Anon's dick just as much as he fucked me, and I'm so, so close, legs quivering, I just need the hot cum inside me and, oh, it's pulsing; it's almost there—

And Yukari was moaning before throwing my head to the side like a paper bag, getting up and sitting on my face—my eyes went wide with the taste of cum. This woman was really gapping away his cum as his dick pulsated deep inside of me? So greedy… Yet I drank the overflowing white gold with just as much covetousness as it filled her womb, trying my hardest not to cross my legs with the orgasmic waves and rip Anon in half, Yukari's thighs edging to crush my skull.

Panting, Yukari got up, pussy all drenched and legs wobbly, pulling me and Anon to her—his flowing blood, cum, and our saliva melting together as our three mouths connected in a sloppy kiss, hands groping all over the place—Anon's trembled, my femininity already ready for more as I heard a small sob. “Ah… You'll have to forgive me, Ibarakasen~” Yukari began, the first to leave the three-way kiss and getting up—one gap, and she was as clean as if just out of the shower, the sight of her warm pussy just at eye level calling to me… She dodged my needy hands with excellence, her eyes playful. “It seems, in my haste, I took your egg with me. I think I'll be keeping it; not like you have a use for it—oh, well, I think I owe Eirin a visit. Blood is a bad sign, after all.” A gap and Anon's nose was not bleeding anymore. “Have fun without me~”

A gap, she was dressed; another, she was gone.

Panting and recovering from my orgasm, I looked at the roof, glancing at Anon to the side, the friend I've known for two decades now, holding a forearm over his eyes, body sprawled, apparently crying…

My pussy dripped, mad at the lack of cum inside my womb.

… Yet another part of me, one clouded and muffled, cried together with Anon. It was promptly ignored as I sat on him, pulling the light chain to call his attention before sensually laying on his body, squashing my tits on his scarred chest, holding his cheeks, my face hovering centimeters above his, pink hair a curtain—just us~—his tensed-up breathing flipping all my right switches; “You didn't cum inside me. You tried, but Yukari is a greedy bastard~”

I kissed his face, drinking his blood and tears—

“Kasen… Can you hear my voice?” His voice is so weak, it makes me so wet.

“Yes, dear, I—”

“I'm talking to Kasen, not you,” he cuts me, which doesn't spark joy, yet I frown, staring at his face—huh? Water was falling on his cheeks…? “I know you're listening, Kasen…”

One of my hands went up, feeling around my eyes.

I’m crying.

“… And I don't blame you. I do not.” And then he closed his eyes…

I looked at him, my body a statue…

… My hand went down, squeezing his dick.

“I want my cum, Anon.” And I sat on his dick with enough force to crush his hips. He howled in pain, and my crying didn't stop.

>>45054707 (5/5—p2)
—
Only five steps before I reach the top, and my body freezes. The cold autumn wind blows severe, winter on the horizon—further ahead, sounds of wood being hammered. With my ears drooped and legs trembling, I look at the neatly wrapped parcel in my hands and reminisce…

Meeting Ms. Reimu was… weird.

Years ago, I didn't think much about her, but as time passed, she became like a shadowy villain people whispered in the background; then a wrath-filled monster; a wandering, pitiful corpse—but those were cloak and dagger rumors, things a wise girl should ignore. Then we met, and she smiled, said wise things, and showed a sad that crushed my heart.

Mr. Anon's words linger in my mind and fill me with rage, fading away when Ms. Reimu's actions return, just to restart—this nauseating loop has been draining my energy like a hole, always getting bigger…

Breathing in and breathing out, I pretend Mr. Anon just hugged me, and, with that boost of confidence—yet with quivering legs and wide eyes—I walk up the rest of the way. The Hakurei Shrine looks bad… But there's a clear effort to change that. The Torii gate was cleaned and recently repaired, with patches of wood awaiting to be painted; the path leading to the shrine was reworked with flat stones, the sides pruned, and, on the roof, Ms. Reimu is hammering something, periodically taking a nail and repeating the process—a toolbox by her side.

I watch, tense, before walking forward, noticing how the windows and sliding doors looked new—to the side, close to the shrine of offerings, a wore-down axe, and a pile of hardwood.

The wind chimes sing when I reach the shrine, the cleaned donation box in front of me—looking inside, I see it's empty, so I reach for a 100 yen coin in my pocket and throw it in—

“Heh, your patronage is much appreciated!” I spin, red—hiding the parcel behind me—when Ms. Reimu's voice comes from behind, her miko outfit exchanged for something more heavy-duty: boots, gloves, a skirt, and a shirt too long for her, looking more like something a man would use— “Sorry, Chen, I'm too old for you.” She jokes, grinning, and I fume with embarrassment.

“G-Good morning, Ms. Reimu—s-sorry for staring…” She just laughs louder, and I grasp for anything. “U-Uh… You're renovating the shrine, huh?” Her eyes squint, trying to look at what's behind me, but I conceal it a bit more.

With a raised eyebrow, she walks inside, and, not wanting to fall behind, I follow. “Yup—It's all Hana's when I leave, so I want it to look new and, well, like a good place to live and… Raise a family, if she ever feels like it.” She shrugs, and I can't see her eyes, but there's something in the air that feels heavy, like guilt. The inside of the shrine is practically empty; only the essentials like kitchenware and the kotatsu… The whole place looks spotless, too.

“What do you mean by leave? Are you going on a trip?” I ask innocently, sitting down on the kotatsu.

She laughs a bit, “No—I'm talking about when I die.” Her voice is casual as she gathers the ingredients for tea…

My heart sinks, and, in the silence, I feel cold. This feeling… is compared to that one when I first cried in her arms: It's so otherworldly, impossible to comprehend, and somehow makes me so unbelievably sad…

Death shouldn't be mentioned like that. It's an event that hurts everyone, and with the short lifespan of humans it's even worse—I try not to think that Mr. Anon will die much earlier than me—stop! Don’t cry now! “B-But it's gonna take a while, right? Your hair is not even white yet, Ms. Reimu!” My fingers holding the parcel tighten with her following silence, but soon she sighs and slightly nods—it doesn't help my little heart—smile weary as she puts down the tea set and fills two cups.

“So, Chen, why did you come here today? Yukari is making you do errands now?” Her smirk is supposed to lighten the mood, eyes on the parcel, but I don't feel light.

The words get bogged in my throat, just like that day in her arms, and it's hard to man up the courage to say, “No, I… Ms. Reimu…” Her eyebrows rise, and it's just so, so hard—I think I'm trembling, and—oh, this heat on my face—am I crying? Why am I crying? I just need to talk to her; it's not that hard—but of course it is! She's trying to redeem her sins! To bring this up… It could help; it could—but she can get so mad too and—

A gentle hand brushes my face, and my restless thoughts come to a halt. Ms. Reimu's smile is simple and easy, yet it shines unlike the one of just now, and—with her so close and wearing a sleeveless shirt, I can see many scars on her arms, scars as old as me—her voice a choir; “Hey, kozo, calm down: whatever you want to say… I won't get mad, okay?”

Eyes wide, crying and frowning. I nod. “… M-Mr. Anon told me about you two. The things you did…” Liquid courage courses my blood. “I wanted to hear it from you, Ms. Reimu, just—

We look at each other's eyes…

“… Why?”

Hers eyes look dead, and I fear they're the truth.

(1/4)
Goro knocked on the door of the hut in a strange rhythm.
The place was dingy with the only sign of class being a set of wind chimes hanging from the roof, which was just fine with me, rebel little wind chimes! Fight back against your drab little surroundings all you’d like!
“Hello? Ah Goro-kun! What brings you here?” Kagerou unabashedly answered, her tail beating frantically behind her.
“It’s a shakedown mutt, hand over your valuables and we’ll only thrash you a bit.” I say with a whistle.
The mutt eye’s narrow. “What are you doing here? Goro, why are you with this woman? Is she bullying you?”
“No, no, no, we’re just acquainted through circumstances. Seija-kun’s joking of course, saying the opposite of what she means.” He said.
I feel like I was going to be hearing that excuse a lot. Whatever, confusing people by double meanings was an amanojaku’s privilege after all!
“I brought some sweets.” Goro said, raising his basket.
The dog’s mood instantly flipped to excitement as she hastily ushered us into the household. At her meager table already sat the pathetic tuna Wakasagihime and that recluse Sekibanki who both gave me nervous and indifferent glares respectively.
“Well well well, how fortunate to happen upon this gathering of losers. All that good karma I earned must be coming back in force.” I cackled with my hand on my hip.
“So, it would seem. I didn’t take you for the romantic type and here you are side-by-side with a man, truly a blessing for someone with a rotten personality like you.” Sekibanki waved.
“Pardon? Goro if you were looking for a youkai partner, I could have recommended much better candidates!” Wakasagihime chimed in.
Goro waved his hand. “It’s circumstances, circumstances!” He said jovially. “Fortune makes for strange bedfellows after all.”
“Bedfellows, that’s…” The mermaid blushes, sinking into her chair.
“It’s a manner of speech. He means they’re business partners, not that they share a bed.” Sekibanki explained.
“Yup. We’re in the process of becoming estranged, this one sleeping on the floor.” I said, jamming a thumb at Goro.
“Any who, when’s the last time you all went to the village? I brought some sweets.” He interjected, distributing sweets among us, leaving me a spicy cookie, which I eat whole and down immediately with an entire cup of tea.
Only losers wasted time sipping and exchanging pleasantries like these bores were doing now. In the meantime, I just rock back in my chair balancing myself between stillness and falling.
“… so that’s the reason for my visit, Yukari’s finally gone off the deep-end and almost everybody who’s anyone is getting up to put a stop to things.” Goro finished.
“So, you want to use the Grassroots Network as canon fodder?” Sekibanki asked with raised eyebrows, an edge to her voice.

>>45024409
As Momiji’s saliva raced through Aya’s head, so did a number of questions: Why was a stick-in-the-mud among the White Wolves like Momiji working in the HSE? How did she get one of Anon’s juban? What was that wet feeling between her legs? The last one was answered quite quickly, as Momiji had pulled down Aya’s skirt and underwear and found a second hole of hers to invade. Slick with her own juices, Momiji’s calloused fingers struck Aya hard and fast, eliciting a cacophony of moans and yelps.

Daring to open her eyes, Aya looked directly into Momiji’s. They were dilated and focuses over, like she was a hound on the hunt. Her heavy breathing, her red face, her hunter’s gaze, all signs pointed towards heat. Then why the hell was she fingerbanging Aya in a bathroom instead of kidnapping some man from the village like all the other tengu?!

Aya’s thoughts were interrupted once again by Momiji’s vigorous caresses. What she lacked in precision she made up for with enthusiasm, stimulating the walls of Aya’s tight pussy too quickly for her to keep up. Another hand ripped open the crow’s shirt, roughly groping her tits and pinching her budding nipples. Staying next to Anon for too long had her a little hot and bothered. That’s the only reason Momiji’s making her feel this way! Aya Shameimaru doesn’t like girls that way! That’s it, Anon! It was Anon’s juban, so Momiji was smelling Anon on her!

Understanding the wolf’s motive did nothing to stem the tide of pleasure Aya was riding between sanity and bliss. Momiji plundered her mouth for the residuals of Anon’s fluids, leaving no corner of her unexplored. The crow could taste every drop of Momiji as she greedily sucked on Aya’s tounge, searching for the male her heat desired. Waiting for her tongue to return for another raid, Aya quickly returned the favor while reaching towards the white wolf’s exposed vagina. Anything had to work better than letting this shorty devour her.

When Aya caressed her lower lips, Momiji finally released her lips to let out a howl of lust. The relief was only momentary, as she immediately went back to drowning Aya with her mouth, re-doubling her efforts. Refusing to let herself be conquered, Aya pressed down on Momiji’s clit while slipping two fingers within her snatch. The girl was masturbating furiously before, she had to be close to finishing!

No matter how hard Aya tried, she couldn’t outpace the desperate wolf assaulting her. Her climax caught up to her in a flash, and the unrelenting assault trapped her in a white crash of pleasure for far too long. She could feel herself getting going insane. In the second of clarity before Momiji’s tongue stole her brain again, Aya connected the pieces: Anon’s juban had his scent and the incense on it! Maybe Eirin’s pill can counter the incense enough to get this damn dog off of her! Extending the hand not knuckle-deep in Momiji, Aya fished around for her bag for the silver bullet. Somehow, she had to get it past the impenetrable barrier of her and Momiji’s lips.

Leaning into the wolf’s face, Aya caressed her tongue and focused her fingers on the roof of her pussy. She was getting close, she had to be. Putting all her thoughts towards Anon and surviving for her children, Aya endured Momiji’s assault until she finally made the horny wolf cum. She practically exploded with lust as she turned her head upwards and howled towards a far-off moon. Taking a chance, Aya quickly placed the pill in her mouth before Momiji covered it a second later. Using all her remaining willpower, Aya shoved her tongue down Momiji’s until the girl greedily swallowed it, along with the rest of Aya’s pride.

After her last hope disappeared within Momiji’s body, the wolf moved her face down, suckling Aya’s sensitive breasts. The sensation was enough to send the reporter over the edge again, so soon after her last orgasm. The hunter continued down Aya’s belly and pelvis before finally reaching her prey. Diving between Aya’s legs, Momiji’s deadly tongue lapped at the tengu’s love button before removing her fingers. Single-minded, the proud tengu thrust her tongue into Aya’s tunnel, penetrating her final defense. Aya’s mind went blank, only occasionally registering a surge of pleasure that made her body spasm.

The miraculous pill designed by Eirin (sold by Reisen, behind her back, in the Human Village) could dispel the heat caused by Lunar Incense, as it removed all traces of the drug from the body. However, it took much longer for a body already exposed to incense to become clean than a body that was immunized beforehand. Thus, the assault on Aya’s body that began five minutes ago lasted for another hour before the white wolf regained consciousness.

(Part 32)

>>44999273

Hana cursed herself, she cursed that gap hag, she cursed whoever that Nue-san was. Her body was almost tingly in anticipation as she sat on the futon, her juban shrugged off letting the cool autumn air fight with the flush of her skin for dominance. The small nipples on her perky yet modest breasts rose and fell with the breath leaving her mouth. Aunn was oblivious to her concerns however, her familiar face sniffed at Hana's soaked crotch causing the girl to squirm as she whispered out as if someone was set to find them in the act, "Y-you don't need to sniff it!"

Aunn ignored her protest with a mere, "I like Hana's smell, so its okay!" This damn Komainu! She didn't need someone to make her even more embarrassed! Aunn let out an "Hmm... it looked like this I think...?" an uncertain tongue that Hana could barely make out in the shadow of the dim light darted from her mouth as it probed her overly excited slightly-parted slit.

Aunn licked happily and without concern for Hana's unconscious moans, despite the clumsy work of the Komainu she held in her mind as a dear sister the immorality of it all combined with the stimulation only another could provide was more than effective at building that pleasure back up. Hana couldn't help but let a hand hover over to Aunn's head, stroking it absentmindedly, "Does it feel nice Hana? You make lots of sounds when I lick here!"

Hana couldn't help but leak out affirmations as to her enjoyment as Aunn seemed intent on lightly licking the little stiff nub that caused Hana a jolt every time her hot tongue grazed over it. It was clumsy, and despite the guilt that surrounded her conscious mind she couldn't help but note that her father knew every weak spot almost supernaturally, maybe her and Aunn could...

Hana banished that thought from her mind, she'd never drag Aunn t- Oh that spot! it may have been just a peck on that sensitive spot but the subsequent lick as Aunn seemed determined to clean up any of Hana's lust drove her wild, Hana was just sane enough to be gentle as she took a lock of Aunn's hair in her hand. The other hand worked her own stiffened nipple picking up the slack from Yukari's teasing from earlier. The pleasure was hitting the ceiling now, Hana called out to her, 'more... harder... there... a little more...!' Aunn did her best with abundant eagerness to please Hana.

Hana's voice became a mess until with a rush she reached the peak of her pleasure, her thighs gripped Hana's cheeks and she pressed her face into her steaming crotch as the heat and smell of her tryst invaded her mind fully. She could think of nothing but the wet pleasure as Aunn continued to lick her while the powerful surge of convulsions shook her body after having not been released for way too long.

By the time Hana regained her composure Aunn's nurturing licks had grown lighter as she seemed intent on cleaning her up like her nectar was the most delicious thing in the world. The licks were light enough to not cause her discomfort as her sensitivity was through the roof, was this something else she learned or coincidence? The answer was unimportant, she supposed.

Aunn wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her juban as she wiggled up into a sitting position, the heat in Hana was dying down by now but something in seeing Aunn so happy in serving her made her wish for something more... A thing that she dashed in her mind as she regained some concious control over her raging desire.

Crawling over her Aunn hugged her, giving her a big kiss as she spoke excitedly like the time Hana had first successfully flew with her to the village on errand, "did you like it? was I good? I wanted to try it a lot since everyone made it seem so fun! it was super fun for me, did you have fun?!"

Once again Hana thought that if Aunn had a tail it would've kicked up a storm so intense it could bust down the walls of her home. The warmth of Aunn heated Hana in more ways than one as she panted lightly still in recovery from the intense orgasm she just weathered. Returning the hug Hana nodded, "Yeah, it felt great..." A sloppy smile surfaced onto Hana's face as she pet the Komainu on her back causing Aunn to snuggle in with an elated expression on her face, it was like watching the joy of a praised child.

Hana felt the guilt rise higher and higher as she Aunn yipped and yapped about how she wanted to try it again soon and that next time they could do it before they bathe so they wouldn't make a mess. Yet, above that guilt there was another emotion, one that guided her like a beacon in the dark... A burning flame of passion that drew her in as idea after idea of using Aunn like a toy for her satisfaction surfaced without end.

Surely she wouldn't mind if Hana let a bit loose in her lust? Within reason of course, even if Aunn seemed to enjoy it she shouldn't be a pest about it... With a smouldering smile on her face Hana asked Aunn a casual sounding question, "Say, do you wanna fell good too?"

>>44982466
(6/6)
—
"What…" Reimu whispers, frowning and about to crush the teacup. I stare in silence, nine tails low. "Hurt myself? What are you implyi—"

"You hurt your husband, your daughter. Physically, emotionally," I saw her face contorting in utter rage, the words slashing deep. My eyes narrow, and pressure fills the air. "Your reaction proves that. Every day you looked at Anon, at Hana, and decided to strike. You may have asked for forgiveness, cried even, yet you woke up the next day and struck again—"

"Shut up—"

"And that hurts, doesn't it? Hurting those you love, pushing them away… Yet, you somehow never stopped—"

"Shut up!" She yells again, throwing the cup at me. I dodge it like a simple danmaku pellet. "Why this now?! You come, you fed me, and now you're judging me for things you don't even know about, with some lazy excuse about 'wow, I'm so evil too; I've done terrible things in the past!' You don't know a single thing about me!" She gets up, pointing a finger. I remain silent. There's nothing I should add. "I've hit him with the gohei that I use to whack youkai again and again, for simple things like a messed up meal, a sneeze too loud, or just for plain fun! But it was never fun—oh, it was not! You know what was fun?! Raping him! In our bedroom, where he promised he'd love me forever, where I had one of the happiest moments of my life!" She was crying now. "You think you're bad, huh, that you can lecture me like that? Like that goddess?! You've never stricken your child, you've never broken the nose of what you've considered to be your bundle of joy! But I did! In an alley, after begging her to return to my side! Do you even know what it feels like to be haunted by just how evil you are but never manage to do anything about it?! No matter how much you try?! You try to convince yourself that this time will be different—that you WILL change, yet you do not! You still hurt and rape your husband, hurt your daughter, drink like there's no tomorrow—and they lose hope in you! Your friends lose hope! And, before you even notice, you have lost hope in yourself too! Because you know, you simply know, that you will wake up the next day knowing you'll fail! You'll wake up afraid that today you will lose everything—and it'll still surprise you! Because who'd have thought?! I didn't! I thought that my powers would forever keep them close, but where are they now?! They're away from me forever, and they're not coming back—" Her movements were erratic, all over the place, and she was ugly-crying. "So… Don't fuck come to me, thinking you can lecture me, asking these questions and wearing those clothes, because I… I… I don't think I'll ever again have that same love…"

Wide-eyed, she fell to the ground, grazing her knees and crying as if to kill herself from dehydration. I stared from above, my eyes plain.

I don't even need to ask; the confirmation is right here—she never let any of that out; it was never known. It was an ugly feeling that corroded the insides without mercy, and she had never shown it to anyone.

"Why… are you here?" She asks, and I think of lying again.

… Kneeling to her height, I do not lie: "To hear your side."

She looks at my eyes, sniffing loudly and trembling, and I can feel the desire there to just reach, but something still stops her. Smiling warmly, I open my arms.

Whatever barrier is there is broken, and she hugs me for dear life. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry…" She repeats.

"Don't say this to me. Say it to Anon, Hana."

"They won't hear…"

"They will if you try."

"But they'll never return to me…"

"… They might not return, true," I tighten the embrace. "But if you go to them, show them you're more than what you want them to return to… Then they'll forgive you." There's no guarantee Anon nor Hana will want Reimu in their lives again, but forgiveness is another thing entirely—and if Anon's words about Yuuka have shown me anything, it is that forgiveness courses his blood.

She sulks, the embrace turning bone-crushing, and her rage rises like a blooming flower… Only to wither when reality dawns, and, with monumental effort, instead of gulping down the rage, she mixes it with her stream of tears, letting it all out.

For thirty minutes, I held her. It'll never pay for the years she could've lived beneath my roof, happy and carefree, with a healthy outlet for her problems, yet it's the best I can do.

"I want to make things right." She whispers. "Even if they… don't come back, I want to make things right."

I nod, the idea brewing in the back of my mind for weeks surfacing. Reimu's state is still unknown, even after that meltdown and her words now, and without the proper care and attention—someone to hear her—I don't doubt this effort for change might just crumble…

… But not giving her a chance would deny her desire for change.

"Reimu," I call her attention, her reddened eyes on mine. "I have a plan to get Anon out of the HSE, and—"

“Yes, I’m in.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

>>44969267
It's amazing how quickly time can pass when you're dreading something. Even when she made sure to set down far away from the village and walk to avoid causing a stir, it seemed she made record time to the HSE. So much having time to think things over. At least it was early enough where she wouldn't have to run into any of the clients. Reisen pushed open the doors and stepped into the lobby. Ran was there, did she always look so tired? "He's awake and in the bedroom. See if there's any issue and report any to me" she sighed out, which made Reisen wonder how bad things were.

Reisen entered the false shrine grounds to find it a hive of activity. Workers bustled everywhere, getting things ready for the day. A kappa was mowing the lawn while others were crouched over boxes of supplies, hustling it inside the shrine. A few of them were scrubbing down the shrine while a tengu balanced herself on the roof it keep it clean. It surprised Reisen somewhat as she assumed Anon did most of this, but it did seem silly in hindsight, considering what he spent most of his day doing. Squeezing herself by a wolf tengu carrying a bag of rice, she scanned for the bedroom door and excused herself by a worker mopping the floor.

Stepping into the bedroom, Reisen expected the worst, but the most offensive thing was the lingering smell of bleach. Reisen wrinkles her nose and looked around for Anon. He wasn't lying in bed, moaning but sitting up as a small cat youkai rested in his lap. A flicker of recognition clicked in Reisen brain. That must be one of Yukari's Shikigama that worked here. A green haired woman that Reisen didn't recognize who was leaning against the wall stepped forward and extended a hand "Takane Yamashiro. I'm the manager of this place"

Reisen took the hand. "Reisen Udongein Inaba"

The expected pleasantries out of the way, Takane spoke up "One of the guests got too rough last night. After we escorted her out, we managed to patch him up the best we could, but he said that his left arm hurt him. He's still saying it hurts now, so we want to see how serious it is"

"Understood. I'll take a look" Reisen sat down on the futon and started to unpack some things from her bag.

The cat looked at her with a bit of concern and annoyance over being interrupted. Anon gave her a small pat on the back "It won't take long, I'll be out to see you shortly, just let give her time to work.

Chen crawled out of his lap. "You'd better, you said you'd watch me swing me the tree after I practiced to do it right" Chen scampered off to find something to entertain her for a while. Anon watched her go, before turning to Reisen. "Oh one second let me show you" Anon shuffled off the top half of his jinbei, leaving his upper body exposed.

Now that she was close and he was facing her, she could see how bad 'Too rough' was. Someone had clawed at his chest, leaving thin red lines like marking on a map. His lip was swelled slightly. But most noticable was the bandages around the midsection of his arm. "Everything else is fine, everything else heals quickly with everything with stuff Eientei sends over. But this arm has been really hurting me, not even Chen's kisses helped me" A small weary smile appeared on his lips.

Reisen felt her lips raise slightly despite the situation. "How cute" she said, trying to grasp at whatever levity she could.

"She's adorable. Always makes me feel better just to see her" Anons smile widened.

Reisen gave him a few seconds before she went into her job. "Alright. I'll remove the bandages and examine the area. Just tell me if it hurts" Reisen unfurled the bandages to reveal the bruised skin underneath. This was a bit more then some roughhousing. She reached up and prodded the area. He winced slightly. "Can you move it?" She asked.

"A bit but If I move it too much it hurts. I can't carry with with it" To his his point he tried to raise it above his head only to grunt in pain and let it fall slack.

"Seems like it should just be a sprain. I have medicine that should help with the recovery and pain. Shouldn't you be going to Eientei?" Reisen shuffled around in her bag for the medicine.

Takane shuffled on her feet "Well, official policy is to treat him on-site unless it's necessary to move him" She met Reisen's gaze. "His wife you know. If she found out he was out and could get to him.." She added awkwardly.

"Well he shouldn't be working like this until it heals. Two days or so." Reisen said.

"We already got bookings" Takane groaned. "Wait, we put him in a sling, have discounts for a 'Injured Husband' scenario. He can get light work and some clients eat that up. Is that okay with you, Anon?"

"Works for me. Thanks for the help Reisen" Anon said as he took the first doses of medicine.

Reisen muttered out a goodbye and gathered her things up. The workers were returning to their areas, the workday was almost here.

As Reisen left, she knew one thing. This place was wrong.

>>44973594
Junko 2/2

----

At the very least, Reimu rarely left the shrine except for when she went foraging, ‘foraging’ in the village or hunting Youkai. It made the shrine maiden easy to keep track of, and those fairy friends of Clownpiece could always be relied on since they lived in the area. However, their deaths became more frequent after Reimu raided their house. At the very least, they had reported an improvement in her mood after the shikigami of Yukari visited.

That said, the fox would be busy today, and Clownpiece had assured Junko that the shrine maiden was alone that night.

Reimu herself was sitting on the shrine’s roof, looking out onto the village as Junko appeared. The warping of space and her overwhelming aura of hatred and purity announced her arrival on the shrine’s rooftop, the moon shining like a halo behind her head. “Hello, Rei-” The goddess effortlessly avoided the shrine maiden’s attack.

Appearing behind Reimu, Junko seized the miko by her neck, holding Reimu in the air and staring straight into her eyes. “Mothers should always take care of their children.” Her statement was meant by a gurgle. “I’m glad we agree.” The goddess said, smiling without any light behind her eyes. “But my Clownpiece told me something interesting. I was fine with you kicking her out of the shrine, you know? But I think you understand why I’m here now.”

Breathing deeply, The goddess spoke a command. “Now hear this Hakurei Reimu. When the time comes, you shall allow the will of those you have harmed, the will of your child and husband, former or otherwise, to take precedence over your own.” Dropping the Reimu to the ground, the miko gasped for air. She was certain she didn’t need to infuse any compulsion into her voice, and hopefully, her words would cause the miko to take less drastic action in the future; she’d hate to burden the woman’s daughter in the future.

It was sad to Junko, years past, the girl would’ve put up a fight. “Also, some friends of yours wanted you to have this,” Junko said as a bento-looking box appeared with Junko holding it by the bow. “Please take it.” She said as she departed, space warping as she entered her senkai.

---

“So, how’d it go.” her friend asked from inside the marble pavilion.

“Good, I do not think the situation warrants our involvement currently. Though perhaps I’ll pay a visit to the shrine maiden’s child later, I hope she and Reisen get along. It’d be a shame if they didn’t,” Junko replied before turning to Hecatia. “Now I believe we’re talking about the moon?”

--
Reimu does not understand why Junko threatened her.
Also I know some might not like it, but I also wanted another reason for Reimu to step back and not get herself killed in the end. Although I don’t think that’d solve any of her issues, Junko’s just marking her property/future child, Hana. Also I need a reason for Junko to just not kill Reimu whenever she sees her, I’d imagine she’d be mad at her failure as a parent. Still though this is probably the most suspect thing I’ve written so far.

>>44967784
Rat 2/2
forgot pic
----

The sky was darkening as Hana passed through the village; it was too quiet for the village, even at this time of night. Stopping in her tracks, her shrine maiden instincts screaming that someone was looking at her, Hana spun around, holding out her Gohei. “I know you’re there; take it out of the village if you want trouble.” The tension in her body ratcheting it, she had no time for youkai today, especially ones who’d attack the village.

What answered her was the sound of a flute. She could hear the scampering of feet, rats? No, mice. She had listened to the Myouren temple had a mouse youkai who could control other mice. “Listen, he-”

“Agreed.” A voice answered a series of flute whistles following, “We should take our business out of the village.” The whistling of the flute didn’t stop as Hana readied herself. “I’ll be at the misty lake. The Igloo.” The voice finished, the whistling disappearing into the distance.
--

Chisazu surmised that while It was hard to call the building an Igloo anymore, that was probably what Hana was most used to. The house made of ice situated on top of a hill next to the misty lake belongs to some fairy minion of Okina.

She could see the junior shrine maiden flying towards her position on the house’s roof. Hopefully, she was more reasonable than her feral mother.

“Nazrin.” Chisazu’s teeth grit. They were nothing alike. “What do you want, or are you here on Byakuren’s orders?”

“Personal curiosity.” Chisazu lied, “Ya’know, that place isn’t as secure as its proprietress likes.” Chisazu said, waiting for the Hakurei to respond, but she just stood there, her expression changed. It was hard to read, but it made Chisazu more comfortable with Okina’s assumption. “One thing I say we’re a cer-”

The world exploded into a series of lights and sounds as Chisazu was flung into the forest. When she came to, she could hear the dancing and chant of those damned douji Okina kept around. She had no idea how that woman was a Buddha or how those things held the same rank as her.” Shut up, you too.” She commanded.

“Wow,” said one of them, “So rude,” said the other. Chisazu could barely think, but all her thoughts were confused with hatred for the two of them. Pulling her head from the, she became aware of a third figure. Nazrin was there, and she was dressed-

“Hahaha!” She couldn’t hold it in the whiplash, or maybe it was a concussion, combined with those annoying douji, only to see a stock still frozen Nazrin dressed in a frilly black get-up the made her look like some children’s toy was too much. But of course, laughing only made the pain worse, and the twins to speed up in their dancing and chanting to keep the rat alive.

At the very least, they had confirmed a reasonable suspicion without directly implicating Okina. Hana could get some practice against Cirno, whose roof she just caved in. Still, with a way to get the Eienti list, copies of the HSE personal records, and knowledge of when Aya drugged Anon, Okina now had nearly every variable and could track the pregnancy cases more accurately.

Of course, these were Okina’s thoughts, everybody else miserable.

---
Sorry for stepping on some toes here by involving Hana, but I wanted to try to get a handle on what exactly she knows, put more things in place for moving the plot forward, and further clarify of Myouren temple’s internal dynamics and plan.

>>44967784
Rat 2/2

----

The sky was darkening as Hana passed through the village; it was too quiet for the village, even at this time of night. Stopping in her tracks, her shrine maiden instincts screaming that someone was looking at her, Hana spun around, holding out her Gohei. “I know you’re there; take it out of the village if you want trouble.” The tension in her body ratcheting it, she had no time for youkai today, especially ones who’d attack the village.

What answered her was the sound of a flute. She could hear the scampering of feet, rats? No, mice. She had listened to the Myouren temple had a mouse youkai who could control other mice. “Listen, he-”

“Agreed.” A voice answered a series of flute whistles following, “We should take our business out of the village.” The whistling of the flute didn’t stop as Hana readied herself. “I’ll be at the misty lake. The Igloo.” The voice finished, the whistling disappearing into the distance.
--

Chisazu surmised that while It was hard to call the building an Igloo anymore, that was probably what Hana was most used to. The house made of ice situated on top of a hill next to the misty lake belongs to some fairy minion of Okina.

She could see the junior shrine maiden flying towards her position on the house’s roof. Hopefully, she was more reasonable than her feral mother.

“Nazrin.” Chisazu’s teeth grit. They were nothing alike. “What do you want, or are you here on Byakuren’s orders?”

“Personal curiosity.” Chisazu lied, “Ya’know, that place isn’t as secure as its proprietress likes.” Chisazu said, waiting for the Hakurei to respond, but she just stood there, her expression changed. It was hard to read, but it made Chisazu more comfortable with Okina’s assumption. “One thing I say we’re a cer-”

The world exploded into a series of lights and sounds as Chisazu was flung into the forest. When she came to, she could hear the dancing and chant of those damned douji Okina kept around. She had no idea how that woman was a Buddha or how those things held the same rank as her.” Shut up, you too.” She commanded.

“Wow,” said one of them, “So rude,” said the other. Chisazu could barely think, but all her thoughts were confused with hatred for the two of them. Pulling her head from the, she became aware of a third figure. Nazrin was there, and she was dressed-

“Hahaha!” She couldn’t hold it in the whiplash, or maybe it was a concussion, combined with those annoying douji, only to see a stock still frozen Nazrin dressed in a frilly black get-up the made her look like some children’s toy was too much. But of course, laughing only made the pain worse, and the twins to speed up in their dancing and chanting to keep the rat alive.

At the very least, they had confirmed a reasonable suspicion without directly implicating Okina. Hana could get some practice against Cirno, whose roof she just caved in. Still, with a way to get the Eienti list, copies of the HSE personal records, and knowledge of when Aya drugged Anon, Okina now had nearly every variable and could track the pregnancy cases more accurately.

Of course, these were Okina’s thoughts, everybody else miserable.

---
Sorry for stepping on some toes here by involving Hana, but I wanted to try to get a handle on what exactly she knows, put more things in place for moving the plot forward, and further clarify of Myouren temple’s internal dynamics and plan.
Also Hana doesn't know Cirno = Okinam and that they're working with Chisazu

The Hakurei Shrine looks like a dump. The grounds are unkept, the roof is damaged, and that's saying nothing of the hokora that held Mima for so long. Hell, it's a miracle it held for this long, though she's not surprised given he... he... It's not surprising because it's the Hakurei Shrine.

Looking over the decay of the shrine, Mima feels conflicted. She should be happy about its decline given how long she's been imprisoned and... and there was another reason, but it feels off.

The Hakurei Shrine should be mighty. It should be well-maintained. It should be thronging with worshippers fueling... fueling someone.

A-Anyways, Mima is not getting any younger and she has a distinct feeling that if she lingers too long she'll be beaten by a brat with a ball. A ball? No matter, she pushes away the half-faded memories and floats... somewhere.

Following a path that feels natural, Mima finds herself before a shack in the forest. Feeling suddenly at ease, she lets herself in.

The place is a mess. A foul stench permeates the building, books are strewn about, mushrooms stain the manuscripts they're resting on, and piles upon piles of boxes haphazardly fill every corner of the place.

Mima felt disappointment rather than disgust. The place was gross, sure. But, someone she cared about living like this? Or rather someone she presumably cared about, given the fact she gravitated to this place.

No point dwelling on it. Calling upon her powers, Mima quickly got to organizing the things that looked important and disintegrating the things that didn't.

After some time the door to the shack is thrown open by a blonde girl in a-it's Marisa, the little waif she took under her wing all those years ago!

The runt certainly is full fire as she angrily shouts, "Who do you think you are rummaging around in my-ah... ahhhhh."

Her scowl is quickly replaced by wide-eyed shock and then a bit of fear, "Mima-sama, you... how are you here? I thought..."

Mima helpfully supplies, "That I was locked away forever?"

Marisa looks down like a guilty dog faced with its mess. Speaking of, "I'm gone for a while and you start living like a pig?"

Marisa looks to the side and scratches her neck sheepishly, "Well you see I was busy studying ze..."

Marisa trails off for a moment as she stares blankly at the uncluttered walls. Laughing nervously she asks, "Sensei, where you put my-"

Mima cuts her off, "If it was over there, it was turned into ashes and scattered outside."

Marisa chuckles nervously, "Hehe, you always had a sharp wit Mima-sama. Now seriously, where did you put it ze?"

Mima frowns, "Did it sound like I was joking?"

Something goes on in the little witch's mind before she suddenly states, "Alice is going to kill me ze."

Alice... the name feels familiar to Mima was it-ah! Mima asks, "Alice, my maid, right? How has she been? Actually, first, tell me how you've been."

Marisa looks away with a blush, "Oh me? You know... normal stuff ze... I found this really big mushroom the other day."

Mima's brief amusement fades as her frown returns. Rather than challenge Marisa's words, she simply stares the girl down.

Marisa quickly cracks and states in a wavering voice, "Alright ze... I... I've... Anon... Reimu... I should have..."

Mima sighs before softening ever so slightly, "Start from the beginning."

Without daring to look up Marisa nods, "Right, it started when an outsider...

*******

There's a long period of silence following the conclusion of Maria's tale. Marisa fidgets nervously the entire time in part presumably because of the events retold and in part definitely because Mima's hand has not left her face since Marisa finished speaking.

Finally, Mima speaks through her hand, "Dodge."

Marisa barely had a moment to process the word before a magical bolt was sent hurtling towards her.

Jumping under her table Marisa shouts, "I know I deserve this, but-"

Mima harshly replies, "No buts. You failed to help your friend, you failed to save your love interest, and you failed to save your apprentice. You disgrace me by flinging around my spells. Now we are going to train until you tear that whorehouse to the ground and you fly out carrying Anon in your arms, is that understood?"

Marisa eagerly replies "Yes Mima-sa-" but is cut off as she bangs her head against the table trying to get up.

Mima sighs, "Just get outside and get ready to fight."

It felt like it had been hours, but the sun hadn't yet set when Marisa Kirisame and Tenshi Hinanawi had tipped forward from the cliff face and went into free-fall toward the rooftops of Eientei. Marisa had landed first, her broom strapped to her back and her feet alighting on the rooftops without the slightest noise, and she turned back to see that Tenshi hadn't even attempted to slow herself down, instead opting to burst forward at the last second, which sent her into a roll that she sprung up into mid-air from, then she twirled and landed in a crouch right next that what Marisa was certain was the hole in the rooftop that they needed to enter from. That celestial luck of hers never seemed to run out, even though she had been exiled. It seemed to let her do the strangest things, from just happening to move in time for a bullet to miss her to preventing Marisa from actually managing to kick her out of her house. That had to have been a quirk of her luck.

"Show-off." Marisa muttered under her breath as she jogged over to Tenshi, who gave her an exaggerated bow before turning and lifting the old, tattered piece of rooftop that disguised the secret entrance that Fujiwara no Mokou had constructed.

"I do my best. Shall we?" Tenshi's voice was light and unconcerned, like she wasn't sneaking back into a place that she'd already very nearly been caught in once already. Marisa's nerves already felt stretched. She'd paid dearly for their last visit and she was certain that she'd still be feeling the aches once the winter came. "Here, I'll catch you if it makes you feel better."

"It doesn't, thanks." Marisa growled at Tenshi, placing a hand on the small of her back and shoving. To her annoyance, Tenshi refused to budge. "Stop fucking me ab-Mmph!" She very nearly shouted, only for Tenshi to slap her hand over Marisa's mouth. Tenshi raised a finger to her lips and Marisa retaliated by sticking her tongue out, which did make the ex-celestial pull her hand away. "Just go, already." She grumbled while Tenshi clicked her tongue in annoyance, stepped forward and wiped her hand on Marisa's sleeve, then hopped down the hole and into the darkness. Marisa took a second to look around. The last colours of the sky were stretching out and beginning to shift toward blue, and the wind was just slightly picking up. She turned, squinting into the distance. It felt like rain was coming. Shaking her head, she turned and hopped down into the hole, using her free hand to bring the section of roof back into place as she fell.

She landed silently on one knee, looking up and around to make sure the place was empty. Still nothing but dust and the covered cases of random objects from the moon that Kaguya Houraisan kept around for her Lunar Capital Expo. Tenshi was already ahead of her, stepping up to one of the covered cases and lifting the sheet covering it, then frowning. "I don't get it." She complained, dropping the cover again. Some of the items that Kaguya had displayed had seemed confusing at best and useless at worst. "You okay?" She asked Marisa, who was still down on one knee. She was fumbling around in her pockets and frowning. Where was her vial full of the potion that let her see at night? It should have been in this pocket! "Seriously, are you having a mental breakdown or something? Because, you picked the right pl-"

"Shut up!" Marisa finally hissed, trying to keep her panic at bay. No, it wasn't in any of her pockets. "Where - Oh..." Suddenly, she had a very bad feeling. Somewhere in her house lay her potions cabinet. Somewhere...that it hadn't been a few weeks earlier. "You! You moved my potions cabinet!" She hissed, an accusatory finger poking Tenshi's cheek. "I forgot my potions because you decided to rearrange my house!"

Tenshi did not look as guilty about the incident as Marisa thought she should as she raised her own hand and pulled Marisa's finger from her face. "Marisa, it isn't my fault if you don't do a good enough job at preparing yourself. We can sort out your house properly after this is all fixed." Just as Marisa thought about the comparative good it would do her to punch Tenshi in the face versus the comparative bad it would do for the whole mission if she started fighting her own team, Tenshi laid a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry." She said, shortly. "But we don't have time for this. You'll just have to stay close to me." Marisa grit her teeth and almost swore at her, but shook her head at the last second. She'd be fine. Possibly a little slower, but fine nonetheless.

>>44889812 (3/4—2)
—
"You... like Mr. Anon?" My already red face was now scalding, my body trembling with sudden cold. One part was horrified that Chen had heard so openly about my developing feelings; the other was cold with the implications of the other things she heard. Though her big, silly smile and red cheeks showed she was much more focused on the first thing.

I growl, fuming, "Chen, why did you follow me?!"

"You like him!" She exclaimed, and, somehow, I'm even redder. How's that possible?!

"Yes, I do! Now why have you followed me, Chen?" My tone was loaded with the threat—meaning no fish snacks for a month. Even that didn't erase the sunshine from her face, and, laughing, she hugged me, her tails bobbing like crazy. My chest tightened, and as much as I tried to cling to this volcanic rage, I huffed, hugging her back and trying to contain my smile.

"I knew it! I knew it! Chen noticed it WAY back—oh, it's gonna be so nice! We'll have so much fun as a family! Yaay!!" She cheered to the moon, although embarrassment soon took over her face. "And, I... uh... I heard you and the goat lady speaking earlier, and it looked different from all the other customers—you looked happy... So I decided to investigate and, well, heheh... Sorry."

"Seriously, Chen?!" I hide how her words affected me, mainly the family part and—geez, Chen... A gap opens, and I sigh—this bakeneko knows how to get me with my guard down. “About the things you heard me and Tetsu talking—"

"You're going against Yukari, right?" She asked, and we exchanged looks for a moment, my shoulders dropping, the conversation we had recently and all her tears flooding my mind. I can't bring myself to lie to her face, so I quietly nodded. Chen's tails dropped, and it pained me to see how much untold hurt was reflected in her eyes. "She's breaking laws... I love her, Ran, I do, I miss when we were happy... but—" Her eyebrows creased, teary-eyed, but no tear fell, as iron came in the form of resolute words. "But... if she's being a baddie, she must be punished and corrected!" Resolve wavered, a nasty feeling locking words in her throat.

Gently, I caressed her cheeks, cleaning the accumulated tears from her eyes. "She's been a bad person, yes, and we cannot spare her from punishment just because we love her—but, Chen... deep in there, I know she still loves us too. She has been doing terrible things, and she'll be punished, yet the only way of making something good out of that punishment is to show that we are still here, willing to help and love her as long as she herself is willing to change, okay?" Frantically, Chen nodded, a reassured love in her eyes burning with hope.

I silently prayed to any God that might listen, softly kissing Chen's cheek, that Yukari—the person I love so much, despite everything she has done—can and would try to change, make amends, and return to being the person I admire with all my being...

Carrying Chen in my arms, I passed through the gap, going back home.

"Also, you're grounded." Doesn't mean she's off the hook. I felt satisfied with her look of shock.
—
It's a Sunday, and Chen and Anon were foraging mushrooms on the fake shrine premises for tonight's stew. I watch from the kitchen, preparing tea and hearty snacks for the three of us, not an ounce of desire to hide the warm smile on my face, and, as Anon and Chen crawl inside a hollow tree trunk to 'get those sweet shrooms'—their words, not mine—my mind wanders to possible futures. Futures away from this cursed place, futures where those laughs as they struggle to get off from the trunk are the norm, not the exception.

I've been doing that an awful lot recently...

Excited, Chen goes to Anon—he pulled a big spider from his hair and tossed it away—and shows him the shrooms she got. Anon promptly brushes a particularly nasty insect from her clothes before hyping the mushrooms Chen got like they're made out of gold. I wonder if that giant smile on her face aches, if it makes her head dizzy to have so much fun...

... I wonder if Chen would like to have siblings.

I stopped all my movements with the intrusive thought, frowning. There's still three months before THOSE urges cloud my mind for six whole weeks, and am I already imaging? Sheesh…

As Tetsu said, I'm toast.

Though...

Heh, with a slight smile and red, l leave these thoughts behind. When things get better—when the sun shines above and not through a magic permeable cage roof—and he says: 'I am so happy'. Only then.

But now?

"Chen, Anon!" I call them, leaving the shrine with a food tray full to the brim with seasonal wonders—and a big bowl of fried tofu for myself. They get one glance at the tray, and it's like two bolts of lighting are darting towards me, and I have to be quick to get the tray away from their grubby hands. "Wash your hands first!"

They moan and protest, but go do just that, almost stumbling over each other, and I sit on the veranda, the wind blowing on my hair, smiling.

Only then…

>>44876544

It was another day and the despite the sun peeking from behind the clouds letting in the bright rays of light into her room Hana just couldn't be convinced to get up. All she had done today was wake up, use the facilities at the end of the block, then go straight back to bed after stripping down. She didn't even bother putting on her juban again.

Soon enough the morning birds finished chirping giving way to the crows and other domestic birds as the sun rose in the sky and the light drifted across the wooden flooring before being cut off by the angle of the building entirely. It mattered little to her as she forced herself to drift into and out of conscious thought.

It wasn't that she entirely gave up, not yet anyways. After reading the paper and that libel she had no way of renouncing she had maintained a normal enough schedule despite her sedentary lifestyle.

She'd wake up, make a small meal for herself before finding something to take her mind off of things, cleaning was something that had to be done urgently given the situation of her home. After a morning of cleaning she'd avoid looking at her father's room as she made a small snack to tide her over, she even went out once or twice before the gossip of the villagers and looks of mixed pity and scorn quickly sent her home. With the afternoon free she'd try to plot about how she could bust her father out before her mind inevitably wondered back to the sights and sounds she's seen.

Eventually, she ran out of things to clean, she ran out of excuses to go out, and she ran out of schemes to make. Hana had even run dry of delusions of grandeur so endemic to youth of her age as the cold reality of her situation made her realize that she had no one to turn too that could take that monster down.

Faces had ran through her mind a million times, supposedly Marisa had tried many times, Sanae may have been strong but there's just no way she could match Marisa in firepower, she knew Kasen more by name than anything else and wouldn't even know how to get in contact with her even though she was supposed to have been a close friend of her father and mother once upon a time.


Her consciousness drifted again slowly and with vague thoughts she was happy to reenter that world of dreams. Her mind expanded as her subconsciousness took over, she was so close to the last of her thoughts dropping off until she heard a knock at the door. Like being touched with ice to the back of the neck she jolted up.

She was annoyed but put her head to the pillow again as the knocking continued, whoever it was could wait forever. She didn't feel in the mood for talking nor answering questions. She could even hear a voice attached to that knock, someone was calling for her but she pressed her pillow over her ears instead not willing to make it out.

Silence reigned at last as the knocks ceased, and Hana put the pillow back under her head as she hugged the futon under her, her bare skin chilled under the autumn air that flowed in from the high set windows. Still, she didn't feel the need to bundle up as the sun was barely enough to warm her home to a suitable degree making it just comfortable enough.

She drifted off to sleep again as the sleep still had its hold in the corners of consciousness, she felt a presence outside her home walking around in the alley behind her house but paid it no mind. Not like anyone could see into her home from their with the windows being taller than any man and set against where the roof meets the wall. You'd need to be able to fly or something to be able to see in.

Once again she jolted, this time she heard a voice come directly from the window and call her name! She panicked, thrashing about as she sprang up while trying to cover herself with the cotton blanket. Her Gohei was across the room as were the needles and ofuda she was trained to use, but before she could spring to them she heard the voice become familiar and take on a placating tone.

The face in the window as well took on a familiar form as she made out messy blonde hair beneath a familiar hat framing a slightly bashful smile as if she was caught red-handed, "Sorry about scaring you like this Hanarin... but the second I heard you resurfaced I had to come see you and nobody answered the door despite your neighbors saying you were home so..."

Hana heard her quickly belted out reasoning but it didn't matter even if this was an invasion of privacy, for the first time in a while she felt her self-loathing abate and a smile came to her lips, "Marisa-sensei!? I-i'll let you in right now!". Hana tossed on the plain yukuta she used to go out earlier as she rushed to the door, she undid the simple arm lock swinging it up and standing before was the women she had trained under and sheltered her for so long.

Hana didn't care who was watching and leapt out into her bosom like she was a child again.

"Hey." I looked up sharply. Marisa was sitting next to me all of a sudden. Over her shoulder, I could see Tenshi and Reimu had gotten into some sort of argument, and Reimu was trying to hit Tenshi with her gohei again. "I know going back to Eientei's gonna be pretty tough, so I whipped up this." She reached into her apron and pulled out a vial containing some sort of liquid. "Should help calm your nerves." Slowly, I asked if it was another of her weird mushroom concoctions. "What? Nah, it's just strong alcohol. Well, it's got mushroom in it, but - Look, it works wonders, so stop your complaining." I managed to offer a weak smile and slipped the vial into the pocket of my coat. "Look, I didn't want to say it out loud because it's not the sort of thing that Reimu and Tenshi can think of, but I've got my own suspicions about Eirin. I think she's scared." I frowned, and asked what she had to be scared of. "The future, I guess. She said something once...Just an offhand comment, but it sounded like she's been around since before humanity. That makes her incomprehensibly old." I, as expected, couldn't quite comprehend it, but I got the idea. "And if she's as immortal as the other two, all those years of her life? A drop in a bucket." That was a comparison I could comprehend, and it was slightly terrifying. In light of that, it's no wonder she wanted a solution to the Hourai Elixir. "I've had some interest in immortality, but I'm just a normal human. I can't hope to understand truly what eternity means. Though...I expect that Kaguya Houraisan could." She was the princess, the one that had attacked Marisa. "That's the one. Oh, I better get an opportunity to pay her back, too!" I nodded dumbly. Eternity, huh?

"My, my, my, I do smell a plot to exclude me!" I jolted backwards, forgetting that I was already sitting against a wall and only succeeding in bashing my head against said wall. There, hanging upside-down from the roof, was Shameimaru.

"What? Piss off, birdy." Reimu growled, swinging the gohei in a wide arc which Tenshi avoided by repeating the handspring move she had used just before the storm had hit a week or so ago. Before it could reach Shameimaru, she flipped herself the right way around and turned to me.

"Now, now, it's no good to try and exclude the press on opportunities like this. I might be useful, even." Shameimaru leaned down to me and nodded rapidly. "I'll accompany those three into Eientei. After all, the best experience is first hand, and for a journalist, that's where my most accurate writing will come from. I can't claim to report the truth if all I'm doing is speculating, can I?" I opened my mouth, frowned, then closed it. "Of course, I still want a...very extensive interview with you. Exclusive publishing rights, and all." I'd been expecting that, since it had been part of the deal from the very beginning. "Don't look so concerned, boy. I'm not feeding you to the white wolf tengu just yet. I'm on your side at this moment." Which could very easily turn into her not being on my side. "In many things, perhaps. This? No, I think I'm squarely on your side." She stood up straight, spun, and joined the discussion taking place just down from me, where Tenshi had apparently upset Reimu enough that Marisa was now trying to pull the gohei from her before she could do something she wouldn't regret. I felt a weak smile overtake me.

In the end, the decision was made. That evening, I would walk into Eientei.

Of course, our progress was somewhat halted once I told Reimu about my second kidnapping by the mysterious 'Hearn', because she became unable to walk more than a few steps without breaking into a fit of giggles. On the plus side, at least she wasn't rolling around on the floor like she had before, because I didn't expect that it would leave her outfit particularly clean. Finally, I asked her why this Hearn was doing this. "She just...She wants to help, I think. But she doesn't know exactly how to help, so she's doing what she can. It's just that she's always so awkward about it, and can't help but try and be as mysterious as possible. Personally, I think it's a defence thing." Reimu gave me a sideways glance and a growing smile. "Or maybe she's just into you." I couldn't imagine how I'd deal with the unwanted affections of somebody who could quite literally take me from anywhere she wanted at any time, and drop me in a completely different part of the world where I would have absolutely no idea how to get home. "Still, at least you're getting to see interesting places. The only time I went to the outside world, it was just really bright and confusing despite being nighttime, and I had to prevent someone from blowing Gensokyo up, so I didn't get much of a chance to see the sights." I stared at her, wondering how she could just mention something like that so offhandedly. "...What? I did stop it." I could tell, since I was, you know, still here, but I'd never really thought about how dangerous things might have been had some of Reimu's incident's gone just slightly differently. "Anyway, tell me more about this 'Osto-raila' place." Australia, I corrected, then went about explaining some of the things that I'd been able to see, and that Hearn had mentioned while I had been stuck at her leisure.

Eventually, we'd made it to the Shrine, where Tenshi was already lecturing Marisa about something or other while Marisa sat with her back against the wall and played with her miniature furnace device. Thus, bringing us to where we were now.

"Okay, so here's the situation." Reimu said aloud, emulating Tenshi's pacing but with less of the random quotations. "We've let this fester too long, and now," She eyed me, and I knew she was thinking about Hearn asking me why Eientei was still closed up, "The Eientei issue has become an immediate issue, so we're resolving it. I agree that we can't just go running in, but happily, we have a possible solution." This time, she looked at me more directly. "Counselling. That's what Reisen suggested, and I think I can understand why." The solution was fairly simple. I'd go to the front gates and ask to see Doctor Yagokoro for counselling regarding...something. I could - though the idea still made me feel a little squeamish - use my family's death as a reason, or perhaps Rumia trying to eat me, or whatever that hermit with the pet had done to me, or something like that. I still hadn't truly made my mind up, though it was seeming less and less like there was a real choice to be made.

While I was getting counselling - or possibly getting dissected, since we didn't know for sure how Doctor Yagokoro was feeling - Reimu, Tenshi and Marisa would be breaking in through the roof of Eientei, as Marisa and Tenshi had done in the past. "Since Reisen's supposedly on our side now, I'm hoping she won't rat us out if she sees us. Happily, there should only be the three of them in Eientei, so it shouldn't be too hard to sneak through." Reimu had explained that part to me. Then, hopefully, they would be able to prevent me from getting turned into bits and pieces distributed about several jars, get some real answers from Doctor Yagokoro, put a stop to whatever she was planning - or at least, make her go about it in a significantly less psychotic way - and we could all move on with our lives.

"I've got a question." Marisa said, idly poking Tenshi in the side while she lay on the floor next to her and clearly enjoying the way it made her squirm. "What about Mokou?" It was a good question, because Fujiwara no Mokou had been mostly absent from the conversation. As far as Marisa and Tenshi had been able to tell, she was still deep within the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, and absolutely none of them knew what she was up to. "Because apparently this whole thing started with her. Shouldn't we...I don't know, talk to her or something? Kill her a few times?"

I looked up, the pieces seeming to fit together somewhat. I could try and use the counselling excuse to gain entry to Eientei. "And then?" Tenshi asked. "Because all that seems to do is deliver you straight to her, and we want to sort out her problems, not make them worse."

"Not necessarily." Marisa said, poking Tenshi in the cheek. "How we got in, remember? Through the roof." Reimu looked between them, then frowned. "We could go in at the same time. That way, we can stop him from getting turned into a bunch of bits in jars." Marisa continued.

"Okay, but why send him in at all, then?" Tenshi pressed on. "We could go and do that right now."

"We still don't know what's gotten Eirin like this, and we need to resolve that to resolve everything else." Reimu said quietly. "He might be able to get her talking. She was talkative when she knew Reisen was going to wipe your memories. Hopefully, we can get that but without the memory wiping this time."

"You don't want to just beat the answers out of her?" Marisa asked Reimu, raising an eyebrow.

"Anyone else - well, most people - and I'd say yes. You'll never get a straight answer out of Eirin Yagokoro no matter how much you try." Reimu clearly had more experience in this regard, so I felt like I could trust her at her word. "Not that I'm not planning to beat her up. Just a little. She deserves it for plenty of reasons that aren't even to do with him. Ah, I wish I could have had Remilia's sister blow up the moon for me..."

I was starting to think that Reimu was making things up, but it wasn't like I could contradict her, so I didn't say anything about it. Instead, I asked if it was really the plan we were going with. I couldn't say I was...looking forward to going to Eientei. In fact, I could say that I was rather worried about the idea. I hadn't had the luxury of training myself against panic attacks if I was to be alone in a room with Doctor Yagokoro again, and the whole plan seemed to rely on her not knowing that I knew about her plans to reverse the Hourai Elixir, which was what had caused the panic attacks in the first place. I voiced my concerns.

"What about when Rumia attacked you? Say it's got you terrified to go out at all. She'd have to admit that she had the rabbits break into your house to disprove it, so it might just work." Tenshi suggested. It wasn't an awful suggestion, even if it was an awful thing to think about. My only real concern with it was that I didn't have any reason for not having come forward earlier.

"Look, I've got another suggestion, but you're not going to like it." I'd heard that plenty of times, but Reimu shook her head. "I'm serious. It's cruel to even suggest." She leaned in. "You could...use your other trauma." She told me, looking like she was against it even as she said. And for good reason, because I was somewhat shocked to even hear her suggest it. That trauma felt intensely personal and still very much fresh. It had brought Reimu and I together. I had watched my parents die before my eyes. I didn't think I could talk about that. "I don't want you to. Believe me." Reimu told me strongly, staring into my eyes. "If we can find a way to make the other idea work, we're doing that. Maybe in the future, if Eirin stops being...like this, you could talk to her properly." I supposed that she might be capable of that sort of talk, but nothing I'd seen indicated it.

>>44841619
I don’t know, her being gigantic and eating you that way would be terrifying in its own right. Like imagine being held between her two silky gloved fingers desperately trying to break free as you’re slowly brought to her smirking lips which part at your approach. You have maybe a few seconds to comprehend your coming consumption before Yukari forces your tiny form into her maw, small body maybe being tasted and battered by her titanic tongue as you’re forced against her soft cheeks or the harder roof of her mouth. And depending on how you see things, you’ll be lucky if Yukari swallows you alive with a simple gulp on her part or she savors chewing you to bloody mulch with her teeth.
But yeah living a bored life in a dollhouse would be better than the above happening. Might even get lucky and be played with by Yukari, Chen, or Ran.
Her being a control freak is a likewise foregone conclusion as well. I’d try to do my best to do right by her at any rate if she made me hers knowing that escape is practically impossible.

You visit the Hakurei shrine one day for a flower viewing
After eating a lunchtime bento with some freinds from the village and mixing with a few freindly youkai you roam around the shrine
Round the back of the shrine while having a post-lunch cup of tea you watch Alice letting her dolls play with some fairies
Shangai and Hourai playfully tease Cirno throwing a dessert mochi back and forth out of the ice fairy's reach before she freezes Hourai and snatches the treat
Chuckling among yourselves it gives you an idea
You grab Marisa's hat and toss it with a slight spin to Suika who unprepared for it throws it up into the air with considerable force
Before Marisa can get it back Aunn leaps up high and catches it, tossing the hat for Reimu to catch
'Hey, this ain't fair stop being mean again ze?'
Reimu giggles as she tricks Marisa feinting an offer of her hat back and throws it back up in the air for Aunn and Marisa to chase
But before either can get it a taller village boy grabs it from above the pair of them and runs away with it before making a sudden pass to an unprepared Alice
She panics and flaps her arms about knocking the hat up into the air again as it floats gently towards the shrine's pond
Marisa runs for her hat, seemingly bound for the pond but in a sudden flash and swoop of feathers Aya swoops from the roof of the shrine and catches the hat in the blink of an eye
Running too fast and distracted by the sudden move of the tengu, Marisa can't stop and runs straight into the pond falling face first
She sits up spitting out a mouthful of water and throwing a stray lilypad from her shoulder to the amusement of everyone
Reimu snorting a mouthful of tea through her nose as Alice tries and fails to hide her laughter
Aya lands just in time to get the perfect photo of Marisa awkwardly laughing at the tengu now wearing her hat with her own cap comically placed on top of the witches hat
You feel slightly guilty for how it ended but for once, Marisa seems to take one of your bad pranks in good humour

"Yes, but what does Mokou have to do with the samples?" Miss Tenshi was starting to sound slightly annoyed. "Stop dancing around the subject and-"

"It's her." Reisen cut the ex-celestial off. "The samples are her."

"...What?" Reimu faintly asked. I felt slightly faint too, because my mind had jumped to what I could only assume to be the worst possible explanation.

"There's, er, a special solution. Usually, my Master is the one who handles it. She injects Mokou, and it kills her immediately. When she returns, it's with bags of...Mokou." It was the worst explanation, and a wave of revulsion ran through me.

Reimu looked ill, and I felt the same way. "She's...chopping up a person...for testing...?" I stumbled over and sat next to Reimu, trying to hold onto my breakfast. "A-And...Mokou's letting her?"

Reisen looked slightly unsettled, too, and Miss Tenshi had turned away. "I think she knows. She knows that Eirin's killing her with the injection, and she must know that her body’s changed when she comes back to life. But I don’t know why she’s doing it like this. She’s never shown any indication that she wants to cure the Hourai Elixir before.”

"Why?" Miss Tenshi asked, looking murderous. "Why is it so important that she needs to chop someone up?"

"I...I don't know." Reisen finally said. "She used to tell me more. The most she told me is that she wanted to create the antiserum for the Hourai Elixir." Because she wanted to do the impossible. I had been there. "Um, yes. But I think she's not telling me the truth. She whispers to herself sometimes. About how she has to do this. About how she made a mistake. I don't know what she's thinking."

"Does anyone?" Miss Tenshi asked, though I don't think she expected anyone to answer. "I don't think I'm making it clear, but I am very displeased by this." She told Reisen, her voice sharp. "It goes against my sensibilities."

"Mine, too." Reimu said. "Even if she's immortal, this is a bit..."

"Well, I might have to interrupt this little tea party." I looked up sharply. There, squatting down on the edge of the Shrine's roof, was Shameimaru. "I hope you don't mind, but I've been listening in. It sounds like something very interesting is going on in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost."
"Great, more annoyances." Reimu muttered to herself. "Yes, Aya, what do you want?"

"Oh, just checking in on my favourite Shrine Maiden and her favourite human." Shameimaru dropped from the roof without a sound, and she spun on one of her long-toothed geta to get right up in my face. "How's my exclusive story coming along?" I mumbled something about it getting complicated. "Ah, but the best stories always are. Now, I've spoken to Marisa, and I've been doing some research while I wasn't out stopping boulders from landing in the Human Village's canal." I frowned and looked up. During the storm, I'd seen figures out in the distance by the village. Had that been the tengu? "Now, this is about recent history. At the beginning of spring, there was a fire in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost." I didn't remember that, and Reimu didn't seem to either, but Miss Tenshi looked up. "Not a major deal, and the last time it happened, it was definitely because of Fujiwara no Mokou's pyromaniac tendencies. But, when I went to try and interview her, I came across a curious scene." I was worried that I was about to hear another long story.

"Skip the story and tell us the details before I get annoyed." Reimu said, sounding incredibly annoyed already.

"Oh, you are just no fun, are you?" Shameimaru crossed her arms. "Fine. I caught the end of a conversation between Eirin Yagokoro and Fujiwara no Mokou. I didn't hear most of it, but Eirin was promising to work on an antidote to the Hourai Elixir at the end of it."

"So she's working on it for Mokou? I guess that makes the...other bit make more sense." Reimu muttered, looking interested in keeping Shameimaru from hearing the full details. I supposed I could understand why, since she might jump ahead and write an article about it before we could stop her. "Anything else?"

"I spotted Kaguya Houraisan in the village last night. She was with Mokou." Marisa's story had already alluded to this, so I let Aya fill Reimu in on the details. Wanting to keep my mind from spiralling into the darkness of Eientei, I thought about what Miss Tenshi had asked me earlier. About what I wanted to do. I think I wanted something relaxing. Something that I could do comfortably.

I got up and sat next to Miss Tenshi. Funnily enough, it had been how I had met her properly. Fishing, I told her. I think I'd like to fish. 

Marisa lay in bed and listened to the hammering of rain on her roof. The window next to her had been cleared while she was asleep of her very important collection of rocks she had found out in the forest, a fact which had her very upset, though it did mean that she could watch the rain form interesting patterns as it flowed down the window. From the other side, she could hear the sound of thing knocking together. "Do you need these old paper bags?" She heard Tenshi call to her from another room, and she grit her teeth in annoyance. "What about this - Huh? Why do you even have all these scraps of metal?" Now, she was audibly growling.

"Stop fucking messing with my house!" She finally yelled. "Come in here!" She heard an annoyed sigh from the other room, and after a moment, Tenshi paced into the room. She'd appropriated an apron from somewhere, and had dropped her hat on the first desk she'd cleared in Marisa's room, which she had cleaned while steadily ignoring Marisa's yells for her to just leave it all alone. So what if she hadn't used the desk in years? If she needed something, she knew it was on top of the desk. Now, she had no idea where it was.

"Yes?" She asked, pulling her voluminous hair back into a loose ponytail. "Something wrong?"

"You! I never asked you to clean my house!" Marisa crossed her arms and stared crossly at the ceiling. Happily, the pain had mostly receded in her arms and she could use them without too much trouble, though she still had the bandages on in case of scarring.
"You actually told me to, and I quote, 'do what you want', which I took to mean cleaning." Tenshi sounded not even the slightest bit perturbed. "Unless there's something else you'd like me to do."

Realising the futility of yelling at her, Marisa decided to try a different approach. "We need to talk about Eirin." Tenshi was silent for a moment, then pulled the chair from the other desk in Marisa's room, the one she actually did use, and sat next to the bed. "Something's wrong with her."

"Yes." Tenshi quietly replied. "Her temperament makes no sense. You remember when she threw the sake cup at the wall?" Marisa nodded. "It wasn't anger. Her personality is unchanged, so whatever's made her start acting like this isn't some weird spell."

"What, like...She's got brain problems?" Marisa didn't really get it.

"No, it's more like...like she's desperate. For a solution?" Tenshi crossed her legs and rested her chin in her hand. "Maybe she thinks that she has to do this. A need. I don't know why, because..."

"Because it's not like she's running out of time to do it?" Immortality was still difficult for Marisa to comprehend. She doubted that she would every truly grasp the scale, just as she still couldn't quite grasp the scale of Eirin apparently existing before humans did. "No ideas?"

"Nothing specific." Tenshi still looked distracted. "Why is she so obsessed with Mokou? Kaguya Houraisan is just as immortal and a lot closer. Is it because she's the princess? Or is it...?" Tenshi looked like she was on the cusp of something, but then it slipped and her features softened from the frown she had been regularly wearing lately. "I expect the only way to know is to ask her directly."

"So, there's no way to know." Marisa mumbled, watching as a spider built a web in the corner of her ceiling.

They sat in silence for a moment, consumed with thoughts on what could be happening at Eientei. Eventually, Tenshi stood and grabbed Marisa's broom from where it was leaning against the wall. Despite Marisa's complaints, she began to sweep.



"I don't think I learnt anything from that." Reimu complained, and I found myself agreeing. It hadn't explained much.

"Well, we can discuss it all properly when I'm done. If you'd stop interrupting, we'd get there sooner." Marisa shrugged. "It's complicated."

"Aren't we all?" Miss Tenshi muttered under her breath.

"So...Her?" Reimu pointed at the prone rabbit.

"Oh, right. Yeah."

"My name is Reisen Udongein Inaba." Reisen Udongein Inaba told us.

"I'm aware." Reimu patronisingly said, nudging her with her foot. I decided to ask Marisa for a more direct answer on how exactly Reisen had ended up here. "Yeah, I feel like I've been here for days. Please get to the point."

Marisa rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine."